Where Were You …?
What a truly historic day today has been … and just like that, the moment that we have been anxiously awaiting for months (for some of us, years and decades) has already passed. It’s days like today that just make me marvel at the amazingness of the US government. As a student of history and government, I’ve spent much time studying the traditions and laws of our government … but it’s another thing entirely to see it play out in real-time, in front of the entire world. This inauguration will really be one to be remembered for all time … the historicness of Obama’s Presidency will be forever etched in our nation’s history. And we will, one day, think back to this day and recall where we were when Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America … a fact noted by the newly revamped WhiteHouse.gov website:
I think it was fitting for me to be glued to my TV and my computer when the moment came … so much of my life has been tied up in media for the past few years. I really considered making my way out to Washington DC to be there in person but, because of the big changes in my personal life, decided to just stay here in SoCal instead. My dear friends Diana and Jordan are in DC today … Jordan and I chatted a bit this morning on the phone. He tells me he got a spot at the front of the National Mall to watch today’s events. Diana, who lives in DC, most likely hung back and opted out of braving the mass of people who came to town for the ceremony.
Remember where you were in the moment today … it’ll be a story you’ll be telling your children, grandchildren, etc. in the years to come :)
In a couple of hours, I’m meeting up with some friends at Steph & Alek’s for our Inauguration Pool Party. We’ve got fun decorations and plan to whoop it up until the sun goes down. Happy New President, y’all!
RSS
Feedburner
January 20th, 2009 at 11:43 am
I was in the staff lounge at the college library where I work with about eight of my co-workers – we applauded when the audience applauded, we stood when Obama took his oath of office – it was very, very cool.
January 20th, 2009 at 11:56 am
I drove home on my lunchbreak just to watch it. I was lying on my couch videoing the whole thing with my camera. I was teary eyed and very proud. I text my son soon after it was over.
:)
January 20th, 2009 at 11:58 am
drunk as hell is where i was..too much jack daniels last night…hootyhoo
January 20th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I skipped class today to watch it with my suite mates. There was no way my children were going to ask me where I was at that moment and have me respond with “a class lecture”.
Best decision I’ve made this semester!
January 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I am living in Italy right now–so watching videos from other “channels” re: Inauguration–his speech and the luncheon!!! It is a GREAT day to be an American!
January 20th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Hauled ass from the gym up to my grad school lab, and found a bunch of colleagues watching it on a little TV in the hallway. What a great day!!!!!!! Today is one of the few days where I wish I had a TV, so I could watch the coverage allll dayyyy….. Good luck, Mr. President!
January 20th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I grew up in the DC area and lived there my whole life until I moved to Denver for grad school and can’t BELIEVE I wasn’t there!!! But I watched with my fellow social work students at school and we were so proud, both as social workers and Americans. :) :) :)
January 20th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
What a great day! Happy Change!
January 20th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I was sleeping. Well, it was 3am here! lol
Obama has huge expectations to live up to, not only in the US, but for the rest of the world. I hope he can live up to them. I do wish him and his family a safe journey in the White House.
January 20th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I work in healthcare administration and I thought it would be just business as usual in the chaos of the hospital. I was planning on watching it online later. But then, my boss pulled me into one of the conference rooms and we all watched the ceremony. Everyone was quietly crying when Obama spoke. Amazing, I always believed the VPs to be Republican…
January 20th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
The VPs of the hospital, just to clarify-not the vice president, ha ha
January 20th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I am a Canadian living in Germany who studies political science and international relations. I sussed out the American Democrats Abroad bunch here so as to watch and revel in this day in company. We toasted with champagne at both 6pm our time (as Obama legally became pres) as well as after the completion of the oath and his brilliantly eloquent address. For the first time in my life (I am 27 years old) I could allow myself to be mesmerized by a man whose words I have yearned to hear spoken. Today is a good day — and Michelle looked smashing as well!
January 20th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
oh, and our celebration was hosted with giant screens in the Museum of COMMUNICATION. how appropriate, no!?!
January 20th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
My boss saw me trying to watch it on my computer, and she told me to turn it up and everyone in the office watched it together!
January 20th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I was at home in the DC suburbs watching (with my 3 1/2 y.o. daughter) & wishing my husband could’ve been home watching with us, but he had to go in because all of the DC & MD employees got to work from home, thus he couldn’t :(
However, it was great to watch and your blog coverage has been GREAT all day! Thanks for always keeping things on your site in tune with what’s going on in the world!
January 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I was watching the House marathon on USA..I’m so sick of the coverage and how many blowhards are all over the media..The rest of the day will be watching It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.. :)
January 20th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I watched it on television from my home in NY……..however, I considered driving down and taking my three kids to see this event (my uncle lives just outside D.C)…….BUT with my husband in Afghanistan (he left for his 3rd war zone tour December 26th) I didn’t want to brave that kind of crowd without him……….so I am glad I stayed home. A historic day indeed and I am excited to see how the next 100 days will play out!
January 20th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I live right outside DC, but didn’t go fight the crowds & deal with the freezing temps out there. I have been glued to my tv all day though, watching this historic moment, & getting teary eyed with so many others I’m sure. This is an amazing moment in history :o)
January 20th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
We watched the speech in class, streaming from the internet. Congratulations U.S.A!
