Disappointment

We spent the day at Universal Studios yesterday, primarily to see the Singer compete in Voice of An Angel (the idol with soul). The day was filled with disappointments.

1) The Imp spent the first 10 hours sulking. We bought more expensive tickets so we could go to the park (both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios) before Rock the Universe started, so she could do some fun stuff. We were led to believe friends of hers were spending the whole day there as well. Plans fell through for friends and she was left alone with her parents (horrors!). We arrived at the park about 11 am, she finally came out of her funk while listening to Toby Mac about 9:00pm! Thank you Toby! She actually apologized without any solicitation from us! The Spirit was working, there is no other explanation.

2) We had never been to Rock the Universe, so really weren't sure how it was all set up. Heck, we'd never been to Universal Studios. There are 2 open bandstands and one small enclosed "revue." There were bands playing at each of the bandstands throughout the night from 5 until 11:30. Voice of an Angel competition was off in the enclosed stage area. It was definitely 'off the beaten' path. Only people who knew about the competition ahead of time (i.e. knew a contestant) were in attendance. I was hoping for a larger audience.

3) It rained off and on all day. We were soggy.

4) The contestants were divided into 8 groups (about 5-6 per group) to compete at different times. Some groups were as small as 4 others as large as 8. So the audience size was definitely dependent on the number of contestants.

5) A number of people who said they would come to support Megan did not come to her session. (They were at Universal).

6) I charged my camcorder battery the night before. Remembered to bring it. Carried it around ALL day. Got it out and taped a little intro with the Singer right before her session started, then got so caught up in listening to her actually sing, I didn't tape her! UGH!

***POSITIVE NOTE****

Megan sang very well. She sang "When I Call on Jesus" and was great! The 2 judges praised her and gave her no areas to improve upon. They commented on her presence in the sense that she convinced them she believed what she was singing and on her vocal ability especially her ability to use and control vibrato. I was thrilled and sooo proud.

7) As you probably guessed, the Singer did not make it as a semi-finalist. We were pretty stunned. Not because we thought she was the absolute best, but because of some of the people who did make it into the semi-finals. Hubby was perplexed and waited until the Singer had left the arena and went up to ask the producer what the criteria was for picking the semi-finalists. Hubby said he wanted to know what the Singer could do to improve her chances of advancing if she chose to participate next year. The response: the number of votes from the audience was the only factor in picking the winners. The 'judges' really were not judges. They were simply commentators. So the singers with their entire youth groups with them, obviously moved up. This left a bad taste in my mouth. If more of the 'general' public knew about and attended the sessions, that would be one thing, but it was very obvious that those in attendance were there routing for someone in particular. Most of the audiences were 80-130 people. Somehow it doesn't seem right. I'll get over it...eventually.

And yes the disappointment goes on
8) The signs leaving Universal were almost non-existent and we had no idea where we were when we were dumped out of the parking area. It took us 25 minutes (there was also an accident that was blocking one of the intersections) to get to our hotel a mere 2 miles from Universal.


In addition to the Singer performing so well, we did enjoy Toby Mac and Casting Crowns, even if we had to stand in the rain to hear them.

And of course we can't dismiss the impact Toby had on the Imp. So at the end of the day God is still God and God is still good. My kids are still wonderful. The Singer publicly praised God with the voice He gave her. I guess I'll have to get over my minor disappointments since in the realm of the universe they mean nothing.