It finally feels like autumn now outside, just in time for Halloween.  I’ll post some pictures later this week of the house so you can see it all decked out for the holiday.  Hopefully we get lots of kids to the house, because as usual I have purchased approximately 13 pounds of candy….which I will undoubtedly eat all by myself if no kids come to the house….so I hope they do…..the Hubby has decided to quit smoking.  So, unlike me who has issues with will power, he will positively succeed at this.  But that doesn’t mean he won’t be grumpy about it for a few days….so I’m trying to coast through this week without making him crazy for any reason…..and having lots of candy on hand apparently makes ex-smokers very very happy.  I will also attempt to get a picture of the Pumpkin with her pumpkin hat on….I make no promises….this is eerily similar to getting a snapshot of Nessie or Bigfoot…..the Pumpkin can be equally as elusive when I start chasing her around the house with the camera and the hat.  Keep your fingers crossed.

 

On to the show.  So we start off seeing Peter and the little lassie pack up for Montreal.  You know thanks to her awesome accent in this, now when I say all this in my head it’s with the same accent.  Becawse Ay’m gonr kill ‘er.  Of course she wants to kill the girl who murdered her brother….stupid question Peter.  So Claire is trying out for the cheerleading team that she already told Papa she was on….and of course the Evil Cheer Leader turns her down in humiliating fashion, adding that Claire is just not “Extra Ordinary”.  Oh, the irony.  And this girl, this actress, plays Evil Cheer Leader quite well.  Man, I hate her.

 

Mohinder is watching Monica do crazy gymnastic feats of amazing wonder to prove that she really has a Great Ability.  Now, Bing wants Mohinder to inject Monica with a form of the virus that will hopefully end her abilities without harming her….which seems totally unfair….why not wait and inject Maya?  That’s obviously a power nobody needs….but of course that would make too much sense.  Mohinder of course is outraged at the thought of it…but agrees in the end.  Go Mohinder.  Way to stick to your guns there buddy boy….

 

So Annoying has the brilliant plan of humiliating the Evil Cheer Leader in order to get the other Cheer Lemmings to let Claire onto the squad….oh….this should be good.  Meanwhile…..still not in the United States…..Maya is talking to Sylar in the car about her abilities and he tells her he used to have abilities…which he clearly still has, I mean how else did he seemingly fall out of the sky into the middle of the road where these two happened to be traveling?  So anyway, Alejandro is suspicious.  I know this because he crinkled up his face into the Alejandro suspicious look.  You really should have learned to speak some English before traveling here man….it probably would have been helpful when driving along with a mass murderer in your car….

 

So over in the Ukraine, Papa Bennett and Voodoo Man break into some Russian guy’s house.  Papa clearly used to know this guy, it even sounds like this guy trained Papa to be the cold-hearted slave to the Company that he used to be.  So Russian Guy apparently knows where the paintings are, but refuses to talk.  So, Papa threatens to make Voodoo Man erase all of Russian Guy’s most precious memories.  That’s pretty evil, actually…just one question.  Is it really torture if the victim doesn’t know they’re being tortured?  I mean, what if I just knock you out and when you wake up, say, so do you remember anything about going on a date with Russell Crowe to see a rugby match in Australia three years ago?  And you’d go, no.  And I’d go, AHA!  See!  I erased your memory!!  I mean, that would work just as well, right?  Anyway, so Russian Guy is convinced its working and decides to offer Papa a place in the Company again to stop the torture.  He even promises that Papa will learn everything there is to know about the paintings.  Nice offer.

 

So Mohinder chickens out of giving Monica the shot and confronts Bing, whining about how he can’t do it and this is wrong, blah blah blah.  He’s taking Molly and his toys and he’s leaving.  And then he smashes all of the virus…which I assume isn’t airborne…..because that would have kind of sucked.  The Super Twins have finally made it to America.  Glory Hallelujah!!!  And then the Citizen Border Patrol stops them.  As a matter of fact, like seven black SUVs kind of come out of nowhere….you’re trying to tell me that the Super Twins and Sylar didn’t notice those cars?  Anyway, Sylar tells Maya to give the Border Patrol the Ink-Eye so they can get out of there….which she does….while Alejandro complains vociferously (no one can understand you now!!!) and Sylar goes all woozy/dead-like until they are in the clear.  Alejandro says don’t do that again, or I’m leaving.  And Sylar tells Alejandro to his face he’s going to kill him and his sister.  Now, this is a prime example of how knowing the language would have come in handy….

 

Claire confronts the Evil Cheer Leader in the midst of a drinking/hazing party and asks to speak to her in private.  When she’s got her away from everyone else, Annoying swoops in, picks up Claire, drops her on the steps in the usual horrific bendy way and then chases the Evil Cheer Leader away.  Excellent.  Serves her right for being so Evil.  So naturally, she tries telling the police what happened and that Claire is dead and some guy is flying around and then of course Claire walks up and says, what’s going on guys?  The Evil Cheer Leader gets nabbed for being drunk and suspended from the squad and the other Cheer Lemmings invite Claire to join them.  How devious. 

 

So Bing tells Mohinder he’s so sorry, and he’s been preoccupied with a true threat (whatever that is) and offers Mohinder an assistant.  How nice.  You should leave anyway Suresh….but I’m sure you won’t now.  So gullible.  And it was either here or earlier we see a file on the table for an Adam Monroe (is he the true threat?).  Now for the legend of Hiro – Kensei and the Swordmaker’s daughter creep into White Beard’s camp and rescue Papa Swordmaker.  And while they are trying to escape, Hiro teleports the daughter away with him to protect her….and then she realizes he’s the one she really fell in love with….and then they kiss…..and of course Kensei saw the whole thing.  This is turning into a real love triangle.  So, Hiro finds Kensei later and says he is sorry and that it won’t happen again and he accidentally fell in love with her…Kensei seems to accept that….but then he bonks Hiro over the head from behind and White Beard shows up with Papa and Daughter Swordmaker.  Kensei has turned against everyone.  Um….talk about one step forward and two steps back…..Hiro…..what have you done?  Who will be the Hero now?  Is Hiro the real Hero?  Does he end up being the Kensai of Legend, does he end up being his own hero? Cause that would be awesome.

 

So, the Russian Guy finally caves in and gives the location of the paintings to Papa Bennett.  And to show his appreciation, Papa shoots the Russian Guy dead.  Wow….I guess he taught him well….

 

Bing takes Monica home, and gives her a cool iPod thingy with like an encyclopedia of everything she might ever want to imitate.  He says call whenever you need anything, and oh by the way, you’re enrolled in the Burger Bonanza Management Training Program….like she cares about that now…..and back at the Company Mohinder learns that Niki is his new partner/watch dog…..or is it Jessica?

 

Now the ending gets a little confusing.  Papa and Voodoo Man find the paintings….but we only get to see a few of them….none of which makes any sense at all….we see someone holding a vial (which I assume is the virus), we see a blonde (maybe Niki) beating on a window or a door, we see Kensei in a sword fight with Hiro, we see Peter pointing a gun at someone and he has a broken nose, and there was another painting off to the side which we couldn’t really see the whole thing just someone who looked like Peter.  And there was another one off to the other side that looked like someone collapsed on some steps….but I can’t really be sure.  I rewound this a few times to make sure I got everything….and I think that’s it.  Peter and the little lassie make it to Montreal and to the building in the painting (which has the helix over the doorstep), they go inside and find what looks like some sort of antique store.  They find a note to Peter from ‘Adam’ that says “We were right about the Company.  The World is in danger.  It’s up to us.” Then Peter gets frustrated, the little lassie hugs him, he wishes for answers and then the two of them get transported one year into the future.  Specifically June 14, 2008.  A virus has broken out in New York City and the place has been evacuated….oh dear…..maybe that virus was airborne? 

 

So who is Adam Monroe?  Is he Peter’s alter ego (like Niki/Jessica)?  Did he make Peter the way he is, or did he ship Peter away to safety in the crate?  Can Peter wish himself into the future…..like Hiro?!?!?  Is the Blue Lightening girl Bing’s daughter?  Did that other Lemming Cheerleader overhear Claire and Annoying talk about their hoax?  Why are all the other Original Heroes still alive even though they’ve been jinxed?  Didn’t Sulu say he had 24 hours to live after finding the picture?  When will Molly wake up?  Where have Parkman and Nathan gotten off to? 

 

More questions…even more.  I do have one answer.  The episode was in memory of a ‘Tim Susco’.  In case you were curious, he was an uncredited assistant location manager for one episode of the show.  He was from Reston, Virginia.  He died on August 15 from a brain aneurysm.  He was 25 years old. 

 

http://inlovingmemoryoftimsusco.legacy.com/lmw/Homepage.aspx

 

Aloha,

Heather

Yeah, I'll tell you all about both of these episodes too.  You know the Hubby and I were sitting in front of the boob tube all last weekend to get ourselves caught back up with all the TV we missed.  Normally, I curse the stupid baseball playoffs and World Series for interrupting the normal schedule....but this year it has been a welcome relief.  Go Soxs!  So, anyway two weeks ago Bland Man had been voted out thankfully and now everyone is really bored without the drama.  Snowman thinks that the Tigers should be a good team even though they're not.  Sherea is ready for things to be shaken up....kind of a drag without the Bland Man making you crazy, huh?  Erik the Silent and the Princess seem to really like each other.  I don't how you could possibly be attracted to anyone in the Chinese Outback without deoderant, mouthwash or razors for hairy arm pits....but they look cute together.  And then Erik explains why he is so quiet all the time....he's a virgin.....no joke.  And the poor little Princess tries not to sound surprised and goes, oh I think that's neat.  <chuckle>  Seriously, why is there such a double-standard with that.  If a girl's a virgin it's really no big deal...but a guy?  Granted Erik is like 25...and he's cute....maybe he lives in a really small town.  So anyway now Erik the Virgin has completely gained the trust of the Princess, you know because virgins are so trustworthy, so she tells him about the hidden immunity idol.

 

Back over at the Dragon camp, we get to follow around Cutey Pie and the Lunch Lady while they do all the work around camp.  And Cutey Pie, bless his heart, says if he was older or Lunch Lady was younger...you never know what could happen because he likes a woman with a strong work ethic.  Oh really?  That's sweet.  It really is....because he sounded so sincere.  So Cutey Pie basically does everything around camp and wins challenges for the Dragons.  He probably has a huge target on his chest and doesn't even know it yet.

 

So the Chinese boatmen bring the teams their next tree-mails things and whaddya know?  The Dragons have to pick two of the Tigers to come over and join their team.  But they know they will have two of their own sent over to join the Tigers as well, and everybody knows the Tigers are going to pick Cutey Pie and Aaron.  The Tigers on the other hand are completely clueless that this treemail will go both ways....they think they are getting two Dragons and the Dragons are getting nothing.  Don't be ridiculous!  But it is pretty sweet that they are getting their hopes up like this....only to be crushed after the next commercial break.