January 20th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I watched it on TV during school in Toronto, Canada. The janitor set up three TVs and placed them in the school chapel, library, and the hallway, so anyone was able to watch him getting sworn in. For two periods, everyone skipped lunch and some skipped class just to watch the inauguration. A few teachers were there and had their class stay in until Obama finished his speech. Some people were even willing to come to class late just to watch Obama’s speech. I was happy I was able to watch history being made.
January 20th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I actually just came home from it! It was very very VERY cold and very crowded. I have never seen that many people in DC before.. in a Metro Station too. I was in between the Washington Monument and the Capital.. we watched in on big screens. I’ve also never seen that many police officers standing shoulder to shoulder.. it will be the most amazing historical moment I’ve experienced. I bought myself a headband and an Obama shirt.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I actually am in Washington, DC. Unforunately, I had to work from home. My job is 3 blocks from the Capital building. There is going to be some party in the this town.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I was working.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I joined several friends who all decided to delay the start of their work day here in San Diego. We all soaked up the hope, inspiration, and optimism of Obama’s inauguration and the start of his Presidency over breakfast burritos.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I was at work, and didn’t know if I would be able to watch it as all video is disabled on the computers at work. A coworker and I were going to find someplace to watch on our lunchbreak, but about half an hour before I was looking at the BBC’s website to see if they had any liveblogging, and discovered a live broadcast coming through! Was so happy I didn’t miss any of it, and along with my officemates, a couple of other coworkers in the department huddled around my monitor to watch the tiny little video and we burst into applause after he took the oath, and again after his speech.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I invited my staff to join me at my home to watch this historic event. It was great to share this moment with them; we are like extended family. I’m hoping my kids got to watch it at school.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I was at home watching the whole thing from the comfort of my bed, wrapped in my blanket. Nice toasty warm.
January 20th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Our school was the only school in the district that asked permission to stream CNN and disrupt class but I imagine everyone was watching via CNN.com (with Facebook!! haha those status updates were cracking me up)
But anyways, I was in my english class and it was great to finally see it happen after all the ignorant comments I had heard all day relating to our new President.
January 20th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I am proud to be American once again. His speech was incredibly moving and I hope for great things to come. He is very smart and we should all wish him the best. He has a tough job ahead of him, a big mess to clean up (I hope that is possible), but I see great things for our new Prez. Obama rocks.
January 20th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
@ work…i was watching online and my boss…let us put it in the conference room…it was a great moment in history. glad i didn’t miss it!
January 20th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
I was at work watching the speech in the breakroom. We were all huddled around the tv with tears in our eyes. It was a great moment. I wont ever forget it. :)
January 20th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
I’m in DC, and had planned to make my way to the mall to hang with the other ticket-less hipsters… Until I saw the metro (the DC subway) lines. At 445 am, my metro station had lines, and it seemed like hundreds of people were coming in every few minutes.
I spent the morning at a bar down the street, drinking $2 bloody’s and watching the ceremony on a huge projection screen. It was fantastic, and warm.
January 20th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
I was at our local movie theatre watching it on the big screen. The Food Bank offered admission so long as you brought a can for the Bank which brought people in droves, bringing in boxes upon boxes, not because they could but they wanted to give. they were energized by obama and wanted to do more than the usual. Man it was fun, they streamed from C-SPAN and cheered. one lady was our Obama chant starter. for once in my life I’m proud to say I’m a virginian, and an African American. today was momentous I cried. I wish my grandmother was alive to see this, but she was somewhere watching and crying right along with me.
January 20th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
What are the “big changes in your personal life”, Trent? Did I miss something? Anxiously, J.
January 20th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
I was there! It was amazing—and very cold. I’m so excited about the state of our nation once again.
January 21st, 2009 at 1:10 am
You want to know where I was? Bartending one block from the security checkpoint into the parade in Chinatown, DC. I was too busy to even witness or watch the parade. I even worked election night and was too busy to realize who won! i begged to have off tonight. Le sigh.
I also stopped for a brief moment when I saw the man get out of his limo and walk! I was like “please live longer than president Garfield, get back in the limo!” I live in DC. I’ve been nervous since the day he won that there would be an attempt on him..so when I saw him get out of the limo, I could feel all of secret service collectively have a heart attack.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:19 am
Where was I? I was right behind the people who had tickets.I was able to be so close to see on the projection screen. I braved that cold. I REFUSED to miss this day in history. I’m a DC native. I got my behind up at 3am to brave the LOOOONG lines at the metro. The sea of people out there was beautiful. Trust…it was mad cold, I could barely feel my legs. And those hand and toe warmes barely worked…oh well. In the end……it was truely worth it. Trent, I wish you could have come that would be so great.
January 21st, 2009 at 7:23 am
@jezzie — http://pinkisthenewblog.com/home/2009/01/home-is-where-the-hauslaib-is/ :)
January 21st, 2009 at 10:20 am
I was at home recovering from a bout of strep throat, but thankful that I was able to watch the entire inauguration – right down to five of the inaugural ball appearances.
I cried all day.
January 21st, 2009 at 10:42 am
@CB — ugh! i feel ya on the strep … i suffered thru that a few years ago and it was just horrible :( get better soon!