Cocaine Princess here.
One Size Fits All
Like most hotels in tropical locations there is never carpeting in any of the rooms, only tiles and the air conditioner is most always set on high. I was wearing a robe that I had packed with me but it was made from lace and only came up to my knees so it didn't provide me with much warmth as I was freezing cold. I actually went into the bathroom, grabbed the hairdryer that was attached to the wall and held it in front of me to feel warm. I started at my feet and worked my way up. After a couple of minutes I called it quits, my arm started to hurt. I despise wearing socks or slippers especially around the house but my bare feet were beginning to feel numb. The floor was cold as an ice rink. I had no choice but to cover my feet with the white terry cloth slippers provided by the hotel and then removed the matching robe which was hanging on the hook on the backside of the bathroom door. As I was exiting the bathroom I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked like a woolly mammoth. The robe was 2 sizes too big even though the label clearly said one size fits all. Not only did I look ridiculous I felt ridiculous. I had spent the last couple of months getting bundled up everyday and wearing layers of clothing in order to go out and brave the harsh elements and here I was doing it again! I kicked off the slippers, tore off the robe, found the thermostat, turned off the a/c and stepped onto the balcony and waited until the room warmed up. Within minutes Valentina appeared. 'Hey Rudolph here's the aloe for your sunburned nose,' she said handing me the bottle. 'What are you doing out here? If you wanted to catch more rays we could have stayed out on the beach a little longer.' I explained how I was waiting for the room to warm out. 'It’s like an ice box.' 'Growing up in frozen tundra land shouldn’t you be use to it?' 'I am but as you said before I'm on vaycay. I don't need or want any reminders of the weather back home,' I replied. 'You may want to return to the ice box, your favorite movie is playing on one of the channels.' I leaped back into the room and tried turning on the TV. I say tried because I couldn't find the remote. I went up to the TV and looked for the power button but it was a flat panel. 'Look at the bottom for the switch,' she suggested. I put my hand underneath trying to feel if anything felt like a switch. 'Where did you last put the remote?' 'If I knew that I wouldn't be doing this,' I answered. 'It couldn't have just walked away,' muttered Valentina. She lifted up the comforter and when she did the lost remote went flying clear across the room landing on the floor before sliding underneath the sofa. 'Oops,' she said laughing. 'I'll get the one from my room.' 'Hurry,' I said as she left. 'What part were they at?' 'When Dunstan crosses the wall,' she yelled.
Dinner Time
For the entire weekend we dined every night at my favorite restaurant in the whole world. We had a beautiful table outside. On that particular night the skies above were twinkling brighter than ever, the nearby palm trees were caressing me with their warm breeze and in the background I could hear the waves crashing on the shores. It was one of those oh so perfect nights that can be best described as hypnotic.
As perfect as the night was I had a bit of a headache because someone in our entourage was wearing a very strong scented cologne but I couldn't quite pinpoint exactly which one in the suits it was. I love cologne on a guy and nuzzling up to him to inhale the aroma but whoever was wearing it I think may have dumped the entire bottle on himself. Or maybe it was the island heat? Sometimes the hot weather has a way of intensifying a smell. I tend to notice the smell of fresh cut fruit in the outdoors, especially coconuts, mangoes and watermelons. I quietly asked Valentina if she could smell it. 'It's the snitch. He wears Tim McGraw,' she said. Semper-Fi was standing close enough that he was in arms length and Valentina kept on talking about him as if he wasn't there. I gave her sort of a look. The kind of look that meant be quiet and in a low whisper said, 'he can hear you.' 'Like I give a damn,' she answered back. 'He and the others don't pay any attention to what we're talking about. Watch this.' Oh dear God whatever she is about to do please don't let her do it I silently prayed. 'Hey Semper Fi did you ever play football in college?' No answer. She then turned to one of the others. 'Do you think I look better with my hair up or down?' No answer. 'See what I mean. They're trained to tune out the un-necessary things,' she said. 'Miss January could be standing topless shaking her assets in their faces and you won't get a reaction from any of them. They're being paid to do a job and their job is to guard us. Isn't that right fellows?' No answer. If only Valentina came with an off switch. I attempted to change the subject but couldn't get a word in. She continued for at least another 5 minutes. I wrote in one of my earlier entries, I love Valentina to death and always will but sometimes there's no way to control that mouth of hers unless I put duct tape on it. That evening I wish I had packed a roll in my purse.
$5.00
As we were leaving the restaurant Valentina asked me a question, 'are you up for a little Rita Hayworth? 'You know I always am,' I replied back.
After dinner we headed on over to one of the casinos. The particular casino we were at had a strict dress code policy so everybody was dressed to the nines or they were refused entry and several people were. Khakis and a polo shirt didn't quite cut it. The entire ambiance was magnificent. A 10 piece Latin orchestra was to one side and there was a dance floor in the center. The only downside, most everyone had a Cohiba in their mouth. The casino hostesses were passing them out to everyone. Considering all the health risks I don't understand the pleasure people receive from smoking. I expect it would be required on my part to be a smoker to find out the answer. A lot of my friends smoke and a few of them are chain smokers. I sometimes will watch them from a distance and judging by the expression on their faces when they inhale and exhale I swear it's almost as if they're having a love affair with the cigar/cigarette.
The moment I walk into any casino there is one song that will start playing in my head, 'Put The Blame On Mame.' You see one of the type of films I enjoy watching are film noir and my favorite is Gilda. For those of you who have seen the film you probably understand the connection between Rita Hayworth and casinos.
I'm not a big gambler nor am I good at any type of card game. I just go to have fun. Can you believe I won a whole $5.00 on the slot machine! Boy, did I ever have a hard time deciding what to spend it on.
Hell's Kitchen
The Challenge- Taste It And Make It.
Chef Ramsay created 3 different dishes made from chicken, beef and fish and had the remaining 4 contestants taste each dish and then asked which they preferred. All of them said the fish stew. Each chef had to recreate the fish stew using the exact same ingredients and had 30 minutes to do it. The purpose of this test was to separate the chefs from the cooks. One of the ingredients Ben was able to identify was wine. He made an attempt to hide the wine from the others until Ramsay stopped him and called him a selfish bastard. Everyone received good compliments on their dishes but the two closet were Paula's and Danny's. Ramsay chose Danny because Paula used water and not fish stock. Danny's reward was a ride on an open cabin plane while the others had to polish silver, clean the carpets and prep the kitchen.
Dinner Service
Before dinner service Ramsay surprised each of the chefs with a set of cookware from his own signature collection and informed them the slate would be wiped clean so any past mistakes they may have done would not be counted. It was a fresh start. Everyone was moving in perfect momentum and the food that was being prepared was according to Ramsay's standards. There was even a sweet proposal in the dining room. Gordon came out and congratulated the bride to be and even gave her a kiss on the cheek. Then things took a turn for the worst. Ben had to prepare a vegetarian salad. He asked whether the customer wanted tuna on it and then forgot to dump the pasta in the water and was accused of sabotaging Paula's flow and breaking the kitchen's smooth momentum. Meanwhile Danny was enjoying listening to Gordon go off on Ben.
When dinner service ended Andrea and Ben were on the chopping block. Ben gave a strong reason why he should stay but Ramsay wasn't convinced and told him to hang up his jacket. One quality the chef admired in Ben was his attitude and effort.
Only three remain, Paula, Andrea and Danny.
My loyal and dear readers it's finally Friday!
Whatever your plans are have a fantastic weekend....what the heck, be a little naughty.-x
XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess
