Doritos Chips After Laundry

   At work we had another meeting, in the afternoon. It was to announce how a new committee works and who will be on it. I threw my hat in the ring and wasn't picked. I later emailed and said I deserved an explanation. The interest period was extended and I was one of the few who expressed interest initially. There was some cake after the meeting, I had a piece. The meeting didn't last long, about 30 minutes.
   I did laundry tonight. I was running out of clean clothes so it was time. I went a little longer than typical but probably got more of my money's worth. I wanted to get potato chips while doing laundry but was afraid of getting locked out of the laundromat. This has happened before, when arriving close to closing time. So I stayed inside until I was done and got a small bag of Doritos at a nearby grocery store for 50 cents. I read some more in Jack Kerouac's 'On The Road', two chapters. I am moving right along with it, three quarters done now. I like having these small chip bags available, as it helps with weight control since they are smaller servings. Didn't see anyone while at the laundromat except for somebody who showed up to use the change machine. I saw one washer still had wash in it, including some blue jeans.
   I saw two 'Big Bang Theory' episodes tonight. The syndicated rerun was about a feud between Sheldon and Penny, where she was banished due to his 'three strikes' rule. The first-run episode was also about a feud, between Sheldon and Howard. It was over a parking spot Sheldon doesn't use as he doesn't have a car. I liked the syndicated rerun more. Also liked the 'Simpsons' rerun as it was an episode with gangsters, including my favorite, Johnny Tightlips. Krusty was trying to get his daughter's musical instrument back after gambling it away.

Old Navy Gift Card

I finished up the Old Navy gift card this evening. After trying on a few pairs of pants I chose some jeans. With discounts and the gift card balance it was under seven dollars. I had considered getting socks but there was a limited selection of these, and didn't want sweat socks. Earlier in the day I went to the Macy's liquidation sale and got a shirt to replace the retired one from Monday. So there was no need for a shirt by the time I went to Old Navy. A clerk said the expected final day at Macy's in downtown St. Paul is March 16, so it is coming soon. Now that the Old Navy card is finished it will likely be a while before I shop there again. It's an all right store but I am used to what is available at J.C. Penney. The one remaining gift card happens to be a J.C. Penney card.
   I saw the grouchy woman on the bus this morning, at times it sounded like she was singing her complaints. When I said to another rider how I've already suggested that she move to Arizona since she complains about the winter he said she'd complain about the hot summers there. At work I was informed about some of the things discussed at the staff meeting that was held on Tuesday when I wasn't there. One of the things was how our boss is still on leave, it has been extended another month to the end of March. This is often what happens, a date is given for her return and this date is pushed out again. The lollipop girl said she is starting to wonder if our boss will return at all, since it has already been more than four months. But officially the thing we are still being told is 'When' and not 'If'. There was some food at a midday meeting about health insurance coverage, liked all of the cheese but there was some little smokie pigs in a blanket as well.
    At the comedy club tonight, a friend was onstage and did a joke about being diagnosed with Lupus, by somebody who flunked out of nursing school. She also did one about leveling the playing field at Pampered Chef parties. I once did clerical work at Pampered Chef when living in suburban Chicago.
I liked the 'Simpsons' syndicated rerun tonight. It was the one where Homer was a food critic. Another critic at the paper had a priceless line in it, where he said 'It's time we all sent John Deere a Dear John'. I've often caught myself saying this line as it's catchy.

Governor Mark Dayton

I had the day off from work so I could meet my representatives at the Capitol in St. Paul. One was unavailable, plenty of meetings and committees booked. The other I saw at midday, and when we were finished I went to the Transportation Building and had lunch. I did take plenty of pictures inside and near the Capitol, as expected. This included numerous ones in a rathskeller, and I liked how there was a wall display about the history of the room. This included mention of the meaning of the term, basically 'Town hall basement' in German. I know my dad liked to say 'You can find me in the Rathskeller', and I like the sound of it. In many ways I like this place as it reminds me of visits to New Ulm for Oktoberfest, as I like having a drink at the Rathskeller at Turner Hall.
   But the highlight of the day was how I got a picture with Minnesota's governor, Mark Dayton. I went to the governor's Reception Room as I like seeing the paintings there. Many of them are of Civil War battles. At first I noticed the door was closed, then it opened. And I saw the governor was still inside! It looked like he had just been meeting with members of AFSCME, a government workers union. When one of them asked for a picture with the governor, I said I don't get opportunities like this too often so I asked for the same. Needed three tries before it took, as the assistant didn't know how to operate my digital camera. Then shortly after this he went through a private door and that was it. A tour group showed up shortly after this and when a private door opened again, albeit very
briefly, I noticed there were portraits inside of both presidents named Roosevelt. I was in the right place at the right time, in more ways than one.
   After the Capitol I was driving past on Snelling and decided to investigate why the Cheapo music shop appeared to be empty. A sign said 'We moved across the street'. Hadn't been there in a little while so I visited that location. I got two postcards, one was with a 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' theme. Also got two CDs, a Smashing Pumpkins single, 'Disarm' was one. The other was a self-titled Pearl Jam, from 2006. I did my best to guess on which ones I don't have yet. I'm fine with getting Pumpkin singles, even if I already had the song on the full album as sometimes the artwork can be different.
   I did get home in time to watch 'Millionaire' and 'Jeopardy'. The Final Jeopardy question was one I knew, a year when 3 men served as President, I knew this was in 1881 since James Garfield was assassinated. The other was 1841, when William Henry Harrison died in office after serving just a month. After doing dishes I fell asleep in my chair, but did check email before leaving for the comedy club. Upon arrival I did get comments about my patriotic shirt. I said it seemed appropriate for being at the Capitol. One friend did a joke about wearing 'Double Flannel', I was thinking more about calling him Paul Bunyan as he had a winter hat on as well. I've seen him more often since he completed the rap/comedy duet tour at the end of December. After this I went to get two photo albums at Walmart, as I needed it for some of the postcards I had ordered on E-bay. Also since there are plenty of photos still in envelopes from Walgreen.

