So Much Drama

Whining, bitching, arguments, crying … so much crying, so many tears.

I’m not talking about the world of politics, nor am I referring to anything happening here on the complex. I’m referring to Food Network’s holiday competitions.

I don’t know if it’s the stress of the pandemic reaching over into the world of cakes and cookies, but there are behaviors on camera like I’ve never seen outside of one of those housewives’ or bachelor/bachelorette shows.

In last week’s episode of Holiday Wars, one team member was baking an egg-shaped pastry for the judges.

Explaining that she was unfamiliar with the altitude, she burned a batch, but quickly recovered, had the time, made another batch.

The camera pans over to a teammate who began throwing shade ….. “Why’s she even here? … She’s not doing any real work”.

“What? …. Me? .... I’m not doing anything?” asked the one making treats for the judges.

“Nothing but burning things”, said the teammate throwing shade.

The shade was totally unnecessary in my eyes, especially coming from someone on the same team.

Nothing further happened on camera, but I hope the one making treats called the other out on her unnecessary digs and gave her an in-your-face because that team won the challenge, and won mainly on the basis of the little egg-shaped pastries that the judges gushed about.

And speaking of the judges … There’s a new judge working alongside long-time judge Shinmin Li.

I don’t know who this new judge is, never heard of her, but she’s quite rude.

She and Shinmin are butting heads, making no effort to hide the fact they don't like working with each other.

There was a verbal catfight between the two on last week’s episode that had me clutching my imaginary pearls.

The word "war" in Holiday Wars is supposed to refer to one team battling another, not the judges fighting between themselves.

And the crying

Mostly from this one guy on a particular team, who can’t seem to hold it together and looks to have come to the competition already on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

He’s constantly looking worried, wringing his hands, weeping, so insecure about his skills as a cake artist that his team members have to take time from the competition to reassure him that he’s doing great (he isn’t).

Even the judges have been walking on eggshells, when critiquing his work, as he's obviously on the edge.

That cake artist is just not wrapped tight enough to handle the pressure of a competition, and previews of next week seem to indicate the meltdown happens. Clips show him shaking, crying, yelling at a team member that he doesn’t like the way she’s talking to him, possibly walking out.

I hope he does because there’s a reason for his insecurity, i.e., his work isn’t that good, and his histrionics over it is bringing the team down.

I know these shows have medics on duty, just in case a participant has a culinary accident. Me thinks they should also have a shrink on set.

On Monday’s holiday cookie competition, hosted by Food Network Star Winner Eddie Jackson and Pioneer Woman Rhea Drummond, one cookie maker referred to Rhea as Sandra Lee.

Sandra is the blonde chef who hosts Almost Homemade and looks nothing like Rhea.

Who knew there could be so much drama in cake and cookies.

There’s a new show based on a game called Candyland.

I’ve never heard of the game and though the premise of the show is interesting, I’m not all that sure I can continue to watch because the moderator has this high-pitched squeaky voice that is hard to listen to. Not to mention there’s a sugar artist in the competition that I’ve seen in other competitions.

She’s been the sugar artist on several Halloween competitions, and came across as mean, a bully. So much so that I, as a Black woman, was embarrassed because she too is Black.

Thankfully, I’ve not seen her on screen in last two years — probably, because of her behavior, no team would accept her.

When I saw her face pop up on Candyland, it was like OH NO! NOT YOU AGAIN!

So far, she’s keeping a smile on her face, but what she’s now presenting to the camera seems forced, fake.

She’s not a pretty woman, but nothing that a little make up can’t fix, and she needs to do something about her hair.

Speaking of hair, my locktician quit the business a few weeks ago.

She has a full-time job, is raising her niece’s daughter as her own and says that, with having to home-school the little girl AND a full-time job, she can no longer work in the braid salon.

Though she’s turned me over to another locktician, I’ve decided not to risk, in a pandemic, being that close to anyone else. Especially, since the locktician she turned me over to is the teenage daughter of the woman who owns the salon.

I’m sure the kid qualifies as a locktician, but I’d rather let my braids grown out, and go for whatever style I'm left with, than risk a teenager, or even another adult.

It’s a bright sunny day outside, the wind is down, so I finally got around to giving the severely weather damaged patio chair a makeover.

Before

After

It needs another coat or two, but is already looking better ready to be surrounded by Christmas decorations, which I hope to get to next week. Possibly on Thanksgiving Day.

Oh ... and by the way. In the process of painting the chair, I somehow managed to get paint in my hair and ruin a perfectly good tank top.

I think I'd look good with red hair. LOL.