late files, deferred request

 near the end of the workday i was asked to pull a check. i said the file it was in was late and i would print the file the next business day. actually, three files were late, all of them from the fraud department. i get these requests all the time, in this case it was due to being the wrong amount. the courier picking up tax checks was the only visitor of the day. there was a Canadian tax check file, and it printed before the courier arrived so two more were in the envelope, three in all. the regular ad-hoc file arrived in the afternoon and those will be held for pick-up on Monday. the business line in st. louis notified me that their file would be late, but i said i still had time to send it out same day. there were no overnight labels for the second Marshall file of the day. i did make it to Walgreen, but it was moved up. i went to a different location, and before i went to work. in the evening i watched a college football game on fox, Indiana beat northwestern. the Indiana head coach had some commercials for State Farm Insurance airing during this game. 

second chair massage

 at work i had a chair massage appointment mid-morning. it can be hard to snag an appointment when those fill up quickly, it was just the second for me since i had moved to this building nearly two years ago. there are some paid appointments but like most people i prefer the complimentary ones. this is now being offered once a week onsite. i spoke a lot with the massage therapist during the fifteen minutes, some of it was about baseball and how there were two teams known as the sox. i knew there would be a courier for the tax checks but said i needed to get to the appointment. i later found out the courier wasn't there yet. when the courier arrived, it was with a mailroom employee, he was late and one i hadn't seen before, likely new. for lunch i had some pizza, as the boss had gone to a place called Broadway and i got the second half of a meat lovers pizza. i had been there before but usually get a single slice and this was likely equal to more than that when it came in a box. a colleague who had picked up checks this week asked me to return them to the boss. there was some confusion, though. these were not from the special project. i do sorting and those from the special project say so in the window of the envelope. those are not opened at all, and those envelopes go into some former copy paper boxes in the shop. we have currently filled seven of them. i am still wondering when the returned check volume will slow down. this colleague said most of the checks from the special project were low dollar amounts. when i opened one that was sent back in a different envelope, i said it wouldn't buy a meal at my favorite sandwich shop. 

sent link to citrix

at work my boss spoke of wanting to get access for more people on the team. it meant sending a link to a system i use called citrix, this was sent as an instant message. sounds like it is meant for the boss and team lead. there was a dial-in meeting in the morning, third quarter finance town hall. as usual i did my best to get work done during that time as there were checks to print. i was pleased that the work order was handled right away on the check shop doorbell. sounds like a tech arrived to swap out batteries after i had left for the day. i was sent an email and asked to test it, and it was fine. i said i preferred to be there when it was done as i could test it right away. at the same time, no complaining at all that it was done fairly quickly. the last time i did a work order for the same thing, it took a month. it was odd that the tax specialist still wanted to test it after it was proven to be working, so i got into the hall and tested it again. it might make a difference as to what part of the button is pushed. 

no refund checks until afternoon

at work i had more visitors than usual since vacation replacement was on vacation. one of them was a lady that i hadn't worked with much. she picked up the returned checks for our internal business line. in the afternoon there was another colleague, asking for refund checks. there weren't any until i sent the regular mail tubs to the mailroom. along with more returned checks, and most of those returned checks are still from the special project that wrapped up weeks ago. the boss was ill so the team lead was notified that i would be out of the office for one day next week, as i had made an appointment. tax specialist notified me about the doorbell to the shop so i put in a work order near the end of the day. 

keep profile safe

at work there was an email about keeping profiles safe on UPS, a place where i create plenty of overnight labels each day. i finally went to our internal team about it and was told no action was needed. something about how there will be another step of verification soon. the boss asked me to do another MICR ruler test on checks in the morning. i was pleased that the inter-office envelopes arrived as there was plenty to use again. i decided to put the tub these arrived in into the rotation of the regular mail tubs. it meant taking the sign taped onto another one and moving it. that one was taken out of the rotation as a metal rod in the door was missing and i knew it wouldn't function properly. 

best medicine show

 in the evening i watched the fox TV show 'best medicine'. i was expecting 'the Simpsons' to be on after the pro football games but it wasn't. this show was pretty good, though. sometimes i say one episode is enough when what i saw wasn't that good, but i am willing to watch this one again. not sure if this was the typical time slot. in this cast, i mainly know Annie Potts, who has done plenty of notable roles over the years but i am most familiar with 'ghostbusters', and 'Young Sheldon'. the main storyline was a mermaid found clinging to a buoy, which led to mention of the movie 'splash'. another plot was about a woman who was told to stop smoking, as doing so around an oxygen tank would be hazardous. i think we all knew how it was going to end; she smokes anyway- and an explosion happens. not once, but twice. after the show was done i switched over to the Sunday night football game, colts-chiefs. the chiefs won in overtime. i sent a text to a friend in st. louis, saying i really like the hat i was sent earlier this year. i was asked who i might think will win the world series, and i said it was hard to predict with the expanded playoffs. i knew there were already five teams above 90 wins or close to it with a week left in the regular season. 

great gatsby play

 in the evening i went to see the play 'Great Gatsby' at the round theater in Minneapolis. i had been to this venue many times before but this was the first time seeing this story. i knew the book it was based on did not have stellar sales during the author's lifetime but i had also read how it became popular after copies were given to World War Two soldiers. i can relate well to nick carraway, the storyteller. i had said before when i was still in school how i play the supporting roles in life, and in this case the storyteller is the observer of Gatsby, the main character. it was a good story, but it is still a tragedy, nonetheless. when i was driving home from the show i heard on my car radio 'money for nothing' by dire straits. i still have the album it is on, 'brothers in arms', on cassette. later on, years after it became a hit, a learned the band's name is taken from a term meaning a 'challenging situation', usually a 'poor financial situation'. i did do some events even before getting to the venue. i also went to Mall of America around midday and had pizza at DeLeo, as i wanted airline miles. nearby in the rotunda was a metro transit event. it was nice seeing all of the displays there, including a van brought out for events like this one. it was painted with landmarks of the twin cities served by the transit system. i also got some Charlie Brown items at the American Eagle store, using a birthday gift certificate to reduce what i owed. it was some buttons as well as some socks. it paired well with the postcards i bought at Barnes and Noble. i got a sandwich and a Kool-Aid burst at Bobby and Steve's before the play. 

hit reply to all

 near the end of the workday, i was contacted by a branch employee about a check i had overnighted. this has happened before. i said i don't ask questions when i am asked to overnight a check, i just send it. sounds like the issue was the branch employee claims it was sent to the wrong branch or should have sent directly to the payee. i said i send wherever i am asked to send it. i gave the names or shared boxes for the business line that sends me the list each day, and when i saw it in the shared box she only replies to me with her question. i said 'hit reply to all' then the question goes to the business line as well. in the end i said 'i did my part'. our tax specialist was in, not typical for this day of the week. there were two check files to pick up, one was from the previous day. the other was two Canadian checks. there was some mention of those working from home can no longer print there, so this may have had something to do with it. i know i haven't seen courier pick-up for a while, and usually near the end of the week this is what happens to the tax checks. i tried two meat sticks from Walgreen, one of them was jack links. looks like they are locking up some of the doors in the refrigerated aisle again. at Hy-Vee in Eagan, i picked up two kinds of soap in addition to some food items. it was dish soap and bar soap. i don't have to buy either that often but was running low on both. when i was in the store i heard 'cruel summer' by Bananarama. i often pay attention to the music played inside stores. i knew this was a movie song, it was in 'karate kid'. 

it was for guardian

 i let my vacation replacement know there was one refund check to pick up. i said two other envelopes were left over, and one wasn't even for us. one of them was for a company called guardian in Pennsylvania, and i have no idea how we ended up getting it. the other one was about unclaimed property related to blue cross. i let him handle both. and we are now on box five of the returned checks from the special project, 'refund overbilling'. based on how many checks were sent out, this means close to half have been returned so i am not sure why we were asked to send them. there was an issue on getting into a system where i can order amazon gift cards from points. not sure what the solution is as i kept going around in circles when trying to log in. i was sent a text message with a code to send and it wasn't enough. this same thing happened back in March, based on the notes i had written down. 

where to apply it

i heard from a colleague i had overnighted a check to, as it was 'return to business line'. the question was where to apply it. i said i would have no knowledge of that. the colleague decided to make an educated guess based on the name on the check. it was a low amount, seven dollars, wouldn't even buy much. or actually, 'return to lockbox'. i said i have seen those before, but usually i send them to st. louis instead of Portland, Oregon. i did get the test checks i needed to print in the morning but still needed to wait a little to see they were ready. it was for the two Fargo files, five from one file and one from the other. there was plenty to wade through. i send the scans to my boss and to the I.T. colleague. there was over a hundred checks in the file for one and just 18 for the other. i am thankful i needed to print just six. as usual, i needed to cover up the credit card numbers on the checks in order to get them scanned and forwarded. i used the same stickie for all of them to cover it up.  

something we can do

 at work there was an instant message asking for a check copy, i said i prefer those requests be emailed to me. it was about a check set to be mailed out, and the requestor said she 'wanted to see if it's something we can do'. and it was, so it seemed a little odd to me. but on most days, this wouldn't even make the list of what is notable to me. there are times when i have to say that no check was found. a colleague in I.T. said it was fine to go into the test check system the next day, due to having to run to an appointment. it was late in the day and i prefer those kinds of things early in the day when there are less live check files to print. test checks aren't my most favorite thing to do when i have to switch to a system different from the live checks, and this means a different password. i often have to notify this same colleague about needing a password reset as i am not in that system near as often. 

