matewan movie

 in the evening i went to the trylon and saw the movie 'Matewan'. i wanted to see it as James Earl Jones is in it. i also ended up liking another character, it was the teenage preacher. the music in it was good. notable was the song 'gathering storm' by hazel dickens. this was during a funeral scene. after i had seen the movie i found out she performed some other songs for this same movie. this was about trying to establish a labor union in a coal mining town. it was the second movie i have seen in the 'bad company'- or evil corporation- series being done at this theater. i had some popcorn while there. and before the movie, i chatted a little more with the cub foods dude that i saw at the screening of 'Soylent green' a little over two weeks ago. the dude was surprised that i had seen 'goat' but i did say the music in it helped. something about not expecting me to like animated movies. there are some more movies that i would like to see at this venue real soon, but i am still trying to figure out the logistics. my guess is i will continue to average at least one movie a month there, based on what is scheduled for the next few months. i made it to Aldi for groceries just before midday and had breakfast at McDonald's. the college basketball tournament is ongoing, i watched some of the games on CBS. i know Iowa stunned Florida to make it to the regionals.  i was following the score a little before leaving for the movie. i watched st. john's beat Kansas. 

rochester dude, meetup event

 i went to a meetup event at a micro-brewery in Robbinsdale in the mid-afternoon. notable about being there was meeting a dude that drove up from Rochester and spoke of working in i.t. at mayo clinic. surprised me that someone would travel that far for an event. i had one beer and some popcorn and stayed until the end of the time allotment. actually, a little past that. i said i needed to get the evening meal, and i went to the nearby McDonald's. i wanted a shamrock shake with my meal and got one. when i was eating my meal i noticed some young people nearby. a dude was badgering a lady and eventually backed off. after i was done i went to the gas station at Hy-Vee down the road. before the event i went to the dollar tree and got a bottle of dish soap. a little weird going back to this area as it was familiar from working nearby, but the move was already over a year ago. in the morning i went to the post office, one e-bay order was picked up. it was a postcard from New Ulm. i had lunch at home as i wanted to finish up a few things. i spent enough time out of town that the visit to Aldi will have to wait until the next day. not a big deal, though. a little bummed that a friend, the retired postal worker, was unable to attend but i still had a good time. there was mention of being on a board of directors for a theater organization, there was a scheduling conflict. 

fish fry drink tickets

as a performer i had seen drink tickets before and have used them. it surprised me a little that i was given two tickets when i went to a fish fry in the evening. i used one of them for a Surly beer and kept the other as a souvenir.  because i had not only a tray of food, and a full cup of beer, i wanted to sit down right away so i didn't spill the beer. it meant sitting near the back of the dining hall, where it was hard to hear the people onstage playing music. the din of the voices was considerable. two checks were printed that i am to hold in the shop for now. one is 'hold for pick-up' and is for payroll. the other is for the manager that likes karaoke, and i might have to send to the team lead instead of her. i was asked to request Saturday delivery for a check to be overnighted, far as i know i hadn't done this before. there was just one box to check, and then i shared the tracking number on the thread. this was part of replacement checks were the boss said they weren't positive paid, from the PDF file. why they weren't, i don't know. there was a visitor in the shop in the morning, but it wasn't for the doorbell. mailroom brought over someone doing HVAC work, and i was given a business card. a red piece of tape was place on a bar on the ceiling, marking where their work is to be done when returning next week. in the evening i went to Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries, after the fish fry. i did see the cashier that likes to ask about my weekend plans, i spoke of those being a meetup event. 

third check overnighted

 there was an email from a colleague in Milwaukee saying that two checks i had overnighted were received. i was asked about a third one, i said it had printed this morning and i would overnight it as well. i said it is all about when a check gets approved and i don't know who the approvers are. the MICR toner cartridge was delivered around midday, the correct one, and the case was closed. although there were two reasons why i had opened it. but it looks like i am on my own on getting the laser-jet cartridge returned. another work order was put in for the doorbell that doesn't work. i reported it last week and no one had shown up yet, so it was time. when i went into the system to create the newer case, there was feedback requested about the earlier one. i gave negative feedback as it wasn't fixed the first time. i don't know if they were waiting for this acknowledgement when i had responded earlier through the email i was sent when they claim it was fixed. at lunchtime there was some pizza in the breakroom, not a lot left though. i saw two boxes, two slices, i heated up one slice. i sent an instant message to the manager that likes karaoke, asking if any baseball tickets for the upcoming season had been ordered yet. this helped me by being accountable to someone, and in the evening i did order one for a game i had expressed interest in. also in the evening, i drank the can of blue moon with my meal and went to the liquor store and got a can of Budweiser, and miller lite. now there are four beers waiting. 

