As I trudged my way through the ankle-deep snow and set foot on Mount Huang for the very first time, I paused and took a glance up at the peak. Lavender clouds swirled around it as far as the eye could see, blotting out the sun. But what's more, I saw a faint glimmer of light coming from the very tip of the peak. As soon as I made out its phallic shape, I knew exactly what I was seeing. It was the fabled Golden Sausage. For so long, I had been reaching out for that thing, grabbing it by the shaft only for it to slip right through my palms. But no more. NO MORE! I will summit this mountain, hold that sausage in my hands, bask in its warm, gold light. Or I will die trying.

I snapped to and saw more and more fellow explorers file in. A young Chinese boy approached me first.

Kenny

+

Yung Kenny Hoang 9:50 pm hey franny! flipit_and_reverseit 9:53 pm kennyyy! hello young man Yung Kenny Hoang 9:53 pm excuse me, kenny is 30 :P flipit_and_reverseit 9:54 pm i remember when i was 30 you have a lot of life ahead of ya :-) flipit_and_reverseit 9:56 pm what brings you to these mountains, kenny? what do you hope to find? Yung Kenny Hoang 9:57 pm The Mythical Golden Sausage! they say its worth a million dollars flipit_and_reverseit 9:59 pm ah! i too have heard tales of this, sausage a worthy prize, but one cannot look too close. or the sausage might blind you Yung Kenny Hoang 10:02 pm Yeah, you need the special sausage goggles right

Ah, it appears he was here for the same reasons as I. It was just as I feared. He might need to be dealt with.

Woo

+

flipit_and_reverseit 10:01 pm ayyyy woo my brotha! Woo Hwang 10:01 pm Frannay! i think yeah thats franny alright whats up! :D flipit_and_reverseit 10:02 pm no mistakin it imagine finding you up here in these mountains Woo Hwang 10:02 pm what are the chances!? Woo Hwang 10:03 pm so are you psyched or what!? flipit_and_reverseit 10:03 pm hell yeah! HELL yeah! i'm gonna make these mountains my bitch rise to the top grab that sausage Woo Hwang 10:04 pm fran i think you might be getting too powerful im gonna have to take you out now flipit_and_reverseit 10:04 pm you see, that's why i need someone like you, Woo to keep me grounded keep me honorable the ying to my yang Woo Hwang 10:04 pm i think its yin but what do i know :p flipit_and_reverseit 10:05 pm the hwin to my hwang, then Woo Hwang 10:05 pm but ahh i need someone like you to be my hatchet man hatchet fran* flipit_and_reverseit 10:06 pm now that's a role i know i can fill Woo Hwang 10:06 pm you would totally get an epidode title if you said whin to your hwang, just saying ;) flipit_and_reverseit 10:07 pm that's if we run shit this week. flipit_and_reverseit 10:07 pm which we will. Woo Hwang 10:07 pm not that i condone forming alliances for the sole purpose of episode titles but im not saying i dont either flipit_and_reverseit 10:09 pm i can think of no better reason flipit_and_reverseit 10:09 pm call it destiny Woo Hwang 10:09 pm haha tell me about yourself franny :D flipit_and_reverseit 10:10 pm i'm a strong, independent single mother from DC my little one, frank, one day asked me "why are you such a loser mommy? why did you never win the big one?" i told him that's no way to speak to your mother flipit_and_reverseit 10:11 pm but then i also told him, he's right so i went off on an expedition to these mountains and these nine dragons, they house my destiny that golden sausage... i will not rest until it is mine i also enjoy riding bicycles Woo Hwang 10:13 pm the scene fades in with franny heroically hiking through the tretorous mountain conditions, woo by her side with a with little frank in a chest strap baby carrier. They will not be detered from greatness! haha do you really ride? i love to mountain bike flipit_and_reverseit 10:20 pm i prefer the ground i cannot say i've ever been up this high Woo Hwang (woohoohwang) is available 10:20 pm Woo Hwang 10:22 pm They say if you chew gum it will keep your ears from popping! flipit_and_reverseit 10:24 pm a useful tip! see, this is why you're the hwang to my hwin you're air, i'm ground Woo Hwang 10:25 pm We just need our fire! flipit_and_reverseit 10:25 pm together, we are earth itself. and who can stand against that? Woo Hwang 10:25 pm Unless we're FedEx

A sprightly young man, full of vigor. I would not mind sticking with him, but would he stick with me? He seems an untethered spirit to me.

Joe

+

flipit_and_reverseit 10:03 pm oh, uh, hello O:-) Joe Anglim 10:06 pm yooooooooo suhhhhp francesca :D flipit_and_reverseit 10:08 pm oh my :-) *fans self* it's lovely to meet you Joe Anglim 10:10 pm it's a privlege to meet you too! so far no crazy cia agents around so you can breathe easy! and if you ever need some help breathing we can always break out some joega :)!! flipit_and_reverseit 10:13 pm haha :-D this one has a sense of humor too! you can hit me up for some joega ANY DAY OF THE WEEK, lemme tell ya :-) Joe Anglim 10:15 pm every morning, get ready! sun's gonna be hot (or blocked -- we are in china after all and smog is a very serious issue) and we're gonna be stretchin' out to make sure we bring home the bacon for our tribe! i have faith that we'll be on the same tribe! flipit_and_reverseit 10:20 pm you think so?? :-D i hope you're right!! i'm so ready for you to push my body ;-) Joe Anglim 10:22 pm gotta believe in faith! it's what we have right now since we have no idea what's happening yet haha! Joe Anglim 10:23 pm and get ready for me to push you! we're dominating!

I believe I've seduced him already. HA! NEVER COUNT OUT MAMA FRAN'S CHARMING SMILE! Consider him putty in my hands.

