I live in the Virginia Heights area and my precinct is Virginia Heights Elementary School.

So, I set the trusty alarm for about 5:15AM, awoke a bit groggy, and set out to do my duty as an American citizen.

I arrived at the voting location around 6:10AM and already the parking lot (which is rather small anyways) was full. And there was a line of a few dozen people outside the door wrapped around a side of the school on the sidewalk. I parallel parked along the street and took my place in line.

The temperature is pretty mild today so the wait outside wasn’t uncomfortable. But there was just the ever so slightest bit of mist falling. Nothing too bad.

Almost an hour later at around 7:10AM I was proudly displaying an “I Voted” sticker while walking back to my car.

I will say that, though the line was long, it did move relatively steady and things seemed to be going as smoothly as could be expected. The election day workers were especially courteous and friendly and kept things moving along as best they could.

I suppose I could’ve just as easily voted early or absentee, but there’s just something neat about getting out there and punching the button in person.

So, early reports seem to confirm that there is overall going to be a very high turnout for the election, indeed.

How was your experience in getting out there to vote today?

We’ve already reached November. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and Christmas is only single-digit weeks away. From here on out it starts getting dark at 5:30PM, pretty soon that will change to 5. And if I’m not careful I could find myself driving both to work and home from work in the dark.

Now, that’s depressing.

What else is in store over the next several weeks:

We lose daylight

This past weekend we gained an hour (or did we lose it, I’m never sure) and from now until towards the end of the year the days keep getting shorter.

With it becoming so dark so early now, last night I kept looking at the clock and thinking it was much later than it really was. The time changes, but it takes me a week or two to adapt.

We gain 2 big holidays (time off from work to spend with loved ones)

The office where I work closes for both Thanksgiving Day and the Friday aftewards (Black Friday). And it’s not entirely unusual for me to take off that Wednesday before also, or I certainly try to sneak out a few hours early.

And I believe with Christmas Day falling on a Thursday this year, the same schedule may apply for that week too.

We lose/gain not having to mow and do various yardwork (depending on how you look at it)

I’m not a huge fan of yardwork, mainly because I just don’t have the time for it. I will work 12+ hour days during the week at the office, but on the weekends I like to kick back a good bit. Working outside isn’t therepeutic for me, reclining back in my La Z Boy chair is much better.

So, yardwork is squeezed in somewhere between when I get home from work and when I sit down for dinner, and that time can vary greatly.

Last week, before the time change, I set out to mow my yard (hopefully) one last time for the year. Still, I was out there at nearly 6:30PM and could’ve benefited from some built-in headlights on the mower.

We gain pounds

This refers back to the 2 big holidays mentioned above, because along with those are some pretty hefty dinners around my family. Thus, by January or so the scale is apt to read just a few more pounds than it had a couple months earlier.

Did someone say New Year’s Resolution?

We lose 2008 and gain 2009

And though as this year slowly comes to a close, we gain the promise of being able to repeat all of the above again with a whole new year!