it happened one night movie

 at work there was a 'cookies and connections' event in the afternoon on the main floor. i had been to this venue for an earlier networking event. i let the tax specialist know i was going to this 'shindig' and there was a Mississippi tax check expected. i guess there was a sense of urgency on getting it sent out, but it was agreed that it be picked up 'after the shindig'. the tax check file, if there are any checks to print, is not available until around that time anyway. there was also an Iowa check expected, but i said there was just one in the file. then we found out it was sent ACH so there was no check to pick up for that state. in the evening i went to see a movie at the Trylon, it was 'it happened one night', starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. this was the third and final movie i planned on seeing in this 'road movie' series and it is the one i liked best. it was called a 'screwball comedy'. i later read how it was an influence on many other movies after it. i sat in the front row like many times before and i did see the 'cub foods dude' and it was nice chatting with him about movies before this one began. then his Lyft car was ready shortly after the movie ended. i said my plans for my next visit to this theater would be a movie being screened more than a month from now. 

filipinana movie

 in the afternoon i went to see the movie 'filipinana', at St. Anthony main in Minneapolis. i had seen a trailer for this film on YouTube and searched for screenings nearby. at first, there weren't any, the closest one listed on the film's website was in Chicago. i had to wait a little and then found out just one twin city theater would be showing it, information gleaned from fandango. midway through watching it, i had to ask myself, 'why am i thinking of Caddyshack?' even though both movies have a setting at a country club, otherwise they have very little in common. this one, as the title suggests, takes place in the Philippines. all of the movie was subtitled, even the dialogue that was in English. i did understand how this was a study of the haves and have nots. the main character takes us on a tour of most of the country club, in search of the club's boss. also, a part of the story was a young lady, golfing with her uncle. she had been studying in New York City, and her uncle wanted her to move back. i liked the movie, a good story. it is also a reminder of why i stay for the closing credits. some of the credits started to roll even before the story faded to black. some people leave this early, but i know sometimes there is more of a story to tell. in this case, it was the main character calling for help and no one responded. there were plenty of previews, and as usual most don't appeal to me. but one of them did, it was 'digger', starring tom cruise. i had seen the posters for a while and said 'meh' as all i knew was tom in a cowboy hat. i found out john goodman is in it, too, an actor i like more than tom. i think this movie just made my list. i know this is a black comedy, sounds like it is due out next month. after the movie i stopped at Rosedale mall in Roseville and had some ice cream at dairy queen. it was just before i made it to the mall where i heard Lewis Capaldi's 'before you go', which is tough to listen to. probably good that i don't hear it that often. the performer said it was inspired by the suicide of his aunt. before the movie i got a sandwich at a gas station near the Vikings stadium, hours before the game began. it was weird how i followed the Packers-Vikings game three different ways. on the radio, then at home, finally at a bar where i was performing. the Vikings won with a big fourth quarter. the open mic started once the game ended, as it would have been hard to compete with the cheering about the game. 

pickup truck opera

i was double booked for the day. first event to attend was a 'pickup truck opera'. i was able to google it based on a few key words given by my meetup friend. it was at swede hollow in St. Paul, a park i hadn't been to before. my friend was there filming it with two different cameras and i was able to sit in his lawn chair nearby. i recognized most of the modern music in it as the genre was 1990s grunge. this included violin versions in the opening segment, one was 'hey jealousy' by the gin blossoms, and 'only happy when it rains' by garbage. i had seen both bands in concert. some songs of the day i had heard more than once. nirvana's 'heart shaped box' i not only heard when having a sandwich for lunch at Jersey Mike's, but also at the opera. dolly parton's '9 to 5' was heard at the opera, and at the event i did after the opera was done- a baseball game. the opera ran longer than expected and i went to the St. Paul Saints game right after it was done. the saints lost to Syracuse, 9-7. it was game number 11 for me this season, actually 12 as one night in July was a double-header. this was food truck night, and i had an egg roll from a Vietnamese place. the converted ambulance was absent. then there were fireworks after the food trucks. and the dolly parton song was one of those played during the fireworks show. next visit to this stadium will likely be for the holiday lights, which are normally between thanksgiving and New Year's Day.  i bought one final souvenir for the season, it was a blue ball with both the Twins and Saints logos on it. 

9/11 anniversary shows

 in the evening there were some 25-year anniversary shows about the 9/11 attacks. one network had college football on, but the other three had some kind of retrospective. i liked the one about sports marking the time, including the world series. i lived through that time, being in suburban Chicago then, so i still recall it well. no need to relive all of it, especially when some things are hard to watch. at work, i heard from someone in I.T. how i could expect to print some test checks from the Fargo file soon. thankful it wasn't the same day, but i was asked to send check copies from another file, called voyager. since i wasn't sure which one was needed, i sent both kinds. one file we see once a week, the other is few and far between. found out it was the latter file that was needed. well i didn't want to guess and be wrong. there were 15 more checks for our tax specialist, which will be in the same envelope as the others that are waiting. i made the typical visits, to Walgreen in the morning while on break, and then Hy-Vee in Eagan in the evening. this time i was paying attention and saw that i bought the last of the three monster cereals. i wanted 'boo-berry' and the previous week i bought a second box of 'franken-berry' instead. i also shared a story about why i was getting the star-shaped tater tots. i had a dream that someone had eaten all of mine and i was sad about it. 

serial number given

 i called in a ticket on the little printer used for UPS labels and it was annoying having to give it to the agent twice. once it was created, someone viewed the ticket and asked for it again. we need another toner cartridge; it is getting so faded that it is hard to read. for this reason, i have been printing those labels on one of the check printers. the boss left early due to having gout. plenty of returned checks have arrived from the recently completed special project. there is so many that we are putting them into copy paper boxes. the boss has called it 'ridiculous' and i agree. these boxes are in the office that the boss uses when in the shop. i let a former coworker know about plans to see a movie this weekend, but the message i sent went unanswered. not the first time this has happened. in the evening i went to see a St. Paul Saints baseball game. the Saints were playing Syracuse, the Mets team. the Saints lost 6-2. i went because it was Charlie Brown night. i already had two Charlie Brown jerseys from previous years and not a big deal that i didn't get one. it had a great pumpkin theme. there will be another game that i am seeing this weekend. i liked hearing one song near the end of the game, it was offspring's 'all i want'. loud, fast, impactful. sometimes that is just what i needed to hear. the line i like the most is 'sick of not living to stay alive'. 

door ding

 there was a delivery in the shop, it was the boxes or cartons of check stock. while there i noticed there was a door ding caused by the cart the delivery man was using. this led to the door not closing due to the metal part near the bottom that was sticking out. when i pointed this out we banged on it a little to get it moved back far enough for it to close. there was a check from the Cincinnati file where i was told not to send it out. i said it had already been approved so i knew i could print it and send it to the shredder. near the end of the day when i actually put it in the shred bin, i decided to make it official by saying it was completed. i call this the cleanup part of the day. there was also a request for check images for a credit card. i said i do print some checks that are refunds from credit cards, but it sounded like it wasn't this kind when i wasn't given a check number i was able to recognize or search for in the system i use. 

two lane blacktop movie

 in the evening i went to see the movie 'two lane blacktop' at the Trylon cinema. this was a road movie and a car racing movie. two musicians were in it, James Taylor as well as Dennis Wilson of the beach boys. despite this, neither one contributed music to the movie. go figure. most notable song to me in this movie was 'me and Bobby McGee', performed by the writer of the song, Kris Kristofferson. i saw the cub foods dude in the front row, a familiar face. this is who i sat next to during the screening. i spoke of plans to see another movie in this series in a week. at work, there was a visitor near the end of the day that wanted to do a door test. seemed odd to me but it didn't take long. and there was an escheat request in our shared box. when i spoke of it to vacation replacement, i was advised to send it to the business line in st. louis. when i did so i found out there was a shared box for that team. 

rebel queens show

 this was the final day of the Minnesota state fair. it is not too often that i do the last day, but this time i knew i was likely to see my meetup friend, the retired postal worker. near the end of the day, we were in the bazaar area and saw a band called rebel queens, doing a cover of poison's 'talk dirty to me'. i had seen poison in concert with my brother many years ago, Damn Yankees was part of the same show. earlier we were at a different stage and during a break in the action i heard Belinda Carlisle's 'heaven is a place on earth'. i know this one mainly from being in the movie 'Romy and Michele'. i called it a 'carefree day', the part after finding my meetup friend. it was mainly spent drinking beer and watching people sing. even said so in two text messages i sent to friends. i still wanted to get some chores and errand running done before getting on the bus to this event, and made it there fairly early, mid-morning. shortly after arrival i did two things that i also liked doing on day one. this was going to the 'all you can drink' milk booth and going on the giant slide. i also found a puppet show and found out meetup friend knew the performer. this shouldn't surprise me much, being a patron of many shows in the local arts scene. we also got a closer look at the crop art, aided by waiting until just minutes before closing time when the line is much shorter. i saw three Snoopy depictions and one Homer Simpson. and we saw the fireworks show as well, i know i usually don't stay late enough to see that. the bus ride home, it left a lot to be desired. there was a long wait for a bus, and when i got on it was crowded and i ended up standing. there was some arguing as well. 

best little whorehouse in texas

 i went to a screening of 'best little whorehouse in Texas' at the mall in Eden Prairie just before midday. this was one of two dolly parton movies re-released to theaters after dolly's passing. i had seen it before, but it had been a while. and as i recall, it was an 'edited for television' version. i understood the social commentary in it well. there was the power of the media, and the court of public opinion. the governor character is a reminder of how some things never change. this included seeing reporters shouting questions at a politician, as we see it all the time on TV. the other was the photo-ops. at times the movie seemed cartoonish to me but i am aware of how it was based on a play/musical so i would expect that the filmmakers wanted to stay true to the original 'source material'. after the movie i had a club melt sandwich from the nearby food court, as well as a blizzard treat from dairy queen. songs i heard from the car radio for the day included 'umbrella' by Rihanna, and 'Mr. jones' by counting crows. the former, it sounds good, period. i don't need much else of a reason to like it. although i am aware of the metaphor that an umbrella has here. and it is more likely that i was offered an umbrella than me offering one, in terms of the life i have led. the latter reminds me of being in college and how i played it in my head to stay grounded during an exam. and then hearing it at a bowling alley during a college break when i was visiting some shirt tail relatives in southern California. 

