I Voted

I've always taken my kids! Now that they are in middle school and can't go with me (time conflicts), they are very disappointed.

BTW - here we use paper ballots and sharpies to color in little circles. Always feels like voting is a test! The way you tell if you passed or not is if your candidate wins!

I've always taken my kids! Now that they are in middle school and can't go with me (time conflicts), they are very disappointed.

BTW - here we use paper ballots and sharpies to color in little circles. Always feels like voting is a test! The way you tell if you passed or not is if your candidate wins!

I've always taken my kids! Now that they are in middle school and can't go with me (time conflicts), they are very disappointed.

BTW - here we use paper ballots and sharpies to color in little circles. Always feels like voting is a test! The way you tell if you passed or not is if your candidate wins!

school and

I agree, Bruce, but in the US, there are often many, many positions being voted on at the same time (someone from the US correct me if I'm wrong), such as judges, district attorneys, county commissioners, etc, etc. Just as an example, here is the Delaware site for elected officials.

old joke about being elected dog catcher is not far off the truth. It becomes almost impossible to have a simple paper ballot. You can vote individually for a person regardless of party, or you can vote party.

Next Monday in Ontario, we have municipal elections and there is little party politics involved (although you generally know which way a candidate leans), while in the US, candidates at this level are also identified by party-politics. We'll vote for a Mayor, a local councillor and a school-board rep. Not hard to fill in a paper ballot with only three to choose.

MargW

There is an option to vote straight down party lines here. You have to vote for each person individually. While judges and justices have party affiliations, those are not shown on the ballot here so you have to try to remember all those names or take a cheat sheet. There is also no indication on the ballot of who is the incumbent (if there is one). I know that is not the case everywhere since that was marked on the ballots when I voted in Iowa--although I suppose they might have done away with it since I moved.

I did my good deed for the day and found our new friends who are moving about 3 miles from us. Brought them 2 kinds of mini-muffins, apple cider, fresh fruit and a plant.

I didn't get to the Scarlet Thread until around 4:30 yesterday so I didn't have a ton of time for stashing. Was looking for fibers for a design by Michelle Ink called "Visions." Found some of what I was looking for, but not all. Did get a skein of Six Strand Sweets and a bookkeeper book mark for wearing my I Voted sticker.

D> And it's not off-topic 'cause if I go to the Scarlet Thread while

Making me so jeolous. Seems like now that I work and have more money that is "mine" rather than always spending "his" (seriously, that was an argument we had once when I dared to spend a whole $80 stashing), I have no time to actually go have S.E.X.!

sigh

Caryn

Congrats - we got home so late that I couldn't even get my first Tuesday 20% off at Beauty First, or hit Scarlet Thread.

ellice

I don't know. I will say - the optical scanner with the paper ballots seemed to work really well. We had "18" spoiled ballots - 17 of them because people didn't bubble in the circles - but wrote stuff, or double

-voted - or put crosses over things. 1 was the person jammed it, had double voted on 1, and then walked away when the scanner rejected it. IF they're over votes (not properly readable) the scanner spits it back, then the election official standing by notifies the chied, who "spoils" the ballot, and the voter gets a new ballot to vote with. Went pretty well, and leaves us with a nice paper trail if needed. The ballots drop into a lock box as they go thru the scanner.

ellice

Sounds like fun. We were a bit busy around opening. But, very busy between

6:30 and 8 am. Then it slowed a bit, then steady busy with a lull at lunchtime - surprising. But, slammed again around 1:30, and then from 5 - 7, plus it was raining. We were just thrilled that the dep chief (my partner) got her DH to do a Starbucks run for us. Poll workers can't leave and return - so we were desperate (we'd brougnt in some sodas, and all of us had some sandwhichs, but it was a quick run, wolf down, and then back to work). When her DH came in with the big tray of caffeine - yummy - there was a big sigh. My DH was overseeing the touch-screen booth, and there were about 15 people in the queue - so I brought his Vente SFVanilla Latte over - and he was doing the big thank you wave - the voters all laughing over the pollworkers getting so excited about caffeine. Of course, about 30 min earlier, I'd almost grabbed the drink from a voter checking in - it smelled so good - and, well, we'd been there almost 12 hours.

