Survivor, RCMP and Boxing Day

Survivor:

I missed the seasonal finale of the latest Survivor: Samoa last night.  I thought it is on TV tonight, but I am wrong.  Anyway, I have downloaded the latest episode and will watch tomorrow.

(updates)

I just watched the seasonal finale of the Survivor: samoa with Linda  this morning.  As I expected, Russel entered the final three.  However, he didn't win the million dollar eventually, instead, Natalie won it.  This is somehow out of my expectation, but it still makes sense.  The producers pushed Russel  as the most controversial and debatable player in this season.  Russel is "evil", but he is really a seriously player in this show.  I can understand that most of the jury don't like him as he had introduced a lot of negative impact to the game.  However, it is his way of playing this game.  He entered the final three because of his strategic playing and he lost because he had offended other players.  Nobody likes be played or manipulated by a single powerful player in the show and they revenged eventually by voting for Natalie.  Interesting, for audience like me, Russel was voted the player of the show and won 100k.  Anyway, this season is interesting.  Everyone was played by Russel, actually, by producers.  Producers love to see this kind of players in the show as they are provocative and eyeball attractors. I guess producers intentionally broadcast a lot scenes of the "evil" behavior of Russel.  Anyway, as audience, we love the dramatic moment and uncertainty of the show.  That's the main reason I love watching reality show.


RCMP:

I've checked the application procedure of RCMP as I am interested in this type of career.  You have to pass a sort of physical assessment, just like the military entrance exam.  I think that I am capable of passing the assessment after my work out this year.

The basic measurement includes:

* run 5 km in 22 minutes
* push-up 20
* pull-up 6
* bench press 100% weight

The superior standard is:

* run 5 km in 19 minutes
* push-up 70+
* pull-up 18+
* bench press 150% weight

You will be paid $500 per week during the 22 weeks cadet academy training. After the training, if you can pass all the exams, you will be employed.  The starting salary is about $46,000 annually and will increase to $76,000 in three years.  Basically, $10,000 raise each year, which is not bad at all.  Think about it, you are guaranteed $76,000 per year after 3 years.  With all the benefit and retirement pension plan, it is quite a good career direction once you are both physically and mentally ready for this job.  RCMP is like FBI in the states.  The job could be quite interesting, better than the boring corporate jobs.

Boxing Day:

I've ordered a portable harddrive from bestbuy.ca.  My wishlist includes:

* external card reader
* some books
* a lamp for reading