WHEEL! OF! FORTUNE!!!

So, Wheel of Fortune! 

Some may make fun of me for loving the show so much, but I can't help it! I was raised watching the show, and darn it - I'm good at it! 

(the board I was graciously given to write on today.)

My journey started back on October 5th when I ventured to the lovely (note the sarcasm) Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma for the WheelMobile event. Let me set the scene for you:

Hundreds of weird people who all claim to be the BIGGEST Wheel of Fortune fans who watch every night and claim they can solve every puzzle all huddled in a big ballroom at the back of this lovely casino. The hour is upon us...the magical moment when the audition is to start! Imagine the most obnoxious, antiquated, BLARRING rendition of Wheel Of Fortune music blasting through the casino speakers. Aw heck, just click here and listen along so you can REALLY get the essence of what we experienced!

 Everyone goes crazy. The lights flash all around. And then appear the most ridiculous people EVER! Marty and...some platinum blonde chick in a neon green dress. Can't remember her name (maybe Stephanie?). But Marty is HANDS DOWN the most energetic, overwhelming human being I have ever encountered. I was terrified. See?

Everyone in the room fills out a little slip of paper about themselves with name and contact info. Then, they pull out a big rotating metal bin and pull out five names at a time. If called, you have to jump up like a maniac, run around and scream like a chicken with its head cut off, and let them know that you're making your way up to the stage. Some did this better than others!

Then those five have a one-on-one Q&A with Marty to introduce themselves and brag about weird things. Or sing songs. Or dance. You'd also be amazed at how many wackos LOVE talking about their 6 cats, 4 dogs, 17 fish, 2 turtles, and 3 horses that they have at home!

After all the intros, they play the game rapid fire like the last round of the actual show. Each player has 3 seconds to call out a letter and/or solve the puzzle. Then someone eventually solves it, everyone jumps up and down, you get a dinky prize like a blinky pen and KOMO 4 Magnet, and then you leave the stage! Then they call up 5 more and the process repeats itself over and over until the audition time is up.

The chances of actually being called up were slim-to-none, considering how many people filled the room. I never thought I'd actually be called up, but in the last round, LOW AND BEHOLD...They called my name!! ME! I got super excited, but instantly super nervous!

I went backstage, had my picture taken, found my seat on the side of the stage, and waited. When it was my group's turn, we each stood on our green X taped on the ground. I interviewed with Marty (He may be annoying and obnoxious, but up close, he's HOTT!) I survived being put on the spot during my interview, got back to my mark, and then we played!

I ended up solving the puzzle for my round by shouting out the answer ("BACK AND FORTH") the second time my turn came around. Huzzah! I was quite proud of myself and high-fived Marty. Whoo! I exited stage with my newly acquired XXXL Wheel of Fortune T-shirt, picture of Pat Sajak and Vanna White, and my KOMO 4 Magnet. ALRIGHT! (again, note the sarcasm) I wasn't sure if I'd make it to the next round of auditions, but I could dream...right?

Fastfoward nearly 2 months to Nov. 22nd. RIGHT as I'm boarding my plane to fly home for Thanksgiving I opened up my emailt to see "WHEEL OF FORTUNE FINAL AUDITION INVITATION" (I kid you not...I got this as I was walking down the Jetway.) I couldn't believe it! My audition was set for Dec. 8th at 2:30pm. I couldn't believe my luck! Dec. 8th was the first day of my school's reading period...a day when I wouldn't have class to attend! BRILLIANT! I RSVP'd as quickly as I could...aka, right as I sat down in my seat on the plane! haha. The folks around me probably thought I was insane. Oh well!

Now fastforward to today! Dec. 8th! I made my way up to Seattle to the Sheraton Hotel. I got there early, which was nice because it helped calm my jitters. We filled out sheets about ourselves, and then were eventually seated in the row they directed us to. They created a seating chart by having us call out our names, and they were REALLY big on having us SCREAM our names loudly. If people weren't loud enough, they ostracized them and shook their heads in shame. Needless to say, you won't get on the show if you aren't LOUD! I did my best, and they could understand me loud and clear! Huzzah!

Then we were called one-by-one (at random) to stand up in our spots and play the game. They were looking to see how well you worked under pressure, how loudly you spoke, how decisive you were, how logical your letter choices were, how many vowels you bought, and how much you smiled! They like smiles! I thought I did pretty well, but I only played a little bit. Oh well. I was loud...and I used my manners. That counts for something, right?

We then took a timed written test to see how well we actually solve puzzles under pressure. FUN! Imagine a sheet full of half-finished hangman puzzles - that's what this test was. We filled out as many as we could in 5 minutes and handed them in. Then we waited.

...and waited.

And watched lots of funny clips of W.o.F. throughout the years. Man there have been some crazy contestants on the show. And some really hilarious ones!

Finally, 45 min. later, they came back into the room and narrowed the 60+ contestants down to 24 of us. I WAS ONE OF THEM! Yay!  They liked me! They took our pictures and then we played more puzzles that more closely resembled the actual game. We even had to act out how we'd go about spinning the 1,000 lb. wheel in front of us! tee hee. I presented myself well, once again, even though I wasn't allotted the amount of game time I would have liked! Everyone in my round got two turns except for me, but oh well!

At the end of our game, we took time to (loudly) introduce ourselves and make ourselves sound interesting, just as we would if we were on the show talking to Pat. Believe it or not, I knew I'd have to do this, so I rehearsed with myself on my drive up to Seattle. Hey, what else is a girl alone in her car supposed to do? It paid off!

All 24 contestants played, and the folks in charge left the room again. They came back a couple of minutes later and announced that they'd like to see a couple of us play once more. Five names were called. Yet again...I WAS ONE OF THEM! I'm really hoping this means good things for my future as a contestant on the actual show!

We'll know in the next 2 weeks whether or not we'll head to L.A. or Portland for taping. They send an actual letter, so that makes me nervous because I won't be at my local address to receive it if it comes once I'm back home for winter break! I might make my dear boyfriend make a trip or two by my house to stalk my mailbox! I won't possibly be able to wait to know if I have a letter waiting for me or not!

It's been a fun and exciting experience, even if it doesn't result in me actually being on the show. But here's to hoping I get that glorious letter of invitation to join Pat and Vanna on the greatest show of all! If nothing else, I have a mini-pencil that says, "I auditioned for Wheel Of Fortune" to help commemorate this whole ordeal! What else could a girl want? =)