I figured since I haven’t done one of these posts in a while, I’d take the time to share with you my festivities leading up to the New Year of 2012. I’ve got plenty of photos to share with you and hopefully will prove that not all of us are out at clubs or drinking to celebrate.

So I spent Friday and Saturday with my Dad driving around to various places. We started out checking out a local bakery to see how much a cake for Gabriel Iglesias would cost. We’re going to see him in Portland on the 12th, so we wanted to make sure we left an impression. I’m intending on an Undertaker-themed meeting, with me dressed in the garb and handing him a Tombstone cake. (Pics will be a mandatory for this, I’m sure.)

So afterwards, Dad needed to head back to his house in The Harbor to get his wallet. I was dropped off at the new expanded Safeway in town. I was pleasantly surprised that I was greeted with samples throughout the store. It’s like going to Costco all over again.

HERE’s where it gets interesting: It starts with my first pic…

…I was posting to Foursquare my location and was going to include this pic to show how much more massive the store is compared to how it used to be…

…I didn’t because I was stopped by a manager.

He said “We can’t have you taking pictures in here because of privacy concerns.”

I canceled out of the pic, not realizing that I still had it ‘till I got home, and continued with browsing the store.

(Looking at this pic now, I ask you: Why would there be such a concern from Safeway about taking a pic of their store? There isn’t anyone in the pic, let alone anyone in the general area of the pic, so I wouldn’t think it would be for Voyeurism. Curiouser and curiouser. Anyways…)

So after Dad got back, we continued on our way.

Now, one place we have frequent visitor miles at is the local Value Villages around our area. You just never know what to expect… like this, for example:

“Who sleeps with a pineapple under the sea?!!!”

…or this:

 

…as you can tell by the mess, I took this largely scaled Spidey home. Needless to say, the first thing I did with him is place him in the “Come at me, bro” position. (He will be Tebowing at some point, rest assured.)

After a long day of stretching our wallets, we decided to end the day with some good ‘ol Mexican food. The waitress was real nice and we had HOOGE helpings…

 

…trust me, this pic does not do it justice. I took a couple bites out of this and there was PLENTY left over…

…so this was just our Friday. Saturday, I call “The Spidey Bash”, primarily because there were a few Spidey thing I picked up at some unsuspecting places. I picked up a book from a Value Village nearby the SouthCenter Mall where we would be seeing an IMAX showing of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol later on that night. 

…we also went to the Disney Store in the Mall and I was taken back at first by seeing this:

…That’s right: a store that has Disney, Marvel and Muppets all in one glorious store. I tell you what, there was so much magic in that place, I could’ve swore if I stayed too long, my orifices would’ve been filled with residual magic. I was thrown into the Way Back Machine and didn’t wanna leave.

…passing by this didn’t help, either:

…it’s a Pez dispenser as big as my head that PLAYS the Spider Man Theme. I wanted to take this home, but I didn’t wanna spend $30 to get it.

Walking by the local game store, I also saw this:

…which I know a few of my friends will appreciate.

So it’s about an hour before we go and see the movie. We head into the nearby Target and Dad happened to find this:

…this: a Dinosaur that bares my namesake, exact spelling and all…

..and apparently it’s got better dance moves than me, too. *groan*

…needless to say, Dad latched onto that line of Barney-inspired jokes real quick. Give him an inch and he’ll go a mile. *sigh* Alright, on to the movie…

I was feeling real good in my new getup I was in. Bought the jacket myself and the dress shirt is my same Easter best I wore for Christmas. (I’ve REALLY gotta get rid of my tummy.) …

…yeah, I felt good at this point. (Although, I swear, the first place I’m losing weight is around my waist. Why can’t some of my stomach rolls go with it. XD )

So, we head into the movie…and I enjoyed the hell out of it in IMAX. The reason I say I and not “we” is because Dad was so tired from not sleeping well the last few days he fell asleep at the theatre. 

Now, it’s no secret there has always been some kinda switch in his butt that puts him to sleep… but at an IMAX theatre? THAT is impressive. Kudos, Dad.

So I head home by 10:30 and unwind for the night with my electronics in hand, chatting away on Twitter until the magic hour where fireworks go off in our neighborhood.

So, see, not all of us feel the need to go to parties or a bar on New Year’s. Some of us are content with just spending the day with the ones we love and relaxing at night…

…with our toys at hand.

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and let’s get the rhythm going in 2012.

Stay Strong. Stay Faithful. Stay Diligent. No Regrets.

Semper Fi, My Followers!