fries from food truck

 i went to a meetup event in the evening, after i had a meal at home. usually, i don't get any food when i go to a micro-brewery, but i saw a food truck outside of it and saw their menu listed fries, among other things. i was inside for over an hour, after getting a beer, and chatted with various people. then i went outside after i had finished my beer and ordered some waffle fries. i also got some bottled water. i liked how the fries were in a round container. i used some of the BBQ sauce but not a lot. i walked over to my car about two blocks away and started eating the fries while in my car, and i was done before i drove all of the way home. when i got inside my home i looked at what was in the bottom of the bag. not just some black napkins, but also a piece of orbit chewing gum, a nice touch. the world series, game six, was on at the venue, but i didn't watch much of it. i saw the score, how the dodgers were leading the bluejays, 3-1. i watched the last few innings at home and this score held up, so there will be a game seven the next day. i was wearing the only Halloween costume that i have ever owned, the slasher from the 'scream' movies, i have had it for decades and i like how it still fits well. i don't wear the mask though, as it is too hard to see when i have it on. at work it was a low volume day for check printing, but there was a mortgage file. thankful it was just thirteen checks, as we know it has been way more than that before. i noticed one thing after i sent all of the envelopes to the UPS drop box. one of the payees was listed twice and i wasn't sure which tracking number was correct. i have seen the system spit out two tracking numbers before, but thankfully not too often. i entered both into the tracking system and as of the next business day, i can let them know which one was picked up as that one will have some activity on it and the other won't. when i discovered this happening before, if able i void the one that i know isn't being used. there was a dial-in meeting, it was a town hall and one of the speakers was the CEO. no surprise how one of the questions was about possible layoffs, i have seen this happen before. 

iowa cubs batboy

 i made it home earlier than typical and when i turned on the TV it was still on CBS from trying to watch the late local news from the night before. it meant seeing the start of the national news and there were previews for the segments to be covered. this included one about the batboy for the Iowa Cubs, a minor league baseball team that i grew up watching. since it was an off day in the world series, this served as the baseball news of the day. u guess his jersey will be on display at the hall of fame soon. in the evening i went to Eagan and made a second visit to hobby lobby, then went for groceries at the nearby Hy-Vee. i bought three Charlie Brown items at the former, making it there in the final hour of the night. this was some coasters, air fresheners, and a Christmas block. i bought ten items when i was at the grocery store, this week's visit was moved up one day as i am already booked on Halloween. at work there was a team huddle, i joined it remotely even though the boss was in the office next to me. many others were working from home. i let vacation replacement know about an oddity from this newer 'Cincinnati check file'. i said i largely like it, where i don't have to create any overnight labels, just print them as the business line creates them for me. except one lady was asking when the funds would be debited, which prompted me to check the tracking number. i found out it is still in transit; there was a flight delay and now it is due to be delivered a day late. this same lady sent me the overnight label and could have checked the tracking number herself. i also had to say that i just overnight it and it is up to the recipient as to what is done with it once delivered. one thing i didn't say, but I've seen it happen before, is that the package is refused by the recipient. not sure why when this happens, do they know that a check is inside? 

pumpkins at skyway level

just after midday at work i went to see the pumpkins that were decorated for the season on the skyway level. there were thirteen of them, and two of them stood out to me. one looked like the plant from 'little shop of horrors' and the other was snoopy on his doghouse. i had just visited another floor to get a small bag of treats for the season. while looking at the pumpkins i also picked up a cookie. i also picked up some copy paper when on that floor. there was a check copy request that i was unable to find, this is rare. i said there was nothing found under that check number or payee name. i said i don't have access to checks printed by a branch. in the evening i watched game five of the world series, the blue jays beat the dodgers to go ahead 3-2. actually, i was listening to it on the radio when it began as i was on my way to the French alliance. the blue jays hit back-to-back solo home runs to start the game. i was under the impression that there would be a party on the 50th anniversary of the organization's incorporation as a nonprofit. there was some mention of it on the website, and it said 'more information coming soon' but it didn't give a start time and there were no details later on despite it saying there would be. i parked and tried both doors, both were locked, so i left. i picked up a 50th anniversary shirt on a visit there this summer to the art gallery as i had attended enough events there over the years that it meant enough to me. good thing i decided to 'get while the getting is good' as i still saw some there over the weekend but not that many. on the way home i stopped at a holiday gas station and got some string cheese, hash browns, and hard-boiled eggs. i wanted to use up some of the salt and pepper packets i had saved from plastic spoons. now i am noticing these eggs do have some salt and pepper included, i know this was not always the case. i was pleased that there were some hash browns at that time of day when i am used to seeing them mostly for the breakfast part of the day. i listened to the first three innings on the radio and then saw the rest of the game on TV at home. i don't mind listening to a game on the radio as i feel the announcers usually describe the action well enough that i still know what is happening. 

brothers deli

 we had a birthday luncheon at work. it was at Brothers Deli, and we walked over there in the skyway system. it was my first time eating there. had a California Reuben sandwich as i know what i am getting with a Reuben. notable while there was seeing an autographed photo on the wall of actor Walter Matthau. this was when i was waiting for my sandwich after ordering it. i said it was one of my dad's favorite actors. the boss spent part of the day in the check shop and showed me an email about following up with a building manager about getting janitorial staff in there to do cleaning. in the evening i watched game four of the world series. the blue jays won to even the series. local boy Louie Varland was pitching for the blue jays near the end of the game. it is a reminder of how i once was attending high school football games in North St. Paul. 

coat on statue

 i got a picture of the Humphrey statue outside of the government center in downtown Minneapolis as i noticed that someone decided to put a coat on it. i have seen things added to statues before. at work i sent three mail tubs to the mailroom at the end of the day. usually, the volume is not that high for a Monday but i know it is all dependent on what we get from the two Fargo files. i had a craving for popcorn at work and got some cheesy popcorn out of the vending machine. in the evening i went to perform at an open mic. i was on near the end of the night as i fell asleep after work, while watching the world series. a piano player was on after me. i did stories about the Czech dinner, a klondike bar, a museum visit, and a bank story about a fall-themed event. i watched some of the world series at the bar, it was game three. it was the only thing on after the Monday night football game had ended, chiefs beat the commanders. i watched some more of the world series after getting home from the bar but decided to retire for the night when it was still tied at the end of the 13th inning. i figured i could find out in the morning as to who won. it was just as well as the game lasted five more innings, and the dodgers won it with a home run. 

lauer flats

 i went to a dinner at the Czech and Slovak building in St. Paul for lunchtime. i bought the ticket a month earlier at their festival. when i was going back to my car after it was done i noticed a building that had a national register of historic places plate on it. this was the Lauer flats, some residential townhouses that was listed on the national register in the 1970s. i found the Wikipedia article about the building and it said the Lauer brothers also did some work on the state capitol, as well as some churches in the area, and the former Schmidt brewery complex. i had attended this dinner before, it was a celebration of a Czech national holiday. i was at a table where all of the other attendees appeared to be related. a young lady there went up front to sing the American, as well as the Czech, national anthems as she has been an ambassador for the organization. a man seated next to me was trying too hard to be funny and said the door prize in the drawing was for a month-long trip to the Czech Republic. i even called his bluff and said that vacations are usually not that long. the door prize was for a glass pumpkin. i was given a shout-out by one of the speakers as i was one of seven who paid for the event at the festival. it was the only event that i had booked for the day, which is typical for a Sunday. before i went to the event i watched a DVD, it was one of three i had recently bought from a goodwill store. this was '42nd street', from the 1930s, ginger rogers was one of the actors in it. after getting home from the event i watched another DVD, called 'rockabilly legends'. it was inside a book i had bought at a silent auction many years ago. i finally got the disc into its own case after watching it. i had seen it once before, not long after acquiring it. i also bought some Halloween-themed cookies at target as well as a six-pack of klondike bars as i had a craving for ice cream. 

cedar riverside documentary

 i stayed active as usual even though it is the weekend. first order of business was the post office; one order was picked up. then it was on to drop off recycle near the capitol. there road was blocked off due to construction and this meant parking one block over and walking the rest of the way. not a big deal to me as i have done it before. then i made a stop at the French alliance to see a display in the art gallery. it was a retrospective of the past fifty years since the organization was officially registered as a non-profit. when i was done it was midday by then so i went to have a sandwich at Jersey Mike's. i wasn't home for long after lunch as i wanted to get to a lecture at the Minnesota history center about the cedar-riverside area of Minneapolis. it was a free event that included a screening of a short documentary. i had been to that part of town many times before as this is the general area for many of the venues for the fringe festival. and i have performed at a venue that was profiled in the documentary, riverside cafe, now known as Acadia. notable was how it included a clip from the TV show 'Mary Tyler Moore' as it was about the construction of the high-rise housing complex and the clip was from that time period. when i got home i watched a college football game, Iowa was playing Minnesota in Iowa City. it was halftime when i turned on the TV and Iowa was up 31-0 and went on to win it, 41-3. after having the evening meal i went to get groceries at the Aldi, then watched game two of the world series. the dodgers won to even the series. first two games were in Toronto and the next three will be in Los Angeles. 

