"We Sing This Tune-y for Mr. George Clooney" (9/28/08)

Well let me tell you…reality TV definitely isn’t real. After a week of filming I can see why four episodes takes three weeks to film! I obviously can’t divulge the details of our experience so far but you can catch up on our L.A. adventure on TLC starting this January. What I can tell you is as follows…

- Hanging out with 51 other contestants every day has been amazing. We’ve had a lot of down time to get to know each other (we’ve played a lot of “hurry up and wait”) and I love hearing and sharing stories from each of our states.

- Getting mic’ed every day is a process and it’s not uncommon to spend the entire day with a battery pack strapped to your inner thigh. It’s such a strange feeling knowing that every word you say is being recorded!

- We’ve had a few “days off” (meaning days with no reality show cameras) and we…
o Toured the WB studios (my group met Simon Baker from The Mentalist)
o Appeared on Ellen (we met both Ellen AND Mario Lopez and tried to “capture” George Clooney while chanting the song “We sing this tune-y for Mr. George Clooney”)
o Appeared on the KTLA morning show
o Promoted National Pancake Day (February 24th) at IHOP to benefit CMN
* Miss Arizona and I competed in a “pancake stackoff” representing the two presidential candidates’ states. I came out victorious and was interviewed by Entertainment Tonight and ABC 7 in LA.
o Went to the Los Angeles Zoo!
o Ate sponsored meals at some of the nicest restaurants Southern California has to offer. I shared a table with Miss America, Kirsten Haglund, one night and loved hearing stories about her travels.
o Went to a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim game!

I am so blessed and thankful to be able to have this amazing experience. I’m trying to savor every moment and having the opportunity to reflect and share this adventure with you makes my time even more special. I love representing Illinois and can’t wait see what the finished product, Countdown to the Crown, will look like. I can only hope that the camera captures what we all know the Miss America Organization produces – intelligent, well-spoken, outgoing, talented, driven, and passionate young women ready to take on the world!

I probably won’t have email access before I return on October 9th but I will be sure to update as soon as I’m able!

Missing Illinois but loving L.A.!