I am back from Denver training! Flew out tuesday afternoon - hassled at the airport for not meeting the liquid requirements. Two security dudes held me up forever, afraid I was going to be late. One was a total jackass the other was really cool - so I told him all about the fiesta movement, he already knew a little bit about the fiesta coming to the US in a year!
Plane was late taking off nearly an hour - here's where the stress level continues to build - I had my fingers crossed that my driver would be waiting for me! Made it in only 30 minutes late, we made up for time during the flight.
Hotel. Was. Gorgeous. I got to my room opened the door and saw a huge, contemporary, funky suite. Was sad I wouldn't be spending more time in there!
We met downstairs, 8 of us total, went out to a delicious dinner, everyone was so laid back and nice! We learned all about the fiesta movement, how to navigate our online contributions, media, etc. Let me just say: THIS THING IS HUGE. I mean, I knew it was when I signed on to do this - but you don't quite grasp the magnitude of it until you get there. WHAT a once in a lifetime chance! We got some swag which included addidas sneakers, sony webbie (orange for me) cams, and fiesta movement t shirts.
The majority of the group were guys. I was the only "youtube celeb/personality". The rest were mainly car enthusiasts. Isn't it wild how the fiestamovement has brought so many people together and interested? With the fiestamovement.com site up we're able to share our own personal sites and footage. We all want to drive this car / be involved in the movement for so many different reasons! Out of 4,000 entries the 100 agents chosen are so diverse - we cover quite a span of ages, careers and interests. Each training session sounded like it was tons of fun with all sorts of personalities and vibes.
Totally cool. Gatherings like these would never happen otherwise.
I never have a spare moment and after working hard all week I was beat by the time we went back to the hotel. I thought I'd want to hit the town, but I opted for a bottle of red wine via room service and an Ichat with Dave.
Early morning wednesday. Breakfast. Learned more about the car itself. Checked out & headed to the racetrack. Everyone had the hot magenta or lime. Most had graphics, but I had opted for none on "Rosalita"...little Rosie for short. Lunch then learned how to drive a stick!! I was trained by a professional - and while I learned from the best, I knew I would not want to risk driving it on my own the first day. I want to be 110% confident before I'm around other cars.
My instructor drove me to the airport (after 3 laps around the track like bats outta hell where he drove and I tried not to cry, pass out & throw up a little) where Dave had flown in to drive the new car for me and we headed home from there.
I love Rosalita! She's so tiny - she looks like a little pink space age bubblemobile from the outside, but inside you don't feel like you're in a small car. It's so comfortable and gorgeous! We stopped for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Laramie, Wyoming called Corona Town? Corona Ville? It's like the only thing off of the freeway exit with nothing around it and it's huge! Totally packed with other people passing through.
Stopped for gas and I accidentally told poor Dave the wrong type of gas (what can I say, It'd been a long day) and we were so confused trying to find a station with the right kind / nozzle. Duh. Figured that out. A few hours later we stopped for gas again, got the see cashier sign and went inside only to wait forever since their systems were down. Decided to go to the next gas station across the street, drove literally for 10 seconds and right when we pulled up to the pump? Flashing police lights behind us. Driving with no headlights- which we hadn't realized - but no ticket, got to tell the cop about the fiestamovement and gave him a business card. He seemed excited to check it out! Ha ha ha.
By then it was a little before midnight when we realized we were too beat to go through the night and should probably just stay. Found a Best Western. Geez, what a downgrade from the night before :) It was totally smelly but I was so happy to sleep. When I laid down I felt like I was still moving after being in a car so long. Good thing I don't get motion sickness! Next thing I knew, alarm went off at 7 am and we were off again. Stopped for breakfast and finally made it back to SLC.
I'm totally delirious. I have so much to do it's not even funny. I still squeezed in another driving lesson, this time with my dad and it was so much fun. I felt like I was really getting the hang of it. Still not ready for the road, but a lot more confident that I will be able to. I'm not gonna push it, I'm going to take my time and practice! I never thought I'd learn how or want to learn how to drive a stick. Never say never!
I've given up on the fact I won't be up for a workout. I took a nap instead. Gotta work on my script later & get back into the swing of things this weekend.
PS I missed my baby dog so much! My mom stayed at our house with him and I have been kissing and hugging him like crazy all day. We're bundled in a blanket as I type this and he's sleeping...
(I'll post pictures of the last couple days sometime this weekend!)
Rehearsals, photoshoots and lots of video projects coming up!
Goodnight! zzzzzzzz
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