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October 14, 2004
Reflections
Recently I've found a drive to look inward to see where I am personally throughout this whole season. Working on this campaign has been one of the most exciting experiences of my life, and I've done some pretty exciting things. There's a level of fatigue you reach while doing these that I can only compare to touring with a rock band - it feels like it's going to last forever, and that you'll never again get a break - and yet at the end of the run you're ready to do it all over again. I haven't been this perpetually tired since the last time I was on tour - and at least on tour you get days off. But there's also a much greater sense of purpose when you do this - you know that you're working to make the world a better place. Despite the fact that I'm just a kid sitting in the back of a Kerry field office, I truly feel like I'm doing my part to help change the world.
And yet, there’s nothing quite like a campaign to make you feel like a mental midget. With such an important battleground region, the best and the brightest have been imported here to Orlando. As a result, I find myself surrounded by some of the smartest people in the world. It can be intimidating to be sitting in a meeting with Judges, lawyers, and politicos – especially if you have any ideas that you’d like to share with the group. Afterall – who am I? I’m just the computer nerd. But every now and then, I’ll suggest something that turns out to be just the answer for that problem – which is a great feeling, even if it’s a minor answer for a minor problem.
One thing that amused me about the campaign was that the hurricanes forced us to relax. We had to stay in, so there was nothing better to do than to sit around and read. That’s something I miss dearly. I also miss cooking – there’s only so much Vietnamese food you can take at one time (our office is right around the corner from a restaurant called “Little Saigon”).
Yet the strangest part of a campaign is the passage of time, and the perception of it. We’d been having some internet problems and I was trying to figure out how long it’d been going on – and I seriously said, “Probably about 6 months.” In fact, it was closer to 6 days. The best way I can illustrate this is with some pictures.
The office shortly after we opened in late August.
The office today, a little over a month and a half later
The Kerry Campaign now has 3 offices in the metro Orlando area. It’s become readily apparent that we’re at the center of the strategy – and we’re going to deliver. The I-4 is blue.
Posted by MikeSager at October 14, 2004 5:25 PM
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