cheerleader audition

 i went to perform at a contest tonight and there was a cheerleader audition near the venue. it was loud and hard to compete with the noise when in the bar area. but of course we didn't hear it once we entered the showroom. i was on early, random selection, and my set was much like the night before although a little shorter as i definitely wanted to stick to my time. i did not advance, not a big deal as i just wanted some stage time. i have yet to advance past the first round of a contest. nice seeing mason city there, who was mc. mention was made of how i like social distortion and lady gaga. at times i left the showroom so i could check the score of the basketball game in the bar area. the wolves won game two of their playoff series against phoenix. at work my vacation replacement dropped in and helped out even though i, as usual, had things covered. at the end of the day i was asked to put out three boxes going to energy park. i put them next to the cart that has the mail tubs on it. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 52 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and raj were underground, for just eleven minutes. it was followed by the one where sheldon is stuck and goes to a ball pit, leonard is summoned to take care of him. 

direct to county

 late in the day at work there was a question about a check, wanting to know why it was sent directly to the county. this was saint croix, wis, so hudson. i looked at the check and sent a copy and said because there was no request to send it inter-office. i performed in the evening, went on fairly early as i prefer. i did bank stories as well as answering the comic i followed who did a lonely maytag repairman reference. as a native of newton, iowa, i had plenty of stories about that. later on i went on a walk and found 77 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when we hear 'intruder alert', then sheldon decides to move to montana then moves back. 

art for everybody movie

 in the late afternoon i went to see the movie 'art for everybody' at st. Anthony main in minneapolis. this was at the MSP film-fest, my last visit to this festival was pre-covid. this was a documentary about artist thomas kinkade, i was unfamiliar with who he was before seeing this movie. i guess this is an artist that sold well for a while, had galleries in various cities, and was interviewed on shows like '60 minutes'. but then there was lawsuits, bankruptcy, depression, and alcoholism that lead to death at age 54. so this doesn't sound much different than the life story of many other artists. the movie also shows his daughters discovering paintings in a vault, that were way different than what was sold in galleries or on home shopping channels. thankful i saw the movie, as this was a story that needed to be told. before i went to the movie i found some things to do. as the saying goes, 'if i'm tired of looking at something, do something about it'. so i did. in this case it was the rug next to the laptop. i vacuumed it and moved some boxes on top of it to a closet. and i decided to swap out a poster from a frame. the one i got when seeing 'drive away dolls' in march was taken out in favor of a st. paul saints poster, from winning the league championship. made sense when that frame was next to another baseball poster, the iowa cubs. i watched part of 'the simpsons' after getting back from the movie, about an urn. later on i did the dishes, then went on a walk where i found 90 cents. 

dinnerware and lightsticks

 i went on a meetup walk this evening, it was in bloomington, a place i had done hikes at before. there is a ski jump that one sees on the way to the parking lot. i spoke with various people on the walk, although i was switching because some of them i found to be annoying. a more pleasant topic was when i spoke of the corelle plates and bowls i use, how they have lasted for a while. and the lady i spoke with said it was a 'dinnerware moment'. at the end of the walk was a campfire, and we roasted marshmallows. i did well on both of mine being golden brown and pulling them before they fell into the fire. there was trivia split into some teams, family feud style. and there was prizes given out at the end, i got a light stick. some others got dish rags. i had some chips as well as some cold cuts. there was some kind of dish in a plastic container but i didn't have it when i found out it was spicy. a man who didn't even bring it was trying to explain how it was spicy and i finally said 'you made your point' but i still didn't have any of it. it was nearly 10pm by then, when the park was about to close, so i left. i did plenty before this event. i went to the post office, picked up one order, it was a battlehawks football pennant. i had it in time for the game i started watching just before midday, st. louis beat memphis, 32-17. i went to drop off recycle near the capitol, and the copy store to print some things. then i got a cheeseburger and hash browns at the holiday gas station and went home to watch the game. after the game i got a nut roll out of a vending machine and went to get groceries at aldi. during my walks i found 60 cents. 

end of beginning, djo

 this week i heard on my car radio on the way to work a song i liked. it was 'end of beginning' by djo. it was inspired by this actor from 'stranger things' going to college in chicago, at depaul. this is why i like it, the lyric 'and when i am back in chicago, i feel it'. as it reminds me of my time living in the northwest suburbs near o'hare airport for six years. guess this is another song made popular on tiktok, much like sia's 'unstoppable'. at work it was nice that the overnight volume dropped to twenty-one, less than half the previous day. it meant i got out earlier and was able to watch part of 'young sheldon'- a rerun that is- when i got home. georgie went out on a date as mandy said she was fine with it but really wasn't. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when dermatologist emily meets penny and both say 'i hate her'. it was followed by the one where sheldon gets hulk hands from raj as raj wanted another date after going to a mixer. and penny said leonard was 'the most obnoxious guy on a double date that included howard'. it was in reference to belittling penny wanting to see a psychic. during my walks i found 1 dollar 87 cents. after the reruns i went for grocery shopping at hy-vee in eagan. 

doorbell and knocking

 at work i had a caller knock on the door and i guess they didn't see the doorbell. i answered it and i said i wasn't going to like the scene from 'wizard of oz'. this case it was a reverse of the movie, which was 'bell out of order, please knock'. i was asked if there was any chairs available, i said one of them was broken so i don't use it much. i said there was plenty of chairs in the breakroom though. i think they were i.t. people as sometimes there are personnel in our little server room. either way, my joke about the movie scene didn't land with them. there was plenty of overnight labels to do, sixty-four in all. from the PDF file some of them were going to the IRS. and i spent more of my morning than i really cared to on the phone with UPS trying to get a check re-directed in california. but it was at the behest of my boss. i drank the can of einstok with the evening meal and got two more beers from the liquor store, a coors light and a stella artois, so now five beers are waiting. 'young sheldon' was about the coopers getting a porta-pottie, and georgie and mandy moving in with mandy's parents. the former of course was too ridiculous, same as some other recent episodes. later on i went on a walk and found 13 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon tried to teach penny about physics, while howard was jealous that bernadette was interested in Leonard's work. 

social media snoozing

 i was going through my news feed on facebook and saw a posting i didn't like at all. it was about somebody being discovered with their mistress, so i checked options available and snoozed that site, good for thirty days. usually, i am seeing sites compatible to my interests, such as the charlie brown comic strip. i don't know how this one slipped by. but i like knowing there is something i can do about it. i have said it many times before, how i didn't like having to take charge of my social media accounts but i am happier now that i did. sometimes unfriend, unfollow, and block buttons are my best friend there. at work the two fargo files were late, not ready until almost lunchtime. i got started on printing them right after lunch was done, as i did the overnight labels first. this was why i didn't know right away when they were ready. i hit print and then went over to pay for the oil change on my car. the volume was low enough, or at least the envelope stuffing machine was fast enough, that most still went out same day. just under three hundred i can do in the morning, and more than two thousand still went out same day. there was a long thread about a check to overnight and it looks like it was to be sent to another bank location instead of to the payee, discovered when confirmation was requested late in the day. i re-delivered a corporate card application to a colleague after it was found in the breakroom. i was pleased that 'the conners' had louise in this episode, first time in a while. she thinks dan is working too hard. later on i went on a walk and found 75 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when howard sings for Bernadette at the cheescake factory. kripke sabotages sheldon's time on public radio. 

notorious movie, cary grant

 this evening i went to see the movie 'notorious' at the trylon in minneapolis. i like cary grant, and this is part of the month-long hitchcock film series at this venue. we see hitchcock having a drink at a party. this was a spy thriller, released shortly after the second world war ended, taking the story to brazil. while there i got some more ideas about movies to see at this venue later on. one trailer before this feature spoke of movies based on noel coward books. at work it was a high-volume day on check printing, as expected. i got an i.m. from a colleague in marshall asking about watermarks. i confirmed once again that i am seeing them on the back of the check stock, and how i had lost count of how many times i had heard of customers questioning the validity of the checks. during my walks i found 35 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon was picked up from arizona after riding the rails. it was also about howard and stuart saying to each other, 'you're not my dad', after stuart moves in with howard's mom. then i went to the movie.

steal my sunshine, len

 recently during the nearby cleanup at work there was music playing and the first song was 'steal my sunshine' by len, a canadian band. it was a movie song, from the movie 'go', haven't seen it. this is a catchy song, a good beat to it, although it is about battling depression, evident with the lyric 'not in too deep'. also memorable for the lyric where the word 'later' is spelled out. hard to say if there is more cleanup to happen, but when iron mountain arrived the man was wondering why so many recycle bins were in the mailroom and i told him. my vacation replacement dropped in and helped out in the afternoon, mentioned being caught up with his primary duties. in the morning we were on a dial-in meeting but not sure why, it was about technical things that weren't relevant to our normal duties. i sent an i.m. saying i was leaving, and if anything changes on the check printing process for your business line, let me know. i decided this after fifteen minutes, the time allotment was a full hour. i performed in the evening, and did stories about the saints game, the circus, and the bank. later on i went on a walk and found 35 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were a season finale, when sheldon decides to run away as there was too many changes. penny kisses him on the cheek at the train station. it was followed by the one where sheldon gets a comic book and a robot after leonard and penny had a fight. 

