As I've said before I won't talk about my political beliefs in public as that can only lead to problems. Someone I know lost a friend on election night over whom they voted for. I can't believe that Trump actually won considering all the controversy he attracted. Then again, I know that Hillary had her share of controversy too... this election cycle has divided the country due to how ugly things became. I hope this country doesn't become more anarchic the next four years or we have some sort of catastrophe and I'll leave it at that.
Monday I did not do anything so let me skip ahead to Tuesday. I went to Epcot at Walt Disney World one last time to enjoy their Food & Wine Festival, which ended yesterday. I got some random food & drink and got some needed exercise. Some people were wearing political shirts, although most of those were for fictional characters, such as Forrest Gump, Mickey Mouse, Harry Potter & Weasley and my two favorite tickets, Beavis/Butthead and Picard/Riker. Wednesday I did not do anything but Thursday, I went with someone to the local Texas Roadhouse, which was an experience that went fine with no complications.
So, onto Friday. It was the return of a gaming weekend to Orlando; it is Free Play Florida, where you pay a flat fee and you get to play a bunch of old arcade games and pinball tables in a large conference room at a fancy hotel. It has always been a good time since I started going to those events a few years ago. It was another good time on this day. Some people I know were there but as they were busy playing games I wasn't able to say hello to them. It's all good, as I admit that playing games is much more important and interesting than chatting with me. One of my enemies was there too; he doesn't even deserve the dignity to be named. We ignored each other so that's all I'll say about that person. It was nice playing various tables for the first time, or returning to some old favorites. As before, the virtual pinball table was pretty neat too, as that literally gives you a few hundred tables you could play. If I had one at home, I'd never be seen in public again, but as those cost a few thousand bucks... maybe I should start playing the lottery more often.
Between real life and virtual, it was neat playing new and old tables... such as Ghostbusters (with the original characters, so don't freak out), The Walking Dead, the 1980's Rocky table, Back to the Future, Demolition Man, a surprisingly fun late 80's Monday Night Football table, and for laughter's sake, Johnny Mnemonic. Yes, they made a table based on that infamous movie. After I left there due to being hungry and exhausted, I had to try a few spots before I found a joint (Tilted Kilt) that wasn't jam-packed with people. It was not the best experience there between the rude/annoying people there and not so attentive service, but at least the food was good and I can wait a long while before returning due to all the food options that are within like a 50 mile radius of where I live.
Saturday, I did not return to Free Play Florida nor did I go out to see the big UFC pay per view, which because of stupid bureaucratic nonsense was held in a state (New York) that just legalized MMA earlier this year. Going to my second-ever NFL game and my first-ever Bears game meant that with a 1PM start, I better relax at home on Sunday due to having to leave in the morning. Being out late or being on my feet for hours would be a poor decision considering what I had to do on Sunday. So thus, that morning I made the drive over to Tampa to see the Chicago Bears play at the Tampa Bay Bucs at Raymond James Stadium, a place I had never been to before. The drive there was not as bad as expected, considering a good amount of it was on the much-reviled Interstate 4, which is known both for the number of wrecks that happen each day and how it's usually busy as heck. I appreciated the signs in Tampa warning of congestion and telling people going to the game which alternate routes to take to get there.
As for the stadium, it's been open for 18 years now so it's not uber-fancy like the most modern buildings but it does get the job done and the giant new video screens they added this year are pretty nice. I got the first parking spot I could find. It wasn't as expensive but boy, was the walk to the stadium and back rather lengthy. A free Bucs shirt was handed out to everyone, and I always appreciate such things. I sat in the upper deck and yet I can't complain as I still saw everything to a satisfying degree. The section I sat in was fine and I did not have to worry about idiots. I knew there would be plenty of Bears fans around but even I was taken aback by how many there were. I got a good idea when I walked around the parking lot and saw all those tailgaters. I also got a heck of a tan, as the sun was shining on me for hours on end.
As for the game... I wish I could have seen one where the Bears-ok, mainly quarterback Jay Cutler-didn't play awfully. Tampa Bay is a young team that could be pretty good in the future... Chicago made it awfully easy for them to score 36 points, and the Bucs won 36-10. Aside from one spectacular if lucky play and a few decent moments, the Bears looked pretty bad. Just minutes ago, one of the best players on the team (Alshon Jeffery) got suspended for the next 4 games for being caught taking performance-enhancing drugs. Well, this season I guess he needed to take more of those as he hasn't been great and hardly did anything in this game. This was something I was glad I could do so I can cross it off the proverbial bucket list, but I wish the Bears weren't so bad; if they win another game this season and end up at 3-13 instead of 2-14, I'll be surprised.
I left the stadium and as it's Florida, a car almost crashed into me. I did not get back on Interstate 4 as that'd be utter chaos. Instead, I ate at a Burger Monger restaurant in Wesley Chapel. That was my first time at the famous Tampa-area franchise. I tried to go to one two years ago but there was a snafu so it didn't happen. They do make good food; not the best I've ever had, but good. As for when I return a week from today, nothing is on the agenda yet and the week shouldn't be action-packed like this one was, but I'll figure out something to do.
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