Unfortunately this is yet another brief blog from me. Those are the breaks. Last Monday, I went out and about and sad to say it was a dreary cold rainy day. Still, I pushed on. It was of absolute zero shock to me that I saw the aftermath of a 2 car car crash on the way back. I went to Trader Joe's to pick up a few items and ate at BurgerFi as I hadn't eaten there in too long and I do like their burger & fries.
Tuesday, I went to the local library and that was as thrilling as the day got. Wednesday, I didn't do anything but Thursday I went to Walmart in order to pick up some miscellaneous items, such as soda. I know that I am boring now but that's how things have turned out. At least I can announce that on the 22nd I'll once again be out in Kansas for the holidays, getting to hang out with family and getting to see my twin nephews again will be quite great also.
Friday, I finally did something a little more interesting; I had to deal with some brutally bad traffic and some real rude drivers but it's Florida so that is expected. At least I went to a particular location I hadn't been at before: the World of Beer in Dr. Phillips; I'll always laugh at the wacky name of the town. I also laughed at the wacky name of the lady bartender that served me, as she wanted me to call her Rocky. I decided to have dinner there and as it's me I had the burger and fries, which were good. The beers I had were:
Beerlao Lager: I thought it was wacky to drink beer from Laos. It was fine.
As it was in the limited release section I decided to try out a brew from Lexington Brewing in Kentucky and it was known as Kentucky Honey Barrel Brown Ale. I did not know what to expect but it was actually good.
Also good was Hitachino Nest XH, a darker ale from Japan. I don't know if I've gotten older and more mature or what but my beer tastes are more varied than they used to be and I am glad it's the case. If you can find both beers (likely only at a place like World of Beer) I say they are worth a shot. My time at the joint was fine. Sure, I could have done without the creepy weird customers around, but alas; I tried to ignore them the best I could and while most of the jukebox music was newer tunes I did not even recognize at all at least they played some older ditties once in awhile.
Saturday and Sunday were more lazy days for me. At least on Saturday night I was able to watch parts of the UFC show that was free on TV (it was fine) and Sunday I went to the grocery store king in Florida known as Publix to get their sandwiches as they are a cult favorite around these parts, for good reason. So it made for a nice meal. Hilariously, there was a guy working there who must have a first name he hates if what he put on his nametag was MAYO. Yes.
Because of my trip and how I am leaving real early on the 22nd, I'll actually post my next blog primetime on Sunday the 21st; I know I'll talk about a few things, such as two Chicago Bears games and going out to see at least one movie.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Monday, December 8, 2014
Natty Daddy, French Fry Heaven, Nightcrawler & Lazy Weekends
This will be another blog on the short side. That is just how it worked out.
Last Monday was pretty dull so let me skip ahead to Tuesday. On that day I had a dentist appointment; it was just a check-up and teeth cleaning. While there something quite out of the ordinary happened. I do not know who was the gift-giver but someone gave the dentist office a large cake, and they admitted they'd never be able to finish it on their own... so they asked me if I wanted a piece to bring home! At first I thought it was a joke due to the irony of that place giving me something sugary and sweet but it wasn't, so of course I accepted the offer and brought it home; it was good. The appointment went fine, also.
Wednesday I didn't do anything so let me mention that on Thursday I went with someone to the local Steak 'n Shake for dinner. The food tasted fine and I enjoyed their limited edition white chocolate shake, but I wasn't pleased by all the stupid ogre people there, especially the ones that refused to control their extremely loud kids. Sigh... and I don't even want to talk about the Bears game, except that they once again lost, although it was another loss I expected. What a crappy team they are.
Friday was another interesting day; I drove down to Lakeland to have some fun. I could have done a few things on that day and with information I found out after the fact maybe I should have done something different; I shouldn't complain though as my Friday was still a decent time.
The only part of Lakeland I went to was the Lakeland Square Mall, which is connected with the real nice Cinemark Theatres I always enjoy going to. This time I saw Nightcrawler, as I heard a lot of strong praise for it. While the movie is very dark, it's pretty great and I rate it rather highly. Jake Gyllenhaal just looked creepy as hell and he was tremendous as the lead. After that I walked in the mall for a bit and I had dinner, which was eating fries from a joint known as French Fry Heaven; it was indeed pretty tasty. I also had food to eat once I made it back home. I also got another shake-this time peppermint bark from Haagen Dazs. Yep, it was good also.
The weekend, I didn't do a thing. Part of it was that I “did a favor” for someone so I didn't go out and about on Saturday night and I didn't see the latest UFC pay per view. In hindsight it may not have been the worst thing from what I heard... I was happy to do the favor. I just stayed in and relaxed both Saturday and Sunday. So, let me mention how during this weekend I saw an online advertisement for a new beer called Natty Daddy, a strong brew sold in a 25 ounce bottle. If it tastes the same as Natty Light and Natty Ice, I am not sure if I want to try it! I've had both way back when in my college days and the former was beer-flavored water and the latter was like liquid bread.
