THE SACTO MOFO
First, let's advertise like crazy at restaurants, grocery stores, coffee-shops, farmer's markets and everywhere else locals go, and let's surround a small park with twenty mobile-food trucks and expect a poor showing. Okay. Forget about hiring anyone to maintain order. Forget about getting cones to help organize lines, because obviously there won't be any lines. Why not throw in the promise of a DJ, live music and a magician to entertain the children. Free bike valet? Why not? Who rides bikes? Set the thing from Noon to 6pm on a weekend, add sponsorship and GO!
SactoMoFo wasn't a failure. In fact, it was probably a success.
Certainly it was a mess. The park was absolutely full. We had people of all ages, all temperaments, all presumptions crossing paths and forming criss-crossing lines in the middle of a high-allergy afternoon full of wind and heat and random 80's hits. Fremont Park was a mecca for anyone with the slightest interest in eating gourmet food made in the back of a festively-decorated van. Italian food, Korean, Indian... Lime/Avocado flavored popsicles from Fat Face. The bike valet was theoretically convenient, but ultimately an unnecessary clusterfuck. The grass was full of bird feathers and children on leashes and tiny dogs and out-of-towners. People who came early and devoted, they got food. Jenny and I gave the place a quick run-through around 1:30 and then decided to eat lunch at Old Soul instead. When we came back around 3:30, it was still packed. We snagged a tamale each, then snuck Pabst in coffee-cups, waited in line for a pulled pork sandwich until the pulled pork ran out. Not the most exciting event of the year, but an interesting mob to watch form. Sacramento definitely needs to work on its line forming abilities.
SactoMoFo
A celebration of gourmet mobile-food trucks.
Don't Come Hungry!
Friday, John repaired my bike tire for 10 bucks.
Friday night, Emma came to town after my closing shift at Old Soul and I held an impromptu barbecue/bonfire/movie night in her honor. She's been hitting up all the democratic conventions since stumbling into a political career. Good for her. She arrived sometime after we finished watching, but hardly understanding, Spirited Away. A beautiful movie, no doubt, making for some of the most obscure background imagery ever. Jenny, Paul, Iven, Jenn, Nick, Shaun, Shaun's brother (Joseph?), Kaitlyn and Jack passed through with Emma and her boyfriend, Addison, stopping by for a bit before leaving for the "Gavin and Gavin Party" at District 30. Putting Road Runner cartoons to techno music was fun. I don't like that I don't like that Jack knows the code to the gate. Is that bad? It's because I didn't exactly tell it to him, he once saw me punch it in. Hamburgers were tasty. Paul brought delicious goat-cheese-marinara dip and proper beer, the good stuff. Mosquitoes were a pain. Political talk was rampant with a gathering of vocal democrats, which I'm totally supportive of, and I think it's important for the young adults to knock heads about these things. A lot of stuff about High-Speed Rail. Joking about the royal wedding. I said the most inadvertently racist thing ever. Iven said he found some better speakers for me to use next time, we talked about hiking. Good to see Emma again, for as brief as that was and how little we actually got to catch up, but she's an old friend and I'm proud of her. Shaun got there after being forced-upon by the singer of some shroomed-out hippie band. Gotta say, Shaun's had quite the string of off-kilter experiences with women that make me laugh, but I hope he doesn't convince himself that all women are crazy and irrational. There are normal girls out there. I promise. Had a fire that no one really paid attention to until the end. Called the event done sometime around midnight, I think, and Jenny and I went back to her place.
We both had Saturday off, so for the most part we were simply together. Sleeping in, getting lunch, walking around Midtown, changing plans, drinking and eating the best chocolate in the city at Ginger Elizabeth, people watching, making friends, job searching, planning life after the Peace Corps, exploring each other, listening to Arcade Fire on the record player, taking photos, eating ramen noodles in a cozy little ramen house, riding bikes, watching someone get a parking ticket, getting high, taking naps and sipping beers.
This morning started slow and built to full-hectic around ten:thirty. Jessica and I handled the shift well and listened to Ross' jazz guitar between The Strokes and classic rock. I ducked out of there as soon as Nick was in place with a pumpkin muffin and Cheerwine ready for lazy high afternoon. Next thing I know, Jenny and Daniel come back from the farmer's market with plants to start the garden with, and when I go out to see them in the backyard, Daniel's already shoveling into the dirt. For about two hours, we're setting up a garden in the backyard. Tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, romaine lettuce, spinach, basil and more. Jenny bought a hose and some flowers. I put on music. Daniel fixed up the fire-pit, as well, and gave us advice on watering the newborns. It looks pretty damn awesome. I made little labels out of stuff from around the yard and I can now cross "Start a garden" off my May Goals.
Then it was dinner at Jenny's. French Onion Soup with deliciously soggy French bread and parmesan cheese, with an Oreo pudding for desert. A little gathering formed outside, despite the mosquitoes, which Jenn shooed away with a vanilla candle. Nick & Jenn, Nick & Ashley, Jenny & me, and Daniel, telling tales of either being a kid or being drunk, then reminiscing about our childhood fears and memories. Scaring ourselves while running upstairs. Interactions with wildlife. Are You Afraid of the Dark? The elementary school book fair. Our first scary movies. Then Jenn informed us all, "On a lighter note..." that Osama bin Laden had been caught and killed today. Nick verified. How strange it felt to lose a villain from our youth, ten years too late, but better late than never, I suppose. When the group transitioned to boisterous Wii in the livingroom, Jenny and I escaped up to bed to sleep, since she'd grown tired from a full, busy day and I was scheduled to open.
Great group of people. I feel lucky to be a part of this.
- Left to Fry
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