The Amazing Race > The Racers

TAR25: Misti Raman & Jim Raman "The Dentists"

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Ticasmom:
Both of those smiles are pure zirconium.  Both foreheads are pure botox.  Dentists are now doing botox.

Bookworm:
They (especially Jim) scare me

georgiapeach:
Jim will be doing a weekly commentary of their experiences on his FB FanPage located here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-and-Misti-Raman-Official-Fanpage/1535475576685132

By permission, we can share it here weekly! :tup: Enjoy!

Ep 1:
 

--- Quote ---Every week I will post commentary for our friends and patients giving our
perspective on the episode and the things that the audience didn't get to see. 
I will do my best to keep my observations to things I observed first hand and
not post anything that I only heard from other teams.  I will address things
that have circulated on social media but I largely try... to avoid reading any of it.  If you have a question
after an episode feel free to message me through Facebook and I will try to
address it in my weekly commentary.

 During our opening introduction I
make the comment that "we don't compare ourselves to the average person" which
has been construed by many as an elitist, arrogant attitude.  What followed in
that interview (but was not shown) was that we judge ourselves based on our God
given potential.  The reason we are so driven and don't just sit back and enjoy
our success and rest on our laurels is because we know that on our best day we
may achieve 40-50% of our God given potential.  We strive to be our best for the
personal satisfaction that comes along with that and for the impact that we have
on the lives of those closest to us.  The notion that we are elitist is
laughable given where we came from and that neither of us enjoyed an overly
privileged childhood.  I grew up in a very middle class, blue collar household
where our needs were always met but not always our wants.  I lived in an area
where most of my friends had more than I did and in a house where the bills
always exceeded the income.  Misti's parents were divorced when she was very
young and her mother often struggled to make ends meet.  There were times when
she would save her change during the week just to be able to buy Misti a candy
bar at the end of the week and clothes often came from a second hand store.  We
both remain fairly grounded and realize that what makes you a good person is how
you treat others and not your income or the letters after your name.  Obviously,
we were edited to seem arrogant (which is fine, this is TV) and yes we are very
confident because of what we know we can achieve.

 By the time the race
started in Times Square we had been in NYC for four days and had spent many
hours in meetings with the other teams but had not spoken a word to any of them.
 We had sized up the competition based on appearance but knew absolutely nothing
about each other.  At this point I felt like the firefighters were our biggest
competition (they reminded me of Art and JJ).  Start time was 3 am and we were
never told what time or what day we would start so we had not slept during the
day at all.

 Times Square was super intense.  Months of waiting and we
were finally underway.  From Times Square we headed to the Unisphere from the 
1964 World Fair in Flushing Meadows.  Within about 2 minutes of arriving there
were cabs everywhere.  The way most of the cabs came in we were in front of the
building and could not gain access to the Unisphere so we had to go on foot. 
Less than an hour into the race and it was complete chaos, teams everywhere
fighting for the advantage of being on the first flight.  When we arrived at the
airport I saw Keith and Whitney get out of the cab in front of us and run into
the airport as we were paying our cab.  Fortunately they did not see the marked
counter and we were able to sprint in and secure a seat on the first
flight.

 Our flight left at 7:50 am so we had a few hours to sleep in the
airport but who could sleep?  Upon arrival in St. Thomas it was a foot race off
the airplane to the cabs.  All five teams got to the cab stand within seconds of
each other but our cab somehow got out first and we had about a two minute lead
on the other teams when we arrived at Vendors Plaza.  We passed through Vendors
Plaza and were probably within 20 feet of the sign up board for the sea planes
but did not see it.  By the time we ran across the street where the planes were
and back the other teams had arrived and we ended up on the second
plane.

 On the sea plane I made a comment about throwing up "like
Bopper".  Obviously, it was Mark who always got motion sickness, a fact that we
discussed a few minutes later but as it was relatively irrelevant it was not
included in the show.  The sea plane flight and the journey to Carval Rock were
relatively uneventful other than what was shown on TV.

 We arrived on the
beach for the roadblock in fourth place.  By my estimation Tim and TeeJay
arrived 40 minutes ahead of us, Adam and Bethany 30 minutes and Alli and Kym 10
minutes.  When we read the clue and saw the compass and shovel sitting there I
quickly decided that I would perform the roadblock.  I had just finished
measuring my first coordinate when Adam came to me asking how to use the
compass.  Keep in mind the audience is told how the compass works but the cast
is not.  At that point I was already suspicious that I may be on the wrong track
because I estimated my treasure would be somewhere near the water which I felt
was improbable.  When I noticed is was about 3 pm, the sun was over the island
and my compass had west pointing over the ocean I decided to check the compass
on my watch.  Some have said that I cheated by using the compass on my watch but
it was absolutely within the scope of the rules.  Others have said we only won
because of the compass on my watch but it really only helped to confirm my
suspicion.  Additionally, I shared that information with Adam and Tim and still
finished far ahead of them.  I actually used the compass provided to locate the
treasure not because I had to but because it was far more accurate than my
watch.  What I feel was the biggest deciding factor in me finding the treasure
so quickly was the manner in which I used the compass.  Yes I was a boy scout
and yes I have used a compass many times.  The key is when traveling a distance
it is best to pick a distant landmark along the path you wish to travel and stay
aligned with the landmark, this is far more accurate than constantly
re-orienting based on the compass.  At the end of my first coordinate (north 13
yards) I checked the accuracy of my position by facing back to my starting point
and checking to make sure it was due south, which it was.  I repeated the
procedure for the second coordinate and found the treasure immediately on my
first attempt after realizing the compass was backwards.  I estimate our total
time on the roadblock was around 10 minutes.  The second place team, who arrived
on the island approximately 40 minutes before us, arrived at the pitstop almost
2 hours behind us.  Sorry for the lengthy explanation, I just got sick of people
saying we only won because of my watch.  As a side note, I believe Robbie and
Amy were both very quick in finding their treasure.

 After leaving the
island we took a boat ride to Magens Bay which I feel was about 20 minutes long
and then got in a cab for what also felt like 20 minutes.  The entire time I was
looking over my shoulder expecting the other teams to be just minutes behind us
given that I had helped two other teams by telling them how to use the compass. 
I guess the challenge was more difficult for most than I had thought.  Stepping
on the mat for the first time, in first place, and winning "The Save" was
exhilarating beyond words.  36 hours without sleep and I had never been more
energized.

 As far as the three teams taking a penalty, I personally
would have never done that and think it was a very weak decision.  As one team
put it, "I felt the penalty was the easiest way".  In my life I have found that
the easy road doesn't usually end at the most desirable destination.  As far as
the realtors being eliminated, it sucks that someone has to go home after just
one leg and for that I feel sorry for them.  On the other hand I think what they
did in Vendors Plaza was dirty and sometimes karma is a bitch.  You hate to see
anyone leave so early but that's just part of The Amazing Race.

 Random
Thoughts

 Yes, our teeth are white, but both of my brothers feel like CBS
whitened our teeth even more for emphasis in some scenes.  I personally do not
know but this is just a thought.

 I've also heard that I should lay off
the spray tan.  Sorry to disappoint but there was zero spray tan/self tanner
involved in my skin being the color it was.  Keep in mind this was filmed in
June.

 Sorry to all for the excessive length.  I will try to keep future
installments more concise.
--- End quote ---

AR FAN:
Peach, Thank You for the post from Jim, I love this stuff!!!!!

georgiapeach:
Thank Jim!! I love it too.

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