New. Digital. Now. Field Notes Vol. 1
While Geordan is in D.C. crunching focus group numbers, I’m out in the field knocking doors and organizing for local Democrats! My Field Notes are snapshots of the many experiences inside and outside the work we do that make our lives as activists so vibrant. Our Field Notes start on Tuesday and end on Monday. Why? In Field Organizing we do our work weeks Tuesday-Monday because Election Day is on Tuesday. (Clever, right!)
Field CorrespondentName: Shayna Jaskolka
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Job description: Executive Director, New. Digital. Now.
Social media handles: @shaynajaskolka
One word to describe your week: Productive
A Week in My Life
Tuesday 8/6/24

This was a typical Tuesday for me. I have a few meetings in the morning for New. Digital. Now. with Geordan to check in on the focus group numbers and a few meetings with the campaigns I do field work for. We have some great volunteer events on the books and I did some volunteer recruitment for some door-knocking events we have coming up. It was also such a nice day out so I took a nice walk through my neighborhood in the afternoon (and I most definitely stopped for a sweet treat at one of the local coffee shops near me!)
Wednesday 8/7/24

My Wednesday was SUPER busy this week. I spent most of the day up in the North Suburbs of Chicago. I had an orthodontist appointment (it actually wasn’t too bad), then I had an in-person meeting at Starbucks to train an intern on how to use Votebuilder, the software campaigns use for field organizing and data targeting. I finally ended the night with a great fundraiser for a few of the candidates I work with at a really great pizza joint. In between all of my events, I was at my boyfriend’s parent’s house, and they made me lots of snacks from their backyard garden! The standout dish was the garden’s caprese salad bites with tomatoes and basil.
Thursday 8/8/24 and Friday 8/9/24

I was off the grid! I was camping on a beautiful prairie reserve in rural Wisconsin for a small music festival my boyfriend was performing at. I had two wonderful days of playing music with people and learning new songs. I play guitar and am learning to sing, so this small festival with lots of people I knew was a great place to practice all my skills. I also got to catch part of the meteor shower on Friday night since it was so dark and there was no light pollution. It was a nice reset before campaign season kicks into high gear.
Saturday 8/10/24

My boyfriend, Steven, and his band performed at the festival! The stage was out in the middle of the prairie under all of the White Oak trees. Their set was really good, the band is so talented. They play bluegrass, folk music, and a lot of fiddle tunes. This photo was taken while the band sang the song “Crooked Tree” (under crooked trees! I thought it was quite clever). After the performance, we had a long drive home accompanied by lots of McDonald’s french fries. We didn’t sleep very well at the festival, so we had a good night’s sleep on Saturday.
Sunday 8/11/24

Feeling nice and well-rested, I marched in a parade with my candidate Eric Rinehart! He is a progressive Democrat running for reelection for Lake County State’s Attorney in Illinois. We handed out lots of candy to little kids, talked to so many voters who cheered as Eric walked by them, and ended the parade with some awesome Filipino food at the parade festival. I also wanted to give a special thank you to the intern volunteers who helped us carry our banner for the parade! It was a hot day and a long, slow route.
Monday 8/12/24

Monday is cleaning day for me! I usually sleep in on Mondays because it’s my one light day. I went to go check on my friend’s apartment down the street, he’s been out of town for the last month. His washer and dryer are also way better and faster than the ones in my building, so I did my laundry there too. Pro-Tip, get a wagon that folds up to transport your laundry if you live in a big city. The wagon is also of great use in political campaigns. After the laundry was done, I went back to my house, cleaned up the second bedroom, and got it ready for my best friend to come and stay with us for the Democratic National Convention next week in Chicago.
From the Wild:
What’s your current beverage of choice?
A nice, cold lemon spindrift sparkling water.
What would your animal companion be if you were a cartoon character?
A little yellow duck.
What do you never leave home without?
My emotional support water bottle and my phone.