Psst…Austinites. If you haven’t voted early yet, consider this to be a good time. For people in my ‘hood, the closest early voting spot is the Shriner’s building across from Sun Harvest. They have the little go-karts parked out front and everything.

Fast and easy, there was a crowd but it moved very quickly, and there were plenty of the usual polling crowd to keep things going. These people have been doing it for years, you can tell. They are pros. When I retire, I want to be a poll worker.

 So today is my telecommute day. Ever since K went off to college I’ve been using her bedroom as my telecommute office. It’s the smallest bedroom in the house, but it’s cozy, and now that I cleaned it out, it’s rather nice. There’s a big window up front so I can watch the street as I work. I keep thinking I should move my writing computer into the front bedroom, since my writing office is in the pantry and there are no windows. Would I get less done if I had a window to distract me? Would the trade-off be open air that would invigorate me and make me more productive?

(I don’t know if it’s better to describe it as the pantry or the laundry room because it does serve as both. We have a smaller house than some people have apartments.)

So here’s what I see when I telecommute. The skinny couple with the greyhound. They walk together in the mornings and from my vantage point I can sometimes see only very long legs.

The girl on the low-rider bike who exercises her dog up and down our street. I’d like to do that with my dog, but my dog is an idiot.

Whose house is getting treated for termites.

The neighbor on the corner who takes the bus.

The stupid black cat across the street who vanquished our orange cat so that now Twinkie has to live inside. Stupid black cat. I never wanted a litter box to be part of my life!

The mail carrier. I usually have the window open so we exchange greetings.

Okay, I think I answered my own question. If I had a window to look out of I’d be less productive than I am already. Back into the pantry for me!