1.20.09

Do you ever notice how sometimes you spend so long thinking about an upcoming milestone, important event, or other date as being in the future that when it finally arrives it kinda takes you by surprise? For me, these times have included turning 21, graduation from college, my wedding day, and tomorrow - January 20, 2009. Now I am happy to state that I'm happily looking forward to tomorrow's inauguration primarily because of my excitement and anticipation about the future (despite the status of my 401k) as opposed to bitterness and anger about the past. That being said, I think a lot of people out there will be celebrating the departure of the Bush administration as much as the beginning of the Obama era. I base this claim on the widespread prevalence of the "1.20.09"-themed political merchandise that I'm sure all of you have seen in the form of bumper stickers, t-shirts, hats, mugs, or even hot-sauce. Maybe it's that I spent the previous 8 years living in two areas practically bursting at the seams with proselytizing liberals (Vermont and San Francisco), but I feel like I've been staring at the date "1.20.09" (often accompanied by "BLD" or "Bush's Last Day") so long it's going to be kind of strange to actually write it out, not to mention have it pass by. Interestingly enough, the guy behind all the 1.20.09 swag is from Manchester, VT (wonder if Gordie or Amanda knows him?), and according to the NYTimes sold more than $1 million worth of the stuff in 2007 alone (who knows how much more in 2008), and there's even a song/video about it (the date, not the swag), which I chose not to embed due to its bland predictability.

Also, there is this newsy bit from a Burlington TV station that aired this December about the business, complete with shots of Obama speaking at Dartmouth and hippies making 1.20.09 mugs (click on the image to get to the real video, I couldn't get it to embed without automatically starting, which is annoying). And if you are interested in buying any discounted merchandise, check back in a few days. The "Hilllary - 11.04.08 ... make history" t-shirts have been marked down from $24 to $4, so there might be some deals on all this junk come 1.21.09.

Politically-themed entrepreneurs aside, I hope you all out there find something to look forward too, be inspired by, or be thankful for on 1.20.09.