2:48am Friday night/Saturday morning

It's been quite a day! Has anybody ever asked, "Do you feel any different?" on your birthday or other significant life event? And you think to yourself, "What kind of question is that!? Why would I feel different?!" And sometimes you accidentally say that out loud. . .

Well, today nobody asked, but I DID feel different. When I woke up from the 2-hour nap that comprised the entirety of my “good night's sleep,” it felt as if I'd woken in a different world – paradoxically, calm and excited. I heard news that the Oprah taping the day before was amazing, received a phone call from Bobby about the important encounter with President Bush at the airport (see previous post (RED) Force One), readied our servers for the influx of launch-day web traffic, sent newsletters announcing the U.S. launch of (RED) to everyone on our mailing list, and exceeded my tolerance for caffeine many times over – things were in order. News of our launch and our new partner, Apple, was hitting the East Coast when I awoke at 4:30 this morning and blog postings were already circulating like wildfire.

I breezed through L.A. traffic – ok, perhaps the world really did change overnight – arrived at the (RED) offices, and began monitoring our servers and responding to the feedback and inquiries already received. Meighen and Amy returned from Chicago and filled us in on the events (and snow) of the previous day. We spent some time creating our (RED) AIM WeeMees, dressing them in and accessorizing them with (PRODUCT)RED items. At 2:30pm we packed up our laptops and headed to a restaurant to watch Oprah together. The restaurant was kind enough to turn off the music, turn up the TVs and tune all 3 sets to Oprah. Some of our friends joined us for the impromptu viewing party – our very patient friends who accept our phone calls at odd hours during the day and night, some of whom haven’t seen us in weeks.

I’ve been working on (RED) since December, 2005. For one hour, watching Oprah, I had goosebumps. Watching the show, surrounded by friends and my colleagues who have become more than just (RED) family – they’re family. During a commercial break, Alan leaned over to me and said, “I remember when it was just… well, Bobby. And then you and Tamsin came along, and we started looking for offices, and now – it’s here!” The irony, of course, is that we’re still looking for offices! The other irony is that while we were all sending Bobby, Sheila, Tamsin and Colin text messages, telling them how wonderful the show turned out, they hadn’t yet seen it. They were still in New York, making the rounds.

When the show ended, we all caravanned over to The Grove so we could shop (RED). Friday afternoon L.A. traffic – not such a breeze. Nonetheless, we arrived at Gap one hour after the Oprah broadcast ended. The windows were (RED) and there was a beautiful fixture – a (RED) boutique – with all the products. We’ve been looking at pictures and had seen samples, but this was the first time we’ve been able to hold and buy the items we’ve been wanting for so long. Friends were calling asking me to buy them shirts and hoodies. And then, it got louder in the store and through the muffled sound (as if underwater) you began to hear:

Gap employees telling customers about (RED); customers replying, “I already know – I just finished watching Oprah.”; “Do you have more medium shirts?”; “I want those Converse!”; “Everybody is getting (RED) for Christmas.”; “Oh no, they’re out of. . . ”; "Which one should I get?"; "Buy them both!" And then Bich Ngoc, who couldn’t even make it from the parking lot to Gap without first ducking into Apple to buy the (RED) Nano, proudly holding up her latest purchase -- "Look at this!" There was a brief moment of silence as Meighen nearly knocked over the larger-than-life Jennifer Garner display with her stroller. Jennifer Garner looks strong -- definitely don't want to take on a 12-foot version of her!

It was one of the most inspi(red) moments I’ve ever experienced. It was wonderful to meet everyone who was shopping (RED) and the enthusiastic Gap employees who have been looking forward to this day almost as long as we have.

Next, we headed to Apple and bought (RED) Nanos. Although she was eager to get to dinner, we coerced Bich Ngoc back into the Apple store while we bought our Nanos. “But I already got mine,” she said. “Well, come watch us buy ours!” That’s what happens when you’re family…

I went to see my friend’s band play at The Viper Room and then headed home. By the time I got here, there were emails, blog comments, and MySpace messages from people around the country saying that Gap and Gap.com/RED were already sold out of some of the items they wanted. “I’m so upset and yet, so happy!” Alessandra’s note exclaimed. We’ve been corresponding with Alessandra for several months. She heard about (RED) when we launched in the U.K. and has been anxiously awaiting products in the U.S. ever since. So it’s with a great deal of appreciation I reply: if you can just wait a little longer, I know our partners are working hard to replenish products as they run out. Call stores, sign up for their mailing lists, sign up for our mailing list, design your own pair of (RED) shoes at Converseone.com and thank you!

It rained tonight. This is Los Angeles. It’s not supposed to rain in L.A. Something IS different about this day. 15 minutes later it stopped. Equilibrium restored. Perhaps the world wasn't different this morning – it just got easier for each of us to make a difference.

~Colette

Apple iPod AIM Oprah Gap Shopping Bono Bobby+Shriver RED President+Bush Nano Converse