So, I've rambled on and on about it in other threads, but it's finally here. Me and the MrsO booked and pre-paid for this vacation forever ago, and started counting down the days at 200. When I got to 17 days, I got laid off. Which was a real staple gun to the nut-sack, but luckily (I'm Irish, 'luckily' seems to happen to me a lot) things worked out.

I'll be in Florida until Saturday, so if there are any MF'ers in the FL/Disney/Orlando area, please be on the lookout for a grumpy looking old guy with a huge retro camera, probably wearing a scowl and a Star Wars t-shirt of some kind. If anyone has any picture requests, now is the time, because come Monday morning I'm going to be snapping photos like a Japanese tourist stereotype on Espresso and meth.

And if there are any "Terrorists" listening, stay the fuck off my plane. I'm going to get an aisle seat, and if anybody tries to 9/11 my ass, that motherfucker will be praying for a quick death. If there's more than one of them, I won't hesitate to use strangers as human shields, so anyone with a box-cutter is fucked. They also better be prepared to have the skin on thier face slowly peeled off and those little packs of airplane salt half opened and stuffed in the wounds to stop the bleeding. And being choked a lot. And having thier fingers ripped off one at a time and jammed into various orifices (existing and Troy-built) of thier bodies. I can fly and land the plane too, so unless the Air National Guard shoots us out of the sky, I will be going on Vacation, damnit.

You've given this some thought, eh?

Have fun on your vacation trip. I'm heading out of town from October 1st to the 14th. Heading back down home to Vegas for those two weeks.

I for one can't wait to go and like your saying I hope there's no mother fucka who will try to hijack my damn plane. I want/need this vacation damn it...

Not a whole lot, but you've got to be prepared damnit. I'm kind of torn about the aisle seat part though. I really enjoy the view so I might opt for the window seat and take the chance of having to step on my wife should I need to jump up and start serving knuckle sandwiches to somebody. And my landing might not be pretty, but I'm confident at least me and the Mrs will make it out alive. Hopefully all will go incident free however. The fact that the entire resort we are staying at has gone 'smoke-free' might be more violence inducing than the circus that is mass transportation. And missing/waiting for WWHulk#4 is going to really suck too.

Have fun on your trip Raveers. I'm usually the only person on board a flight that giggles with glee during take-off. It always reminds me of 80's Buck Rogers or Battlestar Gallactica when they would launch. People have gotten too scaredy-cat to enjoy the fun parts of dangerous situations these days. Try not to spend too much money on hookers, unless they are chunky and charge by the pound. Then, go crazy.

I flew a couple of weeks ago for the first time in a few years. My nervousness about flying stems entirely from the fear of mechanical problems. I'm not the least bit afraid of terrorists. I have no doubts I about throwing down if anyone tries any shit on my flights.

Hope both of you enjoy your trips. I hit disney in may with a 4 year old, it was like watching a crack addict hit up.

We should organize a terroist hunt some time....it could be an MF sponsored event.

A 4 year old, wow, you are a stronger being than I, Cryostar. I don't think I've ever witnessed worse family interaction than I did the last time I was down there. Parents slapping the kids, kids slapping the parents. Kids absolutely brutalizing each other while the parents walk around oblivious in a Prozac sponsered zombie-like state. The other visitors are usually the only thing about the trip that I don't enjoy. Unless I'm feeling a bit sociopathic. Then I giggle at the misery of others.

Thanks Troy, I know I'll definitely have fun on this trip...can't wait for it.

My pleasure. Try and get a fake ID that reads "Nick Pappageorgio". That would be bad assedness. Unless you've never seen National Lampoons Las Vegas Vacation, then it might not make any sense what so ever. Still, have fun and good luck.

I was going to try and get 2 more posts in just to be at 1138, but that seems kind like kind of a sad goal for a grown man. So it'll have to be next week sometime. Anywho, have a nice week working and not having as much fun as me MF'ers, I'm gone like OJ's freedom.

It was all kinds of fun, let me assure you. As soon as we made it to MGM, she started biting her nails and dragging me around like a rag doll ( yes, a 300lb man, dragged by a 35lb 4 year old, funny, yes?). The last day was the worse, downtown disney (the mall) has a boutique that allows the 4 year old to get made up like a princess.....mom swears it has to happen. $300 later, the princess is brought forth, and the world was brought to its knees. Then began the "Let's show everyone how cute I am." walks. Enough about that though....I'm not scarred, not at all.

You staying at a resort, or just in orlando?

In answer to your question, we stayed at Coronado Springs in the WDW Resort. Way more convenient unless you want to go somewhere besides Disney. Or have anything other than a Coke product to drink. And Downtown Disney sucks ass. I thought so anyway.

Actual update to follow. Pics might be a while, I gots to sort through em'. A quick tip, though. If ever on the first day of your vacation in sunny Florida you should decide to walk about 150 feet across some pavement barefoot to get a towel because you waited 3 hours for your room and wanted to jump in the pool while you wait, and you don't have your luggage and therefore any sandals or flip-flops either....don't. Go ahead and get your shoes wet. They will dry out waaay faster than the big fucking ginormous blisters you will get on your feet will heal.

Some would say that is Florida getting back at you....some.

We stated at one of the all star resorts....gah, talk about your cluster fscks, those things are one giant one.

Oh yeah, and I smuggled in pepsi on the luggage. I learned that going beyond the mason dixon line requires me to bring my own better tasting beverages.

I brought a 12 pack of bottled spring water, because Dasani (Coke's H2O) is just tap water with a mineral pack added. Needed more actually, forgot the sweat factor.

The All Stars seem like a ghetto resort to me, Holliday Inn with some theme elements thrown in to make it feel worthwhile. Spring for one of the moderates next time, they are a lot nicer.

As far as Florida getting back at me, well, it's my own fault. I should have known better. My wife was too grossed out to take pictures of the big open wounds I pounced around on all week and I couldn't get a decent angle on them with the camera, so no pics of that. But the rest of my vacation photos are up. PM me if you want to see em. I actually have a lot more, but my wife doesn't want me showing her to the internet just yet. Well, not with clothes on anyways.

We started out Monday with a late dinner at Cinderellas Royal Table, which we found out last time has the best food in the whole place. I tried for weeks to get a reservation, but they were booked solid the whole week we were going for about 3 months prior. But still, I called twice a week and finally got somebody elses cancellation 2 days before we left. The reservations were at 8:40 and the fireworks are at 9:00, so we had to fight a viscious crowd to make it up to the castle in time, but I'm a real prick so it was no problem. I highly recomend going if you can, but call 180 days in advance or you might be screwed. After waiting around all day for our room, and having to perform emergency surgery on my feet, that was all we really had time for the first day. So far, so good.

We did MGM (Now just Disney Hollywood Studios, MGM dropped out I guess) the second day. The place looks really great, but there isn't a lot to it. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is the shit, however. Worth doing twice. Allthough the second time around I was more afraid the terrified kid sitting next to me was going to puke. The Great Movie Ride had a huge line considering it's kind of boring. Parts of it are great, though. Still, not really worth it if there's a long wait. Repeatedly missed the Indiana Jones Action Adventure show, which is still bugging me. That might be cool, but I wouldn't know (making my sad face just typing it damnit).

Then we went back to the Magic Kingdom since we only went there for dinner the day before. At this point, the people we travelled there with started wondering "where are all the fun things?", out loud. Note to self: Never travel with in-laws. I like em' fine, but I'm not an entertainment committee damnit. It almost got ugly, but considering I wanted to keep my sex-life intact, I kept my mouth shut. Mostly. We did the Haunted Mansion (newly reopened) and watched the fireworks from the outside this time, and got caught in a downpour with 10,000 angry people. We seemed to be among the few people smart enough to travel with umbrellas also, which seemed to make the crowd madder. In typical Florida fashion, it lasted all of 10 minutes and caused a mad stampede for the exit. There is a virus you get at the main gate apparently that transforms otherwise normal and aware individuals into zombies that lose all consideration of other people. That virus is becomming more potent over time. Good thing they made me leave my knives in the car at the airport, or some people would have new stitches.

We basically hit a park in the morning, jumped in the pool around lunchtime, and hit a different park in the evening for the rest of the week. EPCOT is my favorite looking park, because it isn't as cluttered and has a real 80's futuristic vibe to it. Spaceship Earth (the big ball) and the Wonders of Life were closed, but the other pavillions in Futureworld and all of the World Showcase were open. Soarin' kicks ass. We went on that 3 times over the week. I told off some random "Dad" in line because he got all mouthy. My wife was tugging on the back of my shirt saying "Happiest place on Earth damnit" and asking me to stop, so I did. If not for her, his kids would have had the chance to learn all about neat things like "Riding to the Emergency Room with Daddy" and "Why does Daddy walk with a cane?" among other educational shit. Still, had a great time there.

