Summer of Movies

I'm not going to lie. I was a loyal viewer to both "American Idol" and "Dancing With The Stars" this year. I don't normally watch "Dancing..." but Steve-O was on which made it impossible for me to ignore. But that leaves me with no excuse for continuing to watch after he was voted off now does it. Unless you count "I like to see glittery costumes and be entertained by things that don't force me to think in these troubled times" as a good reason. I do.  

Anyhow,  I'm currently taking suggestions for movies to watch in place of the Prime Time shows offered to me Monday through Wednesday. I couldn't care less about "Hitched or Ditched" or "House" for example. I'm down with "Two and a Half Men", but that's only on for a half an hour. 

So, suggest away! 

JackKnife

Last night when my parents and I saw we had to deal with the nasty beginnings of last night's Nor'Easter on our drive home from a nice evening out, we weren't too worried since we have a vehicle that's 4WD. However, as usual, it's not just your driving abilities you have to worry about in this weather. It's the other morons on the road as well. Last night was a prime example.

We and our neighboring drivers were going along fine, driving at a weather appropriate speed along the barely plowed highway. We were a little more than an exit away from ours when a car passed us with a pickup truck from NY tailgating right behind them. We shook our heads at the nerve of the pickup truck and watched as it sped along trying to bully the car into the right lane.

As if tailgating wasn't a stupid enough move in these conditions, the pickup truck then decided to try to squeeze in between the car in the left lane it was tailgating and the car ahead of ours that was in the right lane. That's when the truck spun out of control, knocking the car behind it into the guardrail and nicking the other car. We pulled over immediately so we could serve as eyewitnesses.

We jumped out of the car, ready to strangle the reckless pickup truck driver. The driver was a girl who looked to be about 18 or so and the car she helped total carried a husband and wife. While we started walking back to check out the damage, we saw another car come around the bend and crash into the guardrail. It immediately drove off, with its bumper sadly hanging off the car, as if defeated by the terrible road conditions.

After a few of us called the police, we all milled around waiting for them to show up. My parents and I were back at our car when I saw the scariest thing in my life. A truck was in motion, jacknifing as he drove around the bend. To give you an idea, check out this photo and imagine that coming right at you, completely unstoppable.

The feeling I had was of course, total fear. I stood there for a moment, trying to process what I was looking at, jaw dropped, thinking "Is this really happening?"

Like a broom, the truck's trailer began to sweep along the shoulder we were all parked on. My parents and I dove over the guardrail as I frantically repeated "Oh-my-god-oh-my-god" and tried our best to get ourselves to a safe spot away from the road, ready to kiss our van goodbye. We saw the trailer nail the car that was already totaled. Then by some crazy luck, it immediately straightened out before it got to any of the rest of our cars. After wreaking that brief havoc, it just drove off. Like nothing happened.

I tell myself that someone behind him got his plates and reported him. But I'll never know. One could argue that maybe the driver didn't even know it hit anything since the trailer was so long. But who knows.

We thought everything was ok, until we heard a woman screaming. It turns out that the wife who was in the totaled vehicle had been standing near it and had gotten pinned against the guardrail by her own car when the truck hit it.

Imagine this? You and your husband are minding your own business, driving as safe as you can. When a dumbass girl, driving like she's got Andretti in her blood, during a straight up old school style New England Nor'Easter no less, comes along and ruins your night. Your car is destroyed, and as if that isn't bad enough, you are hit by your OWN CAR just because you were standing in the wrong spot at the wrong time!

Anyway, I guess if there is any "good news" for this unfortunate couple, the woman ended up with a broken femur. I was actually glad that's all it was because I had visions of her paralysis in my head. As for the rest of us, we all got out fine, just a bit shaken up from the stress one experienced momentarily fearing for your life.

I've definitely taken my chances and driven in such weather, knowing I could handle it. But it's nights like this that will remind me that not everyone respects the risks involved and will behave as if it's a bright sunny day made for stunt driving. Jerks.

Join me and laugh at other people's pain.

F My Life

On those days when you're feeling sorry for yourself, go here for a laugh. There are tons of quick little posts describing random FML moments from people all over the internet. I think they should start a section for the Unemployed. Because right now, the work section is just making me mad at all those people for not appreciating the simple fact they have a job! One day, I will triumph and a steady paycheck will be mine again! *shakes fist at no one in particular*

The Inaugural Post

Being that this is my first post on this blog, it seemed appropriate that I write about attending President Barack Obama's Inauguration this week.

SUNDAY

My family (Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle) and I arrived in D.C. just before dinner time. Perhaps setting the tone for our trip, we had our first run-in with the Inaugural crowd: the post-"We Are One" concert traffic. Pedestrians and cars full of people had jammed up the roadways near the Lincoln Memorial and we found ourselves stuck right in the middle of it. Although the holdup was annoying, we got a small treat. While sitting and waiting for the cars ahead of us to get a move on, we saw Obama's motorcade off in the distance leaving the Memorial via a waterside road. This sighting gave me the chills and immediately got me excited for Tuesday.

