'Blue-stater' out of his element

Well, I've been waiting for this day for 4 years! Election day! We were so excited down here to vote, but were a little worried about the high voter turnout (and high Republican turnout) but we lifted our chin up and braved the crowds. It really wasn't that bad, but thought ya'll might like to see my voting experience was like!

I got up bright and early on Tuesday. The polls opened at 7:00, and I got there right at 7:00. Our precinct was just around the corner from our neighborhood (Erin walked) but it was on my drive to work. I walked over the hill to see the line. Uh-oh.

Ok, now I'm in line. It seems to be moving pretty quickly, though. I worked on my email while I waited.

There was a nice booth with some warm beverages and such to help. I waited until I reached the tent in line, though, because I felt awkward leaving the line and coming back.

Finally I reached the building an hour later. Wait, does the line snake around inside the building?? Well, shoot.

Yep, but at least it was warm!

Finally! I got to use a fancy electronic voting machine for the first time. Even though I can find my way around electronic devices in the dark, I did ask for a little help just to make sure my vote was counted. Even though my vote didn't technically "count", I did my part to make my voice heard. The count in SC was closer than I expected (like 52% Mccain to 47% Obama or something) but in the end my candidate won, by a large margin. That was so exciting to watch. We truly believe that Barack was the better choice, for a fresh new face with a good head on his shoulders. Now, I just have to keep clear of all the Limbaugh listeners down here that are still trying to blame all of our problems on Bill Clinton and Barack Obama!

My boss took our Greenville team out for dinner to celebrate meetng our quarterly contract obligations. I suggested Smoke on the Water, which is a local fancy barbeque place.

The inside was beautiful, of course, restored from an old building in the West End.

Look at those cute little shakers!

They had a nice selection of BQ sauces. They were all very runny, though, so I can't say that I liked them. (I mean, I can technically speak "that I liked them" but I would be lying)

Free cornbread. More please!

I had a chicken sandwich. It was pretty good. Not really worth $13, but it was okay.

The dessert was awesome, though. I had chocolate mousse pie. OMG it was so good. I made myself sick though, I couldn't even finish it!

We have a new ATS site at the Fountain Inn CAT engine plant. Even though I haven't done the job for over two years, they asked me to train the new guy on the deployment processes. The plant is less than 10 minutes from my house (I don't even have to get on the expressway!) so I was happy to work so close to home. To be truthful, I once really wanted this job, but I'm glad I took the job at CoG instead. The area that Mike will be working in is very noisy dirty, smelly, and slippery. I'll take my clean, quiet, city hall anyday!

Erin and I attended a fall festival at Messiah Lutheran. It was mostly for kids and families, but we wanted to show ourselves and meet some new faces. The sign on the door says it all!

There was a balloon guy making balloon animals (I was too shy to get one made). There were also other games and a live praise band.

Here is an example of a balloon animal. It's a bumblebee!

The best part of the night was the food. It was BBQ pulled pork and other dishes. (We brought Erin's famous pasta salad in the lower right hand corner of my plate.

I stumbled upon a secret treasure the other day....another Shell Station! This one is just a couple blocks north of the police station. I never had driven up that far, so I never saw it before. I am so excited! It is tons closer than the one I normally use in the 'hood.

Not only is the station cleaner and more convenient, it actually prints receipts when you ask it to. Now, I'm a happy guy.

It's been a beautiful fall so far, with warm temperatures and bold colors. Erin and I went to the mountains a couple weeks ago, so I will try and post some of the more interesting pictures. Maybe next year, I'll take a nice long motorcycle ride up there (I can only hope!). Erin has been super busy with her new job at Messiah, but she is really enjoying. I have been busy also, with a lot of projects and things to fix at my job. Hope the month of November is treating ya'll well, and to all of you GOP folks, sorry about Tuesday. Peace!