coffee shop

as the title suggests, it was an eventful day for me. i did have a first date at a coffee shop this morning. we spoke for over an hour, i have a good feeling about it but i've had this 'good feeling' before on many previous first dates. and few lead to second dates. she knows i would like to see her again. that's all i should say for now.
had to do some laundry as well, don't like going to a laundromat but sometimes i like listening to the other customers. one of them spoke of studying for a criminal justice degree and working as a juvenile counselor. much like on a previous entry, i find that i have plenty in common with people when i listen to them. she had plenty of tattoos on her, and a kid in tow. but at least i didn't see one right over her cleavage like the hotel clerk last weekend, that was too hard not to notice. good to hear about somebody who wants to work with 'at-risk' kids and get them turned around before they go really bad.
i enjoy baseball a lot, and went to another game tonight. the st. paul saints lost to sioux falls 6-2, and there was a fireworks show afterwards. there was some rain during the game, but not enough to delay it. liked how the fireworks was set to music, the first two songs were 'hallelujah'- probably jeff buckley's version- and 'dyer maker' by led zeppelin. good one by led-zep, but my favorite is 'when the levee breaks'. there was a request for suggestions by email, mine was 'these are days' by 10k maniacs but they didn't play it. maybe for the july 4th fireworks show.
for some reason i kept laughing to myself during the game. it was about a 'flintstones' episode i saw a while back, where the water buffalo lodge leader said that you can't change the bylaws. now i'm laughing again while writing it. fred was saved from embarrassment by somebody beating him to asking if their wives could attend, i think the lodge brother was expelled, or at least chastised, for suggesting it.
there are plenty of odd things at baseball games. saw the 'index finger' gesture and then a woman got up and was escorted out of the seating area, a section over from me, by 2 cops. don't know what for, but she didn't look like she had too much to drink. after the game i go to the bathroom and i check myself in the mirror and a man said 'darling you look marvelous'. i told him he wasn't my server at a waffle house in south carolina, a fond reminder of my april visit to the carolinas. i'm sure he had too much to drink. boarded a shuttle bus back to the bar and grill where i was parked and said how i don't bite to the patron who finally sat down next to me. comedians would also do a joke like 'do i smell?' finally there was a man in a saints jacket who boarded the bus and stayed up front, standing next to the driver, and said he was the big, bad, and ugly. i asked him where the good was. my favorite promotion, between innings entertainment, is the cub foods 'what's in the bag?' it was moved from the 8th inning to the second, but always a good joke. it's a takeoff of 'let's make a deal' and 'price is right'.
driving home, i heard a song on the radio that seemed to nail how i felt as a writer. it was 'breathe' by anna nalick. it was that part about getting it down on paper, before it threatens the life it belongs to. also notable about the day before going to the saints game was going to a goodwill store to check out their book selection. made a nice find, it was the minnesota 150 book. i had meant to get it when at the museum for the ben franklin exhibit, lucked out to find it somewhere else so quickly. also crossed off a movie from my list, finding the grisham movie 'time to kill'. hadn't seen it before, and tried to rent it at blockbuster but they no longer had it. may be a vhs copy but i can watch it, although i haven't watched many vhs tapes recently.
speaking of books, i found out i already had a copy of michael moore's 'downsize this'. found it in a box in the closet. it sounded like one i may have had, good that i checked first. there was one time before when i unknowingly ended up with 2 copies of the same book, both bought at a secondhand store. it was ' i never promised you a rose garden'. so i donated one of them. sometimes this happens though, where i find i book i like and buy it but don't get around to reading it. i try to avoid doing this as much as possible. maybe this is why i like reference books about history- flip to a chapter, and get whatever information i need real quick.
i am still researching the national register, now up to 67 counties in iowa. i expect to complete it soon. checked a few other select areas, like memphis, tenn., since my college roommate lives near there. saw how one place i toured while visiting him about 2 years ago is on the register- the sun records studio/museum. graceland, the elvis presley home, is also there but i didn't tour it while in town. maybe on my next visit. checked new orleans as well, wondering if the b and b from my 2002 visit is there. it wasn't, which was st. vincent's guest house. it had been a home for orphans and unwed mothers. but st. vincent depaul church is on the register.