Well, hey there folks!
And happy Monday, June 10th to all of you!
Thank you for being patient as I took last week off from blogging.
But, this week I’m back in full swing ready to write some words for you!
So, thank you for continuing to come back and follow along!
Let’s get down to business.
Travel back with me to 3/30/23…
I happened to be in an afternoon meeting with my team at Webstaurantstore when I received a text message from an 818 number.
Naturally, not knowing who it was, I opened it and almost peed my pants (well maybe I did a little) from excitement! The text read:
“Hi JP! My name is Felicia and I am a Casting Associate Producer at Wheel of Fortune. We received your application! I know it’s been a while, so if you are still interested in being considered, please give us a call back ASAP to go through some preliminary questions.”
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
I of course am still interested.
Funny thing about this moment is that I messaged one of my coworkers on Teams about looking up the individual to ensure it wasn’t a joke. Because…funny story…many, many years ago I played a joke on people stating I had an audition for Wheel of Fortune when I really didn’t.
But, low and behold, everything checked out.
I excitedly told my teammates in the meeting and called the number to talk with Felicia and answer some questions.
I scheduled a virtual Zoom audition for April 3rd.
The day of the audition, I was SWEATING.
Literally. SWEATING.
I got to audition with two other ladies where we played practice toss up puzzles and had the opportunity to talk about ourselves as if we were talking to Pat.
Then, after that, we were put in individual rooms where we were given 16 puzzles in 4 categories. Select letters were already showing and we had to solve as many as possible!
What an exciting rush.
I don’t remember a whole lot from that day except feeling like I did pretty good with everything and being told by Alex (the wonderful contestant coordinator lady who auditioned me) telling me that we would hear possibly in a few weeks or months.
Great, sounded perfect.
Well, weeks and months past.
I eventually kind of gave up hope to be honest.
Then, out of the blue, on March 25, I received another text message that read:
“Hi JP! This is Lauren, the Contestant Manager from Wheel of Fortune! I sent you an email regarding a status update. When you have a moment, please take a look and reply. Look forward to hearing from you.”
I was leaving work at the Lititz Apothecary and went to my car to read the email.
I SCREAMED.
Legit left out a high pitched girl scream.
The email asked if I was available to come to Los Angeles for a taping in a week.
I immediately called both Marissa and my mom to share the exciting news and sent a few texts.
I was DYING.
After almost a year, it felt like my dream was coming true.
Marissa and I booked our flights, got hotel reservations confirmed, and realized that this childhood dream of mine was in fact becoming a reality.
For the next week, I continued to watch old episodes on Pluto TV while having my coworkers quiz me with the daily desktop puzzle calendar I have.
The reality still wasn’t hitting me.
Even as I was flying on the plane to LA, it seemed…unreal.
Oh…did I mention that I was told I would get to be part of Pat Sajak’s FINAL WEEK OF HOSTING WHEEL OF FORTUNE AFTER 41 YEARS?!
Because…yeah…that was also a thing.
INSANE.
The Thursday included a brief walk to Olive Garden across from our hotel, a few naps, dinner at the restaurant in the hotel, and some sleep before the big taping day.
I woke up early to shower, prep, and get myself ready.
I was sweating SO bad that I actually asked Marissa to dry my armpits with a hair dryer.
That is a true story.
I got in an Uber and made my way to the studio.
I had the pleasure of meeting other contestants that were invited out to the studio to tape and after about 30 minutes, we were taken into the Jeopardy studio where we would spend a majority of the day.
When I walked in, I had the opportunity to hug Alex (who was the contestant coordinator who auditioned me) who mentioned that they had held on to me for almost a year for this week.
The love I felt in that moment was surreal.
We were told that all of us were hand-picked for this week because of our auditions, so the feeling in my soul was so surreal.
We were briefed on the rules of the game and had our chance to get hair and make-up done with some fabulous people.
Vanna White also snuck in to give us a little pep talk and reminded us to buy our vowels.
We walked over to the studio for Wheel of Fortune to see the set for the first time of this final week and all of us were in awe.
It was beautiful.
Also, fun fact…
The wheel is 2400lbs!
Which is why we get multiple opportunities to spin it.
Everyone has the chance to play a practice round and spin the wheel around each other as we cheer, clap, and smile.
It was unreal.
Then, we made our way back to the Jeopardy set where we were told who would be playing what game.
I heard my name called for Game 3 with Nonie and Allison.
IT’S HAPPENING!
I got to sit in the audience and cheer on my fellow colleagues and contestant friends until it was time to head back to get touch up on our hair and make-up.
(I also had to freshen up my deodorant because I literally couldn’t stop sweating). Good thing my green velvet blazer would get to cover that all on TV.
After the final touches, we were brought out to the studio where we got to our spots and were told by Stage Manager, Jimmy to have fun and enjoy the moments.
SO true.
It is the quickest 22 minutes of your life.
BUT WHAT A THRILL.
And even though I didn’t come in first, I got to show America my personality and I played a DAMN good game.
I solved every single toss up puzzle and walked away with a total of $14,000–just $400 short of the winner, Allison.
Honestly, I still don’t feel like this whole thing is real.
I was on national TV.
WHAT?!
When am I getting my talk show contract?!
JK JK JK JK…
…Although kind of not really.
I can’t even begin to describe how thankful and grateful I am to have had the opportunity for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I thank every single person who had a hand in this journey for me and all the love and support that I felt before, during, and after the experience.
It is humbling to say the least.
This MOMENTOUS OCCASION was better than being a DANCE CHAPERONE, more delicious than a SUPERFOOD SMOOTHIE, and something I thought was REALLY FAR AWAY until I discovered I’M HALFWAY THERE and WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE to this childhood dream and experience I will never soon forget.
Sprinkle sunshine always,
JP!
Mr. Sunshine Smiles 