The Big News.

Hi everyone.

Never in a million years did I think I would start a blog. But here I am. You'll find out why I'm doing this if you keep reading.

A few weeks ago, I had another one of those moments where it became very, very obvious what I should do with my life next, because my immediate, visceral response to the idea was "you can't do that -- it's crazy and irresponsible, and probably impossible." If I know one thing, I know that when I respond to something that strongly, it's generally a sign that I really should do it.

Lemme 'splain.

I got an email from the Obama Campaign, as many of you probably did, asking me to apply to "Camp Obama." There, they would train me to be a deputy field organizer so I could take a more active leadership role in the campaign. This was the pitch:

"Individuals selected for Camp Obama will receive special training in the tactics and tools of field organizing. These intrepid individuals will be sent to important swing states in the upcoming weeks as Deputy Field Organizers to help the official Field Offices reach out to communities and organize phonebanks and canvasses."

Man oh man, am I a sucker for the word "intrepid."

But, I looked at the application, and thought I probably didn't have enough experience to apply.

So I let it go.

But I didn't trash the e-mail.

A week later, I realized I was still thinking about it. I looked at the application again. Two of questions were "Can you commit 5 or more weeks to work in a battleground state?" Yes. "Do you have a car?" Yes.

(Many of you may remember that this is not the first time that a car and a flexible work schedule made a life-changing adventure possible.)

And you know, I was just feeling so anxious, all the time. And this was even before the Republican Convention, which actually made me break out in hives. I felt so helpless, so worried, and like there was so much on the line, but what could I do except listen to NPR and wring my hands? I thought about it, and thought about it, and decided to apply to Camp Obama -- just to see if maybe I would get in.

And I wrote the application, and it occurred to me that maybe I was an ok applicant, after all. I went to a prestigious, progressive college. I have management and organizing skills. I'm comfortable speaking in front of a group. I've worked on a few campaigns. I'm knowledgeable about the campaign and passionate about the issues. Oh, and right, I sometimes work as a fundraising consultant. Maybe they might be interested in me. But probably, there was a list a mile long of people who wanted to do this.

So, about a week later, I got a call, and I had an interview, and long story short, they asked me to come that very weekend to do the training. And I said "OK."

So, this weekend, I went to Camp Obama and became an offical deputy field organizer. I'll write more about Camp Obama later. I have some things to tell you about that, believe you me.

In the meantime, I want to tell you, officially, that I have joined the movement. There's no turning back now, people. I'm putting it all on hold to work for Barack Obama full time, starting October 1st. They will probably place me somewhere in Pennsylvania. This is all 100% volunteer -- they don't house me, pay me, or re-imburse my expenses. It's all on my own dime.

I haven't felt so focused in a long time.

I'm planning on keeping this blog to share information and stories about the adventure. I've never done this kind of thing before, but the response to the road trip missives was so positive, I thought I'd try something a little more structured this time. I hope you'll let me know what you think.

Oh, it's on, people.

Yes. Yes we can.