metropolis movie

 in the evening i went to see the movie 'metropolis', a century-old German silent film. this was screened in a fine arts auditorium at a congregational church in Minneapolis. it was a good movie, once it got started, but there was a long pre-show. the presenter wanted to tell us how it influenced many other movies, including 'Star Wars', as well as Tim Burton's 'batman'. after a while i was thinking to myself, 'just show the movie'. i understood some of the social commentary in it, the haves and have-nots. the son of the bossman spends time with the have-nots. then we see the leader of the laborers, who gets cloned and this turns into a disaster. the son loves the labor leader, and she speaks of the importance of finding a mediator between the working and ruling classes. eventually i found my way back to familiar territory after the movie ended, the Bobby and Steve's gas station. i bought some tea and fig newtons there, then went home. i stayed busy even before the movie. i had lunch at the cracker barrel in Lakeville, and i liked how there was just a minimal wait for a table. likely helped that i arrived around 1pm. i had the catfish and hash browns and green beans. and capped the meal with some ice cream. i bought a snoopy magnet from the general store part on the way out. then i went to Walmart and bought a chicken soup book with an america-250 theme, as well as a Charlie Brown huggable figurine and some pringles. next stop was the Aldi for groceries. i didn't do much after getting back from the movie. 

paper found on train

 i didn't have to buy the paper as i found a copy of the Minneapolis edition, all four sections, on the light rail that i take to work. i still made it over to Walgreen though, and picked up some tea, cookies, and cheese. at work, the manager of a business line said the Poland team was still going to be working on Monday, the Labor Day holiday. this business line gives us a list of what checks to overnight. i said it shouldn't affect the file much, we print the checks whenever we get them. i let my boss know about the inquiry as i don't get a question like that too often. i found out what i had said was accurate, good enough. at first i was thinking i had another check for the tax specialist as it said 'ad hoc' but it wasn't. sometimes the Marshall business line has a file marked as 'ad hoc' too. it helps to pay attention to what the check looks like before it gets moved on to anyone. there are still two checks to be picked up. i completed another online class at work in the morning. there was three due at the end of the month, and i do one per day early in the month it is due and they don't take long. in the evening i went to Hy-Vee in Eagan, 12 items were in my order. 

oktoberfest ad, liquor store

 in the evening i went to the liquor store near me and got a can of natural light from the discount cart. it was the first time there in a while. i drank the can of Coors light with the evening meal, and there still are three beers waiting. i saw an ad or a sweepstakes with an Oktoberfest theme next to the cases of Schell's beer on display. i will be getting to Oktoberfest in New Ulm soon enough. i had been doing plenty of weeknight events lately and this meant i was less likely to have the customary beer with a meal at home once a week. i like drinking Gatorade or sparkling water with meals at home and still wanted to see that those were used up. and i figured that beer has a fairly long shelf life as long as it is refrigerated. at work, the tax specialist said hold all checks until Tuesday, so after the holiday. i would expect to see plenty of out of office replies when sending emails, more likely on Fridays especially right before a holiday weekend. 

look at both printers

 the tech from HP arrived to look at the check printer in the morning. we got it squared away on the communication issues. the previous day i was called on the laptop phone but i couldn't hear it as i was in the other room. i said call me on my personal cell phone, and a time was set up for the later day as the tech had already left the vicinity. as expected, the printer works just fine now after the maintenance kit was swapped out. i asked that both printers be looked at. a plastic part on the other one in the lower tray was hanging a little low and was making a snapping sound whenever i put the tray back in after filling it with check stock. it just needed to be moved up a little, and now no issues there. i am told the kit on the main one is at about thirty percent so it might need to be swapped out soon enough. but i think we can delay that a little by being able to switch between these two printers each day. vacation replacement wanted me to ask the Marshall business line in the afternoon if there were any UPS labels to print for the first file. there was, but not the second. i think the delay was due to the main contact being absent and there was a fill-in handling it. there was an ad-hoc check for our tax specialist in the afternoon, first time in a while. 

branch employee, phoenix area

 i heard from a branch employee in the phoenix area. i had overnighted a check there, per the request on the check itself. the spelling of the recipient's name was a little off, i went by what i was given by the business line. this did make it harder to find him in the employee directory. then we found out this colleague mostly works from home. i had to re-add the branch employee to the thread when we were trying to figure it out and let them know it had already been delivered to the branch. there were refund checks to pick up, for vacation replacement. i also got the supply order in for the month. i like having it in the last day of the month in case there are any delays due to needing approval from a senior leader. but i had a hard time getting it done that day, so it had to be done the first of the month. 

special project completed

 this was the sixth and final day of the special project. we were sending out two thousand checks per day, and this day's file was a little under that amount. as usual, i like it when special projects are done as it tends to be a lower volume of checks to print and send out. three mail tubs were sent out, and the backlog of Fargo checks went down, just a thousand. any carryover is run through first the next day. i did hear from the manager that likes karaoke, who attended the same baseball game as i did over the weekend. she had a fun time, but i did not see her there. we ended up having two checks for payroll to pick up, payee on those two were the same, state of Delaware. 

guthrie theater open house

 the lid-lifter for the day was the open house at the Guthrie theater. i shared a photo booth picture from the event on Facebook. i was mindful of how much time i should spend there as i had another event to attend just down the road. it was the Minnesota Twins baseball game. the twins beat the white sox, 5-1. it was the third Twins game for me this season, and likely the last as the season's ending is about a month away. i go see the St. Paul Saints more often as well. i saw that i arrived early enough to pick up the Charlie Brown jersey i had ordered, it was a special themed ticket. it looks like his black and yellow shirt. the Twins pitcher, Zebby Matthews, i had likely seen pitch for the Saints. it was a good outing, had a perfect game into the sixth inning. the crowd cheered when he went to the mound when the ninth began. then the crowd booed when the manager pulled him. i had no problem with it, though. up by 5, two on, one out. winning the game is more important than a complete game. the relief pitcher did fine. only one run scored and that made no difference at all. odd that the attendance was not announced or even put on the big video board. it was also odd that a dude sat next to me in the eighth. that is a really late arrival for a game. the dude said i looked like someone famous, i wrote the name down on my scorecard. songs from the day included Lady Gaga's 'just dance' at the Twins game. a different Gaga song was played as my 'walking up' song when i was performing in the evening. another was 'choosing Texas' by Ella Langley. a big deal to hear it on a radio station that normally doesn't play country music. then later on in the evening i called my dad. 

bob uecker documentary

 in the late afternoon i drove over to Hudson, Wisconsin, and saw the documentary movie about baseball personality Bob Uecker. some of the clips from his performing career were familiar, including the movie 'major league', the sitcom 'Mr. belvedere', and the miller lite beer commercials. i was most familiar with 'the front row', but that wasn't the only one in it. this did lead to the term 'Uecker seat' being coined. another one had john goodman in it, who later on was the dad on 'Roseanne'. i made it just in time for the movie as i made a stop along the way to find a catholic church that had been converted into a Muslim Mosque. i got a few pictures and then i left, this was on the east side of St. Paul. it had likely been a while since i had driven that far to see a movie. i did that all the time growing up in central Iowa though, to see movies in Des Moines. besides interviews with Uecker himself, it was nice to see Bob Costas, as well as Joe Torre, and Bud Selig in it. after the movie i stayed in town and ate at a culver's, first time at one. the food tasted fine, but i am not used to having to specify what i wanted on the burger. or in the ice cream treat. lunch was at Jersey Mike's. songs from the day were from the car radio on the way to the movie. there was 'I'm the only one' by Melissa Etheridge, and 'bang' by AJR, i know it as the 'here we go' song. 

file won't open

 near the end of the day i was sent a UPS label but the file wouldn't open so i let them know. even if i could have printed it, there wasn't going to be much time to send it out same day. same colleague was asking for a check copy when i was out of office. i found out vacation replacement did handle it, though. the ticket opened on one of the check printers is still open, no one has arrived yet to look at it. i let them know that my manager has been notified about the delays. and now the printer is jamming in the maintenance kit area, so we definitely have a need for a tech visit. vacation replacement did the picture that was shared with others. payroll department had two people asking about checks to pick up, but there is just one to pick up currently. i said i don't know who the approvers are but i know i am most likely to get out of office replies on a Friday. in the evening i went to Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries and it looks like based on the nametag that the cashier helping me in express lane was in HR. 

dolly parton postcard, newspaper museum

 i had a day off and went to the Minnesota state fair. an early stop for me was the newspaper museum, i had picked up postcards from there before. this year there was one honoring entertainer dolly parton, who just died this week. when i sang karaoke i heard two of her songs being performed, 'Jolene', and '9 to 5'. when i sang it was 'today' by smashing pumpkins, and the song after me was hole's 'malibu'. lunch was at the Hamline dining hall, meatloaf and mashed potatoes. the evening meal was in the food, and garden building where sang karaoke, a steak poor boy sandwich. i had some ice cream from the place next to the carpet slide, and when i went down the slide i screamed like lt. dan from 'Forrest Gump' in the hurricane. many of the places i visited were familiar. there was the milk booth, all you can drink for three dollars. and the St. Paul Saints section of fan zone, where i bought a scarf and a sticker. i picked up a free magnet, a round one, at the 4-h building. and i liked doing the scavenger hunt where the prize was a magnet, it's called the 'history walking tour'. one of the twelve stops mentioned visits by President Theodore Roosevelt. at the fine arts building, my favorite was one depicting a dog, using beer bottlecaps. i went to the oink booth at the pig barn, my only visit at a animal barn. and i saw the Charlie Brown statue at the kemps farm hands exhibit. i watched the 6pm newscast for WCCO, and did a massage chair demo in the marketplace under the grandstand. while waiting my turn at karaoke i went to some nearby places, including the farm bureau building, where i got a mixing bowl utensil. i capped the day at the america-250 Ferris wheel, where i was in the Andrew Jackson gondola. all of them had a president on it. i rode with a special needs kid and his parents. i was a little nervous about being so high up in this ride but managed to do well enough by talking a lot through it. nice view up there, seeing the capitol lit up at night. i picked up three buttons throughout the day, and one of the purchased postcards was a Minnesota version of 'grace', the old man praying over his meal. 

