Day 3

Today was overcast, as usual. My volunteer plate was full with a lunch run, phone duty, and finally donut delivery. 

Close to 11 o' clock I find my way down to Belltown to pick up a multitude of tiny sandwiches and fancy brownies from a place called Macrina. I park Galactica in a public lot that has the personality of an inner city basketball court, all crumbling and tattooed in urban art, grumbling of better days. The food donation is several trays and a couple trips across the street. Macrina, a little bakery, is packed, but when I comment on it they inform me that its actually slow compared to their normal patronage. The van is loaded up with lunch and I'm back up north to KEXP. 

I arrive at the studio and lay the eats out on the designated table in the hallway. There is a sheet of plastic on the floor running the length of the hall, which makes sense; working and volunteering at KEXP can cause one to eat quite voraciously and without much regard for whether all of the food gets into one's mouth. 

Grabbing a sandwich and a donut, I sit in the front lobby, awaiting phone-related instructions.I hear that the website for making online pledges has been down today, but listeners are making up for it by phone. Some more phone volunteers trickle in, and soon Kelly explains to us how to take pledges. 

We start our shift just as the website is deciding to work again, so things slow way down on the phones. Things are not completely lifeless, however, and I pick up the first call. We have these sheets in front of us which make things very easy, especially for a telephonephobic like me. I take the name, pledge amount, and other appropriate deets. We are in the conference room, which is definitely the largest space in the building. There is a large, flat-screen tv at one end with a webcam view of the DJ of the hour, Stevie Zoom, in action. A corresponding camera sits atop the television bringing our image into the DJ booth. 

The next three hours pass with sparse phone activity; most people will pledge electronically if they can. We pass the time with conversation, eating of food, and spontaneous bursts of dancing. 

This blog is getting noticed. Today a number of people said to me "Hey, you're the donut guy!" It's gratifying to have one's work recognized. 

It began raining around 2, which I'm told leads to more pledges, and indeed this is the case. I take one last pledge before 3, then hop off to get donuts, drop them off, and then home... nap. 

Day 2

Today the sky was it's normal grey color, and it rained a little. 

First stop is Mighty O again. I wind around Greenlake, which shines silver like mercury. People run and jog around it, improving their bodies slowly but surely. I arrive at Mighty O and they are almost done packing up the donuts. I sit for a bit in a wooden chair, while a kid with many facial piercings takes pictures of pigeons outside with a cellphone. The donuts are ready and it's off across Lake Union. 

After getting lost in Queen Anne, I eventually make my way to Top Pot again, and the donuts are ready. Over to KEXP, and the pledge drive is in full swing. The donuts I brought yesterday are out on a table in the hallway, along with salad, cupcakes, paper plates, and a stack of the largest pizza boxes I've ever beheld. They are each the width and length of a Smart Car. I must remember to ask where these are from. 

The KEXP building bustles cozily with positive energy. Young, hip little bees go about quietly improving the community in their own little way. I'm reminded equally of a Unitarian church and a grassroots campaign office. 

Day 1

Today was very beautiful. The sky was a rare blue color, and the accompanying sun continued to melt away the lay-about snow. 

I have signed up for a weeks worth of volunteering at KEXP, the only radio station in Seattle. This is pledge week, so they need all the help they can get. I'm down to do a number of things, but what I am doing most is bringing donuts to the station. I discovered today that this involves a lot of driving (duh).

My vehicle is a mid-80's GMC Safari, but I call it the "Bucket" (or "Galactica"). It runs like a fever dream and always feels on the verge of breaking down, but has personality. She's like a retired football player with more injuries than she can count. It gets me to where I need to go around town, but I wouldn't risk taking it across country. Sorry, babe, but I don't think you'd make it past the Mississippi. 

My first stop today was Mighty O, a donut shop just a stone's throw (or a donut hole's throw) from Greenlake. I live up in Shoreline, so it's conveniently on the way to KEXP (which is just north of downtown Seattle). Not so convenient, however, was the shiny, fume-caked traffic crawling spitefully down Aurora, my artery of choice. Galactica and I get impatient and hop down some back streets until we find a skinny little street to park on. I hustle down to Mighty O and grab the donuts, and it's off downtown. 

The next joint is Top Pot on 5th, and it's very anticeptic, especially compared to the earthy, lived-in organism that is Mighty O. I stow the van in a public (paid) lot without paying (I'm just popping in), and grab the donuts. The place feels like if a Bond villain's lair was converted into a cafe'. Concave glass face, skeletal stair case, high ceiling. There is a slight snag, as they were expecting the donuts to be picked up tomorrow morning, so the 2 dozen are not ready. They are very nice, though, and throw together a batch. 

I arrive at KEXP on Dexter and Denny with 4 dozen donuts, and I am the savior. The station is this little building that is honeycombed with studios and bestickered offices. It is like an ant colony, what with everyone carrying out a task for the greater good of the whole. There is just enough room for people to get around, but not enough for me to just stand in the hallway and eat a fajita (they had fajitas). I find an office filled with volunteer coordinators, and they thank me again for signing up to do so many donut runs.