Before I went to Disney this past weekend, I took my wife to see the movie High School Musical 3. She's a fan of the movies so I thought I would take her to the midnight showing. I didn't expect to see so many little tweens running all over the place. Don't these kids have parents? Didn't they have school the next day? Geez!
Anyway, the movie was going just fine until maybe the last 1/3 of the movie when all of a sudden the video flipped and the audio got all messed up. There was a near riot by the little tweens in the theater! So funny! Then some of the little punks started singing the songs *truly annoying really* and we had to wait around 30 minutes to fix the film. They finally fixed it and we were able to watch it just fine and on top of that we got free movie passes too. I will remember this night as being absolutely hysterical. Remember, never get in the way of a tween and their Disney movie....
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween
Today is Halloween and I'm actually home for it. I won't be really be home per se, I'm going to my sister-in-laws place. I am going to dress up sort of. I am going to be going full out with my Yankee gear. This will make it so that I don't have to hand out candy to the neighborhood kids.
I'm not that into Halloween anymore, I used to have some fun at the office with it but I don't really go to the office all that often since I am trying to enjoy working from home. It gives me time to enjoy my home since I'm away from it for so much of the time.
To my friends and family that are enjoying dressing up, Happy Halloween!
I'm not that into Halloween anymore, I used to have some fun at the office with it but I don't really go to the office all that often since I am trying to enjoy working from home. It gives me time to enjoy my home since I'm away from it for so much of the time.
To my friends and family that are enjoying dressing up, Happy Halloween!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Halloween Horror Nights Orlando!
In addition to doing the 13K race at Disney, my wife and I decided to go to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. This was a pretty scary night to say the least but I think it ranks up there with Howl-O-Scream that Busch Gardens does in Tampa. We hit up a few of the haunted houses and were thoroughly scared and of course we had to go through the various scare zones in order to get from place to place.There were a few rides open too and one of the rides that really stands out is the new Simpson's Ride. This ride took the place of Back to the Future (I doubt the current generation even remembers the movie). This was a 4D ride and it was done very well. I liked that as you waited in line you could watch old episodes of the Simpson's. Just for the hell of it we also did the Men in Black Ride and some other cheesy ride that escapes me right now.
The Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure show was awesome. It was really funny and had cameo's of all the presidential candidates and a lot of popular music that they play on stations like Z100 (for you NY'ers you'll know what that is). I think that show made my night and made the whole trip worth it for Halloween Horror Nights. I probably won't go again, Disney is just way more fun over all!
Oh and one last note, my wife and I were walking through one of the scare zones and this girl was probably walking with her boyfriend. One of the "scary" people walked right up to her and growled in her face, she damn near wet herself when he did that! LOL She basically threw her boyfriends hand away which she had been holding and made a bee line in the opposite direction. That was hysterical, I wish I was able to catch that on video.
Tower of Terror 13K
This past weekend I ran the Tower of Terror 13K race in Orlando FL. Roughly thats a bit over 8 miles in total distance. The route wasn't so bad, being FL it was basically a flat race the entire way. The experience was pretty good. I did only 8 miles once before and I ended hurting my leg for 2 weeks. My doctor said I shouldn't run the race but it seemed a shame not to after paying for the entrance fee and they said I could also walk the race too which wasn't bad.I ended up walking about 4 miles and running 4 miles. I couldn't run the whole race because I'm just not that fit. My wife on the other hand smoked me because she was able to run the whole thing. My time was 1:56 which isn't bad but it isn't great either. It's around a 14 minute mile which isn't all that bad. I might do the race again next year but we'll see. I also never ever thought a banana could taste so good. They gave us a snack at the finish line and my wife was waiting there for me to cross.
Oh and the best part! There was an after partywards where they opened up some of Hollywood Studios for the participants. I rode on the Aerosmith ride (I actually had my glasses on too so I could see what the heck is going on in the ride) and of course I went on the Tower of Terror. There was a new Pixar section to the park and a new Toy Story ride. That ride was totally awesome. It was very interactive and had you shooting all sorts of stuff like if you were at a carnival with a small gun. I wanted to go on the ride again but they were closing the park.
