As I mentioned before, we all had a wonderful 9 hour drive to Fresno and thankfully made it there in one piece. When we arrived we were greeted by several other contestants who had arrived shortly before us, and with that, the weekend of pageantry began! Although we arrived and were checked into our rooms at about 11:30, the three of us still found it absolutely essential that we work out, so we all headed to the gym where Alexander made sure that our machines - there were only about three of them in the room, so we took over - were set at a fairly high intensity in order to make sure that we were working our hardest! After about 30 minutes in the gym we headed back to our room to have a meeting with Kati and PSZ to make sure that we knew when we were meeting in the morning and what to expect for the next day. Because there was a lottery - which was a great addition to this year's competition - we decided it was best to get up at 5:30, yep, a.m., in order to be the first in line at 7! Keep in mind that it is now about 12:30 and we still needed to unpack and get ready for bed. Needless to say, it was time for bed, and with that our Friday ended.
The alarm could not have come earlier... at 5:30 we were awakened by, not birds chirping, but the loudest ringing of the loudest and most obnoxious phone in the world. We were absolutely exhausted, but were ready to see what the day had in store for us! We all got ready, surprisingly, we each had enough space for all of our make-up, hair supplies, and everything else that we needed, it just took a little shuffling around each other every once in a while. at 6:30 Arianna and I met Kati and Joe, and we headed down to the lobby. We were VERY early! But within 10 minutes of sitting and chatting, people began to arrive. Russ Gladden and Lynn Blackburn walked into the lobby and after hugs all around, began to set up the lottery. Arianna and I were the first in line to check in and to pick our lottery numbers. Lucky duck Arianna picked number 6! Which meant she was one of the first to pick her spot in the line-up. I, not so luckily, picked number 35... I guess that's why they call it a lottery, huh?
We had breakfast at 8 and then had our first meeting with Bob, where we were introduced to the state staff and, of course, Miss California 2009, Kristy Cavinder. Once this was over, it was time to start the days activities! The lottery went extremely quickly, and it was quite intense! There was strategizing involved in placement , and while every one kept saying, "if they're meant to find you they will no matter where you are," we all knew that having some advantage would maybe make their decision easier. :) Joe and I stood, hovering over the boards, in order to see which spots were being taken and who they were being taken by. We kept a watchful eye on my first priority spot, Delta group number 4, and watched and cringed as girls chose their positions. I have never been so stressed in my life! It was incredibly fun and went incredibly quickly! Before I knew it, it was my turn to pick... My first priority group was still open, but I didn't choose it immediately, I wanted to weigh my options, and after about 3 minutes of going back and forth, I finally chose Gamma group number 4 :) I am so thrilled with my placement and love all of the girls in my group! It will be a tough night, but I guarantee it will make for a great show.
Once the lottery was done it was time to move on to all of our other appointments. Everything went very well and I got some wonderful feedback from the very capable state staff. They are always so helpful, and I feel blessed to have them as a part of the California team! After appointments it was time to go to dinner! We bought raffle tickets, and I am proud to say that the Miss San Diego table was by far the loudest, and won the most amount of dresses! GO MSD!! We had a quick dinner and then were excused for our first rehearsal from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. It was a looong day, and the last thing most of us wanted to do was rehearse, but it made for a wonderful opportunity to meet all of the girls, and in the end we all had a good time.
After rehearsal we finally went back to the room, but ended up staying up for another 3 hours discussing events of the day with our wonderful committee. It was so much fun, but made for a very long day.
The next morning we woke up at 6 a.m. Tierra had set an alarm for her and Arianna at 5:30, but neither of them even budged when the loud, obnoxious phone rang, so yours truly had the honor of jumping out of the cot to answer the phone in the bathroom, and of course as soon as I arrived to answer it, it stopped! I then attempted to wake the girls up, but neither of them budged! I decided to let them sleep, and I went back to bed. We finally got up at 6 and prepped to go to our final meetings and rehearsals.
We were finally done at 3 p.m. and headed back home. We had such a wonderful time, and I was thrilled to meet all of the girls. Each one of these young women is so incredibly talented and would make a wonderful Miss California. It's going to be a tough competition in July!
WHEW!! well at the cost of boring you, I will stop there for today! We have a busy few months ahead, and I will be sure to keep you all updated, until then...
Always,
Saundra Combs
Miss San Diego Cities
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