Yesterday I remembered how much hope I felt when Clinton was elected into office (my first time casting a presidential vote, even), and realized just how entirely beleaguered I feel these days. Between Washington State in the crapper (did anyone catch our pathetic Gov. Locke deliver the flaccid democratic response to the State of the Union?), and the country in X-War mode (uh, what’s with North Korea acting like the attention-deprived middle child among world despots?), I can’t shake the sourness. I actually sat through Powell’s Performance yesterday (unfortunately rebroadcast during lunch- might just be a sour stomach), and then last night I had to put on my most gracious demeanor and attend a ridiculous awards reception at the University. I had to publicly thank the donors of a research scholarship I received, making me feel even sicker to my stomach. All of a sudden I was 18 and awkward again, feeling like Holden Caulfield among a bunch of phonies.