Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Part Two: How I Got to the Inauguration, the Morning Ceremony
Next, it took two hours to pick up my inauguration tickets as all of D.C. was jammed and roadblocked. My sister and her husband drove me. Driving one block took so long, it became evident that taking the Metro would be faster. So after over an hour of trying to navigate the closed streets of D.C. proper, my sis and I jump out at a Metro Station because the Congressman's office holding my tickets call me: Do you still want your tickets? Because there are people outside our office waiting to grab them if you don't.
It was after 4:00 p.m. when my Congressman's office called. It was close. I mean it was a close one. After we jumped off the Metro, which was already crowded for the inauguration, we found the building that housed the offices of Congressional Representatives and ran in. Security stopped us and it was a good thing my sister warned me not to bring my bag because all the junk would set off the metal detector and it would take us ten minutes to get through. So, I only set off the metal detector twice and we were up and running on the fifth floor!
Offices are located by district and thus state, but we turned left when we got off the elevator and had to run almost a full lap of the floor until we found my Congressman. Sure enough, there were people waiting outside to grab our tickets had I not made it by 5:00 p.m. Even better, my Congressman's aide upgraded me to standing room seats behind the Reflecting Pool instead of the Mall Area, which would have been a mile away!
Afterwards, my sister and I walked to my hotel, met her husband there, schlepped my junk to my room, and had dinner. Traffic was crazy congested going in and out of the City even at 8:00 p.m. so we had dinner at a restaurant that didn't have a two-hour waiting list! After that, they headed off and I went up to my room, dizzy excited while I was unpacking.
I unpacked my gowns just in case I could find tickets to the Official Inaugural Ball. It was tomorrow night and I still did not have tickets and not likely would get any since they were sold out and way impossible to get. The vast majority of Official Inaugural Ball tickets are doled out to big donors, which I am not by the way. I was so excited I couldn't sleep, and it didn't help that I kept the television on; CNN only had coverage of the next day's inauguration. I got my thermals out, put my tickets in my coat pocket so I wouldn't forget, and hopped in bed. I knocked myself out in order to get some decent hours of sleep and when my wake-up call came at 6:30 a.m., I went downstairs to get breakfast. I asked one lady (sleepily) what time she planned to leave the hotel for the inauguration. She said 8:30 a.m. Now for those of you who do not know me, I am very slo-o-w in the morning, lol, to say the least. It was already past 7:00 and I had not as yet showered, and as you know, showering before going into 40 degree weather is not advisable unless you super dry yourself so you don't catch pneumonia.
I showered as quickly as I could, used a headband as a scarf, wrapped a real scarf around that, put on my earmuffs, then my Dr. Seuss hat, about five layers, then my goat, liner gloves, gloves, inserted hand warmers in between the gloves but not my socks, and headed out at 9:00 a.m. The inauguration started at 11:30 a.m. It was an eight minute walk from my hotel to the entrance. I just followed the hordes of people walking. After going through security after security check, I finally got to the standing-room area and it was already crowded by 10:15. I maneuvered myself this way and that to get a better view. And realized that I didn't know what I was trying to see. I could see the jumbotrons perfectly but wanted to get a direct sight of the President. A nice man pointed out that the arch covered in red velvet was where the speakers would be standing. So, I moved to another spot since the latrines were blocking part of my view and after an hour, the music started.
Buses with blackened windows drove past, and we realized it was people in the VIP seating area near the President. When various people appeared on the Jumbotron screen, we cheered, like Hillary and Bill, the crowed loved Beyonce evidently (one young girl seems to have attended just to take pics of Beyonce on the Jumbotron screen. When the cameras showed the President and his family walking in the hallway approaching, the crowed went wild. I was elated and knew it was all worth it, traveling cross country, buying last minute tickets and everything, standing hours in the cold, cold weather!
I also realized that I should have inserted my foot warmers into my shoes before I set off from the hotel. My feet were icicles, they went from biting cold to numb, which I gather can be bad you can't feel your extremities for a while. I remembered reading Jack London's "The Call of the Wild" and tried to insert my foot warmers when we were squashed in like sardines. I think my butt was pushing against someone when I bent over trying to balance myself as I unlaced my hiking boots and inserted two foot warmers apiece. After a while, the foot warmer under the arch of my foot directly against my skin started burning. (You shouldn't do that but I wasn't exactly in the mood to read directions). Couldn't feel my toes and the bottom of my foot was burning. But I was happy!
