survive the game movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'survive the game'. i recognized bruce willis in it. when i searched it on wikipedia it was re-directed from 'killing field'. it was about 2 cops trying to take down drug lords. not everything made sense though. for one thing, bruce's character is shot early on and one is led to believe that he died, but he didn't. then there is a car chase and it ends up at a farm, and the resident of the farm is forced into the fray. there is back-story about the farmer recently losing his wife and daughter in a car wreck, apparently caused by him being a distracted driver. the car chases are good in it, but the movie wasn't that great. the drug lord's henchmen were inept, to say the least, and there was some bickering between two of them because one is american and the other is british. picking off one of them at a time reminded me of the second 'crocodile dundee'. 

after i dumped the movie at the gas station i went on to cane's chicken in eagan and decided to use the drive-through line, it moved quick. previously i had refused to use it, but it looks like they are drive-through only for a while. at least they were open, there is a taco place near me that has been closed on sundays for a while. i got another charlie brown souvenir, the plastic bag the order came in. much like my earlier visit, it tasted good. three chicken fingers, crinkle cut fries, texas toast. i got pictures of the small cardboard cutouts of the characters planted in the ground, including linus holding up a sign saying 'welcome great pumpkin'. i went home and ate there, watched the bears game, they were leading for a while but lost to the 49ers. i laid down for a while after the game ended, then needed to get up and do laundry. when that was done it was time for the evening meal, had some pizza. then it was time for the world series, game 5. braves led early on the strength of a grand slam, but lost to the astros 9-5. during my walks i found 1 dollar 58 cents. so now i have enough for chips from the vending machine at work and soon will have enough for beer from the liquor store near work. 

nosferatu movie

 this afternoon i went to see a movie at the music box theater in minneapolis, 'nosferatu'. it is the 1922 german silent film based on the book 'dracula'. i hadn't read the book so this was likely my first exposure to the story. memorable to me was the scene with carnivorous plants. also the ship that carried 6 boxes of dirt, and eventually we see all of these mice or rats. i went because i knew a friend from the open-mic i go to regularly, the flautist, was in the orchestra backing up the movie. i think it was my first visit to this venue since 2010, when i saw two events that year. one was a haunted house, the other was the play 'triple espresso'. i decided to take the light rail to the event. before it i got some errand running done. this included going to my post office box, two postcards were there to be picked up. i dropped off recycle near the capitol, then went to the nearby target store and got two charlie brown books. both seemed to be related to thanksgiving. while there i also got some cheese, and a burrito. it was midday by then, so it was time to eat. when i got home i heated up the burrito and had it with some lay's BBQ chips. i wasn't home for all that long, as i needed to get to the venue. when i got back i got groceries at aldi. then it was time for the evening meal, had some pizza. then i went to the holiday gas station and picked up a redbox movie, i will watch it the next morning. i made it home just as the world series, game 4, was starting. the braves trailed for much of the game but went ahead with back to back home runs and went on to beat the astros 3-2. so the braves now lead the series 3-1. later on i went on a walk and found 83 cents. it is likely that i will make another visit to target sometime soon as some of the CDs there interest me. this week i noticed they had one by maroon 5, which does have 'memories' on it. of course this is in addition to seeing another disc of lady gaga duets with tony bennett. this morning i had waffles, a big deal as i normally have cereal. but i had a box of pancake mix i hadn't opened, and i said it was time to open it. first time i had used the waffle iron in a while, a krups model. i think i had bought it with some points from the former job, likely when i was still living in suburban chicago. i cleaned it off and it worked fine, and the waffle tasted fine. 

best buy snack foods

 i went to best buy in eagan tonight before my customary weekly stop at hy-vee for groceries. i wanted to use up some gift card money, 5 dollars, as it was expiring soon. i knew how best buy no longer sells CDs, found out their DVD selection is smaller as well. there was 2 hitchcock films of interest, but it was more than i wanted to pay for the movie. when i noticed there was also snack foods, i said this is it. i got four items, with the gift card i ended up paying less than a dollar. i got a kit-kat, reese's peanut butter, planters peanuts, and a mrs. field's cookie. at work i requested 6 vacation days, including a week off in december, so it will take care of most of the remaining balance. i ate some more crackers from the goodies table, and now all that is left is the apple cider and cocoa packets. i had some of the cider at lunch. 

  i watched some of game 3 of the world series tonight, the braves beat the astros 2-0 and the braves now lead the series 2-1. i was driving back from hy-vee when the first run was scored, and the second was on a solo home run in the 8th. i liked hearing part of 'i love a rainy night' by eddie rabbitt when going into commercial. it was chosen as there was light rain during the game. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 25 cents. after work i got a can of modelo at the liquor store near my workplace so now there are 3 beers waiting. just before midday i got a vanilla ice cream cone from the nearby dairy queen. there is no indoor seating so it is likely closing for the season soon. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon proposes to amy. i laughed a lot during this one because of how amy was really dour, such as telling her friends 'keep an eye on him'. and the friends were doing the best they could. it was followed by the one where penny is injured, and sheldon drives her to the hospital. his friends go into the forest to see meteor showers but get stoned instead, because of eating cookies given by two hippies. 

unclaimed door dash meal

 i saw an unclaimed door dash meal near my home this morning as i was on my way to work. when i got home it was still there. it was from taco bell, a box with the food in it and a cup of some soft drink next to it. i had heard of food delivery services but it seemed odd that they wouldn't deliver it in person for whatever reason. at work there was a team huddle in the morning, where i was asked to log into the computer in the 'back room' of the check shop. it isn't used much, and i still see an icon for skype on it, an instant messaging service the company no longer uses. as for logging into the apps that i use to get my work done, it would be hard to do, i reported. because i didn't see a favorites bar where these icons would be easily found and used. later in the day a colleague from payroll, i think, who sometimes picks up checks was in the file room on the other side of the fence. eventually she spoke of doing a gathering of friends at a lake house where one friend would bring their dog, which was inconvenient for all the attendees. also how some in her family wouldn't talk or show up for holiday gatherings due to different political beliefs. there isn't much left on the goodies table, saw some packets of cocoa and apple cider that i haven't tried yet. no world series game tonight, travel day. fox had a football game on, packers-cardinals, but i didn't watch much of it. in the evening i went on a walk and found 95 cents. so i have reached the next save-up goal, a can of beer from the liquor store near work. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon saw all of his friends arguing with family or their dating partners. i made it home in time to watch one rerun after the spaghetti dinner at a community center/library was a no-go. i arrived and noticed the parking lot was nearly empty, usually i have to park on the street. i see signs on the door, one of them being requiring a mask to go inside. i didn't have one on, figuring i wouldn't need one if i was there to eat. the other said the dinner was canceled. so no need to go inside. i had some ravioli instead as i had some frozen dinners at home. i liked going to this annual spaghetti dinner, but for 2 straight years it hasn't happened. we still have a pandemic going on. guess i will put the 10 dollars set aside for it towards beer money for when i am performing. 

book and podcast talk

 at work there was 2 meetings, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. the first was one going over the company's numbers, the other was halloween topics. it meant having to choose what groups to be in, and i chose one about books and podcasts. i don't listen to podcasts much, but i do like history books as well as baseball, and 'charlie brown and snoopy'. i didn't know anyone in these groups as i haven't met many of my colleagues yet. there were fewer people in this group than the other choice, about sports. also notable about being at work was hearing 'replace battery' when somebody rang the check shop doorbell. i am still helping myself to the goodies table as well, sometimes claiming something for the next day. this includes some nature valley granola bars. just before i went to lunch i got a call on a phone that rarely rings, it was a bank customer wanting to know why his account was closed. i gave a number for the branch. i watched some of the world series tonight, game two. the astros beat the braves 7-2 to even the series. i fell asleep so i didn't see all of it. when i woke up i switched it over to ABC to watch 'the conners', for half of the episode. then it was back to fox for the game. i didn't do a walk around the neighborhood due to the rain. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny got an offer to work for zach, her ex, but leonard was opposed to it. bernadette has a ventriloquist dummy. it was followed by the one where penny was watching the nebraska football game and leonard tried to watch with her and eventually went with sheldon to fly kites. for the evening meal i drank the can of bauhaus beer so now there are 2 beers waiting. 

alternate bathroom

 at work i decided to use an alternate bathroom for most of the day, on another floor. i noticed there was some maintenance staff working on the ceiling of the one on the same floor as me. not a big deal, i had wondered what another one looked like. it was smaller, one fixture, and it meant locking the door when inside. since we are still in pandemic mode there aren't many people in the office, so there was no waiting. it was the first day back after having the day off for an appointment, not much was left behind for me. basically just some checks to be sent by a courier to our tax specialist. there was also a table on another floor with plenty of treats on it, a sign said it was related to halloween, and 'help yourself'. i had some of the skinny popcorn, and the pumpkin flavored pop-tarts. in the evening i went on a walk and found 81 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when bert tried to buy things for a lady in hopes to keep her. it was followed by the one where the friends go to the north pole. i liked this one because it was where leonard said to penny, 'let's go into the hall, less yelling and guilt' in reference to howard, and raj, talking to their families. i watched some of the world series tonight, game one. at first i was home, watching 2 innings, the braves were up 3-0. then i drove to a performance venue to see the yemen native, who was headlining. during that time i had the radio on, and the score was 5-0 in the 3rd. when i left the venue after the show ended it was 6-1 in the 8th. surprised how the game was still happening. the braves went on to beat the astros 6-2. i will recall how the headliner kicked the cup he was drinking out of. this was a place i had sang karaoke at, until the pandemic hit of course. i noticed it had been renovated since then, i had heard about the new ownership. no events scheduled for the night of game 2, so i should be able to watch all of it. i also went to a liquor store near work after the end of my shift and got a bottle of leinenkugel oktoberfest, so now there are 3 beers waiting. 

ymca exhibit, university library

 this afternoon i went to the university of minnesota to see the ymca exhibit at the elmer andersen library. i think i heard about it due the being on their email list from attending the sherlock holmes exhibit many years ago. i got a good look around, it was about how the organization was involved with the first world war. notable to me was finding out there was an olympic-style athletic event at a stadium in paris named for general pershing, after the war ended, in 1919. i of course know this organization from my hometown in central iowa, a place where i learned to swim as well as playing youth basketball there. on a different floor was an exhibit about documenting the george floyd protests. it had just begun on friday, the ymca exhibit started last month. there was 54 photos on the wall at the protest exhibit, and some of them didn't have captions up, although more than half of them did. i am thankful i took the light rail there as it meant not having to deal with traffic, especially rush hour, which had started by the time i was headed home. i had the day off for a doctor appointment in the morning, my annual physical, also got a flu shot. the physician asked about performing, it was the most i had talked about the subject in a while, at least with a non-performer. also that morning, before the appointment, i went to a target store and bought 2 boxes of seasonal cereal-pumpkin spice shredded wheat, and halloween captain crunch. i now have 10 boxes of cereal waiting to be eaten, as i had wanted to try all of these seasonal cereals i was seeing. so i am probably good on cereal for well over a month. i performed at an open-mic in the evening, and the story with the most reaction was the one about seeing a zoom lecture. it was in reference to the moderator saying there were more pleasant subjects. during my walks for the day i found 2 dollars 74 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon ended up at a cowboy bar, and later on amy performs 'soft kitty' in various languages, including german. it was followed by the one where the space toilet, designed by howard, was doomed to fail early in the mission. 

