Well, I was going to write about Halloween, but how could I while we’re in the midst of an election? Let’s face it, instead of Halloween, we’ve all got Sarah Palin on the brain. What was she up to while the country decided her fate? Is she contemplating joining ‘Saturday Night Live,’ since the whole vice-presidency thing fell through?

I was going to talk about all of the interesting costumes I saw on streets this past weekend, and how they looked like the movie ’28 Days Later,’ except, instead of half-dead people flocking the streets, there were half-naked people. But that’s not about the election.

Instead, I thought I’d boast that I did, indeed, vote. I was, well my mother was, on her game enough to get me registered to vote absentee, and loving enough to remind me every day to send in my ballot before it was too late. I know plenty of others who failed to vote absentee without the mother-force.

I must say, however, I do feel left out. Not because I don’t have a cute enough shot from Halloween to make my profile picture, but because I didn’t get to go into the booth, show the crowd my calves (I’ve been working out) and get to pull that lever.

I didn’t get the chance to hear that little ‘cha-ching’ sound the booth makes when you close it. Instead, I had to bubble in yet another Scantron, struggle to get the copy machine to read my student ID, and lick two unsweetened envelopes. What’s worse is that I just learned my vote didn’t even count.

Yeah, everyone says each vote counts. And yes, everyone wonders how much of a difference their own vote can really make. But since I’m from Connecticut – a state that is quite the donkey – my absentee ballot, sealed shut with my saliva, will probably never be opened. Great.

I was going to write about my Halloween with a banana, and how the girlfriend of the fruit (me) kept having to peel other scantily clad ladies off of him throughout the night. It’s obvious that guys in funny costumes get laid, and those in boring ones don’t.

People also say you remember exactly where you are during big events. Since we are living through history-book content with this election, everyone should remember where they were on voting day. Chuck’s, Harry’s and Maggie’s anyone? In 20 years we’ll all be able to tell our kids we were doing a keg stand as Obama won Pennsylvania and sinking that winning cup as McCain won Arkansas. They’ll be proud.

We can also tell our kids that after we voted for the winning president, we got a free tall coffee, right after we got a complimentary scoop of Phish Food with gummy bears. Our kids will listen to the words ‘free’ and ‘complimentary’ in disbelief, as they will be paying $10 for a cone in 20 years.

Talia Pollock’s weekly pop culture columns appear Wednesdays. She would like to thank nobody for inviting her to an election party Tuesday night, her calendar’s still open for inauguration day. Tpollock@syr.edu.

Published on November 4, 2008 at 12:00 pm