If you read this post, you probably realize that I won't be posting the next few days (if I ever shut up and get to sleep. I've got to be up in six hours, and my suitcase is not closed yet.)

I'll be back Sunday night, but I might be really tired, and/or scrambling to get out of town Monday on my new assignment. But I'll at least check in by Monday morning, probably Sunday evening. You know me. I'm addicted.

Hey, I don't know if everyone knows this, but if you want handy links to lots of Survivor stuff, I have it on my Survivor Pearl Islands page.

Every episode, I add and entry like this, for this week:

Episode 5 -- Michelle Tesauro booted:

• My posts as the episode unfolded.
• CBS recap of Ep 5.
• Michelle Tesauro's final words--transcript and video.
• Fans of Reality TV -- Ep 5 thread. 
• Your Turn: Open comment thread on Ep 5.

Similar entries for all the previous weeks are there as well, with the same info/links.

There are also links to other fan sites, the CBS site, a direct link to the cast-members page on CBS, for easy reference of who is left and what the damn names are.

I try to put the link at the bottom of all my Survivor posts (see it down there), and you can also get to it by clicking on the Survivor logo in the left column.

Happy clicking.

Survivor Pearl Islands page here.

Head here all week for Survivor Episode 5 Comments

Back to real life. Mine.

This was the post where I was going to mention I was leaving town for a long weekend in Aspen, and how relieved I was, because as you might have noticed I've been sliding toward the brink of depression. Been having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, getting the energy to do anything. Losing it.

So I was really looking forward to this weekend, hoping it might cheer me up, or possibly send me spiraling down further if it was a bust. (Those things in that type of situation play out in my mind as, "Great! Even the good stuff sucks! This is all crap. crap crap crap crap crap.)

But about an hour ago, I got great news. My part-time consulting boss called and they suddenly have a bunch of work for me. And good work. I've been doing this BS secretarial stuff, which I'll definitely take, because I badly need the money, but it's mind-numbingly dull. And I can't say I'm great at it, so it doesn't give me any kind of satisfaction. Really kind of brings me down.

But now they need help on budgets and timelines--lots of complex spreadsheets--and even a presentation. Stuff I can really sink my teeth into. Stuff that will hopefully challenge me and force me to tax my brain a bit, and stuff I'm really good at. I can actually feel like I earned my pay and then some. Stuff where I can really wow them, feel good about what I've done.

Hey, it's not writing, which I'd love a hundred times more, but it's good work and pays well. I can pay my rent. And my electric bill. Get out of debt a bit. And I can have a reason to get out of bed the next several weeks. And feel good about accomplishing something.

It's that last bit that matters most of all. (Well, that and paying the rent. That's been weighing pretty heavy on me.) I just need to feel accomplished at some thing, and then I can go off charging on a bunch of other things.

Like querying my butt off. That's such a soul-sapping endevour, this will help. And I did get a pitch letter off to the New Yorker this evening. Hopefully they'll reject me soon so I can work my way down the magazine ladder with the piece.

I just realized something:

If Drake does win next week, and the merge comes the following episode as usual, so Drakes enter 6 to 4, they could have a little problem on their hands. Shawn knows he's first out once the Morgans are finished, so why not jump ship and join them?

It's kind of lose-lose for him, though. That would put them at a five-five tie, so he's got a 50-50 shot of losing right there, and then he'll probably be the first off of the Morgans once the Drakes are gone. I don't believe it has worked out for any defector like that--except the wierd time the teams kept switching and the little utah girl got to the finals after she and the old guy (pasquale?) defected late in the game.

I do think his odds would be better with the Morgans. He might hit it off with one or two, and/or find someone who need an ally to pair with. And he would be going to the final five instead of six, where he could hope to win a challenge or two, and/or get lucky with someone else pissing the others off. He knows none of the Drakes really like him--there was a reason he was not in the alliance, and he's got almost zero chance there. If I were him I'd jump.

And if the Drakes lose next week they have got a dilemma. They can bet on a merge immediately after, in which case they need to dump Shawn immediately, so they have a solid alliance of five. (If they have a five-five tie and one of the five is an outcast who could bolt, they're screwed.) But if there is no merge, they have just thrown out one of their strongest members, when they'll need him most. Another loss before the merge and they would go in down 5-4, and it's over for them.

I predict they'll boot him if they lose, but it will be interesting.

Survivor Pearl Islands page here.

Head here all week for Survivor Episode 5 Comments

Well I finally watched the Masterpiece Theatre on Queen Boudica, the early Celt warrior who stopped the Romans cold in their tracks in Britian--for about 15 minutes. Hard to say the actual amount, from the docudrama, maybe a year?

It was nice to see a Celt finally winning something, although they lost in the end.

Got me scavenging all over for Celtic history, though, and found the BBC actually seems to have the best stuff. You can read about:

• The Rebellion of the Iceni, AD 60 (which is what the movie concerns)
• A broader overview of the Roman Invasion, AD 43 - 60
• A map of the tribes at the time, including the Iceni
• And later developments--where the Celts finally ended up: Beginnings of Scotland 400 - 1000

I found a different site with an interesting History of the Celts--with a broader perspective across Europe, though it seems slightly less authoriative (definitely written by a Celt--not quite skeptical enough). Their resources include maps of the Celts in ancient, medieval, and modern times.

The jump from ancient to medieval is heart-stopping sad--if you're a Celt like me, or identify with them for any reason--but medieval to modern is virtually unchanged.

And just so you don't think we were all a bunch of losers, the Celts were fierce warriors, who scared the shit out of the Romans, but they were also fiercely independent, so they alway continued as tribes, never unified, and were always picked off one tribe at a time. (Or one tribe played off against each other.) So strong, just not so bright?

. . . or was this ep kinda bland?

I may well have been me, as I was packing for a trip in the morning, eating, doing laundry, fielding an important call from my boss . . .

I normally stake out an hour just for Survivor--or two to three for watching and intermittent posting--but just couldn't do it tonight. And it was pleasant enough, but I just don't feel a big rush of much to say.

It sort of played out as expected once Rupert returned, and Sandra failed to get the goop down fast enough. (But what was Michelle Tesauro thinking by slurping it right down? She cut her own throat there. They might not have fallen for it anyway. Jon was way overplaying it, and they may well have seen through the act.)

They did the right thing. Would have been crazy to send Shawn home so soon. If the Morgans win next week, they have tied it up. Hard to believe, but true. They could go into the merge even. Next week is do or die, and the Drakes would have been out of their minds to lose Shawn. (Especially since Michelle didn't show much mental acumen there--nor by joining an alliance of three--either.)

Of course Jon would have been a weak body and a weak mind off the team. But he's in the alliance. Imagine making an alliance with him. Desperate times . . .

I can't wait for him to go.

I think the Drakes will rally next week, but who knows. It sure could get interesting if the Morgans win.

Survivor Pearl Islands page here.

Head here all week for Survivor Episode 5 Comments