26.2 Brew, Fruity Pepsi's & The Greatest Walmart Experience Ever

Last Monday the 22nd wasn't the best day overall by any means yet it contained the greatest moment I've ever experienced inside a Walmart; yes, even better than the time I was behind a woman who bought something like $634 worth of random items then piled it into an old conversion van... and topping the time when I saw several NUNS one random Sunday afternoon. A couple a little older than me were right in front of me checking out and they had two grocery carts jam full of crap. The man paid for both carts and the total was $908! Even better, this was paid with 10 one hundred dollar bills (!) and partly due to the cost, the couple suddenly started arguing with each other... loudly. Judging by the tenor of the conversation, I will presume they've had many loud arguments in the past and their relationship is rather rocky. But at least I can laugh at how absurd all of this was.

The rest of the week was rather quiet in comparison to Monday's madness. Tuesday I did nothing but Wednesday I went to the Florida Mall as I had free time and hadn't been there in awhile. It was largely the same as usual there and I picked up a drink for the drive back home. Thursday was dull so I'll skip to Friday. The destination was Davenport, another area I hadn't visited in a hot minute. There was a purpose to the trip: going to a Best Buy to pick up a new water filter for a refrigerator; I was helping out someone there. While in the area, I went into a bookstore (right next to a movie theatre; on the door was signs warning customers not to give Endgame spoilers) and in the lobby of the Cinepolis, the concession line was unsurprisingly long. Also, there was a Target and while in there, I realized there are three new limited edition Pepsi flavors, two of which they had there. I now know that Pepsi Mango tastes good, and I was happy Pepsi Lime returned. Now I have to find Pepsi Berry somewhere.

The weekend I was not going to do anything; plans changed so I had Saturday dinner at the local Buffalo Wild Wings. I've had an issue or two before with that place but my time there was fine. I used a giftcard given to me this past Christmas, so that was a win for me. I also discovered a beer from Boston that is now national, and until Saturday I had no knowledge of it being a thing. Would you believe there was a beer just for runners and spectators of the Boston Marathon? No kidding. 26.2 Brew is a wheat beer and it was a tasty-enough brew. Personally, I'd also like a drink or two if I had to run a marathon!

Nothing is on the agenda for the upcoming week, as of now. I was happy this past weekend that I don't live in Northern Illinois any longer as there was SNOW... yes, snow in late April. I better not mention that the temperatures down here reached a high of the 80's...

Missing Link, Rugby Union, Penguins, Tortoises & Vancouver Whitecaps

Monday through Wednesday weren't too terribly eventful. The only thing really worth mentioning (as I imagine no one is waiting for baited breath for me to mention that I went to a grocery store) is that I used the AMC A-List app to see a movie, Missing Link. This is my first Laika film... they are a stop-motion animation studio that has previous made Coraline, The Boxtrolls, ParaNorman, and Kubo & The Two Strings. Shame on me for not supporting a small studio doing an animation style that is not commonly done anymore as it seems like something I would naturally do. I did not love the movie but it was still pretty good and nice family entertainment which had beautiful, colorful animation and some nice lessons for the kids. Link isn't doing well at the box office so I was happy to support it and in the future I'll see Laika's other movies, which I understand are better and not as geared towards small children like Link was.

Thursday through Saturday I was busy. This included seeing the Disneynature movie Penguins in IMAX, borrowing someone's bike to ride on a rural state trail and I finally saw an Orlando City Soccer Club game where Orlando won the contest. First, the film: as I had heard, those Disneynature movies do craft an artificial story to be appealing and do not go hard on the scientific aspect. This was true with Penguins yet I'll still say it was fine overall... there were cute animals and the scenery was great to see on the big screen. On the bike path I saw other animals: butterflies, a variety of birds, and several tortoises & turtles. Past experiences on the James A. Van Fleet State Trail have included alligators and snakes.

Saturday was a very nice day: windy but the highs were only in the mid 70's. I figured it'd make sense to spend further time outdoors and this was done by attending an Orlando City SC Major League Soccer game. This was my third time seeing them live... in 2016 they tied the New York Red Bulls 1-1 and in '17 they lost to Toronto 3-1. This time they played against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Last year the team was atrocious so I actively avoided them. So far this year they are about average but it still an improvement; at least they are better than Vancouver. They did play better than Vancouver, yet could not score a goal. Finally, it happened in the final few minutes and I finally saw them win a game live, by a score of 1-0. Of course there were odious sports fans around... loudmouth buffoons are regrettably real common at professional sporting events. I tried my best to ignore them-between that and the awful traffic on the day before Easter, the day aside from the game I'd rather like to forget. Another 2019 mantra is looking to be: there will be too many bad days but even those might have some good moments. At least it was a nice day spent in a nice little stadium-where most of the fans were fine-and I'll have to return there sometime later in the year.

