Ok brief synopsis of my life so far, since I haven’t really updated this thing in awhile.

- Saw the legendary Willie Nelson in concert at Universal. It was an alright show, Willie was great, but it would have been more helpful if I was more familiar with more of his work.
-Bought myself a Gameboy Advance SP for my birthday. Amazing little thing. It’s small and compact, so I can take it anywhere. Real helpful if I’m waiting for an appointment, or just want to lay in the hammock in the backyard.
- Turned 21. Spent the day at Universal, where I legally purchased my first beer. Ended up chugging it outside of Dudley Do-Right (hey, I wanted to ride it, and I was pressed for time). Spent the evening at Café Tu-Tu Tangos, my favorite restaurant, and one I haven’t been too in 2 years, indulging in some drinks I hadn’t heard of before.
- Saw Smash Mouth in concert at Universal. Pretty good show. Helped that I had a buzz going for me from drinking beforehand. Got a free beer too which is always a plus (well it wasn’t free as much as I inadvertently stole it)
- AC is still broke in my car. Still awaiting school. Family still being a pain. Nothing has really changed since the last time I posted. Hence the lack of posting.

- Well, it's official. May 1st 2003, I will start school again. I received my acceptance phone call today. Now I just have to figure out how to pay for it.
- People seem to like me because I’m polite and rarely late. Years later a doctor will find out that I’m ‘learning disabled,’ or, as some people say, ‘retarded.’

- You know that big fucking rainstorm I wanted to happen last night? Well, it happened tonight instead. A day late and a dollar short.
- Decided to take advantage of my annual pass to IOA, and went a little early to ride some roller coasters. There were virtually no lines for any ride as I made my way to the rear of the park. Reaching Dueling Dragons, I was surprised when the line was virtually absent. I took this opportunity to jump in the line for the front of the car. As we were heading up the track, I noticed it started raining. It started raining particularly hard. And then we went over the hill. While I normally get a big thrill from riding in the front row of a floorless coaster, the ride I experienced was essentially the equivalent of sitting in a chair being shot by a fire hose for three minutes.
-  I made the foolish error of dicking around waiting for the seating to become open for the movie. I arrived at the theater, played some games, got some popcorn, then found that the line to the film wasn't the three or four people standing outside the theater, but the line of 150 snaking around the hallway in the rear of the theater. Taking my place, and fearing that the amount of people in line steadily growing would be over the theater capacity, I was relieved when I was proven wrong. I was also glad to hear the director of the film was actually in attendance this night, so a Q &A would follow afterwards.
- If you ever have the chance in life to see BUBBA HO-TEP, you must take that opportunity. It is one of the finest films I have seen. 90 minutes of pure entertainment. 

- I'm convinced that what Universal needs for any Mardi Gras event is a big fucking rainstorm. There's just too many goddamn people!! It took me 20 minutes just to get into the park, and 15 minutes to walk a distance less than 500 feet! There were people crowing the streets, crowding the sidewalk, and shoved into the staging area. I decided not to see Hootie and the Blowfish, since I wasn't able to get a good spot, and I just had an uneasy feeling about being there. A highlight of my evening (true story), I was walking toward the exit with a group of black gentlemen in front of me, and group on young teens to my left. A Justin Timberlake song came over the PA, and the girls started singing it as loud as they could while doing some strange choreography. This prompted one of the guys to slow his pace, motion towards the girls to his friends, and exclaim, "Those are some crazy white bitches!"
- Saw Willard instead. Found out the Bubba Ho-Tep is also playing at Universal tomorrow, so I picked up my tickets as well. Decent flick. 

- I have decided not to finish my MegaCon "report", as I have better things to do, like strangling kittens or something. Day 3 was a lot like day two, only replace Dina Meyer, with Xenia Seeberg. Still lost the Halo tournament. Although I am convinced that the highest quality hallucinogenics come out of Japan, as I once again sat through some of their cartoons. How the fuck else can they come up with this stuff? For a more overview type description of the event, head over to MoviePoopShoot.com, as one of the commentators there has a great report on this years event.
- Really enjoy listening to Johnny Cash's new song "Hurt", a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song. The video is especially haunting.
- I'm starting to enjoy watching the Russian pop group TaTu perform on various shows to promote their album. While their tunes are catchy, it doesn't hurt that these two young Russian babes make out during the instrumentals.
- Am really pissed off at having missed out on my opportunity to catch "Bubba Ho-Tep" at the Florida Film Festival, as it has sold out. There going my only reason for wanting to really attend this years event (short of the Wallace and Gromitt shorts that I'm sure I've missed already). Well, maybe next year. I'm confident, like "Gigantic" (the film I really wanted to see, but missed out on last year), this film will get distribution, so I'll see it eventually.
- Yard work is going well (inside joke).

