Post by mark on May 30, 2013 15:45:12 GMT -5
Hello friends...acquaintances...umm, maybe some not friends? Or maybe some not friends after this speech? Judging from the finger I got on the way out, though I'm not sure why it was directed at me as opposed to the other 2 votes sitting next to me, I feel like I have a lot to learn from this judgment. As you all have a lot to learn from me.
As you all know, my story is the quintessential comeback story, but I won't beat that death. I feel it is only a facet of my game. Being the set first boot, I had to assume a role...that of a dependent. And I definitely was a dependent in that first round as I scrambled to meet everyone, learn a few tidbits about the series history, and find my footing, however slippery it was going to seem. My strategy going in was to latch myself on to whom I thought were the higher profiles of the tribe, ingratiate myself, and take it from there. Naturally, those profiles were Starr and Dion, and at their prodding, I went and made other sound connections. But once I felt established, I planned on continuing the role of a dependent. I never let on that I knew more than I did, and I never exposed my close knit relationships with Zac (though this one might have been more obvious), and most importantly Thiago. I stress importantly in that Thiago and I worked closely through this game from day one. We shared everything. We knew who the other was "courting", so to speak. We found the 2nd sword together. Thiago shared with me and me alone when he got his apple in the form of immunity. There was not one thing we didn't share with one another, and I believe that is what kept us abreast of the goings on in the game and one step ahead of everyone else. I'm telling you, it pays to have one solid partner in this game and to forget having to steal the limelight and to ignore the suspicions that someone may beat you in the finals. It pays to have one, solid confidant, and that was Thiago for me...and we kept that from all of you.
Don't get me wrong, this is not to minimalize the working relationships I had with Zac and Knox and Starr and Bree and Ben. I needed all of you at one time or another, and I enjoyed our time together. So none of that was fake on my part. But because I had a constant influx of information, and not just from Thiago, I could maintain my role as a weaker dependent, and that's what I planned on doing so people would let their guard down around me.
I don't want to be too wordy here, because I'm sure...well, hopeing...you'll ask me what you want to know, and I will be completely honest. This game was never easy. I won't sayThiago and I controlled everything with an iron fist (see Reese's departure), because it just doesn't work that way, no matter who you are or what you think. There are too many variables going into each action of any game. But I will say we used the resources we had handily to make our way through this course without falling into any pitfalls. There are things Thiago and I did apart from one another as well, and I feel I must bring that up so as not to completely defend our games as a singular. I hope you will think that I played the better game, but as God is my witness, I can't sit here and make that claim myself. I may be shooting myself in the foot with that statement, but I'm starting out this joyride in complete honesty, and the three of us worked together like a well-oiled machine that you will ultimately have to decide. But if you want the juicy details of some things I did on my own, just ask, because I'm itching to tell you.
And I bid you godspeed.
As you all know, my story is the quintessential comeback story, but I won't beat that death. I feel it is only a facet of my game. Being the set first boot, I had to assume a role...that of a dependent. And I definitely was a dependent in that first round as I scrambled to meet everyone, learn a few tidbits about the series history, and find my footing, however slippery it was going to seem. My strategy going in was to latch myself on to whom I thought were the higher profiles of the tribe, ingratiate myself, and take it from there. Naturally, those profiles were Starr and Dion, and at their prodding, I went and made other sound connections. But once I felt established, I planned on continuing the role of a dependent. I never let on that I knew more than I did, and I never exposed my close knit relationships with Zac (though this one might have been more obvious), and most importantly Thiago. I stress importantly in that Thiago and I worked closely through this game from day one. We shared everything. We knew who the other was "courting", so to speak. We found the 2nd sword together. Thiago shared with me and me alone when he got his apple in the form of immunity. There was not one thing we didn't share with one another, and I believe that is what kept us abreast of the goings on in the game and one step ahead of everyone else. I'm telling you, it pays to have one solid partner in this game and to forget having to steal the limelight and to ignore the suspicions that someone may beat you in the finals. It pays to have one, solid confidant, and that was Thiago for me...and we kept that from all of you.
Don't get me wrong, this is not to minimalize the working relationships I had with Zac and Knox and Starr and Bree and Ben. I needed all of you at one time or another, and I enjoyed our time together. So none of that was fake on my part. But because I had a constant influx of information, and not just from Thiago, I could maintain my role as a weaker dependent, and that's what I planned on doing so people would let their guard down around me.
I don't want to be too wordy here, because I'm sure...well, hopeing...you'll ask me what you want to know, and I will be completely honest. This game was never easy. I won't sayThiago and I controlled everything with an iron fist (see Reese's departure), because it just doesn't work that way, no matter who you are or what you think. There are too many variables going into each action of any game. But I will say we used the resources we had handily to make our way through this course without falling into any pitfalls. There are things Thiago and I did apart from one another as well, and I feel I must bring that up so as not to completely defend our games as a singular. I hope you will think that I played the better game, but as God is my witness, I can't sit here and make that claim myself. I may be shooting myself in the foot with that statement, but I'm starting out this joyride in complete honesty, and the three of us worked together like a well-oiled machine that you will ultimately have to decide. But if you want the juicy details of some things I did on my own, just ask, because I'm itching to tell you.
And I bid you godspeed.