scotcheroo bars

i went to a fall festival at st. agnes catholic church in st. paul, north of university avenue, and it was mainly to have their booya soup. but i also decided to have the 'scotcheroo bar'. at first i said switcheroo. it tasted fine, hard to chew though. i was pleased with what i got just by ordering the booya, as there was also two pieces of bread as well as some butter to go with it. i ate in the gym, as there is a school attached to the church. after it i went to the nearby midway target and got a box of pumpkin spice special k cereal as well as some cheese chunks. i looked around a little at the CD and DVD section and got pictures of what was on display, giving me more ideas about what to get later on. there was some charlie brown books, already have 'great pumpkin' but i don't think i have the one about thanksgiving. there was a video promo on the wall about the lady gaga CD, duets with tony bennett. another disc of interest to me was the one by pink, live versions of covers. i worked on the baseball card collection some more and have decided which ones were to be taken out, a little more than what was bought this week, 84 taken out against 65 recently bought. in addition, some were moved to the 'miscellaneous' binder as they were cards about the world series and all-star games. i watched some of the pro football games today, but the bears lost big to the tampa bay bucs. 'the simpsons' was about a water park and hurtful words. i liked the water park bit as it reminded me of going to one this summer. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 17 cents.  i considered attending the latest james bond movie, 'no time to die', but didn't get around in time to the booya in order to have the time to see the movie. it is well over 2 hours long, so not sure what i will do. see it on a different weekend, or on home video, are the options i guess. 

american boogeywoman movie

 around mid-morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'american boogeywoman'. it was about a serial killer, aileen wuornos. i wasn't familiar with her story, but wikipedia said there was an earlier movie about her, 'monster', starring charlize theron, an oscar winner. most of the movie takes place in prison where she will soon be executed. she is being interviewed, and tells the story of being married to a rich man in florida in 1976, albeit briefly. when the movie ends it says she doesn't murder anyone until 1989, although murders are depicted in the movie. but i am aware of the disclaimer saying 'some scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect'. it was kind of short, just under 90 minutes, unless you count all of the previews. it included one for the companion, 'american boogeyman', about ted bundy, that i had seen earlier. i didn't recognize any of the actors in it, but read how a daughter of patty hearst plays the rich man's daughter. 

once the movie was done i knew i needed to get started on errand running, and the first stop was the post office. there was 5 e-bay orders to pick up, so now there is just one order outstanding. i threw out the one item that wasn't addressed to me, but to the previous box holder, a limousine service. there was no return address on it to send it to, and i have had the box for nearly 7 years so i am surprised i still sometimes get mail that isn't for me. then it was on to the gas station to dump the movie and get a sandwich for lunch. i wasn't home for long, basically long enough for eating lunch, and then i went to do a meetup walk. it began at the cathedral steps in st. paul, and we were to go past some notable houses on summit avenue but some of the walk was diverted due to protesters who were marching from the capitol to the governor's mansion. i had a scrap of paper with me with the directions written down, and on it i wrote 'the haves and have-nots', in reference to seeing some pitched tents near the cathedral, likely homeless people. we did a picture near a statue in a garden, there was a plate in the background that had an excerpt from a writing by robert louis stevenson. when i got home i was tired, so i laid down for a while, when i woke up it was early evening, time to go get groceries at aldi, when i got back i had the evening meal, some pizza. i had the TV on when checking email, but didn't pay close attention to it because it was a college football game, ohio state at indiana, and ohio state was way ahead by halftime. later on i went on a walk and found 57 cents. i did finish getting the baseball cards purchased this week into binders, although it was essentially a wash as i took out nearly as many as were put in. or in some cases i moved them from one binder to another, as was the case for all-star game and world series cards, that had been in a team's section. all about 'stressing quality' as to what was taken out. thankfully there weren't too many duplicate cards in the box, i think only one. when i was re-arranging cards by the manufacturing company, i found another. it had a lot to do with not wanting to buy more sheets to put the cards in, wanting to save a trip to find out who sells them. 

organic jelly beans

 i am still finding items related to the movie 'space jam'. tonight when i went to hy-vee in eagan it was a 'light and sound talker' that plays the looney tunes jingle, and had some organic jelly beans from jelly belly as well. not many beans, just nine. also got some fruit flavored snacks, i had bought them before. at work a branch employee rang the check shop doorbell and gave me some mail, it explains why i hadn't seen some returned checks for a few days. otherwise it was largely uneventful. just after midday i went to dollar general and bought a few snack food items, not sure if i had bought anything at that location before. usually of course i go to walgreen. i heard a lady say to a little kid how we've got to go. like many kids i heard them say 'i want this' and the adult has to tell them no. i worked on the baseball cards some more, and now there are just five teams where i still need to get cards into the binder. i am taking out some cards i don't value at all, such as the team leader cards. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 91 cents. so i have reached the next save-up goal, a can of beer from the liquor store near work. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard called raj and penny 'the olsen twins' since they were doing plenty of events together since raj moved in, and had matching shirts on. it was followed by the one where the friends go to las vegas and hire a hooker for howard, who had just been dumped by lesley. this is an episode i enjoyed a lot, because howard said 'cut the crap' when he figured out she was a hooker. 

shrink-flation, baseball card box

 i went to walgreen just after midday for a snack and got a box of baseball cards. first time i had seen them in a while. i had seen articles how the hobby of collecting became more popular during the pandemic, apparently the cards became a theft target. i had to look up the wikipedia article to confirm what i kind of knew, how what i saw was 'shrink-flation'. since i was used to seeing 100 cards in the box but now it is 65. not a big deal, as i still like the price being 5 dollars. it said it is a 'port-manteau', or 2 words run together. there was a promo on the local news about how to get around it, did not watch it but i really wonder how one can avoid this phenomenon. inflation, rising prices, happens all the time. there was an HBO show where las vegas hookers said the same thing- 'our prices go up, same as bread and milk'. i did get some of the cards into binders already, more than half i think. there was at least one card found for all but one of the 26 major league baseball teams that existed before 1993. i don't mind that the cards are anything but new. i noticed a few of them were duplicated, not a big deal as this has happened before. still weird to see cards for the montreal expos, a team that moved to the nation's capital over a decade ago. at work all of the set-aside checks were picked up, including the two that printed around midday. odd to get an email from our i.t. man who said he was handling the request for a sendable file on an ACH line item, even though i got an out of office reply. i drank the can of surly oktoberfest beer with the evening meal and now there are 2 cans of beer waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 50 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj moves in with leonard and penny. it was followed by the one about 'anything can happen thursday'. the friends go to a bar, and raj hooks up. 

