Inauguration 2009.

I waited some time before writing this post because I wanted some time to think and reflect on this past weekend when I went to D.C. I think it goes without saying that it was a historic occasion. An occasion I will never forget and proudly tell my children and grandchildren about. Perhaps, an occasion that I don't yet fully understand the gravity and significance of now. Nevertheless, I am proud to have been a part of this historic campaign, and I'm proud to have watched our 44th President get sworn in.

"Purple Gate"
I'm not sure if you heard much about the inauguration and how crazy D.C. was, but let me tell you... it was absolute chaos. The mall was separated into various sections marked by colors. The majority of ticket holders had silver tickets, but we had purple tickets. The section is a bit closer and being purple felt slightly special. Let me tell you now, there is NOTHING special about the purple ticket. In fact, I think that thousands other also showed up with a purple ticket feeling just as privileged, but didn't actually get in. Luckily we got in, but it was a challenge. We stood for 2 hours in a crowd packed with people. The highlight was when Rev. Jesse Jackson suddenly appeared and began wading his way through to the front. He pretty much cut us all.
Here's a video so you can get a sense for what I'm talking about.

"Youth Ball"
Watching the inauguration was really special, but the Youth Ball was a lot of fun. Eddie and I got our tux and bowties on to hit the town. We got to see Kanye, Kid Rock, Fall Out Boy, Ashton/Demi, and Rosario Dawson. So that was pretty exciting. Also, apparently we were on CNN for a good chunk of time as well. Still haven't seen any clips of that, but let me know if you happen to stumble across that.

"Change to come"
This is an amazing time in our country's history, also quite a difficult time. While I realize that the road ahead will be difficult, I believe that we will be led by a man of character and judgment. I look forward to the Change that's to come.