 

So the Dragons get the news that its Cutey Pie and Aaron the Tigers have picked and then the Tigers get the news that Sherea and Snowman are going over to the Dragons....WHAT?!?!?!  Heeheeheeheee....you morons.  Of course that's how it was going to work.  So anyway, everybody tries to remain calm and both teams get a basket o' goodies to enjoy when they get their new tribe members.  The People Reader Poker Player gets up early the next day over at the Dragon team and starts making breakfast.  This motivation to actually do some work has clearly come from his keen awareness that his neck is on the chopping block.  Nobody is buying it.  And when he asks Lunch Lady to help him with the fish net, she snaps back that he shouldn't be ordering anyone around...ooooOOOOOoooo....now Sherea and Snowman know there is a weak link on this tribe.

 

So Aaron is basically hanging Cutey Pie out to dry telling the Tigers that he is waaaaaaaaaaay stronger than any of them (no kidding) and basically the only reason that his team was winning challenges (NO kidding).  But he shouldn't go home!!!  Not yet!!!  He's way too cute for that!!  At least put him on the jury and then I can still see him every week....The Movie Rating is kind of skeptical of Aaron, she's thinks he's too devious....so she suggests to the Princess that they throw the next two challenges to get the Dragons kicked out and even up the Tiger numbers so when they merge the Tigers will be strong.  OH NO!!!  This is a great plan, everyone should think like this in the game....but he's soooooooooooo cute!!

 

Time for the Immunity Challenge and the teams have to swim out to a platform and get all these puzzle pieces and then bring them back to shore and the other team members have to put the puzzle together.  The Virgin and Aaron are swimming, and the People Reader and Snowman are swimming.  Back to the beach and the Tigers are ahead....but the Movie Rating and the Princess are not trying to hide very well the fact that they are throwing this challenge.  Jeffy even comments on it.  The Princess is laughing and the Movie Rating acts very distracted.  And Cutey Pie is fuming.  So, obviously the Dragons win immunity.  The Tigers get back to camp and Cutey Pie is yelling at everyone to get serious.  The boys ask the Virgin what the hell is going on and of course he doesn't know (guess she doesn't trust you that much) so he goes to confront the girls and they let him in on it.  Now he's uneasy because he's not sure he can trust them anymore, but he really has no choice at this point.  They decide Aaron should be the one to go since he probably has more alliances set up with the Dragons.  Then the Moving Rating asks Cutey Pie if he wants to stay longer than Aaron and he is so pissed he says no.  (AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!!)  He says Aaron deserves it and he can't stand losing. 

 

Off to tribal council.  Jeffy asks why the Princess has that dumb grin on her face and then says it looks like you were throwing the challenge which she, without hesitation, admits to....and Cutey Pie looked like he wanted to throttle the girl.  Cutey says this is why this team loses all the time....they don't care.  But honestly, it's an excellent strategy....if they follow through with it.  Time to vote.  Once the votes are read, the decision is final.  The person being voted out will have to leave the tribal council area immediately.  Cutey votes for the Movie Rating, Aaron votes for Cutey....and everyone else votes for.............Aaron.  Oh thank God....but Cutey is even more pissed now....Jeffy says if your assumptions are right this move could be very good for you, if not you could be in trouble....

 

On to this week's episode.  At the Tiger camp, Cutey is still doing all the work even though he knows he'll be the next to go.  Movie Rating offers to help, but you know she doesn't really want to...no, she just wants to wallow in the glory of her brilliant strategy and how it played out the previous night.  Good for her...they got rid of a strong player....it still feels kind of skeevy....but it's the only way for the weaklings to outplay the stronger players.

 

Over at Dragon camp, Pixie Todd tells Topless Amanda about the clues to the hidden immunity idol because he hasn't been able to find it and wants her help and also wants to solidify her trust in him.  They decide to kidnap Cutey at the next challenge so that he can give them the next clue....hmmm.....Pixie Todd is a favorite to win this thing I think.  He's very good at the strategy so far....very good....so it's Reward Challenge time.  The winning team gets to go to some Chinese Tea House for food, showers and toilet paper.  Sounds nice.  The challenge is another puzzle; the teams have to run into this building to find these plank puzzle pieces and then once they have all the puzzle pieces...blah blah blah.  So the race is pretty much neck in neck....the Movie Rating whispers to Sherea during the race that they're looking out for her and Snowman.  The Dragons start deciphering their puzzle first and recognize the most recognizable quote every - "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  Well, of course it does.  And of course the Dragons win...so they kidnap Cutey who gets to go to the Reward with them....ahhhhhhhhhhhh....Karma.

 

So at the Tea House everyone is eating and bathing, the People Reader is making lewd comments about Topless Amanda and Cruella (ewwww!!!), and Cutey is taking a shower and showing off his perfect naked butt.....which even though blurred out on TV was still quite obviously fantastic based on the reactions of all the girls.  Even Lunch Lady took a good long look...<chuckle>.  Back at Tiger camp, the Movie Rating is starting to question her strategy....Sherea didn't respond to her comment during the game and Snowman was not making eye contact with them.....so they may have been turned already.....so now the three musketeers feel like they need to win the next Immunity Challenge to save themselves.

 

Back at Dragon camp and the brilliant Pixie Todd tells Cutey he wants the clue, and its for the hidden immunity and he'll give Cutey the immunity if he gives him the clue....aha!  So Cutey does because he really has no other choice.  So Topless Amanda comes up with the brilliant idea of deconstructing the archway where the idol is hidden to distract everyone from what Pixie is doing trying to pry it out of the top beam....ridiculous....why do it while everyone is right there....and inevitably Snowman comes over to help....and of course Pixie Todd freaks out.....the Immunity idol comes loose and now Snowman knows about it.  So he is now part of their alliance by default.  What luck!  So they give the idol to Cutey and say that the Dragons absolutely must win the next Immunity challenge for this to work....Cutey agrees to throw the challenge for the Tigers even though he still thinks they'll be throwing it anyway.  Uh oh.............

 

The Immunity Challenge this week is the dreaded Fear Factor eating extravaganza.....the teams have to eat gross local food and whoever chokes it down the fastest gets a point.  Round 1 is Snowman versus the Movie Rating and the point went to the Dragons when the Snowman choked down his chicken hearts the fastest.  Round 2 is Cruella versus the Princess....eating eels...this doesn't even seem fair.  Cruella has no room in her emaciated body for a gulp of air, let alone disgusting food, so now the teams are tied.  Round 3 is Topless versus the Virgin munching on baby turtles (gag) and the Virgin swallows it down first.  The Tigers are up!!!  Round 4 is Lunch Lady versus Cutey eating a chicken fetus (feathers and all) and I seriously almost couldn't watch this one.  Poor Lunch Lady couldn't stop her gag reflex and couldn't get anything down....and Cutey basically stopped eating altogether to give her a chance to win....and then in the end he couldn't hold out anymore, he was forced to win....so much for throwing the game....So the Tigers are up 3 to 1.  It all comes down to Round 5, it's Snowman versus Virgin eating a thousand year old egg....and you'd think they were in a pie eating contest as fast as those things went down....but Virgin edged out a win (really only because Jeffy looked at him first) so the Tigers win....and completely spoil Pixie Todd's plan.

 

So back at camp, the Dragons are very depressed....they decide to vote off Sherea to stick with their original plan of thinning out the Tigers.  But Cruella likes Sherea and wants to vote off the People Reader.  She makes her case to Pixie and Topless....and Pixie later says (brilliantly) that they really should do what the others want otherwise they look like power players....genius.  Of course you should....so we're off to the Tribal Council.  And of course Jeffy asks the People Reader how things are going, and he, very modestly, says he's a new man working around camp and Sherea immediately jumps in and starts yelling at him.  Oh sheesh....this woman is so abrasive and "in your face"....the same way she was with Bland Man.  Some people just can't open their mouths without making things worse...and she's one of those people.  But then Cruella starts defending Sherea by mocking the People Reader and saying, what makes him a 'bad boy'?  Then she says she feels like an outsider in her tribe and Pixie Todd is taken aback!  Of course she feels like an outsider....most people probably don't even see her walking around, she's practically two-dimensional.  So anyway, now that everyone is all worked up, it's time to vote.  Once the votes are read, the decision is final.  The person being voted out will have to leave the tribal council area immediately.  While Cruella and Sherea very predictably vote for the People Reader, everyone else votes for Sherea.  Good.  She annoyed me the most this week.  No words of wisdom from Jeffy, he just says see ya later.  So I will too.

 

Aloha,

Heather

 

Ok, ok, so I was on vacation last week and left you all hanging….a girl’s gotta take a break every now and again….so this week I’ll recap both episodes just so nothing is missing. 

 

The Kindness of Strangers

Papa Bennett is totally paranoid about the killer Cheerleader now….so he says who are you dating?  And she totally lies and says, no one.  Liar!!!  But I wouldn’t trust him either Claire….Molly is still having scary nightmares and scruffy Nathan visits his boys at school to tell them Granny is in the hospital.

 

Maya, Alejandro and the anonymous Driver are on the road (still trying to get to America….this is starting to feel like Prison Break!)….when all of the sudden they see someone passed out in the road.  And whaddya know, it’s Sylar!!  How’d he get there….did he get that girl’s powers after all?  So anyone, Maya is happy to meet him and then spills the beans about Dr. Suresh and the book and blah blah blah and happy day for Sylar, he has stumbled across another “Great Ability” he can suck out of someone.  Alejandro is suspicious, but other than that totally useless in this scene….

 

Micah is being terrorized by his cousin (a la Harry Potter), and we meet Monica who is apparently Ohura’s granddaughter.  She’s taken the fast food manager test and thinks that is going to help her “make it”….oh boy.  Dudley wants to watch pay per view wrestling…and Monica tells him no way you little spoiled brat, there’s no money for that….and now Micah Potter tells his mean old cousin, I think I know a way for you to watch wrestling….

 

Evil Mom is back and she’s confessing to the murder of Sulu….she tells Parkman telepathically to let it go….which of course he doesn’t, he just gets that confused look on his face again.  Parkman runs into a clean-shaven Nathan and says I know all about you Fly Boy and oh by the way, I can read minds.  So if I haven’t freaked you out yet, how about helping me out with this?  Annoying West sees the Cheerleader at school and she’s like, sooooooo we can’t date anymore.  It’s not you, it’s me.  And Annoying West annoys her into one last date, which she agrees to…..just because he’s so annoying….