royal canadian circus

 in the afternoon i went to see the royal canadian circus, in maplewood next to the mall. i had heard about it at the end of the fox-9 news broadcast friday evening. i got my ticket printed shortly after the copy store opened at midday and then went to the mall. i had a philly cheesesteak inside the food court just before the event. it was a one-ring circus, so no animals, but i didn't mind as it meant i was sitting closer to the action. it was a general admission ticket but i still had a good view of everything. i liked the acrobatics more than the comic relief. there was a well-dressed performer doing gags like having a basketball hoop on his head and it just didn't land with me. at the end of the first act there was a man shot out of a cannon, reminding me of the video to the red hot chili peppers song 'soul to squeeze'. the show started with flag bearers, american and canadian flags. i noticed there was some performers attached to a harness, or had a giant air mattress to break their fall if need be, safety is still a priority. i feel that i got my money's worth, especially since i found a discounted ticket at groupon. before i went to the show i watched three episodes of the 'charlie brown and snoopy show' on DVD, a recent amazon order. after the show i bought a picture book of chicago tourist attractions and a DVD at a goodwill resale shop. then i went home and caught the ending of a spring football game, st. louis beat san antonio. in the evening i watched the billy joel concert special on CBS. i didn't recognize all of the songs played but i still liked hearing hits i recognized such as 'still rock and roll to me'. no surprise how 'piano man' closed the show, his signature song. early in the set was 'my life', another song i really like. and i ordered a gift for my grand-niece's birthday on amazon. later on i went on a walk and found 75 cents. 

water tower, historical marker

 there was plenty of things to do in the morning. i went to the DMV in inver grove heights and got the license plate renewals for my car. after it i decided to find a historical marker next to a water tower. i had heard about it on the news, on fox-9. it was just up the road a little from the strip-mall i was at. it marks the site of a military plane crash in 1958. i got a picture of the marker and went up to walk around the water tower as well. nothing of note up there, aside from a broken beer bottle so evidence that others had been there. three pennies left at the marker. i loved the view from the base of the water tower, it was of the road i had taken to get most of the way there, route 52. i got a picture of the road signs directing motorists to either minneapolis or st. paul, then i went down to the marker and i left. i picked up two orders from the post office and printed two event tickets at the copy store. i had to move things up a little due to my plans for the afternoon, attending the st. paul saints baseball game. i stopped at a speedway gas station and got a big gulp and two slices of pizza. a little annoyed when the cashier said 'out of sandwiches' after i had already spoken that observation. then it was on to the stadium. i got the giveaway, a magnet schedule. saints were playing the iowa cubs. saints trailed early, 3-0, this included the long ball, a two-run home run. saints also got a two-run home run, then tied it 3-3, but still lost to the i-cubs, 4-3. i got some ice cream at the game, ate it quick as i know it can get soupy. after the game i got groceries at the aldi, and had a sandwich at jersey mike's. i ordered two more event tickets, one of them is for a saints game in may. i watched some of the spring football game on fox, birmingham beat memphis. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 34 cents. during my errand running i got a can of craft brew at the liquor store near me, a pryes pragmatic, so now four beers are waiting. 

party gods napkins

 at work there was more cleanup happening in the file room near me. i claimed some more items because of it. this included napkins that say 'party gods', guess it is a tiki party theme. i chose not only smaller napkins but some larger ones as well. other things claimed were a plush toy with the bank's logo on it looking like a super-hero. and a framed greeting card that said 'cherish today'. now there are two nice items i have with the bank's logo, as i got the helmet earlier. i am told the cleanup is happening as the benefits and payroll departments are moving. it was a low volume day on check printing, i got all of it into just one mail tub. in other issues i ordered a ticket for a play that will take place next month. in the evening i went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries. i had the st. paul saints baseball game on the radio, the saints were blanked by the iowa cubs. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 92 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard and bernadette hired a nurse to take care of howard's mom. it was followed by the one where leonard tries to watch a football game with penny's friends but leaves at halftime to fly kites with sheldon. kind of funny when howard tried to give a hello kitty kite to raj. 

tartar sauce used up

i had a tartar sauce packet left over from the lenten fish fries and it was used tonight on the chicken nugget meal. it is hard for me to throw something out if i can find some use for it, even something small like a condiment packet. i can leave it in the refrigerator until i am ready to use it. i drank the bottle of modelo with the evening meal so now three beers are waiting. 'young sheldon' was about connie getting arrested, and more passive aggressive squabbling between the grandparents after the courthouse wedding of georgie and amanda. it left a lot to be desired. it may be just as well that the show is in its final season as the quality is declining. the MSP film festival at the st. anthony main theater in minneapolis just started, it was on the news. i am already booked to see one movie and tried to find another of interest to me, and one that fit my schedule. i was unable to do so, and i guess this means it will be just one movie i see during the two-week run of the festival. at work the notable thing was getting inactive corporate cards sent to us, five in all. i sent a scan to a colleague, who said shred it. but i said there was five, and four of them were on the second page, along with a handwritten note about it. she picked them up when i was lunching, since i was having tuna inside the shop and didn't need a microwave oven for it as it was ready to eat. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 35 cents, along with a box of eight granola bars. there was more in the brown paper bag, but that was the only appealing thing to me. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when bob newhart was a guest star, arthur died and the funeral was on Star Wars Day. it was followed by the one where we meet bernadette as howard asked leonard to be fixed up with a friend of penny's. 

pat of jelly

 when i was in the breakroom for lunch i saw a pat of jelly on the counter, smuckers concord grape. i claimed it and will get it into a meal at home sometime soon. at work i called for ordering a toner cartridge for the check printer, then the agent tried to tell me it wasn't a MICR printer but it is. this went on for a while and i was getting annoyed. i got the incident ticket i was looking for, where i can enter my own notes on it. when i returned from lunch i got an i.m. from somebody i didn't know, employee directory said she is in tempe. then i got one from somebody i did know, from west side flats. i don't know why i was contacted, as i said if help is needed with a specific check, then email the shared box. no one ever did, and i was told by who i did know that everything was fine. the one i didn't know i am told is a senior leader. i sent a UPS ground envelope across the street, first time i think that courier has done this. usually it is the postal service that delivers to the wrong address, but close to the right one. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 53 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and penny see a psychic. amy shows up dressed like a catholic schoolgirl for sheldon. it was followed by the one where raj claims he lost his job and is getting deported, then works with/for sheldon. a rare time when music is played, it was 'eye of the tiger'. oh, and 'the conners' once again left a lot to be desired. darlene is unlikable and we still are not seeing louise that often, she wasn't in this one. 

strangers on a train movie

 this evening i went to see the movie 'strangers on a train', at the trylon in minneapolis. i knew it as the movie danny devito is watching in 'throw mama from the train', as one inspired the other. i was able to notice where alfred hitchcock made a cameo appearance, it was early on. when a main character leaves a train, alfred is boarding it, carrying a musical instrument. a teacher once said how hitchcock liked appearing in his own movies. this was when we were viewing 'the birds' in a high school class. i enjoyed the scenes from a carnival, especially the carousel as it was a reminder of riding on a carousel next to the como zoo in st. paul last summer. at times the crowd laughed, and i was laughing with them as i liked how some of the actors deadpanned their lines. this was true of the senator, and the sister of the main character's lady friend. there is likely another film i will attend in this series, as this month the trylon is showing hitchcock films to celebrate his 125th birthday. 

at work i chipped in for a gift card to a restaurant for my boss's birthday. we presented it just before i went to lunch. a business line was being annoying about one of their requests. i had sent checks for them directly to san diego and los angeles before, for taxes. i had to let them know, when asked why i hadn't sent copies, that the file still needed to get approved. i printed it once the file was approved. still amazed at times how many people i.m. me, thinking i am not doing my job, but i have to tell them it is 'circumstances beyond my control'. must have been somebody new. the others from the file were sent to oshkosh. there was a brief dial-in meeting in the morning with another business line, but i don't know why i was on that call. i could have just been sent an email of what was decided. after the movie i went on a walk and found 86 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon drunk dials steven hawking, and howard is revealed as 'clog-zilla'. it was followed by the one where raj and howard try to pick up goth chicks, and i like sarah, the one who said 'not that anyone cares'. i had to leave in the middle of the second one in order to get to the movie. 

ecuador flag

 recently i saw a flag on the pavement in the branch parking lot at work. i took a picture of it in order to look it up later. i found out it was the flag of ecuador. not sure why it was there, but it likely was the kind that could be displayed on a car. it did remind me of the 'fun with flags' segment of 'big bang theory' except i don't think that flag was ever on it. not too much out of the ordinary for the day, aside from another check i asked customer service to research. i was trying to find out if it was to be overnighted, as it said to send to a bank affiliate. there was no contact name on it as well. sounds like there is a collection happening for the boss's birthday to get a restaurant gift card. in the evening i went to perform, i was on near the end. i did three bank stories and spoke of music i heard when out and about. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar, all in quarters. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy said 'please pass the butter' to sheldon, who couldn't decide what device to get. it was followed by the one where sheldon talks about the private life of leonard and penny in front of the two, then it is mentioned how the two could just be friends. 

hello kitty blanket

 when i went out for a walk i saw a hello kitty blanket that had been abandoned. i likely would have kept it if it was snoopy. i was near a laundromat so i left it inside. i liked how i didn't have much to do for the day. i did laundry in the morning and stayed in for most of the day due to the rain. in the afternoon i watched a college basketball game on ABC, the iowa women were playing south carolina in the national championship. iowa led for a while in the first half but trailed by three at the half and lost 87-75. still another banner season though. the shooting and rebounding just wasn't there. i got a look at the schedule for the upcoming MSP film festival and ordered a ticket for a movie that will be screened in two weeks, so on the second weekend. i had to be careful to avoid scheduling conflicts as i knew i already had plenty of events booked. i was able to find one day that was completely open, with no saints game or meetup event to attend. the last time i had been to this festival was pre-covid. after watching 'the simpsons' in the evening, about food delivery drones, i finished watching a charlie brown DVD from a week earlier. this was the 'easter beagle' disc, and i watched the bonus episode, 'arbor day', as well as a documentary about the making of 'easter beagle'. during my walks i found 76 cents. 

