TARA, let's... not

The Amazing Race Asia is now accepting audition tapes for their 3rd season. For weeks now my dad has been half-joking that we (meaning he and I) should try out, that we could be just like the father-daughter tandem of Ron and Christina from The Amazing Race Season 12. Every Thursday, while watching TARA, he'd enthusiastically reiterate his suggestion, blowing bubbles faster than I can burst them. Never mind that I can't drive a stickshift (I can barely drive an automatic), or that I have weak knees AND a heart condition, or that I have no sense of direction whatsoever. Never mind that he complains about walking long distances, or that he gets low blood sugar attacks, or that he has practically no tolerance for cold temperatures. And never mind that we'll probably lose our tempers with each other (me being a know-it-all control freak, him being a pessimistic worrywart) within the first 10 minutes of running the race. No, in the face of everything we have going against us, my dad still seems to have visions of Allan Wu (too) cheerfully announcing "Benito and Aileesa, you are team number one!" dancing in his head.

Delusions of reality TV grandeur (and annoying host) aside, we're all enjoying keeping tabs on TARA, primarily because we're rooting for Marc and Rovilson. Ok, so maybe I'm rooting for them for reasons totally different from my family's (although I suspect my mom is harboring a secret crush on Marc, because every episode, she never fails to remark on how good-looking and "mabait" he is -- that's the closest thing my mom has ever come to gushing). In any case, we all want them to win this thing. It actually came as a relief when they came in 2nd to the Singaporean guys in the last leg, because their 7-leg winning streak was becoming scary: if a team is so obviously dominant, the law of averages tends to catch up with them towards the end (think Frat Boys from Season 9, which the Hippies ended up winning). I'd rather Marc and Rovilson lose a few legs along the way and win the race in the end, rather than keep winning all the way only to lose at the finish line.

Will end this post with some TARA chismis: I have it from a reliable inside source that not only are Rovilson and Vanessa (the prettier of the Malaysian sisters) an item, but Marc and Paula (the prettier of the Thai girls) are dating too. The latter couple was reported to have gone whale shark-diving in Donsol earlier this month, and recently made the rounds of Manila's radio stations for some interviews. I think they make an almost absurdly attractive pair (conceded despite my seething envy).