Up ediS Down

Spring.

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:52:53 GMT

Sitting on the back porch with a breeze off the highway, we drank wine out of mason jars and talked into the early hours of the morning, when the birds started singing.

I need to work harder at getting more music on my computer.

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:40:09 GMT

Most of these songs are by Modest Mouse. ::Smacks forehead.:: Which is probably why the lyrics go so well together! Modest Mouse likes to sing about cars. A couple other artists managed to sneak in there, though, I swear!

Meme taken from euclase. <3 Licia.

Put your MP3 player on shuffle, and write down the first line of the first twenty songs. Post the poem that results. The first line of the twenty-first is the title.

“Taken to the Floor”

A low riding junkie girl,
I was in heaven,
I’m down on the water.
Well all’s not well.

Hello city limits,
You and me, whenever we go wrong.
I just can’t seem to escape the thought of you.
Take a drive in the wrong hand lane.
We’re going down the road towards tiny cities made of ashes.
Smells like autumn, smells like leaves.
Smoke was pulled like ribbons from the window of the car.

I’m the same as I was when I was six years old.
Raise your glass,
‘Cause this phase is finally over.
I am not who I want to be.

Slither to sea, speakin’ in tongues.
Every time they turn the lights down,
Everything is exactly right.
Sometimes when this place gets kind of empty,
I’m on the corner waiting for a light to come on.

Woot.

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:50:46 GMT

I am in Boston until Wednesday! I don't really feel grounded in any sort of reality, maybe because I haven't been in one place for very long. I was in Philly, in DC, spent a week on my granny's pull-out bed, and am now in Boston. Nathan and I looked at a couple of apartments today, and we really liked the first one. It's tiny and on the top floor and old and, actually, really wonderful. Will talk more later.

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:04:51 GMT

Horray! It isn't mono after all, only a rare form of strep. I'm special.

Figures.

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:01:51 GMT

So I've been horribly sick all week. Not sniff-ly or sneezy at all, but really weak and exhausted, and I've alternated between having a fever and getting ridiculous chills. My throat has been really sore and swollen, and my granny thought I might have strep throat, so she made me go to the doctor.

The test for strep came back negative, and the doctor seems to think that I might have mono. Gee, that would suck, considering Nathan and I were gonna go up on Sunday to scout out some apartments and get some things settled.

What sucked even more is that the doctor gave me these antibiotics "just in case" it was strep, since he can't actually test me for mono until five days (at least) have passed, which means if I'm not feeling better by next Monday, I have to go back for some blood tests.

And I seem to have the worst luck with medication, and I had one of the more terrifying moments of my life in reaction to the antibiotics. I got this horrible pain in my stomach, but nothing like I was going to throw up or anything .. it was this pain I can't really describe, and then my head got really clouded, and my ears started buzzing, and by this time I was starting to feel a little panicked, and then my arms started tingling, and they went completely numb. And in my panicked mind, I was like, holy fuck, I'm going to die.

Of course, here I am. I raced to my trusty laptop and googled symptoms for that particular antibiotic--thank you, internet--while my granny called my doctor, and I laid in bed hyperventilating for a little, but the symptoms eventually faded and I was fine. But holy fuck, was it scary.

And this is why I refuse to take medicine. But hooray the possibility of mono? /sigh.

Obama-Biden '08

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:47:12 GMT

I am just so happy. We have people in today, helping us clean, and we just got an e-mail from the campaign .. that because of the support of everyone, they're offering full-time staffers hired before Sept. 6th a month's severance pay. This means I have a little extra time to look for a nice job. And some time to sleep.

We may be last in percentage to goals, but

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:29:09 GMT

I got this letter in the mail from one of my out of state volunteers:

Sorry I did not return this sheet.
It had fallen under the seat of my car.
It was not part of my final tally either.

Hope to see you in a couple of days
Good luck
Kc

P.S. Does it always rain in York?

