Post by Mark "Papa Bear" Caruso on Feb 14, 2013 1:55:29 GMT -5
Let's be real: it is so much further along in the game than episode eleven. But there wasn't a lot to report from Redemption Island, so my confessionals got a little bit sparce. Now, there is much to be said...
- Before I get to far into things, I just want to take a moment to reflect back on where I've come from. I remember quite well the day that I got sent to Redemption Island. I vividly remember thinking that my time was done and that I should put my best foot forward in Redemption Island challenges to insure that I wasn't the first jury member but perhaps maybe the second or third. I fascinated about the idea of doing well enough that I would work my way back into the game, but it truly was nothing more than just a dream. I took things round by round and can't believe how well that worked for me. Since I didn't keep a consistent confessional update, I'll do that now in reflection mode. And since this is coming in the form of a flashback, I'll do it in italics to distinguish that.
- First up was Coach. I could not believe my eyes when he was the one I was paired up against. At the time, I was almost certain that it would be Elyse or Cochran or Whitney or even Dawn. But never in a million years did I expect Coach. And I have to be honest, I really liked him when he got there. It was almost immediately one of those things where I started questioning myself for not at least attempting to contact him. Coach was a great guy, and I had a lot of false impressions about him during my original time in the game. Looking back, I still think I got lucky in this duel. Obviously, I would have fought to the death, but I lucked out by him having time zone issues. I'm still not convinced that he would have beaten me under any other circumstances.
- Then there was Dawn. When Dawn arrived at Redemption Island, my first reaction was to be pissed off. It is a cardinal rule to never leave the game with a hidden immunity idol in your pocket. Everyone knows that! But Dawn got complacent and did just that. Dawn seemed really defeated when she got to Redemption Island, constantly ranting about how bad she hated Edna rather than focusing on the task at hand. In that regard, I got lucky and caught her at just the right time. But Dawn remains one of my favorite people I have met in this game. She was never overly strong in challenges but was a phenomenal person to talk to and was an asset to have around.
- Next up was Mikayla. Once again, I was a little bit surprised that she got the boot. I thought Mikayla was a good player, but I think the others saw her as someone who could be potentially blindsided. In my time on Redemption Island, the duel against Mikayla was either my favorite challenge or number two. I left no stone unturned that round by making a list of all Survivors to ever play the game, alphabetizing them both by first initial of the first name and last initial of the last name. I found out some fun Survivor trivia that round, most notably that there have been a ton of players to play the game with names that start with the letter 'J' but none to play with a last name that ends in 'J'. You can thank me for the trivia knowledge later. Anyway, I ended up posting about 85 that night I think, and I remember kicking myself because I had actually pre-made a list that had about 130 people on it. I swore that would end up being a haunting regret for me, but I ended up spanking Mikayla in the duel and lived to fight another day.
- Next up was the duel I dreaded the most - the threesome. It sounds appealing, but believe me it wasn't. This would have been bad enough against any old competitors. Finding out that the first of two others to join me would be this game's most notorious villain, Edna, was not the way I wanted to start that round. Adding a former tribemate, Whitney, to the mix only made matters worse. I have to be honest, I really thought that my luck was going to come to an end that round, but I ended up catching lightning in a bottle. I actually somewhat enjoyed the game we had to play, and Edna irresponsibly elected to cheat to attain the win. She claims she finished it with an ungodly high score, but I would argue that we didn't even have enough time in that day to get a score that high. It took me about an hour to get what I got. Anyway, I was able to best Whitney as well and find myself living to see another day.
- Next up was Elyse. I would be lying if I said that my motivation wasn't at an all-time high for this duel. I constantly felt threatened by Elyse back on old Savaii, and I knew just what a force she could be in challenges. It was going to take nothing less than my A game for that duel, and I am proud to say that is exactly what I brought. That may have been the shining moment in my game, as I invested countless hours and energy into that challenge and walked away victorious by a landslide. This is terrible for me to say, but I would have been really disappointed in myself if I would've been ousted by Elyse. Not because she was a bad player, but because I had a little bit of an internal rivalry going with her all the time. So that victory tasted particularly sweet.
- And finally there was Stacey. I had no idea just how good Stacey is. She dominated the game strategically and held her own in challenges as well. She made some questionable decisions during her time in the game, but she played a great game altogether. And for what it's worth, I am only here because of her mistake. She technically beat me in the challenge, but luck was on my side, as she screwed up the challenge very late in the game. It's weird to think about just how lucky I really got there.
- And with that, it was time to come back into the game. I cannot explain just how excited I was, but that excitement was short-lived. After receiving some (apparently insincere) congratulations on being back, I was cornered by Sophie and told upfront about how much of a threat I was to win the game and how limited my days were. Let me first say this - Sophie is too damn abrasive. Back in my original time in the game, I found her particularly offputting when she had a comparably insincere conversation with me just to turn around and vote me out the next day. So I didn't exactly have the best impression of her coming back into things. But this really wasn't the way to handle the situation upon my re-arrival into the game. If she doesn't make the finals, it will solely be because she didn't know how to conduct herself socially. And in a game like this, that is a serious problem.
- On the other hand, I can't help but wonder if she is right. Again, I don't want to get the cart before the horse, but I would love nothing more than to win this game. It would mean so much to me to know all that time invested was well worth it. I can only hope that the jury is as decided on my finals win as Sophie is making it out to be. I know I would have a lot of interrogation coming my way, but I'm eager about that potential challenge. We'll see if I can make it happen.
- And finally, I cannot believe how close Rick and I are getting. Like Coach, what on Earth was I thinking not talking to this guy earlier? He is the man! I find him to be a lot of fun, and he and I were blessed to do quite a bit of strategizing together this round. He is serving as our swing vote this this round, so I'm anxious to see what he decides.