lanyard at hobby lobby

 i was looking online for what stores sold poster frames and one of those was hobby lobby. i found the size i was looking for and bought two Charlie Brown items as well. one of them was a lanyard with a sticker attached and the other was a metal container that held hot chocolate mix. i knew i had to get started kind of early due to their listed closing time, so after watching 'big bang theory' reruns i was on my way. it included the final episode, part two. then i went to groceries at Hy-Vee in Eagan as it is in the same complex. i also figured that the earlier i got started, the earlier i would be home again, thinking of how the world series was starting. i was unable to find it on my car radio, but on my way home i heard what possibly was a song i hadn't heard in a while, 'informer' by snow. at least that was my best guess. once the song was done i knew it was a Spanish language radio station once i heard the deejay speaking. when i found the song on YouTube i also found the 'Jim Carrey version', due to the comments on the song. this was a parody on the show 'in living color'. the blue jays beat the dodgers in the opener of the world series by a wide margin. at work it was a low volume day for check printing, i was able to fit all of it into just one mail tub. 

vet on the light rail

 when i was riding home after work on the light rail, i was asked by a man if he could sit next to me. i said we weren't strangers, just friends that haven't met. we chatted for a while, the man said he's a vet. i also heard a joke from him, it was about a doctor appointment. at work i was asked in two separate emails about overnighted checks. i was able to send a tracking number for the first one, it was from this month. it was 'returned to business line', in St. Louis. the other i found out was a day off for me, when i was at the state fair in august. vacation replacement was able to supply that one, and it was delivered as well. we did our jobs, so it was up to the recipient once it is delivered as to what happens to it. a payroll rep showed up in the afternoon to pick up two checks, i am told there might be more soon but it is all about when a check is approved. much like for our tax specialist, i know it is best to have the checks in an envelope. the backlog of checks was eliminated, as usual as the week wears on it usually drops in volume. after work, i didn't go home right away. i went to target first, as i wanted to pick up another box of Halloween cereal. i found what i wanted there. it was fruity pebbles. i also got a pack of cheese slices while there. i went to the nearby liquor store after i had the evening meal and picked up two beers. it was a bottle of Stella Artois, and a can of a craft brew from Michigan. i drank the can of blue moon with the evening meal, so now there are five beers waiting. i also went online and paid my membership fee to the historical association. i pay annually and it was due to expire in a little over a week. 

donut holes, art page

 there was an event just after midday held by the building manager on the skyway level. there was supposed to be apple cider, but when i arrived i was told it was all gone. even though it was just halfway through the two-hour time allotment. i had some donut holes though, plenty of those remaining. and i picked up two art pages, one of them was of the city's skyline. i didn't stay for long, just a few minutes, as i still had plenty of work to do. in the morning, vacation replacement showed up with the new hire, who had seen the check shop before. i was given most of the returned checks, after the ones that were from our internal business line was sorted out. it was the first time i had done these checks in a while, sending them back to two business lines in an interoffice envelope. it was well over a hundred checks in all. i once again shaved five hundred checks off of the backlog near the end of the day, it meant just over a thousand were left over. also, the first time in a while that we saw the mortgage file, it was over thirty checks. i didn't enjoy it because of having to do so many more overnight labels. i saw to it that the most important ones went into the UPS box, and i saw the driver shortly after i dropped them in the box. 

it's not a branch

 at work i was asked for a tracking number on a check i had overnighted last week. i said it was 'returned to business line', meaning i sent it to another bank office. i was asked if it was a branch, i said it was not. i was also asked what to do about it, i said take it up with that office. something about if a stop payment was needed. the 'one on one' with the boss in the morning was mainly about the open case on the overflow pages. at the end of the day, there was just over two thousand checks left over. i was able to shave five hundred off that total near the end of the day after all other checks were run through. previously i was fine with running through as much as possible until just before lunchtime. but anything that means fewer checks have to be run through the next morning is a good idea. 

scanned check samples

 at work we still have an open case related to overflow pages. i was trading instant messages with who had just taken it over and then was asked about doing a call. i didn't like how we were getting bogged down in semantics, and he seemed lost as to what i was referring to on the checks that i print. then i decided to scan samples of checks that have overflow, additional, or addendum pages. the rep also cared about some things that i didn't care about, seeing things about the printer that weren't relevant to the ticket. i said these are identical check printers, but the rep didn't understand how i was able to print on both, saying the newer one wasn't configured the same as the other. i hadn't seen any difference on check printing though. i really don't like how the ticket keeps getting passed to someone else, and i have to start over with each rep as i figured these reps would be reading the notes on the ticket. and we already know it wasn't me that wanted the ticket re-opened, it was my boss, for something we don't even encounter that often. i was on the call for thirty minutes, and apparently, we are nowhere near resolving this ticket. i don't like being stuck on a call this long, but the check volume was low enough that i could afford to be. just over a thousand checks printed for the day, usually it is not that low. i had a thousand checks carried over from Friday that i ran through in the morning. in the evening i went to perform. there were not just the bank stories, but also seeing two movies, and mention of other performance outings. the baseball playoff game was on at the bar and i did watch some of it but not a lot. i saw the three-run home run that put the blue jays ahead, though. the blue jays beat the mariners in game seven of the league championship series and advanced to the world series. the open mic had just ended and i stayed to see the end of the game. 

anxiety club movie

 as usual, i like how there is not much planned on Sundays. in the afternoon i went to see 'anxiety club' in Edina, the 50th and France theater. this was part of the twin city film festival, and i like how this venue was added to the lineup, same as with the other film festival that is held in the spring. because it is nice having the parking ramp right next to the venue. this was a movie about stand-up comics, and performing is a way of them managing their anxiety. Marc Maron was one of the comics, i hadn't heard of any of the others. a lady comic was shown in sessions with her therapist, as a comic i know many of us have seen a therapist. i liked how another lady comic joked that she was cured once her therapist raised the rates. there was a q and a session after the screening with the director. the auditorium wasn't full, but it was still a decent crowd. when it was the only screening for this movie at the festival, and we were told it was the premiere in this state, it stands to reason how it would be a good crowd on hand. i saw another attendee of the festival in the lobby and he asked for me to take a picture with his friend and i did. this man was on the way to see the Boy George movie. i am used to seeing just one movie in these festivals, for two reasons. one, the ticket prices are a little higher. two, the scheduling for those that interest me doesn't always fit my schedule. i like knowing that some of these movies will have a wider release outside of the festival. the one about the lady boxer is due to premiere in early November, it is the only one that made my list. already saw a poster for that one in Eagan this weekend. in the morning i did the laundry. i could have started it a little earlier but then i realized i already had a frozen meal at home that i could eat for lunch and didn't need to go to a booya at a church. i went to just one booya this season. after the movie i stopped at a nearby speedway gas station and got a bottle of tea, some popcorn, and cheese curds. i watched some of the Sunday night football game in the evening, 49ers beat the falcons. 

soul on fire movie

 in the afternoon i went to see the movie 'soul on fire', in Eagan. at the outset, i wasn't planning on this being a two-movie weekend but i had sent a text message to my friends in St. Louis to ask if they had heard of this movie. i had seen postings in my Facebook news feed about it and knew there was somebody playing jack buck. my friends had seen it a few days earlier and said they liked it. the movie will be notable in more ways than one. it was likely the first time i had ordered food at a movie theater, besides popcorn. i wanted to eat at the nearby taco bell but the bathroom door was locked and i needed to get to the bathroom, so it meant getting to the theater a little earlier than planned. i ordered chicken and tater tots and it was delivered to my seat in the auditorium. there is an early scene in the movie where the main character threw up. i hadn't finished eating just yet but i knew i had to finish my food and i did. the movie was hard to watch at times, but i knew it was a serious story about a kid being burned so i didn't expect to be laughing at all. i don't recall any bad words in it, but i didn't mind. but i think this was a faith-based movie so i don't think i should have expected any. i wiped away a tear multiple times, probably more often than at any other movie i had seen before. according to the closing credits, the movie's subject, John O'Leary, does have a cameo in it. no surprise there, as i have seen it before where a movie is based on a book and the author appears in the movie somewhere. another credited cameo was baseball player Ozzie Smith. part of my interest in the movie is that is a St. Louis story, since i visit the city annually to see my favorite baseball team, the Cardinals. and i like biographies as well. i saw posters near the door and got one as i was leaving. guess that is a good thing about seeing it on the second weekend as it was more likely to get one. i went to dairy queen after the movie and got a blizzard treat, and it was cool to see a classic car, a Packard, in the lot. then i went to target and got a box of Halloween-themed cereal, froot loops, as well as a frame for the poster. it was a busy day all around but i didn't mind. in the morning i went to Walgreen and got two shots, for flu and for covid. then i picked up two orders at the post office, and some stamps. i recall a college instructor referring to William Buckley, that is who is on the stamps. i tried going to the poster sale at the Trylon cinema but the line was too long, couldn't afford to wait in line, so i left and went to Eagan as i wanted to be on time for the movie. i wasn't home for long after the movie, going to Aldi for groceries. then it was off to a haunted house for some performing, first time in six years. last year all i did was strike, or tear-down. it was fun as usual, saw and heard plenty of priceless things. and i like the anonymity from performing in a darkened room in a costume. i was an orderly in the re-education room. i had to put on a cloak when going to the bathroom to cover my costume and liked how i managed to make it through the entire performance without needing a bathroom break. also liked chatting with other performers in the green room before and after the show, sharing the stories from the field. i was called out of the bathroom for what was called 'post-mortem', which was a more formal version of 'how did it go?' one performer, who had the same name as a former coworker who likes Japan, said 'auto-bots, roll out' at the end of the night. i had some snacks while there before the show, some peanut butter crackers, and a slice of spam before i drove over to the venue. i didn't do much after getting home. songs heard just before and after it on my car radio were 'tub thumping' by Chumbawamba, and 'don't speak' by no doubt. 