Tales from the Trail

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:58:16 GMT

It was a dark and stormy night, both literally and figuratively speaking ..!

And I climbed into Tracy's car, and we sat there with our lists and our clipboards to map out our walk. And in the glare of the headlights, two wispy eleven year old boys approached ..!

And one of the boys bent the other over the back of my car, and he started dryhumping him five feet from our faces!

And we knew that our night would be wild and full of adventure.

After the danger had passed, we crept from our cars and climbed up the driveway of our first house!

And we knocked on the door, and we shuffled our papers, and quietly awaited. And who came to the door? BUT A DEAF MAN. Who was a strong Obama supporter.

We pointed and flashed him thumbs up, and we retreated back down the driveway in a fit of tears. We could only wonder what we had gotten ourselves into!

The next house was dark, and the yard sign of a tenured Republican representative cast a shadow over the lawn, and we marked them as "NH!" and fled to the car.

We moved it and parked, and when we got to the next house, we took a deep breath and marched up the walk!

The light was on, and there was a cluster of people in the front room--we could see them through the big, bay window!

But the wall was covered in pictures and clippings, and the woman who was standing and pointing was crying. So we crouched behind their bush, and the realization dawned--we were about to knock on the door of a wake.

We hid behind the bush for over two minutes, frozen in fear! We couldn't walk back in front of the walk, what if they saw us? With our clipboards and lists and Obama lit? And like two little rabbits, we darted through their lawn to hide behind their neighbor's RV.

There were a few more not homes! Some dark, empty houses. And the next we approached was lit only by the glow of a TV.

And what was on as we approached? BUT EVANGELICAL PASTORS.

But we dutifully knocked, and the resident entered, shirtless and grossly overweight. But what did we find? But an Obama supporter.

SPOOOOOOON.

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:41:29 GMT

Joe Bacal, one of the executive producers of The Transformers and The Tick and My Little Pony - The Movie, VOLUNTEERS IN YORK FUCKING COUNTY. He is one of my long term volunteers! He has been here for two weeks, and I didn't even know all of that until today! Joe fucking Bacal is so fucking cool! And he reminds me of Don.

22 days.

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:49:17 GMT

We all take a shot of Emergen-C first thing in the morning. Rumor has it, everyone gets a nasty cold the day after the election.

I am procrastinating, obviously.

Leave everything on the road.

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:34:45 GMT

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/9/11055/1670/758/624699

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:26:06 GMT

For the first time in my life, I had the urge to smoke a cigarette. I have smoked them before, usually when I am drinking, but I have never thought, right now, all I want is a cigarette. It was such a weird compulsion, and even more, I found Tracy and dragged her outside to smoke with me. This campaign is so draining.

Yesterday was the last day of voter registration, and after the weekend, we were all running on less than three hours of sleep. The campaign gave us two hours to sleep in this morning. When I got in, I was completely worthless because my body had a little extra time to stop and think, wtf are you doing to me? I sat at my desk and was singing variations of "pickles" and "juice," until I "woke up" and thought, wtf am I doing?

I have a feeling that when this campaign is over, I am going to flop down on my granny's couch and lay there while she brings me breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I am so excited.

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:51:39 GMT

Nathan found an awesome apartment in the heart of Cambridge that is only going for $1200 a month. All I have to do is write the land lady about how we're awesome, young professionals that will do her house good. I'm really excited. I will be in Boston in a month and a half. And not to mention, 29 days and counting.

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:38:22 GMT

This week, the tribal leaders of the Navajo Nation endorsed Barack Obama.

I have called Eileen every day this week, and she still hasn't registered to vote.

There are a lot of days when I feel very bad at my job.

From The Field:

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:01:19 GMT

Al said it better than I ever could.

"So as you organize in these final five weeks, keep a notebook of the names, phone numbers and email addresses of everyone with whom you have conspired and met, cultivate those friendships, make them meaningful and life long, cherish these precious hours in the foxholes of the front lines of history, take nothing for granted and, as in all struggles, fight as if you're 777 points behind, because you'll need all those people, and they'll need you, as things get really heavy and even hard, post election.

