Written on May 31, 2026
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I wanted to sit and rest and listen to music this Sunday. So for the first time, I did my survey at the Riverwalk!
Because one side got filled up so quickly, I decided to do another survey on the back side. So there’s two surveys this week:
Songs of the day:
- The Nurse Who Loved Me, by A Perfect Circle
- A Stranger, by A Perfect Circle
I’m writing this two weeks later, so my memory of events is not the best.
For the first 10 or 20 minutes, I sat down on the lowest large step, holding the sign as usual but on my lap. I don’t think anyone did the survey.
Then I realized it’s not as approachable as if I were standing and holding it. So I set it and the marker down next to me. I think maybe 1 or 2 people did the survey.
One of them asked what it was for, and kind of grilled me actually, which was kind of a downer, and I wanted to listen to music anyway, so I moved over about 10 feet to the side. This way, nobody would know it’s my survey.
As I listened to music, more and more people came up to do it. The more people did it, the more people did it. Interaction grew exponentially when it grew. That effect is typical, but it was much stronger here.
I overheard some conversations, and they were all the same thoughts and opinions as when I did these same questions before. So I won’t rehash all that.
I didn’t add the question on the back until about halfway through my time there. After that, I periodically flipped it over to give both surveys equal attention.
For a little while I moved the survey up to the second large step, and about half as many people stopped to take it. They had to lean quite a bit to reach it, but some still did.
And then for maybe 10 or 20 minutes, I moved it up to the third large step from the ground, and nobody took it. A few people read it, but that’s all. But I was determined to wait until someone took it, so I didn’t moved it back down. I didn’t care how few action it was getting, I just wanted to know. Eventually, one young person climbed up to take it! I was so excited that I did a little fist pump lol. Then I moved it back down where people could reach it.
A few people left the upper stairs and told me they saw me doing the survey and we talked about it for a bit, but I forgot about what.
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