deja vu, beyonce and jay-z

 this week on the way to work i heard a catchy song on the radio. found out it was 'deja vu' by beyonce and jay-z. what was memorable was hearing 'houston' being spelled out. the video was found on youtube, and in it beyonce changes outfits and scenes a lot. sometimes indoors, and when outdoors she could be in the tall grass or next to a body of water. i liked mention of the 808 drum early on, and shortly after 'houston' another city is name-checked- chicago. the song is about a woman being constantly reminded of a past lover. it is sexually suggestive at times in the video, and even the lyrics include 'your sexiness is so appealing, i can't let it go'. there is even a reference to juan pierre, a baseball player. it sounds fine, but the chorus parts seem to be repeated too often. i've heard jay-z songs more than beyonce songs, but i would say there are jay-z songs i like more than this one. 

at work there was a small volume envelope delivery. wasn't expecting anything but was told it finishes the order from earlier this month. there was a lecture in the afternoon, first thing after getting back from lunch. it was about communicating with executives. there were a few helpful points in it, such as don't try too hard to be funny. makes it harder to be taken seriously. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 6 cents. so now i have enough for a bag of chips from the vending machine at work. the 'big bang theory' reruns were about the friends wanting to get comic-con tickets, but raj's finances were being managed by sheldon and he advised against buying tickets. it was followed by the one where a neighbor moves in and is a rival to penny. howard restrains leonard as howard doesn't want anyone to stop the cat-fight. after the reruns were done i had a craving for some cheese and got some, along with a small drinkable bottle of yogurt. 

junked bookcase

 this morning i took a picture of a bookcase i had seen outside of a nearby building. this evening i got a better look at it and decided not to claim it. i noticed it had a thin, flimsy back panel. already have a bookcase like that. i still did one thing somebody else could have done a while ago but hadn't-i junked it. i found a grocery cart and hauled it to the nearest dumpster. it was something to do after i fell asleep for a little while after watching the news on fox-9 plus. later in the evening i went on a walk and found 52 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj said he would no longer accept money from his dad, so it was a big lifestyle change. it was followed by the one where the friends helped with making 'penny blossoms'. at work the team huddle was in the late afternoon. i had to replace the toner cartridge in one of the check printers this morning and i am used to another one arriving just before i need to. today this didn't happen, but in the afternoon i checked the delivery table and it was there. along with the 2 boxes of overnight envelopes. somebody from payroll showed up late in the day with envelopes. she had 2 trainees with her, and she did all of the talking. i also sent out the last of the confidential mailings, to the senior leader. after finding out where to send it. i asked yemen native about his planned move next month, still sounds like this is happening. so i might want to make it back to the comedy club sooner rather than later, especially when i haven't heard of a going away party/show yet. 

mini blizzard worth it?

 around midday i went to a nearby dairy queen to get a pumpkin pie blizzard. i had 5 dollars set aside for it and the price was just under this amount for the mini size. it tasted fine but it left me wondering if it was worth it. i am aware of how a small vanilla cone has more ice cream in it but costs less. so i will have to remind myself of this observation when i order another blizzard treat. you live, you learn. i have been to dairy queen a few times this year, but not too often. when i know i can find ice cream treats at walgreen i end up going there way more often. i got caught up on running checks through the envelope stuffer, it helped that it was a low volume day. i saw some more confidential forms to mail out to colleagues. it was the same amount as on friday, and to the same people, so it makes me think they are likely duplicated. i also spent some time voiding about 600 checks from last week in order to get them into the shredder. it does leave another stack to void, although most of the remaining ones, nearly 500, were printed on copy paper. also of note was our tax specialist telling me to have 2 checks ready for the courier at the end of the day, usually i am told to hold them until morning. i noticed one of them was for the IRS. in the evening i went on a walk and found 42 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon said 'nice try blockheads' when they drew a charlie brown hair to get him to rejoin the government project. it was followed by the one where the friends take a train to san francisco and sheldon needs help from penny to get his flash drive. i also performed in the evening at an open-mic and got to most things on my list despite having to shut down a heckler. it started with mention of songs to hum in a bathroom when washing hands. 

fried green tomatoes movie

 this morning i put in a DVD movie, a recent purchase from family dollar, 'fried green tomatoes'. it was the companion movie to the one that interested me more, 'coal miner's daughter'. i recognized kathy bates and chris o'donnell in it, although the latter has a small role. it is about a woman in a loveless marriage going with her husband to visit somebody in a nursing home in alabama, and the resident likes to throw things. so her character waits in another room, where she hears stories from jessica tandy's character. it seemed to take a while to reveal why the movie gets its title, only hints of it before the story is told. i do recall the previews when it was at theaters 30 years ago, especially the scene where kathy's character is upset about losing a parking space at a grocery store to 2 younger ladies, then does something about it. the movie is long, over 2 hours. and there is multiple segments of the storytelling. i kind of liked the husband, who came home and had his budweiser beer and chicken dinner while watching the braves baseball game. is it because he likes baseball? or because he had brief but logical answers to what his wife was saying? some of this was about the classes she was taking. 'if they're not helpful, don't go.' the classes are bizarre, to say the least. it's a 'chick flick' but i kind of expected this going into it. still a decent story though. 

once again, it was a no-go on making it back to cane's chicken in eagan. they were open, but only the drive-through. so i am still reviewing my options. do i relent and use the drive-through? even though the line is long and i can't stand the sound of my car's engine idling? or do i try another location, albeit likely farther away, and confirm in advance that the lobby is open? i am aware that we still have a pandemic going on, and it wasn't the only food outlet with a closed lobby. so my alternate plans were the same as last week, i got a hot dog with chili and cheese at a speedway gas station. i needed some gas for the car anyway. i watched some of the pro football games of the day, but not a lot. i know the local team, the vikings, won in overtime, against the carolina panthers. i did some more research about cell phone providers, including the ones i had recommendations for from college buddies and office colleagues. but i haven't signed a deal yet, although i still have a little time to do so if i am parting ways with my current provider. 'the simpsons' was about a traffic jam in front of evergreen terrace. during my walks i found 2 dollars 40 cents. so i likely have enough for a small pumpkin pie blizzard treat from dairy queen, instead of just an ice cream cone as i now have 5 dollars set aside for it. 

