Miss California USA Competition Day 3: Final Show

So Day 3 finally came! It was the finals show and all of the contestants had a lot on our minds. We all realized that by this time, the top 15 had already been chosen and now all we could do was cross our fingers and hope for the best.

We started our morning super early (5am!) in order to pack our bags, and check out of our rooms. My boyfriend picked up my luggage and then I headed to breakfast with my roommate and the other girls. Afterwards, we headed to rehearsal, where all the teen and miss contestants did a full run-through of the finals show from the opening number to the mock crowning. We all learned where to stand, enter, and exit, as well as what the routine would be if we won. This was also the night were we got to introduce ourselves to the audience.

Because the show was scheduled for 3pm, we rehearsed all morning, took a break for lunch, and then immediately went to our dressing rooms, where we had to wear our swimsuits again for the final show.

I didn't make the top 15, which meant the rest of the night would be simple for me. All of the non-finalists were required to do a final walk in our swimwear, head back to our dressing rooms, change into evening gown, and do a final walk in our evening gowns. Then we all came back onstage in our evening gowns to watch the final crowing.

Because I like to practice what I preach in terms of being cordial and a good sport, I will say that while I was disappointed that I did not win or place in the top 15, I (and all the other girls) were more disappointed that someone more deserving of the crown didn't win. But that's the way pageants are sometimes and regardless of the outcome, I have built some amazing memories, and made some new best friends. I am thankful that I made it this far and hope that my participation in this pageant will open new doors for me. The first row of the audience was made up of casting agencies from all over, so I am hopeful that one or more will have seen my potential and contact me. My boyfriend was there afterwards with a big hug and kiss and that made me feel really good.

I didn't shed a tear and the only time I got teary was seeing some of the other girls crying. They were devastated. I went to one of the girls and hugged her tightly and told her that she rocked it and shouldn't feel bad. She cried that her whole family was there and they she felt she had let them down so I told her that the good thing about family is that we are always winners to them. She perked up after that and I set about making my rounds, making sure that the other girls knew they had done a great job. Then I settled down with my new friends and got phone numbers and other contact info, packed the rest of my stuff and practically flew into my boyfriend's arms!

After leaving the Riviera Resort & Spa after the finals show, we went straight to Jack in the Box, where I ordered a Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger, Bacon & Cheddar Potato Wedges and a huge Lemonade...and we totally pigged out back at our hotel room! Then I got some much needed rest, and the next morning, my boyfriend and I got into our car and I said goodbye to the quaint little town of Palm Springs and was homeward bound.

It feels good to be home!!!

Pictures from the Beauty of Califorina Dinner - Miss California USA

Some pictures from Saturday night:





Miss North Bay Area & Miss USA Crystle Stewart:

The Beauty of California Dinner - Miss California USA

The great thing about the pageant is that they allowed us some time to be with our loved ones. The Beauty of California Dinner took place on Saturday night, after our interviews earlier that day. By the time the preliminary and interview portions were over, there was only the finals show on Sunday night so the competition was pretty much over. Our reward was a special dinner and a night of dancing away our stress and all those freaking hours of dancing and walking in heels!

The coolest thing next to having our family and friends there to be with us, was having the current Miss USA Krystle Stewart as our guest of honor! I got to meet her and take pictures...she is so humble, sweet, and genuine. I love how even though she is Miss USA, she still acts as if she's not a big deal. She truly cared about everyone that came to greet her and take pictures with her. Definitely worthy of the crown in my opinion.

After taking pictures with her, I went back to my table with my boyfriend, who was the only one able to make it to the pageant, and got to know the other contestants and their families that were sitting at our table. They served us salad, a huge dish of our choice (I got the chicken with steamed veggies), and then topped it off with a tiramisu dessert...yum!

When the eating was done, it was time for dancing! All the girls got up and did everything from the Electric Slide and the Cha Cha Slide to the Flow Rida Song "Get Low." Some of the contestants' mothers got lower than the girls did! LOL. I didn't get onto the dance floor till near the end because I had spent 6 hours in high heels rehearsing the opening number so my feet were killing me but eventually I did get to slow dance with my sweetie and then danced to the rest of the fast songs.

