Fighting off generation apathy

A little bit of everything today my people. I got back in from DC yesterday afternoon, bleary eyed as hell after 4 days of arguing, debating, and staying up too late. No, it wasn't a flashback to York Hall. Nope, I was engaging in the political process. Every year, representatives of the programs I work for come from every state, and many islands, to DC. We meet for three days, combing leadership training with political analysis (by actual experts, not me.) On the fourth day, we go to the hill and meet with our legislators, bringing alumni from programs, as well as key issues affecting us. It's an exhausting yet rewarding experience, that in my case gives me some much needed faith in the political process, while still souring me on parts of the process. I talk enough about the politics of things that bother me though, so today is going to be in the vein of John's Notpocalypse.

The visits
In Maine, we are lucky when it comes to the programs that I work for. All of our members of Congress are big supporters of our programs, especially Senator Collins, who has been a big voice in maintaining our status after the budget cuts of the past few years. This year, she is co-sponsoring a letter once again, this time asking for an increase to help make up for the flat funding of the last years. During our visit she was on the floor, defending a bill. Her staff brought us down to the little room adjascent to the Senate Hearing room (this is the room you see in C-Span as you channel surf), and she took the time to come in and talk to us for a bit. Say what you want about any legislator, but it's amazing how fast they have to shift gears. Within 15 minutes, Senator Collins was having detailed conversations about rights for Firefighters, education issues for low-income students, and immigration rights. (Coherently no less.) Needless to say, I can't ever write a three paragraph blog entry coherently.

One other thing that was impressive about the visits was how relatively easy they were to schedule. In Maine anyways. Some other states tell of getting the run around, or having never met with their legislators. For us, it was simply a matter of calling up the office and asking nicely. When they weren't as familiar with us, they asked for more information first. That seems fair. The whole time we were in the offices, there was a constant stream of people. Some were basically lobbyists, like us, but others were families visiting from Maine or aides from other offices. Without fail, everyone was dealt with at the least politely.

The Aides
One of the most impressive things about visiting the offices of any legislator, is the aides. Generally, they range in age from 20 - 25. There are usually an aid or two that are a bit older, like the Chief of Staffs and that sort. Still, the average age has to be under 25. They work crazy hours, and get paid next to nothing. (Especially when you take into account that they live in DC, one of if not the most expensive cities in the US.)

And you know what? They all seem to love their jobs. Sure, it looks good on a law school application to have worked in a Senators office. But that alone couldn't explain it. Most of these people excelled in college, and could most likely get any job or into most schools. Many, I'm sure, are interested in eventually running for an office themselves. In talking to one of the aides, it was very interesting. She was talking about how she liked working on the education issues, because it was exciting. Exciting to work on important issues.

Could it be that it's not our whole generation that's suffering from apathy? Watching the aides in the offices, and the other young people that were out, like myself, lobbying for education issues, while on vacation time, I felt, for just a moment like there might be some hope for our future. Not a ton of hope maybe, but even the slightest glimmer of hope is an improvement for me.

Jobs just don't seem to be getting any better

Big plans this afternoon my people. Once again, we are celebrating the end of a job for Jason. Pretty sure we've done this three times this year already, but whatever. If that's what it takes to get us out of the house, that's what it takes.

Some people it appears, have a natural optimism that the next job will be the best one. Me? Not so much. In order, I've been a lawnmower, a babysitter, an umpire, a lifeguard, a librarian, a worker on an assembly line, free lance writer, project manager? (yeah, what was that I did at ASAP again?), and now I suppose I am basically a database and web designer. If I were to rank those jobs in order for enjoyment, I think it would go a little something like this:

1. Lifeguard - Seriously, it doesn't get much better than this.
   
2. Whatever it was I did at ASAP. Web design, project planning, writing grants, it was probably the perfect job for me at the perfect time. Even if I had to put up with Goody's shit way too often.
   
3. Free lance writer (Started working in their office in Princeton, and then continued on from Orono. Pretty interesting and well paying job, basically I had to do research on foreign countries and write travel reports for businessman and expatriates living on those countries.
   
4. Current job
   
5. Librarian - Not a bad job really, at least I don't think so. Honestly, one of the only things I remember about this job was Luke coming in and harrassing me with his mad up dance - The Library Shuffle.
6. Assembly Line worker - A friends father got me a job boxing boxes. The work was completely and utterly mind numbingly boring, plus there was the added bonus that I had to be on the line at 7, and with NJ rush hour traffic it used to take me an hour to get there. The saving grace was that I was the only one on the line with a full grasp of English, and trying to talk to everyone else was just interesting enough to keep me from going fully crazy.
   
7. lawnmower - Boring, boring, boring.
   
8. umpire - Little league parents are just barely human beings.
   
9. baby sitter - Let's just say that shitty diapers make this last by a long shot.

Barring the possibility that someone is going to pay me big bucks to lie in the sun and work on my tan, I'd say that I've already had my best job. In fact, looking back at that list, I'd be shocked if any jobs that I might have in the future might make the top 3.

A bit depressing really, but I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of other people aren't currently working a "top three" job. Hell, with Jason, just cracking his five for this year is hard enough.

Feeling a little crazy here

Someday I'm going to write about the good things about my job. There are a few good things mixed in with all day to day shit that drives me crazy. Someday I'll complile a list and write about them. Someday.

One of the weirder things about working where I work is most noticeable this time of year. In most offices around the US, I imagine people are starting to get excited about basketball. You know, March Madness? The small little college basketball tournament which just so happens to be the biggest gambling event of every year?

I would imagine soon there will be office pools being passed around, daily commiserating at the water cooler about Cincinatti's (or know K-State's) surprising early round loss, and shared excitement about this year's George Mason. Not so much in my office. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I'm the only person in my office that has even heard of Kevin Durant, Joachim Noah, or Greg Oden. (In a related story, I am also the only Celtics fan in the office.)

Nope. No sports in this office. If you want to hold a conversation with people in this office, it better be about babies, politics, or the rising price of gas. (Of course, everyone checks in daily on the status of the wedding planning. This, they understand.) Needless to say, talking about fantasy sports is a no go.

As I haven't been fired or quit my job yet, looks like I should be prepared for another March Madness of cheering alone in my office, sadly watching scores scroll by on the ESPN score updater thingy, letting out barely audible wahoos whenever there's an upset. Sweetness.