I also picked up some good swag while at the race. I got the commemorative pin, a finishers medal, a short sleeve shirt, and a long sleeve shirt. Not a bad haul if I do say so myself. There are tons of other running events at Disney throughout the year but I think I'm going to switch back to the eliptical until my legs get better. My feet could also use a rest.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The ever falling gas price
I've been home for the past few weeks and I haven't had to drive much but I always pass this particular Shell station that has the cheapest gas in the area. I know this because I check gas prices online to look for the lowest one in a 3 mile radius of my home. This Shell station has been dropping its gas price almost every day for the past few days. It was around $2.80 on Monday and just today its around $2.69. Thats a pretty big deal in my book.
There was a time when I would have considered $2.69 as expensive but no longer which is a bit sad. I do enjoy looking at the news and seeing that oil has dropped to around $70.00 a barrel for oil. There are all these oil exporting countries that depend on high oil prices but that don't like America that depend on the world buying oil at a high price. Take that!! Muahahaha! I'm hoping that prices continue to fall so that people will be able to buy gas and afford heating oil. There are large disparities depending on where you live but as long as prices continue to fall it will be good for all.
There was a time when I would have considered $2.69 as expensive but no longer which is a bit sad. I do enjoy looking at the news and seeing that oil has dropped to around $70.00 a barrel for oil. There are all these oil exporting countries that depend on high oil prices but that don't like America that depend on the world buying oil at a high price. Take that!! Muahahaha! I'm hoping that prices continue to fall so that people will be able to buy gas and afford heating oil. There are large disparities depending on where you live but as long as prices continue to fall it will be good for all.
CT in the fall
I personally didn't take this picture but its a great picture of CT in the fall. I think I know why I like being up in Stamford so much, its all the unique things that are up that way to the city streets, all the different types of houses, and all the trees and hills that are in the area.
Maybe thats the thing that I don't like about Floriduh. It's all so cookie cutter and dull. Everywhere you go there are cookie cutter houses and strip malls. There are some unique places I must admit but they are few and far between. It doesn't really leave an impression in my mind except to tell my inner compass where to go when I need something.
Even though I haven't been to CT in a little while, I still know where everything is and how to get there. There are still places up there that I will also go to and remember when I take a trip (Stewies being one of these places) and who knows, maybe I'll call that area home again (they're going to have to lower income and property taxes to make it even somewhat affordable to people like me).
Granted I doubt I would retire there, my old bones wouldn't be able to take doing all that yard work but maybe a small vacation home for when I want to go and visit where I grew up. The area is changing, no doubt about that (I think the Trump tower was a bad idea btw) but at least there are some un-touched areas that make it feel like New England.
Maybe thats the thing that I don't like about Floriduh. It's all so cookie cutter and dull. Everywhere you go there are cookie cutter houses and strip malls. There are some unique places I must admit but they are few and far between. It doesn't really leave an impression in my mind except to tell my inner compass where to go when I need something.
Even though I haven't been to CT in a little while, I still know where everything is and how to get there. There are still places up there that I will also go to and remember when I take a trip (Stewies being one of these places) and who knows, maybe I'll call that area home again (they're going to have to lower income and property taxes to make it even somewhat affordable to people like me).
Granted I doubt I would retire there, my old bones wouldn't be able to take doing all that yard work but maybe a small vacation home for when I want to go and visit where I grew up. The area is changing, no doubt about that (I think the Trump tower was a bad idea btw) but at least there are some un-touched areas that make it feel like New England.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
No 13K Tower of Terror Race for Me
All the way back in April, Claire and I decided that we would do the 13K Tower of Terror race in Orlando FL. This race takes place at night and you run through the Disney Hollywood Studios theme park. About 2 weeks ago to ensure that we would be able to actually run the entire race we decided to at least try and run that distance on Saturday morning. I felt fine actually running that distance although near the end I totally ran out of gas and had to walk it.
The next day I started limping but I thought nothing of it because I thought it was just my legs being tired or something. Monday things didn't improve so I started to get a bit concerned but still shrugged it off and went about my week and my trip to CT thinking that I should be ready by this weekend. I went and saw the sports medicine doctor that's been helping me with my heel pain in my left foot and the diagnosis that he gave me was that I either have tendinitis or I have a pinched nerve and should be running for the next 3 weeks. That's a real bummer since I was looking forward to running the race with Claire and also because the race is non-refundable. My doctor did say that if I'm feeling about 95% better I could still run it but he still advised against it so I don't injure myself further. Total bummer! Now I'm going to have to do stuff like use the bike or something instead of running. I wouldn't mind swimming if there was a lap pool somewhere close by or something so I can get in some exercise.
I guess I'll have to settle for cheering on Claire as she runs the race this weekend. We'll be doing a host of other things and maybe one day I'll be able to keep up with her on distance running. I can still outrun her in sprints though.
The next day I started limping but I thought nothing of it because I thought it was just my legs being tired or something. Monday things didn't improve so I started to get a bit concerned but still shrugged it off and went about my week and my trip to CT thinking that I should be ready by this weekend. I went and saw the sports medicine doctor that's been helping me with my heel pain in my left foot and the diagnosis that he gave me was that I either have tendinitis or I have a pinched nerve and should be running for the next 3 weeks. That's a real bummer since I was looking forward to running the race with Claire and also because the race is non-refundable. My doctor did say that if I'm feeling about 95% better I could still run it but he still advised against it so I don't injure myself further. Total bummer! Now I'm going to have to do stuff like use the bike or something instead of running. I wouldn't mind swimming if there was a lap pool somewhere close by or something so I can get in some exercise.
I guess I'll have to settle for cheering on Claire as she runs the race this weekend. We'll be doing a host of other things and maybe one day I'll be able to keep up with her on distance running. I can still outrun her in sprints though.
Trip to CT
This past weekend I went up to CT to see my mom for her birthday. It was very nice up in CT during this time of year with all the leaves turning into fall colors with lots of yellows, oranges, and reds. I have numerous pictures of trees from my trip. I was able to rent a car for this trip because I had some free rental coupons from Avis. The rental wasn't totally free but it was close enough. I was able to get a Man Wagon aka The Dodge Magnum. The car wasn't bad but it could have been better if there was a bit more power behind it.
I arrived late Friday night so I didn't do much on Friday. Saturday was the day that I arranged to go to New Jersey to see some of my mom's family. I saw my cousin, his 4 kids, my aunt and uncle and their grand daughter. We ended up eating at Penang which had a branch near Princeton NJ. It was nice to have everyone around for the lunch and the food was excellent as well. Afterwards we spent the rest of the day in NJ with the family. I ended up going home really late and I could hardly stay awake on the trip back. Personally I don't even remember the last 1/3 of the trip home and it was on my favorite highway too.
Sunday was a really late day for me. There's something about my old bedroom that just puts me to sleep. I didn't get up till almost 11am which is highly unusual for me these days. I had planned to go to the mall or something but I got up too late and my mom wanted to go to the 4:15PM Mass too which totally cuts into the day. One of the things that my mom wanted me to try and do is setup the digital boxes so she can get TV past February. The only problem is that the antenna on top of the house is pointed towards the World Trade Center. In order to try and correct this problem my mom had me climb up to the top of the house to see if I can move the antenna. Unfortunately I was unable to move the antenna because there's about 50 years of rust on it and I was afraid that if I moved it, it might just break or something which wouldn't be a good thing at all. I did bring my camera up with me so I was able to take some pictures while I was on the roof of the house. I also ended up going to EMS but I couldn't find a jacket that I liked enough to buy. I also wanted to look at the camel back backpacks that hold water but after today's doctors appointment I don't think I'll be needing it. I also had just enough time to head on over to Stew Leonards, no CT trip is complete without a trip to Stewies! I went there specifically to buy some food to bring home (which is currently sitting in my fridge).
Mass at my old church was pretty uneventful. There are a lot of new people and the priest is also different. I noticed some sublte differences like the stations of the cross being a bit different since they are carvings now intead of paintings, and the chairs up on the alter are different from the ones that I used to sit in when I used to be an alter boy. I kind of miss some of the old stuff since some of the pieces in the church go back to when the old church was still functioning instead of just being the school. Just to indluge myself I decided to have some Garden Catering for dinner. This also saved my mom from having to wash dishes that evening too. Well those were the major highlights of my trip. I should be up there next year for my mom's birthday or for some other reason. We'll see.
I arrived late Friday night so I didn't do much on Friday. Saturday was the day that I arranged to go to New Jersey to see some of my mom's family. I saw my cousin, his 4 kids, my aunt and uncle and their grand daughter. We ended up eating at Penang which had a branch near Princeton NJ. It was nice to have everyone around for the lunch and the food was excellent as well. Afterwards we spent the rest of the day in NJ with the family. I ended up going home really late and I could hardly stay awake on the trip back. Personally I don't even remember the last 1/3 of the trip home and it was on my favorite highway too.