Spent too much time in the pool. Travelling with other people has it's drawbacks. Especially when they want to take a nap or go swimming for 3 hours at a time. Or eat something every 30 minutes. Or were expecting roller coasters. I'm glad my wife got to see her sister, but next time we are going alone. I like some of the "lamer" things the most. Like all of Tomorrowland and the Monorail. I was getting really bummed because we couldn't seem to do that shit as a group. And Friday morning my wife told her sis we were going to split up and she took me out to do all that, which made me really happy. I got lucky picking her up. If they end up reading this, I'm sorry guys. I had a great time. But you walk too fucking slow. I had gigantic open wounds on my feet and I didn't complain as much as you. Everyone has a cell phone these days so I didn't think we needed to be attached at the ass the whole time, so wtf. Go do your own thing, I'll see you at dinner. 47 square miles I'm sure you will find something you enjoy, leave me alone in my geekery and everyone will be okay.

All in all, had a great time. Didn't buy much for myself, I was saddened by how generic the Star Wars merchandise was there. But I did get this bitchin' t-shirt.


And just for Mr J, I had to get a few of these too.


The MF bumper sticker is totally going on my car. I was about to alter it into a mf.com sticker and slap it onto the Star Tours ride somewhere, but I realized I didn't have bail money left if that got me arrested. It'll look better on my car anyways. I also got a Darth Goofy, but I didn't take any pictures of that one. Going back to work is going to royally suck porno cock Monday, but I have to pay for all this shit now so I better get started. It was worth it, and considering the mess life became a few weeks prior, definately a nice break from real life.

Thanks for listening mf'ers. Have a magical day!

Nice pix man, looks like you hit the same places we did, though for hopefully much different reasons.

All star resorts are ok, so long as you only plan on sleeping there. Considering in 10 days, 2 were travel, 1 in Ocala and 3 in Miami, we didn't have to deal with them for long. I'd love to stay at the animal kingdom place...but I heard that's hugely expensive.

Either way, great to see you back, unchanged and in the correct state of mind.

Thanks, glad to be back actually. Allthough, one shitty thing that happened was that I "lost" my cellphone. I'm actually 99% positive I left it in the Hotel room because the last time I saw it was when we were packing to leave. I made several calls there and so far they claim that nothing has been found. So the Mrs called and deactivated it. At least now I won't be paying for calls to Guatemala or Viet Nam, but I gotta' buy a new one.

I've decided not to bother trying to "catch up" with the internet, also. I usually hit about 20 different sites on a daily basis, and only getting through the porno ones has been a fucking task. After reading the headline recap pages on a few of the conspiracy theory and comics sites, I decided that digesting 6 days worth of information in 2 was beyond me. So I'm going to nod my head and pretend I know what everyone else is talking about for a while.

Oh yeah, the Animal Kingdom Lodge looks reeaal nice. So does the Wilderness Lodge. But if I'm going to fork over the dough for a Deluxe resort, I'm going to stay at the Contemporary. I've gawked at pictures of it for years, and after riding through the lobby on the Monorail, I have to say it's just as impressive in real life. The Grand Floridian looks nice from a mile away, but it seems a little too 'old South slave-owner' nice for my taste. The Polynesian looks cool too, I might stay there someday if I can ever pay off my last trip. We did the dining plan and got the park hopper, so food and admission were covered (allthough they still cost you even then), but the sheer amount of shit for sale drained my ass.

We loved how those three resorts looked that lined Lake Disney, but we don't know if we liked being that close to Disney World....Hearing the mono all the time and the ferry.

I hear you about catching up on lost internet days.....I hate missing days at work because of that. It's usually when I finally get time to visit those sites. HI BOSS!

Did you hit Seaworld and all too, or just stay @ Disney?

We just stayed at Disney. I was hoping to get to Universal, but thanks to the jerking around I got in the workplace right before leaving, I couldn't swing the funds beyond what I had spent when I booked it. Allthough I did bring some loot for random shit I knew I had to buy, like T-shirts and gifts for other people (nothing elaborate). Most of my money was spent before we left. Getting fired 2 weeks prior to departure can really fuck up your vacation plans. That slight gap between the old job and the new jobs paychecks completely shot the idea of going anywhere off property in the foot.

