Wow. Wow. Wow.
What a finale!!
I wish I had more time to write about it. My head is still buzzing. What a thrilling night that was for me as a David fan - at least until the final tribal council. He got SO close! He should have won. He did more than enough to earn the title of sole survivor. He won challenges. He found hidden immunity idols. He made big plays. He was the mastermind this season, especially after the merge. He even created a fake idol that fooled Jay and led to his torch being snuffed.
While I definitely understand why Ken blindsided David, I don't admire him for it. I know he had to do it because he could not have beaten David. But he and David had been so loyal to each other. I wanted to see him stay true to his word all the way to the end. I really thought he was going to. David really thought he was going to. I was heartbroken when he didn't.
After David was voted out, I didn't care anymore about the outcome. The game became rather meaningless, which was disappointing when the rest of the episode had been so epic. The final three were all flawed for me. Ken lost my faith in him. Hannah came on strong at the end but was still a team player rather than a leader. And Adam - I don't know. He won a few challenges. He found hidden immunity idols. But I didn't like the way he badgered Hannah in the final tribal council, and tried to take credit for the moves that she made. I was proud of her for standing her ground and fighting for recognition. The nagging question that I'm left with is, did Adam win unanimously based on his game, or because he told everyone that his mom had cancer? Of the three, I would say that Adam did enough to win, as did Ken, but not Hannah. Still, I think it should have been either David or Jay that got the title. But you can't win if you don't make it to the final tribal council.
The season wasn't perfect for me. The FigTales romance was annoying. But I absolutely loved all the personal growth that happened this season. Hannah's metamorphosis was almost as inspiring as David's for me. And even though they weren't my favorite players, I enjoyed watching the transformations of Zeke and Bret as well. More than any other season of Survivor, the show changed people.
I didn't get my Cochran moment this time. I didn't get to rejoice in the stunning, unlikely win of someone that everyone counted out in the beginning. But as David said, he didn't win the game, but he came so far and changed so much that he felt like he won. So in a way, I did get my Cochran moment again. Usually you don't remember who almost won a reality show. But I think David will be remembered. I celebrate all of his accomplishments. And I thank all of these contestants - David, Hannah, Zeke, Bret - for being examples and showing the audience that you can change your life. You can become the person you want to be.
librarianintx
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Friday, December 02, 2016
Survivor Season 33 11/30 Episode
Whew! David survived another week! He wasn't in as much danger as I expected. The Jay/Zeke/Sunday/Bret alliance mentioned needing to get him out, but they didn't go for it.
The reward challenge was the obligatory loved ones cry fest, made all the more poignant when Adam's brother appeared to bring him news about his ailing mom. None of the contestants know what Adam is going through, but I was so happy when Jay picked Adam, along with Sunday, Will, and their loved ones, to join him on the reward so Adam and his brother could have some time together.
David kept up with the majority of the other survivors on the reward challenge, but he was the first one to drop during the immunity challenge. That immediately made me nervous. But the David/Adam/Ken/Hannah alliance received the life-saving gift of Will flipping to their side to vote out Zeke. Adam played his hidden immunity idol to ensure Hannah's safety, just in case Will decided not to flip.
I like Zeke; I wish he had been in David's alliance. I thought his exit was super classy, telling everyone that it had been an honor to play the game with them.
I don't understand why the Zeke alliance targeted Hannah again, rather than a stronger player. But I'll take it. It remains to be seen whether Will stays with the David alliance, or if he flips back to Jay, Bret, and Sunday.
librarianintx
The reward challenge was the obligatory loved ones cry fest, made all the more poignant when Adam's brother appeared to bring him news about his ailing mom. None of the contestants know what Adam is going through, but I was so happy when Jay picked Adam, along with Sunday, Will, and their loved ones, to join him on the reward so Adam and his brother could have some time together.
David kept up with the majority of the other survivors on the reward challenge, but he was the first one to drop during the immunity challenge. That immediately made me nervous. But the David/Adam/Ken/Hannah alliance received the life-saving gift of Will flipping to their side to vote out Zeke. Adam played his hidden immunity idol to ensure Hannah's safety, just in case Will decided not to flip.
I like Zeke; I wish he had been in David's alliance. I thought his exit was super classy, telling everyone that it had been an honor to play the game with them.
I don't understand why the Zeke alliance targeted Hannah again, rather than a stronger player. But I'll take it. It remains to be seen whether Will stays with the David alliance, or if he flips back to Jay, Bret, and Sunday.
librarianintx
My current attempt at a sugar regiment
Here are the personal guidelines I'm trying to follow when it comes to sugar:
1) One sugary beverage per day, and by "sugary," I mean Gatorade or apple juice, not soda. For the rest of the day I drink water or milk.