midnight in the switchgrass movie

 around mid-morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'midnight in the switchgrass'. i recognized bruce willis in it, although he has a small role and it is more of a megan fox vehicle. when looking at the closing credits i saw an actress credited as sistine stallone, yep, sylvester's daughter. i looked it up. it is a thriller about a serial killer, and the FBI is involved with the investigation. at one point megan's character is collared, hard to forget those scenes. there were a few things that didn't add up, as i don't recall megan's character being drugged but it is in the trailer. along with an employee of the trucking company refusing to help, saying she needed a court order, then deciding to help. some of it was filmed in puerto rico. 

i put in the movie after watching a history lecture on zoom, through the state historic society. it was about the smallpox epidemic during the american revolution era. i made it back from the post office, where i picked up two orders from my box, just in time for the start of it. of course some of the things said about it are relevant today in terms of dealing with the current pandemic. there is another lecture later this season that interests me, but not until february. after the movie it was time for lunch, and i got a sandwich at the gas station, same place where i dumped the movie. after lunch i went to aldi for my weekly grocery order, and when i made it back the football game i wanted to see had already started. it was iowa vs. purdue, on ABC, but it was halfway through the first quarter and no score so i didn't miss much. iowa lost 24-7. after the game i had the evening meal, some pizza, and switched over to fox to see the baseball playoff game. it was the red sox vs. the astros, game 2. this time the red sox won, 9-5. after this i didn't do much for the rest of the night, finished a word find and read friday's paper. i went on a walk and found 28 cents. kind of nice not to have too much planned for this weekend, easier to get caught up some things, and one of those is sleep. 

wanted saturday delivery

 near the end of the workday i had somebody who kept sending me instant messages asking for saturday delivery for a check. i said i wasn't sure if i had permission to do so, she took it as being able to give it. well i tried for this kind of delivery and the system said it was not available for the given destination. it was in pennsylvania, but likely not a metro area like pittsburgh or philadelphia. so it will go regular overnight delivery and likely arrive on monday. i made sure to present evidence, with a screen snip of what i was seeing. it wasn't even the largest dollar amount, about 20k. there were some checks in the list of requests for way more, six figures. there was a morning meeting about duplicated checks, it sounds like the fargo office will have some safeguards in place in a month's time to ward off this happening again. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 29 cents. so now i have enough for some ice cream from dairy queen. i also made it to hy-vee in eagan for my weekly grocery order. i got two more boxes of seasonal cereal, halloween themed. one of these was apple jacks, and this is one of three cereals by kellogg- the others being frosted flakes and froot loops- promoting the movie 'addams family'. so i might want to see it, if not at theaters then as a redbox rental. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when penny shot a paintball gun at sheldon's spot on the couch and had to have it dry cleaned. the baseball playoffs are continuing, watched some of the boston- houston game on fox tonight. it was game one of the league championship series. i had hoped to catch it on the radio as well, while driving to and from the grocery store, but it was not available on radio. i saw houston tie it 3-3 and fell asleep shortly thereafter, found out houston won 5-4. 

not duplicated, doubled up

 i was busy for much of the day printing checks, the spreadsheet said about 10 thousand. it was due to 2 days worth of the fargo files, after being unable to print due to duplicated checks the previous day. not all of them went out, but the ones that needed to did. i was trading instant messages with the i.t. man fairly often related to getting them positive paid. i of course also saw that the overnight packages were caught up by the end of the day although this was a struggle since some files that had them arrived after 3pm. the system said i was double-booked on a meeting in the morning, but it just became a combined meeting as my boss was the moderator on both. it was the garden-variety team huddle, followed by the discussion on the diversity, equity and inclusion video sent to us. not many spoke during the latter. looks like there is a meeting on friday about the duplicated checks. aside from work, i am trading text messages with the retired postal worker about a meetup event this weekend. i still need to respond to one in the morning. i would have done a quicker turnaround but i was wiped out after work. i cleared out emails from my hotmail account, did some surveys, and then i was ready to crash. in the evening i went on a walk and found 58 cents. i am working on my next save-up goal, some ice cream from dairy queen before the season ends. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and leonard went to find amy and penny, who were at a spa for the weekend. it was followed by the one where leonard's mom arrives and it leads to leonard drinking with penny. she and sheldon get along well. 'young sheldon' had a youth pastor on it, and discussed the bible some. i had the can of tin whiskers pineapple sour with the evening meal so now there are 3 beers waiting. 

i.t. is frustrated

i could tell that our i.t. man was frustrated as near the end of the day he said 'crud', and stronger things than this. i took a call after my normal leave time from him, one i.t. issue was cleared but the other was not. two big files had duplicated checks, what tipped me off was noticing the foreign checks had matching payees and amounts. then i looked at the inter-office checks and sorted the entire file by zip code and noticed there was duplication throughout. i printed about 600 checks and stopped when the printer was out of check stock, then was advised not to print any further. the other was a new code and i was unable to positive pay the file. it was later in the day when this file was ready to print, enough time to print it but not enough to send it out same-day. with the two big files i stayed late enough to import them, but did not print any same-day. so i have the proverbial 'work cut out for me' on thursday morning. during the call i found out the i.t. man likes to watch the same show as me in the evening. as i said i like being home in time to watch 'big bang theory' reruns. speaking of this show, it was the one where the friends talk about what they did over the holidays, and bernadette has the baby blues. people fall asleep when stuart talks. it was followed by the one where leonard asks penny's ex for money he owes to penny. in the evening i went on a walk and found 79 cents. 'the conners' had dan and louise getting married, during a storm. 

