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I'll Be Home For Christmas

mikerobles — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:43:25 GMT

I'd sing... but then I'd be singing. And no one wants to hear that. :P Cassie and I will be down in LA for two weeks! We fly in Saturday night and leave on the 29th. Unlike last year we're not doing a crazy ton of planning stuff. I know we'll be at Disneyland on the 18th, and doing family stuff on Christmas time. Other than that we're pretty much open for the entire two weeks. So if you want to hang out, just let us know! Hope to see you! *Yeah, I put up a JTT movie. **Yeah, I called him JTT

54 Hour Improvathon starts this FRIDAY!!

mikerobles — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:42:52 GMT

This Friday, June 13 at 6 PM, Unexpected Productions will be having its 25th anniversary celebration kick off with a 54 consecutive hours of improv. Lots of people will be doing chunks of the improvathon here and there, but 2 cast members are foolhardy enough to attempt the entire thing! If you're interested in coming to see the show I have a some discount tickets to sell. I have two types of tickets: • Weekend Pass – Stay for all 54 hours, or come and go as you please! Only $15!! ($18 on the web, and $20 at the door! SAVE $5!) • Day Pass - One time entry, if you leave, you’re out! Only $10 ($12 on the web, $15 at the door! SAVE $5!) Also, anyone who commits to watching the entire 54 hours (you don't need to stay awake the entire time, just in the theatre) will get a lifetime pass to any show Unexpected Productions does! Why, if you go to every Theatresports show for the next 25 years, that's a $26,000 value! (And to be honest… how many chances are you going to have to get a lifetime pass to ANYTHING?) For those who've never been it's at the theatre in Pike Place Market... details and directions are available at http://unexpectedproductions.org/25year I’ll be performing at various times throughout the 54 hours (yes I’ll be there ALL weekend), and working Box Office, and wherever else they stick me! There will also be raffles, auctions, special guests and more! If you have any more questions feel free to ask me! If you would like a ticket come and see me! Don’t miss this chance to be part of Seattle History!

You know you're from California if:

mikerobles — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:00:07 GMT

1. Your co-worker has 8 body piercings and none are visible. 2. You make over $300,000 and still can't afford a house. 3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English. 4. Your child's 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Flower. 5. You can't remember if is pot illegal. 6. You've been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor. 7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown, and you can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian. 8. You can't remember is pot illegal? 9. A really great parking space can totally move you to tears. 10. Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the U.S. 11. Unlike back home, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney… really IS George Clooney. 12. Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment. 13. You can't remember... is pot illegal? 14. It's barely sprinkling rain and there's a report on every news station: "STORM WATCH." 15. You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cells or pagers. 16. It's barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents. 17. HEY!!!! Is pot illegal???? 18. Both you AND your dog have therapists. 19. The Terminator is your governor. 20. If you drive illegally, they take your driver's license. If you're here illegally, they’ll give you one. Taken from: http://www.misscellania.com/miss-cellania/2008/6/5/you-know-youre-from-california-if.html

Monday Monday

mikerobles — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:17:58 GMT

I was going to go with "Sounds like someone's got a case of the Mondays" but that shit is played out. Played out I tells ya! June is here. We're halfway through 2008 and it's been a crazy year! May was quite the awesome. I was in not one, not two, but THREE improv shows. The 1st two were sort of a Who's Line type of thing where a group of improvisors would get up on stage and certain ones would be called out to play certain games. I played games that I was comfortable playing, and games that I wasn't so comfortable playing. But had a strong showing in both shows. The third show was the "Student Showcase" where the classes of 200, 300, and 400 got to have their own show and showcase all the stuff they had learned. My class (200) had the largest group of students, and probably most of the audience. We put on a hell of a show and EVERYONE from 200 did awesome. We had cast members, and other students telling us how well we did, and we even had some people saying they liked us better then the more advanced classes. That's a good feeling. I'm convinced Dennis Michael just as bad ass as Chuck Norris, if not more bad ass. The man has met so many people and never ceases to amaze me with his awesomeness. If you haven't checked it out. Look at his blog today about the Robert Kennedy assassination. http://people.tribe.net/dennismichael/blog?topicid=cd41eb39-c8ee-461f-ab8e-1f401c474414 Again... what a life. The other day at the theatre my buddy and I were talking about life, and we were discussing what it must feel like to keep going, after you've already done so much. He was talking about people like Harrison Ford... and good ol Dennis "Chuck Norris" Michael came to my mind. Cause there are times when I wonder... does Dennis just put his hands behind his back, and go.... "Yeah... I'm enjoying this ride" It's June 2nd and already my June is filling up. Volunteer work at the theatre, then next week is the 54 hour Improv-a-thon to celebrate the Theatresports 25th Birthday! I'm not working all 54 hours, but I'm working some crazy shifts for it! I'll be performing, I just don't know when. But crap... it's going to be awesome. The week after that, it's my birthday. There's a meeting for Faire that day, then that night... well make sure your night is cleared. Oh, and make sure you don't have anything to do Sunday morning either. ;) THEN the week after that my parents and my nephew are coming up! Which is going to be awesome! I get to take them on all the crazy touristy stuff that is around here. I can't wait. Man.. it's only June 2nd? I can't wait for this month to get going full swing! Photo from: http://www.savagechickens.com/

I dreamt, of my funeral...

mikerobles — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:05:32 GMT

I've been going nonstop lately. It feels good. I've been super busy with my improv classes and helping out at the theatre on weekends. I feel it has been a big help and I feel like a better improvisor. It's a good feeling. I had my 1st show as "part" of Unexpected Productions. I use the quotes when I say I was "part" of them because I'm not really a part of their troupe. I'm a crew member that's been taking classes and going to rehearsals. So to me it was a great honor to be cast as a "rep" from Unexpected Productions. It showed me that the company knew I was working hard towards becoming a member. Whether that happens or not, who knows. But for now I consider this my trial run and will be trying my best. I have 1 more show this Saturday, then that's it for a while. Actually, that was sort of a lie. I lied to you, and I'm sorry. As part of the class I am taking, we get to be involved in the "Student Showcase" at the end of the quarter. Because the class I'm in is so large we get the whole 1st half. It's just more games, but it's still going to be lots of fun to perform in front of an audience again. The showcase idea scares the bejeebus outta some people. Not me though. I'm a ham. Last night in class I felt the teacher was being harder on me than anyone else. Someone told me that they think I get a different kind of critique because of my skill level. I don't know how much of that is true, but last night I felt like I was being targeted. I like my teacher, he always works the Bar at the theatre when I work box office, so between shows we'll sit and talk shop over a beer. So maybe they're right. Who knows. I saw Corteo on Tuesday. http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/corteo/intro/intro.htm It's the story of a clown that is watching his funeral. It's meant to be a joyous event. His former lovers, friends, and circus acts are there to pay their respects, and share in memories. The thought of all the people gathered together for the love of one man, was very heartwarming. It made me wonder what sort of legacy I'd leave behind. I like shows that make you think, even if there is crazy acts going on. Plain and simple, it was AMAZING. All of the acts were top notch, and the music was fantastic. So what's in store for The Mike Robles? My (almost) last Improv show on Saturday. Kids in The Hall next Thursday, more classes and volunteer work, then the showcase. After that? June... and my birthday.