Protesting The Bank

I was passing by the bank earlier today and noticed the entrance was more restricted than typical, most of the glass panels were up. When I inquired within one of the tellers said some group was protesting the bank. Why, I don't know.
   When doing more online Emerson Hough research I may have found another book, but it is hard to tell at this point. Available on E-bay, and Amazon, is books known as 'The cowboy', Volumes 1 and 2, apparently published in 1897 and 1908. These are being sold as reprints. I know Hough wrote 'Story of The Cowboy' in 1897. There was also a link to the University of Iowa, which has some of his papers, about doing a book for a Western series. I don't see myself ordering it at this point, other things interest me right now. It was a recent reprint, just last year. Some of the items available on the
E-bay site include articles he wrote for magazines like the Saturday Evening Post.
   I am retiring a shirt the typical way I do, by ripping it up. I noticed a tear near the right cuff while at work, and knew eventually the hole would get bigger. This happened while at the comedy club. Liked hearing the show closer doing the 'Aggressive Cuddler' joke again, about his lady friend. I spoke some about the diner skit I am in to those I saw there. I am hopeful to find it online somewhere after seeing it this weekend. There was also one comic that used another comic by saying he was a unicorn. After the show I saw the aftermath of a crash at the exit I used, looked like a semi hitting a car. At work it was a typical busy Monday, doing the larger payoff report. I could have done more errands at lunchtime but didn't give myself enough time to do so, like get trash bags at Walgreen. So I got the trash bags after the comedy show. Also checked the loyalty program balances, it looks like I lost most of my points with Best Buy. The sad thing is I don't think I really care, when I don't shop there much. Something about an annual point expiration. It's 250 points to a $5 gift certificate, and little can be had for that amount.
  A notable event was hearing the news how former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop had died. He had achieved some press when advocating condom use. I recall being on a church work camp one time and when a fellow camper knew plenty about 'Nutrasweet' I said 'Thank you, C. Everett Koop'. No, I didn't mean it as a compliment by any means. Not at that age anyway.

Venus In Fur Play

    I went to see the play 'Venus In Fur' at the Jungle Theater in Uptown Minneapolis tonight. I had seen mention of it in City Pages, and it intrigued me since I had read about S and M before. Of course this is also the name of the novel, written by who gave us the 'M' in this term- Masochism. It was funny throughout, especially what Vanda said and did. First time at this venue, liked seeing plenty of art inside the theater. There was some S and M depicted in it, like the outfits, but little else aside from being tied up at one point and being slapped in the face.
    I had to be careful when walking over to the place after parking my car as I saw some people gathered outside at a nearby establishment. It sounded like this may have been a fight about to happen since it was getting loud. So when I took a picture of the venue I waited until I had crossed the street so nobody would yell at me. I usually pay attention to a 'Fair Warning' like this one.
    I haven't read the novel that inspired the play, but had heard of it before and read the Wikipedia page about it before seeing the play. The book is mentioned often in the play, so it was helpful to read about it in some form. With my upcoming schedule I was unsure of when else I could go see it, since its run will end in two weeks. But I said if I wasn't watching the Oscars tonight then I had the time.
   I made it home in time to see the end of the Oscars, and many of the major awards hadn't been given out yet. Of course Best Picture is awarded last. This award was announced by First Lady Michelle Obama via satellite from the White House. I hadn't seen 'Argo', the Best Picture winner, but I did see 'Silver Linings Playbook' and 'Lincoln'. Those two movies did win in other categories.
   After the play I did make it over to the grocery store, and used the gift card I got from the loyalty program at Superamerica. I picked up the card in the late afternoon after I had seen an episode of 'Little House' with my date. It was one where a boy wanted to see the Pacific Ocean as he had been diagnosed with leukemia. He had painted the ocean quite a bit before he was diagnosed.

Then, Now, Wow Exhibit

For breakfast this morning I had some Tagalong Girl Scout cookies. I didn't have much else to eat and didn't want to go out and get anything. I am used to these being fewer by the box than the Dosidos. I mainly like the peanut butter cookies, so it means getting these two though they are different. The Tagalongs are patties, and the Dosidos are sandwich cookies.
   I did go out to move my car for the snow ordinance, and I did see some get tickets on cars last night after getting back from the comedy show. I am used to the day-plow routes being in effect after the night-plow routes. I also kept finding grocery carts in my neighborhood, six in all, and took them back to the store.
   Sometimes I read online articles. On Yahoo I found one about an 'Internet Casanova', real name Ray Holycross. He also used various aliases. He is being arraigned in Indiana, as he was scamming women, apparently 38 in all, that he had met online. I agreed with some of the comments, such as
'Ladies, learn to love yourself more'. Another was 'Why is it that women keep falling for scary men?' But of course there are scammers in both genders.
   In the afternoon I did see the 'Then, Now, Wow' exhibit at the state's museum. It was a fairly big one, and I liked sitting in a boxcar for a few minutes. It reminded me of my dad's story about his bachelor uncle who hopped trains during the Depression. There was even something about the 35W bridge collapse, the back door of a bus that was on the bridge. It reminded me of where I was that night- I was home- and I fielded way more calls than typical that night from friends and family. The comedy show in minneapolis in the evening was actually a house party, and the diner skit I am in was near the end, after midnight. I had the last lines in it, but I'd like to think this is a good thing as it means I am more memorable this way.

Think Fast, Broken Glass

   I went to a comedy show tonight as a friend was the MC. When I arrived, fairly early, I saw somebody getting ready for the show and they spoke about the broken glass from the previous show. Something about it being called a 'Think Fast' show. My comment was it sounds like they may not have been thinking fast enough. I knew many of the comics in the show, one of them is now using a stage name apparently. It's a slight variation of her real name- the southern girl who works at the university. I parked at the university's ramp and walked a few blocks as it was good exercise and a good deal after-hours. The hotel ramp near the bar and comedy club can be expensive. I liked seeing a friend before the show, I helped him get a screen out to his vehicle. He tells me the diner skit we are both in will be shown at his show tomorrow, so I will have to find my way there.
  At lunchtime I did mail a button to a school, at the post office that moved recently. It was mentioned in our weekly 'News To Know' email as it is now closer to us, across the street. It would be inaccurate to say it is connected by the skyway, as the only customer entrance is from the street and not the skyway. I picked up another box of Girl Scout cookies, from the popcorn wagon. This is the same place where I got the first box, which I just finished.
  On the bus home tonight I saw a man wearing a PBR, as in the beer, cowboy hat, and plenty of bling on his hands and neck. He also had a cane and a cigarette. In the mail I finally got the postcard I sent myself from the weekend in Chicagoland.
  Tonight on 'Nightline' there was a segment about bookwriters, especially those who write for younger readers. It was followed by one about bodyguards for famous people. There was even a clip from the movie 'The Bodyguard', which I still haven't seen yet.

Strawberry 3 Musketeers Minis

   The lollipop girl often brings in candy to work, and this week it was a bag of strawberry 3 Musketeers minis. I liked these quite a bit and I was the one that finished them. Also notable at work was seeing a repairman- for the copier- using a vacuum cleaner. I said I hadn't seen this before but we're fine with it as long as it helps get the copier working properly again. It likely was a good idea that I made no jokes about the lonely Maytag repairman, even though my dad worked for the company so it takes on a different meaning than it does for most.
   I had seen the syndicated rerun of 'Big Bang Theory' before, but I liked it. This episode deals with Sheldon facing his nemesis, who was dating Leonard. He uses an extension cord on his laptop during their date, in many ways it was meant to be passive-aggressive or just plain annoying. The first-run episode was where Raj meets a girl from the comic book store, a continuation of the Valentines Day episode of last week. The girl walks out on the date, which was at a coffee shop. Then he mopes around for a while, refusing to go to work, and wants to just eat lobster that he ordered online. But eventually he snaps out of it because he gets another chance with her. His friends tried to intervene, as it was hard to ingore how he wasn't at work, but he asked to be left alone. Penny is in a production of 'Streetcar Named Desire'.  Amy, Leonard, and Sheldon attend it. Not sure why Howard and Bernadette were not there as well, though they are the sole married couple. They were at Raj's intervention. Kind of funny when Amy Farrah Fowler said she was no longer doing the primate smoking study as she was told it was unacceptable to throw their feces back at them, though it was fine to get them addicted to nicotine for the study.  

