Big Brother Craze

When I mentioned that little something special yesterday, little did I know that I would have something else special to share in the meantime! I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Kail Harbick, the fifth evictee from the Big Brother House. She was very sweet, and answered my email right away. So here you go - enjoy!

Kail, thanks so much for interviewing with Big Brother Craze!

First - I have to say, for a mom of three, you look FANTASTIC - and I admit that with no small amount of jealousy on my part! Way to represent for the mom of teenagers club! I’m going to attempt to ask questions that you haven’t already had to answer 8billion times, though I’m sure there’s some crossover as everyone wants to know the same sorts of things. Feel free to be as verbose or short as you like!

1. BBC: I know you were a finalist for two years running before getting picked for this year’s Big Brother. What advice would you have for other hopefuls currently applying?

Kail: Season 5 was the first year I auditioned and every year thereafter. I just would not take NO for an answer. You know when you have that “gut” feeling that you can do something and know that you will. That is the feeling I had and so I kept going after my dream. When auditioning stay true to who you are, have an opinion, and speak with conviction.

2. BBC: If you had the chance, would you do it all again? What would you do differently?

Kail: At this time, I do not know if I would do it again. Although, I am pursuing acting, modeling, and speaking. ( www.kailharbick.com) If I had to do it again, I don’t think I would have made such a bold move in week 2 campaigning to evict Richard. I did that thinking I had my alliance behind me (That’s logical thinking to me?). I did not have Nick backing me up.

3. BBC: You’ve had more time outside of the house since leaving before sequester - how much of the show were you able to catch up on, and did you watch the rest of the season before attending the finale?

Kail: It took me the whole 6 weeks to catch up on back episodes. I wanted to make sure I had the show watched in its entirety before the finale. I did NOT watch the Afterdarks. I could not stomach watching the houseguests say such horrible things behind other houseguests and I am very disappointed in them behaving like that.

4. BBC: Many houseguests find that they aren’t portrayed as they feel they really were in the house - how do you feel about the way CBS portrayed you during your stay?

Kail: I am a person who always tries and finds the positive in every situation. So, here it is…It could have been worse.

5. BBC: Do you think they portrayed the other houseguests fairly?

Kail: I’m not sure.. I do wish they showed more of Richards abusive behavior.

6. BBC: Could you describe each houseguest for us - both as you knew them in the house, and if any opinions have changed since your eviction?

Kail:
Carol - Absolutely beautiful inside and outside. Very level headed about the experience.
Joe - A true friend! Someone who will stick by your side.
Mike - Honest and loyal.
Nick - Very friendly
Dustin - I’m not sure how I feel about him after I watched the show. I don’t know to trust him or not.
Jen - A great friend. Very, very intelligent and a loyal friend.
Amber - High maintenance and you don’t know when she will explode with anger. Who needs a friend like that?
Jessica - No comment.
Eric - I do not respect his game play or what he said about the other houseguest when they were out of the house. That is just rude.
Jameka - No comment
Zach - A great guy.
Daniele - Survivor
Dick - Mean and abusive!

7. BBC: The America’s Player twist - you’ve had more time to consider it then those recently released from sequester. How do you think it affected the game in general, and your game in particular? What do you think of how Eric shouldered the AP load? Do you think any of the other houseguests - including yourself - could have accomplished as much as he did at the whim of the American public?

Kail: I was glad for America to be able to participate in the show. I feel Eric had a great personality to pull off the deeds. Yes, I do feel it affected my game, Nicks game, and Erics.

8. BBC: I have to ask this, I just do! Do you now know who Mrs. Robinson is, and why your alliance was coined the MRA? (I admit I got a chuckle out of how many in the house did not know!)

Kail: Yes, I sort of knew, but didn’t want to give Richard the satisfaction that I knew. I have never watched the movie nor will I.

9. BBC: I believe you said in one of your exit interviews, that you chose to align quickly with three strong men on purpose. Would you do the same again if you had the chance? Can you share a bit more about why the men seemed a better match then women - including Jen, or better yet a mix of both? To me, it sounded like a very biblical point of view - am I wrong? (grin)

Kail: My strategy going into the house was to align with all women. When I got there and saw how young they all were I knew I had to change my strategy right away. Especially when they say “lets vote out the old lady” I picked Mike and Zach and then Zach brought in Nick.

10. BBC: Vincent, on one of the fan boards, declared that you were “beautiful, inside and out!” How was it meeting the son of your biggest house rival?

Kail: As you saw on the show I have never held anything against Daniele for her fathers actions.( I wish they showed me in the diary room sharing how much I like Daniele) If anything, I have felt sorry for her, because I knew at one time or another she was probably at the bunt end of his wrath and I knew how horrible that must make her feel. So of course, same with Vincent, he hasn’t done anything to me except be very, very nice and respectful. Both of Richards kids are nothing like him! Even though Richard says they are. He’s wrong. I hope to continue a relationship with Vincent. I hope viewers do not judge him (Vincent) to quickly because of his dad.

