Yeah. I went,. I did it.

We woke up at 7am. There were people yelling outside, police cars zooming past, and noises abound.

We left the house at 8am, after showers and breakfasts, bundled up in our jackets, hats, boots. Its chilly outside today, nicer than before but chilly.

WE walked there. While the Capital is two blocks away, we had to walk about 25 blocks in order to hit an entrance to the inaguration. We walked, we walked, following the masses yearning to be there. To see him. We passed posters, pins, hats, bags, and tees with his face for sale. We passed food vendors. We passed millions of people who had already left, already entered, already prepared for the whole gala.

At 9.30 we made it. We entered, pushed into people, weaseled our ways around, and finally, in the end, settled upon a random spot only about a block or two from the Washington monuement, so we could be a part of history, by watching it on a jumbotron.

Yes. That is how it goes. And seeing the flocks of people when the camera panned out, I realized HOW MANY had decided to be a "part of history" today. Millions. There were millions. And there we stood, body to body, holding eachother warm as the chill began to sink into our bones, and waited.

It was anticlimactic. I mean, he said an oath. He was president. There were introductions. And then a speech which did not seem to be as inspirational as his previous ones were known to be. And then, people filed out. As soon as Obama walked away from the podium, the crowd turned their backs to the TV and towards the exit of the park/land area.

Did you hear the boos? The na-na-na-na hey goodbyes to President Bush? I did. It was mean. I felt bad. He did not do well, but it was just mean spirited.

Did you realize, that for a five minute period, Joe Biden was Vice President to George W. Bush? As Yo Yo Ma and Istzak Perlman played, we had a very interesting leadership situation. Bush was still in charge while Biden was now his VP.

Did you notice that Dick Cheney could not even walk out to the people? That he was the ONLY one who could not stand up? And while the older Bush walked with a cane, he still managed to slowly make his way to the stage. I guess, sometimes, the media is polite enough to not show things, much like the media in the 40s hid FDR's inability to walk, it seems the Dick Cheney's was equally hushed.

Did you know that after Obama, the Clintons recieved the most applause. A commanding applause from an audience that seemed still enamored with the two? Or the one?

It was cold. It was strange. To see the crowds go so crazy when the man, the president, was announced, it was amazing.

To me, however, I could not help but feel something of joy when Barack Obama messed up, when he got confused. This is not a bitter joy, but one more of reality. Barack Obama, no matter how confident and empowering, was scared. As anyone should be, to take on the world in the times of such crisis. For a split second we saw him waiver, we saw him realize the words he was saying, and beyond that, the enormity of this situaition. This was no normal Inaguration . This was an event. A concert, people crowding around, booing and cheering at certain times, coming together, huddling to share warmth, and the share with eachother a moment that America will not soon forget.

I guess, I mean, I didn't think this would be soo gooey. Hell, I felt weird being there, my feelings were too ambivalent. But there was something interesting about the whole situation.

To be honest with you, a lot of the crowd was African American, they had come out to see a man finally overcome what has happend to be one of the greatest struggles in American history. Families came out in troves. Students, of course, huddled in the crowds. Other ethnicities, groups, languages, people, stood shoulder to shoulder. But to me, it was a moment for the African American community. Many argue Barack Obama is not "black" enough, and while his story is not that of the average African American, he has inspired those around him to recognize the reality of the situation.. And something about that momentous second gave me goosebumps. Because, it is truly a great step forward in the American issue of race relations. Of cultural relations. Of diversity. And of acceptance.

Now if only we could have a woman stand there and take the oath. Alas, we have yet to come so far, but just as the woman were the last to have a right to vote, it seems that they too will be the last to have a leader to call their own.

Also, that Reverand Rick Warren was booed, at least of what I could hear, assumingly for his anti-gay, anti-choice stance.