Inauguration 2009

I can hardly believe it... A friend and I have just secured two tickets to Obama's Inauguration in Washington, D.C. on January 20th, 2009.

We really didn't think we had a chance at this point.

Don't get me wrong... we had decided back in October to be in D.C. for the event no matter what. We booked our flights and hotel a couple of weeks before the election, assuming we could always make changes or cancellations, for a small fee, if necessary. But we knew it wouldn't be necessary. We were both checking fivethirtyeight.com obsessively by mid-October, and it was already pretty clear that it was going to be an Obama landslide. Simultaneous with the the inspiration to book early, had arrived a crystal-clear vision in my mind's eye of us standing there, on the lawn, the podium roughly at eye level. That vision never left my mind's eye. I didn't know how we were going to get there; it was just never a concern, as strange as that sounds. I don't know if we manifested this, or if it was just one of my premonitions... I'm starting to wonder if maybe the difference between the two is sometimes negligible...

Anyway. After the election, we immediately began e-mailing, calling, and writing to our Senators and Representatives... along with the rest of the Progressive population of the United States. What we received in response were form letters and form e-mails, explaining to us that there was an unprecedented demand for Inauguration tickets this year, and that our request would unfortunately not be met.

We were undaunted, because we knew that just being in D.C. for the week of the Inauguration is going to be an incredibly good time. We just wanted to be part of the experience in any way possible. To see D.C. for the first time during that week is going to be so much fun.

And then yesterday, my friend mentioned that she had recently met two people who got tickets to the Inauguration. They suggested that we check again with our representatives to see if anyone had not picked up their tickets. They were convinced it was worth a try. My friend said she'd be happy to check into it, but wouldn't knock herself out over it. Neither of us was too attached to the outcome.

Well, a rep from one our our Congresspeople's offices just called her back this morning to let her know that there are two tickets available for us. We had to give our names so that the tickets could be reserved especially for us.

I am still in shock, and yet not exactly surprised. :)