Well, Dad, we made it to Home Depot last night but they were sold out of snow supplies. Apparently nobody else had to work in DC on Friday. So here are the steps into my apartment covered in snow. You were right.

Totally brilliant send-up of where I’m living these days. “…or the Starbucks or the Starbucks or the Starbucks or the Starbucks or the Starbucks…” It brings the L0Lz.

City: Arlington, VA
Neighborhood: Crystal City
Address: 2301 Jefferson Davis Hwy

Yes, it’s a corporate chain, but it’s in my building and I lived here for six months without eating there. One word summary? Sucks.

The space in this particular Legal Seafoods is limited and poorly utilized. Round tables are mashed against square tables and pushed into corners, making it impossible to take or leave your table for any reason without asking folks at their table to stand up and clear a path. Yes, this happened to me.

The food isn’t well-presented. Given the price tag, they could’ve done better than plating my salmon on a bed of rice and handing me veggies 3 minutes later. The waiter was also kind of a weirdo. Overall, not a noteworthy experience.

I’ve also found better seafood at local restaurants like Chadwick’s.

Ray’s Rating: C-

A hearing on DC voting rights kicks off at 10 a.m. today in 2141 Rayburn and will include testimony from Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), (non-voting) D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C. National Guard Iraq war veteran Yolanda Lee and former Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh.

The last time this came up was in 2007, when the measure passed the House but died in the Senate. This time we have a strong Democratic majority in both houses and a supposedly sympathetic White House. Is DC about to throw away all of its “Taxation Without Representation” license plates?

Dave and I are heading to Georgetown to attend a reception and screening of “Prayers for Bobby,” the new Lifetime movie starring Sigourney Weaver as a conservative woman who casts her gay son out of the family only to have him commit suicide. Her struggle through the aftermath transforms her into a PFLAG activist.

Scott Bailey, the actor who plays “Bobby”’s first boyfriend, “David,” will be at the screening. If you wanna come, click here for more information. We’ll be at the 7pm screening, which isn’t listed on the website, but is definitely happening.

Today was the big day. The “end of an error.” The beginning of a new “era of responsibility.” And it was epic.

We spent 8 hours sitting at the base of the Washington Monument facing dead east (directly to the Capitol building). I have never been so cold and for so long. It was miserable and I have the red face and dead fingertips to prove it.

We hit the Metro at 4:00am and the station was overflowing. It took half an hour to get through the turnstiles and down the escalators to the trains, which also took a couple runs for us to get on board.

When we hit the Mall via L’Enfant station, we took some pictures of the armed services and made our way to the Washington Monument where we sat alone for the first hour or so, though eventually we were crowded down from a roomy three person reclining huddle to three people standing behind four giants and barely being able to see anything but glimpses of jumbotrons.

Exiting the Mall after the inaugural address took well over an hour and a half, though everyone “waved goodbye” to Marine One when it passed overhead towards Dulles airport to escort former President Bush back to Texas.

I then waited alone for an hour to get into the Parade bleachers. My first frisking! But the result was well worth it, since I got a photo of Obama waving from his Caddy window and a couple shots of Biden walking and waving.

I made it home around 4:45 and relaxed for a couple hours before we headed back to the District for the Equality Ball where Ross the Intern was the emcee. We enjoyed music by Rufus Wainwright, Thelma Houston, Cyndi Lauper and Melissa Etheridge. There were surprise appearances by Sir Ian McKellan and gay Episcopalian newsmaking bishop, Gene “HBO didn’t air my invocation” Robinson, who delivered a rousing message to the group. Fun was had by all.

Now I am home and I want to curl in a ball and sleep until Monday, but that’s not allowed.

When the moment depicted below in the video was happening, I was singing right along with everyone else around me. I didn’t boo, but I couldn’t help finding the song funny. He frankly got off easy…

Dave and I will be waking up at 3:30am tomorrow so we can be at the Metro when doors open at 4am. We’ll meet up with Erik there and head for Farragut West.

If crowds still look light when we get off the train, we’ll retreat into one of the temporarily 24-hour Starbucks in the District and caffeinate for awhile. If it looks like we’re going to have to battle for our staked-out spots underneath the Washington Monument, we’ll brave the cold for seven straight hours, wrapped in blankets and jackets, on the hill overlooking the Capitol to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west. After all, if you can’t see the actual swearing-in, at least get a spot to watch the crowds swell!

After President Obama gives the speech of a dozen lifetimes, we’ll move (extremely slowly) to F Street to claim our seats for the 56th Inaugural Parade overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue. When the parade wraps around 3 or 3:30, we’ll head a few blocks north to a less-trafficked Metro stop and head home to prepare for the evening’s events.

Around 5:30, we’ll hop back on the Metro and ride to the Mayflower Hotel for the Equality Ball that begins at 7pm so we can hobnob with celebs until the wee hours of the morning and enjoy the open bar.

Needless to say, I’ll keep my camera close at all times, so stay tuned for photos.

Look out, DC! I am flippin’ stoked!!!

I just got off the phone with my friend Hillary (irony) who asked if I would like two tickets to tomorrow’s Inaugural Parade. Her boyfriend works for a Senator, so she now has an extra set. I wasn’t planning on going at all, since I would’ve been stuck behind a mass of people, but I now get to sit in a reserved seat overlooking the parade and our seats are right near the White House at the end of the parade!!!

The red X is about where we’ll be sitting.

If President Obama shows up at the Equality Ball tomorrow night at the Mayflower as an olive branch to the gays because of the Rick Warren/Gene Robinson drama, and I get to shake his hand, I will start buying lottery tickets for everyone I know.

The crowds were massive already (and it’s not even Tuesday). I was really struck by how amiable everyone is, despite the cold and the requirement that we do a lot of standing and waiting before moving. In the tradition of every prior Inaugural, there were lots of folks selling Obama items, some of which appeared to be homemade. Check out my photos below:

At the Lincoln Memorial. Will blog photos later. Springsteen, U2, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, and of course, Barack Obama!

Why!?!?!