Slog - Comments on First Day on the Job http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409 Today I got my first assignment: Buy a bottle of 409 and clean up one of Metro's notoriously filthy buses. I went down to the corner of 35th and 70th around 7:00 and waited. Feeling good about my public service that I began to clean the sides of the trash can next to the bus stop while I waited for the 65. I did this casually, as if this was something I did everywhere I went. Finally the bus came. I tucked the bottle of 409 under my shirt and paid my $1.25. There were about eight people on... Copyright 2008 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:46:18 -0800 Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:00:24 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Fnarf I don't see any gloves in that photo.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783829 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783829 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:51:46 -0800 Comment by Rye I love this intern already.

]]> Rye http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783832 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783832 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:56:20 -0800 Comment by infrequent it must have been staged -- he mentioned he had gloves. but yes, that freaked me out at first.

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783835 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783835 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:57:23 -0800 Comment by Dan Savage First post, first controversy. Steven gets in at 2:30. We'll grill him then.

]]> Dan Savage http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783839 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783839 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:59:03 -0800 Comment by Dan Savage And in the meantime, anyone got something for Steven to do this afternoon?

]]> Dan Savage http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783842 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783842 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:59:36 -0800 Comment by Miss Stereo Ditto #1. No gloves? Poor kid.

]]> Miss Stereo http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783844 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783844 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:00:28 -0800 Comment by heywhatsit Bathe the homeless??

]]> heywhatsit http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783847 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783847 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:02:57 -0800 Comment by Fnarf He also appears to be touching the seat with his bare knees. Does the Stranger extend medical coverage to interns?

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783849 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783849 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:03:55 -0800 Comment by Cato the Younger Younger NO FAIR!!! I use the #65 all the time to get from my place (near 70th and 35th to U-Village) That is almost always a clean bus!! NO FAIR!!!! HE CHEATED!!!!! He did not clean a NASTY Metro bus!!!! And he picked it up by Top Pot Donuts. Trust me there are not many freaks on that bus!!!

But that just means the Stranger will hire him full time.

]]> Cato the Younger Younger http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783852 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783852 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:05:33 -0800 Comment by Dan Savage Hm... maybe we should send him out again.

]]> Dan Savage http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783855 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783855 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:07:24 -0800 Comment by boxofbirds awww, so helpful and industrious....

]]> boxofbirds http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783856 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783856 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:09:30 -0800 Comment by T I hate cleaning with gloves on. My hands get super sweaty. Maybe that's why he has none on in the pic.

]]> T http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783857 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783857 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:10:51 -0800 Comment by Dan Savage Can you suggest a dirtier bus, Cato?

]]> Dan Savage http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783858 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783858 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:11:14 -0800 Comment by xoxo How about sending him out to clean a few bus shelters? Let's give him more gloves and some Windex this time (409 ain't gonna work on windows)

]]> xoxo http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783859 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783859 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:11:27 -0800 Comment by Katelyn He should definitely have to clean a bus that goes through downtown.

]]> Katelyn http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783861 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783861 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:13:48 -0800 Comment by lil brother Next project? "Adjust" this camera?

]]> lil brother http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783862 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783862 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:14:12 -0800 Comment by kid icarus And did he have someone helping him? Who snapped the pic???

]]> kid icarus http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783863 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783863 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:14:32 -0800 Comment by Katelyn The 49!

]]> Katelyn http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783864 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783864 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:14:49 -0800 Comment by brappy Send him on the infamous 174... have him ride it all the way to 320th St. in Federal Way... that's a dirty, freak-filled bus. It makes the 49 look tame.

]]> brappy http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783874 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783874 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:22:20 -0800 Comment by Dave Coffman He should restripe a crosswalk somewhere on Cap Hill where the paint has faded.

]]> Dave Coffman http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783877 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783877 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:23:20 -0800 Comment by Katelyn #14's idea was really good actually, you should have him clean up some of Broadway's bus shelters. Like the one in front of Hot Topic, by Republican St. He WILL need gloves.

]]> Katelyn http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783885 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783885 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:27:46 -0800 Comment by frank Have him hand out dixie cups full of water and cheer on the joggers around Green Lake or by the sculpture park, like they do at marathons.
Or give out blaze orange safety vests and smokes to the day laborers who hang out under the Viaduct on Western Ave by the Millionair Club.

]]> frank http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783889 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783889 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:32:06 -0800 Comment by The General In his defense, he did take the initiative to clean the side of a trash can outside as well. Or so he says. I see no photographic evidence of it.

I would like him to make regular phone calls to the guys who hang around the pay phone at the corner of Union and 24th, across the street from Key Bank and Thompson's. It would either result in the frequent pay phone patrons abandoning the use of the phone or the lost innocence of the intern.

]]> The General http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783895 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783895 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:38:51 -0800 Comment by rob my favorite part is the response he had conjured up for the bus driver.

also, if he's gonna be cleaning stuff, maybe we need a before and after picture?

finally, i agree with frank @22.

]]> rob http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783903 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783903 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:47:35 -0800 Comment by infrequent i can think of a few street corners that could use a good crossing guard for the evening commute... think of the adults!

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783904 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783904 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:47:57 -0800 Comment by Jen He should come give water to the bikes and pedestrians at the Seattle likes Bikes event this evening.

What, past his work hours? C'mon, he's an intern!

]]> Jen http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783907 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783907 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:50:40 -0800 Comment by NaFun @23

Right on! I'd like to see him interview the bum with the butt-drugs from http://seattlealleywatch.blogspot.com/. I've seen him around Cap Hill a couple times since seeing this blog posting. Does this guy know there are pictures of him smoking ass-crack online?

