The Diary of Henry Reed: TARA 2 Episode Three

REAL MEN DO CRY



Hey Guys,

AMAZING!!! Really AMAZING!!!! This episode 3 was truly amazing!!!! So much to talk about but first .... gotta get the sour grapes out of the way so maybe I can turn them into sweet wine .....

I had suspicions that Terri and me had the best times for both legs in the Philippines. Well, we did. On the first leg, no one beat us by more than 3 hours and on the second leg, the first place team started 2hrs and 42 minutes before us and finished 1hr and 47 minutes ahead of us. On that leg, we made up almost an hour! I say that to say this ..... Missing that flight in Singapore cost us 3 1/2 hours. If it were our fault, cool, we just fucked up. But I'm even more convinced now that the cab with the picture we were given was NOT there. I'm still in "negotiations" about this one.

For Monica and Ed ... I'm 100% sure they got screwed with their cab 'cause in the first episode, you actually got a chance to see on the show that another team was in the cab that was marked for them ... now, on with the greatness.

I love numbers and the finite quality of math. It's right or wrong ... no gray. You get your solution and move on ... simple ... but counting HK$140,000 ... not so simple. I couldn't believe it! From the clue, I was pretty sure we had to count money so on the way there, I had developed a "system" to make sure we were in and out quick but it just didn't work. Most teams took many attempts and over 2 hours to count that money ... and I'm embarrassed to admit .. I was among the "most." That chick that was saying "Sorry, that is incorrect" just kept smiling. But after about 5 or 6 attempts, my perception turned that smile into an irritating smugness and I wanted to jump the counter and choke the shit out of her! On one attempt, she even gave us a little head fake .. she started to reach for the clue ...I thought "whew ... finally" ... and then "Sorry, that is incorrect." AUUUUGGGHHHH!!!! I was so glad to finally get the heck outa there.

At the airport, we found that we had to wait about 10 hours for the first flight to Auckland so Terri and me hit the town for a little sight seeing and local flare. It was cool and a nice break from the stress of the race. We found a nice restaurant and had a pretty relaxing dinner ... except for all the jack hammering .. yea, we just can't seem to catch a break and turned out the place above the restaurant was under construction so they were busting concrete thruout our entire meal Ay Naku!

The rules say that no Team member can do more than 6 Road Blocks. That's the ones where only one person does the task and the other one just offers support. You really don't know how many there are gonna be during the race and you really don't know exactly what it's gonna be until AFTER you decide who's gonna do it. And once you decide, you can't change you mind.

Our plan was that I would do the first 2 and then we would alternate unless it was one we 'thought' involved swimming and then Terri would do it. That way, we'd make sure I did more that Terri. The first one in NZ was supposed to be mine but Terri ripped the words right out of my mouth. You can see the stunned look on my face. Especially since we're in NZ, the adventure capital of the world so I'm thinking "take the plunge" either means skydiving or bungee. Both things I love and Terri hates so I was ready to go!

That's what made the ride to the bridge so surreal. I was disappointed that I was gonna miss my chance to bungee from a bridge in New Zealand .... DAMN! At the same time, my wife was crying and more and more, screaming at ME!! Hell, she was the one that broke the program and picked out of order. I finally snapped and that's what you saw on TV.

The great news ... after all the bitchin', Terri did that bungee like a pro! I don't think I've ever been more proud of my wife than at that moment.

When we picked the wall, I was thinking that the wall would be geared to beginners but trust me, that wall was no joke! Unless you had some experience at climbing walls, you were pretty much shit outa luck. Afterwards, I learned that it's really about 30% strength and 70% technique. Sophie and Paula made the climb ... no problem. But if I could line up against them in a no-holds barred, steel cage match ... yea, then let's see how good they'd do!!!!

The wall was a bust so we ended up doing the waka boat ... it's that funky half pontoon boat thingy. We were briefed by the locals on exactly how to handle the boat. Unfortunately, Terri knows everything and is never wrong so working together was gonna be a challenge. Add to that the fact that that freakin' boat would flip over if you both just looked to the right at the same time, let alone paddle out of sequence or lean. We flipped 3 times!!! I couldn't believe how COLD the water was. The first time, my chest was so constricted I felt like I was trying to breathe thru a hypodermic needle. It was all I could do to not panic and get back in the game. The last flip came about 3 feet from the pier. I should have done like Sawaka and put my left foot out on that pontoon ... smart girl.

We were so close that we just decided to walk the rest of the way. Unfortunately, there was a HUGE concrete block under the water that I smashed my shin into ...OUCH!!. So now, along with all the scars I have form playing football on astro-turf, crashing my bike and a few other childhood accidents, I now have a permanent 5 inch scar on my shin from a waka boat in New Zealand!!! ..... cool .....

Watching Brett and Kinar crying together at the bottom of that wall brought tears to the whole world. 30 years from now, I hope to meet their grandkids and tell them what great genes they come from. Brett and Kinar are truly great people and should have gone a lot further in the race but in that respect, the race really isn't 'fair.' The 'best' team doesn't always finish first. I really wish we could've spent more time with them and absorbed more of their aura. We'd be better people for it.

And speaking of crying ... the AXN web site says that Terri and I were crying because we finished last on the first 2 legs. That is 100% NOT TRUE! Unfortunately, my therapist says I'm still to close to the fire to tell the real reason. It could set me back in my treatment for years .. heh, heh, heh ... so I don't plan to really talk about that for a while .. if ever .... sorry ...

It was difficult to get a good feel for it on TV, but that Haunted House was amazing! One of the scariest things I've ever done. I knew it was fake but fortunately, we arrived in a position where there was no chance of being eliminated so we could give in to the experience and really enjoy the show. They were very touchy, feely in that place. Not sure how they did it but they would drag that ice cold butcher knife across your throat and you could really feel the 'blood' dripping down your neck. It was crazy! The rules were, they could touch you but you couldn't touch them and they definitely touched .. and pushed and dragged you all thru that house. It was full of huge, ghastly beasts and it was difficult to tell whether some of them were men or women ... I don't think they test for steroids in that place ...

We finished that leg in 5th place but the real story was New Zealand is one of the greatest places on earth. A very active, sports minded community. The mailmen ride bikes and just about everybody is fit. And everyone we met were big fans of The Amazing Race so it was easy to get help. Most people would just tell you to follow them and they'd lead you wherever you had to go. Incredible.

Well, that's about all for now. There's a bunch of new pics and the latest trailer at

http://amazing-race-asia.axn-asia.com/

I've already seen some of the previews for Episode 4 ... this show just keeps gettin' better and better.

Holla,

Henry