hop on call, blocked file

 in the morning i was asked to hop on a call about a blocked PDF check file. i did once i was back from the bathroom. there was only one like this, something about a 'potential policy violation' where the system thinks it's a credit card, but it isn't. i sent out three more toner cartridges for recycle, and there is three left that i can send out on Monday. the backlog went down some more, just under a thousand checks left over at the end of the day. i sent out three regular mail tubs. there was an instant message from a branch manager in California, i had overnighted a check there. i then copied the branch manager on an email to our customer service shared box to find out what to do with the check. i knew the payee on the check said it was for the city government. the invoice supplied by customer service said it was for a fee to the police department. it was a low amount for an overnighted check but i don't question it if the business line wants it overnighted. in the evening i went to a meetup event at a brewery, Summit in St. Paul. then i went grocery shopping at Hy-Vee in Eagan. i was pleased to find another Halloween cereal, it was captain crunch, on my second look through that aisle. it was on the bottom shelf, and it looks like i got the last box. i also got a silly hot dog greeting card that plays music, after seeing it was the last one. i had opened it to hear the music for weeks, as it reminded me of attending Oktoberfest in New Ulm. 

refund checks in lobby

 there was an email i was copied on where it was said that i could accept some refund checks as no one else from our team was onsite for the day. just before i went to lunch i went to the main floor by the security desk and took ownership of them. there was nine in an envelope and i will hand them off to a colleague sometime next week. i did not send out any toner cartridges as i wanted to get caught up on running checks through in the morning. thankful the backlog went down, as it usually does, as it was just over two thousand left over at the end of the day. one of the tickets is still open, it is the one about overflow pages. i was getting annoyed with having to enunciate everything and repeating myself with the tech assigned to it, then near the end of the day i was told it would be sent to someone else who might be able to do more with my boss's request. 

navigate municipal elections

 there was an email at work about a forum where one could 'navigate municipal elections'. there are some in the area this November, for mayors. i guess this is a nonpartisan way of our employer helping out with understanding who the candidates are for various elections. unsure if i will use it though, when i have already been sent some literature in the mail. i sent out three more toner cartridges for recycle, if i do three a day for the rest of the week then all of them will be gone. it was a high-volume day on check printing, more than three thousand checks from a Fargo file were left over and can be run through the next morning. i had pizza for lunch as i had left my lunch bag at work the previous day. i didn't want to carry the bag around at the event i had went to the night before. i still brought in snack items such as a granola bar and a box of raisins in a plastic bag. then i took it all home at the end of the night. 

saddled bunny, rain taxi

 after work i went to an event at the loft literary center, where i am a member after having taken writing classes there. in the hall near the performance venue i saw a display honoring the 30th anniversary of the magazine called 'rain taxi'. there were plenty of magazine covers depicted on the wall, most notable to me was the saddled bunny. another one depicted a former mayor of Minneapolis. i liked reading some recently written poetry at their open mic, it was my playlist. i mentioned twelve songs that have marked the time for me. i liked chatting with a man who as at the same table as me when i was having some goodies before the program got started, i liked the cheese slices the most. the dude performs at open mics for music, and his instrument is an autoharp. i also wrote down a 'mockumentary' about folk music and will try to look it up soon to see if this movie is available on disc. since it was mostly snack foods at this event, after it was done i walked over to the nearby Bobby and Steve's. i got a pork sandwich and a small bottle of juice, then got on the light rail and rode it back to my car. not much fun doing all of the walking in the rain, but it can't be helped as i needed to get somewhere. at work a supplier notified us that the check stock order due this week will be arriving a day earlier than expected. i also got started on getting the used toner cartridges shipped out for recycling, after the boss noticed them under a table. there are twelve i can send out, so if i do three a day those will be gone by the end of the week. i didn't do it for a while as it wasn't a high priority thing. but it also doesn't take long to get it done once i get started on it. the main thing is to write out the return address on the label and then tape up the box. then of course put them on a cart and send it down the hall to the mailroom. best time to get it done is in the morning when there aren't many files to print. first day after the bank holiday but the check volume was manageable, three regular mail tubs sent out late in the day. 

ikea art at goodwill

 i stayed active on the day off, a bank holiday. one thing on the list i got to in the afternoon, it was sending a donation to goodwill. much like before, i don't like waiting in line and hearing my car idling so i go around the other side on foot and drop off my donation, in two plastic grocery store bags. then i went inside to see if anything was worth buying. i got a good look at the discs and bought three CDs and three DVDs. i was looking for a frame for the poster i had recently bought in New Ulm and found one there. it meant taking out the poster that was already in it, though. it was art from Ikea. since there is plenty of white border in the poster i plan on trimming this off and finding a smaller frame for it. the caption at the bottom said it was photography by a Frenchman. the day started off with doing the dishes, as i wanted to stay bust while fasting. i knew this meant skipping breakfast since i was doing the annual physical just before midday. after the appointment was done i went to Mall of America and had lunch at A and W. i saw two Charlie Brown items at the Japan store and bought one of them. it was grape mouthwash. it had Charlie, Snoopy, Woodstock, and Lucy on it. although it seemed weird to see some of those characters wearing glasses. it was cheaper than the other one i saw, a ceramic pot. after i was done at goodwill i made it home and watched 'jeopardy'. the final jeopardy question was about refused Oscars. i knew one of them, 'Patton', but not the other, 'godfather'. i watched some of the baseball playoff game as well, game two in the series, mariners won to go up 2-0. in the evening i went to perform, and one thing i did was cover a word origin, looked up on my phone, along with the typical bank stories. 

switching between games

 much like the song 'manic Monday', i like knowing that i don't have much planned on Sundays. the main thing was attending an event through meetup at a micro-brewery, lake monster in St. Paul. i had lunch at home and then went there. thankful the rain held off for the most part. in the evening, there were two games on and i was switching channels between them fairly often. there was the baseball playoff game on Fox, mariners-bluejays. and there was the football game on NBC, lions-chiefs. the mariners won, it was game one of the league championship series. and the chiefs won, although when i first switched over to the game the chiefs were trailing. after the kneel downs ended the game there was a fight, cameras revealed it was started by a Lions player. the one thing i normally do but didn't was the dishes, but i still can the next morning since it is a three-day weekend. 

fall is fun festival

 i started off the day with my typical chores and errand running. this included going to the post office, only item to be picked up was the postcard i sent myself a week earlier. then it was on to drop off recycle near the capitol and dumping change into my savings account at the credit union. the most notable event of the day was the event i attended at the Saints baseball stadium, called the 'fall is fun festival'. it was a family-friendly Halloween activity. i liked using colored pencils on the art page we were given. it took me a little while, but i colored most of the page and used just about every color that was in the container. it surprised me a little to find out that a baseball game was being played upon arrival. the stadium employees said it was Hamline university's team playing their alumni. it was just after midday when i arrived, so it was time for lunch. i ordered a hot dog, cider, and two cookies that looked like Jack-o-lanterns. i ate one cookie there and the other was taken home. there were various photo-ops where one could stick their head inside a hole, and one had the Saints mascot, Mudonna, asking 'how tall this fall?' i liked some of the games there as well, including cornhole, as well as some bowling. it was an orange rubber ball and fifteen pins. when i was walking back to my car i saw some art in Mears Park, it was photography on display. one of them was of the Saints stadium, and another was of the city's mayor. and at a stoplight i saw a station wagon designed like the car from the 'ghostbusters' movie. in the evening i had a sandwich at kersey mike's, first time having a hot sandwich there. it tasted fine but i will likely stick to cold cuts as i like having the sandwich made right in front of me, not having to wait for it after i have paid for the order. 

animals of the world

 in the morning i made my weekly visit to Walgreen. sometimes i get more than just a bottle of tea, and some cookies, if see anything else that is good. this time it was a booklet from Rand McNally, coloring adventures. there was two, but i knew i already had the other one, festivals of the world. i bought the one that is animals of the world, for just a dollar. there is an elephant on the front cover and a buffalo on the back cover. and we know how i like the symbolism of both animals, especially when buffalo reminds me of Emerson Hough, who helped protect the buffalo at Yellowstone Park. in the evening i went to Cub Foods first, in hopes of seeing some Halloween-themed cereals there. based on my online searches, it said there were some except the only one i bought was pumpkin spice special K. there were some classic versions of Kellogg cereals, such as apple jacks, but not the Halloween versions. i also got two Charlie brown items in the card shop. i know, shocking. both had Halloween themes, some stickers, as well as a greeting card saying the great pumpkin is coming. i am aware that a different kind of card is sold there, made by American greetings, so it is worth it to see what they have. i am used to most stores having cards that are made by hallmark. i bought five items there, the other two were some pumpkin spice eggnog, and a slice of German chocolate cake. i didn't have any when i was in New Ulm for Oktoberfest, although normally i do, so not a big deal to have some a week later. then i went on to Hy-Vee, seven items bought. i did see the cashier that knows my name and asks what my weekend plans are. i also liked seeing some balloons in the store to celebrate the season, one of them was snoopy inside of a jack o lantern, with Woodstock on his head. i made it home in time to see the re-airing of the final episode of 'blue bloods', i missed the original airing back in December. as i recall i was at a meetup event that night. i am aware that some episodes were being re-aired as a way to introduce a spinoff starring Donnie Wahlberg, who played Danny Reagan. i also watched some of the baseball playoff game on fox, tigers-mariners, game five of the series. it went into extra innings and i fell asleep before it ended but found out the mariners won to advance to the next round. 