]]> NaFun http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783915 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783915 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:01:13 -0800 Comment by calvin Steven, your head is too big. Or maybe it's just your hair, I can't tell.
Fortunately, this is just the job that won't inflate it any more.
Keep up the good work.

]]> calvin http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783916 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783916 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:01:23 -0800 Comment by Nick OMG, we have another gay working here! Well, elsewhere, but still.

]]> Nick http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783922 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783922 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:07:52 -0800 Comment by Cato the YY @ Dan Savage. He needs to hit the #49 (always nasty) any of the Buses in the 70 series from downtown to the U-District (LOTS of bumbs and drug addicts)

]]> Cato the YY http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783927 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783927 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:13:09 -0800 Comment by mj I think he should be on 24 hour Susie Burke duty and every time he sees her, he will explain to her 1) just why Stone Way is not an industrial corridor and 2) describe in graphic detail what happens when a car strikes a bicyclist.

]]> mj http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783931 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783931 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:16:44 -0800 Comment by investigatory journalist I love the Greenlake jogger water-dispensing idea! Have him cheer them along too.

]]> investigatory journalist http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783933 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783933 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:17:36 -0800 Comment by NapoleonXIV I think he should spend an afternoon translating for the guy who shouts "SEATTLE POLICE IS COMMMM-UNNN-ISSST" to Bus 49 riders outside Pacific Place.

]]> NapoleonXIV http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783939 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783939 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:22:19 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle I think he should walk up and down in front of the "Trail Closed" barricade where they have the Burke-Gilman Trail closed in Fremont, with a sign that says "Sk8rs R001!"

It would be fun.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783952 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783952 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:30:27 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe A job well done, though I do not understand why you were so worried about the bus driver.

I honestly believe you could bring a naked child on the bus, fuck it, kill it, and throw it out the window, and nobody would care. Especially the bus driver.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783963 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783963 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:39:15 -0800 Comment by doug forget greenlake. the kid should provide late night weekend resfreshments to those in harborview's waiting room. that would be so nice.

]]> doug http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783978 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783978 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:45:34 -0800 Comment by mmbb all of these suggestions are going to look really suh-weet on Mr. Blum's intern progress report (and later, on his resume).

]]> mmbb http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783992 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c783992 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:53:06 -0800 Comment by Gitai I think the bus driver would likely be grateful. The only two times I was on a bus that the driver stopped and chastised or kicked someone off both involved substances. One was smoking crack, and the other was falling down drunk and singing "Dixie."

]]> Gitai http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784001 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784001 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:57:05 -0800 Comment by Katelyn @36: now THAT is a worthy assignment. Steven would get great karma points AND a good story.

]]> Katelyn http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784015 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784015 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:04:42 -0800 Comment by Original Monique I think public intern should sweep the street in front of pony, since so many readers go there. maybe even get a pressure washer, and get the gum off.

WOOT. I LOVE public intern.

]]> Original Monique http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784021 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784021 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:10:01 -0800 Comment by infrequent just make sure you use a broom and not a leaf blower...

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784048 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784048 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:31:37 -0800 Comment by Jessica Public Intern should attempt to clean the 174 (but only after 11pm!) or the 106/107. What about going to one of the exotic meat places, buying one of every animal, then making him taste-test each one? Or dressing him up as a Mormon missionary and turning him loose on the Pike/Pine corridor on a Friday night? Interviewing the crazy guy outside Pacific Place?

The possibilities for Public Intern are endless and intriguing!

]]> Jessica http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784068 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784068 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:44:46 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Tasting meat is not a public service though. Let him taste meat on his own time.

Send him out sweeping up cigarette butts outside of nightclubs, like Pioneer Square or the stretch of 2nd north from the Crocodile. Make him wear a little hat -- a paper one, or a plastic hard-hat -- and a reflective vest.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784091 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784091 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:05:50 -0800 Comment by Catman I've got a job for that intern.

]]> Catman http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784107 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784107 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:18:20 -0800 Comment by inkweary Perhaps the Public Intern could give meals to supposedly hungry panhandlers on Broadway and report back whether they then go away or not.

]]> inkweary http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784145 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784145 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 16:00:54 -0800 Comment by RonK, Seattle Thanks for nothing, unpaid public intern! I had to look it up for myself, and meanwhile you went and exposed a busload of riders to 2-butoxyethanol ... and all the reproductive system damage that implies.

Next assignment: Go out and clean up 3rd & Pine?

]]> RonK, Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784176 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784176 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 16:37:06 -0800 Comment by Sam “People can shit their pants on the bus but I can’t 409 the floor?”

Zing!

]]> Sam http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784202 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784202 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 16:59:23 -0800 Comment by JakeLunden Stevie, sweety...$1.25? Seriously? I was still paying fifty cents at almost 23. Just smile and look lost. I´m sure you´d be great at that. Great work on the cleaning!

]]> JakeLunden http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784245 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784245 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:51:33 -0800 Comment by Mike of Renton Make him deliver copies of The Stranger to the South Renton Park 'n Ride. :)

]]> Mike of Renton http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784292 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784292 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:37:35 -0800 Comment by Jorgamund what's Blum's graduating year? '06 or '07? Cause I've seen him at Roosevelt when I was there

]]> Jorgamund http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784327 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784327 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:04:38 -0800 Comment by Kristin Bell Good Job Public Intern! When you run out of things in Seattle, you should take a trip down to Portland! I don't see you running out of work soon though. Can't wait to see your next job!

]]> Kristin Bell http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784415 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784415 Thu, 16 Aug 2007 01:20:53 -0800 Comment by Trayc I think the intern task was awesome. And I love his thought out response if busted by the bus driver.

Keep up the good work and all that jazz.

]]> Trayc http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784617 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/route_409#c784617 Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:00:24 -0800