03/01/02: MegaCon Day 2:

- Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. Got out to the Convention Center at about 10:00am, right when the doors opened. The shuttle just left as I pulled into the parking lot, so I wouldn’t have the luxury of it today. So after a brisk walk, I arrived at Hall C and made a beeline for the information desk. I picked up a ticket for Dina Meyer (from Starship Troopers, Birds of Prey, etc.), but skipped over the window for that guy from Witchblade (I never really watched the show). Wandered my way over towards the gaming area (first stopping to buy photographs of the featured guest for them to sign) to find that the rumors were confirmed: HALO tournament at 4pm. After talking myself out of entering a tournament for a game I never played (even though the guy there said I’d be a natural for it after my performance yesterday), I bought a hardback edition of Kevin Smith’s run on Green Arrow, and decided to wait in line for Dina Meyer.
- What I like about MegaCon this year is that they’ve approximated how many people can be fit in a 2-hour signing window, and are handing out signature coupons for it, so you don’t have to wait in line. As long as you have a coupon, and come within that time frame, you’re guaranteed a signature. Or that’s what they wanted to do this year at least. 90 minutes before the signing, there was already a line forming. Even with MegaCon staff telling people to go the f’ away, they were undeterred. So I hopped in line and read until Dina showed up. The Witchblade guy showed up 20 minutes early, and started whittling through his pretty decent line. But Dina showed up right at noon. I’ll say this: Dina Meyer is one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen. Forget Starship Troopers, Birds of Prey, or anything where you saw Dina Meyer. They won’t do her justice. She is so much better looking in person, which would be my downfall…
- So I eventually got up to the front of the line after taking two pictures while in the line (hey, I get a little jumpy with a camera), one of which I think she noticed me, because she smiled right at the camera. Shame that picture didn’t really turn out well. Anyway, standard procedure at a signing, from what I can discern, is you go up, exchange pleasantries, they’d ask for your name, give you an autograph, they’d thank you for coming out, that’s it. Sometimes you can engage them in conversation, but the Con workers will most likely shoo you away. So this is what I was expecting. So imagine my surprise, when I go up, exchange pleasantries, hand her the photo to sign, and she tries to engage me in small talk! And as soon as she looked in my eyes, I just became a babbling idiot. Here’s the conversation:

DINA: Hello!
Alex [walks up, handing photo]: Hello.
DINA [takes photo, signs it, looks up at Alex smiling a glorious smile]: Well, quite a turnout today, isn’t it?
Alex [tries to come up with clever or at least semi-intelligent, perhaps complimentary response, like how it appears that there’s more people for Dina than there were at Kevin Smith’s first signing last year, but ultimately fails]: Umm…yep.
[Awkward pause as two just look at each other]
Alex: Umm…[takes photo] thank you very much.
DINA [awkward smile]: You’re welcome.

At that point, I hauled ass, wanting to find the nearest pole, so I could bash my head into it. I was just so intimidated by her. I mean, come on! I’ve seen Starship Troopers, so when I’ve watched Dina Meyer before, I’ve watched ALL of Dina Meyer before! How can you have an intelligent conversation after something like that! So I just hope this doesn’t happen when I meet Xenia Seeburg tomorrow, as I actually want to exchange a few words for the 20 bucks it costs to meet her.
- Well the gaming area was full, and I’ve pretty much shopped for everything I want, so I decided to head over to the blood bank van a few hours early. I got in, and signed up, and gave my pint. Thinking I would be fine, I immediately, headed out. I got to right outside of the main hall before I got real dizzy. Realizing that for the third year in a row I had missed Lloyd Kaufman (head of Troma Films) discuss independent filmmaking, I headed upstairs (escalator) to the anime viewing room, just to give me something to do while I got my head together. There I spent the next hour munching on any food I had on me, while I sat dumbfounded, trying to figure out what the hell I was watching. Regaining my strength, I went back into the fray, headed for the HALO tournament.
- The tournament began with a lot of standing around as the head “gamemaster,” as the fatass liked to call himself, figured out what he was doing. But fortunately, when everyone else’s patience was being tested to the limit, he brought out a megaphone, and was able to produce feedback with everything he said. Someone wisely took it away from him, before the 32 angry players did something drastic. So the tournament begins, and I’m in the third tier. It’s a deathmatch, first to 10 kills, close range weapons only. I got six kills, before the winner got 10, so I was a bit dismayed, but at least I beat three other people, none of whom were female Tetris players (although, the person who did beat me was standing behind the eventual winner cheering him on, wearing a nice short skirt and green top). I wandered around a bit afterwards, shopping for a belated present for my sister, and then went home, wondering what the hell I’m going to do tomorrow.
- On an non-MegaCon note, I was kind of looking forward to the Lynard Skynrd concert next Saturday, but I discovered today that one of the band members is sick, so they had to cancel. But, if you’re planning to attend, they did secure a replacement: David Lee Roth! Alright! (That last cheer was sarcasm). Looks like I’m spending another Saturday night at home.
- Christ, I can be pathetic sometimes.

