Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

American Idol aired auditions this week from Omaha and Miami.

A very strange Goth chick auditioned in Omaha, looking more like a bad Cosplayer than a potential finalist, in a gray turtleneck, long black trench coat and severe eye makeup.

She clearly wanted camera time, doing things like fake fighting with Ryan Seacrest and demonstrating her sinister laugh. Naturally, her audition was horrible. Then again, maybe she knew that.

And there was a guy who was so friendly and enthusiastic that, even though his singing was terrible, they promised to speak to the local FOX affiliate about making him a local correspondent for coverage of this year's finale parties.

But in addition to the usual crew of bad auditions, there were some positive stories, such as the talented single mother who hopes this opportunity will improve their lives. And there were two very spirited, talented large women who flirted outrageously with the guys and were put through to Hollywood.

One guy claimed to have once been in a boy band. But maybe he was prettier then, because his voice wasn't spectacular. He did advance to the next round, though.

In Miami, they encountered a very strange guy who claimed to also be a comedian. However, his attempt at humor was as bad as his singing. It was sort of a self-conscious Damon Wayan imitation that truly fell flat. And his singing was a nasal mess.

They also auditioned a 16-year-old who thought she'd make it in just because she'd been a finalist in American Junior, a singing competition for youngsters, several years before. But the judges found her too plastic and rehearsed, telling her she wasn't ready.

It will be interesting to find out who advances through the next round.

More on American Idol:

Musings on American Idol Season 7

I've decided, for peace of mind, to revise my fitness goal for this year. As it stood, my goal was to get down to 135 pounds, which would mean losing about 15. But I'm no longer convinced that's a good goal.

Case in point: I knew I was bad at the Red Dwarf marathon, but I truly didn't expect this week's weigh-in results. I went up considerably, from 148 the week before to 152 this week! Talk about disappointing.

However, in a strange twist of fate, my measurements are almost all exactly the same. In fact, I lost 1/4 inch on my hips. Since I cover up my measurements from the previous week until after I've marked this week's results, I don't think this was just wishful thinking, produced by pulling the tape tighter.

So I think it's time to reassess how I'm judging my success and to moderate my fitness goals. I mean, after all, about 15 years ago, I weighed only 3 pounds more than I did this morning, and yet I wore clothing 3 sizes bigger! Also, in my senior year of high school, when I last wore the size I wear now, I weighed about 20 pounds less. Clearly, the scale is no longer the best assessment of my fitness.

I fall somewhere between a 6 and an 8 on top and between an 8 and a 10 below. So therefore, I'm going to revise my goal in terms of measurements. I want to lose 1 and 1/4 inches off my hips to fit more comfortably into a size 8 and avoid some of the fit problems I've been having.

Of course, since my ratio between top and bottom is unlikely to change, this might mean my top will also get a little smaller, but if I target exercises towards my lower half, I should see more muscle toning there. That way, even if I don't lose much in terms of inches, I still might have fewer fit problems with clothes.

One more thing: I'm honestly very happy with the way I look and feel right now. What's more, I have a full wardrobe of clothes that are flattering and which I have no desire to discard in favor of smaller clothes (except for some of the baggier pants!). So this goal is primarily to keep me focused on a good track, to continue to build on what I've achieved.

I'll still keep track of my weight, but I'll give preference to my measurements and to how my clothes fit. I'm getting nothing but frustration from making the scale the only arbiter of my success!

We like to joke about our pets. Yesterday, The Gryphon was home sick, and we were talking in bed. Our kitty, Luke, was zipping around, playing with an empty paper tube and making happy chirruping noises.

I joked he was a new super hero called Flash Mewface. Una was his sidekick, whom he'd nicknamed The Lump. Their evil nemesis: a bald squirrel with a Fu Man Chu beard, known for crawling up the sides of houses and taunting people. Luke was putting all efforts towards defeating the evil squirrel.

Una's duty as The Lump was primarily to groom Luke (she was following him around, licking him.) This meant he could spend all his time training for that inevitable day when the evil squirrel would figure out how to get in the house. When it did, Flash Mewface would be ready.

General rule: if the weights pull you back up, they're too heavy.

Copyright 2008 by Alyce Wilson

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