Shipping a Ferret

   At the comedy club tonight, the show closer was the Southern girl but not the same one from last night. She spoke of some things I had heard of before like weight loss surgery. But a newer one was having a brother in the porn business in Switzerland, and the cost of sending his wife's ferret over there. And how the mom apparently still doesn't know about his being in the porn business.
   I made some nice discoveries today when going online. One of these was on E-bay, finding out the number 9 postcard in the EC Kropp series of my hometown. It is Sunset Park, a place where I had played Little League baseball. It is a bid-on item instead of a buy it now. The other was about a play I have wanted to see for a while. When I was bored I searched for 'Our American Cousin', the play being shown when Lincoln was assassinated. It is hard to find. The reason why I've wanted to see it is why almost nobody wants to do the play: the belief that it's cursed due to its connection to history. It is at a school in Wisconsin about 40 miles outside Milwaukee, starting this weekend. I called the school about it, and was called by the director. It likely means introducing myself to the director when I make it there as I expect that they are impressed by some yahoo from Minnesota wanting to see their play. I did say that I majored in history, so them knowing this may help it make more sense. The logistics may be a little tough, but I will do my best to make it work. Hopefully the weather cooperates on driving there. I will want to see and do a few other things, like visit with my favorite aunt who lives near Madison and Janesville. The director did want to remind me how it's a high school play, I said I was fine with this as long as there aren't any microphone problems. I don't expect it to be as good as the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
   I looked at the buttons I had bought from the auction in October and decided to move some to the office. This included ones like 'Don't let the turkeys get you down' or 'Being held prisoner in a button factory'. Much like other items I've moved there, I'm doing this as I would expect that they would get looked at more there.

Smile and Wave Video

    At work we were asked to be part of a 'Smile and Wave' video. It took about a minute and it sounded like it was for a team-building event. It was my first day back in the office but it didn't take long to get caught up with things. But this probably won't be a busy week since i am doing special requests, unless I am asked to fill in for a colleague somewhere. I had hoped to see the new Post Office nearby but it looks like the public entrance is outside and not in the skyway. I didn't have my coat on, and it's cold outside, so it will have to wait. On TV I am still seeing a Honda car commercial about a President's Day sale, with Washington and Lincoln impersonators. What's memorable is how Lincoln will say 'Oh yeah'.
  At the comedy club tonight a friend did go onstage although he wasn't in the lineup I saw printed. He did do the joke about dropping a smoke bomb when leaving the room mysteriously, which I like. Also notable was seeing the Southern transplant for the first time in a while, the university employee. She did a joke about attitudes on being single, based on somebody's age. Whether or not they had already turned 30, and how those under 30 were still hopeful but those over it were not.
   I went grocery shopping tonight after the comedy show and the news, I really didn't have anything left. As usual I bought just what I needed for the rest of the week, which is less than my typical order. I just didn't feel like doing this errand last night, after getting back from Chicago. Actually I was at the grocery store last night, but it was to get just one item, a can of soup. I decided it was all I needed for the day.  I prefer just one visit a week, but I have done this before.

Charlie Brown Exhibit in Chicago

    This was my last day in Chicago, and the last day of the Charlie Brown exhibit at the Science and Industry museum. I made it there shortly after they opened in the morning, and went to a kiosk to print my tickets. It took me just over an hour to be satisfied with looking at the exhibit. There was plenty in it, including 2 statues to add to the total. One was from the Santa Rosa series, a 'classic' Charlie Brown. The other was the St. Paul series, a doghouse decorated like the prize-winner in the Christmas special. I have the doghouse booklet and this one was sponsored by Snoopy's Family Fund. I don't know much about this organization, but it may be run by the Schulz family in some form or another. There were some souvenirs about the exhibit in the gift shop but not a lot. I did find a suitable one for myself, and for a friend as well- a magnet. I had enough time to look at many of the other exhibits there, and liked getting a few more souvenirs like a smashed penny. There was even a molded plastic souvenir available for two dollars, I chose the steam engine. As usual, I know how helpful it is to have advance tickets to events. In this case, not long after I had finished the exhibit I noticed a sign up at a ticket booth saying it was sold out. It was my first time at the museum since 1990, when I went there with my dad. He wanted to see the U-505 submarine there. I did find it but didn't do the tour like before. It was nice to see a covered wagon and two stagecoaches on display in another exhibit, It reminded me of Emerson Hough of course since he wrote 'Covered Wagon'.
  I went to a 7-11 for breakfast this morning and got some juice and carrot cake, thinking of a comedian friend who does a 'Wow, carrot cake!' joke. I had hoped to see the Merchant Hall of Fame at the Merchandise Mart but didn't have the time after the museum. I took a bus back to the Loop, then a train back to the airport and made the train just before it left. I arrived an hour before my flight. I took the Metra train to the museum, but the schedule didn't work to take it back to the Loop.
   I found the other Snoopy statue inside the terminal when I flew back, and then noticed how one is in the baggage claim area now. This is the one that had been in the smaller terminal, but it will get seen more now. It in many ways fills the void since the firefighter memorial was moved to the Capitol. I had pizza at Old Chicago with my date, who picked me up from the airport. Not much mail was waiting for me, just Saturday's as no mail today due to the President's Day holiday.  There were some online surveys waiting for me, including one from the airline and another from the hockey doubleheader at Soldier Field.

