I cut up a chili tonight for Christmas meal / Secret Santa I had with my housemates plus our bonus honorary housemate Sus.

Stupid me has accidentally touched the skin around my eye twice since then and nearly felt like my eyes were going to burn out.

So it is 1am and 7 hours after cutting the chili I still have not taken my contacts out because that requires me to put chili fingers directly in my eyes. Dang it. Why did I not get a contact-less housemate to chop the chili!?! Thoughtless Christy!

The chili reminds me slightly of the fact that I just registered online for my US absentee ballot. One of the great things about being an American is I can vote from far away and I have a country that counts my vote and doesn’t ignore it (well provided I get it in on time which I did not do for the last presidential election! I was having a very hard time choosing a candidate and waited so long to decide it didn’t get there in time. Whoops!) Oh wait.. chili. How does my chili pepper remind me of registering to vote? Well this simply:

Though you Brits might find the American election drama much more exciting than your own (do you know when your next major election is even going to be??!) As an American who is decidedly party-less, our 18 month long drama on the run up to a presidential election makes me rather stick a chili in my eye than deal with our long ridiculous political drama.

See I got there didn’t I! 🙂 Told ya politics and chilies fit together!

Actually it is not only how long it takes (though, dear Lord how it drags on!). One of the things I find very very difficult the older I get and the more world traveled I have become is that I do not fit into one of our two main parties any more. In fact, I don’t think my opinions on politics fit into any of our minor parties as well. In a country that is SO driven by politics that our political dramas go on for the better part of two years just to elect a president what usually happens is if I talk to Americans about my political views I immediately want to cower in the corner because the vibes I have gotten from people on both sides of the major parties are: