I don't even know where to start...
Over the last few months I have been very busy. I can't even believe all of the wonderful things that have happened for me and am very grateful for all of it. I have realized what awesome and very supportive friends I have, as they have all been there for me post breakup (each in their own way) over the last several months. Without my friends I think I would have struggled a little bit. I have also seen JW make improvements in his life and I now know that I made the best decision for both of us. We still remain friends and participate in each other's lives, which is good, as he is still one of my best friends.
Dating - VERY CONFUSING!! There are a lot of creeps out there...and a few good guys. I have dated several different kinds of guys in the last few months. One guy was a lot of fun to hang out with, but was a drama queen when it came to certain things. He was always expecting that I would be a certain way, act a certain way or say certain things. The problem with that is that I am not a "typical" woman. I am different, or at least I like to think I am. He also had issues with women who own dogs...said it's like dating someone who has a kid. I disagree but I see the point he was making. Also, a little snobby...he told me I was ghetto when I told him my favorite snack was a grilled cheese sandwich. If that's ghetto, then I'm ghetto...but come on, what's better than a perfectly made grilled cheese?? He can keep his fancy French cheeses, olives and wine! Needless to say, that one didn't work out, but it was fun while it lasted. He taught me to open my mind and try new things...he also introduced me to his friend, who I am secretly seeing every now and then. Actually, we've been secretly seeing each other at least once a week for the last 3 weeks. I get to see him tonight and I'm very excited! I think I'm twitterpated over this one...but we'll see. I hope it's nothing but great stuff...so far I'm impressed! He's adorably cute, funny, intelligent and affectionate...I was very much looking for the affectionate trait...hope it doesn't end! I want to give the great guy a good shot if he wants to take it!
WHEEL OF FORTUNE!! On July 9th my friend Megan sent out an email that she received from her friend KT...it was an invitation to audition for Wheel of Fortune. Out of all the people she sent it to, 4 of us wanted it. So she made us each pick a number from 1-20...me, being as smart as I am, picked the number 10. She picked 9 - her hockey number. So I won the audition invite. I then had to talk my boss into letting me go to the audition THE NEXT DAY at 2pm. On a normal day he would've had no problem, but this was the day after I just got back from Vegas, so it was a little bit of a struggle getting him to agree. Eventually he did but I had to promise not to tell anybody that I was auditioning for the Wheel...instead I had a doctor's appointment, lol.
The audition - It was held at the Radisson Hotel in Aurora, CO. When I arrived there were about 60 other people in the conference room. They had us sit in chairs in the order that we got there and took our names. We then played mock games, each person getting called randomly, so we had to be paying attention. On my first turn I called a letter that wasn't in the puzzle and had to sit right back down...I thought I blew my shot. But then I was called again later and actually solved the puzzle! I won a sweet WoF hat that says "Spin This" on the back...love it! After everybody took at least one turn, they had us do a 5 minute fill-in-the-blank test. I did very well on this part...I answered at least 2 whole sections out of 4 and was able to get parts of other puzzles. There were a total of 16 different puzzles to solve...one was George Clooney, yeah! After that was over, the contestant coordinators left the room for 15 minutes to decide who was staying and who was going. Out of 60 people, they cut it down to 16...and I made the cut!! For the last part of the audition, they had us stand in the front of the room in groups of 4 and play the game. We even had to pretend we were spinning the wheel and do what we would do if we were on the show (I clapped my hands like a maniac!) We played a couple rounds so they could see what we were like and they had us all sit back down. They then called 8 people back up to play again but in a different position. I was one of the 8...then it was over. They said that we would get our letters in 2 weeks if were chosen and to stop looking in the mailbox after 2 weeks cause that meant we didn't make it. Exactly 2 weeks to the day of the audition, I ran to my mailbox hoping I would get my letter...and nothing. I didn't get it, I thought for sure the coordinator was giving me the vibe I made it...I had even told my boss and everyone that I thought I did. 2 weeks and 2 days later, I GOT THE LETTER!! I was chosen to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. The catch - I had to pay for my flight and hotel up front and they had 18 months from the time I got the letter to ask me to be on and would only give me 2 weeks notice - also no guarantee that I would actually be a contestant once I got there. So, let the waiting begin right! In the meantime...I moved out of the apartment I was sharing with JW on August 15th. So I had to get in touch with the WoF people and give them my change of address. Not a big deal, was really easy to change over. Then one day I'm sitting in my boss' office telling him how I needed to get a second job to pay the bills. He told me not to...so I said I guess I'll just try to win the Powerball Jackpot (which happened to be at 320 million at that time), he told me not to bother cause he had the winning ticket. So I then made the comment about how there's always WoF, but I probably wasn't going to go on until the end of 2008...4 hours later I got the phone call from WoF asking me if I was available to tape my show on September 6th. Of course I said YES! 2 weeks later, I was on a plane to Los Angeles with my friends Megan and Stephanie in tow. It was my first