ufl game, st. louis

 this evening i watched a UFL game that was being played in st. louis, on ABC. the st. louis battlehawks beat the arlington (texas) renegades on a last-second field goal. i had heard of a merger of the two spring football leagues and had to research it further. both leagues had eight teams, the XFL and USFL, and the combined league has eight teams as well. this means just half of the teams survived the merger. i had seen some of the USFL games on TV the past two seasons. i just barely recall the earlier versions of both leagues, the former had folded after just one season due to low TV ratings, then tried again and folded due to the pandemic. the latter lasted three seasons, then folded, although it was the same league in name only. the later version of the USFL acquired the intellectual property and that was it. i do visit st. louis annually to see the cardinals but it is unlikely that i will attend a football game when i am in town as the league plays just a 10-game schedule, so five home games a year. but i still might want to snag a souvenir, and i would like to think there are some at the airport. what i found online from the league's website that is of interest to me is magnets, towels, pins, and pennants. this interests me more than hats and shirts. not too surprising that of the eight teams in this merged league, three of them are in texas, as that state loves its football. 

  before watching the game this evening, i was pleased with what i got done. in the morning i went to the credit union to dump change into my savings account, in roseville. i tried eagan first, but their machine was broken. i went to the nearby walgreen and got some discounted easter candy, reese's peanut butter as well as some oreo cookies in a plastic egg, then made it to the alternate location just before closing for the day. the total going into savings from the past three months was over 15 dollars. then i went to eat at the cane's chicken near the mall as it was midday. enjoyed the music i heard while there, it was johnny cash's 'i walk the line' and shaggy's 'angel'. i dropped off recycle near the capitol, then picked up one order at the post office. then i went home for a little while and did my taxes online, first time with jackson hewitt. cheaper than with h and r block, and it included both federal and state returns. when i went out again i picked up a can of icelandic beer at a liquor store, so now there are four beers waiting. then i went to the copy store to print the tax returns and two event reminder pages. and i got a jamocha shake at arby's. after i had the evening meal i went to get groceries at aldi. later on i went on a walk and found 59 cents. 

branch handled delivery

 in the afternoon a branch employee sent an i.m. and said there was a delivery for me. i was thinking it was a backorder on envelopes. i go out there and see a staples truck, found out it was janitorial supplies. the delivery driver tried to make a joke about what was being delivered that didn't land with me. i went back to the branch employee and said i prefer letting the branch handle it. the boxes were left in the hall, i had seen this before. i did finally get the manifest from the delivery of two days prior. i got a call from my boss just before i went to lunch. it was asking me to move paper grocery bags to the check shop. there had been some in the breakroom at one point, but by then there was just two boxes. one had a christmas tree in it and the other had plenty of rolls of wrapping paper in it. i liked how it was a fairly low volume day on check printing, i used the time to stay caught up on doing overnight labels. there was one request to enter that the recipient is blind, asking the envelope be handed to her or put in the mailbox. i entered it in the lower address lines in order to have it seen by the courier. in the evening i went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries. i left a little early for this errand as i wanted to be back home for the college basketball game on the radio, iowa in the women's final four. except i was unable to find it on ESPN radio, AM side. all that i found there was sports talk radio, no game of any kind. when i made it home i found the st. paul saints baseball game on the radio, saints were in nashville. saints were leading late in the game when i fell asleep, found out they went on to win it. when i woke up the final four game was on, so i caught the fourth quarter of the game. it was tied at the end of that quarter and iowa went on to beat connecticut, 71-69.  later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 79 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were both about sheldon going to texas to visit his mom. the first was when he went to NASA with howard, the second was when he ran away after finding out his findings at the north pole were a sham to keep him happy. 

three door checks

 after the issue of the locked door at work i was asked to check it three times in the morning. at one point the outer door was locked but the inner door was not. and of course, we needed the outer door unlocked during the day for access to the UPS box. i even spoke with a branch employee by i.m., who said that a driver noticed the locked door. hopefully it stays fixed for a while. also notable was how i researched a check and said it wasn't overnighted because this code-word wasn't on the check. another was returned to the business line in st. louis as the street address was crowded out by multiple 'attention to' lines. i drank the can of voodoo ranger with the evening meal so now three beers are waiting. 'young sheldon' was about the baby being baptized by two different preachers. looks like the next episode will be the wedding of georgie and mandy. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 75 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy had coffee with dermatologist emily and raj shows up. it was followed by the one where the friends go to the north pole. 

luncheon audible

 at work there was a luncheon, but we had to call an audible. the first restaurant was near the workplace, but after getting water and placing orders, then waiting for a little while, the server said the cook did not arrive. we left and went to a vietnamese place in a nearby town. i had sweet and sour pork with fried rice, it arrived after all of the others did. despite being offsite for over an hour it didn't leave me all that far behind on my work. the check stock arrived before we left, and the envelope order arrived when i was at the luncheon. the boxes were left in the service entry, the one between the ATM and dumpsters. i brought them in ten boxes at a time, making three trips, when i had the time. a crew was working in that area and on the front door, and that door is locked again so it meant sending overnight packages to a box offsite to see that they would get picked up in a timely fashion. in the evening i got a vanilla shake at mcdonald's, confirming that the shamrock shake is done for the season. another location still had their sign up. later on i went on a walk and found 60 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard got a table, but then the friends still eventually moved to their normal eating spot at the couch. it was followed by the one where howard's space toilet didn't work. 

little football helmet

 more cleanup is still being done in the file room across the fence from the shop. and it means many things are being left in the breakroom to be claimed. i liked seeing a little football helmet so i claimed it. there are two college conference logos on it and most of the helmet is white, while the facemask is blue. this is comparable size to one i had bought many years ago, a hawkeye helmet, at a twins fan-fest. the proceeds went to the bob feller museum in iowa. also at work, my vacation replacement dropped in to the shop twice. sounds like it was due to being caught up on work and wanting to stay busy. i finished one thank-you letter in response to a birthday card and there are two more to do. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends went on a napa valley train and sheldon kissed amy. it was followed by the one where some of the friends went to las vegas and sheldon and raj hire a hooker for howard. sheldon learns about 'friends with benefits' from penny. 

three house numbers

 went to a meetup event after work, just a few miles from work. it was in an apartment complex and i wrote down three house numbers from the invite. one of them was the community room, where bible study was being held. found out the correct one was in the text message. i was the first one that arrived. i had picked up a bowl of fruit to share from hy-vee. while there i also got one of those protein packs that i consumed before getting there, along with a reese's peanut butter bunny. at walgreen during lunch i got some reese's peanut butter as well. being the day after easter it is a good day to take advantage of it being discounted. it was mostly snack foods at the potluck, had some of the popcorn along with donut holes. i chose this event over watching the iowa women in the college basketball tournament. i figured i could still check the score on my phone and i was right. iowa beat LSU to reach the final four. we were given the chance to request songs from youtube, i wanted to hear 'muzzle' by smashing pumpkins, and 'gurs over fear' by eminem and sia. this event was being done by the retired postal worker. first time i had seen him since the state fair. as usual, it was nice seeing him. but as for most of the others, not so much as i barely knew them or didn't know them, at all. at work i got the montly supply order in, first time in a while that i needed to order sealing fluid and courier envelopes. cleanup across the fence from the shop is still happening. during my walks i found 12 cents. 

muffin and cheese

 i went to easter church services this morning but i didn't stay long after the service was done. i went to the fellowship hall, had some juice, a little muffin, and some cheese, and then i left. i had some other things i wanted to do. i watched a little of the college basketball tournament but not a lot. saw the end of the first half of the purdue vs. tennessee game, then i laid down and fell asleep. found out purdue won. then i turned on the radio and listened to the st. paul saints baseball game, saints beat columbus in extra innings. i tried going to a bar for an open-mic but saw nobody i knew there so i guess the mic didn't happen this week due to easter. then i went to a holiday gas station, where i had a hot dog and an oreo ice cream sandwich and dunkin iced coffee. in the evening i called my dad and said the birthday card arrived. then i did the dishes. during my walks i found 55 cents. 

call me bill movie

 late in the evening i went to see the movie 'call me bill', a documentary about actor william shatner, in woodbury. there was plenty of clips from his acting career, no surprise how 'star trek', the TV show and movies, were shown the most. i did learn something while there, how there was two pilots for the show and shatner wasn't in the first one. i liked what was said about performing, how it is hard to watch himself on film, and i can relate to this. also what was said about stand-up comedy, which shatner has done sometimes. all about the timing, how delicate it is, and how it takes the 'courage of a madman' to do it. it helped to watch a trailer for it on youtube, where i saw a clip from 'big bang theory' where he guest starred as himself. this clip did seem to tell us why the title was chosen, as it was his line on the show. a clip from 'star trek' did seem to explain a gag sometimes seen on 'theory', the weird chess board that was used by sheldon. funniest had to be when shatner was asked to speak at an event honoring george lucas, as the gag was the confusion between 'star trek' and 'Star Wars', then seeing storm troopers try to haul him away. also liked hearing a song done with brad paisley, in reference to being a celebrity. i got plenty of things done before then. in the morning there was three things on my list. i got a can of german beer at a liquor store, so now there are four beers waiting. then i walked over to the post office, three e-bay orders were picked up, all were baseball cards. then i had a blizzard treat at dairy queen, mint brownie. then i went home for short time and when i went out again it was to jersey mike's for a sandwich. used more points for a free sandwich, and it was the first time having more than just chips and a drink with it as i got some  'tastykake krimpets'. reminded me of hostess or dolly madison zingers. it was afternoon by then so it was time for the college basketball tournament on ABC, the iowa women beat colorado 89-68. after the game i got groceries at aldi, and since i had some time before the movie started i went over to the nearby target store. i got a lunchables with capri sun and chocolate chip cookies, and consumed it before i went to see the movie. during my walks i found 52 cents. 

