Hi kids,

This is my annual "Let's-look-back-at-the-year-and-reflect-on-the-passing-of-time-and-resolve-to-do-things-right-this-year" article. So without further hesitation, let's get to it!

Hi kids,

It's been a week and one day since I turned 22, and I think it's suiting me quite nicely. Before I go into introspection and the like (which I seem to enjoy doing), I'll tell you about my little birthday party.

I had my party at my favorite restaurant/bar here in Portland. I'd made reservations a few weeks in advance, and so everything was set. I had no idea, though, how many people were going to show up. I knew for sure a few people that were going to come, but I didn't know anything outside of that. Since Josef (the boyfriend) had to work that night, he wouldn't be able to be with me at the party until later that evening, so I was going to go by myself. Of course, since I'd be having a cocktail or two, I didn't want to drive downtown, so I decided to take the bus.

Yes indeed, kids! It's Momma's Birthday Eve! I'm very excited, because like last year, I've invited a billion people to a get-together at one of our favorite bars, and I'm hoping to have a fabulous turnout. Of course, nothing could ever beat my 21st birthday last year, but you know, we'll still have a fun time trying. :) So I suppose now is the time when I have to look back and see what the hell I've done this past year. What have I learned, not learned, and all that good stuff. Come along for the ride!

Hi kids,

As we all know, it's a sad day for liberal America. Eleven states passed gay marriage bans (even Oregon!), Congress is firmly Republican territory, and we have Bush in the White House for four more years.

Josef and I last night went to an Election Day get-together at our friend Ryan's house, and we had a good time. Needless to say, when I first arrived, the immediate item of business was getting me good and tipsy, because that's how I had planned for this all along. We met some wonderful, liberal people, and we had a nice time talking about how absolutely idiotic Republicans are. On the bright side of things, we had some very nice results for some of our local Portland, Oregon elections, including mayor and city council.

Hi kids,

I figure since every major newspaper in the country (and not so major newspapers, as well) are endorsing political candidates, I think I ought to do the same. I mean after all, now that I'm one of the old warhorses on Oasis, one would *think* I have a bit of wisdom to share. Hah! Probably not, but let's give it a try, anyhow.

The 2000 elections took place just before I turned 18, so I did not have a chance to vote. I was, however, very involved in the political process. I was absolutely disgusted with W. then, and I am now. I also wasn't very pleased with Gore, because there weren't a lot of things that differentiated him from W. That being said, at my own school, I was a big Nader supporter. He was great in representing a lot of things that I thought needed to be changed, and he had a long record of consumer advocacy. The probability that he would be running for selfish, self-gaining reasons was, in my mind, much less than the other two. The year 2000 was Nader's year to shine.

Then the 2004 election came along. Howard Dean had a lot of momentum into the election, and he changed the way that candidates campaigned. He was the first to use the internet in such a way as to spread his message. Dean had some of the most staunch supporters behind him, and his energy was incredible. Then he started to fail in the primaries. Bigtime. And who was he losing to? John Kerry.

Hi kids,

Michael here, with a much-needed posting. Let's see what's been going on as of late....

Hi kids,

What an exciting couple of weeks it's been! Not so much because I've done crazy things (because I haven't), but because I've just been finding out all sorts of gossipy things about all sorts of people. I've also met a few really cool people over the last two weeks, and Josef (the boyfriend) and I have started becoming more financially capable of going out and being social.

Hi kids,

Michael here, bringing you the latest from his crazy goings on in Portland. It's been a bizzarre couple of weeks, so let's get started....

Hi kids,

I thought on the eve of my departure from the FABULOUS city of Montreal, I'd better write about my experiences. Since I don't have time to do as good a job as you deserve, I'll instead post a letter to my parents that I wrote just last night. Enjoy!

Hi kids!

Yes, yes, it's been forever. And I see so many new names and faces, I think that's fabulous! Well, as for me, I'm visiting Montreal until Sunday.

Hi kids,

Wow, the time between this posting and the last posting has been less than a month--I think I'm trying to set a new personal record or something. Since I got to school early and really don't want to practice quite yet, I thought I'd give you a little update as to what's going on in my corner of the universe.

Hi kids,

Goodness gracious, I let this go for much too long (again). Needn't you all worry; I'm still alive and kickin'. This past week has been very active, to say the least, and frankly, it was what I needed.

And believe it or not, I didn't get any action. Really, I didn't. :-P

So here goes my little story about what went on....

Hi kids!

Gracious! It's been so long, Momma doesn't even know where to start!

I suppose the first thing should be that I'm still in school, still doing all the 5 million things that I normally do (and I've added a few things to the list, as well), and of course, I'm still enjoying life. That's why we're here, right? Anyways, that's what I'd LIKE to think. :-P

So speaking of enjoying life, there've been many, MANY boys these past couple of months, but I only have PG-13 rated stories about them; as far as the sex life is concerned, I've been pretty celibate.

Hi kids,

So it seems that I've met a boy.

I can't say a whole lot about him, as we haven't been out on a date or anything like that, but I'm very excited about this prospect nevertheless.

I met him at gay Bingo two Sundays ago. To make a long story short, I talked with him, thought I blew it, and before he left, he gave me his number. We've talked a couple of times and I saw him last Sunday at Bingo, as well. We're going to try and get together this week sometime, when we both have a free moment. In fact, we might even get together today. :-D

Hi kids,

It's been a very active weekend for me. It started on Friday when I decided to go out and have a drink, since I'd been stuck inside the house for most of the week. When I get to the bar, I decided that for some reason, it'd be a great idea to drink until I got just a little tipsy. Luckily, there were friends of mine that I ran into at the bar, and they were making sure that I was drinking lots of water and such things.