Losing

[Cindy]

So we lost which is unfortunate, but its off to tribal council again. I'm glad that Lydia didn't send in her answers cuz now I can just tell Bobby that I got mixed up about who wasnt going to send in their answers! Or I could tell him about the Jim situation because obviously Lydia didnt know she was going to be away beforehand and if that came out it would definitely expose the lie.

So its most definitely going to be Lydia getting voted out this time. Any wild thoughts they may have had about voting me out were hopefully washed away by Lydia not sending in her answers.

What I started thinking after our first Tribal Council is that maybe losing isnt such a bad thing at this point. I mean, our tribe is already singled out as being the weak tribe, and the tribe with ppl that no one wants. So its getting very unlikely that our remaining 4 after this TC will make it to the end. I'm thinking it might be better to lose again, get Margaret out, and then when a merge happens we're only 3 so we wont be as threatening to the other tribes. In fact, the other tribes will need to take each other out at some point, so they may need swing votes to make that happen.

But obviously I can't throw the challenge because then I would get voted out regardless of the alliance. But if I see the opportunity to sabotage the team without ever getting caught, I just might consider it. I probably wouldnt sabotage the team when it came right down to it, but its something thats on my mind.

I just gotta give props here to Brandon for being a total machine on the challenge. This guy started right when the challenge was posted and worked basically 12 hours straight on it. All night. This isnt just based on his word, its based on the times of his posts with the answers. So that's just incredible, and I feel bad for him to have to keep going to Tribal Council. But I'm glad he's on our tribe, because without him we'd have been totally screwed. He's gotta be getting pretty annoyed with the rest of us, and that's something to be careful of because we dont want him to just take off on us as soon as we're on a new tribe. So I'm gonna try to tighten up a relationship with him and then give 100% on the next challenge.

[Cindy]

So Lydia PMed me asking if I would vote for Margaret. She made a good point that Margaret isnt online at the same times as us and that could hurt us. I had forgotten that Marg lives in Australia, so that is definitely a valid argument.

I've already cast my vote for Lydia which was the original plan, and after she didnt submit answers that pretty much sealed her fate (as far as I know). Honestly, I've never seen Lydia online, so she's no better than Margaret in that way. Plus Margaret is kind of a part of the alliance with myself, Jim, and Brandon.

Its always tough knowing how to respond to someone when you plan on voting them out. Usually the first sign you're in trouble is when people stop talking to you, or avoid answering the question "who u votin for" by responding with "im not sure yet, i'll get back to you". People dont like to lie, because it reflects badly on them. Though if you're too vague its obvious what you're up to and if you're not careful the person could turn the vote around. The most powerful person in this game is always the person who KNOWS they are in trouble. Because they are the one that will do ANYTHING to save themselves. If they dont know they're in trouble, the less damage they can do. So blindsiding people is usually the best way to do it, minus the repercussions of people on jury or getting angry and turning other people against you.

So I messaged her back saying that I was also thinking about voting for Margaret. I threw in some crap about Marg living in Australia just so many reply wasnt too brief. I hinted about my alliance with Lydia by saying that "we definitely cant vote out Brandon", making it sound as if it was between Jim and Marg since "we" (myself and Lydia) have an alliance kinda thing. Then I just ended by saying that I was gonna talk to some other people and see what they think.

She might be a bit upset assuming she does end up getting the boot, but its pretty easy to see that she's a target having not done the challenge and you gotta go with the flow. If others are all voting for her, it'd be stupid for me not to. So I doubt she'll be angry enough to try and sabotage my relationships with the other members of my tribe.

I'll have to see closer to the time I may end up telling her before the votes are tallied that I voted for her. I'll wait long enough that she likely has already cast her vote, in case she is upset and decides to vote for me. I'm thinking about an hour before the results are posted.

Its fun playing this game in such a different fashion. I'm used to being the leader of the tribe who makes all the decisions. Thats my natural way of playing the game, so its a bit tough to pull back the reins and try to stay in the passenger seat. But its cool to experience playing the game like this, its funny how I'm basically trying to achieve the same things, and make very similar moves, but I've got to do it in a completely different manner. I'm certainly no puppet master at this point, but I'm pulling a few strings for sure. This is the way I'd like to keep it until the time is right and I can make a move to get myself in the driver's seat for the last 5 or 6 tribal councils. Its a much more gradual process than I'm used to, but I think it could conceivably work. What a cool game!