Sunday was a really late day for me. There's something about my old bedroom that just puts me to sleep. I didn't get up till almost 11am which is highly unusual for me these days. I had planned to go to the mall or something but I got up too late and my mom wanted to go to the 4:15PM Mass too which totally cuts into the day. One of the things that my mom wanted me to try and do is setup the digital boxes so she can get TV past February. The only problem is that the antenna on top of the house is pointed towards the World Trade Center. In order to try and correct this problem my mom had me climb up to the top of the house to see if I can move the antenna. Unfortunately I was unable to move the antenna because there's about 50 years of rust on it and I was afraid that if I moved it, it might just break or something which wouldn't be a good thing at all. I did bring my camera up with me so I was able to take some pictures while I was on the roof of the house. I also ended up going to EMS but I couldn't find a jacket that I liked enough to buy. I also wanted to look at the camel back backpacks that hold water but after today's doctors appointment I don't think I'll be needing it. I also had just enough time to head on over to Stew Leonards, no CT trip is complete without a trip to Stewies! I went there specifically to buy some food to bring home (which is currently sitting in my fridge).
Mass at my old church was pretty uneventful. There are a lot of new people and the priest is also different. I noticed some sublte differences like the stations of the cross being a bit different since they are carvings now intead of paintings, and the chairs up on the alter are different from the ones that I used to sit in when I used to be an alter boy. I kind of miss some of the old stuff since some of the pieces in the church go back to when the old church was still functioning instead of just being the school. Just to indluge myself I decided to have some Garden Catering for dinner. This also saved my mom from having to wash dishes that evening too. Well those were the major highlights of my trip. I should be up there next year for my mom's birthday or for some other reason. We'll see.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Returning to CT
This coming weekend I'm going to be returning to my hometown of Stamford CT. Next week it's my mom's birthday but it falls on a Tuesday which is kind of weird so I'm just heading up for the weekend to help her celebrate. I'm going to be heading to New Jersey to see family that still lives in the area (not like there was a lot to begin with) but it should be nice. I won't have time to see my friends this time around but it will be nice to go back to where I grew up. If I'm ever rich enough, I should just buy a vacation place there (most people would consider that weird but I live in a tropical area so some cold would be nice).
I'm going to bring my camera with me and if I'm lucky I'll be able to take some nice photo's while I'm there. I don't have a lot of photo's from Stamford itself even though I've lived there during my formative years. The digital camera is a wonderful thing! If anything I'll get some shots of New Jersey since thats where I'm basically spending my entire Saturday.
Stamford here I come, ready or not!! Booyah!
I'm going to bring my camera with me and if I'm lucky I'll be able to take some nice photo's while I'm there. I don't have a lot of photo's from Stamford itself even though I've lived there during my formative years. The digital camera is a wonderful thing! If anything I'll get some shots of New Jersey since thats where I'm basically spending my entire Saturday.
Stamford here I come, ready or not!! Booyah!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Xbox360 Update
Well I just paid to get my damn console repaired. The only good thing that came out of it is that I have another year to see if the thing will die on me because with the $99.00 fee I get an extended warranty.
This is still bull crap. All of my other consoles still work. My Sega Master System (circa 1989) is still WORKING. I should write an email to Microsoft complaining about this.... HUMBUG!
This is still bull crap. All of my other consoles still work. My Sega Master System (circa 1989) is still WORKING. I should write an email to Microsoft complaining about this.... HUMBUG!
My Xbox360 is busted again!
OK now I'm getting a little miffed at Microsoft. I own the original Xbox and that bad boy was solid. I had one of the first production units since I bought the thing when it came out in Christmas of 2001 or something like that. It's back in its box because I don't play it much but my Xbox 360 has died 3 times now.
I tried calling Xbox 360 support and they're telling me that I need to shell out $99.00 to fix it. From the term "fix it" I'm guessing that they're going to send me another refurb unit. My original Xbox 360 was just fine until I experienced the 3 red rings of death. It lasted for 3 years chugging along just fine. I am on my second refurb unit and the same DVD drive problems continue to occur. I've had the current Xbox for a little less than 3 months.
