New Year, New Inauguration, New Feeling

I was waiting for the new year to really get started in my new discipline of writing every day.  I have been doing very well with the twitter regimen.  I tired to write something relevant about my southwest DC community everyday last year.  Even though I wasn't always all that relevant, I did manage to put down a thought or two in 140 characters or less every day.  But Twitter is really a mind killer for writers.  Distilling thoughts to such a fine point, makes the creative juices just dry up after that 140 characters.  My mind is now reduced to the 140 character sound bite. I no longer seem capable of thinking past a certain number of letters to expand on my thought in any relevant way.  Even as I type this I am unconsciously counting the characters.

The other thing that has really bummed me out about my blog is the fact that everyone now has darling pictures and/or sketches to illustrate what they are writing about.  No longer can a person just bare their soul with the written word.  Now we must entertain with cute illustrations and pictures of our surroundings.  I still am having trouble learning how to text pictures I take on my phone.  How can I be expected to upload pictures to a blog or make drawings that I then scan into the computer and upload?

I must say I was totally relieved when President Obama was re-elected in November.  I was one of the few in my family who was happy about the outcome of the elections but I know he is what is best for the country at this time.  I am not naive enough to think that the President is the one who really runs the country.  He is just the one who stands at the head of the country. People look to him for leadership. I personally like his calm manner and steady deliberate way.  He will have to contend with a Congress that was elected from a Gerry-rigged country that sent a majority Republican Congress to Washington from the same counties that sent the President here.  It is a real recipe for disaster, unless....those representatives represent the wishes of the people and not the rhetoric of their party. I think the chances they will do that is slim.

The Inauguration is always a new beginning and I volunteered to work this time as I did in 2009. I was just as excited as I had been when I stood on the Mall in 2009 from 4am until after noon and heard President Barack Hussein  Obama take the oath of office for the first time.  This year I was assigned the Commander in Chief's Inaugural Ball.  I was to be on Access Control and make sure only the right people went the right places.  To get the gig, I had to fill out a long detailed questionnaire online.  I also had to attend a training and walk-through at the convention center where the ball was to take place.  I had to report several hours before the ball began to receive my credentials and final assignment  Everything was very secret and last minute supposedly for security reasons. There is one reason I think it is because they didn't know what the heck they were doing.  At no time during any training, check-in, or before credentialing, did anyone ask for identification, ask me any identifying questions, or in any other was identify that I was the person who had applied for the job or taken the training. I COULD HAVE BEEN ANY JOE BLOW TERRORIST ROAMING FREE IN THE CONVENTION CENTER WITH FREE ACCESS TO THE PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. Fortunately, I wasn't and neither were any of the other 10,000 or so volunteers who the Presidential Inauguration Committee let loose on the public on Monday.....but it does give one pause. Thank God for the Secret Service.

                                                            The view from my balcony

So, I would like to be more active in 2013. I would like to bring a few illustrations to the table. I would like to finally settle my personal conundrum. I hope I can help my community.