The Pig-Out Post

Happy Halloween to everyone! I hope you enjoy the festivities today/tonight. Today was the annual Colorvision ‘Pig-Out’ in which we all bring in a dish for a massive communal meal and eat together in costume (most of us) in the conference room. Those of us who wore an outfit posed outside for a picture. I rocked my J.D. costume again and won some praise. I’ll be honest though the first thing I did after work was go and get a haircut… too much hair required for this costume. I’d say it’s to long for the Florida heat, but that would be a bit of a stretch at the moment because we have been sitting in rather cool temperatures for the better part of two weeks now. Mark (far left) went as an Amazing Picture (our trademark Indiana Jones shot more specifically), which I thought was pretty cool. Working on the backdrop was entertaining for sure, though cutting out logo was taxing my foamcore/exacto skills more than I’d hoped. Fun day, and very filling. I ate my weight in food. Then went back for seconds. There where some pretty funny costumes too, which was great to see. Kim's and Sue's in particular had everyone laughing.

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 Fund Post

With the holidays coming up I decided a little extra income would definitely help with the anticipated expense that comes with the festivities. Flights back home, presents etc. All expenditures I look forward to months ahead of time and love to pay. With this logic in mind I noticed that the local GameStop that we visit on lunch break religiously, is hiring seasonal part-timers. I asked Matt the manager there, if something from 5-close on weekdays would be in the cards, and he said that they could fit me on the schedule 2-3 times a week. Seems perfect. I’ll just roll over right after work and run small shifts a few days a week, sound good. Filled out the paper-work and turned it back in the next day, and pending a background check with my old store in Sterling; I’m hired. Turns out though that the pay is substantially lower than I was earning even back in high school… With Florida’s lower rate of earning taken into consideration, if I go through with it I think it will funding towards my “Jamie’s PS3 Fund” rather than a Christmas collection. Unless that is you all what really crappy presents.

The Crazy Office Post

Work is kinda crazy at the moment. Regrettably Sharon, the company’s matriarch, is undergoing some major surgery, and is expected to be out of the office for a while recovering. Everyone’s furniture is in the middle of the room due to guys coming by on Monday to start painting the walls. There is major construction going on next-door involving compacting dirt for a parking lot, which causes the whole building to shudder constantly. And the air-conditioning was down last week on our end of the building which had us in the high eighties for a few days. Not the most wild of circumstances, but weird to have them all happen at once. Considering that I spent most of my work week gluing together an Indiana Jones backdrop for a Halloween costume (not mine before you ask) and writing stage directions for an NBC script… it definitely wasn’t your average week at the office. Best of luck to Sharon during her surgery and recovery time. Hopefully everything will be a little less crazy when she comes back.

The Obey The Clown Post

This week has been a little high on the caloric intake due to the maniacal grip Ronald McDonald has over me. His diabolical Monopoly game has me suffering from a Mac Attack whenever the idea of food comes into my head. Collecting those stupid stickers just clicks with me for some reason and I find myself peeling back the greasy labels before I even take a sip of my Coke. The whole office is hooked too, and we trade duplicate stamps and all play online as well. Its so sad, but at the same time so addictive. If you’ll excuse me I’m going to go order some food I don’t want in order to maximize my sticker-to-purchase ratio. Premium Chicken Sandwich and a large fries? Sounds good to me.

Speaking of evil corporations. I finally got a working 360 today after over a month since they sent me the last broken one (which in turn took a month before that). Freaking idiots in their repair center/ customer care department. Hopefully this one will last forever.

The Heartbreak Post

Years after the Ferrelly Brothers did There is Something About Mary along comes (Polly) the Stiller driven Heartbreak Kid. Considering the time both Stiller and his brand of comedy have had to develop, the similarities between the two films are to the degree that Heartbreak could have been Mary’s sequel and no one would have noticed*. That’s not to say that it wasn’t a funny movie, and didn’t have merit. There were scenes that where absolutely hilarious, and running jokes and gross-out moments that made me laugh out loud and wince at the same time. As far as a modern comedy goes this pretty much hits the mark, but wont win any awards or be remembered for long. It’s far from perfect, but perfection is impossible the way the genre stands at the moment. A Ferrelly film is a Ferrelly film and nothing more. Anyone going in expecting more than what you get is just foolish. As far as their films go though, this one beats out the majority of their past attempts by a wide margin.

It’s a proven fact that people will pay to see Ben Stiller wriggle out of awkward situations. It’s science. You can’t argue with science. He was in classic form (as was his father) in ‘Heartbreak, and fans won’t be disappointed. He does mix up the traditional Stiller-role enough to seem more mature and developed this time around, which is a breath of fresh air. And while there is a lot less physical comedy being relied on this time, it’s still Derek Zoolander under all that makeup and grey hair, so if that’s not your brand, then skip this one. The supporting cast does a decent job, and some of the sub characters are pretty funny in their own right. Carlos Mencia however is never, and will never, be funny. Why he made it onto a big screen I will never truly understand. I found the ending particularly clichéless, which is cool. Actually the film as a whole took a weird turn towards the last 15 minutes that kept my interest up, which I’m fine with considering all comedies these days spend the last half hour focusing on finality, not funny it seems.

*There where scenes in which Malin Akerman (Stiller’s annoying new wife) and Cameron Diaz’s Mary where one in the same.

