Yesterday was a damned long day.
Started off at around noon when I went for lunch with Chris, Steve and Damo at the Harvester. I didn't manage to eat that much as I was somewhat hungover from my early morning drinking antics in the pub much earlier in the morning.
It was also Union Elections vote counting day. I'd offered to be an independant witness of one the count for Societies Officer, mainly to see why the hell it takes so long for results to come out! Basically, I was on call all day, sat waiting for the phone call to say we're about the start the count... was sitting around scared to start anything incase they called me in.
At about 7pm I got a call saying we'll be starting at 9pm... cool...
Went in at 7.30pm to sit with the candidates and stuff, thought I might as well wait in the building! Eventually some results came out. For the uncontested positions... which had been counted in the morning...
At about 9pm we decided to go into Beeston for some pizza...
And at about midnight I got a phone call saying that they were ready...
After a brief introduction of what I could and could not do, the count started... "ah ha... this is why it takes damn ages", I realised.
I was called over to the computer to see how they got the results for the online votes... well round one was pretty damn easy and took all of 5 minutes... when realising that the person I was supporting had come 4th I asked how fair a representation of the final result this online first round was. Not trying to give too much away I was told pretty good. Bugger. So, it's like quarted past midnight and I've got to stay until the final vote has been done...
I was somewhat disheartened, but hoped inside that the paper ballot would be cooler.
At 2.30am my candidate person was being eliminated, and her votes being redistubuted to the remaining people and I wanted to go into a corner, curl up into a ball and hide. I found it all rather saddening. Especailly knowing that the candidate and supporters were probably still sat downstairs, none the wiser to the result, waiting.
I considered hiding under a table and sending a text to let them know, having nothing to loose for anyone, but decided against it. I didn't know what to do though. A large part of me wanted to dissappear after the count and let other people who are now more qualified deal with any :-(. There was another part of me that wanted to go downstairs at the end and hug everybody and cry.
I know it sounds somewhat odd that this is what I felt like doing I know, but it was my empathic side coming out.
Come 3am, much time was spent looking for a single missing vote on the final round... (who cares?!). Eventually it was found... it was a spoil and even if it was a vote for the two people in the race it wouldn't have made a difference. The irony was that although the first and second rounds were quick on the online votes, the paper votes took about a quarter of the time for the final rounds! Crazy. That said the results we being doing on a very rudimentary fashion on the computer - really needed a nice program - I could have probably written one in the time it took to do the final round!
It was now 3.30am and I'd decided I would go downstairs and not vanish, but would try like mad to resist all urges I had to just run in and give my candidate w massive hug and say 'sorry' lots. Results were told to the candidates and we left to go home...
...well when I say home... I'd been invited to two parties which I'd not being able to attend... mainly because the count started a midnight... one party was in Warwick, and the other one was a leaving party for the landlord and landlady in the pub... which still happened to be going on... so I arrived the party at 4.30am... lol. Didn't leave until 6.15am - argh daylight!
*Hugs all around*