box overkill

 mid-morning i went to the branch and ended up claiming most of the deliveries there. it included the parts ordered for the envelope stuffer. the biggest one went to a colleague on another floor. she said it was box overkill as it was for sending back a computer, but much like when i sent mine back it was a device the size of a modem. another box of envelopes arrived for the check shop as well, but the canadian check stock is not in yet. i called to let them know the parts arrived, and right after i hung up the phone i heard from the technician who said he was onsite, outside the main door. so the machine was fully operational shortly thereafter. it didn't take all that long to get caught up as he wanted to see it was well-tested before leaving. in the evening i went on a walk and found 47 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard and bernadette's first kid was born. it was followed by the one where sheldon tries to go rock climbing with kripke. not much was waiting in the mail, just my quarterly statement from the credit union. looks like there is an annual meeting in february, of course there is a question of if it will be a virtual one again. looking to the weekend it looks like it has much fewer events planned than the previous one, so it is more likely that i will get another redbox rental movie after skipping a few weeks. 

coal miner's daughter movie

 late in the afternoon i watched a DVD movie, a recent purchase from family dollar. it was 'coal miner's daughter', the bio-pic about musician loretta lynn. i recognized sissy spacek, tommy lee jones, and william sanderson in it. and the closing credits said ernest tubb playing himself. there was only one thing i recall when seeing it when i was young. it was an early scene where somebody is trying to get a jeep up a hill. i remembered it wrong, thinking he didn't make it, but he did. sissy looked and sounded a lot like loretta. oh, and beverly d'angelo had a small role as patsy cline. guess this explains why we see beverly's version of 'crazy' in 'field of dreams'. this might explain why 'sweet dreams', about patsy cline, was done as this movie was successful. the title song was at the end. also memorable was the scene with a pie auction. 

i got plenty done today on a holiday. in the morning i got my car into the shop and during the time i was waiting there i saw plenty of cooper tire commercials and funniest home videos. eventually i walked around a little and got a beer at a nearby liquor store, sent it home of course. so now there are 4 beers waiting. i picked up my car just after midday and went to a disc resale shop and got 2 CDs, one by dave matthews band and the other by weird al yankovic. then it was time to get lunch and i got a burrito at walgreen, along with a can of arnold palmer. after lunch was done i found a snoopy statue for the first time in a while. a supplier at the bank gave me the tip, and i was thankful i was let in as i have been tuned away at some places. when i got home i watched the movie. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when the friends had a robot that competed with kripke. in the evening i performed at an open-mic, the stories with the most reaction from the moderator was 'more pleasant subjects' and the late night text message. during my walks i found 2 dollars 41 cents. there was a weird encounter about rapping after leaving the show, guess i will have to talk about it next week. 

cry macho movie

 around mid-morning i went to see the movie 'cry macho' in woodbury. i recognized clint eastwood and dwight yoakam in it. the movie surprised me at times, and this was fine with me. most of the story is related to clint's character trying to find the boy and then the journey to bring him back to his dad. a romance becomes another part of the story. i liked seeing him teach the boy horse riding. some of it was subtitled. i stayed for the closing credits and noticed it was filmed in new mexico. there was also some who were listed related to covid monitoring, a 'sign of the times'. but i am aware this is necessary in order to complete the filming of a movie. it should have been a big deal to return to this town to see a movie, as  i had worked there as a seasonal test scorer. but it was only when i was in my car, ready to get on the interstate, did i think about this. by then it was time to find lunch. i wanted to go to cane's chicken in eagan but it was drive-up only. this doesn't appeal to me. so eventually i decided to get a hot dog at a speedway gas station, with chili and cheese on it. before the movie i went to a little target and found the bottle of mustard, and cans of fruit, i was looking for along with a box of count chocula cereal. i picked up some cheese chunks as well. then it was on to the capitol to drop off recycling, then it was on to the movie. after i got home i watched some pro football, eventually it was the bears-raiders game. the bears won. i also sent a text to brawler, it had been on my list since his visit last month. during my walks i found 1 dollar 26 cents. i have more things on my 'to-do' list for monday, although it will start a little earlier in the morning. in the evening i listened to a polka CD that arrived this weekend and did some word finds. i also shredded some junk mail, likely for the first time in a month. 

airline museum sale

 there were 8 things on my 'to-do' list today, and notable was going to an airline museum sale at a hotel near mall of america. but not the same hotel where the museum is. i paid 5 dollars to get in, and got a good look around but left just under an hour later without buying anything. i mainly looked at postcards but i know i already had some of them. i did get some ideas about more postcards to search on e-bay, though. and i got pictures of some of the things on display. so it was still worth it to look around, and the cost was minimal as well. just before i left i turned on my phone and there was a text message from a political campaign that was received overnight. this annoyed me so i responded with 'stop'. there of course was the normal errand running to do, such as go to the post office. 3 orders were waiting, including the music CD i had ordered from a new ulm radio station. i made it to aldi for my weekly grocery order, but in my rush to get to the next thing on my list i didn't get canned fruit or mustard. i do have more stores to shop at during this extended weekend- target, family dollar, and walgreen- so i do have more opportunities to pick up these items. i watched a DVD movie, a purchase from family dollar, it was called 'hemingway'. except it had nothing to do with the writer of the same name. it was about a dysfunctional family that meets up at the reading of a will. the movie wasn't that great, although i did recognize alan thicke and richard moll in it. 

  after the sale i still needed to find lunch, and i went to a holiday gas station and got a cheesesteak sandwich. then it was on to the minnesota history center, to see the sinclair lewis exhibit, as it will be closing at the end of the calendar year. there were plenty of foreign language versions of his books on display there, and i heard about more of his books so i did learn something while there as expected. it was odd to hear somebody ask who he was, and i responded with how he was the first american to win the nobel prize for literature. then i went home and watched some of the iowa hawkeye football game against penn state, on fox. it had already started, and iowa was trailing, and trailed for much of the game but won 23-20. it was evening by then so i went to the minnesota state fairgrounds and looked around at the oktoberfest event there. i saw how they had the ticket system, and it was 7 dollars for a beer, so i said to myself 'no thanks'. i got some pictures and i left. there also weren't many food options, there was 2 food trucks outside. the music was kind of loud, during my brief time there i heard them play 'forget you' by ceelo green. so i still needed to find the evening meal, and went down the road to the taco bell and ordered from the kiosk and brought it home. during my walks i found 75 cents. i do have a list made out for sunday and monday as well, so i hope to get plenty more things done this weekend. even if some of it is mundane things like planning, or deciding what events i was considering attending in the coming weeks and months that will be cut from the list for various reasons. 

