Way Less Than Six Degrees of Separation from... The Apprentice

Shortly before I left for my trip, a wonderful, sunny day graced the city of Chicago. I went for a walk by the lake with my dog, and as we were trotting along, a guy jogging in the opposite direction caught my eye. He was tall, tan, had blindingly white teeth and an extremely familiar face. Wait a second, I thought. I know this guy.

Where did I know him from? I struggled to remember and could almost hear my mind cranking through my memory bank.

A few seconds after he passed us, it hit me. It was Bill Rancic - winner of the first season of The Apprentice. What was even stranger was that my husband had met him just a few nights prior as they were in the same box at a Bruce Springsteen concert.

But I, too, had met Bill before. Back in 2004, I stood in line for over 8 hours during the open casting call for the third season of The Apprentice. To keep our minds off of the cold weather and blisters developing on our feet, Bill (who is from Chicago) stopped by to visit with all of the hopefuls - here's a pic of him (far left), me (second to right) and a few of my fellow reality show wannabes. . .


Alas, it was not meant to be for me, which is probably a good thing. But being on the show certainly turned out to be a launching pad for Bill, who has since gone on to write two New York Times bestsellers, host a TV show, make the rounds on several other television programs, and get married to E! News co-host Giuliana DePandi in Capri almost exactly three months ago. He truly seemed like a nice guy (my husband thought so, too), so I hope things continue to go his way.

The show that made him something of a celebrity has gone downhill, however. Have you heard about Celebrity Apprentice? You know when they count Omarosa (the "villain" of Season One) as a celebrity, it can't be a good sign. Here is the official list of participants, if you're interested. Unfortunately, I'm sure I'll still check it out. Because Lord knows there's nothing else on TV and it's premiering on January 3, so there's still a month before Lost is back on the air. I'll be sure to report my initial thoughts to spare you the pain if you cannot lower your standards enough to tune in!

- e