Update: My subscription to this website expires on January 22nd. But while I may "go grey" for a bit, I shall return. So don't delete me from your friends list just yet...
So I was screwing around on Facebook earlier, keeping track of the Richardson diaspora, and I found this gem. Maybe you, as an ordinary citizen, won't find this terribly amusing. I, as a campaign staffer, found it hilarious.
YOU KNOW YOU'RE A POLITICAL STAFFER WHEN...
"Indie" is not a form of music
No one looks at you funny when you sleep at the office
A perfect boyfriend/girlfriend is someone who can actually put up with your work hours
You know that perfect person doesn't exist
You work insane hours for little money
And you love it
Your friends visit your office to make sure you're still alive
Therapy is something you wish you could get for free after the election
Your "track record" has nothing to do with sports
Your best friend is your cellphone
You have thrown your best friend once or twice
You have played some kind of sport in your office at least once (i.e. baseball, kickball, football, basketball, etc.)
A reporter or your candidate has walked in on it at least once
You have come to work when you look like you're about to keel over and die
And you did it by choice
Your car doubles as a closet during campaign season because, frankly, you're not quite sure when you'll get home
You have gone 48 hours plus without sleep
Your closest friends names' are Jack, Jim, Jose, and Captain Morgan
You live on coffee and cigarettes (and, in the case of the Richardson campaign, Taco Bell)
Your desk kind of reminds you of the movie Twister, well after the tornado hit
You watch either The Daily Show or C-SPAN compulsively
When your power goes out or your telephone is disconnected, you immediately blame it on the Republicans
You have encountered at least 3 volunteers whom you are sure escaped from a mental institution
All your friends say how "professional" you look while you're running around on your cellphone trying to prevent Armageddon
You can't work another week without getting drunk with your friends at work
Everyone at work knows about your personal life.. Privacy? What's that?
You've seen politicians do more odd things than some of your volunteers
You cringe at the word "phone bank"
You hate people who will only precinct walk and not make calls
Stacks of pizza boxes at headquarters is a normal sight
You steal your friends blackberries and start sending love notes to other staffers
You don't know how to cope without insane amounts of caffeine
Carrying more than one phone at a time is totally normal
You know it's not odd to have someone from senior staff call you at weird times of the day for random projects that must be finished in less than a half hour
You deal with everyone's panic attacks and meltdowns then go home and deal with your own
You know your candidate's favorite food, but not your spouse's/significant other's
You've ever gotten dressed in a gas station bathroom on your way to an event
A voter has informed you that you've lost his/her support because you mispronounced the name of the backwoods Iowa town s/he lives in
You've had to learn how to properly pronounce the names of Iowa towns so that you don't make that mistake again (it's not Ne-VAY-dah, not Ne-VAH-dah; MAY-drid, not mah-DRID...)
You hear "I'll Be Home for Christmas" on the radio and laugh
You've made at least one campaign stop that involves a country store, a county fair, a pie eating contest, or a prize ham. Possibly all of the above
You swear that once the primary ends you're never coming back to this cold, miserable, ornery state ever again. But you love it
You refer to a convention/trip to another state as a vacation
You race your co-workers at scanning voter contact results into your database
You have invented C-SPAN drinking games
If you have clean clothes on, it's a good day
Your car hasn't been washed in 11 months and you still think it's clean
You plan major life events (law school, engagements, major family trips) around election cycles
It's midnight and you've been at work since 9:00 AM
The date is measured as "Days to Victory" instead of the calendar date, and time is measured in election cycles instead of years
You spend more time in hotels than you do in your own home
So I was screwing around on Facebook earlier, keeping track of the Richardson diaspora, and I found this gem. Maybe you, as an ordinary citizen, won't find this terribly amusing. I, as a campaign staffer, found it hilarious.
YOU KNOW YOU'RE A POLITICAL STAFFER WHEN...
"Indie" is not a form of music
No one looks at you funny when you sleep at the office
A perfect boyfriend/girlfriend is someone who can actually put up with your work hours
You know that perfect person doesn't exist
You work insane hours for little money
And you love it
Your friends visit your office to make sure you're still alive
Therapy is something you wish you could get for free after the election
Your "track record" has nothing to do with sports
Your best friend is your cellphone
You have thrown your best friend once or twice
You have played some kind of sport in your office at least once (i.e. baseball, kickball, football, basketball, etc.)
A reporter or your candidate has walked in on it at least once
You have come to work when you look like you're about to keel over and die
And you did it by choice
Your car doubles as a closet during campaign season because, frankly, you're not quite sure when you'll get home
You have gone 48 hours plus without sleep
Your closest friends names' are Jack, Jim, Jose, and Captain Morgan
You live on coffee and cigarettes (and, in the case of the Richardson campaign, Taco Bell)
Your desk kind of reminds you of the movie Twister, well after the tornado hit
You watch either The Daily Show or C-SPAN compulsively
When your power goes out or your telephone is disconnected, you immediately blame it on the Republicans
You have encountered at least 3 volunteers whom you are sure escaped from a mental institution
All your friends say how "professional" you look while you're running around on your cellphone trying to prevent Armageddon
You can't work another week without getting drunk with your friends at work
Everyone at work knows about your personal life.. Privacy? What's that?
You've seen politicians do more odd things than some of your volunteers
You cringe at the word "phone bank"
You hate people who will only precinct walk and not make calls
Stacks of pizza boxes at headquarters is a normal sight
You steal your friends blackberries and start sending love notes to other staffers
You don't know how to cope without insane amounts of caffeine
Carrying more than one phone at a time is totally normal
You know it's not odd to have someone from senior staff call you at weird times of the day for random projects that must be finished in less than a half hour
You deal with everyone's panic attacks and meltdowns then go home and deal with your own
You know your candidate's favorite food, but not your spouse's/significant other's
You've ever gotten dressed in a gas station bathroom on your way to an event
A voter has informed you that you've lost his/her support because you mispronounced the name of the backwoods Iowa town s/he lives in
You've had to learn how to properly pronounce the names of Iowa towns so that you don't make that mistake again (it's not Ne-VAY-dah, not Ne-VAH-dah; MAY-drid, not mah-DRID...)
You hear "I'll Be Home for Christmas" on the radio and laugh
You've made at least one campaign stop that involves a country store, a county fair, a pie eating contest, or a prize ham. Possibly all of the above
You swear that once the primary ends you're never coming back to this cold, miserable, ornery state ever again. But you love it
You refer to a convention/trip to another state as a vacation
You race your co-workers at scanning voter contact results into your database
You have invented C-SPAN drinking games
If you have clean clothes on, it's a good day
Your car hasn't been washed in 11 months and you still think it's clean
You plan major life events (law school, engagements, major family trips) around election cycles
It's midnight and you've been at work since 9:00 AM
The date is measured as "Days to Victory" instead of the calendar date, and time is measured in election cycles instead of years
You spend more time in hotels than you do in your own home
although i suck a bit at politics, that makes me laugh.... send a word when you come back!