These guys were having fun trying to get an obstructed view of the swearing-in ceremony by using the other for a piggy back ride. Click the image below to listen to their conversation:
Friday, January 23, 2009
Two strangers
These guys were having fun trying to get an obstructed view of the swearing-in ceremony by using the other for a piggy back ride. Click the image below to listen to their conversation:
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Biden and Obama at the Inaugural Balls
The coat check horror stories from the past didn't come true, as the Presidential Inaugural Committee seemed to have done a good job of making sure that every coat rack was ordered with some number. I even had to go back and get my wallet from the coat and the people on staff found my jacket in no time. After the Bidens and Obamas made their brief appearances and danced to one song, there was a mad rush to the coat rack but at least there weren't riots started this year because no one would get their coat back.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Purple tickets
Spoke too soon about the swearing-in ceremony tickets. Apparently there's a big drama about how people with purple tickets, even big donors, were not able to even listen to the swearing-in ceremony.
The Associated Press may have picked up a lead on this article already...
The Associated Press may have picked up a lead on this article already...
Hey Hey Hey...Goodbye.
When I showed up to pick up my ticket for the California Democratic Party bash on Sunday, the person at the table said, "You need to see this person..." At first I thought it was because they had overbooked and there weren't enough tickets, but it turned out that someone had gone through the list and identified who had been a delegate during the primaries. They offered me an extra ticket for the swearing-in ceremony, which was somewhat of a rare commodity.
Apparently these tickets really determined which of the jumbo trons you got to stare. The silver pass section sat behind the Reflecting Pool in front of the Capitol Hill Building, and we just staked a little spot right behind the first one before the musical procession started. The rest of the general public got access to the areas going towards the Washington Monument.
Felt like the crowd was entirely part of the Democratic Party, though lots of cheers for President Jimmy Carter, President George H.W. Bush, and President Clinton. When George W. Bush appeared on the screen, there were plenty of boos. The crowd also busted out in singing "Na Na Na Na Na....Hey Hey...Goodbye" too..
Off to the Western Reigional Ball tonight. I had an extra Neighborhood Ball ticket (the one with Jay-Z, Beyonce, Faith Hill, Mariah Carey being televised on ABC) that was apparently delivered on 1/10 at home but I never received it. The Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) spent more than an hour digging up the tracking # before deciding to void the ticket and reissue another one. There was a PIC volunteer named Mimi Siegel who had been so helpful trying to make sure my case was resolved that I decided to give it to her after everything was settled. She earned it!
Here are some pictures from today....
http://hudoneit.smugmug.com/gallery/7146915_6WbJk
Apparently these tickets really determined which of the jumbo trons you got to stare. The silver pass section sat behind the Reflecting Pool in front of the Capitol Hill Building, and we just staked a little spot right behind the first one before the musical procession started. The rest of the general public got access to the areas going towards the Washington Monument.
Felt like the crowd was entirely part of the Democratic Party, though lots of cheers for President Jimmy Carter, President George H.W. Bush, and President Clinton. When George W. Bush appeared on the screen, there were plenty of boos. The crowd also busted out in singing "Na Na Na Na Na....Hey Hey...Goodbye" too..
Off to the Western Reigional Ball tonight. I had an extra Neighborhood Ball ticket (the one with Jay-Z, Beyonce, Faith Hill, Mariah Carey being televised on ABC) that was apparently delivered on 1/10 at home but I never received it. The Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) spent more than an hour digging up the tracking # before deciding to void the ticket and reissue another one. There was a PIC volunteer named Mimi Siegel who had been so helpful trying to make sure my case was resolved that I decided to give it to her after everything was settled. She earned it!
Here are some pictures from today....
http://hudoneit.smugmug.com/gallery/7146915_6WbJk
Monday, January 19, 2009
Inauguration Day 2
Part of going to inauguration is dealing with the unexpected, not knowing if you'll be able to get into certain events. Today a torrent of inaugural parade tickets was being released, and I managed to pick up about 10 for friends and family (I have no more now.) And to think those tickets that were sold online went quickly after 60 seconds!
Above is a group shot from some people from the Silicon Valley for Obama group from last night's California Democratic Party bash, including Deb Strichartz, Owen Byrd, Giselle Schmitz, and Maxine Wyman.
Inauguration Day 1
We started out yesterday at our hosts with breakfast. They are family of our friend, but still, we've never met them before. They made us this amazing breakfast of homemade oat pancakes (yum) and this like apple/raspberry topping. So good!
We spent the morning mostly running errands- picking up ball tickets (yeah, like they couldn't spare the stamps to send them to you- so lame), dropping off our fancy clothes to a friend in town and navigating the Metro. You can pretty much figure out what makes a place tick by studying it's marketing. Like in the San Jose airport if you don't know what "Smart Spice" or "Barracuda" is, you're living in the wrong place. Here, it was apparent how much of a lobbyists city this place is-- and how desperately they were trying to play on any Obama moniker "Yes we Can (insert your business goal here).....(organize America)- IKEA, etc. The best was Pepsi, who took words from the campaign like HOPE and replaced the "O" with the pepsi-symbol-turned-Obama-O-look-alike. Really?
Towards 2 we stumbled over to the Lincoln Memorial for the opening ceremonies of the inauguration (yes, they have them too). Only, we weren't able to get to the Lincoln Memorial, or the WW2 memorial or anywhere near the reflecting pool. We were blocks (a mile?) away at the Washington Memorial, with "all the spaces in between" like Barack said, being filled by people. It was like the kind of concert you'd only imagine happening in your head or in heaven...like Sheryl Crow, Herbie Hancock and will.i.am jamming out together to Bob Marley's "One Love;" it's wierd, and then surprisingly, it works. We stay the whole way through- with Tom Hanks, Ashley Judd, Queen Latifah and others talking history and Garth Brooks, Beyonce, U2 and Usher singing us warm.
Speaking of warmth...4 layers seems to be the sweet spot and I still needed the "hot-hands" in my pockets or gloves.
We stay until it's all over and then decide "Hey, let's leave, like the other 1M people" and start making our way to...the port-o-potty fortress. That's right, all of the park was protected by this impenetrable barrier of rented port-o-potties. We all took over the streets (even the ones I think were not blocked) and were entertained on the way back by the street-vendor-serenade "Recession-proof gloves, get your recession proof gloves." My favorite though was people walking out of the CVS with hot hands they had clearly just purchased and marking them up a few feet away. Ha!
We had our first ball that night and after getting ready at our friends place, we were on our way. I should mention that we take a camelpack with us everywhere here so we won't have to wait in line for water and have a place to stash our stuff. The ball was no exception. I had to walk pretty far to the venue in my dress so I wore my wool long undewear under the dress and hiking boots. Under my super long coat it just looked like I was a regular tourist. It was really funny though when we checked into the ball to see the looks on the volunteer ticket-takers faces. I made a quick dash for the restrooms and did a Clark Kent in the bathroom. Voila! Party Giselle all assembled.
We attended the California Bash which was cocktail attire, though I did notice that ran the gamut. The food was amazing and had we not stopped for dinner with our friend Peter, could have filled up on the tasty pasta, quiche and other "California fare" (rice crispies on a stick). Best of all, it was an open bar and boy, someone had let the guys working it know that. My one drink of the night, a vodka cranberry, they poured like college fratboys and I had to ask for a glass of cranberry to dilute it down. I guess we were fortunate though, I heard over at the Massachusettes Bash, they had a paid bar. I dare suggest, this might be a good way of sizing up a state if you're pondering a move.
I was about to turn into a pumpkin at 11, or at least miss my train home when Gavin Newsome, mayor of San Francisco walked in. I wasn't sure what was happening but I saw some ladies swooning, literally swooning at the sight of the guy. Worst was my husband, who insisted we needed to get a picture for his co-worker Tom, so now it's become my mission too. The two ladies we were with, Molly and Molly both wanted pictures and so we watched them wrestle their way up and we took the pictures once they were locked in place. His teeth really are white. My friend Josh showed up who knows Gavin somehow because he bolted past the press guy and gave Gavin a high 5. He pulled me in and did an intro, telling him of all the wonders of Silicon Valley for Obama. "Here's my number, call me" was the mayor's response and in that moment I got what every woman in the room was hoping for-- Gavin Newsom's number, written out on a card.
Josh invited us to join him on the "Great Schlep." No, not a trip to Florida to speak with Jewish Grandmas lead by Sarah Silverman, but a party of the same name to celebrate the former where apparently Nelli would be playing. "We have to catch the last train, sorry dude." Ooh, that's right, the train!
Brian and I popped over to the coat check. The line was long and so I admit it, I saw a couple of coat check ladies changing shift and I persuaded them to go back in for our coats. I did another Clark Kent outside and we ran back to Metro.
It's a two-train deal so after the first train we crammed in with everyone for what was the last red-line to leave the station. Brian entertained the other train-goers with his imitations of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger until suddenly I had that sickening stomach-flipping realization-- we got on the right train...going the wrong way. And that train had left the station. We escalatored back up to land practically flinging ourselves at cabs, finally landing one who insisted on overcharging because our destination was so out of his way.
Walking in the door, I assessed my body: completely exhausted, sun-burned, win-burned and still totally fired up and ready to go...tomorrow.
