Election Eve, Etc.

So I have been severely slacking on the posting front and felt necessary to hop on (hopefully very quickly.) Life with five classes, hockey, work, and everything else is pretty crazy, but a very good crazy. I'm happy as a clam, though the break for Thanksgiving will be quite welcome, and then two weeks later the semester is over -- crazy.

Anyway, I thought that on this, the eve of the election, I would throw out a few words to mark this already-historic event and to let you know what the political atmosphere's been like at Bates. It's been pretty much what you might expect: the Dems are out in full force and the Republicans are trying to hold their own. The Dems / Students for Obama were very active at the very beginning of the semester, trying to get people to work on the campaign and such. Then it was less visible for a while, and now, in the past couple weeks, they're back with a vengence (or an intensity, atleast.) There are "Bates Students for Barack Obama" t-shirts, as well as "Joe the student" t-shirts -- I'm sure they'll be blindingly apparent tomorrow.

It's been really interesting reading others' accounts of coverage of the election in various places abroad. I'm still in awe of the fact that I voted in my first presidential election. I sent my MA absentee ballot in a few weeks ago, and also accompanied some folks down to city hall here in Lewiston so they could vote early in ME. It was cool and practical to do both of those things, and I'm also hoping to take a jaunt to the Armory tomorrow to see how crazy things are there -- trying to take in the whole atmosphere of this important day. Sometimes, when I'm buried in my schoolwork, I forget about the things that really matter in life like family and your country. As this is an especially crazy week, from my selfish perspective, I'm thankful that the election has reminded me of the broader perspective.

That was a terribly brief selection of my current thoughts, but I really must depart. Tomorrow's gonna be exciting -- can't wait to hear from all of you about your experiences. Stay safe, happy, and curious.