Monday, November 25, 2013

The Bears, Celebrity Impersonators, & HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA

Monday, I wasn't thinking about doing anything but I changed my mind and I went to the familiar haunt known as Winter Garden Village. I ended up at the World Market and I did purchase a few items there. I then went to Barnes & Noble and purchased a pair of DVD's. I then strolled on over to Planet Smoothie and I wanted to try a limited edition flavor they had, but they were out of the key ingredient so I was SOL there and I instead got something else, which at least was tasty.

Tuesday was dull so let me skip ahead to Wednesday. I ended up going with someone to dinner, and that person wanted to go to Uno's, so off we went for some Chicago deep dish pizza. The last time I was there, I was solo last December and later that night, I had the worst case of food poisoning I ever have experienced. I'll spare you the details of why I know it was the worst of all time, but I know for certain it was. Thankfully this time there were no issues with the food and it was a fine experience there, although I wish their pizzas were as large as they used to be and now of course they do cost more.

Thursday was dull so let me skip ahead to Friday. What an odd night it proved to be. I decided I should do something so off I went to the Florida Mall. I walked around for a bit and I had a treat from Pinkberry; they used to have a few locations in the Orlando area but the rest closed down so now I can only go there to have their product. As I ate that, I saw a sight which for a moment made me wonder if I somehow stumbled into a David Lynch or a Coen Brothers film. Certainly it's one of those things that could only happen to me. A crowd started to form and it was people dressed up. I thought that was odd so I went in closer to investigate. It was a large group of celebrity impersonators! I am not joking. There was Jack Nicholson, Danny De Vito, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, the Obamas, George W. Bush, Sean Connery, and others. Was there a convention in town? I have no other explanation for such a thing happening on a Friday night. Quite a few people came around to take pictures and it was bizarre all around.

Then, I walked by the Microsoft store and they have an Xbox One kiosk. It had two screens on opposite sides. On one side was a dance thing with the Kinect device. On the other side, though... they were playing a viral video on loop from a few years ago that I recognized right away. It was HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA (as it's known on YouTube), which is a bizarre dance cover of 4 Non Blondes' What's Up and it's matched to clips from the 80's He-Man cartoon; it's weird and awesome at the same time. I have no idea why they were showing it outside of a Microsoft store, though.

Saturday was boring so let me skip ahead to Sunday. What a day that did not start off so well but ended up alright. I should note here that through this month, I've had at least a few cases of people tailgating me. Yes. I'd step or slam on the brakes to get the message across, but down here in Florida people are so stupid they likely would crash into you via rear ending, and considering I had an accident last November (it does NOT seem like it happened a year ago), I don't need to get into another one. Anyhow, tailgating happened to me on this day too. Man alive were there some awful reckless drivers on the road overall. That did not help my mood.

I went to the usual spot (Friendly Confines) to watch the Chicago Bears play against the St. Louis Rams. I knew this time that weather wouldn't be a factor, as the Rams play in a covered dome stadium. Unfortunately the team still has problems so it wasn't a pretty game to watch and they ended up losing. I was thinking about leaving early but until near the end it looked as if they weren't out of it so I had to stick around for that and in hindsight... also, boy were there some loud bellowing crybaby drama queen idiots there; good Lord! There was also a guy there who talked like he had been drinking for hours, and he was like that when I got there around 12:30 PM; hearing him and a lady bartender talk about some crappy music awards show that happened last night and he wanted to record it and her watching it live just “to see what Miley will do!” made me want to drink bleach on the spot! Sorry but it's true. I've made it clear before what I think of the druggie tramp and I sure as hell don't think her music is any good at all, so I did not see a second of that performance, although I do know what it was about and could you be any lamer in trying to get attention? I did end up leaving before the game was over once the outcome wasn't in doubt.