Yes, I did listen attentively to Richard Blanco's Inaugural Poem (here's mine if you haven't read it yet--my inaugural poem rhymes, btw). I didn't make a face like Republican Representative Eric Cantor did, and was very polite indeed, even if my inaugural poem was not chosen to be read for B.O. (I still love him to death!)
Sometimes, the President's voice floated by as in a dream but I noticed the reference to "takers" (the 47% that "take handouts" in this country). Was thrilled to hear a reference to gay rights, laughed when Sasha yawned during her father's speech, was so glad it didn't rain as the forecast predicted, and then it ended before I knew it! Took a few pics for some people. Can't find the pics I took, misplaced my micro SD chip, or SD micro chip and lingered after the ceremony the way President Obama did, looking back one last time...
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Part One: How I Got to the President Obama's Second Inauguration January 21, 2013
Yes, I'm talking about the one where First Lady Michelle Obama makes her debut of Jason Wu's now famous red dress.
No, it had nothing to do with my Inaugural Poem, sniff sniff. As far as I know, President Obama doesn't know that I wrote one for him, but I heard that actor James Franco wrote one for BO as well, so I'm in shaky/good company? Actually, I like James Franco, as he is a real individualist, going back to grad school after he made it in Hollywood. I love the pic of him snoozing during class lecture, something I did frequently as well.
As you know, Richard Blanco was chosen to write an inaugural poem for Pres Barack Obama's inauguration. Check out the full text here. What can I say, I am partial to rapper poems (rhyming) since rappers seem to be the only ones rhyming these days. Also, I am an artiste (with and "e"), which means I am very biased toward my own writing, lol. The Washington Post loved Blanco's poem. The Guardian had a different opinion, but I have no idea what the critique means. It's above me.
And actually, I don't think Rep. Eric Cantor didn't like Senor Blanco's poem, per the Huffington Post. Do you know how cold it feels in 40 degree weather when you have been sitting there not moving for over an hour? My face was screwed up much like that even though I was ecstatic just to be there!
So one week before the inauguration, I was allotted tickets to the President Obama's Inauguration on January 21, 2013. As you know, only a very limited number of these are awarded to citizens, but still quite a lot for the morning swearing-in ceremony. Viewing of the inauguration is free, of course, but tickets allow the ticket holder to be closer to the action! That means closer to the Capitol in front of the Reflecting Pool or behind, as opposed to behind the Mall area where you cannot see the action without a telescope. Okay, binoculars.
You might wonder how I was lucky enough to be given these tickets. It is because of my Open Letter to President Obama. Read it and check out what I wrote.
I contacted several Congresspeople and Senators. Since most tickets to the morning swearing-in ceremony were distributed by December 15, 2012, there was virtually NO chance of my getting any tickets. On Friday, January 11, I even received a phone call from my senator's office. Her assistant informed me that they had already distributed the senator's inaugural tickets in early December through a raffle. The benefits of planning ahead, people. Except I never thought I could endure the cold temperatures of an East Coast Winter. Even colder than New Year's in Las Vegas. If you're ever in the area, you should try the Strip on New Year's Eve. They have fireworks all along the strip (about 4 shows) all synchronized and EXACTLY the same. I did not realize this last, last year (December 31, 2011) when I was there the first time. We were located on the northern part of the Strip around Harrah's and had a limited view. This year (December 31, 2012), I planed early, did some hardcore reconnaissance, and waited it out at MGM Grand until 30 minutes before midnight. Then we sent out into the frigid 40ish degree weather. All the good spots were taken, that is, the few spots where one can sit or stand on a low ledge for a better view.
We found a high ledge that I had to jump up several times before I reached it and sat down with my legs dangling over the side. Waiting in the cold when your BMI is less than 15% is rather hard. You feel as if frostbite is setting in within 10 minutes and gangrene 15 minutes. Mucho frio, people.
So I wondered where a couple of guys and gals were going when they descended in front of where we were sitting on the ledge. It was actually a ledge that led downstairs, but to where? I did not know. Seeing people go down to who-knows-where, I had to follow (and regretted it later when I had to jump on a ledge four feet high. If you're 6 feet tall, it's no problema.)
Back to the main story line.
My Congressman, bless his kind heart, just sent me an email yesterday on Friday, January 11, 2012. Soon, I was trying to obtain Inaugural Ball tickets, which are even harder to get! These are given to the elite, you know, wealthy donors who give at least $250,000 or politically connected people. I was only someone who traveled to Nevada (check out my story here), a Swing State during the election last November, to get out the vote because every vote counted!
