Now that the cat is out of the bag, people ask me and Dawn all the time, “how come we never see you on TV”? The truth is, due to the censors, you don’t see us on the show. When you’re out there in the mud, or herding ducks, the only relief you have is the words that come out of your mouth. So you would just see us on the show and the beeps would just cost CBS waaay too much money.

It was soooo fun bonding with the teams at the airport. I came to see the world and experience different cultures, but if I could make friends too, that would be awesome.

You may have never heard anyone say this before, but I’m not a good counter. I can count the same stuff five times and get six different answers. The trouble is, Dawn’s not the best stair climber. So again, we had a decision to make. Ultimately Dawn went. We figured if she moved a little slower, but had to only go once, it would take less time than me having to go two or more – like the other Ericka.

We did the dance roadblock. This isn’t the first time Dawn and I have danced together. As kids we used to re-enact some of the scenes from Dirty Dancing, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”

We don’t get to see all that happens while we’re running the race, but it was sweet to see Brian support his wife. It was totally different than last week when Canaan tried to push Mika down the waterslide.

I don’t know why the Poker Chicks had trouble hitting the bell with the ball. Everybody knows someone they’d like to but with a hammer. I just used a visualization technique, and got that ball right up there. I wish it would have occured to them to swing the hammer together. As you know, I’m not a big fan of theirs, but it sucks to see them leave because they don’t complete a challenge.

I knew eventually it would happen, but on this leg of the reace, we saw Big Easy and Flyte Time when the pit stop. Dawn had some track flashbacks, because she threw her bag on the ground and started running and cursing. So I ran too. We got to the mat at the same time and elbowed them out. Yes they were competitive, but they weren’t trying to whomp some chicks on TV. Even though Dawn and I were prepared to hit ‘em low. But we came in 3rd, right before the GlobeTrotters.

After a lot of hemming and hawing, I ended up on the rowboat. Dawn’s reasoning was that I work out, but I know I don’t have that much upper body strength. I made it across, although I still don’t know how. I don’t know why I bowed when I got off the boat, but let’s just say all of the blood had rushed to my arms.

When I first got the watch, I didn’t realize that I was supposed to be 8:35 – your mind is everywhere when you’re actually in the challenge – but when I told Dawn that there was one hand on the 8 and one on the 7, she quickly replied “8:35, jackass”. The thing is, I suck with locks. It always took me a couple of days to get my locker combo at school. We got behind one, that wasn’t really a big deal.

Since Dawn spent years putting together furniture, we breezed through the hookah challenge. And we had to race each other to the water slide. For once, this challenge was relatively easy.

I know that the Persian Gulf isn’t a country, but it wouldn’t have occured to me immediately because I don’t recall a clue that didn’t just name the city. And I surely don’t know that the tallest building in the world is in Dubai. We never talked about it, but I don’t think Dawn knows either. It was a miracle we got on that flight. We were the last team to book. It wasn’t so bad once we got to Dubai, and once again, we fell into the middle of the pack.

Dawn and I jumped on that Fast Forward because frankly, that bitch can drive. I’ve taken to driving more like a Grandma, but I had no doubt she could do it. She got a head start by edging out the other team making it out of the parking lot first by a hair.

While Dawn whipped it around the track, I was jumping up and down like a jack in the box. When she finished, she hopped out that car like it won’t nothing.

Riding in that Maserati was made for Ericka and Dawn. We bought a style and a swagger to that car that none of the other teams could manage.

Being the first team to arrive at the pit stop was exhilarating. We had been falling in the middle the whole time, which was great, but we didn’t want to get comfortable there. So while the other teams were running around the ski slope, we decided to hit up the Dubai Mall.

In Wednesday’s episode of Glee, Sue divides the group up based on their minority status. They expressed an interest in doing something “more black”, and Sue took that opportunity to divide and conquer. The episode, in its hilarity and entertainment made a few interesting points:

What could have been solved with a simple, honest conversation, i.e.:
“Curly haired teacher, we’d like to feel more included”
“What songs did you have in mind?”
“Example, example, example.”
“Let me see what we can do”
And then he actually does what he says
Instead, Sue makes a minor situation ridiculous by playing up the differences.

Mr. Shue makes the point towards the end of the show in a roundabout way, because they are all in the Glee club.
Prior to his speech, that is how Sue woos all the kids away, by making them all feel like they are part of a minority.