2/28/03: MegaCon Day 1

- Got up early and headed off to MegaCon, an annual event I always end up going to and having a good time (hey, I’m a geek at heart, what can I say). The first one I went to was in 2001, and that was to meet some actors from Buffy. Last year, I went to the con to meet and attend a Q&A by my filmmaking idol, Kevin Smith. This year, there wasn’t really a reason to attend. But, hey, I always end up having fun anyway. It’s a three-day event and Fridays are always the slowest, so it’s nice to have a chance to look around. Was luckily able to catch a shuttle to the convention center so I didn’t have to walk all the way there (which was fortunate, as the place I parked at, was actually farther away from the Convention hall that I though the con was being held at).
- Usually I buy the tickets beforehand, but this year procrastination set in and I had to wait in line for 30 minutes to buy tickets, luckily, the doors had just opened when I got my ticket.
- Entered the familiar hall, to find really lackluster booths. I’m usually fascinated by all of the bootleg VHS stands (which, now with the invent of the DVD-R, is slowly being replaced by bootleg DVD), but this year there was no real exciting things to look at, there were no mainstream films to buy (not even the LOTR, as there were in years past). Except I did find funny someone was selling the “Official Brittney Spears and Anna Kournakova Sex Video”. But mainly as I wandered around, it was just more of the same as the past two years’ events. In fact, I think last year had much more fascinating booths than this year. Of course, I was pretty big into comics last year, which I’m not anymore, so I quickly passed over the $1 comic books. Except for the Kevin Smith Spider-Man series that just came out, I did happen to pick up a few of those.
- At each MegaCon, there’s a video game area in the back that I’ve never gone into in years past, but decided to go in this year. In one corner of the area, was the Xbox game called Steel Battalion, which I had heard about, but never played. Why? Cause it’s a $150 game. $50 for the actual game, $100 for the massive controller you need to play it. This game goes for ultra realism, so to even play the game you have to throw a bunch of switches on the controller, which took everyone playing it a few minutes to figure out. I got down to play and got the hang of it, only to find out how incredibly hard the game was I gave up on it, and decided to sign up for a tournament for a game I had never even heard of. It ended up being like Breakout, and I quickly got the hang of it. I ended up being the only that signed up for the tournament, but instead of being declared the winner, they just canceled the tournament. I signed up for a Tetris tournament later in the day.
-Signed up for the blood drive to give tomorrow. Got a phone card and a free Chik-Fil-A sandwich.
-Went over to the gaming area to get ready for the tournament. Sat down to play Tetris, and easily smote all those who challenged me. So, by the time the tournament began, I was the odds on favorite to win the whole thing. My first opponent was someone who I already beat pretty easily before, and we went at it. It was a 15-minute Tetris bout, and at the end, I guess it was the pressure that I was actually competing against someone, but I lost it. I was out first round. Oh well, at least the girl I lost to was cute. Yes, I lost to a girl. Well, it was Tetris. At least I didn’t lose to her on HALO (which was rumored to have a tournament for tomorrow). And if I actually had a pair, I would have asked her out, since she was showing some interest in me after the competition.
- Wandered around a bit more then hiked back to my car. Went home. End of day.

