Touchback Movie

   I did a tour of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis earlier today with my date. It was nice to see things behind the scenes. I saw a few rooms that I hadn't seen before, like a 'Red Room' where concerts are held. After the tour we went outside and saw what is known as the 'Mill Ruins Park'. It looked like the sign hadn't been up for long. The current Guthrie building has been there since 2006, so it's a possibility that the park sign has been up for a comparable amount of time.
  It was nice to go to the gift shop and get some souvenirs. I was unsure what I had when doing the 50th anniversary event last week and didn't want to duplicate anything. I got some postcards, one was of their production of 'Streetcar Named Desire'. I liked getting a magnet from 'Glass Menagerie'. This play I had seen at the Guthrie a few years back. It has a setting in my favorite city to visit- St. Louis- and my favorite era of history to study- the Great Depression of the 1930s. Yes I am familiar with how Tennessee Williams did both of these plays. He knows how to write passionate women well, and in another show I saw as a movie, 'Cat On A Hot Tin Roof'.
   After leaving the theater we did go over to Bobby and Steve's near 35W and I ended up with another loyalty card. Since I like the little Godfather's pizzas there I expect to get some use out of this card. When looking them up online I found out there are plenty of other locations in the metro area, but this is the only one I have been to. It has a convenient location.
   In the early evening we did get a movie at Redbox, 'Touchback'. It is a football movie with Kurt Russell as a football coach. I had considered renting it a few months back, around the time of the Super Bowl. It had a good story all around, a fantasy that reminded me of 'It's a wonderful life' or 'Field of Dreams', even 'Hoosiers'. There were some places where it was unrealistic, like having the state championship at a non-neutral site and a big difference in the size of the schools, but I understood it was still a fantasy. I told myself it may have been easier to film it in certain areas if this was written into the story.

Isadora Duncan Stamp

   I picked up a package at the post office this morning. I knew this year's Civil War stamps were in it along with first day covers. I like having the covers, and most notable would have to be Isadora Duncan. I first heard about her when I was doing a team building quiz when working in suburban Chicago. Unfortunately I think she is most famous for how she died, accidentally strangled by her own long scarf while riding in an open-top car. I did see a movie about her life, Vanessa Redgrave played her. I knew her sister, Lynn, better. I knew she was a dancer, explaining why she is in the choreographer series.
   After this I did go to Walgreen as I needed some supplies, like clear tape. I also decided to get some more baseball cards, in a pack of 100. I chose the pack where I noticed Kevin Youkilis was the top card. I liked seeing him play for the Red Sox at spring training in 2006. Before I went to the post office I did find more baseball cards to get into the binder. The ones I bought at the Twins fan fest in January were in a bag of tourist items that I hadn't looked at in a while. On the top was a reprint of the famous Honus Wagner card. Another reprint in there was of the Andre Dawson Topps card from 1981. I already had the original. The reprint had a different display on the back of the card. I did start using another binder, moving the pocket schedules and business cards into their own binder as there were so many of them. I got two Chicago Wolves minor-league hockey schedules in there after finding them in the same bag as the baseball cards.
    I liked attending Kaposia Days in South St. Paul with my date this afternoon. It was nice to get a button and see the car show like in previous years. We arrived there just as many of the cars were leaving, but we still got some good pictures. Before leaving we did go over to the Armour stockyard gates like last year as it a quiet place with park benches. There was some construction on the road so we had to park across the street to get there.   

Tacos, Nachos and Beer

   When I was riding the bus to work this morning I saw somebody wearing a short sleeve shirt with a collar that said 'Tacos, nachos and beer'. It reminded me of what Dad often would say to me when I was young. If it's advertising a particular food establishment I don't know where it is.
   After having the evening meal I did go take a long walk around the neighborhood, for over an hour. I picked up plenty of trash along the way, 30 items in all. As expected, most of it was food and drink containers. One of them was a plastic gallon-sized jug. It netted me four more pull tabs for the Ronald McDonald house at work. I at one point thought of the Pearl Jam song 'Rearview Mirror' as the lyrics seemed appropriate. 'I took a drive today, to emancipate. Saw things so much clearer once I saw you in my rearview mirror.' A long walk can help me think more clearly. I liked walking over an interstate as it is nice to be above the craziness.
   I liked seeing a 'Simpsons' episode this evening from last year, it was a parody of the movie 'Social Network'. I called it 'The Facebook movie'. I liked hearing a choir doing a cover of Radiohead's 'Creep' in it. I hadn't seen the movie since it was at theaters. Lisa had the lead role in this parody.

How To Make Money Selling Drugs

     I just read an online article about an upcoming movie called 'How To Make Money Selling Drugs'. It was mainly about rapper Eminem being honest about his addiction to pills. I had seen an interview on '60 Minutes' with Anderson Cooper in 2010 where he spoke of being near death due to an overdose. Hopefully I will have a chance to see it at theaters, but not every art house movie makes it to the Twin Cities. It sounds like an art house movie to me, a documentary.
  Tonight after work I went to get some Little Caesar's pizza. I did so after watching two episodes of 'Big Bang Theory'. I did some cleanup which included using another binder. Now the first day covers are in their own binder and the other stamps are in a separate one. I already have 20 first day covers and I know some more are on the way. They may have just arrived, as I did get a 'Sorry we missed you' card. So I can go to the post office and pick up whatever it was on Saturday.
   I had seen both episodes of 'Big Bang Theory' but I still liked seeing them. The first was when Sheldon and Raj did a double date and Sheldon brought along a 'green lantern'. Danica McKellar, who I knew as 'Winnie' from 'The Wonder Years', was Raj's date. The second episode was when the guys spoke to students at Howard's former school, and the girls went to Disneyland.
   I am slowly getting things better organized, as I did go through another box, which was labeled 'Tourist brochures'. I fished out some business cards and pocket schedules and got them into another binder. The same was true for some postcards. I had no heartburn whatsoever when I destroyed a business card from a boss I didn't like, this was from my suburban Chicago days. It's something that I have said before: remember the positive.             

