1. You've canvassed your city so much, you could have a promising career as a tour guide or taxi driver.
2. All of your "best (wildest) stories" start off like, "...so I was at this rally the other day, when..."
3. You go out and get "commemorative Election Day tattoos" and/or make "Election Day Resolutions" (as opposed to "New Years Resolutions")...

Case in point, me going "overboard" with trying to get some candidate's nomination petition signed last night...

So when I was (trying to) go home yesterday, there was (apparently) a search for an (alleged) armed gunman in my neighborhood, which prompted several streets to be blocked off, which resulted in me being unable to get to my house for a really long time (even though one of the barricades was literally set-up less than half a block away from my house...).

I was told that "it'd just be a few minutes" before I could get past the road block, and after about 45 minutes of waiting around in my car—cold, tired, and seriously contemplating coming back to my office to "hang out"—I started worrying about falling asleep, because, "...What if I end up accidentally knocking my car into gear? I mean, sure, I always put the parking brake on, but what if..."

Then I ended up playing out this whole crazy series of "potential" scenarios—where my car ends up rolling down this slight incline and crashes into one of the police cruisers....and the next thing I know, I wake up in the gutter—handcuffed—with a bunch of officers yelling at me to—"Get on the ground!" (even though I'm already lying face down in a puddle of standing water), and/or "Don't make any sudden moves!" (even though I'm completely pinned down)—guns drawn. I start crying. Possibly laugh (because I tend to lack the ability to be serious sometimes). And that, would piss the cops off even more—and when someone eventually goes through my purse and finds my I.D., someone would somehow remember me as "that kid who spoke out against arming school security guards"....and it's all down hill from there...

(Yes, I have a vivid imagination...).

Anyways...

As I sat there—periodically laughing about all the various ways I could potentially end up in jail for some random, arbitrary crime that I didn't even know was an arrest-able offense to begin with—this cop walks up and knocks on my window.  And the first thing I'm thinking is, "Dammit! I bet they think I'm hepped up on goofballs because I keep spontaneously laughing at my own nonsensical thoughts!"

Thoughts — might I mention — that really don't seem that funny at this point (anymore)....

So as I'm rolling down my window—reminding myself "don't say 'ocifer,' don't say 'ocifer'!"—the first thing this guy says is, "I like your bumper sticker" (a campaign sticker for this other guy I know who's running for congress).

And before I even have time to process what's actually happening, I find myself going into "political cheerleader" mode, and suddenly I'm babbling about how great this particular candidate would be as a representative. Then I find myself asking this guy what his political party affiliation is, and inquiring about his interest in signing the candidate's nominating petition (which he agrees to)—but then I realize that I don't remember where I put said nominating petition...

So, as I start rummaging through my bags, it occurs to me that I probably seem like a complete socio-path or something....because here I am—at 2 o'clock in the morning—tearing apart my car looking for that damn petition...it's cold out—and I'm wearing open-toed heels and a seasonably, unwise skirt—OH, and there's an armed gunman running around somewhere...

I had to laugh at the fact that when it came to my "soap-box antics," I had a total lack of regard for my personal comfort and safety. So then I felt the need to explain myself, and as I start to, this other cop comes up and lets me know that I can (finally) go home.

 "Great!" 

I apologize for being unable to find the petition (and in retrospect, I doubt that guy cared all that much), but as I'm getting ready to start my car, my political-nerdiness resurfaces and I'm like, "Hey, want my bumper sticker!?"  (because the sticker he initially commented on isn't actually attached to my car—it's propped up in my window—long story for another post...but anyway...)

He says, "Sure!"—so I fork it over and proceed to go home. And as I pull into my driveway, I smile to myself and think, "Well, at least that dude can rep the campaign on his car. That's cool..."

*GASP!*

"Wait, what the hell is that all about? Why the hell am I smiling about it? Why do I even care so much? I don't care....do I?"

And then it occurs to me:  I'm genuinely happy when other people take an interest in this particular candidate's campaign (...even after all the drama last week—in the political soap opera that is New Mexico politics).

"Shit. How the hell did that happen? When the hell did that happen?"

Because, to be perfectly honest, while I do think the candidate is a good choice (and generally a good person), I more so got myself (somewhat) involved in his particular campaign a few months ago, because I really can't stand his (former) opponent. So when the news broke that his (former) opponent is now seeking a different office (recently vacated by some other lame-o), I really thought that I would revert to being a little more "reserved" when it came to backing this particular candidate's campaign.

I was totally shocked. Sitting in my driveway—having a damn epiphany or something—when the same cop walks up and knocks on my window (again) to see what I'm doing ("Eh...why are you still sitting in your car?").

So I finally go inside and as I'm getting ready for bed, I start contemplating all of this stuff some more....

It really does take a lot for me to personally care about what ultimately happens with any candidate's campaign. Even when my friends run for office—it usually takes awhile for me to get really psyched about it. And even then I'm usually somewhat guarded because I've had the displeasure of believing in people who ultimately turned out to be really crappy elected officials. And that, as you can imagine, totally sucks.

This then got me thinking about how screwed up our system is—and how much work it's going to take to fix it. And that series of thoughts led me to think about how many things the League crew and I have been involved in over the years—and how much change has actually occurred so far.

Damn.

I never really took the time to think about that. 'Cause when you're in it on a daily basis, it doesn't seem like you're really getting anywhere....and that's probably one of those things that "normal people" who do this type of work don't really go around admitting to, but whatever. I'm not going to pretend like I'm perpetually convinced that everything's moving the way it should. It's hard. And sometimes I'm like, "what the hell am I even doing?"

But when you take a step back for a moment to reflect on everything, you start to see how much of an impact your actions truly had. And it's like, "Whoa." The realization that creating a future worth having is within one's reach, makes this worth it. Sure, there'll still be times where I question things, but "DAMN!" I can't deny the success we've had so far.

'Cause really, how many "punk kids" who weren't even alive when half of the big political players in their state were first elected to office, can say something like "I've helped change shit for the better"—and actually mean it? Not nearly enough—yet.

*sighs*

So maybe there were a few jerk-wads in the past who didn't deserve my time or efforts. Screw 'em.

And maybe there'll be some losers in the future that'll go all "Anakin Skywalker" on everyone. Screw 'em.

I'm not going to let a little thing like "fear of being burned" hinder my efforts to make this world less shitty! :)

Because after all, the greatest of all accomplishments at first seem impossible, and anything worth having is worth fighting for. New Mexico is totally crappy on so many levels—but it's my home, and I love it.

It's definitely worth the effort :)

 - Charlotte