Our night ended around 10:30pm and then all of the contestants said our goodbyes and headed back to our rooms to get ready for the finals show.

Miss California USA Competition Day 2: Interviews

Day 2 was all about our interviews with the pageant judges. This is a huge section to score points in for the competition. My interview time was 10:20am so luckily I got to sleep in for a bit. I got up, did my hair and makeup, and put on my interview outfit. This time around, they changed the rules for attire. In the past it was mandatory to wear business wardrobe, but I guess this year they wanted to see more of the contestants' personalities so the attire for the interview portion was completely up to us.

I personally love wearing business clothes so I choose a happy medium: black, capri slacks, black, strappy peep-toe heels, and a maroon, sleeveless top with a chinese neckline. I kept it dressy casual. I wore my hair down and had my makeup more natural, since I wasn't required to be onstage.

I checked into the Grand Ballroom and waited my turn. Then I was escorted into one of the conference rooms of the building, where I stood in front of the panel of the six Miss judges. There had been some last minute drop outs so we weren't sure who our judges were going to be. Holly Madison from "The Girls Next Door" and Cindy Margolis (one of the current Playboy Playmates) dropped from the panel of judges (I totally wanted to meet Holly, too!). The judges I met were Kenya Moore (Miss USA 1993), David Allen (a famous celebrity nutritionist), Alec Shankman (Head of the Alternative Programming Department at Abrams Artists Agency), Michael Voorhees (a famous photographer), and one other person I did not recognize.

I greeted them warmly and they began to ask me questions, which came from the bio that all contestants had to fill out when we first applied to be in the pageant. The questions they asked me were:

1) It says you want to start your own art business. Can you tell us a bit about that?

2) How old are you?

3) What is your favorite graphic novel?

4) If you're such an artist, why do you want to be Miss California USA?

5) Are you part Filipino?

I answered with a lot of energy, smiles, and made eye contact with each of the judges. Some were smiling and interested in what I had to say, while others remained pretty quiet and had "poker faces" so I couldn't tell if they liked me or not. Pretty nerve wracking. Only 2-3 of the judges asked me questions, so it was just a conversation back and forth. I do know that I talked a bit too much, which I know cost me points. I couldn't help talking about my passion for art and wanting to be Miss California. But aside from that critique, I was warm, genuine, and commanded the room when I spoke. I wish I could have done a few things differently but I gave it my best and I can't ask for anything more than that.

After my interview was finished, I was directed to a team of photographers for a quick photoshoot, and then interviewed on-camera with a few of the other contestants. There was a large group of photographers and videographers there, putting together footage for the DVD of the pageant (which I ordered and will be waiting eagerly for in the mail!).

When that part was done with, I headed back to my room where I changed into comfortable clothes and then spent the remainder of the day with the other contestants rehearsing our open number. We also had a former Miss Venezuela there who helped us with our walks and stage presence (she said my walk and presence didn't need any work! Sweet!).

The cool thing about the DVD this year is that you can buy different versions. The one I choose shows the pageant, but has a menu so that you can go straight to the parts of the competition that I am in, and also contains a special montage of all the pictures and video footage the crew has of me, from the competition, rehearsals, candids, etc. They finally realized that people don't care about the other girls when they watch the DVD--they want to see the girl they are supporting! LOL. So I'm glad that I ordered that version. It won't be mailed out for a month and a half from now (that's a lot of footage and pictures to go through!) but when I do get it, I'll be having a DVD viewing get together at my place with my friends that want to see it. Although I've been in the spotlight for some time now, I still get embarrassed when people want to watch me hehe so it'll be gut wrenching to have my family and friends watching me compete, even though it's on DVD! Unfortunately, the event was not televised so the only way to watch it is on DVD but I'll see if I can possibly put it online.

When rehearsals were over, it was time to get ready for our Beauty of California dinner, where all of our family and friends could join us for food and dancing. That post (and pictures) are coming up next!

Photos from Day 1 - Preliminaries: Swimsuit & Evening Gown

Here are some of my favorite flicks from the first day of the preliminary competition...

