The 3rd Advance Screaming Post

Wednesday was the employee-only night for Halloween Horror Nights 08. It’s crazy to think that I’ve been to three of these bad boys already. This one was definitely one of the most fun. George, Bruce, Rio, Greg and I went out for the ‘Advanced Screaming’ and had a great time. Some of the houses where a little dubious, but I know it was essentially a test night for a lot of the scare-actors and a fair few of the effects where not running until the full event starts this weekend. This year they had a focus on ‘scare zones’ much more than previous iterations, and the result works really well. Instead of the occasional characters wandering around between the haunted houses, there were five or six themed areas that where flooded with people waiting to scare you. They ranged from a crashed school bus filled with evil trick-or-treaters to chainsaw wielding guys in straight jackets.

My favorite area was themed after a twisted version of the Wizard of Oz. A creepy version of all of the main characters where wandering around in the fog while a wicked witch set fire too the rooftops. However the coolest part was defiantly the flying monkeys who swung from two of the soundstages across the path. It was very cool, and decidedly eerie. There was also a warped version of Alice in Wonderland and a few other classic fairy tales gone wrong. As always Bill and Ted where back for their Halloween Adventure show, which was pretty hilarious. The McCain and Obama parodies where pretty damn funny, as where some of the others the managed to fit in. There was a little too much Hellboy for my liking, considering I never saw it (did anyone!?) but the Speed Racer spoof more than made up for it.

The TNA Post

Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling is the WWE’s biggest competitor right now, and has a decent roster of wrestlers old and new. They are based out of Florida and do a lot of their TV tapings in the soundstages at Universal. Last Wednesday was a taping and Bruce and I where planning on going. That morning Bruce was on property for some Hulk tapings and was working with a guy who operates a lot of the video productions on the park, including TNA. Bruce mentioned that we where planning on going and the guy told him that he’d get us reserve seats. We show up after work and there is a guy waiting for us outside. We where running a little late leaving the office and where worried that we might have missed the boat. The guy escorts us through to the backstage area and out to our seats that where front and center at ringside.

Very cool seats; I should reach out and touch the ring if I’d wanted too. At one point a jobber got tossed into the railing in front of us and smashed the hell out of my knee against the metal. If he was a big name or a cool character then I’d have had no problem but being that he was a member of a team called ‘Beer Money’ I was generally more interested in the bruising rather than patting him on the back and getting on TV. Booker T was there, who is one of my favorites from my wrestling-fan days, as where a few other big names like Sting and the Dudley Boys. There where two ring girls there to amp the crowd up who took too standing right next to us which was also nice to see.

After the show let out people where being escorted through the park in groups due to a special event taking place that night. We skipped the lines with our IDs and wandered out though the backstage area. We ran into Sharkboy while leaving which was pretty cool. Afterward we hit up the Ale House for pitchers and lobster (a first for me) which was a pretty good way to cap off the night.

The Drinking Park Post

Yesterday Bruce and I headed to SeaWorld to use our respective methods of getting into the park for free. Bruce being a Universal employee gets in whenever he likes, and I have a free pass good till the end of the year as part of a ‘Buy One Day- Come Back All Year’ ticket. We very much skipped the majority of the fish and rides and focused on the Anheiser Busch aspect of the park. After a fair few samples and a round of the tasting class we caught a show and a ride before heading out. Afterwards we met up with Henry and his friends up at the Wing House and put a dent in as many pitchers and wings as they where allowed to serve us. It was a fun day- if not a little heavy on the beers in retrospect.

The Short Bus Post

Friday night Bruce and I headed out to Cocoa Beach to hang out with Henry for his birthday. Henry has a condo right on the beachfront that overlooks the ocean, and has a lovely view. We met up with him and his buddy Red, the bouncer for the Cricketer’s Arm’s pub and good friend of Henry. After presenting Henry with his various alcohol-themed birthday gifts we headed off to get some grub at Hooters. Planning on avoiding driving all that night we called up a cab- to our surprise we where greeted by a mini-school bus instead of the standard cab. It felt like we where getting on the dreaded ‘short-bus’ and was a little embarrassing clambering off the thing when we got to where we where going, but the novelty of having our own ‘tour bus’ was pretty funny. We got the guy’s name and number and called him up throughout the night as we bounced from various different bars, clubs and establishments. Red is a character for sure- and not to discount Henry and Bruce, who are pretty charismatic drinkers too- but this guy was a definite treat to go drinking with.

