Christmas Eve 2022 Thoughts & Thankfulness- Looking Back on Decisions That Changed Course Of My Life
Transcript
0:02
today's adventure begins here in
0:02
Celebration Florida here at the
0:03
Community Presbyterian Church
0:06
where they always have a very very
0:07
interesting letters
0:09
spelled out across here sometimes
0:11
comical sometimes not comical today of
0:13
course a little more serious it is
0:15
Christmas Eve December 24th
0:18
2022 and while I was walking over here
0:21
which last week or a couple weeks ago
0:23
they had an entire community of
0:26
Bethlehem we had some vendors out here
0:28
some food items they had a live nativity
0:31
over here it was really awesome they
0:33
even had one of the Angels perched up
0:36
there on top of the coffee shop
0:39
that a gentleman just rolled out the
0:41
coffee shop sign opened over there so
0:43
I'm gonna get myself a piping hot
0:44
caffeinated beverage and I'm gonna be
0:46
heading down towards my parents home
0:48
this evening
0:50
to go to church down that direction
0:54
as well as enjoy time with my mom dad my
0:59
sister and her husband who are visiting
1:02
for the holidays and for Christmas
1:06
it's one o'clock right now back to
1:07
church bell
1:09
just rang one time
1:19
Merry Christmas to all come we'll say
1:19
good night because it's still early it's
1:20
you know one in the afternoon but the
1:23
day will progress I don't really know
1:24
what I'm gonna film today but I felt
1:26
like I should film something just to put
1:28
a little Merry Christmas Yuletide Joy
1:31
add them to the world
1:33
I'm gonna get some coffee right over
1:35
here I never really know when this place
1:37
is open but today on Christmas Eve
1:39
King's Cafe Coffee Shop is open welcome
1:42
everyone
1:43
out of the woohoo oh the sun feels so
1:44
good
1:46
King's cafe coffee right here I am
1:48
wearing an appropriate
1:51
I don't say t-shirt because it's not a
1:53
t-shirt I am wearing a collared shirt
1:55
button down and take a look at my home
1:59
alone referenced jacket
2:01
that I have
2:03
a little sports coat type jacket for the
2:06
holiday Christmas Eve
2:09
time frame Merry Christmas
2:12
filthy animal
2:17
when I so I'll be going to church with
2:17
my parents tonight and my sister her
2:18
husband and I'm not sure if this is
2:20
going to be something I should probably
2:21
wear into the congregation the gentleman
2:24
in the coffee shop they are doing a mess
2:25
here a little bit later I'm not going to
2:27
this congregation but he said I should
2:29
wear it he didn't seem so maybe I don't
2:31
know
2:32
see what my mom thinks
2:44
yeah I watch a lot of movies so
2:45
obviously Home Alone die hard's probably
2:46
my favorite Christmas movie
2:48
don't get me started on that but when I
2:51
hear Merry Christmas you know I think of
2:53
a lot of different plethora of different
2:54
things obviously the reason for the
2:56
season
2:57
but also I think National Lampoon's
3:01
Christmas Vacation Cousin Eddie Merry
3:03
Christmas pouring the stuff into the
3:05
sewage
3:07
it's Christmas Eve I'm inviting you to
3:09
join me
3:14
you filthy animal
3:14
shall you
3:15
temperature at the moment 43 degrees it
3:19
was down to like 31 earlier
3:21
question of the sun is out it's warmed
3:23
up just a little bit nothing in
3:25
comparison to what the rest of the U.S
3:28
Canada
3:29
and other areas
3:31
are getting blizzards
3:33
high winds lots of snow sleet ice
3:37
coldness
3:39
so I'm definitely very thankful
3:41
that there's no real serious weather
3:44
down here at this moment but it is a
3:45
little brisk for Florida I am thankful
3:48
that it is not I'm not sweating
3:51
because sometimes there's been times I
3:52
stepped outside
3:54
during the holiday Christmas season
3:55
where sweat just like poured down my
3:57
back also last year
3:59
maybe Jesus over here was stolen someone
4:02
stole baby Jesus and when I mentioned it
4:05
earlier in the earlier in the season a
4:08
lot of people
4:09
had an opinion that possibly at a manger
4:12
scene they do not put they did not put
4:14
the baby Jesus out there until Christmas
4:16
Day because that you know that is when
4:19
