Go ME!

I know everyone's wondering about how the Argo cheerleading tryouts went because I've been telling the story about 5 times over and I've been asked 20 times, so here I go with the story ... in timeline form because I'm sore all over and it hurts to sit.

6:00 am: I woke up at this ungodly hour. I don't think I've woken up before the sun has risen since college and I had to make sure I made my 8 am exam on time.

6:45 am: I had to chase the bus to get to the subway ... morning jog completed.

7:50 am: Met the girls at the tryouts. There were girls there already, but not as many as I had anticipated. They had us sign in and fork over our headshots and $20 (which of all things, I forgot to bring. Thanks for covering, Whit.). Kaitlyn also brought her friend to the tryouts (her name is lost on me right now). We got our randomly chosen numbers (I was known as #86 for the day) and I felt like I was auditioning for American Idol or So You Want to Be a Cheerleader or something. They kept playing that new irritating Janet Jackson song and I remember stating that if we had to dance to this song I would be pissed off. Guess what? My bad karma kicked in. I heard Janet Jackson's 'Feedback' 50,000 times throughout the day.

8:15-12:30 am: They filed us all into a theatre which had ample space for us to all learn the audition routine. Kaitlyn knew the choreographer and apparently she had told Kaitlyn that the routine was easy. I questioned this chick's definition of 'easy'. If your muscles become sore after doing it three times, is that 'easy'? The routine was OK but very stiff (which is basically how a cheerleader dances). I didn't particularly like the way the choreographer was teaching us the dance because she didn't seem to know it herself, which ultimately caused me to learn a few of the moves incorrectly. But we got through it and I learned it, sorta.

We were given two hours to rehearse the dance. I've never danced so hard. Actually, the last time I danced that hard was probably for ChinKL. I wondered why I ever missed those days. By the time the final audition came, my arms felt so heavy.

2:30 am: Showtime. The auditions were done in randomly chosen pairs. Of course, everyone was hella nervous. The hardest part for me, as it is all the time, is memorization. The only way I can memorize something profoundly is if I'm given at least 2 days. But of course, I was only given 2 hours and I soon realized I'm not as in shape as I thought I was. And with my luck, I was auditioning with another chick who had no idea what she was doing. You just looked at her and knew she followed her friend to the audition (she did), so I couldn't follow her when I completely blanked out.

Now, I don't usually get stage fright. In highschool, I was very comfortable on stage and performing. I'm not sure if I blanked out then because I had stage fright or because my memory just especially sucks under pressure. Or maybe it was a combination of both. I did the first part fine and then ... blank. The thing is, these auditions are not based on whether or not you can remember the routine. They were more based on how you presented and carried yourself. In fact, about half the girls who auditioned did in fact, forget the routine. The point was to keep going and make yourself seem as though the entire thing was natural. So I think I made my major mistake in stopping and asking if I could start all over. I should never have done that. But I did it. Whatever. I managed to finish, but I knew doing 5% of the dance was not enough. They were stupid if they picked me.

And you want to know the most stupid thing? I could not stop running the entire routine in my head all day today. I hate my life. The routine isn't even really that hard (but not 'easy'), just hard to learn. Here's a clip of some of the other girls practicing:

The way the auditions went was this: that day was the preliminaries. If you got chosen to go on, you would move on to the Interview Stage, which takes place throughout the week. If you passed that, then you would move on to the Final Audition, which is next weekend in which family and friends can watch.

So we had to wait for them to go through all the girls (two by two) before they announced which numbers would go on to the Interview Stage.

2:32 pm - 4 pm: This is how long it took for them to do the rest of the girls and deliberate. At this point, we are so tired, bored and in pain. I was sooooo sore. I had not been this sore since I first started snowboarding, years ago. Honestly, my entirely body ached and still does today. I had even stretched extensively before and after. Not to mention I had to sit on a concrete floor. It was so excruciating.

At this point, I'm also contemplating whether or not I really wanted this to begin with. If I was chosen to move on, I would've seriously contemplated on accepting because I realized how demanding it was both physical and time (practices are twice a week for three hours!) and the timetable conflicts I would have with school and work. In the end, I realized it would be more of a relief if I didn't get it, so that I would not have that dilemma.

And guess what? This was the longest rejection I ever had to wait for! LOL.

"Thank god!" was what I said when I didn't see my number on the board. Big relief for me. I didn't even feel that bad that I didn't get it. I just wanted my bed.

However, the great news was, Kaitlyn and Whitney got to move on! It was great because out of the four of us who tried out, those two probably wanted it the most. Kaitlyn had always wanted to do it but was never old enough and Whitney had always wanted to be a cheerleader. So, kudos to them! I can't wait to see them perform that god-foresaken routine with that annoying-ass song. Good luck, ladies!

I'm really glad I tried out, as painful (physically) as it was. I know alot of people didn't have a whole lot of faith with me in the whole thing (even if they didn't say so explicitly) but guess what? This experience isn't going to stop me from trying out next time or for other teams. Kaitlyn's friend and I are even discussing trying out for the Raptors' Dance Pak, which is more hip hop-based than the Argos' Cheer team and it is more our style. So that will be another experience on its own. I think they might be in June or something. I just have to learn to learn quickly.

Whitney, on her audition (and doin' her thang):

Oh yeah, and I think her picture is going to be in The Toronto Star.

After the auditions, we scrambled to a restaurant for food and alcohol because we had been bitching about it the entire time we were waiting on that cold, concrete floor. We celebrated with some shopping and finally dragged our tired asses home.

Oh, one interesting little story to add:

As we were waiting at a red light, Kaitlyn's friend suddenly yelled, "Oh my god!" and she pointed to the car next to us. There was a guy looking at us and licking his car window and jerking off. That was gross... who knows how dirty that window was?? *sigh* That's the kinda price you have to pay to be a cheerleader. Only in Toronto. ^_^