 

So Monica has this friend at the Quickie Mart who reminds me of that woman in Men In Black….the one who’s husband turned into the bug….I have no idea what that actress’s name is….and she’s not even the same person….but this girl reminds me of that one.  Anyway, Monica is acting a little spooky by carving tomatoes into roses while she’s talking, and then we find out that her dreams have been ruined because she didn’t pass the manager test. 

 

The Cheerleader lies to everyone and says she’s going to the library but instead she meets up with Mr. Annoying.  Papa is suspicious and tries to follow her, but of course she’s already flown away by the time he comes lurking around the corner.  So Nathan recognized the group photo that all the other pictures had been torn from, and shows it to Parkman who immediately recognizes his dad.  Well, I’ll be….so these ‘abilities’ are definitely inherited. 

 

So the Cheerleader and Annoying are on top of the Hollywood sign (so cheesy) and talking about trusting each other and so Claire jumps off fully expecting to smash herself into little bits on the ground below (you know because she can’t 24 hours without mutilating her body in some way) when Annoying catches her mid-fall……..this is a little sappy……….but Annoying does have the brilliant idea of telling Papa Bennett that she tried out for cheerleading instead of going to the library….because that’s a more believable lie……hmmmm…..I think this kid may be a bad influence on our little Cheerleader.

 

Micah Potter gets the pay per view working which of course pleases fat Dudley.  Monica tells him he shouldn’t have done it….while she seems totally engrossed with the wrestling….so Parkman comes home to Molly and Suresh and explains about his dad and then asks Molly to find him and shows her the picture.  She totally flips out and says that’s the man she’s been having nightmares about…………..AAAAAAAAAAAHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!  It’s all starting to make sense now………not really….but I feel like it should be making sense by now…..

 

So the Anonymous Driver finds a Wanted poster of Maya and Alejandro and tells Sylar they have to call the police.  So naturally Sylar kills the guy and then confronts the Super Twins.  Maya freaks out as usual, Alejandro calms her down and Sylar figures out they both have powers…..very very interesting…..so of course he wants to help them out.  At least until he can cut their brains open and get their powers for himself.

 

So the Cheerleader sneaks back in her house and of course Papa is waiting up to figure out why she lied to him….so she lies again and tells him that she tried out for cheerleading (nice one West) which he seems to believe.  And after the normal – I told you not to do that – argument, Claire agrees to not date anyone so she can stay on the cheerleading squad.  Okaaaaaaaaaaay…..now she’s even more uneasy about Papa…..because what a weird demand….right?  The Haitian guy shows up and says the other paintings are in Odessa.  ROAD TRIP!!

 

Back at the Quickie Mart, some thug tries to rob the store and Monica goes all Triple H on the guy…..hmmm….starting to see a connection here.  Parkman wants Molly to help him find his dad, Suresh says no way….Molly says she’ll do it.  So she finds him and then freaks out and then passes out.  Apparently Papa Parkman found her too.

 

No Hiro this episode, that was a little disappointing.  No Peter….that was really disappointing…The Super Twins are starting to get super annoying….so I kind of hope Sylar offs them.  Monica is an interesting character….why do people get their powers at such random times in their lives?  And there were a few people in that picture that we’ve never seen before, minus the ones that we know are dead, Evil Mom, Bing and Parkman’s dad.  Moving right along to this week’s episode –

 

Pandora’s Box (not the real title, the real title was Fight or Flight, which I thought was kind of stupid)

Mohinder is angry with Parkman for putting Molly in a coma, which wasn’t exactly his fault, but close enough.  Monica won’t tell the police who the thug was who broke into the Quickie Mart because she doesn’t want to cause trouble.  Ahhhh, and here’s Peter and Caitlin kissing again.  And what’s this?  Some blonde girl looking for Peter?  We’ve never seen her before, have we?  And oh my……….she’s got a little static electricity problem too………hmmmm……I’m guessing that’s not a coincidence.

 

So, Ricky comes into the pub and interrupts the kissers to warn Peter about the blonde.  He says go hide in my sister’s flat until I get rid of the blonde….um…..what the hell?  Hide?  That was kind of a lame excuse to get Peter out of there…..I have a bad feeling about Ricky.  Unless he has some powers we never knew about, I think he may be a goner. 

 

Monica confides in the redhead that something weird is happening to her – she sees something on TV and then she can do it.  Huh.  That would be seriously cool.  Especially considering the amount of TV I watch.  So Nathan goes with Parkman to track down his deadbeat dad in Philadelphia.  They find his apartment pretty easily thanks to Molly.  And here he is, totally paranoid, waving around a shotgun and he recognizes his kid (after Nathan calls him Parkman)….Parkman says why are you harassing Molly in her dreams, which the guy never really answers….not really, but instead shows Parkman and Nathan his own picture with the red helix through it. 

 

So Papa Parkman sheds some light on the Elder Heroes gang.  They apparently mysteriously found each other and thought they could save the world….interesting….and eerily similar to this gang of heroes.  Parkman tries to read Papa’s mind and of course can’t, that would be way too easy. 

 

So Monica comes home and hears Micah playing the piano, she sits down to listen and without realizing what she’s doing, starts playing with him.  This totally freaks her out and Micah seems a little curious about what is going on.  Mohinder decides to take Molly to the Company to get her some help….Papa Bennett thinks that’s a terrible idea….I agree….why is Mohinder so stupid sometimes….

 

So Papa Parkman has successfully convinced Parkman to take the cuffs off so that he can explain….<shaking my head> don’t trust this guy, he seems kind of sketchy to me.  So he tells them that some of the Elder Heroes began using their powers for evil (well of course they did) but he tried to stop them, then he says he wants to show Parkman something….and the door slams behind them, this is not good.  Parkman is in some dark room and Nathan breaks in to help him…..but now they have both been transported to some other place and time…..how’d he do that?

 

HIRO!!  I missed you.  Ando is getting a museum guy to help him read the scrolls Hiro left for him to read.  And we hear more about the story of Kensai and the swordmakers daughter and their quest….so cool.  They have the last clue in their journey, a map to White Beard’s camp.  So they’re on their way, but I’m guessing this is not going to end the way Hiro expects it to….

 

Micah explains to Monica that she has special powers and shows her what he can do by turning on the TV just by touching the screen (not the power button).  He calls her a ‘muscle mimic’ and shows her a comic book with the Ninth Wonder in it….the Saint Joan character.  Is this some kind of reference to Joan of Arc, talking to God, martyr…..I wonder. 

 

Molly is at the Company and Bing tells Mohinder he needs him to go pick up a new freak….then Nikki attacks them and Mohinder manages to taser her before she can choke Bing to death….what’s she doing there?  I thought she had to run an errand for them before they fixed her?

 

So now Peter is hiding out in Caitlin’s apartment….she’s a painter (just like Isaac)…so Peter decides to open the box.  Finally.  Open the box!!!  And there’s basically nothing in there – a plane ticket to Montreal, his passport, some money…..AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!  Totally useless.  Then, just because I thought of Isaac….he goes all white-eye on us and starts painting in a trance….ooooooooOOOOOOoooooo…..he does seem to have everybody’s abilities now….doesn’t he?

 

So now I finally realize that Parkman and Nathan have not been transported to another time/place, they are actually in their own respective nightmares….except they are fighting against each other.  Nathan sees the burnt up guy, who is really himself…..aha!  Parkman pulls himself out of the nightmare somehow and manages to keep Nathan from choking him to death….they realize Papa Parkman is gone.  But before they leave in total defeat, they find another picture – this time it’s Bing and he has the red helix too.

 

Ando is still at the museum deciphering the scrolls Hiro left him.  We hear a tiny bit more of the story.  Kensai, the daughter and Hiro find White Beard’s camp which happens to be full of an entire army.  They decide to attack anyway…which we don’t hear anything about….three against an army….the stuff of legend.

 

Mohinder shows up to collect Monica.  The Blonde is speaking on the phone, and it was either at this point or some time earlier she mentioned the Company….oh boy.  So I’m pretty sure she killed Ricky, that’s too bad.  Now she’s fussing about coming home and says, well ok I had to kill someone, so what.  So yeah, pretty positive she killed Ricky.  Then she apparently agrees to come home, and we find out she’s talking to her daddy.  Lots of dads in this show….you know?  So anyway, Peter finishes painting and he thinks it looks like himself and Caitlin standing in Paris and she says it may be Montreal and then the phone rings and Caitlin finds out her brother is dead.

 

Oh boy.  This was a good episode!!  So what’s up with all the biblical name  and saint references – Joan, Peter, Gabriel (Sylar), Angela, Isaac, Claire…..lots of symbolism in these shows.  Like the helix symbol – is that the DNA that makes heroes, it means “Great Ability” right?  Did you see it on the cover of the comic book Micah showed to Monica?  Lots of questions...always more questions....what are the other paintings of?  Will Claire kill Papa?  Will Parkman kill Papa?  Will Nathan kill Mama?  Or will Kensai kill them all?  When do Sylar and Peter face off?  And how did Peter get that way?  This is infuriating having so many questions....

 

Till next week, back on schedule,

Aloha,

Heather

This Saturday (October 27) the 2007 Start! Baltimore Heart Walk will be held.  It starts at the Federal Hill park and winds easily around the Inner Harbor for a quick and painless 3.1 miles.  It's good for your heart to walk, and it's good for your heart to give selflessly to a cause.  Cardiovascular diseases are the nation's Number One Killer because we're all so fat and lazy.  So do something about it before your ticker stops ticking....walk on Saturday and donate some money for research on how to prevent and treat these problems.  Check-in starts at 8 a.m., the walk starts at 9:30 a.m. and the festivities continue until about 1 p.m.  Seriously, what were you going to be doing on Saturday anyway?  Watching cartoons and wondering what the cat could have eaten that would cause that color hairball....So set the DVR and lock the cat up in the bathroom and come on out!!

 

For more info, see http://www.startbaltimoremd.org/

Chapter One – Use Seat Bottom Cushion For Flotation

So, last week was our vacation for this year.  This year was my turn to decide where we go and I picked Vegas.  I picked Vegas because I’ve never been there and I thought it sounded like fun.  You know how some vacations aren’t really vacations because they actually feel like more work than fun and then when you get back home you don’t feel like you’ve really been on vacation.  You actually feel like you could use even more of a break….well….I thought Vegas would be more fun than work and I would feel refreshed and invigorated when I did finally come back to work.  Don’t laugh at me you heartless meanies….my naiveté keeps me young and clearly this line of thinking was the result of my boundless optimism.

