Karen Foley
Lynn Raye Harris
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Jeannie Watt
Welcome Guest Blogger Michele Hauf!
Submitted by MicheleHauf on Tue, 2008-11-04 13:11.
Waiting In Line?
I have a sneaking suspicion a good majority of us will find ourselves standing in a line today. I'll cross my fingers for you all that it's a short line, but it could stretch out for a while, so be prepared! Below are just a few suggestions for things to do while waiting to vote.
1) Bring along your iPod. You can't go wrong with a a few Britney Spears' booty shaking tunes. Just be cautious you don't shake yours into the guy standing behind you. (If he's cute, all warnings are void.)
2) Talk to the people around you. If you're a chatty type. I personally am horrified by striking up a conversation with a stranger, and most especially with said cute stranger in previous tip.
3) Bring along a notepad and make lists. Grocery list, cleaning list, things you want to do before you die list, shit list (go ahead; I won't tell anyone), who is taking the longest time in the voting booth and must die list.
4) Tweeze your brows. Hey, it's gotta get done sometime.
5) Eat lunch. Try not to drip mayo on the floor or cute guy behind you will slip and then all the booty shaking in the world will never make it up to him.
6) Listen to an audiobook; read an eBook.
7) Read the mail you've collected over the past week, which includes half a ton of campaign fliers. (You did recycle those, I hope.) Celebrate the fact your mailbox will be empty on Wednesday.
8) Update your cell phone numbers (delete that ex-boyfriend; come on, you can do it!), make sure to add an ICE number (In Case Of Emergency number; usually your home or close relative)
9) Do kegels. Hey, those have gotta be done too. We're not getting any younger.
10) Make up stories for the people in line. Give them histories, futures, plots and love lives. Start with the cute guy behind you. If you shared your lunch with him, you can certainly make him the hero in your voting line story.
Everyone get out and VOTE! And if you need a good book to read while standing in line, I'd like to suggest my latest, which features Jack Frost as an assassin who is looking for some warmth and love in "A Kiss Of Frost" featured in Winter Kissed, in bookstores now!
So what other suggestions do you have for standing in line? Have you returned from voting? How long was your wait, and did you hook up with the cute guy behind you?
Michele
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Already did my civic duty...
and lucky me, I buzzed right in and out at the polls. Wouldn't have mattered if I had to stand in line all day, though. Elections like this don't come along too often. ;)
Winter Kissed looks amazing, Michele! I won 2 Nocturnes from you on Cigars last fall (and a gorgeous book thong I use in all my books) so I know I love the way you write! :D
Now if only there had been a cute guy at my polling place... *sigh*
Cari
http://cariquinn.blogspot.com/
Hey, Cari, good to see you
Hey, Cari, good to see you here!
I just got back from voting too. I went armed with my Kindle, prepared to wait. No lines, but oddly, I was the youngest one there. Lots of geriatrics. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm just sayin', because that ruled out cute guys for me too.) The first time I tried to put my ballot in the machine it spit it back out at me. Aggh! But the second try worked like a charm.
when we had our election
here in Canada the lines weren't very long. I worked one of the poll stations and we tried to get people through quickly. (unless it was the cute guy LOL)
Vote By Mail
That's what I did. Of course, it did rule out all cute guys except the ones that live at home (my DH and DS)!
ani
Hi Michele!! Love your
Hi Michele!! Love your suggestions, although your list looks suspiciously like the things I do when I have to sit through long meetings or briefings, LOL! Especially Item 10! This is especially fun to do if there are hunky military types in attendance. I, of course, always get the role of heroine (unless there are no hunky military types).
I love the cover of Winter Kissed. It's gorgeous!
I'm hoping to get through the voting lines quickly, since I live in a tiny little town and most of the people in line with me are a)former classmates, b)really old parents of former classmates, or c) the offspring of former classmates, which makes me feel really old, LOL!
Fun post! Thanks for the smiles!
In Line
Well, we headed out to vote and my dh kept telling me to settle down. No one should be "that happy" about voting, but I was. And the line wasn't long at all. It was at my kids' grade-school, so there was a lot of chatting in line. The other moms working the bakesale were all excited because my PTA Mom books are out now, and they know where I got the inspiration! LOL
Then my dh took me out to lunch...no cooking, talking about books, and voting...life is good!!