The Slip

mikerobles — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:05:02 GMT

The new album by NIN. Out today. Did I mention it was 100% FREE? Get it Here: http://theslip.nin.com/

Singing and Schmoozin

mikerobles — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:36:22 GMT

Yup, that was my weekend. Saturday was a day of super stress as I had only 1 day of practice with a voice coach to prepare myself for my audition. I finally got dressed, and got in the car and headed down to Seattle for my audition. I auditioned for Disney's Beauty and The Beast. Yes, the broadway musical one. Now most of you know I don't sing unless I'm drunk, and playing Rock Band. So this was a HUGE step for me. I went in and let them know I was interested in the role of LeFou http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhG9hKiplfQ Right away there was an "Oooh" from like the 8 auditors. Then it happened "So will you sing something then?" "Gulp... sure!" They started playing the song "Gaston" and I jumped into character and started singing as best as I could. Again a HUGE obstacle for me. Having 8 people look at you as you're trying to sing is totally unnerving. I felt like my singing wasn't great. After I got done singing they had me read. NOW IT'S MIKE'S TIME TO SHINE! I was paired with a young girl who read one scene as Belle, and one scene as Gaston. They had me read a few times, and once they even told me to pull it back. I guess I was playing LeFou a bit "too dorky". To me that's a compliment. So I read again and got some laughs and I was out of there. Overall I fell I did well. My singing wasn't great but LeFou doesn't have to sing well. I felt I did REALLY well on my characterization, and even the auditioners let it slip that they hadn't seen many people going for LeFou during this round of auditions. They way I see it, if they can find a guy that can sing, then they'll pass on me. If they can't, then I've got a pretty good shot based off my read. Everything is going to posted on the company's website in about a week or so. If I get of course I'll be thrilled, if I don't I honestly won't be bummed. I mean this was my 1st ever musical theatre audition. Sunday was great. I had my 1st class for the improv group I'm trying to get into. It was a "Grab Bag Feedback" class which means each week I'll get a new teacher who will watch open scenes, games, etc. and give feedback to make those taking the class better improvisers. It was a great class and I learned a lot. What really paid off was after the class. The group has a 7pm show, and the class goes from 3 - 6 at the theatre. So I figured, hey I'm here.... why not stick around? I asked if it was cool if I stuck around and the teacher for that day said it was cool with him. He and I went and grabbed a bite to eat and we talked about my coming from California and acting and random stuff. After we went back into the theatre and there were a few people who recognized me from previous outings to the theatre. I stayed and BS'd some more and found that a girl that just cast in the ensemble had gone about it the same way I am currently. She told me to keep doing what I was doing as it's a GREAT way to get seen a lot more. ;) I was the only one that stayed from class to watch the show, and I was the only audience member that stayed to have drinks afterwards with the cast. Again I got to talk and listen to a lot of them and was engaged in plenty of conversation. I left before it got late, and I felt that I left at a good enough time. The tips I got from the cast while we are all drinking should help me out a TON in the coming weeks.

I wanna marry Japanese Bruce Springsteen

mikerobles — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:30:27 GMT

http://www.break.com/index/japanese-we-are-the-world.html

Even more Shenanigans

mikerobles — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:55:54 GMT

Pretending to hate your job is something I was always able to excel at when working on The Jungle Cruise. That ride has it's fair share of secrets. Did you know that when you're in line, there's the "ticket" window right? Well that ticket window can actually be unlocked and people can enter inside of it. In that very office is a log book, filled with a mass of signatures from skippers old and new. You know you were at least cool when you were invited to sign the book. During training on Jungle you would often go into the jungle on what was called "Safari". Well sometimes, if (as usual) there was an abundance of crew, then often times you'd go out into the jungle and cause havoc to the boats out on the jungle. That usually happened at night. When you were leaving Disneyland, and you worked on Jungle Cruise, you almost ALWAYS wanted your last shift as a night shift. And usually you wanted it to be a closing shift. Why? Cause you wanted one "Last Trip" The last trip was something that was always a big deal. We'd wait until either you were the VERY last boat, or until just after closing. No guests allowed, just fellow skippers old and new. Usually (if you were well liked) there would be almost NO ROOM on the boat. There would be people nearly falling off the damn boat.Then the trip began. You were allowed to say whatever you wanted, you can reminisce, or tell the jokes you've always wanted to, or just go off on a tangent. There was one tradition though... when you got to the Gorilla Camp. You would pull up to the Gorilla Camp and stop the boat. Then you proceeded to take off your "Disney approved" shoes (usually Doc Martins or something) and thrown them into the mess that is the Gorilla Camp. Depending on when custodial or facilities actually made it out there, your shoes would actually be out there anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks. Truth time... Yes I've been on Safari, Yes my name is in the Ticket Window Log Book, and YES, I took a last trip, and tossed my shoes out onto the Gorilla Camp. They were there for about 3 weeks before they were gone someone told me.

