Susuru, Ashfall, Kobe Bryant & A Sad Anniversary

As January winds down, I've realized that this month has not been great for me or some people I know. One person is now suffering from a virus right after they started to recover from a gastrointestinal issue. I've not always felt like myself this month, and I am hoping that February is better and things can return to a state of normalcy. Monday I did nothing but Tuesday I had free time so I went on a little journey and viewed a Korean movie called Ashfall. It was not a wild adventure like The Good, The Bad, The Weird or a dark intense ride like I Saw the Devil; rather, it was like one of those 70's disaster movies which China has been making a lot of as of late. The movie's way of stopping a volcano that has been activated by earthquakes? Why, detonate A NUCLEAR BOMB in a mine shaft right by said volcano! Neil Degrasse Tyson should never know of this movie but to me it was silly fun and of course there was melodrama and such Korean tropes as a pregnant lady and a crying child. I had a pizza meal right by the cineplex so the day was fine overall even if the traffic there and back was worse than usual.

I did nothing on Wednesday so let's skip ahead to Thursday. That evening, I went to a restaurant I found out about awhile ago but finally had the time and motivation to visit. It is a unique spot in Orlando known as Susuru; it's an izakaya restaurant... as I know only the types that love anime and manga will know what I'm talking about, it's an informal Japanese bar where booze and snack-sized portions of food are offered. This one in particular is retro-themed, meaning the interior is covered w/ wood, most of the chairs are converted beer crates, and vintage ads/toys/posters are all over the place. The aesthetic is pretty awesome and the food was good. One day I definitely will return.

I do have to end this on a somber note. The only other day I'll discuss is Sunday. I went to the city of Inverness as that day was the 1st anniversary of someone I know passing away; I talked about it early last year as I attended her visitation. I have known her, her sibling and parent for years from back in the day when I used to attend local wrestling shows so as I had to attend their visitation, when there was an informal get-together at a Dunkin' Donuts, it was something I had to attend. Several others attended and of course I won't share what was discussed but I unfortunately hadn't seen that sibling or parent in a year. Shame on me, and it won't be another year until I see them again. Dunkin' Donuts had a TV tuned to a Tampa news station and imagine my shock when I randomly looked at it and saw the Kobe Bryant news. I haven't paid much attention to the NBA since Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls but that was horrible news; 9 people passing away in such a manner will always hit me hard. I do not know if I ever brought it up years ago... one day in the future I'll explain why you'll probably never see me on a helicopter again. Anyhow, on the way back home I stopped at a Walmart for a few items and I had dinner at a Hardee's.

When I return a week from today... hopefully I will have cheerier topics to discuss and the health of various people finally improve.

Underwater, Margaritaville, Black Cherry Soda & microSDXC Cards

The preceding week was less eventful than expected. In part, this was due to someone I know experiencing bad health at the time; it was nothing serious, don't worry. It was a serious form of stomach flu that became better once they went to the doctor's office and received medication. People I know have had worse medical scares as of late, including some guy I know from a messageboard needing emergency surgery for his stomach issues. I am glad that everyone is fine now. What I did do was visit a few stores to help assist the person I know who was incapacitated at the time. It also allowed me to buy some black cherry soda, which was a wise idea on my part.

At least I do have a few other things to discuss. Monday I went to the cineplex to see Underwater. I heard some rave reviews and as I've seen some of the many 1989 B-movies that were underwater creature features (like Leviathan and DeepStar Six) it seemed worth a shot. The movie was... fine. It is not a must-see but the movie was not bad as it offered enough entertainment value for me. After that I went to a nearby Rock & Brews to see parts of the college football championship game between LSU and Clemson; the latter being in the championship game AGAIN was not appealing to me but I had a feeling LSU was the better team and well, they were. I had food & drink and both were tasty. 

Before I skip ahead all the way to Sunday, I will once again bring up what was known in the past as an MP3 player and is now commonly referred to as a Digital Audio Player. The one I have is something random I found on Amazon and isn't something high end like Astell & Kern or Pioneer, yet that is OK; as mentioned before, it can play lossless audio files too (at least some of those formats, not all), meaning files that are higher quality than MP3. There is a slot for microSD cards and well, I do need one as I've put plenty of CD's on there and I've also downloaded tracks from online... only legally, of course. It was the first time I've used a microSD card, believe it or not. I've still had no issues with that player, thank heavens. Having both music and podcast audio on there, being able to listen in the vehicle and multiple other locations: I am happy I made this purchase.

Now, onto Sunday. I only saw parts of the two NFL conference championship games; I was happy to see Kansas City and San Francisco win. The former hadn't been to a Super Bowl in 50 years and better San Francisco win than Green Bay... no offense, Packers fans; even I can admit that Aaron Rodgers is such a great talent, he should have been to more than one Super Bowl in his long career. Anyhow, I went to Universal Studios CityWalk as I hadn't been there in a few months. Things hadn't changed; the first restaurant I wanted to eat at was busy so instead I went to Margaritaville where I consumed a beverage along with the excellent food known as their Cheeseburger in Paradise. They made among the best burgers I've ever had. Besides that I just walked around & enjoyed the nice cool weather on this night.

Next Monday, I already have plans to just have more to talk about as I will be engaging in more activities.

