The One Time I Realized This Will Have To Go On Hiatus

I have to start this off with an announcement: due to what's going on in the world now (which I definitely have opinions about but this isn't the time to share those), the plan for now is that I won't write another one of these for a few weeks. There is plenty for me to do that doesn't require going out-from YouTube to podcasts to various electronic distractions-it's just that this won't provide me with anything to discuss here. I'll be fine and I won't worry about the people I know who are most susceptible to this virus. Of course I do feel bad for everyone that has it... including Idris Elba, which I just saw on Twitter. If anything major happens to me it will be discussed ASAP... however, that will be highly unlikely.

To mention what I did do in the past week...last Monday I went to two locations in the Orlando region new to me. I ate at Cafe Rio, a Mexican cantina that has locations across the country. To me, the tacos tasted fine, although the rice that was offered I was more nonplussed about. The price was a few bucks more than Chiptole and well, I rather stick with Chipotle instead. I then went to Rock & Roll Heaven, a record store which also has cassettes, CD's, movies, and random bric-a-brac all over. Furthermore, I understand they have a hell of a band... anyhow, I purchased three CD's, the most interesting of which was a release of Miami Vice music. It was from 1989, which isn't so unusual... until you hear it was from Germany.

Otherwise, Wednesday I went to the Mall at Millenia for food and other places I stopped at for food were Shake Shack and Wawa. I did have to go to the grocery store on Friday night, and I am glad it wasn't as horrid as it could have been. That said, some shelves looked as if they were attacked by a swarm of locusts as they were completely empty. This includes... toilet paper. I know this is a worldwide problem as I heard about fights over TP in Australia about a week ago. I wish I knew why this became a precious commodity; at least I was able to get most of what I wanted, and nothing that was essential was missed out on. This is all that I'll share about what I've done in the preceding week.

I will wish everyone good luck under these bizarre circumstances, and the best of health also.

The One Time I Got Sick & Tired of Everyone Being Sick & Tired

This will be different from usual. The first week of March was pretty sour overall and I only did a few things of note. Monday the 2nd was spent recovering from the rancid case of food poisoning I suffered from late on the 1st due to pizza I got at a cineplex. Wednesday, there was an upset stomach due to what I realized later was food at home I immediately then tossed out. I otherwise haven't done much aside from such mundane activities as going to stores in town as being low-key felt like the thing to do. Now, one day I did go get pizza in town and another was me and some people at the local Oakwood Smokehouse & Grill... mainly because right by it was a Publix grocery store which they needed to visit. Saturday I was in Orlando and the one thing I'll mention on that day was my return to Smashburger as I hadn't been there in awhile. When I was there it was mostly just me and two other customers so that's not a great sign.

Another thing I've had to do was visit the hospital; someone I know is there... all I'll say is that this was not unexpected and they will be fine. Yet of course it is still something weighing on my mind so this is a big part of why March was so uneventful for me. I think that will change when I return next Monday. It was nice seeing them and they were happy to see me. Now, let me mention the coronavirus (technically, COVID-19) and how that has lead to a worldwide hysteria. I could go on for paragraphs over this whole kerfuffle but I won't. Instead, I'll just shake my head at people price-gouging essential items, TOILET PAPER being the object that people are hoarding instead of medicine, food... or especially SOAP-when washing your hands is the best way to prevent being infected, or how people are acting like it's the bubonic plague if it's caught when that couldn't be farther from the truth... asinine, really. I feel sorry for places like China and Northern Italy as it's hit those areas hard yet the way the media has treated it and several big events in the United States has needlessly be cancelled and it was even used to postpone the new Bond movie until November when the movie (probably) being bad is the reason I suspect it was moved...

When I return next week, being in a cheerier mood is one of the things I am hoping for.

Cherry Vanilla Coke, Sprite Ginger, Woody Woodpecker, a2 Milk & The Invisible Man

Here's a recap of what I've done in the past week. Monday I did nothing at all but Tuesday, I was out and about in my town; in a grocery store, I purchased both a 12 pack of Cherry Vanilla Coke-which I had heard about beforehand, and it does taste good-and a 20 ounce bottle of Sprite Ginger, which I did not know of beforehand. While ginger is not my favorite flavor, I can't complain as it tastes exactly like it should. Wednesday, I went out to dinner with a few people; a friend of the family is down here on vacation so we went to the local Bob Evans, which went fine. The highlight was that a woman there had a laugh which could best be described as Woody Woodpecker! When I was a young kid, there briefly was a Woody cartoon show in the late 80's and I do know that my mom would rent me at least one videotape that had some of the old cartoons from way back when, although I've only seen one of those cartoons as an adult. Thursday, I did make a purchase that was long overdue.

Thursday, I went to one of the outlet malls in Orlando-Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets, to be specific-in order to look for a new pair of shoes. The ones I have were all literally falling apart and honestly, this should not have been put off as long as it was. There was a surfeit of choices and I decided on Puma, as the blue and white kicks looked pretty cool... the price being greatly discounted was nice too. I don't need to spend in the 3 digit figures to acquire shoes, nor do I need many different ones either; a “sneakerhead” I'll never be, as I couldn't care less. Friday I did nothing so I'll mention that Saturday I went to a Publix and purchased a few items, including a2 milk; I've been interested in awhile to try it. I don't have digestion issues with milk but I can say that it tastes fine.

Sunday, that unfortunately was a pretty rotten day aside from the movie I saw. Traffic in February was even worse than usual, and I got pretty mad on Sunday due to some atrocious behavior I saw behind the wheel. As I had a giftcard from AMC, I decided to use it to get dinner there as I saw The Invisible Man. I saw the director's Upgrade, which was an awesome movie; this and high praise made me want to give this a shot. A thing or two could be nitpicked but Elisabeth Moss was fantastic as the lead girl and there are great moments throughout so I am glad I viewed the movie. I am not glad I got dinner at AMC, though; I've had the flatbread pizza from there before and it was OK... this time, I got food poisoning! I'll spare the gory details of what happened once I arrived home; it was a restless night with not a lot of sleep, I'll put it that way. Besides being exhausted, I don't feel that bad now. Before anyone asks, while the coronavirus (COVID-19, to be exact) is now in Florida, that is NOT what I have and it's not a thing I'm even going to worry about, although of course I feel awful for everyone who has such an illness.

March started off on an inglorious note; with any luck it won't be a sign of how the entire month will go.