Chicago Hot Dogs- Chris and Rob's

I needed to do laundry tonight so I decided to go across the street from the laundromat to eat and to the Chicago hot dog place- known as Chris and Rob's. There are three locations in the Twin Cities, in St. Paul, Fridley, and Minneapolis. I like looking around at all of the pictures on the wall each time I am there, and the employee recognized me as the one who had given their business card before. He did ask when I was leaving if I would be writing about it. I think it is so cool that this place is inside a former railroad car, though they've added onto it. I would say it was a fairly routine visit as it meant getting a chili cheese dog, no onions, tater tots, and a can of Sprite. I like how I can go someplace where I am known since I am there often enough.
   Doing laundry, well I guess there was a good story from this visit as well. Since I was asked to help with folding bedsheets just out of the dryer. This is kind of a two-person job. I would have liked seeing the Charlie Brown special on TV tonight but I already have the Thanksgiving special on video so I can watch it whenever I want. It in many ways was a big deal to give up a comedy night, but the day before a holiday I knew I had some errand running to do. After laundry it meant going to the library to print things, arrived during the final 20 minutes but it was long enough to get things done.
   After the library I did go to a Rainbow Foods and got a box of Hostess mini-muffins, blueberry. There isn't much left in most stores I've tried, if anything at all. It varies at to what is left, but more often than not it is the Donettes- at least in the snack cake section. Sometimes I've seen other items, like sweet rolls or fruit pies. But I am still being careful about checking the expiration dates before buying, giving me more time to eat them. Even checked what it looked like at the Wonder Bread and Hostess bakery outlet in Maplewood, where I was at a few days earlier. It was no real surprise to me when I pulled into their parking lot and seeing a homemade 'Closed' sign up, as there's no need to be open any longer if all of the inventory has been sold and there have been no more shipments.
   One of the news stories today was about the bankruptcy court approving the company's request to liquidate, which was expected after Hostess was unsuccessful in mediation talks with the bakers union. It did get mention on the ABC affiliate in the Twin Cities. I also decided to order a few souvenirs on E-bay, one of them was a Wonder Bread postcard from the Chicago World's Fair from 1933-1934. The other items were Wonder Bread magnets on bottle caps, and Hostess buttons with most or all of the characters used to advertise their products. Reminds me of the McDonaldland characters, but I know very little about the Hostess characters besides Twinkie the Kid.
   It was a fairly slow day at work, no surprise there when right before a holiday. But some of this was due to IT issues. I got one payoff report early, then the other two were in the mid-afternoon, with just over an hour to complete before our record-keeper left for the day.  

Wearing Black Shirts

At the comedy club tonight it was pointed out I was wearing a black shirt, same as one of the performers. So we had a picture taken on camera phones, but not on my phone. We had our backs turned to each other. I made a joke about the famous Siskel and Ebert pose where one has thumbs up and the other thumbs down, but it would have been harder to do in this pose. I was asked to look angry so I found a way to do that, and it meant showing a 'pirate eye'. This pose likely pleased my friend who was also in the picture, since he has called me a 'dirty land pirate' numerous times before.
   I didn't buy any more Wonder Bread or Hostess items today, but I did go through what I've got to figure out the 'schedule' of seeing these items are eaten before they expire. It shouldn't be too hard as most of the expiration dates are for next month, and just four for this month. I'm nearly finished with the bag of Donettes and the hot dog buns, then it's on to the fruit pie and the single cupcake. I may want to find a souvenir or two on E-bay, as there are some but some of the listings are expensive. My guess is the postcards will stay as a lower demand item, especially when compared to the diecast model trucks. For those who know me well they know I like postcards anyway. But I will need some time to get a good look at what is available, and this means knowing what key words to enter. I prefer 'buy it now' items over 'bid on' items, but I have done some bidding before. It varies as to what I see on the company's website, sometimes I do see more than just a 'we are closed' announcement as of course the bankruptcy court judge advised mediation, which was scheduled for today. But the late reports say the mediation failed, so the company will be going out of business. The judge said he was thinking of all of the jobs at stake, more than 18,000.