When I return a week from today... I hope to have more to talk about. I do have some ideas in mind, as always.
Last Monday was pretty dull so let me skip ahead to Tuesday. On that day I had a dentist appointment; it was just a check-up and teeth cleaning. While there something quite out of the ordinary happened. I do not know who was the gift-giver but someone gave the dentist office a large cake, and they admitted they'd never be able to finish it on their own... so they asked me if I wanted a piece to bring home! At first I thought it was a joke due to the irony of that place giving me something sugary and sweet but it wasn't, so of course I accepted the offer and brought it home; it was good. The appointment went fine, also.
Wednesday I didn't do anything so let me mention that on Thursday I went with someone to the local Steak 'n Shake for dinner. The food tasted fine and I enjoyed their limited edition white chocolate shake, but I wasn't pleased by all the stupid ogre people there, especially the ones that refused to control their extremely loud kids. Sigh... and I don't even want to talk about the Bears game, except that they once again lost, although it was another loss I expected. What a crappy team they are.
Friday was another interesting day; I drove down to Lakeland to have some fun. I could have done a few things on that day and with information I found out after the fact maybe I should have done something different; I shouldn't complain though as my Friday was still a decent time.
The only part of Lakeland I went to was the Lakeland Square Mall, which is connected with the real nice Cinemark Theatres I always enjoy going to. This time I saw Nightcrawler, as I heard a lot of strong praise for it. While the movie is very dark, it's pretty great and I rate it rather highly. Jake Gyllenhaal just looked creepy as hell and he was tremendous as the lead. After that I walked in the mall for a bit and I had dinner, which was eating fries from a joint known as French Fry Heaven; it was indeed pretty tasty. I also had food to eat once I made it back home. I also got another shake-this time peppermint bark from Haagen Dazs. Yep, it was good also.
The weekend, I didn't do a thing. Part of it was that I “did a favor” for someone so I didn't go out and about on Saturday night and I didn't see the latest UFC pay per view. In hindsight it may not have been the worst thing from what I heard... I was happy to do the favor. I just stayed in and relaxed both Saturday and Sunday. So, let me mention how during this weekend I saw an online advertisement for a new beer called Natty Daddy, a strong brew sold in a 25 ounce bottle. If it tastes the same as Natty Light and Natty Ice, I am not sure if I want to try it! I've had both way back when in my college days and the former was beer-flavored water and the latter was like liquid bread.
When I return a week from today... I hope to have more to talk about. I do have some ideas in mind, as always.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Artegon, Auto Shows, Thanksgiving & Long-Awaited Returns
Due to the weather I decided I should go out and about on Monday instead of the next day, where it was all but guaranteed there would be a few inches of rain. Monday was a real nice day in the low 80's so good call on my part.
I decided to go to a place that had a big makeover. In the past I've talked about the Festival Bay Mall a number of times; it's on the north end of I-Drive and for whatever reasons the mall was a flop and eventually it was a ghost town in there with hardly any stores open and if it wasn't for places like Bass Pro Shops and the Cinemark Theatre it would have shut down long before it did; they spent months remodeling it and now it's Artegon Marketplace, and most of it consists of booths that sell local artisan items, like paintings, other art, some food, jewelry, etc. A lot of it isn't really for me but I still hope that this new gimmick ends up working; if it doesn't I will feel bad. I did get some food items and I was fine with buying locally. After that I went down I-Drive to Twin Peaks as I do enjoy the food there. It has nothing to do with the scantily-clad women who work there... or at least that's what I'll tell myself. I had a nice dinner.
Tuesday was dull and Wednesday the only thing I did was get more paper for the printer from Staples, so let me mention that my Thanksgiving turned out fine. It was with my parents and my aunt and it was a tasty meal while we watched the Chicago Bears play at the Detroit Lions. The game went how I expected, meaning that the Bears looked bad for the most part and they lost, by the score of 34-17. That was the highlight of the day. Tomorrow was more interesting, and no I did not engage in any Black Friday shopping; I never do that as it's way too chaotic for me and I'd rather not be around buffoons who are encouraged to act like buffoons all for the sake of “a good deal”.
Instead, I did what I typically do on the day after Thanksgiving, and that is go to the Central Florida Auto Show at the Orange County Convention Center. While there aren't as many manufacturers there as in the past it's still a good time seeing many different model year '15 automobiles, including the likes of the Corvette, Mustang, Camaro, and the Charger; they even had the limited edition Hellcat Charger, which has SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVEN horsepower; no kidding. There were several very interesting new cars there so I was quite happy to check them out.
Saturday I rested and I was OK with that considering all the walking I did the day before. So, let me talk Sunday, and I returned to an establishment for the first time since the summer, that being the World of Beer. I went to the one right in Clermont. One big change is that it used to be one of the locations that didn't serve food alongside several hundred different beers, but now it does; it made things easy for me as I was able to have dinner there (a burger and fries; of course that's what I would order) while drinking some European beers and watching some sports. The best one I had was from Iceland, of all places: Einstok White Ale. It was quite tasty and now in the future I'll have to try that brand's other beers. I tried to ignore the idiots who were around that joint. There were annoying or just loud people around and that never makes me happy. Still, I had a nice time there and the last week of November was good overall, which I am thankful for as I had some real crap days during the month.
When I return a week from today, I know I'll have a few things to talk about, although it may not be as interesting as the preceding week I had.
I decided to go to a place that had a big makeover. In the past I've talked about the Festival Bay Mall a number of times; it's on the north end of I-Drive and for whatever reasons the mall was a flop and eventually it was a ghost town in there with hardly any stores open and if it wasn't for places like Bass Pro Shops and the Cinemark Theatre it would have shut down long before it did; they spent months remodeling it and now it's Artegon Marketplace, and most of it consists of booths that sell local artisan items, like paintings, other art, some food, jewelry, etc. A lot of it isn't really for me but I still hope that this new gimmick ends up working; if it doesn't I will feel bad. I did get some food items and I was fine with buying locally. After that I went down I-Drive to Twin Peaks as I do enjoy the food there. It has nothing to do with the scantily-clad women who work there... or at least that's what I'll tell myself. I had a nice dinner.
Tuesday was dull and Wednesday the only thing I did was get more paper for the printer from Staples, so let me mention that my Thanksgiving turned out fine. It was with my parents and my aunt and it was a tasty meal while we watched the Chicago Bears play at the Detroit Lions. The game went how I expected, meaning that the Bears looked bad for the most part and they lost, by the score of 34-17. That was the highlight of the day. Tomorrow was more interesting, and no I did not engage in any Black Friday shopping; I never do that as it's way too chaotic for me and I'd rather not be around buffoons who are encouraged to act like buffoons all for the sake of “a good deal”.
Instead, I did what I typically do on the day after Thanksgiving, and that is go to the Central Florida Auto Show at the Orange County Convention Center. While there aren't as many manufacturers there as in the past it's still a good time seeing many different model year '15 automobiles, including the likes of the Corvette, Mustang, Camaro, and the Charger; they even had the limited edition Hellcat Charger, which has SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVEN horsepower; no kidding. There were several very interesting new cars there so I was quite happy to check them out.
Saturday I rested and I was OK with that considering all the walking I did the day before. So, let me talk Sunday, and I returned to an establishment for the first time since the summer, that being the World of Beer. I went to the one right in Clermont. One big change is that it used to be one of the locations that didn't serve food alongside several hundred different beers, but now it does; it made things easy for me as I was able to have dinner there (a burger and fries; of course that's what I would order) while drinking some European beers and watching some sports. The best one I had was from Iceland, of all places: Einstok White Ale. It was quite tasty and now in the future I'll have to try that brand's other beers. I tried to ignore the idiots who were around that joint. There were annoying or just loud people around and that never makes me happy. Still, I had a nice time there and the last week of November was good overall, which I am thankful for as I had some real crap days during the month.
When I return a week from today, I know I'll have a few things to talk about, although it may not be as interesting as the preceding week I had.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Lionman, Keith McTeeth, Roller Motion & Three Kilos Of Pure Dirt
I am referencing the pinball tables Swords of Fury, The Bally Game Show, Rollergames (the glass art included a guy who sort of resembled James Caan, and that couldn't have been by accident) and Waterworld; yes they made a Waterworld pinball table. I played all those games this weekend.
Here's the recap of what I've done in the past week. I don't even remember doing anything last Monday so I presume it was a dull day. Tuesday, I went to Wawa for dinner; I got a sub sandwich for me and a sub sandwich for someone else. I also got myself a frozen drink, as that was the perfect thing to do on a day where the high was only in the 50's; the day before that it was like 30 degrees warmer than that, so it was real strange. At least their food is pretty tasty.
Wednesday, I went out to dinner with someone. We decided on Chili's as we hadn't been there in who knows how many months. Turns out, that place was remodeled. Well, it could be called a refresh as it wasn't extensive but it was still obvious. The food there was about what you'd expect from a Chili's. My time was there but I saw an odd site as the nearby bar area: a young man dressed as a pro wrestling referee! It was a Wednesday evening and while I do not follow the local independent pro wrestling scene like I used to, I thought I'd hear about a random Wednesday night show happening in the area. I did not recognize the guy either, so it was pretty odd. Thursday I relaxed as I knew Friday and Saturday would be busy days and oh they were... unfortunately the days were pretty terrible aside from the main thing I did.
Late July of '12 and '13 I attended events in Orlando on International Drive in a hotel known as Gamewarp, where a big room holds plenty of arcade and pinball games and by paying a flat fee you get to play them all. They didn't have a Gamewarp this year for whatever reasons; who knows if they'll ever come back. However, on this weekend was a new event (well, renamed from something else) called Free Play Florida and it was quite similar, down to being at a hotel on I-Drive, although one that was by the convention center and I didn't have to spend too much time actually driving on I-Drive; that's a plus as the road's always busy and always full of stupid tourists.