America Runs On Dunkin Donuts

   Went to the Dunkin Donuts this morning and had a Cupids Choice and Brownie Batter donuts. Those two must be the specials going now as they were being advertised quite a bit. It makes sense on having the former since it's close to Valentines Day. I liked the Brownie Batter donut as I like brownies. I had orange juice as I prefer it over coffee. I got a picture of the sign outside that reads like a rebus, 'America runs on Dunkin'. I got a few other pictures nearby of some of my old haunts in Schaumburg, Woodfield Mall and my workplace. Saw a security guard take interest in me when I was driving away from my former workplace, the Woodfield Corporate Center. There appeared to be nothing listed on the sign so it may be empty. The adjacent building, same entryway, is A.C. Nielsen. A former colleague did speak of how the company had been sold, and the new owner hired their own people so he along with the others were laid off.  I did my best to get one of a 'Kentacohut', across the street from the Dunkin Donuts in Des Plaines. But it was still two separate establishments, the Kentucky Fried Chicken was in a separate building from the other two. I had eaten at the KFC when I lived in the area. Checked out of the hotel and then back to the airport to take the train to the city.
     I decided to cram a lot into one weekend, so it didn't surprise me much that I was unable to make it to Soldier Field for the start of the first game, Notre Dame vs. Miami of Ohio. But it was no big deal to me as it can be hard to sit through doubleheaders in any sport. I was more interested in seeing the second game, Minnesota vs. Wisconsin. I made it to the venue about midway through the first game, it was scoreless but the first goal was scored shortly after I arrived. Notre Dame went on to win it 2-1. I did eventually find a game program, on the lower level along with many other souvenirs. I did walk both of the colonnades between games and got a few pictures of the dedications there, medal recipients from various wars if I'm not mistaken. One of them was an O'Hare, from World War II, I think this is the one the airport is named for. A security guard at first wouldn't let me back through, but he was facing the wrong way if he was trying to keep people out of the club level. Wisconsin won the second game 3-2, after leading 3-0 and the end of the second period. When I first arrived it was early afternoon, so I wanted food and drink. But the line was really long, and wasn't moving at all. Thankfully there was a vendor with a bag of hot dogs and some hot chocolate as well. I got the last hot chocolate, and it would be hard to estimate how much time this saved me. I heard somebody later on complain to a friend how long it took waiting in line, they swore about it. Another fan kept saying 'Ski-U-Mah' and this is the Gopher fight song, another fan told him to shut up. I was getting cold sitting in my seat, so for all of the third period I was walking around and watching the game from whatever space I could find.
   Near the end of the game I was exchanging text messages with a friend, in order to get logistics figured out for having dinner. I needed to pick up my bag from Union Station, then get over to the Loop to check into my hotel. I rode a cab, a short ride, over to the Carnivale. I thought I had ordered steak, per the recommendation of the server, but ended up getting noodles with vegetables like mushrooms and brussels sprouts instead. I did eat it, tasted fine. It was nice to see this couple in person again, first time in a while as they had been out of town in some of my previous annual visits to Chicago. The husband said being like a rhino is a good idea. I set out to emulate the elephant as this animal is strong and has thick skin, and both qualities are needed to survive in this world. He is from suburban Detroit, and went to Ferris State, which was named for a governor. He took out a smartphone to look it up online. Also spoke of being friends with the owner of the hockey team in Sioux City, Iowa. We did speak some about baseball, being from Michigan he likes the Tigers. I said I had been to Tiger Stadium in its final season, 1999. Will have to find out about sending any pictures I have from that game, it was in April that season, a 2-hour 1-0 Tigers win over Boston. The wife, the one I worked with before she moved over six years ago, is now in journalism school at Northwestern. They spoke of how they may move soon, must go where the work is in journalism. There was some mention of Atlanta, or even the Carolinas, I shared my stories of visiting both places. I was called a fancy-pants when I was dropped off at my hotel, as I was informed how it was a really nice hotel- and yes I did like hearing this from somebody who lives in the area. I found a good deal at Hotels dot-com, much like last year when I was in town for the historian convention and wanted to stay in the city. It makes sense how sometimes these deals are done, as they must ask themselves if they want to rent the room for half-price or not at all. I don't need much, no big deal how it's a small room. I liked telling them about doing writing and comedy, especially about being part of some diner skits last month but I don't know when the one I am in will be shown to the public. I gave them business cards so they could read my writings.
   I really liked seeing them as it's nice to be around those who know us well. We all need this in our lives every so often, as these kinds of people can put us at ease when others can't and have answers that others don't. I got pictures with them before leaving the restaurant so I could better remember the event. The pictures are worthy of my 'ring of honor'.    

Prelude To Soldier Field Hockey

    I had a Cinnamon Toast Crunch breakfast bar this morning before my flight left for Chicago. I arrived at O'Hare in the early afternoon and found my rental car from Enterprise. I used to live in suburban Chicago and wanted to check out some of my old haunts before seeing a minor-league Chicago Wolves hockey game at Allstate Arena in Rosemont in the evening.
   The first order of business was to find a place to eat, I chose a Brown's Chicken as they don't have these in the Twin Cities and I did eat there sometimes when living in the area. I found one in Elk Grove Village, close to where I once worked, and had eaten there for this reason. I had chicken tenders as this is what I saw being advertised well as a value meal. I had been used to the fried chicken. Then it was on to Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, as I wanted some postcards and a pair of Bears socks. Lucked out and found both at the same store. I will be sending one card to myself and another to a friend. I recalled seeing a street named for football star Walter Payton near the mall, in front of a hotel, and I got a picture of the sign. Next was Des Plaines, where I had lived for most of my time there. I had a shamrock shake at the McDonald's which is near the museum, remembering Ray Kroc's first McDonald's. Memorable to me was how an old man kept bothering me, wanting to keep talking to me, while I was taking pictures of the historical displays there. Eventually, he was ejected as he was just loitering. I found a nice souvenir at a place called Gift Depot which was nearby, a die cast model Ford Mustang. I like collecting these as I already had a few, but the style on each is different. A friend called me while at this store and I gave out my schedule for the weekend, hopefully we will be able to meet up tomorrow. Then I needed to check into my hotel, the Motel 6 in Elk Grove Village. I often stay at this one while in the area. I rested up a little in my room, but not too long as I wanted to get on the road again for the Wolves game.
    Before entering the arena, I went over to the adjacent Target store in hopes of seeing their snack bar, which is cheaper to eat at than the arena's food. But it had been replaced by a Starbucks, and I don't drink coffee much. So I got a 3 Musketeers candy bar and left. I ended up getting a soft drink and a hot dog at the arena. I walked around the arena to see what all was happening, it was an 'Adopt a dog' night. I got a picture of a pitbull, but many dogs were available. I bought 3 souvenirs, the priority one was a Wolves shirt to replace the one I had back when I lived in the area. It had 3 small holes in it by one shoulder, and I usually rip up shirts when this happens. The other 2 items were a puck and a die cast model Zamboni celebrating 3 of their league titles. Now they have 4.
   There was a dedication ceremony before the game, a former general manager was being honored and the ceremony ended with a banner honoring him being raised to the rafters. The Wolves beat the Lake Erie Monsters 3-1. I liked being able to meet Wayne Messmer, who sings the National Anthem at these games, as he happened to be sitting nearby. And I did end up getting both giveaway items, one was a game program and the other was a plastic wristband sponsored by the Shedd Aquarium. The aquarium did have a table at the game, and there was an inflated penguin next to it. I did see somebody with a Minnesota Gopher hockey sweater on the video board, as there is a hockey doubleheader at Soldier Field this weekend. I am attending this as well.
   After the game I went to a Jewel Osco grocery store to get a bottle of beer and same peanuts. I've found this to be a good combination while writing about the days' events in my hotel room. I got a beer from Poland called Lech and kept the bottlecap. I was tired and I ended up falling asleep before I wrote as much as I had hoped, while I was watching 'Saturday Night Live'. Liked hearing the story of the self-checkout clerk at the grocery store who had to scan my ID for the beer. He said he was studying accounting at DePaul. In the postcard to myself I said 'Remember this guy'.   

