The Back of the App for Season 11
September 8, 2005
Feeling the written applications were basically cookie cutter in 2005 I tried writing a note on the back of the app. Those apps had many pages, so there was lots of blank space on the back.
At the time it was rumored that Rupert Boneham sent in his application for the show on tie-dyed paper and his wife handwrote his answers on the paper in calligraphy.
What follows is my handwritten note on the back of my S11 written application.
I’d like to believe that if I take the time to write something on the back of this application that someone will take the time to actually read what is written. If someone did take the time to read my words I hope they are in a position to schedule me for an interview. Armed with my hopes I will continue.
Sidenote: If someone did read this it didn’t make them call
My wife is a knockout. She’s smart, witty, kind, gorgeous … the total package. When we first started dating people would meet her and ask “Is that your girlfriend?” While I may not be the brightest guy I knew what they were really asking is “What the heck is a woman like that doing with you.”
Now we are married for two years and people come into my office and see her picture and say, “Wow your wife is beautiful!” The tone is still the same, but I have learned to just say thank you.
Jen has also been supportive of my applying to Survivor. She was a fan from the first season and I didn’t watch until Pearl Islands. While she tells me I would do well in a Survivor like setting she also believes I haven’t gotten an interview because … “Your video stinks.” She may be right, but I’m not applying to be a cameraman or a screenwriter. While my videos may not have showed it I am a creative person.
The reason I mention my wife first is because I realize that I am lucky and believe I married ‘up’. Many times in life you will see a couple like Jen and I and wonder how it happened. Thankfully my wife gave me a longer look than I seem to be getting in the application process for Survivor.
Intelligence: I am considered to have above average intelligence. My IQ is in the 130’s. While not a genius I’m not an idiot either. I process information very quickly. Through school I was almost always the first person done with a test. I think the speed I would test shows that (a) I am a fast reader and (b) I can make decisions quickly. There’s something to be said for the old saying … “You think long, you think wrong.”
People Skills:
People tell me things … Shocking things … for apparently no reason. This has been going on for as long as I can remember. Perhaps it is because I am a good listener and I show empathy. Maybe it’s a Catholic thing and people feel like they can confess to me. What I do know is this … in the Survivor setting this would either (a) make for great TV confessionals when others open up to me or (b) give me the keys needed to send them packing. (Probably a combination of both.)
A big part of being in sales is asking the right questions. I guess I’m hard wired to get people talking. We would need to have a conversation for you to understand. Believe me I can (and probably will) write a book with all the crap I’ve heard so far.
My heritage is rich in street smarts. I come from a long line of Essex County New Jersey Italian Americans. (Think Tony Soprano) This race of people have built in bullshit meters. There’s a reason street smarts aren’t called cul-de-sac smarts.
The writing went on, but to no avail …