 

So we left for vacation on Monday morning…which might as well have been Sunday night it was so ridiculously early.  The flight was leaving BWI at 8:30 and because I am super paranoid about being late to anything, I wanted to be there a good 2 ½ hours early.  This was entirely unnecessary.  The airport people tell you to be at the airport two hours before your flight….which was still waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time at 8:30 in the morning on a Monday.  We needed about 30 minutes all together to get checked in, check our bags, go through security and get to the gate.  This did not seem to bother the Hubby in the least bit, because he planned on getting completely snookered before we got on the plane.

 

Now, obviously the Hubby has a phobia with flying and is not an alcoholic….because if he was an alcoholic I probably wouldn’t be telling you and we probably wouldn’t be going to Vegas.  Monday morning at about 7 am I thought he was being a bit melodramatic….I mean, come on…..I’ve flown before.  Granted, it was like 10 or 12 years ago….but I’ve flown and it never bothered me.  So I was not expecting this to be bad….so I didn’t have anything to drink except my normal morning cup o’ joe.  The Hubby had two double screwdrivers and then wobbled onto the plane. 

 

We were not sitting together which was kind of annoying and kind of a relief at the same time….the Hubby was probably going to sleep and probably going to snore and it would be nice to get away from that…..except of course, better the evil you know….I have the middle seat and I’m still trying to be ignorantly optimistic by thinking, well I’m little, having the middle seat is no big deal….right?  What do you think, gentle reader?  Do you think it was no big deal for me?

 

Correctamundo!  It was pure hell.  I had Blackberry punching-coughing-non shoe wearing yucko sitting to the right of me next to the window and then I had seven foot tall sasquatch gym teacher guy poking his elbows and his knees into my personal space sitting next to the aisle.  This is awful….and it’s a four hour flight.  Ok, four hours….no big deal.  I can handle four hours.

 

And I could….the take-off was ok……the food was ok……and I was ok……and I was ok…..and then I wasn’t.  We were about three hours into the four hour flight and I was no longer ok.  I was now officially a germaphobe, thanks to the coughing man sitting next to the window.  I was now officially a prude thanks to sasquatch poking me….when did I start caring about people touching my elbows and knees?  I am now officially in full panic mode because as much as I would like to say the “heightened security” did not make me anxious….it quite obviously did.  Our little row of seats happened to be next to the wing of the plane…and by this time in the flight all I can think is, oh good….when the wing catches on fire I’ll be one of the first people to know we’re going to die.  That’s great.  The air, or lack thereof, is drying out my eyeballs and my throat.  I feel sick because coughing man is making me nauseous.  My whole body aches because of the amount of energy I have been putting into my jedi mind tricks bending the force to expand the personal space bubble I have around me so that sasquatch will stop brushing my knees and my elbows with his hairy disgusting appendages.  And just when I am about to totally wig out completely, the pilot comes over the intercom and says, ‘<garble garble> landing in about ten minutes <garble> seatbelts <garble garble>’  GLORY HALLELUJAH!!  We are here.

 

McCarran Airport is very interesting.  There are slot machines, literally, as soon as you step off the plane.  It is now a non-smoking airport, but the last time the Hubby was here (which was only two years ago) it was not.  Now, it is 10 am Las Vegas time and because piddly immaterial things like hotel check-in times did not occur to me when planning this trip, we are here a good five to six hours before our room will be ready at the Luxor.  No problem, we head on over in a cab to the Luxor.  The cabby apparently misunderstood us when we said we wanted to go to the hotel and drove us in a huge roundabout circle to get to there….obviously thinking we wanted the scenic tour…..which cost us about $25 and made the Hubby furious.  So we’re off to a great start.  We check our bags at the hotel and find the closest bar.  Because even though we are now on solid ground, I am still a little shaky after the flight experience from hell.  And because it’s Vegas, the closest bar is very close.  I snuggle into a barstool, order a $12 margarita and take a deep breath.  We are here.

 

So to pass the time before we can check into the hotel room, the Hubby decides to show me around the South Strip.  Apparently, a lot of these hotels are connected so you could literally spend the entire vacation out of the harmful rays of the sun.  So we meander from the Luxor over to Mandalay Bay, with my trusty camera in tow and now pleasantly full of tequila.  Mandalay Bay hosts lots of boxing matches, so I already know the name….but it apparently also has lots of shopping and a Shark Reef that you can walk through this underwater tunnel through like you’re in Sea World or something.  The first thing I notice about Vegas (and this probably says a lot about me) is the number of Starbucks that are set up in these hotels.  We passed about three in the first thirty minutes of walking around….and each and every one had a line in it…..<shaking my head>…..so Mandalay Bay is cool and big.  Holy cow, what a big hotel.

 

Then we walk outside over to Excalibur, which is on the other side of the Luxor and is a big castle.  <chuckle, giggle>  I know, it’s kind of hokey….but I’m just the kind of sucker Vegas loves because I think its totally cool.  As soon as we walk into Excalibur, some lady asks us where we’re from.  She’s obviously works for the hotel….and I think it’s kind of a ridiculous question because the Hubby is wearing his Redskins hat…..but whatever.  So after hearing about her daughter who is a teacher in Baltimore City and saying how sorry we were for her….she says, so how long are you staying?  Oh, we’ll be here until Thursday.  Her eyes light up like she’s a crack addict whose ship just docked in Gibraltar.  Well, let me get you something free.  Hmmmm, free?  I like free.  This should be great, how lucky are we?  Just about an hour into the trip and we’re already getting free stuff.  Cool deal.  So here’s the catch – it’s a free show (from a select list including Mamma Mia, Lance Burton, the Medieval Times thing they do at the Excalibur, etc.) and dinner if we go on the tour/schmooze package for their new hotel/timeshare/condominium……now it doesn’t sound cool.  Now it sounds skeezy.  The Hubby always lets me decide these things, because he can bulls**t with the best of them and it doesn’t make him guilty to take everything they want to give us knowing full well we have absolutely no intention of buying anything.  He lets me decide, because I have a conscience and these things never leave a good taste in my mouth.  So I say no….about four hundred times….before the guy says ok.  And we’re off again.  If you think I was making a mistake, or missed out on a great opportunity….don’t worry……every hotel in Vegas has the same pitch and it all starts with – “So where are you from?” and “How long are you staying?”  I quickly learned not to make eye contact with anybody and the Hubby would continuously yell at them that we already had tickets to a show.  It was an excellent strategy.

 

So, after we eat in the Sherwood Forest <chuckle>, we decide to walk on to the next casino which is New York New York.  This is a very cool casino, because outside there is a Statue of Liberty, skyscrapers and a roller coaster.  Very cool.  Inside, the ceiling is painted to look like the sky, the walls are all fake storefronts….and the place is huge.  Seriously….all these places are huge.  It takes for ever to walk through them.  And before we went on this vacation, the Hubby told me over and over and over again how big the hotels were…..but of course I didn’t believe him.  Well, that’s not entirely true….I believed him….I just thought he was exaggerating.  Which he wasn’t.  He also told me over and over and over again to wear sensible shoes.  Which I forgot.  We’ll get back to this in a little bit.

 

The next hotel was the MGM Grand and was across the street….but don’t fret, we didn’t actually have to dodge traffic because there’s a cool walkway that goes over the strip.  Here’s what’s cool about the MGM – the lions.  Real live lions.  Sooooooo cute, but made me miss the Pumpkin.  Here’s what’s not cool about the MGM – it’s enormous…..and we got lost.  I mean really lost.  We have absolutely no idea where we are or where we’re going.  None of these hotels or casinos has exit signs…..you look for daylight…..and if you’re unlucky enough not to be able to see daylight or to be in one of these places at nighttime….well cozy up to a slot machine and make yourself comfortable.  I have a feeling some of the people who live in Vegas….aren’t actually locals, they’re just lost vacationers.  So while we’re wandering aimlessly around the MGM, I mentioned to the Hubby that my feet kind of hurt.  You see, I forgot to get the ‘sensible’ shoes out of my bag before we checked them at the front desk of the Luxor…and instead have been trodding around in my sandals (very cute, kind of uncomfortable sandals).  Now, while it may seem like we should have still been relatively close to the Luxor (only three casinos away)….we weren’t.  We were like 12 miles away.  So, by the time we got back to the Luxor, my feet really really hurt.  The Hubby, who is a good foot taller than me, walks like a giraffe with these big long steps….so I kind of have to run to keep up…..he doesn’t do this on purpose, he just forgets that I’m a gidget.  So we get to the front desk of the Luxor to check in and by this time, I’m hobbling around like an old lady.  The front desk person says, your room isn’t ready but I have one with two queen size beds and one nicer room in the Tower.  I kind of wanted to stay in the Pyramid part of the Luxor, because that would have been cool….but who can turn down a nicer room for the same money?  Not me.  So we head up to the Tower with our Buffet coupons and Elevator keys and find our room which is very nice and I collapse immediately on the bed to attend to my wounded feet. 

 

So after completely covering both feet in band-aids, and three pairs of socks, we head back out into the night for the true meaning of Vegas.  The Strip at night is a whole different world away from the Strip at day.  All the locals come out to play, which translated into Heather-speak means all the freaks come out.  What a bunch of crazy weird people….I mean think about it, these are people who have chosen to live in Sin City…..right?  Weird.  So we’re walking and we’re walking and we’re walking…..and now we’re at the Paris, which is very cool.  The Paris has the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de’Triomphe.  Very cool.  And very pretty at night.  If you walk inside, it looks like you’re still outside because the ceilings are painted like the sky, like NYNY.  And everything has a very Moulin Rouge feel to it…..very cool.  I said ‘Moulin Rouge’ to the Hubby and he had no idea what I was talking about (never saw that movie).  Then we went back outside and over to Bally’s.  Another huge hotel.  By this time, it’s late (Maryland time) and we’re exhausted and still miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiles away from our hotel room and slightly inebriated…..so we decide to head back, get lost in the MGM again and stumble into our room at about 11 (2 am MD time) and realize we have been awake for 22 hours and are probably delirious and hallucinating…..I won’t bother trying to paraphrase that conversation…..but it did feel a lot like Alice in Wonderland.