connections, collections

 i like how i hardly ever have to void a UPS label that I've created. i realized it was a good idea on one where i was asked for a tracking number. when i saw i entered 'collections' and the business name is 'connections' i created another one. i didn't want any questions about it. i am still sending more check samples to someone in i.t. related to the MICR line. i say the same thing each time, please lower it, but it hasn't moved at all. i am doing my part, it is all i can say. i think my boss is quite aware of my frustration about it by now. in the evening i went to the loft literary center, where i am a member, to a member/friend event. i had written a poem the night before so i could read it at this mic. it was about the protest of the immigration agent activity, but a different perspective than what others had. as usual i liked partaking of the food and drink at this event. it was mostly finger foods. there is an exhibit on the main floor of this building, now i need to figure out when i want to make it back to see it. looks like i have at least a month though, most likely to go on a weekend when i have more time to look around. 

homer simpson shirt, green beer

 in the evening i went to a meetup event at a bar. since it was St. Patrick's Day, there was green beer. i did ask if it was going to taste any different, i was told it would not. i said i was fine with green beer then. i changed shirts before i went. there were emails encouraging us to wear green at work, but i knew that the one i decided to wear at the bar wasn't as appropriate for work. it was Homer Simpson with a green beer saying, 'drink duff'. i had hoped to see a friend of mine there, sent a text but it was not to be. i had also hoped that the world baseball classic would be on at the bar, but i saw 'play-in' college basketball games on all TV monitors instead. this was why i went home after just one hour, as i knew i could find the baseball game on my own TV. the Americans played Venezuela in the finals of the classic, a close game but the Americans lost, 3-2. at work, vacation replacement arrived late in the day and asked that some checks for our tax specialist be sent inter-office. mid-morning there was the meeting where some dialed in about the Fargo checks. it was a big enough file, over three thousand, but it didn't error out like before. i went to another floor and got two cookies and a green necklace and the necklace was worn when at the bar in the evening. 

nearby pigeon

 i had hoped to be on the light rail right away after work but there was a delay, mechanical issues we were told. i was chatting with a dude on the platform for a little while. then i saw a pigeon get really close and i was told this had already happened to him. one of the things i spoke of during that time was how it was refreshing when i needed to try on pants at a Walmart less than a year after college ended and i wasn't hassled at all. the response was that sometimes getting older is a good thing. at work there was an all-staff meeting, but i decided to dial in to it as it was mid-morning and i had the big check files to print. i went onto the app to get a case opened to get the correct toner cartridge sent. after a few days of having the laser-jet kind, which i can't use, it was time. it was a day after the snowstorm, sounds like all of my colleagues decided to work from home so i went to another floor to pick up the reject fax. i am dealing with the MICR line issue again, some of the less frequent check files were available. one was fine, i sent the other to someone in i.t. though. the Kansas City file that arrived late was printed in the morning. i let the business line know the prior workday how it was going to wait and yet i still had to repeat myself. when i sent the tracking numbers for the day i did it just once. despite there being three files instead of two, only had to send six tracking numbers. i did point out which ones were from Friday's file. in the evening i went to perform. i did stories about a fish fry, what i saw at the grocery store, the bank, clapping back to a condescending idiot, and seeing a movie. 

taxes and snowstorm

 not much was planned for the day. i stayed in and the snow kept falling as expected. i saw a short video from a fellow comic, a snowplow driver for the state, advising people to stay home. this is the one i call newsboy hat if i am not mistaken. it was a good time to get my income taxes done, i filed them online. i did check and i filed at the same time a year ago, also in mid-March. i like how it is just one small fee to do the federal and state forms with Jackson Hewitt. couple that with direct deposit, the refunds should be arriving in a timely fashion. it sounds like a healthy amount is coming, enough to pay off a credit card balance. the trip to Chicago in January was largely paid for on a credit card. eventually i need to print my own hard copy of the tax return as i like having one for my records. another thing i did was do some shredding of junk mail, hadn't done it in a while. looks like i had last done it over a month ago. a snow emergency was declared, as expected. 

