Fighting Illini Basketball, Gonzaga & Frosty's Christmastime Lounge

Here's what I've done in the past week. On Monday the 20th, I went with that parent and their friend to another restaurant. This time it was something different; it was the Macaroni Grill, which was a good call as they always make a tasty pizza. In the evening I watched Illinois State basketball play on ESPN. It was in the “lesser” NIT Tournament, even though ISU belonged in the NCAA Tournament, really. But, they did not help their cause when they lost by one point to UCF, of all teams. It was at ISU, so I wasn't at the game live. While there was a controversial call at the end, ISU had a big lead earlier so they blew it. I then saw the University of Illinois play in the NIT against Boise State. Illinois won, and thus the Fighting Illini played at the UCF Knights on Wednesday night.

Tuesday night was the last night that friend was in town, so we ended up eating at the local restaurant known as Oakwood Smokehouse & Grill. They make good food so I should go there more frequently than I do. Wednesday, I saw Illinois play at UCF. I actually had never been in the CFE Arena, which opened around 10 years ago. It's a nice-enough building for basketball. The building was pretty full and while there were some Illinois fans, the loud UCF fans drowned them out. The Illini tried to make a comeback after being down big early but the Knights still won 68-58.

I'll briefly note that I had another bad Florida traffic incident... it involved a guy who I thankfully was able to get around on a 2 lane rural road, but it was only after I passed them that I realized they were a drunk driver. Otherwise, 911 would have been talking to me ASAP. Yet another “fun” moment dealing with the atrocious traffic down here.

Anyhow, Friday was a lot more interesting than what I was expecting. At sort of the last minute, I decided it was the time to return to downtown Orlando. I hadn't been there at night since last June. Unfortunately that was the night of the Pulse nightclub shooting... you can probably understand how that's been stuck in my mind since then. But finally I returned. When I was in the area a month ago (during a late afternoon) I passed by a bar/club which I had never heard of before and it sounded so wacky, I knew I had to try it out soon. That's what I did, after I stopped by another random place for a bit. I went to a British-themed place known as the Underground Public House. It was a typical place and it was fine as I had one drink there.

Then, I went to the place that caught my eye a month ago. When you find out there's a bar/club which is Christmas themed every day of the year and it's named Frosty's Christmastime Lounge, it was a must visit for me. Thankfully, it was as entertaining as I had hoped. The expected decorations were all over the place, there was a fake fireplace on an LCD screen, there was even fake snow from time to time... a few of the televisions even played Christmas films. The first one was Office Christmas Party, which I had no interest in. But, after that it was Die Hard, which made me pretty happy. I watched the big basketball game on TV, which was Wisconsin against Florida. Florida won in an improbable manner in overtime; I spent more time there than expected but that's alright, as it was such a wacky and fun place. I'll definitely be back there sometime in the future.

Saturday and Sunday I did nothing. I was OK with that arrangement. I did watch some college basketball on TV. It reminds me, the last time I mentioned how at Twin Peaks there was a drunken oaf who asked me who I picked to win the big tournament. I am not an avid watcher but the team I picked was Gonzaga. It's not the most conventional of picks as they're a smaller time who had never made it to the final four teams. This jerk loudly laughed at me. Now, I feel like giving him the finger if I ever saw him again... then again he was probably too wasted to even remember the incident. Gonzaga made it to the Final Four, along with perennial contender North Carolina, Oregon (who hadn't made it that far since 1939) and South Carolina, whose presence here is a shock to everyone. This year the tournament is quite bizarre but I will at least gloat about Gonzaga.

When I return a week from today... a lot is in the air, I'll put it that way. I know I'll have something to talk about, for sure.