hamburger bun claimed

 in the evening i went to the liquor store and got a can of Michelob, and a can of lift bridge, so now there are five beers waiting as i drank the can of surly with the evening meal. on the way back i saw some unopened dinners in plastic trays, made by mom's meals from Ankeny, Iowa. it looks like what i would expect from the 'meals on wheels' program. i have claimed these before, but not tonight. the one time i did it was subzero weather so i was sure those were still good. the one thing i did claim was a hamburger bun still unwrapped, and i ate it when i got home. i hate seeing things go to waste. another notable thing about the day was driving home and seeing some turkeys near the road. it was slow trying to merge into traffic so i had just enough time to get out my camera and get a picture of two of these turkeys. there was another mortgage file, but thankfully it was much smaller than earlier in the week, just seven checks to overnight. i was given a physical address for two checks carried over from the previous day, going to Arkansas. had to ask for one when we can't overnight to a PO box. the business line based in St. Louis not only emailed us an overnight request, but i found a check going to a foreign land as well, before they emailed us that too. good thing i did as the second request was late, after i had sent the regular mail tubs to the mailroom. it doesn't take that long for me to look for overnights and foreign checks and get it in the foreign pile if there are any. i look for those even if there is no email. 

expedite a check

 i see overnight requests all the time by email, and sometimes it is for the Fargo file and when those arrive it says, 'expedite the check'. and i understand it to be 'overnight' it, and i send the tracking number when available. it is usually from the larger of the two Fargo files. sometimes the checks are marked and i pull them out without a request to do so when sorting by comments, but when emailed it is usually not marked as such. the backlog went down on the Fargo checks, now it is just under two thousand, but i am used to the volume getting smaller as the week goes on. i try not to send out more than three mail tubs a day if it all possible, and i need the time to get the overnight labels done so i end the morning run of checks through the machine just before i go to lunch. vacation replacement has brought the new hire to the shop, and this meant looking at some of the things i do such as the returned checks i receive. some i handle on my own and return to business line, but the ones my colleague handles are our own internal business line. i noticed the yellow 'reason for return' labels were not moved from the envelope to the check, but when someone is willing to go through those for me i am not going to be picky about the way it gets done. i usually let it pile up for a few days before i do them as i see it as 'busy work' and not the most important thing that i do. 

who's the guest of honor?

 the boss forwarded and email to us about a colleague being honored for forty years of service to the bank. one thing though, only the first name was given. then i had to ask, who's the guest of honor? found out it was someone i hadn't worked with. and i don't know that many people at the bank. another email said there would be cake and soft drinks in the afternoon. when i was caught up on work i had some. i had to go to another floor for it, something i try to avoid as often as i can. the lady spoke of being in Ireland for the recent Vikings game, and something about a scam involving lodging there. one of the check files i handled for the day was from the mortgage department, twenty-six checks, but about half were return to business line so this made it a little easier for me. there were also overnight requests from the fraud file, as well as a business line based in St. Louis. as usual, it was a bust day with the Fargo file, and three thousand checks were left over and can be run through the next morning. 

two pens and a bottlecap

 i went to perform in the evening at a venue i hadn't been at much in recent years, in northeast Minneapolis. there were couches that performers could sit on, and i found a few items in the cushions. it was two pens, and a Bud Light bottlecap. i consider them to be comedy souvenirs, although i do plan on using the two pens. this was the venue i saw a show at a month prior, as i knew brawler was in town. i led off the show, after the MC of course. i did plenty of bank stories, as well as the 'long strange trip it has been' to get into performing. after i had been onstage i went to the upper level to check the score of the football game, chiefs-jaguars. a 'pick six' by the jaguars happened during that brief time there, and the jaguars went on to win a close one. i had some of the fried cheese sticks that were made available for the comics. i didn't know that many of the performers there, but i am used to that by now. there is a constant wave of newer performers. at work the senior leader kept his word about wanting to do something related to the toner cartridges on the check printers. i was asked the printer names and IP addresses by instant message. it led to a ticket being opened to get them back on auto-ship so i don't have to order them each time i need one. i also did a re-calibration of the sensors on the inserter machine as the errors were piling up. i like how that simple solution is available, it meant getting out the note page where the code to enter as a 'supervisor' is found to get it done. 

booya, season opener

 i like going to booya events in the fall, where thick vegetable beef soup is served. this one was in a park in St. Paul. i went to Rosedale mall in Roseville first as i needed to do a return and exchange on shoes. the ones i had bought three weeks prior were hurting my feet. i tried on four pairs this time, and it meant back to shoes that have laces. i liked those slip-in kinds, but some of those in my size had the shoes tied together with the anti-theft device, which makes it harder to do a test walk in the store to see how they feel. i got another pair of socks as well. i got a small bowl of booya when i made it to the park, there wasn't much left by then. there was some live music being played, including a gin blossoms song, 'follow you down'. i later heard the same song in the evening on the jukebox at the bar where i was performing in an open mic. what are the odds? i did more bank stories, along with mention of being at the festival. in the morning i had breakfast at McDonald's, an Egg McMuffin sandwich. then it was back to the airport to return the rental car. another annual thing i have been doing on Oktoberfest weekend, started during the pandemic, was getting pictures at the photo booth in the mall. i did this after i made it to the JC Penney to get the shoes. 

new ulm poster

 this was my annual visit to New Ulm for Oktoberfest. during the downtown part of the event i got some souvenirs, including a poster. it says, 'city of charm and tradition' and the Hermann the German monument is in the background. in the foreground we see a gnome with an apple. i will want to get a frame for it real soon. my first stop when i made it to town was to get lunch, at taco john's. then i went to the family dollar, as i saw two men holding up signs advertising a liquidation sale there. i bought three items, an ice cream treat, dish soap, and a box of toaster pastries. i used up some of the quarters at this sale. i parked near the baseball field on German street and saw a park with a sign that spoke of their sister city in Germany. i got some popcorn at the wagon next to the county's museum and went inside the museum as well. i looked at my postcard collection before i departed in the morning and knew what i already had, and for this reason bought just two. i bought a magnet depicting the museum as well, it is in the former post office, and the building is German-inspired architecture. music was everywhere, as expected. a cover band was in the middle of town, and notable from their set was a Miley Cyrus song, 'party in the USA'. i made it to the glockenspiel show, then got some ice cream and a bottle of soda pop. i found the brick i had bought in German park a few years back and rode the gravity rail swing. and i drank a bottle of Schell's beer at Turner Hall, where a server noticed i was wearing a shirt from the Turner festival from two years prior. then it was on to sleepy eye to see the Linus statue. i liked hearing an Alice in Chains song, 'would', on the drive there. during my short time in town i saw a train pass through where i was parked, at the Hardee's, across the street from the library. it surprised me that i was able to catch up with the train and pass it before i made it back to New Ulm, and i was going the speed limit. it was a fairly long freight train, Canadian pacific, with three locomotives. two were in front and one in the back. the evening events were happening by then, and it meant getting to the hotel at the edge of town. i got the evening meal there, the German plate. it was potato salad, bratwurst, and sauerkraut. i had to get the beer, a grain belt, at the bar. there was a break between music acts, but eventually we saw another cover band. the set began with an Eddie Rabbitt song, 'driving my life away', and this seemed appropriate to me. because i had the drive back home in front of me at the end of the night. also notable was more country music, including songs by the Charlie Daniels band, and Merle Haggard. i made one stop during the drive home, at the Holiday gas station in Jordan, where a truck nearly hit me on the way inside. i got some fig newtons and a pumpkin spice cappuccino, and then it was back on the road. there was a grab bag of programs i found on the radio during the drive. there was an episode of the 'green hornet', and a profile about a Vietnam war POW from Iowa. i still like being able to find faraway AM radio stations at night, the latter program was on a St. Louis station. i found some college football as well, and eventually found a baseball playoff game, tigers-mariners. it was in extra innings, and on when i made my only stop. i didn't want to waste any time in the morning after picking up the rental car. i went to the post office to pick up orders, three in all. then after i dropped those off at home i was on my way to the festival. 

tour guide for senior leader

 at work a senior leader finally showed up to get a look at the check shop. it was the first time since we had moved it downtown nearly a year ago. i didn't mind being a tour guide at all. there was some mention of being on the same floor because of having to pick up something from the mailroom. i said i didn't have too many complaints about my work at this point, the main one would be how hard it can be to get toner cartridges for the check printers when i need one. i was advised to email this senior leader about it, so i will see if anything can be done. it was nice getting caught up on running checks through the machine, as i am usually able to do by the end of the week. good thing i went to the Walgreen fairly early in the morning for a snack as a courier did show up a little later with the big envelope order. in the evening i went to the Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries, and i was able to get another big box of trash bags. at Walgreen these are locked up, but not at Hy-Vee. i prefer not having to wait for someone to unlock a case. i got a picture of the small pumpkins decorated for Halloween. no plans to buy any of them but the drawings on them with markers were good. 

trumpet player sighting

 when i was taking the first of two buses home from work i boarded and decided to sit near the door next to someone who looked familiar. it was a trumpet player i recall from some open mic shows i had performed at pre-covid. the dude called me a celebrity when i was getting off near the hockey arena, i had to laugh about that as i don't see myself as one. at work the boss was in the shop, it was unexpected as it is usually just once a week. some mention of too noisy on his floor due to construction workers. it led to me re-opening the case on the newer printer, although it led to an annoyance on my part. there was no warning that the printer would be re-booted remotely, and it was in the middle of printing one of the Fargo files. it was a total of nearly two thousand checks in the file and i had to re-print most of them. when it was re-booted remotely earlier in the week, i didn't care as much as no files were printing at the time. the boss wanted the case re-opened due to overflow pages, and we don't get that many of those. i drank a can of miller with the evening meal and now there are four beers waiting. when i was taking a cart back to a nearby store i noticed there was something still in it, an unopened pack of trident gum, it was bubble gum flavor. i claimed it. on Facebook there was plenty of postings about the 75th anniversary of the first Charlie Brown comic strip, and no surprise how i hit 'like' on most of those that i saw. i even spoke of getting a shirt and jersey this season at baseball games that had this theme. 

