365: The Reboot

Mucho's "Day of the Dead" Halloween Block Party featured live music from Junkie Rush and Dukes of Swagger plus a salsa wrestling and a taco eating contest. What isn't fun about that?! We sauntered down Pine Street to check out the commotion... and ended up having a fun time. I'm fairly certain some of those contestants ended their fun after throwing up the multiple tacos they consumed. Plus Danny McBride (from East Bound and Down - HBO) was one of the contestants... that was fun to watch. Yuck!

Great music

Em and Billy

Pretty certain this guy threw up at some point in the night... he was throwing down tacos like a madman

Growing up in New Orleans, one grows very accustomed to strange sights on regular days. Kids sucking on pacifiers at school... grown men wearing diapers or being led around by dog collars... wigs in shades representing the rainbow... all of this can be found somewhere in the city on any given day. Orlando on the other hand is different. I go to dinner in a pink wig and I get asked when my shift begins on OBT (for those of you not from Orlando, OBT is where you can find our lovely "ladies of the night" any evening after 6pm). Get my gist? My point is that Orlando is much calmer. Much tamer. That is... except on Halloween. The freaks come out in full force this evening and Em and I had front row seats... heck we even jumped into character ourselves for a few hours!

I wasn't planning to do Halloween this year. I haven't since living downtown. But with Emily in town, we decided to get costumes and join the festivities on Saturday night. I'm glad we did. What a fun night. As a friend said "What happens on Halloween, Stays on Halloween"... so that's as much text as this blog is getting on the subject. But I will share a few photos.

Shots! Shots! Shots! Everybody!!!

Chilean Miners

Who knows... I think this guy just wanted to wear a diaper

Rub the lantern and you will get three wishes...

Favorite costume we saw... Carlos from The Hangover

Very creative creatures

Yes please... another shot of Don Julio!

Second favorite costume - Deadmaus!

Shake What Your Mamma Gave Ya!

Smurfs... very cute.

Bless their hearts... they thought we were 25. LOL

WTF

Cute

Awesome creativity!

Avatar having a cocktail in Senso

Less than 24 hours of having my new DROID... I dropped/lost it in Vixen. Not good.

VERY VERY Late Nights!

2010 marked the second year of this family-friendly event down at Lake Eola. Not sure where I was last year but I didn't make it out for Eolaween... and I'm really not sure if I did this year or not. What was it?! Essentially it was a scaled down version of the weekly Farmer's Market with less farmer's and more crap. A small section down by the park was littered with vendors and a costume contest and an area of Halloween events and games set up in the grass. That's about it folks. Wasn't impressive. Thankfully I grabbed lunch with some friends down at Relax Grill and saw my nephews so it was still a great day.

The Lingerie Football League (LFL) describes its league as a "full-contact 7-on-7 tackle football league featuring some of America's most beautiful and athletic models playing at major arenas and stadiums on Friday nights." Well, count Orlando in! 2010 has brought many "new" experiences not only to me... but to my city as well. You would have thought the new Amway Center would be plenty of excitement on its own... but no. Orlando... the city Beautiful, had to have their very own lingerie football team as well. So it did. Welcome the Orlando Fantasy. The LFL offices said the fan response from Orlando was overpowering and greater than any other city the league has brought a team into.... go figure. Have they met us!? Orlando is very family friendly... but also filled with lots of college aged hormone infused boys. Of course a lingerie team will do well here.

Since its premiere this fall I've been dying to check out exactly what this was all about. So... with Emily in tow... I headed down to the UCF Arena to check out the Orlando Fantasy versus Miami Caliente game. F-U-N That's exactly how I'd describe the evening. Ladies. Word to the wise. This is basically an event where there are beautiful women scantily dressed playing football... a guy's dream, right!? Well... the arena is filled with guys drooling over these models tackling each other in between chugs of beer. Just imagine the fun to be bad. Em and I made a lot of new friends quickly and sat back to enjoy the show. F-U-N I do have to say... its a great idea for a bachelor party (which I stole from the guys that were there for that exact reason). Something a little different than the typical strip-club/bar scene that is normally prescribed by the locals.

Overall... the girls actually look little like the LFL website. Sure they are pretty (or at least most are) and most are in good shape... but I wouldn't describe any of them as "model" gorgeous. Cat fights were common on the field between plays and tempers flared easier than beers popped open. Orlando creamed Miami so all was well in our cheering section. I also ran into a handful of old friends from my Universal days.... that was awesome. It was a fun time... next time I may pack a few extra guy friends to expose them to something new on the Orlando scene.

A round of tequila for everyone! Thanks to our newly made friend Tommy and the bachelor party he brought with him.

Shot #4... or maybe this was #5... not sure anymore

The dance off... the old lady on the right kicked butt! Came in 2nd but should have won the entire thing.