Kong: Skull Island, Restaurant Journeys & Awkward Moments

Here's what I've done since Monday the 13th. I did nothing on the 13th itself but on Tuesday, I went and finally saw Kong: Skull Island. I was able to see it at an Epic Theatres (a real small chain) where they have a discount each Tuesday, so watching it on a giant screen with less than 10 bucks was a solid deal to me. While it's not the classic from 1933, it's still pretty entertaining, and has plenty of solid or just plain cool moments. Unfortunately, the traffic on this day was horrendous. I haven't said much about the topic as of late; there have been some bad days there this year, and this was the worst of them. I won't go into detail, but there was a road rage incident with some Troglodyte, and I'd rather forget about that lunatic. Anyhow, I had dinner at a PDQ, a quick service restaurant I have praised often in the past. Thankfully one is finally about to open much closer to me... it'll be right in my town of Clermont. That makes me very happy.

Wednesday, I had dinner at a restaurant. Two weeks ago, one parent had a friend down here for a few days, and this past week, the other parent had their friend here for about a week. We ate at a local restaurant chain known as Gator's Dockside. I saw Illinois State University play in the “lesser” NIT tournament, where they won their first game. Their next game is tonight... against UCF, of all teams. Thursday, for several reasons us three ended up on International Drive. I told them several options for dinner and even though I made it clear it was a rustic version of Hooters, they wanted to eat at Twin Peaks, so that is what we did. It turned out awkward. As the place sometimes does, the outfits the girls were is not the traditional shorts and small plaid top, but rather lingerie or underwear! Definitely awkward. Thankfully, they both enjoyed the food they ordered. It sounds like a gag, but I actually do enjoy the food they serve there.

Friday... I returned to Twin Peaks, this time on my own. They now offer wings; I had the boneless ones, and they were good. What wasn't good was there being some loud drunken tools around (the big college basketball tournament just started that Thursday), which I tried to ignore... but one of them tried talking to me about it and that ended when I honestly told him who I picked to win the whole tournament (it wasn't an obvious choice like Kentucky or Duke or North Carolina) and he just about wet his pants laughing. I did not call him a fat drunken slob-which he was-as it was not even worth my time. That pig thankfully said nothing else to me... in a future entry I'll mention if my pick was correct or not. It probably won't be but trust me it was not as outlandish as chubby thought it was. Anyhow, after I left there I went to the nearby Sugar Factory, where I had a tasty shake.

Speaking of basketball, some games of the big NCAA tournament were in Orlando; I could have gone to it, but when the tickets online were at a good price, I was not feeling 100 percent and was dead tired also. Eh, oh well... like I said recently, soon will be Wrestlemania weekend and that will cost some cash. I do know that this year I'll be at some Tampa Bay Rays games... and for the first time down here, some minor league baseball games too.

Saturday, I went to the local Steak 'N Shake as that's where the other two wanted to go. Some of the people there were real winners... as in, I questioned if they were all there mentally. Sunday, I relaxed, which was fine. When I return a week from today, I do have a few things in mind for what I'll be doing.

Longhorn Cows, Food Poisoning & I Talk Professional Wrestling

Here's what I've done since Monday the 6th. I did nothing on the 6th itself. The 7th was more interesting. My parents had a family friend visiting from the northern part of Florida. He was here for part of the past week. On Tuesday we ended up at Disney Springs; I was wary of being there as this week is Spring Break for what I believe at a decent number of colleges and universities. Thankfully it was not as hellaciously busy as I expected. We decided to eat at the Lava Lounge, which is an outdoor yet covered area that is connected to The Rainforest Cafe; I've been both to that and several different Rainforest Cafe locations across the United States. They make tasty food so it was a good idea to eat there. On the way back home I saw a bizarre sight. While this was on a rural road, in no way was I expecting having to slow down because a longhorn cow was crossing the road; no lie. 

Wednesday, I went with someone to the local Chili's in town. That went fine... although I could have done without the incredibly loud and boorish young woman who was amazingly annoying, especially when she horse-laughed for like a minute straight and it was so LOUD everyone in the restaurant must have heard her. My theory concerning how the most irritating strangers are naturally attracted to me like moths to a flame... it still holds true. Thursday I did nothing. Friday I thought about going out and about so I could do something interesting in the evening. I then realized I should be more practical. There is a good reason why.