We spent the morning mostly running errands- picking up ball tickets (yeah, like they couldn't spare the stamps to send them to you- so lame), dropping off our fancy clothes to a friend in town and navigating the Metro. You can pretty much figure out what makes a place tick by studying it's marketing. Like in the San Jose airport if you don't know what "Smart Spice" or "Barracuda" is, you're living in the wrong place. Here, it was apparent how much of a lobbyists city this place is-- and how desperately they were trying to play on any Obama moniker "Yes we Can (insert your business goal here).....(organize America)- IKEA, etc. The best was Pepsi, who took words from the campaign like HOPE and replaced the "O" with the pepsi-symbol-turned-Obama-
Towards 2 we stumbled over to the Lincoln Memorial for the opening ceremonies of the inauguration (yes, they have them too). Only, we weren't able to get to the Lincoln Memorial, or the WW2 memorial or anywhere near the reflecting pool. We were blocks (a mile?) away at the Washington Memorial, with "all the spaces in between" like Barack said, being filled by people. It was like the kind of concert you'd only imagine happening in your head or in heaven...like Sheryl Crow, Herbie Hancock and will.i.am jamming out together to Bob Marley's "One Love;" it's wierd, and then surprisingly, it works. We stay the whole way through- with Tom Hanks, Ashley Judd, Queen Latifah and others talking history and Garth Brooks, Beyonce, U2 and Usher singing us warm.
Speaking of warmth...4 layers seems to be the sweet spot and I still needed the "hot-hands" in my pockets or gloves.
We stay until it's all over and then decide "Hey, let's leave, like the other 1M people" and start making our way to...the port-o-potty fortress. That's right, all of the park was protected by this impenetrable barrier of rented port-o-potties. We all took over the streets (even the ones I think were not blocked) and were entertained on the way back by the street-vendor-serenade "Recession-proof gloves, get your recession proof gloves." My favorite though was people walking out of the CVS with hot hands they had clearly just purchased and marking them up a few feet away. Ha!
We had our first ball that night and after getting ready at our friends place, we were on our way. I should mention that we take a camelpack with us everywhere here so we won't have to wait in line for water and have a place to stash our stuff. The ball was no exception. I had to walk pretty far to the venue in my dress so I wore my wool long undewear under the dress and hiking boots. Under my super long coat it just looked like I was a regular tourist. It was really funny though when we checked into the ball to see the looks on the volunteer ticket-takers faces. I made a quick dash for the restrooms and did a Clark Kent in the bathroom. Voila! Party Giselle all assembled.
We attended the California Bash which was cocktail attire, though I did notice that ran the gamut. The food was amazing and had we not stopped for dinner with our friend Peter, could have filled up on the tasty pasta, quiche and other "California fare" (rice crispies on a stick). Best of all, it was an open bar and boy, someone had let the guys working it know that. My one drink of the night, a vodka cranberry, they poured like college fratboys and I had to ask for a glass of cranberry to dilute it down. I guess we were fortunate though, I heard over at the Massachusettes Bash, they had a paid bar. I dare suggest, this might be a good way of sizing up a state if you're pondering a move.
I was about to turn into a pumpkin at 11, or at least miss my train home when Gavin Newsome, mayor of San Francisco walked in. I wasn't sure what was happening but I saw some ladies swooning, literally swooning at the sight of the guy. Worst was my husband, who insisted we needed to get a picture for his co-worker Tom, so now it's become my mission too. The two ladies we were with, Molly and Molly both wanted pictures and so we watched them wrestle their way up and we took the pictures once they were locked in place. His teeth really are white. My friend Josh showed up who knows Gavin somehow because he bolted past the press guy and gave Gavin a high 5. He pulled me in and did an intro, telling him of all the wonders of Silicon Valley for Obama. "Here's my number, call me" was the mayor's response and in that moment I got what every woman in the room was hoping for-- Gavin Newsom's number, written out on a card.
Josh invited us to join him on the "Great Schlep." No, not a trip to Florida to speak with Jewish Grandmas lead by Sarah Silverman, but a party of the same name to celebrate the former where apparently Nelli would be playing. "We have to catch the last train, sorry dude." Ooh, that's right, the train!
Brian and I popped over to the coat check. The line was long and so I admit it, I saw a couple of coat check ladies changing shift and I persuaded them to go back in for our coats. I did another Clark Kent outside and we ran back to Metro.
It's a two-train deal so after the first train we crammed in with everyone for what was the last red-line to leave the station. Brian entertained the other train-goers with his imitations of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger until suddenly I had that sickening stomach-flipping realization-- we got on the right train...going the wrong way. And that train had left the station. We escalatored back up to land practically flinging ourselves at cabs, finally landing one who insisted on overcharging because our destination was so out of his way.
Walking in the door, I assessed my body: completely exhausted, sun-burned, win-burned and still totally fired up and ready to go...tomorrow.
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