I’m a day behind on posting, so I will do Days 2 and 3 together.
Yesterday (Day 2) I looked up the Amazing Race Wiki. You can find it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Race
Here are the teams for this coming season (23): http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/amazing-race-season-23-teams-615327
Here is the application: http://www.theamazingracecasting.com/howtoapply
This is going to be the key part: Short Bio of Team (Up to 70 Words), focus on Relationship Positives and Negatives (plus the video). We can get Prashant to make the video look great – but how to work it? Our story: We met when interns at Lucasfilm and hit it off – maybe because we were at least 10 years older than anyone else in the program! :-) R went back to be a minister on the East Coast. I was a “big firm” lawyer. I moved on from there to in-house, then having my own law firm, plus 3 books (about being a Bond Girl, and about Passive Income), getting married. R moved from East to West Coast, need to get the rest of the story. We kept in touch via email. This was back in 1993 or 1994 (can’t remember which) so we’ve been friends for HOLY COW that means 20 years but we haven’t really “seen one another” more than a handful of times in person (definitely less than 10 – even when we were at Lucasfilm). I’m pretty sure that’s right. We knew when we met we would “rescue each other out of a Mexican jail” – funny how you know that sometimes when you first meet. R came up and video’d my wedding – I helped fund her first pre-Kickstarter-esque movie.
It’s an odd story, that’s for sure.
That’s enough for Day 2. Day 3 – walked 2 miles, inner thigh still hurts when I try to run. Thought a lot again about Crossfit. Depressed at being in such terrible shape, even though I’ve run a bunch of marathons in the last year. I think I said that in the last post. My shoulder still twinges, and of course, I’m “over 50” (how’d THAT happen?) Talked with Robert about getting another “functional fitness” assessment and he said he’d videotape me (now how depressing will THAT be?!) Need to work on strength.
Here are the “requirements” from the last Amazing Race “intake” in San Francisco:
http://cbssanfran.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/amazing_race_affiliate_eligibility_requirements.pdf
Yes I know I should be using snazzy embedded links, but right now just trying to get this all down in one place. This really is more by way of a “running diary” than anything else (and for me and R to keep track that we’re each doing something for the next 365 to try to get ourselves there).
As for the video, here are some great links to consider when the time comes:
The Casting Director on what she’s looking for:
The Amazing Race Casting Video (what makes a great video – and here we go, can’t be longer than 3 minutes. Is that 3 minutes each or together? DANG if together that doesn’t give us a lot of time! Yup – just read it – 3 minutes together. Yikes!):
http://www.theamazingracecasting.com/Video
One thing these stress is don’t say how much you need the money; how much you want to travel; etc. I think that we have it there. I think that, instead, we stress that every show has to have the folks that try really hard but don’t make the cut. Not everyone can be #1, and we’d love to be #11! That might be a really funny way to play it. I think that would get their attention. However, you do have to be competitive and strong-willed, but maybe we can play up the “Old age and treachery will always win out against youth and skill” angle too. Think about this . . . Could be hilarious.
This is the guide for Amazing Race Australia, but has some great tips:
http://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-amazing-race-australia/about-the-show/article/-/10030299/
I actually see us cutting together a video with the 2 of us on either 1/2 of the screen. (Prashant can do this for us). I also see us working (they say they like that), emailing each other, maybe a “shot over the shoulder” where one of us is on the computer and in the bottom corner, the other’s message on Facebook pops up…I think that is really something that would get their attention. That will be different. That can also be one of our “this could be a real problem” things – e.g., what happens when we’re 4 weeks together? We don’t really know whether we’ll drive one another crazy, though we’ve known each other for 20 years! (NOTE: I snore, R!)
Here are a bunch of videos that say that they got callbacks (I understand from my cousin Robin that Chris and James – our cousins – got to the semis apparently – so I need to contact them and see what they sent!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4aJXQ79yxI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqNFZwNdjtE
Tips on how to get on Amazing Race (from a couple who didn’t get on, but has a lot of “why we did not get on” to their blog):
http://www.radicalparenting.com/2009/12/21/7-tips-on-how-to-apply-to-the-amazing-race/
Great overall explanation of what’s involved:
http://brucepena.hubpages.com/hub/The-Amazing-Race-So-You-Want-To-Be-A-Contestant
In the above (really very good) the “Skills, Attributes, and Hang-ups” is VERY GOOD. I can drive a standard car (and I could brush up on how to drive a motorcycle – I have a license but it’s about 20 years old!) I’m not strong AT ALL and don’t know about R – my guess is, not so much. I remember some of the skills needed in a couple of the last years and they DEFINITELY required strength. That’s part of doing this 365 day thing – I really want to have somewhere to say “Yes, I am working on that” and then record it. As for languages, I do okay in German, I do okay with French, I have taken Japanese and passed a fluency test in 1993 (!!! Before most of the contestants were born !!!). One thing this says that an all-female team has never one, and one with the contestants over 46 has never won. That’s OK. I’d like to do the best we can but I don’t have the actual thought we’d WIN. I just think it would be a blast to TRY.