Dollar Stores

   At the comedy club tonight the show closer was the Wisconsin native back from New York and spoke of shopping at dollar stores in that city. Most notable was something about how much of the shampoo in these stores is often in Chinese. When he arrived to greet all of the comics he knew he did pass on me as I had my hands full with popcorn and a beer. I would have put both aside if need be but we still acknowledged each other, so for me it was close enough.
    A server found me before I made it to the upper level, as I was sitting down while listening to a favorite song. It was 'Tonight, Tonight' by Smashing Pumpkins. It is played often at the club but I still like hearing it each time. Another one was a CCR song that mentioned Buck Owens. The bartender on the upper level did make a joke about the server stealing his customers. I was asked by this server if I planned on being back next week, and I said I was there nearly every week. Part of this was due to knowing I don't go outside once I have my beer, as I don't care to violate any open-container laws. I've been to some places before, like a concert in Chicago, that the ushers threw out your beer before leaving the venue. But when I see enough people I know inside to talk to before the show then I have little need to go outside anyway.  

Almost Adopted

   When I rode the bus home this evening a little boy, maybe age 10, started off by singing 'You're never fully dressed without a smile'. Then he did some tricks with flowers. When my stop arrived, I said this is where I live. He said not anymore, you're coming home with me. I still got off at my stop, but I was a little flattered that I was nearly adopted by this kid. Wonder what his home life is like if he felt the need to say this to me.
   It was a notable day at work, as we celebrated the 10th anniversary since our office was bought out. I did get the gift for the 10-year veterans, though a senior leader said it was a mistake. I got a glass egg, maybe a paperweight. I was with the company 10 years ago, but at another office, and arrived at my current office less than a year after the buyout. But I was told it would have been tacky to take my name off the list, much easier to let me have the gift like the others received. We had cake, along with catered food- chicken and salad in pita bread from a Greek restaurant.
  I went to the St. Paul Saints baseball game tonight against the Lincoln Saltdogs, the Saints won 6-4. It was Craigslist night, but we didn't arrive early enough to get the special tickets for what was being given away. We did see some books, and CDs as well, then there was items like a charcoal grill, furniture, a microwave oven, and some box fans. They waited until the end of the game to do my favorite between- innings entertainment, 'What's in the bag?' but I still liked seeing it.

Wrong Car Pulled Over

    At the comedy club tonight the comic who likes to do the bathtub joke did one about seeing a cop car behind him recently and he pulled over for the cop. But it was the wrong car, as it was for helping with another car pulled over. Sounds like something I have done before. The show closer was the Worthington native and did speak of Paula Deen, but I am not too familiar with the story as I don't have cable TV. I understand this was somebody who had a food show on cable. I liked hearing jokes from the Italian restaurant employee, like his 'I'm finally happy meal' joke along with ones from the sub-teacher. Before the show the sub did repeat my 'Other Hepburn' line to another comic when I thought he said 'Holly Golightly', the Audrey Hepburn character from 'Breakfast At Tiffany's'. I said it was the other Hepburn- Katharine- who was in 'On Golden Pond'.
   Tonight was the first time I had been on Facebook in a while, there were three friend requests there. I also let the show runner know that I was not attending some shows coming up due to scheduling conflicts like a baseball game and a concert. It's a band he likes so I may even see him at the show.
   It was also the first time in a while on Youtube. I listened to 'Wrong Side Of Memphis', and this is a Trisha Yearwood song. I like road movies, and this does tell the story of being on the road. The lyrics include 'Full tank of gas and a 69 Tempest' along with wanting to make it in Nashville.

Guthrie Theater 50th Anniversary

   I went to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis today for their 50th anniversary celebration. I got pictures there with my date, we got to wear costume hats. Plenty of costumes from earlier plays were on display. We did attend a lecture about who was Sir Tyrone Guthrie, the theater's founder. Later on we attended a sword-fighting demonstration in one of the theaters. There was plenty of free items, including a 'Cake pop', a lollipop made out of cake. Target was a big sponsor of the event, giving out gift bags including sunglasses. When we met a Scrooge impersonator, I asked what his favorite Scrooge movie was, he said it was Mr. Magoo along with the Muppet version. I said I liked the one with Bill Murray, called 'Scrooged', and hadn't seen those two.
   In the evening after watching 'The Simpsons' I went home and did the typical errand running. When I was at the grocery store one employee did refer to the low number of shopping carts still in the store. I said I could help finding some and I did. I ended up breaking my record for carts returned, as I found 12! I didn't think it was possible to best the old mark- ten. But I kept finding some- one, two, or three at a time. I liked the exercise from walking them back over.   

