Inaugural Insanity!

The crowds this weekend in DC were ridiculous. I've been to past Obama events so I thought that I was ready and prepared for the massive number of people that would infect the city, but I really wasn't.

The Lincoln Memorial event was very manageable, mostly because it was far enough away from any major streets or metro stops that there wasn't any congestion. The event itself was pretty fun, with artists like Beyonce, U2, and Bruce Springsteen. Surprisingly, the biggest crowd-pleaser was Garth Brooks.

Tuesday's actual inauguration was beyond description. Bars didn't close until 3am, and the Mall officially opened at 4am, so I had the insane idea of going straight from the bar to the Mall. I could easily have been convinced otherwise, but my two friends easily went along with the idea.

Oh, and the night started with a Bhangra party at a sushi place and I ended up talking to a girl from London for a good part of the night. I think it was an appropriate beginning to the longest day ever.

A few eye-openers:
* There were at least a thousand people walking with us from the Metro to the Mall at 5am - most of who did not seem like the kind of people who would normally be up at that hour.
* My friend decided that a potted plant right under a lamp post in plain view of everyone walking to the Mall was a good public urinal.
* There were no security checkpoints at the Mall. Just a bunch of cops standing around, and 4-5 snipers on each of the museums.
* Being out in sub-freezing temperatures for a longer period of time doesn't mean that it will feel warmer later. It will feel just as cold.
* 7 hours in the cold feels a lot longer than 7 hours in normal temperature.
* 7 hours standing still with little room to move feels a lot longer than 7 hours sitting comfortably.
* 7 hours standing still with no sleep is a very long time.

I'd love to say that when the moment finally arrived, there was a flow of tears and shouts of joys coming from everywhere and that it was a very emotional moment. Honestly though, I think most of the people were freezing and exhausted by the time it came around, and any observable emotional response may have been muted because of it.

It ended up being an endurance test more than anything else, but I think it speaks volumes that so many people willing reached outside their own comfort zones to experience this moment.

If I had to do it all over again, I probably still would - I would just make sure to wear more layers and get some sleep beforehand ;)