Blue Oblivion

Historic.

Change.

Hope.

Clusterfrick.

Yes these are the words that people used when describing the experience of attending or trying to attend the Inauguration. For me it proved a bit more difficult than anticipated.

Our Nation's Capital Washington, D.C. has a population of just under 600,000. I'm sure on a typical work day the number of people surges to well over a million. It is usually crowded and parking can be difficult to find. It's a busy city. Typically Independence Day on July 4th is a very busy day for the city. Perhaps half a million people come to the National Mall to watch the fireworks. It's crowded but not unpleasant. The city government has figured out to manage that situation pretty well. I figured that with this plethora of dealing with crowds that I would have limited trouble navigating the city and attending the inauguration.

Most of you know that I voted for John McCain. Unlike many of the people who descended on DC I didn't care about the new President, and I mostly decided to attend because I am here and had tickets and who knows where I will be in four years, I figured I could check off "Go to Presidential Inauguration" from my life list. (Not actually on my life list).

Unlike Matt Lauer, I did my research, in fact I did a blog post on my boss' website about inauguration tips. I had a rough idea of what to expect and how to deal with it.

My plan of attack was this, to avoid what we anticipated to be horrendous metro delays in VA the morning of the Inauguration, Jim and I decided to sleep in the city at Jim's office. So with air mattress in hand we made the journey in. It actually was no problem, B Squared dropped us at the Metro and we walked the two blocks to Jim's office.

After settling down for the evening and listening to a Radio Lab podcast, I noticed that Jim was nowhere to be found. I figured he was in another office making a phone call or something. When the pod cast ended I pulled my earbuds out and noticed that the phone in Jim's office was ringing,(about 2:00 am) and Jim was not there to answer it. A bit peculiar to be sure. The phone kept ringing and I figured well it's probably Jim. Sure enough it was. He informed me that he had forgotten his key card and had been locked out in the lobby...for the past two hours. Poor Jim.

I brought with me my trusty Angels and NFL blankets and figured with the heatup and wearing pajamas I would be fine. WRONG! I was cold, I had not choice but to move to defcon three for warmth, that meant putting on an extra long sleeve shirt, my beanie and my ugg boots. Yes I slept (and might I add rather comfortably) with my boots on. So all you haters out there need to recognize.

Before I knew it, it was 8:00 am and time to head over to the Capitol Building. We figured it would probably just be easiest to walk and avoid the Metro all together. By this time even I was getting excited. There really was a palpable buzz in the air. People were excited and it did seem to be a big occasion. I bought some hand warmers for my gloves and we started our trek.

Although we didn't take the most direct route we eventually took what was dubbed the "Purple Tunnel of Doom"over to the other side of the mall and got in line.

We had procured blue tickets so we headed toward what we thought was the blue line. Once I reached the line, it dawned on me where I was, I was in a sea of happy liberals (and I know that is a bit of an oxymoron, as liberals are generally only happy when they and everyone around them are miserable). Not only were they happy, they were enthusiastic. If you are following the math it looks something like this: Happy Liberals+Long Lines= Peter Irritated. Jim and I seemed to have found the blue line but it wasn't going anywhere quickly. After listening to the happy banter of some D's I could stand it no longer. I went on a recon mission and discovered that we could "bypass" some of the line quite easily. I went back found Jim and we moved up. And then...nothing.

For the next two hours we inched along, watched people get upset, angry and overwhelmed, but we didn't really move. There was no crowd control, no one to direct us and no one to ask questions to. We saw one police officer and he said emphatically, "Unless, it is a medical emergency I can not answer your questions." So we stood and waited. Eventually the line moved and we were on our way...or so we thought. I received a few phone calls and text messages from people wondering what the inauguration was like. I had no idea, I was standing in line.

Once the line stopped moving we gradually realized we were in trouble. Somehow despite our best efforts we were nowhere near getting to security. Somehow our line came to a barricade and just stopped. The people packed in tight and I was "goosed" a number of times. I am no sure thing, I expect the be sparkling applecidered and dined before that happens. At one point person after person was really invading my personal space but there was really nothing I could do. By then it was all but certain that we were not getting in. Despite having what I thought would be pretty good tickets, we were shut out.

I've heard a number of explanations as to why we didn't get in. The generators powering the metal detectors went out. People without tickets were getting in line and clogging up security. People who had tickets for another section jumped a barricade and moved in to our section. Regardless of the reason, we saw nothing.

Disappointed that I wasn't going to see anything, I quickly realized that little invested, little lost. I hadn't spent any money to get to the inauguration unlike some people who had journeyed from great distances to be there at great cost. He wasn't my candidate, and it isn't my party. For some people this was one of the most highly anticipated moments of their lives. For me it was something to do on a day off from work. ( I was much more excited about my new receiver gloves than I was about the inauguration, if that gives you some perspective.)

The music fired up and that was that. We weren't going to see the Inauguration. Finally Jim and I decided to take the long walk home...but wait...the bit of silver lining. Because the inauguration was in full swing the Metro was not yet crowded. So we jumped on, took it to the mall and ate Taco Bell for lunch. Fueled by our fine Mexican Cuisine. Jim and I walked home from the mall and back to the Melrose.

In summary.

• Uggs preformed outstanding.
• Shouting "Don't blame me I voted for McCain" in a crowd of disappointed liberals was kind of fun.
• The next day at work, I found out that virtually all of my coworkers with blue tickets did not get in.
• Sometimes even getting there early and having a ticket doesn't help.
• I had a cloud hanging over me the rest of the day. At first I thought it was because I had wasted my time trying to see the Inauguration, it finally dawned on me I was more bummed about the fact that there was a democrat president.

Hope? Nope.