I Kicked it I Played it and now..Wheeling & Dealing at the WL final 9/9 p87/88

[MEK]

Hi All....

Sorry for the individual replies but the work computers are reall SLOW today and I have no patience to wait for more windows to open. (I'm really not trying to up my post count )

We are leaving for Tennesse tomorrow. If you recall, Brian is playing soccer in the President's Cup July 8 - 11th in Mufreesboro TN (near Nashville). Brian is flying with a friend and his dad, but we are driving. We have to work half days, so we will not be leaving until afternoon. We are hoping to drive 8 hours to Bristol TN. I haven't made any reservations yet, but I have the list of all the La Quinta Inns between Roanoke VA and Knoxville, TN. I joined their rewards program after spending three nights in Albany. I might as well work towards a free night. There are plenty of La quintas in Florida and ya never know when you may need a one nighter. (edited to say that its a good thing shocker didn't see that line)

Denny, Nick, and I will still need to drive another 4 or more hours on Thursday morning. Brian's first game starts at 10am. There is also a time zone change which could work in our favor. We would like to get there for perhaps the second half of the game. It's not an issure for Denny and I, but getting Nick out of bed is often a huge challenge (think family disney trip of June 09)!

The tournament is designed so that they play one game a day. Our plan is to see part of Thursdays game and all of Friday and Saturday's game. Sunday's game is the championship game or a consolation game. Denny, Nick, and I will start drving back after Saturday's game. I would like to stop in the Great smokies (some where just north of Pigeon Forge) Saturday night. Then we will drive the rest of the way home on Sunday.

Brian's team plays a team from Indiana, Texas (can't remember if its Texas north or Texas south) and Southern California. I'm not sure which order they play in as I still need to figure out who belongs in each district. Wow - and we are from little old Delaware. I really hope we don't get completely blown away. It's hard to know how we will fare up with the other teams. Please pray that's its not a blow-out.

Anyway - If I can finalize my packing tonight I will try to post an update because I am sure you all want to know if I tried out for American Idol and, more importantly, if I actually made it into a show.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Safe travels Mary Ellen! And, good luck to Brian and his team

 

[KatMark]

Have a safe trip, Mary Ellen. And to Brian and the team: KICK BUTT!!!!

 

[dawnbu40]

Good luck to Brian and the team

Have a safe trip and a good time

 

[praisehisname]

Good luck to Brian and his team! Have a safe trip and take lots of pics for us!

 

[Dug-says-HI-THERE!]

from one Delawarean to another, hope Brian and his team do great and that you all have a safe trip.

 

[GoofyWife]

good luck to your son and his team - have fun on your road trip to Tennessee - I had to laugh about LaQuinta - my husband has to go on business trips to Charlotte NC and Greenville SC and he swears by LaQuinta since they have redone their motels and always stays in one instead of the Hilton.

 

[manntra]

Have a safe trip ME!!! Are you sure you wouldn't rather have Chuck drive you over Denny? Good luck to Brian and his team

It was a fun night at AK....just as fun trying to find Denny twice Primevil Hurl is fun but I agree...it always seems to have such a long wait...but it was fun to catch up on our trips since we had last seen each other earlier in the week to compare where we ate etc.
Well I think we both have DVC until what.. 2057 so I am sure our paths will cross again and we will make up for all of those drinks you couldn't have!!

Have a great time in TN.....I just sold a car to a dealer near Nasvhille...couldn't understand a word he said!

Tracy

 

[eandesmom]

Good luck to Brian and safe travels!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Safe travels and good luck to Brian and the team!

And, yes, am dying to hear if you auditioned for AI and if you got into the show!!!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Good luck to Brian and his team and hope you have a great time. Be Safe!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Have a good trip and good luck to Brian!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Have a great trip, and lots of luck for Brian and his team!!!

 

[MEK]

Safe travels Mary Ellen! And, good luck to Brian and his team

Have a safe trip, Mary Ellen. And to Brian and the team: KICK BUTT!!!!

Good luck to Brian and the team

Have a safe trip and a good time

Good luck to Brian and his team! Have a safe trip and take lots of pics for us!