another a.i. meeting

 we had another A.I. meeting, but this time it was in person and on another floor. the boss didn't like that i was a few minutes late but i had to take two elevators to get there, and there is always something to do in the shop. i was still trying to get the Fargo checks from the previous day run through. still not convinced how it will help me do my job, when most of the time when i communicate with others it is to send tracking numbers. or to say i can print the file when it is approved. when i made it back to the shop the tax specialist was waiting to pick up a check. in the morning i made another trip for coffee, this time it was to the caribou. there was an email about various promotions for the week, and i liked knowing it was a double point day. the baseball playoffs have started, the wild card round. still a question of when i will see a game on TV as the early round games are often only on cable. the news did speak of police officers using A.I. but it is still a reminder of needing to be careful with it. i know this from seeing an 'overview' when i google things as not all of it is accurate or sometimes things are left out. 

lutheran worship hymnal

 when i got off the bus in the evening i saw a book near the bus stop. at first i wondered if it was a bible, but i took a closer look and it was a hymnal. it said 'Lutheran worship' on the spine, and looking inside it appears some pages were partially burned. how it got there, i don't know. i moved it to a nearby little free library. i just hate seeing things go to waste. i made it to work a little early as i didn't have to wait long between getting off the first bus and getting on the second. i decided to go to the convenience store in the building where i work and got a bottle of Dunkin donuts coffee, as well as a Smucker's un-crustable. it was a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich. and i bought a postcard along with another Jeff Foxworthy redneck greeting card, this one had a pretty good pun on it. just after midday the tech arrived, after i put on the ticket to call me on my cell phone as i hear it better than the laptop connected phone. on the first attempt it looks like they called the laptop and left no voicemail. i reported how the printer rebooted something like five times in the morning. we did send more check files to it and near as i can tell the remote updates, which is what those reboots were, helped. although no one told us in advance that those would be done, so i sent plenty of files to the other printer, as nothing would print on it until it is done rebooting. some of it what was discovered, as expected, was trial and error, what works and what doesn't. for one thing, i guess we still have to send overflow pages, of there are any, to the same printer as the checks. didn't know if were getting that capability again but it looks like we won't. the tech did say some things we are dealing with are internal ones with the bank, specifically what the server will allow. when the boss left on the afternoon, there was mention of a refrigerator being delivered at his home. 

printer skipped checks

 i was asked by my boss about the check printer that arrived late last week, i said the first file i tried printing on it had skipped checks. there were supposed to be over seventy checks, but it didn't print twelve of them. on another file, it also hesitated and printed all of them, but out of order and spit out a blank page before each check. i was told to call in a ticket, except i don't like using that app that much. once i was caught up with other things, especially running checks through the inserter machine, i made the call. i made sure to move up my lunch, not knowing how long it would take. it said it would take three minutes to be connected with an agent but i waited for an hour, but at least i did get a ticket created. while waiting i stayed active and created most of the overnight labels i needed to do. in the evening i went to perform, another small lineup though. at the outset i was one of four performers, eventually it became seven. one of those who decided to perform later on was the lady i hug and is known for having the Kermit doll. i did stories about the bank, rerouting to work, a toy from the grocery store, the play, the festival, and the photo event. 

fujifilm event

 i was double booked for the day, but the second event will stand out. first was the Czech and Slovak festival close to downtown St. Paul. i got a free can of grape slice, hadn't seen this brand of soft drink in a while. i also got what looked like bratwurst as well as a muffin. and i signed up for a dinner that will be held at the same venue a month from now. i really enjoyed the Fujifilm event, held at the walker art museum in Minneapolis. i had put the email invite aside but didn't delete it on Thursday, then registered a day later. i said i don't get invited to invites like this too often. it was due to being on their mailing list after buying a fuji camera from a best buy more than four years ago. when i tried to do a 'check and clean' i was told my camera was not eligible as it is an obsolete model, no longer sold. i did take plenty of pictures while there on this camera and tried some of those on display as well. and there were the souvenirs. one was a polaroid-type photo, two separate images. one of me, the other of the nearby skyline. a metal cup i drank out of, a 'dirty soda bar', i chose a drink with a cherry in it, a non-alcoholic mixed drink. and the purple ticket i was given upon arrival was good for swag, i chose a keychain that was a roll of film and decided it will become another Christmas tree ornament. i did watch some of the pro football game on TV when i got home, chiefs won big over the ravens. the Sunday night game ended in a tie, packers pla6ing the cowboys, i was watching it and fell asleep and it had just ended when i woke up. then i did the dishes. 

shaving legs, eating peas

 no, not me. i went to a play in the evening in Minneapolis, called 'please!' and the actress in it was seen shaving her legs and eating peas. a weird story, but compelling on some level. i think it was due to the call with a friend, who was at a club and called her to encourage her to come to the club. and the response was 'i can control this environment when i am at home'. i can relate, especially when i was young. the diorama of the Ferris wheel on a table was good, the most realistic of what was on the table. the opening act was a story about a man who wanted a reason to live, and the wish was granted, a love interest but she was dying. then he goes back to who granted the wish and asked why. it was all done in about an hour, i didn't do much after getting home from the show. i did plenty of chores and errand running before it. there was going to the post office, four orders were picked up. i printed some tickets at the copy store, one was for an event that will be this weekend. and i got a sandwich at Jersey Mike's. i got another super sandwich, cold cuts, but i have been asked before about the grilled sandwiches. i got a closer look at the menu and said there was just one that didn't have onions or hot sauce. i also went to the nearby target and bought four items. two were boxes of cereal, now i have all three monster cereals as i got franken berry. the other was pumpkin spice frosted flakes. i also got two Charlie Brown items, one was another set of four patches, the other was some Halloween candy. i got groceries at Aldi before i went to the play. 

second printer arrived

 it was a long time coming, but we have a second check printer again. i was on the email threads where earlier in the week the seller claimed that it was delivered to another floor, but no one had signed for it. this made no sense when this is expensive equipment and i have to sign for many things that arrive, including returned overnight packages. i found out that the dude who had called me in the morning was only doing the installation and not the delivery. the caller spoke of being at the bank's branch across the river in Hudson, Wisconsin, working on equipment there. it was all dependent on the unit being delivered, and it was in the afternoon. i was called in advance on my cellphone and i am thankful i told them to call me there as i can hear it better than the laptop-connected phone. i moved up going to lunch as i wanted to be ready to help when the courier arrived. it was a rare time riding in the freight elevator, and there was a wait as i saw some construction workers with hard hats on when it finally arrived on my floor. the tech doing the installation called about twelve minutes after the unit arrived. in an earlier call we spoke about names in pop culture, in his case it was the 'bullfrog song'. we did get the printer set up, but there was some waiting on his end to get the configuration done. by then there were no live checks to print as i wanted to get them all out the door same day and i needed to get the regular mail tubs to the mailroom. i decided to choose a small file that was already printed as the test print, just under twenty checks. it printed just fine for me, although it was hard to find the printer on the network at first. then we found out it was due to the name being a generic one, 'laser-jet'. i trust that it will be changed to being nearly the same name as the one we already had except for the last digit. in the evening i went to get groceries at the Hy-Vee in Eagan. it was a small order, seven items, and one of them was a Homer Simpson figurine. 

pilot cosplay

 the boss suggested that we sign up for a dial-in class for development week, it was the one about copilot, the A.I. tool. i noticed that the moderators were trying too hard though, as i saw them dressed up like airplane pilots while doing the demo. much like other dial-ins, i was still getting work done during that time. and it was very necessary to do so when i still get visitors to the shop, in this case it was the mailroom dropping off things such as the mail tubs. there was also the box of Canadian check stock that was ordered over a month ago. i said that is likely what it was, although i did speak of a disgraced academic who was name-checked in a favorite movie of mine, 'good will hunting'. i also heard from vacation replacement, as an email was printed in the shop by mistake. i did say i heard the whirring and wondered what it was about. i know this has happened before, not a big deal. i don't know what it is about this day of the week, but by then i am ready for a beer when i have the evening meal. was it due to the shoes i recently bought that are hurting my feet? this time, quite likely. i did drink a can of Coors with the evening meal, so now there are three beers waiting. 

retirement cake

 no, not for me. there were two events around midday where i was willing to leave the shop. the first was puppy day, my second time at that event, in the other tower of the building. it was nice to see people who recognized me and we spoke some about performing, but i can't think of the young lady's name at the table. she did speak of going to De LaSalle, though. it was after i said i was a big Charlie Brown fan and had found many of those statues, and i was told there is one at that school. now it means finding out how to get there and get a picture of it. i had found over a hundred of those but i had run out of ideas a while back. i did hold one of the dogs while there, much like before. then it was on to the floor where i had some of the cake for a retirement party, and i had some Coca-Cola as well as all of the drinks were in two-liter bottles. i like knowing that there are bank employees who leave due to retirement, it sure beats all of the layoffs i had witnessed at previous jobs. a colleague in I.T. asked about my commute, knowing i take the blue line. something about how it took him over an hour to get to work. when i spoke of taking two buses, and one of them was an express bus between the downtowns, the dude said that sounded like a good idea, having spoken of living in Woodbury before. 

