Brenda

[Sandy]

Brenda, please post your Opening & Closing Statements Here.

[Sandy]

Brenda dear, it's far too early in these festivities for me to start rushing you! <3 But, I'm rushing you.

[Brenda]

When I came into this game I very quickly realized that I was screwed.

I knew one person in the cast and I hadn’t talked to him in over a year and it seemed like everyone else knew of each other and had some pretty tight alliances in place before the first round even began. Which made me a really easy first target, add to that the fact that I’m slightly (lol) older than most of the people playing this game and it seemed like my time would be short lived to say the least.

I knew that my game here had to be different from any game I’ve played before. I couldn’t win challenges because I had no clue what to expect and unless you plan on winning them all you best not come out swinging.

So I blended … into the background.

Which isn’t the optimal way to play a game but I had no choice. I had to be seen as a non-threat to buy myself some time because just like I knew no one, they didn’t know me. I could be whatever I wanted to be and I chose to be funny and easy going. I made sure that people who knew me on Facebook reported back to the people in this game about my amazing ability to be trusted. I kept my mouth shut and I listened and watched and nodded my head in agreement when told to. And it worked; it bought me the time I needed to make connections in this game, and to realize that I was connecting with the wrong side.

When I won the Amulet it was at a point in the game where I knew my days were numbered. I was playing the game smart but was painting myself into a corner at the same time. So I took the amulet and used it to my advantage, I played it on the one person I knew they didn’t want me to use it on. I told everyone that I’d played this way because I really liked him and no one in my alliance needed the idol so why not use it on someone I like. This totally pissed people off, and further cemented the idea that I had no clue. When I was asked about the power I had and how I used it I told everyone that I had no power and was just playing to have a good time. (It was around this point where the phrase dumb bitch kept coming up) Despite the fact that I’d clearly gone against them my original alliance was still of the mind that I could be useful to them and I was fine playing the repentant role. I was lying to them and they were lying to me and it was working out well for me.

Despite going against them multiple times my original alliance still listened to me when I told them where Woods’ idol was and they believed me. This resulted in one of their numbers going home. I played my Shade on Ricky and forced him below the untouchable line, setting up a showdown between him and Nax and breaking up a powerful alliance in the game.

I think I played this game very well, considering the cards I had to play with. I played smart, not hard and I was quiet not loud. I felt threatened in this game one time and I made sure I won immunity that round to protect myself, when I felt like my alliance was being shady I won the amulet so I could shift the game in a direction that worked better for me. I worked hard to stay under the radar and yet remain close to the people who I needed to be close to.

This wasn’t the game I originally intended on playing, and not one I’ve played before. But having said that I’m very pleased with my entire game, I stuck to my original plan and rarely deviated from it and it worked out wonderfully. Playing the people rather than the game alone, kept me safe multiple times and ultimately got me to where I am now.

[Brenda]

My Closing Statement …


First of all, sorry for taking so long to do this, life seems to have decided that it needs my attention all of a sudden. Funny how that works out sometimes eh?

I liked my game, honestly and I know that baffles some of you but I think you actually have to know me to know how far out of my comfort zone I was for the entirety of this game. I don’t talk to people for the most part, I’ll respond if someone asks me a direct question but otherwise I tend to keep my thoughts to myself. I’m just a quiet person. So while you might not agree that I was overly social, I really was. I think I ignored some people mostly because I realized that I couldn’t talk to everyone and instead focused on the people that I knew could help me in the game. Also lets be real, I talked to people I had something in common with, just because it gave me a place to begin the conversation from. It’s not optimal in a social game, to purposely not talk to people but for the most part the people I didn’t talk to regularly were all out of the game pretty quickly.

I did in this game exactly what I had to do, no more, no less and it worked out well for me. If I didn’t have to rock the boat I didn’t, and while this strategy paid off for me I honestly don’t think I’d play this way again, mostly because it’s so not me. I like to win, I need to win and I’m competitive as hell, it’s just sometimes that isn’t an option and unfortunately in this game playing like that would have sent me packing very quickly. It’s not an option to stand out when you don’t have people who will watch your back.

In my confessionals I kept comparing this game to facebook games and noting how the people who see me play there wouldn’t know what I was doing here. I think facebook caters to me mostly because it encourages you not to be social .. lol. But there I fall into alliances quickly because I can and do stand out. So employing a strategy of being invisible was different and so much freaking fun for me. I loved this game and I don’t regret a single thing I did (or didn’t do) in it. It was a total challenge dealing with so many different personalities and learning how to work with new people (not something I am presented with on facebook). I was able to navigate my way through two major alliances and not piss off too many people in the process.

I stand behind my game, mostly because I played it exactly how I should have, I made moves when I had to and repositioned myself when I was in trouble. I made connections with people and when I needed to tow the line I did. Call me a goat if you will, but they bite sometimes. Goats are like mule horses .. they do what they need to do to survive and I did. So I really have nothing to be sad about. I made it a fair way in this game by doing my own thing and when I look back … like I said … I’m good with what I did and didn’t do..

I <3 Animal & Joe and I’m glad I had the chance to play with them. For that matter all of you, game play aside … I couldn’t have done as well in this game without you all so , thanks for that.

I don’t think this summarizes much but I think I’ve said in person to each of you already whatever I needed to say. <3