Holly
www.HollyJacobs.com
ONCE UPON A THANKSGIVING, Harlequin American Romance, 10/08
ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS, Harlequin American Romance, 12/08
EVERYTHING BUT A WEDDING, 12/08
Sorry so late to weigh in!
Welcome Michele! Glad to have you here and the book looks great! -- I try to get the welcome in first, but I wanted to wait until I went to vote. Mike and I are all voted up, though he had to do a write-in since for some reason they didn't have him in the book. But, it's done, and I am really excited to see the results (I hope!).
There were lines forming right as we finished, but no cute guys, though I was very happy to see a few young people who volunteered as election officials and helpers. I'm going to do that next time. I really love the vote, and want to be more involved.
I don't mind standing in line at the grocery store, gives me a chance to see if magazines are worth the cover price (or just read what I want to look at), but otherwise, I am a very impatient line person. I would have stood there all day today, though, if I had to.
Sam
Voted!!!
We got there right as the place was opening, at 730. It took an HOUR! The line wasn't the longest you've ever seen, but the people running it sure managed to make it as difficult as you've ever seen. I was ready to strangle folks by the time I got out.
There WAS a really hot guy behind me, I must say, with the most amazing African accent. Truly beautiful and very kind. But it's hard to flirt with your husband, a duo-stroller with unhappy toddlers, a ten year old, while standing in the rain. Still...could write a few tomes on the hotness of THAT guy!
An hour plus wait for me...
I'm in Indiana, and it's just so weird for our state, which is usually one of those forgotten "I" states that no one can remember "somewhere in the middle" to be important this election. All the other times I've voted, there's been like five people in front of me, mostly some of my elderly neighbors. This time, I lost count after 130. It was INCREDIBLE, but exciting too.
Thankfully, I brought along a good book (PJ Parrish's ISLAND OF BONES) so I had that to read, plus my Blackberry, so I could answer e-mail and multi-task. Didn't think of the Kegels or eyebrow tweezing, LOL.
I was amazed, though, to overhear one couple in the coffeeshop this morning who were still undecided, going over a campaign brochure that listed each candidate's positions, and then a woman behind me in the voting line who also said she was still undecided, even when she was one person away from the voting booth. So I guess all those statistics about the number of undecideds were true, at least in my very unofficial eavesdropping poll, LOL.
Shirley
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
Easy and delicious recipes at: www.shirleyjump.blogspot.com
In Stores Now: CHRISTMAS WEDDINGS
www.shirleyjump.com
I honestly don't get it
I really don't know how anyone could be undecided at this point... these candidates are oil and water, policy-wise, and if you know what your own wants/needs/desires are, then it would seem to direct you one way or the other. It took me until the second debate to make up my mind, but I did. I can only figure folks who are truly undecided didn't get all the information early, I guess...
Sam
I admit that I usually avoid
I admit that I usually avoid political discussions, but I have to jump in here to comment on Sam's comment that she doesn't get how people could be undecided. (And Sam, I'm not trying to jump on you, just using your comments as my springboard!)
I can totally see how people can be undecided, for a number of reasons. Yes, the policies of the candidates are very different. However, BOTH are proposing things that are entirely unconstitutional. Most US citizens don't know enough about the constitution or what authorizations and limitations the government is supposed to have, so they don't even know the atrocious promises the candidates are making. How can I bring myself to vote for either when I know that I can't support this country giving up more rights and control to the government? If you look deep, both have proposals that will do just that. I do have the information, which makes it that much harder to pick one. Our forefathers warned us against certain policies because it would lead to a two party system and inherent problems therein. Guess where we are today? We have effectively ignored the warnings and arrived at a two party system just like they forewarned. So, do I vote for who I really think will follow the documents our country supposedly believes in? Or should I pick the lesser of the evils that have been stuck out in front? Do I follow my heart or do I play the game?
And for those who will ask: Yes, I voted.
Okay, end rant. Thanks for 'listening'.
