1997
5Nov2003 Filed under: I Like To WatchSo many things I could say about this photo. Instead, all I’ll say is this: it was taken in Seattle, summer of 1997.
[Update: naturally, I had to say more. See comments for additional background.]
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4 Responses to “1997”
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Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
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paisley
November 5th, 2003 at 10:20 pm
do tell more
crazy, i got engaged the summer of ‘97, came back to my hometown, and moved in with matt..
what were you up to?
suz
November 6th, 2003 at 7:06 am
It is a timeless Ariel-Look. It means you are telling a very good and juicy story. Here you are in the throes of wild gesticulation in order that the story be properly conveyed.
echo
November 6th, 2003 at 7:46 am
On of the un-seen participants in this convo might be your ex-boyfriend, John.
Ariel
November 6th, 2003 at 1:40 pm
Suz hits the nail straight on the head — then again, she has the advantage of knowing me since 1986, and an intimate knowledge of my “storytelling face.”
Echo also knows that era of my life, although she and I hadn’t met yet. The photo has been cropped, and the other people in the shot include my friend Travis (wearing his cute “farmboy” tshirt), my then-boyfriend John (looking incredulous, as always), and a friend’s then-boyfriend (looking dumb as a rock, as always). Also cropped out of the picture are several illegal substances and related paraphenalia, which might go a long way towards explaining that slightly-wild look in my eyes. Yes, I was telling a good story, but I was also, um, a little altered.
That was the summer that I moved back to Seattle after my year of partying in San Francisco. The day before this photo was taken, I’d flaked out on the last retail job I ever worked…since Travis was coming to visit from San Francisco, I decided I didn’t need the $5.85/hr and simply didn’t go to work. I was dating a recovering junky (who had dyed my hair that lovely straw color a few days before), living with friends like Dani and Tim, and preparing to head back to school. I was also Lotus Magazine’s Seattle scene reporter, and newly appointed “Northwest Editor,” a title I’d given myself.
The photo was taken six months before I fell in love with Andreas.