2020.03.05 07:00 - Serving Voters and Stopping

The Guardian for this meeting was Adams Rubble. The comments are by Adams Rubble.

We spent the firt hald of the session discussing Riddle's experiences as a poll worker in the primary. This is the reason there is no session for last Tuesday.

Adams Rubble: Good morning Riddle :)
Riddle Sideways: Good Morning Adams ㋡
Adams Rubble: good to see you are back from your duties :)
Riddle Sideways: yep yep, thanks
Riddle Sideways: took half day off yesterday
Riddle Sideways: to lay about
Adams Rubble: :)
Adams Rubble: that was a long day
Riddle Sideways: Tuesday was a Long day
Adams Rubble: :)
Riddle Sideways: be there at 6am
Adams Rubble: wow
Riddle Sideways: not leave until 9:30pm
Adams Rubble: wow wow
Adams Rubble: like one of Wol's days
Riddle Sideways: needed hot tub for medicinal purposes
Riddle Sideways: like many people's days, but un-use to it now
Adams Rubble nods
Adams Rubble: that's a good thing :)
Riddle Sideways: was in the home precinct this time
Riddle Sideways: and knew so many people
Adams Rubble: that helps time past faster I guess
Riddle Sideways: there are 2 precincts in one big room
Riddle Sideways: and kept abandoning the assigned post to greet ppl on the other line
Riddle Sideways: ㋡
Adams Rubble: :)
Riddle Sideways: a very strange thing is seeing many friends that now have lots of gray hair :(
Adams Rubble: funny how that works
Adams Rubble: everyone getting older but us
Riddle Sideways: yes!!
Adams Rubble: so many people angry too
Riddle Sideways: not many angry at our place
Adams Rubble: that's good
Adams Rubble: NJ people not able to have a say on who is emerging
Riddle Sideways: it is a rural place and friendly community
Riddle Sideways: a fellow worker drove out from Monterey because that polling place must wear suits and be too business like
Adams Rubble: :)
Riddle Sideways: talked about angry people
Riddle Sideways: we had almost no lines
Adams Rubble: wow
Riddle Sideways: smooth busy all day
Adams Rubble: we have a room with three districts; the other tow usually have lines but our has no lines
Adams Rubble: two
--BELL--
Riddle Sideways: hopefully a greeter outside to tell which line to get in
Adams Rubble: just numbers :)
Adams Rubble: 1,2 and 3
Riddle Sideways: had numbers 29 and 30
Riddle Sideways: but, most don't know their number
Adams Rubble: I was very disappointed with the results but I don;t think there was any results that would have made me happy
Riddle Sideways: true, might not have been any happy result
Riddle Sideways: but any result is a start
Riddle Sideways: Sorry Beel, /turns sound up
Riddle Sideways: one person was very hard to see how old has gotten
Riddle Sideways: a celebrity, that Pema knows too
Adams Rubble: :)
Riddle Sideways: was slow and disoriented
Riddle Sideways: has been a hero since teenage
Riddle Sideways: had an aide, but came over anyway
Riddle Sideways: to explain
Riddle Sideways: a few sentences in, spoke his nickname and there was an immediate brightening
Riddle Sideways: or possibly it kicked in the performer
Riddle Sideways: it has bothered since then
Riddle Sideways: just, was sad to see
Adams Rubble nods
Riddle Sideways: actually there were so many confused voters. something had messed a lot of their "Usual" process
Riddle Sideways: and had Sent out mail-in ballots, when most had never requested that
Adams Rubble: is this the first time California voted early?
Riddle Sideways: no, could vote early last time
Riddle Sideways: half way through the day, started to many realize the possibly DMV Real ID questions had messed many up
Riddle Sideways: during the getting of that 'Real ID' there were questions about voter registration
Riddle Sideways: and it was easy to check the not wanted box
Riddle Sideways: anyway, a usual and easy path was confused by out-of-ordinary
Riddle Sideways: most had thrown away the unexpected mail-in ballot
--BELL--
Riddle Sideways: and had to fill out an extra form
Adams Rubble: confusion not good on voting day
Riddle Sideways: nope
Riddle Sideways: it was best to remember the Trainer repeating "SMILE" every 3rd sentence for an hour and a half
Riddle Sideways: a Smile carried the day
Adams Rubble: :)
Adams Rubble: I do'n't think I ever saw people smile in our voting place
Adams Rubble: but they are efficient
Riddle Sideways: ah, efficiency
Riddle Sideways: put on your emotionless robot face and get the job done. no wasted motions nor laughter
Riddle Sideways: it helped our groups to have at least 3 jokers
Adams Rubble: :)
Riddle Sideways: a good friend, retired Postal worker, was across the room. and we tossed retorts at each other all day
Riddle Sideways: another 'real character' was outside greeting and working the crowd
Riddle Sideways: sorry to have taken over the topic de jour
Adams Rubble: that's OK, better than talking about news
Riddle Sideways: yes
Riddle Sideways: the anticipation of elections