Shenanigans

mikerobles — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:21:46 GMT

Disneyland was just like any other work place. You started out low man on the totem pole with crappy shifts. Then you got better shifts, then you were able to choose your shifts. One of the great things about working at Disneyland all the backstage shenanigans that would occur. Like every workplace there were certain "Rites of Passage" that you had to do to be considered part of the crew. Funny thing is, most of these rites of passage were usually done on the last day you worked at the park. Almost ALL of the rides had certain Rites of Passage you had to do be part of the crew. At night, Star Tours was usually not busy. So often times the crew would "drop" cabins 1 and 4. Meaning we wouldn't load them with anyone for the rest of the night. However we would run them about every hour or so just to make sure that they were getting used. Well, sometimes if we had an abundance of crew then some of us would go into the empty cabin, and have another crew member launch the flight. Then, depending on how brave you were, we would pick a row, and stand on the seats... and SURF Star Tours. The cast member in the Tower would usually turn off the monitor for the cabin we were in in case any management would show up. If you flashback to one of my earlier blogs, I mentioned that the back row was ALWAYS the row you wanted to be in for Star Tours, because that was the was the row that got the highest elevation point. Well now imagine STANDING on a seat on that row. Yeah. I watched a buddy of mine get launched from row 5, to row 3. Now truth time... YES. I HAVE surfed Star Tours on row 5. Not the most exciting ride in the world, Storybook Land Canal Boats did have it's share of... well... stuff. After about a month of working there I had noticed quite a few of the crew members doing strange things out on the canal. I then realized that they were all attempting to make each other laugh. I joined in for a bit, but that wasn't anything special. Remember "Never Never Land" that I told you about in an older blog? Well... on my last day (my first of many), I was the last one to pull a boat back to storage. Well 1st things 1st, you ALWAYS make sure the waterfall is turned OFF. Then you make sure the tracks are all lined up. Well both those things were done, so I got the all clear to pull the boat back. I pop the boat into reverse, and just before I hit the cave I hear a "WWWWHHHHOOOOOOOSH" and the waterfall turns on! I start to crawl to the back end of the boat in a mad hurry. Knowing there was no way I was going to get out of this dry, I decide to pull one last ditch effort. From the very edge of the boat I managed to pull off a Steve Austin 6 Million Dollar Man jump to the edge of the dock. I tun backstage to see the ENTIRE crew scrambling to stop a boat with no driver, and a bunch of disappointed people holding cameras. Apparently they had planned this for a while. I've gone too long for my own good. Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and Big Boats... next time.

Is this anyone we know?

mikerobles — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:29:00 GMT

So while trying to educate the youngins here at work. We established that in most 80s movies anytime something sexual was about to happen, "Oh Yeah" by Yello would start to play. So of course we hit up the interwebs to search for said clips. When I came across this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhOiEVcL1fM Is this anyone we know?

"Always do right..."

mikerobles — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:33:29 GMT

"This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest" --Mark Twain (?) Those are the words that Mr. Twain leaves you with while you're riding the Mark Twain Riverboat. You didn't get trained on only the Mark Twain, or only The Columbia. You were trained on "Big Boats". Which didn't make sense. Because you were either scheduled on one or the other. It's usually a 3 day training, with 1 day for the Mark Twain, and 2 days for The Columbia. As far as the Twain is concerned, it's been called the "Floating Breakroom". Only because it really is. Any costumed Cast Member you see on the Twain is strictly eye candy. We have an engineer in the back that controls the speed of the boat. The boat itself is on a track. The boat requires 2 cast members (and the Engineer) to operate it. 1 CM (cast member) hangs up stairs in the Captain's Quarters and uses the whistle to alert the rest of the river that we are taking off. They also press the "spiel" button at the right times along the river. The "captain" also listens to the park radio for any emergencies, and has a bell system to ring either the deckhand, or the engineer. The "Deckhand" stays on the lower floor and closes the gate, then takes care of the ropes when the boat takes off, and again when it docks. When they get around to the other side of the island they then proceed to walk all 3 decks of the ship and make sure that things are ok. That was followed by a trip to the Captains Quarters, and if was time for a break, or lunch, then they switched and the captain went down to dock the boat. The Sailing Ship Columbia... THAT was the boat to be on. It was more work during the shift, the boat reflected all the heat back at you, and you were in sight of the audience the ENTIRE time, but YOU ran the show. The boat was still on a track, but you had control of the throttle. There was a spiel button as well, but there was also a lot of dead time. For someone like me, this was where it was my time to shine. The Columbia crew started later than the Twain crew, and went home before they did as well, and we had way more fun. Like Mark Twain there were two on the boat at all times. The Captain, and the Hawkeye. The Hawkeye stood at the front of the boat and signaled to the Captain if there were any obstructions in the river (Like rafts or canoes). The Captain kept the show running and used the throttle to speed up and slow down the boat. While going around the river the captain could use the mic to speak to the crowd and usually try and make some jokes. The hawkeye would interact with the captain and USUALLY do what the captain has asked. I think the Columbia was more enjoyable because you felt like you were working out there. You had to raise and lower staircases, you had to drop and toss ropes to each other to tether the boat right. It was a blast. I had my fears when I was scheduled to be trained on the Columbia. Only a year prior that accident happened. I was informed that the result of the accident wasn't due to cast member negligence, but Management negligence. After the training I could see why the mistake happened, but I wasn't there. Long story short, most attractions are a 2-3 day training. Managers have to be trained on all ride in their area. So they get a condensed training, usually like 1 day's worth. Boats had their share of fun. While on the Columbia there was a crew of us that didn't want to get off the boat. We just had a blast making fun of each other and hanging out on the boat. Sometimes my buddy and I would go below decks and hang out where the crew slept, and would tell stories to the guests as they came down. A lot of times as captain the hawkeye and I would make jokes at each other's expense. The best part of being the Hawkeye was getting to stand as high as we were allowed to at the front of the boat as it made it's way across the front of the Rivers of America. Well, that and getting to fire off the big 'ol cannon during our trips. ;) One of the most memorable things about the Mark Twain is on occasion, we'd get a call from the Disneyland band, informing us that they would be there at a certain time. We'd rearrange the times for the boats and would be sure to be at the dock when the band arrived. We'd also set up chairs, and for one trip, the Disneyland Band would play on the deck of the Mark Twain. Often times they would end the trip, with a song that required the whistle of the Mark Twain. It wasn't a regular thing, but if you happened to be on the boat when it happened, it was truly magical.

