Hello, readers! I'm in my hotel room getting ready to pack up and get back on the road to head back home to the Bay Area. I'm a bit tired and a little under the weather (my voice keeps going away and coming back--I think it's the bad LA air!) but I have more memories to add to my experience in this pageant competition.
Yesterday were the media events for the Miss California USA pageant contestants. We all met in downtown Los Angeles at 9:30am to board the bus. There was about 50 girls that showed up, which was really cool. We received free shirts advertising the stores we were visiting. Our first stop was Inta Gems & Diamonds, which is the official jeweler for the Miss California USA Pageant. We wore baby blue t-shirts with the name of the store and the pageant, along with jeans of our choice and heels. We also got to wear our sashes for the first time with our titles on it, which was exciting. Double-sided tape is going to be my best friend during this pageant because unless you have broad shoulders, the sash will slip off.
When the bus pulled up to the Inta Gems & Diamonds store in the heart of LA's jewelry district, we waited on board while we received last minute instructions from the pageant director, Keith. Since the store is owned by a Chinese family, the Chinese press were the main ones there. We each stepped off the bus and took a lot of pictures with the store's owners and staff out front. It was a pretty amazing feeling to have all those photographers and videographers shooting and yelling to get our attention. What a rush! Eventually some people in the public started taking pictures as well. We didn't do any interviews so mostly we just smiled and looked pretty haha. You wouldn't believe the amount of diamonds the store owner's wife was wearing! Wow, talk about bling! She was adorable, though, and everyone there was very polite. After the picture ops, we got to go inside the store and look at all the beautiful gems and diamonds they had on display. The owner even gave each of us a free gem as a thank you gift for visiting! I chose an amethyst gem since that is my birthstone. After shaking hands and thanking Inta Gems & Diamonds for their hospitality, we got back onto the bus and headed to Melrose for our second and last appearance of the day.
We arrived at a new clothing store called Imperial Palace. While on the bus we changed into our white and silver t-shirts sporting Imperial Palace. After stepping off the bus we once again took a score of pictures alongside the store's owners and the reigning queens. Shanna Moakler also came along for the ride with us. She is so sweet and acted like the den mother. We got to tour the store and they served us appetizers and drinks. They also added us to their special guest list so that they can keep in touch and tell us of special discounts and sales within their store. They sell the coolest shirts and pants, along with accessories. It's a fun store and I hope they do really well.
Unfortunately, the same day we were doing our press events was during the same time as three other celebrity filled events around Los Angeles so our media was minimal but it was still a good opportunity for exposure and Keith said he would make sure we received clippings of the media events and our group pictures so I'll be sure to post those as soon as I get them.
Our pictures are also up on the official Miss California USA website (www.misscaliforniausa.com), where you can see not only my picture but the rest of my competition as well. I've included my official pageant picture along with this post. I'm really happy with it and I believe it is also the same one that is going to be used in the program book.
While it's been fun here in Los Angeles, I am itching to get home and continue to plan my outfits and prep for the pageant. The clock is ticking and I'm ready to take the crown!
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