That was a close one...

When Ryan Seacrest mentioned halfway through last night's American Idol Gives Back show, that it would be the most shocking results show in the history of American Idol, he was not only a little cruel, but he was right. I think everyone had the same thought... Jordin Sparks was the one to get voted off the show. Throughout out the show, there were several acts. Bono, Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and others all performed to help raise money for poverty relief. The show as of last night has already raised over 30 million dollars. In between performances, the remaining 6 hopefuls, waited patiently to find out whether they would be staying in the competition. The first one who felt the most relief throughout the show was LaKisha, who I think after last night's show was basically saved another week. My prediction is that she will be one of the 2 people voted off next week. In the remaining 5 minutes of the show, Chris Richardson and Jordin Sparks were the last to get their results. Ryan asked them both to stand and told Chris to sit first as he was safe for at least another week. The place was so silent, you could hear a pin drop as Jordin was the last one standing. Ryan again stated that, like he said towards the beginning of the show, it would be the most shocking results show in history. Jordin contained herself as long as she could while the camera's were rolling and Ryan told her to sit down as she was also safe. This was a non-eliminating results show and that everyone was safe this week. But, next week, the bottom 2 will be sent home.

I was completely prepared to delete the season pass on my DVR for American Idol if Jordin was to be voted off. I was also prepared to do some venting. I understand that it is up to America and not the judges to decide who stays and who goes, but I have to say that the judges have an impact on how America votes. If Jordin had been voted off, Sanjaya might as well have been voted the next American Idol. As far as I am concerned, Jordin could be the best American Idol has seen yet. She's only 17, yet she has a voice that could move you to tears. Besides Kelly Clasrkson, no one has really done that yet.

My DVR will continue to record the shows until Jordin has won.

Such a Tragedy

I think no matter what kind of tragedy, no matter where, regardless if you are personally affected or not, it still hits close to home. We hear about bombings in the MiddleEast pretty much every day. Suicide bombers who kills dozens, even hundreds of innocent people every day. We're used to hearing about that in the news. It's extremely unfortunate that so many people die every day and without reason.

When I first saw on the news on Monday morning, that at least 1 person had been killed at the Virginia Technical Institute, my first thought was "wow, that's pretty bad - I wonder what's going on down there." As the day went on and more casualties were being announced, I knew something bad was happening. I didn't know anyone who died or even anyone who knew someone down there, but I was affected by it emotionally. How could someone do this? It shouldn't matter if you have a million dollars. It shouldn't matter if you have five Mercedes or BMW's. It shouldn't matter if all of your jewelry is gold and has diamonds all over it - who cares!? Why would that ever be a reason why you need to end a person's life, or 30+ lives?

I was watching Extra last night and they were showing pictures of people who had been killed on Monday, along with their age and a short description of their life and I found myself in tears watching. All these people in a classroom, sitting in their chairs, innocently learning about French. Who knew that going out your daily routine could get you killed. It's not even about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In fact, it was the exact opposite. Of of the girls who's picture they showed had a myspace page so I went on her site and read the comments from the bottom all the way up. There were several comments on Monday from friends and family asking her to let them know that she was safe. They heard the news and they were all worried about her. As I got further up, the name on her page had changed to "RIP". It was extremely eerie and even reading the comments on her pictures, most of the people who had left her comments were complete strangers letting her know that they were thinking of her and how sorry they were that this happened to her. Many people are saying that the victims are all in a better place. How can they be in a better place if they were fine beforehand?

There no sense on looking back and saying "what if" - you'd drive yourself crazy with those thoughts, although everyone does it. There's really no way that you can't ask yourself how you could have done things differently. There's a simple answer. You couldn't have. There's no way anyone could have known that Monday's horrible tragedy could have been prevented. If there was a way, it would have been. I also think that the media should focus less on the killer and more on the victims and their families. I feel that there should be more respect towards the families while they mourn their loved one's as well we after. I don't think it was wrong for NBC to let the world know about the package recieved - that was information that people needed to know. I do not think they need to continue showing the pictures and video.

There was another threat of same kind of incident that took place on Boston this past Tuesday. Fortunately, this guy (Rosenbaum) was caught and is now in custody. A former student at Marist College in NY who took the semester off was taking an Art & Religion class at BU. He recently e-mailed an ex-girlfriend, a student at Wheelock College threatening to re-create Monday's tragedy. The recipient then let her local police know and they arrested him at his parents house in Needham. The police have been told that Rosenbaum has recently lost his grandmother, followed by a recent break up and is to wear an ankle tracking device until his trial. There are several other threats this week from different college's and universities, and I'm sure there will be more to come.

Let's just hope they are caught and/or prevented.

To all of those who knew someone; the friends & families of this horrible tragedy, my heart goes out to all of you.

See ya... Sanjaya!