We'll show you a laughing place...

mikerobles — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 21:15:40 GMT

Let's see... I had already been working at Jungle for about a year now. The Christmas season was approaching and my girlfriend (at the time) and I were complaining that we wanted to get trained elsewhere. Sure enough I got the call and was asked if I would like to get trained on Splash Mountain. Hell yeah I would! I was scheduled to be at the park on Dec. 26th... at 5am. Whoa whoa whoa.... 5 am? The park opened at like 8 I think, so 7 / 7:30 would be the earliest anyone needed to be there. Why the HELL was I scheduled for 5 in the AM??? So I arose, got to work early ass in the morning, still dark outside, and began my training. It was a brief overview of the ride. Then the fun part came. We were going to WALK Splash Mountain. We went down into the station and we saw there was no water in the ride. Which itself was a really cool sight. From there we walked the ride. (obviously skipping the drops.) Nothing is as creepy as walking through ANY ride when it's shut down. So we spent about an hour or so walking through the ride learning what all the places in the ride were called. For the record there are 3 lifts, (A, B, and C) and 5 Drops. While memory seems to have been not kind about the placement of the drops, I do remember walking through the mountain going from place to place inside and out. The mountain is huge, and it's a heck of a walkthrough. There are plenty of places to get lost in if you're not sure where you're going. All the doors in the ride are electronically monitored, so if a random door opens up an alarm goes off and we have to go check it. It's a total blast sometimes go exploring in the mountain. One the Splash had going for it was it's evac plan. If for some reason we needed to evac the ride, everyone in the station had a set pathway to go get people. It was awesome to see them split like bugs and take off. To set the record straight, we ecaved more than we needed to, BUT it was never because of danger. If the ride broke down, and we weren't able to get it back up. We simply had to get people off the ride because we didn't want them waiting there forever. That went for any ride that had an evac plan. There was a point that we had to careful of. C lift. The very last lift before the big drop. If the log was past a certain point we had to chain it off, and call maintenance to clear the log. Lucky for me I never had to do that. Although it was freaky to watch. Believe it or not, I have seen some blood on Splash Mountain. The most common was usually a kid who sat too close to the front and would hit his mouth when the logs got bumped. But one time... ***warning, graphic story below*** It was the end of the night and a log came into the station. A guy and his girlfriend were in the back of the log and he was holding his arm... which looked like it had been run over repeatedly with a cheese grater. I mean it looked like his forearm was barely hanging on. We had asked them what happened and called 911 (note, 911 from a park phone goes to Park emergency, it does NOT go to real 911). He said that he didn't know what had happened. We asked him where his arms were on the drop, and he told me they were inside. His girl jumps in and says that his arms were holding her. I sent a Cast Member to head over to the photo booth and grab a print of their log. Sure enough about 5 minutes later they came back and we saw that he his armed wrapped almost along the bottom of the log. There's maybe about 1 - 2 inches between the log and the steel filter that's in the tunnel as make your initial splash down. We figured out his arm got caught between the two and we now knew this wasn't our fault. I was actually surprised that his wasn't torn off, although by looking at it, you would've thought it was going to come off at any second. It was am image that haunted me for a very long time. ***End graphic story*** Splash Mountain was also the 1st chance Disney gave me at being a lead and a trainer. Being a trainer was a ton of fun. Cept for getting there at 5 in the am. Being a lead wasn't so bad... given the chance again I think I would just stay as a trainer. But I did work my longest shift as a lead once. I was the 7am opening lead, then the night lead called out sick... so I stayed on... until 1am. The check I got from that shift was quite nice. Although it was a pain in the ass to get to, you COULD get to the VERY top of Splash Mountain. I've watched Fantasmic! and the Fireworks from there. It had to be one of the most amazing experiences ever. There are plenty of Last Day traditions in the park, when I finish my experiences on the rides I've worked on I'll tell of all the Last Day things I've participated in.

Confessions of an Endor Express Flight Attendant

mikerobles — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:00:49 GMT

Let's see.... it was 1998 when I started working at Disneyland. They were hiring for people to help open the "New Tomorrowland" so I got trained at Star Tours. I was 17 years old, a senior in high school, and Disneyland was my 1st job ever. I was stoked. During the training I was informed that Star Tours currently held the record for Longest Wait Time EVER. When it opened back in '87 it had a 6 hour wait. 6 hours. People were spending almost 1/2 their day waiting in line. The line went from Tomorrowland all the way down to the Main Street Train Station. Wow. I got to go UNDER the simulator and watch that thing in action. Let me tell you, that thing moves around WAY MORE than you think it does. *For Glen (although I think he already knows it) The Hidden Mickey is during the boarding screen instructions. A little girl is carrying a Mickey Mouse doll with her. *For Dennis (although I think he already knows it) The Microscope makes a cameo in the Star Tours movie. If you don't know, Paul Reubens is the voice if your captain... he was Pee Wee Herman. One cool thing about Tours was that at night we'd drop down to maybe two cabins. But we had to run the other cabins to make sure that they were getting used. So a lot of times at night you could get a cabin all by yourselves. If you wanted to be really sneaky (as a Cast Member) then a lot times we'd "Surf" a cabin. Meaning we'd stand on a the seats in certain rows. The back row of course being the hardest to surf. That reminds me, you want a hell of a ride? ALWAYS request the back row. Don't request by number, ask for the BACK. The reason for this is because the numbers go like this on each side (2 cabins per side) 12345 12345 TOWER 54321 54321 The back row in all the cabins reaches the HIGHEST point in the ride. For a better ride, make sure you keep your hands up the whole time. There is a button in Star Tours called "Flight Check" all this did was play the movie. The cabin wouldn't move, you could leave the doors open and just watch the movie. One night I was closing and woman came up through the turnstile, she told me "I want the one that doesn't move". I asked her to hold on a second and went to ask someone if I could just put her in an empty cabin and run the flight check. No one had any issues with so I took her over to cabin 4 (furthest right cabin) and told her to take a seat anywhere. She asked if I could leave the doors open and I told her sure. I then pushed the "Flight Check" button let her just sit back and watch the movie occasionally checking in on her. Someone once told me that one day the bulb in the projector went out, so the maintenance guy came down and replaced the bulb, but put the film in backwards. I'll give you a second to think about it... Yup. Every time the movie moved one direction, the cabin moved the opposite direction. People were sick like there was no tomorrow. Because I was a senior in high school I worked weekends, and sometimes at night. For us SoCal kids you also know that a LOT of schools had Grad Night at Disneyland... well I almost had to work my own grad night. I was scheduled to work and went around begging people to let me shift change with them. A lot of them couldn't figure out why until I showed up with my classmates to ride Star Tours. :P Star Tours also allowed me to meet The Aquabats. The bats were playing grad night that year and they were playing at Tomorrowland Terrace. So I knew they had to have dressing rooms underneath somewhere. So on my break one night I went exploring, and ran into one of them. I introduced myself and told them if they had the chance they should come ride Star Tours. Sure enough later that night they did! I was working at the exit ramp and they came walking up (in regular clothes) and I was in shock. I put them on and was thrilled that I got the bats to come onto Star Tours. Star Tours was a fun ride to work, you just really pushed buttons, and hung out. If you were stuck inside the whole day you had no concept of time and it was always a trip to walk out and either see the sun down, or the sun coming up. It was my 1st attraction... so it's got a little place in my heart. If I remember anything else I'll put it in the comments.