Friday, I experienced horrific traffic on the way there and back; there was tailgating, for one thing, and on a road with a 35 mile an hour speed limit a lady driver was a complete maniac, going way over the speed limit. Was she drunk, mentally ill, on drugs... I have no idea; I thought of calling the cops but to be honest if I tried to speed myself to get her license plate, she may have started driving even more erratically. As for the hotel, it was a Doubletree, so it was frou-frou and having to pay a few bucks for parking, I wasn't a fan of that. Having to pay each time you park, that limited food choices; most of the food they had there wasn't “normal” or not priced outrageously. Friday I ate at the bar in the lobby, where I had to listen to two random socially awkward dudes throw a huge stink over one of the employees asking for their credit card after they ordered some food; that sort of thing has become standard procedure now but those fools did not get the memo. I didn't even try to explain it to them as it'd be a futile gesture.
As for the crowds there, Friday wasn't too bad but Saturday was more hectic; it was what I expected. They had a mix of games there I played before and new ones. The number of tables based on 90's films was impressive, from Stargate to the mediocre Jurassic Park sequel. I'll list the ones that left the biggest impressions on me:
Swords of Fury will always make me laugh as the one I've seen is LOUD and a digitized voice screaming “LIONMAN, LIONMAN!” is amazing.
The Bally Game Show is actually a fun table, and the “game” is hosted by a stereotypical host known as Keith McTeeth.
Rollergames is a table I recently heard was good, and it was.
As I did well on it, I'll mention the Spiderman table.
The Twister table was rad, with some nice gimmicks.
NBA Fastbreak wasn't even a table I had ever heard of but I dug it and how you picked a team to start off with and the way you score points is to shoot the ball into the basket.
Baywatch was a table I had played before, way back when.
I did see people there I knew. It was nice to see them and I presume the feeling was reciprocated. There wasn't much time to chit-chat with them but that's expected at such a hectic event. Unfortunately aside from actually playing the games there my Friday and Saturday were pretty bad, between the traffic and other issues I won't get into. I can mention that I was disappointed how there were too many rude/ignorant people around on Saturday. It's a shame as most of the people there were fine, but there was also jerks present. I'll try to forget about all that and how I was dead tired by the time I left Saturday night, and I'll remember the good of playing those games instead of all the bad.
Speaking of bad, the Chicago Bears game vs. the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday... I was able to watch the game at home, so I did. It was quite hard to watch, as both teams are terrible and while Chicago won 21-13, for the first half of the game they were getting embarrassed by a team that had won only two times all year, and it was their mistakes more than anything else that let Chicago win. The Bears are playing Thanksgiving Day also, and it'll be while I have the big meal with some loved ones. I am expecting the game to be a loss.
I will return a week from today and while that week won't be as action-packed as the one I just had, there still will be some interesting moments.
Here's the recap of what I've done in the past week. I don't even remember doing anything last Monday so I presume it was a dull day. Tuesday, I went to Wawa for dinner; I got a sub sandwich for me and a sub sandwich for someone else. I also got myself a frozen drink, as that was the perfect thing to do on a day where the high was only in the 50's; the day before that it was like 30 degrees warmer than that, so it was real strange. At least their food is pretty tasty.
Wednesday, I went out to dinner with someone. We decided on Chili's as we hadn't been there in who knows how many months. Turns out, that place was remodeled. Well, it could be called a refresh as it wasn't extensive but it was still obvious. The food there was about what you'd expect from a Chili's. My time was there but I saw an odd site as the nearby bar area: a young man dressed as a pro wrestling referee! It was a Wednesday evening and while I do not follow the local independent pro wrestling scene like I used to, I thought I'd hear about a random Wednesday night show happening in the area. I did not recognize the guy either, so it was pretty odd. Thursday I relaxed as I knew Friday and Saturday would be busy days and oh they were... unfortunately the days were pretty terrible aside from the main thing I did.
Late July of '12 and '13 I attended events in Orlando on International Drive in a hotel known as Gamewarp, where a big room holds plenty of arcade and pinball games and by paying a flat fee you get to play them all. They didn't have a Gamewarp this year for whatever reasons; who knows if they'll ever come back. However, on this weekend was a new event (well, renamed from something else) called Free Play Florida and it was quite similar, down to being at a hotel on I-Drive, although one that was by the convention center and I didn't have to spend too much time actually driving on I-Drive; that's a plus as the road's always busy and always full of stupid tourists.
Friday, I experienced horrific traffic on the way there and back; there was tailgating, for one thing, and on a road with a 35 mile an hour speed limit a lady driver was a complete maniac, going way over the speed limit. Was she drunk, mentally ill, on drugs... I have no idea; I thought of calling the cops but to be honest if I tried to speed myself to get her license plate, she may have started driving even more erratically. As for the hotel, it was a Doubletree, so it was frou-frou and having to pay a few bucks for parking, I wasn't a fan of that. Having to pay each time you park, that limited food choices; most of the food they had there wasn't “normal” or not priced outrageously. Friday I ate at the bar in the lobby, where I had to listen to two random socially awkward dudes throw a huge stink over one of the employees asking for their credit card after they ordered some food; that sort of thing has become standard procedure now but those fools did not get the memo. I didn't even try to explain it to them as it'd be a futile gesture.