 

Chapter Two – Magical Flamingoes on a Gondola Ride

So it’s day two and my feet feel like someone took a hammer and beat them repeatedly for a good 45 minutes…..I have comically large blisters all over them…..and the Hubby is ready to go.  I want to cry.  But I suck it up.  We paid good money for this trip….and I’m gonna have a good time, even if it kills me.  First up is our first buffet experience in Vegas, which happened to be the breakfast buffet at the Luxor….which is in what looks like an archeological dig site out of Indiana Jones…..heehee……and our $9 each (with the coupon) bought us just about every breakfast food imaginable.  We both ate way too much….because you know when you’re at those buffets you feel obligated to get your money’s worth.  So, all bloated and stuffed we’re off to the Flamingo, by way of Excalibur, NYNY, MGM, Planet Hollywood, the Paris and Bally’s.  The Flamingo was cool because when we got lost in this casino….we actually stumbled across some flamingoes…HAHAHAHAHAHAHA….how cool was that?  Real live flamingoes.  Man, I thought the lions were cool, but flamingoes?  I think I may have still been drunk from the night before, because as I write this, the flamingoes don’t sound nearly as cool as they seemed to me at the time…..after the Flamingo, we walked down to the Venetian, which the Hubby could have sworn was right next door….but it wasn’t.  We had to go past Harrah’s first….another mile or seven down the Strip.  But the Venetian was by far and away my favorite casino.  How beautiful was this?!?!  They had canals and gondola boats….inside the hotel!!!  We did not go on a gondola ride, although it looked very cool.  I did say to the Hubby, oh look a gondola ride….that sounds nice.  Which he emphatically ignored….and which I full well expected to guilt him into, until I read that the gondola rides were FORTY DOLLARS!??!?  You must be joking….it’s like five minutes long….and it’s not even a real gondola….come on.  That’s just ridiculous….so instead, I decided to do a little window shopping which made the Hubby even more insane.  The Venetian has some very top of the line shops…..but even better, were the shops in the Wynn which was the next hotel we went to.  The Wynn is absolutely gorgeous.  And of course, it goes without saying we got completely lost in here too.  Before we knew it, we were in some private convention/trade show thing…..again, just looking for an exit to daylight.  Ah well….so we headed back down the Strip in the direction of our hotel (now twenty-six miles away from our present destination) by way of the Tropicana for a breather.  The Tropicana is a very cool casino, because it’s so old-school.  I played the penny slots and the Hubby played some blackjack.  He won, I lost.  I’m not really much of a gambler.  I don’t really care if I win or lose….it doesn’t give me that high it gives some people.  But the Hubby does enjoy some blackjack and he seems to be relatively good at it.  So we gambled a little and then headed back to our room.  Take a nap and now its time for our first show of the vacation – Penn & Teller.

 

Penn & Teller is a magician-comedy show.  Penn is the tall funny guy and Teller is the short one who never talks.  The show was fun, although I spent about 60% of it desperately praying that they wouldn’t pick me to go up on stage and ‘assist’ them with one of their tricks.  The Hubby of course was waving his arms around like a 12-year old screaming PICK ME PICK ME….he likes being on stage, he can think on his feet…..but me…..not so keen on the whole ‘let’s make a fool out of Heather’ act.  But it was funny nonetheless.  Neither of us got picked to do anything….much to my relief and his disappointment.  Penn & Teller perform at the Rio, which is off the Strip so when we take the shuttle back, we get dropped off at the Bellagio so we can see the water show.  Now I feel like George Clooney in Ocean’s Eleven.  I am a cool cool cat.  The Bellagio is gorgeous, the water show is amazing.  And we are even more tired than we were on Day One….which doesn’t really feel possible.  My feet have gone numb with pain….and I am cursing those dratted MIT geniuses for not perfecting teleportation yet….just blink me back to my room please.  Or knock me unconscious and drag me there….the Hubby, who is just as tired as I am, makes it a point of saying that if I collapse on the sidewalk, he’s leaving me there….which is motivation enough to keep putting one foot in front of the other…..we did, surprisingly, make it back to the room….although it’s kind of a blur.  I have no idea what time it is by now….and I am wondering who decided we didn’t need to rent a car…..and what are these coupon things everyone is passing out on the street corners…..

 

Day Three – Russian Cats on Top of the World

So it’s day three and we’re kind of burned out a little.  I don’t think we even made it out of the room until the afternoon….but I couldn’t be certain.  I have completely lost all concept of time.  Today we have another show lined up….which I bought the tickets for without consulting the Hubby…..which he did not appreciate, especially after hearing what they were for – The Comedy Pet Theater.  Heehee…..it was cats and dogs doing tricks….I mean seriously…..who could pass that up?  The Hubby, apparently, would have had no trouble passing that up….but since the tickets were already bought he didn’t complain too much about going.  The Comedy Pet Theater was in the Planet Hollywood casino, formerly known as the Aladdin.  The Aladdin, luckily enough, has lots of shops to keep people occupied.  So we had lunch and the Hubby went to gamble and I went to shop until the show started.  Now, imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Comedy Pet Theater was actually a kids show?  And imagine my surprise to learn that it was pretty cheesy.  No….that’s not really accurate…..not pretty cheesy.  It was the cheesiest of cheese.  It was actually quite dreadful.  It was the Waterworld of Vegas.  And I loved it.  Gregory Popovich (Russian magician guy) and his cats and dogs were quite entertaining.  Gregory Popovich had a whole troupe of circus folk dancing and cavorting around the stage, juggling and doing cheesy tricks….but the cats and dogs were really the stars of the show.  They jumped and crawled and balanced like I have never seen before in my life.  Who knew you could train a cat to do these things?  I am so gonna try to make the Pumpkin learn a trick….assuming she doesn’t slash my Achilles tendon first…..when the show was finally over…..and the Hubby rather loudly sighs ‘Thank God that’s over!’….<shaking my head>……so after the Comedy Pet Theater, we hop onto the MonoRail…..because I told the Hubby if I have to walk any more than absolutely necessary today I promise you I will not be pleasant.  So we hopped onto the MonoRail, which runs from one end of the Strip to the other….unfortunately the stops are at the back of the hotel (which the Monorail announcer tries to make sound like a huge advantage for you, but it’s not) so we have to walk the ¼ mile through the casino anyway.  Luckily for us, the casino we’re headed to is the Sahara and the Monorail stop is closer to the side of the casino.  The Sahara is kind of an old-school casino which is pretty cool but also pretty small compared to some of the others.  So we just sort of pass through this one on our way to the Stratosphere.  The Stratosphere is cool because you can go to the top of the tower (for a fee of course) and see all of Vegas.  They also have ridiculously dangerous rides you can go on as well….like the whirly-gig thing that dangles you over the edge of the tower.  <shaking my head>  Now, who in their right mind would do something so scary?  And when did I become such a fraidy-cat?  <sigh>  The view is amazing.  I had no idea Vegas was so big.  You can’t really picture normal people living here….or having….like grocery stores and baseball diamonds…..but they do and there is…..so weird.  And, another cool thing about the Stratosphere, I can see the light beam from the Luxor all the way out here….and it’s soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo far away.  It almost makes me cry.  After we get back down to the bottom of the Stratosphere, we walk back to the Sahara by way of the Nascar Café for dinner.  Heehee….y’all already knew we were rednecks so this should come as no shock to any of you.  The Nascar Café was kind of a disappointment….their Icee machine was not working….then they wouldn’t charge the Hubby less for a regular hotdog and instead charged him the fully chili dog price ($12) even though he didn’t want any chili……and then they brought him a beer which, no joke, tasted like vinegar.  So that was kind of a bust.  And after our crappy meal, we decided to start the long long journey back to the hotel via the Monorail, last stop MGM Grand, NYNY, Excalibur and then finally to the Luxor.  The Hubby decided I needed a souvenir drink and so he bought me a yard of margarita…..it wasn’t really a yard but that gives you the idea.  It was about a third of my height….HAHAHAHAHAHHAAHA…..and um…..after I finished that……well……let’s just say the tattoo is not anywhere you can see it, so don’t ask.  The Hubby decided to gamble a bit after I went to sleep/passed out.  He apparently was up….and then he wasn’t…..all in all I think we probably went home only a hundred or two down….which is pretty good.  I did point out to the Hubby that if we actually came home ahead, they may never invite us back.  <smile>  He didn’t think that was very clever…..

 

Day Four – Romulan Ale and Turbulence

It’s the last day of our vacation.  My feet feel like they belong to someone else.  We need to check out of the room by 11 am…..and again, because I did not consider this when booking the room…..our flight does not leave until 11 pm…..so I wouldn’t make a good travel agent….leave me alone.  So we check our bags again and head out for our last day on the Strip.  After walking the five miles to the Monorail, we head to the other end of the Strip to the Las Vegas Hilton where one can find the Star Trek Experience.  We are very excited to see this because the Hubby and I are both Trekkies.  There are huge replicas of the different Enterprise ships on the ceiling…..very very cool.  There is a Klingon and a Borg guy walking around <chuckle>….there is Quark’s bar where the Hubby had some Romulan Ale….which he said tasted remarkably like Miller Lite dyed blue.  I bought a Tribble, which shakes and giggles, for Pumpkin.  We wanted to go on the ride, because we’re nerds like that, but the power was out so that’ll have to wait until the next trip.  After we got done with the Star Trek thing…the Hubby said he wanted to walk over to the Riviera, which is where his pool tournament will be if they qualify to go to the National Championship…..so he wanted to check out the hotel.  Now…..even though the Riviera is across the street from the Hilton….it’s like five miles away.  My feet hurt so bad I can’t see straight…..and then we get there and I find out that this casino is a dump.  Seriously.  Yucko central.  It hasn’t been updated since like the 50’s…..the only thing to eat there is the buffet…..and now we have to walk all the way back.  Now.  I can hear you thinking to yourself….for crying out loud Heather, why didn’t you just take a cab if your feet hurt so bad?  Well.  I’ll tell you why.  The Hubby was so annoyed about the runaround we got from the airport, he didn’t want to take another cab.  Now, the logical rational side of my brain (yes women have those) kind of understands this on principle…..but my feet, which apparently is where my emotions are located…..do not.  The Hubby is now evil incarnate and I hate him…..which for a couple married eight years and together nonstop for the last four days…..is pretty normal.