And with that, it's time to hopefully get back into the game and make the finals. So far, so good!
Papa Bear
- Before I get to far into things, I just want to take a moment to reflect back on where I've come from. I remember quite well the day that I got sent to Redemption Island. I vividly remember thinking that my time was done and that I should put my best foot forward in Redemption Island challenges to insure that I wasn't the first jury member but perhaps maybe the second or third. I fascinated about the idea of doing well enough that I would work my way back into the game, but it truly was nothing more than just a dream. I took things round by round and can't believe how well that worked for me. Since I didn't keep a consistent confessional update, I'll do that now in reflection mode. And since this is coming in the form of a flashback, I'll do it in italics to distinguish that.
- First up was Coach. I could not believe my eyes when he was the one I was paired up against. At the time, I was almost certain that it would be Elyse or Cochran or Whitney or even Dawn. But never in a million years did I expect Coach. And I have to be honest, I really liked him when he got there. It was almost immediately one of those things where I started questioning myself for not at least attempting to contact him. Coach was a great guy, and I had a lot of false impressions about him during my original time in the game. Looking back, I still think I got lucky in this duel. Obviously, I would have fought to the death, but I lucked out by him having time zone issues. I'm still not convinced that he would have beaten me under any other circumstances.
- Then there was Dawn. When Dawn arrived at Redemption Island, my first reaction was to be pissed off. It is a cardinal rule to never leave the game with a hidden immunity idol in your pocket. Everyone knows that! But Dawn got complacent and did just that. Dawn seemed really defeated when she got to Redemption Island, constantly ranting about how bad she hated Edna rather than focusing on the task at hand. In that regard, I got lucky and caught her at just the right time. But Dawn remains one of my favorite people I have met in this game. She was never overly strong in challenges but was a phenomenal person to talk to and was an asset to have around.
- Next up was Mikayla. Once again, I was a little bit surprised that she got the boot. I thought Mikayla was a good player, but I think the others saw her as someone who could be potentially blindsided. In my time on Redemption Island, the duel against Mikayla was either my favorite challenge or number two. I left no stone unturned that round by making a list of all Survivors to ever play the game, alphabetizing them both by first initial of the first name and last initial of the last name. I found out some fun Survivor trivia that round, most notably that there have been a ton of players to play the game with names that start with the letter 'J' but none to play with a last name that ends in 'J'. You can thank me for the trivia knowledge later. Anyway, I ended up posting about 85 that night I think, and I remember kicking myself because I had actually pre-made a list that had about 130 people on it. I swore that would end up being a haunting regret for me, but I ended up spanking Mikayla in the duel and lived to fight another day.
- Next up was the duel I dreaded the most - the threesome. It sounds appealing, but believe me it wasn't. This would have been bad enough against any old competitors. Finding out that the first of two others to join me would be this game's most notorious villain, Edna, was not the way I wanted to start that round. Adding a former tribemate, Whitney, to the mix only made matters worse. I have to be honest, I really thought that my luck was going to come to an end that round, but I ended up catching lightning in a bottle. I actually somewhat enjoyed the game we had to play, and Edna irresponsibly elected to cheat to attain the win. She claims she finished it with an ungodly high score, but I would argue that we didn't even have enough time in that day to get a score that high. It took me about an hour to get what I got. Anyway, I was able to best Whitney as well and find myself living to see another day.
- Next up was Elyse. I would be lying if I said that my motivation wasn't at an all-time high for this duel. I constantly felt threatened by Elyse back on old Savaii, and I knew just what a force she could be in challenges. It was going to take nothing less than my A game for that duel, and I am proud to say that is exactly what I brought. That may have been the shining moment in my game, as I invested countless hours and energy into that challenge and walked away victorious by a landslide. This is terrible for me to say, but I would have been really disappointed in myself if I would've been ousted by Elyse. Not because she was a bad player, but because I had a little bit of an internal rivalry going with her all the time. So that victory tasted particularly sweet.
- And finally there was Stacey. I had no idea just how good Stacey is. She dominated the game strategically and held her own in challenges as well. She made some questionable decisions during her time in the game, but she played a great game altogether. And for what it's worth, I am only here because of her mistake. She technically beat me in the challenge, but luck was on my side, as she screwed up the challenge very late in the game. It's weird to think about just how lucky I really got there.
- And with that, it was time to come back into the game. I cannot explain just how excited I was, but that excitement was short-lived. After receiving some (apparently insincere) congratulations on being back, I was cornered by Sophie and told upfront about how much of a threat I was to win the game and how limited my days were. Let me first say this - Sophie is too damn abrasive. Back in my original time in the game, I found her particularly offputting when she had a comparably insincere conversation with me just to turn around and vote me out the next day. So I didn't exactly have the best impression of her coming back into things. But this really wasn't the way to handle the situation upon my re-arrival into the game. If she doesn't make the finals, it will solely be because she didn't know how to conduct herself socially. And in a game like this, that is a serious problem.
- On the other hand, I can't help but wonder if she is right. Again, I don't want to get the cart before the horse, but I would love nothing more than to win this game. It would mean so much to me to know all that time invested was well worth it. I can only hope that the jury is as decided on my finals win as Sophie is making it out to be. I know I would have a lot of interrogation coming my way, but I'm eager about that potential challenge. We'll see if I can make it happen.
- And finally, I cannot believe how close Rick and I are getting. Like Coach, what on Earth was I thinking not talking to this guy earlier? He is the man! I find him to be a lot of fun, and he and I were blessed to do quite a bit of strategizing together this round. He is serving as our swing vote this this round, so I'm anxious to see what he decides.
And with that, it's time to hopefully get back into the game and make the finals. So far, so good!
Papa Bear