Back To The 50's Car Show

  I attended the 'Back To The 50's' car show at the State Fairgrounds this afternoon with my date. First time attending this event. I saw plenty of classic cars around town even before heading over to the venue. Even this morning when I was doing laundry I saw an Opel, which is rare. But it looked too new to be part of the show.
   After our tickets were presented at the gate, we did get a guidebook. But I didn't look at it all that much aside from trying to find the place serving Izzy's Ice Cream. We finally found it, but it was early evening by then and they had already closed up shop for the day. We still had a decent amount of food. Since they had pork chops on a stick, much like at the State Fair, I ordered one. I told myself I could have pizza anytime. We did see four of the Charlie Brown and Snoopy statues on display, which I liked a lot. In many ways it was like attending the Fair, in terms of the size of the crowd. It was nice to see plenty of activity there, as I don't know how many events there get big crowds besides the Fair.
  I got plenty of pictures of the cars there, about 30. The first one was a Studebaker with flames painted on it. Another was a little Metropolitan, we were told this was an American Motors car. One car said it was a 'Hillbilly Sportscar' and it was a rusted-out open-top car with a Maytag logo on the front. I liked seeing plenty of V8 Fords from the 1930s, the Gangster Era. Another was close to the 'Rain Man' car, I think it was just one model year earlier, and the movie car was a 1949 Buick. One car was a Fire Department vehicle, and there was plenty of Willys Jeeps there. One car had a 'Don't Tread on Me' flag on top of it, but it was windy and hard to get a good picture of it. I was patient and had to make multiple attempts before I got one that I liked. Another had 'Coalville Kid' painted on the door, it was from Iowa but not Coralville. This town is near Fort Dodge, not Iowa City. Near the end was a 1913 Ford, the sign next to it said it was 'cranky' and just turned 100. Of course 'cranky' meant having to crank the engine to start it. Even saw a limousine there. I did play some games in the game room, actually just skee-ball. I got enough tickets to get a 'Grunge Bob' sticker, which looked like a 'Sponge Bob' style rapper.
   I did place an online order with the Postal Service for some stamps and first day covers, six items in all. I couldn't find this year's Civil War stamps at two different post offices so I made it part of the order. All of the other items ordered were first day covers. The covers included Johnny Cash, choreographers, movie directors, Miles Davis and Edith Piaf, and the muscle cars. It was my first online order in over 3 years so I had to change my address before completing the order.

Ladder Golf

   I played ladder golf at work as part of the 'First Day of Summer' celebration. It was one of four games available in the hallway. I did get a few ropes on the target, but at first I needed to untangle the ropes. This was brought upon myself, as I was trying to hold all of them in the same hand. One of the event coordinators helped with untangling them.
    There was some golf putting as well, and it did remind me of an underwriting manager that I called 'Mr. Golf Man' as he shot the gold balls into what looked like an electric dustpan. Another game was beanbag toss, and the fourth was tossing discs into a little wood box frame on the floor. I did what was typical for this kind of event, as I waited until the end of the time allotment to participate, knowing how much time I had available. I wanted to get caught up on work first. Then after I was done I did go out and take a walk as I still had some time left on my lunch hour. Another thing they had for us was food. I had two hot dogs, they were likely healthier than most if it was a company-sponsored event. But as usual I waited to have the second, wanting to see that others had a chance at it as well. I just don't believe in being greedy, even if it is free food.

Commercial Driver's License Manual

   Before I made it to Gabe's Bar to see the College World Series tonight, I went to the library first to print some things. It was an odd visit from the word go. It started off with seeing one unattended computer on You-tube. So I shut it off, and just a minute or so later somebody came around and was disappointed to see this. I didn't say word one about how it was me who shut it off! I was likely doing them a favor so nothing was done in their name that they wouldn't approve of. After I ordered my prints I did the routine thing and went to release them. Except the printer was out of paper. Another patron said it wouldn't print due to this, and something about how it didn't print what he wanted the way he wanted it. Well it wasn't going to print for anyone as long as it was out of paper! Seems wrong to just leave it. But as Dad tells me my grandpa would say, 'He doesn't have any more sense than what God gave a goose'. It took plenty of paper before it finally got to my order, as according to the pages I saw it was a commercial driver's license manual being printed. I even wondered to myself if they were printing a book. Well, close enough. It even meant scrounging around not just another printer but also the recycle bin and flipping over pages to the opposite side before it cleared the order in front of me. There are subsections to test your knowledge, loading and unloading, and how leaks spell trouble! It also advises no smoking, and there are precautions for specific hazards like explosives.
   It was nice to see the College World Series game. I got there while it was in progress, but didn't miss much as it was still in the first inning and no score. North Carolina was playing North Carolina State in an elimination game, with the winner playing UCLA. It was no score until the 4th, when UNC pushed across a run after a close call at the plate. They kept showing the replay but the runner just barely got his hand in on the plate before the catcher applied the tag. The UNC Tar-heels added another run in the 5th, then poured it on in the 8th and 9th to win 7-0. It surprised me how the Tar-heel starting pitcher was left in for a long time, and was finally pulled with one out in the 9th. He had already thrown about 130 pitches and they were way ahead. The game ended on an unconventional double play, the outfielder catching a fly ball and doubling off the runner at first.
   Another patron near the end of the game commented how I wasn't watching basketball, as Game 7 of the NBA finals was on as well. In fact, I moved to another table when they switched over to this game. I said nobody was watching the monitor which had golf on, I'll move to that one. He said I was 'taking it too seriously'. Ha! You could barely tell that I was there! He was trying too hard to be ironical. I wasn't going crazy while watching the game, most of my talking was to the server. It also seemed odd how he had to comment about how I wasn't watching basketball. I said I'm watching baseball, I happen to be wearing a baseball hat. And I was, the St. Paul Saints. Hard to say what this patron's motivation was. I know it's a competitive world out there, sadly I see the annoying 'I'm better than you' attitude all the time. Not enough people believe in 'To each their own' or 'Live and let live'.

