March 5, 2008 @ 3:59 am | Filed under: Uniquely Me

The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee.

Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc.

So people who don’t know what on earth they’re doing or who on earth they are can, for only $3.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self:

Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.
______________________
I started out yesterday just looking forward to voting.

I somehow ended the day as a delegate to the senatorial convention for Precinct 33.

Sandwiched somewhere in between must surely have been several decisions but – quite honestly – it all happened so quickly and with such ease that it caught me by surprise.

After an early dinner last night for Coventry, we headed back to our voting headquarters to attend the precinct convention/caucas. I had never taken my interest past the polling stations so it was all very new and somewhat exciting.

We walked into the room and were immediatly greeted by an ebulliant woman with a gigantic gap-toothed smile and a room full of energetic and talkative people. It felt like a great big pep rally.

The smiley woman introduced herself and her party and we immediately realized we were in the wrong room. Good-natured ribbing and jokes followed us as we sheepishly ducked right back out the way we’d come in.

After finally finding our proper group, we walked into a room where a scant few people sat quietly in chairs, hardly a sound being made. I have to admit that – just for a split second – I kind of wanted to go back to the pep rally – to the fun group.

Still, determined to find out what more of the political process was like, I settled in and, as a group, we waited for the remainder of the votes to be judged and for each of us to be deemed eligible to even be there.

Somehow, as the convention was called to order and a chairman elected, I was nominated and elected to be the convention secretary. I’m still not quite sure how that happened, but it had something to do with the fact that NO ONE wanted to do it. Finally, someone jokingly pointed to me and said I looked like a good candidate for the job.

Nominated.

“I second that.” Someone on the front row piped in his two cents.

Elected.

From the front of the room I then enjoyed a full evening of seeing just how fascinating it can be to watch grass roots campaigns get their start. I took minutes and kept track of each resolution and the outcome of the votes.

Eleven resolutions and two debates later, the only thing left was to nominate and elect delegates from the precinct to attend the senatorial convention at county headquarters the end of this month.

“I think we should send our secretary.”

Again, I don’t know the person on the front row, but the woman next to him immediately seconds the motion.

I walked into the precinct convention new to this part of the process, but excited to be a witness to it.

I walked out of the convention as one of 14 delegates that will be attending the next level convention.

It was quite a day. Surely I made several decisions but – quite honestly – I’M NOT SURE I DID.
So a gal who really didn’t know what on earth she was doing can, for only a three hour investment of time, get not just a an enlightening dose of politics but an absolutely defining sense of self:

Short. Excited. Party delegate.