If you haven't heard, a very limited number of Inaugural Ball tickets were made available to the public for $60. Something suspicious happened, as Ticketmaster, in charge of making tickets available, put the Inaugural Ball tickets on sale eight hours early. Instead of in the morning, the Inaugural Ball tickets were put on sale at midnight! In the morning, people who made plans to stay home from work to nab the Inaugural tickets were heartbroken that they could not get any. Then, the Official Inaugural Ball tickets were being scalped for as much as $6,000 on eBay and Craigslist! That's 1,000 times the original cost of $60.
Of course, even if you were lucky enough to get Inaugural Ball tickets for $60 instead of $6,000 or Inaugural Ceremony tickets, you have to pay for airfare and hotel rooms, which began at $500 per night with a 2-3 day minimum stay. How did I afford shelter in D.C.? The forecast predicted freezing temperatures and rain! And I get cold when it's less than 76 degrees. And yes, I mean Fahrenheit.
I started by getting a one-way ticket to D.C. Couldn't afford the return trip because I had to get a hotel room first before I bought a return trip ticket. It's called logistics for the broke person!
Since I am so computer illiterate, I tried to set up a PayPal donation button unsuccessfully. I struggled with this all night long with no luck. It was really to get people involved and interested. (Contributions are not tax deductible, not sure why, but I think it's because I'm not a registered charitable organization or a church.) I got exactly $0 in donations, yay! So, I faxed some hotels in the proximity of the Capitol building asking for a reduced rate because I could not endure the 3 hour metro ride and being squished in like sardines on the metro. Although not as many attended this inauguration as in 2009 when almost 2 million people attended, President Obama's second inauguration was still the second highest attendance, I believe. Almost a million people.
I flew into Baltimore because ticket prices were crazy high into Reagan and Dulles Airports. Arrived in the middle of the night and my poor sister and her husband had to pick me up past midnight. There was still congestion believe it or not and I waited aver an hour at BWI trying to get Wi-Fi reception because we all know that the suburbs of Baltimore are in the boonies.
I checked in two free bags with Southwest because I had no idea what I was going to wear and no time to decide. My sis and her hubby finally arrived and we got home by three in the morning. It's nice to have family isn't it?
The next day was spent buying hand and foot warmers at the sporting goods store and making sure that my 100 pound person (when inhaling) would not catch pneumonia in the near freezing temperatures. My mother was particularly concerned and praying since the moment I told her I had tickets to the inauguration. At first she was like, "But honey, it's so cold, you'll free to death!" And then she prayed about it overnight and told me the next morning: "I think you should go. I will pray for you!" Evidently, my mom's prayer's worked because I had an awesome time!
 |
| Michelle Obama Dress by Jason Wu at the Official Inaugural Ball |
No, it had nothing to do with my Inaugural Poem, sniff sniff. As far as I know, President Obama doesn't know that I wrote one for him, but I heard that actor James Franco wrote one for BO as well, so I'm in shaky/good company? Actually, I like James Franco, as he is a real individualist, going back to grad school after he made it in Hollywood. I love the pic of him snoozing during class lecture, something I did frequently as well.
As you know, Richard Blanco was chosen to write an inaugural poem for Pres Barack Obama's inauguration. Check out the full text here. What can I say, I am partial to rapper poems (rhyming) since rappers seem to be the only ones rhyming these days. Also, I am an artiste (with and "e"), which means I am very biased toward my own writing, lol. The Washington Post loved Blanco's poem. The Guardian had a different opinion, but I have no idea what the critique means. It's above me.
And actually, I don't think Rep. Eric Cantor didn't like Senor Blanco's poem, per the Huffington Post. Do you know how cold it feels in 40 degree weather when you have been sitting there not moving for over an hour? My face was screwed up much like that even though I was ecstatic just to be there!
So one week before the inauguration, I was allotted tickets to the President Obama's Inauguration on January 21, 2013. As you know, only a very limited number of these are awarded to citizens, but still quite a lot for the morning swearing-in ceremony. Viewing of the inauguration is free, of course, but tickets allow the ticket holder to be closer to the action! That means closer to the Capitol in front of the Reflecting Pool or behind, as opposed to behind the Mall area where you cannot see the action without a telescope. Okay, binoculars.
You might wonder how I was lucky enough to be given these tickets. It is because of my Open Letter to President Obama. Read it and check out what I wrote.
