Hallway Tile and Democrats

When we arrived home last night, there was a piece of cardboard in front of our door that had STOP written on it in English. We were not sure if it was a warning from the tile man or an omen left by a burglar. To our great relief, it was the former, so we tip-toes over the newly grouted tile until it had time to dry completely. It looks magnificent. He perfectly lined up the tiles with those in the kitchen, so it looks like one straight line. Although I should have been reading students' essays, I did spend the day arranging books on the new bookcases. I cannot work in chaos, so have to have everything in order before setting down to a task at hand. Normally, my stress reduction technique is to clean a closet, but they were done so recently, there was nothing left to do. Arranging books is the secondary mind flush experience. A good mind flush is definitely in order now. I had allowed myself to be nominated as the Nominations Committee Chair for the Hungary chapter of Democrats Abroad. It seemed like a simple enough task, when I agreed to it. Come into my web said the spider to the fly. It just turned into another of those bait and switch experiences that melts your mind and makes you question the meaning of life. The two men and I use the term loosely, who were running for Chair of the chapter were at each other like two five-year-olds, using the mailing list as their forum. They each wanted to conform the rules for the election to their own liking, which meant the International Democrats Abroad had to be consulted for rules and regulations. I had to set up a temporary fax service and the International created a special e-mail box for those who wanted to vote absentee. The results of the mailbox will not be released to me until Wednesday afternoon. The election is that evening. The infighting was worse than any national presidential election, causing me pause about being a Democrat at all. After I created the ballot, when nominations were closed, some complained that they were supposed to be on the ballot, though they did not think to nominate themselves or ask anyone else to do so. My committee of three were either out of the country at the time or just non-responsive to my missives and requests for assistance. With all of the e-mails going back and forth, this turned into a part-time job, causing much regret on my part. When Wednesday comes, I will celebrate and then purge my mailboxes of hundreds of e-mails.

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