Johnny Cash Stamps

   At midday I went to the post office near my workplace and got a sheet of 16 Johnny Cash stamps. The quick bio does say he was known to many simply as 'The man in black'. This name is also on the shirt I have, which is a silhouette of Cash. It goes on to say how he may be best remembered as a country music artist, but he influenced other genres. I know this is true, as 'Ring of Fire' is a song covered by Social Distortion. Naturally they had to shorten his bio, but I liked mention of two hit songs: 'I Walk The Line' and 'Folsom Prison Blues'. It's a nice reminder of seeing the biopic 'Walk The Line', as both songs are in the movie. I had it confirmed for me how I would need to go online to get a first day cover if I want it. No big deal there, as this sheet does say in the corner how one can go to their web address 'for more stamps and collectibles'.
   I did do some more with the binder for stamps and first day covers, after I was at the comedy club tonight. I reminded myself how I had a Superman mini-puzzle in a bag with photos so I said it belongs in the binder since it's a postal product. Next to it was a magnetic greeting card from the 'Looney Tunes' stamp collection from 1997 where most of the image is of the Tasmanian Devil. In the corner is the 32-cent Bugs Bunny stamp. On the back was a label with the price, it was for $1.49 and was stamped Des Plaines, Illinois from August 2002. As I recall I got both of these items real cheap as they were part of the post office's clearance sale. The Superman puzzle postcard was from the following year, 1998, as part of the 'Celebrate The Century' series. This is the same series as the St. Louis World's Fair first day cover. Besides this I got the Lincoln stamp sheet from 2009 in the binder, along with 'The Simpsons' stamp sheet from the same year. Then it was on to the sheets of the Civil War battles from 1861 and 1862. I have just two stamps each left from these two sheets, but this was my intention. I wanted to save this many as I didn't do that with those from 2009 and hated having to order more online. In my E-bay searches I found out there is plenty of first day covers out there, which doesn't surprise me much. I found some of Iowa, and Minnesota. I think some of these were not just an anniversary of statehood but also a flag series from 1976. In addition, I found some that said 'Spirit of 76' with a drummer boy on it. Also found some of Yellowstone Park and of Charles Lindbergh, along with the Spirit of St. Louis. I told myself I should wait to order again until more of those already ordered arrive.
  At the comedy club tonight, one crowd member was popular with the comics as it was revealed he was having a birthday party, he had just turned 19. It was mentioned how his parents were there, but at a different table as he was sitting with his friends.  

First Day Cover Binder

   I finally decided to create a binder for the first day cover stamps I already have. More have been ordered and are on the way. There are 13, just the 5 covers of  'The Simpsons' from 2009 were bought new and the others were bought from E-bay. Much like before, it's nice to have a variety. There are 2 from the Pan-Am Games, 2 of Bison, and one I really like having- a gold replica stamp from the 'Celebrate The Century' series. It is about the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. I liked how there was an extensive description of the fair included with it. It's nice to know how many of them are available for real cheap, most of them are under $10 and many are about $2. I did see how I got a Johnny Cash stamp on the envelope of one of my E-bay orders. So this did prompt me to go to the downtown post office, and yes they have them. I need to go there again when I have more time to stand in line and get them. This is also a good one to get as a first day cover! It likely means ordering it online, which was how I got 'The Simpsons' covers.
   At the comedy club tonight, I liked how the show closer did some favorite jokes of mine- 'Extra Murder' and 'I can drive'. I liked getting a shout-out as well. But I know many comics like to hear my laugh, and they claim they recognize it often.

Warm Porta Potties

   At the comedy club tonight the show closer did a memorable joke about being at a festival and having to use porta-potties, since they get warm in the summer. I concur, as I don't enjoy using them and will use them when I have no choice. I hadn't seen this comic in a while, but understood he had been in California for a while trying to make it big there. I did see a Facebook invite for a show he did recently so I knew he was back in town, just didn't know how long. I like his 'pizza surgery' joke but he didn't do this one. I do understand that comics must try new jokes all the time.
    I was flattered when somebody sitting next to me at this show said they had seen me perform at another club. It was in reference to my flag shirt from Cracker Barrel. Of course I like leaving a lasting impression.
   It was a long day at work since it was a Monday, but thankfully I found a way through it. I still prefer a fairly busy day as the day goes more quickly. We haven't had many of these lately but will likely have more now that the lollipop girl is gone and another colleague is still on leave. The grouchy woman was on the bus this morning and said she hated Mondays and I said 'OK, Garfield' since she sounded like Garfield the cartoon cat.

Lewis and Clark Documentary Movie

   I went to see the Lewis and Clark movie at the Science Museum in St. Paul with my date this afternoon. I researched it in advance and found out it was a documentary produced by National Geographic. It was under an hour long but I liked it. Early on when a medal was presented to an Indian tribe it did remind me of what was on the back of some of the special edition nickels. I bought 3 postcards for a dollar in the gift shop, as they were all related to the Science Museum.
   After this we did go to the gardening place, Linder's on Larpenteur in St. Paul, to get a look at the Snoopy statue. We both liked finding it as we had been there two years earlier and was told it was unavailable, too damaged. Then it was on to the Historic Streetcar Station in Como Park. I liked getting a better look this time as there was no activity today. On the floor was depicted the various rail lines that ran through the area. Then it was on to the Popeye's Chicken at University and Lexington, for a late lunch. The line was shorter today. Don't know if I had ever eaten there when it was a Kentucky Fried Chicken. But I know it was a notable landmark when I wanted to turn to go to the Saints baseball games, as Gabe's bar is also on Lexington.
  I did get a look at the scores from the College World Series, at least the first three games. Indiana did win their opener, over Louisville. Now I need to figure out when I am getting over to Gabe's to see a game on ESPN since I don't have cable. It runs for just over a week so it means finding my way over there sometime this week.

Famous Dave's BBQ

   I did plenty of errand running in the morning and early afternoon, and capped it with a late lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ. I had a pushy employee ready to take my order trying to tell me about what she likes to have. I said I had eaten there before and just needed to figure out on my own what I wanted. Then I noticed she needed help with entering the order and said to myself: 'Oh, she's new. That explains plenty'.
   I had the Georgia chopped pork and the potato salad, and tried the root beer but it foamed up way too much for me. This happened to another patron after me. Also picked up a loyalty card, buy 6 meals and get the 7th free. It's one of many loyalty programs I've discovered out there. The ambience is good, since there are old ads everywhere, including car ads in the bathroom.
   I liked how I accomplished plenty, starting off with having some change counted and deposited into my savings account at the bank. it was just over seven dollars, five dollars of it was in dimes. On to a  shop on Grand called Avalon, where I got some postcards and a Charlie Brown bendable figurine. I had made a note of this place when I bought a few postcards nearly two weeks earlier while in the area for the Grand Old Day Parade. I liked hearing from an older woman there with what was probably her grandkid say how it was once called 'the Basket Shop', selling various kinds of baskets.
After printing some things at the library, I got advance tickets at O'Reilly Auto Parts for the classic car show at the state fairgrounds next weekend. I had hoped to have lunch at the Popeye's Chicken on University at Lexington, but the line was too long. There were balloons tied to the signs saying 'now open', it may have been the first day. It was flipped over from a Kentucky Fried Chicken.
    In the evening I did finally see my date, but we didn't do much aside from watching the Twins baseball game on Fox against Detroit. The Twins won. Life to the Max on WCCO after the 10pm news and Storm Stories appeared to be a rerun, we watched the first segment about the photographer of various Hollywood personalities and that was it.

Pocket Schedules,Business Cards

   I ate at Chris and Rob's in St. Paul tonight after an oil change for my car. It was the first time eating at this place since the botched pizza order in March. I went back to having the chili cheese dog and tater tots. I still like the ambience there as it's a Chicago theme.
   Eventually I got around to the baseball cards, since I just got more sheets for the binder. I got both sets for the St. Paul Saints in, and the Minnesota Gopher hockey set as well. But I was unable to get the minor-league Chicago Wolves (hockey) set in, as the cards were too big for the slots. But it's all that is left aside from a few specialty cards in hard plastic covers. This includes two of my own cards, as I found the one from the All-Star Game Fan-fest in Chicago in 2003! I was wrong about needing to check every box and bag. In this case it meant checking envelopes as well. An Allstate Arena ticket envelope had it. I had hoped it was somewhere and I was right. In many ways it truly meant this card was put away for safekeeping, a little too well. It compares well to the one from the 2009 Fan-fest in St. Louis. I am wearing different hats, and holding different bats as well. I've noticed how the sponsors are also different, as it was John Hancock Insurance for 2003 and Upper Deck Cards for 2009. They were generous with the stats on the back, with 55 home runs for 2002 and 52 home runs for 2008, as it went by 'Recent major league performance'. Now I must figure out where to keep them for the long term. But it won't necessarily be in the binder with the others.
    I filled up another binder, with plenty of pocket schedules and business cards. As usual, it did lead to destroying some of them as I realized I valued them less compared to others. Notables in this binder are the Blockbuster Video membership card, which I haven't used in about two years. There are also some loyalty cards, like the obsolete one from Super-America. Notable still is my nametag from one of my jobs in college, saying 'Physical Plant, University of Iowa'. I trimmed a little of the plastic off so it would fit the slot. I thought about putting my student ID in as well but noticed my social security number is on it so I am finding another place for it that is much less public. Each card says something about my life, like places I've traveled to in the case of transit cards. It says there still is 15 cents on the transit card from Washington, DC, which I last visited in 2009. There are plenty from suburban Chicago, which was expected as I lived there for nearly 6 years. Some are business cards from my employer, mostly management I think. There's a card for a taxi company in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where I attended a Van Halen concert in 2004. Pocket schedules from Iowa Hawkeye sports as well as baseball teams (major and minor) are also common. Besides my pool pass from Des Plaines, I also found my library card and my Illinois driver license. There are 2 Monopoly game boards from McDonald's. I had two Subway 'Sub club' cards, but pulled a stamp off of one and destroyed the vacant one so now I have one card with three stamps. There's a 'Mood card', and various comedian cards. There's the reminder of the transition to the Twin Cities, as I see a card from the Econo-Lodge in Madison, Wisconsin. I stayed there on the way to moving from suburban Chicago. There's even a pocket schedule for the Minnesota Wild for the season that wasn't in the NHL, 2004-2005.   

Pringles One-Dollar Can

   After watching the two episodes of 'Big Bang Theory', both reruns, I went to the library to print things. The syndicated rerun may have been one I had seen before, where comedian Lewis Black was a guest star. Howard and Sheldon had a bet about a cricket they had found. The prime time episode I had seen before, it was the Valentine's Day show. It was where they introduced a lady friend to Raj. I looked through where I kept some of my E-bay orders as I wanted a good idea of the stamps I already have, as I just ordered some more- baseball player stamps from foreign countries. This was why I didn't have much time before closing at 9pm, but I made the most of my time there.
   After I was done at the library I went over to Target to get more sheets for the baseball cards. I got 70 more sheets and that may be enough for now. I also got a one-dollar can of Pringles chips. As expected, I had it eaten before I had finished the drive home. This was why I was careful with what to buy, as it was the smallest package I knew of- and I understand the importance of portion control. The Twins-Phillies game was on the radio, it was in the 7th and the Twins had just fell behind. Some of the pages printed at the library were related to the writer convention I hope to be attending, as I wanted to free up space in my email account. I  still was reading the emails to stay informed about what was being discussed. It meant shrinking it to get all of the text to get it on just one page.  

Candidate Statement

    I finally submitted a candidate statement tonight in hopes of going to the writer convention in Chicago later this summer. I knew I was running out of time as the deadline is tomorrow. I wanted to see I was getting it done right so other things were more important for a while. It meant looking through my box of documents to find my previous membership renewals and the like. I knew I had some things to do when I got home from the comedy club, and this was one of them. Another was  writing out a check to mail a bill, along with shredding junk mail.
    My statement may have been brief but I wanted to be to the point. I saw that some officials with my chapter were copied on it when I sent it to the election committee. I did speak of being at the previous convention, two years ago.
   The billing cycle just started over with Bill Me Later, so I decided to order some more items on E-bay. This included postcards of stadiums from various World's Fairs. This will add three more fairs, and lower the average some as I do like the variety available. Since there is so much out there I see no need to just get souvenirs from one or two fairs. I also decided to get some more first day covers, as these are also nice souvenirs to have.
   It was a nice time at the comedy club tonight. I was onstage and liked being able to try out some more new jokes. This included sharing the recent story about riding the bus to and from work, along with seeing my dad this past weekend.