 

So, we head back to the hotel to relax before the flight.  The Hubby wants to gamble some more before we go and I just want to sit down next to the pool and suck up some cancer rays.  The pool is quite lovely at the Luxor.  It’s beautiful outside at dusk.  We decide to have our last supper before we head back to the airport.  I had a chicken pot pit….but honestly….I should have ordered crackers because already the anxiety about the stupid flight home is making me queasy.  My last vacation that involved a plane trip so many years ago was to the Netherlands….how did I ever make it across the Atlantic?  I guess when you’re young and immortal you don’t think as much about dying in a fiery plane crash….ahhhh those were the days.  So the pot pie, even though it’s amazing….goes pretty much untouched.  We get to the airport ridiculously early again.  US Airways has us checked in and at the gate in about fifteen minutes.  Granted this is the red eye….but that did seem awfully fast.  So we find the airport bar and this time I get a screwdriver too….anything, please anything to make me sleep through this flight.  The Hubby and I are still not sitting together, and I’m in the middle seat again.  This time I’m between Valium boy who popped a pill before the plane even took off and was out for the rest of it and Crotchety Old Farty McFart-a-lot.  Thanks to the smell and complaining that Crotchety was subjecting me to, I was pretty much ready to puke all over the place about 1 ½ hours into the flight.  The flight back is shorter because of the jet stream or whatever, and the pilot had the pedal to the medal because were getting in early…..which is good…..but then of course the turbulence hit….and Crotchety wouldn’t shut up and Valium Boy lulled over in his chair and I could hear the Hubby snoring and my hands went numb as the panic set and some idiot in the back of the cabin screeched as we made a particularly jarring dip in the air and saying in my head over and over again, please don’t vomit on this plane…..and as this was going on the MORON pilot comes over the intercom in that freakishly calm voice and says “<garble garble> seatbelts <garble garble> precaution <garble garble> lightening….”  WHAT?!?!?!  Lightening?!?!?!?!  And sure enough, there it was, lightening out the port side window.  I want to cry….I hate lightening….I am rather convinced I will be zapped by it before I die…..and yet I have managed up until this point in my life to stay much further away from it than this.  In the past, the lightening would have had to travel through windows and around corners and into basements to fry me and now…..now I’m flying around in the clouds like friggin Superman just taunting the heavens to electrocute me……excellent.  So the pilot took another 45 stupid stupid painstakingly long minutes to land the stupid stupid plane.  The Hubby yawned when I turned around to look at him….and almost got punched in the face….how could he sleep!!!!  So I’m woozy and sick and want to bathe myself in scalding hot water to get all the eebie geebies off me….but I’m home.  Glory hallelujah, I am home.  At BWI at 6 am in the rain on Friday...........I don’t even care.  Give me traffic on 695, Lord!  I welcome it!!  Just get me the hell home.  Only about an hour later and we are home…exhausted…..and here is the Pumpkin obviously having an anxiety attack over her abandonment issues but happy to see us. 

 

Vegas was a blast.  Four days may have been too long.  The Hubby and I still love each other….despite spending so much time together….we came home a little broker, a little more tired, and a little bit happier than when we left.  That’s all you can really ask for from a vacation.  Viva Germantown!

 

Later gators,

Heather

So the weather has finally broken.  We’re in full-on sweater mode.  This is very exciting for me…..except of course for the fact that we’re leaving on Monday to go on vacation.  In Vegas, baby!!  Our Vegas vacation.  This is very exciting for me….spending autumn in the desert.  <smile>  No seriously.  I’m being serious.  I plan on having an excellent time.  But this morning, we’re back in the Chinese Outback.  The People Reader Poker Player is patting himself on the back for his excellent strategy.  Look dude, you made it through the last tribal council by the skin of your teeth…..but now he’s working in camp………so now everybody’s gonna like him again………..I still think it’s a stupid strategy, but isn’t it always the stupid strategies that end up working?  Cruella doesn’t like the People Reader yelling at her.  He “yelled” at her when he thought she was going to burn her hand on something….or whatever she was doing at the time……I wasn’t really paying attention this early in the episode.  But listen, to be fair….she is disappearing into the ether and probably feels like everything is much louder than it actually is…..so let’s give her a break, shall we?  No?  Ok then.  She’s completely useless and needs to be the next to go from the Dragons.  Gosh, you guys are brutal.

 

Now the Tigers have managed to ruin their little pot of rice, by letting it get wet and moldy.  Ewwwwwwwwwwww!!!  You would think the rice pot would be a priority.  You would think they would make sure it was dry and safe.  But no, fighting about the green rice is much more fun.  I’m not really even sure I understood what the actual argument was about, but Sherea and Bland Man start going at each other.  For a “leader”, Bland Man certainly has very little success at diffusing situations…..he seems to needle things into huge problems.  He’s not necessarily an instigator….but he’s such a drama queen.  No room for anybody else to have any other practical suggestions or game plans.  He is the Mad Hatter at the tea party – No ROOM!!!  Then, Sherea makes the mistake of trying to throw away some shells that Bland Man was apparently saving for his mom, or something.  And he says, Sherea, Sherea, Sherea, Sherea, don’t throw those away, don’t throw those away, don’t throw those away….seriously, its that annoying.  Enough already!!  And Sherea of course makes it worse because she’s just screaming at him to ‘back up off her!!’  <shaking my head>  Snowman tells Bland Man he needs to relax.  Good call.  But without the soap opera, this show would be nothing.  Its always so fascinating to see what hunger and nature will do to people.

 

The tribes get some tree mail saying, go to tribal council tonight and everybody freaks out first and then realizes its for the reward challenge and the reward this time is FOOD.  Get ready everybody.  It’s the Flaming Chopstick Race.  This was actually kind of cool.  Good on the Survivor people for coming up with such cool challenges all the time.  So they have to use these huge over-sized chopsticks to move this little flaming ball into a pot which explodes into fireworks.  The first team to explode three fireworks, wins.  The chopsticks get longer, and more difficult to use, each time.  It was kind of painstaking to watch, and clearly I would have no patience for this one, but in the end the Dragons win.  The Dragons pick Bland Man (interesting choice) to kidnap….and you can just see the sigh of relief wash over the Tiger team….turns out they get a reward too!!

 

So back at the Tiger team, everybody is coming to the sad realization that Bland Man did A LOT of work around the camp.  So now everybody else picks up the slack…..except for Sherea.  She’s going to save her energy for the challenges and just lay around and relax…..haven’t these people ever watched this show?  Seriously?  Doesn’t she know that if you’re lazy, everybody hates you?  Ridiculous.  So back at the Dragon team, the little Chinese fisherman family shows up for the reward with all kinds of food.  They’re also going to show the Dragons how to fish.  And whaddya know….the People Reader can speak Mandarin (ok, so they’re Mandarin) and communicates effortlessly with the little fisherman family.  Will wonders never cease?  And the fisherman guy was the coolest.  Get this….they use trained ducks to catch fish for them…..how totally awesome is that?  I want a trained duck.  Just to have.  That would be cool….

 

So Bland Man has the immunity idol clue (because he was the one kidnapped, remember) and so now he knows about the idol.  He decides to give the clue to Pixie Todd.  Oh boy…..why him?  Now he’s still the only one who knows about it on his team…..oh boy.  Now its time for the Immunity Challenge….Bland Man goes back to the Tigers.  Teams of two have to put on ancient Chinese soldier garb, toss some thing Jeffy called hammers (but they looked more like flails, think Mel Gibson in Braveheart when he bludgeons that guys head in with the swingy ball thing before he and his horse jump into the water) at the other team’s vases, while simultaneously protecting their own vases.  Whoever breaks the most vases in three rounds, wins.  Simple, right?  Sherea scores for the Tigers, Pixie and Cutey Pie both score for the Dragons, the Princess scores twice on one throw for the Tigers, but on the last throw Topless Amanda scores the winning break for the Dragons and they win immunity again.

 

So back at Tiger Camp and Bland Man is being ridiculously annoying.  Has everyone gone crazy?  How can people be so oblivious to how everyone else sees them?  Now, don’t think I’m so ignorant as to not believe that the editors of this show don’t cut and paste this stuff together to make it look a certain way….I’ve seen enough of the Real World to know better than that…..but honestly, I can’t imagine they had to do much to make Bland Man seem this annoying.  So Bland Man is talking to Erik the Silent (who looks surprisingly like Peter Petrelli, see the Heroes blog if you don’t know) and the Movie Rating to convince them to vote for Sherea….but Bland Man….it's always you having the problem with someone else…..you see…..you’re the common denominator here…..not Pay Per View, not Sherea…..it’s you.  Clear.  As.  Day.  Of course, at the last second Sherea is having some qualms about being so lazy when she sees the rest of the team swimming and whispering/plotting together.  Yeah, hon, being lazy may not have been the best game plan.

 

So we’re at tribal council Sherea tries to make her point that she needs to save her energy for the challenges…..<sigh> and when Jeffy asks the Movie Rating about it, she says it needs to be a balance.  And then Sherea tries to say, but Movie Rating likes being at camp and I don’t.  What?  Is that because she’s Asian?  Why would you say something like that?  Who….seriously who…..would like being out in the Chinese Outback in these conditions….I mean, come on…Erik the Silent thinks people should appreciate Bland Man more <????? Maybe this guy is on crack, maybe that's why he's so quiet all the time...>  Snowman says everyone got along fine without him, but they did realize how much work he actually does.  So it’s time to vote.  Once the votes are read, the decision is final and the person voted out must leave the tribal council area immediately.  It’s Bland Man.  Thank Goodness!!!!!!!  Babye Dave.  We’re so not gonna miss you.  Jeffy says, now you guys are really gonna need a plan.

 

Due to the impending vacation….the blogs may be a little late next week.  Don’t worry, you’ll get to hear all about Vegas, pictures and everything.  Assuming of course, I don’t have to pawn off my laptop to pay for gambling debts…..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA.

 

Aloha,

Heather

So, here’s the deal.  The Redskins won this weekend.  The Caps are off to an extremely exciting start.  The Hubby and I visited our little princess niece this weekend….who is now about ten pounds.  I decorated for Halloween, with Skywalker’s help.  Everything is going so well…………and yet……………it still feels like the fiery pits of hell outside.  What is up with this weather?  I should not be carving pumpkins in my shorts.  The Hubby and I went to the Germantown Oktoberfest this weekend….which is usually very pleasant…..except this time it was sweltering outside.  And of course by sweltering, I mean mid-80’s.  We’ve already soundly established my dislike for warm weather.  I am more than ready for fall to arrive.  But what am I saying?  This is Maryland.  Autumn will be approximately 45 minutes long.  We’ll wake up one morning and all the poor confused trees will have finally given up and shaken every single leaf onto the ground.  And then, that afternoon, the blizzards will start.  This is Maryland.  Gotta love it. 

 

Anyway, the opening show of the week was on last night so let’s get to it.  Ricky is telling Peter that he can have the mystery box if Peter aids and abets them in their heinous crimes.  And then Peter….reads the other guy’s mind (the guy from Enterprise) and finds out that he plans to double-cross them.  But of course, nobody believes Peter because he’s the new guy.  Will wonders never cease though?  Is there anything Peter can’t do?  He is definitely the Superman of the bunch this year.

 

The Maya and Alejandro debacle continues.  They are still……….still……….trying to get to America.  I thought they were crossing the border last week for crying out loud, but the Hubby pointed out that they were only trying to get into Mexico last week.  For pity's sake….get there already!!!  So, anyway….Alejandro gets arrested for trying to steal a car, in broad daylight, with a cop right across the street.  So he’s in jail now.  Idiot.

 

And here they are – the Hubby’s favorite and her son.  Nikki and Micah are visiting D.L.’s grave (did he die?  I thought he was still alive in the season finale....).  And they’re making a fresh start.  It’s all very cryptic and I don’t really know what’s going on with them yet….except the Hubby is drooling all over the floor right now….