Yeah Yeah Yoda, “There is Do or Not Do, There Is No Try.” Shut the F up. LOL!
It also says that you shouldn’t have too many hangups (food related issues behind high on them . . . wonder if being allergic to fish and to peanuts is going to axe us – ??? Hell I’ll eat crickets but don’t wipe me out with a flounder frittata LOL). Also says that you’re likely to do stuff at heights (we know that – R can do it LOL) and also must know how to swim WELL. I got that, not sure about R. I was thinking about that. I wonder if you can bring swim goggles?
This makes me want to get Lasik next year even more . . . .
Need to practice paddling a canoe. We can do that. I remember paddling with H and we went around and around. Yeah, I need to practice that. :-) Says you have to practice both together and separately – I guess if we get on, R is going to have to come up here and we are going to have to get some practice in!
I really wonder if they would take us if our “game” is that we have been friends for 20 years but haven’t really seen one another more than a handful of times, in person.
This article was good for comic relief:
http://www.travelfreak.com/2012/09/28/my-experience-auditioning-for-the-amazing-race/
I think that’s enough for today. Well, almost. The closest Crossfit Gym to me is TJ’s down on the Miracle Mile. I don’t feel particularly “ready” to do Crossfit, since before I went to the Vienna Marathon, I did a month (3x/wk) with a Crossfit coach from Tam Crossfit and I SUCKED. I mean suuuu-uuuuucked! It was seriously pathetic. HOWEVER, I do believe this is the best workout to get you strong, and I think strong is what we need.
Here is the website for TJ’s: http://tjsgym.com/sanrafael.html
I think that I have to call them tomorrow, as one of my Day 4 things to do. It’s pricey, and I don’t have that sort of “throw around” cash. I also am already a member at the JCC, and Robert (the functional fitness guy) has said I should work out with him – and he’s likely right. The interesting thing with Robert is that he said he’d do a video of the workout – which could be SUPER helpful, if I were to do it at home. I have to explore all options – I like the Crossfit idea because my friend Kat does it, and it’s a “group” of people. She’s at Tam CrossFit, because apparently when she joined the Crossfit community, she had dated a guy at TJ’s, plus she liked the (female) owner at Tam Crossfit better. TJ’s is just SO much easier for me to get to – if I am really motivated I can walk or run up and over The Hill to get there. I’d have to drive to Tam Crossfit – or it’s a long run (I did that when I was training with the trainer there).
You can see how expensive it is here – http://tjsgym.com/gettingstarted.html – 4 “private sessions” for nearly $300 – ?? Lord almighty.
Here is another Crossfit in my area (Crossfit Marin/Corte Madera in “The Cave”) – that one is definitely a drive for sure: http://www.crossfitmarin.com/ – they don’t seem to have an email address but here’s their number: (415) 927-1630 (“call to schedule your 5 required sessions” before you start). Aha – found their email. I sent them a plaintive email. We’ll see what they say.
Here is the website for Tam Crossfit (This is where Kat works out): http://www.tamcrossfit.com/crossfit-schedule-pricing/
They have “On Ramp” classes – 3 classes for $75. Ok that is WAY BETTER than the pricing (mentioned above) at TJ’s. (No idea what The Cave costs). They have M/W/F classes at both 9:30 a.m. and at noon (though if I keep going to Yoga at 1:30 that doesn’t work so well on Mondays). It’s $180/month if you get 6 months – so that’s less than Greg’s House of Steel was (I paid $100 less there and I still was paying more than $180/month).
Here’s their Getting Started page: http://www.tamcrossfit.com/get-started-now/
I think that this might be the cheapest Crossfit around . . . Hmmmm. Maybe I need to revise my thoughts on TJ’s v Tam. (TJ’s is closer, but if the “On Ramp” sessions are more than 300% as expensive dot dot dot)
Here’s their video: http://www.tamcrossfit.com/best-of-the-bay/
It looks like there might be an “On Ramp” starting on September 7th. If I could do the 3 classes while H is away, that might not be a bad idea. OK, I guess I will ask Kat.
And that is enough for Day 3!
POSTSCRIPT: I messaged James, and he said that he and Chris did one of the “show up” calls for Amazing Race – they were told to submit a video, but never did. When I said that R and I were thinking of applying, he said “Lol well play up your ironman/ pole dancing/ lawyer and you never know!! I’ll be rooting for you.”
I forgot about the pole dancing….