First and foremost, I must say the WTO protests were the biggest thing I'd ever seen. So much planning, so much organizing, so much teamwork. In the end, it not only left Seattle with some busted windows, it left us with a vibrant and more-connected-than-ever grassroots.

Lisa (my girl) and I marched down with the University of Washington contingency, since we live in the U-District. Lots of signs and chanting and lots of cheering from the businesses along Eastlake. After a brief stint at the Seattle Center, we joined the labor march and headed downtown. With 50,000 protestors and police that had been showering tear gas since 10 a.m., things got a little crazy. On 5th and Pike, we took the first tear gas of our short lives. It wasn't much -- just enough to burn the eyes a bit and irritate the throat, but we decided to head east stat. Covering our faces, we moved quickly to 6th and got some water to rinse our eyes. We hung out at the 6th and Pike sit-in for a while, then roamed around a bit, checking out all the festivities.

Every block was different. Some had sit-ins. Some had human chains. At least one block had a full stereo-setup for freestyle hip-hoppers and whoever else wanted the mic.

We headed out at sunset, an hour before they started the full-on "reclamation" of downtown.

Besides being downtown on November 30, I went down on December 2 to protest the "no-protest zone," and ended up at the King County Jail blockade, which was another great time. This time, no tear gas was fired and we left around 10 p.m. after negotiations to let Direct Action Network lawyers into the jail succeeded. (This means we negotiated to let prisoners talk to lawyers, a right they are supposed to already have.)

Here's a humorous aside: for Christmas, my mother and her fiance gave me a gas mask. It was very funny, but very practical considering I had actually taken tear gas.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience for me. I did gain a gas mask and a greater understanding and interest in trade issues, but I gained much more than that. I gained experience. I gained connections and friends. I gained encouragement and a little momentum. On top of it all, I gained a little more of that stick-it-to-the-man attitude -- a little more hope that David can put up a good fight and perhaps even whoop Goliath's ass.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Oblivion. We're trying to move towards action writing -- articles that make you want to actually do something. So please, if you feel inspired, do something! Anything!