bobdafrogg

Being semi-closeted can be an incredible pain. As I write this the curtains are slightly open, and every time someone drives past I freak out and minimize everything-- just in case. I shouldn't be this neurotic. I'm only reading Slap Upside the Head, a completely benign gay news comic-blog. No porn, personal ads, or anything really all that questionable; too bad it doesn't make me feel better.
I wish I had a girlfriend. I'd take her out in public and I wouldn't have to explain anything to anyone; I'd just show them.

A few weeks ago I saw a commercial for the SLC Marathon which mentioned that they were looking for volunteers. In an unusually fit of sponaninity, I signed up to work at the starting line.  Everything was going fine on the day of the race. I was assigned to set up table and garbage cans. (Hey, its better than being the person who has to take them away....)

It became aparent that my opposable thumbs were needed elsewhere, so I was moved to helping out at the gear check in table.
We were supposed to take peoples gear bags and attach a label on them along with a sticker. Then we'd hand them a matching sticker to attach to their bib. Just 10 min before the shot a horde of people came to the tables demanding to have their baggage 'checked NOW!' Needless to say we didn't have the man power to handle it, and even if I had tried to speak to them, they wouldn't have listened. People started tossing bags over our heads into ramdom boxes and when those filled they just piled on the ground.

The poor woman in charge was freaking out, and at one point I thought she might cry. Another man consuled her, and after all the gear had been dropped off (though not really checked) we tossed it into a couple of small semi trucks completely willy-nilly. The bags given out at the marathon were all transparent; it was interesting to see the random things that people checked. Some of them only had leaflets passed out by advertisers and one of them was a sweater and an empty, crushed can of red bull. Some of the runners were obviosly quite daring. They checked in car keys, high denomination bills, perscription meds (one of them that I recognized was a very serious drug that should be kept on a person at all times as opposed to checked baggage), iphones/pods, cells, wallets, hotel keys, etc.

The runners in the 5k and 1/2 marathon, along with those who quit and took TRAX to the finish line, beat us to the end. They all started demanding their stuff before it was out of the gear truck, let alone sorted. What especially got on my nerves were the people who didn't tag their stuff and yet demaded that we find theirs first. Hello?! You've got to be kidding me. One lady was yelling at a 10yr old girl, the daughter of one of the volunteers who got dragged in out of desparation. I don't usually speak with strangers, but I was angry and wasn't about to let her ruin volunteering for a little girl. People around her joined in with me, and she finally stepped back. Thank god for patient people.

I had to leave around noon, and there were still 200+ bags left, though they were finally sorted. I hope the people who couldn't get their stuff on saturday will be able to the company in charge of the marathon get their stuff back (except that lady who yelled at the child). Still, even with all the chaos, I want to go back next year. Maybe with my new experience I'll be able to get into more of a leadership position and help things go more smoothly.

Name: Jane
Age: 18+
Purpose for getting an lj: The new found ability to lurk in friend-locked areas... ;D