spider-man sweater

 no, i don't own one. but tonight, i met someone who was wearing a spider-man sweater. it was at a meetup event at a micro-brewery, near can-can wonderland in st. paul. the dude is originally from new orleans, but moved to the twin cities seven years ago and works in a call center. found out we both like watching the charlie brown specials. i spoke with others first, but this is who i spoke with the longest. and i did say there was another event in this group soon, next week. i did the dishes when i got home. in the afternoon i went to multiple places in eagan. first was the barnes and noble, got the time magazine year in review edition. although i didn't like how the cashier tried to move me along too quickly, when i had questions about the loyalty program. i got a pie and whipped cream at cub foods, but the card reader in the self-checkout section didn't work so an employee had to finish the transaction for me. and tried to finish my sentence as well, which i didn't like. nice how nothing happened at the next place, the copy store. just needed to print out a gift certificate from best buy, likely earned from the recent purchase of the microwave oven. i watched a little of the pro football games for the day, but not a lot. i know the bucs-cowboys game was on at the brewery, and when i got home, cowboys hung on to win. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 26 cents. 

church hymn, fight song?

 i was watching the end of the ohio state football game and heard a song that sounded familiar. ohio state had just won big over tennessee. i said 'isn't that a church hymn?' and it was. i googled it and found out the ohio state fight song, 'carmen ohio', has the same tune as a church hymn, 'come christians join to sing'. i shared my findings with my 'ohio friend', on facebook. i know this has happened before, discovering how something was the 'same song'. 'god save the queen (or king)', and 'my country tis of thee'. another is 'greensleeves' and 'what child is this', another church hymn. this wasn't the only discovery of a song for the day. i went to a liquor store in the afternoon and picked up a can of beer. while there i heard a song that wasn't typical for a liquor store. usually, i hear something loud angry and fast, but not this time. i decided to commit some lyrics to memory and looked it up when i got home. it was 'skinny love' by birdy. there wasn't too much booked for the day. in the morning i went to the post office, but nothing to be picked up. i sent more recycle to a place near the capitol. then it was on to get a sandwich at jersey mike's as it was just after midday. i let them know i like how Mr. DeVito is still in the t.v. ads as his endorsement is why i first tried their sandwiches. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 68 cents. 

day one, downtown

 i rode the light rail into work downtown at the bank. i went to the security desk and said i was a transfer and was told if i have a badge then scan it. so i did. i went to the floor i was assigned to, riding up with a mailroom employee. so i went there first and introduced myself. fairly simple in remembering their names as it was the same two names of friends of a college roommate. then i went to the check shop, where people were waiting for me. this included the techs setting up the inserter machine. one of them, the fellow iowan, joked about the red sweater being iowa state cyclone colors. it took a little time to get my footing, but i decided it was like assembling a puzzle, get started somewhere and it will take shape. there were some minor i.t. issues to overcome on having the two printers set up, but everything was operational by midday. thankfully, plan b was not needed. vacation replacement was there, and we got out as many checks as possible. senior leader said the most important thing was getting the i-pay file out, and we did as well. only one file was not printed, and not all of the overnights went out, but we likely can get caught up on monday. one internal customer kept sending instant messages, which was annoying me. not the same one as the previous day. i did get the tracking numbers from thursday sent but was mistaken as to what the dude wanted. found out it was the file that arrived late on thursday. even after calmly explaining what was happening, not good enough. i did sent a final message saying i did what i could and would likely get to his request on monday, then signed off and left. i didn't want to stay any longer trying to explain things to someone who wouldn't take no for an answer. senior leader bought lunch at a nearby sandwich place, fine with me. the setup even has a doorbell camera for when visitors arrive. when i emptied moving boxes and sent them to a larger cart in a corner of the main room, i spoke of it being like 'clyde the orangutan' from two clint eastwood movies, when ordered to scrap a car. i said i do change things 'when i see the value in it' and i am seeing some value already. there are three other rooms in the shop, all have doors on them. one had envelopes placed in it, next one check stock, third one my workstation. in the evening i went to get groceries at hy-vee in eagan. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 77 cents. 