ornaments adopted

 i wasn't expecting to find christmas ornaments on easter weekend, but i did at work. it was in the hall near the check shop. some boxes and bags were marked as 'trash'. i got a look at the brown paper grocery bag full of ornaments and 'adopted' three of them. this was two santas and a star, which said 'happy holidays'. one santa looks taller than the other due to the hat being shaped like a dunce cap. i found branches for all three on my table-top tree when i got home. i also claimed a scale-model car, a t-bird, from this bag. at the end of the day i noticed the box of wrapping paper rolls was moved into the breakroom. in the afternoon i grumbled about being asked to intercept a check. i had done it before but this time there was two that i found and i didn't like having to guess which one. the request was late, so it was after i had run checks through the machine and it meant going only by payees when already in envelopes. when i found two for the same payee i was told to send out one but not the other. a meeting with a business line for early next week has already been moved back a week. near the end of the day i decided to unarchive a work goal as i was told by the boss how the team needed goals in by the end of the day. after work i went to a fish fry. i had been to the one at this church before, and knew the turn-off was tricky. make a turn and stay on the road that gets you up the hill, stay straight and the road name changes and you miss it. some fire-fighters were just outside the building when i arrived, guess they were there to eat just like me. i paid and got a slip of blue paper, then i sat down and a volunteer took my ticket and brought my meal. the potato was still hot to the touch when i unwrapped it from the foil. an older couple was at the table, and when i spoke of being an iowa native the man said he was from iowa as well, humboldt. after i was done i went home for a short time, then went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries. then i watched some of the college basketball tournament, duke was playing houston. i laid down at halftime and fell asleep, missed the second half, but found out duke won a close one. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 46 cents. 

french brittany dancing

 after work i went to the french alliance and did brittany dancing. it was the third and final session of the series i had seen in their regular emails. liked seeing a bagpipe as part of the musical instruments. the musicians were in the middle of the floor and we danced around them. this was the same room where i did their 'discotheque night' back in december. i preferred the 'circle' or 'chain' dances as no partner was needed. i sat out most of the partnered dances as i didn't bring one to the venue. i liked how i stayed active for most of the event, and i could tell as i ended up sweating. and i already knew how i don't enjoy being idle, as it gives me too much time to think. the price of this event was less than a meetup dancing event i had done before. if this event was offered again, i could consider going. before it started i went to the gallery room to see what art was on display, but not a lot was there. the art is often why i have been making regular visits to their building in recent years. i would like to think i did enough exercise from the dancing that i burned off much of the big meal i had, a gyro and fries. at work there was four check copy requests in the afternoon. i still like seeing the goodies for employee appreciation week. i had some more fruit cups. when i went to walgreen during my lunch i picked up a special magazine about basketball player caitlin clark. i have enjoyed reading it already, and liked how there is a section covering some famous athletes that are also iowa natives including kurt warner and bob feller. during my walks i found 25 cents. 

cracked cereal bowl

 in the morning i noticed a cereal bowl was cracked. it was the one i bought from target over a year ago, i had dropped it when washing it this past week. i got some work done and shortly after the nearby dollar tree opened for the day i found another one there. the replacement is a green plastic bowl. i wanted to continue to have seven bowls in the lineup, one for each day of the week. i bought some other items while there, some dish soap as well as two charlie brown books. nice how there is a wide variety of items there, for very little. i had been there a few times before. at work the employee luncheon was postponed, i knew this could happen as it had happened with previous luncheons. the boss and some others were reported by email as working from home, with the boss it was due to gout. i was still able to get mail delivered though, as some were still in the office. it is employee appreciation week so there was plenty of goodies on the upper level. i had two fruit cups and a bottle of apple juice, along with two cookies. one check i had overnighted just two days earlier had already been returned, listed as 'refused'. i was given an alternate address and it was sent out again. i had a bottle of miller with the evening meal so there are three beers waiting. 'the conners' was a rerun. later on i went on a walk and found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon was on the radio about a theory that was disproven by leonard. it was followed by the one where the friends take a train to san francisco and penny is called about a flash drive. 

steve martin documentary

 recently there was a segment on a morning news show on CBS about actor-comedian steve martin, about an upcoming documentary. i found it on youtube. i liked how there was many career highlights in it but did not see a clip from 'planes trains and automobiles', the movie he did that i know best. hopefully it is in the full documentary. and it means finding out how to watch it. if on cable TV or streaming services, i don't have those. looks like it was another day at work where most of my colleagues decided to work from home due to the weather. i didn't mind that much. i took a slight detour during the morning commute after seeing on a video board what the delay would be on the main road. at least i was moving, that was the main thing i cared about. there were some emails sent to me that were requests to overnight checks, and i didn't see those two checks until the second i-pay file. it is still working well to cut the two fargo files in half, or into thirds, and print some smaller files in between. i am printing about a thousand checks at a time, and still no cases of the printer shutting off in the middle like earlier in the year. at the end of the day my car was picked up from the shop, muffler replacement. first song i heard from the radio was 'second chance' by shinedown. i like the video for it, where a young lady leaves behind her family to chase the dream of being a ballerina. 'night court' had roz from the show's original run appearing, getting married in the courtroom. later on i went on a walk and found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj saw lucy again after penny spotted her in a bar, then various people say 'what is wrong with you?' after penny fixes him up and it goes badly. it was followed by the one where penny shoots a couch cushion with a paintball gun. 

alternate parking

when i went to perform this evening i had to find alternate parking as the first pay station i went to wasn't working. it meant paying a little more but it wasn't too big of a deal to me. i went on early and did some bank stories. later on the show runner did the happy birthday song for me as one of my stories was about a delayed birthday card. i caught the ending of the iowa women's basketball game at the bar, iowa beat west virginia 64-54. at work i was emailed two overnight requests from the fraud file.  used my snow shovel for the first time in a while in the morning, although it was slushy by then as rain followed the snow. during my walks i found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when bob newhart was a guest star, and said 'back off, bowtie' to bill nye. it was followed by the one where leonard's mom shows up and leonard drinks wirh penny. 

nut roll, vending machine

 even with the snowstorm, i still ventured out a little throughout the day. one stop was to a vending machine at a laundromat, got a nut roll there. another was to a gas station for an ice cream sandwich. i stayed busy with going through my baseball card collection, found a few more slots to free up. watched some of the college basketball tournament, purdue won big against utah state. i liked how the big man for purdue, zach edey, was direct during the post-game interview. i laid down for a while and caught the second half of 'the simpsons', where marge was getting kids to a concert but apps were deleted. i know this is common now at many venues, where tickets are now on smartphone apps. i read through the golden books i had recently ordered, 'ghostbusters', 'shrek', and 'space jam 2'. all were condensed stories. during my walks i found 1 dollar 27 cents. 

color changer toy

 when i went grocery shopping at aldi i noticed some thomas the tank engine toys in one aisle. these were color changers, and i got the one that said thomas although some others from this story were available such as diesel. much like the hot wheels scale model cars, it is likely that i will keep it in the package. this was after i had the evening meal. in the morning i went to the post office, one order was picked up. it was the three golden books from amazon. before that i dropped off the recycle near the capitol. after the post office, i got lunch at the holiday gas station, a rib sandwich and hash browns. in the afternoon the iowa women played the opener of the national basketball tournament on ABC against holy cross. iowa started off flat but won 91-65 and had second stringers finishing the game. no surprise how there was some more caitlin clark commercials during the game, a newer one from state farm as well as one from xfinity. i liked the former as it has a sia song in it, 'unstoppable'. i watched some of the men's tournament on CBS as well, tennessee beat texas in a close one. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 dollars 54 cents. 

delayed courier

 most notable about the day at work was how the arrival of the courier was delayed. after being more than an hour late i called the number i had and i was told the courier's car was in the shop, and a fill-in was found. just minutes later, i get an i.m. from a colleague saying a call was being sent my way. except i see the colleague as i leave the check shop and i am asked to let in the fill-in. we got the mail, and the tubs, then i went to lunch. the PDF check file was a higher volume than typical, especially in the morning, over four hundred. i still check each one and there was some overnights in it. i was asked to overnight a check from the fraud file, which is printed in the afternoon. when i wanted to send the tracking number i noticed there was more than one employee with that name in the address book. it was the one from missouri, suburban st. louis. i spoke of visiting that city annually. after work i had a fish sandwich at mcdonald's. after i got home i decided to get groceries at a target and walgreen instead of hy-vee. this included some pizza rolls from the latter. i watched some of the college basketball tournament. some of these upsets don't surprise me much. james madison beat wisconsin, and as the saying goes if you let a team hang around for too long it is harder to erase the deficit. later on i went on a walk and found 2 dollars 37 cents. 

use an older icon

 at work i was asked to use an older icon for check printing after there was issues getting logged back in due to a server re-boot. i said i was fine with logging off for the re-boot only after the two largest files of the day were printed, both fargo files. and when i was able to print again, it was not a moment too soon as there was plenty of afternoon files waiting for me. a check was picked up late in the day, i didn't mind when i was asked about it. i said i do have a cut-off time for dropping off mail though. i stayed in for most of the evening due to snow in the forecast. i went through my baseball card collection and freed up two slots for cards i just ordered on e-bay. as an iowa native i have met casey blake, who played for various major league teams. i watched a little of the college basketball tournament, oakland won in an upset over kentucky. i drank the can of wabasha with the evening meal so now four beers are waiting. during my walks i found 1 dollar 11 cents. 

kenosha kickers

 i went to an event after work at a writer organization i am a member of. now i am told we will called 'friends' instead of 'members'. a chalkboard asked your favorite music acts, and one answer was the kenosha kickers. i knew this as john candy's band in the movie 'home alone'. looks like, based on online searches, there are many listings of souvenirs available with this band's name on it. along with a story about the inspiration behind the band, or at least who played the band members. i was one of the readers at the open-mic, and some found me after the event was done and said they liked what i had read. how it was relatable to write about walking. i had some cheese and crackers before it began. and i went to a gas station nearby after it was done and got some godfather's pizza, along with eggo-flavored milk. no doubt i could taste the syrup in it. at work i got more tax forms done, just under four hundred. machine was jamming a lot, otherwise i would have done more. but we are nearing the end on this project. when i got back from mcdonald's witrh a shamrock shake my boss was in the shop. but we found out there was no duplicated checks that we were asked to search for. late in the evening i went on a walk and dound 26 cents. 

duplicated overnight label

 early in the day i liked figuring out what had happened with the overnight packages from the previous day. i had created 26 overnight labels but the number sent to the drop-box was 25. i wondered why one was missing and checked history, noticing i had duplicated one of them. i found out which one wasn't sent out and voided that one. i like knowing it is few and far between on voiding labels. this may have been the first time i had duplicated one. despite the high volume of checks to print, it was nice to get out earlier than the previous day. but i am aware of how it makes a difference on how early i finish with the overnight labels, and if there are any in the second i-pay file. in the evening i wrote poetry inspired by a long walk i did recently as i wanted to have new material for an event at a writers organization i belong to. later on i went on a walk and found 38 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard got back early from the north sea and spent time with penny, but was caught in the act by sheldon. howard was emotional due to applying estrogen to his mom. it was followed by the one where sheldon is a hypochondriac with dr. stephanie and she tells him to stop talking, while leonard keeps telling penny that he and dr. stephanie are not living together. 

delayed birthday card

 i checked the mail and there was a delayed birthday card from my dad. finally arrived and was postmarked more than two weeks ago. guess this has happened with other mail before, as it has happened with cards from mom as well. then i was off to perform. i went early in the lineup and this is something i prefer as i was tired. i didn't do a bank story this time but i did a karaoke story. at work i ran a thousand more tax forms through the machine for payroll so there is about a thousand left. otherwise there wasn't too much out of the ordinary. the toner cartridge arrived so i guess i can tell them to close the book on the recent maintenance ticket. during my walks i found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns are when leonard is in the north sea, while amy and bernadette are at a convention together. both bad-mouth the guy that the other lady is with but are attracted to men that are just like who they bad-mouthed. it was followed by the one where dr. stephanie gives stitches to leonard and he cries. 

giving tree, shel silverstein

 i made a nice find at a little free library, it was the book called 'giving tree' by shel silverstein. i was familiar with this author due to his also writing songs made famous by loretta lynn, as well as johnny cash. but i think this was the first time i had read any of his books. when i was young i recall there was a 'giving tree' at church where people could leave gifts, guess that name was inspired by this book. it was about a tree that kept giving to a man over the course of the man's life, kind of a sad story. i recall this being the theme of some postage stamps i had bought during a visit to st. louis. a week earlier i had found four books on a walk, i decided to keep two of them. not just the art book, but also one about jonas salk. and i decided to leave the other two at this little free library when i got a look at what was already there. i am pleased with having all three of these books. i stayed in for much of the day, didn't have a lot to do. i went through the baseball cards i had bought a week earlier and got them in to binders. i did go eat at IKEA for lunch as i wanted to use one of my birthday offers, free cake. i got the swedish meatball meal. i have one offer left to use, at redbox. i placed another order for golden books at amazon, paying with the gift cards i had earned recently. when i went to aldi i got more than just the animal crackers i needed for my lunch at work, i also got some cookies as well as sliced cheese. in the evening i went on a walk and found 63 cents. 

one love movie

 this afternoon i went to see the movie 'one love', the bio-pic about musician bob marley, in eagan. notable about being there was using my birthday offer, a free small popcorn. except the tub looked pretty big to be a small, but no complaints from me! i wasn't too familiar with the subject of the movie, mainly being name-checked in a red hot chili peppers song. along with the song/movie title being in a TV commercial for the jamaican tourist bureau. but after seeing the movie i said 'oh, i guess i had heard that one before' about many of his songs. i had heard of his son, ziggy, who does the intro to the movie. when i was hearing 'rastafari' in the movie, fairly often, it reminded me of a 'simpsons' episode where homer wears a jamaican hat. it compares well with the many other musician bio-pics i had seen. it helps that it ends on a high note, as it is the best way to end the story. hard to say what will be the next movie that i will see in theaters. although there was a big display in this theater for the upcoming 'ghostbusters' movie where one can tag themselves in photos. i got plenty done before seeing the movie. there was checking my box at the post office, no orders to pick up but i still tossed the flyer in my box into the recycle bin. then it was on to great clips for a haircut. nice how the wait wasn't too long, there was more staff than on previous visits. then it was on to jersey mike's for a sandwich, using points to make it free one as it was one of my birthday offers. after the movie i had a blizzard treat at the nearby dairy queen. then i went home and laid down, fell asleep for a while, waking up with just enough time to get groceries at aldi, after i got back i noticed i got everything except animal crackers, so i can make a return visit the next day. then i went to sing karaoke. i did two songs, 'unstoppable' by sia, and 'losing my religion' by REM. i got green beads during the first song. when i was drinking my beer at the bar after the first song, a dude spoke of going into the wrong bathroom. then he sounded like a nut, about who is in control of everything. i was happier when he left the bar area. during my walks i found 52 cents. 

 

unused garlic

 i went to a fish fry after work at a church in the east metro. i noticed there was garlic available but i didn't use any at all, left it on the table. probably was meant for the flat bread. once i sat down at a table i noticed a young boy kept staring at me but i said nothing, i just went about my business of eating. eventually i spoke with the man next to me about various subjects, there was three kids at the table, two boys and a girl. we are nearing the end of lent and i already have ideas for meals for the next two fridays. it was nice taking the time to sit and enjoy the meal. other times i am picking up a take-out meal on the way home from work. i drank water out of coffee cups, i didn't mind. at work i ran more than a thousand tax forms through the machine, first chance i had to do so after getting caught up on running checks through. there is about two thousand left. there was a dust-up about a check from the previous day that i didn't overnight. i said i was only overnighting two as one of the emails was duplicated. it would have been the opportunity to tell me there still was three and what the third one was. when heading home i dropped off a box of check stock at a UPS facility as another bank office needed it. after the meal i went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries, including two more boxes of cereal. some still are listed as a manager special. later on i went on a walk and found 50 cents. 

easel going to NYC

 i move outgoing packages for UPS down to the branch whenever i see it. there was three items and one of them is an easel. after doing so i let the branch manager know that it was beyond me as to why the bank was sending an easel to NYC. but it inspired me to listen to taylor swift's 'welcome to new york' sometime soon, and i did this evening. also notable about the workday was a meeting in the afternoon, a dial-in about the un-printable pages we see when printing checks. our i.t. people saw what was happening and cleared them and said a call would be placed to the provider about it. i am still finding some annoying things on a singles site on facebook. there was a posting where one group member spoke of stealing hoodies from family members and i said to myself this is somebody i don't care to meet at all so i blocked this individual. i am aware of how hoodies are a popular item, i have two and one was a giveaway at a st. paul saints baseball game. but i don't see this as somebody that i can trust with anything if i hear this before even meeting them. 'young sheldon' had a storyline about mary re-joining the baptist church. yet another thing that i see being done just for the punchline. i know this is supposed to be a comedy show, which means punchlines are to be expected, but it still seems like the writers are trying too hard and this makes it harder for the show to go out strong in its final season. i drank the can of miller with the evening meal so now there are five beers waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 51 cents. 

blank pages piling up

 my boss and vacation replacement were in the shop in the morning and we saw how the blank pages are piling up from the check printing. it is proven that they are un-printable and seem to be a cover page for each check file. and i have had to highlight and then hit 'print selected' to get anything printed. a meeting about it was set up for the afternoon, then moved back a day. another meeting was actually a luncheon and scheduled for next week, then moved back a week. it will celebrate birthdays for me and my vacation replacement. volume is still high on the fargo files, sent out four mail tubs at the end of the day. backlog went down, but still a little over two thousand. next day is more likely on eliminating it since the volume should be much lower. at lunchtime i got another shamrock shake at mcdonald's. in the evening i got two beers at the liquor store near me, a modelo and a voodoo ranger, so now six beers are waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 6 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the dudes played d and d, then the ladies joined them after their las vegas trip was a no-go. it was followed by the one where we meet ramona, and the song 'be my yoko ono' is playing as she takes over sheldon's life. i am still watching 'the conners' because i like john goodman. except they still aren't showing louise that much and the fighting between darlene and becky over who is smarter was an annoying storyline. 