late arrival at picnic

 i went to a picnic in the evening, it was sponsored by one of the organizations that i am a member of. it was in Como Park in St. Paul. i was a late arrival as i wanted to get to cub foods first to pick up another state fair ticket. it was the last day that the discounted advance tickets would be available. this explains why i had to wait in line a little at the customer service counter. retired postal worker spoke of having a scheduling conflict on day one and we decided to reschedule for Labor Day, the final day of the fair. i said i was still going to attend on the first day as i already had the day off from work. there were little sandwiches in a big box, i had four ham or turkey with cheese sandwiches there and took four more home with me for later meals. i didn't know anyone all that well there besides maybe the event coordinator. at work, i sent the refund checks in a UPS envelope for vacation replacement, who spoke of having a mild back injury. the tracking number was sent to a colleague that i don't know as well but she was the one who arrived to drop them off in the shop. i hadn't done these in a while but the boss confirmed the address hadn't changed on where i send them to. 

two inquiries, same check

 i know well enough not to get too loud when i see 'duplication of efforts', but i still don't enjoy seeing when it happens. this was the case for the day. the st. louis file had an overnight from Friday that i found but no one emailed me in advance. the Iowa native first asked about it, and i said it arrived on Monday. then the manager of the same department asked about the check. i said it was no big deal to check the file for special handling even if there is no email as their file is usually low volume, around 25 checks. but i also said it was harder to notify it was overnighted, and share the tracking number, if not emailed. i noticed how the check didn't have to travel far, staying in the metro area, ending up in the east metro. i said my vacation replacement likely wouldn't have searched the file if there was no email, and i had a day off coming up for the state fair. the Iowa native said she hadn't been to Iowa's fair in years, and the same is true for me. maybe once since i moved out of state. 

goth theme at show

 in the evening i went to a comedy show at a venue i had seen before. it looked weird when i was in the parking lot, seeing someone dressed up for Halloween, a skull in their hand. i went in and found out the night's theme was goth. i spoke with the show runner after the show and was advised to send a private message through Facebook for stage time inquiries. the booker i was most recently familiar with had just stepped down from that role. i had most recently performed there in October. a few performers were familiar to me but not too many. memorable was seeing the new paint job for the bathrooms, looking like Popeye and Olive Oyl in the entrances. at work there was a request from the account closure file in Kansas City to add a check to the 'return to business line' overnight envelope. not a big deal, already had 19 in there by the time i saw the request. it was another check going to sin city. vacation replacement asked if anything had been set aside, i said there was three items. a blue company envelope, a FedEx envelope, and an interoffice envelope. 

late fame movie

 in the afternoon i went to see the movie 'late fame' in Columbia heights. i recognized Willem Dafoe in it, who played the main character, the writer. this movie was more 'impactful' than most as i could relate to many aspects of Dafoe's character. living as a recluse, a steady day job, isolated from family, and keeping his artist exploits a secret from those who know him best. i liked the 'gloria' character as well, the actress. she seemed to be a callback to the 'holly' character played by Audrey Hepburn in 'breakfast at tiffany's'. she was fun to be around, secretive about her life, and when the truth was revealed, it was ugly. another reviewer said it was also inspired by the character played by Liza Minnelli in 'cabaret' but i wasn't as familiar with that movie. the lies and 'with-holding information' unraveled near the end of the story, and when this led to arguing i said 'passion'. i like seeing it as long as it is onstage and not in my real life. i also found a scene that was a reminder of how i took charge of my own performing. all too often, i would support friends and i wouldn't see them reciprocate. then i said i mostly show up only if i have stage time, and no surprise i got better as a performer. this was when the main character said to a young man, 'you don't read mine i don't read yours'. and i did perform at a open mic in the evening, the fill-in show runner was there. when i arrived i said i am ready to go, it helped that i had just heard johnny cash's cover of 'hurt' on the car radio. in the morning i did laundry and went to a caribou coffee as well. after the performing i went to have some ice cream at McDonald's. after the movie i was driving home and heard Pink Floyd's 'wish you were here' on the car radio. the line that resonates with me most was 'did you exchange a walk-on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage?' thankful i did the opposite, due to performing. i prefer to be 'in the fight' as refusing to fight got me nowhere. 

hadestown movie/play

 in the evening i went to see a filmed version of the play 'hades-town' in st. louis park. down to one screening a day, so i said i needed to see it now. i read how at the outset that it was expected to be just a five-day run in theaters, but it was 'brought back by popular demand', staying in the top five in the box office for longer than those first five days. the film started its run in theaters a month ago, on the weekend when i was in st. louis, MO, and this was likely why i didn't hear about it at first. i lucked out finding a listing for it on fandango and said this was a better idea than attending another event that i heard about on Facebook as i likely would have had some awkward conversations about why i was no longer at an open mic that i was performing at for a while. the story was good, i knew it was a modernized version of a story from ancient mythology. and i had seen Eva Noblezada from some earlier movies, among these 'yellow rose', and 'easter Sunday'. i liked her character, and the narrator as well, but it was hard to like Eva's love interest. it was a reminder of my former self, as that character wore his heart on his sleeve and was naive. i found a quick meal at the grocery store, cub foods, near the theater before going in. i found some things to do before the movie as well. there was getting a blizzard treat at a dairy queen, then i had lunch at matt's bar in south Minneapolis. i had a 'Jucy Lucy', their famous sandwich. i had a seat at the bar near the door, close to the cook and we chatted a little. i took home half of the fries as even a half order was more than what i usually have, and i drank a grain belt beer with the meal. i didn't do much after getting home from the movie. 'Freeze frame' by the j. Geils band was playing at the bar, and 'Radiohead's 'creep' was playing on the car radio on the way to the movie. 

answered own question

 the Marshall office can be weird. i was contacted by a colleague from there asking if a check had been overnighted. i said i could only research it if i have a check number or a tracking number. then she supplies the tracking number and said it was on the way, so she answered her own question. there were two ad-hoc files for our tax specialist. there was more of an interest in the first one, the Canadian file. sounds like it had to go out same-day. just minutes after i was emailed the file, it was printed. had to wait until a big Fargo file was done printing, but it was nearly finished by then. in the morning i got a ticket in for the check printer that needs a maintenance kit. now it is a question of when the tech is arriving as these are usually marked as 'low priority'. i picked up another Charlie Brown word-find at Walgreen along with some tea, and cookies. in the evening i made it to Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries. the autumn cereals have arrived, i bought two boxes. one was Count Chocula and the other was pumpkin spice cheerios. i went there after a meetup event at a micro-brewery. saw the dude that wears the cowboy hat. i ordered from the food truck our front, but only fries as they were sold out of sandwiches by then. i was talking to someone on the patio who didn't know a meetup event was happening, but when a dude cut in and she was more interested in talking to him i said 'it's been nice' and moved to another part of the establishment. truly a case of 'reading the room'. 

no second check

 the payroll manager asked me of there was a second check to pick up, i said there wasn't. already had one and she said 'she'd pick it up when back in the office. still wondering when that one check will be picked up but i have a place in the shop to keep it until then. there was a check for the manager that likes karaoke, i found the time to get it there shortly after i was done with lunching. i said an upcoming weekend, at the end of the month, will have a baseball theme. there is a movie, and a game, i want to see that weekend. this was a 'drop and leave' as she was in a conference room doing a dial-in meeting. i asked vacation replacement if he'd eaten at a culver's but hasn't. i don't think i have either. i know it is a burger and fries place and there are plenty of others that I'm more familiar with. i got the idea to eat at one due to finding out that the baseball movie I'd like to see out of town is in a town that has one. i see their ads on TV all the time, and i know there are locations nearby it just hadn't made my list yet. not even during lent when it sounds like they have a fish sandwich. i get one at McDonald's instead, the famous filet-o-fish. 

nimrods movie

 in the evening i went to see the movie 'nimrods', or 'the green day movie', in Eagan. normally i see movies on the weekends but i checked the schedule on fandango and it said there weren't going to be many screenings if i waited that long. i was in a rush to make it there on time where i didn't even go home after work and ended up eating at the theater. i got chicken tenders, fries, and bottled water. i still like it where they deliver to my seat, and of course it means i have to let them know what auditorium i am in. i was the only attendee at this screening, this has happened before. and it seemed to explain why there won't be many screenings this weekend in this area. the music in it was good, recognized plenty of the songs in it but there were some 'deep cuts' as well. the only 'spoiler' i could offer really isn't one at all. the three friends make it to Los Angeles to see green day in concert. it wouldn't be much of a movie if they didn't. i fully expected this to happen. but it was 'the thrill of the chase' that i wanted to see. too. and when it was said that the band would 'appear as themselves' then most people should expect that it would end with a green day concert. i saw on Facebook in advance a posting that said, 'say what band member you are'. i said 'drummer' and i was correct. i was the 'forgotten person in the back' in the jobs in held in school, being a dishwasher and janitor. this helped me identify with drummers. this character was nerdy and more sensible than his friends as well. after the movie i went to a Walgreen and got some string cheese, and an ice cream sandwich. the latter was inspired by the movie i had just seen, as one of the vehicles the friends drove in it was an ice cream truck. while driving home i heard on my car radio a song that had been in the movie, 'time of your life' (good riddance). and i was wearing my green day shirt in honor of the event. at work, vacation replacement asked if there were any checks to forward on in the shop, i said there weren't any refund checks just returned checks. i was also asked if any checks i print start with a 5, i could think of three business lines fitting this description. guess it was a refund check issue. 

