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AE: So you didn't feel living in the tents was that big of a disadvantage?
DA: It was for the women, having to do their hair and their makeup and there was nowhere to do that out there. For me, I just throw some goop in my hair. I did have to shave in the reflection of the windows on the house.

The true disadvantage was when you were coming home from a task. We worked around the clock. They don't show that on the show, but we'd be coming home at like four o'clock in the morning and we have to get up in an hour. And when you come home at four, there's all this dew and moisture inside the tents. That makes it difficult to go into that, and you know you have to wake up in an hour and be in a suit.

AE: What was your favorite project?
DA: I would say the one where we harvested honey. I got to harvest honey with bees — how often do you get to do that? I got stung, but that's part of the experience. They cut out this part of the show, but we actually bottled the honey ourselves. It was like something out of an episode of I Love Lucy. It was a fiasco. And then to be able to go in the store and sell it. I put on the stupid beekeeper's outfit that was two sizes too small. It was like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. And then we won. So that was probably my favorite.

AE: Least favorite?
DA: I would say the Trina Turk [episode] where we designed swimwear. It was the only task where I did not get to do anything creative. Every other task, I got to do something creative. I was coming up with the theme or designing the signs or the logo, stuff like that.

But with the swimwear, interestingly enough, the gay guy didn't do any of the creative stuff. I ended up creating marketing line sheets. That wasn't very creative. I didn't like that. And I thought our swimsuits were ugly. It offended my gay sensibilities, the little bit that I have. [Laughs.] Truly, I don't have any of the good gay qualities. I can't dance, I can't dress, I can't decorate. [Laughs.]

AE: Who do you think should win?
DA: I'd like to see Kristine win. She's very smart, very beautiful, and in terms of this show, she's one of Trump's favorites. I think she knows how to work that. I think it's her — or Nicole. She's the same way. He just loves her.

It's funny, because the guys on the show are just nonexistent for him. He's really all about the ladies. There's some cute guys on the show — Aaron, Tim and Carey. Then there's like the "eh" — me and Frank and the rest of the guys — but the women are all stunningly beautiful. He handpicks all of us, but you can tell he doesn't give a crap what the guys look like.

AE: Would you do anything differently if you had it to do again?
DA: Probably not. I like the way that I went out. If I'd kept my mouth shut I would have made it a lot longer, but at that point, I was so tired. We'd worked three weeks around the clock every day without a day off. I went in, made my guest appearance, made it a little more than halfway. My alliance achieved its goals, and I'm glad I didn't have to backstab the rest of my friends, Muna, Heidi, Kristine and Angela. I'm glad, because there are people on the show who don't talk to each other.

People went into it thinking it was a real job interview, and it's a little naïve for people to do that. For them to think that people weren't going to try to backstab them was just very naïve. For me, if anyone talks s--- about me, I was just like, "Knock yourself out." I read these chat boards and people are evil towards me and everybody on there. I just think it's funny. That's why I went on the show. [Laughs.]

AE: Thanks for much for talking with us, Derek.
DA: No problem. I love the blog. I check it every day!

AE: I look forward to seeing you on The Amazing Race.
DA: [Laughs.]

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