2003-08-23 - 11:30 a.m. - 1-year anniversary, neighbors, anti-Bush rally

Today is my first-year anniversary in Dairyland. I just reread my very first entry about a broken glass that was analogous to my broken heart. My relationship potential is not much different than it was a year-ago, but today I am more hopeful than I was then. I don’t know why. I guess I can make a choice and either be the victim or creator of my own circumstances. It’s all the same reality (if this is truly reality), but it’s just how you decide to look at it. I choose to create.

I’m listening to the radio and The Beatles’ "All You Need Is Love" is playing – quite appropriate. And I guess if you don’t have the intimate variety with a soul mate of sorts, you can still survive (and thrive) with the other types of love – through family and friends. I take comfort in that. Although "being alone throughout time" may be my fear, I choose to face the fear and live on despite of it. If I focus on it, the fear will just become stronger – it’s like you’re giving it more energy or something. But since I have acknowledged it and have chosen to move on (at least today and hopefully tomorrow’s tomorrows), perhaps it will fade and dissolve all together.

So, what have I been creating lately in this life? Time to relax and read – I only have a few days left of pure leisure before school starts up again. I’ve also met a few more neighbors, and I plan on baking some cookies today and bringing them over to my new acquaintances. I’m hoping once I get to know some of them better, and if we get along well, I would love to have one of those progressive dinner parties. It’s where you start at one house for appetizers, move to another for the salad course, then on to another dwelling for the main course before finishing up at the last house for dessert. I guess depending upon how many households are involved you could decide how many or few courses you’d want. Personally, I’d love to do the dessert course since I’m more of a baker than a cook, but I’d be game for any of it.

Hmm…what else has been up? I did attend an anti-Bush rally when G.W. was here in town the other day. It’s is third visit in as many years since Oregon is now in the top five states that are considered as being key as to who wins the White House next year. We used to be considered Democratic, but unfortunately, that has changed recently. I guess the registered voters who are Democrats still outnumber Republicans, but we are definitely more polarized. It’s more like urbans vs. rurals with Portland being much more liberal and the rural areas being conservative. Oregon has a lot of rural areas….With Ralph Nader not on the ticket for next year, perhaps that will help secure the Democratic nominee – who knows. What we are now is a swing state with our 7 golden electoral votes up for grabs.

On Thurs., we protestors started in a park near the University of Portland (where G.W. was attending a $2,000/plate luncheon to raise funds for his campaign) and then marched to the university itself. I didn’t have a sign, but I did write down some of the sayings that caught my eye: "How many lives per gallon?", "No child left behind to paydown W’s giant deficit, " God’s forest plan – burn Bush". My two favorites were: "The greatest danger to America is the weapon of mass deception in the White House" and "Somewhere in Texas, a village has lost its idiot".

For the most part, it was a peaceful protest, and I guess only 10 people got arrested. I saw the first one happen – it was a sacrificial arrest – a woman deliberately crossed the barricade separating the protestors from the university property. Stationed every 10 yards or so was a uniformed police officer and right at the center itself where the luncheon was were police in full-blown riot gear. Some of the protestors were yelling insults at them and I told one person to just leave them alone – they’re just doing their job as they would for any President. Who knows – some of them probably voted for Gore, but they have a job to do right now and that’s to secure the area for the visiting President. I guess some people can’t separate a person’s job from the person who is behind the face shield and riot gear.

Tomorrow Dean is visiting and I plan on going to hear him speak – I’m curious what his platform is. I’ve never considered myself political in the least, but I’m trying to be better informed about things than I have been in the past.

30-something - 2005-03-01
the holding back the the flow of tears - 2005-02-20
song survey - 2005-02-15
song for the day...or perhaps the year... - 2005-01-25
something new - 2005-01-24
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