Still to do

A bit of grading, and entering the grades, and then I can flee campus for the day.

But.

I have two things I have to do before evening:

- Try to get in to early-vote. (I have more time today than I will on Tuesday. If it doesn't work out today I can change my plans for tomorrow)

- Go down to the local cable place and see if they'll replace the remote for my cable box; the "Last" button, the "guide" button, and the "down volume" button quit working. I have workarounds for two of those (one involves getting up and pressing the volume button the tv), but I'm worried that more buttons will die and then where will I be? I think they should do it as I pay a rental fee on EVERYTHING - the cable box, the modem, and also, I think, the remote.

We'll see. I think I'll call them first to be sure.


It's also AAUW tonight so there's that to go to.

Plans for tomorrow are maybe to run to Sherman, grab lunch there, go to the bookstore and mmmmaybe JoAnn's and also to the natural-foods store and the Kroger. Yes, I know, it's a Payday Friday but what are you gonna do? Saturday might be even worse and I kind of want Saturday for myself at home. And Sunday afternoon I have a surprise birthday party for someone to go to.

Next weekend I am putting up my tree. I don't care if it's "Yankee," I don't care if it's "too early," I need it, and the FOLLOWING weekend I will be gone already for Thanksgiving, so.

I also have to plan my Christmas travel. Difficulty level: My mom wants to get her cataract removed while I'm up there so I need to coordinate to be sure I'll be there, which may mean leaving a bit earlier than I'd really choose to. (I have to talk to her again about it). I mean, I'm glad I can be there and all, but I am a bit apprehensive about what all it will involve. (And I really would have liked a few days here after classes ended just to relax and run around on my own, though maybe if the weather is okay while I am up there I can do a little of my own running around. They have a Michael's, at least still, and a Barnes and Noble....many, many other stores have closed, which is kind of sad, I wonder if Illinois is just never really pulling out of the recession or if people there are more privileged when it comes to things like online shopping).

Ugh, I also have to find time to knit that small blue cat for my niece (maybe I try to do that before Thanksgiving and give it to her then?) and also the gift for AAUW....there just aren't enough hours in a day.

ETA. I think I found a pattern I like for the cat: WUB-CHUB. Looks like it should be fast and it just amuses me. (I considered the Kath Dalmeny one - I have the book it's from - but I remember that's a lot of fiddly bits to sew up. I also rejected the more humanized bipedal ones because I think she wants a more catlike cat....

And maybe I start a test-knit part of the mitts (for myself; am using a new pattern) before starting the AAUW pair; I can knock a pair out in a few days work. Maybe Saturday. Maybe I queue up Season 2 of "The Good Place" and just remain largely stationary and knit.


***

Edited to add: Both tasks completed:

I admit, I drove past the courthouse first, saw a line, decided to go wrestle with the remote-control problem first. (It was the thing I was dreading more)

Negotiated the back streets to the office, which is in a residential neighborhood on the south side of town. (The streets there are worse; one was blocked off by a backhoe which suggests to me something went wrong on that street during our recent heavy rain). I hadn't been able to call in advance to ask if they even had them as there's no published number for the local office; just the 1-855 number, and when I called last night, I was told "they 'should' be able to replace it" which didn't fill me with confidence.

So I walked in there, fully expecting to be told "LOL we don't keep those on hand, what do you think, just buy a universal remote and go through the effort of trying to get it to work with the cable box" (which doesn't even have BUTTONS so if the remote fails you're stuck with one channel forever).

I walked in, explained the issue, noted that I had tried changing the batteries, I had tried re-pairing it with the television, and that even though I had a workaround for the buttons that weren't working, I was concerned about more failing and...

the guy reached in a drawer, pulled out a brand-new remote, handed it to me, asked me for my name and address. He took the old remote (letting me remove the fresh batteries first) and dumped it in the trash.

Yeah. I don't know why I feel I have to walk into a place with a long list of reasons and a "I've exhausted everything I can possibly do" before I even hope to get help, but that's me. (Maybe that's part of the Gen X curse, I don't know. I have had situations in the past where the response from Customer Service somewhere was "whaddaya want US to do?" and so maybe I just expect that treatment).

So it was much easier than I expected. It took more work getting it to "pair" with my television, but now I have the right code (10034) so if I ever don't get the batteries changed out fast (or if THIS remote fails), I can quickly restore it.

Voting took longer. I was prepared; one of my students who mentioned having gone in to vote early said "they were a bit disorganized there" and there was a line. I parked in a spot at the courthouse that might not have been a spot* because all the obvious ones were taken, and it would be a several-blocks walk (and the line was steadily growing) to get there.

Got in line, got handed the clipboard with the statement where I had to "swear or affirm" (I presume the "affirm" is for folks who are Quaker or similar and won't take an oath to a secular organization) that I wasn't going to try to vote on Tuesday (heh. The point of me going today is so I won't HAVE TO then).

And I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The line moved VERY slowly. They had six voting stations set up, but that turned out not to be the limiting factor - they had to check everyone's name and precinct (I didn't have my voter registration card, but I know mine: 4) and the other person was going and getting the  ballots ONE AT A TIME out of the office (I don't THINK any of the judge-retention questions would have differed within our county, so I am not sure why, other than for reasons of security, she would do that).

And there may have been one or two people ahead in the line doing provisional ballots, because they didn't have the required ID, I don't know. (I used my driver's license).

There was also a woman in a wheelchair, and wow, it was not very accessible for her, I think they had to direct her to a table in another room as all the voting stations were "stand up" and would have been too high for her. And there was one woman whom I presume was legally blind; she had a white cane and someone guiding her, and I guess her guide was empowered to fill out the ballot based on the woman's choices..

(Most of the people were at least 15 years older than I am; I guess most working folks either go later in the day or go on Saturday or get time off on Tuesday)

And as I got up there, the little printer that prints the labels that go on your "swear or affirm" ran out of labeling stuff and yes I almost said a swear (but not an affirmation) because I had to wait longer.  But eventually it got sorted and I got my ballot. I already knew how I was going to vote (no I am not telling you but my typical MO is to vote against incumbents, I will say that much), so it didn't take too long, even if the ballot was two-sided.

All in all: it took five minutes (not counting drive time) to get the new remote, thirty-five (counting standing-in-line time, which was most of it) to vote. But that's done now.

(*I didn't get a ticket though, so either it WAS a spot, or no one checked, so it's all good)