 

And here’s Sylar!!!!  FINALLY.  Now, I can see what all the evil spoilers were about.  He’s on the beach with some girl.  Except it’s not a beach and he’s really hurt (from the sword stabbing him, remember?).  So the redhead is working for someone, and she can make illusions.  That’s kind of cool. 

 

The Cheerleader is trying to tell annoying West (yes, he’s annoying again) that she was giving herself a pedicure.  Jesus Christ, Claire.  That is the worst excuse….like….ever.  West isn’t buying it….but he’s being a total teenage ass about it.  Parkman almost shoots Mohinder in their apartment, because he didn’t know Mohinder was coming home.  Parkman has no faith in the doctor’s competence.  Me either.  I am fairly positive Bing and the Company know exactly what he’s up to…

 

And here’s Ando.  I’m glad he’s still in the show.  Very cool.  And he finds messages from Hiro in the samurai sword….that’s also cool.  And Hiro is trying to convince Kensai that he has a gift and is not cursed.  Come on Sark.  Miraculously healing!!  That’s so awesome!! 

 

So back to Peter and he can’t make the blue gobs come out of his hands….this was very Spiderman (hmmm….another Peter?).  But the little lassy says don’t worry, I’ll watch your back.  Great.  That must be a huge relief.  Unless of course….she has powers too……and by the way.  I’m all for having Mr. Peter Petrelli walking around shirtless like this.  All for that.

 

Back to Hiro and the hesitant Kensai.  Kensai runs away, only to be found slicing himself up to prove he isn’t going insane.  So Hiro teleports him to this temple where he has to get the fire scroll and defeat the angry ronin people….by himself because Hiro teleports away.  What's the fire scroll?  Is this really relevant to the story?  Or is this just want Hiro read about when he was a kid....

 

Annoying West starts talking about lizard girls in science class and really upsets Claire.  He’s such a jerk.  Why are high school boys such jerks?  And they think they’re funny and charming….no.  You’re just a jerk.  So Claire runs out of the room and he follows her and she’s yelling at him and he’s doing the buggy eye thing at her….and then he just picks her up and flies away.  Well.  Sorry Peter, I guess you’re not the Superman of the bunch…..because that was very VERY Christopher Reeve Supermanish.  He’s still annoying though.  Of course, you have to consider.  Claire’s real daddy can fly.  So, maybe she’s related to Mr. Annoying?  I don’t know how it works….the Great Ability.  It must be hereditary, though.  Right?  I know....I think everybody's related to the cheerleader for some reason...

 

So Peter helps the fighting Irish steal their money and even ends up using the Force to throw an armored car on the guards.  Yeah.  Maybe he’s a Jedi?  Bing shows Mohinder his new lab, which just happens to be Isaac’s loft.  I guess the price for square feet in New York is a little steep, even for the Midas Touch.  Or else they didn’t want to build a new set.  Kensai comes back with the scroll and the Swordmaker’s daughter is all gaga over him now.  And poor Hiro….he’s definitely in love.

 

Nikki drops Micah off in New Orleans to stay with family.  Because she has things to do.  And Micah has had it with this lady.  She’s always running off to do bad things.  I hear ya, kid.  So anyway, maybe staying with family will be fun?  So they open the door and who is standing there?  Nichelle Nichols.  Otherwise known as Ohura from the classic Star Trek.  I half expected her to have a Bluetooth in her ear….you know…..just for old times sake.  But there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that she has some sort of power.  No doubt.  Voodoo granny from N'awlins has got some heebeedajeebies going on, guaranteed.

 

Maya breaks Alejandro out of jail by melting everybody’s eyeballs.  Then they abduct one of the other inmates who has a car so they can get to the border.  The one Irish guy double-crosses Ricky, just like Peter said he would.  So that guy shoots Peter and then goes for the money.  Peter is, of course, fine and Jedis him up onto the wall…..and what’s this?  He appears to be enjoying the whole killing thing.  A little too much.  I’m telling ya…..he’s acting like Sylar.  It’s weird.  The little lassy talks him down.  His miracle skin ploops out the bullets and everyone is staring at him like the freak he is….

 

Hiro says he can return to the present….now that Kensai knows he can fight….but then thinks better of it.  Probably because of the girl.  Awwwwwwww, that’s gonna be a heartbreaker.  I can just tell.  Sylar is trying to get his powers back and realizes he has none.  The redhead says, be patient.  You need to heal.  But Sylar has no patience for that.  The redhead says she can help him get his powers back using the illusion trick….so Sylar, of course, kills her.  Turns out she was really some other person altogether….but what’s this?  Sylar can’t do anything.  He can’t get her powers.  And now you’ve killed her for nothing.  There’s no one here to take care of you.  You’re out, literally, in the middle of nowhere.  Nice going, dummy. 

 

The little lassy is tattooing Peter, which the Hubby pointed out should just fade away and heal itself if we’re going to be consistent here….but anyway….now he’s one of the family.  Ricky gives him the mystery box.  Peter tells Caitlin he’s not sure he wants to know who he was…..and she says, if you like it here…..just leave it be.  And then they kiss.  <sigh>  And the Hubby’s theory about the tattoo……..turns out to be right…………except it doesn’t fade away, it become the helix sign first, and then fades away.  That’s kind of weird.

 

Claire and Mr. Annoying are on the beach now….and they’re kissing too.  Ok. So hopefully, they’re not brother and sister.  And then Mr. Annoying tells a story about this man that found him in the last place he lived and losing his memory….and wow this is familiar…..and then he mentions the horn-rimmed glasses.  Aha!!  Eureka!!  Claire knows she’s talking about Papa Bennet…..this will not end well…..

 

Nikki has apparently gone to Bing to be “cured” but needs to run him an errand first.  Mohinder finds the last painting in the series of eight.  Ok, let’s start with the end.  That’ll make it nice and confusing.  And what’s the picture?  Well…….it’s Papa Bennet dead of course.  Shot right through the eyeball, with Claire and Mr. Annoying standing in the background, kissing.  Oh my.  At least I assumed it was Claire and West….maybe it was another blonde.  But it was definitely Papa and he was definitely dead.  Well……………we know being dead may not be permanent or inevitable……….thanks to Peter and Sylar coming back this season.

 

We learned a little tiny bit about the paintings….but why is Papa in a painting if he wasn’t one of the Elder Heroes?  Maybe he is….maybe the Haitian took that memory also…..or maybe I’m reaching, as usual.  Nikki and Sylar are back finally….now where’s Nathan and Evil Mom.  Is she still alive?  I still think Kensai may be the assasin….nothing debunked that theory this time.  I have about a million more questions…..but for now....I'll just leave it be.  <smile>  That is such bad grammar. 

 

Aloha,

Heather

So we’re back to the Chinese Outback.  I need to make a quick aside here….in my eternal quest to try and unravel the mystery that is ‘Weather in Maryland’…..why is it so friggin warm?!?!?  It’s October for crying out loud!!!  Pumpkins and apple cider time of year…..it’s supposed to be chilly…..it’s supposed to be fall…..this is completely unacceptable.  Ok.  Now that I have that out of my system, let’s talk about our Survivors.  The People Reader Poker Player is skeeving out all the girls on the Dragons.  He’s too touchy-feely….and he snores.  Trust me on this….boys…..if you have a snoring problem….please, try to do something about it.  The Hubby snores like a grizzly bear….and me on three hours of sleep is not conducive to a happy marriage. 

 

So, Cutey Pie catches a crab and Aaron goes a little crazy on everyone….kind of crabby….AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  I’m so hysterical.  Um…anyway, he wants to eat the whole crab and Cutey Pie says no, cook it another way so it lasts longer.  Cutey Pie is annoyed with everyone because apparently he was the only one that bothered to read a survival manual before coming out here.  Nice plug for Barnes & Noble.  I bet he could do commercials for them after he wins.  And what the hell!!  Who wouldn’t be reading about survival tactics?!?!?!  Morons.  Cutey pie is gorgeous and smart….and shy…….<sigh>………and gorgeous.  Ok, moving right along.

 

Over at the Tigers team, Bland Man is still….still……..still……….building his Mayan temple.  Were the Mayans the ones that sacrificed people?  I can never keep that straight.  And if I haven’t mentioned it yet…I will now.  Bland Man is ridiculously irritating.  Movie Rating, very logically, suggests that he conserve his energy….since his burning out on the last challenge cost them…..and he goes all pissy 14-year-old teenager on her.  Seriously.  Have you ever seen anyone bug their eyes out in a more immature way?  He’s passive aggressive….he acts like a martyr….and I HATE people like that!!!  Get rid of this guy.  Besides building the safe house for the three little pigs…..he’s done absolutely nothing except annoy me.  And while he’s trying to lamely explain that in order to conserve energy you need to expend it (???????????????), he says the famous words of all lame jerkheads – “It’s not rocket science.”  No.  No Dave, it’s not.  But suggesting that you are a highly tuned athlete whose adrenaline and endorphins will kick in….is simply ridiculous.  To suggest that your body can function without food or rest……is ridiculous.  And your stupid fire pit….is ridiculous.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to run the only rocket factory in town…..

 

So now it’s time for the reward challenge.  More muscle.  They have to push each other off platforms out in the water.  Cruella sits out….which is a good idea…..because I think she’s going a little invisible now.  So the Tiger women (Movie Rating, Sherea and the Little Princess) face off against Topless Amanda, Mullethead and Sister Leslie for the Dragons.  This seems like a no-brainer….but because of their poor strategy and no good center of gravity…..the Dragons lose.  Now its time for the boys – Bland Man, Snowman and Erik (who? Has that guy said anything yet?) for the Tigers and Crabby, People Reader and Cutey Pie for the Dragons.  Then Bland Man gets naked……………um…………….so…………………all that energy he has now…………….due to the hard work and all…………..has apparently made him crazy.  I don’t get it.  Naked?  Why?  The boys don’t care.  The girls are clearly not impressed.  And poor Jeffy is forced to watch.  <shaking my head>  I hate this guy even more now.  This is definitely a no-brainer.  The People Reader weighs like four hundred pounds and takes the other team down with him.  Cutey Pie is the last man standing…no surprise there.  So the score is tied.  Back to the ladies, same teams.  And the Tigers score again.  So let’s skip to the end.  The Tiger ladies won all their points and the Dragon men won all their points….but since the Tiger ladies went first….they got to three points first.  The Hubby pointed out this wasn’t fair.  That they should have competed in rounds, and given the boys the chance to tie it up…..which I agree with…….but this show is only an hour long.  So the Tigers get the ‘comfort’ reward….and more importantly, have won for the first time.

