Well, the short answer is it went very well. We did not win, but we were somewhat ambiguous about winning anyway;-) We represented our community in fine fashion in what was a very close and interesting contest.

The two months we had to prepare were a great opportunity for us to hone our words and find ways to develop our thoughts. We finally settled on our speech topics by late August. slave kelly's speech was about why someone becomes a slave and what it means. Mine was on the topic of acceptance of ourselves and others--and the role of acceptance and community in helping us all find our path.

By early September we had our presentation topic: Rituals and Ceremonies and their role in our relationship. This was a little tougher for us to bring into focus, and I was still making changes to it the week before the event.

The toughest part of preparation was the stuff we couldn't prepare for. I know I lay awake many nights with my brain churning over possible interview questions and practicing succinct answers. slave kelly, who was dragged into this whole deal kicking and screaming, had some health issues due to the level of anxiety. I had to keep reminding her to breathe, and reinforcing that she was fully capable of doing this and doing it well. By Thursday morning, when it was time to leave for Fringe, I was looking forward to the experience while slave kelly was looking forward to Monday, when it would all be over.

We were introduced to the other contestant couple on Thursday and hung out with them for most of the weekend. Master Bob and slave jan are active in the Portland Community and it was interesting to learn more about what's going on in Northern Oregon. Friendship, rather than competetiveness, was the nature of our relationship.

The contest began with a meet-and-greet on Friday. This was an opportunity for the judges and the two contestant couples to get to know each other a bit. We had already met half the judges and were looking forward to meeting the rest of them. We've attended workshops with Master Bert, slave marsha, Sage DeRosier, and had brunch with SlaveMaster. That only left Lance, Ren, and Yo Yo as total unknowns. The time went fast and we had many good conversations with the judges. We found a little time to play in the fantastic Fringe Dungeon Friday night but got to bed at midnight hoping to get some sleep before the big day Saturday. That goal turned out be elusive, as we were both awake at 5:00 Saturday morning with some form of pre-contest jitters.

There was a nice moment on Friday night when slave kelly finally thanked me for making her do this. By Saturday morning she wasn't so thankful anymore;-)

The first order of business was the contestant interviews. We drew numbers and Master Bob and slave jan were up first while slave kelly and I waited in the hall. While this was open to the public, there were only a handful of attendees. Our turn--each member of the judging panel asked questions. Most concerned the nature of our relationship with some questions abbout our ability to fulfill the obligations of Titleholders should we win. The last judge had a strange question about whether we had sought counseling for our social disorder and how we deal with an antagonistic press.

We had a couple hours to eat lunch and prepare for round two: the presentations. Again Master Bob and slave jan went first, but this time we were allowed to be in the room and watch. At the conclusion of each presentation the audience and the judges were allowed to ask questions. After our presentation one of the judges came out of left field and attempted to embroil us in Bay Area Community politics--which had nothing to do with our presentation and appeared to be her own personal axe to grind. I've always refused to participate and take sides in local issues of this sort and I think I did a good job remaining neutral in this instance as well. This was the only time in the entire experience that we felt anyone was less than professional and above-board.

We had a couple hours for dinner and rest and then it was time for the end of the contest: speeches, pop questions, and the awarding of the Title. There was a great deal of ceremony involved here including a very erotic performance featuring three lovely ladies and a knife. This time slave kelly and I got to go first. Our speeches went well and the pop questions were not terribly difficult.

Our goals in throwing ourselves into this contest were to nurture the new NorthWest Region; to help make this a good competition, to have the NorthWest Region be well-represented, and to set a good benchmark for future years. We were ambiguous about winning--it would have been good for us as we progress in our relationship and we would have welcomed the opportunity to educate, but we've talked with other Titleholders who are thousands of dollars in debt and have had to put their careers on hold to fulfill the obligations of the Title. This was a very close competition and by the end of Saturday we felt that we were very much in danger of winning;-) It was with a feeling of relief for both of us when the names of Master Bob and slave jan were announced. Of course I am ambiguous about losing as well. I hate to lose anything;-) but the obligations that come with the Title would have taken me away from my music and would have taxed our resources thoroughly. There is no question that we would have met those obligations in fine fashion, but we will be better prepared to do that in a couple more years.

To summarize the whole experience--it was wonderful! It was a good thing for us to do both for ouselves and for the Community. We learned a lot in the process and represented ourselves and our Humboldt Community very well. It was stretch for slave kelly to do this but she rose to a level of competence that I knew she was capable of and I'm very proud of the way she hendled herself and has grown from the experience.