it would officially be when he's laying
4:21
in the manger
4:26
but I don't think that's true
4:26
because this one's been here for the
4:28
whole time frame
4:29
and they also put up this around it so
4:31
in previous years like last year they
4:34
did not have this events around the
4:36
manger scene
4:44
nice and brisk
4:44
it's going to be a relaxing time for
4:45
time today
4:48
how are the Ducks out there Merry
4:51
Christmas
4:52
Howard the Duck on Christmas Eve
4:57
this is the kind of town I could picture
4:57
myself running through
4:59
Just Like It's a Wonderful Life
5:03
I love Christmas movies
5:05
Ernest Saves Christmas I just I'm all
5:07
over the place with the style of
5:08
Christmas movies I like obviously
5:22
Merry Christmas Howard you decoy duck
5:22
four very obvious reason the fountain
5:25
over here is turned off because who
5:26
would want to run through a fountain
5:27
when it is right at the freezing
5:29
temperature it's not below 32 but it was
5:32
earlier so I could see why the fountain
5:33
is off and no one is gallivant to the
5:36
Fountain today I wouldn't want to run
5:37
through that thing it's cold the holiday
5:39
and Christmas season has been going on
5:41
for quite a while
5:43
down here at Market square and Market
5:46
Street Water Street also over at Jeter
5:48
Bend which supposedly Jeter Ben is going
5:51
to be ending after this year kind of
5:53
curious to see if that is going to
5:54
happen or not
5:56
so it's going to be interesting
5:58
you know because this goes on for all of
6:00
December that once this is over to
6:02
actually see cars down on Market Street
6:04
again is going to be really interesting
6:06
to see cars driving down here without
6:07
all the lights up without the big
6:09
Christmas tree up without the fake snope
6:10
up all that this is just like 1 12th of
6:14
a year it is in full on holiday mode
6:17
down here and I'm here for it I mean
6:19
obviously I'm here for us I live here
6:20
but yeah I just it's it's something that
6:22
when it's not going on you know in the
6:24
middle of the year like last year when
6:26
this happened later on in the year I
6:28
kind of missed having the holiday
6:30
festivities down here
6:32
so I'm just kind of soaking it in
6:34
until you know until post Christmas
6:36
which is just right around the corner I
6:38
can just imagine later this evening it
6:39
is going to be a real beehive of
6:41
activity out here they got the trains
6:43
all under a little tarp right there but
6:45
later it's gonna be a lot of people down
6:46
here I won't be here later on I won't be
6:50
in celebration but I can imagine it will
6:52
be take a look at these things these are
6:54
like
6:55
wow that like one-ups my scooter I
6:57
haven't ridden my scooter in a while too
6:58
I got to charge it get out get out and
7:00
around on it at some point but yeah this
7:01
thing right here really look at these
7:03
things a little tired you can go through
7:05
snow on those
7:06
it'd be interesting if it's snow has it
7:08
ever snowed in Central Florida
7:10
not my time frame started to think about
7:12
it I probably should have go over to
7:14
Jeter Bend because it might be the last
7:16
time they get to see everything let up
7:18
now they're not going to have the the
7:20
snope falling at this time of the day
7:22
also do not park here I got the cone set
7:25
up and stretching along this road
7:29
look at this there's just no parking
7:31
signs
7:32
everywhere through here
7:34
I didn't park in this area I parked like
7:37
block away
7:42
a Jeter Bend is right here so you go
7:42
down that way
7:43
Jeter bent supposedly the last year for
7:45
the lights in the evening hours they
7:47
completely block the street off so over
7:49
here they'll have substantions up you
7:51
cannot go past there it's all walkable
7:52
and this whole area here is just full of
7:55
people for good reason because it's
7:56
really quite a display doing it filming
7:58
this during the day doesn't really do it
8:00
justice a few weeks ago I did like a
8:03
whole video on when the Snopes started
8:05
falling and
8:06
the opening of I think it was like a
8:07
week after the opening of Jeter Bend
8:10