Hometown Hawkeye

    I went to an event after work tonight, as the University of Iowa president was speaking at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. While there I did pick up a sticker that is in the shape of the state of Iowa, and has the Herky logo in the middle. It says 'Hometown Hawkeye' and 'Hopefully you will display this exclusive cling on your car, business, or office window'. I was confident that I didn't have one of these yet. Some of the other items there looked familiar, like the round stickers and the alumni association buttons. Already have two of each, so it means displaying one at home and one at the office.
   This event of course meant a different route to the comedy club tonight, but I didn't mind. I hopped onto the light rail to get there. One comic said he was wearing sunglasses on stage as he just had Lasik surgery.
   We found out the 'Lollipop girl' isn't coming back, after being out on Monday. The boss packed up her belongings and I decided to see if there were any supplies left behind. I did find some staples, so I was pleased to find something of use. It means I will have to get up for staples less often for a while. It also meant I was busier than typical, as I was just one of two people in the department today.

Ambivalent Enthusiasm

   When one performer took the stage tonight at the comedy club, he said there was 'Ambivalent enthusiasm'. It was in many ways equivalent to saying 'Lukewarm reception'. This was a comic I hadn't seen in a while, who said his stage name is a variation of his real name, just lopping off the last name as it is too long. Sometimes I do say I am ambivalent about things, as it can describe the situation well. But I don't like BEING ambivalent. I don't think I've met anyone yet who likes being ambivalent. Of course I do have enthusiasm for certain things in life, and going to comedy shows is one of them. Otherwise I wouldn't go as often as I do. But I also know that the opening reception by the crowd isn't as important as what follows it, especially if the comic is funny enough. So while openers can be important, it is not the be-all end-all. This applies to not just comedy, but to most anything else in life.
   There was no postal mail waiting for me after work, which is not typical for a Monday. Usually there is plenty, the highest volume for the week. As far as I know it wasn't a postal holiday.  It's just as well as when there is mail I usually end up shredding some of it, whatever is junk. Most of the time it is a non-profit that wants my money.

Beatles Song in German

   When I was driving back from Iowa this morning and afternoon I heard plenty of music on the radio. I came across one show covering Beatles music, including one song in German- 'I want to hold your hand'. The melody and instruments sounded the same, just the words were different. I even waited until the song was done before I got out of the car to gas up in Ames. I got some postcards at this stop as well, some were statewide cards and another was of a covered bridge near Winterset.
  Also notable was hearing two different versions of the song 'Boys of summer'- Don Henley's as well as the one by the Ataris. I knew there was a small variation on the lyrics- 'Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac' was changed to 'Black flag sticker' in the Ataris version. It shaped up as a fine drive, though I was getting tired and made more stops than on the previous day's drive- today it was three instead of two. It was nice to stop for a McDonald's ice cream cone near Owatonna. I was listening to the first game of the split doubleheader the Twins were playing against the Washington Nationals. The Twins were trailing in the lid-lifter and I found out they ended up losing both.
   In the evening I did have dinner with my date at an Old Country Buffet in Burnsville. It was nice seeing the art on the wall as much of it was about the local sports teams, especially the Twins and Vikings. There was some copies of Norman Rockwell paintings as well.  

Tom Vilsack, Former Governor of Iowa

   I do have some odd items in my collection. One of them is a postcard inviting me to an event where then-Iowa governor Tom Vilsack was having a reception about jobs in the state, from 2004. It was nice meeting the governor then, at the Depot in Minneapolis, so named as the hotel used to be a railroad depot for the Milwaukee Road and still has the clock tower from it.
    In other issues, I had a dream that I met the current governor, Terry Branstad, while doing a tour of the Capitol and he asked me to complete a survey. I am sure the governor has more important things to do than this!
   I like to analyze my own dreams, and I think I likely had this on my mind as I was on my way to Iowa for the weekend. I went to Des Moines to see an Iowa Cub baseball game with my dad. Before I made it to Des Moines I stopped in my hometown of Newton. It was just after 1pm when I arrived so the first thing I did was eat at the Maid-Rite. For those who are not familiar with this eatery it is a diner that serves loose-meat sandwiches. I had a Cheese-Rite. After this I went to Brown's Shoe Fit as they were having a liquidation sale. I had read about this in advance online. I looked at the winter boots and shoes and said they were too expensive, but I have a need for socks as well. So I bought two pairs of socks, I think they are wool so I don't have those kind too often. On to the Dairy Queen to have a Blizzard treat. Then to an antique mall on the town square in a former JC Penney store. I made some nice finds there as usual. This time it was two Maytag books and a 1982 World's Fair postcard, of course that year it was in Knoxville, Tennessee. One of the books was a laundry encyclopedia, second edition. I already had the third and fifth. The other book was called 'Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow'. It covered the company's history at the close of World War II. I knew both were rare, didn't see them much on E-bay. With the World's Fair postcard I now have 13 from 6 different fairs, and I like the variety.
  As expected, I took pictures everywhere I went. This included Emerson Hough School and the former Rock Island railroad depot. My last stop before leaving town was Maytag Park to find the log cabin. There was a birthday party in progress, saw some balloons and a cake inside the cabin. But most of the partygoers were oblivious to me. This is the way I preferred it. Though I did announce myself to a few, saying I was just there for pictures as I was interested in the history. It was called the Kiwanis Cabin, after the organization that donated it to the park. Two different signs inside mentioned the donation, one said Maytag Park and the other said the Jasper County Fairgrounds, as it was the fairgrounds first. I had meant to find it in a previous visit but ran out of time.
   In Des Moines it was raining a little when I found my dad at the hotel near I-35/80. I said I wanted to see the Lincoln and Tad statue at the State Capitol so we did. I liked seeing all of the monuments there, as expected many of them were war memorials. I also liked finding the one from a Japanese city that was given after relief from a typhoon. It was one I had read about in my mom and dad's World Book encyclopedias as youngster. It did help to print the picture from the article that mentioned my 8th grade history teacher helped with the fundraising on the Lincoln statue. It was always in the back of my mind about what was there as Dad would often say that was the Soldiers and Sailors Monument off in the distance while at Iowa Cub games.
   At the Iowa Cub game I am thankful they got the game in. At first I wasn't sure since there had been plenty of rain, and even some during the game. The Cubs beat Round Rock 5-4, the Rangers affiliate. I bought a program and scorecard as usual, and after the game I got a pennant. The Cubs had an early lead due to a 2-run home run.
   Back at the hotel after the game I was unsure if we got good neighbors as they were outside for a while having some drinks and talking. But I don't see my dad much so I talked with him for a while, and I think their party was done first.

