Remember when a cold or flu only lasted for a couple of days? What in the hell has happened to turn these into illnesses that last weeks and months? To get a cold or flu these days is to be down for the count. I even got a flu shot this year and still got sick. Thank goodness for Dr. Keith Vrhel who keeps me going during my cold and flu bouts. I find that drinking plenty of liquids and getting lots of rest are the foundation for getting better.

I found the 2007 Oscars to only be about average. The best parts were the silhouette interludes, with men and women forming various objects behind a screen. They stole the show. Comedienne Ellen Degeneres did a good job. (I love her.) And her comment that “if there weren’t blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars” was interesting.

The Dreamgirls buzz overwhelmed all the music categories, so I was very happy and excited to see Melissa Etheridge win an Oscar. It was wonderful!

Later that same night, I tuned into KPBS television’s “In the Life” and discovered someone who could be a future Melissa Etheridge: Emily, a 16-year-old lesbian singer/guitarist in a small city in Iowa, who was the first openly GLBT youth to come out, not only in her high school but in her entire town. Boy, do I wish you could have all seen this KPBS profile.

What a brave, courageous young woman. She faced blatant homophobia and many ugly and awful situations, not only in her high school and town but in her church as well. She even organized a Gay/Straight Alliance in her small high school despite strong objection from many in the community. She is a devout Christian and a proud lesbian, but she is more than that – she is a role model for the rest of us. Emily gives us hope that there will remain activists to lead our community into the future.

I’ve long been a friend and supporter of fifth district Councilmember Brian Maienschein because I always like it when an elected city official comes from community or neighborhood activism as Brian does. He is one of the youngest council members ever elected from the fifth district. Yes, Maienschein and I may disagree on some issues, but we agree to disagree. Maienschein represents probably one of the most Republican and conservative districts.

Although Councilmembers Maienschein, Scott Peters, Toni Atkins and Donna Frye have come under fire and have had some bumpy rides, it’s a fact that Maienschein remains popular in his district, and many hope the young man will run for county supervisor or the state Assembly in the future.

We met to discuss his upcoming, as-yet-undetermined nominee to the Human Relations Commission, but we got sidetracked and ended up having lively discussions about everything under the sun. By the way, I have already talked to a couple of candidates hoping to succeed Maienschein as councilmember. They’re all Republicans, of course.

Like many of you, I came down with a really bad case of the flu last week and also forgot that I had made some commitments in San Francisco with community and political leaders, but I got my sick butt on a plane and went anyway. I cut my meetings short though, including my speeches and events. So it was kind of a hit-and-run appearance. I spent a lot of time in my hotel bed.

California Assemblymember Mark Leno – author of our GLBT marriage bill, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act – and I had a nice talk about the governor’s recent statement that he would once again not sign the marriage bill. We both agreed that things could change by the time the bill makes its way to Arnold’s desk… hopefully.

I had nice discussions with mainstream publisher Ralph Hyman and had breakfast with San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who introduced me to his new beautiful baby daughter. Dufty recently was re-elected and continues to be talked about in many circles as the future first openly gay mayor of San Francisco.

Current San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is holding his own and will most likely be re-elected, though the usual rumors continue to swirl, and we all are hoping that no more shoes will drop as they say. Someone asked me if I was doing any drag in San Francisco, and I said, “Hell no,” as I could hardly get into my men’s clothing as sick as I was.

On my way back to San Diego, I bumped into former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock and said hello. At the same airport I bumped into a San Diego police officer and had a nice talk with him and his partner.

And, yes, the GAYVN video awards did take place while I was in the “city by the bay,” but I wasn’t in town for that and didn’t have time to go, although I heard emcee, comedienne and television personality Kathy Griffin was a huge hit.

Wow! We of the Gay & Lesbian Times thank you all for your wonderful comments and support of our paper’s 1,000th issue. Thank you for all the compliments about our changes, for which most of the credit goes to our editorial and production staff, who worked for countless days and nights on this issue. I agree with many of you who have told me that this issue is a keeper.

Wow, my five days in Seattle were a whirlwind of events, meetings, receptions, etc. On one day alone I had meetings solid from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at night. Thank goodness the weather was calm and I left in good health, although overwhelmed with responsibilities. The GLBT community of Seattle is a well-organized, one and they even have both an openly gay man and an openly lesbian woman on their City Council! I was very humbled by 52 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico sending official representatives from their Imperial Courts to witness my installation. And I was deeply touched by the more than 35 San Diegans – including Councilmember Toni Atkins – who all flew up there at their own expense to witness the historic event.

To be honored by the mayor and City Council president of Seattle was also an honor. I will do my best in my new international position and hope that I will make many of you proud. I’ve been receiving literally hundreds of e-mails, cards and phone calls from all over. These three nations and those of you in San Diego, thank you so very, very much.

Our city’s Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the Greater San Diego Business Association, is holding a mixer with the Asian Pacific Islander Community’s Business Organization, as it did with our city’s Latino Chamber of Commerce. My hat is off to the GSDBA once again for this important outreach and bridge building to other communities. To everyone at the GSDBA, you are doing your community proud!

On Saturday, March 3, get yourself down to Flicks! Flicks is having a Softball Date Auction, where you can bid on dinners with local softball players. You may even get dessert if you play your cards right! The auction starts at 9 p.m., and there will be a 50/50 raffle worth at least $100 and a chance to score a free membership to Seancody.com. Sounds like a boy-nanza!