Mecum, Bullitt, Zagato Perana, Penne Pasta, 1917 & Saltwater Taffy

The preceding week definitely had some interesting moments. Monday, I ended up at the local Lucky's Market and purchased a few items, chiefly some saltwater taffy; you bag it yourself so you can pick from a variety of flavors and I chose a nice mix. Taffy usually tastes good and this was the case here. Tuesday, I got a haircut and yea, it was long overdue. Wednesday was the most intriguing day. As has become tradition now, I attend the Mecum auto auction in Kissimmee. Several thousand cars are sold each year so it's the largest auction of its kind in the world. Parking was not as much a cluster as last year but it was still a mess compared to previous years. 

As typical, there were many muscle cars for sale and those relics from the 60's and early 70's are always neat to look at. Although, it's also neat looking at the wide variety of different vehicles, from a rare 6 wheel Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV to an AMC Pacer, John Wayne's 70's Ford pickup truck, a 40's Jeep used on the show M*A*S*H, an obscure Italian/South African car known as the Zagato Perana (which is on a Corvette body), million dollar rides from the likes of McLaren and Porsche... but the star car was the only one encased in a glass both and always had a security guard nearby. Feared missing for years, recently the Ford Mustang from the 1968 classic Bullitt that was the one used most in a legendary car chase scene... it was made public as it was privately owned for decades and the family decided to sell it. The car sold for 3.74 million dollars on Friday! While I was there I had dinner at one of their food booths; it offered Italian food and while everything was prepared beforehand, I had the penne pasta and it at least filled my stomach.

Thursday through Saturday I really did nothing of note so I'll skip ahead to Sunday. I had free time so instead of focusing on the NFL (as blergh) I saw a movie. Before that I ate at a Wingstop, which was popular so it took a little longer than expected but the food was still tasty and there was still plenty of time for me to arrive at the cineplex and check out 1917. It's a World War I movie that sounded intriguing, and that was even before I heard it was made to look like one long take and was (almost) in real time. Thankfully I found the movie to be excellent, one of the best in 2019. The way it was filmed made the whole experience incredibly intense as it always seemed like a German soldier could be hiding anywhere, ready to kill the two soldiers tasked with delivering a message that will prevent 1,600 soldiers from an ambush. The Oscar nominations that were announced this morning had some questionable decisions but 1917 receiving so many nods-including Best Picture-is deserved.

I have a few ideas concerning what I'll be discussing when I return next Monday.

Ruby Red Squirt, Chicken Fries, Texas Prison Rodeos & Claendars

There is a reason why I misspelled “Calendar”, which I'll explain at the very end.

The preceding week had only one interesting day of note, although I do have several stories to tell. Ruby Red Squirt (which I remember having somewhere a long time ago) was one of the sodas that I picked up when I was at a Walmart in Kansas... as has become customary. It was purchased as it was way in the past that it was sold in Florida so might as well get something unique, right? I did not do too much besides Monday and Sunday, unless people want to hear about me visiting Target, get food from establishments in town or note how I was disrespected by an employee at the local Chipotle (long story; I wasn't in the position to argue or tell him how rude his behavior was). I was not 100% for the entire week although I thankfully was back to normal by the time the weekend rolled around. Via a coupon I did pay only 3 bucks for chicken fries and a large order of regular fries, which were not the best... but it was only $3. 

Monday was one of the days that I used a giftcard I received for Christmas; it was for Buffalo Wild Wings so that is where I went... only it wasn't the one a few miles away from me. Rather, it was the one at ICON Park on I-Drive; the location by me I have had issues with before and I wanted to go on a longer drive, even if it meant busy traffic, which there was. That went fine and their advertising was correct: their boneless wings are new and improved. New Year's Eye I did nothing at all; it was just another day and night and no drop of alcohol was even consumed by me. At least Sunday had some excitement and this is because... I went to the airport! The person who normally would have done that is not at 100% health themselves so I did them a solid and drove all the way to Sanford. On the way, I had lunch at the Which Wich in Lake Mary, as it's an establishment I only rarely go to despite them making decent sandwiches. The trip there and back went as expected, with a stop at the local Publix right before this person was dropped off. Turns out, a little later I had to go back to Publix on my own as a parent was making tacos for dinner and much to their surprise, the soft shell tacos that were in the fridge, they went bad. Yes, that apparently is a thing. Anyhow, before that I did think of going out tonight but instead I realized I had been out too often today-at least by my standards-and it was best to relax at home instead.

Thus, let me mention a few random things to close this out as I listen to my MP3 player, which thankfully has still given me no problems and because I can put so much music on it, various albums I haven't listened to in years are on it so it's been great to hear those tunes again after all that time. While on vacation my dad shared an interesting story that was new to me. I won't get into the particulars of why, but at the time he was in Houston, Texas (this was the mid 70's) and one night his friends brought him to Huntsville to see the Texas Prison Rodeo; from the 30's to 1986 each Saturday night in October there was a rodeo where the participants were Texas prisoners. As long as they were model prisoners, they could participate in any event, regardless if they had any prior experience in the event. I imagine it was a good time, and they had country performers in a halftime segment. On this night... Dolly Parton! I will presume that the entire crowd either enjoyed her music or enjoyed... her physical appearance.

One last thing as I promise that I'll have more to discuss next time: I helped a parent set up a cheap electronic compass that they got from who knows where which also lists the time and temperature... I will presume it was made in China. It was easy enough to set up the date and time, although I noticed something amazing. On the back is a switch that you use to set up the calendar and it was SUPPOSED to be labeled as such, only it said “claendar”;  somehow, I do not have the highest of confidence in its quality or reliability. Anyway, the upcoming week should have some good times.