The Carpeted Deck Post

This Sunday I had some time to myself while Melanie and Craig where at Universal all day, so I took advantage and hit Home Depot for some indoor/outdoor carpet for the porch. I had previously got a wicked bad splinter in the ball of my foot when sitting out there, and wanted to lay some waterproof flooring down over the exposed wood. Sized and cut a good 12x6 foot roll and brought it back to install it. I’m not much of a handyman, but I have to say I think I did a pretty good job. Measured and cut for the alcove and the railing posts sop it fits snug, and tacked it down with bent over wood nails. Looks good and there are no splinters to be seen. Treated the wood underneath for ants and pests before laying the rug down, and took out any spider nests/webs that had popped up between the crossbeams to avoid problems under the carpet. Repotted my plants with some borrowed mulch from around the lake too, so it’s pretty nice out there now. I still need to get some more permanent furniture vs. the indoor folding chair, but I’m in no rush for now.

The Colchester Vistors Post

Childhood friend Melanie, from the UK visited this weekend as one of her stops on a tour across America. She’s travelling with a buddy of hers; Craig, and has so far been to New York City, somewhere in Ohio, Boston and Texas. They where only in Orlando for four days before they head on to San Diego. While they were here I tried to show them different aspects of town; we hit Millenia’s BJ Brewhouse for some awesome food; Minigolfed on I-Drive, hit a few malls and the Van’s Skatepark, and went downtown to some of the more eclectic bars like Spybar and Independent. I think they had a good time. Yesterday they did an all-day-er at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. Stuck around late for Halloween Horror Nights, which they said, was really good. All in all I think they had a pretty decent trip, albeit a small stop on a long list of many. It was weird to be playing host in my new apartment though having just been there for a week myself.

The Night Rocket Post

Hit Cape Canaveral last night to watch the Atlas Rocket launch. It was an 8:30 launch window so it was night once the rocket blasted off. Very cool seeing the rocket from so close, and event cooler against the night sky. We got all the way down to the park that overlooks the cape this time which was much closer than pas far as we got for the shuttle earlier in the year. The rumble was incredible and the sheer brilliance of the light it gives off is crazy. Took a video but its too big for YouTubing and will require some compression. I’ll get to that. After the launch we killed some time at some of the local Cocoa establishments and then headed back to Orlando. Unfortunately being right on the water made me mosquito fodder, which I am fully appreciating today. Shouldn’t have worn shorts!

The Done Deal Post

I think I’m done. Yeah sure there are some spots on the wall that will need canvases to decorate and a fair bit of “Misc. Stuff” laying about the place that will need to be sorted, but for the most part I’m in. Here are some shots of the new place as requested. Though they really don’t do a very good job of showing off the rooms. I think another Crib’s Video might be in order.

The Virginia Goings-On Post

Meanwhile, in Virginia....

Today (now yesterday) is Stefan’s 21^st birthday, a big Happy Birthday to him. Crazy to think my brother is 21. Not so much because he’s my little brother, but more because it doesn’t seem thank long ago that I had my 21^st celebration for my coming of age. The whole family is over at the house to celebrate with steaks and crab cakes (jealous!) as well as respective girlfriends (including mine), Ali and Bob and Aunty Lel. I hate missing these family events.

I’ve been too bogged down with my new apartment and getting myself settled that I didn’t comment about Ali and Bob making their move this weekend too. I felt bad enough for myself unloading a one-bedroom apartment’s worth of stuff…I can’t imagine what a whole house is like! Seems like everything is going smoothly as possible at this point which is nice to hear. According to Stefan the new place is pretty cool and very much a Ragsdale-sort-of-house. Looking forward to checking it out firsthand next time I head back to VA. Bob already put everyone’s worries to rest; yes there is a perfect spot for Christmas Potato Batchi. We can all sleep soundly.

The Gator Post

Arrived home from work yesterday to find a note in my door from the management. Headed with ‘IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!’ in bold underlined text I hastened to read the flyer. Apparently an alligator has been spotted in the complex by the lake, and the apartment company wanted to let us know. They tell us to avoid mulch areas at night (apparently that’s when gators are most prone to be away from the water and looking for food) and to be wary around the water. The Florida Game Commission have been notified about it but so far its still on the premises.

This doesn’t scare me at all, as I am sure it’s just a small guy and probably no more of a nuisance than a raccoon or ground hog…but with more teeth. Honestly the creepiest things down here are the geckos. Once you get past the fact that there are lightning fast, reptiles clinging to your house then any ground-based pests don’t really strike up much commotion.

The Move Post

Wow. That was a lot of effort. And while I’m not finished the majority of the labor is done. The move was BRUTAL. I had no idea it would be so tasking. Sweat and tears-wise I think I lost half my body weight lugging boxes up and down stairs and stuffing them in the back of the rental truck. Bruce took his lunch to come by and help with the behemoth that is my TV (seriously what the hell is inside that thing??) which was an immense help. Didn’t finish until 4:30 due to constant downpours and the fact that I have WAY TO MUCH STUFF, so I wasn’t able to check out of my old apartment until the following day. Which was good thing because it ended up taking two ore trips with cleaning supplies and plants to fully vacate. I busted my butt to get the apartment looking tip-top. Ended up filing my fingertips off with scrub brushes and covering my arms with more bruises and cuts than entirely necessary, but the place look awesome, and received “Perfect Condition”-ranking from the woman who did the move-out inspection.

This weekend my couch arrives and I hope to get the last of the essentials running (i.e. computer). With the small expectation of sewage-smelling-water (new pipes) the apartment is perfect. Not a nick, scratch, dent or ding to report. And everything is brand spanking new. I love it there. Expect pictures soon.