Friday, September 4, 2009, AM

I just got back from my counter-clockwise commute around downtown Anchorage. Like yesterday, there were hardly any people out. It seems like there are more people working for the alleged "downtown" than folks who work downtown because it's the center of the city. Not that this isn't intertwined, I just didn't see a lot of "suits". I also got a lot of waves, smiles and pictures taken by tourists.

"D" to "F" along fourth is totally dominated by souvenir shops. The winter in this area of town must even more bleak.

Already, my favorite part of the first part of my commute is when I go by the visitor's center. Two men sit on a bench, one reading a newspaper. Yesterday they were there too. Today, one gave me another huge smile while the other explained to the tourists taking my picture that I was going to work. I have a community who knows me! One nice thing about being super tall is that everyone is unafraid to wave at you, and I'm unafraid to intrude on people's mornings by saying hello and raising my briefcase slightly.

I stopped by snow city for a tall skinny latte. More pictures and smiles and nice recognition of the performance art aspect of my commute. Familiar faces from yesterday and from just being around Anchorage for a while. It's nice to have an excuse for easy playful chat. The folks behind the counter let me sit on their host stand and enjoy my coffee while I rested my legs.



On the way back east on 6th I went through town square and ran into Michael, "my boss", and two of my "real bosses", two friendly and organized women who respectively run work for the Downtown Partnership and Anchorage Concert Associates. They regulary hire me to perform and stilt walk for public and arts events. I like seeing them is this context because they understand who I am and what I do for work for "real". They ask me what I'm doing and I reply "going to work". They appreciate in a different way than folks who don't know me or haven't hired me, but still may enjoy the spontaneity of a 8'8" self employed working artist in a business suit walking to work at 8:30 in the morning.