Here's what I've done since last Monday. On Monday the 17th I had free time. I ended up returning to I-Drive, and I-Drive 360 in particular. I have no good reason why but I finally went to the restaurant known as Yard House. As it was a bar/restaurant where they have a large selection of beer, I have no good explanation for prolonging my first visit. I can say that I'll be back in the future as they had happy hour so I got a tasty cheese pizza and a blackberry porter for not a lot of dough. In addition, they played older music and that is my jam. After that I walked across the street to a favorite haunt of mine, Twin Peaks. I had a drink there and it was the same goodness as usual. Sure, the traffic there and back was absolutely horrendous-some drivers were acting like they possessed rather low IQ-but my time in that area went well. Tuesday and Wednesday I did nothing, but Thursday was more interesting.
Thursday, it was 4/20. I did not celebrate the day but I know people who did; I'll leave it at that. I went to Orlando and the highlight I'll mention there is that in the past I had driven by a Duffy's Sports Grill many times and this was the time I finally ate at one. They are a fine sports bar and their food was tasty. Like with Yard House, I'll be back there in the future. Friday was dull (except for what I watched on TV) but Saturday I ended up at Disney Springs-where I walked around then had gelato-and Sunday was another day of relaxing. Staying in and not dealing with poor drivers is always fine with me.
What I started watching on TV... in the past I have enjoyed such things as COPS and World's Wildest Police Videos. It wasn't until relatively recently that I discovered Live PD was even a thing. I saw only a small amount of it on A&E but it wasn't until Friday that I finally gave it a shot. Oh why didn't I find out about this sooner? Some segments are pre-taped but otherwise it's live, with a short delay to bleep out names and that sort of thing. It's quite entertaining and it's always great to laugh at dumbass criminals.
When I return a week from today, I should have more to talk about, I promise.
Monday, April 24, 2017
Monday, April 17, 2017
Cheddar Biscuits, Gastropubs & The Fate Of The Furious
Here's what I've done since last Monday. On Monday the 10th I did nothing of note but Tuesday, I went to the Orlando International Airport in order to pick someone up. Their flight was delayed due to bad weather in the city where they landed for their connecting flight back to Orlando, but that wasn't a big burden to me. I had a tasty dinner at a Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen near the airport. Only because it was nearby, I walked on over to the Sun Gas station to pick up a beverage. Sun Gas and Suncoast Energys are infamous for being right by the airport and because they are massive A-holes, for years now they have charged like 5 bucks or more per gallon so they can rip off tourists driving rental cars back to the airport. I do apologize for giving one of those two any sort of money, even if it was a pittance. At least they have a cell phone lot which is nice and there is a display board stating when all the flights are coming in and at what time. Of course, you still have paint-sniffers parking on the shoulder of the main drag into the airport, because it's Florida.
Oh, and that person flew United; thankfully their flights were normal and weren't the battle royale that was a certain flight last Monday... and even know it was the same airport, one of the two flights did not have the incident which just happened where a couple on the way to their wedding were booted off; who knows for certain who is telling the truth but this has been the week from hell for United.
Wednesday was boring, but Thursday was different. I once again drove to near Tampa to see a film. I went to the brand new Goodrich Quality Theaters to see The Fate of the Furious on a giant screen. They are a small chain which is making their Florida debut here. It looks nice and there's a “gastropub” which I imagine makes good food but I only had a drink on this occasion... yet the concession prices don't include tax (and extra butter does cost extra) and the bathrooms should have been larger. I am not sure how oversights/decisions were made. As for Fate, the franchise has had its ups and down but I thought that most of them were at least fine, and some were a blast, despite being really stupid. This new movie was an entirely new level of stupid. The plot had so many holes and so many moments made zero sense, it ruined the film for me. Several bits were so bad and betrayed the franchise so flagrantly, I was offended. I know most won't feel this way, but I thought Fate was pretty awful. Heck, I thought xXx: Return of Xander Cage was much better at the sort of lunacy that Fast Five or Furious Six was than The Fate of the Furious.
Friday, I went with someone to the local Red Lobster (we don't go there often; me, I usually don't eat seafood. However, I do eat shrimp once in a long while, which is what I did here; I also had some of their famous cheddar biscuits) and Saturday I went to Hardee's as I only get food from there once in a blue moon. Easter Sunday, I relaxed. At least I had a ham dinner with a parent-as is tradition-and that was nice.
When I return a week from today... I don't know how many interesting things I'll be doing but I'll stumble into something, I am sure.
Oh, and that person flew United; thankfully their flights were normal and weren't the battle royale that was a certain flight last Monday... and even know it was the same airport, one of the two flights did not have the incident which just happened where a couple on the way to their wedding were booted off; who knows for certain who is telling the truth but this has been the week from hell for United.
