Saturday, April 25, 2009

The Amazing Casting Call!


So, Friday morning Ashley and I set out to audition for the Race. I'm going to present what happened in 2 ways...summary and details.

In summary, it was an incredible exciting experience. Ashley is the true professional and coached me out of my fears into being comfortable and natural. We stepped infront of a camera with our time allotment of 1.5 minutes and, like the other 300 teams, answered one simple question, "Why do you think you should be on The Amazing Race?". When we were done, the next team was immediately shuffled in. There was no judging panel...only 1.5 minutes to knock the ball out of the park on film. Like the other teams, we have no idea if we made it, which makes sense. The Race team must review all the teams and reduce the field, etc. We do, however, know that there are additional "try-outs/interviews" if we're selected and that filming for Season 15 is set to begin this summer, which seems like a small window of time. We basically will know we've made it to the next round if or when someone contacts us.

Now the details...you just can't imagine! This is everything that happened.

You all know me as being pretty rigid when it comes to planning and preparing. Keep this in mind as you read on. My Friday morning started at about 2:45am, but the plan was for 3:30am, something about nervous anxiety. Since the casting call location was about a 1 hour drive, we planned to leave at 4:00am. We actually left around 4:20, so we were close! We arrived at the Harrah's Casino at 5:20 to find a line of people already there. Some looked like they had slept in their spots over-night...hmmm, must be serious auditioners! I did a quick head-count estimation and guessed that we would be somewhere around team #35 or so. While standing in line and listening/chatting, watching a few drunks (hoping they wouldn't barf), with other contestants someone mentioned "passport". Upon hearing this, I was instantly panic stricken. I immediately turned to Ashley and said, "Holy s##t, I forgot my passport!". Proof of valid passport or passport in process were application requirements. I'm of course instantly thinking that I've ruined our only opportunity and began with my typical mental thrashing, no excuses, beat myself up for being so careless, reasoning. I also began thinking of my different options...being resourceful is good. I checked with the casino staff and surprise, there is no such thing as a business office in a casino. I head out the door and begin the drive back home...again thinking of options. Ashley is left holding our spot in line. I'm maybe 10 minutes from the casino when Ashley calls to tell me that she couldn't get our audition number because I was not there and that we were being moved out of line. I cannot put into words how terrible I felt. I called my wife, it's now about 6:00am, and asked her if there was any way she could meet me half way and deliver my passport. After speaking with my wife, Ashley called again and told me to turn around and that we didn't need my passport to get the audition number, but would need it at the time of the audition. So, now I'm heading back to the casino with no passport and only one solid way, albeit very time consuming if needed, to get it. In the interim, I left voice messages for 2 people who are closely tied to the project I'm currently working on, since I had furnished a copy of my passport when the project began. Are you beginning to see the similarities to a real life Amazing Race? I get back to the casino and Ashley is first in line with a group of others who are in similar situations. We get our audition ticket number...86! Not bad considering! We start talking about options and I tell her I've left voicemails. We decided to check with the casino hotel to see if internet or fax access is available. Sure enough there is fax service and we're told there is a small printing company just down the street with fax and internet. If you don't carry a cell phone with internet access, here's another reason to do so. I was able to locate an email with my passport attached and now I only needed a place to print it, which was right down the street and opening soon. Feeling much better now, my phone rings and at the other end was Jennifer Smith (Aetea Information Technology) saying that she heard my voicemail and had my passport ready to fax. Talk about saving the day! I had what I needed within moments and was greatly relieved and thankful. We now had a couple of hours to kill until our audition number along with 49 others would be called.

Being the "ever planner" I start asking Ashley if maybe we should talk about what we wanted to say during the audition. "No, I'd rather not do that because what I'm going to say is going to floor you and I think it would be better to have you show your real reaction", she tells me. Hmmm...now I'm not only nervous because I don't have a plan but I'm also worried that she's considering me a terrible father! And then she adds, "Be careful what you ask for...". That was enough for me...I decided to wait and listen to my daughter the coach and somehow I completely put it out of my mind.

The next few hours were filled with laughs, phone calls from relatives, the casino breakfast buffet, and sizing up the competition, which my coach rated as "soft". We eavesdropped on a few teams to hear their stories and between the two of us did quite a bit of rolling our eyes. Our ticket (86) was called with 49 others around 10:15am and we were then herded into the "event center" where we would eventually be divided into "A" and "B" groups. While we were gradually winding our way through the queue, The Amazing Race host, Phil Koeghan, walked into the event center, as the area errupted to screams, whistles, cheers, and clapping. It was truly amazing. He grabs a microphone and is standing one arm's length from Ashley and I! I snapped a few photos of him (one is posted) as he spoke to us. Here's where this really gets interesting or maybe it's just fate or divine intervention...Phil Koeghan hushed the crowd and described his current adventure. He's riding his bike from California to New York to raise money for MS. That's right! Phil spent the next few minutes talking about the importance of charity and giving back. As you well know, this is exactly what Ashley and I are doing! Let's just say that we could hardly contain ourselves! It was like Phil Koeghan was actually promoting what we're going to do.

We were given our true audition number, B44, and told to wait in a conference room with an ambient temperature of 47 degrees. And wait we did, along with shivering, and wondering what to expect when our number was finally called.

The moment of truth came at around 11:15am. Team B44 was moved into a sequestered room. While there, we listened to an "A" team make their pitch. The dude was doing all the talking and then suddenly stopped. It seemed like a problem to me and I looked to Ashley and she said silence kills. I immediately understood.

About 1 minute later we were moved to the "B" team audition room and found 2 women and professional video equipment. We were mic'd up, set into position, and told we had a minute and a half to answer one question, "Why do you think you should be on The Amazing Race?". I have to tell you that I am the most fortunate of contestants because of what happened next. Ashley went into professional overdrive and delivered the most incredible reason for being on the Race. She basically said that even though I'm her father she never really understood how controlling I am until we starting working on the Race...all the texts, emails, phone calls, conversations, etc. And, as she predicted, I was floored, I was shocked. She went on with this focus and tied in the "forgotten passport" to boot! And, just as if she were telling me this over coffee, I'm looking into the camera and actually couldn't stop myself from saying, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe you just said that!". I went on further, "Well, now that that's been brought to light, being on the Race will help me to learn to allow Ashley to be more on the same level as me and I now realize that I've been an overbearing father...". There was much more and as I slowed Ashley jumped in and talked of our other reason for wanting to do the Race...the opportunity for charity. She tied our charity decision directly to Phil's ride for charity. Truly a perfect transition and relation. She mentioned this blog without stuttering or pausing, mentioned Facebook, and I threw in a few numbers, and we were done.

I can say, without a doubt, that two very positive signs occured during our filming: first, we were given more than the alloted 1.5 minutes. I know this because the 3 minute video that we produced with the application contained 1 minute and 23 seconds of charity dialog (essentially the same details) alone...now add in the other parts. Secondly, I glanced briefly at the Race crew during our audition and both were focused in and smiling at us. I believe that if we had wanted to continue talking they would have allowed us...they waited for us to stop before coming over to us and removing the mics. We left high-fiving and excited because we really felt we had hit the ball out of the park. Everything seemed to go perfectly even though the planner was not in control! We couldn't come up with anything that went wrong during the filming and could only come up with how right things were, like Phil's charity, the passport, Ashley's jaw-dropping reason and my natural reaction.

That's it and this is where this Race story ends, at least for now, but hopefully not permanently. All in all, this was a ton of fun and a great experience. I am truly the luckiest father to have such a daughter. Ashley coached me and never doubted me either. Simply put...she's just perfect! The time together will always be a great memory.

If you'd like to see Ashley's latest musical performance, she has a role in "Sunday in the Park With George", which is playing at the Prairie Lakes Theater, Des Plaines, IL, weekends through May 17th.

Lastly, thank you for supporting Ashley and I. It has filled our hearts with joy. We will definitely update this blog if/when we hear from the Race.

--Mark & Ashley

Monday, April 20, 2009

Down To The Wire!

Well...we're now "down to the wire" with getting ready for The Amazing Race casting call on Friday, just a few days away. It's doubtful Mark will get any sleep between now and then...thank goodness for Ashley!

Over the weekend we created our 3 minute video that will be submitted as part of the overall application package. A couple of segments have been posted here for your viewing pleasure, along with a few "out-takes". We decided not to post the entire video...don't want to jinx our chances! We also completed each of our 13 page written applications, extra photos, and passport requirements. The video was a lot of fun and was done completely ad-lib. Ashley is completely comfortable and it really shows, while "Get over it, Mister" was pretty much the mantra of the morning!