behind the teller line

 i had to keep searching for the parts that were overnighted to the office, including going to the branch multiple times. found out the box i needed was behind the teller line. i had evidence to point towards once i was given a fed-ex tracking number and who had signed for it. the technician arrived just before i went to lunch and i found out more parts are needed. so it meant another day of running the machine but not sealing the envelopes. i managed to get all of the checks run through that needed to go out even though i didn't start until mid-afternoon after the technician left. i wanted to be available to ask and answer questions so during lunch i ate my spaghetti in the 'back room' and shut the door during that time. after work i got a can of schell's oktoberfest from the liquor store near work, so now 3 beers are waiting. in the evening i went on a walk and found 67 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon kept hurting himself after bert won an award. it was followed by the one where leonard kept saying 'we're not living together' after penny asked about dr. stephanie. i laughed a lot about the latter episode. watching the news, on two different channels, led to two more ideas about activities to do this weekend. both events are nearby. hopefully i can find a way to get to everything on my list. because watching some football games on TV are part of my plans as well. it meant making a list and see how well the logistics work. and plenty of fact-finding online about the events i am interested in. i made it to hy-vee in eagan and part of my weekly order from this place was two pumpkin-flavored items, ice cream as well as egg nog. 

branch mailbox full

 near the end of the workday i let a branch employee know that their slot, or slots, in the mailroom was full. i had been informed that the manager was absent due to her husband having covid, so it meant finding out who was in charge. i had left some boxes there and it hadn't been emptied for a week. as i was leaving i noticed there was more to pick up on the upper level delivery table. two envelope boxes for me and it looked like some business cards for the branch. so i got out a cart and when i came back to the check shop with the boxes on the cart i left it in the 'back room' of the shop and will take care of it in the morning. a technician arrived this morning to look at the envelope stuffer and was able to do a temporary fix to have it fold the checks and stuff envelopes but not seal them. then no colleague was needed to arrive and manually stuff envelopes, and i was able to get caught up. parts had to be ordered and they are being overnighted, so hopefully things will be up and running again soon. technician said the machine was obsolete but they also aren't cheap to replace. 

  in the evening i went on a walk and found 40 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj was too ashamed to admit he was dating the janitor. it was followed by the one where sheldon hunts down leonard when he is on a date with dr. stephanie. 'young sheldon' had its season premiere and i noticed they had a clip from a clint eastwood movie, one of the two where he stars with an orangutan. there was something on the news about haunted houses, specifically the one at valleyfair in shakopee. when they have charlie brown characters at that park i might have to go to it. i found an online article that listed 6 haunted houses, this was one of the six. but some were expensive, kind of far away, or both. it also listed those that are 'no longer with us'- and one of those i had been to many times before- fright farm in maplewood, in residence at the ramsey county fairgrounds. i also drank the can of corona with the evening meal so now there are 2 beers waiting. i will likely get another beer after work on friday. it appears that corona and modelo are both made by the same company. 

both big deliveries arrived

 it was an unusual day, as both of the big deliveries arrived- the envelopes and check stock. the former was before lunch, the latter i had a branch employee find me in front of the check shop door just as i was getting back from lunch. it was hard to ignore the delivery man with the latter as he was overweight and was breathing hard. he wanted to pause at one point and i was fine with that. he also asked where the bathroom was and i pointed it out. also notable about the day was the envelope stuffer went down just before i went to lunch. i was called late in the afternoon and was told the technician wouldn't arrive until morning. i let my boss know but he seemed to be offline so i also let the senior leader know. i got out as many checks as possible, but half of them did not go out today. special handling- the interoffice and the overnight- of course still went out. the technician for the check printer arrived mid-morning, wasn't expecting him so early as i was told it would be afternoon. he said there was a cancellation. but the jam was cleared so now the main check printer is operational again. in the evening i went on a walk and found 41 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and leonard spoke in klingon after amy lied about her apartment still not being ready, because she wanted to keep living with sheldon. it was followed by the one where raj and howard found the house of super-models. 'the conners' had louise wedding dress shopping with darlene's kids. 

chrysler with fins

 after work i stopped at a nearby gas station and i saw a classic car parked in the back. it was a chrysler with fins, so likely something from the 1950s. there was a lady at the pump next to me who decided to get a picture of it as well. my dad would likely know the model year of it. at work my boss wasn't in but i got my vacation day request in for later this month for the medical appointment. i also put in an order for two electronic gift cards as i got all of those points last week. i ordered an amazon card, and one for hotels dot-com. so now the point balance is under a hundred again. i looked at the bank's 'logo shop' but nothing there appealed to me as much as those gift cards did. so i will stick to having that one shirt with the bank's logo on it that was ordered in april. in the evening i went on a walk and found 68 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy had dinner guests over, and one of them was an immigrant that learned english from TV. it was followed by the one where sheldon got ramona as his 'yoko ono', the barenaked ladies song of this name was playing during one scene. i laughed a lot watching this one, so i guess it is one of my favorites. also in the evening i placed two orders with 'the state's museum'. one was a ticket to tour the museum and the other for a lecture. both are for later this month. 

foggy morning

 when i drove into work this morning it was foggy most of the way. i don't see fog that often, at least for that long, so it was a big deal on some level. but of course the weather doesn't matter much when i get inside for the span of my workday. there was a short meeting about printing test checks at another office. i was finally given the go-ahead to print 4 checks just before my lunchtime. that meant changing the printer so it goes to another office, and that office emailed what printed to all of us as an attachment. it was another low-volume day all around, including the overnight requests, but i didn't mind at all. in the evening i went on a walk and found 86 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard and bernadette discovered stuart and raj in their hot tub. another plotline was sheldon and amy working out living together, ending with toothbrushes. it was followed by the one where we meet dr. stephanie, as howard got the mars rover stuck on their date. for the evening meal i drank the can of schell's oktoberfest, so now there are 3 beers waiting. i also placed some online orders. one of these was with delcampe, for 3 postcards, first time in over a year on that site. i order way more from e-bay. i also found the new ulm radio station that sells polka CDs. i was reading through a guide i found when i was in town this weekend and saw an ad, and i do prefer self-service. i ordered one CD on that site, and may order more later. there was apparently well over 700 listings to choose from there. 49 lines and it was 15 listings per line. 

