countdown

about an hour ago, austin turned to me and said, "24 hours from now..." and i just smiled and said, "yeah." deep, i know. profundities like that are being swapped all over the place tonight. though hardly capable of sharp intellectual banter at this point, everyone is incredibly lucid and 'on'. the canvassing is done. the phoning is done. we actually had a surplus of volunteer phoners tonight who wound up doing calls for our office neighbours, moveon, because our id's were completed. there is presently a gaggle of young volunteers sitting on the floor in our reception area, listening to political hip-hop, eating candy, cutting up excess campaign t-shirts to make patches and arm bands that say things like "don't be a loser - be a chooser", "kill apathy and vote", "the only solution is revolution". folks are giddy in their creativity. sweet release.

i went home at 5.30 to cook. cooking + music + adult beverage = relaxation. i came back with a big pot of sweet potato and chipotle soup for the masses. people seemed to enjoy it. while eating, adam and i looked at some of the letters sent to guardian readers in response to their letter-writing campaign to u.s. voters. the shitty things that outraged people said. i'll say it again, the american electorate is fucking amazing, and not in the "ooh aahh" way.

everything is pretty much done here in this shop. now it's a question of cruising into the morning, the day of reckoning. everyone is heading in different directions tomorrow, some starting as early as 6.00 am to set up for various duties. everyone is now folding into the america votes program, a mind-boggling coordination of people and time to pull the vote. adam and i are headed to milwaukee at 7.00 am to report for duty at 9.00 am at one of the main staging areas. apparently we will be coordinating rides to the polls. in fucking milwaukee. it would be cool to stay in madison to see the day through, but that's where we've been summoned and so we go.

campaigners will be at the oscar meyer plant for the shift change. a bunch of spritely youth have just headed to the campus with an act crew to do a late-nite lit drop. the same bunch will be setting up tents there at 6.00 am to engage in vote mobbing with students. maybe it's just my vantage point, but it's as though everyone is somehow holding their breath until tomorrow night. politicos and even non-nerds will probably be toggling on this mesmerizing fantastic electoral vote map well into the wee hours (the #s keep changing - it's addictive).

i wonder how much of america will actually sleep tonight. or the world?

[as i log off here, some guy just came in and started playing acoustic guitar... we're all singing along to children by csny. how old are these people?! inspiring.]