I contacted several Congresspeople and Senators. Since most tickets to the morning swearing-in ceremony were distributed by December 15, 2012, there was virtually NO chance of my getting any tickets. On Friday, January 11, I even received a phone call from my senator's office. Her assistant informed me that they had already distributed the senator's inaugural tickets in early December through a raffle. The benefits of planning ahead, people. Except I never thought I could endure the cold temperatures of an East Coast Winter. Even colder than New Year's in Las Vegas. If you're ever in the area, you should try the Strip on New Year's Eve. They have fireworks all along the strip (about 4 shows) all synchronized and EXACTLY the same. I did not realize this last, last year (December 31, 2011) when I was there the first time. We were located on the northern part of the Strip around Harrah's and had a limited view. This year (December 31, 2012), I planed early, did some hardcore reconnaissance, and waited it out at MGM Grand until 30 minutes before midnight. Then we sent out into the frigid 40ish degree weather. All the good spots were taken, that is, the few spots where one can sit or stand on a low ledge for a better view.
We found a high ledge that I had to jump up several times before I reached it and sat down with my legs dangling over the side. Waiting in the cold when your BMI is less than 15% is rather hard. You feel as if frostbite is setting in within 10 minutes and gangrene 15 minutes. Mucho frio, people.
So I wondered where a couple of guys and gals were going when they descended in front of where we were sitting on the ledge. It was actually a ledge that led downstairs, but to where? I did not know. Seeing people go down to who-knows-where, I had to follow (and regretted it later when I had to jump on a ledge four feet high. If you're 6 feet tall, it's no problema.)
Back to the main story line.
My Congressman, bless his kind heart, just sent me an email yesterday on Friday, January 11, 2012. Soon, I was trying to obtain Inaugural Ball tickets, which are even harder to get! These are given to the elite, you know, wealthy donors who give at least $250,000 or politically connected people. I was only someone who traveled to Nevada (check out my story here), a Swing State during the election last November, to get out the vote because every vote counted!
If you haven't heard, a very limited number of Inaugural Ball tickets were made available to the public for $60. Something suspicious happened, as Ticketmaster, in charge of making tickets available, put the Inaugural Ball tickets on sale eight hours early. Instead of in the morning, the Inaugural Ball tickets were put on sale at midnight! In the morning, people who made plans to stay home from work to nab the Inaugural tickets were heartbroken that they could not get any. Then, the Official Inaugural Ball tickets were being scalped for as much as $6,000 on eBay and Craigslist! That's 1,000 times the original cost of $60.
Of course, even if you were lucky enough to get Inaugural Ball tickets for $60 instead of $6,000 or Inaugural Ceremony tickets, you have to pay for airfare and hotel rooms, which began at $500 per night with a 2-3 day minimum stay. How did I afford shelter in D.C.? The forecast predicted freezing temperatures and rain! And I get cold when it's less than 76 degrees. And yes, I mean Fahrenheit.
I started by getting a one-way ticket to D.C. Couldn't afford the return trip because I had to get a hotel room first before I bought a return trip ticket. It's called logistics for the broke person!
Since I am so computer illiterate, I tried to set up a PayPal donation button unsuccessfully. I struggled with this all night long with no luck. It was really to get people involved and interested. (Contributions are not tax deductible, not sure why, but I think it's because I'm not a registered charitable organization or a church.) I got exactly $0 in donations, yay! So, I faxed some hotels in the proximity of the Capitol building asking for a reduced rate because I could not endure the 3 hour metro ride and being squished in like sardines on the metro. Although not as many attended this inauguration as in 2009 when almost 2 million people attended, President Obama's second inauguration was still the second highest attendance, I believe. Almost a million people.
I flew into Baltimore because ticket prices were crazy high into Reagan and Dulles Airports. Arrived in the middle of the night and my poor sister and her husband had to pick me up past midnight. There was still congestion believe it or not and I waited aver an hour at BWI trying to get Wi-Fi reception because we all know that the suburbs of Baltimore are in the boonies.
I checked in two free bags with Southwest because I had no idea what I was going to wear and no time to decide. My sis and her hubby finally arrived and we got home by three in the morning. It's nice to have family isn't it?
The next day was spent buying hand and foot warmers at the sporting goods store and making sure that my 100 pound person (when inhaling) would not catch pneumonia in the near freezing temperatures. My mother was particularly concerned and praying since the moment I told her I had tickets to the inauguration. At first she was like, "But honey, it's so cold, you'll free to death!" And then she prayed about it overnight and told me the next morning: "I think you should go. I will pray for you!" Evidently, my mom's prayer's worked because I had an awesome time!
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