As for the crowds there, Friday wasn't too bad but Saturday was more hectic; it was what I expected. They had a mix of games there I played before and new ones. The number of tables based on 90's films was impressive, from Stargate to the mediocre Jurassic Park sequel. I'll list the ones that left the biggest impressions on me:
Swords of Fury will always make me laugh as the one I've seen is LOUD and a digitized voice screaming “LIONMAN, LIONMAN!” is amazing.
The Bally Game Show is actually a fun table, and the “game” is hosted by a stereotypical host known as Keith McTeeth.
Rollergames is a table I recently heard was good, and it was.
As I did well on it, I'll mention the Spiderman table.
The Twister table was rad, with some nice gimmicks.
NBA Fastbreak wasn't even a table I had ever heard of but I dug it and how you picked a team to start off with and the way you score points is to shoot the ball into the basket.
Baywatch was a table I had played before, way back when.
I did see people there I knew. It was nice to see them and I presume the feeling was reciprocated. There wasn't much time to chit-chat with them but that's expected at such a hectic event. Unfortunately aside from actually playing the games there my Friday and Saturday were pretty bad, between the traffic and other issues I won't get into. I can mention that I was disappointed how there were too many rude/ignorant people around on Saturday. It's a shame as most of the people there were fine, but there was also jerks present. I'll try to forget about all that and how I was dead tired by the time I left Saturday night, and I'll remember the good of playing those games instead of all the bad.
Speaking of bad, the Chicago Bears game vs. the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday... I was able to watch the game at home, so I did. It was quite hard to watch, as both teams are terrible and while Chicago won 21-13, for the first half of the game they were getting embarrassed by a team that had won only two times all year, and it was their mistakes more than anything else that let Chicago win. The Bears are playing Thanksgiving Day also, and it'll be while I have the big meal with some loved ones. I am expecting the game to be a loss.
I will return a week from today and while that week won't be as action-packed as the one I just had, there still will be some interesting moments.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Interstellar, BurgerMonger, MMA & More Embarrassing Wine Purchases
I do indeed have a more interesting blog post this go-around than the last few I've done. Unfortunately it was an up and down affair. Last Monday I was able to drive all the way to Tampa (the north part, meaning I didn't have to take the dreaded Interstate 4) to see the film Interstellar, as the museum in town as a giant IMAX dome (it's literally shown in a domed building with the screen being projected on the curved side of the building and you look at it while seated in steep seats; it may sound odd but the picture was pretty incredible as it was actual 70mm film instead of the digital that's at most theatres these days. I just wasn't happy with the museum in that constantly you are screwed over if you haven't been there before; you're just supposed to know everything about the place, such as which spot is the best to park at, paying for parking and whatnot. That sort of thing never makes me happy. Obvious things, you don't need to but those things would have been nice for an out of towner.
As for the movie, I've never been a Christopher Nolan fan, which I know is blasphemy to many people but I've thought that way for a long time now. More often than not I don't care for his films. I mainly went and saw this for the 70mm aspect as I had never seen a film that way before. Overall I'll say the movie is average. I can't fault the ambition in trying to tell a serious and mature big-budget tale rather than mindless stupid garbage like the Transformers films or the other atrocious big budget movies of the past few years. There are great images and some nice performances. Unfortunately, the story is a mess and I had many issues with the plot. It's a shame as it's the sort of film I should love and while I often disagree with “the common opinion” it'd be nice if I could agree with the masses more often.
After the film I went home but on the way I stopped in a city for gas and dinner. I wanted to try out a place famous in Tampa (the only area in Florida you can have it) known as BurgerMonger, as I know more than one person who digs the place. Well, to cut the story short I had a strong need to use the restroom by the time I got there... and the men's room was out of order! I was not happy with this as it was not like I could use the ladies room, so I just left and I now will swear off that place without having their food due to that. I had to go so I walked to the nearby Jersey Mike's Subs, which I can get at home and I preferred trying out someplace new but alas... at least I ate there and it included a pair of chocolate chip cookies, which were great.
Tuesday I didn't do a thing which was fine with me. I was feeling down in the dumps anyhow. Don't worry, it isn't anything major; “not understanding people in general” isn't a big deal and besides, I should be used to it by now. I definitely should not complain when I know several people who definitely have had it worse than me as of late with much more serious problems. Wednesday, I just went to Winter Garden Village to visit a few places and you'd think there'd be no problems if I just went to a place that's like 12 miles away from where I live. Well, you and I would be wrong! The issues with traffic were so bad the thought seriously crossed my mind of calling 911, as I wasn't sure if more than one driver was drunk, on drugs, mentally ill, too old/senile to drive, or what. I won't delve into the whole mess but it's a moot point as nothing of consequence happened but even for down here it was a bad day of travel.