goat movie

just before midday, i went to see the movie 'goat', in Edina at Southdale mall. i moved it up one day as i knew the weather report said a snowstorm was coming soon. i used another birthday offer, at this theater chain it wasn't just a tub of popcorn, but also a big drink. it was self-serve and i chose fruit punch. i managed to last through the movie without needing a bathroom break as i didn't much of the fruit punch during it. i laughed a lot while watching this movie, not just the 'single but loud ha' but also longer laughs. it is not too often that i laugh this much during a movie as i did this time. wiping away a tear? i did that too, during the scene when the song 'don't dream it's over' was played. two versions were in it, this scene had the Bryant Barnes cover, and the Crowded House original is in the closing credits. the movie doesn't cover any new ground but i didn't mind. the story of the underdog that triumphs- it still works for me, and many others as well. one part of the storyline reminded me of 'the natural'. player gets signed, player sits on the bench for a while, player finally goes in when team is out of options. i knew full well that the main character, the goat (despite being told that smalls don't ball) would take the court eventually as it wouldn't be much of a movie if he doesn't. in the morning i got a haircut at great clips, didn't wait long as i made it there in the first hour of their workday. in the early evening i made it to Aldi for groceries. it started to snow before the evening was out, and i got a picture of it. i saw a kiddy car on a sidewalk and one of the wheels was missing, it had fallen off and was nearby. good thing that i checked email before venturing out again. i had planned on seeing a play in the evening, the one where i reserved a free ticket, but it said the rest of the run was canceled, two performances. not just due to the weather but also apparently due to an illness in the cast. guess it means seeing a meetup friend, the retired postal worker, some other time. 

country roads, takeout dinner

 in the evening i went to the Ukraine community center in northeast Minneapolis to pick up my take-out fish fry dinner. while there i found out i could go inside the dining hall if i wish. i said i had other things planned for the evening but was willing to stay long enough to take some pictures. one of them was of the musicians onstage. as i was leaving i heard them say 'we will do this song in English and in Ukrainian'. then i said 'i know this one' as it was John Denver's 'country roads'. i skipped a year on getting a meal at this place as last year the line for dine-in was wrapped around the block, and hour-long wait. i said i had learned my lesson, i was going back to having it as take-out. i had to stop at a gas station first, then it was home, where i ate the meal after heating up some of it. much of it was familiar, the fish, fries, and coleslaw. the other item, pierogi if i am not mistaken, tasted fine as well. then it was on to Hy-Vee in Eagan for my weekly grocery order. i found a snoopy candy bar left over from valentine's day in the magazine section so this was part of my order. at work i was asked to overnight a check to Burnsville, but at first i had to tell them when emailed that the file still needed to be approved. i got it printed once i saw it was approved. the boss did show up to help with sending check samples and was there for just an hour but that was enough time to review most of them. only ones left are files we don't see too often. in the morning i had to deal with the condescending employee at Walgreen again. this time i stopped him right away when i was looking at greeting cards, saying something different. i said i could afford to spend a few extra dollars, and if i needed help i will ask for it. another check i was asked to overnight, from the Cincinnati file, i was told needed to be delivered by Saturday. i said all i can do is to get it in the UPS box by the given pick-up time and then it is up to the courier to pick it up and deliver it. after getting back from the grocery store in the evening, i watched some of the world baseball classic on fox. team USA was playing Canada. when i first tuned in the Americans were leading, 5-1, and went on to win it, 5-3. this sent them to the semifinals. 

printed 9 times

 9 times, the same number of sick days in the movie 'Ferris Bueller'. i was sending check samples to someone in i.t. and this is how often i was told to 'try again' or 're-print it'. the boss saw me say this was 'challenging' when i also wanted to stay ahead on my normal duties and decided the best game plan was to show up the next day. also, due to being stuck on this one check, as we didn't get to many business lines, in terms of changing the signature. the MICR line was off if the signature was too big. some of this was due to not being on the same page, as i understood i was to send samples of each one. but i.t. said just send the ones in need of a fix, scanning it inside of the ruler. payroll picked up a check after i said the previous day that i heard 'sending it inter-office' after the mail tubs were sent to the mailroom for the day. i said i go by what is on the check in the comment section, if it says 'notify' then i do that first. there were three ladies who showed up as i recall, and i only knew one of them. the work order on the doorbell was closed, but it is still not ringing. when i have the time, i will have to tell them to show up during my normal working hours. i saw the email arrived before i had for the day. it is easier to test things when i am there. i had the can of bell's 'fish IPA' with the evening meal, and bought a can of natural ice this week, so there still are three beers waiting. after the day i had i was no doubt ready for a drink by then. 

