There are so many good things I can say about the pageant
industry and one of them is meeting people for the first time in person after years of being online friends.
It's always great to meet fellow fans who share the same passion for beauty as I do.
When people ask me why do I love pageants? I ask them back. Why do you like sports?
Why do you like Chinese food? Why do you put ketchup on your burger?
There is eally no logical explanation as to why we like the things that we like.
When Tom Vanderbilt, the author of the book entitled "You May Also Like" was asked these two questions:
"What's the point of liking anything? Why do humans as a species had preferences for things in the first place?"
Vanderbilt replied, "Taste is just a way of filtering the world, of ordering information.
There's no silver bullet theory for explaining anyone's taste. It's always a mixture of exposure, of
culture, of a person's personality, and none of these are particularly static or fixed.
The nice thing about tastes is that they are subject to change.
We can always be reinventing them and
reinventing ourselves a little bit."
So when I saw the Miss Universe contestants parade at a hallway at the Atlanta Merritt Marquis hotel,
I was not liking specifically one or two contestants. I was liking all of them.
In fact,
I was cheering all of them as I called out the names of their countries. And that's another good thing about pageants -
is that even though you may never have the chance to visit their countries,
you can at least get a taste of their culture from their
representative and this is why selecting the best woman to represent your country goes beyond physical beauty.
The soul and spirit of her country should also be reflected in her personality, her intellect, her confidence, and
in the way she interacts with others.
So when I saw Miss Colombia Gabriela Tafur in person for the first time,
I was immediately drawn to her magnetic energy. I had never really liked her even when she won her national title.
I was trying desperately to find a good reason to dislike her, but I couldn't. Seeing her in person,
perfectly styled from head to toe and being worshiped by her legion of supporters
eventually changed my opinion about her. All of a sudden, I liked her. I liked her enough to include her in my top 5 list.
They're not here. Where are they? They're probably emerging for the prelims right there. Wow
Amazing! I feel like Willy Wonka
And it's about to burst out of the roof
Here's another thing I like about pageants finding yourself in the same room with people who are just as passionate and excited as you are.
The room was full of energy. To quote the opening song for Miss Universe 1996
"The evening is electric...
The feeling is electric" seems to hold true of the preliminary show that was held in a ballroom,
so small that the chairs were pressed tightly against each other.
The guy sitting to my left had a stocky built and he was oblivious to the fact that he would
unintentionally touch me every time he rose to his feet.
That certainly was not electric, and neither were the fans of violently waving flags and screaming to your ear.
Nevertheless, the show was a veritable visual feast and some of the costumes might as well be stories connected to each other.
For example,
The plant-based foods on Miss Malaysia's tables could have been harvested by Miss Myanmar.
Or that one could sip Miss Vietnam Vietnamese coffee laced with cannabis from this Canada's marijuana
costume. Wouldn't that be heavenly?
Kudos to Miss Korea for maintaining her composure despite an unfortunate headdress malfunction.
Another good thing about pageants is chancing upon a former title holder at the hotel lobby and
yielding to your request for brief chat and photo op.
Thank you for your support in love
Thank you
115 continue on i-75 north for one and a half miles. Oh, we're on H.. Thank you Miss GPS Universe.
We're going to Georgia
We're outside George and we're going outside of Atlanta. Sorry we almost had a
car collision
We have arrived in the beautiful cosmopolitan city of Helen, Georgia. Hello Georgia
Hello people. We are in the beautiful town of
Helen Georgia Universe Gainesville Gayville It's a peachy town. Very very peachy. Homo burger.
We're a little little global village here
Getting along with each other because it's Miss Universe season, you know
You know what I mean bitches and since Miss Universe can't afford to Georgia. We decided to find it ourselves. That's right
Georgia represent
in the middle of the woods literally
The woods so they can see where you could potentially die
Back at the hotel
we saw a throng of Colombian fans waving their country's flag and
cheering for their girl and were so excited to see Lu Sierra
the pageant's official walking coach who was loving all the attention she was getting.
At
The media center next to the theater
I saw three former Miss USAs
Deshauna Barber from 2016, Olivia Jordan from 2015, and Sarah Rose Summers from 2018.
And I bumped into Siera Bearchell Miss Universe Canada 2016
carrying her baby girl, Lily
Siera thought that I was taking a snapshot of her and Lily so she posed for the camera for a few seconds
She has the most beautiful blue eyes.
Moments after the finals Miss Puerto Rico
Madison Anderson returned to the hotel and was greeted warmly and cheered loudly by Puerto Rican fans
So basically, when the two security crew members were too busy guarding the entrance door,
oo one was paying attention to the exit door. As soon as the exit door opened,
I bolted inside and marched into the atrium where the after-party was taking place.
I walked around with my iPhone
videotaping what was happening inside. I was hoping to see Miss Universe Organization president Paula Shugart with whom I wanted to chat
desperately, but she was nowhere to be seen.
There were several buffet tables displaying all sorts of food and drinks.
I saw several contestants, some wearing their sashes and some not, mingling with the crowd,
nibbling on cheese and crackers and posing for photos.
My iPhone rang and it was Phil asking where I was.
I told him that I crashed the after party and was having the time of my life
mingling with and taking selfies with the girls. Phil asked if I wanted to go out for dinner, and I said, yes
I asked him to wait just a few minutes longer and to meet me at the hotel lobby with the other friends
Mongolia! Congratulations!
I took selfies with Albania, Peru,
Nigeria, Philippines, Paraguay, Chile,
Miss Universe 2013
Gabriela Isler who is now co-director from Venezuela, and
With MUO vice president of marketing Shawn McClain, who is a very tall man.
There is one line in the movie, "The Wizard of Oz"
recited by the Wicked Witch of the West who says
"Going so soon?i wouldn't hear of it. Why my little party's just beginning!"
Well, thank you Wicked Witch of the West for asking me to stay longer
But my friends are calling me to join them in our own little party
You know, the kind where you don't have to dress up and where you can be your true self
That's my kind of party