Wednesday was boring, but Thursday was different. I once again drove to near Tampa to see a film. I went to the brand new Goodrich Quality Theaters to see The Fate of the Furious on a giant screen. They are a small chain which is making their Florida debut here. It looks nice and there's a “gastropub” which I imagine makes good food but I only had a drink on this occasion... yet the concession prices don't include tax (and extra butter does cost extra) and the bathrooms should have been larger. I am not sure how oversights/decisions were made. As for Fate, the franchise has had its ups and down but I thought that most of them were at least fine, and some were a blast, despite being really stupid. This new movie was an entirely new level of stupid. The plot had so many holes and so many moments made zero sense, it ruined the film for me. Several bits were so bad and betrayed the franchise so flagrantly, I was offended. I know most won't feel this way, but I thought Fate was pretty awful. Heck, I thought xXx: Return of Xander Cage was much better at the sort of lunacy that Fast Five or Furious Six was than The Fate of the Furious.
Friday, I went with someone to the local Red Lobster (we don't go there often; me, I usually don't eat seafood. However, I do eat shrimp once in a long while, which is what I did here; I also had some of their famous cheddar biscuits) and Saturday I went to Hardee's as I only get food from there once in a blue moon. Easter Sunday, I relaxed. At least I had a ham dinner with a parent-as is tradition-and that was nice.
When I return a week from today... I don't know how many interesting things I'll be doing but I'll stumble into something, I am sure.
Monday, April 10, 2017
Bike Trails, Incompetent People & Even More Car Chaos
Oh, what a week this was for me. I won't go into details but I had to deal with too many stupid people. I am not talking about some people I know who I interacted with during this time span; I am cool with them. Rather, it was mainly either some atrocious people in restaurant type settings (thankfully some of them were at least fine) or traffic that was even worse than usual. Monday the 3rd, I ended up at two different spots to see the big college basketball championship game between Gonzaga and North Carolina. I was hoping Gonzaga would win and not just because I picked them beforehand. After a bowling shoe ugly (to borrow a phrase) game, North Carolina won. I was at two places because the World of Beer closed early, which I was not delighted by either. I then was at the Applebee's in town, where I had cheap food and some drink.
Tuesday, another calamity happened with my ride... a flat tire! It happened as I had to go do something in Orlando. I drove on the flat probably longer than I wanted to, but my destination was close by and otherwise I probably would have had to stop in “a bad neighborhood.” A kind soul I know helped me put a spare on and the next day a brand new tire was bought. I'd rather forget about this day in general. Wednesday was dull but Thursday I returned to Orlando. The highlight was getting a few random items from a Trader Joe's. Friday, I did do something nice. I am not just referring to the food trucks in my city of Clermont but also, before that I was able to use someone's bicycle and I biked a few miles on a rural trail out in the middle of nowhere known as the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail. I've been on it a couple of times before, way back when. In the past I have seen such critters as alligators, tortoises, various birds & butterflies, and even some snakes. On this occasion I saw tortoises, birds, and butterflies. While I felt it afterwards, it was nice to get some exercise and see nice scenery when the weather was not too warm.
Saturday and Sunday were dull for me. I do have to mention that I have seen parts of some Australian football games. The Australian Football League started up their new season a few weeks ago, which made me happy. I also saw parts of a few baseball games; that season just started. It provided for some nice entertainment while watching television. I could rant and rave about how most programming on TV these days is mindless and worthless garbage, but I'll save that for another time. Saturday, I got pizza from Pizza Hut and Sunday, I did not do anything of note. When I return a week from today, I hopefully will have a little more to talk about... being able to talk about more positive things & not having any further vehicle troubles would be nice also.
Tuesday, another calamity happened with my ride... a flat tire! It happened as I had to go do something in Orlando. I drove on the flat probably longer than I wanted to, but my destination was close by and otherwise I probably would have had to stop in “a bad neighborhood.” A kind soul I know helped me put a spare on and the next day a brand new tire was bought. I'd rather forget about this day in general. Wednesday was dull but Thursday I returned to Orlando. The highlight was getting a few random items from a Trader Joe's. Friday, I did do something nice. I am not just referring to the food trucks in my city of Clermont but also, before that I was able to use someone's bicycle and I biked a few miles on a rural trail out in the middle of nowhere known as the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail. I've been on it a couple of times before, way back when. In the past I have seen such critters as alligators, tortoises, various birds & butterflies, and even some snakes. On this occasion I saw tortoises, birds, and butterflies. While I felt it afterwards, it was nice to get some exercise and see nice scenery when the weather was not too warm.