I have tried looking online to see if there are Xbox's that are refurbs at stores for cheaper but there aren't any. The cheapest ones are for almost $180 which is too much. I'd much rather pay the $99.00 but I think Microsoft should just give me a new box anyway since this one didn't even last half a year. I'll try calling them again and see if I get another support specialist who will be willing to let this slide and get me into another Xbox without a charge. In the mean time, I gotta do more role searching so I can get my butt off the bench.
I tried calling Xbox 360 support and they're telling me that I need to shell out $99.00 to fix it. From the term "fix it" I'm guessing that they're going to send me another refurb unit. My original Xbox 360 was just fine until I experienced the 3 red rings of death. It lasted for 3 years chugging along just fine. I am on my second refurb unit and the same DVD drive problems continue to occur. I've had the current Xbox for a little less than 3 months.
I have tried looking online to see if there are Xbox's that are refurbs at stores for cheaper but there aren't any. The cheapest ones are for almost $180 which is too much. I'd much rather pay the $99.00 but I think Microsoft should just give me a new box anyway since this one didn't even last half a year. I'll try calling them again and see if I get another support specialist who will be willing to let this slide and get me into another Xbox without a charge. In the mean time, I gotta do more role searching so I can get my butt off the bench.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
The Storm Cometh!!
Coming soon to Verizon is a new phone to take on the iPhone, namely the BlackBerry Storm. I personally am not the biggest fan of BlackBerry but they might be on to something here. The interface looks pretty awesome and the fact that its totally touch screen also helps. It doesn't have a lot of the innovative stuff that Apple has done for its iPhone but it does have one interesting feature, a flexible touch screen! It basically flexes so that you can "feel" that you've done something. This is quite the contrast to the iPhone. Now the only thing that they need to improve is the overall software and it will be a killer!I'm still going to get my Treo because I like having physical keys on my phone and my company is moving everyone away from BlackBerry and heading towards iPhones and WM devices. After having an iPod Touch for a little bit I can see the appeal of the iPhone. If they bring that bad boy out for Verizon, it will be totally HUGE! Especially if they make it to work on CDMA and GSM at the same time.
My wife will probably be getting one of these unless there is something new and improved from BB to come out in the next year. I'll be checking this out in the store if I get the chance, just to see how it is.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Down goes the economy!
Unless you've been hiding in a cave for the last few weeks, you would have noticed that the economy isn't doing so hot these days. Normally you'd expect some ups and downs in the stock market but right now its just going down and I mean down in a massive hurry! Bailouts are everywhere and nothing seems to be able to stem the tide of mounting losses. Everyone has been touched in some way, whether its the fresh out of college employee watching his 401K looking kinda grim or the retiree that just realized his life savings was wiped out because his company went bankrupt or invested in bad debt securities. Well there is one silver lining that I can see, its not just our problem anymore! Muahahaha!
Oh how I've enjoyed watching the Europeans and the Asians start to flounder. Everyone over across the oceans thought it was a US problem, haha jokes on you! It's not our fault that they bought bad US debt securities and now they need some injections from the central banks in order to stay in business :) I'm just waiting for the begging to begin for the US to help bail out some countries economy with a huge package. It's funny that no one ever offers the US help but if something goes wrong its always the question of "why doesn't the US do something to help?". HUMBUG! There are billions of tax payer dollars going to foreign aid and my country is dealing with a trillion dollar deficit. I'd start pulling that money home to start funding infrastructure projects like they had when Roosavelt was president. Nothing like some new rail lines, roads, and an enhanced power grid to make things alright in the ole USA.
Anyway, thats the rant for now. More will be forthcoming in the next few days since I'm stuck at home.
Oh how I've enjoyed watching the Europeans and the Asians start to flounder. Everyone over across the oceans thought it was a US problem, haha jokes on you! It's not our fault that they bought bad US debt securities and now they need some injections from the central banks in order to stay in business :) I'm just waiting for the begging to begin for the US to help bail out some countries economy with a huge package. It's funny that no one ever offers the US help but if something goes wrong its always the question of "why doesn't the US do something to help?". HUMBUG! There are billions of tax payer dollars going to foreign aid and my country is dealing with a trillion dollar deficit. I'd start pulling that money home to start funding infrastructure projects like they had when Roosavelt was president. Nothing like some new rail lines, roads, and an enhanced power grid to make things alright in the ole USA.
Anyway, thats the rant for now. More will be forthcoming in the next few days since I'm stuck at home.
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