SWIMWEAR:




EVENING GOWN:




Hanging out with my sweetie after preliminaries:

Miss California USA Competition Day 1: Preliminaries

Hello, my beloved readers! I had hoped to do a post each night of the pageant but it all proved to be pretty exhausting so by the time I got to my room, I just wanted to sleep! LOL. So I'll recap each day of the competition in its own post. Let's get started!

Day 1 of the Preliminary Competition took place on Friday, November 21 in Palm Springs, CA. It was our first time on stage in front of both the audience and the judges and we did swimwear and evening gown. There was no opening number or dancing so it was straight to business. The Preliminary Competition for Friday was for Swimwear and Evening Gown.

I started my morning early, grabbed some light lunch and then had my boyfriend drop me and my bags off at the Riviera Resort and Spa, where the festivities were taking palce. All the contestants checked in, picked up our sashes (which we are required to wear anytime we're out and about in the hotel), and got settled into our rooms. My roommate is a sweetheart (Jan Humphrey - Miss Northern Valley) so I'm glad that I have someone that I get along with to be with me.

First we all met in the Grand Ballroom early in the day to get organized, hear announcements, and then did a huge run through dress rehearsal with all the girls. I'm contestant #35 but the teens go before the miss contestants so there was a lot of downtime. After we gave the house mothers (our den mothers if you will) our evening gown with the shoes and accessories, we headed to our rooms after picking up our box lunches. We had one hour to get ready for the preliminary competition and we were asked to wear our swimsuit underneath the outfit that we planned to wear after the competition. So I wore dark jeans, my swimsuit heels (taupe), and a maroon top with my lime green bikini underneath. I got my makeup and hair together and then walked with my roommate to the dressing rooms, where we all got undressed, lotioned up and waited our turn to get onstage.

Now one of the most memorable things about this pageant thus far has to do with "butt spray." I don't know how many of you are well versed in the art of pageants but butt spray is like God to pageant contestants because of its ability to keep our swimsuit bottoms from riding up. We didn't know if anyone would have any on hand so we began searching for this oh-so-miraculous butt spray. One of the house mothers had a can of spray and I've never seen so many girls line up to have their butts sprayed with glue. It was my first time and I can't tell you how weird it is to have glue on your backside! LOL.

The swimsuit competition went really well! The judges took a moment to really warm up to us, but I still got out there and gave them my fierce walk and great smile (Tyra would have been so proud of me!). After our swimsuit walk, we immediately ran back to our dressing rooms and put on our evening gowns. Then we hit the stage again. And that was it! The prelims were over and after the event, we got to spend time with our friends and family, so I was able to be with my boyfriend for about an hour and then they ushered us to our rooms, where the house mothers did bed checks.

So that was Day 1! On to Day 2!

Latest Shoot: ELV Motors

Hey, all! I got some copies from one of my most recent shoots for a new innovative company called ELV Motors. In the effort to "go green," ELV Motors has come out with a collection of new scooters and electric bicycles. These aren't your ordinary scooters or bikes, either. To charge a scooter, it costs 10 cents. I believe it's about $1 a day to fully charge the scooter but get this: for each full charge, the scooter can run for 400 miles! Unfortunately, because it can only go between 20-30 mph, it is not intended for use on freeways but is great for getting around town and can be used on some highways. The electric bicycles have a built in motor and you can actually throttle the bike in order to get up steep climbs without pedaling. Pretty amazing stuff!

The shoot was on a Sunday and lasted all day. There were four other models in addition to myself and we started in the city of San Jose and then drove about 15 minutes to a town called Los Gatos and shot there for the remainder of the day. Needless to say, I learned how to ride a scooter! I feel very accomplished lol. And I spent most of the time on the electric bike, which was awesome! The shoot went well and we got some excellent pictures, which are going to be used on the company's website and promotional/marketing materials. The website is still being worked on but my photos are already on there, which is pretty sweet. If you want more info about ELV Motors and their products, you can check out: http://elvmotors.com/.

Here are some of my favorite flicks from the shoot. Enjoy!