Masami for Episode 3: My quote's on Wikipedia!

Allow me a moment to self-gloat. Like the above title says, my quote's on Wikipedia!

Unfortunately though, Episode 3 wasn't quite as dramatic as I had hoped it to be. The 'debate' we had when Anoop made his surprise appearance during our task preparation was cut short. You would have thought it hilarious had you been there to observe (I'm sure the production crew thought the whole drama was brilliant) but for us, well, it was not a happy stroll down some flower path.

Why did we not buy Anoop's sad story? Now before somebody comes up to accuse us of ganging up on the only Indian contestant in the show, let me share with you a story Anoop had shared with us. It is a poignant story of him, his bag, an attempted assassination and the President of Pakistan.

How it goes is like this. One day, Anoop was complaining about the sponsored wardrobe with something along the lines of how they are not worthy for someone used to shopping for clothes from Raoul. Wow, expensive taste. So now, the brown bad that Anoop carries with him in the show? It has a broken magnetic latch which Anoop pries open each time by sticking the point of a pen into this little hole below the latch. Naturally, we got curious because the normal thing to do will be to get the bag replaced. After all, he has the money for Raoul shirts so why not a new bag?

Anoop then told us that the bag comes with memories. This is when the story becomes incredible: The bag saved his life from a bullet. The bag also saved the President of Pakistan's life from the same bullet.

I don't know why Anoop was standing on the same stage as the President as he was giving a speech (maybe Anoop used to be like those KGB blokes) but that was when some assassin guy shot a bullet, which wasn't very accurate because instead of going straight for the intended guy's head, it went straight for Anoop's bag and bounced off the metal latch, thus breaking it in the process! And that was how Anoop and the President of Pakistan lived to see another day (and many more days).

I kid you not. You can ask the other contestants and they will share with you this same story - as well as other stories which are also quite incredible to listen to.

So, going back to that scene in Episode 3, do you now understand why we will not buy his story?

The reason why the 'debate' went off was that I opined that it wasn't fair for Anoop to remain in the show if he is not able to contribute as a team member. I firmly told him that he must make a decision as to which was more important: His health or a prize he is not sure of attaining. Furthermore, if the team were to lose, he would be able to escape the chopping block as he had a valid 'excuse' and this wouldn't be fair to all the other team members.

Our dear gentleman made a statement that all companies provide sick leave for employees. True, but how fair is that to apply to a competition where it's all about the survival of the fittest? The Firm may not be The Amazing Race: Asia but we all realise that efficiency, in terms of mental and emotional capacities, cannot be achieved when the body is weak.

So he had to make the jibe about 'what if your relative died'. For me, it's simple. If the death of a relative is more important to me, the competition has to be put aside. You can't run a marathon and leave half way for a funeral and to return, resuming from the last point where you left.

That was where I challenged him with, "So what are you trying to say? Are you dying tomorrow?", and to which he replied, "Who knows?"

The next thing he said but wasn't shown on TV would be something along the lines of what I would do if that happened.

Simple. Had he died, the team will no longer have to think about what tasks to assign him in the condition he was in and coming up with a backup plan in case he was unable to perform on task day. That would be one less problem for us.

Naturally, he got offended. Hahaha... well, that's Anoop for you and more drama will be in store in Episode 4!