Sunday, April 2 is Wrestlemania 33, and the biggest wrestling show of the year is in Orlando at the former Citrus Bowl this year. While the show itself is something I couldn't care less about (the fact that it'll likely be at least SIX HOURS long is not good either), I should probably go to it anyhow. Plus, there are plenty of wrestling shows from smaller organizations that will be held in the area in the preceding few days, and I should go to at least one of those; which one(s), I have no idea yet, but point is, that will cost some dough. Saving money now would be a good idea. With any luck, I'll see people I literally have not seen in person in years.

Anyhow, what I did Friday instead was go to two stores in town. The one I'll mention is Kmart. I purchased some random food & drink there. I was hoping that'd be it for the day, but... late at night I suffered from a virulent cast of food poisoning. While I am not sure what it was I ate that caused it... I'll spare you the gory details of what happened during a pretty rough few hours. It was not pretty, that's for sure. Thankfully I felt better on Saturday-where I stayed at home and recovered-although I was dead tired. Sunday, I returned to the World of Beer, where I only had two drinks there. I then ate food at the local Wendy's before returning home.

When I return a week from today... I do have a few things in mind for what I'll be talking about; I need to see the new Kong movie, for example.

New Dentists, College Basketball & Maple Popcorn Shakes

Here's what I've done since Monday the 27^th. On February 27, it was a poor day overall. I went to a new dentist. Back in January I explained how my old dentist retired so some new guy took over the operation. Things happen, and it was decided that I'd go somewhere else instead. A neighbor recommended this place so it was decided that'd be the place to go. It is a nice modern place and I can't complain about the assistant who cleaned & examined my teeth nor the actual dentist herself... although for some reason, I ended up not being happy with how I had to sit in the dentist's chair for like a half hour by myself with no one coming back and no one telling me where everyone is or what's going on or what the delay was... I did not say anything about it but it was not the best first impression. Shame, as I otherwise had no issues. Sure, I have always been blessed with not the best body (including my teeth) and now some of my old dental work is starting to fall apart, which I am not happy about.... it's a day I'd like to forget about.

Tuesday, I did nothing but Wednesday I went to the local bank then to Walmart. That was standard. Thursday, I did something neat: I went to the Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot at Walt Disney World. There's always pretty scenery whenever they have that festival so I was happy to walk around and almost literally stop and smell the roses. There are also various food booths set up and I was delighted the one devoted to China brought back the candied strawberries, which are very good. Near Canada they offered something known as a “maple popcorn shake.” I had to try it as I was puzzled. It is a shake made with maple liquor and it is garnished with some maple popcorn kernels. Strange, but it was actually pretty good. For the first time in years, I went to the resort area right by Epcot, where they have several hotels, including the Yacht Club Resort, the Beach Club Resort, and the BoardWalk Inn. I ate at the ESPN Club there; they made decent food. So yeah, I got plenty of exercise via walking on this day.

Friday I did nothing but Saturday, I went to a place I hadn't been to in almost 2 months: the World of Beer, and it was the one right in town. I had some darker European beers as I saw Illinois State University play a conference tournament game against Southern Illinois University; ISU won by 13 but for much of the game it wasn't even that close. I then ate dinner at Jersey Mike's and had a beverage from a brand new Planet Smoothie that is next door. Sunday, I watched ISU at home as they lost the conference tournament championship to Wichita State. It'd be nice if Illinois State could still make the NCAA Tournament but it probably won't happen, so it'll be the lesser NIT instead. It wasn't the original plan but I went to Culver's for dinner and I brought home food as I saw parts of the Orlando City SC soccer game. They now have a new stadium which just opened. Sometime this year I'll visit it.

When I return a week from today... I have some ideas in mind as to what activities I'll be participating in.