Saturday, June 23, 2018

Meet Steve Arienta - He'll Need You to Step Outside The Car, But Only So He Can Start Wrenching. #BB20

Get ready to meet Steve Arienta, who hails from Parsippany New Jersey.  At 40, Steve is well-above the average age of the other BB20 house guests.  Steve  has the traditional accent you'd expect from a guy growing up in his area, and you can really hear it when he says the word "Jersey".

Unlike most of the other house guests, Ross is relatively sure that Steve has been gainfully employed, so he confidently asks Steve what he does for a living.

Steve:  I'm a life coach, and I do guided meditations.

***JUST KIDDING***  We all now that profession is a big, big joke.

Steve told Ross that he is a college professor and was just awarded tenure last year, and he's actually a retired New York narcotics detective.

Ross, impressed: Really?

Steve:  Yep.  I retired in 2012.....married, with three beautiful daughters.

Steve says he's a big fan of the show, but his wife is the SuperFan in the family.  Ross wondered why Steve was on the show this summer instead of his wife, in that case.  Steve didn't answer that question, and I'm guessing he already did many other interviews that day and assumed he was answering a different question.

Steve: Where else am I going to get the opportunity, as a blue collar, hard-working guy,  to win 500 grand to better the life of my family and my kids?  That's why I'm sitting right here right now.

(Yeah, but what about your wife, Steve?)

In response to Ross' question, Steve guesses that they are in the Diary Room, but in a weird tone of voice that seemed to imply that was a stupid question.  Because DUH, they've been doing pre-season interviews in the Diary Room for YEARS.

Ross:  So, he knows.  He knows.

Ross wonders how the detective skills will help him in the game, saying we've seen undercover cops play before and do very well.  Will Steve's background help him play Big Brother?

Steve:  Oh, 110%. As a narcotics detective, undercover,  you absolutely positively need to know your environment, read the people around you, understand when to say something and when not to, when to interject, when not to interject, when not to push the don't want to scare away a potential sale, or a buy if you're undercover......

(WHOA WHOA WHOA.  I understand the "buy" comment, but wouldn't the "SALE" be ENTRAPMENT?  That's what I heard someone say on TV somewhere.  Maybe it was on Locked Up, though.  Never mind.)

Steve:   ....and you don't want to push away a possible alliance, or make a friend too quickly.  A lot of this...the game, is all about politics.

Steve thinks it's a bad idea to go into the house with only one need to have a couple of different strategies.  Something bad could happen, and pin you against the wall or something, and then you got nothing.  So you gotta go in, and see what works, but understand that everybody else has seen what works, too, and it might not work again.

 Steve thinks the best idea is to take a few pieces that you've seen from each successful house guest and put it all together in a way that works for you  And you have to know when to start applying your strategy..  He knows that the people who jump out in the lead usually end up getting voted out right away.

Ross:  So it's your strategy to lay low at first?

Steve:  Actually, in the beginning I'd like to be invited to join a big powerful alliance...just like Derrick....he didn't ask for it, he didn't push for it....he was asked, invited in and taken into the fold.  If I'm in that situation then I'm playing the game like I want to play it. But if I'm pushing the envelope too much, maybe being the one to formulate the alliance and there's somebody bad in it, then I get targeted as a leader, that could be a problem as well.

Ross:  Are you going to let the other house guests know about your background?

Steve:  NO!  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  The bottom line is that I love Derrick, but he's ruined the game for every other undercover narcotics detective out there.  Thanks a lot, D.  But I got nothing but love for you.
Ross:  So what's your story then?

Steve: Well, I can't use university professor either, because we had a winner there too.

(WHAT?  IS HE REFERRING TO ANDY HERREN?  Hell no.  Andy was not a PROFESSOR.  He taught an elective-type course in public speaking at the College of Dupage and made a living waiting tables at Dick's Last Resort.  Does Steve think ANYONE in that house would even know ANYTHING about what I just said?)

(And Andy DID NOT have tenure, so the College issued a statement letting everyone know that Andy WOULD NOT be teaching there anymore.  Because, Big Brother 15.  Almost everyone on that season had a problem afterwards.)

Ross wondered how Steve is going to explain himself, if he won't tell the truth about his background.

Steve:  I'm a mechanic.

Ross, smirking:  OK.  What kind of engine goes in a .....whatever?  (LOL)  Are you going to be able to answer those questions?

Steve:  Absolutely.

(But can he answer the questions CORRECTLY?  Most of the kids probably take Uber, anyway, or their parents take care of their cars, so Steve can probably get away with any type of auto part advice.)

Steve spouted off a stream of engine-speak and auto parts speak that made me feel like I was in line at the service desk, getting the bad news about how much work needed to be done on my car, and how much it cost, totally helpless to defend myself.  I can just see Steve in a striped uniform shirt with his name embroidered over the pocket.

But I would "absolutely, positively" make him as a former cop though.  He SCREAMS cop.

And I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Fun Fact:  One of my neighbors used to be the Service Manager at the local VW dealership and he said that when the moon is full, all of the crazy customers come out and made the job a real nightmare.  The service desk actually tracked the lunar schedule so they could be prepared for the worst.  True story.  This was before VW got caught lying to everyone about their fuel efficiency though.  People at the top are going to do hard time because of that.

