What an up and down week I had. Monday the 13th I did nothing of note, but Tuesday was a different story. I went to a Walmart to get a few items. That went fine, although even a simple trip like that resulted in me dealing with rather horrid drivers on the road... including one guy that obviously wasn't paying attention and almost crashed! Wednesday, I went with someone to a restaurant; I decided on Carrabba's as I hadn't been there in months. The place was surprisingly busy but that is OK, and we both enjoyed our food.
Thursday, that was not a good day; it started off on a bad note. It was a bunch of little things... as I've said before, there are plenty of people in Florida who are just incompetent and can't do their job correctly. There was more than one case of that on this day, and I was unhappy about that. I ended up in Orlando for something. After that I went to Disney Springs again, which wasn't the plan but that is OK. For the second time I ate at the new version of Planet Hollywood and that went fine as I also had a strawberry milkshake and that was a good choice. I then returned to that outlet mall I was at the week before. I did not purchase anything this time but at least I went into some stores I did not go in the first time so it was not a total loss.
Friday and Saturday... sadly they were also poor days, and that is quite unfortunate as there were pretty good moments involving the playing of games. I'll get to the positives after I mention all the negatives surrounding Free Play Florida, an event I've attended since they started doing them a few years ago. You pay a flat fee and you get to play a bunch of old pinball tables and arcade machines. I never have liked the location it is held at (DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Orlando at Sea World) for a number of reasons, some of which I've mentioned before. Having to pay for parking is always an issue, and as I don't care for most of the food options there... Friday I got mad because I ate at one of their bars. The food was fine but they were woefully understaffed. Idiots, it's not like this is the first FPF there so you had no idea how busy it'd be! Then again, the person working the bar wasn't too good at their job, to be frank. I tipped appropriately.
Saturday, what a day, and what a statement I was told. I paid for a weekend pass (even though I was only going to be there two of the three days) so I could help them out a tiny bit. Well, I had done that before and via a lanyard I was given, there was the proof I paid for the weekend pass. This year, on Friday I was given a wristband but that was fine with me; I'd just get another one on the other day I was there. Note that it is not something like Disney's Magic Band; rather, it's one of those cheap wristbands you have to wear if you go to, say, a club in downtown Orlando. Now, note that this year I had to pay SEVENTY dollars for the pass (no lie), so I was not too happy when I went to get a new wristband and the people there were absolutely indignant I still did not have Friday's wristband on.
Yes, apparently I wasn't supposed to use logic there and instead I was supposed to keep it on at all times! I was in disbelief, so much so that I did not tell them off as I really should have. I'd love to hear those bozos try to explain to me how I was supposed to take a shower with that on. I know I couldn't have been the only one either... I was irate at how stupid the whole situation was; I was lucky I was even allowed in. Between that and parking... in the past, if you attended the event you told the stooge at the gate this, and after paying 5 bucks you were allowed in. This year, no one was there on Friday and it was free. No one was there on Saturday when I arrived so I got a pass. On the way out a stooge was there and I stuck it into the machine to pay for it, and the ticket did not work. Not even the stooge could get it to work so I was allowed to leave without paying a cent. Good thing, too; I have no idea what I actually had to pay, except it could have been as much as EIGHTEEN dollars. I hope you can see with all that went down on Saturday, why as of now I plan on never going to Free Play Florida or that rotten hotel ever again.
All that is a shame, as even with the big issues and several little ones, I had fun playing the random pinball tables and some arcade ones. It's always different machines so that was nice. This year, there were some giant-sized arcade machines; I played a 1983 vector graphics version of Star Wars; it was cool. Via a conversation I overheard on Friday night while eating dinner, some of the 70's tables were quite rare, such as Strange World, Space Lab and Cybernaut. Even with the crowds it was fun, so Thursday through Saturday being three bad days in a row was quite unfortunate and I wish the days overall would have been solid.
Sunday, I paid no attention to the Bears game. I figured they'd lose to the Detroit Lions and I was correct. They're too inept, especially when it comes to coaching. As I did nothing on Sunday, the day went fine. When I return next week, knock on wood I won't have to deal with such shocking stupidity and incompetence; I do have some plans set in stone and barring catastrophe that won't let me down.
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