copy the shared box

 i let a colleague from the Marshall office know that it is best to copy the shared box when sending overnight labels. she is the vacation replacement, it explains why some were sent on a one-day delay. i had to email them to say we didn't have the labels yet. nothing like the threat of sending it regular mail will get them to send us what we need. i got another overnight request, this time from account closures in Kansas City. this was from the 'loopy lady' and was after i had sent the tracking numbers for the day. normally we only overnight if it is 'return to business line' or if over 10-grand, this was neither. then the manager i am more familiar with, who gets the 'return to business line' checks, contacted me and asked if i saw it. i said i had, two checks going to the same place in sin city. and my standard line is 'will send tracking numbers when available'. this day of the week is usually high volume for check printing due to the two Fargo files, and this was no different. i don't like having checks left over at the end of the day, but any 'carryover' is run through first the next day. and i am trying to avoid the printer that needs a maintenance kit until i find the time to call in a ticket to get a tech to look at it. we all know how i like it when i can use those two printers simultaneously. but i also know those two files have a longer leeway on getting their checks out. 

abbey road themed jacket

 in the evening i went to a karaoke bar and went up to sing two songs. notable was a lady who asked me at the bar if i had been on the 'comics unleashed' show. i said i wasn't but some of my friends have been. she was wearing a Charlie Brown jacket that looks like the Beatles crossing the street, so an 'abbey road' theme. she had sung 'landslide'. another lady did a smashing pumpkins song, '1979'. the songs i did were inspired from where i was over the weekend. there was 'drive' by incubus, and 'kids aren't alright' by offspring. the stories i get from karaoke bars are good for my comedy sets. i think this is why i missed going there on a regular basis. but now i am averaging once a month, which is easier than once a week. at work, the lady that places supply orders for me asked for a check to be overnighted. she said the business line was bugging her about it. i said i would send a tracking number when it is available. 

wet hot american summer movie

 before midday i went to see a movie in Eden Prairie, 'wet hot American summer', 25th anniversary edition. the screening started so early that the mall's food court wasn't open yet. but it was open after the movie was done so i still ate there, hat a gyro sandwich from the Greek place. as for the movie, saw it as i recognized some of the actors in the cast, especially Janeane Garofalo and Molly Shannon, both SNL alums. i had seen some movies about summer camp before, most notably 'poison ivy' with mike fox. much of the story was ridiculous and unlikely, so one would call it a 'farce'. memorable was the camp director and the science teacher trying hard to impress each other when they started a dating relationship. this was after the teacher first said 'no' when asked to teach some of the campers. it was another reminder of how the movies depict the kind of summer camp that i didn't experience. for one thing, it depicts most kids getting to and from camp on buses. i was used to parents getting us to camp. i went to three kinds of camps, two of them were church-related, and didn't enjoy any of them all that much. my cousin once contacted me about the first of two church camps, saying she had good times there. except she didn't recall the camp's name or even the camp's executive. well, she didn't have the same experiences as i did. on the way to the movie, i heard 'sweet dreams' by Eurythmics again, still a reminder of a trip to San Francisco where i bought their greatest hits CD. besides a gyro, after the movie i also had a blizzard treat from dairy queen. and i picked up some Charlie Brown stickers from the Miniso store. along with a history book from Barnes and Noble. then it was to the cub foods in Eagan where i got some cereal and a pair of socks that look like piano keys. in the evening i did not go to perform as i went to the 'nitro circus' at the Saints baseball stadium. it was moved back one day, even though there was little or no rain on Saturday. i hadn't seen an event like this before, in person at least. maybe on TV. this was plenty of BMX and dirtbike stunts. notable for songs played there was 'kids aren't alright' by offspring. it was kind of loud there, it was why the information booth if any patrons wanted or needed them. 

popsicle then labelmaker

 this was another day at the fringe festival. one stop was at Bobby and Steve's nearby for lunch, having a little godfather's pizza much like a week before. this was after i had been at Rarig for volunteer appreciation day, and i got a popsicle there. then it was on to two shows in another neighborhood. first was at the storytelling school near the walker art museum. i parked in the ramp at the museum and made it just in time for the show, which was about etymology and linguistics. i guessed the one about a 'hippo' being a 'river horse', but i still learned from the show as expected. then i walked down the road to the phoenix theater in uptown Minneapolis and saw the 'label maker' show. it was the sixth and final show that i saw during this 11-day festival. it was the one where i was given a show card for. i wiped away a tear when the storyteller, a one-woman show, spoke about being spanked by her mom. it sounded familiar, using fear and shame to keep a kid in line. notable was the songs used in the show, too. this included 'drive' by incubus in this segment. then i walked back to my car and saw a puppet theater that reminded me of my meetup friend, the retired postal worker. i sent a text about it. when i got home i made it just in time to get groceries at Aldi. i watched some of the baseball game on fox, brewers-dodgers. the brewers won. 

was it bad breath?

 in the morning i got a breakfast sandwich from McDonald's, an Egg McMuffin, then i got on the bus. normally i have cereal but i was out of milk. i realized after the fact that when i changed seats how my timing was a little off. it was just after someone had boarded, who was a row behind me. i was asked if it was due to bad breath, and i said no. i liked the view better on where i had moved to. the dude wasn't on for long, got off before i did. at work there was two visitors. early on it was the janitor, and during this time i also went to another floor to get the reject fax. the other was an unexpected shipment of envelopes. i guess it was due to a backorder, but the full order was sent instead of just the backorder. we will just order less of that kind next month. i cut open one of the boxes to confirm what kind it was and then said to the courier that the code was covered up by the tape. during my visit to Walgreen in the morning i got more than just the customary cookies and a drink, also a travel magazine that mentioned the centennial of route 66 on the cover. in the evening i went to a meetup event at a micro-brewery near the Saints baseball stadium. i did chat with the cowboy hat guy that i knew from previous events, but later on i listened to a dude that works for the airlines. some of what was said made sense, though. it was in reference to a 'buddy pass'. if one wants to ensure that they are getting on a flight, then buy a ticket. then i went to Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries. 

voices in my head, anyma

 in the evening i went to a fringe show at the Barker center at the U of M, it was a dance show called 'noise'. plenty of music was used for this show, some was piano tunes but also some that would be found in nightclubs. notable for me was hearing 'voices in my head', found it on YouTube after i got home, it was by Anyma. another one in this show was by Abba, 'thank you for the music', near the end. there were seven dancers, sometimes all were onstage, sometimes only one, sometimes a number in between. i had seen some dance shows at fringe in years past and was pleased with what i saw and this is why i attended this one. my only complaint was how it ran short. as i was leaving i checked the time on my phone and said they could have done ten minutes more and i would have been fine with that. it was the 10pm slot so i didn't do much after the show. i went back to my car, parked in a nearby ramp, and went home. at work, there was a request in the shared box that i didn't know if i could handle it, for an escheatment. when i let the boss know, i noticed it was forwarded to customer service. when i sent the mail tubs to the mailroom near the end of the day i picked up empty tubs and there was an interoffice envelope as well, a refund check was in it. the Marshall file wanted a check overnighted to Ford credit, and i did but i noticed two labels were sent. i used the first one as it had a form to go along with the check. 

tax credit auction

 late in the day i asked the tax specialist if he had done a tax credit auction, the answer was no. it was in reference to a check i overnighted to the bank's office in st. louis, for over $3 million. i know i do send tax checks to others from time to time. this same tax specialist asked to be notified right away when his tax checks were ready in the afternoon, as those needed to go out right away. this meant these weren't held for courier pick-up the next day, which is the customary thing done. someone from the Cincinnati business line asked if a check would be going out. i let them know that it arrived late Tuesday, after i had left for the day. i said it would be going out as i had the UPS label that i needed. 

red blanket on windshield

 i saw a weird thing when i went to my car in the evening. there was a red fleece blanket on the windshield. i took it off and everything else looked fine to me. i got in and went to vote, as it was the day of the primary election. i went there after having the evening meal and watching 'big bang theory' reruns, making it just under an hour before the polls closed. after i submitted my ballot i got a bag of microwave popcorn from a vending machine on one end of the actual voting area. i did not keep the blanket, got plenty of those already. at work i dropped off returned checks on another floor, given to the team lead, as vacation replacement was absent, due to illness. 

rafferty and the gold dust twins movie

 in the evening i went to the Trylon cinema and saw the movie 'Rafferty and the gold dust twins', from 1975. this is the first one i am seeing from their summer 'road movie' series. i wasn't too familiar with Alan Arkin, but i had seen some shows that Sally Kellerman and Mackenzie Phillips had been in. i do like road movies, although this one fell short on the ending. at the outset, the ladies said they wanted a ride to New Orleans, except we don't see much of that city. we see plenty of Las Vegas, as well as Tucson. since i had recently seen 'American Graffiti' i noticed two actors in that one was in this one- besides Mackenzie, also Charles Martin Smith. i liked seeing some familiar things in it, such as one scene early in their road trip where they stop at a dairy queen. we see Dennis the menace in the background and i knew this cartoon character had been a part of their ad campaign for a while. i plan on seeing two more movies in this series, but that is all for this month. the other two will be in September. after the movie i stopped at a Walgreen on the way home and picked up some drain opener for the bathroom sink, which was draining slowly. at work, i sent some refund checks to another floor even though vacation replacement was not in. a colleague locked them up for me. the boss asked me to do a MICR ruler test on a check, and it looked fine to me. 