 

The Tigers pick Sister Leslie to kidnap and Jeffy gives her the next clue to the immunity idol.  Sister Leslie likes the Tigers a lot more than the Dragons, because some of their players are Christians and she apparently cannot tolerate the cynics on her own team.  So she’s blabbing about everyone.  <shaking my head>  This lady is not a very good contestant.  And the religion thing is a little annoying.  Ok.  You’re Christian.  I get it.  You're better than me.  Relax. 

 

Back at Dragon camp, Cutey Pie is having a swim with the People Reader and they are discussing, loudly, who should go.  Boys, boys, boys.  Why don’t they teach boys how to properly gossip about people?  So naturally because they are talking about Cruella and the Pixie, Cruella and the Pixie overhear the whole thing.  Greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.  The People Reader says it should be either Sister Leslie or Cruella to go, and Cutey Pie says Leslie and so the People Reader (using his highly attuned people reading skills) interprets that to mean that Cutey Pie wants Cruella around because he likes her.  A million dollars would be nice, but a million dollars AND a piece of ass? 

 

 

 

I’m speechless.  First of all, this guy is like a retard when it comes to interpersonal skills.  Maybe he plays poker on the internet.  And second….I highly doubt Cutey Pie is attracted to the disappearing Cruella….in fact….if you were listening, you would have heard him say, I’ll take a million dollars and a sandwich.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  And then he says, people who feel like they have to pray all the time only think that because they sin so much.  <chuckle>  I think he's a little off on that one....but it's an interesting theory at least.  So anyway, the Pixie is divided now between his disgust over what they said, their high threat level and their usefulness on challenges.

 

Sister Leslie, of course, gives the clue to the Little Princess.  The idol is in plain sight and its not on the ground….and as soon as she read the clue, she immediately looked up.  That was a priceless blonde moment.  Maybe the idol is a monkey sweetheart and you have to catch the monkey?  Heehee.  I like being catty, leave me alone. 

 

Now it’s time for the Immunity challenge.  More muscle.  The teams have to chop through these little bamboo columns to release ropes holding puzzle pieces, and then different team members have to assemble the puzzle and drag it across the finish line.  Now.  Because they sat out during the last challenge, the Pixie and Cruella have to compete during this one.  Uh oh.  So the Dragons send Cruella out first…which I think is a mistake.  This poor girl hardly has the muscles to contract her diaphragm enough to suck air into her lungs and you’re asking her to first of all pick up a machete and then use it to chop?!?!?!  This is like a nightmare in slow motion.  The Tigers get all of their puzzle pieces and are assembling the puzzle before Cruella finally gets done with the first chopping station for the Dragons.  The other team members pick up the slack and Cutey Pie practically cuts the whole beam down with one karate chop of the machete.  They actually end up even with the Tigers in the end for a little while….but the Tigers don’t panic and Bland Man and Sherea lug the puzzle across the finish line first.  The Tigers win again!!  Their first immunity!!

 

So back at Dragon camp, everyone is plotting and scheming.  Apparently the vote will be between Cruella, Sister Leslie and the People Reader.  I think it should be the People Reader….honestly, if you’re playing for yourself, and not your team….you’d vote for your biggest competition because once the immunity gets to individual immunity….the People Reader could win them all….potentially.  But, what do I know?  At Tribal Council, Jeffy asks the People Reader something, I don’t remember what exactly, but then this moron starts off on the “weakest” players on the team….<shaking my head>…..so, now he’s stuck his foot all the way down his throat making himself sound like the bad guy.  Learn some diplomacy!!!  Being diplomatic is key in manipulating people.  Actually, not making people hate you is key in manipulating people…..but what do I know.  But here’s the thing…which we really can’t get around.  Cruella is the weakest player.  By far and away.  So, even though he’s being a dumbhead about it, he’s actually right.  She’s ridiculously weak.  The Hubby is skeptical that she could have passed any kind of physical exam the producers subject the contestant to….but let’s move on….time for the vote.  Once the votes are read, the decision is final and the person voted out must leave the Tribal Council area immediately.  It’s Sister Leslie.  You’re all gonna burn in hell for this one!!

 

Jeffy points out that this tribe needs to have more fun together, and very diplomatically adds, find out how to use everyone’s unique skills more effectively or some such rubbish.  Yeah, Jeffy.  Maybe Cruella is really good at word scrambles….ya never know. 

 

So now with Sister Leslie gone….the Pixie gets his wish and he’s the only one on the Dragon team who knows about the idol.  Nice.  I see the little guy going far in this game….

 

Aloha,

Heather

So we start off where we left off last week – with Peter getting beat up some more by the Irish gangsters who are missing their iPods.  McSorley is expecting the shipment and if they don’t deliver, everyone is in traaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuble!!  Heehee….where’s the blue gob of light, Peter?  I can’t handle an amnesia season…that better not be where this is headed….

 

Claire is supposed to be “laying low” at school…which she fails miserably at by interrogating her science teacher about regenerating limbs and making herself sound like Dr. Frankenstein in the science lab.  And of course, Weird West is just staring at her, focusing on not floating off.  We did learn that Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Muggles know about Claire’s great ability, and now that she’s not being brainwashed every other day, she’s not nearly as annoying.  We learn that Isaac painted the Death of Sulu in a series of eight paintings (or seven…not sure if I got that right) and Mr. Bennet only has the first of the series.  Weird West has Mohinder’s book that he wants Claire to read, but she blows him off with that pleasant ‘you’re a freak’ high school attitude.  Oh yeah, and Claire’s car gets stolen…which seems way too random to be random at all….

 

So Bing is sending Mohinder on his first mission.  He has to go to Port-au-Prince to find a sick hero, suffering from the same virus his sister died of…..and whaddya know?  It’s the Haitian in Haiti….how about that?  I kind of wondered what happened to that guy.  Mohinder convinces Voodoo Man that he can help cure him….jump forward and Bing is in Mohinder’s face saying where’s the Voodoo Man?  Mohinder got his memory erased and doesn’t know what is going on….but apparently Bing thinks he’s totally incompetent now….

 

Back to Maya and Alejandro, still trying to get into the States.  They find a guide, or a family friend, or whoever to help.  One of the people being smuggled across the border is a healer who wants to help Maya….but she just ends up freaking everyone out by saying Maya is full of black, enough black to kill the devil, or something like that.  You are cursed, Maya!  Hmmm….like Jack Bauer…..so anyway, these kids and their guide are right at the border when the police show up.  Maya is separated from Alejandro and she starts to panic.  Her black tears end up killing the guide and she’s totally freaking out.  Alejandro catches up….and looky looky, his power is to reverse what she does….oooooOOOOOOoooooo…..it’s a TWIN thing…..I get it.  That’s totally awesome. 

 

So Hiro is still trying to convince Sark to be the hero of legend….but he’s passed out drunk.  Before he passes out though…he tells Hiro he looks like a fish when he talks….HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….that was friggin hysterical….so anyway, Hiro decides to put on Kensei’s armor and save the swordmakers daughter.  Which he does handily….and what did I tell you, she’s so gonna fall in love with Hiro instead….So the real Kensei is finally convinced to help now that the swordmakers daughter is in love with him.  He and Hiro walk outside and the evil samurai are there and arrows fly into Kensei’s chest before anybody can do anything….and immediately I am thinking….so just go back into time again and fix it….why can’t you do that?  But wait….look at this…..Sark/Kensei is a healer too…..how about that?  The great ancestor of Claire?  I’m sure I’m right. 

 

So back in Ireland, and the little lassy is trying to get Peter to talk.  We learn her name is Caitlin and her brother’s name is Ricky.  Well, they wouldn’t bother telling us their names if they weren’t going to be in the stupid story for a while, right?  So, Peter is healing miraculously (thanks to Claire) and then he just melts right through the ropes (thanks to ??????? Sylar???????) and then he saves Caitlin from some more Irish gangster guys by throwing the blue electric gobs at them (thanks to ?????????????) and throwing them up against the wall with his mind (thanks to definitely Sylar).  Hmmmmm…..Peter is like Superman.  This is very cool.  So Ricky says, yer gonna halp us du another jawb.  Why is he going to help, you may ask?  Well, Ricky apparently has a box full of Peter’s stuff which has his whole story in it.  Huh?  Come on Peter, no big deal.  Do it already….

 

So now Parkman is questioning Evil Mom about Sulu’s death.  And he’s reading her mind….and she knows it.  That was kind of weird.  What can she do, I wonder?  So Nathan shows up at the police station to bail out his Evil Mom and the lights go out and something is attacking her….so Parkman breaks through a window and she’s still alive but scratched up and freaking out.  And then Parkman sees the picture of her with the same symbol as the one on Sulu’s picture.  The symbol Ando explained earlier means ‘Great Ability’.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhh…its all coming together…………well, not really……but these little tidbits always make me feel better about the whole thing. 

 

So Mohinder fooled Bing completely with the Voodoo Man.  Apparently, he didn’t get his memory erased.  Instead, the Voodoo Man is reunited with Papa Bennet.  Very sneaky Suresh!!  I can’t imagine Bing and his Midas touch don’t know what’s really going on….it can’t be this easy to fool them…..but anyway, Papa Bennet and the Voodoo Man are going after Isaac’s other paintings to find out what happens to all the other higher ups (like Evil Mom, I imagine). 

 

Now cut back to Claire who is reading about lizards and watching dog shows with Mr. Muggles.  She is looking at the scissors and looking at her toes….and if she does what I think she’s going to do, I may throw up.  And of course she does…..cut over into a Quentin Tarantino Hostel movie….there goes her toe with a sickening crunch/clip sound from the scissors…..and she’s just staring at her bloody stump wishing her toe back into existence when of course it grows back and at this point I literally feel like vomiting all over the couch.  How gross was that!!!  And of course Weird West saw the whole thing….because you can’t have your privacy Claire….not anymore…..not with Floater Boy following you around.  He does, nicely enough, leave a copy of Mohinder’s book on the driveway for Claire….so I think we’re about to come full circle here. 

 

So nothing about Molly in this one.  Nothing about Nathan.  Nothing about Niki.  And still no Sylar….but those awful spoiler previews have of course ruined it for me….we all know he’s back…..somehow….so who killed Sulu?  Who are the other Elder Heroes?  Why is Molly dreaming about them?  What does the Maya/Alejandro duo have to do with all of this?  If Claire can’t die and Kensei is Claire’s ancestor….maybe he couldn’t die either?  Maybe he’s still around….an assassin for hire…..hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…

 

Aloha,

Heather

 

p.s. Peter Petrelli is such a hotty….Milo Ventimiglia.  Maybe that’s Italian….not sure…..<smile>.  All TV credits in his bio….except of course for the Rocky movie recently…..oh my goodness though…what gorgeous musc – I mean, eyes.  <wink>