A Paindu watching the Obama Inauguration the 2nd time :)

So, I am going to watch President Obama to take oath tomorrow for the second time. Washington DC is bracing to host thousands of people visiting the city. They say it is going to be very cold tomorrow so people are bracing for a long and tiring day in the coldest of the weathers. I wonder, who decided to inaugurate the new President in such cold weather for the first time. Washington DC is surely going to feel the effects of so many human bodies on the roads tomorrow. Thousands of temporary toilets have been erected along side the National Mall. I saw it, when I was shooting for a short stand up near the freezing Capital Pool.

I remember, the last time on Obama's inauguration, there were so many people in Washington DC that one could not see anything but human heads in different colored hair, caps and hoods. I don't know what were they thinking when they decided to witness the inauguration from the National Mall, instead of their home TVs.

I was supposed to be at work by 8am and my God! was it possible with so many Metro stations closure? See, my workplace happens to be in a very close proximity of the inauguration location, so it was almost impossible to be at work on time. I got down at the L'Enfant Plaza Station and without exaggeration, it took me an hour and a half to get out of the station exit. The security was tight and so was the weather which was touching under, God knows how many minus degrees. It was one of the coldest morning of all the years, I have lived and worked in DC.

So this year, thanks to my office wallas, I am going to be watching the inauguration ceremony from home on TV, if at all. I think, I'll miss the excitement and the challenge of last time's morning but hey! I'll be warm and tucked in.

As for Obama becoming the new President, I should be happy to see an African American to be the president of the United States for the second time; for his skin color is closer to mine but I confess that I am not much excited this time. After all, the governments are not run by the color of one's skin but by the standardized, prototype, bureaucratic machinery which is almost, always set in stone.  So no matter how big an achievement it is for an African American to be elected to run a country like United States for the second time, it will take years and years for the real change of hearts to take place. 

To his credit though, he tried to clear the mess as much as he could and did not do a very unsatisfactory job in his first term. America is going through a serious financial bad patch and the political forces here, like in my home country, are not playing a very positive role to strengthen democracy and are trying their best to make sure, how not to let the important things to happen. However, I'll be waiting to see what and if he is able to deliver much this time on the home front as well as the foreign Policy front.

My aim at this time is to focus on my current task for another 4 years and wait for my Karma/Qismat /luck to change for better :)......Good Luck Obama! Good Luck Michelle..Please wear something nicer than your usual printed attires this time :).