If I had to describe Red I’d say he’s half Mr. Clean, the other half Mr. T. He’s a huge guy draped in gold with a lit cigar behind his ear at all times; tattoos all the way up his arms and a voice that can best be described as Darth Vader with a New York accent. He told me he drank 86 beers in a 24 hour period once. Which I scoffed at (‘I’m pretty sure that you’d be 50% alcohol at that point and very dead’- was my response) but he seemed VERY serious about that fact and not happy that anyone would second guess him. Needless to say I didn’t contradict him for the rest of the night. Climbing off a short bus following him was pretty amusing, and I got some funny looks from people waiting outside the clubs as our rag-tag group stumbled from place to place. The guy was a machine though. I ended up face planting my bed a good few hours before the rest of the guys did, but even then I went to bed around 2. They stayed up till 5 apparently. We where all woken up at 6:30 by Red who demanded breakfast. I couldn’t believe it, but didn’t want to argue- so I crumbled into some clothes and we drove over to a little diner for some breakfast. I was a bit of a mess and had a throbbing hangover- my shirt was inside out which I realized half way through my omelet and my hair looked like I had been electrocuted. Pretty sure I didn’t smell too great either.

After breakfast we headed down to the beach where Red immediately started pounding Heinekens. The mere sight of which made me feel lightheaded. Bruce and I where in disbelief that these guys actually wanted to be awake, but bumbled down to the beach regardless. Henry (who apparently wakes up at 6:00 no matter what) taught me how to surf-fish in the ocean which was pretty cool. He caught a fair few feeder fish, but I unfortunately didn’t catch anything. Lazing about in the water and in the sun definitely helped get over the hangover a bit, but unfortunately the damn thing wouldn’t leave me properly until 4 o’clock-ish. After hanging out for a bit Bruce and I headed back to Orlando. Fun night out with friends for sure, if not a very taxing one. Needless to say I slept very well the following night.

The Drink Around the World Post

Hit Epcot yesterday with Bruce and Dianna using some tickets that where generously passed on to me by Dawn over in the Sports Department. They expire at the end of the week so I figured a trip out to the park would be a good idea on the long weekend. I was really keen on trying the ‘drink around the world’ challenge Bruce was talking about where you hit the World Showcase and have a beverage at each country. It was pretty good fun and we got some pretty good pictures on the tour. About halfway around the lagoon though the heat and drinks got the better of me. Around USA I was in a good mood, which was only antagonized by Plumb Wine shots came around in Japan (see Ninja strangling picture below). After that I stuck with beer. We skipped Africa because…well its not even called Africa on the map, just ‘the outpost’ and consists of a few wooden carvings for sale, a drum and a Coke vending machine.* Here are my Drink-around-the-world shots in order: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, USA, Japan, Morocco, France, England, and Canada.

*Disney was so racist.

The Spatz 60 Post

Last night was a nice mix of downtown activities. Bruce and I met up at Spatz in Winter Garden for some beer, darts and a drastically oversized jalapeño burger to start the night off right. Henry met up with us and help trounce my measly dart scores in Cricket. I really want to be good at darts-not sure why- but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen…well ever.

Afterwards we headed downtown to Sky 60 to catch some of Buck’s spinning. I always like heading to Sky when he plays mainly because being on a rooftop, there is always a breeze, and considering how packed the place gets, that’s a very good thing. Also getting the ‘secret password’ to get in will never get old, even if they tend to be a tad ridiculous. After hanging out there for a while we dipped off to the streets to wander before last call. Ended up on Wall Street watching the live band there. Band was pretty abysmal, but the stage setup was notably elaborate and rather impressive. I don’t know how a band so bland deserves such a swanky tour bus… but whatever, good for them.

I had a good time, which is further evidence that I need to spend more time downtown and venture out of my comfort zone near the apartment more often than I do.

The Cinco Cinco Post

Cinco de Mayo landed on a Monday this year so I assumed that it would be a low key night downtown, or maybe all the events would be bumped up to the weekend. Bruce, Henry and I headed down to the Wall Street area of downtown last Monday and I was pleasantly surprised to see the place teaming with people. I had never been to Wall Street before but will definitely be heading back. The area has about 5 or so multilevel bars lining a short street in the center of downtown. Streamers, lights and flags hung across the courtyard area from bar to bar and a stage was down one end with live local bands playing. The area is all run by the same guy so you can wander from bar to bar without ever needing to get away from the party. Inflatable margarita bottles and beads where flying off of balconies and people where wall to wall throwing back margaritas, tequila shots and the obligatory Coronas. I was determined to get a picture with a Mariachi band during the course of the night but was unable to track one down, so I decided that finding an elaborate sombrero would suffice.

