All Fired Up! Ready to Go!

All Fired Up! Ready to Go! after attending an all-day training session at OFA Saturday. (For proof, I am tagged in photos posted on FB.) I didn't want to go, but my avatar set me straight. She told me that if we are going to do political organizing, we should do it right. A few observations:

• They always serve pizza at campaign events. I walked to Publix down the street and bought Greek yogurt with peaches for lunch.
• Democratic Party is a big tent. Even in Central Florida, OFA attracted a diverse group to the training. That is a very good thing.
• UCF Democrats Rule! The University of Central Florida is the second largest university in the country, and the College Democrats are the largest student organization on campus. UCF Dems were there in force for the training. They give me hope for the future.
• OFA has a plan. The training was extremely detailed, supported by lots of handouts. My responsibilities as a neighborhood team leader are daunting, but I will take it a step - an event - at a time. Working with Naomi and Carol, we planned eight events through mid-June. My turf, while large on the map, includes a lot of undeveloped land with grazing cows (for the tax benefits).

This election is one of the most crucial in the history of our country. The choices are starkly different. Will we move forward to tackle the many challenges facing the United States and the world? Or will we turn the clock back 100 years, to the Gilded Age, with greedy and powerful Robber Barons who make Jamie Dimon look like St. Francis of Assisi. All Fired Up! Ready to Go!

So many voters to register, so little time!

The pace of my nascent grassroots political career is picking up. I am working slowly through a call list of almost 1,000 prospective supporters of President Obama. The most common result is "Not Home," but I have scheduled a couple of 1-on-1 meetings, including one with a neighbor in my apartment complex. I wonder if he has seen me running laps around the parking lot early in the morning. If so, I will explain that I am staying in shape for the campaign.

But wait! There's more! The last of four voter registration opportunities at apartment complexes along Narcoossee Road takes place on Saturday. My OFA teammate David and I have signed up to do voter registration at a Career Fair and in the classrooms for a charter high school serving students, ages 16 - 21, who are not accommodated by the traditional high school setting. We will have the opportunity to reach about 400 students. If this effort works well, there will probably be two more related high schools open to us.

As you might imagine, I am outsourcing many of these outreach efforts to my avatar, Eileen, from the Obama campaign. I am spending time reading a popular physics book on space, time, and the texture of reality. Thinking about quantum entanglement provides a welcome respite from the contentious political scene.

Barely Controlled Chaos

I now have my third OFA team leader since mid-December 2011. Naomi says she will be working with me for the rest of the campaign. We shall see. I have already been forsaken by Samuel and Julee.

I have also been told that my neighborhood boundaries will be changed for the third time. My obsessive-compulsive personality finds these changes a bit disconcerting. Fortunately, my avatar rather enjoys the challenge of getting things done in the barely controlled chaos of a political campaign.