San Diego and American Idol Auditions!

So this past Saturday night, after we talked for a while, Jackie decided that since the American Idol audtions were going to be in San Diego, California that we should drive up there and audition. We figured we might as well, if nothing else it would be a great girl’s road trip! So we packed as much as we could late Saturday night, and planned to leave on Sunday.

We were on the road by 2:00p.m. and driving down the Las Veas Strip…the traffic was amazingly busy. We knew I15, the route to CA, would be heavy, since it was a Sunday afternoon,and everyone was driving back to California, but seriosuly, 3 accidents later and 2 hours stalled in bumper to bumper traffic really took its toll on our patience. Aggravating the situation was of course, my blood sugar. At about 4:30pm, I tested, becuase I wanted a snack, and I was 300 something….there was no reason to have a blood sugar that high, i was expecting to be low…i guess i had the wrong feeling about that one. I tried to bolus, there was “NODELIVERY.” Frustrated, I gave myself a shot in the car, and that was a challenge. We decided to change my site when we got to the next town to have dinner.

Eventually, we made it to Barstow and tried to settle down over a delicious Pizza Hut dinner that was terribly under staffed and filthy….ah yes, memories for the girl’s trip! While waiting for our dinner, I had brought my pump supplies that i would need and Mom helped me change my site in the restroom. (eew) After that, i bolused 1.0 unit to get the insulin in me and actually make sure the site was good…It was! Yay! I bolused for the pizza and everything was fine. Thankfully, we had a ton of good music to listen to back in the car!

We were back on the road by 7:00. We made it into San Diego, California, at 9:00 and spent the next 20 minutes looking for the Stadium to register for the auditions. We finally found our way, and walked up the stadium to register. They asked if we were going to try out as a duo, and we said that we normally sing together, but didn’t want to compete against each other, so we decided that Jackie would audition. They gave her a yellow wristband, and Mom and I recieved gray wristbands. They said that we needed to be there tomorrow between 5 and 6 am…I was shocked, I did not plan for that at all. hehe. We went to the hotel, and put our bags in the room, and then ate at the restaurant that was still open, and had a club sandwich, Jackie had apple pie alamode :]
At 4:50 am, we all woke up and got ready. By 6:30 we were out of the hotel and on our way to the Stadium, a little late for the American Idol crew, but still too early for us. After a short ride to the stadium we joined the ton of cars already parked and 25 to 30 thousand people lined up around the outside of the stadium. We waited in line, very jealous of the people next to us, who had Starbucks haha. :) 

 About 8:00 the cameras started filming and interviewing people and got crowd shots. As it turned out, we were the first ones interviewed and it went really well, it was so much fun! Supposedly the interview will be on the American Idol web site, so I asked for a picture with the A.I. reporter and he was really cool!

 
Eventually, the line started moving and we were let in…that was pure caos. Once inside, one of the producers rehearsed a couple of songs with the whole crowd, this was so much fun!
Finally, they began leading contestants out of the seats and down onto the field and so the auditions began…Now it was a matter of waiting…and waiting…and waiting…8 hours later and 2 diet cokes, our section, P12, was finally chosen to go downstairs, that meant Jackie was about to audition. Her group proceeded to walk down the field toward one of the 12 blue tents, Jackie went to tent #8. 

I was so nervous, and i wasn’t even going to audition! Hehe. Mom and I gathered our stuff, and walked down closer to the field, so we could see where Jackie was going to end up. All of a sudden, I realized something was really wrong, I was very low, and didn’t know it, nor did I remember how I got down the stairs or close to the field…it was the weirdest feeling I have ever expierienced. I had to hold the rail so i wouldn’t fall, I couldnt even see Mom, who was a few feet ahead of me, to tell her to stop walking. Finally I found her and told her to stop moving, so i could test and have some juice. It was insane, it felt like everything was moving, and when i looked up i was in a different area. I was 53 and dropping fast…apparently all the running up and down the stairs had more of an impact than I thought. Mom and I were allowed to site down while I drank some juice. My blood sugar slowely came up to 137, by the time Jackie walked across the stadium field to Tent #8 in a group of 4. She was the first to hand the judges her registration papers, and we could tell she was singing because we could see the back of her head moving. Hehe. The judges stopped her when she finished the end of the bridge from the song she had chosen, “To Love Again” by Lara Fabian. She said thank you and stepped back. Then the next three girls sang, and they asked them to stand close to the table, and said, “thank you all for coming out, but we’re going to have to pass.” Jackie said, “thank you for the opportunity,” and the judges replied, “Thank you for the effort.” They all walked away, and I know that Jackie did an amazing rendition, and I know she gave it her all, and most of all, she had fun! Jackie remembers it was a very very long walk from Gate J around the stadium to Gate G, where we met her, got the scoop, and went to the car. So, we discovered that Jackie’s feet hurt because she walked around the stadium in 4-inch heels, and was very grateful that the car was just across the street, where she promptly changed back into her comfortable converse. Haha. So we talked about what went on, and we’re all proud of Jackie, who was excited, but not too nervous. She always seems to stay calm. But we know that not going to the next round, was meant to be and that everything happens for a reason, and it just gives us more time together to work on our act.

Since it was about 5:30, Mom found the 1-15 Freeway and we were on the road. Traffic was heavy, so we got off in Temecula, and ate dinner at Chili’s. We changed into sweat pants knowing we were about to face another long ride home. I’m just glad we had a beautiful day to enjoy, with so many memories and good music. Even though we encountered some thunderstorms and high winds between Barstow and Baker, Mom, Jackie, and I safely made it home by 11:30.

Go to www.americanidol.com and click on San Diego Sneak Preview Pictures, from Season 7, and keep clicking until you get to picture #10….and you’ll see us! That was pretty cool.

Jen, 8/3/07 at 2:49 AM
you didn’t audition! I’m bummed
what an adventure tho
sounded like a lot of fun 

erin, 8/3/07 at 2:50 AM
thanks for sharing about your journey!! Your picture on AI.com is so pretty!!!

Minnesota Nice, 8/3/07 at 1:54 PM
What a fun story. And, road trips are always a great opportunity for turnin’ up the volume. 

Penny, 8/4/07 at 5:13 PM
What a cool experience!! 

Scott M, 8/7/07 at 11:47 PM
Wow, what a mess of people! Good to hear you had a great time in “my city”. I live only a few minutes from Qualcomm Stadium. American Idol was a big deal that weekend. Lots of traffic and most certainly very few hotel rooms vacant.
Maybe your sis will make it on tv, That would be cool eh? 

Seonaid, 8/8/07 at 1:18 am
Sounds like fun! I’ve had the same thing happen with my BG before, not realizing it was getting low. It’s definitely frightening, glad you were ok though

BetterCell, 8/11/07 at 6:01 AM
Mollie……It would be better for you to immediately act on the “feeling” of low blood sugar rather than taking the time out to confirm your suspicion. You can always test after you have “corrected” for the low blood sugar. As you already know, time is really important in treating Hypoglycemia rapidly before it gets worse.
If you miscalculated, you can always give yourself a bolus.