Obamania

Wow, is all I can say. Living in DC and being able to be part of the past few days has been amazing.
Sunday was the beginning, with the "We Are One" concert to kick off the inauguration. We had quite the adventure with this little party. We meandered down to the Monuments around 12, and by the time we got there it was already madness. We couldnt get into the concert, even though there was still room and the show didnt start until 230. Instead of getting all angry though, we decided to make the best of it. We made friends with the police, secret service, and national guards around us, steyed updated on whether or not we could get in, relaxed, listened to the concert once it began, and then wandered up to the Washington Monument where there was a jumbotron set up. We ended up watching most of the concert there, and had a really good time even though we were far away. The crowd was really happy and relaxed and no one was belligerent. Everyone sang and danced to "One Love," "American Pie," and "This Land Is Your Land," everytime Obama's image came up on screen everyone screamed and yelled, there were chants of "O-BAM-A" every now and then, and there was such an air of happiness, its difficult to describe. Basically, we saw some fun perfomances, good speeches, and some compeltely random stuff, and it was a great day. Oh, and it was freezing allllll day. But the fun we had made it worth the almost frostbite. :)
Monday was MLK day, and LC, Alex, and I decided to take part in some community service by going to RFK Stadium and putting together care packages for the military. We got there a little late (which is another story) and were surprised to see a long line to get in and volunteer. We slowly made our way into the stadium though, and were herded through security and to a little orientation session, after which we went into the tent where they had an assembly line deal set up where we carried empty bags down a line and other volunteers dropped goodies into our bags. Then, we did it all again. And again. And again. They had some music, and it was fun to rock out to it a bit. It was also cool to see people from all walks of life there. Once we were done with our session, we wrote a letter to a soldier, and meandered back to Georgetown.
Today was the big day, the day of all days. I got up at 545, met up with my friend at 7am at her place, and made my way down to the mall by about 815. From then on we, just walked through and tried to find a spot to see a jumbotron from. My roommate volunteered and sent me a message at 445 am telling me the mall was already filling up, and when I turned on the news at 6, it was already over half full. So, we decided to just have fun and not worry about getting the best spot, just one from which we could see. We found one of those and then sat and did nothing but shiver for 3 hours. Watching the dignitaries wander in and be announced was fun, especially because there was a speaker on that wasnt supposed to be on and we could hear them all talking, lol. It was also fun playing "guess that congressman," haha. Seeing Sascha and Malia walk in was cool, and they are so adorable. Michelle Obama looked fabulous as usual. People booed when Bush was shown on the screen, and that was a little disappointing to me. Granted, I dont like the man and I think he is an idiot, but he had a half hour left as President, and it seemed a bit mean spirited. Then Obama came out and it was all cheers. I cant even explain how it felt to be part of htat crowd. Once again, everyone was happy and excited and there were no mean feelings. The amount of people is incomprehensible. The Mall was filled to capacity, both Constitution Ave and Independence Ave were full of people, and allllll the way back to the Lincoln Memorial was also full. It was just a sea of people all in support of that one man, and the emotion I felt from the crowd was indescribable. The invocation was better than I thought it would be, and Biden's swearing in went by without a hitch. Obama's swearing in was a couple minutes past 12, so we were President-less for about 5 minutes, lol. Chief Justice Roberts apparently didnt know the script, as he prompted Obama with the incorret words for the oath, lol. It was a light-hearted moment though, and everyone laughed. Then came Obama's speech, and if he can pull through at least half of what he said, he is going to have an amazing term.
After the ceremony and speeches, I walked halfway home, and caught a bus for the rest of the way. The weather today was terrible. When I got there it was about 16 degrees, and I dont think it got much better. The windchill sucked away all warmth. My hands were soooo cold, and I had to keep one of them out to take pictures, so it wasnt getting any better. When we started to walk home, I realized my feet were frozen too as they felt like blocks of ice, lol. I finally got home at about 230, and waited for the parade to come on tv. There was no way I was going to sit outside another couple hours seeing as I had already been there for the really important part and was freaking freezing, so home it was.
All in all, it has been an amazing, cold, sleep-deprived last couple of days, but so worth it. I feel like I have been part of something so much bigger than I am or ever will be, and nothing can change that. It was an experience I will never forget and cannot truly be put into words, though I have tried to share a bit of it from my pov. I am still a bit in shock and cant believe it is over. Although, I guess I really should say it is just beginning. :-) What a crazy past couple of days.

Obamania

lol

so i was channel surfing in boredom tonight, and stumbled across the new season of the real world. there is a super cute guy on it who plays guitar, and on top of that, he has a girlfriend named michelle, haha.
i just may have a new crush.

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just once...

just once i would like to sit next to a young, attractive, and intelligent guy while flying across the country. i have yet to have this happen. instead, i always end up sitting next to an older man who invariably falls asleep so i cant leave my seat, a family, or an older woman who wont shut up. i always see good looking guys getting on my plane, but they never sit near me, sigh. i dont know when i am going home next, so this isnt really an issue, just some random musings reflecting on my flights to and from home this past break and the hope that maybe next time my luck will turn and i will get to sit near someone i actually want to talk to. ::fingers crossed::

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