At least once I got home things were fine. I had a nice ham dinner and I just relaxed. As for the next blog I'll post (which will be a week from today), I do know something I'll be doing and I have some other ideas so I should be writing about some interesting things, although maybe not as strange as what I experienced this past Friday.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Foreign Sodas, Sports On The Big Screen, & David P. Batman

What an interesting at times preceding week I had. Monday I did not do a darn thing for Veterans Day, except in the evening rewatch a movie that happened to have an ex-soldier character in it: First Blood and John Rambo. Sure, some wacky jingoistic America F*** Yeah movie about soldiers (the film Act of Valor from last year is the perfect film for that role) could have been done too but I decided to go more serious with my movie selection.

To humblebrag, on Tuesday I got to go to Walt Disney World. I returned to Epcot. I walked around and had dinner there, and went on a few attractions. The main thing is that I went to the Club Cool building, where you can buy some Coca-Cola merchandise and also sample some exotic flavors (for free) of their products that aren't sold in the United States. For many years they had the same few flavors and finally last month they switched out most of them for other flavors. I tried all the new ones. Most are pretty good. Drinking something that you could otherwise only get in Thailand, Zimbabwe or Brazil is pretty cool to me.

Wednesday, I went to get my teeth cleaned. It was a standard thing I do every 6 months or so. It was uneventful and thankfully all my teeth are fine so I don't have to go back there until May of next year, barring something awful happening such as another root canal, but I hope I'll never have another one of those. I got back home and looked at the mail. There's a local free newspaper that comes in the mail this week. Right on the front page advertising financial planning was a middle-aged dude named DAVID P. BATMAN. I laugh and laugh still at such an awesome name.

Thursday, I did a few things. I went to the Blockbuster in town to check out the start of their liquidation. I did purchase some discs and in the future I'll try to go back there before they close down for good. I did see in the parking lot a vehicle I rarely if ever see in the wild: a Fisker Karma, a fancy-looking car that's like a Chevy Volt in that it's both electric and gas-powered. The company went kaput, though, and not just because the most famous owner of the car is the horrible human being known as Justin Bieber.

I went with someone to both Sam's Club and the nearby Logan's Roadhouse, one of several similar joints where you can eat shelled peanuts at your table and leave the shells on the ground. Only a few items were purchased at the Sam's Club, and the food I had at the Roadhouse was tasty.

Friday I did not do a darn thing either so let me skip ahead to Saturday. That was the most interesting day out of the week for me. I went and saw the latest UFC pay per view on the big screen, via Fathom Events. It's something they rarely do, which I understand as from what I know, almost all or all haven't been greatly attended. This was the case again. The show was the 20th anniversary for the promotion so it was a pretty nice card and the pay per view portion was quite good overall; unfortunately there was controversy in the main event and I agree with the majority that it was unfortunate it happened even if it wasn't all-time terrible as some thought. The broadcast started off with audio but no picture and once it was fixed the image went out again; after a second fix thankfully that was it and no fights were missed so I was relieved; if I would have missed any of the bouts... I would be ranting and raving about it here, for sure. It was nice to see it that way.

Before I even made it there, I stopped at Rocket Fizz to get some more gourmet sodas (boy were there some tool customers there; I am glad I did not stick around long) then I ate at one of the many Ale House restaurants they have in Florida. If nothing else those places tend to have a lot of room for big crowds, and that was good as it was a popular place. I went to the one in Winter Park, as I watched the pay per view at the nearby Regal Theatres. I wish I wouldn't have done something dumb right in front of one of the attractive ladies who work there... but it's a minor thing so I won't get into the details (or “deets”, as some would say... I don't use terms like that, though). There were some dope customers there; I tried my best to ignore those bozos and all their yelling or stupid questions as I watched sports and most of the Fox Sports 1 UFC fights before the pay per view. Those bouts weren't all that good. I wasn't sure how the night would turn out but it turned out well.