how stella got her groove back

 i watched a DVD movie this afternoon, a recent purchase from family dollar, 'how stella got her groove back'. i recognized whoopi goldberg in it. there are times i had evoked this title, especially in reference to finding a job again after being with the same company for a while. now i understand better why the movie was given such a title. in fact the main character does go through a job loss, so it is about more than just meeting a love interest after getting divorced. i knew the movie had to be pre-9/11 as she sees her son off at the airport, in the terminal. this is a 'chick flick' and it does end the way it is expected to end when it is a romantic comedy. memorable scenes were of the sibling that is an ambulance driver. 

  i was up early much like the previous day as i needed to be in order to return the rental car. i still looked around the airport a little before getting on the light rail back to my own car. i also decided to get my souvenirs from new ulm better organized, after getting home, and it meant placing them neatly into a small brown paper bag. at midday i went to a booya soup feed, sponsored by a catholic church, at a park. there was a line for it but the line moved fairly well. i got a small bowl of it but i am familiar with how some really load up on it, getting out plastic ice cream containers to fill it with soup. after getting back i ate a little at home, all i had at the park was the soup. i had some corn chips and blonde brownies. then i put in the movie. after it was done i knew i was tired so i laid down for a while. when i woke up i knew it was time to get on the road, to the mall in roseville, in order to get pictures from a photo booth there. i did better this time on holding up a sign saying it was 'during a pandemic, new ulm oktoberfest weekend' than the previous year. it helped that i wrote the letters a little smaller. it was nearly 6pm by then and some stores were starting to close as i was leaving. i had the evening meal and then called my college roommate, the one that lives in the area. later on i called my dad and said i found the brick i had bought a year earlier. he spoke of watching 'ozzie and harriet' and asked if i had seen the clint eastwood 'macho movie' yet, i haven't. i also went on a walk and found 1 dollar 31 cents. and i got the dishes done around the typical time, during the 10pm news. 

gravity rail swing

 i went to new ulm for oktoberfest and of course this meant seeing german park. i noticed it has a 'gravity rail' swing now. there was an older couple interested in it, and the lady went on it a few times. then i decided it was my turn. i screamed like lt. dan in 'forrest gump' when i was on it, so i liked it. there was some mallets for music nearby, a xylophone and some pipes. i found the brick i had bought, needed to make more than one attempt to find it. plenty of leaves had fallen on the path, so the second time i looked at each one. it was near the end of the walkway, close to the street. saw the brewery for the first time in a while, bought some small souvenirs there. this included an edgy greeting card, an anniversary patch, and a bockfest button. i had some superman ice cream at a german-style ice cream place as well. other things i bought were postcards and buttons at a cramped place about 10 blocks from the middle of town. i got popcorn from the museum's popcorn wagon. i had lunch before getting on the road, a little godfather's pizza. 

i still did my errand running in the morning. this included going to dump change into my savings account at the credit union, i do this quarterly. there was also getting groceries at aldi. i decided that one thing on my list could be moved back a day. then i got on the road at midday and arrived in new ulm in the mid-afternoon. visitor center was open, one employee of this place said they recognized me from previous visits. the glockenspiel added a performance for 6pm, so i saw that one. and i still made it over to sleepy eye to see the linus statue. only there long enough to take a picture then i drove back to new ulm. i ate at the hotel in the evening, german food of course. and saw the costumed narren in the ballroom on the dance floor. downtown in the afternoon i heard the band play 2 lady gaga songs, 'shallow' and 'bad romance'. of course the driving also meant listening to the radio a lot. early on it was public radio visiting the moth hour for storytellers in houston. when i was driving back home in the evening i found a story about grant's tomb from kmox st. louis. i was getting tired and stopped at a gas station in jordan, at first i was just listening to the next segment. during this time i kept seeing the 'wolf' sign from the ford dealer across the road. when it was done i got out and walked around a little, then resumed my drive. when i got home i went inside to find a bag for all of the things i had acquired in new ulm. during my walks i found 1 dollar 16 cents. 

canned fruit

 i went to hy-vee in eagan tonight and i decided to get a can of fruit cocktail. it was yet another week of not buying bananas. i may just continue to do so. for one thing, no peel to throw out that might attract flies. i had found some unopened cans of fruit recently and when this happens i would only go back to buying bananas once the cans were used up. but nothing wrong with making a change when the value in it is seen. sometimes i change what i buy at the grocery store out of necessity, as what i was buying is not available. good idea to have alternate plans lined up when everything is subject to change. i also bought a special magazine about the charlie brown and snoopy comic strip, published by life magazine. there were two different types of covers and i chose the one with more characters on it. one of them only had charlie and snoopy on it. it was a good read, found out the 'great pumpkin' special had religious overtones. this wasn't entirely obvious to me, more obvious in the christmas special, which quoted scripture. i got another box of 'field of dreams' cereal, corn flakes, it is still a 'hot deal' but now it is down to a dollar. it is the fourth such box of cereal i have bought and i am currently working on the third. those general mills 'monster cereals' are likely my next purchase. during my walks i found 31 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy first tried living together. it was followed by the one where sheldon decides to live at the office, refusing to learn how to drive. even after an intervention, because he didn't do well on the driving simulator. at work i finished updating the contacts list, or 'responsible officials'. there was more down time available due to our largest files of the day having a much lower volume, even for a friday. after work i got another can of oktoberfest beer from the liquor store near work, so now there are 4 beers waiting. it was brewed by bauhaus, from minneapolis.