Thursday was thankfully more sane. I did more driving, but nothing went wrong this time. I went to another Total Wine & More and this time I bought the other kind of 50 Shades of Grey for the person who asked me to do that a few weeks ago from them. After that I don't have to do it any longer... thankfully. I went to the nearby Mall at Millenia and walked around for a bit. I then ate at a restaurant I hadn't been to in months, Burger 21. I had a nice dinner there with food that's typical in my diet... a burger with fries and a shake. Friday, I didn't do a thing but Saturday was more interesting. The UFC returned to the big screen with their latest pay per view. I actually hadn't seen a pay per view in awhile. As many others think they've expanded too fast and they have been destroyed with injuries so many of their shows aren't really worth going out of the way to see, including this one.
Of course, it wasn't until after the fact that I discovered because of this guard getting destroyed by injuries and it likely bombing on pay per view, they will try again and they'll show the next pay per view in a few weeks on the big screen also. I won't complain about seeing the show on Saturday night as it was actually entertaining even if the star power was weak and I saw it at Universal Studios and not too surprisingly the crowd was just me and a few random people.
Sunday, I actually stayed in and did not go out to see the Chicago Bears play; the legendarily bad way they played in their last two contests was great motivation to stay in, even if they were playing another bad team. Chicago won that home game, but just barely, and as I saw in the highlights their field was atrocious which is embarrassing for a major pro franchise... and the game clock at the stadium wasn't even working right. What a joke.
When I return a week from today, I know my week won't be too interesting... except for the weekend, where I'll be doing something different from the norm. You'll find out in 7 days what that is.
As for the movie, I've never been a Christopher Nolan fan, which I know is blasphemy to many people but I've thought that way for a long time now. More often than not I don't care for his films. I mainly went and saw this for the 70mm aspect as I had never seen a film that way before. Overall I'll say the movie is average. I can't fault the ambition in trying to tell a serious and mature big-budget tale rather than mindless stupid garbage like the Transformers films or the other atrocious big budget movies of the past few years. There are great images and some nice performances. Unfortunately, the story is a mess and I had many issues with the plot. It's a shame as it's the sort of film I should love and while I often disagree with “the common opinion” it'd be nice if I could agree with the masses more often.
After the film I went home but on the way I stopped in a city for gas and dinner. I wanted to try out a place famous in Tampa (the only area in Florida you can have it) known as BurgerMonger, as I know more than one person who digs the place. Well, to cut the story short I had a strong need to use the restroom by the time I got there... and the men's room was out of order! I was not happy with this as it was not like I could use the ladies room, so I just left and I now will swear off that place without having their food due to that. I had to go so I walked to the nearby Jersey Mike's Subs, which I can get at home and I preferred trying out someplace new but alas... at least I ate there and it included a pair of chocolate chip cookies, which were great.
Tuesday I didn't do a thing which was fine with me. I was feeling down in the dumps anyhow. Don't worry, it isn't anything major; “not understanding people in general” isn't a big deal and besides, I should be used to it by now. I definitely should not complain when I know several people who definitely have had it worse than me as of late with much more serious problems. Wednesday, I just went to Winter Garden Village to visit a few places and you'd think there'd be no problems if I just went to a place that's like 12 miles away from where I live. Well, you and I would be wrong! The issues with traffic were so bad the thought seriously crossed my mind of calling 911, as I wasn't sure if more than one driver was drunk, on drugs, mentally ill, too old/senile to drive, or what. I won't delve into the whole mess but it's a moot point as nothing of consequence happened but even for down here it was a bad day of travel.
Thursday was thankfully more sane. I did more driving, but nothing went wrong this time. I went to another Total Wine & More and this time I bought the other kind of 50 Shades of Grey for the person who asked me to do that a few weeks ago from them. After that I don't have to do it any longer... thankfully. I went to the nearby Mall at Millenia and walked around for a bit. I then ate at a restaurant I hadn't been to in months, Burger 21. I had a nice dinner there with food that's typical in my diet... a burger with fries and a shake. Friday, I didn't do a thing but Saturday was more interesting. The UFC returned to the big screen with their latest pay per view. I actually hadn't seen a pay per view in awhile. As many others think they've expanded too fast and they have been destroyed with injuries so many of their shows aren't really worth going out of the way to see, including this one.
Of course, it wasn't until after the fact that I discovered because of this guard getting destroyed by injuries and it likely bombing on pay per view, they will try again and they'll show the next pay per view in a few weeks on the big screen also. I won't complain about seeing the show on Saturday night as it was actually entertaining even if the star power was weak and I saw it at Universal Studios and not too surprisingly the crowd was just me and a few random people.
Sunday, I actually stayed in and did not go out to see the Chicago Bears play; the legendarily bad way they played in their last two contests was great motivation to stay in, even if they were playing another bad team. Chicago won that home game, but just barely, and as I saw in the highlights their field was atrocious which is embarrassing for a major pro franchise... and the game clock at the stadium wasn't even working right. What a joke.
