My Survivor Strategy

I was watching the premiere of Survivor and it seemed like the same things started happening that happen on every other season of that show. Some people butt heads right away. Some people are quiet and go unnoticed. Some people immediately form alliances. Some people who you think will be horrible competitors do well, and others who look strong or competent for the challenges are really losers. Every time I watch this show I can't help but think about my strategy.

If ever on the show Survivor I think I would approach it as follows. I would encourage the team to have open sharing time around the fire each day to discuss what's been going on and how the team is doing. I would encourage people to share with the group who they would like to vote off and why so that the team could discuss it and have a decision before we show up to tribal council so there are no surprises and we have some team unity with everyone on the same page. I realize this could potentially create conflicts but I figure it is better if we work those conflicts out publicly rather than with secret meetings down by the lake. If these conflicts errupt beyond control I am confident that I could keep myself in a position to serve as a sort of moderator of the discussion or a mediator to help resolve the conflicts. My challenge would be to keep myself from getting wrapped up in the arguments. Through this strategy any secret alliances that were going on would likely come out, the team would know how we all stand with each other, and we could more easily move on and focus on the next competition after some one gets eliminated. I would also bank heavily on my ability to dominate in the challenges. From the challenges I've seen on the show I don't think I would every be in the position of the person who doesn't contribute or holds the team back.

That's just my idea for strategy. I like the challenges in Survivor but the whole sleeping in the wilderness thing wouldn't be my favorite experience so its not necessarily at the top of my list of reality shows I'd like to compete on.

What's your strategy? And what do you think my chances would be if I used mine?

Jury Duty

Well I just finished my first experience with being on a jury last Friday and it was a very interesting experience.

I wanted to get out of it but the defense attorney didn't feel the need to ask me if I wanted to be on the jury so I had no chance to say "no thanks" (he asked other people this question and they all answered "yes").

Some people gave answers that indicated they obviously wanted out of jury duty. Like one guy, who said "the defendent looks like he probably has an evil side". But I couldn't bring myself to lie or misrepresent who I am, and apparently I am desireable as a juror.

Once the trial started it was really interesting as well as intense and I felt compelled to give my full attention to every detail. The charges were: a criminal threat to kill or cause great bodily injury, threatening a police officer or public official, growing marijuana, using an electronic device to send messages with the intent to harrass or annoy. Those aren't the exact works but a summary of the charges. I found myself anticipating the points the lawyers were going to make with their questioning as well as critiquing their tactics. It was really interesting but also very stressful given the significance of my job as a member of the jury. It really wasn't fair to make light of anything and not give the case my full consideration. So I took it very seriously and wracked my brain to make sure I was making the right decisions when I gave my vote for the verdicts. Some of the jurors seemed to have their minds made up completely as soon as we entered deliberations, some were on the fence, and some seemed to be willing to just go along with the group. I was on the fence and found myself annoyed by the other two groups.

Ultimately we found him guilt of charges 3 and 4, not guilty of charge 2, and we were split on the first charge so it was a mistrial on that one.

Afterward we got to talk to the attorneys more casually about the case and it was interesting to hear their true views and what they thought of the case. They were also interested to hear about our deliberations and what points or evidence we had the most discussion about.

All in all it was an experience I'm glad I had but I just wish the court was more efficient with their time. We started each day at 9:30 though we usually let in 10-45 minutes late every day. We would take a 15 minute break around 10:30. Lunch was from 12:00 to 1:30. We would have another break at about 2:30 and we were always done by 4, usually earlier. Lots of time was wasted in my opinion.

oh yeah, and lastly, the defendent's name is "I am the Beast", how's that for interesting.

Making wise decisions

Do you ever find yourself revisiting decisions you've made in the past and wondering if it was the right decision? I usually don't just because by the time I actually decide something I am usually thoroughly convinced it was the right decision to make. Though occassionally I find myself pondering how different my life would be had I done a few things differently.

In high school when it came time to apply for colleges I hadn't really put much thought into where I would go. I always wanted to go to college but I never took the time to do research and figure out a good place for me to go. A lot of people I knew were going to be attending Sonoma state, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and San Diego State, but I didn't want to just follow the crowd to college. I had heard of Cal Baptist because my dad went there, I basically chose it because I knew I would get accepted and I figured I could walk on to their soccer and tennis teams. If I decided to go somewhere else I'm certain my life would be a lot different and probably a lot worse than it is now. I can't imagine not having the friendships I made at CBU and the learning/experiences that came while I was a student there. After a year at CBU I decided to quit playing soccer. It was a gut wrenching decision and to this day I still have doubts as to whether or not it was the right choice. I guess I could say that it didn't make much difference, that pretty much everything in my life would be about the same, but its hard for me to say that soccer was that inconsequential. I don't know if its because playing sports is frivolous and I don't want to give credit to the notion that all the years I spent practicing and playing was a waste. I'd be quicker to say that soccer became part of my identity and to give it up was like giving up a part of who I was.

Anyway, I'm sure you've all made decisions that you can look back on and question whether or not it was the right choice. I think what I take from this is how important it is to make the right decisions. I don't want to encourage some sort of "analysis paralysis", a term I use to describe those that can't seem to make a decision at all because all time is spent debating and considering information. As a Christian I would say my best course of action is to align my decisions with what God would like me to do. This isn't easy because the Bible doesn't always seem clear to me and prayer can be just as challenging, but I believe that if approached in earnest and with an openness to answer that I might not have considered or might not like, God will give me wisdom. This is a reliable to me because I believe that God loves me and knows everything I am capable of and how best to make my life worthwhile. For those that don't believe that I suppose the Bible and prayer aren't the best resource for good decision making and they have to rely on themselves.

Just something to think about.