My other fun - going around telling people to turn off their cell-phones, etc - not just the ringer. Big signs all over before you enter, as you enter, but...this is the DC area.

ellice

You're a good person. That was nice of you, and I'm sure they appreciated it.

Hmmm - y'know we could do an outing to Stitchin' Pretty - and get threads from Michelle herself.

ellice

Just to make you feel better - I heard that Stitches East wasn't very good. The wife of one of DH's long time buddies is a yarn company rep. She was up there, and post- CAPS game on Friday we were chatting about it. Said it was disappointing. She even paid to take a full day class (from a designer that her company reps, but she wanted to do the class). Evidently, 2 ladies in the sold out class - had some fit at the end of the day about a "yarn company rep" being allowed to take a class that was for the public. My friend paid her $125 for the class, and of course these women waited until

20 min before the end of class to demand a refund.

So, I don't want you to feel too bad about missed Stash opportunities, especially with Kitty Pharoah issues going on.

ellice

I love Stitching Pretty and go down there at least twice a year for stitch-ins etc. A group of us in NYC send pieces down to the Montpelier show, then go down and see them and take them back the last weekend. We also go down to see the Woodlawn Plantation show. Michelle and Gail are so nice!

Alison

Loved reading about your poll working time.

Especially love that you had this job with the cellphones. I'm surprised I didn't see any crackberry addicts when I went in to vote.

If I go to one more social function around here and see one more person using one of these in the midst of socializing, I may lose it. If you have some work that is so pressing that you can't be without your little e-mail machine, maybe you shouldn't be at the party to begin with. At least step away from the group, instead of disrespecting the people you are with. I'm sick of this "I'm so important and what I do is so important" attitude.

But I digress! Thanks for being a hard-working polling place worker, Ellice!

Donna in Virginia

They are nice, and very fun. When I was working at the shop, we went up to do some judging for Montpelier one year. And had the boutique there.

You'll have to let us local know next time you're heading down.

ellice

There were a few. It's the people with their bluetooth thing stuck in their ear like a Star Trek convention "can't I just turn off the ringer?" . But only a couple of people argued.

Remember, at all social events in the DC area, the main, common topic of conversation is "how did you get here, i.e. Traffic" . Then, well, it's the who do you know - at least it's not money. When we go to social things in South Fl there is much more of the money talk.

We are totally rough on people with their crackberries and phones at the CAPS games - make fun of them mercilessly. At social things, if I'm talking with someone, and they pull out the crackberry, I just usually make some remark about being sorry for boring them. Or we ask if they've got a patient waiting for iminent neurosurgery, or got the football (reference to the locked case with the missile codes). We're bad - and will make remarks about it - there is no excuse short of those couple of things - that you must be stuck to your communication device. And if you must be, then just friggin' go to work. Because the rest of us just don't need you to tell us how important you are.

You're welcome - and it was fun, and interesting. Though tiring by the time we got home. And now, we both stayed home yesterday not feeling well. I've finally caught the fall flu/cold thing - and am achy, stuffy, feverish, and somewhat useless. But, I'll go drink some more disgusting Tylenol Severe Cold/Flu. I just have more sewing to do for my last "design" class tonight. And there's no milk in the house for my tea so I'll have to go to the store (which is very close, but I will actually have to leave the house, and I don't think the jammies and robe will do)

ellice

"Donna" ,in rec.crafts.textiles.needleworkwrote: and entertained us with

Sometimes blackberries and or a blue tooth are methods that save or save time.

My younger daughter takes her blackberry everywhere and it saves her many trips to and from her office to the docks, it was also invaluable for one Captain to be able to reach her on a Sunday reporting they were approaching Halifax harbour reaches and had a very sick sailor on board, please arrange for an ambulance.

My son might be ashore with blue tooth in his ear in order that he can repair to the boat immediately to go to sea to rescue a fisherman, a yachtsman, yes even American ones who have lost their way from New England.

One should not rush to judgment as to why people have blackberries or wear a blue tooth.