The greatest artifact

There are some parts of my new job that I don't love, but overall I'm having a great time. The core awesomeness has to do with the fact that I am helping out with the exhibits at the new museum--meaning that I get to see and handle all of MOHAI's top stuff. When people apply to volunteer or work at a museum, this is the kind of work they imagine doing. I am basically living the museum dream.

On wednesdays I go to these long "staging" meeting where we get out all the artifacts that have been pulled for a specific case, and a team of designers and historians debate about what will fit, look good, and best tell the story. This week, we looked at the original Starbucks sign that the museum owns (from pre-logo days!). It was a sandwich board sign that stood outside the original store, and reads "Starbucks is OPEN / coffee tea spices." When we opened it up one of the designers got really excited, declaring it the coolest thing he saw that day. What he said next was definitely the funniest thing I heard all day, and pretty accurately sums up the rise of the coffee giant. He was talking about the perfect simplicity of the fact it said "Starbucks is Open" --a line that might as well be their mission statement.

"I mean," he said, "It is like 'STARBUCKS IS OPEN...get ready motherfuckers.'"

Things that have happened to me

So I guess I'm still blogging. Now that I'm back from New York I suppose I could stop, but now it is habit and I have this idea that people need to know what is going on with me. Ah, the vanity of the internet.

I've thought about starting a twitter account. If I had, these are some things I probably would have tweeted about this week.

Oct 1:

In Eastern Washington for Mennonite Country Auction. After eating at every food booth I suddenly became aware of all the obese people around me eating the same things.

Oct 2:

Went for a run.

Oct 3:

First day of work! About 50% orientation and 50% "So um...just go to your office and manage the textiles"

Oct 4:

Managed some textiles.

Oct 5:

Went to a planning meeting for exhibits at the new museum. Got to provide professional advice about a sleeveless lumberjack shirt for the GLBT rights case.

Oct 6:

Visited offsite costume storage and tried to stay calm in awesome presence of collection I am now in charge of.

Oct 7:

Moved a lot of artifacts from one place to another. Sewed a label into a gown worn by a local Congresswoman.

Oct 8:

Nearly had a meltdown in cereal aisle of Fred Meyer when I saw so many delicious things for cheap. One thing New York sucked at was cereal sales.

Oct 9:

Had "Aw Seattle!" moment when local farmer's market came complete with aging hippie couple performing euphoric banjo and clogging act to the delight of other hippies.

Oct 10:

Put tiny artifact numbers on a collection of medical supplies from local Biotechnology company. Found it strangely satisfying rather than tedious. Must be in the right profession.

Oct 11:

Brought suit with weird stains home to wash. Didn't realize how giant it was until I laid it flat to dry. Stains are gone but how am I going to dress it on our tiny mannequins?

Seriously.

Return Trip

My last few hours in New York were spent stressing out and sweating. It was massively humid and I was struggling to get everything either packed or packaged up in a box (I made a trip to the post office with six boxes that day). When the hour came, I had a friend from FIT help me schlep my three suitcases and three carry-on bags from the taxi to Penn Station.

One of the best things about the decision to take the train was the fact that once I boarded I could totally relax. Packing was stressful and I was emotionally fragile from saying so many goodbyes. But getting on the train was a wonderful relief. My first order of business was to take a shower, because the humidity had left me feeling pretty disgusting. I had forgotten what a harrowing experience it is to shower on the train. The Lakeshore Limited really pitches and rocks, which is particularly disconcerting when you are naked and soapy. I got through it though and felt much better.

The first leg of the journey was fine, but I was really excited about transferring in Chicago to the Empire Builder. When they told us to board I was practically skipping down the platform. Once we were moving and the attendant came with chilled Champagne I practically squealed with delight. I feel like I should have stories to tell from the trip but it wasn’t very eventful. It was just four days of relaxation, over-eating, and beautiful views of the changing landscape.

In my last few weeks in New York, a part of me wondered if I had over-romanticized Seattle and if I would regret leaving the opportunities and friends I had in New York. I think in the coming months I will miss a lot about New York, but it was comforting to enter Washington State and really feel like I was home. The sun came up as we were going through the Cascades, and there were patches of mist hanging in the air as we approached Seattle. The final stretch took us right along Puget Sound, and it was a thrill to see King Street Station in the distance (which, by the way, has 200% more old-timey charm than Penn Station).

The Pacific Northwest is just so beautiful. Unfortunately, this is the current view I have from my bed in my parent’s house: