Friday, September 24, 2004

Sick in My Skin


Crapsticks. I haven't been sick in like two years or so. Seriously.

Yesterday night, I started to get a sore throat. I wasn't worried though because in the past, when I started to get a sore throat, I would just gargle with Listerine and it would be gone by morning. Well, I took my advice and in the morning, it hurt like a bus ramming into an old lady's monster truck. Yes folks. THAT BAD!

Anyway, so I went to work and it was okay. I drank some tea, but the feeling wasn't gone. Lemon tea and honey to be exact. After lunch, things started getting worse. In addition to my throat, my nose started to run. It got all stuffed and congested and I was sneezing up a storm. Then my ears clogged up. Then my head started to hurt and I was catching a fever. Then my body started to ache. Finally, I was feeling cold and shivery and just plain miserable. So my mom and I left work a little early. I took a Motrin and slept on the train.

I'm feeling a little better now, but I think it's just the Motrin working. Usually when I get sick and have a fever, I have a horrible nightmare that night and very often sleepwalk. It's really scary. I can't remember what the nightmares are about, but they are really terrifying.

My immune system probably took a beating from the Florida trip. That's what happens when you don't get much sleep and overexert your body to the point where every afternoon you're even too tired to smile. Yes folks, it was THAT BAD!

But the good thing is that if I'm sick, I'll more than likely lose the weight I put on last week. Score!

Anyone want to see Sky Captain and the WORLD OF TOMORROW with me? And I'm super pumped to see The Incredibles. Catch the new trailer here.



Achoo!

Ricky
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Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Anything but Relaxing


I am back. Man, this vacation couldn't have been more hectic/frustrating/confusing/suspenseful/stress-filled.

My god. After that whole delay business explained in my last blog, we got new tickets. MacArthur and Erico Suave luckily got tickets on the same flight (9:45am to Phoenix). I, on the other hand, had a reservation to leave at 8am to go to Las Vegas and then to Phoenix where I would meet them and Princess Karlita to go on to Orlando at 11:00am. Well, things didn't work out perfectly. They were still bungling over the mess from the other day, so my plane flight was delayed by an hour and forty-five minutes so that the flight crew could get their required rest period. So since a flight to Vegas would be an hour and the flight to Phoenix would be another hour, I would definitely not make the connecting flight.

So I asked the nice lady (Jina) who helped get me the reservations and she said that all she could do was put me at the top of the Stand-By list for a flight at 8:10am and 9:45am (Erico Suave's and MacArthur's flight). Since the flights were overbooked by 20 people each, it would really be taking a chance. The 8:10am flight came and even though they offered people $300 and a different flight to give up their seats, not enough people took the offer for me to get on. So the 9:45am flight rolled along and I was nervous as hell. If I didn't get this flight, I would have to wait till 6pm and take the red-eye. Things worked out however and they got me on the same flight! Jina was fantastic!

Well, when we got to Phoenix, we met up with Princess Karlita and we all found out that the flight to Orlando was delayed because they were waiting on the flight crew to arrive. Guess what. That flight crew was on my original flight that went to Vegas and then to Phoenix!!! I would have made it anyway. I put myself through all that crap and it turns out it was unnecessary. AHHHHHHHHHHH!

Anyway, we got to Florida fine. We flew over Hurricane Ivan. That was pretty intense. It was just a big gray block of cloud. We also avoided Hurricane Jeanne.




We rushed through all the parks with Princess Karlita. We danced and drank at Pleasure Island. We saw Illuminations: Reflections of Earth twice. I love that show. We did a lot. Lots of pictures, but I'm going to choose the best to put on The Routes. That is if Geocities lets me on!!!

Okay, I'm tired and still adjusting to things here on the west coast. To me, it feels like 10:15pm and that means it's time for after dinner dinner.

By the way, it's Nick Burns' birthday today! If you see him, wish him better luck than I!



Smacking crying babies,

Ricky
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Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Damn You Palmdale!




The picture above speaks for itself. We were DELAYED for 2 hours and then completely cancelled, as you all probably know already from the news. There's nothing like spending eight hours in an airport. It sucked! It sucked! It sucked!