I can completely see how a
I can completely see how a person could be paralyzed by too much information. That's a good point that actually no one had mentioned in the discussions I saw. Most people were bouncing back and forth like our two candidates were too close to make a decision.
I also don't agree, however, that we only have two evils to choose from -- just two perspectives, and two very different men. However, if neither of those perspectives is yours, anyone can do a write-in vote, right (or is that state controlled?)? Everyone has the right to vote for whom they want? Even if they aren't officially on the ballot? So, there are options, which is the fundamental point. Your write-in will count even if it doesn't win, but it is a way out of your dilemma. :) Ralph Nader was also on the ballot, so there are options.
Sam
Exactly!
:-)
And it is my understanding that every ballot nation-wide is supposed to have a write-in option. This year, Colorado's did not have it for Presidential voting. This actually made me angry enough to start looking into it to find out!! I haven't confirmed anything yet (between computer problems and trying to get our household goods actually delivered to the new house!!) but I have been spurred to action to learn more. Which isn't a bad thing, I don't think!
Thanks for the discussion. :-)
Cathy
I love that everyone is
I love that everyone is getting out to vote and having a great time with it. I too, am just uber-excited about this whole election!
Now this is what I wonder... There's always some things to vote on that I haven't a clue about. LIke the whole back page of our ballot was judges. So I look at the ones that have two or more running and then don't vote on any, because I don't know who they are. But the ones with just one running, I always fill in their little oval.
Do you all leave some stuff blank? Do you ever vote on people you don't have a clue about?
I fall back on party
I try to have a plan for local elections, etc when I go in, but if there are names or propositions, etc I didn't expect, I'll tend to fall back on party. I'm Independent now, though I was a Dem for most of my life, so that's my default, though I did vote for a local Green Party candidate today, too. :)
Sam
I felt bad..
actually, that I had no idea two women were running under the Green party ticket. Surprised the media didn't make more of it here.
I tried to look at what the people's jobs were for the people I didn't know. There weren't very many local things, though the "Prop 8" (Gay marriage repeal) was a biggie for the state. Hubby and I had an interesting discussion about our interpretations on the Victims's rights proposition that was on our ballot.
Over all, I'm happy with my choices. But it's going to be a looooong night waiting to see what everyone else said.
I try to vote on everyone...
This year I made a point of reading up about the judges because I knew for sure I was going to vote on everything. And I hate going in there and saying "who the heck is THAT?" so I read the coverage in my paper and the competing paper (they supported different presidential candidates, so I figured they'd give slightly different slants on the same people) to get a more informed decision, since it's not like we'd have a debate or anything televised to help me make a decision. Most of ours were running unopposed, but I figure if I vote FOR them, then I'm saying I approve of their job. And if I don't fill in the box, then I am saying I don't support the way they are doing their job. It's not much, but it's something. My little defiant box filling or unfilling ;-)
Shirley
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
Easy and delicious recipes at: www.shirleyjump.blogspot.com
In Stores Now: CHRISTMAS WEDDINGS
www.shirleyjump.com
I just have to say, how much
I just have to say, how much does that guy on Shirley Jump's CHRISTMAS WEDDINGS cover look like Hugh Jackman? Wow!
LOL, Michele!
He does, doesn't he? And I TOTALLY LOVE Hugh Jackman. Of course, what's not to love about that man, seriously? :-)
Shirley
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
Easy and delicious recipes at: www.shirleyjump.blogspot.com
In Stores Now: CHRISTMAS WEDDINGS
www.shirleyjump.com
He does look like Hugh
He does look like Hugh Jackman! And I always thought the woman on the cover looks like the actress from Meet the Parents, but I have no idea what her name is. She's adorable, though.
My state votes by mail. I DO
My state votes by mail. I DO NOT miss the lines.
Whew!
We were spared any long lines! We'd done our filling in over the weekend (absentee ballots are great!) and dropped them off this morning as we dropped off the kids (since conveniently, the school was also hosting our balloting place). Yay!
And yum, did someone mention Hugh Jackman? ;)
Hi Michele--Popping in late
Hi Michele--Popping in late to say excellent list. I voted almost two weeks ago and had no wait whatsoever. I love early voting. Jeannie