This is the beginning of a series of posts dedicated to the Presidential Inauguration. I feel it is my duty to inform the reading public, from the outset of this exposé, that I am writing this not from the perspective of any political party or group: this is my view of events as I experience them. Many assume that because I am attending the Inauguration of President George W. Bush I must be a hard-core Republican. Not so. Period. End of sentence.

With that out of the way, I shall now indulge you about this hectic day, pre-departure. To begin, I completed various tasks that any person would normally undertake before a trip across the country: clear my schedule, pick up the dry cleaning, pay bills, get some cash, etc. But this not being any ordinary trip, I had to trek to “The Men’s Warehouse”:http://www.menswearhouse.com/ to try on and pick up my tuxedo. Because I also have an interview at NYU(New York University) (a sort of trip within a trip), I had my suit pressed and borrowed a garment bag to ensure the safe and unwrinkled arrival of my dress clothes.

I printed out my itineraries, prepared for my NYU interview, and made copies of my birth certificates. Wait a minute! Birth certificates? Yep, you read that right. Today, my dad called to inform me that everyone should have a copy of their birth certificate for our visit to the White House just in case. Who am I to argue with post-9/11 security measures? I guess the fact that my uncle is “you know who”:http://www.famoustexans.com/karlrove.htm just isn’t good enough for the “Secret Service”:http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/.

Well, the bags are packed, and everyone has gone to bed but myself. Our day of travel starts bright and early at 4:00 am, with enough time to get ready, get to the airport, “pray for no fog”:http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/1361776.html, and be off on our early-bird 6 o’clock am departure. I hope we get some coffee or it’s going to be a rough day.

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