First we had Ivan to deal with. Now this. What the hell is trying to keep us from Florida???

We remarkably got new flight reservations for this morning. We heard on the plane from a flight attendant that a mouse apparently chewed through a power cord in Palmdale that caused this blackout. I don't know if that's true. I actually thought they were joking, but after they said it, they were pretty serious.

Well, we're gonna try this again. Hopefully it'll all work out.



Taking two,

Ricky
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Monday, September 13, 2004

Ivana Blow Your House Down


An oldie, but a goody.

I haven't started packing yet, but I leave for Florida tomorrow! After weeks of tracking Hurricane Ivan, it appears as if it's basically gonna miss Florida (at least the bulk of it) and it has slowed down so much that we probably won't have to fly near it (knock on wood). Thank heavens for Chef Boyardee!



Picture from www.noaa.gov.

From the picture above (HOORAY!), you can see that the hurricane is making one heck of a curve. Because the ferocious one-eyed monster, Ivan, is leaning to the left so much, we can get in! I'm glad it's not gonna be hard. Masking porn is fun! Our flight arrives in Florida at 6:15am Wednesday, so we'll get through while Ivan remains in the gulf (knock on wood).

Anyway, I'm really psyched about this trip! So pumped! It's gonna be great as all great can great! Hiya!

I will see you all not this Wednesday, but next next Wednesday when I get back in the afternoon. God, I've been waiting for this trip for forever and a day and a half. I'll have pictures and I promise to get them on The Routes if stupid unreliable Geocities would let me in to edit my website!

Now that I nailed the picture-in-blog thing (special thanks to K-mart for showing me a site to host pictures), how's about someone hook me up with my own URL... eh? eh? Any takers? Okay, I won't hold my breath.

Take care!!!



Considering that everything you look past could be seen as something so unique,

Ricky
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Wednesday, September 08, 2004

Things Went Terribly Wrong


Well not terribly, but things have been very interesting today...

Firstly, our train was late by 20 minutes today. I hate when it's late. We gotta stand there and wait and wait and... it just sucks.

Secondly, our train came to a premature stop en route to Union Station. Apparently, there was a "sinkhole" in the path and it was not known whether it was safe or not to drive over it. So there we sat for an hour, waiting and waiting and... well it sucked. Finally, the Sinkhole Investigation division gave the "okay, go ahead and try going over" word and we went very slowly for the next mile.

Meanwhile, I was planning out my escape route if the train happened to hit the sinkhole and flipped onto its side. Fortunately, I didn't have to use my plan. However, I now have the plan in place ready if needed.

So then we got to work 90 minutes late. Worked. Stayed late. Left.

When we got home, I was playing around on the computer when the power went out! Our whole block had no power for about an hour. It sucked!!!

Needless to say, the power has been restored. Man, stuff happened today.

In other bad news, it seems right now that Hurricane Ivan might pick up to a rare Category 5 hurricane and hit Florida next Monday. THAT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE GOD, IF YOU ARE OUT THERE, STOP WITH THE MIND F***ING!!!



Planning an escape route from Florida if need be,

Ricky
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Tuesday, September 07, 2004

In Seven Days... Florida is... Ivan's?


That's right... in exactly one week, I will be back at Walt Disney World. This trip couldn't have come any slower. Well, it started off at what seemed like lightyears away, but it quickly snuck up on us all. But now that it's here, I'm worried our vacation might be ruined by Hurricane Ivan. That bastard! As if Florida needed another hit after Frances and the Charley Horse.

But, we'll be going anyway. Blown away or not, we'll be there. I'll be that guy on the news who is being whipped around by the 115 mph winds in a thin blue poncho.

WHEEEEEEEEEEE! I'm really excited! I just wanna get to Florida and ride Buzz Lightyear, see Illuminations, watch Philharmagic, and aggravate my allergies at Animal Kingdom again!

Interesting. I really don't have much more to say tonight. Well, Scrubs is on soon and VH1's Bands Reunited is reuniting New Kids on the Block at 10pm, so I wanna see how that turns out.