And as bizarre as things are about to get, enjoy the moment. They're folding their cards because you built a force they could not stop. And so now they will attempt to destroy the value of what is won: a nation."

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/

Also, check out the article on Leslie Wars. I am so proud of her.

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:28:27 GMT

I got a shout out on the statewide conference call tonight because my OOSies love me. Then Chris sent me an e-mail from Scranton to congratulate me, and I smiled a lot. It was nice, especially since I was feeling a little bad at my job this last week. But we have some pretty ridiculous goals here in York County.

Buried like boys in a boy's first book of the stars.

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:10:44 GMT

It's funny the people this campaign has drawn me to. Most of the time in positive ways, sometimes in negative.

I have been bothered a lot today by one of my volunteers, Steve. He reminds me a lot of my dad and my uncle Marty, and I shouldn't have gotten close to him. But I did. And things went sour in one of the teams, people got in a fight, and he wrote me a long e-mail about how he shouldn't have tried to get involved, etc. And ended with something about how much he appreciates me, how I'm easy to love, and how my smile always brightened his day. Sweet, but fuck. I wish I could help him, but I can't.

On the other hand, I've become a lot closer with Sholom, who is now divorced from my cousin George, but the mother of their two kids, Anthony and Addison, one of whom I babysat when I was still in high school. I haven't really talked to her since then, but I ran into her at the Office Opening party, and her mother Janet started volunteering with us (a lot).

She asked me to house sit for her next week, since I am living in supporter housing anyway, which sounds to me like an awesome idea. Internet, TiVo, and a cat? It sounds great.

Her only concern was that I might be uncomfortable because of the family dynamics involved. Fuck that shit, Sholom is a great person.

Also funny, there is a group of volunteers, called Hampden for Obama, that wants to come up to York County to canvass with us on the weekend. Sholom's sister, Amani, is also in that group. The group's leader, Sarah, sent me an e-mail because I am now the out-of-state volunteer coordinator, which at the end said, "By the way, Amani says hi!"

It is such, such, such a tiny world.

I ran into Krystal last night at The Cap, a tiny local bar that has live music. We reminisced for two minutes about the Monologues, but everyone with me practically went into shock when I -knew- someone there. I forget, then suddenly remember, that they are so far from home.

New Gellers.

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:50:25 GMT

My sister found out today that she's having a boy. Four more months to go.

49 days to make this world a better place for my nephew.

Meow.

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:14:29 GMT

I have been manic the last couple of days. I know because I have been acting generally obnoxious. But mostly just anxious and flustered and rushing around and forgetful. I know now, at least, how to recognize my ups and downs. I have also been having trouble sleeping, but. At least I got my laundry done last night.

My new job is really fun. It means I won't really get out of the office, and all those teams I was building that are finally yielding results are now turning in all of their numbers to Rob, but. That's how it goes.

Honey, you are a rock, upon which I stand.

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:39:48 GMT

We had message training in Harrisburg all day yesterday (even though our DFD promised us a day off), but it was really helpful. And I made arrangements for dinner with Dr. Zumkhawala-Cook, and then Nathan came out to Harrisburg, and we hopped a couple of bars and had a few drinks, and I ran into some people that I knew while there. And Nathan let me sleep on his couch, and a couple kitties curled up with me, and I remembered that the whole world isn't as wrapped up in this campaign as some of us.

But that this job has been so good for me. It has been such an amazing transition from school into the adult world, even though sometimes I feel like we're just playing make-believe. I am really lucky in that. And it has helped me to build a wall between myself and my family, who have always had a stranglehold over my life. My RFD sat me down and asked me if it was wiser for them to place me out of York, and so I had to make a conscious decision to limit their influence over me. And when I move to Boston, it will be that much easier.

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:17:26 GMT

Two of the things that Zach and Tracy find most amusing about me:

1. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE meat.

2. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE soda.

Trials, Part I

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:10:43 GMT

We frequently wonder, and often come to the general conclusion, that this is the hardest job that we will ever have. It requires a degree of flexibility and an adaptability of character that is just, absolutely draining and exhausting. There are moments when I don't even recognize myself.

We have all adopted "Ashley Weigner's" voice. She has this accent, this down-home, everyman sort of accent, "Hey folks, listen here," that I can't fully explain. And Tracy and I have noticed each other using it, especially when we were driving back from Lancaster, where we had spend the entire day corralling hot and frustrated people around a park. And I clap my hands to emphasize my point, and I lightly touch peoples' arms when I am explaining something or greeting someone, and my mannerisms are just so completely different. But it's not a fraud, and it's not calculated. It's just how much I have changed.

I didn't get to meet Barack Obama yesterday, even though I worked the Lancaster event. But the Mayor did, and the Mayor is BFF with our staff. And he walked in yesterday, and he told us every single detail about his ten minute meeting and stroll through the factory with Barack Obama, and the entire time, he had tears in his eyes.

He said that to walk through the factory, they had all received protective eyewear and ear plugs. Someone had dropped the little plastic package on the ground from the ear plugs they had received, and Barack Obama walked over and just, picked it up. Even though they were told to stay within a certain strip, anytime he saw a single person, he would walk over to not only shake that person's hand, but he would strike up a conversation--what are you doing here? how's it going? do you like your job?

And the more he told us, we all started to get tears in our eyes. And I got this feeling that it is all, so incredibly worth it. That Kragie, waking up at 4 in the morning to load a shit ton of furniture, including a 600 pound armoire, and to haul that all down here to York from Harrisburg for an interview in the factory, and then the producers selecting the smallest piece of furniture they had brought down .. it's worth it in the end.

I think it's the hardest job I will ever have because it is the most ridiculous job that I will ever have. To shift one's mindset from a plant that manufactures turbines for hydroelectric dams to a rally in the park, in 95 degree weather with no water to be found, to registering voters at a gay club until 12:30 that night. It's just, the most ridiculous transition. And sometimes it's hard to step back and think about it as one piece, altogether, to make sense of all the lunacy. But it's also, most likely, one of the best jobs I will ever have.

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 23:27:43 GMT

I got to sleep a WHOLE NINE HOURS last night. It was the most amazing thing.

A woman also came in today to make some phone calls, and she brought a dog with her. His name was Jackson, and he is a therapy dog. The minute he walked in, he walked straight over to me and rested his head firmly against the side of my leg, and I just wanted to die of how sweet a gesture it was.

When Adam saw him, he was like, "AWWWWW. And how many calls did you make today?!"

We all found it hysterical how, after he left, we came to the general conclusion that a therapy dog should visit the Obama headquarters more often.

I name Jackson Comfort Captain.

A sense of urgency.

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:49:55 GMT

So many of my "in school" skills are ones that I am using in the "real world."

All of that time I spent slaving over Publisher when I was working for Nightboat Books, I have transferred to making flyers and informational posters, etc., etc. for all of the Barack Obama stuff that comes out of this office.

These days are crazy.

My teams are finally coming together! But we are all anticipating a couple of sleepless days. We just have too much to do, and as the campaign keeps stressing, the moment is NOW.

Word.

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:31:42 GMT

Last night at 11:30, we were told that we would have to be making calls between 9-1 PM this morning, "fire drill" style.

This morning, we got in and were told we had a goal of 500. Three of the five of us were out of the office, and I wanted to cry a little.

We had twelve volunteers walk in this morning. We had six of them on the phones and six of them doing voter registration/manning the desk and the tables at the Arts Fest today.

York made 1,018 calls of the 5,000 call goal for central Pennsylvania to get out the news for a rally in Scranton this afternoon at 2:30 PM.

How thrilling. Days like this, I love our volunteers.

Now if only they