Only in DC ...

... Would I encounter a friend (who reminds me of a really hyper cartoon character) coming out of the Metro on his way to school holding a birthday cake for Roe v. Wade and complaining that his cake-holding commute took longer than expected because of a vice presidential motorcade. Oh, and Justice Scalia judged the school moot court competition yesterday. And I realized, again, that I often like law school. But I am also rather alarmed by the fact that three weeks into the semester I do not yet hate my federal income tax class ... now that just seems wrong ...

History, today ...

Inauguration Day, Capital C. style ...

1. The Cold. A nice icy view from the 14th Street bridge. We walked from our apartment to the National Mall, and survived the windy coldness on the bridge ...

2. The Capitol. We did not stand here the entire time, but I had to see it with my own eyes today. We did watch the Inauguration on that monitor, however, we just stood to the right a bit ...

3. The Crowd. We stood at the base of the Washington Monument, surrounded by 1.5 million of our closest friends ...

4. The Company. Me and A. at our actual viewing location.

5. The Cookies. So, to be honest, the crowd infuriated me. People started singing, "Hey, hey, hey, goodbye," when the first President Bush appeared on the screen, made loud snide comments about Vice President Cheney and booed when President Bush came out. Luckily, C. and I came prepared to protest politely. We clapped alone for President Bush and ate Texas cowboy cookies during his final moments in office just to spite the crazies around us. But I really wanted to tell them this: I did not vote for President Obama. But I like him. I think he will be good for us in many ways. And he is just as much my president as yours. And even when I disagree with him, I will still respect his office. And I would like to think you could manage to do the same for his predecessor today ...

Who am I ...

From the fascinating book I finished today, Midnight's Children, possibly the most interesting book I have ever read. (Please do not tell me Oprah loves it. I really hate it when I finish a good book and then discover that she adopted it for her book club, like she somehow contributed to creating it just by putting a little round "O" sticker on the cover. OK, so maybe she does contribute to making it sell. But that is very different from actually making it ...)

"Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done-to-me. I am everyone everything whose being-in-the-world affected was affected by mine. I am anything that happens after I've gone which would not have happened if I had not come. Nor am I particularly exceptional in this matter; each 'I,' every one of the now-six-hundred-million-plus of us, contains a similar multitude. I repeat for the last time: to understand me, you'll have to swallow a world." ~ Salman Rushie, Midnight's Children

Dear Mr. President ...

Dear President Bush:

I thought you might have some time to check my blog one of these days. And what a shame it would be if you did just that and found a letter to the Supreme Court here but not one to you. So you should know that unlike everyone else in the world, who spent your last weekend at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. drooling over the President Elect and celebrating his every sneeze, we did the respectful thing, and remembered that until Tuesday at noon, you are still in charge.

Yes, last night we celebrated your presidency in style. We read some of your best quotes, baked Texas cowboy cookies from my almost-outdated Presidential Cookies cookbook, ate delicious cowboy caviar, listened to the best breakup CD in the history of the universe (a whole CD of songs about moving on with life ... I can send you a copy if you like, I promise it works wonders) and of course, we watched The American President. (And by we, I mean me and a few people who understand that my admittedly strange fascination is not entirely insane, and that I really am just joking almost all of the time, and that I have lots of random presidential mementos because people like to give them to me and also because I worked in the White House this summer for free, so I obviously deserved things like stickers with pictures of your dogs and bronze coins with your face engraved on them and red plastic cups that say "Fourth of July at the White House 2008.") Anyway, I will speak for all of us here when I say thanks, for the memories ...

Sincerely,

C.

Here, Take My Thesaurus ...

Dear Supreme Court:

I have been reading quite a lot of your writing for the past, oh, year and a half. And I am wondering if you have a style guide that requires you to use the word "talisman" in at least 99 percent of your opinions. If so, I offer my congratulations. You follow that rule superbly. (See my first experience with said word in your writing quoted to the right on this very blog.)

If no such rule exists, I offer you my thesaurus. You need it. I like the word "talisman" as much as the next girl (actually, I probably like it much more than the next girl) but I would also like to keep enjoying it for years to come and if I continue to read it multiple times a day it will really lose its, eh, charm ...

Thank you,

C.

P.S. Chief Justice Roberts, I should probably tell you about my fish ...

Thanks, All ...

Warning: Cheesy post ahead. Read at your own discretion.

I am always in the mood for the Wicked soundtrack after I (finally) stop listening to Christmas music. So I generally put the CD on in the car at the beginning of January and play it on repeat until at least the middle of February. (Yes people, I still listen to CDs ... I am iPod free, thanks to my hatred of things in my ears. And I do not drive all that often, so no, I do not get sick of the same songs over and over.) Anyway, this means I have been listening to Wicked all week. And after receiving phone calls, packages, notes and texts from all of my favorite people this weekend, I just could not resist posting the lyrics to my favorite song and saying thanks, people, for everything ... 27 might not be so bad after all ...

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you ...

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend ...

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for
But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share
And none of it seems to matter anymore

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood

Like a ship blown from it's mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird in a distant wood

Who can say if I've been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good ...

Just like seventh grade ...

Today I went back to school. Minus my brain. Exhibit A: I forgot my locker combination. As in could not remember it at all. Am now enlisting help of math genius roommate to think of all possible combinations, since I conveniently also lost the paper that actually had the combination. I have narrowed the list of all possible numbers (no odd numbers, this I know) but any tips on cracking codes would be appreciated ...

And everything in between ...

The downside to my really great Christmas vacation: It ended. Thirty hours ago, to be exact. And frankly, I am not at all excited to be back in the land of stress. I really miss this:

And this:

And this:

And this:

And this:

And everything in between ... which, for the record, included a New Year's Eve dinner so close to Mitt Romney that I could hear his conversation and watch him eat/drink his rootbeer freeze. I am taking that as a good luck omen for 2009. I might need it ...