reroute, day one

 this was the first day of having to reroute to get to work as the blue line is unavailable. i tried a route suggested in a brochure but it essentially led to some doubling back, so i took a different route home. the morning bus i think was the first time i took one of those lines named after a letter. i am not too interested in taking the buses replacing the blue line when i know it takes longer to turn left into the stations. thankful that it is just two weeks of having to line up alternate plans as it no doubt takes longer to take two buses than it does to take one train. at work, the toner cartridge arrived, after in the morning i was telling my boss about how much justifying i have to do each time i order one. there was a dial-in meeting, theme was a career panel as it is development week at the bank. i listened to it some but still got some work done during that time as i wanted to get overnight labels created. heard my boss say something how 'that call wasn't too important' or something like that. in the evening it was nice to get to a meetup event at a micro-brewery, although this wasn't the typical venue for me as i had been there before for performing. no surprise, when i tried the door to the showroom it was locked. i enjoyed chatting with a dude about music, he mentioned of going to Chicago for concerts, one of them was the cure. i did say i attended plenty of concerts when i was a suburbanite. 

you all will see

 i went to perform in the evening and another performer spoke of having CDs in the back on top of the piano. the disc says, 'you all will see', as i recall this was the performer's stage name. i picked up a business card as well. i did stories about seeing a movie, having lunch after it, the bank, junk mail, and a visit to the outlet mall. it was a short lineup, i am getting used to this by now. i don't mind too much as i just want stage time, and it means getting out a little earlier. at work i was called by Hewlett Packard on my laptop about the toner cartridge order, i said i still needed it. hard to understand why i have to jump through so many hoops to get something so important to my work. around midday i went to the main floor as a check for the foundation was picked up. i asked to see a badge as it was somebody that was unfamiliar to me. i said i haven't had to order their envelopes in a while since their check volume is low. there were plenty of checks left over at the end of the day, from a special project as well as the Fargo file. i will run those through the next morning, about five thousand in all. i stayed late to see that the overnight volume was caught up, it was just over fifty labels created. i was there late enough that i heard the janitorial crew using a vacuum cleaner in the hall, and i am usually not there that late. 

hamilton movie

 mid-morning, i went to Eagan to see the play 'Hamilton'. this was likely the first time i had seen a movie with an actual intermission. there was an hourglass on the screen counting down from ten minutes, and i used the time well. i had a bathroom break, then got some popcorn, and i had more than two minutes to spare. as i recall it said the filmed version of this play was with the original cast from ten years ago. there was an intro that spoke of the famous people who showed up to watch it. i had seen this play seven years ago in Des Moines, Iowa, but didn't recall too much from it. i think this was due to the dialogue mostly being rapping, so it moved fast. i know i was paying much closer attention this time, and i liked the storyline being a biography about a historical figure. when it was done it was lunchtime, and i drove to the Ikea near Mall of America and had the Swedish meatball meal. i brought my 'orange card' with me and it got me a discount as it is during the 40th anniversary sale. i got some rainbow cake as well. when i got home i watched a decent amount of two football games, bears beat the cowboys, and the chiefs beat the giants. the latter was the Sunday night game. 

book of quotes by pink

 i went to target and bought five items there. two were boxes of cereal, promoting the shows known as 'Wednesday', and 'wicked'. and i got some toilet bowl cleaner, as well as a Halloween-themed Charlie Brown stamper in the section near the front door. the fifth item was a book of quotes by pink, the musician. it is called 'the little guide to pink' and says it is 'unofficial and unauthorized'. i had seen this performer in concert and have plenty of her CDs as well so it seemed worthwhile to get it. these quotes are from interviews. as i recall, it was on an 'end cap' and it was a nice find when walking through the books and music section. i saw some Charlie Brown-cooking equipment but passed on all three offerings. there was a popcorn maker, a small crockpot, and some waffle irons, but i already have a waffle iron and don't use it much. i sent a text to a meetup friend when i saw these, since she likes her air fryer. i said i needed to get lunch and went to the nearby Hardee's, i hadn't been to one in a while. before target i went to the post office, two orders picked up, then it was to the capitol grounds to drop off recycle. in the evening i got groceries at Aldi and eventually was inspired to write about music after watching some YouTube videos. what i have learned is that inspiration happens, do not ignore it. 

american eagle outfitters

 i figured out how to save the updates and changes to the written procedure, it was to one drive. since it is an excel document, i was able to find it under the excel spreadsheets i use and forward a copy to the team lead at the end of the day. i wanted to stay ahead on my normal duties, so it meant i kept pushing it back during my workday. i did hear from the branch i had called by instant message, the contact wanted to know why i had sent those two checks to him. i said i would add him to the email thread, and eventually i heard from the branch manager. it said we would take care of it, and that works for me. in the evening i made it to Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries, part of the order was two boxes of cereal. at first i was thinking i wasn't going to get any monster cereals this time, as i didn't see any until i made it to the checkout lanes. then i saw two boxes of boo berry and claimed one. the other box i bought was generic Rice Krispies. why pay more if you don't have to? I've bought generic or store brand versions of products many times before.  since i bought a box of Count Chocula a week earlier, there is just one more to get in that category, franken berry. i haven't tried target yet so there is another option on finding these Halloween cereals. before i made it to the grocery store i went to the outlet mall in the same town, first time there. i knew there was a location for American Eagle Outfitters in this mall. i had googled where to find Charlie Brown themed boxer shorts and this was one of the hits. there were four locations listed in the metro area for this chain. i ended up buying two pairs, and i liked how the sales rep was willing to take time with me to find what i wanted. i would like to think there will be more items in this category that fit other seasons. the two i bought were the great pumpkin theme, and i would like to think there will be some with a Christmas theme as well. i signed up for their loyalty or rewards program, and i guess there is a birthday offer. 

calling the branch

i don't think i had called a branch since starting with the bank. i did so this afternoon as i wanted to confirm the address and a contact name. a UPS envelope had been returned, i was not aware that the business line wanted me to send it to a branch. it happened to be in Beverly Hills, and it did remind me of a song that mentions a bank in that town. i had seen an email asking me to correct the address, but i said it was not possible as it was being returned to me as undeliverable. i was told it had to have the bank's name on it to be delivered there, and something about a suite number needed. except the branch said there was no suite. when given a contact name i confirmed the name in the employee directory, although it wasn't the branch manager. I've noticed most of the time when sending to a branch, it is to the manager. not a big deal as long as it gets there. the other notable thing of the day was the team lead saying that updates to the team's written procedure were due soon. i reviewed the ten tabs with my name on it but didn't know for sure how to save the updates or changes to it. i did take notes though so i can still add them in before it is due. it even led to vacation replacement deciding to call me through the laptop as there were questions about his part of the written procedure. some of it was contact names for who to send returned checks to, except we don't get returned checks if a business line has their own envelope. in the evening i drank the can of Budweiser with the evening meal and got a can of blue moon at the liquor store near me so there still are four beers waiting. 

overnighted to ireland

 i do overnight checks to foreign lands from time to time, and as expected it is usually to Canada. this afternoon i had two going there, and one going to Ireland. it will be memorable as it said it was going to Letterkenny, same name as the intelligent comedy show i saw due to my college roommate. those two were placed in the box as i was leaving and the others a little earlier, and it looks like the pick-up from the box happened before i got those last two in. i play the percentages about which ones go in early, in case the pick-up is as early as listed on the box. in the morning there was a request to overnight the remaining checks going to Cincinnati. i said those wouldn't all fit in one envelope, though. i used two, and it meant fifty checks were in one envelope while fifty-three were in the other. in the evening i called an insurance company after i checked my postal mail. i asked them to take me off their mailing list as i wasn't in the market for an insurance company after switching a year ago, and i am happy there. it was also due to getting two items from the same company, one of them wasn't even addressed to me. i had seen it before and had just tossed both of them but figured i should call this time. when there was no return address given on the envelope, it was either calling or going onto their website. 

disregarded payroll email

 i saw an email in the morning that was from payroll, it said i hadn't submitted my timecard yet. then i heard from the tax specialist when checks were picked up and i found out that dude got the same one. when i got it i forwarded it to my boss. then the payroll dude said it was in error. later in the day it did say to disregard the earlier email. another one hundred checks slated to go to Cincinnati arrived, although not in the i-pay file. and i was fine with doing what i did the day before, wait a day to send them out. i think i had seen this kind of spike in checks before, but i think it is just on an annual basis. when i saw it before i got out a box to send them all at once as no envelopes would be big enough for that many checks. my boss was in the shop for the first half of the day and when i arrived there was a cookie waiting for me from the lady who places supply orders from me. i liked how i didn't have to go to another floor to get it as i know it can be time consuming. i called in a ticket for a toner cartridge for the check printer so hopefully it arrives soon. the payroll check was picked up, and i referred our rep from the foundation to the tax specialist when i was asked for a courier referral. 

crowd too loud

 i went to perform at an open mic in the evening and i did stories about the bank, attending a Saints baseball game, getting shoes, using a crayon, and seeing a movie. i was in the midst of telling a story about my check printing work and then some crowd members entered, but they were being too loud. i even said 'performer on stage'. eventually i didn't hear them, and a little later i went to the bar area and i saw these people. i was told they were asked to leave because they were being too loud. there was four of them, three of which were ladies, and mention of being adoptees that were from northern Wisconsin. it was a short lineup so by the time i went back into the showroom the show was over. and when i went back out to the bar area, those four were gone. i heard the show runner talk about a fellow performer, some mention of moving to Florida. this might explain why i hadn't seen the wild guitar player in a while. at work i saw just over two hundred checks in the second i-pay file near the end of the day. it meant most of them did not go out same day, at least the ones that were slated to be sent inter-office to Cincinnati. i wanted to see that i had the correct checks in the correct pile and it meant having another chance to look at all of them the next morning. there was also a payroll check that i printed and it is set aside, waiting to be picked up. although it looks like a surrogate will be picking it up at a later date. 