UPDATE: Three members, including Joey McIntyre, didn't wanna do it. Ban Wicked!

Fun times!



Pulling me under your weather patterns, your cold fronts, and the rain,

Ricky
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Monday, September 06, 2004

Labor Day Off


It's weird that it's called Labor Day when it's a day without labor (for most regular shift jobs).

Little Shop yesterday was very very very enjoyable. I really enjoyed this Audrey (Tari Kelly) much better than Kerry Butler in New York, even though I'm sort of biased from meeting her and having my picture taken with her. This Audrey was just so good. I liked both Orins from both productions. They're both pretty perfect in the roles and have tons of fun in the roles. As much as I like Anthony Rapp from Rent, I think he was just overdoing the part of Seymore. He was playing it too clumsy and goofy and bumbly. The Mushnik was fine, but I liked the guy in New York better. And the guys playing the plant were great in both New York and Los Angeles.

We paid a pretty penny to sit in Row A (nearly front row; only right behind rows AA and BB [for subscribers I believe]). It's just that I bought these tickets at the same time I bought the Thoroughly Modern Millie tickets and at that time, the Little Shop tickets weren't officially on sale to the public. So I asked the guy working if he had anything in the front row and he gave me Row A. It's okay that it wasn't truly the front. It was close enough. But the seats were PERFECT for the finale in which the plant extends over the audience and stared at us right in the faces. GREAAAT!!!

After the show, we went thrift store shopping on Melrose. We basically went to Urban Outfitters and Aaardvark's. I found some shirts I wanted at Urban Outfitters, but they were either too close to what I wear now (nothing special) or just too pricey. But at Aaardvark's, I found nine possible shirts which I narrowed down to two. The first was a Raiders of the Lost Ark shirt that fit well. It was kind of too good to pass up. And the other is a vintage Walt Disney World classic Mickey Mouse shirt for the trip.

Speaking of the trip, I just heard the news that ANOTHER hurricane may blast it's way through Florida. Stupid Hurricane Ivan might build up some speed and hit Florida in two weeks, just as our trip is. If that happens, I will forever hate everything forever. And ever. I'm hoping it doesn't materialize in Florida. Hoping hoping hoping hoping hoping hoping hoping hoping hoping hoping hoping hoping.



Spending money at urban skid row,

Suddenly Ricky
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Sunday, September 05, 2004

ANThology Part Two: Ants in my Underpants; Sans the Boogie Dance


A firestorm of ants raged through my room yesterday night. Apparently they found the dirty underwear again that I left on the floor, but this time, they managed to send out all their troops to retrieve my pellets of dooty. Yeah, I don't know why either.

It all started when I took a piss in the bathroom and saw a big ant conga line marching along the wall and into my bathroom sink area. I followed the trail which split into two further down the carpet. One trail led to a small dead bug which they were trying to save. A fallen comrade? More like lunch for the little people.

The other trail went straight into my room and to my surprise, the destination, my pile of three tighty whities. Maybe they just like Hanes.

Anywho, I sprang into action. Firstly, I got my Chamber of Torture device and trapped a lot of ants in an isolated spot. Next, I took another trapping device and covered the dead bug and all who tried to carry it home. Then I sprayed a little pesticide where the ants were coming from. After that, I took my underwear and threw it in the sink and drowned those F'ers. Then I slept.

In the morning, the ants, dismayed that their whitie goodness was taken from them, left my room. There were a lot of dead ants in the bathroom and in the sink. The ants in the Torture Chamber had all perished. It was vacuumin' time.

After I sucked up those punks, I tended to my underwear which some new ants discovered. So I killed them and then checked for damage in the undergarments. It appeared that all the ants were concentrated in the "assious" region of the undies. That's just freakin' sick. Makes me wonder what I ate and farted in the past few days that's made them say "Mmmm mmmm come to daddy."

So basically, I don't know where to put my underwear anymore. Now I'm forced to wear the same pair for weeks at a time.

But who cares, because I'm seeing Little Shop of Horrors today! Three day weekends are swell.



Farting candy apparently,

Ricky
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Thursday, September 02, 2004

ANThology Part One: Ant Rant


As much as I hate that supposed "comic" Ant on Last Comic Standing, this blog isn't about him. It's about ants.

