We went tonight to see the Cleveland Orchestra do their "Bravo Broadway" show, and I gotta say, I wasn't impressed with the singers (with a couple exceptions) and the orchestra.

Let me make this clear: The Cleveland Orchestra is, without exception, one of the top 5 orchestras in the world. However, they need to stay in their classical world and not delve into Broadway. One of the performers remarked that the orchestra plays Broadway music with the same energy as they do the classical repertoire. I completely disagree. The orchestra played with no energy tonight, save for "Music of the Night" at the end - though the piano was too damn loud throughout the song. They don't play this kind of music very often (and they shouldn't), but it shows. I also think that many of the players in the orchestra tend to think that they are "above" playing this type of music, which is complete shit. The only way to attract people to more concerts is with this type of stuff, and they should always be looking for a new audience.

Many of the tempos were relatively similar, especially in the more "pop" type songs such as "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray and even "Defying Gravity." I don't fault the orchestra for this one, because Cleveland Orchestra players will follow whoever is in front of them. The tempo problems lie in the hands of two people - the conductor and the singers.

Speaking of the singers, the two male singers were quite good, but the female singers really lacked the voices that were necessary for the songs they sang, with the exception of Capathia Jenkins' performance from DreamGirls. Susan Egan totally effed up "Defying Gravity" from Wicked, particularly at the end when she forgot the rhythm to the tune and had to jump to catch the orchestra. Whoops. I also understand that it's hard to play a 16 year old Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray, but her voice just felt too "old" for the song.

As for the evening as a whole, I had a lot of fun. It was a great night for music, and I saw some college friends that I hadn't seen in a while. Blossom is always a good time, no matter what they are playing. We went to the July 5 concert as well and saw them play Carmina Burana and the 1812 Overture. If everything goes according to plan, we should be back there for 4 more concerts this season, including:

A Midsummer Night's Dream, narrated by Drew Carey
Dvorak New World Symphony (one of my absolute favorites)
The Bernstein Celebration - West Side Story, Candide, Our Town, etc.
Blossom "Night at the Movies" - they play the soundtrack while the movie plays on big screens

Only two of these are with the Cleveland Orchestra, and the other two are with the Blossom Festival Orchestra. Regardless, if the weather is nice and the music is good, it leads to a very fun night.

I have noticed, seemingly more often, that people are caring less and less about grammar. In recent emails from work, I have seen improper uses of apostrophes (including a plural word that already ended in "s" that had an added " 's "), commas, and my biggest pet peeve, improper use of "your" and "you're," as well "their," "there," and "they're." What amazes me is that these people all have college degrees and had to (at some point) write papers and complete projects that forced them to use correct grammar. How did they ever get through?

Is poor grammar a reflection of society? Have we become so busy with useless amounts of email that when we respond, we don't have enough time to figure out whether or not we are using correct grammar before moving on to the next unimportant email?

On the other hand, it could just be that we, as a society, have become so stupid and lazy that grammar doesn't matter? If this is the case, I don't know who/what we have to thank for that, but I bet the appropriate response would be "Your welcome."

One of the requirements for my job is that I wear a shirt and tie every day to work, except for occasional business casual days and jeans days, and the weekend.

Occassionally, on my way to or from work, I have to stop at the grocery store (or Walmart, or the dollar store) to pick up something. On at least 5 different occassions, someone has asked me if I know where an item is, or if they have a certain item, or something along those lines. I usually try to help the people out if I can, but I always start with "I don't work here, but..."

This has also happened to me at Target when I was wearing a pair of shorts and a red polo. I'll take the blame for that one, but really, do I appear like I work in a grocery store that much?

Or is Jeff's theory correct that shirts and ties are ruining the world?

I really did enjoy the movie.

As Tyler said, it does have some very mature themes that I think kids won't get. There were many kids in the theater, and it did seem to hold their attention. There was some jerk little kid next to us who talked all through the previews, but once the movie started, he quieted down and watched intently. I think there was just enough "slapstick" comedy to keep a child's attention. It's no "Cars" or "The Incredibles" though. It'll keep the attention of kids between the age of 5-12, I'd say, but kids younger and older won't care.

