I was trying to stay honest. I didn't attend the second annual Stumptown, but hey, I thought the woman from that poster (and on the button I coveted) was cute. And when I attended the fourth (and bigger than ever) Stumptown yesterday, I did buy that button, by Gum. (The woman who sold the fest's buttons and posters thought it was fine.)
Pride and satisfaction can be found in odd places.
On Saturday I wandered the exhibition hall at the Lloyd Center Doubletree (where I've been before for the Providence Bridge Pedal expos) and let myself be happily overwhelmed by the number of writers, artists and publishers displaying their wares and talking with fans. I'm proud of controlling my spending in the hall (just the buttons and this year's poster); I'm less pleased with myself that I didn't really visit with people in the hall. Sometimes my shyness comes back, which is a less happy form of "overwhelming." So if anyone there looked at me and thought "Now who's that guy...," maybe you saw me and I didn't see you. But even then, not saying "hi" to people, I could appreciate the gathering, and just feel the creative waves coming off of people. Cool crowd.
And if that had been the end of my Stumptown '07 experience, that would've been nice and cool. But it got nicer and cooler.
To Be Continued? Why, yes!