Back from the Brink

POLLS CLOSED: Our lives will return to some semblance of 'normal' now that my intense-but-temporary gig with King County Elections is over.

For the past couple of weeks I've been working at elections headquarters more than full time. First there was training on how to register voters, then it was right out to the front lines doing just that. 

I applied for the job because it was temporary, close to home and sounded interesting. And interesting it was. Wow, I met so many voters of all ages from all over. Many of them were first time voters, and I don't mean just 18 year olds. There were lots of new citizens of all ages, casting their first vote as Americans. They were so proud to be part of the process.

In Washington, you can register right up to the day of the election, and a lot of people did just that. All week before the March 10 vote there was heavy turnout. We worked from 8 until just past 6 registering voters as fast as we could. And election day it was 12-plus non-stop hours. 

In the photo above, you can see a newsperson interviewing a couple. I hear the reporter ask the guy, "Can you tell me how you voted?" 

He responded, "With a pen." 

I thought that was clever.

Cars lined up out to the street waiting to get to the drive-up ballot box. Inside election HQ, people lined up to the point I couldn't see the end of it. A co-worker was a little daunted by that fact and I just said, "To me, the line is right here. The one person I'm helping in front of me." Because really, that's all you can worry about.

I can only imagine how busy it would be in the general election this November. ...

While the work was rewarding and challenging, I'm really glad it's over, at least for now. The kids need my presence at MPA for educational reasons, and I was super not wild about working heavy customer service during a pandemic. Had I known how bad things were going to get, and so quickly, I never would have applied for the job.

I'm holding out for it to be next Wednesday, when I'm a week out from the job, hoping I didn't contract COVID-19 during the process. If you're the praying type, a little prayer would be appreciated. 

COOKING CLASS: Last Saturday night, CJ and Annabelle started a four-part cooking class at a local community center. 

I'll have Annabelle tell you a bit more about it. ...

Just Cooking is an ongoing course at the South Park Community Center that teaches kids 13-19 about food justice and how to cook for a crowd. The first session, on Saturday March 7th, we discussed the basics of nutrition and what parts of food are good for your body. We focused on proteins, carbohydrates, and fats; and what kinds of each are good or bad for you. We talked about how it’s more important to incorporate healthy options than cut out unhealthy ones, and that everything is usually OK as long as you balance them well. After talking among our group about these dietary habits, we moved to the kitchen to do some cooking for the attendees of the center’s free “late teen night.” We got to work learning knife skills and safety, how to quickly mince herbs, and what kinds of seasonings go well together. We ended up making a dish of spaghetti with red sauce, a side salad, and fresh garlic bread. The teens were very grateful for this meal, and we got plenty of compliments on it! I’m excited to see what we cook next time!

I will be shocked if the kids get to go to the remainder of these classes, given the pandemic and new state-mandated guidelines to try to slow the transmission. I was alarmed that during the first class, the kids did not use gloves, and there was no bleach or other disinfectant used on kitchen counter tops, per the kids. That's not cool.

PAINTING PROJECT: I figure with the pandemic and shelter-in-place advice, we'll be getting some home improvement projects done!

One thing we worked on last weekend was painting some groovy stripes down our staircase. 

We first penciled on the pattern (6-, 5-, and 4-inch wide stripes curving down the stairwell), and then taped off the middle stripe, which we painted first. 

Next, the other two stripes were taped and painted.

We have a little touch up to do, but it's mostly done and it looks really great, IMHO.

It's definitely an upgrade from the nicotine-colored painted wallpaper that covered the two-story wall before!