The yoga factor

I'd never really been curious about yoga until recently when Aras Baskauskas talked about it quite often on Survivor Panama. I had always just assumed it was a thing for women, but I hear more and more about it being a good source of stress reduction for me. I haven't really done much research into it yet, but with the stress of life I often experience; its on that perpetual "to do" list.

Gossip, Gossip, Gossip

Shows like "EXTRA" let us all live vicariously through the lives of celebrities. Being an entertainment buff, I find them great for finding out what's coming out with music, television and movies, but they also show the down part of being in the public spotlight in that nothing in your life is private anymore. I think as much as we don't want to admit it, many of us enjoy seeing the drama that goes on the lives of others. Its all part of the human condition. Dayna Devon and Mark McGrath keep it interesting, and even though I don't get to watch "EXTRA" all that often, I do tend to enjoy it when I do.

The burning question...

Whatever happened to the hidden Immunity Idol in Survivor Panama. Terry Deitz found the Idol on Exile Island with very little effort at all, but kept it by winning more Immunity challenges than any other Survivor in the history of the show. However, he never had to use it so I'm wondering whether he got to keep it, or it sold for huge money in some auction. Maybe it got mailed to me? Hmmm..doubt that one. Terry was great to watch on the show, and another hommage to the idea of never giving up.

Top of his Game

The bad thing about Survivor Allstars is that the contestants pretty much knew who was trustworthy, who wasn't, who was a good Survivor player, etc, so it was more entertaining than anything. Rob Cesternino was definitely one of the Survivor strategists of all time. However, that seems to be a good sign of coming in 3rd place. I guess the key is to not let the other players know you're a good player, somewhat like taking the Jessica Simpson approach and then wowing them in the jury. But of course, then that may lose you votes in the betrayal area. These are the reasons I am just fascinated with this game.

Best friends...

Something I definitely lack in my life is a "Best Friend"; someone I can share everything with, somewhat like the relationship of Lenny and Squiggy on "Laverne and Shirley". As quirky as they may be, they can be themselves because they have that someone that will always stand behind them thick or thin. Kudos to Michael McKean and David Lander for bringing Lenny and Squiggy to life, as role models of what best friends should be like!

Just like in nature...

Just like Sue Hawk's rat and snake speech, another Survivor moment that reminded me of how things are in the wild was the "beanbag, football-like challenge" of Survivor Panama. Its also ironic that I would get Bobby Mason and Ruth Marie Milliman back to back. When Ruth Marie got the beanbag and was running back to home base like the gazelles we often see in those National Geographic specials, as hard as she tried to get away, she couldn't escape the clutches of the BobDawg (in this case BobCat would probably be more appropriate). As Ruth Marie was inches from safety, like so many times happens in the wild, she just wasn't quite fast enough to escape the stronger predator. It was definitely one of the more memorable challenge moments in the game for me. And Kudos to Ruth Marie for giving it her all!

Good advice, perfect timing

Some great advice I got from Survivor Panama contestant Bobby Mason which holds true to life as well as applying for the show is: "Don't try to play it nice just because you're afraid to offend anyone. Let it ALL hang out." Its funny how sometimes people who don't know you at all can give you better advice than people you've known a long time. If I have an issue that would be it to a T. Whereas its prudent to take other people's feelings into consideration, I take it to the extreme and make a lot of my choices based on being "nice." And I wonder why I get so upset all the time. Great advice from the Bob-Dawg!

Me and My Blackberry

I've never been a very technologically adept kind of person. I know tons of people have blackberries, MP3 players, IPODs, Razor cell phones, but I'll be damned if I have the slightest notion of what any of them do. When it comes to blackberries, I prefer the Shane Powers of Survivor Panama method. Make believe! It also reminded me how uncreative this new generation of youngsters are becoming. I remember as a kid not having all that many toys and had to invent games and toys to keep myself busy. That's definitely a negative, in my eyes, to so many rapid advancements in technology. As a whole, we start to forget how to be innovative. I also really admired Shane's "what you see is what you get" character; another trait that's rarer and rarer to find!