but here I am showing it for the last
8:12
time
8:14
some say
8:15
because I won't be able to make it out
8:16
here tonight probably not tomorrow night
8:18
either
8:23
Grinch right there
8:23
you got your letters to Santa Mickey is
8:26
definitely prominent here on this road
8:29
as is Santa Claus hello Santa
8:35
and this movie was filmed
8:37
on Market Street and on Jeter Bend
8:39
Christmas Karen I watched the trailer
8:42
for it but I haven't watched it looks
8:43
like it's kind of funny
8:46
filming location
8:54
grogu
8:54
Mickey
9:04
feels so good outside Frosty the Snowman
9:04
over here got some reindeer
9:07
it's hard to believe Christmas Is Almost
9:09
Here and about to end
9:11
another major scene over here
9:14
always good to see those
9:19
I love how friendly this Bay Area is
9:19
right here too
9:20
just giving hugs
9:23
lots of hugs
9:25
big bear hugs
9:28
the real question is who has the better
9:30
fashion sense myself
9:32
or the Grinch
9:35
gotta be honest probably the Grinch
9:37
noticing a lot of holiday Decor over
9:40
here from the Star Wars Universe no
9:42
Chewy though
9:43
that Chewie might be still celebrating
9:45
life day all month this one right here
9:47
is probably one of my favorites they
9:48
decorate every single holiday including
9:52
Valentine's Day Christmas Halloween and
9:54
this house always goes all in love it
9:57
just notice a sign up there says this
9:59
congregation's also going to be having a
10:01
Christmas Eve service
10:03
it's pretty par for the course for a lot
10:04
of a lot of churches
10:07
I wanted to show another oh look at this
10:09
wait the theory might be correct look
10:12
look
10:14
it's God
10:15
okay maybe it is proper etiquette to not
10:19
place
10:20
baby Jesus out there until Christmas
10:23
morning okay that theory might be true
10:31
who knew
10:31
commuted a little bit down to into
10:32
farther into Kissimmee almost to Saint
10:34
Cloud there's a two-part reason why I'm
10:37
pulling over here into this parking lot
10:39
also that would be one heck of a
10:41
Christmas tree
10:42
if they took that cell phone tower right
10:45
there put lights around it it's not a
10:47
real Chris that's not a real tree
10:49
you see these all over the place all
10:51
across the U.S where they they fake a
10:54
cell phone tower to make it look like a
10:56
tree they're not fooling anyone
11:13
back in the 90s I used to work inside
11:13
this Kmart used to be a Kmart that was
11:16
converted to Big K
11:18
now it's a
11:20
Zenith career center of some sort
11:26
but I worked retail for a long time I
11:26
worked at Walmart I worked at Kmart I
11:28
worked at Office Max
11:30
which a lot of retail stores
11:32
so definitely have a soft spot and
11:36
understand what it's like to work retail
11:39
during the Christmas season this and
11:41
countless other places where I had to
11:44
work on Christmas Eve and this place was
11:47
incredibly busy this whole parking lot
11:50
was very very full
11:56
of course right now this isn't a store
11:56
anymore so it's not full I also worked
11:57
at Win Dixie Publix grocery stores video
12:01
store
12:10
definitely remember Kmart here Christmas
12:10
Eve
12:12
working late
12:21
also this parking lot here
12:21
right over here back in December 2010 12
12:24
years ago I did a video and announced
12:26
that I was going to be moving into my
12:28
van van dwelling if you will hard to
12:30
believe I spent 12 years ago and just
12:32
that distinct moment really kind of
12:34
changed my life with going from working
12:37
retail real punching a clock things like
12:40
that working different jobs where I was
12:43
working for someone to working for
12:45
myself of course back then I didn't
12:47
realize I would be working for myself I
12:48
didn't realize that there would be any
12:50
income to you know eventually come out
12:53
of it I just wanted to travel around the
12:56
U.S document things film things YouTube
12:58
was a whole different ballgame then not
13:01
a lot of people were watching it then
13:02
you know if you got 20 30 40 000 videos
13:04
that was like basically getting two or
13:06
three or four hundred thousand views now
13:08
because he had to explain to people
