Well, the time has come. My episode of Wheel of Fortune has aired...and by now, I'm sure most of you know that I was not, in fact, THE big winner. Or a big winner at all, really. I know, who can complain about an extra $1,000 bucks in their pocket? But it's sufficient enough to say that, at the time, I was extremely disappointed with the outcome. I had such high hopes for my time on Wheel of Fortune, and things just didn't work in my favor. I wanted to write this now (while I'm still here in Los Angeles after the taping in October!) so that my memory of the whole event is fresh...but obviously it will be posting here on my blog once my show airs! Whoo....how futuristic!
Anyway... before I get in to the "behind-the-scenes" commentary of my show, let me say a few things that I learned from this whole process:
1. The WOF staff at Sony is FABULOUS! I had so much fun with them, and everyone truly is rooting for you! From the contestant coordinators to the make-up ladies to the mic/sound folks, to Pat and Vanna and Jim the announcer! Everyone is just fantastic! Thanks guys!
2. Being a contestant is EXHAUSTING! Granted, I might not have been so tired if I had taped earlier in the day, but I had to wait until the 5th (of 6) tapings and was hyped up on pure adrenaline ALL day. I finally crashed around 5pm when I was done. But they have you at Sony Studios at 7:45am and run you non-stop all day! Phew. Bring your energy, if you are ever a contestant! You'll need it!
3. It's true what they say...playing the game at home is A MILLION times easier than playing in real life. There is a lot of pressure, and you don't always think so quickly. And even if you do...
4. Luck has to be on your side. You can be THE BEST puzzle solver in the world and still "lose" this game. Ask anyone...I'm REALLY good at playing Wheel. I wouldn't have been picked for the show if I wasn't. But whenever I knew the puzzle (which was all but twice), it just wasn't my turn, so I couldn't solve! Scott ALWAYS beat me to it, and that's what is most disappointing!
5. No matter what, I'm STOKED that I got to have this experience. Honestly, being selected to be a contestant (especially as quickly as I was) is amazing in and of itself! How many people can say they've been on WOF? Not too many! =)
Ok! So enough of my sentimentality. I wanted to document the show from my standpoint. Sure, you probably saw it last night, but you don't know what was going on inside my brain while the whole thing was going on. This could be fun for some of you to read, but I mainly want to document this so I remember. The whole ordeal happened SO quickly and was SO surreal! I want to help myself remember everything that went on for years to come!
Taping 5 was finally ready to go! Melissa, Scott, and I all took our places and the contestant coordinators warmed us up. Practice spins, practice letters being shouted across the studio. Lots of clapping. Don't forget to smile! Then the make-up crew touched us up as the producer let us know to watch the monitors for the opening footage, then to look at Pat and Vanna as they walk in. SMILE. CLAP. All these things are important.
We picked up our "signaling devices" when Pat instructed us to do so and prepared for our first Toss Up puzzle. BOY DO I HATE THOSE! It's so nerve racking! Even though the category was "Song Lyrics," which one would think a music major would be good at, I just didn't know it. Scott buzzed in with "Heat out on the highway," which Pat chuckled at and said was incorrect. I could have guessed it since there were only like 2 letters missing, but the second I went to hit my device, Melissa had already rung in to solve, "Head out on the highway." Duh! Of course! Oh well...still more game!
Pat did our intros, starting with Melissa and finishing with me. Super nice, super easy, and I think Pat was impressed with me! Then on to the second toss up. Bleh.
Gosh...now I can't even remember what it was, but I know that Scott solved it...yet again...so the next round started with him. Category: Before and After - MY FAVORITE!
We went through a few times, Melissa even landing on the Brazil trip (which we all were drooling over!!!), but RIGHT when I knew it, Melissa was finishing her turn. It was on to Scott. I don't think he knew it going in to his turn, but he called all the right letters. "P" was what sealed the deal, and I knew he knew it. As mean as it was, I was secretly praying he would spin a Bankrupt or a Lose a Turn so I could spin and solve! But...that didn't happen! He solved it: "The Princess and the Pea Soup." Ding ding ding. More money for him!
We stopped for the commercial break (yes, you take those even in real life while you're taping. You don't just go straight through and edit the commercials in later). The contestant coordinators came up every time to pump us up, calm us down, give us water, and remind us of what was coming up...including giving us the next category. All this was happening while the make-up ladies touched up our faces.
Back to the wheel and on to "Phrase" - AND Mystery Round! I got to start this time since I was the only one without money. Wah wah... =( I did well and managed to call a bunch of good letters, including buying lots of vowels (which are a fantastic tool, those of you nay-sayers out there! Yes they cost money, but BOY do they help fill in the gaps!). My one fear was that I was going to say or do something stupid to embarrass myself, and that did, in fact, happen. I was looking at the wrong part of the monitor (it's confusing from the contestants' standpoint!) and I didn't think I had any money left to buy a vowel. So I started to say, "I'd like to buy an A...OH WAIT! I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY!" and Pat reassured me that I did have money! So we laughed, I bought the vowel, and spun some more! *Thank goodness ABC later edited this out so I didn't embarrass myself on national television!* I EVEN landed on the mystery wedge! I had no clue what to call, so I VERY hesitantly said "L???" Pat chuckled at my insecurity and said "There are 2!" And then came the moment of truth. I vowed to myself the day I found out I'd be on the show that I would take the gamble (unless there was just too much at risk). I only had $2,900 or something at stake, so I said, "I told myself I'd go for it!, so I'm going for it!" AND I DID. But...it was Bankrupt! Darn!
