Somebody out there must have been listening to my unspoken panicky pleas for mercy. My computer is fixed! Now if only he/she sees fit to follow through on similar pleas for today�s election. But only time will tell.

Last night after I dragged my laptop out of the basement to work in the slightly more friendly environs of the living room, my power cord would not plug into the machine. I couldn�t see what was wrong, but, since the problem was not solved by switching power cords, I thought I had a big problem on my hands. After spending a couple of hours on the phone to Apple�s customer service and talking to six different people, I was warned that I would probably have to mail my computer to them and it would be gone for about two weeks. Really not good, seeing as I�m leaving for the conference in a week and I will need to have a computer to finish up my handouts, etc. I decided to take matters into my own hands, and this morning drove to the nearest Apple store for instant gratification.

Although I�ve walked by the Apple store in downtown Chicago a gazillion times, I�ve never actually been inside one of these things. The signs are ludicrously unhelpful. I stopped at the first available counter, a vaguely could-shaped pod, and asked for tech support. I was directed to the sign that read �genius� (no caps in the entire store, of course). Subtle. But as it happened, genius Dave was able to help me out and, for the price of a new power cord, I am once again the owner of a functional computer. So, thank you genius Dave! You made my day, if not a footnote in my paper.

Before my adventures at Apple, I took AJ with me to the polls at the local elementary school. He was very excited to go and has been asking all kinds of questions about voting. He insisted on bringing his copy of Eileen Christelow�s Vote!, a picture book explanation of voting that wisely omits the electoral college and has a somewhat liberal slant that I appreciate.

I have to say that voting out here in the back of beyond is much more expeditious than voting in Chicago. First of all, there were no lines. Second, one of the election judges was my next-door neighbor, so I didn�t have to show ID. Third, I didn�t have to poke holes in a card according to a misaligned booklet. I got to color instead. Finally, I didn�t have to vote for nine gazillion judges I�ve never heard of � just three. AJ and I celebrated our participation in the democratic process by putting on our �I voted� stickers (one for me, three for AJ) and heading home for hot chocolate.

My husband's got a book coming out on Kerry that will hopefully need an update first thing in the morning. It�s going to be a long night (Week? Month?) of returns.

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