13:11
kind of what YouTube was and what I was
13:13
doing and people would always ask me
13:14
what the what is this what is this
13:17
YouTube thing now everyone
13:19
does YouTube in fact there's a lot of
13:21
people that
13:22
I knew then that we're kind of think
13:24
thought it was a not the best idea and
13:26
now most of those people
13:29
are you know have YouTube channels kind
13:32
of kind of funny how that works I just
13:34
mentioned a little memory here that I
13:36
had here in this parking lot
13:38
Yeah Christmas bygone Christmases
13:42
2010 Christmas was a lot different than
13:44
Christmas nowadays
13:46
I don't know if I'll ever move back into
13:47
a van
13:52
wouldn't be opposed to it but
13:52
yeah nostalgia
13:54
the Romanticism of it is definitely
13:58
definitely definitely Pops in my head
13:59
from time to time it was it was a fun
14:01
time cold
14:03
sleeping in Walmart parking lots more
14:06
parking lots now are not well a lot of
14:08
them are 24 hours used to be 24 hours
14:09
what I would do is I would drive over to
14:12
like where the employees would be at
14:13
work all night and I would kind of wedge
14:16
my van in next to where people were
14:19
going into work that way if there was
14:21
you know like someone driving around
14:23
checking the parking lot if anyone was
14:24
not supposed to be there they would
14:25
never know if I was at work because I
14:27
was wedged in with everyone else taking
14:30
a little snooze Fest before heading out
14:32
the next morning to the next adventure
14:34
fun fact it's kind of interesting too
14:36
people ask me pretty often about the RV
14:38
if I ever get an RV again probably
14:41
wouldn't get an RV
14:42
I have a lot of nostalgia of my van
14:45
dwelling days and Van traveling days
14:48
but not a lot of nostalgia for the RV
14:50
days if that makes any sense I liked
14:53
having the van the mobility of the van
14:55
and how quick I move
14:58
in a smaller vehicle than I did in the
15:00
RV not a lot of nostalgia for the RV but
15:04
a little bit of nostalgia but definitely
15:06
a lot more nostalgia
15:09
for the van dies
15:11
I mean that was really a pivotal point
15:13
in my life also it's almost the end of
15:17
the year and they are starting to set up
15:18
firework stands around Kissimmee right
15:21
over here pretty soon it's going to be
15:24
to ring in the New Year 2023 another
15:26
year
15:28
got to start getting those those
15:30
thoughts resolutions prepare thy selves
15:33
including me
15:35
for what's going to happen next year
15:37
seeing this will be full of fireworks
15:39
drove over to this boat dock here in
15:40
Saint Cloud as well was this a turtle
15:43
or is it a stick
15:44
oh this used to be wood too now it's
15:46
like an aluminum
15:48
oh it's not a turtle it's a stick
15:52
maybe that was like a turtle poking out
15:53
of there but two sticks
15:57
right over there so this is kind of a
15:59
notable spot too and I had to look it up
16:01
but one year prior to me doing the
16:03
announcement that I was going to start
16:04
traveling and being in my van and all
16:07
that a year before that on New Year's
16:10
Eve of 2009
16:11
I did my first Adventure video if you
16:14
want to call it that quote-unquote
16:15
Adventure video over at that close down
16:20
abandoned Sugar Mill Saint Cloud Sugar
16:22
Mill that still stands over there every
16:24
few years or so I'll come out here and
16:25
kind of wax nostalgic a little bit is
16:28
that the correct
16:29
phrase or not but yeah I'll just
16:31
reminisce a little bit kind of keeps me
16:33
grounded
16:34
to to remember exactly what kind of
16:36
started this whole
16:37
this whole thing never really put two
16:39
and two together or realize that
16:42
so much when it comes to what I do now
16:44
stems from things that happened in
16:46
December so this kind of works out the
16:48
subject matter
16:50
oh yeah I basically did a video here I
16:51
mean my friend Cody walked along here
16:53
and I filmed this and that kind of
16:56
started me doing a lot of a lot of
16:57
abandoned stuff things like that in fact
16:59
that was known as kind of the abandoned
17:01
