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when the weather's this nice i feel compelled to go outside and do something. but with no destination in mind, i ended up just staying home. after today - where it was in the 80's - the temperature is supposed to drop into the 50-60's, like a sudden transition from summer into fall.

for lunch i had a microwaveable sesame noodle with chicken that my parents must've left in my freezer that one time they temporarily stored a few things at my place. it was actually pretty good.

i went to the somerville target to buy some new pillows. bram totally ruined my old pillows when he stayed here. maybe he's just naturally greasy, but the pillows were seriously stained. not just in spots, but one whole side would be yellowed. at target pillows either run cheap ($6) or expensive ($30+). i went with a pair of cheap ones in size firm. i also bought some new pillowcases (color red). the cheapest option was $5 for 200 threads; i went one higher, $10 for a pair of 250 threads.

getting the pillows home was interesting because i was riding my motorcycle. fortunately i brought some bungie cords and strapped the pillows to the back of the sissy bar. a man sitting in a car gave me an appreciative nod over my ingenuity.

in the early evening (6:00) i went to an election worker information session in central square. i forgot to RSVP but called them earlier to make sure it was still okay to come. when i showed up i was asked to fill out an application form, which was basically my contact info and whether or not i've ever worked as an election worker before. apparently you're only allowed to work if you're a registered voter.

there was a pretty good turn out, but the demographic skewed mostly towards senior citizens. i was probably one of the youngest person there. i saw a handful of people that might've been under-employed business folks.

there are 3 election worker positions: warden, clerk, and inspector. the warden is in charge of managing a polling station, the clerk keeps a record of the activities, and the inspectors handle the voters (getting names and address, passing out ballots, and assisting with the tally machines).

so why was i even there to begin with? to get paid of course! nobody would do it if it was volunteer work, but inspectors make $13.90/hr and wardens and clerks make $15.50/hr. not enough to pay serious any bills but good enough for some groceries at least.

on the day of the election, workers report to the polling station by 6:30 since the polls open at 7:00. they work until 8:00, with 2 unpaid breaks for lunch and dinner. there's also a single day of training, which you get paid for as well.

as a first time applicant, i can only apply for the inspector position. just attending the information session is not a guarantee that anyone will get a spot. during the presentation, the same mentally-disturbed woman would shout out questions with zero impulse control. "what about the upset votes?" she cried, or "what precinct am i in?" i hope they weed her out, since she obviously has no place as an election worker. if they're willing to even consider her, the bar must be set pretty low.

after the info session was over, everyone was divided into 4 groups (based on voting precinct) to meet one of the 4 election commissioners who took our application and answered questions. my commissioner (ethridge king) had the least amount of people with only half a dozen (i guess nobody in my precinct wanted to work as an election worker) while the other commissioners had 20+ waiting in line to speak with them. in front of me were 2 women. one was very chatty and told the commissioner she wanted to be an election worker because she's a writer and thought the experience would make for great material. the other woman was a pretty young blonde dressed in a business outfit who had a harvard.edu e-mail address, casually name dropping her ivy league affiliation. what's a harvard grad doing as an election worker? maybe she's also under-employed.

i biked home afterwards, even though i briefly thought about getting something from wendy's. instead of french fries and spicy chicken, i had some tuna fish sandwiches for dinner.

nightline did a story on andrej pejic, the hottest model on the runway these days, an androgynous looking man who models both men and women's clothing. will this be the new trend?