I was almost two hours late for work today, but apparently that's allowed on election day to make sure we vote. Not quite as good as it being a day off in the UK, but still much appreciated.
The morning was lovely. Today is going to be very hot (99F) again today, but at 7AM
as I walked to my new favorite latte pusher it felt fresh and lovely, though it was already about 75 degrees. The new pusher? The amazingly great Caffe Luxxe which opened a couple months ago on 9th and Montana, just about 3 blocks from my apartment. What they do with a latte is just amazing. It's creamy and sweetly chocolate-y without actually having any chocolate in it. The owner, Mark, told me over the weekend that he uses a Northern Italian roasting style. But I think it's more than that -- they seem to clean their machines between each cup. The espresso they serve has no bitter taste. Since having my first cup there I've been feeling spoiled as everywhere else (Starbucks, Peet's and even my beloved local Coffee Bean) has tasted like day old drip. So at home I'm using my new Bondum French press (it's the three cup size which makes exactly two cups of cafe au lait) to brew French Market coffee and then walking up to Montana for a fix whenever I can.
Anyway, I spent 25 minutes there this morning sipping my latte and filling out the sample ballot before walking back to my polling place at Trinity Baptist Church. Oh and by the way, if you vote in California and don't use your sample ballot and instead just wait to read everything at the polls, I'm glad you're voting, but think you're an idiot. You're the reason it takes 45 minutes to get a booth.
For those of you not from this golden state, let me tell ya, the ballots here are crazy long. We don't just vote for candidates and judges (18 separate offices, by my count and that's with combining the judicial appointments), but also for state and city initiatives (another 18). There are lots of them and so if someone waits to read about them in the polling booth, they're going to be there 30 minutes or more. Me, with my sample ballot, had voted and rechecked to make sure I'd inked the right spots in less than 5 minutes. So please, like it says on the cover, "mark your choices in your sample ballot booklet and take it with you to your voting location."
Okay, I'm off my soap box. For the moment anyway.
As to the subject line, yeah, I'm a total geek and wear the sticker all damn day.
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