guy for a long time I don't do much of
17:03
that anymore because of
17:05
you know legal reasons or whatnot
17:06
obviously there's no issues with
17:09
snooping around in here but certain
17:10
places it's frowned upon but I did that
17:13
for a long time that was what I was
17:14
known for
17:15
and then I started doing some filming
17:17
locations and then January of
17:20
2013 in fact it was New Year's Day
17:23
2013 so approaching almost 10 years
17:26
I announced I was going to start doing
17:28
some Disney theme park videos
17:31
and of course that ended abruptly a
17:33
couple weeks later when
17:35
wasn't allowed in the parks for a while
17:37
all that's been lifted and changed and
17:40
thankfully I am but
17:42
yeah that was a rare time there wasn't a
17:44
lot of people doing that I thought it'd
17:46
be a kind of interesting thing
17:48
I started with the road trips and
17:49
travels and small towns
17:52
kind of try to mix it up
17:54
it usually is it is also interesting
17:56
because I spend so much time staying put
18:00
in December
18:01
even when I was living in California and
18:03
then living here but I kind of go a
18:05
little stir crazy and I make a lot of
18:07
decisions and I do a lot of traveling
18:09
at the start of every year and that'll
18:10
probably be the same this year too
18:12
guessing a roundabout way December and
18:14
the end of a year is a good time to move
18:16
on to something else
18:17
you know obviously just the first of the
18:19
year it's always like a good calendar
18:20
update where it's like okay it's time to
18:23
time to start doing other things that's
18:24
the way I mentally do things that's the
18:26
way the calendar Falls and I think it
18:28
also stems from the fact that I am kind
18:31
of stay put for so much during December
18:33
I always try to do a lot of family stuff
18:35
a lot of at-home type of things even
18:38
when I was living in Southern California
18:39
I would usually be out here for most of
18:41
December and doing a lot of localized
18:44
stuff of course theme parks and local
18:46
things around central Florida really
18:48
wants makes me want to spread my wings
18:49
and kind of go out at the beginning of
18:51
every year and no pun intended because
18:53
there's a bird up there spreading at
18:55
Wings spreading its wings
19:00
yeah I'm just
19:00
just thinking out loud
19:06
it's really grateful for my life and the
19:06
way things worked out and not knowing
19:08
how they would work out or not really
19:09
having a game plan
19:11
isn't probably the best way to go about
19:14
doing things sometimes but a lot of
19:17
apart for the course with a lot of my
19:18
decision making
19:20
and what I'm doing now really worked out
19:22
and stemmed
19:25
from first turning a video camera on
19:27
over at that
19:29
empty structure right there and now that
19:31
bird is nesting upon
19:33
just really grateful for my life and
19:35
happy that people kind of latched on to
19:37
what I do when I first started doing
19:39
this
19:40
I would always say my early early on
19:42
videos
19:43
that I would just want to put something
19:45
out there I felt like there were people
19:46
who were kindred spirits that were into
19:48
what I was doing
19:50
and I figured if I just filmed enough of
19:52
it other people with similar interests
19:54
would find it
19:55
and they did
19:57
and I'm grateful that I can pretty much
19:59
do anything and there will be some
20:01
percentage of my audience that will
20:04
enjoy seeing it no matter what the
20:05
subject matter is small towns travel
20:09
filming locations theme parks
20:12
closed spots history
20:14
relics of the past
20:17
and I'm grateful for that
20:19
just wanted to put that out there often
20:21
the distance is the Saint Cloud Florida
20:22
Water Tower
20:28
here next to City Hall every year in the
20:28
last probably decade or so they put a
20:29
big Christmas tree up here
20:31
this year no big Christmas tree in front
20:33
of Saint Cloud City Hall simply because
20:35
they are renovating it putting a whole
20:37
new front on this place look at this
20:40
city hall edition project
20:43
fun fact my family first moved here in
20:45
91.