When I return a week from today, I know my week won't be too interesting... except for the weekend, where I'll be doing something different from the norm. You'll find out in 7 days what that is.
Monday, November 10, 2014
The Blog Where I Realize I've Become Pretty Old And Lame
This past Monday the 3rd, I actually did do something with the day, and that was return to Epcot at Walt Disney World to enjoy the last days of their annual Food & Wine Festival. I walked around and I purchased some items and also had dinner there. The musical act they had there on that night was Boyz II Men, who I remember were a huge deal way back when, and on this day they had a huge crowd for when I listened to them for a few minutes. Thankfully it was a beautiful day out so I enjoyed spending that time outdoors. What wasn't so nice... late at night I had an issue with my laptop; it took some time but I was able to fix it on my own, although I was not happy about the whole ordeal.
Tuesday, what I did was go and vote, stop at a 7/11 for some Mountain Dew Solar Flare (I hadn't had it for awhile) then I went to the library for a bit. I enjoyed the relaxing day. Wednesday, I went and got a haircut as I needed one. The lady who gave it was new at the job and while overall it ended up looking fine... I also could have done without her comments about how I “should get haircuts more often” (?) but maybe that's just me. Maybe if I get her again in the future she'll be improved. Anyhow, the traffic there and back was also a headache; at least it was the only thing I had to do on this day.
Thursday, I went with someone to a restaurant, and that restaurant was one I've been to a few times before, Oakwood Smokehouse and Grill. It was a fine experience. They typically draw a “senior citizen” crowd but that's fine with me. Friday, I didn't do a thing. I was thinking about being out and about on Saturday night, but then some things happened.
The idea popped into my head of going to a football game in the evening, only to find out it would probably be raining there. Alas... I can always see schools like Southeastern down in Lakeland play a game next year and heck, I am thinking of going to a small-time college basketball game or two in the next few months.
Plus, something popped up and as a matter of fact, today I'll be doing something for the first time, and that is see a feature length film in 70mm, which I've always heard is much better than the 35mm I was used to seeing at theatres back before most of them converted from film to digital. Plus, it's in IMAX on a legit screen rather than the much smaller ones that now get to use the name too, so you can't beat that. It happens to be Interstellar and I am a heretic who says that Christopher Nolan is overrated, but even then from what I've heard it should be a great experience watching that film in such a spectacular way so next Monday when I return I'll talk all about that and the trip I'll be taking to Tampa to see it in the city's museum.
So it's alright that I had a dull weekend and I did nothing of note except go to Walmart on a Saturday afternoon (not as much of a headache as expected but still) so let me skip ahead to Sunday night. Oh, Sunday night. For the second and last time this season the Chicago Bears played against their hated rivals the Green Bay Packers and well, for their second game in a row they soiled the bed and were disgracefully bad. They were losing 42-0 at halftime and the final score was 55-14. “Pathetic” doesn't even begin to describe the legendarily bad way they have played the last two games. Should I even go out to some bar to see the rest of their games this season? I am seriously wondering that right now.
While this was another blog post where I come across as old and lame, the one I'll do a week from today will be notably more interesting, I promise.
Tuesday, what I did was go and vote, stop at a 7/11 for some Mountain Dew Solar Flare (I hadn't had it for awhile) then I went to the library for a bit. I enjoyed the relaxing day. Wednesday, I went and got a haircut as I needed one. The lady who gave it was new at the job and while overall it ended up looking fine... I also could have done without her comments about how I “should get haircuts more often” (?) but maybe that's just me. Maybe if I get her again in the future she'll be improved. Anyhow, the traffic there and back was also a headache; at least it was the only thing I had to do on this day.
Thursday, I went with someone to a restaurant, and that restaurant was one I've been to a few times before, Oakwood Smokehouse and Grill. It was a fine experience. They typically draw a “senior citizen” crowd but that's fine with me. Friday, I didn't do a thing. I was thinking about being out and about on Saturday night, but then some things happened.
The idea popped into my head of going to a football game in the evening, only to find out it would probably be raining there. Alas... I can always see schools like Southeastern down in Lakeland play a game next year and heck, I am thinking of going to a small-time college basketball game or two in the next few months.
Plus, something popped up and as a matter of fact, today I'll be doing something for the first time, and that is see a feature length film in 70mm, which I've always heard is much better than the 35mm I was used to seeing at theatres back before most of them converted from film to digital. Plus, it's in IMAX on a legit screen rather than the much smaller ones that now get to use the name too, so you can't beat that. It happens to be Interstellar and I am a heretic who says that Christopher Nolan is overrated, but even then from what I've heard it should be a great experience watching that film in such a spectacular way so next Monday when I return I'll talk all about that and the trip I'll be taking to Tampa to see it in the city's museum.
