Yuku free message boards

Fair Warning:
I haven't been feeling too well for the past few days, so tonight as I sat down to write this I took a Zyrtec. It certainly cleared up my sinus issue but in doing so has made me really drowsy. Major drowsy. So this is my first blog written under the influence of an "over the counter, readily available at any pharmacy" drug. Here goes…

FOA FOA

Here's my take on Foa Foa. If they lose again, I believe they will vote out Jaison due to his attitude and lack of motivation, and the three remaining tribe members (Mick, Natalie, and Russell) will pray for a merge. If there is a merge, Russell should be the first to go, and after that it doesn't matter, they won't have a chance. They need a miracle right now to have any shot of staying in this game.

THE MIRACLE
The miracle would be making it to the merge and then making something happen. Big and immediate. Count on Russell to give it his best shot… If there is a crack in Galu's armor he will find it and he will do his best to exploit it in the most beneficial way. Thus, Russell is Foa Foa's only hope at this point. He's just crazy enough to risk it all on a wild plan. Natalie is very sharp and if he holds onto her, together they could make something happen.

INSIGHT: Yes, we were well aware at this point that we could have a Palau situation on our hands. If you remember in Palau, one tribe lost challenge after challenge until only Stephanie was left in her tribe. It was an amazing thing to watch as Stephanie overcame tremendous odds and made it deep into the show and is now considered an "all-star" as a result of her efforts. As to whether or not this season will have a merge, can't tell you that. Not even under the influence of Zyrtec. Ambien maybe, Zyrtec no.

SHAMBO LEADS
The election of Shambo as leader really impressed me. Great move by the men of Galu.

INSIGHT: I was not aware of the motivation for making Shambo the leader. I had no idea it was the guys' idea nor did I realize the strategy behind it. Brilliant. They pulled a major fast move on the women and in doing so shifted the game. They also created a crack in the armor which could come back to haunt them if Russell and Co. make it to a merge.

Yes, I feel for Shambo. She is such an underdog. She is so sincere, so eager to lead her tribe. It's hard to listen to the comments from her tribemates about why they elected her as leader. They have absolutely no intention of ever letting her make an important decision. I hope she proves to be an amazing leader.

REWARD CHALLENGE
The memory challenge is one of those challenges that is not that exciting to watch, but usually creates great drama in terms of heroes and goats. That is why we do it. Truth be told, the best person to ever play this game is my favorite honorary niece, Skyleur. She's younger than most of the pants I wear on the show but her memory is uncanny. She plays this game while watching the show and never ever misses. Just sharing.

I really thought Foa Foa had a shot at this challenge. A simple reward would have gone so far with them. But once again they fall short and as a result fall further behind in the game.

PAYBACK IS A BITCH
There is no doubt in my mind that Shambo sent Laura over to Foa Foa because Shambo just does not like having her around. Sometimes it's nice to be Queen.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Sometimes I make the right call, sometimes I don't.

INSIGHT: When explaining this challenge to the Survivors I always give them a chance to ask questions before we run the challenge. Someone asked if they could push their boat instead of using the paddles. Usually this is a terrible idea as the water gets too deep to do any pushing and the paddles are much more effective.

So, without even consulting John Kirhoffer our Challenge Producer, I said, "Sure. Knock yourself out." Turns out I was wrong. That one little decision completely changed the challenge. It took out all of the drama of having to figure out how to paddle while fishing for the puzzle pieces. I knew it moments after the challenge started, but there wasn't anything I could do - the decision had been made. It was still a fair challenge, so it didn't affect the game, but my decision changed the design of the challenge and as a result it didn't run as well as it should. That's all on me. I blew it.

To his credit, John Kirhoffer, our Challenge Producer, never said a word. Then again, he didn't have to - I was painfully aware.

WAS LIZ THE RIGHT VOTE?
That's a tough one. I think Liz had a great attitude, but the trust factor was too much. I imagine this was one of those votes when you had to really trust your gut.

Question of the week: Will Foa Foa win another challenge or will they continue to crumble?

Thanks for understanding that I'm not 100% today, I'll try to make it up to you next week but I'm done for tonight. Zyrtec wins.

Going to sleep.