It was also made a bigger night due to the Orlando Magic playing in the playoffs, so all the tvs where tuned and roars of madness would flow down the sea of people whenever they scored. It was a decidedly convenient way to keep track of the game without having to sit through it. I had a great time, and look forward to going back. Didn’t have such a great time Tuesday at work though. I was feeling the festivities for longer than I would like afterwards due to my inability to drink tequila and not feel like the living dead the next morning. I need to work on that I reckon.

The Mania-24 Post

Last night both Wrestlemania and I turned 24 years old. The show was in Orlando this year at the Citrus Bowl and I have been stoked to go for a long time. Bruce and I headed downtown into the absolute mob-scene that surrounded the stadium. Through insiders scalping comp tickets and parking attendants making a little money on the side we managed to get really good parking close to the stadium and some amazing floor seats. The show was awesome, and the place was slammed. The Wrestlemania attendance record was broken, with something in the 74,000 range which was awesome. Seeing Flair's last match was brilliant and the pop the Undertaker got when he became champ was palpable. The whole thing was an awesome Blockbuster from bell to pin, though if it where my world I’d have had the matches go in the favor of some of my preferred wrestlers. I didn’t quite get the whole Mayweather v. Big Show angle, but whatever. Seeing Snoop Dog, Kim Kardashian and John Legend was pretty cool. Actually the night before Sarah and I had seen Jeff Jarret and Hornswoggle wandering about Downtown Disney which really got me amped up for the show. I had an absolute blast, thanks a million Bruce.

The Bay Hill Post

Yesterday was the final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, at Bay Hill. The annual golf tournament is held in the Bay Hill area which is right on the outskirts of Orlando, and where Dick and Sharon Simmon’s have a house. Every year they throw a pig party at their house, which is perfectly sat right on the 18^th hole. Bruce and I went by yesterday and had a blast hanging out at the Simmon’s (the palace was packed), wandering the course and visiting a few other parties along the way. The house has a beautiful 2^nd story balcony that looks right over the final hole, which is where I watched Tiger’s big winning put-which was pretty awesome. *

I got to meet Henry’s brother aswell as hangout with Mark, Henry, George, Victor and a few other people from the office. Lost a few rounds of pool to Mark’s son Caleb, and chowed down on some delicious pulled pork.I was able to borrow a lanyard pass and get into the pavilion areas down by clubhouse which was very cool and provided a nice break from the sun. Afterwards we met up with Mum, Dad and Jake at the Tommy Bahamas restaurant at Pointe Orlando for a late dinner, which was lovely. Looking forward to spending the week with them in town. With the drinking and the heat teaming up on me I was pretty dehydrated, which mean for a wonderful headache this morning. Really glad that I got to go, and very appreciative to everyone involved, I had a blast. Thank you.

* I won’t pretend to know anything about golf, aside from the few pointers Dick was giving me yesterday, and what Papa has shown me in the years past; but I was able to appreciate the great put and fantastic finish from the tournament. Very cool to get to say I was there in person.

The Shoot Straight Post

Sunday, I tagged along with Bruce and Greg to Shoot Straight, a gun range north of here. I’ve been wanting to go to a do some target shooting for a while and we had long talked of heading up there, but never got around to it, so I was pleased when I got the call. Grabbed some bullets from the always charming Wal-Mart gun counter from a decidedly depressed woman and headed up the Trail to meet up with the guys. Once we where there we signed in and got the gear we needed so we’d not go deaf and have targets to shoot at. Greg and Bruce both brought their own handguns, Bruce’s; a 9mm and Greg a 40 and 45 caliber. The first ones I had a go with where Greg’s, which was probably a mistake… The kickback on even a relatively small handgun was far greater than I had anticipated. Honestly I was rather scared at the apparently lack of control I had when discharging and pulling back on the trigger. After a few rounds with both his hand-cannons I stood out for a while, not really too desperate to get back to shooting. While the idea of target practice is very appealing to me, the odd feel of danger and harm that I get when holding a gun is unsettling, least it was initially. With something that requires the utmost of control, I felt like I didn’t have much, and that didn’t sit well with me. After a breather I had a go with Bruce’s much more manageable 9mm. And while I am far from a cracks hot, I was able to hit the target constantly and keep my shoots relatively grouped (if not too low and to the left). All in all a very interesting experience and one I’m glad I got to try. If I got back I’d be include to stick to the smaller rounds simply due to my inexperience and awkwardness with Greg’s beefier guns. It was cool for the guys to invite me along, and I appreciate them letting me try out their gear and practice. Afterwards we hit up Garibaldi’s for some Mexican food which hit the spot, and called it a night.