can't use laser jet

 the deliveries continued to arrive. after the two boxes of UPS envelopes, and the fluid bottle for the inserter machine, there was the toner cartridge this morning. the boss had sent an email saying it had been ordered so i knew it would be arriving soon. except it is the same problem that we've had before, as a laser jet cartridge was sent and we can't use that. we can only use a MICR cartridge for check printing. when i can find the time, i will have to let them know to send the right kind. other than that, the workday was largely uneventful and that was fine with me. mailroom employee found me in the breakroom to let me know the cartridge had arrived, i was lunching. i went back to the shop as it was in front of the door, i put it inside along with returned checks and then returned to lunching. in the evening i did an automated phone payment on my main credit card. i like knowing i have one less bill this month as the other credit card was paid off last month. the other card was used to pay a big car repair bill and i like how most months my main card is only used when needing to get gas for the car. naturally, i am still looking forward to this summer when the final car loan payment will be sent to the credit union. 

signage good enough?

 there was activity on two work orders. i entered a new one, it was due to the check shop doorbell not working. it was reported by the tax specialist. the other was acknowledgement of an earlier one, saying my request to put up a sign was canceled. i am told that the signage is already good enough to point out where the mailroom is, even though i still end up giving directions there to lost people. payroll manager said that envelopes were coming soon, except i haven't seen their file of paystubs for a few days. i am not complaining about that though, as i still have plenty of other things keeping me busy. i noticed a check file wasn't printing on one printer but it printed on another. since the boss was in the shop for the day, i hear the typical thing: call in a ticket. then eventually it did print. sometimes this happens when there is a delay of at least ten minutes on printing after hitting 'print', sometimes even longer than that such as nearly an hour. it had been a while so i guess i forgot this could still happen. it was a small file, the PDF checks, so it was just 40 checks that were duplicated that i had to shred. it was why i was willing to try again on a different printer as it doesn't matter as much when the file is small. 

same high school mascot

 there are many days when the tax specialist will pick up checks in person, and this was one of them. there was two, one from the PDF file and the other was from vacation replacement. i saw this dude in the breakroom after the checks were picked up, as i was there to get some water. i found out we may have went to different high schools, but we had the same mascot, the cardinals. i did seem to get an answer, although i wasn't asking why i was seeing him there. something about being disappointed for not getting a raise from the bank this year and hearing that two colleagues will be laid off at the end of the month. i said i got a small raise for the year, and i know full well to try to keep costs down. this is a colleague that will be moving to the other tower soon, as i recall it will be at the end of the month. i showed vacation replacement the greeting card i bought from a convenience store in the skyway late last week. it was a st. Patrick's day card with a 'wizard of oz' theme. mailroom brought the checks i had ordered for my personal checking account. i was expecting it to go to the branch at the skyway level but not complaining that it was sent directly to me. i kept both items at work as i prefer to wait to take them home until i have a bag that those can go into. when i take the light rail to and from work, i am used to having the lunch bag as it is easy to grab when i need to go. and anything else if not in a bag might get left on the seat next to me. there is a luncheon invite for next week sent by the boss; it was the sandwich place that i spoke of. in the evening i went to perform. i did stories about the bank, seeing two movies, the baseball game, stickers on a car, and birthday offers from loyalty programs. 

lalaland movie

 in the mid-afternoon i went to see a movie in Eagan as part of the 'flashback cinema' series. it was 'Lalaland'. unsure why i passed it nearly ten years ago, most likely because there can be too many movies to choose from. it was a good story, but bittersweet, nonetheless. there was an intro given before it began, with plenty of background information about the movie. not too familiar with the actors in it, but J.K. Simmons had a small role in it. i was emailed a birthday offer from this theater chain, and i claimed it after the movie. this was the small tub of popcorn for free, but still plenty of popcorn. i ate some of it there but not a lot, most of it was taken home. i wanted to see the previews and i arrived just before the scheduled starting time. one of these previews was for the biopic about musician Michael Jackson. i picked up a poster for the movie 'goat' while there but haven't seen it yet. more likely to see it a week later when i have fewer things booked. i had enough time to get some ice cream at the nearby dairy queen, i got the blizzard of the month, mint Oreo. in the morning i went to do laundry and i used a birthday offer at the nearby caribou coffee. i didn't do much after the movie, i drove home and had the evening meal at home. besides laundry, i did do the customary morning walk and found more food near a dumpster. i claimed nine items this time, including a big box of cheerios cereal and two jars of peanut butter. it was unexpired, and unopened, and non-perishable, so why not? most of it will be eaten fairly quickly, probably won't be much left a week from now. 

