Assorted Moments from the Inauguration For Your Enjoyment

Below is a story on some of the most interesting folks we met at the inauguration, and Katelyn wrote a rundown of the day's events, but neither tells the whole story. To add to the bunch, here is an assortment of moments that'll stick out in my memory months down the line.

1) Most of the roads in Downtown D.C. were totally closed for the day, blocked off by thousands and thousands of gates, railings and army men. Walking through the streets towards the capitol, with thousands of others rushing by, felt a lot like we were on the set of a movie about the apocalypse (I know, I used that comparison before, but it holds) where people leave their cars and just bolt to safety. I fully expected Will Smith to pop out and yell something like "Get out of the city while you still can!"

2. The consistency of the audience's crowdedness was totally inconsistent. At one point, Heater and I were being pushed through a bottleneck leading into a bigger area by countless impatient people. A tall man stood in the middle of the flow, his arms roped around his two kids, screaming, "There's nowhere else to go! Stop pushing by! Please, God, stop pushing by!" So we promptly pushed by, and not 20 feet later were on the mall with enough room to park a van without bothering anyone.

3. Press passes make for good souvenirs, but, umm, that's about it. While my pass to Sunday's concert got me close enough to smell Bruce Springsteen's manly musk (well, not quite), our passes at the inauguration were about as helpful as we were when people asked us how to get to the (Insert Metro Station name here) Metro Station. We asked volunteers, cops and a beefy army fellow where the press pass granted us access, and the only information we got was "I have no idea" or "There's a press entrance on 12th Street." Now that second one would've been helpful if we'd been less than a mile and a half from 12th Street at the time.

Finally, when we got on the Mall, we asked a young woman working the press pit if we could come in. She looked at our passes and said, "This area is only for standing cameras" (Video cameras on tripods). I asked politely, "So, what exactly does having a press pass mean, then?" To which she said, "Nothing."

4. We situated ourselves close to the makeshift MSNBC soundstage, in which the likes of Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, among others, hosted the Inauguration live on their channel. People went nuts over seeing their favorite pundits, albeit through an elevated glass encasing. Chris Matthews, on the other hand, looked either constipated or just grumpy.

5. If Bush was unaware of the public's dislike of him up to yesterday, he was slapped in the face by it when, upon being introduced at the end of a string of ex-presidents, he was booed. I cannot fathom what it feels like to be booed by two million people. Two million people! I get upset if someone looks at me funny. He must be an incredibly strong, or incredibly (and blissfully) unaware man.

6. When the Inauguration let out and the Mall began to clear, the grass looked like a landfill the day after Fourth of July. Those super-patriotic folk who get upset when someone lets the American flag touch the ground would've had at least three heart attacks at seeing this mess.

7. In the midst of the post-Inauguration madness, we met Pitt News-er and Obama campaign worker Tony Jovenitti. Small world!

8. Along with Tony's friend Jim, the four of us trekked about a mile through the crowded, maddening streets to find some food. Every restaurant within at least 2 miles of the mall was packed. Luckily for us, we found a health food store (imagine a GNC run by hippies) that also sold sandwiches that few other people had discovered. But it also had no place to sit. Sitting on the curb outside, I dropped my last piece of Buffalo Burger on the street and quickly picked it up and ate it gluttonously. Few times in my life have I felt so homeless.

9. Heater and I walked about a mile away from Pennsylvania Ave (where the parade was) before finding a street without a ton of people screaming for cabs. We soon got one, after a delightful walk through some projects, and promptly fell asleep. Luckily, we woke up just before the cab driver would've had to awkwardly tap us at our stop.

10. Having stood in the cold (26 degrees!) from about 6 a.m. until we hopped the cab at 4 p.m., my legs hurt and my lips froze to the point that I'll be on a healthy regiment of Chapstick for the next month. We got home and fell asleep. It was the most rewarding sleep ever.

I'm writing this from my house in Oakland, after sleeping through the entire drive home from DC at 5 a.m. this morning (Sorry Heater and Katelyn). What an amazing, fantastic, words-can't-describe-it experience.

Cheers, and here's to four great years.

- Justin Jacobs