Alina

+

Alina Wison 10:04 pm Hey Franny flipit_and_reverseit 10:06 pm hiii alina! sup girl Alina Wison 10:06 pm Relaxing after dinner, how about you? flipit_and_reverseit 10:07 pm me personally, i haven't eaten in weeks the golden sausage, that shall be my feast flipit_and_reverseit 10:08 pm at the top of that mountain, over yonder Alina Wison 10:09 pm I think I'm dying if I don't eat after about 2 hours You have more dedication than me flipit_and_reverseit 10:14 pm it's the price you have to pay if you want to achieve greatness a sound mind, body, and soul tell me, what was your last meal? Alina Wison 10:17 pm Chicken breast with green beans flipit_and_reverseit 10:22 pm wholesome! it has a certain earthy richness to it, just like you Alina Wison 10:24 pm I was wishing it was a tbone steak

A fascinating conversation, one which I cannot wait to revisit on a later day.

Jenna

+

Jenna Lewis 10:17 pm Francesqua!!!! hi how are you? flipit_and_reverseit 10:23 pm haha you can just call me franny!! are you ready for this adventure to get rollin?? Jenna Lewis 10:23 pm Francesqua will get old pretty quickly, so Franny it is and I'm as ready as I'll ever be but i'm so excited i wasn't even expecting to get cast flipit_and_reverseit 10:30 pm lol that makes two of us! but here we are time to make the most of it :-) Jenna Lewis 10:32 pm lol, i'm already attempting to answer the pre-game questions and failing miserably but the thought is what counts right? flipit_and_reverseit 10:32 pm haha :-) flipit_and_reverseit 10:32 pm it's not about how you start, but how you finish and we just gettin started baby Jenna Lewis 10:33 pm i like how you think :) let's just hope the finish is not as pathetic lmao flipit_and_reverseit 10:34 pm aww i'm sure it won't you're gonna be great! Jenna Lewis 10:35 pm have to keep expectations low so no matter what I'm happy with how I do haha

This girl has no self-esteem and she ain't afraid to hide it. Although I do fear her being wishy-washy, someone who will follow whatever anyone tells her, I'd like to work with her. Show her the ropes. Toughen her up! Create an underdog alliance to be reckoned with.

Natalie

+

flipit_and_reverseit 11:04 pm what uppppppppp gurl Natalie Anderson 11:04 pm Hey Francescaaaa <3 Hows it going? :D flipit_and_reverseit 11:06 pm ready to conquer this fuckin mountain!! u? Natalie Anderson 11:07 pm Yessssss girl Motivational speaker aff I'm gooood still high from being casted :p flipit_and_reverseit 11:09 pm no doubttt!! we got our work cut out for us this expedition was much larger than i could've even dreamt~ Natalie Anderson 11:09 pm 27 people beautiful flipit_and_reverseit 11:12 pm it's gonna be something only the strong shall survive do you have what it takes, natalie anderson? Natalie Anderson 11:13 pm I really hope so, Franny. We will find out pretty soon I'm guessing flipit_and_reverseit 11:15 pm i hope you're right, i hope you're right once we begin to scale these mountains...there will be no turning back Natalie Anderson 11:15 pm Us strong women have what it takes flipit_and_reverseit 11:15 pm it's the summit, or the valley we do! Natalie Anderson 11:15 pm Through soem perseverance Dedication Determination WE will get there! WE WILL!\ flipit_and_reverseit 11:16 pm now THAT'S what i'm talking about!!! chest bump Natalie Anderson 11:16 pm *chest bump* booom flipit_and_reverseit 11:17 pm ayyyy that's how it's done Natalie Anderson 11:17 pm I think I'm gonna have to set up camp soon though my dear It's fairly late :p flipit_and_reverseit 11:18 pm ahhh well make your shelter strong, girl for the nights are Lóng and cold Natalie Anderson 11:18 pm Thank you for the concern It was a pleasure to meet you Franny! Have a nice night :) flipit_and_reverseit 11:18 pm til tomorrow :-) Natalie Anderson 11:19 pm Indeed :)

F2

Melinda

+

flipit_and_reverseit 11:05 pm when you believe in things that you don't understand then you suffer Melinda Hyder 11:05 pm Omg that is so wise. Who said that? flipit_and_reverseit 11:06 pm i did just now that's a fran original Melinda Hyder 11:07 pm Neat! flipit_and_reverseit 11:07 pm free of charge! Melinda Hyder 11:07 pm You're like a fortune cookie but more adorably ominous flipit_and_reverseit 11:08 pm you are the apple of my eye forever you'll stay in my heart :-* Melinda Hyder 11:08 pm Oh my! flipit_and_reverseit 11:10 pm if i thought our love was ending, melinda i'd find myself drowning in my own tears Melinda Hyder 11:10 pm I hope that doesn't happen, tears would be such a gross liquid to drown in. flipit_and_reverseit 11:11 pm i'm not sure as far as drowning liquids go, i'd rate it above average at the very least Melinda Hyder 11:12 pm Oh, really? I guess that's true. It'd be better than syrup.

And so that was that, for the time being. I turned and started back up the

Melinda	+
Melinda Hyder 11:22 pm And mayo. Actually anything opaque would probably be worse. I think you're right.

I nodded and smiled before

Melinda	+
Melinda Hyder 11:37 pm Cola might be fun. It would tingle.

With that last thought in mind, I turned in for the night. Come morning, there would be 19 fresh faces waiting for me.

*collapses in a heap*

One step closer to the Golden Sausage

Handling thick, wet sausages for that Lóng can get tiring. Congrats on being the best sausage handler on your tribe. :) Do you have prior experience?