Saturday and Sunday were dull for me. I do have to mention that I have seen parts of some Australian football games. The Australian Football League started up their new season a few weeks ago, which made me happy. I also saw parts of a few baseball games; that season just started. It provided for some nice entertainment while watching television. I could rant and rave about how most programming on TV these days is mindless and worthless garbage, but I'll save that for another time. Saturday, I got pizza from Pizza Hut and Sunday, I did not do anything of note. When I return a week from today, I hopefully will have a little more to talk about... being able to talk about more positive things & not having any further vehicle troubles would be nice also.
Monday, April 3, 2017
E15, Pro Wrestling, Car Troubles, Life & Weird Bearded Dudes
Here's what I've done in the past week. Monday the 27th, I ended up going to Lakeland, a city about an hour south that I have been to plenty of times in the past. I went to a movie theatre to see the film Life (it was not the best film but I still found it to be entertaining) and I went to a few locations in that same shopping plaza, including a special express version of a Florida chain known as Beef O'Brady's... and I also got some unique gasoline. It's been a hot-button issue and there are many conflicting claims through the years, but I'll trust the EPA (I know, it's always risky to trust the federal government) when they say that E15 gasoline (not to confused with E85; if you put it in a car that isn't a flex fuel vehicle, you'll damage your vehicle) is fine for passenger vehicles made in the 21st century, so I filled up about half a tank with that fuel. While I had a car issue the next night, it was just a coincidence and my ride operated the same as before. “Because it's new in this area” is the reason why I tried it out, although it's only in a few random locations around the central part of Florida, so I only plan on infrequently filling up with that.
The car issue I had... the battery died! The local dealership confirmed that the battery going dead was the only issue, thankfully. It could have been something far more expensive to fix. It at least happened at a place where it could easily be jump-started and I could make it home. I was at Universal Studios to experience CityWalk, as I hadn't been there since early November. It was largely the same as before. I went in the Pat O'Brien's restaurant/bar, which I had never actually been in, even though I've been to CityWalk many times since 2003. It's a nice-enough place. I need to go there in the future so I can have a drink and also some food. It was when I got to the car and tried starting it that the battery went to hell. They have security guards in golf carts driving around the parking garages so I flagged one down; that young woman called in someone who had a portable jump-starter. They hooked it up and the car started. Thankfully I was able to make it home with no problem.
Wednesday and Thursday were dull as dishwater. Friday, though... as stated before this is Wrestlemania weekend, as this year the big show is in Orlando. Turns out, I did not go to Wrestlemania itself. The cost was too much and I could not find any freebie tickets. Then again, I have never been less interested in WWE and the card for the show does not really interest me. I mean, I did not even watch the show live on the WWE Network, that's how little I cared about it. Who knows when I'll get around to watching it. Because I had to be in Orlando Friday afternoon for something, that was why I decided to attend EVOLVE Wrestling, as it wasn't far away for me. As Wrestlemania crowds (they have those shows in football stadiums and while the announced attendances are greatly inflated, the legit attendances are always at least 60,000 people; last year at almost 100,000 was an outlier) are mainly people who come from out of town or state or country, many small independent shows like EVOLVE hold events. It's been a tradition for years now but this year it finally became oversaturation as there are too many shows and not enough people who want to see enough of them.
As for EVOLVE, I expected it to be a show where sometimes it went against my wrestling beliefs. I am a bitter old man when it comes to wrestling. I do prefer how it was done in the past compared to now, where it seems like it's more about big moves, death-defying moments, obviously choreographed segments and overkill rather than telling compelling stories or being thrilling without almost legit hurting your opponent. There is a segment of the wrestling fandom that digs it, though... all that said, it doesn't mean I can't enjoy it or be entertained by the spectacle. I did find it entertaining and it was nice to see some big names in that scene live and in person for the first time. I also saw some people there I knew from attending shows way back when; I only had the chance to talk to one of them. As for the type of fan that goes to shows like these... for a long while I thought they were annoying, but in recent years I gathered from looking at various websites and also Twitter that those people became downright smug and insufferable. This proved to be the case; I could have done without all the dumb tools there, but maybe that's just me. When I say that some of those people actually make ME look somewhat normal in comparison... if you attend shows like this, expect the crowd to be mainly filled with young adult males who may or may not be overweight, and may or may not be sported a natty beard.
