A Star On The Rise

In mid-May, I traveled to Orlando, Florida for a conference for work. This was my first time away from the office for business purposes, and, while I wasn't sure what to expect, I did learn a lot at the conference and met some great people while I was there.

On Monday evening, I met Janet at a happy hour hosted by the conference vendor. Janet was a spunky brunette who was gung-ho for karaoke, and she did everything in her power to convince me to join her on stage to perform Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" at the farewell celebration on Wednesday evening. I told her that there was no way in hell that I'd be caught dead on a stage singing in front of a room full of people. "Get lost," I said with a smile.

Tuesday, she and I had a repeat of the same conversation.

Janet: "I can't wait for karaoke tomorrow night. You and me, Trish. You and me."

Trish: "No way. How about her?" (Pointing to another innocent, petrified bystander.)

Janet even tried to get me on-board by performing a snip-it of her song while dipping our feet in the pool late on Tuesday night after a dinner and dance party in the conference hall. I sneaked away and retreated to my hotel room before committing to anything.

The day was finally here - Wednesday. I woke up, went to a full day of conference workshops and presentations, went back to my room to freshen up, and then met my new friends at a happy hour prior to boarding a bus to City Walk at Universal Studios.

Upon arriving at City Walk, we were greeted by staffers with smiles and trays of free beer. This truly IS the happiest place on Earth. Janet, some of our new friends, and I grabbed a drink and did a quick looksie around to see what we had to work with. There was a DJ spinning on a balcony, entertainers juggling pins and others walking on stilts wearing sequins and feathers, and stations of free food.

After walking around a bit, grabbing a bite to eat, and requesting "Dick In A Box" at a dueling piano bar, we made our way over to CityWalk's Rising Star. Please note: the pianists did NOT play my request.

When we walked into Rising Star, I was floored. First of all, it was freakin' packed full of people, all with their conference lanyards on. Yeh, we all looked lame. Moving on...

Next, I look at the stage - well, that was not what I had imagined. In my mind, I saw a stage with a screen with song lyrics. Maybe a tapestry or some sort of background to frame the stage a bit. What I saw surprised me.

Not only did I see a familiar conference face singing a Sublime song, but I saw a sound board, a live band and back-up singers. Back-up singers!

Janet bee-lined to the sign-up sheets and put her sheet in the clear plastic box at the stage. She was in this to win it...win what, I'm not so sure. We found a table at the back for our group, and while listening to a middle-aged "Mom" with a bob sing "Welcome to the Jungle", I glanced at the song list that was at the table. There it was, "No Scrubs" by TLC.

I took a look around, took another swig of Bud Light, and grabbed a golf pencil. "I'm never going to see any of these people ever again," I thought to myself as I made my way to the stage with my sign-up sheet.

Janet lived her dream of singing "I Will Survive" and she rocked it!

Janet, joined by a "friend", rocks it with the band and back-up singers.

Then, the inevitable came just a few acts later - Trish, "No Scrubs". Holy crap. What did I do? I feel sick.

I joined the stage, sang my song while my face turned magenta and my voice quivered, and then ran back to my beer. Shortly after that, I shared a cab back to the hotel to end this ridiculous night.

Oh, dear God.

The next afternoon, I was waiting for my shuttle bus back to the airport in the hotel lobby. I had all my luggage next to the couch next to me while I curled up with my phone. I really should've booked an earlier flight home.

Two petite blonde women joined me in my furniture pod, and one asked if I had attended the conference. I said yes and we introduced ourselves. "Hi, I'm Trish."

Blonde woman #1: "I actually already think we've met. You look familiar."

Trish: (with a "I don't think so, but okay" look on her face) "Oh, maybe."

Blonde woman #1: "Oh," (chuckling to herself) "I know where I know you from. You sang at City Walk last night."

MORTIFIED!

She and I talked for a bit, laughing (me crying) about our exchange. She did confirm that I wasn't the worst one of the night, and that there wasn't a mass exodus from the building when I was up on stage. That's a relief.

I didn't think that far ahead the night before. I knew I wouldn't see anyone again...but I forgot that I'd see people the next day before leaving the hotel. No, no autographs were given, but I did make my new fans smile. I'll never forget the first time that I was recognized in a hotel for my musical performance.