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by amoergosum on 11/04/2008 05:15:38 AM EST

Chris and I just cast our votes at 6:30 am. There was about a 20 minute wait first thing in the morning. The people working there said this was the first time they've ever seen a line this early;)

I'm starting to fear that nationwide the lines will either be too long and/or places will run out of ballots (machines will break down). 1 out of our 5 machines was already broken.

y

by chrisandyasemin on 11/04/2008 07:04:16 AM EST

in Northern NY-very rural area. We had a choice of the (newfangled) scanner, which we were told would take 15 minutes each, or the flip-switch dinosaur. Chose the latter. Felt, as I pulled the lever, that I was part of history. John McSame  had no chance this year. He was not only up against a historic candidate, but he was saddled with the Bush legacy. Poor sombiotch. Will LOVE reading of everybody's experiences. Gobama!!

by tifosies on 11/04/2008 07:26:35 AM EST

So, yeah, I found out that Ken was partially correct - my local library HAS been reopened with limited hours. It took me a few days to gear myself up for going - I've had other stressors...

Qwest went ahead and charged me for Internet (auto-pay) and overdrew my checking account, so I had to take two steps back on the credit card to cover the $33 overdraft fee (which, after some insistence, Qwest applied to my phone bill - I won't have to make a phone payment for at least 4 mos.)

My fifteen year old feline friend, Pepper, was deathly ill - I thought sure she was a goner after not eating or drinking anything for two days. Normally a very trim cat, she was a bag of bones - couldn't have weighed more than two pounds...but the next morning she slurped a little "gravy" from a cat food can and from there she's back to her old ways - except her back legs haven't regained their muscle tone. I still have her for awhile longer - what more could anyone ask?

But, I started this with the library...I went the entire (almost) month without hearing, seeing, reading any news stories. I was shown briefly on the local FOX station as I submitted my ballot the day after we could and they were filming  - so I said something ridiculous like "I've known I was going to vote for Obama by February, why wait to vote?" and was told by a couple people they saw me.

ANYWAY, I took an extra Klonnie and braved the new world. Had to pay a 90 cent fine from 2003 before I could get a new card, but I soon was up on the second floor, all the way down (as far from a 'help desk' as they could put them). sat down in front of one of the four open machines and - nuttin'. Seems you have to reserve them - which I found out by going to the help desk (by now, my hips are starting to resent poor floor planning...). Yes, you must reserve. I pressed the button for the next available...in one hour. So I went and got some coffee, smoked a cigarette, wasted a whole bunch of time to help the time pass, then went back in to wait. I now only had 50 minutes...sigh...

Finally, it's my turn, and THEN I find out that some machines are "filtered" and you have to tell the information person at the other end of the building when you make your reservation. Probably the sort of information I would impart to a person I knew to be a first timer.

Twice - TWICE! -  I had typed pretty much the above to update my Turkee friends and POOF! the browser closes and everything lost. I use my Freedom of Speech after the second one - "What The FUCK?? Not again! This is BULLSHIT." One of the info people had made the trek to this end of the building to help someone else who had the same problem. He offered assistance, said "No no - I'm done for the day. If it happened again, I'd be paying for a computer."

I'm not saying anything, I'm just sayin'...there was a early-twenties computer geeky looking guy at our table who had a very odd smirk - reminded me of the kind I used to wear when I pulled a really funny ha ha practical joke on someone without them knowing it. (This abominable behavior of my youth is the main reason I hope there is no Hell because I admit, I deserve to suffer as does anyone who thinks practical jokes are a high form of humor. Poor misguided junior Sadists...)

So when I got home, I found the cheapest dial-up service I could find, jumped into the wayback machine when 56K was state of the art, and am writing this in complete premature celebration of Obama's 48 state victory!

Too bad dial-up SUCKS for actually watching the show - this will be my first missed TYT coverage in 4 years...

So, I'm around, and slower than ever.

by MedfordTim on 11/04/2008 01:12:35 PM EST