After our first conversation, Frank Warren encouraged me to come out and experience one of his PostSecret Live events and I agreed. So my friend Wendi and I trekked down to the Lisner Auditorium where he was about to speak in front of a sold out crowd.

I walked in and saw him onstage, playing with his MacBook as he tested some videos and slides to be used. At the moment I found him he was playing the Dirty Little Secrets video that features his PostSecret postcards.

I wasn’t the only one there to hang out with him, a camera crew was nearby busy filming his routine, a sign that his fame is growing by leaps, not bounds. Warren’s story is so unique: a man who collects secrets sent to him to share with himself and the world. As they are posted on his PostSecret blog, he becomes not only the most trusted man in America, but perhaps a conduit and sounding board for thousands. He is always willing to listen to anything that anyone would like to share with him.

As other press outlets show up and line up for interviews there’s still a sense of humbleness to the man behind the Germantown-based blog. Before retiring to his dressing room for interviews he walks to the back of the house to personally thank all of the ushers and staff working the event.

The dressing room backstage is a plain white room with leather couches. Frank invites special guests, press, and myself to sitdown with him as he gathers his notes for the presentation. There’s a coffee table in the middle of the room with a copy of the Washington City Paper. It was open to a photo of Frank and a story on tonight’s event opposite an article on former VP candidate Sarah Palin. As I point it out he dismisses it casually, “When I see my photo in the paper I don’t really see me, I see PostSecret.” He’s simply glad to see the project get some publicity and once again displays his humbleness.

After asking for a Coke he proceeds to talk to the various press members that fire off questions and record quotes to use later. A writer asks if he ever felt a burden to be the one that is sent so much personal information and thoughts. He jokes that while he doesn’t see it as a burden,”I have been having some recent back pain- maybe it’s from carrying all these secrets for so long.”

More questions probe into the secrets themselves, “Do you ever think some of the secrets are made-up? That people are making up secrets in hopes of making the blog?,” one reporter asks. To respond to that question he pulls out a small gray box and opens it. Inside are various e-mails and postcards. He pulls out an e-mail and reads it to the crowd, “Dear Frank, I sent you a secret awhile ago but I wanted to tell you that it’s no longer true.” For Frank the act of sharing secrets with him is just as important, if not more, as the secret itself.

“The act of sharing is one step in a personal story or journey.” He hopes that even just the act of sharing a secret with someone else is therapeutic and one step closer to helping one face one’s true fears.

Meanwhile the lobby fills with GW students and fans from far and wide that wait for the doors to open. At the head of the line are Carla and Katie, two students from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Not only are they fans of the website and art exhibits, the two trekked down the Beltway in hopes of meeting Frank to deliver him postcards of secrets they had designed and had tucked away in their bags.

Daria, a GW sophomore, traveled a bit further to see Frank. A native of Trinidad, she was a fan of the site back home before coming to the US to study at George Washington. Going to college in DC brought her that much closer to her favorite blog, “I’m a nerd for PostSecret… as soon as I knew I was going to GW, I wanted to meet Frank and maybe intern for him,” she said.

The house opens, the auditorium quickly fills up, and Frank walks out to the cheers of hundreds of adoring fans. His talk explores the PostSecret project further, with videos and postcards that weren’t allowed to be published, what Frank calls “the secret Secrets.” Along with the visuals, Frank offers his own personal thoughts and insights on the impact of his project and what he’s learned about humanity and the idea of sharing one’s intimate details.

At the end of the show he shares with the audience a personal secret of his own, but there is one secret that is left to be discovered after the show is over. Before the show Frank took 200 actual postcards sent to PostSecret and inserted them into the PostSecret books that were for sale in the lobby. As fans pick up copies to have autographed at a post show signing, a surprise awaits them between the pages of secrets.

Kristen Adams and Lisa Lustig from Fairfax, VA are two George Mason alumni who decided on attending to the show after hearing about it days before. They were lucky to grab tickets before it completely sold out. After getting their books signed they thumbed through the newly purchased items and ran across the postcard. At first they take it for as a promotional item. “I thought the secret was fake, but when I took it out, I realized it was a real secret. I feel special that I’m not entrusted with someone’s secret!” remarked the surprised Lustig.

