The fireworks, the fireworks!

Saturday was a little more relaxed than before. Still tons of work to do, but at a manageable pace. Though I thought fighting with hotels had been settled I was being too optimistic. I spent about 4 hours of my day negotiating between the DNC, one of our VIP’s staffers, and the hotel in question to cover up some dealings I had made to get us two additional rooms we weren’t supposed to have. In the end it all worked out but I had a few additional heart attacks before it was all settled. I spent the rest of the day preparing my boss’s schedule, coordinating with our chairwoman on her schedule and trying to collect briefing materials for bilateral meetings between our chairwoman and key dignitaries.

The day before we had all been watching the VP nod closely. CNN and MSNBC were ridiculous, staking out potential nominee's houses and we mostly whined about how crappy cable media is. By the end of the day we decided to start a little wager and all made our bets on a white board as to whom the man or woman would be. The next day when the official announcement was made we all huddled around the TV in our office to hear the words of our next President and Vice President of the United States. I have to say that it is the first time I have felt so relieved and happy about the potential of our country in a long time. I'm really happy with a straight talker like Biden and think we have two people who really care about the American spirit, ingenuity and dedication. Two real people who are in it for the right reasons. I was truly inspired and even more excited for the convention to begin!

By the end of the night I still had a million and one things to do but decided I needed to celebrate the VP announcement and decided to accept the offer of a credential to the media party instead. The media party is always held on the Saturday before the convention to kick off the week. It is usually pretty legendary fun. This one did not disappoint. The party was held at this theme park in the middle of Denver, complete with free drinks, funnel cakes, ice cream, food, bands, roller coasters, climbing walls, ferris wheels and fireworks. Basically imagine your childhood fair with alcohol and adults…good times. We made our way around the park and decided to get in line for the ferris wheel. We were a large enough group to need two “cages” and loaded in like excited school children. As soon as they had rotated us to the top one of the most spectacular fireworks show I have ever seen was set off on either side of us. It lasted close to 10 minutes and we saw it all from the wheel. I was joined by some of my fabulous colleagues and we could not have had a better time. The weather was fabulous, the view was incredible and it was a perfect way to start off the week. When we had our rotating fill we walked around a bit more. My friends Piper, Ian, and I decided to try the climbing wall (piper and I in skirts) and the rest of the crew headed for the roller coaster. At the end of the night we made our way back to the dorms/hotels and readied ourselves for what promised to be an insane first program day. It did not disappoint…