A week later

Some post-inauguration reflecting.

Back to work

It’s back to the daily grind. Emails to read, meetings to attend, homework to do. It’s as if January 20 was all a dream. I have to look back at my photos and blogs to remind myself that it happened. I was there. I don’t want to fall in that trap that counts President Obama’s presidency as a historic event and speak of it in the past tense. There’s work to be done. And he and his administration can’t do it alone. Never have I seen a president so comfortable using digital media to communicate his vision with the rest of the world. I still get weekly emails from David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager and that’s ok! This nation has been transformed. This world has been transformed. –Sophia Agtarap, UW Education student.

Finding peace

Pieces of January 20, 2009 will always be ingrained in my memory: The cold of the morning, the energy of the crowd, and the very first glance I caught of our new president right before he was sworn in.  I feel blessed to have witnessed President Barack Obama’s historic inauguration firsthand in DC, alongside three great friends and the 1.8 million others who joined the crowd.  I know I also stood for every family member and friend who was not able to be present with us.  The journey we took was totally worth it, and no video camera or newspaper article could fully capture what I experienced that day: to physically be a part of changing history, while at the same time renew a commitment to being part of a brighter future—one with hope and promise.  One with better tomorrows, while not forgetting the pain and struggles and lessons of yesterday and today.  I honestly felt a mixture of excitement (and relief) that this day had actually come, with some anxiety for the important role our president was about to take on; then I realized, we are all challenged with the same call to service, the same urgency to respond, and the same ability to make a difference.  I find peace in my own reflection and memory of this Inauguration Day. –Rachel Wu, UW Alumni, Social Work

The day the world was watching

The day the world was watching
We set our alarms to go off at some ungodly hour. My head was in such a haze since we had finally decided sleeping on the office floor two blocks from the Capitol would put us in a better position to walk over to the Mall. One of our friends, a student in DC, planned to meet us at the office around 5 am so we could head over together.

We woke up a little after 6, and were finally out the door by 6:42am. The sun wasn’t up yet, but groups and individuals were making their way toward the National Mall. We spent some time on Monday studying maps that listed what streets were blocked off, but at this point, we were following the masses moving in the vicinity of where we needed to go. We walked with our bags and backpacks slung across us, even though we were sure that at any moment, security would prompt us to take them off because they weren’t allowed. At least that’s what we had been hearing from the newspapers and internet sites we’d frequent. We even asked a security person but he wasn’t sure. How are you not sure?!

Getting there
We trekked through the landscape that circled us around and away from the Capitol until we finally reached 12th and Jefferson. We were there. On the Mall. Near the Smithsonian Metro station. I had never seen the city so crowded. We were 12 blocks from the Capitol. 7 jumbotrons from the action. An hour walk from our new president. And it was only 8am. Only about 4 more hours of waiting around and trying to text people where to meet up.

Where are you?!
I didn’t heed the advice of all those emergency preparedness experts who always tell you to pick a meeting place in advance. What was i thinking trying to text people the morning of to meet up at the metro station? Didn’t I hear that cell phone communication would probably be jammed? Or that it took people extra hours to travel on what normally is a 20 minute commute? I was able to text Sabrina up until a little after 8, when we stopped receiving messages from one another. We didn’t find each other. I got a voice mail and text later that day about where they were waiting. Similar stories for other folks who were trying to meet up.

Not warm enough
Though we got reports from friends in DC saying it was freezing and to come prepared, I really thought I would be warm enough. 3 layers of socks, ear muffs, scarf, coat, layers of long sleeves, gloves, leggings. What more could I have worn to keep warm? I should have brought a blanket to keep warm–everyone else sure enough did. As warm as our spirits were, it wasn’t enough to keep me or anyone else warm.

The main event
Though footage from the concert at the Lincoln Memorial kept us entertained, we were getting restless. Teens holding up their signs in front of us, blocking our views were looking less cute as they blocked the only view we had of the capitol: the jumbotron. Every now and then a camera would swing over us and the crowds would scream. Photographers, news and radio folks would walk through asking for a statement or two about what we thought about this inauguration, or why we were here. As the procession and seating began all eyes looked up to the screens to catch glimpses of personalities from Hollywood, music and politics. Every now and then we would hear questions from the women standing beside us:

Women: Who’s up now? Who are you all cheering for?

