Living the Dream in Florida: Fall 2005 and Winter 2006

The first concrete thing I can piece together about being back in Florida was a week long trip to Orlando to see Matt and visit my old boss, Nicole, & my Italian professor, Signora Spina, to get letters of recommendation for the upcoming interview I had in Tampa. The first night turned into an instant classic. Matt and I had dinner somewhere then went to meet up with Scotty Doo at his pad and drank there for awhile. After that we went to play pool for an hour or so then headed back to CVI for what we thought was going to be a chill night and drink. Well we were drinking outside Matt’s place and some randoms that Matt knew started showing up and before we knew it there was a decent gathering of about 12 people. Well I was enjoying myself and became the life of the party when I started making fun of this really obnoxious black chick. Well, she didn’t take too kindly to my not-so-friendly banter, got all crazed, broke a beer bottle, and proceeded to shank me two times in the gut. She didn’t puncture my clothes, but it was scary and it killed the party atmosphere for a few minutes until she was escorted away by security. After leaving for another small party we returned and then did more others. In between brown-outs I remember getting a free lap-dance from some black chick despite about 5 black dudes willing to pay. I am not going to write about what happened later that night, but it was crazy. I got my letters of recommendation and left for Ocala not to return to Orlando for a month or so.

Matt and I in Belly Buster's, Church Street, Downtown Orlando

Abed, Lauren, and Disinterested James

I had my interview in Tampa and later got word that I got the job and would be leaving for Japan in mid February 2006. So at this point I had two months left before my working life began and I decided to have as much fun as possible. I spent a load of time with my old high school friends Joey, Suga Shane, and Rob P., because I was living back with my dad in Ocala. We went fishing a few times, chilled at ‘Terry’s Bar & Grill’ where Joey’s sister, Tara, was working, and pretty much had a good, relaxed time. I also worked with Joey some at his business, Higher Quality Lawn care. It was really cool working with my hands outside again. I hadn’t done that very much since working with my dad back in the good old days of childhood.

Spending quality time with my father, sister, grandfather, and my cousin Laura also took up substantial portions of my time. Meeting my dad or Laura for lunch at ‘Tacos ‘N Madre’ and then visiting Pops at his nursing home happened 3 to 4 times a week on average. I regret not being able to make it up to Tallahasse to chill with my big sis, Mabry, but she came down to Ocala frequently, so it’s cool. I also spent a lot time at Laura’s house, which was a really cool cedar cabin in the swamp, with her and her future husband, Frank, and going fishing at Butterbutt Landing which was only about 5 minutes walk from her house at the time.

An Orlando friend from Japan, Akira, came down to Florida from Rhode Island, where he was/is studying, to spend Christmas at my house. I found out about a week before he arrived and was a little put off at first, but got over it quickly after he arrived. He is a funny guy. We got drunk almost every night but the first night he was Ocala is the one that has gone down in the books. We were at Laura’s house playing some drinking game with beer, Ouzo, and other random liquors, and Akira & Frank got really drunk. Frank kept making weird hand gestures which were fucking hilarious at the time, and Akira went to the bathroom and was in there for really long time. When we left he whispered ‘sorry’ to Laura. The next day she told me after we left she checked the bathroom and found her shower curtain ripped down and lying crumpled in her bathtub. Anyway, Akira and I made our way back to my house and decide it’s a good idea to take a walk down my road, by the way I lived in an extremely rural, swampy area. I see some headlights approaching and decide it would be funny to mess with Akira’s head so I told him the rednecks were coming to kill us and nobody would ever know what happened. He flips the fuck out. After the truck passed without incident, he was still flipping out and I didn’t help when I told that we were now lost (bad idea). We were making our way back to my house and when I could see the porch lights through the trees I pointed and told him we would break into ‘that’ house and sleep there. Even though were had just been there 15 minutes before, he had no recollection of my house. He was freaked out for awhile, but I finally calmed him enough and he passed out. He swore that he doesn’t remember any of it, but he did buy Laura a new shower curtain.

I went down to Orlando again for Matt’s annual New Year’s celebration, but I don’t remember too much about it to be honest. I guess it wasn’t that great (sorry Matt, but we made up for the next year). The nickname 'The Peace Maker' was deemed appropriate for me at some party in Orlando around that time, but I can't remember why. Anyway, it was a cool nickname. I also hooked back up with one of friends who I have known since the 3rd grade, Troy Byrd. It was fucking awesome seeing him again and catching up. We chilled in Orlando and he came up to Ocala for my going away party after which we partied with some other old high school buds, Josh McKelvy and DohNees.

Driving down to Miami became a bi-weekly thing in January and February, a real Fortnight Event. I would make the 6-hour drive for a half hour stay in either the Japanese or Brazilian Consulate General’s office and stay for a the night at Eric’s parents’ house, for which I am grateful. Especially after a drunken incident that had happened there the year before involving yours truly being woken up by Eric’s mom semi-naked in his sister’s bed. Weird. Anyway, Eric showed me around Boca Raton a few times. It was cool chilling with him in his home world.

Then before I knew it I was heading to Orlando International on that cold February morning not to return for almost a year. It was sad leaving my dad and seeing him turn to walk away, but I don’t think I cried as he left and I think it was the first time. Why is it always cold when I leave places??

And in between all the partying and loafing I found time to go to Brazil to see an Orlando friend, ‘Ricky’ Ricardo Martins, and meet a distant cousin, Simony, and some other relatives. That story will be in my next post.