The Zollo to Quinones Post

Last night was Susan and Mike’s wedding. The ceremony was a close knit affair at Susan’s house with the arbor and walkway setup in the back yard. Lots of people filled the yard as Susan came down the aisle. It was really moving to see both her and Mike besides themselves in happiness, and the ceremony was quite nice. Sarah was down for the weekend, so it was great to be able to bring her along too. Due to the small nature of the wedding there weren’t that many people form the office who we knew, but Buck and Laura as well as Bruce and Stacey where there for the festivities. Victor was playing paparazzi the whole night, but it was great that he was able to make it out too, (even if Susan kept him working). After the food, eclectic-dances and many emotional toasts, Sarah and I headed down to Cricketer’s with Bruce and Stacey for some Newcastles and Scotch Eggs before crashing. It’s really comforting to see how happy two people can make each other, and I am just so glad for Susan that she has found someone like Mike who will devote himself and all he has to her. Congratulations guys.

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 Day Off Post

I’m taking today off from work, which marks the first time I’ve successfully used a vacation day*. It’s a double header really because I’m using today as a relaxation day after week of feeling rather ‘bleh’ with a sort through and cough, as well as a ‘spend-time-with-your-sibling-day’ to hang out with Samantha before she heads home this weekend. Last night Sam, Jason and I went out to Cowboy’s for Jodi’s birthday, then headed downtown to meet up with Buck and Laura at Firestone. It was a good night for me because I’d never been to either place and have been itching to check out Firestone for a while now. Cowboys was not my usual party spot (a lot more cowboy hats and line dancing than I’m accustomed to) but the place was huge and packed. I reckon I’ll head out that way again sometime. No, I don’t want to line dance.

Today we are thinking of heading out to the new SeaWorld park Aquatica. After a nice lay-in of course. I’m feeling a lot better, which I’m pleased about. I was worried I might have caught what Tom had last week, which left him bedridden for a good few days. Guess either I only got something mild, or my immune system is a bulldozer. I’m inclined to think the latter of course.

*I’ve filed for days off before but just gone without pay.

The Poker Post

Last night Buck, Laura, Dave, Jess and I headed over to a friend of theirs house up in Altamont called Rodney. We had a bbq and hung out there eating some of ‘Rodney’s Famous Burgers- The Best In All Of Orlando’- which to his credit, were pretty damn good (if not messy). The focus of the night was the amateur Texas Hold’em tourney that broke out around the pool table. I promptly lost my 10 dollar buy-in, but could have won a fair few hands if I’d been more confident in my cards. Oh well. My entire poker experience at this point is based on James Bond movies anyway, so I wasn’t anticipating taking home any big winnings.

The Time-To-Post Post

Last few days have been relatively low key. Not that I’m complaining, just offering an excuse for the lack of posts. Easter was cool. Buck, Laura and I headed over to Sue and Arnolds for an Easter brunch and egg hunt for all the neighbor hood kids. Sue and Arnold are the parents of Hayden (the unofficial cutest kid ever). Afterwards we met up with Jess and Dave and went to Buck’s mother’s new house for Easter Dinner. She had just moved so the house was barren for the most part. We ate loads of good food off of disposable plates sitting on folding chairs, which was a nice change from the standard Easter fair.

I won the tile contest at Tijuana Flats, and this week I went by to see my work up on the ceiling and get my prizes (free food and a t-shirt). They gave my tile a pretty primo spot, right when you come in, which is nice. They only ended up getting 10 or so entries so my victory isn’t all that grand, but whatever when I tell people I’ll make it sound way more impressive. Hit the ale house with Bruce once or twice, and had dinner over at Craig’s house another night. All in all nothing crazy really going on.

The Peacock Room Post

Buck and Lola work for Chillin’ Music; a record label they are both under and a big part of the electronic scene in Orlando and Miami. Friday night they had a Chillin’ event downtown at the Peacock Room. I had never been before despite numerous invites for various reasons, but was on the guest list this time, so I defiantly wanted to finally check the place out. It was pretty cool. A fully stocked bar with an eclectic design to the whole place. Buck was spinning, as well as a few other of their DJ friends from San Francisco. Sue and Arnold from work were there as well, which was cool, plus the usual crowd of Buck/Laura friends who I get on really well with. I haven’t been out with them for a while so it was cool to see everyone again. Good times. Glad I went.

The Saturday Post

Meant to get this up sooner, but figured spending time with Sarah was more important that writing about spending time with her.

Sarah and I scored some free tickets to both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure this weekend from my buddy Craig. We hit the parks early on Saturday and blew through ‘Studios in a couple of hours. We hit all the good rides (Mummy, Men in Black etc) and managed to sneak in a trip on Back to the Future, which incidentally is being closed down to make way for a new ride in 2 weeks. We got all our ride photos for free as well cus…well you know…I got the hook up. I think I got quite obnoxious wandering the parks commenting on how I never usually have to wait in lines and random facts about the park. Sarah put up with me though, which I am appreciative of.

Lunchtime came and we hit Citywalk, eating at Margaritaville which was pretty awesome surprisingly. Had me a Landshark Lager (which I am determined to make my new beer) and a crab cake sandwich. Both were excellent. Sarah enjoyed her veggie-mushroom-thingy too, so all went well.

Next up was Islands, which was loads of fun. Did Spiderman and both the Dueling Dragons before it started to belt rain. Hoped inline for Hulk ‘cus the wait was 20 min and it was indoors, hoping to ride out the rain…nope. We rode it in the POURING rain and got absolutely saturated. The rain was beating down so hard it actually hurt to open your eyes. Fun times. Soggy. But fun times.

Later that night, after a nice nap and a good shower, we met up with Buck and Lola downtown for some Thai. Never eaten at a Thai place before, so it was a bit of an adventure for me. I tried the red curry with shrimp and chicken, after a recommendation from some of Buck’s DJ friends who ate with us. I really enjoyed it and think I might try whipping it up here sometime. After dinner we hit Crooked Bayou for a drink then headed to Suite B to see the aforementioned DJ friend running his set. Didn’t stick around for long because I was knackered after a long day.