me and my broken heart, rixton

 recently i was out and about and heard a song and had to pause. i found out it was 'me and my broken heart' by rixton. research said the british band is now known as push baby. there was mention of how it was based on 'lonely no more' by rob thomas, an interpolation of it. this may be why i liked it as i agreed with how i didn't want to be angry anymore. surprised a little how i missed it being a hit as it reached the top 20 on the billboard hot 100 but it must not have been on the radio stations i was listening to. the video shows a poker game between the band and con artists and the police show up to raid the game. and we see scenes in a boxing club as well. i guess this is more proof of how music can be calming. at work i largely got caught up on the backlog after the server issues. had to figure out which one of the three choices given on what check printer to use. all checks are printed, three mail tubs went out at the end of the day. there still are some checks from a fargo file that need to be run through the machine but it shouldn't take that long the next day. especially if my vacation replacement expressed interest in helping run them through. we spoke by phone in the morning, he did another day of working from home, spoke of being ill. 'night court' had a story about sheep and a psychic, and more mention of abby's dad. later on i went on a walk and found 78 cents. 

stuck cartridge, server issues

 the toner cartridge was still stuck in the printer until almost midday, when a tech arrived and freed it. it took some jiggling and wiggling to get it out. then it meant putting in another one as the stuck one was empty. before then my boss said to have some checks, including for our tax specialist, printed at the branch. had to figure out check stock placement as the branch manager first gave me checks printed upside down. i cleared the backlog, then went to lunch and there was server issues. so more unprinted files at the end of the day. the system listed them as printed but didn't print them. it meant just one mail tub of checks went out at the end of the day. i sent out as much as i could. i went to perform in the evening, i went on near the end. one of the stories was hearing a word for the first time at work in an email. i liked chatting about performing with the mad hatter, who is still singing in spanish. during my walks i found 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when raj did a photo shoot with people magazine. 

scenes from childhood

 i went on a long walk around the neighborhood after watching a basketball game. not only did i find some coins, i found books on a bench at a former bus stop. one of them was 'scenes from childhood'. it was paintings my mary bruce sharon. i like having it, hadn't heard of this artist before. sounds like grandma moses, only starting painting later in life. i liked not having much to do for the day. i used one of my birthday offers, at caribou coffee. so now there are four left. then i made it back home to start watching a college basketball game. the iowa women were playing nebraska in the big ten conference tournament championship. iowa trailed at the half but found a way to tie it and won in overtime. in the evening i watched 'the simpsons', a parody of 'love boat'. during my walks i found 1 dollar 11 cents. and i found the time to shred some junk mail. 

baseball cards, best buy

 i had another best buy gift certificate to use, and i wanted to use it soon since it is expiring in two weeks. so i went to the eagan location to get a pack of baseball cards. except there weren't any. a team member said the roseville location had some so eventually i went there. a team member saw what i was getting and said he hoped there was a good card in it. except i didn't know the player's name he mentioned, found it was a player for the reds. i said i hoped some of my older cards are worth something, such as a nolan ryan. after i was done there i went to a bar to watch a college basketball game. the big ten tournament was on, and the iowa women were playing michigan in a semifinal. iowa was ahead at the half and won big, even had all second stringers finishing the game. plans are to watch the championship at home as it is on CBS. i didn't do much after getting back from the bar. i picked up some small food items at a holiday gas station, including a pb and j sandwich, as i had nachos in addition to beer at the bar. i did plenty before i went to best buy. there was going to the post office, two orders picked up. dropping off recycle at the capitol. printing an event ticket at the copy store. along with going to aldi for groceries. and sometimes it can be hard to read my facebook news feed, even after unfriending and unfollowing some. there was a posting from the flautist, who moved to texas a while back. she spoke of breaking her flute onstage, on purpose, out of frustration. also of having multiple sclerosis, and essentially giving up. i don't know how to respond to all of that, so i didn't. during my walks i found 1 dollar 21 cents. before midday i got a bottle of miller at the liquor store near me so now four beers are waiting. 

new zealand coin

 i went to hy-vee in eagan tonight and it was nice finding a foreign coin in the return slot at the coin counter. it was a 2-dollar coin from new zealand. online research said the bird on it is an egret. it will go in the tin with the others. after work i picked up a fish dinner from the ukraine center in northeast minneapolis. it was a long day at work, as just before midday the check printer went down. needed to swap out the toner cartridge and it is stuck inside the machine. technician is not arriving until monday at the earliest. looks like the iowa women beat penn state in their first game of the conference tournament and will play michigan in the next round. during my walks i found 2 dollars 36 cents. 

birthday offers

 i find out it can be good to sign up for loyalty programs. my birthday is this month and i have seen five offers. there is IKEA, caribou coffee, the eagan movie theater, redbox, and jersey mike's sandwiches. two of them i signed with in the past year, the sandwich shop and movie theater. i will have to check as to how long i have to use all of them, i know for caribou it is one week but that is longer than it had been in some years. at work there was plenty of overnight labels to do, and some of them arrived later than typical. when there was a stop payment request on a check that i overnighted last week, i said that is your business to request one. of course, another department has to handle stop payments. how it got misplaced at the branch is beyond me. i drank the can of watermelon vodka with the evening meal so now three beers are waiting. i watched president biden's state of the union address and the republican response, which was given by alabama senator katie britt. the lead-off program of the night, 'young sheldon', was about sheldon and his mom returning from germany. finally there was another scene about his dad being a football coach, i feel like that is not covered often enough and all too often it is just a punchline when it is. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 36 cents. 

snoopy hershey kisses

 for the valentine day candy holiday i got plenty of snoopy hershey kisses. this was two boxes and a bag. still working on them. i noticed there are plenty of characters from the comic strip represented on the wrappers, besides just snoopy. i haven't opened the bag yet but i noticed the wrappers from the two boxes are in red, as well as pink. the top half of the box has snoopy on it so i consider this to be the souvenir i was looking for that will go next to the others. once the bag is emptied, same thing. at work, two boxes of envelopes arrived, picked up from the branch near the end of the day. still wondering about the rest of the monthly supply order. in the morning i did another online class, three completed now, and just one left. i placed another order for an amazon gift card with the points i was given this week. with how much i have in gift cards now, my next amazon order is likely a free one. just a question of what i get, and when. i know there are some CDs and DVDs on my list. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 26 cents. there were no 'big bang theory' reruns on as the state high school hockey tournament was on. hermantown was way ahead against alexandria when i swtiched it back after watching 'the conners', already a rerun, and the news. 

caitlin clark shirt

 after work i went to scheels in eden prairie, at the mall, and picked up a caitlin clark shirt. this is the white one that nike just released after she broke another scoring record this weekend. i got a bottle of powerade as well. i got a good look around at the store, it has two levels and the shirt i wanted was on the lower level. there is a ferris wheel inside this store but i didn't ride it. i got a picture of the herb brooks mannequin, honoring the famous olympic hockey coach. as a u of iowa grad i see getting the shirt as a way of representing my school. there are some hawkeye huddles this weekend as the big ten women's basketball tournament is at the target center. i will try to attend one, as my schedule allows. at work i know things will get better as the branch manager let me know when i was in the breakroom for lunch how some boxes arrived, it was the overnight envelopes i had ordered. i did not send out a high number of the PDF checks as i noticed there was a payee but no mailing address on it. i sent out an email to various shared boxes and managers to let them know. i ordered a st. paul saints baseball ticket for april vs. the iowa cubs, after getting notice i had a credit from a rainout in september. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 11 cents. 

back to south dakota

 a colleague who was back for work said near the end of the day that she was driving back to south dakota soon. she had been in the office for a week and i found this out when she was across the fence looking at benefit records in the afternoon. she spoke of plans of being back in the spring. hopefully i am in the office at that time, as i do like seeing familiar faces. but i likely will be as i don't take that much time off. there was two requests in the afternoon on the fraud file, a check intercept and a check pull to have it overnighted. i grumbled about it but i found both. i am used to the intecept requests by now. i ended up getting points from it that i can use to get another amazon gift card. but it left me behind on my work. in the morning i did an online class. four of them are due at the end of the month, so now three are left. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 cents. the 'big banh theory' rerun was when howard ate peanuts to keep leonard at the hospital a little longer to help with the surprise party plans. 

maestro movie

 went to a late screening of a movie, 'maestro', that was finished in the early morning, in eagan. i had seen plenty of movies that brad cooper is in, including 'a star is born'. and i do like bio-pics, especially about musicians. i was largely unfamiliar with the subject of this movie, composer/conductor leonard bernstein, besides being name-checked in an REM song, 'it's the end of the world as we know it'. the song is in the movie. i did read up on mr. bernstein before seeing the movie, which is up for oscars. impressive what he accomplished, such as doing the music for 'west side story', as well as kennedy center honors. cooper played bernstein, who also directed it. also recognized sarah silverman, who plays his sister. and as a charlie brown and snoopy fan i liked seeing snoopy appear twice, as a plush doll and as a macy's parade balloon. when i woke up i wanted to get started fairly early on laundry, so i could have it finished before a college basketball game began on Fox. the iowa women were playing ohio state, starting at midday. caitlin clark passed pete maravich for the scoring record with a free throw just before halftime and iowa went on to win, 93-83. next up is the conference tournament, iowa's first game will be friday. the alumni chapter will have gatherings related to the tournament games, unsure if i will attend any of them. i know the championship will be on local TV on sunday, on CBS, so no need to go to a bar to see that one. in the evening, after i went to perform, i did order a caitlin clark trading card on e-bay. while performing i did do more bank stories, and mention of attending a fish fry. later on i went on a walk and found 81 cents. 

