Will's Laughlin Journal 2008

7 pm

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:41:00 -0400

THE FINALS

I arrive at the auditorium to see what is going on. I find out the male 50 and older group doesn’t start until after the country group. Since I am not interested in the country section I go back to my room for an hour. When I come back down to the auditorium the last female 50 and older contestant is on. There is a break before the males start. I find a seat and get ready for the show. My intent is to be as objective as I can and to learn something from the finalist.
I won’t give you a report on all 10 finalist but I will say I saw at least 4 people that I felt that shouldn’t have been there including a 90 year old Frank Sinatra impersonator that sounded terrible. The guy that won sang Mack the knife both with a Bobby Darin voice and a Louie Armstrong voice. He sounded good and gave a good performance. I came away feeling like I should have made the finals and I will next year. Each contestant is judged on voice, stage presence and looks. The scores is added together and the contestant with the highest score wins. Obviously the scores are subjective and based on who is sitting in the judge’s seat at the time. I will have to put together a show that will impress the judges as well as the audience in order to win.
I leave the auditorium with mixed feelings and go back to my room. I call Shane but he doesn’t answer his phone so I leave a voice mail. I continue to watch TV and pack for leaving tomorrow. I like it here and feel a little sad about having to back home. I miss Anita and the girls but I wish they were coming out here and not me going back there. It’s time for bed. I have a long day tomorrow. Good night.

1:00 pm

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:39:00 -0400

Off I go on a trip through town. I drive around Laughlin to see the sights. I cross the bridge and go into Arizona. Most of the employees that work in Laughlin live in Bullhead. It is a nice little city in the desert. There are little homes as well as big mansion type homes. All the commercial stores are on the main drag. I stop at the post office and asked a lady to take my picture. She was very nice. She told me she originally was from Ohio and loved it here in Bullhead. Most of the people I met were from other places. Except for one person they all loved living in Arizona. One man I met was not happy about living here. He has moved from Florida to live with his son and felt it was too hot and nothing to do except the casino. He said he would move back except he felt he was too old. I told him that there was many people that would love to change places with him so enjoy it as much as he could. He agreed with me. I drove around for about 2 hours and finally went
back to the hotel. I consider going to the pool but there is a wedding party going on there so it is closed to the residents of the hotel. The hotel will shuttle you to another hotel if you want to swim though. I decide not to swim today.

11:00 am

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:35:00 -0400

Shane calls and informs me that he didn’t make the finals. He says he and Tara are leaving for Vegas since their plane leaves at 3 in the morning. They are just going to hang out there and sight see. They come to my room and he gives me a ticket to the finals of the contest. We all get a little misty about going home and promise to stay in touch. I have to say that I am very lucky to have become friends with the two of them. Shane and Tara, my stay in Nevada has been better thanks to you two. Have a safe trip back to Ohio.

9:00 am

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:32:00 -0400

I go downstairs to the restaurant to eat breakfast at the buffet. Mmmmm good. It’s amazing all the people that are already gambling at the slot machines and tables.

6:30 am

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:30:00 -0400

I wake up early and I turn on the TV. I decide to start packing my bags since I am leaving tomorrow.

Temperature 9/27/08

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:23:00 -0400

9/27/08
TEMPERATURE high 102 low 74

ITS OVER

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:11:00 -0400

9/26/08
1:pm
I have finally accepted my fate and am not mad at anyone. I decide to take a drive and I go to Arizona. Bullhead seems to be a nice town even if it is in the middle of the desert. I still say I would live here. It’s hot again today but it is dry heat and I can breath and I like it. When I get back to my room I start to pack for home. It has been nice here but reality back in Ohio is calling. Hope my trip back is uneventful.
To all my family and fans i really feel terrible but I can say with all my heart I did my best and I truly felt that I deserved to move to the next round. It's obviously that that was not meant to be this time but it has been a learning experience for me to share with my students. I apologize to my supporters for not making a better showing. I would have liked to win not just for me but for everyone that supported my trip and sent good wishes. I promise that I will work longer and harder for the next competition. thanks for everything and please don't give up on me.

