Culturally Preconditioned

November is almost over. And well, I guess I can safely say that three time’s not a charm after all. I have totally FAILED this year’s attempt at NaNoWriMo. But at least it was a great improvement than my previous two attempts. Total words = 4215 out of 50000. At least I know where I’m heading with the story this time around. And I discovered www.writely.com (It’s pretty cool… I used to do a similar thing by writing emails to myself to get my notes in whenever there’s an interesting thought). Oh well.. I would probably try my hand at NaNoWriMo again next year. Hopefully I’ll get past the 10K words mark then.

Amazing Race Asia. Newsflash : 4th episode in and I still think Allen Wu sucks. Anyway, they finally moved out of Indonesia this time around. I’m actually surprised the flights were not as straightforward this time around, but it does make the whole airport scene quite suspenseful. And off they go to Sydney! Yay! I didn’t think they would go outside of Asia, although some people would argue that Australia is in fact part of Asia.. but whatever.

The roadbloacks and detours this time was much more interesting. The detour (Elevation or Crustacean) especially was interesting. Personally, I would’ve done crustaceans (since I just de-shelled half a kilo of prawns for dinner tonight) because I don’t think it’s as difficult and it would be so much quicker. AND I have done a little research on Sydney (since I’ll be going there next year), and the bridge climb would’ve taken so much longer. I WOULD like to do the bridge climb because, dudes, the tickets aren’t cheap, okay? And you’re getting a free pass to have that maginificent experience.

Thankfully I was wrong. Turned out de-shelling four-fucking-teen kilos of cold prawns was a lot more harder than it looks and sounds. And the bridge climb that the racers took must be different than the usual tour climb where they spend a much longer time on the bridge. So kudos to the teams who took up that challenge. Not only did they finish it faster, they also got a magnificent view of the harbour.

Again, shameless, shameless blatant product placement by Sony this time. Sony HD Handycam and Bravia TVs, bitch please. We already know these products, there’s no need to throttle them down our throats. I initially thought the challenge was very lame, but it got interesting when they had to re-record people that sang out of tune.
The detour, I can’t help but feel it is too similar to previous detours (getting clues from snakes pits lah, tiger enclosures lah bla bla blah) but it was still pretty interesting. I felt that the editors really did a pretty decent job, cause towards the end of the show, it seemed as if it was pretty clear that the Indian blokes were going to be the last team.. but again, I was wrong. I actually love it when I am proven wrong with these kinds of shows.

In order of their arrivals at the pitstop :

1. Andrew & Syeon

Way to go Team Malaysia! Or should I say Team Korean? Or Team Australia (since she said they moved there)? Whatever. I have always thought this couple would be one of the frontrunners, and this time, finally, they showed it. Personality wise, Syeon still draws a blank on me, and Andrew seems so serious. Not really outstandish, but they’re good racers.

2. Sharon & Melody

The Singaporeans are finally coming out of their shells. I am very impressed to see how these girls seem to be improving in the race. They lost their lead for a bit, but fortunately for them, they pulled it through during the shark roadblock.

3. Sandy & Francesca

They are fun to watch, but Sandy’s black tank top bothers me. It kinda looks like the kind of clothing that girls wear to go clubbing. But that’s not a reason to complain. They almost lost a lot of time when they got stuck at the traffic jam on the bridge, but they recovered real quick.

4. Mardy & Marsio

Geez.. whine whine whine. I’m not a big fan of this team, but surprisingly they keep getting really good placements. How DO they do it? And I actually feel physically tired everytime I watch them on screen. Don’t ask me why.

5. Prasant & Sahil

Watching someone fall can be funny. But watching someone fall after being pushed is not. AND watching someone fall after being pushed by YOU is simply despicable. What smug assholes. And a note to the producers. Next time you choose racers, please for the love of God, pick teams that will not require English subtitles when they are speaking. Man, I was so hoping they would be eliminated this round. Smug bastards.

6. Zabrina & Joe Jer

Okay, I’m a little confused. I thought they were somewhere in the middle. But how the hell did those two fuckers got in front of them? Zabrina and Joe Jer kept it real, as usual. Thankfully Joe Jer recovered from her fall at the airport. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I like them for being calm and collected and real… tak overdose. I’m just a little worried that their placement keeps slipping as the race goes along. Pick it up, girls!

7. Laura & Andy

Seven IS their lucky number. Come on! They got in seventh place four episodes in a row. Actually at one point during this episode (and the last episode as well, mind you), they were in first place. Somehow, some unfortunate circumstances falls on them and back to seventh place they go. I like their sneakiness for trying to hide away the maps at the bookstore. That’s pretty sneaky of them. I love it. It’s a shame Laura fell and injured her knee (was it?). I can’t help but giggle a little when she confessed that she fell down because she was watching the male surfer on the beach. I hope she’ll be able to continue, cause her exiting the show because of an injury is just really bad luck (and anti climactic)

8. Sahran & Howard

*shakes head* They were doing so well. And they pull that shit at the end. I don’t know. It feels like .. they were too quick to give up. COME ON ALREADY! And the whole process of Howard trying to think about quitting the roadblock was so extremely excruciating to watch. It’s like watching someone taking his own sweet time explaining to a fucking psychiatrist about his thoughts and fears and his claustrophobia and all the grandma and grandad story. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDD .. if you wanna quit, goddamn quit already lah.. no need to tell an epic while you are still half submerged in the tank. Get up and leave! Every minute is precious. It’s a race, for fucks sake. And then some more, lagi mau mandi ala2 model.. aaa tengok.. sampai aku cakap pun campur aduk ni. So geram one you know when teams like this get the chance to get into this once in a lifetime race, and they do these sort of thing. Arrghhh *slits writs* I swear, if I were in Sahran’s place, I don’t care who my team member is.. my best friend ke my brother ke, my mother ke… they will certainly get several mouthfuls from me (which will definitely be bleeped out of the show)

Thank goodness for them, it’s a non-elimination leg. I don’t know if the four hour penalty AND the fact that their money was taken away will pose a big problem for them to catch up in the next leg. Man.. I was so hoping this would be an elimination episode with the Indian guys leaving the show. Grrr…