the offer

I happened to be turning 25 years old on the 15th of January. It seems significant. It sounds cool. And I wanted to celebrate in grand style, naturally. But I hadn't thought of anything epic enough to mark the occasion.

I guess there's always Europe.

But by chance, my darling friend Stephen, college buddy and Obama youth vote organizer extraordinaire, called me up for coffee a few weeks ago. Over my green chai and his mocha we discussed our future plans.

Damn you economy.

We're both pretty optimistic, actually. Also, smart. Hire us!

Anyway. He mentioned that he would be attending the inauguration of our dear president-elect, Barack Obama. And he had an extra ticket.

Luckily, my schedule was pretty open.

Our plans fell into place pretty quickly. Sure, I didn't have a place to stay until 3 days before we left, but a friend of a friend offered us the empty rectory of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Arlington, Virginia.

We drove out with a couple of friends. There was snow, but we made it.

And here is where I'm losing inspiration. I don't think every single detail in chronological order will be that interesting to you, dear reader, or me, dear writer. But there are several moments that stick out from the days in D.C.

Let me see if I can capture them.