Just got back from a Tuesday Night Dinner, something our group of friends established over a year ago in which we all come together with ingredients for a meal and have community together. The talk of the night was Twilight and Prison Break. We had lasagna as the main meal followed by a quick drive to Jeremiah’s for some frozen yogurt. That being said now I am here at home by myself.

I don’t mean to elaborate on too much of the simplicity of my life because I know it can be quite boring reading about the monotony, but I’ll try to spice it up. That being said, I went to work today and got to experience GOP, which is the General Operating Procedures. We explored all the back roads of the park and see what it takes to run the place. That in itself was interesting. I can’t elaborate too much for safety reasons that I agreed to when I signed my life away. [sarcasm on the signing the life away] One of the greatest things that I’ve experience in my life was to interact with a dolphin.

I had never been near one until today and had only seen them from afar and thought the looked like the robot dinosaurs at Universal Studios. Being able to simply pet the dolphin was astounding. Naturally I am around dogs and cats which isn’t too big of a deal. But to be around a several hundred pound mammal that lived underwater was quite extraordinary. The whole day was an eye opener for me in the world of underwater creatures. With the interaction of the dolphins, swimming in the coral reef, and being in a pool area with sting rays was both intimidating and great. It definitely took some layers of my pessimistic outlook on the deep sea and made me interested to see what else is out there. I’m still terrified of sharks though, but who isn’t?

Life goes well with a job and steady pay coming in. Work is fun for now. I don’t say this just to try and look good as an employee, but I do recommend to anyone the experience that is Discovery Cove. The resort itself is beautiful and so far from anything that you could think would be in America. Definitely a great experience to take part in.

Despite being a creeper story, I will share a brief look into my photography past. I picked up photography in January of 2009 and am great friends with Rachel Gittens. Rachel works at Relevant Magazine and knew Matt from there. To connect the circle, she told me how Matt had started out, from what she was aware, and it went from there. I checked out some of his work early on as I started photography and instantly became a huge fan of his style of photography. I’ve explored the Internet and come across several professional photographers websites and galleries and I can’t find the same emotion and style that is captured with his work. That being said, it comes down to me saying that of all the photographers out there, that I am aware of, I have been most inspired by Matt and look into his work the most when it comes to photography. He has since started a company in Virginia called The Duck Duck Collective and I definitely recommend you to check out his/their work.

A few behind the scenes pictures from today’s shoot. On a bad note, I wasn’t thinking and parked in a spot that wasn’t for public parking, so I came back to my car with two parking tickets. I hope Orlando uses that money well.

I can honestly say that I can’t ever recall a time in my life in which I looked at a person and was almost speechless and dumbfounded from their beauty, that is until the wedding. I wasn’t expecting the situation to arise either, which made it even more magical. The bride had just put on her dress and I got the heads up to walk up the stairs and meet with her so that she and her future husband could do a small meet before the ceremony. I walked up the stairs, looked at her, and I had no clue what to say. In fact, looking back at the situation, I think my words went something like, “ohhh . . . wow. Pretty.” I know that you’re thinking that is a horrible way to compliment someone, and you’re right. I am awful at complimenting people when it comes to looks. It’s as simple as saying, “you look lovely,” I am aware, but it just doesn’t happen. And Lord knows that I will in most instances not say something because I feel pressured. All that being said, the wedding was a great success and I am very thankful to have been there to document it. Now onto a few pictures from the day. More to come later, with a link of course.

The song listed above is a great song on disc three of Queen’s Greatest Hits CD. A great song by Queen with some stellar keyboard action happening.

On to another note, the main topic of tonight. I hung out with some friends at Steak n Shake around 11:00pm, then headed downtown to take pictures of some classmates that would be playing music on a street corner and make money. Seeing as I screwed them over last time because I had fallen asleep, it was imperative that I go, and I am very grateful that I did. Alex Vo, the guitarist and main vocalist, Lance Montey, on the harmonica with occasional vocals, and Al Krakosky on drums. The three together formed and started going downtown on weekends to make money and I assume have a great time, because it looks like they did.