Saturday and Sunday, I did nothing. I did not feel like attending any further wrestling shows. I felt like staying at home and relaxing instead. There are various local wrestling shows that I'll attend in the future (as they're local to Florida); it's just getting motivated to drive out to one in the future. The Wrestlemania show itself, from hearsay I am glad I did not spend 7 hours (no, the time is not an exaggeration) outdoors watching a meh show.... and because they are A-holes, WWE has done what WWE has done for the past several Wrestlemanias and had way too many of the seats have obstructed views due to poor staging and they obviously don't care about screwing over who knows how many thousands of fans (there was also an issue during a match where blinding lights were used for an effect, but it blinded most of the lower bowl of the stadium), so not giving them a lot of money is fine with me.
On another platform (hopefully) sometime soon, I'll talk more about wrestling and why I don't go to shows anymore, for those that care about such esoteric things. At least for the rest of the year I'll have enough dough to attend a variety of sporting and entertainment events, some of them maybe new to me. When I return a week from today, I should have a few things to talk about, but hopefully things won't be as chaotic as this past week was.
The car issue I had... the battery died! The local dealership confirmed that the battery going dead was the only issue, thankfully. It could have been something far more expensive to fix. It at least happened at a place where it could easily be jump-started and I could make it home. I was at Universal Studios to experience CityWalk, as I hadn't been there since early November. It was largely the same as before. I went in the Pat O'Brien's restaurant/bar, which I had never actually been in, even though I've been to CityWalk many times since 2003. It's a nice-enough place. I need to go there in the future so I can have a drink and also some food. It was when I got to the car and tried starting it that the battery went to hell. They have security guards in golf carts driving around the parking garages so I flagged one down; that young woman called in someone who had a portable jump-starter. They hooked it up and the car started. Thankfully I was able to make it home with no problem.
Wednesday and Thursday were dull as dishwater. Friday, though... as stated before this is Wrestlemania weekend, as this year the big show is in Orlando. Turns out, I did not go to Wrestlemania itself. The cost was too much and I could not find any freebie tickets. Then again, I have never been less interested in WWE and the card for the show does not really interest me. I mean, I did not even watch the show live on the WWE Network, that's how little I cared about it. Who knows when I'll get around to watching it. Because I had to be in Orlando Friday afternoon for something, that was why I decided to attend EVOLVE Wrestling, as it wasn't far away for me. As Wrestlemania crowds (they have those shows in football stadiums and while the announced attendances are greatly inflated, the legit attendances are always at least 60,000 people; last year at almost 100,000 was an outlier) are mainly people who come from out of town or state or country, many small independent shows like EVOLVE hold events. It's been a tradition for years now but this year it finally became oversaturation as there are too many shows and not enough people who want to see enough of them.
As for EVOLVE, I expected it to be a show where sometimes it went against my wrestling beliefs. I am a bitter old man when it comes to wrestling. I do prefer how it was done in the past compared to now, where it seems like it's more about big moves, death-defying moments, obviously choreographed segments and overkill rather than telling compelling stories or being thrilling without almost legit hurting your opponent. There is a segment of the wrestling fandom that digs it, though... all that said, it doesn't mean I can't enjoy it or be entertained by the spectacle. I did find it entertaining and it was nice to see some big names in that scene live and in person for the first time. I also saw some people there I knew from attending shows way back when; I only had the chance to talk to one of them. As for the type of fan that goes to shows like these... for a long while I thought they were annoying, but in recent years I gathered from looking at various websites and also Twitter that those people became downright smug and insufferable. This proved to be the case; I could have done without all the dumb tools there, but maybe that's just me. When I say that some of those people actually make ME look somewhat normal in comparison... if you attend shows like this, expect the crowd to be mainly filled with young adult males who may or may not be overweight, and may or may not be sported a natty beard.
Saturday and Sunday, I did nothing. I did not feel like attending any further wrestling shows. I felt like staying at home and relaxing instead. There are various local wrestling shows that I'll attend in the future (as they're local to Florida); it's just getting motivated to drive out to one in the future. The Wrestlemania show itself, from hearsay I am glad I did not spend 7 hours (no, the time is not an exaggeration) outdoors watching a meh show.... and because they are A-holes, WWE has done what WWE has done for the past several Wrestlemanias and had way too many of the seats have obstructed views due to poor staging and they obviously don't care about screwing over who knows how many thousands of fans (there was also an issue during a match where blinding lights were used for an effect, but it blinded most of the lower bowl of the stadium), so not giving them a lot of money is fine with me.
On another platform (hopefully) sometime soon, I'll talk more about wrestling and why I don't go to shows anymore, for those that care about such esoteric things. At least for the rest of the year I'll have enough dough to attend a variety of sporting and entertainment events, some of them maybe new to me. When I return a week from today, I should have a few things to talk about, but hopefully things won't be as chaotic as this past week was.
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