The Census Sense Us (A Civic Message)

Today I had a dejavu experience. I flashed back to the late 1980's and my days of working days for the US Census Bureau as an Enumerator while slaving away all night long on the 11-7 shift at the Psych Center. Visions of putting little pencil spots on maps of the southern NY region, and stopping frequently for 10 minute power naps so I could keep on truckin', danced before my mind's eye. That was in 1988. Then there was 1989 and I was elevated to an Assistant FOS, riding heard on Crew Leaders while they rode heard on hoards of sweaty Enumerators. By the final year of the big do, 1990, I was the FOS hisself! By then there were literally dozens of Assistants, Crew Leaders, Clerks, and Enumerators all lined up for my attention by the time I got home from work at 7:15 AM. Ah, those were the good old days! Days of pencil and paper enumerating and hauling ass all the way to VERY rural Greene, Delaware, and Sullivan counties to wake up missing employees. I recall trying in vain to hire local people to do the easy task of counting the population, out where there about every resident spent several hours a day with a cow tit in their hand. Back then, the hourly rate was more than the state was paying me for loonie mind games, and when I added my hourly pay to my mileage check, I was rolling in dough. Ah, but sadly it only lasts about 10 weeks each year, and it's over.
Today, I went to the Chenango Town Hall and took the Census Bureau employment test. Some of the terms are the same, and it all came rushing back! Amazing how some things remain static. Others, however, change drastically. The recruiter was talking about everyone getting a wireless handheld device and eventually, in 2010, a laptop similar to the ones you see in police cruisers. Yep, pirates and other learned readers, this time it's an all electronic and very high tech enumeration. I had some reservations about getting on board when I darkened the test site door. When he started mentioning the electronic aspects of the job, he had me locked in. All I need is an offer, and I'm abandoning my sword and eye patch for a handheld device! You chuckle, "look what a whore to high tech old Winny is". Well, old chum bucket, it runs a little deeper than that. If those unwashed Enumerators of the '80s could screw up paper and pencil people counting so badly, the mind reels at how genuinely afoul this electronic wizardry can go. Imagine it. Now, I'm seriously hoping they call me up. I really want to see how this goes.
The bottom line: The Census Bureau needs hundreds, no thousands, of employees to pull off this monumental task. If you have any desire to help or any need for some serious extra cash, call the site up on your old laptop and fill out the application. Around here, it's about $12.25 and up for Enumerators, more for supervisory slots, and the mileage is up to about $.50 per mile. After the 40 hours of paid training (+ mileage), you can pretty well name your own hours. If your schedule permits only every other week, or evenings, or weekends, they'll have a slot for you.
Be civic minded, have some fun on Uncle Sam's tab, and get to know some seriously entertaining people. You'll have stories to last you the rest of your life! The test takes a half hour, and it's pass/fail with only 70% to pass. Good luck!

The Toilet Seat

Ceann, the Yankee Irish drinking music band we so love has a sense of humor that anyone I know can understand. The toilet in the blog picture above is their tip jar. They just want anyone who chooses to offer up a tip to know that any funds they accumulate will be placed appropriately.
More people should be so honest. It's comforting to know that some people know themselves so well. Do you?