So Much for Voting…

I guess I won’t be voting in this year’s midterm elections after all. I just got around this morning to checking if I could register to vote here in PA, only to find out that the voter registration deadline had already passed back on the 9th. So then I gave a call to the clerk for my township back home in Wisconsin to find out if I could request an absentee ballot, since my permanent address is still listed there. No dice there either, because apparently the State of Wisconsin passed a new law effective this year that requires ALL voters (even if they’ve voted in that precinct in elections in past years) to (re-)register to vote, and that must be done in person. Now, I take my civic responsibility of voting seriously, but not quite seriously enough to fly home for the November elections. I’m really bummed that I won’t get the chance to vote this year (though I’m sure many of my friends are actually quite happy that I won’t be voting…), but it really is my own fault for not checking into any of this stuff sooner. Sigh.
Last night was Tim’s last Bible study with PSCG before he leaves for Japan for a year this Thursday (assuming his visa arrives), so after the study we all went out to Meyer Dairy for some ice cream. He’s going over to the University of Tohoko in Sendai to do some thesis research in infra-sound before finishing up at PSU, which sure sounds cool to me. All of us in PSCG are gonna miss him, that’s for sure. I wonder if I’ll still be at Penn State when he gets back from Japan…
The snow geese are definitely honking in State College now. Today we had our first non-liquid precipitation of the season, which is always exciting. I heard from somebody that there were some very light flurries around 10 or 10:30 this morning, but I didn’t see anything until this evening when I was driving back into Walker to do some research work. There was some rain, some snow, some sleet, a lot of waffling back and forth — the precip was definitely pulling a John Kerry. Anyway, now that we’re past peak fall colours, I’m ready for winter! Bring it on!