Loraxe Are you in Stouffville too? We’ve been really careful putting the dog out at night on his own. He’s just stupid enough to think he should chase a bear. He’s chased skunks twice!

I passed the Millionaire test, 30 multiple choice questions. I've passed it three times now. However, I think I did really well during the interview portion this time. The next step is receiving a postcard in the next few weeks that will tell me whether or not I'm in the contestant pool. I was told that everyone who passed the test will get a postcard, but this must be new because they used to only contact those chosen for the contestant pool. To be honest, I've never seen the daytime Millionaire, but I've heard that there isn't a fastest finger round, so if you're called to be on the show, then you're in the hotseat.

MDarcy, do you think Ken J would agree to be one of my phone friends? I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think that would pretty much be a lock.

What? You are thinking about asking Ken instead of me? :-) You should - he seems like a really nice guy. If you are trying to get me to admit that I've met him and know if he is the type of person that would say yes, heh, nice try. My lips are sealed.

Has anyone ever had a TAR dream? I had the most vivid one last night. I think it's cause my best friend and I applied for this season, and so it's been in the back of my mind a lot with the show starting back up again and everything. It felt pretty realistic--we were in the first round, there were 11 teams, although they did something weird to shake up the teams so that they redivided them and made them teams of three. So they added some girl we didn't know to our team. All the teams were set loose in this huge mansion looking for a clue to something, and our team was doing really well, although I remember getting frustrated with them because we had to cook something in the kitchen of this mansion for the task, and I finished my bit much sooner than my partners and was like, begging them to hurry the hell up. Then we finished, and we knew we were ahead of a lot of teams, and we were trying to finish first. I remember running through the house to the mat, and we were team number 2, which I was pretty cool with, cause we beat in most of the other teams by a good bit of time, so we were going to have a good head start in the second round. Heh. It was a fun dream, and I woke up right after we placed all pumped up.

You were the only people I could think of who might *possibly* care and not think I was a hopeless dork for dreaming about the Amazing Race.

ETA: Phil was there, too, and he was really friendly and cute.

ETA: Congrats on the baby, JenEx.

Because you might miss a moose in the dark? "What the hell was that thing I just tripped over?" "Oh, just a moose."

brave little toaster, I had a TAR dream once, and I still remember it -- it was last year before the season premiere and I'd never seen the show but was getting excited about it, and I dreamed my husband and I were a team but we missed a train because he wouldn't get out of the shower. This is based more on my real life than any TAR affinity, since Mr. Ex is the biggest shower hog in the world.

Hairdressers: I've lived in this area for five years and I still don't have a regular one. I have really thick hair, and if it's not cut right it's just bushy. I finally found someone I liked earlier this year, and he switched salons last month. Called and left me a message about where he is now, which my husband DELETED before I'd written the number down, damnit. So I'm back to shaggy hair and desperation.

The Big Baby Name Decision: We have a winner. Amelia. We also have --eeeee! -- a picture. We've accepted a referral of an 18-month-old girl on the waiting child list. Now it's just a matter of paperwork and more paperwork and waiting for official Chinese approval. We hope to have her home by January. The final factor in naming is that Amelia is close to her Chinese nickname, which we're keeping as her middle name. And she looks like an Amelia.

Why isn't it NEXT Tuesday yet?

Random Wandering Wildlife? Just hope they don't shoot it without cause like they do to the mountain lions out here. Still peeved about that one. Gee, look at the sleeping mountain lion in the tree! We better use real guns and not tranquilizers because he might attack all of the children in the nearby neighborhood! Even though he is sleeping! In a tree!

In a related story, a few weeks ago I was biking home from work during rush hour. As I got up to a major intersection near the freeway I noticed that traffic was a lot more backed up than usual. Lucky me, on my bike I got to pass my way through the traffic and I saw what was causing the jam. It was about 25 horses in the middle of the intersection. Either they had gotten out of the pastures nearby from an open gate, or maybe they had been spooked by the Dangerous Sleeping Mountain Lion. It was hilarious - 25 horses casually walking and pooping down the expressway. Cars stuck until the horses were cleared. Me avoiding the whole mess because I was on a bike.

But, see, out here, that didn't even make it on the news. I couldn't figure out what really happened because no news sources bothered to cover it.