sound of music movie

 in the afternoon i went to see the movie 'sound of music' in Eagan. i liked how i managed to make it through a three-hour movie without a bathroom break. i had one just before in and just after it. i don't think i had seen a movie this long before, let alone in theaters. a coworker kept telling me to see it and i am thankful i did and seeing it in theaters for its 60th anniversary was the best game plan. i laughed, i cried, it was a carefree movie for a while. then the intermission happened, and the nazi part was in the second half. good thing i stayed in my seat when i said 'intermission' on the screen as this interlude didn't last long. i had sang some of those songs in music class in elementary school. it was mentioned on 'big bang theory' twice. even the first episode of 'the nanny' reminded me of it, as a rich man hires a nanny and the hired help understood the kids better than the dad did. this included the dad having a hard time accepting that the eldest daughter was already dating. in the case of this movie, it was actually a governess instead of a nanny. actually, i called an audible on what screening i attended. i went to Jersey Mike's for lunch, and i knew i wasn't quite going to make it to a screening at another theater in time. seeing it in another town more than an hour later worked out just fine. i went home and watched some pro football before i left for the theater again. i think this was the first time i had been to that sandwich shop on a Sunday, and there were four football games on at the same time on their TV near the main door. i had just enough time before the movie to get to the nearby dairy queen and i got a pumpkin pie blizzard treat. 

napoleon cake

 i stayed active for much of the day. there was going to the post office, four orders were picked up including two CDs. i needed some things at JC Penney and went to the one in Roseville. I got a pair of socks with a Halloween theme and some shoes. while there i decided to use a small bench a little farther away to sit down and try on shoes, saying 'let him have some fun' noticing a little boy was on a bench next to his dad, and the dad was trying on shoes like i was. then it was on to the French alliance to see the art display. usually i get there before midday, when there isn't much of a crowd in the building. this time i heard 'bonjour' and was asked if i needed help, i said 'art gallery', stating what i was there for. the theme was black and white photos in Paris and mention of acupuncture as well. i had heard of some of these places but not all of them, and i found a black crayon in a kid's room so i could write some things down in the pamphlet about the exhibit. when i was done i returned the crayon to where i found it. then i make a quick stop at home to drop off what was acquired at the store and post office, and i was off to the Armenian festival at a church in St. Paul. i had been there before and the food is good there, this time i had the Napoleon cake after having the pork and rice pilaf meal. i also read the stories from families escaping the genocide, which were posted in the sanctuary. i went home again but wasn't there for long. i rested a little and then got groceries at the Aldi. then it was off to the stadium to see the St. Paul Saints baseball game. the Saints lost to Columbus, 9-3. it was fan appreciation night. it was my tenth game of the season, actually eleven as one night in June was a double-header. i had to choose a different food truck this time as the lineup can change. as usual, i chose one right away after the floodgates were opened as the lines get long really quick. i went to the fish and chips place and had the chips. when i got home i found out it was on the 'dining for miles' program, and it was nice to get some unexpected airline miles. there were some songs to keep people interested before the fireworks show, including a parody of an Oasis song. another was from the movie 'midnight cowboy'. during the fireworks there was the Sinatra song about baseball. 

thailand package

 there was another international package i had overnighted where i am called and emailed about it, this time going to Thailand. not much i could do besides notify the business line, in this case two shared email accounts were copied. it is up to them to supply more contact information to see that it gets delivered. matter of fact, i had to do the same for the one stuck in the Virgin Islands. it was nice getting caught up again on running checks through the machine at the end of the week. there was just over a thousand to do in the morning and i had two full mail tubs to send to the mailroom near the end of the day. i am finding out it works just fine to go on Friday morning to the Walgreen as i can get the paper there. i get it just once a week, and at times if i wait until i go to Hy-Vee in the evening it is already sold out. this way it counts towards my loyalty points total, and i know it doesn't at Hy-Vee. i did go get groceries in the evening, and it was the first time this season where i saw the 'monster cereals' so i bought a box of Count Chocula. this year it has a Muppets theme, honoring an anniversary at Jim Henson's studio, so we see Muppet versions of these cereal mascots. it was a small order, nine items. i found out i tend to have the same problem with listening to the Saints baseball game on the radio even in my car. the signal can be crowded out at times by the station next to it. good thing the game was also on local TV. the Saints beat Columbus, so their long losing streak ended. soon i will be attending another game in person though. 

undetermined pizza

 there was plenty of goodies to be found in the breakroom, and i did partake of most of it. i ended up taking a late lunch and i saw three boxes of pizza there, although i am not sure what the meat was on it, possibly chicken. best to just say 'undetermined'. some were cut into squares; others were cut into triangles. and i think some had onions on it. i felt a little weird after eating the pizza and made two trips to the bathroom in the afternoon, one right before delivering the regular mail tubs to the breakroom. when i got home i did drink some Pepto-Bismol, to help out a little, before i had the evening meal. i also made a good haul on the goodies that were left on the counter when i went there for some water for my mid-morning snack. i claimed a muffin, as well as some yogurt. with the latter i saw the post it on the refrigerator that said, 'for anyone'. i also claimed what was in a cardboard box for the next few days. this included some small bags of popcorn and chips, peanut butter crackers, trail mix, and some little Reese's peanut butter cups. wouldn't surprise me at all if some of it had just expired, or would be soon, as this is often why so much snack food is left in breakrooms as whoever leaves it wants it to be eaten. 

quick door inspection

 it was a weird day for meetings and visitors. i let the tax specialist know in the morning about me having a team huddle during the time that those checks are normally picked up. except the dude wasn't in yet and didn't see my instant message. then my boss was called during the team huddle and i went to the other floor to hand them off. this was after my boss dismissed what i had said, even though i knew it was relevant, and it was confirmed to be. then when i got back to the shop, there was two visitors. one was from the mailroom, not a big deal. it was the customary delivery of the empty mail tubs. the other was the preventative maintenance visit, which didn't last long. the dude said he'd be there for just two minutes. and all it involved was inspecting the door, starting with me badging into it. the check stock arrived as well. i showed the check copies to my boss when requested in the afternoon and found out i have to submit just twenty-four of those. some were essentially the same business line, and we need to submit only once. i said i would do so the next morning when i have no check files to print. it means blotting out the payee names as well as the DDA account number for each one, but it won't take long. and then i send it to a folder called 'reporting' on a drive i use all of the time for moving the PDF checks to after they are printed. 

fanning the checks

 my boss does one day a week in the shop and when coming back from a meeting on another floor saw the 'hot product' error on the machine. i had to say that the checks were hot, not the machine itself. this was when i was advised to pull a fan over and see if this would help with cooling down the checks enough. i don't think that it did, though. i am used to running through as much as possible until just before i go to lunch and then switching over to creating overnight labels. then whatever Fargo checks are left over are run through the next morning, when i don't get that error at all as the checks have been sitting for quite a while by then. i know best how to do my job. there was also mention of needing check copy samples for each of the business lines that i handle. i did some by the end of the day, the ones that i see most often. still need to find out the deadline on getting those submitted, and where to submit them, of course. 

answer was jealousy

 as we all know, i have been riding the light rail to work at the bank for months now. i see all kinds of things on these rides. this morning i saw a transit cop ask if a rider was all right. the dude had his shoes off and pants down far enough that one could see his undies. the cop said the shoes needed to be put on and the pants pulled up. then there was a question about what happened to his face, and the answer was jealousy. i try to avoid interacting with other riders as all i care about is getting to work. in the evening there was a lady asking about what train that goes to the airport, and i boarded the same train as her. but then i kept quiet and left her alone for the duration of the ride. at work i did make it to another floor, where many of my colleagues are, to deliver a check. it was for paying off a corporate card, and i ended up saying 'not my first rodeo' about it. then i was able to hand off some returned checks to vacation replacement. i was tired for much of the day and fell asleep for nearly an hour after i got home and ate. then i went out to perform. i did stories about the oil change, a meetup event, visiting the speedway gas station, and the cinema. and i started off with answering a joke from a comic i wasn't familiar with, about fireworks at baseball games. i have answered jokes before when i know i am more knowledgeable than the comic who first tried to joke about it. there was a thin lineup, show didn't start on time for this reason. i know the Vikings were playing that night, this might have been given as the reason. i did watch some of this football game in the bar area when i wanted a break from the showroom. the Vikings were on the road, in Chicago, and beat the Bears. 

all through the night movie

 in the evening i went to the Trylon and saw another classic movie, 'all through the night', starring Humphrey Bogart. the supporting cast included Jackie Gleason, and Phil Silvers. i liked finding another movie about World War Two when it was a current event. in both cases, the story or setting takes place just before the United States entered it. i laughed a lot at the deadpan humor in this one. Bogart was really good as usual. i am trying to figure out when my next visit will be, although it might not be for a movie as there is a poster sale in October. that month is shaping up to be a busy one, so it may be just as well. a film festival at another venue interests me, as well as Halloween- themed events at places like the Saints baseball stadium. i did laundry in the morning and finished up just before midday. then i went to speedway again and got another Slurpee, but this time it was in a plastic Green Day-themed cup. it was a larger volume cup than the disposable one from the previous day, it meant i drank half of it before i got home and then the other half was my drink for the evening meal, a small pizza. when i first saw it i was about to leave the store but got a picture of it to remind me. i am a big believer 'get while the getting is good', even though there were plenty of these collectible cups still available. it was on my mind and didn't want to forget to pick one up, so it was no big deal to go there on consecutive days. i also got two snack items. there was some ice cream on a stick, and a pack of Reese's peanut butter- combined with Oreos. according to what i had found online, this promotion was announced months ago but i hadn't seen it before. this is likely due to me usually getting bottled juices in the refrigerated aisle. it was opening weekend for pro football, but i didn't watch any games. guess it was due to the teams i wanted to see weren't playing that day. 