Dominatrix on 'Nightline'

   I am watching ABC's 'Nightline' show and the leadoff feature is from Lisa Ling's 'Our America' series. There was an interview with a dominatrix known as 'Miss Nina'. BDSM as it's called has become more mainstream, as it has been depicted in movies. I recall it as far back as in 1987's 'Real Men' starring Jim Belushi and John Ritter. Belushi's character met a dominatrix in it. There was also mention of a book called '50 Shades of Grey'.
   I got pictures at a post office that will be moving, I did so at lunchtime. I liked the repeated artwork on the wall there, so I made sure to see it this time instead of drop off mail at another post office in downtown St. Paul. These things are made out of metal apparently, possibly copper. The five pictures were of a stagecoach, covered wagon, ship, train, and a World War I- era biplane. Makes sense as these are various modes of transport, and of course ways to get the mail where it needs to go. I didn't see anyone to get permission for this, somebody at the counter selling postal products must have been busy. So I decided to 'Be quick, and be gone' about it so there was little or no chance that anyone would notice and then complain. But when they are moving it may be a case of 'Who cares?' I did notice how a surveillance camera was in one photo. I got some outside as well, as I liked seeing the Postal Service logo built into the facade along with 'Post Office and Customs House' under it.
   On the bus this morning I saw the grouchy woman again. She complained about the winter, and much like before I yelled to her 'Move to Arizona'. A woman sat next to me when I moved to the back and told me not to encourage her. But she usually doesn't say much after she is finally seated. Then this woman tells me she has a story, like most anyone else does. Something about how she had a brain injury as a child that causes her behavior. And how she does clerical work for the county, and has siblings who are doctors and lawyers who check in on her. And how she has been banned from the bus before. Makes sense that she likely doesn't drive if she's on the bus all the time.
   In the evening there was another bus story. It was a woman who I could tell was switching between Spanish and English, I think there was a movie called 'Spanglish'. Eventually she kept making comments about seeing so many cowboy outfits near the Xcel Energy Center. Eventually I got out the paper and started reading it. I got to the entertainment section, and on the front page there was a picture of George Strait. I said 'George Strait concert, the country singer'. That's why you're seeing so many cowboy outfits near the X. She said thank you. Seemed odd to be clueless about it when there are big video boards clearly stating the upcoming events.
   Tonight I was listening to my car radio and heard 'Hey Jealousy' by the Gin Blossoms. It was a flashback to being in college. I once wrote how I at first hated the song as I thought too much about my own jealousy. But at the time I was in a bad relationship. Later on I really liked the song, as by then I had quit the jealousy and had ended the relationship. Before I graduated from college I drove up to Luther College in Decorah to see them in concert.

Galatians Verse in Spanish

    I was riding the bus home tonight and saw somebody receive a Bible verse from Galatians on a stickie, likely in Spanish. It was chapter 3, verses 26-27. It speaks of being children of God through faith, and being clothed in Christ. I did attend church more often as a youngster and still have 3 Bibles, but don't know that many verses. Two of them are Revised Standard and the third is a Good News version. Churches gave me two of them and parents gave me the third, one of the RSV's. I like music so I like Psalms the most as they are the closest to music. Also read Ecclesiastes in a popular college class called 'Quest For Human Destiny', where we also read 'Catcher in The Rye'. It was the summer version so we didn't watch the movie '2001- a Space Odyssey' but I found it for rent at a video store and still watched it.
   At work it was a free casual day if wearing red, so I put on a red sweater for a group picture in the main breakroom around lunchtime. A colleague, the lollipop girl, brought in some little boxes of Valentines Day candy. It was nice to do something to mark the day. I shared the story about getting a similar box from the extended family when I was leaving suburban Chicago nine years ago.
   I watched 'Big Bang Theory' with my date this evening. I like how they're continuing with what is expected out of certain characters, but with a twist. Sheldon is still picky-picky and a neurotic control freak hypochondriac, but now it involves his lady, Amy Farrah Fowler, more than it did. I would like to think there are some possibilities with the new character, his assistant, who bought the gifts for Amy as Sheldon claimed he was too busy to do so himself. I did watch some of the syndicated rerun as well, it was one I had seen before where they bought a movie prop at an auction, from an old time-traveling movie. When I was driving over tonight I heard on my car radio the song 'Tide is High' by Blondie. I know it's a cover, as the song was first done by John Holt. But I still like this one, it's the one I know best. I recall how it once gave me courage because I heard it and didn't want to end up hating the song later. I am fully aware of how music can be tied to memories, good or bad.

Colgate Travel Toothpaste

   I went to get some Colgate travel toothpaste at Target tonight as I plan on traveling soon. It's annoying how airport security is afraid of something like toothpaste. Thankfully a college roommate said the travel size was available in many stores, and I found it for just under a dollar. I've still been using the travel-size toothbrush from earlier, but I junked it when I got this new 'companion pack' as it was due for replacement anyway. I decided to go with the same color, green, my favorite. Though I like blue as well, as blue tends to go with most things. I did check the food aisles at the store, and yes there is some beer and wine there but not a lot.
   After my errand running I made my way over to the comedy club. I liked the Seattle comic as show closer, he did one about a mom mis-pronouncing words when reading a children's book. I can relate to this, and even said so after the show. I arrived late but the show hadn't started yet, there are times when the show doesn't start on time for reasons I am not always aware of.
   At work some flyers were waiting for me about wearing red for a group picture on Valentine's Day. There was also a card about spotting the warning signs of a heart attack, and a word find. I got the word find finished and submitted right away, along with a self nomination for the Communications Council. For the council, I had to wait until my boss was available to sign off on it. The word finds don't take long, based on past experiences.

It's Raining Men

   At the comedy club tonight, a performer was onstage and spoke of being gay. So the techie decided to play 'It's Raining Men' when he left the stage. Also notable with the music was hearing part of 'Who's That Chick' by David Guetta and Rihanna. I like the line about 'I just want to dance, I don't really care'. Much like 'Live Your Life', which Rihanna did with T.I., it resonated with me hearing the sentiment as I needed to get to the point where I don't really care what others think. And I have to live my life for me and nobody else.
    I liked hearing the Seattle comic much like I did last night, he did a joke about dumb people trying to compare themselves to successful famous people like Bill Gates and Tom Edison.
   I'm watching Jay Leno and he just interviewed basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. Then it went to a soil conservationist who was good at making free throws. He made 27 in a half minute, Barkley made 10. Musical guest is Jewel, but it sounds like a song I've heard before, 'Foolish Games'. It was in a Batman movie over a decade ago.
   I took three shopping carts back to the grocery store after I was at the comedy club, and made another visit to the recycle bin as well. I wanted to get a book-ordering catalog in there, and to make it worth my while I decided to see what else I could send there. Saw a catalog for junior college classes and it was from over a year ago.