I had a TAR dream last season. It's relayed in more detail in the 'You Know You've Been Watching Too Much TAR When..' thread in Whimsy. The notable difference was that in my dream it was a westward-travelling TAR.

JenEx, that's fabulous news. I am so happy for you. Please post a link to a picture when you can so we can all coo over her.

Congratulations JenEx! It must be so exciting for you and your husband. That's great that you have a picture, and I'm glad you decided on a name.

Speaking of horses.... this weekend I was helping to direct cars for a big event. They'd drive in and I'd give a spiel about metered parking here, $5 over there, and free over here. Then.... a horse and carriage comes in. What do I do with that???

Turns out it was an Indian couple that had just gotten married (they looked fantastic) and were just going in to take a couple of pictures. Phew!

That's great, JenEx! Congratulations!

Horses and buggies are nothing new around here in Mennonite and Amish country. There are caution signs for buggies all over the place. And most stores and shopping centers have places in the parking lot reserved for buggies. I knew I lived here long enough when I no longer thought of the horses and buggies as "quaint". Now, they're just slow-moving vehicles that are keeping me from getting to work on time.

back on the pee break thing - I have a friend who has to go all the time - to the point where our friends have taken bets (not in her presence) as to how many times she's going to get up during dinner. She did eventually find out about this. We do always try to sit strategically in the theater for this reason.

A few years ago her grandmother had to have an MRI for some reason, and they actually pointed out that she had an "abnormally small bladder". We now figure my friend inherited this lovely trait.

and Rachel, I did some research and came up with this.

I don't know what your exact hours are, but you may be entitled to additonal break time depending on when you start and stop work. It does appear though, that there are only provisions for "meal" times, and not restroom breaks. If I were you, I'd keep looking and see if it's covered somewhere else.

Hi everyone. Just wanted to say hello, I can't wait for the new season to start. When I think of TAR I also think of TWoP since you all are the ones who got me into the show in the first place (and it isn't the same watching it "alone"). Looking forward to some excitement and some great arguments about who sucks worse...

Hi all I wanted to introduce myself for a while but now that I need to procrastinate it seems like a perfect time. I love TAR and have been watching from Season 1, its one of the few reality shows where I feel like I am treated like an intelligent person. Plus I wish I could have tried out for TAR, but alas medical problems stand in my way. Anyway just wanted to say hi and say how excited I am for the premiere

Well, I would, but then Rachel might wish horrid things on her.

Kidding. Actually, I can't share any info until we get our official approval, and then believe me, everyone will know!

Now I'm off to the post office to mail yet more forms, passport renewal, and a large check to the Department of Homeland Security so I can bring my little non-terrorist child back into the US.

Lovely.

Well, good luck to you. At least you're not trying to get a big person into the country. Ugh. So.Difficult.

I think you should right the check to "DOHs!" Because Homer Simpson is smarter than most of that staff. And congrats. That is wonderful & amazing news, JenEx.

Wonderful and happy news indeed, JenEx! And welcome to the soon-to-be-crazy world of parenthood -- it's full of highs and lows, but I can promise you will never be bored!

So who wants to bet on how long it will take for young Amelia to become Daddy's Little Girl? Me, I'm betting on about 15 seconds!

Awesome news JenEx. Congrats!

And Yay! iMissEthan. I’m crossing my fingers that you get your postcard.


omigod! I think I got some beads from your Mom Mama Tiger– hee hee! I ended up giving them to the adorable toddler sitting next to me but I remember your mother’s adorable smile. I might actually have a picture of her. I’ll have to go through my digital camera shots.
Small world…

Congrats, JenEx!
I'm trying to refrain from commenting on the fact that the DoHS is now investigating infants and toddlers - what's a cute little baby going to do, other than pee on you and start crying in the middle of the night?

Congrats, JenEx -- I'm sure yours will be a wonderful baby.

And Kanuck!, two friends of mine are trying to adopt from India. They are US citizens, but are both originally from India themselves. I consider them to be exemplary citizens, but they get extra questions at the airport, and one of them wasn't allowed onto the NIH campus for a meeting until an unaccented angry co-worker intervened. So I can just imagine what extra hoops our buddies at the DOHS will set up for them.