Wonder Bread Search

I finally decided to get a loyalty card from Walgreen earlier today, when I was on lunch and getting some soap and toilet paper. But the three items, including some Hostess mini-donuts, did not yield any points apparently. Hopefully I will find items that do. This is my 8th loyalty card, if you count Enterprise Rentacar which still hasn't arrived yet. At the Hostess display I noticed there wasn't much left, mostly some fruitcakes and those don't interest me.
   I did see in the news how the hearing for Hostess at bankruptcy court did happen, with the judge urging mediation between managment and labor unions instead of liquidation. What I do know is that the articles I read about the liquidation of the Montgomery Ward department stores in 2000-2001 were helpful. The one from the Wall Street Journal- when speaking of Wards- said it is likely to stir nostalgia with customers, but it won't break a competitor's heart. I am noticing how many other companies make snack cakes and bread, and actually I hadn't bought much of either in recent years. If I had, it was the Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies or the brownies. One feature claims that Little Debbie will be stepping up production. Looks like they want to fill the void in some form.
   At the comedy club tonight, I expected there would be some Twinkie jokes, and there was but just one. It was about how much they are now going for on Craigslist, I had heard more about them being listed on E-bay. The comic was referring to how the company had filed for bankruptcy before, and not even that could stop the Twinkies since they're really popular. Also at the club was some loud patrons behind me that kept wanting to know when a server would be around as they wanted to order drinks. They were warned twice by an employee how there was no talking. They even asked a performer, right before he was to go onstage, if he was a server. This was despite his outfit, which didn't look like a server's as he was wearing a zip-up hoodie. He called them 'hipsters' when he took the stage. They liked having a shout-out, even if it wasn't flattering.
   After the show I went to a Cub Foods to see what they had for Wonder Bread and Hostess items. There was no snack cakes to speak of, the display box had competitor products in it. Still some Wonder Bread left, so I got a package of hamburger buns. I have been eating the hot dog buns at a steady rate of two a day to use them up before they expire. Also found some sandwich bags hanging next to the bread display. At the Bobby and Steve's in Minneapolis I found some sweet rolls and coffee cakes, at the 'beehive' gas station some donut sticks, and the Superamerica I had been to just two days earlier two honey buns. They didn't have much else left and the clerk was surprised that there was anything left at all. A convenience store in downtown St. Paul had some single cupcakes.

Houston Aeros vs. Rockford Ice Hogs

Went to the 'X' in St. Paul tonight and saw the Houston Aeros game against the Rockford Ice Hogs, the Aeros won 3-2. They led 1-0 after 1 and 2-0 after 2. I donated a can of Spam to the food drive, along with 50 cents. I got a tree ornament, a Wild gingerbread man in a stocking, for $6. I already had an Aeros shirt from the most recent game at this venue in early 2011, along with some Wild socks and a Wild bath towel. There was mention of the game on the news tonight, shortly after the reporter gave a brief update about the NHL's labor dispute. It was relevant as the Aeros are a minor league affiliate of the Wild, and playing this game helps fill the void a little. One fan did hold up a sign about the labor dispute, saying 'We want the Wild back!' on one side and 'Hey Bettman, Hey Fehr' on the other. But it was hard to read what the rest of it said. I know these are the reps for both sides in the dispute. It was the fourth Aeros game at this venue, and I have seen 3 of them, missing the first as I didn't live in the area at the time.
   I had hoped to find another place with Hostess snack cakes but came up empty, trying Walgreen but maybe it's just as well as I had already found a decent amount at 5 different stores this weekend. The tough thing will be pacing myself while I try to eat all of it before it expires, but it helps how some things (like the cereal and cookies) have a longer shelf life than others. Those extend into next year. I know it is best to eat first what expires first, and I was paying attention to the labels to see what the expiration dates were. There are some stores that I haven't tried yet, so it's likely that I will find some more. I am familiar with those legal disclaimers like 'while supplies last' and 'selection varies by store'. 'For a limited time only' is another.

James Bond Movie 'Skyfall'

