Election Day/Night

I am going to present my reflections on Election Day/Night in a bulleted format, sort of a series of notes-to-self.

• I don't like getting out of bed at 5:30am, particularly when I couldn't sleep the entire night prior. However, getting out of bed at that ungodly hour is easy-peasy when it's Election Day.
• Voters can be really dumb.
• Poll-workers, the ones outside of the actual polls, can also be really dumb, particularly if they know jack-shit about their issue or candidates, and were just hired for the day by some organization.
• Poll-workers are sometimes wonderful, and easy to befriend. In my memory, they have Native American-sounding names-- Tracy Yes-on-4, Kathy Yes-on-7, and Carolyn Nicholas-Hollan-for-City-Council were all very nice. Little Blonde No-on-2, Short-Haired Kevin-Flynn-for-City-Council, not so much. I hope Tracy, Kathy, and Carolyn remember me fondly as Dana Tony-Fischer-for-City-Council.
• Walking or standing outside a polling location for hours on end is a great way to celebrate not being paralyzed. Fuck you, tumor!
  
• It's very cold and dark at 7:30pm in early November in Cincinnati, especially at a polling location after hours of standing around. The conditions improve significantly when your candidate and campaign manager show up, with smiles on their faces and apparent confidence that they worked their asses off, and you all high-five and breathe a sigh of relief that it's all over.
• Being tired, sore, hungry, and anxious is not an ideal time to get news that a family friend has died.
  
• It's generally not good form to meet a friend's mother, and immediately spill red wine on her white tablecloth.
• The mothers of friends can be really warm and fun, even after spilling red wine on their tablecloths. (I have a skewed sample, however.)
  
• Losing sucks. But it especially sucks when you really believe in the positive impact of a victory.
• Again, voters can be really dumb.
• Campaign managers are ridiculous. They are also fantastic companions for post-results debauching.
• When ordering a shot, it's a good idea to make sure that you're not accidentally ordering a double.
• Apparently, I'm "ignorant" and "narrow-minded" to assume that a pro-choice Republican in Cincinnati is an exception.
• Republicans, especially drunk ones, can be really obnoxious.
• Drunk and victorious Republicans are even worse.
• Campaign managers are also tireless. They keep you out at night until like 3:30. Again, skewed sample.
  

Very long day, mixed results vis-a-vis the betterment of Cincinnati, very bad results vis-a-vis Howard, and a crazy night-- all in all, I was exactly where I wanted to be, and I can't wait to see what E-Day 2010 brings. (And yeah, I guess I'm glad that I have a whole year to prepare. Yowza.)