Interestingly enough, the immigrants at my office (there are several) have found a neat trick for convincing DOHS sorts that they're legit. They whip out a business card and talk about their jobs -- the company, what they do there, why they think it's important, how they ended up there, etc. It seems to convince the DOHSers that yep, these are real US citizens who like to be here, buy into the culture, and wish no harm. I understand the increased vigilance, but it's too bad that good people get caught in the net. Sort of like dolphins getting caught in tuna nets.

Oh, that would be really amazing! Email me the photos; if it's not my mom, it's probably another friend of hers who was also getting wheeled through the parade, I think. What a great small world tale, though, if I email her a photo of her in the parade from someone I've never met!

Well happy Strawberry festival to you AnneH! Who woulda thunk there would be two of us here? If you are out wandering tomorrow and you see some mad people playing croquet, stop by for a beer, it's my annual Canada day party.


Now will someone please tell me how it is possible that I know 40 people willing to drop a long weekend to come and play with me? Aack I am getting nervous.

That's an easy question, Loraxe. Is there anything better than croquet and beer? Perhaps TAR and beer, but that's another situation.

Speaking of Strawberry festivals, this past weekend my boyfriends band Distrot was in a battle of the bands at a local Strawberry Fest and they one first place (and $300) by one vote. It's a good thing I did decide to go vote, then.

Since I know one of Miss Alli's pet peeves is bands with misspelled names, I'll give a back story on Distrot. They were throwing out ideas and their singer Kyle said distraught, while their drummer Nick was taking notes. Nick is very intelligent (he reads history textbooks for enjoyment), he just can't spell to save his life. He wrote down Distrot and it stuck.

Well, that is weird. I was just watching the CTV National News and didn't a bus hit a moose near Wawa, Ontario last night. One bus passenger was killed and several were injured.

DariaG, I can imagine. A friend of mine travelled to the States last year, and her father went with her for some reason, and immigration gave him a horrible time because his passport noted that he was born in India. Never mind the fact that he's spent more time in Canada than in India, has been a Canadian citizen (and gvmt employee) for ages, and that they came from a southern, Christian part of India, the default assumption is that brown skin = terrorist until proven otherwise. *sigh* Sorry to rant, those types of attitudes just annoy me to no end.

PButtercup, yeah, that looked nasty. I wonder if the driver was swerving to avoid the moose or something, since from a pure physics perspective, one moose shouldn't have been able to cause that much damage to a large bus. Apparantly (yes, I know someone who's researched the topic), a lot of injuries from 'moose collisions' are in fact from swerving to avoid the moose and hitting a rock face (which also happened to someone I know). Between the wildlife and the 2-lane 'national highway', evening driving in this part of the province can be rather interesting.

If it's any consolation, I was born in India, but am of pure WASP heritage -- my dad was teaching there for a few years. And yet it took me six months when I got a government job, long before everyone was so security conscious, to convince them that I wasn't some kind of a dangerous alien. And my husband's Top Secret clearance was held up for months because of all the questions about his "foreign born wife."

You know, paranoia can be useful, but sometimes it's time to take the tinfoil hat off, you know?

But if you do that, then the aliens can get in! *rimshot*

That story about the moose running around near Boston.....it made the local newscast here in Iowa tonight (with video footage of a moose, first standing in someone's front yard, then standing of the side of a main road, then running across the road and leaping over the metal barracades in the center of the highway and off into some woods on the other side.

I still can figure out why they'd carry the story two days later here. That baffles me. Must have been a slow news day.

Well, the catwalk collapsing into the shark tank at the New Orleans Aquarium a couple years ago made the news as far away as Australia. We're talking a bunch of fat, lazy, overfed sharks, who were cowering in the corners away from the evil intruders into their tank. Not exactly a Jaws-like matchup.

Well then, theschnauzers, when the moose crossed the road and disappeared into the woods on the other side? THat was my neighborhood. There's a pond there--he apparently swam right by my backyard, and damn, I missed him.

And how could I forget to shout out a few joyful huzzahs in Jenex's direction? What frabjous news! THere's no doubt that kids are a giant pain in the ass some of the time, and I've been known to harbor venomous thoughts about my spawn. But then one will start singing her new favorite song, the Ally New York Chorus from The Messiah, or the other will laugh his delicious chuckle of delight, and it's all good.