Looks can be Deceiving

People like Robert LaSardo remind me of a very common life lesson for me; not to judge a book by its cover. How often we look at people and pre-judge them before even getting to know them; because of tattoos, the way they dress, their size, etc without getting to know the person inside. I really try to pay attention to not do this, but like everyone else, I can be guilty of it quite regularly. I don't necessarily avoid getting to know someone who doesn't fit a particular image type, but if there are many people around, I tend to be drawn to people who dress and act similar to myself...hmmm...that explains a LOT! haha

Darn those ticks!

One thing I remember about Lindsey Richter besides her spunk to stay in the game was the big tick that bit her on her backside. No matter what I do, my dog seems to come home with a pile of ticks all the time, and no matter how I try to be rid of them, they just keep coming back. They are pretty foul little pests, but thank God the ones here in Texas aren't as big as the ones in Africa! And they said everything is bigger in Texas. In this case, I'm glad its not true!

Recipes, Recipes, Recipes

Helen Glover from Survivor Thailand was known for rattling on about recipes to her fellow starving tribemates. I personally love to cook, when there are people to cook for and would have loved to get some of those recipes in my package from her, but glad I got the collage back signed! Maybe if I started eating at home I wouldn't have to worry so much about that inner tube growing around my mid-section!

Nicknames

When I was younger I used to have tons of nicknames "NoDoz", "NoAss", "NoMoney", "J-No", "DodoBrain" and many others I don't even remember. As I've gotten older, I'm now plain and simple Jeff. Getting this back from Ryan "Ryno" Opray from Survivor Pearl Islands helped me reminisce to those days of nicknames...where does the time go!

The Survivor Villainess

Of all the female contestants on Survivor, none have gotten the role of "villain" as pronounced as Jerri Manthey. I'm probably one of the oddballs out there but I liked Jerri. She was loyal, and in Allstars, she had the other players read. She had a great feel for what was going on and toned it down quite a bit. Her ambition in life is inspirational, and no matter what is thrown at her, she persists forward to carry her dreams. And its obvious she has a sensitive side. In contrast to Johnny Fairplay who encouraged boo'ing, Jerri got hurt and left the stage during the AllStars Reunion when it happened to her. She's someone who's obviously been dealt a lot of pain in life, and may handle it by putting up a wall of "bitchiness." I've seen much worse!

The Survivor Villain

Jon Dalton aka "Johnny Fairplay" probably played the best villain on Survivor over any other male castaway to date. His story about his dead grandmother and his ability to grate on the nerves of his tribemates put him in full force villain status. But what is neat about Jon is he went onto the show knowing he would be the villain and when he'd get booed at the Reunion Show, he ate it up. He lived out his part. He'd definitely a character and someone that knows how to live life to its fullest.

Overcoming obstacles

A common theme in life I need to keep reminding myself is too not let my personal "handicaps" or stigmas get in my way of things I want to accomplish in life. When the stress beads are rolling off my head there are often times that I give into the "can't"bug and stop myself dead in my tracks. Chat Crittenden of Survivor Vanuatu was a good example of not letting things we can't control run our lives. He did very well in Survivor with one leg that he lost to cancer, and became a great role model to all of us!

One of my "Wow" moments in life

When I was in Dallas, I went to the premier of "Sordid Lives" at the UA Film Festival. I'm the type of person that hates to do stuff alone, but couldn't find anyone to go with me, so I went solo. As I was buying my ticket to the movie, I saw Olivia get escorted to the restroom. I had my camera with me and asked a lady who was nearby to hold it and I was going to ask her for a photo as she came out of the restroom. She had been one of my favorites since I was a kid and I was nervous as heck. As she came out, the guards were escorting her back to the theatre and I yelled "Olivia, I love you, can I get a photo with you" and she said "of course, honey" (or something close to that). The security guards tried to get her not to stop but she did anyway, posed for the photo, gave me a hug and continued on. I found this photo I had of her so I mailed it for an autograph and was glad to get it back, and meeting her is a memory, unless Alzheimer's strikes me, I will never forget.