I think the most interesting thing about this movie is that of all the Pixar films, this is the one that is the most realistic. Obviously it's not realistic that we'll have to go up into space, but the pollution and obesity things - we're already on our way there.

Overall, a good movie that made me think about a lot of things. Probably not good for a kids movie, but generally, a decent flick.

Typically Jamie and I do our "date nights" on Friday nights, but since the holiday is tomorrow, it has been bumped to today. We will be going to see Wall-E and then coming home and walking to the local Mexican place for margaritas. I'm looking forward to a nice date night with her.

-We left Toronto around 10am on Sunday and drove to Niagara Falls. We drove through a bunch of rain, but as we pulled into Niagara Falls, the rain just seemed to stop.

-We were able to do the Maid of the Mist boat tour, which was very cool. I couldn't take any pictures though, because I didn't want to have my camera out where there was so much water and mist everywhere. Other people (even those with SLRs) were more daring than I.

-We didn't have a whole lot of other time in Niagara Falls, because right after we got off the boat, the storm started to roll in, and it looked nasty. It started to rain as we were waiting in line to get back into the U.S.

-Coming back across the border was very easy. Basically, the guy asked if we were both U.S. Citizens, if we were bringing in any alcohol or drugs, and how the gas mileage was on Jamie's car. No joke.

-We drove through some crazy storms, including hail, in New York. During the hailstorm, we drove right past Martin's Fantasy Island, but we didn't stop because of the weather. It looked very Beech Bend-esque though. A carnival with a good wooden coaster.

-When we got to Erie, it was raining, and we pulled into a hotel parking lot and stole Wi-Fi to check the radar. It looked pretty bad, but we decided to at least drive by the park and see what was happening.

-We ended up going into the park and paying the $20 admission. It was a very nice little park with a lot of fun stuff. Ravine Flyer II was awesome. It was like Voyage at the beginning, but not nearly as aggressive at the end. It was very re-rideable, and we took advantage, riding 16 times (4 times in the front, 2 times in the back, and once in every other row on the train). The front is by far the superior seat on the train, partially because at the end, there's just not enough energy to get any sort of "pop" of air as you come out of the ravine for the last time, unless you're in the front seat. Regardless, everyone needs to get there and ride it this year, because I don't know if Waldameer will be able to do the upkeep necessary to keep it running the way that it is now. There are some pretty crazy transitions that will get rough quickly and probably need re-tracked fairly often.

-Jamie is so much fun to ride spinning rides with, even though I hate the spinning. Spinning makes Jamie giggle, and once she starts, she really can't stop. It's hilarious.

-Jamie had to ride Ravine Flyer 3 before Ravine Flyer II to get to her 100th coaster, and there was a group of 3 girls going up to ride, so Jamie tagged along and got the ride. It seemed like a fairly good little kiddy coaster.

-Everyone says that Waldameer is full of charm, and perhaps it is, but it brings up an important point: Is charm fully achieved just by a bunch of trees and some pretty scenery at points? Because really, there's advertising EVERYWHERE in that damn park. Rides are sponsored by radio and TV stations, and it's visible in many different spots. So if advertising ruins charm, how does that not ruin Waldameer? Or, is it, as I suspect, just the whiny enthusiasts bitching about how much they hate Cedar Fair and Six Flags.

-We left the park at around 10pm and stopped for a quick dinner at Applebee's, and then drove home. We got home at 1am, and I had to be at work at 7am, so that meant not a whole lot of sleep, but it was worth it.

-Sunday at Niagara Falls and Waldameer was so much more fun than the two days in Toronto/Canada's Wonderland. It wasn't that I didn't have fun in Toronto, but just that there was so much going on around that city that we weren't able to take it all in.

-I hope we get to go back to Niagara Falls soon, because it was a lot of fun, and I think that there is a lot that we missed there because we were in such a hurry because of the weather.

-All in all, a good vacation that cost more than I expected, but a lot of fun and a nice break from reality.

-There were tons of non fuel-efficient cars up here. It's almost like the Canadians are saying "Yeah, we're used to the high gas prices, and we still choose to drive SUVs. You Americans are whiny bitches."