two fist bumps

 as usual, the weekends are about chores and errand running. this included getting an oil change for my car. i went to a new place, sort of. first visit to a Tires Plus location in more than a decade. there were two techs but i liked the second one more. the first was trying to joke around, and when it comes to my car i am not interested in jokes. it is the way that i get around. i liked the second tech better. i got two fist bumps from this dude, who said my car could run forever. also asked me if i had pets, and i do not. and if i was planning on watching the football game on Monday night. notable was seeing a crew boarding up a plate glass window which had a hole in it, boarded up on both sides. i made it there before midday, and my visit to the post office was moved up for this reason. three items were picked up, one of those was postcards from brawler. there was four, and one appeared to be from Paris. another was from Madrid, which made sense as the dude now lives in Spain. after i was done at the shop i picked up a quick lunch from the speedway gas station near me, actually it was a breakfast sandwich under the heat lamps. then i went home and watched the second half of the Iowa football game at Iowa state. Iowa lost a close one. in the evening i went to a meetup event at a micro-brewery in Brooklyn Park. a friend of mine was there, our first visit in a while. she was willing to speak a little about getting sued for a snowboarding incident but i didn't ask about it, figuring it still might be a sore subject. i parked at the adjacent steakburger place, Freddy's, and ate there. once i was done i went to the brewery. 

frames at michaels

 in the evening i made my first stop at the Michaels in Eagan, instead of Hy-Vee for groceries. i wanted a frame for a poster and when i went online this was one of the results. i wanted a 14 by 20 frame, couldn't find one so i chose a 16 by 20. some were more expensive than others, i just needed a basic one. when i got home i put the poster from the Charlie Brown movie of ten years ago in it, which was in a frame that was too big for it. then a St. Paul Saints poster that was acquired in August was put in the larger frame. now i have two framed Saints baseball posters, although i have four total. the other two are still in cardboard tubes so still well preserved. the framed ones are more about the team, and the tubed ones are of individual players and i am the type that roots for teams when it is a team game. then i went to Hy-Vee, and ten items were in my grocery order this week. i got the paper when i went to Walgreen in the morning to get some tea and cookies. i was busy at work all day, but i didn't mind. i wanted to get caught up by the end of the day and i did. it helped that the volume of the Fargo checks dropped, finally. the checks i printed today was a lower total than the backlog, which was over two thousand and run through before the newer ones. this was another day of deciding to get the returned checks caught up, over fifty were sent in interoffice envelopes to the corresponding business line. as usual, it was just in time to get some more. the check stock and envelope volume is getting low; order was placed two days ago. i was copied on an email thread about our office address, saying it needed to be updated. wondering if this is causing the delay. 

virgin islands package

 once again i couldn't hear my phone, but this time the one connected to my laptop, when i had the inserter machine running. i saw it was UPS, calling about a package going to the Virgin Islands. i tried to call the number given but it was the wrong one, something about medic alerts. i went online and found the correct number for UPS. it was a waste of time as i was on hold for a while and kept getting transferred, and what i was trying to tell them was to just 'return to sender'. i know this will happen after enough inactivity on the package anyway. i didn't like how the call center rep tried to hide behind 'this is our procedure' and i said i had done call center work before and it was getting ridiculous. when i was asked how to contact me, by email or phone, when i didn't want to be transferred again, i just hung up. as it was taking way too long for something that seemed simple enough to me. also notable about the day was being asked to send a package through fed-ex, except i don't use that courier. i didn't have any of their envelopes and didn't know where the closest box was. a colleague who was working from home was asking for help about it and wanted to email me what was to be overnighted. when i confirmed i had none of those kinds of envelopes i was told that the colleague would handle it next week when in the office. fine with me. i drank a can of surly with the evening meal so now four beers are waiting. 

end task function

 i was trying to go too fast near the end of my workday when i was trying to get a check copy for a colleague. it was from the PDF file and sometimes all i can do is a screen snip. when i realized i was going to print all eight checks in the file i tried to stop it and print just the one i wanted. then the screen froze, or i usually say 'got stuck'. i sent an instant message to an IT rep who said use control alt delete, then task manager, then 'end task' and this got me un-stuck. now i will try to learn a lesson from this experience so this doesn't happen again anytime soon. also notable about the day was getting the spare maintenance kit from the tech who was working on the check printer last week. i was running the inserter machine and it can get loud so i didn't hear the phone ringing but i picked it up from the security desk on the main floor. some mention of needing to go to Mankato so couldn't stay for long. i said i wasn't going to complete the survey until i had this item, and at the end of my workday i stayed a few extra minutes to complete it. this was also a day where i finally got started on the online classes due at the end of the month. i did one in the morning, doesn't take long but i still just do one per day. in the evening i went to the liquor store and got two cans of beer. it was a Michelob and a surly, so now five are waiting. 

alternate hotmail login

 i check email in my Hotmail account in the evening and it said i was unable to log in through the laptop. hard to understand why this happens at all but it has a few times in the past month or so. this meant viewing it on my phone, although this is not preferred as i like the larger screen and keyboard on the laptop. as usual, most of it is not too important. the surveys i do for airline miles mean the most to me, although i did not do one due to the issues i was having. although i have logged on to their website directly before. most of the time i go to surveys through the daily email. at work it was the first time in nearly a week that i had printed any of the ACH-PDF statements. getting checks out was more important when we were having printer issues. it meant sending out four tubs of regular mail as the ACH was well over a thousand pages. also printed the stubs for payroll, four days' worth, although those didn't go out just yet. the boss kept asking about the printer, i said it was running just fine after the tech visited. i saw how i was assigned more online classes, due at the end of November. i have some due at the end of this month, i will want to get started on those real soon. i usually do one a day until they are done as it just takes a few minutes to complete. there is still a backlog on checks to run through the machine, but it is manageable. it is the larger Fargo file. running it through the next morning still works fine. the Twins baseball game against the White Sox was on Fox-9. i watched some of it after the news on Fox-plus but fell asleep and missed the ending but i knew the Twins were way behind. 

voting on comics

 in the evening i went to a comedy show in the basement of a bar in northeast Minneapolis. i was interested in attending after having seen a text message from brawler, who was in town. this is who was performing when the votes were being counted at the end of the show. i was given a ballot but did not turn it in, as i wanted it for a note page. it was my first time at this venue in more than five years. i was introduced to the booker, who was wearing a 'cow onesie', and now i have stage time there in a month from now. i recognized two other performers at this show, one of them i call a 'ball of energy', and that was the night's winner, and the prize was a burger king hat. the other is now a mailman and spoke of getting bailed out of jail once by a stripper. the latter said i was 'the real deal'. i found out that brawler now lives in Spain, after being in the Carolinas for a while. this was another move for his wife's job, a physician. there was some mention of sending postcards to me and gave out my PO box address. even though it was a day off for a bank holiday, Labor Day, it was still an active one for me. i was at the state fair in the morning and afternoon and was able to get most things crossed off my list. i think it was the first time that i went on the final day of the fair. i did make it to an animal barn, for cattle, and chatted with a young man there. i learned there is a French cattle breed called 'Limousin', the name almost looks like the kind of car. there was one final day deal i liked getting, it was at the fan zone building, where i went to see the St. Paul Saints display. i got a picture frame and a long sleeve shirt, both were half off. it looks like the shirt was once going for way more than this but had been marked down apparently even before the fair. i am still doing 'one for one' on shirts and this will replace the long sleeve Chicago Bears shirt. i knew the cuffs were getting ratty on it. i made a return visit to the milk booth, as i didn't have milk for breakfast, which was another Egg McMuffin and orange juice at McDonald's. and it was nice to make it back to the giant slide as well, i got a better Lt. Dan from 'Forrest Gump' scream this time. and a big reason for the second visit this year, the fine arts building, i did see some paintings i liked. there was one about hot dish, along with ones depicting ice cream, and a pencil sharpener. i finished the walking tour map and my prize at the historic society was a magnet. i sang at the karaoke stage, 'bad reputation' by Joan Jett, after hearing it the day before when i was performing. and i had lunch at the Hamline church dining hall. it was meatloaf and mashed potatoes, for dessert some blueberry pie. after choosing some other dessert options first, i said i wanted the pie even more. i left the fairgrounds shortly after i had sang, it was mid-afternoon by then, and i made it home on the bus in time to watch 'jeopardy'. 

meetup picnic near zoo

 at midday i went to a meetup picnic near Como Zoo in St. Paul. it was hard to find a parking spot, as the lot nearest the picnic grounds was full. i ended up finding street parking a few blocks away. i brought a box of twinkies much like before and ate two of them there. i left with seven, so it meant that just one was eaten by somebody who wasn't me. one of the games i played after eating, ladder golf, was with this man. this was the third meetup picnic, out of six in the series, i have attended this summer, and i said it will be the final one. there is another one in three weeks, postponed from an earlier date, but i prefer to avoid getting annoyed and i was at two of them, including this one. in both cases, it was due to others being critical of my nametag. i had plenty to eat there, including a hamburger and a hot dog along with desserts and some potato salad, and i slept when i got home. for this reason, i had very little to eat in the evening, just some popcorn saved from the show i had attended the night before. i performed at an open mic in the evening. i did stories about the picnic, the bank, a Facebook posting about being spotted, and movies i had attended. i was the final performer in this show.