A Pirate's Life for me....

mikerobles — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 22:38:38 GMT

It was about 3 days worth of training for Pirates. I had been on the Jungle Cruise about a year, and that Christmas season I had gotten training on Splash Mountain. Only a few short months after that I had gotten scheduled for training on Pirates. You don't REALLY get to pick where you want to be trained. But if you're friends with the training schedulers and keep stopping in to say HI that let them know what rides you want then your chances of getting certain rides will be greater. I'm just saying. For a good chunk of my 1st round of shifts I was calling out sick. I had split up with my girlfriend and she had gotten trained on Pirates as well. She also worked on Splash Mountain... go figure. I didn't want to risk seeing her so I called in sick for pretty much any pirate shift I had. Knowing that I was soon going to be reprimanded I decided to go ahead and go into work for my pirates shifts. Only to find out that she too had been calling in sick for all her shifts as well. I showed up to work my pirates shift and realized all that I had been missing out on a great ride to work. It was a little intimidating at 1st, but I got used to it. The hardest part about working pirates is loading the boats. We have boats with 6 rows, and because of the way the boats are weighted we had some pretty strict rules. We had to follow these rules for the boats Rows: 111 2222 3333 4444 5555 666 So that being said, if we had someone in row 1, we had to have someone in row 6. Someone in row 2, someone in row 5. Rows 3 and 4 were ok to have people in cause they were in the center. What made this hard was the numbers game. We had groups of however many and we had to almost always make sure that they went into the right rows. On a slow day we have 1 person loading 1 boat. On a medium day we had 1 person loading two boats. Yeah... 2 sets of numbers to remember. On a busy day we'd have 2 people loading 2 boats. Ride operating is pretty simplistic on certain rides. It's a matter of two people making sure they push the right buttons. Simple as that. If there was ever a problem then it usually was because someone on the unload section hit the ride stop. Usually it's no big deal, someone is getting up real fast to switch seats, get something out of their purse, etc. etc. Since most of Pirates is all done by the flow of water we just needed to be sure that we were getting people in and out as fast as we could. With a 17 minute ride that's pretty tough. There's quite a bit of backstage stuff, not so much gossip, but enough to look at. YES there is a Mylar table. I have seen it, but I didn't want to touch it... I've heard the rumors as well. There are only 3 places on Pirates where people can be evacuated from. Meaning if for some reason we have to evacuate the ride, and you're not at the top... you have to wait until every boat in front of you (in 3 places) is cleared and pushed out of the way. The water doesn't drain anywhere when the night is through. It's the same water day after day. Yes there are filters, but as far as I know, Splash Mountain is the only ride that drains at night. The water has been drained before though, I've been there during rehabs and actually walked through Pirates with no water. It's sort of creepy. The ride is not without it's share of jokes and fun and games. Sometimes we may be overstaffed, but unable to let anyone leave early. That's when the people in the tower (or the lead) would grab extra cast members and play "Cat and Mouse". This consisted of 2 cast members running through various points in the attraction (chosen by the lead). The would have a flashlight each, and would call the tower when they've reached their destination and then shine the light into the camera. Pirates usually doesn't have that large of a line, if it does you can be guarateed that it will always be moving. For the most part. Forget about trying to go through the back in a wheelchair. It pushes numbers down and you'd have to wait almost twice as long. There was one time I was working out front and I we had absolutely no line. A couple comes walking up to me, a black haired woman her tall boyfriend wearing a Hellboy the Movie hoodie. The movie I know is finished, just not out in theaters yet. The woman looked really familiar although I couldn't place her. She handed me two REALLY old comp tickets and asked if they could use those to get a fast pass. I made some joke about how old the tickets were and then said "Let's find out" We went over to the fast pass machines and it turned out that the tickets would not work. We laughed it off, and I told them that it was no less than a 10 minute wait. So what was the big deal. Then I scooted them along into the ride. About 2 minutes later someone came down out front to give me a break and said: "Did you see Selma Blair just go through here?!?!" I laughed and went on break.

Little Known Facts about The Mike Robles & Disneyland

mikerobles — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 19:00:10 GMT

Presented in no particular order. I once had a TV show on a local cable access channel in Orange County. It was called "The Comedy Survivor Hour: Now in 30 Minutes" It was like Who's Line meets Survivor. We'd do skits, and then someone would get voted off. It was fun. It started as a project for a friend of mine's film class. And someone in the class worked for Aldelphia and passed the tape onto someone over there. They ordered 12 episodes. I was almost never voted off. It was nice. I've seen my share of blood at Disneyland. I saw a guys arm get shredded by Splash Mountain, and saw another guy's arm bend the other way after he fell trying to get passed the parade. Both guys were not in pain (although they REALLY should have been) cause I think they were in shock. Both times were pretty nasty. I was in Fantasmic! for over 3 summers. If you've seen Fantasmic! then you know that The Mark Twain and The Sailing Ship Columbia both make cameos during the show. Well contractually those rides needed to be handled by the Ride Operators. So this started a long line of hand picked ride operators to be trained on those attractions for the show (known as Night Drivers). While on the Mark Twain we have someone hidden on the side of the boat that faces Tom Sawyer's Island so they can keep an eye on the river and make sure that there's nothing in the way. We have another Cast Member that hides up in the Captain's Quarters and listens to the Radio to make sure there's no problems. If there are then they have to signal the engineer down below. The CM in the Captain's Quarters also closes the door that the "Chimney Sweeps" walk out of. For the Sailing Ship Columbia we have the "driver" that has a radio and has to control the speed of the boat. The boat is actually sped up at night so there's a lot more pressure on the driver. The driver also has to go from Full Throttle to Dead Stop backstage. There's NO room for error. They have to come to a complete stop designated by the entertainment staff so that all of the "pirates" on the boat can get off the boat, and run across TSI to get on the Mark Twain for the finale. The 2nd cast member on the Columbia is the Hawkeye. He keeps an eye out in the front of the boat, and then when the boat stops, has to yell at the driver if he needs to make adjustments, then has to get the metal stairs and place them on the boat. BOTH cast members have to dress up like pirates, (only we don't have fake beards) and we actually have to do a little bit of the choreography as well. I walked though the Matterhorn once after it was closed. I saw the basketball court, and even put a beer can in the monsters hand and took a picture. I've watched Fantasmic! and the Fireworks from the very top of Splash Mountain. If I never had to work again (like I won the lottery or something) I would go back to work at Disneyland.

