Voting Time

My election ballot arrived a few minutes ago.  It's September 22. The little note inside tells me it has to be received by October 14th so I will be able to vote in time for the election. I'm amazed by how many pieces of paper came out of that envelope though. My ballot is that tiny piece of newsprint with the parliament buildings on it, it goes into three envelopes which are printed on the other side with my declarations of honesty. That legal size sheet is a two sided document on how to put things in envelopes and the small purple paper is the election deadline. I think each piece was designed in a different decade by a separate department. I think a design project is brewing.

It's 27 degrees celsius right now and I'm off to the library to get very cold. 

Election Madness

Since we arrived in the states last October we've been inundated with election coverage with things called 'primaries' and endless personal attacks. It's like an episode of a celebrity gossip show that never shuts up. I've become used to every newspaper and magazine front page either being Obama or McCain. 

What really shocked me aside from the total and utter saturation was how people just walk up to you and ask who you're voting for. I can't order an sandwich without dodging a bullet. I never know what to say, often saying I'm not American is met with a shocked "OMG the aliens, they're all around us" look. If they aren't in a total state of shock about my being white and not american they ask "well what do you think of Obama?" Sometimes sandwiches take a LONG TIME. If we get on the topic of Canadian politics I am often asked how it works in a country with a Queen?

Usually I'm proud to tell people that we don't oggle over our candidates before elections the way they do here and suffer very little of the media hoopla. I describe our little elections as laid back and low budget compared to real TV like Hockey Night in Canada or Corner Gas.

 

A few days ago my CBC dashboard widget flashed a news item of particular interest to me. CANADA CALLS AN ELECTION. The election is October 14th. Of this year. I know, really that seems like it's in a few weeks because it is! I immediately googled Canadian absentee ballots and could find nothing. Ironic. 

It took me ages but I finally found the absentee ballot order form. We printed them out and sent them in and now we wait and hope we get to vote before the election happens. Our deadline is Oct 7th! 

This is me, in a touque not a beanie signing off.

September begins

Summer is still here in Fairfax despite the fact that all the kids went back to school a week ago (they go back a week earlier here). A quiet has descended on the neighbourhoods which doesn't match the soaring temperatures and clear blue skies. Thankfully the weather has been kind and most days have been under 40 degrees. On the hot ones I spend the afternoons in the air conditioned library or drive into San Francisco where there is usually a 20 degree drop just before the Golden Gate Bridge.

My semester doesn't begin until the 9th so I have a few more days to pull together my supplies before the storm. Because of the randomness of my transferred credits I have two semesters ahead of me of tough classes that aren't really supposed to be taken concurrently. The good news is I can graduate with an Associate degree in the Spring and begin to look for work here. The end is near!

In other news, Joel had a 4th and a 5th place finish in his last two races. Both were fields of 50 riders and Joel with his small break-away group were able to lose the Peloton miles behind them.

I got back on the ice a week ago after a one year hiatus - the longest break since I could walk. It did all start to come back to me and I can begin to plan a few sessions throughout the fall to get back into skating a bit more. I don't know exactly what I want to do with it at the moment but it sure feels great to be back.