SEMI-FINALS

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:10:00 -0400

9/26/08
11:am
Shane advanced to the semis and I went to support him. He sounded good to me and it also gave me a chance to check my competition. I have to say that I heard at least 4 people that I thought I performed better than them. I must admit I had a bad taste in my mouth. I left the auditorium after Shane’s performance and returned to my room to wallow a bit more in the mud. I knew that I would eventually get up out of it but for right now I just wanted be left alone to chastise myself for not getting through to the next round and I didn’t care who’s fault it was.

ITS JUDGEMENT TIME

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:09:00 -0400

9/26/08
9:00am
I finally make it to the auditorium and walk up to the information board. As I glance at the results I can feel my anxiety grow. I look through the list quickly and my number doesn’t jump up at me. I look again very slowly so as not to make a mistake and I don’t see my number on the board. I walk up and put my hand on each number like it is Braille and not only don’t I see my number but now I don’t feel it either. Tears start to form in my eyes and I can feel myself losing composure. People are standing all around me and I can’t let them see me cry but I can’t stop the tears. I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS – I DIDN’T MAKE THE SEMI-FINALS!!!! I wanted to go up to the judges and give them a piece of my mind but I quickly leave and go back to my room. I climbed in the bed and cry like a baby for the next half hour. I AM A LOSER! A LOSER! I was devastated. I kept thinking what am I going to tell my family and friends? They have so much belief in me and I feel like
I let them down. I could make excuses but I won’t. I was eliminated and that is it. I have to go back to Ohio with my tail between my legs and suck it up. Anita was so supportive and motivating even when I didn’t want to hear it. Shane also was encouraging, telling me that I shouldn’t have been eliminated.

LETS GET IT ON

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:08:00 -0400

9/26/08
4:30am
I can’t sleep so I decide to go see my scores in the auditorium. When I get there the pavilion is closed and I have to wait until later. So I crawl back to my room to suffer some more. I hate waiting for anything so this is total torture.

Temperature 9/26/08

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:06:00 -0400

9/26/08
TEMPERATURE high 102 low 74

HOOVER DAM

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:28:00 -0400

11am – I took a ride with Shane and Tara to the Hoover dam. What a wonder. Took pictures and walked way too much. I enjoyed the trip and their company.
The desert is a beautiful place as long as you see it from an air-conditioned car. lol
The weather out here is absolutely great. Hot and dry. The scenery is great also if you like mountains. I could easily live here. I saw lots of small houses and trailer homes. They can’t be that expensive. I spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for Thursday’s competition. Talk to a guy about pizza and he told me where to go. I called Shane and Tara and found out she is a pizza fiend like me so off we went to the pizza place. The pizza was very good and we had beer with it. Will go back again before I leave. Went back to the room and buried myself in solitude. Practiced my songs and watch TV. What do you do when you are in a hotel all alone? Later.

DOCUMENTARY FILM

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:23:00 -0400

9am
I went to the auditorium to appear in the filming of the documentary about karaoke. They had us do a group sing to the song “Dream Weaver.” They are either going to use it at the beginning or the end of the film. We had a “choir director” direct us during the filming and he made it wwaaaaayyyyyy to complex than it needed to be. Didn’t get done until 10:30.

Temperature 9/24/08

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:22:00 -0400

9/24/08
Temperature high 102 low 78

MORE KARAOKE

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:40:00 -0400

10pm
I went looking for food and heard karaoke going on in the caboose lounge. I decided to try out a song while I wait on my food. It was 11:30 before I was called to sing. I sang “all the way” and the audience was positive but not enthusiastic so I am singing “New York, New York” for my next song. After all it is my theme song. Have you ever had to wait a long time to sing karaoke at your neighborhood bar? It’s bedtime.
Later