So it's alright that I had a dull weekend and I did nothing of note except go to Walmart on a Saturday afternoon (not as much of a headache as expected but still) so let me skip ahead to Sunday night. Oh, Sunday night. For the second and last time this season the Chicago Bears played against their hated rivals the Green Bay Packers and well, for their second game in a row they soiled the bed and were disgracefully bad. They were losing 42-0 at halftime and the final score was 55-14. “Pathetic” doesn't even begin to describe the legendarily bad way they have played the last two games. Should I even go out to some bar to see the rest of their games this season? I am seriously wondering that right now.
While this was another blog post where I come across as old and lame, the one I'll do a week from today will be notably more interesting, I promise.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Halloween, John Wick, Flea Markets & Chilly Weather
Here's the recap of what I've done since this past Monday. On Monday the 27th I decided to go out and about in the evening. It was to Downtown Disney to watch a movie; I didn't have to go there to check it out, but it was on their giant screen and it's nice to see films that way. With how busy it was and all the construction still going on... who knows when I'll return there. Anyhow, I saw John Wick. Besides it being a movie that sounded up my alley and all the positive reviews I've heard, there's actually a personal connection to it, in that someone I know from the online world worked on set in an uncredited PA role. The movie's indeed pretty great. It's a simple yet effective action movie done in the style of old but it is its own thing and it's one of the best 2014 movies I've seen. Needless to say I highly recommend it.
Tuesday, I went to a restaurant with someone, and it happened to be Buffalo Wild Wings. I actually hadn't been there in a long while, so I needed to rectify that. For the most part it's the same as when I was there last. I had the boneless wings and they were good. Wednesday, the only thing I did was watch the big World Series Game 7 between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals. I have no favorites between the two but I preferred the Royals winning as them going that far was a surprise and they've been awful for most of the past 30 years, while the Giants have been much better in the same timespan. The Giants ended up winning 3-2 and I wasn't too disappointed by that as they had some great players help them win it all.
Thursday, I was thinking of returning to Epcot at Walt Disney World but I heard there'd possibly be rain in the area so I decided to wait until today, actually... I don't know about there but where I live there wasn't a drop of rain. Eh, at least I got to go to the library for a bit. Halloween, I certainly didn't dress up or go anywhere. I just stayed in and relaxed. There weren't too many trick or treaters, unfortunately. Saturday, things got more interesting.
It was on Saturday that I returned to a place I hadn't been to for over a year and that is the Flea World in Sanford. It's a huge covered but open aired flea market. I walked around and got some exercise, and I got some random DVD's. I could have done without many of the vendors blasting music to the point that the cacophony of noise just about disoriented me & gave me a headache, but then again I could have done without the absolute horrid traffic that reminded me why I only make it up to that part of Orlando & the suburbs once in awhile... anyhow, after the flea market I went to the Winghouse, as I hadn't been to that Hooters clone in a long while. The food there was alright but at least I was able to catch up on Twitter/other online activity and I warmed up; for Florida it was chilly but I know most outside of The Sunshine State won't have any sympathy for me.
Sunday, the Bears did not play as they have a bye week. With the way they played I was actually glad I didn't have to watch them play. I just stayed in and relaxed; I did enjoy the extra hour of sleep.
I know this wasn't the most exciting blog but I promise that when I return a week from today, it will be better.
Tuesday, I went to a restaurant with someone, and it happened to be Buffalo Wild Wings. I actually hadn't been there in a long while, so I needed to rectify that. For the most part it's the same as when I was there last. I had the boneless wings and they were good. Wednesday, the only thing I did was watch the big World Series Game 7 between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals. I have no favorites between the two but I preferred the Royals winning as them going that far was a surprise and they've been awful for most of the past 30 years, while the Giants have been much better in the same timespan. The Giants ended up winning 3-2 and I wasn't too disappointed by that as they had some great players help them win it all.
Thursday, I was thinking of returning to Epcot at Walt Disney World but I heard there'd possibly be rain in the area so I decided to wait until today, actually... I don't know about there but where I live there wasn't a drop of rain. Eh, at least I got to go to the library for a bit. Halloween, I certainly didn't dress up or go anywhere. I just stayed in and relaxed. There weren't too many trick or treaters, unfortunately. Saturday, things got more interesting.
It was on Saturday that I returned to a place I hadn't been to for over a year and that is the Flea World in Sanford. It's a huge covered but open aired flea market. I walked around and got some exercise, and I got some random DVD's. I could have done without many of the vendors blasting music to the point that the cacophony of noise just about disoriented me & gave me a headache, but then again I could have done without the absolute horrid traffic that reminded me why I only make it up to that part of Orlando & the suburbs once in awhile... anyhow, after the flea market I went to the Winghouse, as I hadn't been to that Hooters clone in a long while. The food there was alright but at least I was able to catch up on Twitter/other online activity and I warmed up; for Florida it was chilly but I know most outside of The Sunshine State won't have any sympathy for me.
Sunday, the Bears did not play as they have a bye week. With the way they played I was actually glad I didn't have to watch them play. I just stayed in and relaxed; I did enjoy the extra hour of sleep.
I know this wasn't the most exciting blog but I promise that when I return a week from today, it will be better.
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