YAAAAAAAAY, Amelia and JenEx!!! Although I am generally in the LovelyandTalentedRachelRSL's camp on the subject of children (particularly the screaming kind and the ugly kind-- whose parents ALWAYS make you look at 4,000 pictures of the little lizard... "Ummmm... nice, uh, outfit??"), people who want to raise children getting the opportunity to do so, while also giving a welcoming home to a child who needs one makes me all kinds of squishy inside. I repeat-- YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

(Yes, yes, I DO have a bitchin' sentimental streak. Surprising, I know, but true.)

Congrats, JenEx! Send pictures when you can!

A lot of government security stuff can make me crazy, as well. I'm a dual citizen who also holds a US diplomatic passport (meaning I have 3 in total), and it took forever to process my paperwork so State could send me to Colombia. Never mind that the other country I hold citizenship for is Australia, one of our biggest allies. Sigh. I was still a threat. And most jobs available to me as a spouse require me to surrender my Australian citizenship, which ain't gonna happen. A lot of my friends' spouses are foreign, and they are completely ineligible for jobs.

I can't speak for Homeland Security, but Mr. Weds adjudicates visas for State and he'll freely admit to being a hardass. If he lets someone dangerous into the country, like a drug dealer or a terrorist, it's his fault and the victims can sue him. He's also super-strict about only giving visas to people he's sure will come back and don't intend to stay in the US. (Every time we go to the US, our plane there is full, while our plane back to Bogota is half empty. I tease Mr. Weds about that constantly, though I'm 90% sure it's coincidence).

Hi I am patrick and I live in Singapore.

Are there any fans based in Singapore? :) I am looking around, while in general, pple know about the race.. there aren't really die hard fanatics.

Yes, I am looking for die-hard fanatics :P

(Or if anyone knows how to search this thread for specific keywords like Singapore.. Appreciate it. thanks. thanks.)

SIX DAYS TO GO!

Congratulations, JenEx! I can't wait to see the pics. And I normally hate looking at pictures of other people's kids, too. The difference is usually how close I'm likely to be to the kid -- and later, whether or not I like the kid -- and how long the parents stand around making small talk about children. Since I don't have any, I rarely have anything to offer to the conversation, other than how annoying many people's kids are.

It never occurred to me that citizens born in other countries might have problems. (Yeah, I'm naive and don't travel all that often.) I wonder if it's true for people whose parents are American citizens, but just happened to be living overseas when they (the people, not the parents) were born. My brother-in-law was born in West Africa (in a German-run hospital), but he's an American citizen. He hasn't traveled since 9/11, though, so I don't know if it would matter. Of course, he's Caucasian, too, so for him, it might not matter at all. My husband (his brother) likes to say that Brian is African-American (despite being white). After all, he was born in Africa and spent most of his first 16 years there. Of course, he says that about himself, too, since he spent the years from 8-18 years old there. He's also Cherokee Indian. But he looks sort of Scottish: brownish-red hair, red beard, very fair, ruddy skin. He likes to mess with people's minds a lot.

We have two women in our office who are American citizens originally from India. One is quite beautiful (rabrab, I'm referring to A, whom you met) and the other works with what she's got. For some reason, the beautiful one gets hassled by security types and the other one doesn't. That's always made me think there might be an element of sexism in it. Shortly after 9/11, she said to me that she and her husband talked about the situation and realized that their lives here would likely be different from now on, but they understood why and accepted that this was a sacrifice they'd have to make for the security of their country. I think that is the epitome of patriotism, quite frankly. And she doesn't complain. She mentions it, but she doesn't complain. The other co-worker is married to a Caucasian American who is quite protective of her. She was the person who held it together for the rest of us on 9/11. She was a rock -- and we could see smoke from the Pentagon from windows around the corner from our space, so we were in need of someone steady like that. She ordered in lunch so we didn't have to leave, she checked on transportation, she lent her cell phone to the guy who couldn't reach his wife, she held the crying intern, etc. The two women understand and accept the hardassed attitude. I just think it's sad that there's no way of distinguishing between good people like them and the small handful of bad ones we're concerned about.

