U.S. Census Employee: Week Three

A slower week with the U.S. Census as our office supervisor announced that in all of New York City, Brooklyn Northwest—my district—was first in completing its Group Quarters initiative. Great! So now what do we do for the next month, until the next phase of the Census begins?

For Crew Leaders such as myself, that pretty much meant that we were whored out to other departments, which is a good thing, since the alternative is not working. At all. So I spent a good part of the week working in staff recruiting, which is short some 2,600 staffers in the district. (I still don't get that: 10% unemployment and folks aren't kicking each other to get in line for these jobs?) Specifically, the task came down to two humbling activities: leaving fliers with local businesses, like coffeehouses and delis; and... ready for this?... putting job cards on the driver's side door of every single car within a given radius. A wide, long radius, throughout the Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill nabes.

By the end of the first day, my feet hurt so much that I was walking like your 95-year-old bald grandmother, sans the convenience of a cane. My boots were not made for walking. After day two, despite more appropriate shoes, forget ever walking again. Just slide my ass down the street in the snow.

I just kept repeating to myself, "Adventure, adventure, right?" and finally recognized this as an ideal photo opp in new nabes, filled with funky/stately/historic architecture... in addition to singing all day long, in my head, "There Are Worse Things I Could Do," from "Grease."Whoof!