20:47
this went New York Ave went all the way
20:49
straight through that way
20:50
so you got downtown over here
20:53
and where the city hall is now the road
20:55
continued on a grid just like all the
20:58
other roads through town to the
21:00
Lakeshore went right through there and
21:02
then when they built this building
21:03
they deterred it that way and now
21:06
they're adding on to it no Christmas
21:08
tree here this year usually huge
21:09
Christmas tree right here got the Grinch
21:11
out here too an inflatable drench this
21:13
is interesting this inflatable
21:15
has has grinch-like fluffy hands wow
21:20
yeah they're really
21:21
got the street all tore up down here
21:29
I would imagine this street will be
21:29
completed much sooner
21:32
than the hotel here that's been under
21:34
construction for like five years I don't
21:36
think this is ever going to get done the
21:38
historic Saint Cloud Hotel when the
21:41
people first came here to subtle the
21:42
town they all lived here while their
21:44
houses were being built true story and
21:46
this thing just sits empty off in the
21:48
distance is that hotel Saint Cloud I was
21:50
just talking about and here is an
21:53
artistic representation
21:55
of the first people that moved in there
21:57
when they were going to the seminal land
21:59
and Investment Company to have have
22:00
their houses built
22:03
true story I have found the tree look at
22:06
that airplane going by up there
22:08
so the tree that's normally in front of
22:10
the city hall has been moved over here
22:12
in this little green pasture
22:14
a lot of land
22:16
it's good to see the Saint Cloud
22:17
Christmas tree is out as well
22:22
it's a it's a tradition
22:22
to see the tree here and downtown well I
22:25
don't see it every time I'm here but I
22:27
know the tree's been
22:28
planted down here in December for years
22:31
now and there it is it's still here
22:33
that's going to do it for today from
22:35
Saint Cloud Florida started in
22:36
celebration made the commute down now be
22:39
going over to my parents spend some time
22:40
with them and my sister her husband
22:43
tomorrow's Christmas as the recording of
22:45
This Christmas Eve you will be watching
22:48
this on Christmas morning or Christmas
22:50
Day sometime at Christmas but this video
22:52
is going to be up
22:54
forever so you might be watching this in
22:56
2027.
22:58
interesting how that works I never
23:01
thought I would be able to put something
23:02
online do a video of it and then 10
23:05
years later eight years later five years
23:07
later people stumble on it for the first
23:09
time who knew
23:11
how this whole thing would work out
23:13
I really appreciate everyone watching
23:16
chiming in
23:18
following along in my sometimes
23:20
Adventure sometimes Journeys sometimes
23:23
just everyday life they can't all be
23:25
home runs
23:27
sometimes they're bunts sometimes
23:29
they're strikeouts
23:30
but I appreciate
23:32
the consistency well that I have created
23:34
for myself but also for those
23:37
who follow along if you've been
23:38
following I really appreciate it Merry
23:42
happy holidays
23:44
whatever it is you celebrate hope you
23:46
have a great day
23:48
I'll see you in the next video
23:50
the Vlog
23:59
Merry Christmas you filthy animal
23:59
the blog is over