Santa Monica Song by Everclear

   When I was driving home from the comedy club tonight I heard the song 'Santa Monica' by the band Everclear on my radio. Not my favorite song of theirs, probably 'Everything to Everyone' is. But still a nice reminder of seeing them in concert in 2001, with Matchbox 20. Their music is therapeutic to me since it speaks to my experiences more than some others do. Also decided to listen to 'Calling Me Home, Chicago' by Lee Montgomery on Youtube as I got it stuck in my head. This is a reminder of the song, at least part of it, being on ads for their tourist bureau when I would watch WGN as a cable channel as a youngster. I seem to remember the one commercial with George Wendt the best, unsure why. Though an online article from the Sun-Times, one of their major papers, said the most popular one was with ex-football players Dick Butkus and Mike Ditka.
   At work our senior leader did arrive with my service anniversary certificate, he must have been out of the office last week. I said I looked forward to next year when I can pick out a gift as it would be 15 years and he said he would like it if they offered appliances as gifts. I work in a finance office, but the company does also make appliances.
   Ah yes, the comedy club. It was fun matching wits with my fellow comics tonight before the show began. I said 'Sometimes I forget I'm around comedians' but I'm still not sure how I could. I let one of them know he was signed up twice, and he ends a call upon hearing this. He did go onstage tonight. He suggested I get a neck tattoo, I currently don't have any tattoos to speak of anywhere. It was a nice callback to his joke about having a neck tattoo. And I liked the 'Show of guns' joke about living in a rough neighborhood. The two comics 'pranking' each other last week were there as well. One of them lobbied on my behalf to get onto a podcast, a show that does interest me. The lobbyist has his own interview show, on the radio apparently on sunday mornings. Either show would be nice to do. When I spoke of doing 'diner skits' with a friend last month, it was said by one of them how he doesn't have this on his resume. When I was told I was a 'fixture' in the comedy scene, I asked if that meant I gave off light and illuminated the room. A comic that played a cop in the diner skits last month went onstage as well, doing the 'balding' joke that I like. I started laughing shortly after hearing the setup. Later on in the act I got a shoutout for it, and I like getting those. Even said so after the show. Another comic said he stops serving drinks when I am onstage, and few compliments are better than this one. The one that could top it is hearing I am a tough act to follow.

Credit Reporting on '60 Minutes'

   I watched 2 episodes of  'Little House on The Prairie' about Chicago with my date in the afternoon. It was about an adopted son of Mr. Edwards moving there to become a newspaper writer. We went out to walk the dog and that was all we ended up doing, along with snow removal. We decided to wait on seeing a museum exhibit due to the weather. Hard to say how much snow fell, but it was wet when I was brushing it off my car. The snow stopped after a while but I said I wanted to get going before it started again, and it did in the early evening on the drive back. I liked watching '60 Minutes' as I hadn't in a while. There was two features I liked, didn't see all of the first. One was about credit reporting agencies and how they make errors all of the time that usually aren't corrected even after evidence is presented. It was said that the industry isn't regulated enough. Then there was one about Daniel Day Lewis playing the lead role in 'Lincoln', likely since it has plenty of Oscar nominations. It was hard to tell what takes the place in the program now that Andy Rooney is no longer alive.
   The Grammy awards were on tonight, but I didn't start watching until I expected the news to be on but the show ran over by about 30 minutes. I thought about renting a movie from Redbox but I didn't give myself enough time to watch one tonight since I wanted to get errand running done first like grocery shopping. There are a few that interest me, but it can wait when I have the time to watch it right away.

Car Door Dent Waits

    The plans today called for getting the car door dent corrected again. Not sure how or why it has happened twice in less than six months. But I went to four shops, two were closed and the others don't do body work. So it must wait until Monday at the earliest. Didn't like the attitude at one place, as I even said 'this isn't truth in advertising' as there was a sign up saying 'total car care'. In spite of this, I still did get some other important errand running done like laundry. They are still changing things a little at the laundromat I go to, now there is a door up to one section but it is locked. Hard to say why, but if they want to see the other equipment gets used more then this will do the trick. There was also getting the museum ticket ordered for upcoming travels, but I decided to wait on the 'print at home' option since I didn't have the time to print it at the library and didn't feel like paying a lot for copies at a copy store. This is especially true since it means paying for the internet access by the minute. I was at a Dairy Queen and I heard somebody complain about all of the tragedy, and catastrophe on the news. I then said the solution was to turn off the news. Her response was that one needs to know what is happening. At the Taco Bell I had 'the box', I like the variety of 3 items in it. And I heard the song 'New Kid in Town' by the Eagles, also speaks of 'Johnny come lately'. I know what it's like to be the new kid in town as this happened when my family moved to Newton. I knew how Don Henley had done best as a soloist after the Eagles broke up, with 'Boys of Summer', 'Dirty Laundry', and 'End of the Innocence'.
   In the afternoon, I did another family gathering with my date. It was two birthdays being celebrated, and there was pizza served from Papa John's. I get this one confused with Papa Murphy's but one is 'ready to eat' and the other is just 'ready to bake'. I prefer 'ready to eat'. Cake and ice cream was served later, I had neapolitan as I like the variety being presented. I observed another brother feud about trash, this time something about how one brother just put trash in his pocket and didn't throw it in a receptacle. The homeowner, the dad, was on the phone a few times about his job. It was related to the 'Noreaster' that dumped over two feet of snow in the Boston area. After the event was done we watched a Charlie Brown special on ABC, a later one about Valentine's Day from 2002. It was the first time I had seen it.

Cleaning Out Wallet

   This evening, I was bored so I cleaned out my wallet, but it was badly needed. When I had so many scraps of paper for comedy notes it made sense to clear it out some. I got 13 notes taped onto three separate 8 1/2 by 11 pages. One is still in the wallet, the most recent. I need more time with the other as there is plenty written on both sides. I saw to it that I kept the picture from the Lady Gaga concert in the wallet, as it was a really fun show. Same is true with a laminated motvational speech titled 'Think Positive'. I found this in the trash in high school, but for me it was a treasure.
  I went out to eat at Chris and Rob's, the Chicago hot dog place. I didn't think of the possibility that they would have onions on the chili cheese dog, I still ate it but with about half of the original onions. I think I had a different order taker this time that doesn't know me quite as well. I had been there many times before but some of the 'artwork' on the wall I hadn't noticed much before. This included two pennants from the Museum of Science and Industry, I was there in 1982 and 1990. One of them had the U-505 submarine on it, I recall touring it with my dad for the latter visit. Also notable tonight was hearing a song on my car radio that was played at the high school dances, when I finally went to them my senior year anyway. It was 'Everybody Wants You' by Billy Squier. I liked it as at one point in the song he takes a break to grunt. Sometimes it was played as the first song of the night. For me it's a reminder of how 'You've come a long way, baby.' Since I once said 'I hate feeling like a head case' at these dances. This is what I sometimes refer to as the 'Lost years as an angry malcontent'. It is why at times I have felt the need to apologize to classmates and friends for this, who knew what I was like and put up with it. Kind of like I had been through AA, but I was NOT an alcoholic. I think they felt like it wasn't necessary, which may be true.
   This was also my service anniversary at my job, 14 years. I marked the day by bringing in 2 dozen cookies, I like how they were all eaten but i did my best to get the word out. I just had to eat four of them myself, two in the morning before leaving them out and two more just before lunch. It does remind me of how my dad said his service anniversary meant plenty to him. The lessons I've kept about work are more from Dad than Mom since he made it through to retirement at full benefits at the Maytag plant. I'm already wondering what I may choose for a service gift next year. The table clock for 10 years was really nice.  