I'm so happy 'cause I'm a Gummy Bear

mikerobles — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:50:01 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brWx8pESxKI

It's so true...

mikerobles — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:39:03 GMT

"You don't have to do it justice. You just have to do it."

More of: Secrets of The Jungle Cruise

mikerobles — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:57:23 GMT

There were few times I actually got in trouble. I was a funny guy. Still am... sort of. A lot of times we weren't there for "the customer". It's true, when you say the same things over and over again for 8 hours a day 5 days a week, it gets boring. So often times we just came up with stuff to entertain ourselves. After a while people usually tend to want to leave The House of Mouse. In which case we are often treated to a "Last Trip". A Last Trip usually consists of a boat-load of skippers, and close friends of the Skipper. Very few guests are actually treated to a Last Trip. A Skipper's last trip is usually the last boat of the night. Skippers from all walks of life show up, and even some alumni. If for some reason the Skipper's last shift isn't a closing one, then his last boat is at the end of his shift. Once the boat is loaded with everyone, (and it's usually OVERLOADED) the last trip begins. Here the skipper is free to do whatever he or she feels like. They can tell all the jokes they've ever wanted, even those "not approved". They can tell stories about fun times they had. But there's one thing "old school" skippers must do on a last trip. Just after the squirting elephant the boat approaches the gorilla camp. Upon which it used to be a tradition, for the Skipper to remove his or her boots, and toss them in the camp. Most of the skippers will sign the "guest book" located in the que as a way of leaving their mark. But real skippers know that throwing your boots in the camp was the ultimate way to leave your mark. The sad thing about that though, is cleaning crews will often times remove said boots. But for a days at least, unbeknownst to the general public. Part of you is still on that ride. Next time on Secrets of The Jungle Cruise: Lights Out!

Faire and Other stuff

mikerobles — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:43:52 GMT

So I met the "Queen" of the Washington Ren. Faire. She was nice. Well that's a lie... she was awesome. We had dinner (don't worry kids... Cass was there) and drinks. We talked about faire. It was cool. So here's what it boils down to... I can pretty much be anything I want. Monger, Inventor, Puritan. I'd be the 1st of any of those. But here's the thing... Do I become a "Theme Character" puritan? Do I Mong and be the 1st Monger? Or I take on the world of inventing all by my lonesome? It's a lot to think about. I'm in the process of writing an email explaining Mongers, Puritans, and Inventors... but like I previously stated, I have my choice of anything really. Next up... you CA people... if you are REALLY planning on coming to visit. Do it during the summer. Since the weather is so wacky up here everything happens in the 3-4 months that is summer. Not there isn't a ton to do anyways... there's the Experience Music Project, The Sci-Fi Hall of Fame, the Space Needle, Downtown... trust me. It's all good even if you don't come during the summer. In July we have Seafair. It's like parties on boats and stuff. http://www.seafair.com/about/ After that in August we have the Washington Ren. Faire, where if you come visit... visit then! It'd be awesome to Mong, Invent, Preach in a massive group! Then in September there's Bumbershoot.... imagine Woodstock on concrete. Here's some of the line up for this year: The Shins, Wu-Tang Clan, Panic! At The Disco, Crowded House, Lupe Fiasco, Steve Earle, Gogol Bordello, Kill Hannah, Norma Jean, Plain White T's, and more... http://www.bumbershoot.org/ Oh... and in June, it's my birthday. So you should come up for that... or something. Anyways let me know what you kids think about ANYTHING I wrote about. There's a ton to think about before the summer, and next week I start working two jobs! Yikes... *Photo by me of the Freemont Troll's hand... the poor thing's been vandalized a ton. It's sad to see assholes deface something like that.