Yesterday night, at about around this time, I went upstairs to my bathroom to prepare for sleep... WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN I found ants running around my carpet, my toothbrush, my hair products, and my Proactiv (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!).

So like a mad Max, I switched to "kill" mode. I have this rule about bugs. I'm cool with them pretty much anywhere, but once they cross into my room, I take no mercy. Spiders on my ceiling... dead spider walking. Ants on my sink... killed on the spot. Ladybug on my bed... shoved into a deflated Silly Bear bouncer and left to dehydrate into nothing more than a pretty shell.

So, first I attempted to drown the bunch. I splashed some water all around the sink and killed a few, but that didn't bring enough happiness. So I got my vacuum and sucked up the little buggers.

I was wondering why they would invade my bathroom. I mean, I never have food around that area. I have a theory. This year, we've prevented the ants from gathering food for winter. So I think they're desperate for anything. I mean, why else would they be crawling around my dirty underwear? Psychos.

So I sucked them all up and found the path of which they were coming from. For bugs, I use a clear plastic tube (ex-Beanie Baby protective container) to trap them and I give them an extended "time-out" period. If I start feeling guilty, then I release them outside. So I trapped a bunch of ants in the "Cylinder of Impending Doom," but less than 12 hours later, they were all dead. So I felt bad. But whatever. No mercy.

The ants learned their lesson. They all left. But the next time I see them a sniffin' my whities, I'm gonna chop off each and every limb of each and every one of those sick underwear fetish bastards.



Commiting pesticide,

Ricky
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Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Hollister & Bad Company


Welcome to September my friends.

AHHHHHH! Anticipation hits. This Sunday is Little Shop of Horrors with MacArthur and Erico Suave! Yes! I know, I saw this show in New York, but now I know all the songs and it's front row baby!

Also, on the 14th, I leave for my vacation! Take that family!!! Yes, it's back to Walt Disney World and hmmmm, well, needless to say, we're a bit scared of the possibility of a hurricane killing us (by "us," I mean Erico Suave, MacArthur, and Princess Karlita and possibly meeting up with some other friends to freakin' party/drink like hell!!!).

But the main thing I wanted to rant about tonight was an experience while shopping at Hollister. We went to Hollister and noticed at least 4 people working in the store. When I was done shopping, I proceeded to the checkout counter where only one poor (yet hot) girl was ringing up the entire line. There wasn't much of a line, but by the time it was my turn, it was pretty long (and if you've ever been to Hollister, you know exactly how long that stupid line gets). But let's not get ahead of ourselves, that stupid small line took for-damn-ever.

So here's the thing. There were other workers in there. One was this retarded looking wannabe rock star fluffing up clothes like a little "girly man." And then there was another girl BEHIND THE COUNTER EVEN, who was just folding up some shirts (crappily I might add). So yeah, that line was long and the girl at the register could only say "I'm sorry for the wait" to everyone. And here's something else that sucks. I guess she's required to ask every customer if they'd like to join the "Club Cali" club and for everyone who says yes, she has to give them an application to fill out and wait till they're done! The guy in front of me joined the "Club" and it took a while for him to fill the application out while she just stood there waiting for him to sign. So when she asked me if I wanted to join, I said "No. It'll make the wait longer." I don't think she was too happy to hear that kind of jerky response. But whatever, I was pissed. All I wanted was a discounted shirt that wasn't even really that discounted.

And later on the same day, we went back in and there were at least 8 people behind the counter, but not to help (no no, that would be too customer servicey). They were there to pick up their paychecks. Yup, there was even a supervisor or manager back there witnessing the crappy customer service in the store and she did nothing (good for nothing fat b*tch).

So, I thought Abercrombie was the only real jerky place to shop, but apparently their customer service habits have bled down into their other chains. Well, what did I expect, right? It's Abercrombie. It makes me feel better that they're just folding clothes and I make much more than them. So there.

And their music is too LOUD.



Hating Hollister (but they make nice clothes for cheaper than Abercrombie & Bitch),

Ricky
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