We ate dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill. The place was decorated, as most buildings in D.C. were, with red white and blue bunting. I had a tasty cheddar burger with fries. For dessert we ordered a few different things, the highlight being the Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding. Yum! After this we settled in back at our respective hotels, watched the "We Are One" concert on HBO later that night and went to bed.

MONDAY

We began our afternoon with a quick lunch at Loeb's Deli, followed by a stop at Political Americana. This place was filled with Presidential memorabilia, mostly relating to the Inauguration of course. The crowd of customers was nuts. Everyone was packed in like sardines and lined up around the corner just to peruse the merchandise inside, even though there were plenty of street vendors right outside the door. Another attraction that brought people in was that the store had set up a faux Oval Office set in the entrance way. Here you could take a photo with an Obama cardboard standup as you sat behind a fake desk. Since it was so crazy in the store, I didn't take advantage of this photo op because I just wanted out!

After leaving that madhouse, Mom went to get our tickets. To prevent scalping, the Powers That Be set it up so you had to pick up your tickets at your Congressman's office in person when you got to D.C. This caused there to be huge delays getting into each office, so everyone found themselves waiting outside for hours in the cold weather. My poor Mom was one of these people! Luckily she got back in time for us to get ready for a reception that our Senator was throwing.

Unfortunately, due to traffic on the way to that event, we had to jump out of our cab and take the Metro back up to Capitol Hill where it was being held instead of being dropped off at the door. When we got there, the doors to the building were all shut. We ran into other dressed-up wanderers who also could not find an entrance either. You can imagine how psyched we all were to be walking around the cold, in heels, only to have to turn around and go home without actually being able to attend the event. We bailed and met everyone for dinner at the Daily Grill.

This place had a Margherita pizza that was so tasty, I've decided I must try to replicate it at home. It had a thin crust, mozzarella cheese, tomato slices and fresh basil. Our table's dessert choices included a massive slice of Carrot Cake, Raspberry Sorbet and Strawberry Shortcake. When he served the Strawberry Shortcake, the waiter accidentally tipped the plate, and some of the sauce had dripped onto my Aunt's jacket and pants. Strawberry sauce is hard to get out! The manager came right over and offered to pay the bill. But since we were out-of-towners, she told him he didn't need to. Instead, he comp'd her dinner and dessert, which we thought was a nice gesture.

After dinner we all pretty much came home and crashed since we had walked around so much and had a big morning we needed to rest up for.

TUESDAY, INAUGURATION DAY
When I woke up and saw that the weather was 19 degrees, with a wind chill of 7, I began to rethink going to the Swearing In. The idea of standing out there for hours from far away seemed really unappealing. But then the importance of this day finally sunk in. So we manned up, bundled up, and headed out.


The Ceremony
As soon as we left our hotel, which was on the last street accessible to cars before hitting the restricted blocks surrounding the Mall, we got a taste of what we were in for that day. Loads of people were walking around our neighborhood that were not there the day before. Sirens for the VIP motorcades allowed beyond K street had been blaring since early morning and continued throughout the day. According to the papers, Bush had declared D.C. to be in a State of Emergency as a security precaution. It basically felt like you were walking around a Police State.

The Metro ride out to Federal Center was surprisingly manageable. Though there was a massive crowd when we got off the train, I thought "OK, this isn't bad. It's just like NYC on New Year's Eve" and didn't expect anything worse to face than that Metro crowd. LOL @ me.

When we got to the Blue Gate, around 10am, there was already a huge mass waiting to get in. It wasn't so bad at first; we still had some semblance of personal space. While standing there, I happened to notice I was right next to comedian Jeffrey Ross. Even though I'm a fan, having seen him on a few Comedy Central roasts and Howard Stern, I didn't think it was necessary to say anything to him. Besides, he was busy looking for his friend and seemed stressed out. When his friend finally showed up, he asked us all to help him through and when he made it, Jeffrey declared "Yes we can!" which got a giggle out of some bystanders.

The other night on Conan I saw Ron Howard describe his experience at the Ceremony and it sounded similar to mine. Which was that even though we were all packed in shoulder to shoulder for over an hour, everyone stayed good-natured about it. We were all just so happy to be there and appreciated the fact there were a few hundred thousand out in the back of the mall that would have loved to be able to view the ceremony from our section.

When we finally got in, we did our best to find a decent viewing spot. Even though we didn't exactly have VIP seating, it didn't matter. We were at one of the most historical events of our time and the desire to be part of it overrode any negative feelings.

The way I felt actually being at the Ceremony rather than watching it from my bed in my t-shirt and sweats is like how sports fans feel being at the game instead of at home. There's an energy in the air that can't be denied. Plus it's just not as satisfying yelling at your TV with two other people in the room as it is to be able to cheer along with the thousands when Obama was officially introduced as President.