squeeze play, ftw

 in the evening i went to another gopher baseball game, indoors at the Vikings stadium. this was part of the Cambria classic, and i briefly sat in an oversized wooden chair provided by the event's sponsor. gophers won, 3-2, over South Dakota State, in ten innings. a squeeze play was used to win it, and this is rare. i was smarter this time in more ways than one. i gave myself more time and ate at the Bobby and Steve's nearby where the food is cheaper than at the venue. and they serve small godfather's pizzas, i got the last one found under the heat lamps, 3-meat. the upper-level seating was blocked off so some of it was eaten in my car, which was parked nearby, along with a donut. the parking was cheap and i liked that. naturally, some things were moved up due to the event in the evening. in the afternoon i went to Aldi for groceries. for lunch i went to Ikea and had the Swedish meatball meal. not immediately aware of any birthday offers from them but still a good place to eat. when i saw dessert items while in line i said i am choosing the cheesecake as i know what that is. the other item was oatmeal balls, not familiar with those. after getting back from there i went to a micro-brewery and picked up a pack of girl scout cookies. i ordered a beer as well. i was there to see the girls walk around the place and say it was the last call for cookies as i arrived during the final hour of the three-hour time allotment. it is the second box or pack bought, two different kinds of peanut butter. still a question of when those will be eaten as i am still working on the Hershey's kisses bought the day after Valentine's Day. it was a big bag. in the morning i went to the post office, but there were no orders to pick up. birthday wishes are rolling in on Facebook. first one was from a classmate that is now an instructor in the Carolinas. i usually give it a few days before i say thank you to all of the postings. 

soylent green movie

 in the evening i went to see the movie 'Soylent Green', at the trylon. this was part of their 'bad company' series and i already have a ticket for another movie in this series. we were given what looked like a timecard when i claimed my ticket from being an advance purchase. it is a punch card but i don't plan on seeing enough movies to meet the standard of the prizes offered, such as popcorn for seeing four of them. this was a good movie though, thankful i saw it as i do recall a comic once did a set that name-checked this movie. i was expecting it to be 'melancholy' as it is a 'dystopian' movie, but it was actually funny at times. it helps that the main character, Charlton Heston playing a cop, was punching people, making out with the 'furniture', and stealing luxuries that once were common items such as a cake of soap. i also liked seeing Dick Van Patten as a 'death parlor attendant', although in the credits he's listed as 'usher number one'. later on, when i looked for the trailer on YouTube, i found a clip from 'the Simpsons' which is a parody of that scene. it was lost on me as i hadn't seen the movie yet. also liked chatting with a dude in the front row before the movie who was wearing a cub foods shirt, who said he'd be going to see another movie, in Columbia Heights, that same night. not a lot of down time, less than an hour, especially when needing to drive over there. for the evening meal i went to have a fish sandwich at McDonald's. after the movie i went home and watched 'Boston Blue'. i changed the logistics a little this week due to the movie, having moved up my trip to Hy-Vee one day. at work, the boss asked me to print some test checks from a link in an email. there was three, all fit in the MICR ruler. a colleague asked me to pull a check, had to ask why as it was in a morning PDF file. eventually i was told it was due to being already paid by another method. i saw to it that others were notified by the team lead being copied on the thread. a check copy request was familiar, i found out i had already sent it two days prior. there was an email from the CEO, Employee Appreciation Day. not sure if there was any award such as points, though. i got an 'Ace Ventura' meme from vacation replacement as my birthday is soon. there was also an 'all-call' email about what was in the 'digital mailroom', it was to all on our team. three items scanned there, i left it as it wasn't a check and didn't know what to do with it. 

carwash letter

 the mailroom sent me a FedEx envelope that had been opened and re-taped, not sure why. i got a look at it and it was a letter from a carwash company about terminating a contract. there was one bank employee listed, according to the directory it was in Arizona. i don't know why i ended up with it. i did send a scan to this dude and the response, after some others were copied, was to send it inter-office to someone in the same building as me, but a higher floor than me. a colleague from payroll arrived to pick up checks, but this time was physically in the shop, likely let in by the boss. i said there was just three that had been printed and ready for pick-up. i was told there might be more, but all a matter of when they are approved. sounds like i am being asked to send the others by inter-office, though. this was also popcorn day, in the skyway. this served as a good reminder of 'get while the getting is good'. i didn't go right when the time allotment started, which is an hour and a half, as i wanted to be caught up on my normal duties first. but i am thankful i went when i did. there was a brief wait for popcorn, and i know this doesn't happen every time. not long after i got a bag, i was hearing the machine had broken down and security was told to 'close up shop'. this meant any others were turned away. i was still there when it happened but nearly finished with eating the popcorn that i had. 