On to the other two contestants. It eventually got back to me and I was able to solve the puzzle (without having a care in the world as to how much money I actually had!) "Rare, medium, or well-done." What a random puzzle. I only had $500 in my bank (whoops, who knew? Not me! I was too distracted!), so I got the house minimum of $1,000. Little did I know, that would be it for me!
We took another break, same routine with touch-ups and stuff, and came back to play the Prize Puzzle round. I REALLY wanted to solve this one because it guarantees you a trip. We started with Melissa (I think?) and she racked up quite the bank, over $9,000 I believe! But then something went wrong (either bankrupt/lose a turn, or she called a wrong letter), and it was on to Scott. He had bad luck, too, so on to me. I had some bad luck, so it was back to Melissa. Same thing. So it was Scott's turn. But I KNEW IT! I knew the puzzle then and was chuckling to myself because I thought the prize was going to be a trip to Hawaii based on the correct answer....and goodness knows my history with Hawaii wasn't the best! But I'd still love the trip regardless! But then it clicked with Scott. He knew it, and I knew he knew it, and I was bummed out AGAIN! "Sugar Cane Plantations" was all that was standing between Scott and a trip to Jamaica (I think? Gosh...now I can't remember. I think it was Jamaica!). *sigh* Scott won more!
So then another commercial break and back to the wheel for the 3rd toss up. I knew I wanted this one to bank an extra $3,000! It came up. The category was Living Thing. I KNEW the second word almost immediately, but I just couldn't figure out the first 3-letter-word! Darn those short words! Scott buzzed in with, "Pet Chihuahua" Yup. $3,000 more for Scott. And then the part I dreaded the most. The final bell sounded.
Pat spun the wheel, and I was praying for it to land on the $5,000 wedge so I could have a fighting chance at winning, but he landed on $900. Each letter would be worth $1,900 in this puzzle. The category was Things. I almost called N (my favorite WOF letter - dorky, I know), but I opted for R. I should have called N. Melissa called it after me, and there were 4! Back through guessing letters. Still didn't know it. But right after Melissa's next turn, I KNEW IT! I was bouncing around I was so giddy, because I didn't think Scott would get it. But he called a correct letter, and then declared that he'd like to solve the puzzle. My heart sank. He got it right, "Hand-written thank you note." And with that, he was THE big winner. Melissa and I gave each other a look like, "Well...at least we tried." My heart sank. It was over! I'd never get a chance to do this again.
Of course everyone plays nice when Pat comes over to shake your hand. I said thank you and that I had fun, which, of course, I did. But I was also ready to burst in to tears. I just wanted to be able to play the game and have it go my way! But luck just wasn't on Melissa's or my side that day. Scott walked away with over $26,000 in cash in prizes. He deserves it...he and his wife have their hands full with 3 little ones (all under 2 1/2) and lots of medical debt from the twins' premature births, but I love it so much more when games have the wealth evenly distributed amongst all three players. Some games you see the "losers" walk away with $27,000 and up! Not this game. Melissa and I each took away the bare minimum.
If you ever find yourself fortunate enough to be a contestant on WOF, only do it if you're prepared to win the minimum and TRULY be satisfied with it. I thought I would be...and I kept telling myself how great getting even $1,000 would be, but it turns out I didn't truly believe it. I had HIGH hopes and was eager to win big and go to the bonus round. I was hoping to win Up With People money, Grad school money, and money to help me move out of my parents house in to my own apartment, but that just wasn't meant to be. Even though I knew nearly every single puzzle that game, I simply never had the chance to solve for the win! Greedy as it sounds, I was heart broken to walk away with the house minimum. I felt like I wasn't a good player and that I failed. My parents could see it in my face when I met them afterwards. That was NOT how I intended the game to go. *Note written from 1/18 - I'm truly ok with it now. I was just disappointed initially. It wears off*
I'm still bummed about it, but as I replay the whole experience in my head, I'm very happy that I did everything in my power to play the best I could. I was calm (really, truly!), I had fun, I acted like myself (at least I THINK I did! haha), I called good letters, and I took a HUGE gamble! How often do you have a 50/50 shot at $10,000? I have no regrets about the show because I did everything in MY power to play the best game I could. The wheel and my fellow contestants were the ultimate factors working against me.
Scott did great, and Melissa and I are thrilled for him and his family. Yes, we wish things had gone differently, but I still have this amazing experience to look back on and appreciate! I've scratched a MAJOR wish off my bucket list and I had a blast doing it. I hope you all enjoyed watching the show, and my October 2012 self REALLY hopes that my January 2013 self doesn't come across too dumb or embarrassing on national television!!! =)
And now, from my present self, here are some pictures to add from my show! My UWP host parents and I had way too much fun pausing the screen and getting all my ridiculous faces!