Michelle, Kathy, Dawn, & Denise......Thank you!for the good wishes! I am sure we will need every good wish we can get cause this is bound to be some competition! I promise to take lots of pictures!

from one Delawarean to another, hope Brian and his team do great and that you all have a safe trip.

Thanks Dus-says-HI! Wouldn't it be funny if some of those kids didn't even know where Delaware is?????? Texas, California, and Indiana are NOT small states....its a little intimidating!

good luck to your son and his team - have fun on your road trip to Tennessee - I had to laugh about LaQuinta - my husband has to go on business trips to Charlotte NC and Greenville SC and he swears by LaQuinta since they have redone their motels and always stays in one instead of the Hilton.

Thanks for the good wishes. to LaQuinta! I think its a pretty good chain for an economical place to stay. The LaQuinta that we stayed in outside of Albany was GREAT! The customer service was amazing. Plus earning free nights is good.

Have a safe trip ME!!! Are you sure you wouldn't rather have Chuck drive you over Denny? Good luck to Brian and his team

haha....very funny....and you weren't even in the car with him I would much rather have Denny drive any day of the week.

It was a fun night at AK....just as fun trying to find Denny twice Primevil Hurl is fun but I agree...it always seems to have such a long wait...but it was fun to catch up on our trips since we had last seen each other earlier in the week to compare where we ate etc.
Well I think we both have DVC until what.. 2057 so I am sure our paths will cross again and we will make up for all of those drinks you couldn't have!!

It WAS a fun evening and, you're right with DVC until 2057, we will have more trips were I can earn that slushy lushy honor. I'll be there with my scooter and walker making the Epcot rounds!

Have a great time in TN.....I just sold a car to a dealer near Nasvhille...couldn't understand a word he said!

Tracy

Oh My....that doesn't sound too good! Sheesh

Good luck to Brian and safe travels!

Safe travels and good luck to Brian and the team!

Good luck to Brian and his team and hope you have a great time. Be Safe!

Have a good trip and good luck to Brian!

Thanks for the good wishes Cynthia, Christine, Queen, and Leslie......You good thoughts are very much appreciated.

And, yes, am dying to hear if you auditioned for AI and if you got into the show!!!

Answer coming up!!!!!!

 

[MEK]

Have a great trip, and lots of luck for Brian and his team!!!

Thanks CP! Just saw this post!
Thanks to EVERYONE for the well wishes. Hoping for a business center so I can keep you posted during the tournament~!

 

[MEK]

AKA "So You Think You Can Dance....er....I Mean ...Sing".

I love that title. it carries a hint of sarcasm. So you think you can dance, but can you....i mean...really? or is it all in your head? That's the way I feel about American Idol. So you THINK you can sing? But Can you, REALLY?

When they first announced the AI attraction at HS I wrote it off immediately. I decided it was for "young" people...meaning the under 30 crowd who looked hot and sang 'pop' music. Christina, Beyonce, Mariah C wannabes. I thought, "I am way too old for that and I don't sing Pop music".

But when I took the pass holders tour in Dec 09 I thought the attraction looked really cool. The stage looked amazing and the sound system had to be amazing, too. Everyone who sings wants to sing on a great stage. It's just such a cool thought. So I began thinking, "Hmmmm....Maybe" .

Last Feb one of Brian's classmates auditioned and she made it into the finale. I was so excited for her because she is a really sweet girl and she has a ton of singing potential.

So.....about 3 weeks before my trip I started giving it some serious thought. I thought to myself, "maybe I should take the plunge and audition". I needed an audition song and I needed a song I could sing off "the list". The audition song could be anything, so I picked "Someone Like You" from Jekyll and Hyde. I picked this song because I sang it all summer long a few years ago when I took vocal lessons. I think its a great song and it has a lot of melody to it. If you have to sing an acapella song then you certainly want it to be something with melody.


OK - that was easy. Now I needed to pick a song off "the list". The list I am referring too is the AI sanctioned song list. The only songs used in the show come off "the list". Selecting a song from "the list" was not quite as easy. I tried several songs but there really wasn't anything I liked except "What Hurts the Most", "Independence Day", and "I Hope you Dance". I settled on "I Hope You Dance". So a couple weeks before I left I practiced with youtube karoke until I got the phrasing right. Ok - this was going to be a little harder than I thought being that I only sing church music and my original music. But I didn't want to give up. I wanted to "work" that song until I got it.