This morning I decided to search for some more Wonder and Hostess items after hearing how the maker of these foods is going belly up. I have now been to two grocery stores, one of them was a Rainbow Foods, and decided to get three items. Besides finding a bag of Hostess Donettes, devil's food, at the Rainbow, I knew it would be good to try other stores. At an independent store I found a pack of 3 Zingers, and plenty of Wonder Bread. So I got a pack of hot dog buns in the bread section. The next thing on my list was to try a bakery outlet, I saw how there are 5 in the Twin Cities when searching online. I know of the one in Maplewood best, so I went there and got a box of Raisin Bran cereal and Oatmeal Cookies. They were selling things for half off, that's what I call a motivated seller. I got plenty of pictures as well. After the bakery outlet, I found some Suzy Q's and a Strawberry Fruit Pie at a Superamerica. I have been trying to take pictures at each location as a reminder of what the displays look like.
   One of my comedian friends on Facebook already shared an app about 'Saving the Twinkie', saying it would become an identifier of who were stoners. I have heard that joke before about getting 'the munchies' while high. I said that some company would want to buy these brand names, it has already been proven how valuable the Twinkie name is. The best reminder is the attention it has had in movies like 'Die Hard' or 'Ghostbusters'.
   I went to see the James Bond movie 'Skyfall' with my date in the afternoon, in Eagan. Liked how they had many of the familiar things from the previous Bond movies. It was nice to see an Aston Martin car again, I knew they had been using BMW's for a while.  Although I really liked Pierce Brosnan as Bond, I think Daniel Craig also does the role real well. After being in Great Britain in June, it meant more to me to see them have a scene on 'The Tube'- their commuter train system, and hearing 'mind the gap'.
  We tried again to use the gift card for Outback Steakhouse in the evening, but it was an hour long wait for a table so we said 'don't bother' again and went to Applebee's instead. Someday I know we will use the card. I am suggesting we try an afternoon on the weekend or a Sunday night.
  After dinner, we went to the comedy club and I saw a friend perform. He was an opening act, and I thought the headliner was really good as well.
   After the movie, I did go to a Cub Foods and found some Hostess mini-muffins. Also bought a plastic Wonder Bread sandwich packer, which was hanging up next to the bread.

Dayton's Bluff

Dayton's Bluff, this was a place I visited today as I got a good look at the community center on St. Paul's East Side- in this neighvorhood on 7th Street. I was informed this Dayton, an early settler, was no relation to the governor. I liked seeing some postcards there so I bought 3. One was of the 3M complex, which is now gone. Another was what remained of the Hamm Mansion after it was destroyed by fire, just a post from a gate apparently. The third was of Johnson Parkway, a major road through the area. There is also a Johnson High School, their athletic teams are called the Governors as the school is named for a governor who died in office. My guess is this road is also named after the governor. I paid $5 for them and no change was available, but I said consider it to be a donation since we just had 'Give to the Max' this week.
     This was a day off from work from me, which explains why I had the time to see this community center. I also made it to Dayton and Champlin. Made sense to combine those two when both are close to each other. On the radio this morning there was mention of Hostess Brands, which makes such notable food items as Twinkies and Wonder Bread, plans to go out of business due to a strike by the bakers union. The company was already in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, had filed in January. The company had previously filed in 2004 and exited that filing in 2009. There has already been reports on the news of a run on certain items, especially Twinkies. One woman was shown leaving a bakery outlet and had the cart full of boxes of Twinkies. I decided to go to a grocery store this evening to see what they had. The store already had a sign up in the snack cake and bread aisle saying the Wonder and Hostess brands would no longer be available, and asking customers to buy the store's brand. I bought a bag of Donettes, little else was left- at least with the snack cakes. i think there still was plenty of Wonder Bread. I also got a can of Spam to donate to a food drive conducted at the Aeros hockey game at the X this weekend. I said it was very Minnesota of me to donate this product.  

Deli Express Italian Sub

I had very little food left, at least I didn't want to eat the TV dinner tonight. So I went to a nearby store tonight and got a Deli Express Italian sub. It was tough to decide when to go since I was watching a syndicated rerun of 'Big Bang Theory' and wanted to be back in time for the first-run episode. I missed the first few minutes. It was nice to see this convenience store open, as it had been empty for a while and anyone who knows me well knows how I bemoan seeing empty buildings. I've used the term 'Economic Darwinism' for a while to describe it, then found out this term was on Urban Dictionary.
   I then made my way over to the library to print some things and ordered two items from E-bay. One of them was a card advertising the movie 'North of 36', based on the Emerson Hough novel.
   After I got home I became interested in getting out my box of records, that is mostly billing statements of bills I have paid. I am thankful I went through it, something I do periodically, as I found a loyalty card to file away for better safe-keeping with the others. Most of the time I am just putting bills from the same company in just one envelope to save on space. Anyway, the card I found was the American Airlines card. So of the seven accounts I have, there are currently six cards. The one I don't have a card for, Enterprise Rentacar, is on the way. This one doesn't look like a credit card, like most of the others do. So now four of the six are kept in a drawer where I have a better idea of where they are, and pull them out more easily when needed.
   Another thing I found was two Discover cards. I cut up both as I got one with a later expiration date on it, albeit by two months. I hadn't activated them as I wanted to pay off the card before charging any more on it. This card is just one of two cards I have, the other being a Visa. One of them brought back a memory, as it was in a cardboard holder that had a free gas card from Superamerica in it.