i was quite giddy to watch the via satellite telecast of "the amazing race 7" season finale... and boy, it was such a delight! i was gunning in for the other 2 teams to win the 1 MILLION BUCKAROOS... and please, not the "shamelessly lucky" team! rob and amber are just too cunning and it's so weird that luck was on their side throughout this race... many times an 'unknown' force just seems to carry them up to the lead! but anyways, now it's been r&a, uchenna & joyce, and ron & kelly... i preferably was into uchenna & joyce to win the competition because they have the guts & determination... they're the nicest from the three. ron & kelly can be strong too, but they falter behind because kelly's emotional (in the worst of times) and ron can be really a redneck, so they get the wrong signals and commit a lot of fallback.

i love watching finales... the last i've seen (amazing race 5) was pretty okay, save for the winning team that is colin & christie. (my fave ar5 team, brandon & nicole, finished third.) i was hoping that in this season some deserving team wins.

london -- jamaica -- puerto rico -- miami
the 11th leg was just a warm-up to the really exciting 12th pitstop! although uchenna & joyce had their money taken away (finishing last in the last episode) and had to beg (which took a long time), they were able to catch up with the other 2 teams at the "muelle de azucar"... and finish it exactly like a rce! now you don't know who's in the lead... one second u&j's first, then r&k, then r&a! *arrgh* the best thing was the crossover from puerto rico to miami (the final destination!) it was a disadvantage to ron & kelly as they turned the wrong way to the airport, a very costly mistake... and so it boils down to the 2 neck-and-neck teams... on the airport, rob & amber got first on the scene and asked for the earliest flight to miami, with uchenna & joyce tailing a step behind. rob and amber bought tickets from the first airline (departing some 2 hours later?), but they went on and looked for another airline heading for miami, which was already boarding and they luckily (not again!) found their way in. oh no!!! i thought the worst was about to happen, but uchenna & joyce thought of their other options too and rush to the second airline (where r&a was in) to plead for seats. at the time, the thingy connecting the airplane to the terminal was already disintegrating, but thank heavens the pilot said they can still get in! the look on rob's face was priceless -- the "oh my gawd, me millions aren't safe now!" look -- as the couple passed them in the plane. then of the road to miami, they had to find "the king of the havanas" on calle ocho... it was a grrreat thing that uchenna & joyce had asked someone who knew spanish to translate the cigars shop to "el rey de los havanas", found the place easilty, and so they're taking the lead, leaving rob & amber aimlessly circling around in little havana. the climax part of the whole final leg was the very final part of the leg itself... as uchenna & joyce was short on taxi fare ($45), they were just feet away outside the pitstop (with phil & the other 9 past team-ups) on this place (can't remember). they had to beg yet again from people to contribute... believe me, it's the worst worst obstacle for the million $$$... it was so tension-filled, asking money took a long time and guts, and with the time ticking away came the worry rob & amber will be inching their way soon and will be there any minute...

and so, who ARE the ULTIMATE VICTORS???

....UCHENNA AND JOYCE!!! patrick (a former contestant.. cutie!) was muttering u&j, and that was my wish too, and the couple dashed in, with all the people cheering and clapping... it was so joyful! phil (who looked ABSOLUTELY HANDSOME in black, and that funky necklace he's wearing) broke into a wide grin and said, "5 continents, 26 (?) nations, 12 pitstops in this race around the world... uchenna & joyce, you are the winners of the amazing race." (something like that. i was too mesmerized to listen well!) i'm so happy for them, after everything they've gone through... i was cheery and teary when the couple was sharing their thoughts, that their partnership was made strong by this contest... they're planning to adopt soon... everyone was rejoicing with the fact someone who deserved this million bucks won, and when rob & amber came in, they were still clapping and stuff (maybe it's the "yes, they lost! hahaha!" cheer)... i'm pretty sure phil also didn't like rob & amber to win... heehee... but *hmmph* i still had to give the 'survivor' couple props for being a dang team to reckon. ron & kelly arrived some hours later, obviously tired and worn-out, but at least they made it to the pitstop with a grand reunion... i wish their relationship well.

overall, it's been a great season! congrats to uchenna & joyce... their begging went a long way! (i mean, if rob was in their case, he would've probably dived to the pitstop without paying the driver... i can be this evil!) ... now i've lost another show to watch with its closing... the next amazing race will probably be by the end of next month... but anyways, i will find pics of the show and post it here (finding phil!) *zip*

---