**As a side note: if the Glee club performs a Nelly song, what does that imply about his “rapping”?

The playing field evened out at the airport. I have to say sleeping in an airport where the staff wears face masks does not make for a good night’s sleep. Dawn slept all right though, I slept on the plane. By the time we landed in Cambodia, we were as rested as 2 people could be who are on a race around the world. Dawn’s got that eye, so she zeroed in on Jackie O’s face and I called out the name. We zoomed in front of the 2 teams ahead of us.

On the next challenge, Dawn looked at me dubiously when she saw we would have to weave our way through a crowded market, so we took a shot on the “cover” challenge. I have previous experience at Victoria’s Secret, and she used to work at Bob Evans, so we know how to turn our powers of persuasion. Since only one other team did that challenge, we were clueless about where we were in the race.

We weren’t sure if Dawn’s love of dance, or my yoga training would help with the monkey challenge, but those face masks made it a little easier to act a fool. In the end, I took the mokey challenge. We saw Zev and Justin running toward the pitstop, but we were too far away to catch up. Losing documents is a team’s worst nightmare, so we jumped in to help the moment we realized they needed it.

Do you ever wonder about those women who stay with cheating husbands? I don’t want to pass judgement, because I do believe you don’t always know what you are going to do in a situation until it happens. But what makes a woman stay with a man who has betrayed her trust and publicly embarrased her. The Good Wife tries to answer that question. Juliana Marguiles stars as Alicia, who is trying to pick up her face as her [former] district attorney husband, played by Chris Noth, faces public scandal after sex tapes are leaked. At first, I thought she was a bit mousy. but as she gets on her feet – regains some of her confidence, it’s entertaining to watch. You root for her because you watch her earn it.

James Earl Jones guest starred on this past Tuesday’s episode of House. The episode was so good that I’m blogging about it now. Last season, the show had fallen into a groove of patient comes in with strange illness, for 50 minutes the doctors try to guess what’s wrong and House has an epiphany in the last few minutes of the episode. The entertainment was in the characterization more than the plot. But this past episode, had us – well, me — hanging on the edge of my sofa wanting to know how the plot was going to unfold. Not only does the patient die, but he was KILLED.

I think that this season has made a tremendous shift to keep viewers guessing, first with a “nicer” House, and with Taub and Thirteen gone (for now). Foreman’s been in charge before, so I don’t know what a big change that is. It looked like Chase and Cameron were being phased out, only to be put in the middle.

What struck me most about the episode is that in the past, Chase has had a vague moral compass. Or should I say his moral compass centers squarely around himself. So to do something on behalf of someone else was a pleasant surprise. Why is it believable, because he’s been gone for three years, he’s had a chance to change.

If you can’t tell I am so excited about this new season! I’d like to know what House is like sober, and now with this new twist, I want to see what happens next.

Every time I watch Law & Order: SVU, there is some point in the show when my mouth literally drops open. So I don’t talk about the show because I’d just be oohing and aaaahing every week. But…

That new D.A. is a beeeeyotch! Sonya Paxson, played AMAZINGLY by Christine Lahti, she regularly comes down to the office and ttells them how to do their job. Let me take that back, she doesn’t tell them how to do their job, she tells them they aren’t doing it well enough.

In last week’s episode, guest starring Eric McCormack, she insists that Stabler and Olivia aren’t doing their job, so she just goes with them to interview, insult the witness. She’s a nightmare because she has the authority to get away with being an ass hole, there’s just no other way to put it.

According to the clip above, there is a reason that she’s a dick (I really, really can’t come up with enough derogatory names for this character. If she redeems herself, I will take it all back). All I know now is that she’s not in the opening credits, so I’m ready for that lady to go away.

My Dad was a fisherman by hobby, so the pit stop on the boat was a breeze for me and Dawn. I think she has the quicker reflexes, but she wasn’t too cute to dive right in that water and grab that dragon by the throat. The only reason we didn’t take first place, it is because we can’t keep up with those two basketball players.

We chose Child’s Play because it was just too risky to depend on locals to help us spell the word. I don’t know about breaking down VCR’s, but I guess it is my turn to do the roadblock. I know I’ve put together plenty of Ikea furniture, so I could do it, I just wouldn’t Excel at it. That’s what put us in third place. Well that and me and Dawn weren’t about to run a foot race with basketball playing. We aren’t really the “running” types.