staceys statements

Thanks, Stacey. *EVIL WORMS*

1) LOL I have no idea what half those terms mean, but I will use one of my own plain English (sorry if it is equivalent to one of the ones you mentioned in your question): Unpredictable.

The entire game, one thing was in common throughout. I played the game day by day and took things as they came. It turns out that I was EXTREMELY fortunate enough to be dealt GREAT hands each and every week, from whoever got power to random twists. The challenges that I happened to be better at came around right when I needed it most (ie Chess), people approached me when I decided to get into the game, even events that weren't necessarily in my favor (Travis' eviction) turned out for the better because it motivated me. So perhaps it is a large dose of beginner's luck too. But I always had an idea what I wanted to accomplish and was pretty successful at doing so. It was not all random game play. (No, I am not Agrabah's player or a twist or a robot or a plant or a saboteur or whatever crazy ideas you all have come up with). This was because I did not approach the game with my mind set in stone. It was all about flexibility for me. As Jay knows best, I like to sit on the metaphorical, splintering fence. So it was all options, options, options to me. I didn't know what I was going to do until I did it. I made gut feeling decisions, and I think my "erratic" choices have shown that to a degree. This was because I was able to avoid being the final nominee each and every week. This was not easy for me because every week I had to vote to evict someone. I don't think I was ever forced to do something because I had no choice. Don't know how exactly that happened every week, but it did and it worked out pretty well

2) Unlike Ryan, my reason for being threatened by your game was NOT because of your ability to talk yourself out of the block, though it was a HUGE reason for why you were able to stick around for so long. Throughout this Q&A I have been consistent in stating that you were a threat to MY game, primarily due to your extremely close relationship with Mike. Here's why. In Jordan's eviction, I actually gathered the votes FOR you to stay so I was never too threatened by your ability to talk your way out of things. Perhaps I was wrong and you helped your cause that week. I don't know. That aspect of your game wasn't the largest problem for me. In fact, it was Mike's unfaltering loyalty to you (I know this firsthand), and in the hypothetical F3 situation of the three of us, that was too risky for me (probably same for you too). We mostly talked only when you needed my vote, so that bugged me too, which is why I targeted you so much (getting rid of your double vote, trying to evict you, etc). So yeah, of all the people on the jury, I did the most against you, hence why it was an easy pick for me to choose you as the most threatening.

Does that automatically mean that you are one of the most deserving for being close to Mike and therefore threatening to me? Strategy-wise, I don't think so. Granted, surviving week after week, you did play one of the hardest games because your life was constantly on the line and that deserves props. But at the end, your presence in the house died down. Maybe it was your strategy? I did not consciously factor in "eviction survival times" into my rankings. If that was the case, you and Ryan get the top two spots for sure. I think everyone was scared to be on the block against you two. I know I was. But the game is not simply defined by "block survival." I did note that you were one of the "STRONGEST" competitors in my original ranking. That isn't pulled out of thin air. You won important competitions, you got vetoed a gazillion times, etc. For me, the factor that undermined your ranking was based on perseverance. This is an important trait to have, in my opinion, because it is how I roll. I really respect people who never give up because I certainly don't ever give up in real life (or this game). So my answers are not contradicting at all. Most threatening to me, is not the same as most deserving so I never really changed my position on your game. I hope all that made sense.

That being said, you probably didn't like what I just told you….so, THIS is sucking up: I would have voted for you if you had made it to F2 for beating me after I tried so so hard to get you out ;D

3)Yes I totally knew you thought my excuse was a pile of crap, and I knew that my excuse itself was crap--because IT WAS, we both aren't stupid. However, in my defense, I did not know about your car crash until AFTER I had put you on the block. Nobody told me, so sorry if it was offensive in any way. But the logic behind my fake "reason" for your nomination is because I had the mindset of not letting anyone know what I actually planned to do, because I was open to whatever and it's best not to get stuck on one thing. I didn't want to show my hand during my first HoH unless it was necessary. So if you knew you were the target, then kudos because I didn't want you to know. My plan that round (which was a train wreck btw): You were my target, and Jake was the pawn because I was trying to use the fact that Jake went off on me just a round earlier (and his replacer also helped) to avoid suspicion that I wanted you gone. I even put Jake's name first in my reasoning to try to signal he was my "intended" target, haha. Believe me, I TRIED…REALLY HARD on that veto competition, like I told you I would (it was the non-live one). It's just I had no idea how to match up DR quotes with people. It actually HURT me in the beginning rounds when I didn't get to know people very well. I did not throw that competition one bit. It makes no sense to throw the POV related to your HoH reign, imo. I gave you my 3 quotes without asking for yours to gain some trust back, but then I went ahead and gave my quotes to everyone else-including Jake- to even the playing field. So I did try to make sure you didn't win, even if it may not look that way. OHHH, but I just realized that you meant I wasn't at the veto ceremony. Yeah, ABOUT THAT………I blame a certain someone named ALEX…………I had a legitimate reason for being away and as I recall a weird veto ceremony time? I ranted to him, but Karma is a bitch--I did it to Ryan just rounds earlier and I guess I had it coming. This is what started the entire train wreck. If I was around I probably would have tried to convince Mike into not using it. Mike had told me earlier (aka during the veto competition) that he would keep nominations the same, so when I came back and saw that he used it…….I went to the dollar store and bought TWO kleenex

So the big question is: Why did I tell Jake, of all people? There are several reasons:
1. I had to patch up the problems with him from earlier, and it helps to tell him that he is safe and that I was 100% willing to work with him yet again (for reals), since I did appreciate his strategical game and his humor. I tried to milk a deal, but I did not rely on that at all, it was simply a bonus.
2. Since you were the target, it is better to nominate a "pawn" who wouldn't end up completely mad at me since the pawn is supposed to stay around another week. Jake was perfect because he had a replacer and I didn't want him to mess things up. He was also my "obvious" nominee pick to everyone else in the house so it caused the least waves. Jake took it well
3. I had the votes PRE-veto to make Jake believe me about saving him. Eric, Ryan, and I had all agreed in previous rounds that it might be better to evict you ASAP for being a jury threat, so I didn't need Mike's vote, though I would like to think he would also have respected my wishes if I came clean. In reality, Eric's void was another weapon we could have used, but it was unnecessary and nobody knew that I actually had pretty good access to that extra vote.
4. I thought it was safe to tell Jake because it was either his life or yours on the line. Why would he risk angering the HoH by telling you that you were the actual target pre-veto? By being the other nominee, he should be most FOR getting you evicted. But I didn't want him to win either, obviously.
5. I couldn't tell Mike anything about targeting you in fear that it would hurt his relationship with me--and good thing too since he apparently would have disregarded my request to keep you on the block anyway had I even been at the veto ceremony. I did try to tell Eric by questioning who he wanted out, but he was so wishy-washy the entire time so I didn't press matters until things were set in stone (ironically, you got off, so the decision became much more one-sided). We were going to wait until after veto to make our decision, like every other round. However, others told me he was campaigning for Jake, anyways? Eric and I rolled with the punches, it was pretty awesome. Ryan wanted you out hands down, so this wasn't a problem- no need to tell him. He probably thought he was going against me anyways to "get even" for the Jordan debacle during his HoH.