Here are a few pictures of the night. And if any of you were there that night that are looking for the pictures I mentioned, just scroll down below and you should be there. If no, there are more pictures posted on my flickr account, which you can find if you click here. Without further ado, I present you pictures from an enjoyable night/morning of my friends playing music as well as people getting their groove on and having fun.

The police came and ended the party and the night.

]]> http://www.caseyfriend.com/archives/2131/feed 0 http://www.caseyfriend.com/archives/1352 http://www.caseyfriend.com/archives/1352#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:05:00 +0000 Casey http://www.caseyfriend.com/?p=1352 Continue reading →]]> We are a few days into out road trip adventure rendezvous and things are going well. Too much has happened since last time I posted and I don’t feel it necessary to explain everything in full detail. We left Tulsa, Oklahoma around 8:00am on Sunday morning while the roads were somewhat filled with ice and snow. We went through Little Rock, Memphis, Atlanta, and finally came to a sunny Orlando. We did stay in Atlanta at Aaron’s house for the night to rest up. It couldn’t have gone any better. We’ve been hanging out in Orlando, mostly with friends. Plans are to head to the beach today and end the year with an eventful hang out at the McGittens Boss Household.

Online classes began this week and I have maintained a positive outlook on them and made sure to stay ahead in both classes. Along with classes being online, I have my whole day freed up to allow myself to do whatever I please. I make it sound so heavenly, but it isn’t being abused. I spent roughly an hour yesterday at the Winter Park Court House so that I could void one of my two “traffic citations.” Going to something like this is never a convenience for anyone and no one here looked happy. Sometime you just have to pick yourself up and demand that you go and get it out of the way. Now that I have done that, I am glad I can look on and forget.

On a different note, I made my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich with added Whopper candy bites. We had some extra Whoppers lying around and I thought to myself what better way to get them out of the way, but still be used. The sandwich was quite delicious, as expected. What I didn’t expect was how quickly my body tore that sandwich apart, used what it needed, and disposed of it. I found myself driving home and speeding so I could make it to the toilet. Needless to say the sandwich was worth all I went through.

Lastly, I felt compelled to get on my bike and ride today, despite the drizzle. The rain had stopped for the most part, sporadic raindrops here and there, and so I went to rode around the surrounding neighborhood that I lived in. On the ride, I discovered very nicely built houses and several ponds/lakes that were surrounded by these houses. I stopped to sit at a bench and have a talk with the big man upstairs. He has been good to me, all my life, and more specifically these past two months that I’ve lived.

I hope everyone has the opportunity to an incredible Thanksgiving Day that can be spent with friends, family, and loved ones. I made the decision to stay here in Orlando for this holiday and hope that my family back in Oklahoma has a great time . So many babies have come into this world and into the Friend family these past few years, it’s incredible! Be thankful for that which you don’t think of on a daily basis and know that everyone is blessed and that there is more to be thankful for than one can imagine.

Time has gone by very quickly lately. I am already in 16mm film production at Full Sail. I guess you can call this the second biggest project of the whole program that I am in. I am pretty stoked for the end result, though that will take some time to get to. Right now we’re in the pre-production phase, getting the story finalized and getting ready to create the sets. I landed a position on the camera team, which is great news. I am looking forward to using the 16mm cameras. Assuming they’re anything like the 35mm we shot on last month, it is going to be a great experience.

I have the opportunity to head home for the weekend. My father wanted me to come back for a few days for Labor Day, so I am headed out Friday night to spend my weekend and part of next week in Tulsa. I have heard that the weather is starting to cool off, which is splendid news. Other than that, Tulsa is always great to visit when having been away for a few months.

Today also marks the day of several firsts in a theme park, specifically Universal Studios. The new roller coaster was opened and only had a 60 minute wait, which was definitely going to happen. The wait always seems slightly shorter than the board says, which is always great. I can honestly say that hands down, this roller coaster is one of the greatest amusement rides ever created. Definitely check out information on the Rip, Ride, and Rock It roller coaster. In a nutshell, you get on the coaster and get to choose from a selection of songs and you get to experience the greatness of the roller coaster with that song blasting through two speakers that are attached to the back of your seat that are perfectly positioned near your head. They don’t have a huge selection yet, nor do I know if they will, but I was content with what was there. I definitely took advantage of Motley Crue my first time, Kickstart My Heart to be exact.

