Thursday, January 31, 2008

Close Calls & Spider Dreams

I had a big "to do" planned for this story, but I realize that there's not much to say. So I'll just say it.

The four of us Routes family members were driving home from The Addams Family's house last Sunday. It was raining and late. I opted to be the man behind the wheel because I was the only one wide awake. I was leisurely going my own pace and got stopped by a signal. The light turned green and I started to cross, but in the corner of my eye, I noticed headlights fast approaching. I slowed to a stop, weary of crossing, just in case the guy didn't stop. And I was lucky to listen to my instincts because the fucker didn't stop. He sped through the intersection. I honked twice. There was a slight hesitation on his part as he crossed the red light; like maybe he had fallen asleep at the wheel and my horn startled him. I can't help but think that if this was any other situation, I would have simply saw the green light and hit the gas. But something (maybe the leisurely pace I was taking or the pit of my stomach) saved us that night.

My second story involves a dream I had. I was in a room where a couple had just finished having sex. I guess I was the creepy guy in the corner. All of a sudden the woman began literally eating the man; really devouring the man. He willingly gave himself to be dinner. And I thought nothing of it; simply "oh, she's one of those people; those black widow types." However, when I woke up, I was entirely grossed out by the mental remembrance of the woman eating the guy black widow-style.

That's enough from me. But as a preview for my next blog, I will finally have a video! It's a tour of our new house! Tune in next week.


Lost,

Ricky

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Bringing Up the House

Things are going up quickly at our new house and I just realized that I haven't posted any pictures!

I'm sorry.

Take a gander at these:







Spruce Moose,

Ricky

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

BIGcasino

I named this blog after the Jimmy Eat World song not only because it's Vegas-related, but because I listened to them on the entire drive to Nevada and it's embedded in my head.

But to the point: we're back! And I lost money!

Here's how it went down...

We left at around noon and got there in about three hours. We checked into the Excalibur hotel and then met up with Agent J and his folks to watch the Cirque du Soleil show LOVE.

Impressions of the show: It started out spectacular-like. Really in your face, curtains dropped, and people literally flying in every-which-way. It was amazing. But the funny thing is, the show, to me, doesn't live up to Cirque. Now I don't consider myself a Cirque du Soleil expert. I'll leave that role to Erico Suave and MacArthur. But the problem I had with this show is that there was just way too much dancing and not enough Cirque acts. There were big sequences where an acrobatic act was happening, but it was either drowned out by so much dancing around (you had no idea where to look) or it was such a miniscule acro-stunt that it barely registered as an act. Was it just part of the choreography?

And then most of the acts consisted of girls climbing ropes, wrapping themselves, and then dropping. There's only so much of that I can take before I start to fall asleep, which was very well the case. However, the music was perfect and the visuals are outstanding. The use of lighting and projections is phenomenal.


The next day, we went to dinner with the co-workers for the ex-Big Boss's 4th retirement celebration. We just can't let go, it seems. We had the buffet at the Bellagio and I ate entirely too much food. It wasn't even that great of food either. There was some interesting white-people's take on Sweet and Sour Soup and some dry ass sushi. But what made up for it were the two plates of desserts I had; the best strawberry tart in the world and some other stuff.

After the dinner, a bunch of us went to the new Palazzo to our very own reserved Craps table and played. And boy did we play the casino! Tim and I hit pretty awesome hot streaks on the dice and made a nice chunk of change. By the end of the night, my pockets were full of $5 chips. Added all up though, it only came out to around $150. I would have had more too, but I have this problem of not knowing when to walk away. But this was the most fun I've ever had gambling.

I also played some Pai Gow Poker, which pretty much sucked. The asshole next to me was uber-rich and decided to play as dealer. He got a straight as his best hand and a pair of 8's as his second best and won everyone's money. I walked away after that crap. I played some Roulette, but wasn't nearly as lucky as the last time I played. Video poker was good to me this time. And I still have no idea how I lost $15 of a $20 bill from one spin of a slot machine.

After the exhilarating Craps game, I was done gambling. The next day, we stayed at the Rio and ate some amazing barbecue from a new place called RUB BBQ. Then Timotei and I went to see Penn & Teller. They are hilarious and pretty cool. They sometimes show you how they do tricks, but even when they show you, it's amazing how carefully choreographed the tricks are. The best thing though is that they met with the audience after the show for autographs and pictures. Penn is a freakin' monster!




There you have it! There are already plans in place to make this co-worker Vegas trip an annual thing. I'd love to go back with them soon.


Money mooching,

Ricky

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Monster Bash

Ever since that teaser trailer hit with the Transformers movie, I'd been dying to see CLoverfield. I did a ton of research on the movie and got caught in the hype and I'll just say that it lived up to it!

This movie is relentless in its execution, creating very scary moments that the audience can feel. A shot of the monster headed in the camera's direction and then just the sound of it approaching is chilling. This was the most fun I've ever had watching a monster movie.

It's amazing how well the special effects are done. There is so much destruction. The scope of the movie is huge. The video camera work is extremely convincing. And the action sequences that the producers planned out are incredibly creative. There's even an ingenious device in place to incorporate flashbacks into the movie.

I loved it. Now I consider myself a Blair Witch Project fan (or maybe apologist), but really, I was only a fan of the idea. There are three parts of that movie that I can say I enjoy: the beginning interviews on the Blair Witch, the laughing children scene, and the creepy ending image. But not much at all happens in that movie.

By contrast, Cloverfield is a Blair Witch movie, but stuff actually happens. This movie is short, but doesn't feel too short because it is one hell of a ride.

In other news, I'm headed off to Vegas today for my former boss's boss's retirement hoopla. Gonna see the Cirque show LOVE tonight!


And gamble!

Ricky

Saturday, January 12, 2008

I Have A Dream...

...a recurring dream actually.

I'm at home and I suddenly realize that I have three term papers due tomorrow. What's worse is that I haven't gone to any of my classes since the start of the quarter and it's too late to drop them. Basically, I'm screwed. I panic because it's crunch time and I can't even find the textbooks to do the assignments. And then I think - wait, I'm done with school. And I wake up. And it's the best feeling in the world realizing that I don't have these crappy assignments to do.

I've had this dream many times before. Sometimes it's finals week and I haven't been to class. But it always evokes the exact same feeling of anxiety and then overwhelming relief when I wake up. This is just one of the many ways college has scarred me for life.


Whooping,

Ricky

Friday, January 11, 2008

Get Your Vote On!

No, not that Presidential crapola contest. Vote Stephen Lynch for best comedian!




And then vote Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert for President/Vice President.

That is all.


Thank you,

Ricky

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Oh... Eight

Eight days into this '08 new year and here's the first post! But you know, not much to talk about. Just letting you know I'm still here, alive and kicking.

Our new house is going vertical! Seeing as from the start of the framework to the closing date is around 4 months, we're looking at late April / early May to move in!

I have way too many Wii accessories.

Looking forward to Cloverfield and a true Vegas trip to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.

Eagerly awaiting LOST's return. Can't wait to play No More Heroes.

Busy at work with two simultaneous projects.

Lastly, and this is just a note to myself, I ended a 15+ year tradition. Since I was really young, I wrote a year end wrap up in the form of a letter to myself. For the past few years, it's been a chore to look back and remember all that I did that was important to me. But with this blog, I feel as if I no longer need to continue the tradition, since everything is pretty much documented here. So, with technology come obsolete traditions. All things must come to an end.


Starting anew,

Ricky