drive away dolls movie

 just before midday i went to a screening of the movie 'drive away dolls' in inver grove heights. multiple reasons for why i picked this one. there was a good write-up about it in the minneapolis paper, and i like road movies. i had seen plenty of coen movies as well. i had seen some movies with margaret qualley before, among them 'novitiate' as well as 'sanctuary'. matt damon was in it as a senator. and it led to me looking up 'the europeans' by henry james as one of the ladies reads it. sounds like this novella was an inspiration for the movie. it takes place in 1999, guess that explains why we see them driving a k-car, a dodge aries. i picked up a poster after i had seen the movie and got a frame for it at target. this was after i had a sandwich at jersey mike's, near the target. when i got home i framed it right away, and i got a look at the other things i had framed. a nice chicago bears print showing soldier field had been unframed for a while but now it is again. i decided that a caricature of me from a company outing many years ago wasn't as worthy for framing as the bears poster. nothing to pick up at the post office, i got some hash browns and a hot apple pie from a holiday gas station on the way to the movie. i got a can of bud light from the liquor store near me so now four beers are waiting. i went to get groceries at aldi after i had the evening meal. i got a look at what was in sheet protectors in a binder and consolidated some more in order to get more recognition from work into the binders. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 dollars 44 cents. 

call them gentlemen

 i was picking up a fish dinner from a catholic church near work at the end of the day and a lady i paid for the dinner decided to refer to two boys seated nearby as 'gentlemen'. i said i liked it more than some other things, definitely better than 'sonny'. i was fine with paying an extra dollar for a brownie. i not only got fish, but also a baked potato, cole slaw, green beans, and some garlic bread. at work it was a big day of ordering in the morning. putting in the monthly supply order of check stock and envelopes was just the beginning. there was also a re-order of UPS envelopes since the order from two weeks ago didn't arrive. as well as ordering an amazon gift card since i got more points for intercepting checks this week. in the evening i went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries. i saw a display for gatorade with caitlin clark. i had bought her frosted flakes cereal previously. part of the day was trying to figure out logistics for the weekend, and i think i got it done. definitely want to see the iowa women's basketball game vs. ohio state, on fox, on sunday. and there are two movies i would like to see as well. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj and howard bought a 3-d printer. it was followed by the one where we meet missy, sheldon's sister, and all of his friends want to date her. 

full of life, christine and the queens

 i saw an amazon commercial tonight, as i recall it was during 'young sheldon', and the song in it was no doubt captivating. found the commercial and song on youtube, the commercial is called 'concrete jungle' and depicts a young lady with plants in her new home. the song is called 'full of life' by Christine and the queens. comments mentioned how it was a variation on pachelbel's canon, found that too. guess i had heard this canon before, but this german composer is not well known to me as, say, bach or handel. after a long day at work i really needed to hear this song. further research mentioned many pop songs doing variations or samplings of this canon. of course 'christmas canon' by trans-siberian orchestra sounds the most like it. first time i had heard of christine and the queens, guess this is a french performer. at work i put out two more toner cartridges for recycle, i was behind on this for a while. there was five and now it is down to one. late in the day i was asked to overnight a check that had been run through the machine. i was able to find it but let them know it was harder to find due to the late request. i drank the can of lift bridge with the evening meal so now three beers are waiting. 'young sheldon' was mainly about sheldon riding trains in germany and then having to walk back to heidelberg after being left behind when going to a food stand. during my walks i found 3 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends dress up like 'star trek' characters and their car is stolen in the desert. while the ladies argue about comic books. it was followed by the one where leonard buys a time machine online. 

bbq corn-nuts

 a colleague had some small bags of bbq corn-nuts and i claimed one of them. i noticed that the other was eventually left in the breakroom. i said i was willing to try them as i like bbq potato chips. i hadn't eaten any corn-nuts in a while. they were all right but i still prefer potato chips. matter of fact, i have had some of the cookies and potato chips on another floor the past two days. i picked up more boxes from the branch, two were for payroll and i kept one of them as it was envelopes. and i know there are more tax forms to do in early march. saw a colleague who is back for a visit when i was sending boxes up to the delivery table. i spoke about some of the movies i had seen lately and others i will likely see soon. there was an email communication with another colleague that was annoying. i was asked to overnight a canadian check, even after i said i can't find it. then i am told why, as the invoice isn't paid yet. this seems to explain why i hadn't seen this check yet. in the evening i listened to some of the iowa women's basketball game on the radio, playing at minnesota. i fell asleep in the second half as i was laying down, but iowa was way ahead and went on to win. later on i went on a walk and found 32 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends all went to h.r. after alex hit on leonard and he enjoyed it too much. it was followed by the one where we see the quiz bowl, lesley as the fourth team member after sheldon decided to form his own team. 

second harvest heartland

 i claimed a big bag of cereal at work this month from second harvest heartland, it was wheat chex. once there was enough space i dumped the contents into a box of crispy rice cereal. i will be finishing it soon. i had to research this organization, after seeing their name on the label. it is a food bank in brooklyn park, and the label gives their toll-free number. there are links to donate money, and food. and it says it serves 57 counties in minnesota and western wisconsin. how this two-and-a-half-pound bag ended up at the bank, hard to say. since it wasn't expired like many of the other food items left in the breakroom are. at work i picked up some boxes of lysol and moved them to the delivery table on another floor. the courier joked about wanting a check printed. i said my college roommate had joked about it as well, after hearing what my line of work is. i was asked to intercept 25 checks from a file sent to us from st. louis in the afternoon, was told those were duplicated. i knew three of them sounded familiar, as it was the same payee as the previous day, in terms of those to be 'returned to business line'. i was notified just in time, right before i was going to run them through the machine. those would have been harder to find once run through. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 52 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon hates santa after santa couldn't bring back his pop-pop, who died when he was five. it was followed by the one where sheldon gets a young rival, a north korean defector. 

interoffice envelopes, cup overflows

 i saw an email late last week and it said interoffice envelopes were being sent. we had just been sent some a few days earlier but i didn't mention that. there was two big boxes picked up from the branch. i said i was pleased with how many and likely wouldn't have to ask for more for a long while. no doubt our cup overflows. now it is a matter of when the overnight envelope order arrives. i started using ones with stick-on pouches in the middle of the day. it takes a little longer to complete those but the most important thing is to get checks out. in the evening i went to perform, and i went on near the end. i did one about returning a cart, along with a bank story and a karaoke story. nice seeing the mad hatter perform after me, playing a guitar and singing in spanish. during my walks i found 7 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy was spanked by sheldon for lying to her about being sick. it was followed by the one where sheldon is sick and leonard tries to avoid him by going to a 'planet of the apes' movie marathon. 

drop dead gorgeous movie

 in the afternoon i went to see the movie 'drop dead gorgeous' at the trylon cinema in minneapolis. i have been there fairly often in recent years so i finally added them as one of my likes on facebook. i did one thing i normally don't do, order a ticket a month in advance, as the demand was high for this one. at the outset there were four screenings scheduled, then two more were added and all six were listed as sold out. except the screening i attended had no one in the front row, besides me. during the previews i changed my seat as some late arrivals were talking and i didn't want that distraction during the feature presentation. i got a small cup of popcorn and a can of 7-up. i decided to attend this one after reading how this movie is a satire of beauty pageants- and filmed in minnesota. i didn't laugh at every joke but i liked a few that were dour, no surprise when i am dour. i felt myself tingling when the 'mary tyler moore' theme song was played, 'love is all around'. guess the movie released a soundtrack, this must be why there was a recent drag brunch with this movie as the theme. i didn't attend the brunch as i wanted to see the movie first. i had found some clips of this movie on youtube to stay interested during the month-long wait, but i am thankful i saw the movie in full eventually as it all made more sense in the end. my next visit to this micro-cinema is likely for some hitchcock films in april. after the movie i went to target and bought a CD by jelly roll. liked hearing some of his songs on the radio, and the clip i found on youtube of his testimony in congress about the fentanyl epidemic. one patron was swearing at everyone and it was catching the attention of security. in the morning i found a way to consolidate some of the saved articles in the binders. it freed up two more sheet protectors so i was able to get more things about work in the binders, such as last year's pay raise and the recognitions leading to being awarded points. 'the simpsons' was about mario kart. later on after doing the dishes i went on a walk and found 68 cents.

blaze credit union meeting

 this afternoon i went to the blaze credit union annual meeting at a mega-church in eden prairie. this was the first one after the merger of spire, which i was a member of, and highway credit unions. first one i had attended in four years as well. two were virtual due to the pandemic, and i skipped last year's as i was ill. shirts with the new name were being given out, so i got one. acrobats from circus juventas performed, much like previous years, after the annual meeting business was completed. plenty of TV ads for the credit union were shown, of course i liked the one with mike veeck, the former boss of the st. paul saints. and i still talk about getting car loans with this credit union because they are a sponsor of the saints. i picked up a quick lunch just before i arrived at the venue, it was a slurpee drink and breakfast sandwich from the speedway gas station. while there the cashiers spoke about somebody placing bets on various things, including the outcome of presidential elections. i said that one can make a bet on just about anything. i got some things done in the morning before i drove over there. i stopped at the post office, all three orders were ready to be picked up. and i printed a ticket for a saints game in april at the copy store. then i got a shamrock shake at mc donald's. after the meeting i picked up a green day CD from a target on the way home. after i had the evening meal i went to aldi for groceries. then i went to sing karaoke, i did maroon 5's 'this love'. the bartender was in a green and black outfit for a while, but then took it off. seemed a little early for a st. patricks day costume. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 7 cents. 