- My unemployment is going better than I thought. I have all this free time now to do the things I always have been meaning to get to. I still sit on my lazy ass around the house, but it's nice to know I have the time. 
- Hung out with my mom's cousin this evening. He's a great guy who owns a golf course up in Wisconsin (among other things) who's down here on business with his family (it's really a vacation, but he has a few meetings, so he gets to write it off as a business trip). We all went down to the Crab House, where I got crabs... wait that didn't sound right... I got the crab legs, and scarfed them down (well, I had to work to get the damn meat out of the shell, which was tougher than usual). After dinner, while Mom talked with her cousin, I played with his daughters, 3-year olds (I think), named Sidney, and Sarah. Just the cutest kids you'd ever meet. We had a lot of fun. Stuff like running around the pool, and I did that static electricity trick with a balloon on my goatee to make it stand out, much to the delight of the girls. In the end I got a hug from both, and they told me they'd miss me very much. *sniff*. Tugging at the ol' heart strings. And they say I hate kids... (well they don't, but someone out there does). 
- After dinner, went to the coolest McDonald's Ever. This isn't the large place that's right on I-Drive, no, this is the one down the street off of Sand Lake Road. This place is an actual restaurant! I mean there's no waiter, and you still have to go up to the counter and pay, but there's real nice tables, with flowers and decor on them, paintings on the walls, gourmet food selections for those who don't want a Big Mac, and a second story that doesn't have a play place, but a game room. Very cool.
- Saw that on Tuesday, "A Tribute to Avril Lavigne" CD was released. Let me repeat that. There is in existence called a CD called "A Tribute to Avril Lavigne." She's only made one goddamn album. HOW THE HELL CAN SHE HAVE A TRIBUTE ALBUM ALREADY!?!

- It was my last day of work today. I treated it like any other day. Went in and got to work. Of course by 4:00, I just kind of stopped working really, since I only had a few hours left. What were they going to do about me slacking off, fire me? I regretted not throwing a monkey wrench into the operation, but I have too much respect for the people there (well, at least some of them) to be screwing with them. At the end of my shift, I bought some stuff I had on hold, debated about buying a kayak, and just clocked out and left. I didn't really say any goodbyes (short of a small message in the companies computer systems), except to the few people who noticed I was walking out the door. It was as soon as I got home that the realization hit me that I would no longer be going back to the place I called a second home for the past two years. It was kind of sad, but I couldn't stay there for the rest of my life. Time to end one chapter of my life, and begin another one. 
- I am kind of glad I didn't have my roof rack on my car, or I would've ended up buying a kayak. It would have been more of an impulse buy than anything else, and I may not need to make it. I really have to examine my finances before I make a large investment like this, especially since I do have some things coming up that I HAVE to spend money one, so those take priority. Luckily, my bosses at the TCO have been generous as to extend me the option of buying that boat for a month, so I have some time to get my stuff together. 

-Sat through the last Saturday at work, wishing I had a hammer I could slam against my head. That's the one thing I won't miss about work when I leave. The six hours where I sit around doing absolutely nothing. Of course, I did get paid for those six hours of sitting around doing nothing.
- Went to the Mardi Gras celebrations at Universal Studios Orlando. The rain clouds were looking pretty ominous, and sure enough, once I got into the parking lot, the skies opened up. Luckily, I brought my rain jacket. I trudged through CityWalk to reach the park, and on the way there followed a man who looked to be mentally retarded by his walk. Of course, it just turned out he was getting the celebration started early. Mildly wet from the downpour, I carried on through the park, to the place the concert was at last year. Not being there, I then spent the next hour (minus 10 minutes to ride Men In Black) trying to find where the stage moved too (I have a problem with asking people for directions). It started raining pretty heavily as I got off Men In Black, and by this time, my pants and shoes were soaked. I stopped in a coffee shop for a cup of coffee to warm myself off, and it stopped raining. I got the cup of joe, and stepped out, jacked unzipped, hood down. As if God was standing above flipping me the bird, it started raining twice as hard. Throwing up my hood, I kept walking through New York. An eerie feeling came over me as I realized I was the ONLY person on the street. Everyone else had gone inside to seek shelter. But like an idiot, I just kept walking, sipping my coffee, and laughing, cause it was just so f'ing funny. I entered the Universal Store looking for socks, but only found a drunk guy ranting how damn cool it was that the park sold every color of M&Ms individually (with a kid no less). The rain finally let up, so I entered the Mardi Gras area by the entrance (where the stage was located). To get in the mood (and to again warm myself up, as I'm now soaked, cold, and pissed off), I bought a big bowl of gumbo and a roll. And I wish I could be making this up, but as soon as I got far enough away with the gumbo, the heavens opened up once again, and was raining just as hard as before. So instead of racing to cover, I just stand there, trying to shovel bread and soup down my throat. The rain once again stopped, and I took a spot in the crowd for the concert. Met a cool guy named Mike, who just walked up to me and started a conversation to kill time. We talked about parents, cars, jobs, girlfriends, and the like, and we hung out together for the concert and a bit afterwards. 
- Speaking of the concert, it was a great time. I had a blast. I'm not a particularly big fan of Sugar Ray, but I do like what I have heard (as my job has the radio on perpetual 98.9, soft rock and roll, so I didn't really have a choice in listening to their songs), so it was nice to actually know what they were singing. They did all of their singles, some of their old stuff (back when they were a ROCK band, not the pop-rock band they are now), and a few covers (The Bad Touch, and a Bob Marley song just to name a few). The main highlights of the show were when the ENTIRE audience (a couple hundred) were screaming the lyrics to "Fly" out at the top of their lungs, as a tribute to the people who died at the Great White show, a few days back. The 2 and 1/2 minute song was then stretched out to about ten minutes. Another highlight was when Mark McGrath (think that's the guy's name) picked two people from the audience to do a little karaoke. The first guy's song was "Without Me" by Eminem, and he lost it after the first two lines. The second guy's song was "Butterfly" and he NAILED it. All the lyrics, jumping around on stage, getting the audience to participate. They both got ponchos as prizes. They finished the show and left to no encore (They were already about 20 minutes over their scheduled playtime, so I'm sure Universal just wanted to get everyone out), and I left, having almost no voice, no hearing, pruny feet, and a lot of fun.

