A short, personal background story about a DailyKos junkie, and YearlyKos attendee, living in Fairbanks, Alaska.
User ID: 17297
I have been here at DailyKos for more than two years, but it wasn't until YearlyKos that I really felt like part of the community. Part of it was being able to attach names and faces to the handles, but that was only a small part of what took place. YearlyKos was the beginning of something important, and I'm still thinking about how it will change the political systems of our nation. The only thing that I have sorted out is what YearlyKos meant to me.
Far from conspicuous, I was just another blogger with bad hair and a laptop. It seemed wise to stay quiet most of the time, and observe what was transpiring. I tried to think of clever questions, and occasionally engaged others in meaningful conversations. Most of all I wanted to avoid humiliating myself and did a fairly good job of it until the Stratosphere party. Tom Tomorrow is probably still wondering how some random guy confused him with Devilstower.
I was born and raised here in Fairbanks, Alaska; graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, and briefly attended law school at Willamette University in Salem, OR. Until recently, I was never interested in politics or religion. Neither subject seemed to have anything to do with my life of schoolwork, soccer and science fiction. Neither of their proponents seemed capable of answering my questions or teaching me how to overcome a profound lack of self-confidence.
Before 2004, politics seemed like a ludicrous form of theater, where everybody is supposed to clap at the same stupid plays with the same atrocious dialogue. During the 2000 election and aftermath, I was in China wooing the love of my life. Events in Florida were literally a world away -- a ridiculous parade in a state I have no fond memories of. Life went on, and eventually brought me home.
The following year, on a Monday, I began working as a paralegal in my uncle's law office. The next morning, I woke up and walked downstairs just like any other day. Left hand on the railing, glancing at the television, I watched a Tower crumble. The events were shocking, horrifying and exciting in a primal way -- many have died, but not me. It was thoroughly hypnotic to watch something that felt so permanent being annihilated so easily. I was aggrieved and furious, but still it had nothing to do with me.
After watching the Towers collapse, I got on with breakfast. The only further disruption to daily life was a 20-minute candlelight vigil at work. 5 co-workers briefly held burning white candles, and promptly went back to work. Occasionally, there were some flickers of residual emotion, but the moments were few and far between. There was one evening at a gas station, when a poster really hit home. It was an image of the Towers with an angry, translucent eagle superimposed; a mixture of patriotism and rage with a hint of vengeance. Even so, politics remained a horse race in which I had no horse, or even a wager.
As most important things do, an interest in politics grew slowly. I was a talented paralegal looking to settle down and get married. I couldn't bring my fiancé to America without a better career, so it was off to law school in the fall semester of 2003. Optimism became hope, and hope became an abysmally depressing boredom. Stone-age tools of lecture brought my brain, and interest in daily necessities, to a screeching halt. Within 3 months, it became clear this path had become a brick wall. During those days, I turned to anything that kept my brain activated: video games, net surfing, Indian food, biking and watching C-Span. It was during this Titanic wreck of a transition, the Democratic Presidential primary heated-up.
I listened and learned, but was not motivated by any of them. In all fairness, I was so depressed that someone pointing a loaded gun at me would have elicited merely a shrug. I watched from the sidelines, as always, and occasionally did research on the race. In retrospect, it seems a few seeds of political curiosity had begun to bloom. Alaskan Governor Steve Cowper was a family friend, and, while in office, he had his birthday party at my house. Governor Tony Knowles is also an old family friend, whom I've met a number of times. During the summer of 1993, I attended the Alaska Boys' State camp, and learned much about state governments. Later that summer, I was the only Alaskan to attend a 3-week Junior Statesmanship Association program at Georgetown University. The Junior Statesmanship Association deserves a much greater profile on this site, and likely warrants a great deal more inspection.
Sometime during the winter of 2003-2004, I found the way to DailyKos and have been a constant visitor since them. Other websites became regular stops as well: Democratic Underground, Eschaton, Redstate and FreeRepublic. A few months later, I was zotted (banned) from FreeRepublic. They were right to do so, however. I used foul language in objecting to stop-loss programs, and did not mitigate the offense with links. I still lurk over there. More recently, my list of frequented sites also includes Crooks & Liars, Firedoglake, Littlegreenfootballs, and MyDD.
Long story short, I returned home to learn the family business. My mother is a successful insurance agent, and I will soon have an insurance license. Yep, that's right sportsfans, my three most-pursued careers are now lawyer, insurance agent and politician. Yikes.
Married my lovely wife, Xiaotian, on November 13, 2005, and we live here in Fairbanks with my mother and two golden retriever puppies (BeiBei & Red). If someone accused me of being a momma's boy, I'd be hard-pressed to refute it. Mom has helped me financially through many depressing, aimless years, and has been nothing but helpful in bringing Xiaotian to Alaska and helping her feel at home. Those aimless years are thankfully over. I live in a big house, with a beautiful, smart wife, two golden retriever shit-machines, a profitable career path, a passionate hobby (politics), and, for the first time, a sense of community.
That community is here at DailyKos, thanks to the lightning bolt that was YearlyKos.
Thank you. Each of you.
p.s. -- I plan to do a series of diaries following the Alaska Governor's race. See you later.