Week 1

[Nicole Schaffrich]

Are you kidding me?

There are two HOHs this week, meaning twice the chance of being in power, and I still didn't win. Instead, Annie and Jordan - the two people who Jun, Porsche, and I have been planning to target - win BOTH Head of Household positions! And what's worse, the three Cougars were so close to winning but came in 3rd, 4th and 5th. (I have to say I was unimpressed with Porsche's and Jun's performances in the HOH competition...maybe cougars stick together after all!)

So now I'm shitting bricks that I'm going to be nominated. Why? Because I still haven't talked to Jordan, and Annie has given me nothing but the cold shoulder during our conversations. Queen Annabelle Cuntington? For someone with such a "superior" social game, she's awfully unfriendly and shockingly conceited. In all honesty, she's lucky she won HOH this week because if she hadn't, I think there would've been a very good chance of her being nominated. More than a few people have already said that they find her difficult to talk to. Being arrogant on top of that isn't going to help your popularity, sweetie.

At this point, I need to talk to Jordan because if she makes her nominations without ever speaking to me, I'm certain I'll be one of them. And I need to be more aggressive in speaking to Annie, whether that means cracking jokes, kissing ass, or talking shit. At the end of the day, even if I'm on the block, I'm confident I can win the Veto, and in the case that I don't, I feel that my friendships with a lot of the other houseguests will guarantee me the votes that I need to stay in the game. It's all going to come down to who's on the block at the end of this week. With four nominees, there's a good chance I'll be nominated alongside an ally...or two, or three.

[Nicole Schaffrich]

Going into nominations, I feared that Annie and Jordan would target the newbies...meaning that four of the nine of us would be nominated. Considering that both of my main alliances consist strictly of newbies - G-Force (with Jun and Porsche) and Cougar Power (with Renny and Karen) - the probability that none of would be on the block was very unlikely. In order to keep my alliances safe, the four remaining newbies would have to be nominated: April, Kent, Ragan and Sarah. However, I've become very close with April and I really didn't want to see her on the block. Jun decided she was going to push for Karen to be nominated, because she knows that Karen is suspicious of her overplaying the game (which she is). I urged Jun to scale back her targetting of Karen because I am confident that I can influence Karen to do what I want, and I know that she wants to go after the veterans. Ultimately, Jun and I agreed that the best case scenario would be Sarah, Kent, and Ragan on the block with a veteran. Did we think it was going to happen? No way. Did it happen? HELL YA, MO'FUGGA!

I am thrilled with the nominations! Kent vs. Steven and Ragan vs. Sarah? Amazing!! Firstly, Kent is probably the least active member of the cast. We've communicated through PM a few times, wherein he explained he always forgets to sign on to AIM. Well, that's a pretty major problem. Up until the nomination ceremony, we were all hoping Kent would be on the block and out the door. While the former came true, maybe we should be reconsidering the latter. When Annie nominated Steven, she explained that he was trying to form a veterans alliance. Wait, what? Obviously, his plan didn't pan out, but that's still a very frightening prospect, especially since Steven is so close with Dustin, who I've been trying to work on (somewhat unsuccessfully, I should add). If the nominations stay the same (and I hope they do!), do I try to evict the less active player or the potential threat? I'm tempted to keep Kent around because I know he can be easily evicted later. But the part of me wants to capitalize on the tension between Steven and Annie, keep him in the game, and hope that he'll target her.

Between Sarah and Ragan, I think the choice is pretty clear. Neither are competitive threats (they performed terribly in the HOH competition) and neither are good social players either. Sarah isn't as active as most of the cast, but when she's around, she's very friendly. Meanwhile, Ragan is making the rounds, cutting deals and forming alliances with pretty much everyone but me. He made an alliance with Jun, then one with Porsche (while telling her that he doesn't speak to Jun), and is now trying to work on Renny. Does this kid have the worst luck or what? Every time I talk to one of my allies, she tells me that Ragan is trying to work a deal. What's worse is that he told Jun that he and I "haven't hit it off." I don't really mind; he isn't quite my cup of tea (or mickey of Jack, more realistically) either. But trying to form all of these "secret" two-person alliances is very sketchy, and if he doesn't see me as a viable partner, that's even worse. Time to cut the boy loose. He asked me if I had his vote and I just told him the truth: I'm not willing to make a promise that I'm not sure I can keep. Okay, so maybe that wasn't exactly the truth, but I didn't want to totally crush his hopes and dreams. I'll let his eviction do that for me.

At this point, the nominations MUST stay the same. I'm going to work my ass off to win one of the Vetoes and keep my girls (and myself!) safe. I'm hoping the Cougars can pull through and win the other, since I'm not convinced I can rely on Jun and Porsche to wins competitions just yet. As long as nothing changes and Ragan and Kent (or Steven?) walk out that door, I'll be in a very good mood. And you know the things a fine woman like myself will do when she's in a good mood. (I'm looking at you, Meow-Meow. )

Before I go, a note on Parker. I am constantly impressed by what a sweetheart this guy is. He is polite, sensitive, funny...just an all-around cutie. He has a clear emotional streak, which I think I'd be able (but don't want) to take advantage of. At this point, I just enjoy talking to him and getting to know him. If that helps me in the game, bonus.

[Nicole Schaffrich]

I came so close again! I was 40 seconds away from winning the Power of Veto this week and keeping myself safe (and leaving all four nominees on the block). I'm itching for a win. I want to prove myself as a competitor because, firstly, I'm a naturally competitive person (it runs in the blood of all cougars, both the animal and the women), and secondly, because I want to be a valuable ally to Jun, Porsche, Renny, and Karen...and April...and Parker...and possibly Steven. Okay, maybe I shouldn't be spreading my wings so wide. The point is: I want to win. I'm a power hungry bitch without an HoH key or a Veto medallion around my neck, and that doesn't make me happy.

On the bright side, Renny killed it in the Veto competition. She's proven herself to be a reliable ally and Jun did fairly well too. I'm satisfied knowing that Renny won't use the Veto this week, thereby leaving Kent and Steven on the block (as if Steven has anything to be worried about). But Sarah winning is both good and bad. On the one hand, she asked me to play in the competition, and I obviously said yes. She's an unbelievably sweet girl and I think she truly believed I would have used the Veto on her had I won. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that she won it herself; I wouldn't have wanted to be put in that position. At least not yet. I've broken tons of hearts, but not in the first week.

That being said, I'm not particularly worried about Jordan having to choose a replacement nominee. I'd prefer that it wasn't me, but even if I'm chosen, I'm confident the house will vote to evict Ragan. He made some foolish game moves and he's had some terrible luck. But not competing for the Veto when he's on the block? I don't think so. Both he and Kent deserve to be evicted solely for that reason. I'm here, I'm competing, I'm putting in hours on AIM when I would much rather be taking naps; if you can't even compete to save your own ass, you've got your head stuffed up inside it if you think I'm voting for you to stay. I feel like I'm in a good place in the game right now. We'll have to see how it goes from here.