Sunday, I did not want to have to make the drive to Winter Park twice in less than 24 hours so I just stayed home and I decided to watch the highlights of the Bears vs. Ravens game via the NFL Red Zone Channel. I ended up making the right choice as the weather across the Midwest was HORRIBLE. I mean, tornadoes and crap. That delayed the game for 2 hours and it left the field in awful condition so I am glad I did not go out to see the game in full. The Bears won in overtime 23-20 so that made me happy.

As for the upcoming week, nothing is on the agenda yet. Not a single thing. As always I'll stumble into some adventures worth talking about when I return a week from today.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Escape Plan, Mountain Dew Game Fuel, & Having To Call 911

Alright, here is what I've done this past week. It was more interesting than expected. Needless to say, “having to call 911 on my cell phone" was not on my docket of things to possibly do during the week.

Last Monday night I watched the Chicago Bears play against their hated rivals the Green Bay Packers. I thought that the Packers would win given the circumstances. Well, I did not predict that real early on the Packers star quarterback would be injured and knocked out of the game. That changed things entirely and that was a big reason why Chicago won. I was happy even with those circumstances. Getting to watch it at home and not have to be around odious sports fans also made me happy.

Tuesday, I finally went and saw Escape Plan. I went and saw it at the Orlando Fashion Square Mall, a place I rarely get to. Both the mall (many closed/empty storefronts) and the theatre (you had to get tickets at the concession stand instead of the box office, the general run-down nature of the place) make me wonder how long they'll last as they aren't doing as hot as they used to. As for the film Escape Plan, I heard good things from people I usually would consider to be at least somewhat reliable, but I thought it was a poor story filmed in an inept crappy manner. I did not think it was good at all aside from some inspired moments. What a disappointment it is. It's more a drama than an action film but I knew that going in.

After the movie I stopped by a fast food joint I hadn't eaten at before and they're usually around Maryland but they opened one here recently... I am referring to Boardwalk Fresh Burger & Fries. It should be no mystery what I ordered along with a mint chocolate chip shake. I wasn't sure about the service and the burger was alright, but the cooked in peanut oil fries and the shake were both great.

Wednesday I did nothing except watch a smaller UFC show that was put on for the troops (it was held on a military base) so I watched that. Thursday, I figured I should get a haircut, so I did. I think I did need one. The lady-who was older than me-who cut my hair said she really liked my first name. Whether or not I was hit on, I was still flattered.

Friday, I decided to drive by the local Blockbuster in town. I wanted to see when they would start liquidating. While I am the Luddite type who prefers to walk in a brick and mortar store and pick out something for rental, I don't feel too sad that Blockbuster is finally shutting down given that they caused the demise of the mom and pop stores that I almost exclusively went to for many years. Anyhow, that will start this upcoming Thursday. I did stop at a nearby 7/11 and not only did I have a Slurpee, but I saw that there was a return of Mountain Dew Game Fuel, which has even more caffeine than regular Mountain Dew and it's for the type of people that play World of Warcraft for like 12 hours straight.

Saturday was dull (I did watch another free UFC show on TV and that was interesting) so let me skip ahead to Sunday. That is a day that I had to call 911! No, it has nothing to do with anyone at the Friendly Confines sports bar. Rather, it was someone on the road. While I was there, some annoying people were around but it wasn't like my last time there, where I almost flipped off a yelling ogre for being a complete D-bag; I was thankful for that. The Bears ended up losing by 2 points. It wasn't a pretty game by any means. Their starting quarterback returned from injury... only to suffer another injury. In hindsight, he may have come back too soon. I did pay attention to some of the other games going on so it ended up being a fine time there, and the food was good as usual.

On the way back home, though... I noticed an obviously impaired driver. When you're driving and you see a car stopped at a stoplight which is green and he doesn't move even after I blasted my horn at him, something's not right. He caught up with me and between him having extreme difficulty staying in one lane and him driving either really fast or really slow... they had to be either really drunk or really high on drugs. They got in front of me and they turned onto a different road. I had to pull out the phone and dial 911. Yeah, I was doing that while driving but I had to keep an eye on the driver to give the police all the proper information (which I did do) & to make sure that guy did not crash, as that could very well have been an outcome. After I talked to the 911 operator I hung up and at that point I was far ahead of that guy (he was a middle aged dude in a Lexus SUV) and I decided to head on home and hope that a police officer pulled him over.

