Originally posted: September 2, 2003

Warning: this is going to be a little incoherent. Not enough caffeine yet this morning.

We didn’t get to see REM yesterday. They have this system of handing out wristbands for the concert on a first-come/first-serve basis, and Scott & I got there after all the wristbands had been handed out (about 2 in the afternoon). We still went to check out Bumbershoot – we just wandered around & watched a couple of the bands on the smaller stages, ate some junk food, and did some people-watching. Things that stand out:

* Seattlites do not hide their pot-smoking in outdoor festival settings at all. We walked past a couple of spots where the aroma could’ve knocked you over. And you’d think that at some point in the past 35 years, someone would’ve told these people that patchouli &/or incense does not help cover the smell. It just smells like pot with other crap mixed in, and it’s kind of nauseating.

* Parents who dress their toddlers in tie-dye t-shirts or little gypsy/pirate outfits should be arrested. It’s just cruel. You know damn well these kids are going to grow up to be corporate tax attorneys because that’s the only way they can rebel against their folks.

* The big fountain near the Seattle Center is awesome on a hot day. Lots of kids running around in it, although the little ones that were running around in nothing but a diaper were the funniest. Dogs seemed to be a little unsure of it for the most part – I think it was a sensory overload for them with the noise of the crowd, the smells of the various food stands AND the water combined. There was one bulldog that kept leaping into the air at the jets of water like he was trying to attack them, which was absolutely hysterical.

* Scott was a very good sport about doing stupid kid stuff with me – we played skee ball & rode the bumper cars. I also got him on the merry-go-round, although I’m sure that wasn’t the highlight of his day. (I haven’t done anything like that since I was little, so I thought it was cool.)

* For all the people who’ve heard me go on rants in the past about how fruit & chocolate should never be combined, I take it all back. There was a stand called Shishkaberry’s, which had chocolate-covered berries on a skewer. We got the one that had strawberries & bananas in dark chocolate. The bananas were just ok, but the strawberries… Wow. Ok, I get it. I was wrong, and I have seen the light.

Anyway, overall it was a cool day. I took a couple of pictures which I’ll try to get posted later. I got a cute one of me & Scott (even though he doesn’t think it’s a good one of him, I beg to differ – he’s too modest).

Back to the grind. Hope everyone else had as fun a weekend as I did.