It could have been a line of fans waiting for Kanye West tickets to go on sale, or for the premiere a new Lord of the Rings flick. But the hundreds of well-dressed folks cuing at the Washington Convention Center today were no rag tag bunch of fans. They were there for tickets to a different kind of blockbuster: Tuesday night’s Official Presidential Inaugural Balls.

Volunteers say that ball-goers have been lining up since before 9 a.m. this morning to get their hands on some of the hottest tickets around. DC resident Michael Jones was thrilled to receive tickets to the Mid-Atlantic States Ball after making an online contribution to the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Jones waited in line for over 45 minutes to pick up tickets for himself and his wife. (She’ll be scouring stores for the perfect gown this weekend.) Many more like Jones will be standing in long lines for their tickets throughout the next few days.

There are ten official inaugural balls this year, including the first ever Neighborhood Ball, a free but invitation only event designed to allow DC residents their very own celebration. Six balls will be held at the Washington Convention Center, while the others will take place at Union Station, the Washington Hilton, the National Building Museum and the National Guard Armory. Between 5000 and 10,000 people are expected at each ball, with organizers anticipating that the Western ball (for residents of the Western states) will be the largest.

No Obama event is complete without a merchandising table, and the ticket collection site is no exception. Those mavens of political branding over at Camp Obama have released a wide array of inauguration swag (proceeds go to the presidential inaugural committee). At the convention center you can purchase an Obama onesie for your baby, fleece blankets, hats, paperweights or an autographed frame for your inaugural invitation. For fashion conscious political junkies, the Obama folks have released the “Runway to Change” line, which includes designer tote bags from Diane Von Fustenburg and Tory Burch ($70 a pop), and 9 different t-shirts from designers like Zac Posen and Donna Karan. Most shirts sell for $45, but for those wanting to help kick start the economy, a bedazzled Gerald Matthews inauguration tee will set you back $150.

Staffers at the Convention Center say that the most popular item has been the iconic Shepard Fairey t-shirt. The most expensive item, a $159 woven blanket featuring the Obama-Biden inauguration seal, has been a hit with those looking for some extra warmth at the swearing in ceremony. And the slowest mover? An $89 teacup and saucer. Look out for bargain basement deals on that after Tuesday.

While the White House will become Barack Obama's new home on Jan. 20, the physical building is still George Bush's residence until ... Jan. 20. It's a peculiar move-out and move-in schedule that leaves White House staff exactly five hours to transform the three-story, 132-room structure from one family's house into a home for another. "To the first couple and their children, it's their home, and they need to feel at home the moment they arrive," says Gary Walters, former White House chief usher who has overseen every White House transition since Richard Nixon lived there.

The flag drops the moment Bush and Obama head to Capitol Hill for the swearing-in ceremony. All 150 members of the White House staff go to work immediately, rearranging and redecorating in precisely the way the Obamas chose when they met with the chief usher during their first visit to the house in November. The process is finely documented in an official "choreography plan," as it's called, that details by the minute when everything is to be moved out of and into strategically parked moving trucks. Carpet, paint, everything down to bed linens and lamp shades are changed to reflect the new family's taste.

Some rooms, like in the West Wing, are finished before others, in case the president is rushed back early to attend to urgent business. But under a very strict timetable, the rest of the transformation leaves little room for the unexpected. In 1989, George H.W. Bush's granddaughters walked into the madness before the end of the inaugural parade (the official deadline) because it was too cold. Caught completely off guard, a staff member sent the girls to be entertained by the White House florist until the residence was ready. In 1993, Bill and Hillary Clinton's inaugural gown and tuxedo went temporarily missing when an aide veered from the script and carried them to the wrong floor.

The process is kept strictly secret and details of the house's decorative style are scarce. The White House declined to discuss the choices the Obamas made for their home (citing privacy reasons) and no spectators--and especially no reporters--are permitted in the house on Inauguration Day. "Not even the president has ever seen this happen," says Walters. The way it's designed, no president ever will.

My inbox lit up this morning with a message from a fellow Washingtonian, apparently too eager to sleep on the eve of something so enormous. He wasn't talking about the inaugural next Tuesday, which locals expect to bring out either the best or worst in the city. No, he was talking about Friday, awaiting the last-minute actions on the last official work day of the Bush administration. "Epic day of news dumping!" wrote my friend, who's not exactly a fan of the president. "It's gonna be sweet to watch!"

My friend could be right. Since Monday is a holiday, Friday is the effective last day of Bush's term, creating a deadline for everything else Bush wants to do in office: pardons, executive orders, even diplomatic shifts. With no press briefings remaining before Tuesday, anything the administration does on Friday won't be questioned by the press until after Bush leaves office. And the press corps, feverishly preparing for Tuesday's inaugural, has most of its attention elsewhere. In essence, the story isn't Bush anymore, and Bush's staff can use that to its advantage.

It's a sneaky but strategic time to make controversial decisions. President Clinton released a list of pardons on the last day of his presidency, which included a controversial name--fugitive financier Marc Rich--that Clinton never had to answer questions about while in office. Other presidents have used last-minute executive orders to somehow tie the hands of their successors on a specific policy. Gee, thanks.

Bush left early Friday for Camp David, signaling that all remaining action of his administration has already been set in motion. Will the Bush White House be trying to sweep anything under the rug? We'll be back on this page all day and over the weekend with updates.