Today was my first day back to work and it was gruesome. I have gotten used to the drive, but I sincerely hate my co-workers. And getting up at 4:00AM and driving an hour to spend all day with a bunch of people that I loathe is getting old really fucking fast. I think I need another vacation.

Getting up at 4am to work with people you love would get old really fucking fast.

I think getting up at 4am for anything would get old....but it's just an hour more than I already get up, so shrug. Do you have to talk to the loathees or can you work without social interaction?

Okay, maybe "hate" and "loathe" were a bit strong. Maybe "dislike" and "don't know very well yet" would have fit better in those sentences.


Aww, who am I kidding, I fucking hate the loathsome motherfuckers. There are a few people I get along with just fine. But a turd can stink up a perfume counter.

Is this turd a long standing member of the working community, or someone that can easily be disposed of?

I have to poop.

I do too. Ooops...I just did.

The "turd" mentioned in my previous post was metaphorical, as the irritating qualities of my co-workers are shared by a duo and are far less satisfying than taking a good dump. They are really just sad little creatures not worthy of my going through the hassle of evidence disposal, also. If it was 5 minutes away, I wouldn't be complaining about them as much. Today for instance, I had zero annoyance factor.

But that may have also been due to the fact I just found the 'Toys r Us' right down the street from my work at lunchtime. And they just happened to have the Titanium Series Grievous Starfighter I have been searching for locally for months. And they were on sale. I bought 2 for about $12 at lunch. Score!

Schweet.....though I bought mine in May :P In Florida, while I was at Disney World.

Have you tried being spiteful to the annoyance twins?

Glad you had fun Troy.

Just because.

[flash width=350 height=425]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/TH2yNk9hAig[/flash]

I don't know which is better....that one, or this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T4b7mp3qyk

Have a nice trip, see you next fall...


[flash width=350 height=425]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/ZaERjjvFbOM[/flash]

Wow. I've heard of dropping a few pounds, but that's ridiculous.

No, that's fscking hilarious.

Yeah, so here's an update for the interested. I got really fed up with the mental retardation and lack of professionalism of my co-workers, including my new boss. And after the monthly commisions came out last week (85% of my pay, mind you) and mine was about $10 more than my gas money, I decided to quit that lousy fucking job. There's no way I'm getting up at 4AM to drive for an hour to sit all day with a bunch of people I can't even mildly respect, and starve. If I'm going to go broke, I'll do it on my own, damnit. I was going to give them a proper notice, but they allready told me they didn't want or need me there and that upper management basically pushed us together, so I did us both a favor and went home. Save myself the gas money, y'know?

My new (now old) boss told me on my second day that my first mistake was accepting this job, and that he was sure I was going to hate it pretty soon. One of the ape-faced fucking knuckledraggers actually told me that I was a corporate "yes man" and that I must be pals with someone up the food-chain. Are you fucking kidding me? I talked to upper management exactly three times. Once, when they took over the company I used to work for, and they didn't like my "honest assesment", and stopped asking my opinion alltogether. Once when they laid me off. And the last time when they presented me with this 'glorious opportunity' that I just fucking walked out of. You'd have to be as dumb as a crocheted box of spoiled monkey shit to think I was any kind of "yes man", and in fact I only got laid off because I wasn't an ass-kisser. My job was given away to some unqualified ass-kisser. The uproar that caused with the people I used to work with is what got them to hire me back, in fact.

I keep thinking; I did a good job, I was never a problem, from customers to factory reps and my supervisors on down, nothing but praise and disbelief at what happened to me. I don't deserve to be treated like this. And the sad thing is, if the money was right, I would have put up with it. But it wasn't. So now I'm fucked out of my unemployment.

Mrs.O isn't taking the stress of it all very well, however. I have had a couple of interviews allready this week, but considering none of those jobs start until the 1st of November, she's kind of flipping out about it. So I thought wtf, what better way to cheer her up than to take her on a field trip tomorrow, one that I'm sure at least I'll enjoy, right?? Pics to follow.

At least we got to go on that vacation. Too short and blistery of feet as it was. Sometimes life can be a real kick in the face.

