It’s weird how one week can change a lot of things. That’s a given when you’re talking about a show like Survivor, but in this case it’s actually a real life situation, and it’s happened to me.
Around the middle of last week I started getting some killer headaches – the kind that extra-strength [insert painkiller of choice] doesn’t make go away. So I did what just about anyone else does in that situation – complain about it and move on. Sounds pretty tame, right? Well, I woke up on Saturday morning, and my face felt numb, kinda like when you go to the dentist and he gives you a local anesthetic. Since my dad’s a doctor, I called him up to see if it was anything I should be worried about. He didn’t think so, but why don’t we go out to lunch tomorrow and I can check it?
So Sunday rolls around, we go to lunch, my dad takes one look at me, asks me to smile, and goes “yep, you’ve got Bell’s Palsy“. To which my reply is “Well, that’s @#$%ing annoying. I’ve got two interviews this week.” I mean, Bell’s Palsy is not a life-threatening thing, but if you’re job hunting, it can’t help you. I mean, you’re talking to people and expected to smile, and having something where half of your face doesn’t move is not gonna help you a whole lot – it might creep people out.
The good news is that this appears to be a mild case, so I won’t have an appearance similar to former PM Jean Chrétien (whose face was permanently paralyzed due to Bell’s Palsy) or Jim Ross, for the non-Canadian wrestling fans out there. I’m thankful for that. And in the big picture, it’s not anything that should have any lingering effects, so I’m not gonna worry a whole lot about it.
Enough of me, let’s get to what’s going on the world of Survivor: Cook Islands.
Lo and behold, the tribes are reshuffled into two, the “Toronto” tribe and the “New York” tribe. See, because these two cities have tons of diversity and… oh never mind. The point is, the ethnic tribes are no more. Yet somehow, they managed to focus on Jonathan and Parvati as two of three supposed power players last week. I’m just saying.
The Immunity Challenge was a Blast From the Past, as we saw this challenge done during the Palau season. And while that season featured what amounted to an endurance challenge, it was much less of one this time around. The reason is simple – Aitu’s strategy was very, very poor. Of course, had Ozzy been voted out instead of Survivor junkie Billy, they would have known that. Given that Raro had more “strength” guys, it would’ve been smarter to have all Aitu members hang on as long as possible before handing off their packs to another person. But it was Raro who played that game, and as a result their “strength” guys were fresher and able to overtake Aitu relatively quickly (I’d say within 2 hours).
It’s interesting to note that the swing players from last week were Cao Boi and Jessica, who seemed to have formed a bond due to their “outcast” nature. Which means, in the alliance of six that they currently reside, they could hold the key as to who gets into the Final Four, should they get that far. Sadly, I don’t think that either person is enough of a strategist to realize this. Surely, Jonathan does though. I’m not so sure about Yul, but that’s where his mini-Idol will be a deciding factor.
As for Ozzy, well, I’m a believer in karma, and while Cecelia took the bullet this week, it could be just a matter of time before Ozzy sees his torch snuffed.
As usual, here’s all the links you need to click this week:
Eliza and Murtz named Parvati as the “worst” player last week. Find out why!
Like myself, Sandra is a bit puzzled over Cao Boi and Jessica.
The Man They Call BobDawg tells us how he can crank out his columns while still being an attorney.
Dan FINALLY breaks out the “all Asians look alike” joke.
Murtz talks about the twist.
Romo hands out MVPs for the week.
And finally, The Crystal Ball looks to extend it’s prediction streak after choosing Cecelia last week.
As for me, that’s all for this week.