visit to LA so we made the most of it. We stayed at the Marriott in Culver City...nice hotel and had a good view (thru smog) of downtown LA. We were only there for 2 days...the first day we opted to take a tour of LA. The tour took us all over the place...we started in Santa Monica, went to Venice Beach (saw where they filmed White Men Can't Jump), walked on the sand and dipped my toes in the ocean. From there we cruised by the Santa Monica Pier up through the Malibu area...went through some fancy neighborhoods and got to see some stars houses, like Bill Cosby, Sugar Ray Leonard, Vanessa Williams, saw the Fresh Prince of Belair house which wasn't in Belair...we then went by UCLA campus towards Rodeo Drive. Didn't get to see any stars on Rodeo (or anywhere else) but it was cool to see the hotel where they filmed Pretty Woman. We then went to Hollywood and I got to see the Walk of Stars, Kodak Theatre and Graumann's Chinese Theatre. From there we went to Mulholland Drive and took scenic pics of LA, the Hollywood Bowl and the famous Hollywood sign. It took us FOREVER to get back to our hotel but it kept my mind off of WoF, so I was good with it. The next morning I was up at the crack of dawn getting ready for my gameshow debut. I had to be at Sony Studios in Culver City by 7:45am. When I got there, there were 18 other contestants and they took us to the "green" room. No, it wasn't actually green but they did provide us with lots of drinks and munchies while we waited. So here's how it works...you get to the studios and they put you in the room with everyone else. They then bring in all the experts to walk you thru the rules and regulations of the game, you sign some paperwork, fill out a contestant card and then wait to find out who you are playing with, what order you will tape in and in what position you will stand. I was chosen to play with Audrey from Austin and Colin from Chicago. We were the 4th show to tape that day and had to watch the previous shows tape...this was good as it gave my brain time to warm up and get ready to solve some puzzles. I got to stand in the Red position, with Audrey at Yellow and Colin at Blue. So then our time came to tape...very nerve-wracking. I didn't win any of the toss up rounds and when I did get to spin, I landed on a spa vacation to Florida for it only to be taken away by a bankrupt on the next spin. I was wishing for them to Lose A Turn/Bankrupt or SOMETHING!! At the commercial break between Round 2 and 3, I must have had the look of defeat on my face. I had no money at that point and barely had a chance to play...the contestant coordinators were doing their best to cheer me on but I was worried. We then get back on our platforms and Pat (who's standing right next to me), turns to me and says "Don't give up, this is anybody's game"...yeah, sure, whatever Pat! And then here's what happens...I finally get my turn and spin. Land on $350, get a letter, buy a vowel...down to $100 profit...spin, land on $5000!! Get two T's...know the puzzle...lots of letters left, but not much time and I had already hit a bankrupt...so I opt to solve the puzzle...Television Theme Songs. I win $10,100 from that puzzle...we have time for one more round and Pat spins. I see it coming, I see it coming...Pat lands on $5,000!! They then add $1,000 to that, so each letter is worth $6,000. It goes around a couple of times and by about the fourth time it's my turn I have $6,000 and call for a "G"...I know the puzzle, so I solve! Guest Speakers...I win $22,100...I didn't make the Bonus Round by only $300!!! Colin ended up going but he was a dumbass and didn't solve the last puzzle...GIVE A HOOT!! The worst part for him was that he had $100,000 in his envelope! Later that night, Megan, Steph and I went to our hotel bar and partied with Audrey and her family. A couple other WoF people joined us and we had a great time getting wasted together. All in all I would have to say that the Wheel of Fortune experience was incredible! I had a great time and was glad that my friends got to join in on it...I hope they had as much fun as I did!
Post-Wheel of Fortune - so the next morning after WoF, we were off to Vegas for a 36 hour layover...we planned it obviously. The MTV VMA's were in town (held at The Palms) so I booked us a room at the Rio and we ended up being able to get in really early since I'm a Harrah's member - sweet cause I didn't realize this and there were 25 people waiting for their room ahead of us. The luck just kept going...while Megan went up to the room to sleep, Stephanie and I decided to try the slots. I sat down at a penny machine and ended up going into a bonus round...while in the bonus round I hit some major lines and ended up winning 44,000 pennies which equates to $440!! I blew the money on various things like dinner, drinks, more gambling. Whatever I wanted...it was great! We ended up never leaving our hotel...later that night we were hanging out in the casino, waiting for dinner time...there were a bunch of screaming people up by the Chippendales theatre, so I just assumed that they were screaming at the half naked men...turns out that LUDACRIS was having his birthday party there. The point of realization - we're walking up to see what all the hoopla was about and I stop dead in my tracks and say "Shut the F- up! That's Ludacris right there!" Steph and Megan didn't believe me, but being the huge fan that I am, I knew it was him so we joined the group of crazy screaming people. Steph took the best pic of Luda ever!! That was the highlight of my trip!! Everything that happened at the club (Voodoo Lounge) pales in comparison, especially since there were nothing but weirdos and losers there (though we did party with a couple of cool people). Steph headed back to the room early and Megan and I stayed up partying. We ended up meeting some guys from Cali and had breakfast with them...then I finally crashed at about 6am...made it over 24 hours baby!! We were happy to be back in Denver once the plane landed...
More adventures to come later...this is probably good for now :-)
