Back in November 2007 I was at home in Melbourne for the Federal Election.
I went to my old Primary School to cast my vote.
Then I covered it online via screenshots… you can view it all here.
When I voted then I remember making a big deal out of it because I knew at the time, it could be a while until I would ever be voting in Australia again. This time, I have not voted. Even when I was living in London I voted. Here, the consulate was only open for voting from 9-5 and it is too much of a trek from work to try and get up there and back in my lunch hour. Organizing a postal vote was too much of a chore so I skipped. I actually feel ok about it seeing as I am actually not there anymore but it feels so strange to know my vote is not being included in the results. Before I left, I sent off a form to the Electoral Commission that allows me to vote if I am able to and if I miss voting, I am in the clear.
So what now?
Well it is Friday night and after a delicious pizza for dinner I’ve cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the bathroom, dusted, the groceries have been delivered and put away and I feel like this is the perfect way to start the weekend.
I planned on getting to sleep early so I could get up early to follow the vote count and the Pies Vs Crow game, but then I received a tweet –
@774melbourne Expats, travellers: the geoblock has been lifted for live election coverage on http://abc.net.au/news24
YES YES YES!!! ABC News 24 lifted the block on international access and I can watch live news from Australia. This is insane and I am so so happy. So this is on my screen at the moment –
I miss all the chats with everyone about the election.. results.. following the papers.. collecting ephemera for the National Library. So I am trying my hardest to keep some of the passion going here!
For the rest of Saturday we are having a movie day and are heading to the Lincoln Center to see Scott Pilgrim and then in an attempt to keep the Aussie theme going.. Animal Kingdom. I am super excited about this as I have been itching to see Animal Kingdom since pre-production.