My partner's a kiwi and hasn't had luck getting a visa yet (and come on, they're like, the nicest country in the world. I can't even imagine why one of them would want a visa here unless they were in love with an american), so I'm thinking someday when we have babies, I'm going to have them all over there, regardless of where we're living, so that our children can have dual citizenship. It'll save us all some paperwork and stress, I hope, in the long run.

Too much information.

Hi, I'm new to the forums but have been reading recaps for a few seasons. I was hooked on TAR the first minute of the first episode of the first season and held my breath last year when the fate of the show was up in the air.

Looking forward to another great race!

Kanuck, I don't know much about moose, living in NYC and all, but a number of years ago a friend of mine moved to LA from NY and I drove across country with her. When she went to rent the Ryder truck (with a car hitch) she was specifically told that if we saw a deer in the road, we should not swerve, but should hit it. It seems that the insurance on the truck only covered accidents with animals if you could prove that the animal was the cause of the accident. If you swerve, wipe out and the deer managed to get away NO INSURANCE COVERAGE!!!. Also, we were told that swerving with the hitch on the back was a very, very, very bad idea. We never got the opportunity to check it out on that trip, but a few years later she moved back and we were driving through PA on a road where it seemed the deer were litterally jumping out in front of the truck. We missed them, but didn't swerve once.

On the traveling issue, I do a lot of business travel to the DC area. Every time I go through National I get flagged for search. LaGuardia? Nothing. Our nation's capital? Public Enemy number one. Last time I was there they tried to get me to pull my pants down. I was saved by an employee who asked if my pants were made by a particular designer. When I answered in the affirmative, she informed the woman searching me that the clothing line sews inventory loss sensors into their clothes. If not for her I'm showing my ass in the airport.

THANK YOU! Last time I traveled internationally, I was with my brother and dad. We're all asian, so we all have black hair, well my dad had black hair at one point in time, and a darker complexion. At each checkpoint on the way there, we were "randomly selected" for thorough security checks. Maybe it was pure coincidence that we were selected, but sometimes I doubt it. Security saw three obviously foreign-looking males speaking a different language in public, all traveling together on an international flight and decided to pull single them out.

RLB, when I lived in DC, I was groped & mangled & patted by many a Security Agent at National. Laguardia? Once in like 15 or so flights --- last time I flew out of LGA, there was this little old lady going through who was patted & molested, and the poor thing had bad legs & stuggled to stay up! My drunk ass only gets the guy who sits by the exit to whistle at me. Which, come to think of it, is so less reassuring.

I have yet to be pantsed at the airport.

Crawling out of lurkerdom to say hi! Decided to check out TAR after seeing the hilarious banner ads for TARCON3.So I watched TAR4 and now I.AM.HOOKED. Because the show rocks, Miss Alli rocks and so all the funny posters here.

Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with these forums now that I have high speed access at home.

Anywho...from my lurking way back, someone here suggested the Crest Cinnamon expression toothpaste. So I decided to try it out since I HATE mint flavor (and don't even get me started on people ruining good chocolate by putting mint in it) and I LURVE my new sparkly cinnamon toothpaste. So thanks to whoever suggested it.

On a travel note, I am blonde-haired (w/the help of my stylist) and blue-eyed and for a good 2 to 3 years following 9/11, I was ALWAYS selected for secondary screening. Apparently, the underwire bra that I use to rein in my enormous rack is cause for serious concern and scrutiny. And my strappy black dress sandals apparently have steel inserts in the heel which make me Public Enemy #1. I just shrug it off until they start pawing throughmy bag and wadding up my nicely packed clothes. *grrrr*

And finally...CONGRATULATIONS to JenEx I know you don't know me but friends of mine brought home their adopted Chinese daughter about 4 years ago and the whole family couldn't be happier. Hope the process does smoothly for you!

Ah, security stories. I was in Berlin in March and went with a couple of friends to the Reichstag. To go up into the dome (which, by the way, is TOTALLY COOL and highly recommended) you have to go through fairly tight security (understandably, as you actually look down through a glass thingy to where the German government sits), including metal detectors. Now, our sample size was only three, so obviously this may not be a valid conclusion, but we noticed a clear relationship between underwire-bra wearing and setting off of the metal detectors. It's a wee bit embarassing when they're waving the wand over you after that and it makes its little sounds as it passes your chest.

