I woke up bright, er, dark 'n early in the morning and took a shower to get ready to head to the polls. I got there around 7:30 am and didn't have to wait in much of a line, was given my ballot and a pen and I sat myself at a very unprivate table next to two young fellow voters. I read over the initiates and measures and propositions, elected accordingly, voted Barack Obama and Joe Biden as the leaders of the free world, and Christine Gregoire as governor of Seattle, as I was impressed she was the ambassador of the Pride Parade in Seattle this past summer.

I stayed at home all day chatting to fellow voters online, and also people from all over the world. I was impressed to find out that this wasn't just America's election, but the entire world's election. I was getting statements from people that this election is more important in their country than their own election is, and to every country that feels this way, Barack Obama is the beacon of hope for them all just as he has shown to be to so many Americans. If you haven't checked out iftheworldcouldvote.com, you should. Here's how people of the world voted, almost 90% of them favoring Barack Obama.

John texted me asking me what I was up to and invited me to grab a drink with him at Elite, a local gay bar here in Seattle. I got there and the place was packed. There was a line outside the door for the bar inside, so I headed straight upstairs. There were about 6 or 7 TVs throughout the bars and you couldn't hear any of them above to commentary and cheering. Before anyone knew it, Obama jumped in the lead with 200 votes from the electoral college without even counting the west coast, so it was obvious he was going to win. At 8 o'clock when the polls closed on the West Coast, I figured it'd be a bit of a wait to get the results, but shortly after, MSNBC had declared Barack Obama the Presidential-Elect of the United States of America.It was overwhelming. The excitement that filled the room and the free champagne that was flowing. Everyone quieted for Obama's address to the nation; it was a speech that moved so many people around the globe.No one could stop smiling that night. It was such a positive energy in the atmosphere. John and I headed to the Broadway Grill for some food and it was a wild party in there. We ate, drank, hit the streets (Broadway) and followed the hoardes of people marching down Broadway... wherever it was people were going. The party was apparently at Broadway and Pike. Thousand of people in this closed-off intersection. There were people squirting champagne everywhere and giving away beer and having a good time in this changing country.

That's where I was all night. I didn't have the opportunity to take any video like a lot of people did, but I did get in some pretty cool pictures.

Broadway

Above the QFC on Broadway and Pike, we found a KOMO 4 news guygiving a report, live on air as we stood less than a foot from him.

Broadway and Pike was crazy.

People were shooting off fireworks... which was dangerous 'cause they were shooting them straight from the crowd, and some went INTO the crowd.

There were people climbing on street posts.

Showing their pride in our country.

There were cops EVERYWHERE but EVERYONE was drinking and getting wasted, popping bottles of champagne and squirting them everywhere. I was one of them.

We even got to meet the victor ourselves.

We also met this incredible lady who, more than any other older person I've ever met, REALLY under stood the younger generation and understood the reasons to vote for Obama and to better the future for the people of the younger generation who are most going to be effected by it.

Eventually the cops started clearing out people .. with good reason since it looked like there was going to be a long night of cleaning ahead.

For the first time since before I could give a darn about politics and my future, I feel like there's hope afterall. I almost forgot that it is possible to have faith in the country you live in.