The Baldwin Park Rotary Club and Orlando Breakfast Rotary Club partnered together to create this fabulous fundraiser. The Varsity Club at the Citrus Bowl was the backdrop for this evening of blues & beer tastings from around the world. Live and silent auctions featured airline tickets, Magic memorabilia, recreation and attraction tickets, special and unique experiences, spa items, wine baskets, golf and vacation packages, restaurant certificates, and more. Invited by a good friend, I stopped by for a couple of hours with Emily to check it out. Fun times. Great cause!

Waiting on the show to begin... 30 years of friendship!

New York Times once described JJ Grey & Mofro's sound as "Southern swamp rock with undercurrents of Memphis soul". Yep... that about sums it up. His following has remained very "underground" and "cult-like" but this year they've picked up steam in addition to mainstream fans (hello - that would be me). My BFF (Emily) flew in just for the concert so last night we headed over to House of Blues after a VERY long and stressful day. What fun! Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights opened for them.. and they were fabulous. Great sound. Then came JJ and the gang. What talented musicians make up Mofro... loved it! Photos below from our fun night.

Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights

JJ Grey & Mofro

For the past fifteen years I've attempted to donate blood... only to be told (every single time) that my iron was too low. My mother is anemic so I thought maybe I was too. Last year my primary care physician ran all the necessary tests and low and behold... I am not. So... what in the world is the issue?!

Earlier this year my Paw Paw was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. As you can imagine, blood and platlett transfusions were critical in those two months of his battle with this deadly disease. Knowing that those transfusions were made possible through the love and sefllessness of random strangers, I vowed to find a way to donate. So... religiously I've attempted to do so over the past several months. And each time I am told.. "Sorry, your iron is too low". Iron supplements, eating iron rich foods, not drinking alcohol... I've done it all.

Well guess what!? Today was the lucky day! The first test the nurse did showed my iron at 11.8 (too low). Knowing how many times I've been there (I go to the same location each time - that wonderful staff just smiles in an empathic way when I walk in), she offered to do a second test. She was as excited as I was... "You won't believe it! It's 13.3!" Apparently its very rare to have such a jump between two tests like that. I know the reason. My prayers were being heard.

So I proudly donated blood today at the Florida Blood Centers' Michigan Ave location. I've already scheduled another appointment for next Tuesday to donate platelets (barring my counts are high enough). If I can make a difference for someone else like those strangers did for my Paw Paw... its the very least I can do to give back to the community that is bigger than just me. I really encourage all of you to consider doing the same. If in the Florida area... here is the FBC website so you can schedule an appointment: http://www.floridasbloodcenters.org

Our Orlando Accounting Clerk returns from her wedding tomorrow and the Orlando attraction is throwing her a "Wedding Celebration Luncheon" to celebrate this wonderful occasion. I offered to bring a dessert. Smart on my part? Maybe. If I would have just bought something at Publix, unwrapped the delicious tidbits from the tell-tale Publix wrappings and disguised them as my own creation. But BECAUSE of this challenge, I put the beautiful, mouth watering desserts down and proceeded to the baking aisle. I never bake for these things... I never actually bring a home-made item. So... in the spirit of trying new things, I decided to make cupcakes. I found a fun "clean" recipe for Pumpkin Cupcakes with Chocolate Pumpkin Frosting - all healthy (clean) and homemade. That is definitely a first for me. Making my own icing?! What have I gotten myself into?

Well... I'm very proud to report that not only was I able to successfully create FABULOUS looking cupcakes... they were also amazingly delicious. Who knew that a pumpkin cupcake would be so yummy. Much less one that I made?! Don't go getting any ideas boys... I might have a hidden talent for this domestic thing but I certainly don't have the heart for it. Now... maybe I'll steal just one more of these babies before tomorrow. Yum! PS - if you want the recipe, lemme know.

I'm a huge supporter of "Employee Events" and love those that are out of the box and crazy. I just don't always get to go to them due to us having so many attractions spread out amongst the SE area and my hectic travel schedule. Three years ago I started my attraction in Orlando's first Halloween "luncheon" with the typical costume contest and prizes... since turning things over to my management team there, the concept of a "Halloween Party" has taken on a whole new life (or after-life I should say). The photos each year are riveting and the attendance of staff impressive. This year I made a point of staying in Orlando so that I could attend the event and support the staff. Wow. I just have to say my team is one VERY creative group of individuals. At the end of the day... those are the moments that make all of what I do so worth it. When you have an hourly employee come up to you so excited you are there and will be able to hear the rap they have planned for everyone. Or the employee who made his costume by hand (Mad Hatter - very impressive) and wins the costume contest... beaming with pride as he is recognized by his peers. And the managers who put in a very long 10-hour shift already... excitedly getting everything ready for their staff... and who stays until 2am to clean up afterwards, knowing that the next day will come all too soon. These are the moments I appreciate the most. Last night was my Orlando team's Halloween event... what a fun time it was!