Jiffy Lube Postcard

     I was getting caught up on going through the mail and noticed I had two Jiffy Lube postcard coupons. Upon closer examination, it revealed that one of them wasn't mine. When I discovered this I dropped the other one back in a mailbox. This has happened before, where I get another person's mail by mistake. There still was a month to use the discount so it's still valid.
   I did work on the baseball cards some more. I now have the Iowa Cubs team set from 2006 in a binder now. It was likely a stadium giveaway. I did the same with a 50-card set called 'Baseball's all-time greats'. It had 7 of the 8 recipients of the President's Medal of Freedom, all but Buck O'Neil. Much like before, I quit for the night when I ran out of sheets.
   I'm still discovering plenty of World's Fair items. It helps that I am expanding the search beyond just the ones held in North America. I've been finding postcards of American pavilions from various fairs. One of them was a replica of Washington's Mount Vernon home, from a Paris expo in the 1930s. Also found some buttons, and brochures or ads from specific pavilions like the GE pavilion. The Wikipedia article I had printed did speak of how there is a seemingly endless amount of souvenirs, available at garage sales and estate sales. But the article didn't mention E-bay, where I've mostly been searching. I did check Delcampe a little, a European auction site similar to R-bay. They would be even more likely to have plenty from fairs held in Europe.

Progressland- World's Fair

    I am still finding more World's Fair souvenirs as I am still trying more searches. This included a brochure about 'Progress-land', the General Electric exhibit at the 1964 and 1965 New York World's Fair. I already have 3 GE postcards, each from a different World's Fair. This would complement it well. It looks like they are on another postcard, from the 1962 fair in Seattle but it was not entirely obvious. One sees the GE logo in one corner of the postcard about the industrial exhibits. Not all of the listings for this particular postcard mention it. Another postcard I found was a of the American pavilion from the 1970 World's Fair in Osaka, Japan. It looks like an inflated domed stadium, like the Metro-dome in Minneapolis. There was dual language on the back. It really comes as no surprise how I am mostly finding souvenirs from World's Fairs held in America, as it appears most of the sellers are from America as well or Canada. I am also pleased that I have been added to another Facebook group about a World's Fair, most recently Expo 67 in Montreal. It is the second, the first was the New York fair from 1964.
   I went to see a friend perform in a comedy contest tonight, he didn't win the night but still may advance to the semifinals later this summer. I just had to move up some of my errand running- like printing things at the library- in order to be there on time. Also a perfect excuse to go over to Bobby and Steve's to get a Godfather's Pizza! I knew well enough to avoid staying all that long after work, for a networking event across the street. It was nice to see a senior leader at this event that I like- the St. Louis native. He had to take a call so I was unable to say I was leaving. But I did like hearing about things like a rare baseball hat he owns that looks like a derby hat.
   There still is the odd from riding the bus. I was next to a man this morning who was trying to call about somebody he knows who is in jail, something about felony witness tampering.   

Mistake By The Lake

    I am still discovering things related to world's fairs held in America! When checking for souvenirs, mostly postcards, on E-bay I eventually decided to change the key words a little. Besides 'World's Fair' I knew sometimes it helped to try 'Exposition' or 'Expo'. Since an interest of mine is to find stadium postcards, as I already have New York's Shea Stadium, I also tried 'stadium, park, and field'. This led to finding some more world's fairs like the one in Cleveland in the 1930s, the Great Lakes Exposition. Cleveland Stadium was part of some of these postcards, and one of its nicknames was 'The mistake by the lake'. I knew how baseball's Indians and football's Browns played there. No mention seemed to be made of the World's Fair. Hard to say why, though the stamps I found for this fair didn't seem to be legal-tender postage stamps. This is another interest of mine- the first day covers. I visited Cleveland in 2002, but the Indians were playing at Jacobs Field by then.
   Another one I found, due to trying 'Exposition' instead of just 'World's Fair' was the 1926 Philadelphia fair, the Sesquicentennial Expo. A stadium was found here as well, the one named for President Kennedy after he was assassinated. It has since been demolished, same as the one in Cleveland. But it appears in both cases how I did end up in the general area of the fair when I was on vacation there. It appears JFK stadium was in the sports complex where baseball's Phillies and football's Eagles play in, and I did see 2 Phillies games when I was there in 2003. Then there's the World's Fair in Dallas celebrating the centennial of independence from Mexico, around the same time as Cleveland's. I was confused a little when I saw a football game at the Cotton Bowl in 2010 and at the state fairgrounds there was some mention of President Franklin Roosevelt making a speech there. This was likely in reference to the World's Fair and not the state fair, as I know presidents often do speak at these fairs.
   I know why I didn't find this one earlier, as the Wikipedia article I had didn't specifically mention them in the article about world's fairs. For Philadelphia it was just the earlier one, 1876. Apparently it was just the ones recognized by the Bureau of International Expositions. I am also finding out how in some cases the souvenirs I found on E-bay are not necessarily vintage. Very little was found related to the 1898 fair in Omaha, aside from a reprint of the button. But of course if the fair has been a while, it may be hard to find vintage souvenirs. In the case of Omaha's fair, they would be antiques by now. Getting something from this fair would also be nice, as it is another city I have visited, for the College World Series. It likely means changing the game plan a little on what I order, wanting to get something from as many fairs as possible instead of just focusing on Chicago and New York. I counted the fairs listed in a Wikipedia article and it had 18 different cities with World's Fair articles, 20 if you count Canada. Currently I have postcards from 5 different fairs, and 4 different cities.
  It was nice to see somebody at the comedy club who happened to be from New Ulm. He said he had been attending shows for a while and just recently became a performer. I spoke for a while how I visit there annually for Oktoberfest.