The Halloween Weekend Post

This weekend marked Sarah’s long anticipated visit to the new apartment. I have been looking forward to having her down here for ages and finally on Friday I could stop counting down days. We had a great weekend, hanging out around the complex and the surrounding area. Got a late lunch at Mimi’s Café which lasted us a few meals and the obligatory trip/s to Target, as well as a Home Depot stop to get Sarah an apartment key that actually works.

Went to Halloween Horror Nights and the Nascar Grille on Saturday and hung out with Bruce and Dianna. Horror Nights is decidedly better when you aren’t alone for the record, and I enjoyed it much more this time around. Saw a lot of houses and a few I had missed the first time through (Texas Chainsaw was our favorite), as well as caught one of the later Bill and Ted shows; and met the carnival’s ringleader, Jack for a photo which was pretty freaky (the guy decided to mess with me over Sarah, which I was not anticipating). He was pretty intense and had a few people running away screaming (which was hilarious for those of us waiting in line. Speaking of lines…wow, the sheer amount of people that show up for the event is crazy, especially when you consider the wait times, cost of tickets and drinks.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to head downtown which was a big bummer for both of us, especially considering the effort that had gone into our costumes. But with that said we did have an awesome weekend hanging out at the new place. Got in a dinner date at BJ’s Brewhouse (my new favorite dinner spot) which was nice-and oh so filling. Very sad to see Sarah go, and the weekend felt cut short more so than most visits, but so glad she made it down and eagerly anticipating seeing her again already.

The Sky60 Password Post

Saturday night after catching the Simpson’s with Bruce and Stacey, we headed downtown to go to a club Buck was DJing at. We hit a few places, namely the Lodge, before we went down to Sky 60 where Buck was spinning. We were on the guest list and where issued the password, which got us right in. Seriously even if the place was dead and Buck was mixing Abba records I’d be down for going just so I could use a password. Infact from now on if you want to come into my apartment there will be a password. Have something from the fridge? Password. Use the can? Pass. Word.

Sky60 is a rooftop club downtown with cabañas and a really stylish outdoor bar atmosphere. As friends of the DJ we got into a private cabana (with one of those little velvet ropes to separate the VIPs from the plebeians) which was icing on top of my password protected cake. Dave, Jess, Sharon and Jeremy where there too which was great as I hadn’t seen them in a good while. After closing time Bruce and I headed to a late night pizza kitchen for greasy goodness, that had me thinking very much of JMU’s Chinellos. Good night.

Oh, yeah, I pissed off a very large, car park attendant when honking at Bruce (in the car in front of me) in an attempt to get his attention. All I accomplished was getting royally jawed at by a very irate woman as I attempted to explain how I had no cash and needed my buddy in the car in front to spot me. She thought I was just being an impatient git. Put me in my place. I have since had the horn removed from the Celica.

The Shuttle Launch Post

Friday was the shuttle launch for Atlantis. Or was it Atlantic? Or Atlas? While I could look it up I’ll just leave it open ended and live in the mystery. Bruce and I headed to Cocoa Beach to watch the blast off right after work. I have seen one other launch in person but I was too young and bratty to appreciate seeing it when my parents took my years back. Caught the show from the bridge to Cape Canaveral, and it was pretty impressive. We checked out a camera from the tech department and caught it all on tape for later posting. The after shock from the launch was pretty loud and the jets were incredibly bright, though I gotta say the smell was the most influential experience (think clouds of rotten eggs and you’re getting close). The effects on the sky after the launch were pretty impressive, especially when the sun started setting. After the launch we headed to downtown Cocoa to chill at Coconuts and a few other places, and get some food. Traffic was nuts so we opted to stick out the night and wait for all the other shuttle watchers to leave town.

The Smackdown Post

Tuesday Bruce and I headed downtown to the TD Waterhouse (or is it the Amway Arena now?) to catch the taping of Friday Night Smackdown and ECW. Lower section was completely sold out before we got there and all that was left was the nosebleedy-est of nosebleed seats. After entering a street side contest for some floor seats, and promptly not winning, we headed over to the local hotel bar to kill time until the show started. After the first match we headed over and got some scalped tickets from some guys who were looking to get rid of what they didn’t already sell off. Ended up netting some really good lower deck seats for less than the cost of the crap ones. I’ve never attempted to score some cheaper tickets from scalpers before but it definitely worked out in our favor. It was a pretty cool event, and seeing the two rosters compete was an unexpected bonus. I’ve been out of the wrestling loop for a good few years now, and really don’t know half (more than) the wrestlers we saw. I did catch an awesome Chris Benoit match (vs. Edge) which I could totally get behind. And even though he lost, it was a terrific match that had me yelling like an idiot (the luchador mask probably didn’t help that image).

