I�m not feeling all that well today. I�m not sure if it�s because I spent the evening at Nana Bear�s house (she�s got cats, which make me sniffle and breathe poorly after any length of exposure) or because I�m catching one of those fall colds I�m so famous for. I really hope it�s the former. If it�s an allergy thing, it�ll pass within a day or so. I went to bed early and slept a little late, then went out this morning to the polls.

Ah, yes! Election day! The day which changes the face of our fair (?) city. Today we elect a new mayor, a new council� and today�s events will shape the very countryside. One of the key issues is whether or not a new highway will be built through a part of our town that has long been home to a beautiful creek and woods� are roads and development of that part of the city more important things than protecting our air quality and our environment. Who we choose to represent us today will play a large part in whether or not the expressway goes through. Interesting stuff, no?

When I got to the polls, I had to wait in line for ages behind this old lady who couldn�t seem to grasp the concept of filling in the oval on the ballot. The elections officer had to explain it to her several times� I was close to snapping. Just fill in the oval next to the name of the person you want to vote for! How hard is that?

Then it was my turn� and I wasn�t on the voter�s list! Damn. That meant filling out these forms in order to get on the list. Meant getting in line again to get the forms. Then the fringe on my pants fascinated the guy in front of me so much that he just had to get into a speech about how great the return of bell-bottoms was, and stall everything. The woman at the desk reminded me of Selma from The Simpsons. She rudely told him to stop staring at my pants and get on with things. Then she told me I was distracting. Then I filled out the forms, got myself added to the voter�s list, and got in line again to go get my ballot. Then I took it to the folding table with cardboard booths on it, voted, and handed in my ballot to the secret electronic ballot counting machine. Whoohoo! Our city is pretty budget. My brother had a nicer cardboard screen when we used to play Dungeons and Dragons as kids.