Sunday was Easter and I did nothing of note except relax; one of the programs I viewed on TV was a rugby union game. When I brought up that sport last time, I was referring to some rugby league games that are sometimes shown on Fox Soccer Plus. Well, yesterday I viewed a full game of rugby union. I won't get into the differences between union and league, but there are some major ones and Wikipedia can explain it to you. Which one I think is "better", I can't quite say as of yet. When I return a week from today, nothing is on my agenda... yet.

Growler USA, Rugby, Lacrosse, Tiger Woods & The Masters

This past week did have some different things to talk about. Monday the 8^th I visited a new bar/restaurant devoted to selling microbrewery beers. It was actually online advertising which told me that a new location of the Growler USA chain just opened in the city I live in. Yeah, you can have beers in large growlers but they also have regular glasses that at least are normal-sized. I could nitpick a few things... to be positive, the food was good and I can't complain about the interesting selection or the two beers I had. Tuesday, I had to go to a nearby town on what I'll call “official business” and that went fine; after that I stopped at Walmart to get a few items.

Tuesday evening, I saw parts of a niche sport's game on TV and saw all of another niche sport. A few minutes of a college lacrosse contest were viewed by me but the main event was a rugby game... a rugby league game, to be exact; I know there are differences between rugby league and rugby union. I had seen bits and pieces of prior contests but I figured it was time to see one from beginning to end. It was in the Australian league and the game was between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the South Sydney Rabbitohs; it wasn't until just recently that I discovered what a rabbitoh even is: an Australian who sells rabbits as food! Yikes. And Russell Crowe is a minority owner of the team. Anyhow, the game was exciting and it even went into their version of sudden overtime-the Sea Eagles were the winners.

Wednesday I did nothing but Thursday was more interesting. I returned to Disney, Epcot in particular. The tier of the annual pass that I have has some blacked out dates, including around Easter. That is fine with me as the blacked out dates are busy holiday days anyhow so I wouldn't want to be around there. Friday the 12^th was the last day for two weeks that I could go there and I wanted to experience the newest rendition of their International Flower & Garden Festival. As typical, there was nice scenery around and there were various food stands around so that was my dinner. As mentioned a plethora of times before, those stands also sell alcohol and plenty of people love getting hammered at Disney, even if it's a rather expensive way to get sloshed. Surprisingly, even though it was crowded

Friday through Sunday, I did go to various stores (including grocery) and I will not go into great detail here except to say that Sunday I did some things and went to some places I hadn't been to in years. I imagine some haters (who for some reason enjoy reading what I write each week despite their proclamations that they don't like me) will come up with not nice ideas as to what I am referring to here... no it is not that. I was out in public Sunday afternoon when Tiger Woods pulled off the incredible moment of winning The Masters. Him having all those mistresses back in the day turned off a lot of people-to me, he was just a typical celebrity-but I was shocked he won as his preceding decade was so rotten no one could have predicted he would win the most famous and legendary golf tournament for the first time in 14 years... people were watching the event on their phones and they were quite ecstatic when he won. Things did not go exactly as planned on Sunday (honestly, that is looking to be my mantra for 2019 even if I preferred it wouldn't be) yet I cannot complain overall.

When I return a week from today, as of now not too much is planned; I am at least happy I can relax on this Monday.

Pet Sematary, Texas Tech, Bret Hart & Not Watching Wrestlemania

Monday (April Fools' Day) I did nothing at all, which was an outcome I was satisfied with. Tuesday was different: I got a haircut which even more so than usual was much-needed. I mean, I realized that if I let my hair grow long enough, it becomes curly, which is how it was when I was a baby. I also went to the city of Leesburg to visit two stores, and I purchased items from both Ollie's Bargain Outlet and Rural King; the names of those establishments do a fine job of explaining what they are.