Tamara and Rebeka, two GW freshmen were so excited to find an actual PostSecret postcard that they are reconsidering the purpose of their recent purchases- as gifts for family members. Rebeka explained, “This was going to be a gift for my sister but now that I have a real PostSecret secret- it’s mine now!”

I started out the morning well bundled. I wore many, many layers and had hand/toe warmers, water, snacks, and maps ready to go.

At 8:30 AM my friend Carrie and I proceeded down to the Clarendon Metro stop to check out that option, if everything appeared all right a possible entry route was to simple Metro into a station and walk to The Mall. While that option was the simplist it was also one of the most popular and I expected to see the Clarendon stop overflowing with people as we walk the short two blocks to the station.

I was surprised to see the station empty, like it regularly looks on a holiday in the morning. The station appeared almost inviting as we walked but we decided against it, we wanted to check out one more option I thought up.

My secret, dark horse plan to get try and get on one of the Metrobuses running special routes to The National Mall. I figured that buses would have no problem getting over the closed bridges and roads, and that the Metrobus would be a less popular option, and thus possibly less crowded. I was wrong.

We started to walk down Clarendon to check out what the bus scene was like. We got out answer when a packed Metrobus drove by the bus stop we were at. Others at the bus stop heard from others that the buses weren’t even stopping in DC as planned. Instead they were dropping off patrons at Rosslyn. At that point we decided to give the Metro a look before plan C- walking all the way.

We continued walking down Clarendon to Court House, I was happy to see that there were hardly anybody at the station except a few other celebrators. The Metro was running trains at rush hour pace so each train was only 2 minutes apart. Good thing because when the first train showed up it was absolutely packed, with no chance of anybody new getting on. We were lucky that the next train had some space for us at the end of the train. We rode it all the way to Foggy Bottom.

We had to wait a bit on the way to the station because Vice-President’s motorcade was traveling by and they temporarily closed the station. Excitement filled the car when the conductor passed along the news.

From Foggy Bottom we made a quick bee line to The Lincoln Memorial. The plan was to just get to The Mall and once on the ground, figure out how far up we could  go while still getting a good view of the Jumbotron screens.

As we exited the station we saw a Vienna train arriving, traveling away from the city. It was quite a sight to see the packed train unload opposite an empty one.

As we made our way to The Mall, it was cool to see the road closures enforced by the National Guard, a little bit cooler than the usual Metropolitan police. When we arrived we were greeted by happy and excited volunteers wearing red hats. Once at The Mall we saw that everything appeared to be open to the Washington Monument. I was expected crowds reaching the World War II memorial at this point, so I was excited and quickly made my way to get a spot.

Some people decided to sit on the steps of the Lincoln and enjoyed the Jumbotrons left standing from the concert, which was playing on the screens. We made our way to the Monument to U2 and it was awesome.

Once we reached the Washington Monument we saw that we reach pretty much the end of the line. Everything past the Washington Monument looked like a sea of people. So we just found a nice open spot to view the Jumbotron and got ready for the ceremony.

I was a geek and I wanted to try and call my mom- cell phone reception was spotty as expected but I was able to get a call through.

The Inauguration ceremony itself was great. There were lots of funny moments such as when the audience was told to sit (obviously meant for those with tickets and when Rev. Rick Warren said, “We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.” He added some extra emphasis on Sasha’s name.

All the former Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and even Speakers of the House were on hand. Everybody booed anytime George W. Bush was mentioned. I got some video and it was quite the scene. It was also weird but still sinister to see Dick Cheney in a wheelchair. It appears that he pulled his back moving- why didn’t he have movers take care of that job? It’s not like he doesn’t have the money.

The audio wasn’t all that great on The Mall but we were able to hear the moment everyone was waiting for: the oath of office. The crowd rumbled with glove covered applause when it happened. I thought the muted clapping was funny.

After the address the escape began. We made our way past Independence heading towards Eastern Market. The plan was to have lunch and watch the parade from a much warmer locale. The street closures left Inauguration goers with lots of space to make their way. At one point I was on 395 south walking in the middle of the highway. It had that post-apocalyptic feeling.