Us: It’s Michelle

Women: Is she wearing a hat? All I see are tall people with hats! People keep getting taller and I keep getting shorter.

Us: laughing

Still freezing, the stars of the morning made their way on to the Capitol steps. Bush was booed, though some tried to quiet the crowd to just show respect and let him be. It’s a blur who entered in what order, but somewhere in that procession, the Bidens and Obamas took their place.  Shortly after, Rick Warren was finishing up and I found myself reciting the last lines of the Lord’s Prayer.
Soon Joe Biden was up taking his oath, then Obama and Roberts. I didn’t catch that Roberts fudged it up, though I did notice what I thought was just some hesitation in reciting the lines.  Then it was done. We had a new president. I guess I envisioned the actual ceremony to be much longer–I don’t know why.
Aretha sang wearing a hat only she could pull off. Obama spoke; Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and others performed a John Williams piece; Civil Rights leader, Rev. Joseph Lowery gave the benediction. Then it was over.

Get me outta here!
Folks filed out of the Mall in no orderly fashion. The jumbotrons announced that the parade routes were closed and added that additional streets had been blocked off. We were stuck.  We definitely couldn’t exit the way we came. We sure did try! It was a mess. Like cattle being herded through some narrow gate. We crisscrossed that Mall looking for a way out.  Nothing.  The museums were open to keep folks warm, but even they had long lines of people. Finally, we resigned ourselves to the idea that we were not going anywhere anytime soon. We fell in line at the refreshment tent and got hot dogs and hot cocoa to keep warm until the crowds subsided. By 2:30pm, we were heading away from the mall, and by 3:30, we were back in the office where our things were, getting ready for the Inaugural Peace Ball, hosted by Busboys & Poets.

What I should have done…

Hindsight is always 20/20 vision. Isn’t that h0w the saying goes? President Obama’s inauguration was one of those things that you should have come to with a week’s worth of supplies. In our rush to pack light for the overnight at our friend’s office, and the scurrying around we did as we waited for the key to the office, I forgot essentials: batteries and toothpaste. What a dummy.

Back to the other Washington

After a few snags in our return plans from DC, we made it home safe and hungry. Our bags had arrived before us, so we were glad not to have to wait at baggage claim. We headed to Stanford’s for happy hour to reminisce about the week’s events over good food, good music and with great people.

As I’ve been reflecting, I still can’t wrap my head around President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and Vice President Biden standing next to one another at press conferences. As one Newsweek reporter commented, the children growing up in this generation and those who come after will never know a reality other than a black/multiracial president. What an amazing reality that is.

Riding on the train at SeaTac from the N gate to the main terminal, or in any public space in DC for that matter, you felt connected to anyone who was at the inauguration or trying to get to the inauguration. That was our common bond. Strangers would talk to one another. People would smile as they stood next to each other. You didn’t even have to speak but you all knew what great thing just happend on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

Snow,talk story and sleeping on the church floor

We were greeted at Newark with a snow covered ground. That must have been an indicator of what was to come at DC. It started snowing this morning but stopped after a bit. We are staying with friends and it’s been good to hear stories of activism and the civil rights movement. This presidency means so much to so many people; much more for those who have worked so hard for a time like this to come.

We are in the process of making some plan of action for tomorrow, possibly beginning with sleeping on the floor of a church tonight so we can be in DC proper early tomorrow.

I’m running on a few hours of interrupted sleep, but I’m not complaining. We had cereal for breakfast and will soon be ready to go again. More later…

Who knows what to expect?

For the first time in my life I am not over-prepared for a trip. I usually have everything planned down to the minute, an outfit picked out for each day, and nothing left to the imagination.

We are about to embark on a journey where there will be 1 toilet for every 6,000 people, the National Mall could potentially only have enough space for each person to have one square foot (with my backpack, that is probably less for me!), and while there is only a 10% chance of snow, temperatures are not expected to rise above freezing. The metros could be backed up for hours, and we might have to walk for miles.

Who really cares about all this, though? One day I will be the old woman telling her little granchildren the story about how she went to Obama’s inauguration, and that will be the story I repeat until my grandkids say, “yeah, we know grandma, you told us a million times already.” I probably will have forgotten that I had to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning the entire week before trying to get all my work done before I leave, or that I will miss a total of 4 class periods this week in order to participate in history.