After President Obama's speech, we attempted to hightail it out of there. Here's where the nightmare began.


Held Prisoner in the National Mall
We went to the Federal Center stop and there was already a huge mob trying to get into the station. "No problem", we thought, "We'll just walk back to our hotel." Bahahaha

Due to the parade, which we were supposed to attend, we weren't allowed to cross Pennsylvania Avenue. The Smithsonian stop was shut down due to security measures. After unsuccessfully trying to find an alternate crossing point to get to our side of town, we found out L'Enfant Plaza was still in operation so we tried there. What a mess.

I think we were stuck down there like animals for almost 2 hours. The hot temperature, due to the store display window lights that lined the hallway we had to wait in, caused people to feel faint, and at least one person actually passed out. There was no crowd control in existence. There may have been police down by the trains, but not upstairs where we were.

My photo gives you some idea of the uncomfortableness we all felt. Imagine standing in that crowd for hours, only moving about 5 baby steps every 15 minutes, with no end in sight. Literally- we bailed a few feet after that shot was taken because someone said it would be another 2 hours before hitting the Metro platform. Claustrophobia kicked in and we just left out of one of the side doors that lead to the hotel lobby exit.

Finally after 4 hours, (and a Daily Show sighting!) we found an opening to cross just beyond the Monument and were able to get back to civilization. FOUR HOURS just to be able to leave the Mall. Add to that frustration that you only got cell phone calls through to people by pure luck, due to cell phone signal jamming that was going on, and you have two very scared, confused and sad women. What a way to take away from the morning!

Meanwhile, on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue, things were not so peachy either. Those in my party that were able to actually make their way to our seats weren't even allowed to sit in their designated spots! I believe they were told that for "security reasons" they couldn't.

Not willing to accept defeat or let the $250 for 10 pre-paid tickets go to waste, they wandered around in the cold until they found seats that were left deserted by people who were still trapped in the Mall. They had the extra joy of waiting outside for the unexpected 2 hour delay until the parade actually got going, only to have to leave the what became a parade-in-the-dark early to join us for the Ball.

Apparently parade attendance was not as high as expected. To quote my Father: "My sympathy to all the bands who had to raise $100,000 (or more) to have the 'privelege' of marching in sub-freezing temperatures, in the dark, with no crowds to cheer them on."

In hindsight I don't really know how we could have done things differently. I suppose if we knew what to expect, communications from the organizers had been better with the public, and there was some attempt at crowd control in the nooks and crannies of the District, maybe less chaos would have ensued and we wouldn't have been so upset. Every person I talked to, including strangers, had their own Hell story from the afternoon. Anyway, luckily we were able to make it back just in time to get ready for the "Salute To Heroes" Ball we were going to attend that night.


Buzz of the Ball
This Ball was to pay tribute to Medal of Honor winners. Emcee'ing the event was Marg Helgenberger from CSI. Her acting past included a major role on "China Beach" which was appreciated by this crowd of veterans when it was actually on the air so she seemed an appropriate choice. Later, Buzz Aldrin spoke as well. For some reason I was really delighted to see him in person.

Dinner was a goat cheese salad, bread with butter shaped like the Capitol, Filet Mignon, and various bite sized cakes for dessert. Everyone was dressed up to the hilt like we were at ...well, a ball! The most interesting dress I saw was a white strapless gown, decorated with a blue bust with white stars, and red in the skirt pleats. Her wrap was red and white stripes. I WISH I had taken a photo of it!

Before you ask, no, Obama did not attend and I do not have official confirmation as to why not. I'll admit it was disappointing since The Clintons attended the same ball when we went a few years back. Oh well!

The end of the evening was spent outside attempting to try to hail a cab. Obama was at the Ball across the street at this time, and due to traffic re-flowing for security reasons, cars couldn't really drive down our street by the hotel's taxi station. Three cars came through over the course of an hour and a half. While waiting we saw his motorcade leave to people cheering from the street, which provided another cheap thrill. Eventually we took a gypsy cab. By we, I mean me, my father, my mother and her three friends. Five grown adults in the backseat of a regular 4-door sedan. It had to be done, otherwise our friends would have been there all night waiting for a ride. When we arrived at our hotel, it must have looked like a clown car at a circus emptying out!

WEDNESDAY
Nothing much to report, except it took an hour and a half to get our car from the Hotel Valet. The highlight of this wait, was my Mom got to meet Bishop Desmond Tutu, who was staying at our hotel. Other than that, it's safe to say that we were happy we made it out of this historical "Clusterf*** of All Clusterf***s" (as the Daily Show put it) alive and well!


ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

ARTICLE REGARDING CROWD CONTROL
After reading random comments from other attendees, 4 hours seemed to be the average amount of time spent trying to get out of the Mall.