move day at the bank

 it was a crazy day at the bank as it was 'move day'. this was the final day at the location i was assigned to for four and a half years. so now it is time to turn the page and start the next chapter downtown. i found a way through although it was challenging, to say the least. not too big of a deal for the first half of the day, as we got most of the checks printed and run through the inserter machine. but then midday arrived, and this meant the people from the service provider on the inserter machine were there to take it apart as part of the move. they were in the shop for about an hour, then the movers were to do the rest. one dude arrived a little too soon, saying he was picking up the printers. but i said we were going to be using them a little longer, until 3pm. then we would be able to get all of the checks out by the end of the day, as the second i-pay file drops at that time. just as important, having the other printer that is used for the overnight labels. the annoying man that wanted a check pulled out from the oshkosh file sent me instant messages again, even contacting the senior leader that was onsite for the day. we had to be honest, both of us, about needing the file ready before the movers claimed the check printer, if it was going out same day. it arrived, just in time. now i am on record about it, so hopefully this senior leader, and my boss, will be able to figure out the best way through besides me saying 'i am already going above and beyond'. my boss did call from california in the morning and asked if the move was still happening despite the snowstorm that had just arrived in minnesota. i figured it was still on as i hadn't heard 'word one' about it. if this meant some arrived a little later than expected, so be it. all of it went on as scheduled. i got some pictures of what was in the hall at the end of the day, as most was already loaded on the truck but not all. i needed to go back to use the bathroom, after going to get a bottle of dunkin donuts coffee from the walgreen. i also bought some popcorn from the vending machine on the last day. then i drank the coffee and ate the popcorn on the drive home. i sent a text to our tax specialist saying that the tax checks are already in the lockbox. after having the evening meal, with the can of michelob, i took a walk and found 25 cents. then i listened to this year's eminem CD, 'death of slim shady'. 

man in the white van movie

 in the afternoon i saw the movie 'man in the white van' at the mall in eden prairie. normally i don't go to a movie theater on a weekday, but according to the schedule i found on fandango it looked like waiting until the weekend would have meant way fewer options to see it. only one actor was recognized, it was sean astin, playing the dad. according to the closing credits, astin was also listed as a producer. i am used to seeing this with indie movies. it is a chance for actors with name recognition to produce or direct as well. the setting was florida in the 1970s, and this was a pretty good thriller. every so often, one would be caught off-guard as to who shows up. or even a scene beginning with a fried egg. a big part of the story was the sibling rivalry between annie, the main character, and her sister, margaret. after that it was annie riding her horse, annie's friend patty, and annie's younger brother, daniel. the opening credits let people know this movie was made by a studio 'owned by fans', might explain why there is a fairly limited release in theaters. it meant the 'investors' in the movie were listed in the closing credits, alpha order by first name. i think i once saw a facebook posting about investing in a movie, but passed as it was hard to justify doing so when one doesn't know if the movie would even see the light of day. before the movie i had lunch in the nearby food court, at leeann chin. after the movie i had a blizzard treat at dairy queen, french silk pie. in the morning i went to the post office, two orders were picked up. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends lost a bet in a bowling game to wil wheaton's team and wore lady superhero costumes at the comic book shop. it was followed by the one where sheldon and amy do 'fun with flags' and bert calls to tell people about having a lady friend. 

reading the 'move manual'

 at work i wanted to get farther on helping with the move so it meant finding the manual that was an attachment on the dial-in meeting from mid-november. it was eleven pages, but actually ten as the final one just said, 'the end', no real information on it. reading it was quite helpful, as it showed on the diagram where each item such as a table would go in the new home downtown. i still wanted to get to my normal duties, but during the short time i worked on this special project i got most of the things i touch on a daily basis labeled. even some of the things not shown in the pictures. i stayed a little late due to wanting to type up a letter to my friends in st. louis. seemed a little odd that the mail tubs were not picked up when i left. in the evening i went to the liquor store and picked up cans of budweiser and miller, and a bottle of grain belt. now there are six beers waiting. i am trying to plan out my upcoming day off as well. it likely means seeing a movie, based on looking at the available schedule. and it means an annual visit to a food outlet can be moved back to another day off, as i must think of proximity. also, at work there was a delivery. some moving boxes were dropped off, but i don't know how of many of them will be used. much of what is to be moved is already in a box or would be hard to be put in one. during my walks i found 3 dollars 25 cents. 

moving out floor mats

 i knew it was time to get started on the final push at work for moving downtown. this meant labeling some of the things we want moved, putting post it notes on them, and taping them on. i started off with things that weren't used much, such as the box fan, two carts that aren't blue, and the only file cabinet that has envelopes in it. i also decided to move some floor mats out of the shop and into the adjacent empty file room. i put them on a blue cart to get them moved. these mats hadn't been used at all, and only one is ever used. it is the one in front of the inserter machine. i am told that looking at the attachment from the november dial-in meeting is also a good idea, that will be the next step. but of course, i still wanted to see that my normal duties were carried out. this included handling a residual issue, a returned package of six checks that was intended for an attorney office in miami. i confirmed what the correct address was, and five of the six did not have it. i am told it was an excel error, auto-filling. and i sent the tracking number as well. one check file did not arrive, but i know it is one that was outsourced to poland and has been late fairly often recently. in the evening i went to perform and was on near the end of the lineup. i did not only bank stories but also going to mall of america on my day off, as well as attending three events over the weekend. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends acted out their version of 'lord of the rings', fighting over a ring. it was followed by the one where sheldon and amy tried to collaborate on a science project but ended up insulting each other.