June 18, 2001

"Well- it looks like we need to get cheap again!" one tribal member comment when the hints were posted. "Looks like we gonna be penny pinching again with Scrooge McDuck!" another tribal member added. Yes, the tribes had to create an even more tightwade trip, this time in the form of a short story.

One Diva, trying to find a loophole, had the brilliant idea of suggesting that their family stay at the DVC, courtesy of a friend or relative. "Don't you think there's a member of the other tribe that would be suicidal if we did this? I can't be responsible" another Diva quickly shot down the idea. Yet another Diva thought that Aunt Binnie and Cousin Christin wouldn't allow it anyway. They also opted for their family, to already own an RV but they finally decided not to press their luck. In the end their family, the Geefs, named for the original name given to Goofy, decided to pinch pennies and stay off-site.

After deciding that camping wouldn't be a good idea, the Divas opted to have their family stay at a room based on what they found for rates on Priceline. "The little Uncle Scrooge in my head will not let me down!" she commented. Another Diva jumped in and wrote a skeleton story for the other ladies to work with. "There are always voices in my head when I write. Maybe I should talk to someone about that..." she laughed, promising to go back on her meds tomorrow. Another Diva wrote the financial list so that url's could be added in later.

The ladies discussed the various different ways that they could save money and still have their family do all of the things they wanted them to do. A lot of options were discussed and a lot of prices were compared. One Diva was surprised to wake up and find just how busy her tribe mates had been the night before. She apologized for not being much help and vowed to get to work.

The ladies worked for hours into the night to complete their story. They conferred with each other about events and pricing. Once again, they felt it was time to "stick a fork in it". One diva wondered aloud "is something weird going on? I have not received any requests for editing the challenge, except to change 'hell' to 'heck.' Are we satisfied with it the way it is?" In an untraditional Diva style, the Divas wondered why they weren't getting floods of posts for edits. They did however have many different versions going at once. Was it too much to fix, or was it time to get out the trout? When they did complete their edits, only to have problems editing their file format due to a glitch with Yahoo.

Once their story was finished, the ladies gathered round to hear about one of the Diva's recent trips to the World. They also discussed the latest in Millionaire strategy and shared pictures of one of the Diva's family. This is just another day in the life of the Divas.

Meanwhile, at the Kungaloosh camp, members spoke of playing "the Weakest Link" as one their members actually got the call for an audition. The Kungas, in their own traditional style, decided to split their days up by members. They each took a day to work on and decided what they should see and how much money they should spend at each event.

Once they got their story underway, several members offered to research links and proofread. When one member finished a part, another member would review it and edit it accordingly. One member was quick to get the group organized. "Okay. I've done all that we have and it's posting in the "work in progress" for the story and "financial recap" for the expenses. I'm adding a folder for everyone to add his or her favorite money saving URL's to" she offered. Another member favored her actions and recommended that she "feel free to change anything (you want). I'll take a look and try and proof it."

The Kungaloosh family drove to WDW. After having the family's mother stockpile groceries in a cooler, they were concerned if they were "feeding our 14 year old enough???" This reporter's question is, if they were trying to save money, why did good ol' mom buy rice krispie treats, wouldn't a true mom make them? Their diary format was quite unique and just may have been what gave them their winning edge. "I tried to make it like the mom's diary. I will post what I've done and the group can decide if it's too much info. I tried not to make a trip report. Then, the lists will be at the bottom." The rest of the tribe like the idea and went with it.

Each Kunga wrote about their chosen day and figured out the cost calculations. Most of the tribe was busy writing night and day. But where was little Kunga? "Hey, (Kungaloosh) you up yet?" one Kunga called. "(She) usually shows up around noon, some life, huh. Only to be a kid again!" another member smirked. They were waiting on her piece to the story before they could finish. When she did awake, the sleeping beauty decided to ask what everyone else had done and jump in using their format. She did apologize for not helping and got to work.

They scrambled to finish their story in time as each tribe member was always rushing off to their duties in real life. Needless to say, they helped each other out with formatting their story with detailed instructions for whoever was actually editing their story. When they were finished, they congratulated each other on creating an excellent short story, or diary entry as the case was. "I'm not a good writer, but I can proofread" one member confessed.

Over at the Diva camp, there was another lively discussion regarding the anonymity of the polls. "I have a theory - I may be wrong, but it seems like, in an anonymous challenge, team #1 always wins. I know in this case, I'd be bored out of my skull reading both challenges - there is tons of text there! I have the feeling that people are just reading the first story, and as they are both pretty long, just voting for the one they read. It's the luck of the draw, I guess. Who knows, things could turn around as more voters get to read the stories today and tomorrow. Let's hope the voters REALLY read both the stories and not just the first." Another Diva chimed in "I've had problems with anonymous challenges from day one. In fact, I accepted that every other challenge was anonymous, yet we just went through two in a row. Ugh. Why would it be a big deal if we had our tribe names involved?" Who would know? It's just the luck of the draw.

Kungaloosh had their own thoughts on voting as well. "You know, I always wondered if anyone was signing up people in their offices just so they could vote, I but decided it was not worth thinking that way" one member commented. "Is that legal? If it is, I'll sign up my wife, my kid, the dog (yes he has an email address, my daughter gave him one)!! LOL!" another replied. "We're Team #1, and at this time, we're slaughtering the Divas, 12-2 GO KUNGALOOSH!!" "It's up to 21 to 10 now... " The Kunges were keeping a close watch. "I guess they liked the 'Dear Diary' format," exclaimed one happy tribe member.

During the voting, the Divas and the Kungas watched the vote count in anticipation. It was not looking good for the Divas at all this time. They were quickly losing to the Kungaloosh. "BUT- maybe we will win this in the last hour and kick Kunga butt instead! (wishing on a star and chanting "I DO believe in Divas, I do, I do, I DO believe in Divas")" one optimistic Diva hoped. No chance, the Kungaloosh blew the Divas away by a wide margin. "YIPEE! LOL, that was lame. At least we WON!" a somewhat unenthusiastic Kunga blurted.

Diva Kim volunteered to vote herself out. She was a busy beaver at home getting A's in Calculus. As Kim Diva walked the plank, "GOOOO DIVASSSSSsssss!!!!" was heard echoing through the camp.