As far as what we'll be doing during the casting call, we have no idea...seriously. All we know is that on the CBS website it says, "Think you have the chops to be on the show?". Could be anything, but most likely it will be an opportunity for us to prove to CBS why we should be on the show or what sets us apart from other teams. We'll see.

This will more than likely be the last posting until after the casting call. Hopefully, the posting after Friday will be full of exciting news on how we're moving to the next level.

Thank you for supporting us!







Thursday, April 9, 2009

Eats and Things!

First the eats...

As with any team, team members are recognized for the "stand-out" talents and, well, weaknesses too...an easy concept to understand and exploit! All successful teams work to minimize their weaknesses. Our team, though comprised of just the two of us, fits into the same mold. As such, Ashley has been hard at work learning to "eat" things that she has sworn to never put in her mouth...like yogurt (check out the video below)! You see, when we decided to take a try at this we very quickly sorted out our strengths and weaknesses and Ashley immediately offered that there was no way she could do anything related to heights, like bungee jumping, sky diving, hang gliding, etc., so Mark, being equally fearful of heights took those but only under the condition that Ashley do the eating challenges, with the single exception of eggs.



Next...the question of taxes...

So the question came up regarding taxes from game show winnings. After contacting an accountant, we are much better educated as to who really gets what. Guess it's not surprising that the IRS (Treasury Department) and Illinois Department of Revenue want as much as they can get. What is surprising is how they go about confiscating it. Below is the email question to Mark's accountant and the accountant's response.

Mark: "Tax question: What are the tax ramifications if I participate in a game show, win, and then donate 1/2 the cash prizes to charity? For example, if I win $500,000 and give $250,000 away to charity, then I'd only be taxed on the remaining portion - $250,000, correct?"

Guido (Accountant - CPA, MTA): "That’s correct in a normal setting, but we’re talking IRS here. The state of Illinois would tax the entire $500,000. The IRS would allow you to deduct the contribution but because your income was so high they would limit the amount you could deduct, therefore, the $250,000 deduction might be $200,000. Additionally, there is the Alternative Minimum Tax in which case you might only get to deduct $100,000. But what the hell you’d have been on TV and had your 15 minutes of fame and still have some money left over."

Meaning, using the worse case scenario, accounting for taxes, and the highest tax rate (2009), our donations will be reduced...unfortunately.



Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Team - We're Making Progress

And now, introducing the father/daughter team...to beat! This pic is from our father and daughter dance during Ashley's wedding.


Here's the latest: We've each talked with charities and found that one of the larger organizations requires us to be chosen contestants to use their name. Another, smaller organization, is in dire need...a sign of the economy.

The plan for this week is to complete our applications, apply for a passport (Ashley), begin physical training (Mark may know a few things here) and continue to review charities.

If you haven't already done so, please sign up to follow this blog, that way, when we update the blog you're automatically sent an email. We're not collecting emails and we're not selling any junk, we just want to stay in contact with you...easily...and we're on a short time-line.


Thanks...more info to follow!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

What It's All About - We're Just Getting Started!

So you've landed on this blog and you're wondering what it's all about. This is about having fun, providing awareness, and giving to charity.

We're father and daughter and have been fans of the CBS network show "The Amazing Race". The Amazing Race chronicles the travels of teams as they traverse the globe in an effort to finish first and claim prizes. The team that finishes the race first after all legs of their predetermined journey wins a million dollars.

Here's the rub for us. With the global economic crisis that has led to falling charitable donations, we have decided that should we win we will donate half our cash prize to charity and or research. That's right...if we finish first $500,000.00 will be donated to charity and/or research.

Here are the charities we are considering but will make a final decision on prior to our casting call:
  • Make A Wish Foundation
  • Alzheimer's Association
  • Special Olympics
  • Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
  • The American Red Cross
  • The Salvation Army

This will be a first for The Amazing Race with contestants donating winnings to charity or research.

We will also be challenging The Amazing Race to match all dollars contributed as a result of this race season.

And lastly, we will be asking you to support the cause(s) that we support by making a donation...whatever you can afford. Look for links in the future to make those donations.

We're just getting started and our next steps are to make sure that we have all required documentation available and completed. We also have a casting call that is scheduled for April 24, 2009.

--Mark & Ashley