So, admittedly, I've been slacking in bringing you updates about my week up in D.C., which I promised to do as recently as this past Monday. Been too busy standing around in uncomfortable shoes, I guess. I don't have great photos from either "An Evening with Jay-Z," a one-off unofficial celebration show Jay put on at an intimate theater Monday night — no cameras allowed, d'oh! — or from the swearing-in ceremony itself, which turned out to be a total shitshow for our ticketed section. We just barely made it inside the Capitol grounds, and even though could hardly see much except for a video screen (partially obscured by a couple trees to boot).

But Tuesday night, we made it to the Neighborhood Ball, which was televised live on ABC and featured performances by Jay-Z (again), Mariah Carey, Will.i.am, Mary J Blige, etc., and appearances by Diddy, Leonardo Dicaprio, Jamie Foxx, etc. The highlight of the entire night, though, had to be the First Couple, and the First Dance, a romantic twirl to a special live performance of "At Last" by Beyoncé. You can scope tons of photos from Monday and Tuesday here, thanks to my wife, Rachel.

And then, there was last night: a private ball for ex-Obama staffers only, with speeches by the President and Vice President, and hour-long shows from both The Arcade Fire and Jay-Z (again, again). To say this event was sweet would be a drastic understatement.

This article appears in Jan 21-27, 2009.