Good luck man. Hopefully you'll find something sooner that 11/1.

Thanks. Me too. So, I said I was going on a field trip. Here is proof that wasting time can be fun.

Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination

Beat the hell out of waiting for the future to call me up and offer me money. For a day anyway.

Dood, where's that at....I want to go now.

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Which is very freaking dim, mind you. So if you spend the whole day taking pictures, you will have to screw around with them for hours before being able to see what the hell is on them, let alone posting them online.

It was a lot of fun to see, but it was jam freaking packed. Was a nice break from the "ohcrapwhatamigonnado's" though. It isn't very far from where I live and it was only like $27 with admission to the museum itself.

Hrm...I haven't been to ChiTown in like 15 years, which is depressing considering I'm like 6 hours away car....maybe it's time to pile the family into a car on road trip for a weekend.

I'm less than an hour from downtown, and even with tolls and gas, plus admission for me and the Mrs, it still cost me less than 2 days of commuting to the ex-job. I recomend going to see it if you get the chance. Weekends are the busiest times, though. So if you decide to go then, buy your tickets online. Or get there early, they open at 9:30 but the limited number of in-house tickets to the Star Wars exhibit itself seem to sell out right away. At least that's what the told me on the phone. And I can believe it because it was packed. We got there at 9:45, and we almost didn't get in, and did get completely shut out of the Millennium Falcon hyperspace simulator thing. Which is still making me kind of arghhh...but wtf.

If your driving 6 whole hours, you might want to look into visiting some of the other sights downtown. The Field Museum and the Adler Planetarium as well as the Art Institute and Shedd Aquarium are about 4 miles North of the Museum of Science and Industry. And walking from there isn't really a safe or comfortable option, so plan ahead. Millennium Park is good for a scenic stroll and Navy Pier isn't alltogether too far away from that. The Museum of Science and Industry is kind of all by itself, while the others are all within moderate walking distance of each other, until it gets below 40. Then you will freeze your balls off going from one to the other. They actually have some kind of "City Pass" that cuts the price of most of that shit in half, but if your not doing it all it doesn't look like such a great deal.

Unless of course youre married to a shop-a-holic, then keep her far away from Michigan Ave. And Water Tower Place. Nice places to visit, hell on your credit-cards. Thats been my experience anyway. Way better food out there, though. The museum food court gave me some digestive malfunctions, and the place was trashed by 11:30.

I'll be in Chicago in February. Maybe I'll give this a look.

Edit: nevermind, gone before i get there

Doh!

I know if we go, Shedd's has to be on the list, and I was thinking Navy peer as well....and of course we gotta head north to Gino's East, the wife's never had it....and maybe peggy sue's mcdonalds for the girls. My god, I've turned into a dad......get it off....get it off! *snicker*

Best thing about my wife, she beats herself up to the point where she won't buy anything when she goes shopping....she doesn't want to take anything away from the girls by buying something. Odd, yes?

It's a traveling exhibit. Obi-Wan, maybe you could catch it elsewhere. Philadelphia PA Feb-May, and St. Paul Minnesota June-Aug 08'.

And no, Cryostar, it doesn't sound odd for any decent Mom to think of the kids first. It's just that decent Moms are pretty rare these days. Our kids are still hypothetical, but I'm pretty sure Mrs Oblix would be the same way.

Na, the odd thing is, even if she did buy something, it wouldn't take it away, and odds are, she probably needed the thing to begin with....that's probably why I married her...that, and she puts up with my star wars addiction.

I waited until we were together a while before unloading the full fury of my geekish dark side on my girl. It was right around the release of AOTC that I even let on that I was a fan. And by 'let on' I mean to say that I made her watch the OT and TPM inside of a week in preparation for EpII's release. I figured, if she's going to go to opening night with me, she ought to know what's going on. She's actually become more of a fan than I had initially expected. Allthough I could of done without the "Golly, Anakin is kind of cute" shit, but I'm pretty secure.

Hell, she took this picture.


And didn't run from me when I had to shoo away the couple of kids that were playing on the speeder in order to snap it. If that aint love, I don't know what is.

Nice legs.

Do you Nare those things?

I started her on doses with the first date...Star Trek: First Contact. Figured I'd break her in on the trekkie stuff...and then move to the addiction. She's lasted so far, though she won't take my picture yet.

Me heapum pale-face.