Sunday, August 31, 2008

Castle Crashers

On August 28th, Timotei and I, along with six other co-workers, went to the historic members-only Magic Castle. If you're like me and have never heard of it till now, it's a place where magicians mingle with other magicians and test out their tricks. So there are a bunch of different shows (large acts, small acts, close-up slight of hand magic) that guests can attend. You are also required to buy a meal.

We got the dinner out of the way first. You are required to order a minimum of $15, but don't worry because everything on the menu is at least $30. I had the market fresh fish special which was orange roughy with baby carrots. It was kind of small, but incredibly good. I also had a glass of Napa Valley red wine to go with my meal. I hate wine, but this wine was drinkable. It smelled of fruit punch and tasted of not-so-horrible.

And so after feeling a little tipsy, a little goofy, we headed off to our first show. It was a famed international magician by the name of David Goldrake. He performed a mind reading trick and a perfume smelling trick, but the coolest thing was his escape from a straight jacket. It was the same as every other magicians S-jacket trick except that I was the lovely assistant that strapped him into the jacket. It was pretty cool.

The next show was a bit of a letdown. It was considered the "bigger" show and required a ticket to get in. It had magicians by the names of Kerry Pollock, David Kaplan, and Aaron Radatz. I enjoyed the dry comedic stylings of David Kaplan. His tricks were amusing and his non-speaking everything-goes-wrong routine was pretty funny and entertaining. However, the other guys felt like amateurs. All of their tricks I had seen elsewhere, but better.


After wandering around the castle for a bit and requesting a song from Irma, the piano playing ghost, we went to our last show of the evening in the Close-Up Gallery. There we saw Ivan Amodei who was by far the best entertainer of the night. He did some amazing magic with cards and cue balls and wand tips, all the while being quick witted and hilarious. I hope to see more of this guy in the future on TV because he was really great.

Anyway, it was definitely a cool experience and I can't wait to go again.


Presto,

Ricky

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Meet Pyong: The Alaska Directive


greetings friends

my name is pyong galactico

i was assembled in germany

i was recently activated on 8/8/8 by ricky routes in skagway

i will follow him on his many travels

i will bring you photographic proof of my visits

i look forward to presenting you with such data


i had a great time touring alaska and canada

i was fortunate to visit the following places

the margerie glacier in glacier bay

the empress hotel in victoria

the ballard locks in seattle washington


end transmission





Friday, August 22, 2008

I'm a Cube!

My co-worker told me that. She is a self-proclaimed math geek and she has the shirt to prove it.

But enough about other people. Let's talk about me, baby. I am the big fat twentyseven. That... is a higher number than last time. But at this point another year is nothing to fret about. Of course, that is until I turn the dreaded 30 and I take that leap right over a cliff. I kid!

In all honesty, this was a very good birthday. With my succumbing to Facebook, I received a shiiteload of birthday wishes from so many friends, many of which I have not seen nor spoken to in years. I also claimed me a free burger at Red Robin and the workers sang to me. I also had lunch at California Kabob Kitchen. We found out that our favorite cook down in the cafeteria, who was fired for being outspoken, got her job back after months of protests and demonstrations. I had peach pie and Summer Peach Pie ice cream with my department. And gifts have started to trickle in! From Mr. Mikey and his lady friend, I got two Playstation 3 games (Call of Duty 4 and Dark Sector) and a Wii shirt. From Angel Wing Jasmine, I received the Wii game Boom Blox and The Art of WALL•E book. From Catwoman, I received a nice Starbucks gift card.

So all in all, it was a very good day.


No longer square,

Ricky

Monday, August 18, 2008

Alaska, At Last

I've decided that this will be a photo essay. So please enjoy!

Standing on the top of the world... well, the Space Needle isn't actually THAT tall.


We got free champagne for the disembarkation. I hate any sort of alcohol I have to sip, so I downed it.


The wind was so strong on the top deck. Agents K and J lean out and let it hold them up.


Formal night!


We canoed on our stop over in Juneau to...


...the Mendenhall Glacier!


In Skagway (or as the locals spell it "Skaguay"), Ellvin Kelvin, Amazing Grace, and I went for a 5 mile ride through a rainforest. We saw a Grizzly!


In Skagway, there is a small pink store called Sugar Mama's with, and I'm not exaggerating, THE GREATEST BESTEST BOMBEST CUPCAKES IN THE GODDAMN WORLD!!!!!!


With me mammy and pappy at the butt of the ship.


Jumping for joy over wise ice in Glacier Bay!


A big group of us went ziplining in Ketchikan! Here I am traversing one of three suspension bridges!


Is this racist, what we're doing here?


We hit the town... in blue!


Cat, Amazing Grace, and M.E.G. showcase the food chain. The helpless moose falls prey to the smiling wolf who in turn gets eaten by the brutal black bear.


Mi familia in frente de a tree in Victoria, Canada, B.C.


Jumping for joy over tea and crumpets at The Empress Hotel. Empressive air!


Dining on the Veranda. Bison burger... so good!


Free Willy... or Shamu... or Keiko... or whatever the hell this one's called. Get the hell outta here orca.


OK, you'll want to zoom in on this photo. On the day before our flight, a co-worker and I were randomly Googling our names. I found that www.RichardMar.com exists and is owned by a hair styling school based out of Victoria! I could not believe it. I was fated to visit. I took down the address, but forgot it at work. While in Victoria, we were just about ready to head back to the ship when we ran into Lee Leman and Cousin Spacey and they asked if I had ever heard of the Richard Mar Advanced School of Hairstyling and Esthetics. I shat my pants, couldn't believe I forgot, was told that it was only 4 or so blocks away, and with R-Man, ran there. Too bad they were closed. Maybe they could have botched a haircut for me or else I could have taught them a thing or two about esthetics.


So to conclude, the cruise was really fun. We can't wait till the next one. Peace out!


Short and sweet, just like this entry,

Ricky

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Alaska and You Shall Receive

Hmm, it's been a week since we've returned from Alaska and not yet a peep (unless you've seen my Facebook which saw a status change).

And well, here's your peep, but you won't get much more than this at this time. I just haven't nor currently have the time to post a bunch of pictures or post some summaries.

This week had me scrambling to book a flight, hotel, and rental car for Angel Wing Jasmine's big day! Her wedding is fast approaching and I've yet to get a wedding gift! Sheebus!

I also have plans to edit together a music video of Alaska and videos in general of our excursions. Look for those, but don't hold your breath. I really hope to get to it though.

Meanwhile, am I the only one in America who can't stand having Michael Phelps jammed down our throats? So he's America's only hope at anything this Olympics, but Jebus, stop covering everything about him from his diet to his overbite. I'm over it.


Moody,

Ricky

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Cruise Control

And like that, it's time to set my brain on cruise control and go on vacation! It's been a while and I really need it.

This Alaskan cruise getaway came by way faster than I expected. We're flying into Seattle in about an hour, meeting up with the rest of the family, grabbing some lunch at the Space Needle, then for a *haunted* Underground Tour, and then to the main event with the rest rest of the family.

Unfortunately internet on the ship costs a friggen' arm and a leg, so I will be ceasing transmission of my life for now and will broadcast fully right after we return to land; with pictures I swear!

Alright, you people enjoy earthquake city while we lounge on the wise ice of Alaska!


Rattled,

Ricky