Steve feels prepared and ready to go play.  His biggest weakness may be his loyalty, maybe being too loyal to somebody who is planning a backstab.

Steve:  And if that happens I know, I already know my beautiful wife is going to be screaming at me on the TV screen....

Ross: We'll all be doing that!

Now Ross pops the Big Question...would Steve rather win and be despised, or lose and be loved?

Steve:  I'm going home with the money.  I'm sorry.

(No shocker there.  Cops are used to being despised.)

Ross, shrugging:  Don't be sorry.

Steve:  No, I'm sorry to America, but I'm here to win.  When I got here, I put on my work boots.  This is work for me, three and a half months from now I'm going home with the $500,000 paycheck for my kids...SUMMER OF STEVE 2018.

Now it's time for Steve to let us all know why we should root for him.

Steve:  Listen.  I'm a hardworkin' , blue collar father of three.  I love my family.  I'm also an educator.  I love my students.....SUNY Westchester....and I love my law enforcement brothers and sisters in blue right now rockin' it.  I think you should root for me because I'm only here for one reason....I don't want fame, I want fortune.  I want the $500,000 to give to my kids, to give them the start that they deserve, and also to benefit my community.

Ross grins.  It's like watching a move, listening to Steve talk.

Ross:  Hey, I want you to take a look at my car before we leave....

Steve:  Absolutely!


Well, Steve is absolutely, positively adorable.  How can you not like Steve?  But how can Steve think that he's not IMMEDIATELY going to be spotted as a cop?  I mean, in the Tri State area you can probably look like a cop and still do "undercover" deals, because it is not uncommon at all for cops to be on the payroll of drug kingpins and mob bosses.  Not everyone, but a few cops.  Politicians, too.

I'm veering off into dangerous territory, but my point is that Steve's look is going to scare people from the  moment he walks out on stage with his BB duffel bag.  And speaking of that, how could Production be sure that the BB Alumni in the audience at the premiere weren't going to yell something to give away Steve's former job?  (You know they yelled "Minion" at JC Broundix, right?)  And we all know there are many BB alumni who have problems with authority, not to mention checkered legal pasts.  Hopefully they all kept their mouths shut, and knew what was good for them.

For this reason, I think it's going to be a VERY steep, uphill battle for Steve to get to the end.  Because Derrick did ruin it for everyone.  And Tony Vlachos from Survivor showed the skills that a police officer has at deception and cunning.  And Sarah Lacina won Survivor, too, even after they all knew she was a cop in Iowa.  So Steve has his work cut out for him.

It's a shame he's planning to lie about it, because I love to hear cop stories....everybody does, including the criminals.  Probably especially the criminals.  We're going to miss out on some great undercover stories, and with all the crazies crammed together in the NY Metro area, there are sure to be some really great stories rolling around in Steve's head.  I'm going to make a bold prediction that Steve gets cornered in there and has to admit it.  Depending on those circumstances and whoever else has made themselves targets, that may be his only chance to buy a few weeks of time.

Steve is an Assistant Professor at Westchester Community College.  I hate to put his contact info out there, but it's easily found on the internet and the College will soon find out that they need to disable the phone number and also the email address, probably through the end of 2018.

(Mrs. Arienta should go ahead and call them now about that.  But as a SuperFan, she already knows this.)

And he's taught some great courses, too.  Wouldn't you just LOVE to listen to Steve sit in the BB backyard and tell organized crime stories?  It was so fun just to hear Kevin tell a few Whitey Bulgar stories last year, but I feel like we're really missing out this season.  I love a house guest with a very specific job, who can teach us all a little something about it.

And Steve got some great ratings from his students on  He's amazing lectures......but he won't pass you if you don't show up though.   According to the comments he also teaches online classes, too, so make a note of that if you're interested.

Steve is 6'5" and played some football.  And we all know how I like those big football types.  It's part of my heritage and I can't deny the attraction.  There are three other football players in that house, so I trust they will find each other and maybe they will even form an alliance and call some plays together.  (Winston Hines, Kaycee Clark & Faysal Shafaat)

You can't deny the physicality of that group...they are sure to win a few comps and run the game for at least a few weeks.  Might as well band together, right?  Because once the other big guy has been evicted, they're coming for you next.  Don't get got, Steve.

Pro Tip:  I wouldn't put my face too close to Orwell, Steve.  He's seen things a stuffed owl shouldn't have to see.

Let's give Steve's CBS bio a quick look.

I love that he likes Mike Boogie.  Mike had an innate skill for deception and humanized himself after winning BB Allstars by being famously blindsided by his protege Ian Terry, and then roasted in his goodbye message by Britney Haynes.  Mike played BB2, BB7, and BB14, for you kids who only started watching last year.  A true legend.

If I were in the BB house with Steve, I would look for him first thing in the morning, in the backyard (because you KNOW he's going to be the early bird out there) and let him know that I know he was a cop, but that I know cops make the best players and I want to work with him.  And I would do everything I could to show him how trustworthy I am.  I would say, "Steve, I don't want anyone else to be able to weaponize your powers, so of course I won't tell anyone about you!"

And I wouldn't, not until I blindsided him out of the game, with his wife screaming obscenities at me and everyone I know.

1 comment :


Also, if possible please don't be a jackass.

Thank you!