I have never won the lottery or any other major raffle, so I did not know how it feels to be the luckiest person around, until last Thursday.

It’s 8:00 p.m., Thursday, January 8, 2009 – deadline at the newsroom of The Filipino Express. My iPhone buzzes and vibrates – an alert that an email has arrived.

I press the home button, slide my index finger on the virtual toggle switch and touch the mail icon. The email expands and the message unfolds:

January 8, 2009

Ted Reyes

Filipino Express

2711 JFK Blvd

Jersey City, NJ 07002

Dear Ted Reyes,

In response to your 2009 Presidential Inauguration request, the Executive Committee of Periodical Correspondents has assigned you the following for the swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2009:

1 Ticket

PLEASE PRINT OUT THIS NOTIFICATION. You must present this document in person to pick up your Inauguration ticket. You must bring one form of government identification (Driver’s License or Passport). See pick up times below.

You, as the addressee of this Email notification, should be the one picking up the Inauguration Ticket during the times below in Washington, DC.

My mind is commanding me to speak – I could feel the electrical impulse from my head traveling to my lips forcing it to utter words of joy like, yahoo or anything like that – well, not really. The email is just too unbelievable to be reduced to a phrase like yahoo!

Therefore, I hit the print button to really see if the electronic mail will say the same miraculous news on real paper and ink. The printer coughs up the piece of 8 by 11 white paper and there it is – it is real!

Coincidentally, the banner story of The Jersey Journal is “SRO-Bama.” The article is about how difficult it is to obtain a ticket to witness the historic inauguration of the first African-American president of the United States. It mentioned that only 240,000 tickets are available to get to take part in the inauguration and that the 240,000 tickets are in the hands of senators and congressmen, who are responsible for distributing the tickets to the fortunate ones. Unfortunately, the fortunate ones have already been decided. These are Democratic Party members, fundraisers and their families and friends. Common people who voted for Mr. Obama, or others who just want to be a part of history, will have to join the un-ticketed millions at the National Mall, where the Inaugural parade will pass by, or other places of gathering where celebrations are taking place in Washington D.C.

As for me, the email from the Senate Committee assured me of one ticket. Isn’t that surreal? It is, but I like surreal stuff anyway. This is not, however, a winning ticket that just came down from heaven in a fiery chariot – it is not that surreal. It also involved some work.

In November, as soon as Mr. Obama won the election, members of the media were asked to send in their requests for press credentials to cover the inauguration. Our entertainment editor, my other half, Sheryl, egged me to send in an entry: “You’ve got nothing to lose,” she said. So, I did.

It was an extensive application process, which included the sending of copies of the paper, perhaps to check the paper’s credibility as well as other identity and security measures. Honestly, I gave ourselves a positive chance to get a ticket despite the fact that we are competing with almost all the media companies in the world. It is one thing to be The New York Times, and another to be The Filipino Express. Nevertheless, I thought The Filipino Express, being a legendary Filipino-American newspaper for 23 years now, had a solid chance at being selected.

However, when November became December and December became January, I became increasingly convinced that we may have lost the ticket to a rival publication or some tabloid in Uzbekistan. Then the eighth day of January came, and history finally came – I, on behalf of The Filipino Express, will be at inauguration to cover history. A press pass is waiting for me in Capitol Hill. Though I was positive about us getting it from the beginning, it was still a shock when the news came: 240,000 tickets; millions of people fighting for them; I got one; shocking.

In my years as a journalist, I have only witnessed one other presidential inauguration: the 2001 inauguration of Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the Edsa shrine. It was dramatic and at the same time fishy. Dramatic because Arroyo was sworn-in after a popular uprising dethroned the elected president, Joseph Estrada, after getting caught in a corruption scandal; fishy because I saw all kinds of dirty politicians plying themselves backstage in the hope of getting a government position. It was an occasion when the fishy outweighed the drama. It was disgusting, actually. The pressroom there had awesome coffee, though. It tasted like Batangas Barako, perhaps courtesy of Ralph Recto and Ate Vi.

This is the first time I will be at an American president’s inauguration and I am thrilled to the bone. What should I expect there? Will it be like attending the Oscars? Will there be a red carpet? Will I hear communal sobbing? Will I be the same person after seeing a colored man be sworn in as the leader of the free world?

I am certain that the coming issues of The Filipino Express after January 20 will be littered with stories from that day. Perhaps, it will be such a life-altering experience that I might consider covering his presidency for years to come. Who wouldn’t? This is human history right in my face, so what else am I going to write about, Britney Spears shaves her head for the second time?

My suit is pressed, my hair is trimmed, and my soul is ready for Inauguration Day.

Barack Obama will place his hand on the good book, recite his oath of office, and be installed as the most powerful man on earth.

And as I see President Obama fulfill his American dream right before my eyes – in the flesh – I am certain that at that precise moment, I am also fulfilling mine.