What Were We Thinking???

So, Deal or No Deal was in town recently and was holding open auditions. Ryan and I decided we'd go, so we did.

Yes, we are crazy.

No, we are not as crazy as most of the other freaky people that showed up.

It was an experience that's for sure! We had no idea of what it would be like and we are not likely to do anything like it again.

Let me first say why we decided to try out. We live in a very expensive place and it will take us at least a year to get together enough money for a down payment on a house. That is all we would want, just enough for that down payment. If it were not for that we would not have entertained the notion of going.

The auditions were from 10 to 2 on a Saturday but Ryan had read online that it was best to show up at six. So, he headed out early that morning and I caught up with him a couple hours later. Ryan got in line around 7 am and I got there at about 9. We had no idea that we would be in line for most of the day! Although I did not know the duration I did bring bottled water for the both of us along with snacks. It was a good thing too for I was in line for over 6 hours (Ryan for 9).

See, told you we were crazy!

I don't think I have ever stood on my feet as long I did that day. At least when you go to an amusement park you get to ride some rides or sit down every once in a while. My legs just ached and hurt. I must be getting old because I was not aware of some of the muscles I have (isn't that something that 'older' people say?).

I was surprised at the number of people that showed up (although I shouldn't have been) as well as the variety of people. There were certainly a number of people that fell into the category that I call 'freaks and weirdos', and many of them carried signs and had writing on their shirts or even wore costumes. I. Don't. Know. Why. The part that surprised me was that their were older people there (older as in retired). It's just not one of those things that I would think would attract people of that age. Of course there were younger people there with their groups of friends, but there were also people there by themselves. That struck me as odd too.

While standing in line for hours and hours, we listened to a band play then taped music when the band was on break. Some people danced when the music was really upbeat or played a classic popular song. That was entertaining in itself. At one point an African American woman of large proportions got her groove on and a retired man started freak dancing behind her! It was hilarious to watch as this mis-matched pair as they did their thang! Someone also brought a beach ball and the crowd passed that thing around in the air for hours.

I spent most of my time thinking of what to say when it came time to go before the casting directors. Every few hours the casting producer would come out and tell everyone what was expected. Which was that we each had 20 seconds to tell them something interesting about ourselves, something that would make them remember us individually. If I was memorable then they just may think of me when a profile they want on the show comes up. So I tried to think of something to say. It was a good thing I had hours to think of it 'cause I'm a perfectionist and I know I would have froze or blew it completely if I didn't have time to prepare something to say. In hindsight I'm not entirely sure that what I did say fell into the category of 'memorable', but I did my best.

So, that was pretty much our experience in this American phenomenon that is reality or game show television. I could go into more detail but I really don't wish to bore you more than I already have. We stood in line, moved forward, and watched weirdos. What more can be said?