-Food prices at Canada's Wonderland were CRAZY high. We went into the buffet place because it was one of the few air conditioned places in the park, and it was $19.99 + tax per person. $40 for lunch is a little steep, especially for bad all you can eat food.

- I am convinced we came to Toronto on the worst weekend ever. Not only is Canada Day on Tuesday and everyone is off work, it's also their pride weekend, which apparently brings tons of gay people to the city. They have two parades this weekend in downtown Toronto - The Dyke March and the Pride Parade. I'm totally ok with the parades, just pissed at how busy it is because of them.

-Canadian money sure looks cooler than American money, but the exchange rate sucks. Basically, a Canadian dollar right now is worth around 98-99 cents if you're lucky.

-I didn't get to take a whole lot of pictures because it's been so cloudy. Clouds don't make for nice pictures, really.

-The hotel only has WiFi in the lobby, so in the room, you have to stay plugged in. It sort of stinks.

-We come home today, and I really hope we don't have any problems getting across the border. We're stopping at Niagara Falls and then Waldameer for Ravine Flyer II. Jamie will get her 100th coaster at Waldameer.

A few observations from our first day here:

-Toronto is a HUGE city! I had not realized how busy it was. There were traffic problems at noon, which isn't even rush hour.

-I wish I would have remembered that Canada Day is on Tuesday, July 1st. We would have come a different weekend.

-I used to be in love with Hilton Garden Inns, but now I am in love with Residence Inns. We have a full kitchen in our room, including dishes and dishwasher. If you use the dishes, the maid will load and run the dishwasher for you. They'll even do your grocery shopping and leave the groceries in your room if you want - and it's at no extra charge. You just pay for the groceries.

-We went to Canada's Wonderland, which is a very beautiful park. I didn't take the camera in yesterday, so hopefully it won't rain all day today and I'll be able to take some pictures.

-We set it up so Behemoth was our 12th roller coaster of the day, making it my 100th coaster. I have to say, Behemoth was....Meh at best. Lots of floater air, and the new style trains are very cool, but the ride just seemed too smooth, and not forceful at all. Only one of the trims on the airtime hills actually slowed us down, and it hit hard. We need to try it in some different seats, like the back, because it just didn't seem to have any power at all.

-The rest of the coaster collection here is okay, but nothing special, with the exception of Time Warp (aka Tomb Raider). This is a Zamperla flyer that you sort of climb up into the car. You get locked in and then you're lifted up like a B&M flyer, and you go up the circular lift hill, which was really cool. This ride gave me the worst headache and I will never ride again. The elements are too sharp and your head goes flying into the harness. In addition, since you're looking straight down, you can't tell where you're going. All in all, it sucked, but I'm glad I got to experience such a unique ride.

-It's raining now and looks like it will be raining for a while, so I don't know what we'll do today.

-Tonight, I think we're going to go to a club that's within walking distance from our hotel. It should be fun and certainly something different than what we're used to in Akron.

Why is it that everyone feels the need to hit "Reply to All" to unnecessary emails? Example: Someone sends my group of supervisors a document that we need. One of the supervisors chooses to not just reply to the sender, but to the rest of us as well to say "Thanks for sending this" when there was no need to do so.

This is why I receive 200+ emails a day and my mailbox is full after being gone for 2 days.

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

Jamie and I played the Debit Card Edition of Monopoly tonight. It's a rousing good time, especially when you win by $34+ million.

Next weekend, Jamie and I are getting up really early on Friday and driving to Canada's Wonderland outside of Toronto. Jamie found a really sweet hotel outside of Toronto that looks brand new (plasma TV, full kitchen, king size bed, etc.) for only $116 a night. Then, on Saturday, we're coming back home, and going to the Falls and Waldameer. The question of the day: Should we also go to Darien Lake while we're there? We'll be so close, and I don't exactly go to Buffalo that often.

