11 Days and a Shameful Confession

Almost a year ago, I watched the newest season of American Idol from the comfort of my mother's living room. I saw an older gentleman with long hair and bell bottoms prepare himself to perform on my television. I sniggered and made a hippie joke, waiting for him to massacre "Drift Away" and provide me with comedy, as so many on this show can be counted on to do. Imagine my shock and horror when it turned out that the hippie was talented. And not just in a Kelly Clarkson "Not my thing but I can totally understand why she won" sort of way, but rather in a "Hey, I might not mind checking out his stuff" way. I was unsure of how to deal with this ironic turn of events. I turned to the bottle to drown my shame. I didn't know how else to deal with the pain. Soon, I had alienated my friends, boyfriend, and family. I didn't know how to reconcile the person I thought I was with the person I am. Okay, okay, I didn't turn into an alcoholic. I did something even worse...

I voted.



I knew it was wrong, I knew it meant admitting that I cared, but I had a mission. To keep Bo Bice on my television for as long as possible. Or at least longer than Constantine.

This new, unironic, enjoyment of a contestant was a totally new sensation. Soon I began to look up bits of information on the internet and would freak out if my mom would forget to tape the show, an action I had never minded in the least before. It got so bad that I reconsidered taking a trip overseas when I realized it had been scheduled the week of the Idol finale. I devoted time to inquiring whether or not there were any establishments in the whole of London that might be showing the program via sattelite. We couldn't find one and I was forced to take drastic measures. You don't know rock bottom until you've sat in a home office in London refreshing CNN.com every 5 minutes until they finally report who won. It was the lowest point of my life. Until this summer, when I watched Rock Star: INXS and to my despair developed a huge crush on one of the contestants.

I am a loser.

Oh well.

Gina