12 April 2009

Pounding the pavement (for the US Census Bureau)

Tomorrow I start my third week of work as an enumerator with the US Census Bureau, for which I will be working temporarily until late May. I went through training my first week, going on my first canvass of residences the Friday afternoon of that week. Last week was my first full week of neighborhood canvassing. Got quite a few residences confirmed according to the address lists loaded onto my government-issued hand held computer (HHC). I added residences not on the canvass block and subtracted those on the list I did not find on the ground.
Snow showers early on Monday and rain late last week but a crimp into my canvass efforts, so I didn't work the maximum 40 hours I could. Still, I'm not complaining about the hours, and the pay. (Not to mention the exercise I'm getting when I'm out walking door-to-door.)
Easter was fine. I refereed two men's soccer games this morning. They were ok, no great play but no real problems (apart from a soggy ground, which made footing difficult for players and referees alike at times). Then it was home for dinner with my parents, and stayed home to follow several events at once: Cardinals game (they won, again), Blues game (they won, again), the Masters, and word about the freeing of the US merchant ship captain from his Somali pirate captors.
Hopefully, the new week will bring more to write about soon. Talk to you then.