I will arrive in DC equipped with Odwalla bars and fruit roll-ups (the natural kind, not the kind we ate as kids with the fun shapes), Goldfish, Lorna Doone cookies, and an empty water bottle (we must follow TSA regulations!), and I will walk and walk, and wait and wait, all in the freezing cold, just to see Barack Obama become President of the United States.  

Hopefully it won’t be cold enough for my tears to freeze, otherwise I’ll be in trouble!

See you all in DC!

THE dress and what’s left on my to-do list.

In my last attempt to find something to wear to the ball, I found a dress! Yay. I have a bunch more things to check off before we leave for the airport, including laundry and tidying up. Time keeps moving forward and my list doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter. In fact, I’m adding more things. Including a trip to the movies. More later!

This is it

Testing, testing… is this blog on?

Hello there, Rawbuko here. Just contributing a quick test blog before the big trip. Still here in “the other Washington” (state, that is). Stay tuned for more. This is Rawbuko reporting, live, wordpress blog news. =)

Last minute preparations

One of a few options to wear to the Peace Ball

Things are starting to come together, but not quite yet. Now that we’ve decided to attend the Inaugural Peace Ball,  I have a few more things I need to remember to pack (and buy!). I have a dress in the closet and found a few things at Nordstrom Rack that I could throw in my suitcase/bag.

I’ll make one last attempt to look for THE dress on Saturday and if I don’t find anything, I’ll make due with what I have. So far, my outfit and accessories have totaled about $50. If I use the dress I already have, I’ll have only spent about $20. Yay. Can’t beat that.

All the gadgets I need…Minus my D40.

I stopped by The Daily today to pick up their Flip Video camera. Cool little gadget that I’ll be using to keep a pulse on DC that week. Very excited.

As I thought about the mayhem that will surround us Monday-Wednesday, I started wondering how early we needed to start camping out near the Capitol Building. Security checks start around 7am for the Noon-time ceremony. Do we go at 5am? Earlier, like at 3? Do we just stay out the night before and find a spot where we can camp out? My thoughts that were most recently about ball gowns and accessories, are now filled with questions about long johns and layers of clothing I can wear to keep me warm in 19 degree weather.

Audra, a friend who arrived in DC texted me tonight to say “Hey. I’m here! By the way…it’s dry but it’s 19 degrees tonight. Come prepared.” Yay. More cold weather.

So it begins…

This is an attempt to capture our travels in words, phrases and photos as we make our way to Washington D.C. to wittness the inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama. I can’t begin to fathom what it will be like walking the mall or waiting for the Metro with hundreds of thousands filling the streets, restaurants, bars and buildings! It’ll be like trying to get to the front of the stage at rock concert, except that it’ll be like that for most of the day. D.C. will never be the same. This country will never be the same. As one friend commented: [As I was] passing the capitol, I saw the Obama caravan go to the capitol. As I told Amy and Kathryn, I didn’t mind waiting for the caravan at all whereas I have always been impatient waiting for Bush or Cheney caravans to pass.

I got my commemorative Inauguration Day SmarTrip Metro card in the mail yesterday, and was happy to see Obama’s smiling face. I almost don’t want to use it and get it scratched…Lodging is worked out, thanks to friendships made at my sister Shalom’s graduation last May. We have a rental car just in case, and enough knowledge among the 3 out of the 4 of us who remember how to get around town. I started breaking in my shoes today, so by our red eye on Sunday, I should be good.

You’d think it was my friend or relative being sworn in. That’s what Obama’s campaign has done for us–we somehow all feel more connected in some strange way. We worked together to make November 4, 2008 and January 20, 2009 come to fruition. It was the small voter registration drives, the bus tours, the phone banking, the letter writing, the email campaigning, the coffe shop conversing. All of this made this world a little smaller and more tolerable to live in.

Am I ready for next week? For the range of emotions that I’ll experience and witness? For the blisters I’ll get on my feet from walking because every other form of transportation was just too crowded or took too long to wait for? For the irreplaceable memories that I’ll form and share? I’ll let you know.

Here’s to an unforgettable week.

–Sophia