The field narrows.

What a great weekend I just had! It really was nice. I have to go on record as saying that Austin really is the coolest place on the planet for Halloween. Unfortunately, I have to get to my TAR recap, so I can't spend much time talking about the weekend, but I'll give this speed summary:

* Friday night - out with lots of friends in the Warehouse district. Saw fun bands, ate pizza on the sidewalk, got home much too late.
* Saturday - Football, football, football. Had two games going at all times, USC got knocked off and Texas pulled out a barn-burner. Can't ask for more than that.
* Saturday night - Donned costume for Greatest American Heroes Halloween show and had a blast. Got to sing again with band on Three's Company theme. Tired, but happy camper when I got home.
* Sunday - got much needed yardwork done and spent the day watching Halloweenish shows and enjoying an extra hour of sleep.

Now. TAR.

1. Fly to Mauritius.

- I've never heard of this place, but it looked gorgeous.

- The Beauty Queens at the airport. What country is London in? What side of your butt is your brain in? Idiots. And let's go a step further and call them what they are: bitches. That little stunt with trying to cut the models in front of Alabama at the ticket counter showed the BQs for what they are. They don't help anyone - they weren't trying to be allied with the models or to help them - they just wanted to stick it to Lyn and Karlyn. That's not about playing the game - that's about screwing with someone because you don't like them, and nothing more. Ugly on the inside, ladies. Oh, and the models acting like Alabama was overreacting - like they weren't complete dicks for cutting? Ugly on the inside, gentlemen. Karma is waiting for both teams.

- Lyn and Karlyn (Karlyn particularly) have made it clear that while they'll work with the 6-pack to an extent, they're not going to put themselves out. I agree with them in principle - you can't just stop playing, and I'm not sure I'd go as far as the Cho's and Kentucky. The Cho's will hang around and wait for the other teams to finish a task and such, and I don't think that's smart. I think in an alliance you share information and resources and help someone out when it's not to your detriment, but I don't think you should be working against yourself to help someone, and no one should expect you to. The Cho's could have finished higher than they did this week if they weren't holding themselves back for Alabama and Kentucky, and it's getting too late in the game to be giving up position.

So, I'm with Alabama in theory, but there's something a bit too harsh about Karlyn. Not only would she not put herself out, but I get the definite impression that she doesn't really give a crap about the other teams, period. I get the feeling she'll be happy to take from other teams, but wouldn't particularly give anything. I mean, they've gotten the benefit of the 6-pack and the other teams helping them, but when was the last time Alabama actually did anything for anyone else - gave them information or helped them in any way? It's all well and good not to shoot yourself in the foot and sacrifice yourself for someone else, but if you're not going to bring anything to the table, and you're just going to take, but not give to the alliance, why should the other teams stay allied with you? Kentucky and the Cho's need to wake up about Alabama.

2. Drive to Grand Baie.

- Mary said it's a rite of passage in KY to throw your kid into a lake and make them swim out...without having actually taught them to swim. I wonder if funerals for their children are a rite of passage for parents in KY? Newsflash, Mary - if your husband tells you that a childhood "rite of passage" traumatized him for life, it's probably a "rite" that should be retired.
- Models get lost. That would be the karma I mentioned.

3. Go to Case Noyale post office.

- Models assume that Cho's are allied with KY and AL because they want to knock off strong teams for the Cho's own benefit. No, Biff and Chip - that's why YOU would do it. The Cho's allied with KY and AL because they think they're nice people.
- Are Rob and Kimberly stupid? They tried to ally with the BQ's. They must be.
- Models lost again. Uh-huh.
- BQ's have a wreck. I laughed - out loud. Too bad it didn't slow them more.
- Question: can the navigator not ever sub in as driver? Are you stuck in your driver/navigator role for the duration of the game?

4. Roadblock: Salt or Sea.

- I would've chosen salt. That might've been a bad idea after seeing all the other teams struggle with that and then give up.
- Did you see the BQ's waving at the other teams as they passed them? Again, they're showing their true colors. They weren't just waving at teams to be friendly - only waving at teams they have a good relationship with. They waved at everyone, and it was an "in your face" maneuver disguised as friendliness. When they pulled it with AL, you knew all you needed to know. These women are total bitches. Please Lord, do not let them win this game.

5. Pit Stop.

- Disappointing end to this round. My 3 least favorite teams checked in 1, 2, 3.
- I can't believe David and Mary survived another non-elimination round. I'm betting that's the last one, and I'm betting D&M will be out in the next round.