Modern Love by Matt Nathanson

    I was driving to the library tonight to print some things and there was a catchy song on the radio. It was 'Modern Love' by Matt Nathanson. Especially memorable were lyrics like 'Store bought words' and mention of politicians.
   I saw two 'Big Bang Theory' episodes tonight. The first one was a syndicated rerun, where Sheldon heckled Leonard at a presentation and then their fight ended up on Youtube. The first-run episode was about couples moving in, but things were back to normal by the end of the episode. It looks like they're still keeping up the gag about Howard's mom being fat, loud, and not seen. In tonight's episode, you do see somebody moving in the background but not her face. She corners Raj, and then Howard said he wasn't rescuing him. He said to his wife, Bernadette, that we'll see him at his bar mitzvah.
  'The Simpsons' syndicated rerun was also a good one. It was where Lisa dresses up as a boy so she can take a better math class, after the genders are separated at the school. She gets the nickname 'Toilet'. I had seen it before but I still liked it.
   At work I was asked to help with a payoff report in the afternoon as it hadn't been printing for a few days. It didn't take long to do, but notable was how I accidentally hit a colleague with the door to the vault when I was coming out. This happens a little too often, unfortunately. But I do my best to be careful, on both sides of the door.
  More orders have been made for the upcoming travels, all that is left now is the museum ticket for a special exhibit. As usual there are Facebook invites from my comedian friends for their upcoming shows, will have to see which ones work in my schedule.
   A colleague did speak of a rumor how the Houston Aeros hockey team may move, but I had to check it out myself online. There was something in the Houston paper last month saying their future is in doubt, as their lease is up at the end of the season. But all it said was that they're in talks to try to keep the team in Houston. It's relevant to the Twin Cities as this is the Minnesota Wild's top minor league affiliate. Various cities for relocation were mentioned on other sites, which are likely to be filed under 'sports talk radio' which are often just rumor and opinion so I don't look at them much. These included Des Moines, Kansas City, and Sioux Falls. I did remind him how hockey (in this league anyway) failed after just four seasons in Des Moines, the Iowa Stars/Chops. The owners used the team as collateral for a loan to cover operating expenses, so the league had no choice but to take away their franchise. Iowa is not a hockey state, few high schools and colleges have teams there. I went to Des Moines (Junior-A) Buccaneers games as a youngster, and I had wondered how well it would work to have two teams in town.

The Impressionist Comic

   I went to the comedy club tonight, and the notable performer was the impressionist comic. He had plenty of props and did impressions of famous people like Jesse Ventura, Harry Caray, Darth Vader, and Forrest Gump. He went over his time and dropped the microphone twice. I asked the comic after him if she thinks he would be a tough act to follow and she said yes. But she did her very best, and it helped to refer to who she had to follow.
   I got more reservations for some upcoming travels, for a while I just had the plane ticket. But now I have the hotel room and rental car, so this just leaves the event ticket.
   On Facebook somebody said they bet I was at the Lady Gaga show at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul tonight, but I was not. I said the tickets were too expensive, as the cheapest price point was all sold out. This was likely due to having just one show this time instead of two. I am hopeful that there will be more shows in the upcoming years, as I did see the show in 2010. There was a feature on the news about high heels made for her, and the theme was bees as she is sometimes called 'The queen bee'. Though I am more familiar with her being called 'the Mother Monster' as she likes calling her fans the 'Little Monsters'. Something about whoever made them hopes that Gaga wears them during the show. I liked reading a recent article in the paper about what fans could expect from this tour, based on the journalist seeing an earlier show. I haven't picked up her latest CD 'Born This Way', but I do have the other two already.

Memphis Parks

    I just read an article on Yahoo that spoke of Memphis renaming three parks that were in memory of Civil War figures. They were named Confederate, Jefferson Davis, and Nathan Bedford Forrest. I often read the comments at the bottom, the one I agreed with said 'I think Memphis has more serious problems than their political correctness nonsense'. As a history major I have often said before how one can't rewrite the history that they don't like. The Civil War did happen, we can't ignore this. We had a dustup about Lake Calhoun in Minnesota, about somebody wanting to rename it since this lake was named for John C. Calhoun, who was a slaveowner. But the name remains. If we rename everything that was named for slaveowners it means being unable to name anything for George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. What is hard for me to understand is how as a nation we are often unable to get past this part in our history. I know how a civil war is written about greatly in any nation's history, but a comment my dad once made, about 'still fighting the Civil War' sadly applies.
   I did visit Memphis in 2008, toured the Sun Records museum and it was nice to see my college roommate. It was the first time since he got out of the Navy. Haven't had an in-person visit since, and he no longer lives in the Memphis area but I don't think this is the sole reason. We went down to the river as I wanted to see it and get a picture, as I am reminded of the Johnny Cash song 'Big River'. I have seen the Mississippi in all of the cities mentioned except Baton Rouge, but it's in the same state as New Orleans. The song starts with 'I met her accidentally in St. Paul, Minnesota'. One of the few songs I know of that mentions St. Paul. We ate at a BBQ place downtown and then went to a Memphis Redbirds baseball game.
   At the comedy club tonight, a friend was performing, and I decided to sit at his table before he went onstage. Before this, I was sitting near two other fellow comics were pranking each other. I like being able to go to the comedy club to laugh away any troubles that I may have, and tonight was one of those. I finally had a meeting about a job I interviewed for more than three weeks ago, found out I wasn't picked. I try to bounce back as quickly as possible, and it meant applying for another job. It sounds like I will get some help with my interviewing skills. I understand the importance of putting my best foot forward. Even though I thought I had improved in interviewing apparently I still struggle at interviews and yes I do hate them. But it may be just as well, as I am probably better off entering myself in a horse race that I have a better chance of winning. I get tired of the feeling that I am always a longshot when I am in a small office with fewer opportunities to pursue. I am trying not to take it personally on being passed over again, but at times it can be hard not to.

Microphone Inside Shirt

   At the comedy club tonight, one of the early comics was trying really hard to do a particular joke about the cold weather that the microphone and the cord was wrapped inside and around his shirt and even on one of his gold chains. It was way easier to take care of it when he had his shirt taken off. Before the show I said to one fellow comic how it sounded like he borrowed from the P.T. Barnum quote about a 'Sucker being born every minute'. And how being a comedian became less fun when it became a job.
  After being at the club I went to Walgreen and got some razors. While there I also got some candy bars as there was a deal for a thousand points on the loyalty card. These were Nestle as opposed to Hershey when I saw it before. I got two Baby Ruths and two Hundred Grands. Now I'm over halfway there on getting to cash in.
   On my car radio tonight I heard a song that brought back memories, as it was 'Lonely No More' by Rob Thomas. It was a reminder of my visit to New York in 2005, the day I was upstate in order to see the baseball Hall of Fame. I was on my way back to the train station in Albany and spoke of how I like the song since I agreed with the 'angry no more'. Though I was definitely a little angry all too often after this for a while.
   At work there was a quick meeting about personnel changes on management. The grouchy woman on the bus complained about the bus being late, and as usual I moved farther back so I wouldn't have to deal with her as much.