Unfortunately I under estimated the crowd in thinking they wouldn’t make it all the way to Eastern Market, but they did. All the restaurants on 8th street were crowded and the station was already over flowing. We walked over to Northeast but we found nothing but a ghetto.

We ended up back in Eastern Market and managed to snag some bar space at Cafe 8 and we watched the parade and enjoyed a well deserved lunch. It was sad to see Kennedy carted off during the Inaugural lunch, as a Massachusetts native I hope he’s ok. Joe Biden was a class act, choosing to walk the rest of the route and really hamming it up with his smile and pointing out of people he must of knew.

The escape back into Virginia was painless, after all the walking, eating, and parade watching, crowds died down and we rode an empty train all the way back.

It was a fun weekend to celebrate a historic event. The day after I was talking about the Inauguration with a co-worker who offered the smart-ass comment, “so you basically saw what I saw.” It really got under my skin. Why did I decide to go out? Well besides the point everyone else was doing it, I really wanted to say, “I was there.” Others can say they were with their family or their closest friends, I can say I was there and I was with 1.8 million people. Neither chose is right or wrong, there are just different and “where you were” when it happened is simply an individual choice every makes, much like a favorite color or movie. And despite all the cold, walking, and hassles I endured, I’m glad I made it.

Courtesy of Lara Gori

Courtesy of Jim Goldston

Pepsi Max is very similar to Coke Zero. Both have no “sugar” and zero calories, though like the Diet lines they contain the artificial sugar aspartame.  It is definitely worth a try. I would call it superior to Coke Zero and the Diet sodas.

Fun fact from the all-knowing Wikipedia: “In the… Borat TV series, a Pepsi Max factory is… responsible for the decrease in Kazakhstan’s Aral Sea.” It’s nice.

I took the above picture (on the phone-sorry for the blurry) this past Saturday at 23rd and Constitution-right where it turns into US-50 just south of Foggy Bottom.  My first thought “Well yeah you need help-you’re a Polar Bear and it’s sweltering out here!”

My second thought was an incredibly geeky thought that had to do with Lost, time-space travel and “Moving the Island.”  I won’t recount it fully here. 

After going back and forth over whether it was a person in a suit or just a suit (we determined it was just a suit) it appears I wasn’t the only person wondering if the National Zoo had become so overcrowded that Polar Bears had taken to wandering the streets homeless.  In what is likely another artsy/kinda vague/have to think about it for a minute demonstration/protest it appears that citizens concerned about global warming have been putting polar bear suits at different locales around the city in homeless garb. (As a friend put it “Ohhhhhh so like if Global Warming causes the ice to melt, like in Alaska, then the Polar Bears would be homeless! I totes get it!”)

Or at least that is the best guess so far-no one knows for sure. 

The Post picked up the story when one bear was called in as a suspicious package (it wasn’t, but-hey it could have been.  I mean The Dark Knight came out this summer and this would be a Joker-esque way to cause chaos…right?).  Add that to  fact that the demonstrators have yet to step forward to claim/explain the stunt, or even say how long it will go on for, and it leaves the question of what the ultimate disposition will be?

What about you DC?  Have you seen bears?  Lions?  Tigers?  Is this stunt going to get the point across, or will it be lost on all of us?  Know who’s responsible or have a good guess?  Then leave some comments, would ya?

Crime Cameras Go Live

DC Police cameras in high crime areas are live, and the Police are pulling their best Big Brother impersonation together. Wait, you thought this was a repeat? So did I. Except that while 73 cameras were live in August of 2006, no one was watching them. Sure, they could use the footage after the fact, but now they’re watching the cameras feeds live. Most creepy from the Post article was this line from Chief Lanier: “I’d love to have the whole city wired like London.” Chief, technology is no substitute for officers in the field, don’t treat it as such.

GW Finalizes Development Deal for Old Hospital Site

The three-acre Parcel 54 area of DC, near 23rd & I Sts NW is the site of the old GW Hospital, and will soon be the site of 842,000 square feet of office, retail and residential space. The space will include a grocery store, amongst other retail options, as well as 1,000 parking spaces that will be much needed.

