InAHHHHHguration

If you’ve wondered why I haven’t written in awhile, it’s because life here has been crazy lately.  There are many aspects to this.  For one, I have a real supervisor now and my work has picked up considerably.  For two, people are suddenly learning what gifts I have and am able to offer…which is resulting in a lot of extra work that I’m being asked to do (“take pictures of this! play piano for this!…”.  For three, I’ve started practicing more seriously as of late, as well as reviewing music history and theory…eek.  For four, since my hours at work have been crazier, when I’m home…I really try to be home, spending time with my housemates.

On top of all that craziness, DC is getting crazier by the day.  It’s T-minus 3 days until Inauguration, and the news reports that 5 million people will be here in this tiny big city.  Tuesday’s the big day, and yes – of course – my housemates and I are all going.  I’ve decided there’s not really an option!  We basically HAVE to go.  I can’t see myself telling my kids one day that I was in Washington, DC when Barack Obama was inaugurated, but I just didn’t feel like going.  No way, not me.  I’ll be there.  I probably won’t be able to see a thing, but I’ll be there!  And not only will I be there, but I’ll be wearing my new Obama shirt… My housemates and I did some silk screening at community night this week (though this pun was not my idea).  Cute.

There are noticeably more people in the city today.  The air is filled with excitement, and it’s only going to get crazier.  If you haven’t already heard about all of the festivities, let me enlighten you.  Tomorrow kicks everything off with a free concert at the Lincoln Memorial.  Here’s the line-up: Beyonce, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Usher, Shakira, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. In addition, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington will take the stage to deliver readings.  There are ten official balls Tuesday night, and somehow, Obama and Biden will appear at all of them (…sounds fake to me).

The best ball of all is the People’s Inaugural Ball, and here’s where things get exciting.  Ten homeless women from N Street Village were invited to the ball!  Tomorrow, they’re going to pick out dresses…and I was asked to tag along and take photos!  It should be a good time.  They also get to have their hair and nails done this week…they’ll be treated like royalty!

What are we doing to prepare for all this?  Well, cleaning our house, for one.  Our landlord – Senator Jeff Merkley – will be in town, and what if he wants to stop by??  We’ve got to be ready for that.  Somewhere around 6-8 people are crashing here as well.  Aside from that, we’ve stocked up on groceries and finalized our emergency plans.  There’s nothing left to do but take things one day at a time and hope that we can catch up on sleep sometime later.  Stay tuned for more inAHHHHHguration reports!