Does it Matter?

Adams Rubble: I had an interesting suggestion from Pema Chodron, via a book
Riddle Sideways listens
Adams Rubble: whenever we are about to do something we know we shouldn't, we should aks "Does it Matter?"
Adams Rubble: I realized it was much like Pema's 1%
Adams Rubble: Stopping
Adams Rubble: loking and listening
Adams Rubble: seeing what we are about to do
Riddle Sideways: good point
Adams Rubble: Pema notes that if it is habitual, we might do it anyway but at least we are begining to break the habits
Riddle Sideways: yes,
Adams Rubble: like thinking about craving the chocolate chip cookie before devouring it
Riddle Sideways: sees the first as needing to have active alarms set at the "Does it Matter" levels and hoping those alarms go off
Riddle Sideways: the second is the every 15, stop and look around
Riddle Sideways: check
Adams Rubble: I was thinking of trying to do that today and remembered the alarm
--BELL--
Riddle Sideways: Is no try, just do - Yoda (paraphraseded)
Riddle Sideways: Sorry, "Thinking of trying" sounds a bit weak
Riddle Sideways: ㋡
Riddle Sideways: Whoops, got preachy there
Riddle Sideways: personally it just works better to look around every 15
Riddle Sideways: instead of waiting for an alarm
Riddle Sideways: hmmm, speaking of looking up
Riddle Sideways: just noted that looking up is at a calendar still on February
Riddle Sideways: and did not like the picture on that month
Adams Rubble: time is moving quickly
Riddle Sideways: time is turn the page
Riddle Sideways: like so many pages of the turning calendar
--BELL--
Riddle Sideways: those 365 page a day calendars were worse
Adams Rubble nods
Adams Rubble: there was a day...
Riddle Sideways: all of a sudden 3 days had gone by without tearing the pages off :(
Riddle Sideways: the missing 3 inspirational quotes
Riddle Sideways: one year, was given a 365 paper airplane calendar
Riddle Sideways: only made it to Feburary, with a room full of paper airplances
Adams Rubble: hehe
Riddle Sideways: only made it to February by December

Riddle proposes topic for next week

Riddle Sideways: /looks at clock and deletes the new topic about to start
Adams Rubble: maybe next time
Riddle Sideways: darn dictating clock
Riddle Sideways: maybe next time ㋡
Riddle Sideways: (will have forgotten)
Adams Rubble: write it down here and we can look
Riddle Sideways: ok. "This American Life" radio shows first 5 minutes re: a Review Ratings society
Riddle Sideways: judging things 1-5 stars
Riddle Sideways: well, today's Thursday retinue is not as busy
Riddle Sideways: as usual
Adams Rubble: I am way behind things this week and haven't really started my projects
Riddle Sideways: that is ok
Adams Rubble: It was good to see you and I hope you have a good weekend
--BELL--
Riddle Sideways: a few fun things this weekend
Adams Rubble: yaay
Riddle Sideways: hope you enjoy them all too
Adams Rubble: bye for now :)
Riddle Sideways: by All