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Election Day
Nov. 2nd, 2004 12:45 pmI had a horrible bout of insomnia last night... absolutely couldn't get my brain to shut up (I hate it when that happens). I probably should have just followed my standard procedure and gotten up to do something, anything. Finally managed to fall asleep around 4:30 and woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 7:30. Still not tired, either... very weird. I guess I really didn't need the sleep.
It's raining cats and dogs here, like much of the rest of the country, apparently. The first thing I noticed when I looked outside this morning was that our empty trashcan and our neighbor's empty trashcan were floating around the gutter in front of our house, in the huge lake that was forming due to a clogged grating. So, I rolled up my sweatpants, tossed on an overcoat, grabbed the pushbroom, and waded out into the deluge.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rackham joined me a few minutes later with the rake and we were able to make quick work of the water stoppage, but oh, was it COLD!!!!
I'd been planning on walking to our polling place as I had in the primary election, but by the time I was ready to go, I only had an hour before I had to be down at Chicago Title to sign the papers on our mortgage refinance (Yay! New Kitchen!!), and besides which -- wet and cold!! It turned out to be a really good thing I drove, because I got down there and realized I'd left my printed out voting guide at home (it makes things much faster and easier, especially when there are a ton of referendums and initiatives on the ballot, to work everything out ahead of time and just vote off that). So, back to the house, grab the stuff, raid the piggy bank because I've realized I only have a dollar in my wallet, and head back down to the school... There were so many cars, I wound up having to park a block or so away, so I got a little bit of walking in today, at least.
The place was really hopping and, for the first time ever, I had to wait for a kiosk. We have the "fill in the bubble" type ballots... though we use ballpoint pens, which I find a little freaky (it should be No. 2 pencils, dammit!), and a lot of extra local things to vote on, so it was taking everyone a long time to fill them out (I suspect that added to the crowded conditions, actually). Saw a whole bunch of familiar faces, chatted a bit with the poll workers, and after having my ballot sucked in by a machine that looks vaguely like a giant shredder (it's not, but it really does suck in the ballots) I hit the bake sale.
YES!! That was my biggest complaint about the primary election this year... no baked goods! There was some great stuff, and the table was being run by one of my neighbors and another lady I know from a bit further down the street. We got to gab for a bit while I perused the goodies, finally ending up with a caramel pecan brownie (which I've judged too sweet to eat, alas), some pumpkin bread with lemon sauce that I haven't had a chance to try yet, and a really nice loaf of bread (convenient, since we just ran out last night).
All in all, not a bad way to start a day.
ETA: D'oh! I had it pointed out to me by a friend that, duh, you wouldn't want to use a pencil when voting because it could be erased. Which I knew. Really. Still, it feels wrong to color in little bubbles with a pen.
It's raining cats and dogs here, like much of the rest of the country, apparently. The first thing I noticed when I looked outside this morning was that our empty trashcan and our neighbor's empty trashcan were floating around the gutter in front of our house, in the huge lake that was forming due to a clogged grating. So, I rolled up my sweatpants, tossed on an overcoat, grabbed the pushbroom, and waded out into the deluge.
rackham joined me a few minutes later with the rake and we were able to make quick work of the water stoppage, but oh, was it COLD!!!!I'd been planning on walking to our polling place as I had in the primary election, but by the time I was ready to go, I only had an hour before I had to be down at Chicago Title to sign the papers on our mortgage refinance (Yay! New Kitchen!!), and besides which -- wet and cold!! It turned out to be a really good thing I drove, because I got down there and realized I'd left my printed out voting guide at home (it makes things much faster and easier, especially when there are a ton of referendums and initiatives on the ballot, to work everything out ahead of time and just vote off that). So, back to the house, grab the stuff, raid the piggy bank because I've realized I only have a dollar in my wallet, and head back down to the school... There were so many cars, I wound up having to park a block or so away, so I got a little bit of walking in today, at least.
The place was really hopping and, for the first time ever, I had to wait for a kiosk. We have the "fill in the bubble" type ballots... though we use ballpoint pens, which I find a little freaky (it should be No. 2 pencils, dammit!), and a lot of extra local things to vote on, so it was taking everyone a long time to fill them out (I suspect that added to the crowded conditions, actually). Saw a whole bunch of familiar faces, chatted a bit with the poll workers, and after having my ballot sucked in by a machine that looks vaguely like a giant shredder (it's not, but it really does suck in the ballots) I hit the bake sale.
YES!! That was my biggest complaint about the primary election this year... no baked goods! There was some great stuff, and the table was being run by one of my neighbors and another lady I know from a bit further down the street. We got to gab for a bit while I perused the goodies, finally ending up with a caramel pecan brownie (which I've judged too sweet to eat, alas), some pumpkin bread with lemon sauce that I haven't had a chance to try yet, and a really nice loaf of bread (convenient, since we just ran out last night).
All in all, not a bad way to start a day.
ETA: D'oh! I had it pointed out to me by a friend that, duh, you wouldn't want to use a pencil when voting because it could be erased. Which I knew. Really. Still, it feels wrong to color in little bubbles with a pen.