Tips on Surving a Horror Movie

mikerobles — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:26:07 GMT

When it appears you have killed the monster, NEVER check to see if it’s really dead. Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke. Do not go search for something in the basement, especially if the power has just gone out. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they should not speak, or if they speak to you using a voice which is not their own, shoot them immediately. It will save you the grief in the long run. *NOTE* It will probably take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared. When you have the benefit of numbers, NEVER pair off or go alone. As a general rule, don’t solve puzzles that open portals to Hell. Never stand in, on, above, below, beside or anywhere near a grave, tomb, crypt, mausoleum or any other house of the dead. If you are searching for something which caused a loud noise and you find out it’s just the cat, leave the room immediatey if you value your life. If appliances start operating by themselves, move out. Do not take *anything* from the dead. If you find a town which looks deserted, it’s probably for a good reason. Take the hint and stay away. Don’t fool around with recombinant DNA technology unless you’re sure you know what you are doing. If you’re running away from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice, more if you are of the female persuasion. Also note that despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it’s still moving fast enough to catch up with you. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, developing a fascination with blood, glowing eyes, foaming at the mouth and increasing hairiness, get away from them as fast as possible. Stay away from certain geographical locations. Such as: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, Nilbog, the Bermuda Triangle or any small town in Maine. If your car runs out of gas late at night, don’t go to the nearby deserted looking house to call for help. Likewise if your car has broken down, and the only refuge for miles is that creepy old mansion/castle on the hill. Stay in the car. Beware of strangers bearing tools such as chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, lawnmowers, butane torches, smoldering irons, band saws or any device made from deceased companions. Listen closely to the soundtrack and pay attention to the audience. They are usually far more intelligent than you could ever hope to be. Never listen to music that contains staccato shrieking violins. If you are a woman, never strip and take a shower in slow motion. Do not keep all your sharpened kitchen knives in one of those wooden block thingies on your worksurface. The first woman to either lose or remove her clothing is dead meat. The guy with the testosterone overdose is also dead meat. Along with the guy that is always making jokes When you are searching a house because you think there is something dangerous there, turn on the damn lights! Never back out of one room into another without looking. It’s always behind you. If you are traveling with friends, never let any hitch hikers into the van with you. It’ll be the worst (if not the last) day of your life. Never babysit.There are enough babysitter-in-danger-thanks-to-a-stupid-killer flicks out there already. If you ARE stupid enough to babysit, never try on the mom’s nightgown collection. You’ll only end up showing more skin. Remember: Skin=Death. If you are being chased, never lean against the wall when you think you lost him. He’ll just pop through and kill you. Same goes for leaning against the window. If you are at your Senior prom, and the school reject has just won prom queen, slowly back away and run for the exit. All hell is about to break loose. Always remember — SEX=DEATH! ***For Other Life Saving Tips:*** If you are a stoner among other stoners, be the quiet one or the lovable one. All the other stoners will be killed. If the killer has stalked you over the phone lines, don’t take a job as a phone counselor. Never let someone hypnotize you at a party. Stay away from sewers. If you sense something is behind you, don’t bother turning around to check. Just run. If you are trying to escape the killer, sliding through the cat door in the electronic garage door will not help you any. After you manage to kill the monster/killer, never sit beside it and cry. It will suddenly pop back up to finish the job. Never go to camp or become a counselor. You’ll be dead by the end of summer. Never say “I’ll be right back.” You won’t be back. End of story. Don’t ever do something just because someone dares you to. If you ever visit some distant planet and find objects that look like eggs, LEAVE THEM ALONE!!! Then when one of your spaceship’s crew members finds a hideous parasite attached to his body (as a result of breaking the pervious rule), don’t let him back on the ship. When a hideous alien menace is hunting you (as a result of breaking the previous two rules) NEVER wander off alone to hunt for the ship’s cat. If someone tells you to do or not to something (example: DON’T fall asleep, DON’T go out there, DON’T go look for the homicidal-chainsaw-wielding psychopath by yourself) by all means, LISTEN TO THEM!! A small town’s little summer celebration might sound like fun. But if you hear the locals say things like, “Why you’re the guest of honor! We couldn’t even have the barbecue with out you!”, run like hell. If you are trapped in a house surrounded by demons, making coffee will not help anyone. Always be nice to the shy, quiet, unpopular girl in school. Clowns never have, nor will they ever be helpful to hang around while in a horror movie. As harmless as the might seem, they WILL kill you once you let your guard down. Never go back for anything you lost. Avoid people with pointy teeh. Avoid people with lots of facial hair. Avoid people with pale complexions who sway and moan, If the barber remarks on the “666″ tattoo your kid has, abandon the kid and move to Irkutsk. If you see a burly man wearing a hockey mask and toting a chainsaw, DO NOT stick around to see if he’s with the Philadelphia Flyers. Never buy your kid a toy that talks back. Remember: Just say “NO” to human blood. Never watch a horror movie while you’re in a horror movie. Never, under any circumstance, plan a camping trip that coincides with Friday the 13th. Pigs blood is not now, nor has it ever been funny. If the young girls of the neighborhood start singing songs about boogeymen while jumping rope, consider moving. If you hit a man with a car in the middle of the night and try to roll him off of a dock, make sure that he is dead! Never EVER play with any Ouijia board that you find in the basement of your newly bought, run-down house. Never run into a deserted graveyard at night, If you are running away from the killer/monster, don’t even try to start the car. It doesn’t matter if the car is brand new, it won’t start. If running from the monster/killer, try to make the least amount of noise possible. Especially if you are female. Panting, crying and screaming is not going to help you hide any better. For pete’s sake…NEVER stick your hand down the garbage disposal. Especially if you just heard strange noises in your house or while sinister music is playing. Don’t marry a guy that has Satan Worshippers as friends. They will want you to birth the new Anti-Christ. Never answer the phone when you are babysititng. Just get the hell out of there and leave the kids for dead. If you think you see your girlfriend/boyfriend and they are wearing a mask, not talking, or conspicuously hiding their face, it’s not them. Don’t be mean to the new kid. They will just end up killing you. If you hear a strange noise coming from upstairs that sounds similar to, oh let’s say a severed head falling to the floor, don’t go trying to find out what it is. Never touch something that just oozed out of a comet that landed near an abandoned farm house. When battling zombies, always sever their head or shoot them in the brain. If you they still want to eat you after that, just surrender. There’s no hope for you anyway. Never wait until you NEED the gun to check and see if it’s loaded. If you have to stay out in the woods or at camp you’re pretty much screwed. But at least you’ll have a fighting chance in the cabin. Never EVER take the tent. Never try to unmask the killer. Never hide in a closet. If you buried your child in a strange place and he came back as a demon, DON’T bury your wife in the same place. If you find the mangled body of a friend, camping partner, janitor, or whom ever, don’t stay and investigate. Run like hell. Don’t spend a lot of time in houses decorated with an excessive amount of medivel weaponry. It will be used eventually. Don’t make a documentary that requires you to hike through the woods while looking for a witch that leaves stick figures hanging in trees. If you are going to the bathroom in a movie theatre and you think you hear a guy and a girl making out in the stall next to you, don’t put your ear closer to the wall to listen. If you see a short guy wearing green and wearing a shamrock hat, I wouldn’t stick around to ask about his pot of gold. Never transport the killer in an ambulance from one place to another. Even if they’ve been in a coma for 10 years, they’ll wake up. Never listen to strange voices on the telephone. Never say “Who’s there?” If your hand has been possesed by the Force of Evil, do NOT chop off your hand. Doing so will merely allow the disembodied hand the freedom to wreak havoc independent of your body. And now you have to spend the rest of the film trying to track it down, If you have a feeling you’ll end up being chased by zombies during the night, remember to wear comfortable running shoes. After babysitting, don’t walk down any deserted streets with lots of trees and bushes, but no lights. If you are a girl with long blonde hair, blue eyes and big boobs, well, you are pretty much screwed. Always check the backseat of your car before you get in. When running away from the killer/monster, NEVER run upstairs. If you see someone who is within screaming distance while running from the killer/monster, for the love of god, SCREAM!! If a giant shark is chasing your family, don’t go swimming. Actually, stay away from the water, period. If you are babysitting, don’t let the kids play with the Chucky doll. If one night you see a dark haired girl carrying around dolls with the eyes scratched out, back away slowly, then run like hell. If you go to your school library and there are a lot of books having to do with vampires and demons…move away ASAP If you are fleeing from a killer or supernatural being and you see a cop car, run right by it. There are three possible ways that things will turn out if you try to get the cops attention and none are good: A. The cop is already dead in some gruesome way that will cause you to scream and alert the killer/monster as to where you are. B. The cop will probably end up dead as he tries to help you, this will only distract the killer away from you for a few seconds, but chances are you will end up getting killed anyway. C. The supernatural being has assumed the form of a cop and just when you think you are safe…he will kill you. If the locals say the camp is haunted, it probably is. If people in your neighborhood have been disapearing and there’s talk about a surge of any type of insect…move. Stuborn home owners always die. When and if you fall while running and the killer/monster is near you, don’t just sit there screaming like someone will hear you. Get up and RUN!! Kill the Scientist. No matter what else you do, kill him off right away. They always want to study “it,” or take “it” back to the corporate masters, or learn from “it” at the expense of comrades lives. Eggheads are always trying to understand the unknown, and get nearly everyone killed doing it. Get a clue, kill the guy with the pocket protector, he’s going to sacrifice you anyway. If the killer if after you and you somehow manage to knock him down, don’t get up and run for help. Believe me, he will stay down much longer after you kick him a couple times. If the movie is directed by someone named Wes Craven or John Carpenter, you’re pretty much screwed. If the killer/monster is dead, don’t dig up his grave to try to do a final resurrection. He will only come back to life. If you disobey the previous rule, don’t try cutting off his head or anything cheap. Stick a grenade in his mouth and run for it. If the killer is standing three feet in front of you, don’t just stand there and scream while he comes running towards you. It may comes as a shock, but he DOES in fact want to kill you. A female should never wear a white shirt without a bra while escaping the monster. It will only increase your chances of falling and causing a freak rainstorm that will make your shirt transparent and result in your immediate death. If you live in Maine and your hometown includes a clown driving a car he calls Christine with a large ,rabid St. Bernard in the backseat, while residing in an old, haunted hotel near a strange Pet Semetary and hangs out with teenage girls with telekenetic powers….you’re pretty much screwed. If you DO happen to get killed, make sure it’s in a cheap low-budget gore-fest with no plot, so you can come back and kick ass, no explanation needed.