headphones icon

 the first sighting of a 'headphones icon' was this morning when trying to log on. i don't know why it is there as i didn't need it at all. and when it popped up it blocked me from being able to log into the check-printing system that i use. for this reason, i minimized it and then eventually hit 'close window' and it went away. vacation replacement was in the shop around midday and i said there were returned checks and a refund check to pick up. those were placed on another table and i was told they would be picked up after going to get lunch, except by the end of the day they remained. if they stay there long enough i will have to move them myself to another floor where they belong. the envelope order arrived in the morning, but not all of it. i let the supplier know and eventually the boss was copied on it. we have enough to cover our needs for a while so we can afford to wait a little bit to hear some more. about half of this month's order had arrived. this was just before the check stock order arrived, which we did get in full. as usual it meant the courier needed to make two trips due to volume. 

payee name change, then overnight

 i see all kinds of things when working with checks all day. in this case, i was asked to overnight seven checks by UPS. one had already been printed, and i had the label, just had to wait for the other six. and i found out these were the ones i had recently been told to shred because the payee name was not correct. once i had all seven i got them ready and got them in the box and said when the daily pick-up is. a senior leader had a dial-in meeting, i have joked that at times i have to remind myself that she's here as she's up high enough on the ladder that i don't hear from her that much. there was mention of how my role is likely changing later in the year, and the boss had spoken about this already. in the morning i let the boss know i was fine with a sandwich place i haven't been to in the skyway for an upcoming luncheon. i also had a check intercept request but they kept getting my name wrong, even though my name is clearly stated in my email signature. i let them know what the correct name is. 

prints by mistake

 no, not me, at least not in this case. every so often now, i am seeing prints showing up on the check printer that are sent there by mistake. i don't know who is sending them but i know more printers are showing up as available than before. what i have been doing is keeping that check printer empty so it doesn't automatically print. then when i know it isn't one of mine, from checking the message board, i cancel the job. it has been some weird things like meeting agendas, or even what looked like children's homework. since we just passed the first of the month, i started on the online classes i was assigned back in January. no need to do them too early when we get three months to do them. i figured starting them with just under a month ago is early enough. i did one class and there are four due soon, and i tend to do one per day in the morning until i am finished. i spoke of the weekend to the manager that likes karaoke, as it included not just the baseball game but also hearing from a college roommate. i said 'it has been a minute' since we've had an in-person visit, and i was advised to try doing another one again sometime soon. now i just have to figure out when is a good time. i wanted to do one when i was coming back from Dubuque in November but the logistics didn't work then. 

kid from cleveland movie

 in the morning i watched a DVD movie, a recent purchase from amazon, 'kid from Cleveland'. it was mentioned in a Facebook posting and i hadn't heard of this baseball movie before. i liked how it had plenty of players appearing as themselves, as this was about the 1948 Cleveland Indians winning the world series. and since i am a St. Paul Saints fan, once co-owned by Mike Veeck, i liked how Bill Veeck, the dad, also appears as himself. one scene in particular stood out to me, where the man challenged his wife in court during a custody hearing, saying 'you never gave me a chance'. as she remarried after becoming a widow, and it sounded like she wanted him around for the wrong reasons. around midday i was on the road, wanting to get to a college baseball game. the Minnesota gophers were playing Kansas, indoors at the Vikings stadium. it was the last of a four-game series. i rode the light rail there and when i was waiting for the train i had a young man with a face covering telling me how there were arrests this morning. this was due to the recent immigration agent activity. it started out with a greeting i didn't recognize, then the dude tried again and said, 'what's up?' and i know that one, most people do. the game was a pitcher's duel for a while, which i liked. but then Kansas went ahead, 4-3, and scored four more runs in the ninth and went on to win, 8-3. not much of a crowd as expected, as college baseball doesn't interest most people, at least in the Midwest. i estimated the crowd as two hundred, three hundred tops. i liked hearing plenty of music being played at the game, including 'Mr. Jones' by counting crows, and 'fortunate son' by CCR. i wasn't home for long after the game. i went to perform in the evening, closing the show as usual with this mic. i did stories about the bank, a movie i had just seen, going out of town, the mascot at the game, and who i see at the grocery store.