2) One sugary food per day, and by "sugary," I mean food that is relatively healthy. Examples would be light yogurt, fruit bars, or low sugar cookies. The cookies have 9 grams of sugar per serving, and are made with fruit and date sugars, although they also have chocolate chips in them. I'm also drinking the no sugar protein shakes again, made with chocolate pea powder (sweetened with stevia) and milk.
3) Avoiding high fructose corn syrup if at all possible. Animal crackers would usually be a lower sugar option that I would allow myself, but I checked the ingredients, and the kind I buy contains high fructose corn syrup. So no animal crackers. :(
4) I do not add sugar to anything. I used to like strawberries dipped in sugar, but no more. If I drink tea, I sweeten it with honey.
5) Instead of eating raisin bran cereal, I buy a low sugar variety of bran flakes and add raisins. You can actually see the sugar on the flakes in raisin bran cereal.
6) I am doing my very best to avoid the donuts, candy, and other treats that people bring to work.
7) Having said all this, I will allow myself to cheat for special occasions - a slice of cake or a cupcake for birthdays, pie at Thanksgiving, my mother's cookies for the holidays and Valentine's Day, etc. It sounds like a lot of cheating, but I hope it won't be.
Is it even worth it to make these changes if I cheat sometimes? I guess any move toward healthier eating is better than no changes at all. I wish I could say I was giving up sugar entirely, but I'm not there yet, and honestly, I doubt I ever will be.
So why am I doing this? Well, in general, sugar isn't good for you. It's bad for your teeth. It gives you a rush and then you crash. If I eat something sugary without pairing it with a protein like milk, I can get shaky. I'm also reading about the possible link between sugar and metastatic breast cancer. That really has me freaked out. The problem is, I'm already at a higher risk for breast cancer. I take birth control pills, and my doctor wants me on hormone replacement therapy when I reach menopause. And I have dense breast tissue. So is cutting down on sugar actually going to reduce my risk? I plan to talk to my doctor in January. In the meantime, cutting down on sugar couldn't hurt. Tamping down my worrying couldn't hurt either. :)
librarinintx
1) One sugary beverage per day, and by "sugary," I mean Gatorade or apple juice, not soda. For the rest of the day I drink water or milk.
2) One sugary food per day, and by "sugary," I mean food that is relatively healthy. Examples would be light yogurt, fruit bars, or low sugar cookies. The cookies have 9 grams of sugar per serving, and are made with fruit and date sugars, although they also have chocolate chips in them. I'm also drinking the no sugar protein shakes again, made with chocolate pea powder (sweetened with stevia) and milk.
3) Avoiding high fructose corn syrup if at all possible. Animal crackers would usually be a lower sugar option that I would allow myself, but I checked the ingredients, and the kind I buy contains high fructose corn syrup. So no animal crackers. :(
4) I do not add sugar to anything. I used to like strawberries dipped in sugar, but no more. If I drink tea, I sweeten it with honey.
5) Instead of eating raisin bran cereal, I buy a low sugar variety of bran flakes and add raisins. You can actually see the sugar on the flakes in raisin bran cereal.
6) I am doing my very best to avoid the donuts, candy, and other treats that people bring to work.
7) Having said all this, I will allow myself to cheat for special occasions - a slice of cake or a cupcake for birthdays, pie at Thanksgiving, my mother's cookies for the holidays and Valentine's Day, etc. It sounds like a lot of cheating, but I hope it won't be.
Is it even worth it to make these changes if I cheat sometimes? I guess any move toward healthier eating is better than no changes at all. I wish I could say I was giving up sugar entirely, but I'm not there yet, and honestly, I doubt I ever will be.
So why am I doing this? Well, in general, sugar isn't good for you. It's bad for your teeth. It gives you a rush and then you crash. If I eat something sugary without pairing it with a protein like milk, I can get shaky. I'm also reading about the possible link between sugar and metastatic breast cancer. That really has me freaked out. The problem is, I'm already at a higher risk for breast cancer. I take birth control pills, and my doctor wants me on hormone replacement therapy when I reach menopause. And I have dense breast tissue. So is cutting down on sugar actually going to reduce my risk? I plan to talk to my doctor in January. In the meantime, cutting down on sugar couldn't hurt. Tamping down my worrying couldn't hurt either. :)
librarinintx
Thursday, December 01, 2016
I finally believe in this
Variety is the spice of life.
Diversity should be the goal.
librarianintx
Survivor Season 33
I'm writing about last week's two hour episode, or two episodes back-to-back - however you want to view it. I haven't seen last night's episode, so David could be out. But he had a VERY big night last week.
In the first reward challenge, David said he would sit out since it was a team challenge that involved swimming, and he didn't want to be the player that lost the challenge for his team. He got quite emotional, but all the contestants encouraged him to play, and do the best he could. It was a wonderful display of good sportsmanship. David did play, and even though his team lost, it wasn't because David slowed them down in his athletic attempt. He was one of the puzzle solvers, so one could say that he contributed to the loss on that basis. But it wasn't because of his swimming ability, or some other physical aspect of the challenge.