chat with deacon

 went to a fish fry in st. paul tonight at st. thomas more church and school. i had been to this place before for fish. there was a long line for food, and when i sat down i had someone join me shortly thereafter. it was a deacon of the church, and i said i liked seeing a linus statue in a corner of this dining hall. upon closer look i noticed it had been sponsored by mitchell law college. it was one that i hadn't seen before, and i have found over a hundred at various places. once i was done it was on to hy-vee in eagan for groceries. later on i went on a walk and found 87 cents. i watched quite a bit of a 'young sheldon' rerun when i got home from work, with david hasselhoff as a guest star. but there was the state high school hockey tournament on after that, so no 'big bang theory' reruns on tonight. not a big deal, easier to get on the road for the fish when this is the case. hill-murray was playing andover and hill was out to an early lead, 2-0, when i had to leave for dinner. found out hill went on to win the game, a semifinal in the girls tourmanent from the xcel center. at work i liked getting caught up on running checks through the machine, it helped that the volume was fairly low and of course the machines were humming along. 

red velvet brownie

 the bank brought us lunch and it was from jimmy john's. liked the variety of sandwiches offered. i also had a red velvet brownie, wrapped in plastic. not too often that the company buys lunch, it was likely due to a dial-in meeting. those who attended in person at another office got cake, celebrating service anniversaries. four mail tubs went out at the end of the day, still trying to get caught up on the fargo checks. i was still printing some from the previous day in the morning. there is just over two thousand printed that still need to go through the machine. good chance i will get caught up the next day. there were complaint messages about checks not arriving, so i did a 'schedule a pick-up' with UPS. some were still waiting to be picked up for two days. i checked one of those tracking numbers and it looks like a driver had been there near the end of the day, so now those checks are on the way. i drank the bottle of modelo with the evening meal so now four beers are waiting. 'young sheldon' had more about sheldon in germany, this pleased me. the 'dadada song' was in this episode, which had been in a volkswagen ad. later on i went on a walk and found 92 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard was jealous of penny's classmate. sheldon plays hackey sack in a private room. it was followed by the one where sheldon and leonard fight after a presentation, and howard uploads the video. the background music was 'three blind mice'. 

car shield offer

 there was one item in the postal mail for the day, it was an offer from car shield. it went into my box of things to shred. there was mention of the famous people who have endorsed it, but i still don't see the need for it. i think they've had an info-mercial on local TV before, after the evening news. at work there was three meetings, thankful that one of them was a dial-in, the middle one. the first was a team huddle, the third was a one on one with the boss, first one of those since may. i prefer days with no meetings at all, as it left me a little behind on my work. the two big fargo files were late, arrived in the mid-afternoon, so i printed off the special handling checks and those still went out same-day. one of the files i had just enough time to print all of them before the end of the day, but not enough time to run them through the machine. printing the larger file will have to wait until the next day. 'the conners' had chickens playing a toy piano. liked that more than jackie clashing with her mom, with the latter deciding to get on a train in Chicago. later on i went on a walk and found 18 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon left with raj's date, because raj was drunk, and boring. also shown was sheldon playing an electric piano after being served a spiked drink by penny. 

expired cereal

 when i went out for a walk i saw some food left at a bus stop. this included two boxes of cereal. except i checked the dates on both and both were expired, so it was left behind. i saw some jars of peanut butter as well, not expired yet, so i claimed one of them. during this walk i found 46 cents. earlier in the evening i went to a walgreen to return a cart i had seen near me. i've done it before, found a way to get a little cart into the back seat of my car. then i went inside to see if there was anything of interest to me. there were some valentine items remaining, i got some reese's peanut butter. and i got a can of lemonade and tea. at work there was a spike in volume on the PDF checks, i call it the 'california factor' as these were contract payments. it meant four mail tubs went out at the end of the day, more than expected for the first day back after a holiday. there was one colleague who picked up three checks, all in separate visits. one was printed more than a week ago. i watched 'night court', first time this season. a recurring theme was a character who was trying to sell condos in cleveland. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny didn't want a college history class paper to be written by leonard, so she got bernadette and amy to do it. this was followed by the one where howard was interested in the 'whore of omaha', penny's friend from back home in nebraska. 

joey meatballs, roseville

i had the day off from work as it was a bank holiday. i decided it was a good time to mark 20 years of living in minnesota by going to roseville to have lunch. when i was looking at housing i stayed at the motel 6 in that town and ate at the nearby joe senser's. the restaurant is closed now so i went to rosedale mall instead. i ate at a place called joey meatballs. i had one of their signature dishes called 'fat tony'. chose that one as it reminded me of 'the simpsons' as it is the name of the head gangster. then i had a blizzard treat at the dairy queen. i also needed to shop at jc penney. i got some jeans there, after noticing a table where girl scout cookies were being sold. but i said i wanted to get jeans first. after i got jeans i got a box of the peanut butter sandwich cookies. in the morning i went to the DMV in inver grove heights and applied for my driver license renewal. this was after i had some coffee at the caribou near me. i crossed most of the things off of my list. i got started on my income taxes online but have not filed yet. liked watching jeopardy as usual when i have a day off, knew one answer that the contestants didn't, the small business admin. in the evening i went to perform, went on early, second slot. notable was starting off with a story about what i saw on a facebook dating group, what a member posted. during my walks i found 2 dollars 85 cents. i got a can of vodka at the liquor store so now there are five drinks waiting. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard got back from space but everyone was too busy for him, he ended up getting some free cheesecake. it was followed by the one where leonard and lesley hook up and we see lesley flash freeze a banana.  

weirdo and nope

 i made a return visit to the minneapolis art institute, and this time got more than just a smashed penny as a souvenir. i bought five postcards and two buttons. the former were of some of the artwork i had seen. the latter had cats on them, saying 'weirdo' and 'nope'. i've said before how while i am in a bar performing i have encountered weirdos before, and to some i am the weirdo. and there are times where my only response to something, such as watching football on TV, is 'nope!' so both of these work for me. one of the postcards was the iconic image of the migrant woman during the depression. i got a good look at the two floors that had the art during a little over two hours there. i didn't have much else planned for the day. also notable was finding a little jigsaw puzzle of the mascot of my credit union, a truck. i decided to get it framed since i had one that fits it well. 'the simpsons' had a good joke about homer leaving the nuclear power plant in terms of how many times this had happened before. later on i went on a walk and found 37 cents. 

toothpaste ordered online

 i did one thing i hadn't done before, ordered toothpaste online. i like aim, and it is getting hard to find in stores. went to three different target locations and none of them had it. but i found it at amazon, and it has been ordered from a place in brooklyn, two tubes. usually i just order books, CDs, and DVDs there. i made plenty of stops throughout the day. went to the post office, one order picked up. and i went to the copy store, two event tickets printed there. i tried getting a slurpee at speedway but all that seemed to be available were fountain drinks, so i got one of those along with some peanuts. and three seven-eleven stickers with pac-man on them. i got groceries at aldi, and a sandwich at jersey mike's. an employee asked me if i knew sub teacher's friend, something about a pic of me being on instagram, and i am not on that social media site. then it was on to the Minneapolis art institute where i did a guided tour through the french alliance. i had been there before, but not too often. one of those times was their martin luther exhibit in early 2017. a poster of this exhibit was near the bathrooms when i went to use it.  we did some highlights, all painted by europeans across various centuries. i also saw one near the end of the tour that was familiar from a previous visit, about lincoln. and a grant wood painting of herbert hoover's hometown. i got a smashed penny souvenir as well. i think i will want to make a return visit soon so i can see even more of the art there. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 13 cents. 

care package arrived

 a box arrived for me at work, picked up from the branch just before midday. it was a care package from a classmate. there was five shirts in it along with a coat that i think was used when hunting. i can find some use for the shirts as they have collars on them and can wear them to work. there was a card in it on top with a hawkeye state sticker on it. this serves as an early birthday present for me, it was signed by my classmate and his wife. i know it is not the first time this friend has sent a similar package to me as this was done just before his getting married nearly 20 years ago. the courier who brings our mail had just arrived and got a look at it and heard about this classmate. i got caught up again on sending checks through the machine, which is nice. still was able to fit it all inside two mail tubs as the volume was low enough. when i got off work i went to arby's for a fish sandwich, the first in lenten friday meals. already got a look at many other nearby places who will have fish dinners. went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries in the evening and i bought ten items. one of them was a box of caitlin clark cereal, with proceeds going to her foundation. no surprise seeing it since she has done commercials for hy-vee and just broke the womens college basketball scoring record. later on i went on a walk and found 92 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon's mom showed up to help him get his job back after he insulted his boss. liked this one as she said 'shower, shirt, shoes, shove off'. 

new jersey, texas forms

 a day after getting california forms finished, i did the new jersey and texas tax forms. there was just over nine hundred in all for those two states. so that is it for tax forms until early march. and based on the expected volume, another box will have to be ordered by payroll. the commute was slow in the morning, almost got stuck. during my visit to walgreen during lunch i got some discounted valentine candy, all of it reese's peanut butter. after lunch the boss felt the need to call me about a PDF check file, even though it was just two checks, and i print all of those when i have the time. i drank the can of surly with the evening meal so now four beers are waiting. i would have liked seeing more about sheldon in Germany during the season premiere of 'young sheldon' but it was mostly about how the family was coping back in texas after the tornado. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard was in space, and the other astronauts drew on his face. and penny couldn't break up with leonard because of his sad face. it was followed by the one where lesley heats up soup in the science lab and the kiss with leonard doesn't go well. then leonard hits his head on the table on his date with penny.