Baseball Card Box Finished

   After I was at the comedy club tonight, I worked on the baseball cards again. So now the box of a thousand cards is finished. I hated seeing as many duplicates as I did near the end, as it was higher than in the first half. But I think it was still under 10 percent. And now I have three full binders. Also noticed how I needed to get some of them moved to the fourth binder as they were minor league cards. It is mostly team sets that are left now.
   I did research first day cover stamps some more, and I was pleased to find one honoring the Huguenots and Walloons arriving in America in the 1920s. I found plenty for world's fairs as well, for most any American city that has hosted one since 1926 I think- Philadelphia that year. As usual, I know how it is helpful to print pictures of the listings. There are about 200 of these E-bay listings that I am following now. When I marked the priority ones just 14 of them made the list- in terms of ones I expect to order in the upcoming month.
   At the comedy club tonight the contest winner from last week was onstage again, and the MC did refer to how it was a tougher crowd than last week as it was a smaller crowd. But I was still laughing.

Doesn't Like Perfume Or Smoking

   The grouchy woman said she hates having to smell other people's perfume or anyone who smokes. Based on past experiences, she doesn't like anything. I said 'OK, Garfield' when she said she hated Monday mornings.
   I am nearing the end of the box of a thousand baseball cards, as about a quarter of them are not yet in the binders now. I liked doing another rearrangement, by starting to use another binder. So now there are 10 teams in a binder, grouped by region- east, west, and central.
   At work it was busier than what I expected, as I am assigned a small payoff report this week. But I was asked to help out in various ways, including perfecting titles- something I like doing- as a colleague was out of the office today.
   At the comedy club I had somebody ask about where to enter, I said around the front by the neon sign. He was first tonight and ran the light. I give advice like 'don't run the light' if they ask, but otherwise I don't. The pit bull owner did a joke about all of his 'Star Wars' collectibles, including how some are available as 'adult toys'.

Grand Old Day

   It was nice to see Grand Old Day, finally. I arrived with my date while the parade was still in progress, and early on I did see a former colleague, the theater guy. He was giving out coupons as a way of promoting the Renaissance Festival. It was a thrill to see him again. We did walk the entire part of Grand Avenue blocked off for this one-day festival. I had a gyro sandwich and some mini donuts. I liked getting a roller girl trading card as a souvenir, which has already been put into the binder. There were some other postcards I got as well, for advertising purposes. Then eventually I got some at a shop just before we left to go back home on the bus. There are six, two were from 'The Simpsons'. Also got one of Audrey Hepburn in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', two of Minnesota, and the final one was the French black cat art which is a lot like the framed artwork I already have. But I like the postcard more so I see myself getting rid of the framed artwork at some point.
   In the evening I called my dad to give an update on the visit to Des Moines for an Iowa Cub game. After this I did pick up on the baseball card project again. I now have over half of the box of a thousand cards in the binders now. I did see some for the USA National team. There may be a higher percentage of Topps cards in this second row. I did get some more duplicates but there still hasn't been all that many. As expected, there aren't many for the expansion teams from 1993 or later. There are a total of just 35 cards for these four teams: the Marlins, Rockies, Diamondbacks and Devil Rays.

Monogram Bathrobe

    I have a monogram bathrobe, and noticed during the moving of items for the exterminator that I hadn't washed it in a while. It was one of many things washed today. I had it when I was living in suburban Chicago, so I've had it for over a decade now. It was nice how the monogram was offered when buying it in a store. I had to send it out to Alabama if I'm not mistaken. The monogram part is just buttoned into a pocket, so it is just an accessory.
   I had to deal with an idiotic patron wearing a New York Mets hat. I was wearing a St. Paul Saints jersey and he asked me if I was familiar with the Saints and their history, and I said I was. What didn't help was that he started off with a weak joke, how it takes longer to dry if staring at it. Well did he realize that I was pulling out my cellphone and about to make a call? Then he repeated himself, then I said 'I heard you the first time'. This is when he said he was just 'Trying to be funny', which is just trying way too hard. This will likely become a joke in my comedy routine, trying to figure out how but I know there is some good material available. This was in the early afternoon, wasn't sure what else I would be end up doing for the rest of the day. Not much of interest to me on the movies currently at theaters. There are plenty of movies I own on video, and I watched my copy of 'Bucket List' with my date. I enjoyed it a lot, may not have seen it since it was at theaters. 
   I did get farther on getting baseball cards into the binders but had to stop when I ran out of sheets. I did get some more at Target so I can resume this project at some point. I have well over a thousand cards already in the binders but I have a good deal more to go.