Super Pretzel

    I went to the Iowa-Minnesota basketball game at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, which had a noontime start. Minnesota won 62-59. Iowa fell behind early 14-2 but closed the gap to 29-28 at halftime. I had a 'Super Pretzel' at halftime, something I had considered getting this week as a coupon was expiring. My neighborhood grocery store didn't have them, and I didn't want to run all over creation just to use a fifty-cent coupon. It worked better to have one at the game today, as one was all that I wanted. According to their website, if bought from the grocer's freezer it is 6 in a box. I asked for an unsalted one, with cheese, and liked having it. I had a small Sprite with it. I had no sympathy for the server, who had used a calculator to figure out the total for the customer in front of me. The server charged me just seven dollars for the two items, but it was eight. I was given correct change back from the twenty based on this, but said nothing as it was an extra dollar. There was one time when I gave a dollar back, it was when buying Girl Scout cookies. I would have felt bad about it if I hadn't, as it was a little girl who didn't know math too well yet. The server was at least a teenager and should know math well by that age.
   The basketball game replaced what I normally do on Super Bowl Sunday, which is see an early showing of a movie that will be over well before the Super Bowl begins. In the second half I start paying attention to key stats which help understand the flow of the game well. Iowa fouled more, so Minnesota had more chances from the foul line. Minnesota made more free throws, Iowa made more 3-point shots. Iowa led on rebounding for a while, but when the game ended it was a draw, at 35. Both teams had a little trouble with the pressure late, as some passes were errant and out of bounds. There was also an 'over and back' violation. In the end the difference maker was the foul line, as Minnesota was in the double bonus and Iowa wasn't. So Minnesota had a two-shot guarantee from the foul line. Iowa had the ball last, but needed a 3 to tie and missed it as time expired. I am very much an academic as to why one team wins and the other loses, which of course brings me to the Super Bowl.
   I did some errand running and chores after the game and before I went over to watch the Super Bowl with my date. This included taking care of the dishes and trash and groceries. In many ways the better team won, as the Baltimore Ravens built an early lead and held on to win, 34-31. The Ravens led 21-6 at the half, then ran back the opening kickoff in the second half to go up by three touchdowns. Shortly after this, there was a power outage at the Superdome, and the game was delayed for more than 30 minutes. I liked how the official was straightforward on acknowledging it. 'Resume play, third down and 14, let's go'. It works for me! I kept hearing the announcers say the stoppage in play helped the San Francisco 49ers, and it may have but I kept saying 'three TDs'. The deficit proved to be too hard to overcome. This is especially the case when it meant having to go for two to tie it, and the pass failed. Then of course it was 'Advantage Ravens' late, as they were able to run the clock and take an intentional safety, so the kicker had more room. The halftime show was all right, I like some songs by Beyonce but wouldn't call myself a fan. Some commercials were better than others. I liked a Doritos commercial where a man was wearing his wife's wedding dress as he played dress-up with his son. A Budweiser commercial about a Clydesdale reunited with its master, to the tune of 'Landslide' was another one I liked. It sounded like the original song, Stevie Nicks with Fleetwood Mac, but it has also been covered by two notables: Smashing Pumpkins, then the Dixie Chicks.

Amish Paradise

   For some reason I have the parody song 'Amish Paradise' by Weird Al Yankovic stuck in my head. It of course is a parody of 'Gangsta's Paradise' which was in the movie 'Dangerous Minds', Michelle Pfeiffer was in this movie.
   I got some errand running done by midday, like going to get photos onto a CD at Walgreen so I can upload them to Facebook. There was also printing things at the library, since of course I usually go on Thursday but was at the hockey game. I decided to share one photo from the 'Diner skits' on my Facebook timeline so I could more easily print it. Then there was also getting an oil change done for my car. I got two photos added, more to come later when I have the time. These are the ones for the 'ring of honor', comedian friends number 5 and 6.
   I had dinner with my date and another couple in the evening. It was at Jensen's in Burnsville. I liked seeing the archival photos framed on the wall, one was of a drive-in movie theater which was demolished in 1976. We also watched a 'Little House' episode, the one where Laura goes to take a class in the summer in Arizona and hears Ralph Waldo Emerson speak. I also liked watching 'Life to the Max' after the late news, the features included going to a music museum at Lake Okoboji in Iowa. There was also quite a bit about the Clear Lake plane crash in 1959 that claimed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. The other two features were about somebody with Asperger syndrome, and showing ancient ruins in Guatemala. We also watched the show before it, 'Storm Stories', about the survivors of a shipwreck from 1982.

The Turkeys Comedy Show

   I went to a friend's comedy show tonight in Minneapolis, it was called 'The Turkeys'. It was billed as a preview. The show began 30 minutes later than originally scheduled, due to the winter weather. I decided to leave my car at home and take the bus to the airport, then light rail over to the Metrodome. As usual I knew many of the performers and after the show I asked for a picture with one of them so they can be added to the 'ring of honor'. The variety of the show worked well, standup along with videos in between. I saw the first of the diner skits tonight, the one I am in apparently is not ready yet. The skit shown was the one where the customer kept asking for more ranch dressing, then said there was too much and walked out. I had seen part of this one being filmed. After the show I did stop to get two Godfather's pizzas at Bobby and Steve's near 35W. Then it was back on the light rail near the Metrodome. Somebody next to me while waiting for the train complained about the wait, but I didn't have to wait long at all. He also made a comment about how many people were still out despite the winter weather. I said they still may have wanted to follow through on reservations made, like I did. He had heard of House of Comedy inside the Mall of America. When I left the train at the airport I had more than just the pizzas. I decided to pick up some trash as well. It included an energy drink can, a water bottle, and a Pringles potato chip can. Another drink bottle was stuffed inside the Pringles can.
   At work today there was a Super Bowl party in a cubbyhole that is a game room. There was plenty of popcorn and cookies. They went all-out with the football theme as the cookies were in the shape of a football. I did the beanbag toss game that was available. Also at lunchtime I got more points for my Walgreen loyalty card, two large Hershey bars. The candy cars seem to be a good way to earn points.
   I wasn't home for long after work. I wanted to eat at Taco Bell before leaving for the comedy show. After I got back I did watch 'Nightline' on ABC. There was a feature about raising Clydesdale horses for Anheuser-Busch, and about a 'Go Daddy' Super Bowl commercial with a popular movie and TV extra. The Clydesdale feature was also in reference to Super Bowl commercials.