Soul Meets Body

mikerobles — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:51:06 GMT

"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another" --Hemingway I went to a co-worker's father's funeral this morning. Now some would ask why I went to a co-worker's, father's funeral. Well it was to support the co-worker. She's worked closely with us for over a year. We've all been here for the early mornings, the late nights, the breakdowns, and the successes. My manager thought it would be a good idea for us to support her. In my company a "team" is a foreign concept. Funerals and death have a funny way of making you think about all the close ones in your life. I sat there listening to people celebrate this man's life. And wondered what would I leave behind. This man was an author, an editor, a husband, a son, and a father. I also saw the humanity in my boss. I sat there and watched as the tears came down for a man he'd never met before. I watched him cry because he felt so bad for our young co-worker who just lost her father. Finally something he didn't know how to deal with. I guess we all have our kryptonite. After all was said and done we piled back into a car, and headed back to the office. Very little was said. Death makes you realize that you need to cherish the ones you love. I was very young when I realized that someday I was going to fall asleep, and never wake up. "Childhood is over the moment you know you're going to die" I guess there's no real point to this blog post... I went to a funeral to support a friend, and it made me think a lot. There ya go. Lesson is: Never go to funerals. Or. Don't die. Please?

"That Kid I Swear...."

mikerobles — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:41:34 GMT

My nephew. I love this child more than anything else right now... He was a mistake. I was mad as hell when I found out about him. I left my house for 3 days when I found out my sister was pregnant. His father has issues and is rarely around. My father has had to be the primary father figure for most of his life. While my sister was pregnant I couldn't even stand to look at her... Something changed after he was born. The baby and I had some kind of weird connection. Almost like he knew that I didn't want him... so he tried his best to make sure I liked him. He's 6 years old now, and growing up he's been into the same things I was. He loves dinosaurs, Spiderman, Power Rangers, The Simpsons.... and just recently he found The Nightmare Before Christmas. My mom always said "That kid I swear... he should've been yours he loves all the same things you do." Yesterday I took a 1/2 from work so I can go and help Cass at the costume contest. The REAL reason was so that I could head down to my parent's house and take him Trick-or-Treating. It's no secret that I love me some Halloween. But this year I wanted to make sure I was down at my parent's house early enough to go with him. I mean he's only 6... time is candy here people! We left our area just before 5 and I told my mom to have them wait as long as they can cause I'm going to try and get there as fast as I can. Well it was dark by 5:30 and there were tons of trick-or-treaters already. I said I'd be there by 6:30. The traffic gods refused to shine down on me that's for sure. I watched the time slip away. About 6:20 I had Cass call my parent's house and let them know I was really close... they already left. I'm not going to lie. I was upset. I don't get to spend as much time with my nephew as I'd like... so this was kind of a big deal for me. I take for granted that I live "fairly" close at times... poor Cass would have to take a few flights and get that stare from her 3 year old cousin that says.... "You look familiar..." before she realizes that she knows her. Anyways I got to the house and got into a fight w/ my mom because they didn't wait for me. I didn't want Anthony (my nephew) to feel bad... and I had brought him my copy of Nightmare Before Christmas on DVD so I chose to go out and find them. I was glad I did... This kid... watches all the hip stuff. Ben-10, Justice League, X-Men Movies, Spongebob, Wrestling, Spiderman, The Simpsons, Scooby-Doo, etc. etc. So he has a choice of costumes. He could have his pick of ANYTHING he wanted to be... and opts for a ghost. a ghost. Honestly though have you seen a cuter one? The Bow Tie sells it. Really. He had a pillowcase about 1/4 of the way filled w/ candy. It was cute as hell watching him try and haul this thing to the door, get out a "Trick or Treat" then haul it back to us. He would come back huffing and puffing... it was awesome. We hung out with him the whole second leg of his journey, then when we got back to the house I pulled him aside and let him have the Nightmare dvd. He was really excited and went to show his mom, grandpa, and grandma. After it was all said and done I am glad I made the right choice and stayed and watched him trick-or-treat. I would have felt worse if he knew I showed up, got mad and left. He would have felt bad... and I don't want to make him feel bad. That kid... I swear.

Hey computer people!

mikerobles — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 03:03:22 GMT

So somehow I got a virus, and was able to get rid of most of it... or so I thought. Well whatever was in my comp has now officially taken over my C: drive And I can no longer log in. I had a lot of programs on there, but more imortantly I had a ton of pictures from Cassie's camera. Does ANYONEout there know computer security? At most I would need someone to at least pull the pictures off the computer before I reformatted. But I'm REALLY hoping I don't have to reformatt. So I come to you.... does anyone know how to do this? Tomorrow I might take myself over to the Geek Squad... but if anyone out there knows better, PLEASE Advise! ***Oh yeah, since I wont be on the lap top all night feel free to call me (if you have my number)***

RAY! NOT AGAIN!

mikerobles — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 19:35:29 GMT

http://killedbyray.ytmnd.com/