Inauguration Day!!!

Today was possibly one of the most historic days I will experience, second to September 11th so far. First period Mrs. Sando let us watch the CNN pre-inauguration coverage, Mr. Gulde let us have it on in the background during second period, and Mr. Gibson let us watch some for the final ten minutes of class. He turned it on right when Bush, Cheney, the Bidens, and the Obama gals (haha!) were coming "onstage," and the bell rang while they were walking on. Allison and I ran to Mrs. Lyday's room, where the tv was already on. We sat on the floor and watched the entire thing, until the bell rang right about when Obama was leaving.

I felt bad for him when he/John Roberts both kind of messed up the oath--but seriously, I would have been freaking nervous too! I forgive whoever did it because I would have done the same exact thing. Obama's speech was so good...it wasn't rhetorically-laden, as many have said on CNN and the like, but it was strong and powerful. He didn't really need to convert America to his side, because we ALL know that we're in a bad position and that we ALL have to help out and fix things. We all know that this is a momentous occasion and need no persuading. There was a little, but the speech was just so good.

The poet--don't remember her name!--was all right. I think the poem would have been really good but she read it in a very stilted manner and it just didn't flow very well. The quartet that played John Williams' composition was fabulous. The song was great, and I kind of appreciated the bit from "Lord of the Dance" because that is my FAVE song ever! I'm not sure it was 100% part of that song, but it sounded a lot like it. Aretha Franklin had a great bow-hat on; it was gigantic and fit for a diva of her proportions. I also really liked the (as I said today, "200-year-old black man" because he looked it, although he was pretty witty!) benediction: I liked how he used bits of the "Negro National Anthem" (or whatever it was called) as well as parts of speeches from the civil rights era ("When brown can come around, when red can get ahead, when yellow can be mellow, when white is all right..." etc.) to show this victory. His speech/prayer started boring but it was pretty powerful as well. I was also really happy to see that the Obamas walked ahead of their limo for a little bit while on the parade route, despite "security concerns"--it shows how thankful they are for the people who waited ten hours to see them, not just their motorcade.

I almost cried, actually...I wonder how it would have been if I were black. This is just such a great achievement, and America is so filled with hope that there is no question that we will overcome this recession in time. Lauren is so lucky to have gotten a ticket (she could see the people at the capitol, though they were small unless she used her camera's zoom), and Cat/Lizzie/Ellie are lucky to actually be able to be a part of it, even if they only got to watch a jumbotron. I'm jealous!

On another note, spec practice (tech rehearsal) went okay. I had to leave early (6:30!) because Dad didn't want to wait and I'd guessed on 6:15 (and was wrong...by a lot). We got our hoodies (white with orange and the crest on the back), which I was kind of upset at (they were 1. zip-up, 2. white!) but now I'm starting to like them a little more. I still wish I could have made them (aqua and yellow, anyone?), but Otto did a pretty good design job. I texted Eli most of the time because he "is good at sound editing and can text with one hand" and I was super bored. Half the time I was stage right by myself or with Miranda and forced to 1. watch stage left have fun, 2. watch Ben "strip" (UGHHHH no! stop!!), 3. die of hunger, 4. be blinded by lights, 5. watch the actors do the same thing I've seen them do five million times, and 6. wonder if we were doing better than Camp Raindrop. Eli said we were good, but Sam said some techie told him that we were worse (!). I'm terrified for the dress rehearsal tomorrow, afraid we'll mess up in front of Tao (to steal Alex's and my code-name for someone) and look stupid. Plus, I have ALL the props in my car and if I forget something--eek. Oh well, I've had "fun"....lots of fun with Otto joking about twerking in the wings (...no) and sexual innuendoes involving water guns and Miles hitting me with a cord from the hoodies "sexually" (on the calf...kind of funny actually) and people forgetting lines and people burning napkins in Tucker's sinks....