The immunity challenge in the first episode was a grueling endurance challenge, and David won! I teared up watching everyone cheer for him; some of the contestants even gave him a standing ovation. As Jeff was putting the immunity necklace around him, and asked him how he was feeling, David said this, "I'm just trying to, like, tamper down that voice in my head that says 'I can't,' and start listening to a voice that says, 'I can.'"
David is me, and I am David. And that is why I am rooting for him this season. David is my Cochran this season. Does that mean David will win? It's too soon to tell. There is still a lot more game to go. But if he keeps making big moves, and manages to win some challenges and/or advantages - maybe. Not only did he win immunity in this episode, he was also instrumental in getting Chris out. Chris was the person that he wanted eliminated, and he made it happen.
But trouble has started looming on the horizon for David. In the second episode, he was able to partake in the reward challenge simply because he drew the correct rock. He did not have to compete. That was great for him of course, but any time a contestant gets something for free on Survivor, resentment can start to fester.
And then came the Tribal Council. David wanted Zeke out. But he was tipped off that the other side was gunning for Ken. Ken is one of David's biggest alliance members. So David used his hidden immunity idol to guarantee Ken's safety. Unfortunately, Ken turned out not to be the target. It was Hannah. After two deadlocked voting rounds, the contestants were forced to draw rocks. Poor Jessica drew the bad rock and was eliminated from the competition. This outcome could have devastating consequences for David. The members of his alliance could blame him for his decision to save Ken. Hannah will likely be very angry, since she was the one that was almost voted out. When she saw her name on the card, she turned to David and said accusingly, "You should have used it on me!" Hannah was already wavering between aligning with Zeke and pledging allegiance to David. What happened at that Tribal Council could cause her to flip back to Zeke. Which would mean, of course, that David would be out two alliance members: Jessica and Hannah. That would be a disaster. So time will tell if David can survive this troubling turn of events.
Even if it turns out that David was eliminated last night, I hope he will feel very proud of the game that he has played. Like Cochran, David shows that you don't have to have athletic prowess to win Survivor. It is a physical game, but the mental play, the strategy, plus the ability to form alliances and succeed at the social game are even more important aspects.
librarianintx
In the first reward challenge, David said he would sit out since it was a team challenge that involved swimming, and he didn't want to be the player that lost the challenge for his team. He got quite emotional, but all the contestants encouraged him to play, and do the best he could. It was a wonderful display of good sportsmanship. David did play, and even though his team lost, it wasn't because David slowed them down in his athletic attempt. He was one of the puzzle solvers, so one could say that he contributed to the loss on that basis. But it wasn't because of his swimming ability, or some other physical aspect of the challenge.
The immunity challenge in the first episode was a grueling endurance challenge, and David won! I teared up watching everyone cheer for him; some of the contestants even gave him a standing ovation. As Jeff was putting the immunity necklace around him, and asked him how he was feeling, David said this, "I'm just trying to, like, tamper down that voice in my head that says 'I can't,' and start listening to a voice that says, 'I can.'"
David is me, and I am David. And that is why I am rooting for him this season. David is my Cochran this season. Does that mean David will win? It's too soon to tell. There is still a lot more game to go. But if he keeps making big moves, and manages to win some challenges and/or advantages - maybe. Not only did he win immunity in this episode, he was also instrumental in getting Chris out. Chris was the person that he wanted eliminated, and he made it happen.
But trouble has started looming on the horizon for David. In the second episode, he was able to partake in the reward challenge simply because he drew the correct rock. He did not have to compete. That was great for him of course, but any time a contestant gets something for free on Survivor, resentment can start to fester.
And then came the Tribal Council. David wanted Zeke out. But he was tipped off that the other side was gunning for Ken. Ken is one of David's biggest alliance members. So David used his hidden immunity idol to guarantee Ken's safety. Unfortunately, Ken turned out not to be the target. It was Hannah. After two deadlocked voting rounds, the contestants were forced to draw rocks. Poor Jessica drew the bad rock and was eliminated from the competition. This outcome could have devastating consequences for David. The members of his alliance could blame him for his decision to save Ken. Hannah will likely be very angry, since she was the one that was almost voted out. When she saw her name on the card, she turned to David and said accusingly, "You should have used it on me!" Hannah was already wavering between aligning with Zeke and pledging allegiance to David. What happened at that Tribal Council could cause her to flip back to Zeke. Which would mean, of course, that David would be out two alliance members: Jessica and Hannah. That would be a disaster. So time will tell if David can survive this troubling turn of events.
Even if it turns out that David was eliminated last night, I hope he will feel very proud of the game that he has played. Like Cochran, David shows that you don't have to have athletic prowess to win Survivor. It is a physical game, but the mental play, the strategy, plus the ability to form alliances and succeed at the social game are even more important aspects.
librarianintx
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