Obama vs. Clinton Tomorrow in DC!

Two Senators are facing off on the ballot tomorrow, fighting it out for the nomination of their party for the presidency. Elections across the DC area take place tomorrow, and the polls in Virginia put Sen. Barack Obama up on Sen. Hillary Clinton by 15 points at the moment. In addition, John McCain and dark horse candidate Mike Huckabee are also on the ballot for the Republicans, but the split is far wider between the two.

Wayan’s DC Photos

Good morning random Foggy Bottom resident. This is how you’ll find you car this morning – covered in Epoch Times newspapers.

I don’t think that the papers are a specific sign to you, its just the GW student body’s way of saying that school is back in session.

If you live in Foggy Bottom, you’re used to sights like this on a Saturday already. The visualization of a long, Friday night drunk-a-thon in odd street litter the following day.

Enjoy, and please, do recycle.

I can understand the State Department wanting to keep a low profile, what with its shoddy Bush-led foreign policy. And I can even appreciate it not wanted to broadcast its location too far and wide.

But I have to say this crosses the line: erasing your name from the sign out front.

While they might fool a few folks by scrubbing off the white paint on the 23rd Street sign’s letters, there’s no mistaking the third largest federal building in DC. Not even re-naming it the Harry S. Truman Building will hide the block of ugly.

Nor will it stop visitors from being confused on which entrance they need or deter taxi drivers from going for one more zone, 23rd being one block past Zone 1.

Its only gonna make me want to call in my favorite sign-maker.

I’m heading back home after two weeks of work and fun here in our Nation’s Capital. I got to see the things I wanted to see most of all: The National Air and Space Museum (both parts!) as well as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.

Have you read the constitution lately? It’s not long. Read it. Pay particular attention to Article I, Section 9: “The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”

Just getting some soapbox time in before I go.

Ciao, Cheers and Aloha DC!

Anyone? Anyone?

First I have to say: nice Metro DC! Carpeted, cell phone reception, AIR CONDITIONING! (It’s really not a dry heat out here.) Plus all the travelers are so polite, standing on the right of the escalators, waiting to the sides of the doors to let folks out before moving all the way into the center of the car. I’m really impressed!

So I got out to Home Depot, which was luckily close to the station, and the item I need is not available for sale because the sales rep is gone for the day. He leaves at 3:00pm (it was about 6:00.) I’m standing there going “Are you FRAKKING kidding me?” I need to spend about $350 on a specific thing (a Hilti Laser Range Meter for crying out loud) And the Hilti sales rep is the only guy with a key to unlock all his miracle treasures to sell to us common people. There was no way for me to part with $350. Crap and damn. So I schlep back to the Metro and exit at my stop: “Foggy Bottom”

Second I have to say: Any city that has a neighborhood called “Foggy Bottom” is okay by me. And that it turns out to be my stop? Even better.

Follow me after the jump for the Shining Beacon…

Well, I was still a bit cranky after my disappointing Home Depot adventure, not to mention very hot and very sticky, and I was about to go back to my hotel and order up some room service. Now, I’m being put at a fab hotel and I’m getting per diem, but the room service is P R I C E Y and I’m trying to save money, so I can’t decide if I just go, have a quick shower, then dress and go out to find a place to eat, or just suck up the cost and stay in. My dogs are barking and I really want to stay in. As I’m debating this in my head, I notice people walking toward me with Trader Joe’s bags. Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude! No Way! I stop the the third person I see “WHERE IS THE TRADER JOE’S!?!? I mean, ahem, excuse me Miss, where is the TJ’s?” 25th and M, a mere block and a half from my hotel….heaven. And there it was,

in all its glory. I bought a few snacks, fruit and some wine and a reusable bag to take it to my room with. I felt right at home (we have two TJ’s within about 2 miles of our house in LA) and knew what I wanted and then got in line. Holy cow that was a long line, but it moved quickly and soon I was in my room, drinking a glass of Big House Red and eating Cheese Puffs (1/2 the fat!). Thanks Foggy Bottom Trader Joe’s! Thanks for saving my Friday!