11. BBC: Yes, that brings us to the biggest rivalry of the house - Dick vs. Everyone. I have to admit that your refusing to call him Dick, but substituting Evel instead caused quite a few bouts of giggling around here. My youngest was thrilled when I clarified that Dick is an actual name, and yes, she could call him that. Gotta love 8 year olds!

Anyway - Dick’s issues with you seemed to stem from the fact that you were so close-lipped, and refused to share anything truly personal about yourself, hiding away from the rest of the house. Was that a fair assessment in your eyes? Was it a conscious choice to keep yourself apart from the group?

Kail: I consciously wanted to keep close-lipped from Richard (his new name for me:) ). In the days before 24 hours feeds Richard hounded me for a friendship, a working relationship. I always felt Richard was very intrigued by me and wanted to know everything about me! So much that it made me nervous, cautious, and did not want to be around him. I feel he took this as a personal rejection. Because he was upset by this personal rejection he started to bad mouth me to all the other houseguests which in returned forced me to keep to myself. Simultaneously, I had a gut feeling to not trust anyone with a secret. I proved to be right. For example: Eric was going to use Ambers secret against her as we all know.

12. BBC: One issue that Dick repeatedly slammed home (heh!) was the fact that he felt he was more honest then anyone else in the house. When he’d come at you, you’d deny lying, every time, even when he was referring to your asking him to get the votes for you to stay against Jen. Those of us who watched the conversation in question had a palm-to-forehead moment, for sure. So my question is this - do you see now how he interpreted that to be a lie, do you consider it a lie now? Why or why not?

Kail: I told Richard that he had my vote and if I changed my mind I would let him know. I then tried and get 5 votes before Thursday. (I thought I would have my alliance, which would have been 4, and then needed one more) If I was successful, I would have told him I was changing my vote! At the time when he called me out on it I knew I did not have the support of my alliance and was going to vote with the house. After he called me out on it I knew I could not vote for him to stay. The reason we even had the talk in the first place was because he broke his word to me first that nobody knows about. He “owed” me a favor because he asked me not to put up Daniele that first week.

Then I hear from Nick that he is going to put Mike and I up if he got HOH. That is when I confronted him and asked him what was going on? He promised he “owed” me one yet he is telling everyone first chance he gets he is putting me up. Because of this I knew I couldn’t trust him. No, I never lied. PS. In week 3 I had the conversation with Richard first about “having nobody” then I had the conversation with Jen and Mike. It was shown on CBS out of sequential order!

13. BBC: Speaking of lying, (or lying by omission, Ms. Multi-business Owner! (grin) I mean real estate agent…) do you think it is possible to play Big Brother without fudging the truth here and there? And if so - would the American public be as addicted to it as we are now?

Kail: I don’t feel keeping things private is lying, do you? To this day I am so thankful I did not “air” my dirty laundry to America like Amber did or other houseguests. We all have some. he he.. It was easy not to share about my businesses to the houseguests. I did not want that to be my first impression.

14. BBC: That brings me to Jen. As I watched the show, and the feeds, and even her exit interviews, I think I have a very different perception of who Jen is then you did while in the house, and even immediately after your eviction. Has that opinion changed at all? If not, what is it you saw in her that a lot of the rest of us missed, myself included?

Kail: I like Jen because she is one houseguest that did NOT stoop low and smack talk all the other houseguests. That means a lot to me. Also, Jen is a very loyal friend and she befriended me first. As you know, I didn’t tell her about my alliance for 19 days (Nick told her) and she was upset at first, but still stayed loyal to me as a friend. That is what I like about her. I feel she didn’t talk bad about the other houseguest because she is confident and secure in herself and that she didn’t need to bad mouth all the other houseguests.

15. BBC: And last, but not least - You mentioned an interest in doing The Amazing Race with your son, and Vincent said he would do it with you too (now THAT would be an interesting pairing!) - is that something that may be in your future?

Kail: Wow, you know your facts. Yes, Vincent did mention it to me. That would be some pairing. Maybe my son and Vincent could do it together? I would want my son to do it before me. It’s been his dream! So, however the pairing needs to be to get Tyler on the show that would be my goal.

16. BBC: Thanks so much for taking the time to interview with us at Big Brother Craze, Kail! I appreciate it! Please let us know of any future appearances, endeavors and the like, and we’ll be happy to help spread the word!

Kail: I do have a web-site: kailharbick.com and I have a weekend event coming up on Nov. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th so the viewers could meet me and do a Q&A. Only $200 and that includes lodging. For more information go to: www.harbicks-country-inn.com. Thank you so much for your time to get to know me better.

Have any other questions for Kail? Leave a comment below, and I’ll see if she’ll do a part two for us! Thanks again, Kail! It was a delight ‘talking’ to you!