Wednesday I did nothing at all, although that day and Thursday I was all discombobulated for reasons I won't get into, nor will I explain why this month hasn't gotten off to the best start. Yes, “horrid traffic” is one of the reasons why. Thursday, I went into town for fast food and Friday I ended up at Target for a few items. The weekend was more interesting. Saturday night was insanity, right from home. Various big wrestling shows were happening in and around New York City, as this year's Wrestlemania is in the area this year. There was also the WWE Hall of Fame, where retired wrestler Bret Hart was on stage and for reasons unknown, a fan attacked him... before wrestlers and former UFC fighter Travis Browne literally bum-rushed the stage and laid a beating on him. Then, the college basketball Final Four was also on this evening, and I saw parts of both games, which proved to be close. Tonight is the final between Virginia and Texas Tech, two teams who surprisingly made it that far. I paid more attention to Live PD, which had some wild moments this episode, such as a guy fleeing on a motorcycle before crashing and somehow only suffering minor injuries. Late that night I watched most of an Australian Rules Football game between Western and Gold Coast; yes I still watch that.

Sunday, I went to a local cineplex to see the new Pet Sematary. Late in the week I viewed the original 1989 movie; it was fine and had some interesting themes in its dark story, although some things can be nitpicked, such as some of the acting. Fred Gwynne was the clear highlight with his performance as it was far better than most everyone else. Thus I was not offended when the movie got remade. The new version is also fine, although it has a different set of strengths and weaknesses, and as the trailers spoiled, there are big changes to the story. At least the acting is notably better as a whole. I could write for paragraphs as to why I don't watch modern pro wrestling but I do still follow what goes on online and once in awhile I see matches from my youth and I always listen to podcasts about the inside dirt of years long since passed... I'll just say the industry, the Cirque de Soleil-esque matches that are now commonplace and lack of good storytelling in storylines or in the ring have pushed me away and I know I am not the only one who feels that way.

No way would I watch Wrestlemania 35, and not just because I haven't watched WWE in years. It's because people know it would be way too long at SIXTEEN matches and the event went on for SEVEN and a half hours. From what I've heard, the main thought on the minds of those in attendance was not the memorable moments but rather how the show's length was brutal on everyone. Transportation was an issue as the buses and trains in the area were not operational by the time the marathon was finished... henceforth, I am happy not to have spent one second watching that garbage from a brutally inept company. Anyhow, when I return a week from today, the plans are to discuss me visiting a place or two for the first time.

The Godfather: Part II, The Karate Kid, Almdudler & Streaking

No, not me streaking! Rather, it was something I overheard when I was at the Glory Days bar in Lakeland on Friday night. I had a quick bite there along with something to drink after I purchased some soda from the nearby Rocket Fizz store. I happened to sit by two guys, one of whom was quite intoxicated. Drunky McGee was bragging to his buddy about how wild and crazy he was, including being eager to streak if asked! No thank you to that. I was at Glory Days once before in late '17 and it's a fine establishment. I saw parts of a few basketball games there and not all the outcomes were ones that I wanted. Still, at least the team I picked to win it all in my brackets (Michigan State) is one of the four left in the Final Four. Me picking them is definitely not an endorsement or me thinking that how they handled the whole Larry Nasser thing was acceptable...

Now, back to me speaking chronologically. Last Monday evening I went to a local outdoor mall. I went to Target for a few items then ended up at World Market, a place I've discussed before. The one item I purchased there was Almdudler, a drink I hadn't heard of before. It is a lemonade-like beverage from Austria and Almdudler is good. Tuesday, I had to make-you guess it-another airport run. This time it was picking someone up from Orlando International; I killed time at Disney Springs for a bit before making it to OIA. As I have stated before, at any time of day or night, traffic at OIA is quite bad as everyone there drives like they have no clue as to what they are supposed to do and it's just awful.

Wednesday night, I went to a local cineplex to see a classic film. In my life, I have watched all three Godfather films multiple times and the first two are legendary classics. The first one I saw theatrically almost a decade ago, and Wednesday night was the second one. For a movie 200 minutes long, it did not feel like a leg-numbing experience as many films that length are. I am happy I was able to see it that way. Thursday I did nothing but Friday, I went out to Lakeland, a town I hadn't been in for awhile. I already talked about the experience so let me mosey on over to talking about the weekend.

Saturday I stayed at home-Sunday was different. On that day I went and saw another retro film; this time it was The Karate Kid. Now there's a film I hadn't seen in I don't even know how long. It was still fun and the movie is more than just a few famous moments. If only the crowd would have been better... afterwards I had dinner at Chipotle. The first week of April, nothing's on the agenda yet and that's no April Fools' Day joke.