That voice!

Some people are more recognizable for their voice than their "look". Fran Drescher is one of those people. Her voice really annoyed me at first. But then I grew to love her. I get frustrated because on the phone people tend to think I'm a woman. I don't have a high pitched voice (I think) but someone told me its probably because I'm polite, but yet its still frustrating, but oh well. I was disappointed Fran's new show didn't make it. She is definitely a star that knows how to get people laughing and we can all use a bit more laughter in life.

Overcoming addictions

I tend to have somewhat of an addictive personality. If I like something, or it helps me with the day to day stress of life, I get hooked. Cigarettes, ice cream, computer chat are some of my addictions. I've tried to quit smoking many, many times with no luck. I made it six months once but it took just one to get me back hooked. Hopefully, I'll be back on that wagon soon. One celebrity who knows a lot about addictions is Robert Downey, Jr., one of the best actors of our time. Sometimes I wonder if the good part of his addiction is the ability to get totally emulsed in his work to bring so many great characters to life.

Star on the Rise

From his role on "Alias" to "Kitchen Confidential" to the recent movie "Failure to Launch" and now in "Three Days of Rain" with Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper is smoking up Hollywood and has that amazing screen presence and charm that lets me believe he is one of those stars to watch out for over the next year or so to become a Hollywood "A-Lister." Only time will tell if I'm right, but I'm glad I was able to get this signed photo from Bradley before he gets to big to deal with his own fan mail!

Cheers!

When I was in college at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY, me and some friends would regularly take road trips. Ocean City in Maryland, Montreal, Daytona Beach, skiining in Vermont (and other places), the Hamptons, but one trip we always talked about taking was to Boston to go to The Bull and Finch, the bar "Cheers" took place in. I still haven't made it there, or to Boston for that matter, but hopefully will eventually. At least I have this autographed photo of "Cheers" star John Ratzenberger as a momentum :)

"Huston" we have lift off

Funny to get an autographed photo from Anjelica "Huston" after getting back from my short trip to Houston, and going to the Angelica theatre to see "Kinky Boots" (great movie by the way). Anjelica Huston is a great actress. She always reminds me of the character depicted in the first 45 record I ever bought..."Dark Lady" by Cher.

Names the Same

Rachel Proctor is an up and coming country singer, but when I got this autograph, I thought of two online friends I've made through autograph collecting due the similar name; Rachel in Australia and Rachel on the West Coast. Its awesome how the Internet can help us meet people we never would have had the chance to otherwise! Here's to the two Rachels! Well, make that three!

Actresses that move

Its funny to have gotten these three successes back to back, as they are three actresses who have the ability to get the viewer to fall in love with their characters. Ali MacGraw, Sally Field and Brooke Adams all have that ability to bring out my emotions and they look so good in black and white too!

Bring on the cash!

My job's been quite stressful lately, and every time I get in that mode, I imagine ways that money can just come easily to burden the load. One way that could happen would be happenstancing into the cab of Ben Bailey, host of "Cash Cab" in NYC. Now that would be stressful, but oh so fun!

A nice gesture?

The bad thing about collecting autographs in the mail is you never really know if what you are getting is real or not. Take for instance this photo I received from Wynonn Judd, one of the greatest singing voices out there. It looks like she personally signed the autographed photo to me, but when you look closer, the autograph is pre-printed onto the photo and only the inscription is handwritten which most likely was done by a secretary. Nice gesture nonetheless, but no autogaph.

Stay strong

Never give up seems to be a common message from the Survivor folks I've written to thus far. Amy O'Hara is a good example of that statement. She injured herself twice in Survivor Guatemala, but was determined to stay in the game. She suffered through the pain and almost found herself a place on the jury, and had the determination to make it. She definitely left the game with the ability to say she gave it her all. As the old cliche goes, winning or losing isn't as important as how you play the game and I totally agree.