I travel somewhat regularly to Russia, and used to complain about visa issues there. I've stopped, after hearing so many more stories about problems with US immigration. I do get that it's a tough job, but after a certain number of nightmare stories I lose some of my sympathy for those causing them.

ETA: I can't believe someone else was writing about the underwire conspiracy at the same time!

I'm from PA, and it's really depressing to drive on the interstates there. I live in VA now, but whenever I go home to visit, as soon as I cross the border, it's like a deer cemetary, only without the burying part. As my mother says, "Welcome to Pennsylvania. As you can see, all our animals are dead on the road..."

And so do all you old-school TARflies, because all the old forum ads you used to run are what got me hooked on this show, too. I finally thought, my God, if they love it *that* much, I'll have to see what all the fuss is about. So thanks!

Speaking of banners, if you're an old timer who wants to reminisce or a newbie who wants to see what we're talking about, they are archived at the TARflies Times website. (Just click on the banner link on the homepage.) It's funny, how many of those banners were about getting an air date for TAR 4 and now we're about to have TAR 5 and 6 airing back-to-back. One long weekend left!

And this makes post number 2900 for me. Just 2100 to go!

Actually, my favorite part of the underwire bra experience has to be the statement "If the wand goes off I will touch you in that location to see what has caused it". I went through my twenties without anyone paying any attention to me. Who knew in my thirties I'd be getting felt up by half of a federal agency on a regular basis. "No, really, IT'S A BRA!!!!"

The underwire is acutally a deadly weapon though. I can tell you, there is no pain like the pain you feel if that little piece of wire breaks through the fabric to stab you under the arm. Fortunately, none of the axis of evil has yet thought about stabbing a flight attendent or pilot by whipping a piece of underwire out.

Oh, man, thanks for that link, schnauzers. Good times, good times. I remember looking forward to the new forum ads each morning. Why yes, I have always been this lame.

Mr. Blevins always seems to have the bad luck to get pulled aside for baggage searches at airports. His backpack has two fairly sizable compartments and yet not one searcher person (at an airport or anywhere else) has ever bothered to check the second one. It's like the magic secret pocket. It's become our secret weapon for sneaking beverages into baseball games and the like.

My favorite airport security story took place before 9/11, but at Belfast Airport in Northern Ireland, so the security was already ramped up. I got through the pat-down and baggage inspection that they did before you can get into the airport just fine, but when I got to the check -in desk, the counter agent seemed to get it stuck in her head that I was carrying live animals ... in my laptop bag. She asked at least three times. I was half convinced that I was going to have to borrow a screwdriver and start taking to computer apart to prove to her that there weren't any critters hanging out inside the computer.

I'm not one to defend screwball security tactics, but I will say that two years ago when I went to Mexico (with a stopover in Houston), I got the extra security check at every stop - LGA and Houston on the way down, Puerto Vallarta and Houston on the way back up. And me? blonde hair, blue eyed, whitest white person you could ever meet (my only pigmentation appears in the form of freckles).

And it's not just then - I get the "special" search all the time, and often open my suitcase after I get home to find the "this bag has been searched by the TSA" message inside (on that point, I figure that if they want to root through my dirty underclothes looking for a bomb, more power to them!)

and this:

I've actually had to go home from work because of underwire bra poking...

On our church's second trip to Estonia (the first after 9/11), our pastor got pulled over at the gate for a special search in every U.S. airport we went through. He has dark hair and brown eyes, sure, but his skin isn't really dark at all. And we were all wearing matching shirts with American flags on them, a cross and the name of our church in a small town in Oklahoma.

The first time we went, though, pre-9/11, my husband carried his Leatherman pocket tool (with several knives) through every airport and onto every plane except the one originating in Finland. They were the only people to require that he check it. They boxed it up for him and put it with the checked luggage, and he picked it up in New York. JFK security never said a word about it. I remember being surprised at the time that the U.S. airports let him through with it and thinking (after he got stopped in Helsinki) that U.S. airports' security was really lax. How little I knew.

ETA: We also had several women get special treatment because of underwire bras. And one full-figured woman set off the alarm with the hooks in the back of her bra.

My husband also used to regularly set off alarms with his Soviet-made watch (bought in Africa), but he never takes it to Estonia. We sort of figure the Estonians might be offended by the Soviet stuff.