...Go out and VOTE. I can't say adequately enough how important that is, even on a city level.

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Today I am breaking the "no politics" rule that I normally have for my blog, because I really need to make some statements about today, and no, there's no push for you to vote one way or another. Thanks for reading and have a great day if you've now decided that you don't want to read it.

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I woke up this morning around 4am, and had a wonderful blog entry all laid out in my mind, but it seems to have vanished because the words weren't adequate enough to convey how relieved that Election Day is finally here. So, dear readers, you are going to have to deal with me running off at the brain.

I never want to hear the word 'poll' again. It will be so wonderful to have my phone not ringing every hour with another recorded message about how we should vote for one thing or one person over another, although getting recorded messages from Laura Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger have been rather entertaining.

I'm tired of flipping through my mail and having half of it be flyers for the current Assembly race for my district. The woman who is running is smarmy and evil (my opinion) and has been accused of harassment in the workplace and has been paying the aides who've accused her to stay home for the last few months (according to the San Jose Mercury News). The man running against her has put out signage that says she's corrupt. In retaliation, she's put out flyers with his picture on a Coke bottle and says we shouldn't vote for him because he called this 'American Institution' a "pinko commie drink" because it's sold in China.

Hello? Lots of things are sold in China... McDonald's is in China - are they a "pinko Commie" fast food chain, now? Oh, maybe the guy in question didn't want to draw that line because the Restaurant Gods would hate him too.

The Indian Casinos should be taxed, they shouldn't be taxed.

The school bond is a good thing because this time the monies will go to upgrading the schools and not to teacher salaries - Ok, so you're telling me that the last two guaranteed bonds *did* go to teacher salaries?

There's even a proposition in my state (California, for those who aren't keeping track, and it's prop 60 for those who are) that basically doesn't do anything - it just affirms the primary election system that the state already has in place. But it's on the ballot to counteract Prop 62, which wants to do away with political party primaries in state elections. Yes, two propositions about the exact same thing are on the ballot. You don't have to tell me that California is really screwed up in that aspect - I've lived here all 33 years of my life, I *know* it's screwed up.

There's stem-cell research, DNA collection from felons, and parts of the three-strikes law to roll back on the ballot. The ballot is so diverse that I should have been reading the text and subtext of these things months ago. And I was. And I still didn't know how to vote after the 4th reading.

I'm not telling you how I'm going to vote, just that I will after work today, since the polls don't open for about another hour here (as of this posting). I *will* tell you that I won't be voting for an Assemblyperson because neither candidate deserves my vote after the name-calling, mud-slinging, and general nastiness that that race has boiled down to. If you think the presidential Race has gotten mean, it's a regular tea party with the Queen of England compared to the Assembly race.

And I will tell you that tonight I'll probably turn the television on only to watch NCIS or CSI (on DVD). I'm tired of the election, since it seems to have been going on for the better part of a year. I'm tired of the meaningless debates (between candidates and people in general), and the fact that this has fired up so many people who may be misguided as to what they actually believe in.

I'm waiting to see if there's a change in the Oval Office - if there is, I think the most entertaining thing will be watching those who have claimed to support the President in all decisions switch sides to the President-elect. There are some out there that just support the office and whomever is in it at the time. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but sometimes blind allegiance to an office as opposed to a person isn't the smartest route.

But you know that it's not over, right? There are teams of lawyers already lined up on both sides of the Presidential race ready to challenge electoral votes - the election isn't over yet, unfortunately. Just the push for us regular people to vote is over. We're still going to have to deal with the ramifications and results of today's elections.

Now, some people still have to get past the uncertainty that the media has put into the mix with the thoughts that there will be violence at the polling places. In all the time I've ever voted, and went with my mom so she could vote, I never experienced anything negative. Voting places are quiet and respectful - no picketing, no rallying. Generally activities such as that are removed from the premises because voters should not be harassed. Sure, there's the fear that a terrorist attack could happen today - it could happen *any* day, just today is a significant one in the process of American government. I've long thought that today would be a day that someone would strike, and I sincerely hope that I'm wrong because I could just see the last minute political posturing that would happen as a result in spite of the fear and chaos that could be in play.

Politicians are opportunists after ultimate power - to think differently is naive. But that's just my opinion...

...and I'm so relieved that Election Day is finally here.