July 4, 2018 – Sausalito, California

BOOM.

CRACKLE, CRACKLE, CRACKLE.

When it comes to bartending gigs, I’ve had much worse in every sense of the phrase. This one in particular comes with the occasional “banquet” shift, consisting of an outside-the-event-room setup right on the water. I spend a few hours hauling materials, a few more making drinks, and typically have a lot of down time to stare into the bay and watch boats go by. Or admire the skyline of San Francisco.

TISSSSST. SCREEEEEEEEEE. BOOM, BOOM.

Tonight, I have the pleasure (among other more negative feelings) of watching fireworks and getting paid simultaneously. The only downside of such a shift is that it inherently runs a bit later at night, meaning that I won’t get back to Petaluma until pretty late. The recent decision to relocate there was based on a few reasons:

1) The only way to stay in Sausalito would be the equivalent of paying “rent” to Jeff. This is not how the work exchanges I utilize are supposed to operate. The principle of the matter. If I were to pay rent, I would most certainly rather pay it to family. I tried to do so in Petaluma when I came back from Europe. They refuse(d) to accept.

2) I grow tired of not having a space to prepare meals. Plus, my aunt and uncle make superb grub.

3) There are numerous hosts in the Petaluma area with whom I could get involved with, and ideally, provide supplies/seeds/food for the community garden in Sausalito and its participants.

BANG, BANG. SST, SST, SST.

A bed and internet access don’t exactly sound terrible either. The Bay Area traffic and a commute of 30 minutes to two hours (depending on the time of day) are the obvious down sides to the equation. Tipping the scale in favor of Petaluma is the fact that I get to spend some quality time with the family that moved to California the year that I was born.

Commence finale.

Another working Fourth in the book. When was the last time I didn’t work on a major holiday? The thought quickly passes as I acknowledge how lucky I am to be where I am. Doing what I am.

Being who I am.

“Inherently, having privilege isn’t bad, but it’s how you use it, and you have to use it in service of other people.” – Tarana Burke