just a dream, nelly

 i went to the St. Paul Saints baseball game and after it i was walking past a restaurant and heard a song that sounded good. i decided to do the 'talk into mic' on my phone and found out it was 'just a dream' by nelly. must have been a popular song as i found out it is in the 'one billion club' on YouTube. probably haven't heard it that often before. the Saints lost to Louisville, 11-3. there was plenty of the long ball in this game. i showed up early as it was their art day, and that meant there was a giveaway- the team card set. i like getting this set. after the game i walked around downtown quite a bit and got a sandwich from the gas station near the stadium. another stop was Candyland for some popcorn. then i ended up performing at the open mic. i plan on being back at the stadium in a week to see the 'nitro circus' show. not a big deal to take a day off from the fringe festival, but i still need to figure out my schedule for the rest of this 11-day event. there are three more shows that i would like to see. it likely means seeing one of them on a weeknight. 

i played the fool, song

 i made a nice discovery on 89.3, the current, a local nonprofit radio station. when i was driving home after fringe shows i heard a song introduced as a TV theme song, it was 'i played the fool', performed by REM's frontman, Michael Stipe, with Andrew Watt. sounded good to me, made plenty of references to stand-up comedy. haven't seen the HBO-TV show, 'rooster', though, it's apparently the theme song for that show. it was an active day. there was some errand running i wanted to do early, including getting a check deposited at the credit union. it was a rebate check from the insurance company. then it was on to fringe, where i picked up a little godfather's pizza from Bobby and Steve's for lunch before my ushering shift at U of M, Rarig. it was on the lower floor. after this was done, i went to a show at the barker center, 'hell on wheels', a 1930s labor union story. then i went home and did some more errand running. i got groceries at Aldi, and in the evening i went to see two more fringe shows in uptown Minneapolis. the first was at Bryant Lake Bowl, called 'road trip'. it was an 'improv' show, two dudes from Alabama, where the crowd helped with ideas on each stop. then i had a beer in the bar area and walked over to the phoenix for the next show. this was 'when i was afraid'. it was a storytelling show, although not realistic in terms of what one might see at a 'moth' storytelling show. i spotted a performer in the crowd that i was familiar with and was given two show cards for the shows she is doing. i said one of them i am more likely to attend based on my upcoming schedule, as there has been just one performance so far. then i got some snacks at the nearby Walgreen and drove home. 

bing bing chocolate cones

 i went to Hy-Vee in Eagan in the evening and sometimes i buy items in the discount cart. this time it was a box of chocolate cones called 'Bing Bing' and it tasted like sugary wafers. also notable was getting a single serving slice of spam. i made a morning visit to Walgreen near work as well. when i got back from the grocery store i continued to watch the baseball game on TV, the St. Paul Saints were playing Louisville and the saints won. i will be attending a game there this weekend. at work i swapped out a toner cartridge from one of the check printers in the morning. i don't get the same warning message from it like i do from the one near the main door, though. with that one it is a case of having to swap it before i can print again. but for the one farther in the shop, i knew it was time as there was too much 'residue' building up on the checks. the message board did say 'very low' for a while but i usually don't care as long as i can print. 

video call testing

 the boss asked about calling me to test the video calling. i saw multiple images. first were purple mountains, then a field of white flowers, then a loft apartment. eventually i saw him superimposed on the loft apartment scene. something about needing to test it for calls over to India. vacation replacement said it was likely a background filter. it was popcorn day around midday and as usual i like doing this event. i wasn't there for long, eat the snack and then back to my floor. i also sent returned checks to another floor, i don't leave the shop that often to go there but i wanted those moved by the end of the week. and i heard a weird conversation in an elevator, a man on a cellphone who was oblivious to the fact that i was there. in the evening i went to the u of Minnesota, west bank, for the first day of the fringe festival. i did two ushering shifts, in the Rarig building. i saw some show cards already on the table on the main floor and picked two up. but i would expect more in the coming days at this venue and others. there was a dust-up about picking up my credentials, but it was worked out. i was sent to two different places in the building, neither one had my shirt or volunteer card. then i went to the lower level and someone at the information booth said it was found at the main floor table. i was given a shirt by her, and it worked out as i had the card by the end of the night. probably won't see the two shows i ushered at, as i picked out what interested me before this 11-day event began. i liked the second shift more than the first as i had more to do. i was taking tokens as patrons entered the venue and let them know we were ready to admit when the tech gave the green light. it was the same volunteer usher i was paired with on both shifts. i have one more shift to do, this weekend. i prefer seeing shows after all of the ushering is done that i signed up for. i got some juice, cheese, and ice cream at Bobby and Steve's at the end of the night, then drove home. 

dairy queen hats

i let the manager that likes karaoke know that i saw an email from the Twins ticket office saying there were still tickets available for their Charlie Brown theme night. i responded to it and said i had already ordered my ticket for that event. she spoke of already having plenty of shirts and jerseys as giveaways from baseball games. i said i had plenty of hats, shirts and jerseys as well. this explains her ordering tickets right away but was fine with no themed item, claiming it wasn't on the app it was ordered from. i spoke of how i had no Twins hats when i moved to Minnesota, and at one point had four but now i am down to two as i donated two of them to goodwill. some of those were sponsored by dairy queen and hat coupons attached to them. payroll was notified about two checks that are ready for pick-up.  

pen found on bus

still riding the bus to and from work while the light rail is unavailable. in the evening i saw some discarded items near me. i kept one of them, a pen promoting a credit union. there was a smiley face on the clicking end of it. most of the rest of what i found was trash, including two empty beer cans, and was tossed in bins when i got out at the hockey arena. i heard from the Marshall office, asking if i got all of the UPS labels for their checks and i did. this was due to the man being at a medical appointment. there were three in all. two checks were sent to the manager that likes karaoke near the end of the day. i spoke of how 'yeah' can have different meanings. for this colleague, i knew it meant 'great to have what i need'. with my niece i know it means 'understood'.  

i want your sex movie

in the evening i went to see a movie in Edina at the mall, 'i want your sex'. this was the title of a song by George Michael, but the song wasn't in the movie. i was trying to figure out how to get it in my schedule, and weekends were pretty much already booked for a little while. this was why i made a weeknight available. the movie storyline is mostly told through flashback to police officers who are questioning one of the main characters. then eventually we get back to the scene it started with, the reason why police got involved. i liked the movie until it got to the ending as some things about it just didn't make sense to me. i was familiar with some of the actors in it. this included Cooper Hoffman, Johnny Knoxville, and Margaret Cho. this was about cooper's character working in an art studio, being hired to be a sexual muse, hence the title. at work i did a recalibration of the sensors on the inserter machine and it works better now. i figured it was better to try it early in the day as i had more time available. 

pancakes and basketball

 in the morning i went to have coffee at caribou and a lemon loaf as i knew the pancake breakfast through the alumni chapter was later than when i usually eat breakfast. it was at a bar where they have game watches during the football season. much less crowded for this event though, and fine with me as i usually won't go for the football games. we did a group picture before leaving for the basketball game. the local team, the Minnesota lynx, was playing the Indiana fever, and Iowa alum Caitlin Clark plays for the fever. the game stayed fairly close throughout, the margin wasn't any higher than 13 points as i recall. the lynx won, 108-100. since it was a close game i feel that i got my money's worth. there was a dust-up about seating, i had to ask someone to move as they were in my seat. she claimed to be confused, being off by a row, but i check the row before i go in. i got a hot dog and bottled water at halftime. later in the day i went to perform at an open mic, i was on near the end as usual. i heard from my niece and the gift of toy cars was enjoyed, i liked hearing that. a picture was even shared with me. i had previously heard, a few days prior, about the other gift i had sent, the book. these were sent in the same box. 

american graffiti movie

 went to Canadian days in little Canada in the morning, for the pancake breakfast. i was able to pick up a festival button at that time to get into this event. i noticed the buttons didn't say 'thunder bay' like before, their sister city, and the schedule of events didn't list a performance of the bagpipe band either. who knows for sure why? once i was done eating i did get a good look at the car show. one of the pictures i shared from my camera phone was of a Packard clipper, owner said it was a 1955 model. i sent it to the meetup friend, the retired postal worker. it was in the back of my mind about a request to share photos from an earlier car show and wasn't sure how. then i told myself it was easier to share if it was taken on my phone instead of my more customary camera. another one shared was with cul-de-sac, as i saw a Hamm's beer bear in the back of a chevy pick up next to an old Milwaukee sign. i guess it was simulated tappers. i also saw a Rolls Royce there, you don't see those too often. and when i saw a smashed penny machine i needed some time to justify another visit at this event. i said i usually make two visits and didn't make it the night before. the other was that i could have some ice cream when i returned. i found the necessary two quarters and a penny at home. i returned only after all of the errand running was crossed off of my list, which included getting to the post office to pick up an e-bay order. i also had lunch, a sandwich at Jersey Mike's. along with getting groceries at Aldi. it was the first smashed penny i had acquired in a while. no surprise when i looked at the collection, as the most were from st. louis. this was ten in all, a city i visit annually. next highest appeared to be from mall of America, along with one of two albums. the other album was from mt. Rushmore. after this i noticed a decent number from the Minnesota state fair, mostly from the KARE-11 booth, the local NBC-TV affiliate. in the evening i went to a screening of the movie 'American graffiti' at a place near the former Schmidt brewery on west 7th in St. Paul. i hadn't seen it in a while. last time likely was when i saw it on VHS during my year and a half of living in West Des Moines after i had finished college. 

conflicting dial-ins

i had two dial-in meetings this morning at work, scheduled for the same time. the way i handled the conflict was to do the one with my boss first, as it was about the midyear evaluation. it was scheduled on short notice, but it didn't take long, about seven minutes. then it was on to the other one, with facilities management. we now have an interim director. i said i liked attending the events where an app is not needed to register for it, such as the popcorn event most months. going through an app started this calendar year, and it is not compatible with my phone, so i said i had to 'bow out' of many events. the boss asked me about the contact for one of the fraud files, there are three. i said it would be the same contact for all of them. one of those files usually has a higher volume than the other two by far. i entered a vacation day request as well, a day off for the state fair next month. the supply order was also submitted. when i know that it usually needs approval from a senior leader, i prefer to avoid any delays on my end. in the evening i went to eat at cane's chicken in Eagan, then went to get groceries at the nearby Hy-Vee. there is plenty that i have planned for the weekend, and i shared some of that when asked by the cashier that recognizes me.  this included Canadian days in little Canada, but i did not make it there tonight. i was at work later than typical, in order to get things caught up, and i was tired and it had rained some. it meant skipping the corn on the cob feed, but i know it is easier to attend events on days when i am not working. 

korea coin

 in the morning i was between buses on getting to work, on layover in downtown St. Paul near the hockey arena. on my way to the next bus stop i passed by a pay station and saw coins on the pavement. i picked up all four and noticed two were American dimes. those went into my change bank when i got home. the other two were foreign coins, one i could tell right away was from Ecuador. the other had Asian characters on it. i googled it on my phone once the bus ride began and found it. i entered Chinese 100 coin and found out it was a Korean 100-won coin. both of these foreign coins were about the size of an American quarter. i keep seeing online how the exchange rate for the Korean coin would value it as being a little less than one of the dimes. but i like having it, and this is how i get most of the foreign coins i have- dumb luck. seeing them while out and about.  at work, i let the manager that likes karaoke know about my trip to st. louis over the weekend. i also spoke of how i have ordered a ticket for a Twins baseball game, it is a month from now. sometimes i am asked to pull checks from the fraud file. i was asked near the end of the day if i had, and i did. i will if i see it in time as i can print the email request and put it on the pile to remind me to look for it before i send those checks through the machine. in this case, i understood more of the urgency about it when it was for over a million. a little bit later, after seeing the instant message, i made the official response on the email thread. 

taxidermy stories

 i went to perform at an open mic tonight, first time in a while at this venue, although at one point i frequented it. there were some wild card slots but i didn't know that many people besides the MC, magic man. got a fist bump from the show closer, who i guess will be a performer at shows for the rest of the week. notable about the show was one of these wild card performers, or replacement for a no-show, did stories about taxidermy. we spoke after the show, enjoyed each other's sets. when i spoke of being an Iowa native, she said she was too, from Clinton, in eastern Iowa. it felt great being onstage there again, and much like after being in st. louis i didn't want the night to end. it was likely why i stopped at a nearby holiday gas station before going home to get a juice drink, some cheese, and two hash browns. at work, i was asked how many envelopes to a box, it was related to the order for the special project. i said it was 2300, based on the label on those oblong boxes. a file that does 'make-up' or 'replacement' checks sent me a file where many were to be overnighted. i checked the address and contact name and noticed it was actually 'return to business line' with the Kansas City file. i recognized the contact's name as well, not someone who i have met in person but based on electronic communications i would describe this colleague as a little 'loopy'. i had one of their checks that UPS was unable to deliver. for this reason, it was lumped together and it meant eight checks went to Kansas City instead of seven. i also noticed on emails that there was some 'duplication of efforts' on returned UPS checks. i don't enjoy it at all when this happens, having to answer a question twice. i guess somebody wasn't copied the first time. 

security cashiering

 at work i went through the returned checks and there was some refund checks sent to me by the mailroom as well. two were marked as such, and two others as 'security cashiering'. when vacation replacement was notified, all four were moved on. there were donuts on another floor for my boss and another member of our team. when i went to get one i noticed how no one said anything, i figured i would have been recognized, especially by the team lead as the donuts were on a table next to her cube. there were a thousand checks from the Jacksonville file, normally their daily volume is 20 so i had to ask the business line if it was a 'one-off' and copied my boss on it. in the response, it sounded like it was. had to ask as we had enough envelopes to cover it but not if it was a larger 'special project'. the colleague that places supply orders for me asked about the envelopes to order. this was for a special project and i deferred to the boss, who said it was our 'home' or 'catchall' envelopes but the response was delayed. 

consecutive rental returns

 i checked the voicemail on my phone and found out my car was ready so i went over to the dealer to pick it up in the evening. i turned in the rental or loaner car as well, and it meant consecutive days where i had turned one in since i was out of town over the weekend. i went to have ice cream in my neighborhood after i got home. at work, i was asked to hold off on printing the Fargo files, the largest ones of the day. i needed to wait for a 'green light' from someone in I.T. this arrived late in the day, so most of them were not printed the same day. before this happened, i scanned some check copies. i found out i had to cover up the credit card numbers at the top in order to have the scans to go through. i used the same post it to get this done, on about twenty of them. a second check for payroll was printed, and i let that colleague know about it. same one that had a check on Friday when i was out of town. 

headphones, flying home

 i began the day in St. Ann, Missouri, at my hotel, the Wingate. it was nice having another continental breakfast there. as usual, i liked how there wasn't much planned for the final day in town after i had eaten. i showered and then packed up and checked out of the hotel, then it was on to returning the rental car. i made it to the airport with plenty of time to check in for the flight home. i was smart enough to ask for headphones this time, found out i needed them to listen to the music available from the seat-back. there were plenty of genres available, i mostly listened to the two that were marked as alternative. notable to me was finding a song i wasn't familiar with, it was Paramore's 'misery business'. the title caught my eye. it was loud and fast, but sometimes i am in the mood for that. my friends were out of town, but after i landed at MSP i saw a photo from their safari in Africa, it was a cheetah. first order of business was getting lunch as it was midday, from panda express. i saw a photo booth near a snoopy statue and got a photo as there was an america-250 background for it. it was the second photo booth of the weekend, the first being at the city museum. and i bought two Charlie Brown items at another place, one was a candy bar with peppermint patty and Marcie on the wrapper. at first i didn't want to leave as i didn't want the trip to end, but i told myself i needed to get on the bus and go home as the longer i stay the more money i spend. i had chores and errand running to do at home. there were stops at three different grocery stores. first was Aldi, then after performing at a friend's open-mic i went to Hy-Vee and a Cub Foods. in the rush to get in and out of Aldi, i didn't get everything i needed. but the item count was lower at the other two, four and two items respectively. and as for cub, i wanted a state fair ticket but the customer service counter was closed for the night. i still bought two boxes of Chex cereal there as they still had a few boxes remaining with Charlie Brown and snoopy characters on them. i called my dad in the evening and i spoke of the trip, and i was asked if i had visited the brewery but i did not. i said i did recall a trip to that city when i was a teenager when Dad spoke of getting a weird call in the middle of the night. 

old capitol, st. charles

 i made it to two museums for the day. the second stop was in the afternoon, the old capitol in St. Charles. it didn't look much like a capitol building, no dome on it, but it served as a capitol for just five years. the part of town reminded me of the antique shops in Stillwater, or even historic sections of New Orleans or Charleston, SC. i did a tour after picking up some lunch at a gas station a few blocks away, including some small white castle burgers. i parked blocks away near the Lewis and Clark museum close to the river, as this was the closest available parking i was aware of. after having continental breakfast at the hotel, including a 'make your own waffle', i went to pick up the rental car. this made it much easier to see two museums, especially when neither one was served by public transport. the first stop was the red cedar inn, on the former route 66 in a town called pacific. both properties are listed on the national register of historic places, and i bought some postcards at both. i knew i needed to get back on the road after the second museum, drive back to the hotel so i could take the light rail from the airport to the stadium. the cardinals won, blanking Cincinnati, 7-0. and i noticed more music while out and about. there were two songs in the rental car, there was 'two princes' by spin doctors, and 'under pressure' by David Bowie and queen. at the stadium it was Paul Simon's 'call me al'. and it was another night of drinking a can of beer while back at my hotel, while writing about what i did for the day. both were Anheuser products, no problem finding them when it is near where they are brewed. it was a Budweiser select, then a Busch light. i liked finding both at the gas station near the hotel. but i didn't need to get peanuts the second night, after claiming a big bag at the stadium. 

city museum, st. louis

 in the morning i got on a plane and flew to st. louis for my annual visit for baseball games. i arrived before midday and wanted to fill in some time before i could check into my hotel near the airport. i went downtown, first stop was a BBQ place, i had been there before, sugar-fire. then it was on to the city museum. thankful that a ticket seller spoke of having lockers available for rent, as i used one for my travel bag. i might be cheap, but i am also practical, and i knew the fee wasn't all that much and i would feel more comfortable not having to carry the bag while touring this place. much of it was for kids, such as the slides. i went on a few but not too many. there was a carousel as well. i liked finding a section about architecture on an upper floor, including a profile about Louis Sullivan. and there was mention of a Montgomery Ward building, a former employer of mine. and there was music everywhere, at the BBQ place i liked hearing U2's 'with or without you'. it was a reminder of seeing this band in concert in this city at the hockey arena many years ago. at the museum i liked hearing Chappell Roan's 'pink pony club'. i wasn't at the hotel for long after checking in, wanted to get on the road again back to the airport for the game. cardinals were playing Cincinnati, and the cardinals lost 4-2. i liked getting a beer during happy hour at the stadium. much like when the twins have it, this is only available from gates open until first pitch and on 12-ounce cans. 

sia, nostalgic for the present

 in the evening i went to see a movie in Eagan, it was Sia's 'nostalgic for the present', also the name of one of her concert tours. haven't seen this musician in concert, and this movie will have to do. there are limited screenings, explaining why i was there on a weeknight. the dance choreography, acting out the songs, was really good. i was the only attendee for this screening, and now i have enough points for a reward with the loyalty program for this theater chain. i kept getting emails for weeks telling me how close i was. the songs captured the 'fragility of the human condition' well. i didn't know every song, but most of them in it. no surprise how many were from the 'this is acting' album, the most recent release as of the time that this was filmed. the song that made me take notice of this musician was likely 'elastic heart' which was in the movie. another notable one, 'guts over fear' with Eminem, was not. while watching the movie i was covering one ear to hear the songs better, i have done this before. it was what i really needed after a 'challenging' day at work to say the least. there was a meeting with a senior leader that i don't hear from that often. i didn't have a good feeling about it and was right. there were layoff notices, but i was in the group that is staying. probably know some of the people who are not. there was mention of it being due to outsourcing to India, i know another employer had done this years ago. while at the theater i did see a poster for 'nimrods', the green day movie, another music movie i am looking forward to. after the movie i drove to a Walgreen and dropped off a FedEx envelope, just minutes before closing time. i also picked up some things for myself, including two die-cast model cars. one was Charlie Brown and friends in space suits and the other was america-250. and i got some fruit punch, an ice cream bar, and cheese sticks. at work there was a dial-in meeting moderated by the CEO, and the backorder of check stock arrived. 