A few years ago I had to do the same thing; I was driving back home from a wrestling show and I was in my town of Clermont and saw some young punk obviously drive drunk. Again I have no idea if he got pulled over but I hope so.

As for this upcoming week, I actually do have some things I know I'll be doing, from getting my teeth cleaned to seeing the latest UFC pay per view. I am expecting it to be a decent week.

Monday, November 4, 2013

A Merry Berry Cherry Edition Of This Blog

This will be not one of the longest editions of my blog. In fact it'll be one of my shortest. It was a pretty quiet week for me. Monday was pretty dull. I just relaxed. Technically, Tuesday morning in the 3 AM hour I had to drop off another parent at the airport. This time it was the Orlando International Airport and this time it wasn't as wacky as my Sunday night airport run. I just dropped off that parent and on the way back I stopped at a Wawa gas station, as I hadn't been in one in months. I got a small sandwich and apple slices packaged together for only a few bucks. I also got a Rockstar drink in a flavor called Bubbleberry. I hadn't had it yet but I am interested in what the heck a bubbleberry is supposed to be. Tuesday proper, I got McDonalds for dinner.

Wednesday, in the evening I went to my familiar haunt of Winter Garden Village. I had dinner at the very popular on this night Chipotle before going to Planet Smoothie; they have two new limited edition flavors and the one I got was Merry Berry Cherry. It was pretty good!

Thursday was entirely unremarkable, except for one thing. As usual for me, I stayed home for Halloween and did not do a damn thing. Where I live doesn't get a lot of trick or treaters, but I kid you not, TWO trick or treaters showed up, and they were together. I can't believe it these days... when I was a kid things were certainly different.

Friday. I got Burger King for a meal. I went to the location near downtown Clermont as it was completely rebuilt. Then again my issues with the location wasn't with the building, but the employees. At least on this occasion, the employees were fine. Some of the customers, though... they were trash. There also were a pair that I'll describe in appearance as “redneck hipsters”. Whether or not they could be such a thing, I do not know.

Saturday was the one day of note for me. For dinner I went to Target to eat at their Pizza Hut Express. Hey, at least it's a cheap meal. It was actually a rainy day, too. I don't really remember one rainy day at all in October. After that I returned to a place I've been a few times before, World of Beer. This time, my time there was less than ideal. Yeah, it was because of sports fans! I am talking about those that are loudmouth loathsome louts. Of course they were all interested in the huge Florida vs. Georgia football game; that contest is always a big feud and a major deal. It doesn't mean that you have a right to be a loud rude A-hole; at least that's how I feel. I tried to ignore it as I consumed something I did not know was a thing... hard root beer! It was alcoholic root beer and it was really tasty. It was from Sprecher Brewery of Wisconsin, the same cats that make all those tasty sodas I like to drink. At least that make the trip there worthwhile... that and seeing an old extremely intoxicated man stumbling around, having difficulty finding the men's room, and once he did, he almost literally fell down drunk. He was there with other people who weren't as obliterated, thank goodness.

Sunday, I stayed in. The Bears don't play until tonight; there's a game I am not expecting them to win at all. I did hear quite the story from a neighbor that has his ear to the ground and knows all the neighborhood gossip... and it's a really big neighborhood too. Turns out, in a house that is less than a 10 minute walk from where I live, the FBI and the SWAT team came by and arrested some people! The crime they are accused of: impersonating police officers and robbing people. No kidding.

For the upcoming week, not a lot is planned yet, but I am expecting it to be more action-packed than this past week. I will post it next Monday even though it is Veterans Day.