-You know in American Graffiti, where all throughout the film, Richard Dreyfus's character is tempted by a perfect vision riding a Cadillac down the street. We never really get a good look at the girl, but his character is so instantly enamored by her, that he's willing to give up all of his hopes and dreams for her. Well I saw that girl today, no not the blond in the Cadillac. No, this was a redhead driving down State Road 436 in a green Mustang convertible. I never really got a good look at her face, but I was so instantly captivated by her, I found myself speeding up when she, and slowing when she did, just to keep up with her. I lost her when I turned into Circuit City, but wow. The effect some people have over me.
- Saw the Steve-O video today. That man is certifiable. Crazy, crazy shit.
- I am so very ready to start school. 
- Glad I renewed my annual pass to Universal Studios. I get to go to all of the Mardi Gras concerts for free now. 

- I've never come close to quitting a job. Of course I've already given my two weeks notice, so it really wouldn't matter. Let me explain. At my work, Monday is my busiest day. Normally there is three people at all times. Today it was just me for 6 hours. So, my solution was trying to get so stressed out, a blood vessel would burst in my brain, and I'd just collapse at my desk. At least laying in a coma at the hospital would be more fun than work.
- I had tickets to the Jimmy Buffet concert tonight. I was so tired from work I lost all desire to go. Besides, I had no one to go with, and I'm not really the sociable guy. Luckily, they were free tickets, so no harm no foul.
- Still desperately trying to beat GTA3 before Thursday, as that is the day I think I have to return the PS2 to my friend. And Friday I have to take the games back.
- Breaking the news to my coworkers that I'm actually leaving is getting tougher. Not due to any emotional value, but they keep asking me the SAME questions over and over. 
- Must work on social skills. I'm so screwed at school if I don't have those.

- A little bummed that I have to take up my manager's shifts at work while he's on vacation. Mainly just because I have to get up before I usually do (11am on my days off, 10:30am when I work)
- Thought it was really cool when said manager let my borrow his PlayStation 2 for the week he's gone. I rented GTA3 (well, I thought I was renting GTA: Vice City, but when I got home it was the third one). Man is that game addictive! Not only is the mission mode fun and entertaining, but hell it's always fun to take a flamethrower to a park full of people. Reminds me of the days I used to spend hours playing GTA, the original game, and not even do the missions, just walk around, kill people, then evade the police. Good times, good times. My only wish is that it would come out for the XBox, but because of some damn exclusive contract, no GTA till 2005. 
- Saw Shanghai Knights tonight. Very enjoyable film. Nowhere near as great as Jackie's old HK films, but much better than the new ones he's putting out. Some of the stunts and set pieces are kind of recycled from the Project A series, but since most of America has never been exposed to those classics, then I guess its ok. I might do a review of it later. 
- Totally changed my mind on the Altamonte 8 Cinema. I think that SK will be the last movie I see there. Now that they're under new management AGAIN, all of the employees there give less of a damn about the customers than Regal does. There was three people in the ticket booth (there's only one ticket window), and one person at the concession stand (which was packed with customers), who was also the guy who was supposed to be taking the tickets. Plus some of the employees came in to the theater I was in and started talking through the whole damn movie, they finally shut up after it seemed like the whole theater complained. No act of reparation from the theater though.  I guess until that AMC opens up at the Altamonte Mall, I'll be driving up to Oveido. It's a Regal Cinemas yes, but it's a much better one than the Winter Park one.