Breach!
A whale, a smattering of birds and a rambunctious seal met me at the beach last week. I have never been able to snap more than a fin or bit of whale back with my phone until the above image. The whale breached a couple of times over the course of about 30 minutes. I happened to have the phone at the ready and took a series of snaps. This was the best image of the lot. As the whale breached, surfers on their boards let out a series of cheers. It was pretty cool.
***
Our absentee ballots arrived in the mail last week. We finished filling them out yesterday. One must sign the envelop in order for the ballot to be considered valid. And the signature must match one on file or the ballot risks being discounted. I don't know what got into me, but the signature I wrote has one loop extra. It's like I couldn't stop signing. I think, knowing how important this election is, I just became nervous about my signature thus going a bit overboard. I think I shall bring the absentee ballot to the drop-off center at City Hall, explain the situation & ask for a new ballot. I could show up to a polling place on Nov. 3rd, but feel a bit nervous about doing so. I'm still in the mindset of: the less people I interact with IRL, the better.
I can't believe that there are still undecided voters. What are your values, man?! On a related topic: Since 2016, I have had two near strangers begin statements with: I don't know what your politics are, but...
Even though they didn't know me, I still felt really insulted. No one can look at you and see your political leanings, if you're not wearing a pin, hat or t-shirt proclaiming your beliefs. However, I still wanted to not be seen as a 'turkey looking forward to Thanksgiving', if that makes any sense.
I don't normally wear my beliefs on my sleeve (har-har), but here's a shirt I do wear with pride:
Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWhy oh why does voting have to be so complicated.
I definitely lean towards the tree-hugging leftie side of politics but see no reason to advertise.
Voting here is very challenging. Thirty years ago, I had a 'pro-choice' bumper sticker on my car, but that's been it for me.
DeleteYes, double-check things at City Hall about your signature and fill out a new ballot if necessary. Do everything you can to make your vote count!
ReplyDeleteI will, for sure. x
DeleteIt's interesting to see your ballot paper and the other names on it. But do they really go through them verifying every signature? It would take months to count them.
ReplyDeleteI actually think that they might, Tasker. Yes, the other names are actually unknown to me, for the most part. Who they are & what they stand for isn't well known.
DeleteGot my ballot last week, too. I've got to fill that out. This week, perhaps.
ReplyDeleteGetting through the various propositions can feel like such a slog.
DeleteYou could be disqualified by someone not watching you sign. It's so subjective, and in this case, right. That's the examiner's job to match your affidavit signature to your file signature.
ReplyDeleteI've learned too much about voting this year.
Yes, that's right. I may need a whole, new ballot.
DeleteIs that a killer whale? Cetaceans on the whole are pretty hard to photograph as the rule is usually that they'll only pop up when you've grown tired of holding the camera at the ready. It's as though they love foxing with us.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I'd go so far as to say I Hate Morrissey but I certainly Love The Smiths. Though I'd never brazenly advertise any of my proclivities on my person.
It's not a killer whale although that would be very cool. I don't think Orcas come around these parts. It could be a Blue or a Humpback whale. -not sure. They and the seals do seem to be about only when we are ill-prepared! :D
DeleteSadly, Morrissey has shown himself to be quite the right-winger & huge pro-Brexiter. I don't respect him, actually, but the love/hate dichotomy works well on the tee.
Oh and you have Libertarians to vote for! I thought that was a Parks & Rec. joke.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Yep!
DeleteGood luck with your elections.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. And may all go well with your upcoming elections as well. :)
DeleteMorrissey is what we in the UK call a 'twat'.
ReplyDeleteQuite!
DeleteSweet photo. I think that would be quite the sight. I am glad that so many folks are voting early. I am waiting until the actual day because the school we vote at is right behind our house and will not be too busy.
ReplyDeleteWhen you can see barnacles along the head of the whale as well---that is a delight. Yeah, if there were a polling place directly next store, then I might have braved it, but was glad to be able to easily drop off my ballot downtown.
DeleteI think it’s always exciting to see whales breaching but haven't tried photographing them. Sound like you’re having contentious political races, too. I have my ballot now here in Calif. USA but need to take time to vote it. So many propositions to understand cause our state legislature hasn't been doing their job on some of these issues. We can track on the internet our ballots and establish they've been processed and accepted this year. I want to vote early and put mine in a drop box rather than mail-in. Always before i preferred voting in person.
ReplyDeleteThe props are challenging to digest. -glad to have put it behind me, as it were.
DeleteI noticed a 'drive thru' absentee ballot area at the main polling center downtown, but chose to park and walk mine over to one of two drop boxes on site instead.