The Office Embarrassment Post

Dawn and Susan had their birthdays today and as usual we celebrated in the office. However being that this was Dawn’s 40^th we went out of the way to make her feel particularly old, and decked out her office like an old lady’s home. Complete with cobweb covered rocking chair (with diaper pad), a walker, dozens of pictures of cats, old fashioned frames, ragtime music and an assortment of pills and denture supplies. The whole room looked quite the part and we got a good reaction out of her. Her cake was pretty terrific too, featuring an embarrassing picture taken from yesteryear. Bruce and I took Susan out to the Ale House for lunch which was good, and Dawn’s parents came in for the cake cutting. Fun times. Thanks to everyone who let us borrow a frame, rocking chair or various senior supplies, it turned out great.

The NASCAR Grill Post

Went to the Nascar Cafe at Citywalk for lunch with Bruce and Victor today. Nice location, pretty classy inside that I’m sure is great when it’s humming with people come nightfall and the parks let out. Parked on the back lot to avoid the mile walk to the car deck and all the lost tourists. Getting backstage was pretty cool, Victor had passes and could have gotten us in if we were stopped. But we weren’t so I feel bad ass.

P.S- According to Microsoft Word, 'Nascar' is not a word but 'NASCAR' is. So when you are next referring to motor-sports in writing (as we all do) be sure that you have a heavy hand on the shift key. You’re welcome.

The Mardi Gras Post

Yesterday Dawn scored tickets to Universal Studio’s Mardi Gras celebration. The Steve Miller band was playing a show there, plus they have an awesome parade. Not to mention the passes she got us were signed on the back by the operations manager at Universal that allowed us to skip all the lines on all rides and got us into both parks and all the clubs for free. Ate dinner and had a few drinks at Margaritaville. Dawn and crew sent a large cake my way and the restaurant sang happy birthday, which was really nice. Show was cool, though there were thousands in front of us by the time we made it down to the stage end. The parade kicked ass and was a lot of fun. I got more beads than its fashionable for a 23 year old man to wear, and did some tequila shots with Bruce that came in these awesome glasses that light up when they have liquid in them. (had my orange juice out of mine for breakfast this morning because I think it’s cool).

They were filming an episode of the Ellen Degeneres show while we were there also, so it was pretty crazy with cameras, trailers and whatnot running about. And by ‘whatnot’ I mean bulldykes. Not that I have a problem with anyone’s choice of lifestyle in that regard. It just made it hard to grab beads when there were so many women that looked like they’d punch me out if I prevented them from snagging some flying jewelry.

The 23rd Year Post

23 years old as of Friday last week… While definitely don’t feel very old, it is kind crazy when I think about it. Nothing new this year though, already can drink, drive (but never at the same time), go to war, father a child legally… all that’s left is car rentals at 25 and lower insurance rates. There needs to be some cool new thing that you can only do at 24. Like push old people down the stairs and they are cool with it. Or maybe once you turn 24 you get something awesome, like a sit-down dinner and judo lesson with Chuck Norris. I dunno. You’ve got a year. Make it a good one powers that be!

Friday was pretty sweet. Dawn, Bruce and Susan set me up pretty good at the office with a themed birthday cake and decorations (complete with embarrassing costume). Boss treated me to Red Lobster for lunch (first time going for me) which was terrific. Plus loads of well wishes via AIM, phone calls and birthday cards. Oh and a devil rubber ducky. Thanks to everyone who dropped a line, it’s very much appreciated.

Laid low Friday night in favor of celebrating on Saturday. Dawn scored us tickets to Universal’s Mardi Gras celebration which I will detail in my next post. Stay tuned.

The St. Patty's Post

Yesterday we (Dawn, Bruce, Donna and I) went to Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex to see a Braves/Cardinals spring training game. Dawn had given us tickets as Christmas presents last year, and it’s something they try to do every year. Game was fun and we had a good time (if not horribly sunburned). Duncan made it down from VA to catch the majority of the game too which was cool.

After the game Duncan and I went to the Ale House for some green beer and not so healthy food. Then headed back to his and his parents villa they are staying at. Hung around there for a bit then headed to Joe’s crab shack for a enormous meal of crabs, hushpuppies and massive deserts. Good time.

The Continuation Post

Here’s some more photos from the other weekend Herb took. I figured I’d post them because…well. I’m in some of them, and most pictures I take don’t have that awesome feature.