A wretched hive of scum and villainy, you might call it. 
(Shhhhhh, they got a room!)
I thought that Aldi’s policy was not to provide bags? There always seem to be a few stray boxes at our local store though.
Ugh, my glasses ear piece broke off. I tried gluing it back on, but no go, so I’m going to have to go back to the VA eye clinic tomorrow. It’s half an hour’s drive away. In the meantime, I’m wearing old glasses that I can only see distances through. Close up is very blurry. At least I can drive with the old ones.
Well, it’s Sunday, so today’s not a good day for it, but if there’s an independent optometrist in your neighborhood, you might ask if they have a box of spare parts they can search through to manage a quick repair. At the very least, it will give you a back-up pair with a more current 'scrip.
Do people, you know, like understand how hard it is to understand when, you know, they like say “you know” and “like” 50 times in a conversation? No, I DON’T KNOW so just spit it the fuck out. And where did “you know” come from anyway.
Just say ‘no’ every time they say it. Every. Damned. Time. 
My Aunt shortened “you know?” to just “no?” It’s bad. A typical conversation: “No? I went to the grocery store, no? And, no, they were out of, no, pumpkin spice. So, no, I had to, no, buy all the spices, no, separately.”
The person I posted about last week, with the terminal disease, is somehow still alive. She is sporadically somewhat responsive. I am, however, going nuts with all the “Let’s pray for a miracle!” discussions. No one has ever survived this disease. Ever. Here’s an idea - let’s send good thoughts for a painless passing.
Also, death doesn’t choose between good and bad people. It comes for everyone, it’s just a matter of timing. She was a remarkable person, yes, but death doesn’t give a flying fuck about that.
I have also received flak for not wanting to visit her. In my opinion, she’s not there anymore. I don’t need to be counted on the visitor log. I’ve said my good byes already in my own way, which does not include spending time with the shell of the person that used to be.
Okay, random old dudes in the locker room tonight, I understand the unexpected shock of your sudden discovery of inflation. I do not grudge that the two of you need to share your dismay that the costs of today are not the same as you remember from fifty (sixty?) years ago. You need to marvel over spending almost $10 at McDonalds for you and your date, or that the cookie you bought her at the bowling alley was an outrageous $3. Really, I’d prefer you talk about this sort of stuff in the locker room, rather than on the bench of the weight room equipment everyone is waiting for.
But. There is absolutely NO need for you and your gym bag, your towel, your other towel, and your foot powder to be taking up half of the bench. Particularly when your flabbergasted fellow random old dude is taking up the other half of the bench with his gym bag, towel, other towel, his own self, and his… well, I dunno what that was. Truss, maybe?
This was particularly annoying when there are TWO OTHER people trying to get to their lockers - which you had blocked - and would like to use the bench, too. I only had to shuck shoes and change into a swimsuit, so didn’t need to sit down; nonetheless you gave me the stink eye for daring to rest a foot on the bench to untie my shoe. And then a loud sigh when I dared to do it with the other foot.
I figured you’ll both keel over soon, maybe when you find out what gas prices have done in the last seventy years, so I went on my merry way. Nonetheless, I suspect you could have avoided the loud “EXCUSE ME!” from the other guy I heard on my way out, had you had only a little self awareness.
Also: OMFG, three goddamn election robocalls just while typing this up. It’s a long post, but damn.
So I went to the VA and they replaced my glasses frame with a new frame, and it was all perfect. Until tonight, when all of a sudden, the screw in one of the freakin’ hinges fell out, and I can’t find it anywhere.
At least I can visit any optician and get the screw replaced, but now I’m going to have to do that tomorrow.
smdh
Buy a bottle of clear nail polish, and apply dab to the head of the screw in each hinge. This helps prevent the screw backing out.
Thanks Missouri for not having early polling. When I arrived at the polls at 6:05 this morning all 200 spaces in the parking lot were full. Many people were parked in the Walmart lot across the street. the line was easily 3 hours long.
I had to bail out of there and now hope that I can take time off this afternoon to spend 3+hours in line.
Wow. I arrived at the sportsmens building to vote at 7:15; polls opened at 7:00.
I was in and out in five minutes. I was the 6th person to vote.
/boonieslife
The Masonic lodge that is my polling place (in Fenton MO) has maybe a twenty parking spots. And a twisty, one-lane driveway up to the parking lot. I get there 30 minutes before the polls open to get a parking space, and we all stand in line watching the parking horror show.
I actually drive by another polling place (Fenton Government Center) on my way to my polling place; by the time I left at 6:20 it would’ve been easier to park at the other polling place and jog the few miles to ours - the one-lane driveway was choked with parked cars, the cars trying to get in were lined up for blocks and wouldn’t let the cars trying to leave get out.
Missouri voting sucks.
Thankfully, the three times I voted / tried to vote before the days of early voting I was in walking distance of the polling place because they also didn’t have much parking. Come to think of it, even in early voting, I’ve walked there two out of four times, but those were as much for the exercise as for parking.
Because they like to be close to their prey, my polling location is in an elder housing tower. Which kindly provides two on street parking spots. Methinks I shall park six streets over and limp in. Only reason I didn’t vote early is, you guessed it, a 20 space parking lot at city hall, with 10 slots reserved for the powers-that-be on the sixth floor, and the remaining spaces shared with the Post Office.:smack:
Love the small-town atmosphere of my neighborhood. We vote in a Moravian church (has parking, though most of us bike or walk). All I know about the church is that they bake a mean “Moravian Sugar Cake”, and push huge chunks on every voter: “C’mon, sir, you voted. You deserve a reward. And to get fat. And jittery – we have good strong coffee to wash it down.”
State by State Time Off to Vote Laws
Some better, some worse. Minnesota, where I live: “Employees may take whatever time necessary off work for the purpose of voting in any regularly scheduled election or primary.”
California Dopers are a better off in that it is specifically paid time. “Voters may take time off at the beginning or end of a shift to allow for sufficient time to vote, with up to two hours of that time being with pay.”
Pennsylvania, however, has zero requirements to give people time off to vote.
THAT figures (I’m in PA). I think my employer gives us a couple of hours, though.
My voting place is a church with school attached. We had long lines, too, and only 3 working machines (out of 4). Despite the wait, I really wish we saw turnout like this EVERY election, not just the Presidentials. I’m currently working from home, but I’m considering telling my boss I’m taking a vacation day, because who can concentrate?
It took me about 5 minutes. It used to be that one of the precincts would have a long line while the others did not. Now my county has a new check-in system that lets you use any line as long as you insert the ballot in the correct precinct machine after voting.