out to lunch reply

 i saw an odd 'out of office' reply in the shared box, it said 'out to lunch'. i am not used to seeing such a reply, usually it is being unavailable for the rest of the day or the full day. i went through the returned checks and notified vacation replacement about it. the case was closed on the check printer, after another tech arrived with parts. looks like the issue was some plastic from the check stock was sucked into the fan near the output tray and this is what was causing the 'hissing' sound. at least it has been handled. this was discovered after swapping maintenance kits on the two printers and there seemed to be no difference in the performance or sound of either unit. i let the manager that likes karaoke know about attending last night's Saints baseball game and the upcoming weekend in st. louis. the car went into the shop into the evening with the dealer, and i let the boss know that the recommended mechanic did not respond at all. even showed the text message to prove it. 

what envelopes do we use?

 i had a question from personnel in the Marshall office, it was 'what envelopes do we use?' for their checks. i said it was plain envelopes, no bank logo on them, just a return address. the boss asked about the court file, i said usually there aren't any special handling to pull out from it. a payroll check was picked up by the manager as the main contact was out of the office. the team lead was still trying to help me with logging in some volunteer hours, but i am just not getting to the screen i need to be on, and one big issue was a 'passkey'. a colleague in st. louis had asked if i had overnighted a check despite not being emailed to pull it, i said it was overnighted and i shared the tracking number. it was dropped in the box late in the day so it would likely be picked up soon enough. found out she is from Iowa like me, but from a different town, Ottumwa. there was mention of attending a bible camp in my hometown. except i had never heard of it and couldn't tell you where it was. a text was sent to a classmate about it and i was told it likely was a place where i had once seen a postcard for it online, and it would have been outside of the city limits, past the airport that i hardly ever went to. i should try to find it on my next visit, but lately those Iowa visits have been annual and i was already there in May. found all of it out due to mention of heading to st. louis soon for some baseball games. in the evening i went to the St. Paul Saints baseball game, saints lost to Columbus, 13-2. it was credit union night, and the CEO sang with the karaoke guy, the song was 'take the money and run'. nice that the beer at the sample table was Schell's, i am familiar with it from my visits to New Ulm for Oktoberfest. i also claimed a 'nacho bowl' as i was leaving the stadium, a plastic batting helmet, just needed to wash it out when i got home. 

delay on getting tech

 i was getting annoyed at work after creating a ticket for one of the check printers, because i had to keep justifying asking for a technician to look at it, and i was tired of all of the arguing. but then i said my boss has been notified about the delays, and not too long after that i was sent the form i needed to request one. then a tech arrived late in the workday, parts have been ordered. customer service asked for 46 check copies, this kind of volume is not typical. it was from the colleague that places supply orders for me. i liked seeing, based on check numbers, how most of them were in the same file. this made it easier to find them. 

midnight movie

 in the afternoon i went to see a movie at the Trylon, it was 'midnight'. it was a film from the 1930s with a setting in France. i am used to how movies tend to get to the choice of title, and in this case, it was a 'Cinderella' reference. this would be considered a 'screwball' comedy. i saw the cub foods dude, who likes to sit up front like i do. when this screening was over, i left and he got back in line for the next movie. i wanted to get to a performance venue, and like many times before i closed the show. i spoke of many of the typical things, including the bank stories. on Facebook i usually don't look at 'memories' that much but in the past week, i have. there have been plenty about my trip to Toronto to see the pan-am games many years ago. i haven't done an international trip since then but i am considering another one in the next year or two. i am still trying to figure out the 'logistics'- the when and where. affordability is another consideration as well, want the car loan and some furniture paid off first. 

wingman event

 i went to the st. Paul Saints baseball game, actually a double header. Saints won both games, 11-3 and 7-0, against Louisville, but i didn't see much of the 'lid lifter'. i was attending a 'wingman' event in the cub foods section of the stadium. there was a memorial service for sister Roz as well and i saw part of that before heading to the cub foods section. there were people pitching their friends, five in all as i recall. i chatted a little with a dude who said his friend was on his way, and they met at meetup events, in a group i often do events in. i said i was doing meetup again next month. there was a picnic-type meal there. i have learned to have expectations in line with reality so i don't expect to find a romantic partner due to this event. i did hear about more events this group is doing, away from the stadium. i like knowing it is free admission, makes it easier to attend. i still saw it as worth it to sign up as it meant a meal was included, and of course baseball. i did see nearly all of the nightcap. before heading to the stadium i had a sandwich at Jersey Mike's, but a different location than typical. then i did a haircut nearby at a place i hadn't been to in a while. i was the last client of the day, i noticed the shop owner changed the sign to 'closed' shortly after i left. even though i noticed the sign said he'd be open for another hour, but i didn't care since i got what i was looking for. i got a picture of a Charlie Brown calendar on the way out of the shop. 

follow-up to hi

 i decided to follow up with a colleague that places supply orders for me. on the previous day i had heard a hi when i went to find the team lead and drop off a check. it was a crazy-busy day and i felt bad that i didn't say much. the response i received was 'i can tell how busy you are by the way you walk'. after getting a flyer from the Guthrie theater about their upcoming season, i asked the manager that likes karaoke if she's seen any shows there lately. we had both seen 'little shop of horrors' but not the same performance, and that has already 'been a minute'. response was no, but she once was a frequent visitor. i said there are two shows of interest to me, and i am fine with going to that venue as i prefer a 'tried and true' show when we all have limited time and money available. the boss made a recommendation of someone in the service industry. i spoke of who sent me when i tried to contact, but i got voice mail. i also sent a text message, and both communications went unanswered. i found some 'Shrek' stickers when i made a visit to Walgreen. i stayed in and watched the St. Paul Saints baseball game, the Saints beat Louisville in a low- scoring game, 3-1. i was getting bored with hearing the announcer 'going up on a soapbox' about the double header scheduled for the next day. it includes a rainout makeup from the other city, and it means the Saints bat first in one of those games. this happens all the time when a game is moved, it is not a big deal to me. i had seen it when a game was moved from Fargo during the pandemic, knowing the crowd size would be larger in the alternate venue. there was an interview with 'fan number ten million' as the team reached that milestone in attendance in this game, in year 34 of the franchise's history. 

hissing from printer

 i was trying to find the time to call in a ticket on a check printer but was busy and i will have to try again the next day. it just doesn't sound right when printing, as i am hearing 'hissing' instead of 'whirring'. since there are two check printers, i decided to avoid using it until a tech arrives. when i spoke of it to the tax specialist, i said 'trouble with the droids', in reference to a line from a 'Star Wars' movie. i was trying to explain why i didn't have the checks ready for courier pick-up on time. i let vacation replacement know there was a refund check addressed to someone in another department, it had arrived in an inter-office envelope. i was told to send it to the team lead, so it meant going to another floor. we chatted for a few minutes and some of it was about my day off coming soon. this was another day of driving into work, parking in a ramp. i had fringe festival training after work. it is nice to be recognized by the event coordinator upon arrival. i was pleased that i was able to attend the in-person training session after one person moved to the online version. we will have to wait for the shirts we will be wearing as those aren't available yet. but the festival is still three weeks away. the stored-value cards usable to get in free to shows have the same status but an example was passed around. looks like i can pick both up on the first night at a venue i will be ushering in. 

sharing too much?

 the team lead spoke of being willing to help with the issue i was having with trying to log my volunteer hours from special Olympics. except i kept going around in circles after trying to use the link i was given. then i think she shared too much in an instant message, as my response was 'what?' something about hating to use public bathrooms and 'her foot in my stall'. i notified vacation replacement that three refund checks had arrived. sometimes i see them in the empty mail tubs in the mailroom when i drop off the regular mail for the day since the mailroom knows it's still the same department but different floor than me. i let the manager that likes karaoke know i was doing a saints baseball game this weekend, as i was sent mention of a 'wingman event'. i also had two checks to drop off for this same manager. 

quick to close cases

 no, not Sherlock Holmes or 'monk'. but there is someone at the office that is quick to close cases. or we sometimes call them 'tickets' when i need service on the machines i use for check printing and such. my boss heard about us getting three toner cartridges in a little over a week and said call in a ticket. i forwarded it and then a few hours later, the case was closed with an explanation about it. i said we had more than we needed, as now we have five. vacation replacement heard about it and said it was better than not having enough, which is true. there are times when we got one just before one ran out. i said it was all double talk. i let my boss know of there is any interest on escalating it. i let vacation replacement know about going through the returned checks, there was seven from our internal file and an eighth is Canadian. i drove into work and found a ramp to park in a few blocks away, as i had two events to attend after work. one of them was bastille day at the French alliance, my first stop. i bought two postcards there. i also got a ham and cheese 'crepe'. there was an actress dressed as Marie Antoinette and i got a photo with her. i have done this event before but it had been a few years. it has been at various venues before, this time in the parking lot of their 'home building'. the second event was a meetup at a micro-brewery in st. Paul. it was nice to see a lady there that is willing to advise me about a possible trip to Europe, except i found out more about her and said i am only interested in friendship, nothing more. three red flags, two of them were verbalized without me having to ask. the third was obvious in terms of actions observed. she spoke of getting divorced, so not divorced yet, along with being unemployed. and she's not lacking for attention at these events and i don't care to compete.