The weekend started on Thursday when I went to see PRISM put on by the Sebastian River High School Band and Choir. I am a huge supporter of arts in public schools and this concert is a exemplary example of what can be achieved. It is amazing what can be produce by high school students and their supporting faculty and staff. Every year I see the show I’m reminded of the exciting times I had when I did performances in high school (although I’m partial to marching band shows).

Friday was a scheduled non-working day for me. This worked out great as I didn’t return home until late Thursday night and it gave me time to rest up and finish some chores before the remainder of the weekend.

This leads us to Saturday. I got up Saturday morning and did some errands before heading downtown for the festivities. I wandered around the city for a while and stopped to have a drink and see a part of the Florida Gators game before meeting up with friends. Everyone arrived around 5:30 and we enjoyed some dinner before heading off to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The show was outstanding. The show by far is one of the best I’ve seen. Most people I’ve told about them don’t recognize the name but recognize the music. The music is only a small part of their show. The had the most elaborate sound/light/laser/effect choreography that I’ve ever seen. The videos of their shows do not accurately represent the complete awesomeness of the show. Any time they come to a town near you I STRONGLY suggest you go and see them. They are worth every cent of the ticket price.

The weekend wrapped up on Sunday when I went with a few friends over to Tampa for 97X’s Next Big Thing. Next Big Thing is pretty much the same as Buzz Bake Sale, which we’ve attended for years, but this year Buzz Bake Sale was on the same day as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra performance so we opted to go to Tampa instead. Another awesome day of musical enjoyment. We got there in the early afternoon and left right before the end of the last set in attempt to get ahead of the traffic. Overall it was an awesome day. We arrived home around 1 in the morning and I immediately fell asleep. I am extremely glad that I had enough forethought to take Monday off. I would have been miserable if I had to get up Monday morning and head into work.

Overall it was a very busy weekend but well worth it. All the planning feel right into place and everything went smoothly. Hopefully next year I can plan a similar weekend.

Ignite Orlando, or any ignite event, is something I would recommend for anyone. It’s a great opportunity to get out and meet others in your community and to learn a tremendous amount. I’m even contemplating putting together a presentation myself. For anyone that wants to see a presentation and learn how to make a good one check out the following video: Why and How to Give an Ignite Talk.

Following Ignite Orlando was Orlando’s first MP3 Experiment based on the MP3 Experiments of Improv Everywhere. We started at Slingapour’s where Ignite Orlando had been held and then made our way to a park less than a block away. Just as the Improv Everywhere site says we had many spectators wondering why we were running around and attacking each other with balloons. By the end of the experiment a small crowd had formed watching us as we wrapped things up. The only problem with this experiment is that it was extremely hot and humid out. By the end I was definitely ready to get inside and get some water; all in good fun though. I’m looking forward to the next one and can only imagine what may be instore.

It started off Friday afternoon.  The plan was that my friend was going to pick me up at 3 PM so we could drive to the airport and pickup another friend at 4 PM.  With this in mind I planned to leave work around 2 PM so that I could get home, quickly pack some clothes and be ready when my ride arrived.  I didn’t get out of work until 2:45 PM.  I rushed home and got some stuff packed just in time to hear a knock at my door; my ride had arrived.  We hopped in the car and we were off to Orlando.  We got there on time, picked up our friend and headed to their apartment.  Everyone arrived shortly thereafter and then we were off to dinner.

During dinner the question came up as to what the night’s events would entail.  We decided that we wanted to go to Howl at the Moon to celebrate my birthday (which was Sunday).  It wouldn’t be anything special just have a few drinks an head back.  We got there about 8 PM so I figured we would be leaving about 11 PM.  At 2 AM as they are closing we finally leave.  This is much later than I was wanting to be out.

The next morning came very quickly.  We were scheduled to pick up the truck at 10 AM on Saturday but didn’t leave Orlando until 10 AM.  I called the UHaul place to let them know we would be late and they informed me they would be there all day.  We drove over (just about an hour and a half drive), picked up the UHaul and then headed to my parent’s house.

Thanks to a friend of the family who had this dolly contraption, loading the piano was pretty simple.  We took our time and got it in the truck with just about no issues.  We did have to carry the piano about 3 feet to get it out the door since there was a lip in the doorway the dolly wasn’t going to make it over.

Once the piano was loaded we had some lunch with my mother and then we were on the road.  We were heading back to Orlando to drop off my friends car and then we would ride together in the U-Haul to Sebastian.  The plan was that my friend’s girlfriend would pick him up after we delivered the piano and got something to eat.  The trip to Orlando was almost un-eventful.  Since I was in the U-Haul my friend was following me.  I saw the sign that a toll was coming up so I merged to the right so that I would be out of the way of traffic.  Almost immediately after the sign for the upcoming toll was a sign that said the lane I had just merged into was an exit only lane, Great!  By now the lane I had left just moments ago was filled with cars.  So I put on my turn signal as a notification that I was changing lanes; it wasn’t a question at this point.  I saw a spot and squeezed in as the barricades for the exit were quickly approaching.  During this whole adventure I was completely concerned with me and the truck but apparently my friend had the same type of issue.  We both made it through.

The rest of the traveling was completly un-eventful.  Just cars and the open road.  We arrived in Sebastian much later than I would have liked, it was close to 7 PM.  My friend and I wasted no time getting the piano out of the truck.  We had a small issue getting it down the ramp (the dolly wasn’t cooperating).  We rolled the piano to the front door and again had to lift it to get it over the lip and then rolled it into its room.  Once we had it in the room we took it off the dolly and spent a good 30-45 minutes cleaning it.  The piano had been sitting in my parent’s house untouched for a few years and with this had collected a bit of dust.  After the cleaning we moved it into its place where it sits today.

Now it was time to return the truck and head out to dinner.  We called up the 800 number we were supplied.  To our surprise they were closed for the night.  This wasn’t at all how I had planned for the night to end.  We decided that since it was getting late we would just take the truck back to my place and I would deal with it in the morning.

PHEW!  After all of that the piano is now settling down in its new home.  Now all that is left is to get it tuned and start playing it.