eday

i've been up all night setting up a small office of phones and computers so that volunteers can arrange drivers for people without the means to get to the polls. it highlights what is awesome about being here... at 6:30am a dozen people trooped in, rolled up their sleeves and got to work making calls; they are led by an elderly couple who are an old hand at GOTV phone banks; half the computers they were using were donated by people who couldn't otherwise participate, one guy bought a new computer and had it delivered here as a partial excuse to buy a new laptop; the it staff, except for the top manager (whom we never see, and only occassionally consult on cell phones) is all volunteer, and top notch; one of them purchased a ton of equipment that he can use in his business, but lease to the campaign for a couple days; there are volunteers who've been here for months who seem to contain much of the institutional knowledge (the button volunteers); the staff are respectful and welcoming -- it would be hard to imagine the state of the computers and phones in this office right now without the 7 or 8 volunteers who take the time to come in (not to toot my own horn or anything).

But there are large stretches where I really don't think about the election at all. In fact, I've probably thought less about Bush and the state of the States in the past 3 days then I have in months. However, the worrying about the state of computers and phones can be as stressful.