It broke my heart last night as I watched Sanjaya get the boot from American Idol. Apparently he had a lot of fans, but that just wasn't good enough. I sort of agree that having him on the show and lasting as long as he did, created a lot of talk out there amongst the shows millions of viewers. And especially now that Haley is gone, what will we all talk about? But show will go on and we will have our next American Idol in May. I don't think it hit Sanjaya until he saw his recap of the show after he was voted off. The teary-eyed, teenybopper heart throb watched his video send-off as he wiped his tears away. I don't mean to sound heartless, but how long did he expect to stay on the show?? He knew he wasn't going to make it to the end and it was only a matter of time until people got bored of trying to make the show a little more interesting. Who knows, maybe he'll be the next William Hung and get his 15 minutes of fame after the Idol tour ends. Oh gosh, I really hope not. As far as LaKisha being in the bottom 3, after Blake was removed from the bottom 3 and sent to the "safe" group, she was dipping her toes in the bottom 2, but fortunately, it was only the tips of her toes that got wet. I think she was only standing next to Sanyaya (who would have thought she would be standing next to Sanjaya?!) simply because Country music is not her forte. It's not for everyone, but I think she was unable to convince America that she could go Country for a night. It's okay LaKisha - it was just a bad theme night, you'll do better next time... we hope :)

Hayley's legs will be missed

It seems as though, as horrible as Sanjaya is, that the one time Simon Cowell makes a positive comment about him that he will probably make it another week (not including this one). I just don't get it. For me, it's hard to even look at him. How could he possibly make it this far? How could so many girls who are probably at the age where they are just starting to like boys, make it possible for him to stick around this long? It has to be those girls that are calling in for him. He's basking in his glory right now, even though he knows that he is not there for his voice. I actually don't really know what he's there for, really. It can't be his hair (or maybe it is). Whatever it is that is keeping him on the show, needs to stop. People can't be serious. I just really hope that he is not in the final 3, but even worse, the final 2. I am rooting for Jordin Sparks. At first I thought LaKisha might be crowned the next American Idol, but I quickly changed my mind to Jordin. She is flawless. She's only 17 years old, she's beautiful and the girl knows how to sing! She has fun with it because she knows that she's good and that the audience loves her. Let's just hope that in May, when there are 3 finalist, Sanjaya is not one of them. I will stop watching the show immediately as I'm sure and hope that others will too. Poor Haley and Simon's comments about her legs. I am not a guy, so it's really not something I will miss, but Haley really wasn't going to go much further. She can sing, a little, but the limited amount of clothes she was wearing towards the end... c'mon! This is a family show - there's no need to prance around on stage wearing daisy-dukes and high heels. People are not going to vote for you based on the few articles of clothing you are wearing - it's pretty clear since she's now gone. Sorry Marty... maybe she's no longer with her fiance and you can finally have your chance :)

The Power of Possibility at Canyon Ranch

Last week, I took a few days off to go to Canyon Ranch and spend some quality time with my mom. Canyon Ranch has several locations; Lenox MA (Berkshire's), Tucson AZ, Las Vegas in the Venetian, Kissimmee FL & the Cunard QM2 Cruise Ship. Before visiting the Berkshire location last week, I had only been to the one out in Vegas. There's a huge difference between the two. Vegas, there are no windows, few classes and spa treatments and you pay per class. The Berkshire location is by far the better place to go. When driving into the campus, it's very impressive - even more impressive on the inside! There is a gate that all visitors stop at and security will verify who you are and if you are a returning visitor or first time visitor. Security will then let the bellmen know that you are on your way so that they are ready to greet you. When you arrive to the main entrance, everything is taken care of for you. Your bags are taken out of your car and delivered to your room when it is ready. All you have to do is check-in, look at what classes are being offered and you're ready to go!

Our first day there seemed to last forever. I wasn't really in the mood to take any exercise classes and I wasn't quite ready for lunch yet, considering it was only 11am. So, we took a walk around to get acquainted with our home for the next 3 days. I had a facial scheduled for right after lunch, so I was looking forward to that. Our room wouldn't be ready until 3 at the earliest, so we relaxed until then. Besides, we had 3 whole days to take classes and make use of our time there. Our first dinner was good. The portions are small and you have to ask for salt. Everything on the menu lists calories, protein and fat grams per item. I have to say it sort of takes the fun out of eating if you know exactly how bad it is for you! There is a salad bar during lunch & dinner and if you order a soup along with your meal, you feel like a pig compared to what others are eating.

The first morning we had breakfast, we were seated next to 2 woman who were eating their breakfast. Everyone gets a pamphlet when they check in as well as a bag to hold the water bottle they hive you as well as the T-Shirt you get. Neither woman had their pamphlet schedule with them so they asked to borrow one from us. We started talking to them and it turned out that one of them lives not far from my mom. And since they were both Jewish, we instantly played "Jewish Geography" - very small world considering they had several friends in common! It was the start of a friendship. We spent the next 3 days having lunch if we ran into each other and planned dinners. I took classes I've learned to like and went to lectures that I learned from. All in all it was a great experience and I'd even do it again (if you're reading this, mom!) My mom and her new friend have even exchanged e-mails and have already set up a time to meet up for lunch with a mutual friend of theirs.