The thing is, I really have no desire to go to Darien Lake, except to get the credits. I've never really been a credit whore in the past, but the Facebook Coaster App has sucked me in and I realized that on this trip, with or without Darien Lake, both Jamie and I will hit 100 coasters. If done right, my 100th can be Behemoth and Jamie's can be Ravine Flyer II or, if we go to Darien Lake, Ride of Steel.

(By the Way, I know that they kept the name close to what it actually was named in the Six Flags era, but "Ride of Steel" is perhaps the stupidest name for a coaster ever. Worse than "Flight Deck." I don't think it's worse than "Drop Tower," but that's not a coaster. I hope Darien Lake builds a new wooden coaster next year and names it "Ride of Wood.")

So is Darien Lake worth the $30 admission? One trip report I read on CoasterBuzz even said that when they got to the park, nearly everything was closed. That would really piss me off. I'm not sure if we'll go or not, but either way, the trip to Toronto will be a fun one and I'm sure looking forward to a quick weekend away with Jamie. I've been traveling so much in the past month and a half, and after having a nice weekend off last week, I'm ready to get going again.

Jamie and I went to Stan Hywet (pronounced Hewitt) hall and gardens today to walk around the gardens. She loves gardens, and it's only about 10 minutes from our apartment, so it was a no-brainer that we should go. I don't particularly care for gardens, but I really enjoyed this today, and look forward to going back in the fall. I took the Rebel, and there are definitely a lot of great photos there. I need to go back sometime in the morning when they've first opened, because the sun is just so harsh in the middle of the day.

Here's a few of my favorites:

Here's my favorite of the day:

The rest of my photos, including photos from other photo trips, can be found on my Flickr page.

Patrick has been barking again lately, for 45 minutes at a time when we leave the apartment. I'm not sure what his problem is, but we've tried a lot of different ways to keep him from barking, and I think one of the only options left is the shock collar. I've been told that it doesn't take very long for them to learn to not bark, so he wouldn't get shocked that often.

Still though, I feel bad about it. I'm not sure what else we can do though.

Remember this post?

For the month of May, I was not awarded supervisor of the month in my center. However, that is only because me and one other supervisor from my center were both awarded top two supervisors in our entire division (about 30-35 different supervisors).

There's no shame to losing to someone who's on the same team as you.

I gotta say, it feels nice, but then again, I'm not sure that it matters all that much. There's always room for improvement, and I feel like I could do even better and come up with new ways to motivate my team.

I spent Thursday and Friday night in Breakers Express in Sandusky. After about 8 hours at home today, I'm back in a hotel - this time in Clarksburg, WV. It's a significant upgrade from Breakers Express. I've got a 32" LCD TV in this room (though the HD choices are slim to none) and an awesome King Sized bed.

This will be my home for the next four days, and though it's nice, it just isn't the same as home. I will be happy to have some time at home at the end of next week.

As some of you know, my job has been a little crazy lately. Basically, some really unexpected bad things happened and there was a temporary lay-off of all the people who work for me. I've been doing some special projects for the VP and other stuff trying to stay busy.

Next week, though, I'll be in one of the company's other locations helping out because they're short a supervisor. It ought to be interesting because my experience is so much different than the typical call center type. I expect it to be a good learning experience, and from what I understand, the hotel that the company is putting me up in is pretty sweet.

I had my one-year review at work, and got a very good raise. Basically, it's 2% under what I asked for (and I asked for a pretty good raise). I was instructed that I should figure out what it is that I want, and then round it up to the next 5 or 10 mark, because the company rarely gives what you ask for.

I'm taking this experience in WV and hoping that it says to the company "I'm willing to work hard and do what it takes to be a good employee." I really like where I work. Sure, I'm not "living my dream," but as I've gotten older, I've realized that dreams change. I could have had my dream of teaching, but sometimes you build up dreams in your head and when you actually get them, they aren't anything like what you imagined.

I know that most of the "locals" read this, but I wonder who else reads it, and how do those people get here? I know that I've given the link to some of them, but do others get here from someone else's blog? How many of J-Pizzie's stalkers read my blog too, for fun?

How do people find me?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELNh23yRiJc&feature=related

Some of the funniest stuff I've seen in a while. He's got others too.

Would this...

be the iDrag?