Scott and I waited in line and spent an extra 10 minutes in line to get in the very front row, which was stellar. As soon as you get up and going, the car goes at a perfect 90 degree angle straight up into the sky. After getting to the top, the music begins and it is all greatness from there. You continue by going straight down at a 90 degree angle and go through a series of twists, turns, and even a loop that has you always right-side-up, if that makes sense. It is definitely worth every single second waiting in line. Plans to go back again and ride it several times are already happening.

The man, Scott, was a Surgical Technician, and has been working in that field for about twenty years. He told us a shortened version of his college to present life story, which was quite fascinating. It was motivating to hear of all the hard work he did in his life to get to where he is today. He left us saying that our generation seems to not take chances, that we don’t risk doing what we desire. He told Daniel and I, from what he overheard the two of us talking throughout the flight, that we should really follow our dreams and go ahead and take the risk.

I can’t quote exactly, but he said something along the lines of, “most people aren’t willing to sacrifice and take a hit in order for something great to come from it.” It made perfect sense. Sometimes, and it seems that usually, there is a risk that you have to be willing to take in order to get to the next level. Overall, it was a great conversation between the three of us on the way back home and it definitely gave me motivation to go out and do what I desire. I am headed full force.

School starts back up Tuesday. I’ll have graduated in less than a year and will be on my way to start my future.
Happy late 4th of July.

Going to two parks in the middle of June in Florida is quite intense. It was an average of 96 degrees today with straight up sun for the most part. Every three hours there might have been five minutes of clouds covering up the sun. From exploring Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, we experienced a lot.

I remedied my embarrassing fear. My first time to Disneyworld in August of 2004 I chickened out and decided not to go on the Tower of Terror. I waited in the long line with my dad, brother, and quite possibly my sister, and I backed out at the last second. Thankfully, today was a day that I conquered my fears. When I got off the ride, it was quite humiliating knowing that I wimped out on a ride that wasn’t bad at all. The ride of the day would have to go to the Rock N’ Roller Coaster, featuring Aerosmith. It was great music, and a nice smooth ride on a roller coaster.

We explored and found some pretty some stuff. There was a huge cityscape, which is pictured below, and it was massive. When I first saw it, my mind didn’t know what was going on. It looked real and technically, is real. It was quite a marvelous find. Also, the Disney castle in Magic Kingdom is featured below. I attempted some more Panography, which is quite enjoyable.

We ended our day early because the sun was so brutal and we were straight up out of energy. Bringing a water bottle to fill up at the sporadic water fountains is definitely the way to go in the summer heat, especially if you are cheap and don’t want to pay for drinks each time you’re thirsty. Came home and relaxed the rest of the day. The plan tomorrow is to finish with the Animal Kingdom and finally Epcot.

I awoke the other day and was on the road by 5:30am. I was told the drive was nothing but trees, which was true for the most part. At least they were pretty and green. I found music to entertain me for the whole ride there and I even had to stop singing in the car for fear that I’d lose my voice more so than I already had. Maroon 5 was a great time and I ended the trip with Jigsaw Falling Into Place by Radiohead on repeat about 10 times.

I got there around 11:00am and we all just chilled at the beach for a couple hours. Aside from being at Cocoa Beach the day before, that is where I got most of my sunburn. The ocean was freezing, but the white sand and clear water made up for it, as well as how nice the place was kept and the environment around us. We buried Abbey in the sand both horizontal and vertical, we froze in the ocean, and we at a lot of food.

We ate at a fish place that was pretty legit, and I experienced my first Blackened Grouper, which was extremely good. Among that, we enjoyed Mexican Food the next day at a nice place in Destin. After that and some shopping that the ladies did, I took off for home. I am here, I slept well, and I feel glad to be back.

I have a 12 hour shoot tomorrow and then I am off again for a couple more days. Patrick is coming down this Saturday to hang out and what not, so we’ll see how that turns out. I am enjoying the company and the adventures had with friends. Next month I am heading home for Spring Break, which my school seems to have 1 month after everyone else does, and I will spend my time in Tulsa and Stillwater.