I started singing at church about 8 years ago. It was after a long musical hiatus. I sang a lot in high school and then I quit. Just flat out quit for many years. I really got back into music right after 911. I started playing guitar and flute again. I wish I had never stopped, but now I enjoy each moment that I get to play.

So, here's a you tube video I just posted. The name of the song is "Blessed Are the Poor In Heart". It's a liturgically based song. I obviously did not write the words. But I love these words. They are really about how blest everyone is, even those who are poor in heart and spirit. Basically, if you believe in God then you believe that God creates all people equally and in his eyes all people are equal. I did write the music for this song and I recorded both vocals, the flute, and the guitar. Its not perfect. The guitar sounds a little "clicky", but hopefully its not too distracting.

Disclamimer....this video is made from pictures I took from the two mission churches that I go to. If churches and religious symbols and statues make you uncomfortable then you probably don't want to watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd-dF9KI5kY

This second video is Psalm 100. In the catholic church we sing a different psalm each week. I use the words of the psalm, but I write my own musical setting. I recorded this setting when I was practicing for mass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4yGlk-0iaw

Please feel free to leave comments. I am curious to see what you think.

So....back to the audition......

When I got up on Thursday I was still not 100% convinced that I was going to audition. But I finally decided that if I didn't audition I would feel like a failure for not trying. I never really pursued musica very seriously because I have had this secret fear of failure. But if you fear failure you stand no chance of succeeding at anything. So as I've aged I've become more successful in putting my fears aside and "going for it".

I decided to skip my run and head right to the shower. I spent some time in there "warming up". I started to get dressed, but I couldn't decide what to wear. I should have planned for an "audition outfit". Something a little nicer than shorts, a tee shirt, and crocs. All I could see was Stacy and Clinton shaking their heads thinking, " no, no, no".

I headed down to the bus around 8:40. I figured if I had any chance of getting to park at opening, it was today. However, once I got outside I realized that I had forgotten my phone, so I turned around and headed back inside. It didn't take long to recover my phone and by 8:50 I was on the bus heading to the GF to pick up some folks there.

So what time DID I get to HS? Well, according to my watch is was 9:09am. I was strangely calm when I entered the park. I went right to TSM and got a FP return time for 11:00am. Then I headed over to AI. I saw some cute young guy walk out and one of the CM's said, "Hey I heard you were really good but you can't be in the show cause you know somebody".

When I arrived at the entrance I told them I wanted to try out and they pointed me to the door. When I got to the door some big guy came out to greet me. He said I could got in when I was ready. I asked if there was a placed where I could warm up and he said ,"Yeah, right where you are standing. Let me know when you are ready" and then he shut the door. What???? I wasn't going to stand outside warming up. I am sure there would be another contestant along any time and I would feel really silly. So I opened the door and told the big guy I was ready to go. In the distance I heard this very loud singing voice full of vocal acrobatics. Oh My....maybe I shouldn't be here after all.

The big guy directed me to a room with a stylish woman who looked my age. She was definitely a "What Not to Wear" graduate. She looked really professional and I felt like she looked at me a bit skeptically. I can just picture her thinking. "Oh brother. Here's another senior AI wannabe". She was actually very nice and well trained at making people feel comfortable because I was getting a little shaky.

I told her I had planned to sing "someone like you". As I was singing I could see her features soften and I think she liked it. When I was done she handed me "the list" and said, "OK, let's see if we can find something on this list". I told her I wanted to sing "I Hope You Dance". She gave me the first note and off I went..........

OK - I know I am leaving a cliffhanger here, but I can't help it.

So did I make it into a show??????

Stick around for the exciting conclusion.

 

[burly]

Wah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dawnbu40]

Really? You stop there? Really?!!

Looking forward to hearing how it went!

 

[praisehisname]

Oh my goodness! I can't believe you're leaving us there! I can't wait to hear what happened!

 

[Lady Lallie]

You are EVIL!

You can't leave us hanging like that, especially when you are leaving soon.

I'm going to go pout now.