The Sponsor's House

    I had to listen to a woman take a call on her cell phone on the bus this morning. I heard more than I what I wanted to know about her life. Sounded like she was homeless as she spoke of how even an efficiency (probably meant apartment) is fine, and she could stay at her sponsor's house. I heard something about drug testing as well.
   I had hoped to enjoy the fish fry tonight at the American Legion but I got there just after 7pm and was told they were out of fish by then. This news was given by a woman who was having a smoke by the front door. I went in anyway to confirm. I did get another box of Girl Scout cookies, Samoas. The woman tried to give me another recommendation on a fish fry, but it didn't pan out in my mind. I did find the place, no problem there, as it was just a few blocks away. But the sign out front told me the price she gave me wasn't accurate. She told me $8.95, but it was $12.99. So I didn't eat there. I knew there also was a McDonald's on the east side, so I drove over there and had a Filet-o-Fish sandwich and fries. An employee was sweeping up when I was sitting down to eat, and some pennies were swept up. I said I don't understand why some throw away pennies, as I throw them in a jar. She said some people are rich, I said 'or dumb'. She didn't sweep up all of them, so I picked up three.
   I was onstage tonight at the comedy club. I happened to be early in the lineup. Much of them were new jokes, like about colleagues. One of them was about leaving Minnesota to see a hockey game.  

James Dean Tie

     I briefly met with my boss this morning and he was wearing a James Dean tie. It was to let me know what my pay raise would be, and when it takes effect. I don't think I have noticed his ties much before, but I know how there are a wide variety of ties available.
    I did watch 2 episodes of 'Big Bang Theory' tonight, but not a prime time episode as the college basketball tournament is on. The first one was about Priya asking Leonard to stop doing things with Penny, and how Sheldon couldn't figure out a card trick Howard was doing. The second was one where Lewis Black guest starred as a cricket expert. He was asked to settle a bet between Sheldon and Howard.
     I tried to watch some of the tournament, but didn't pay much attention at all. It can be hard to do in the early rounds as they move between games often. I know Texas beat Arizona State in a close game. Michigan won as well. These two games were from Milwaukee, the Bradley Center, where I saw a Coldplay concert in 2006. I spent some time going through some forms, shredding what I no longer needed or valued, and writing out two checks. One was for my internet service provider, the other my University of Iowa alumni association membership. I also fell asleep for a little while, but I know this tends to happen when tired and laying down in my easy chair. Not much in the mail today, one E-bay order arrived, it was a first day cover honoring the sport of baseball at the Olympic games in 1992. It is the third I have related to the sport as a whole, the others being anniversaries from 1939 and 1969.

Night Boat To Cairo

     I like doing the Wii dancing a lot at my workplace in the afternoon, and I do my best to remember the songs we danced to. There was 5 today. This included 'ET' by Katy Perry, 'Are you going to go my way' by Lenny Kravitz, 'Night boat to Cairo', a version of a song from the movie 'Pulp Fiction' by the Black-eyed peas (I think it may be called 'Pump It', since it is in the lyrics) and 'I don't feel like dancing'. Some of these we have done before, but I didn't mind. I just like the exercise. The event coordinator really wanted to do 'Night Boat To Cairo', she hadn't been there for the past two sessions. We have mummies on the screen showing what dance moves get us points for this song.
     There were plenty of good jokes at the comedy club tonight, and I did my best to write down what I liked. 'Auto-correct' did one about somebody having a boob tattoo, and about taking an acting class.  The 'Time share' comic did one about dating someone with a protective friend, which  included a Robert DeNiro impression. The Kentucky native did some jokes about being in a mental hospital. The next comic was somebody I had written about before, doing a set with a Siri app, but didn't have a name for her then. She will be the 'Dog Conga' comic. She did a joke about a Tigger tattoo, and how she isn't a paper boy or a farmer- due to her bib overalls and hat. And she did the one about testa-roni- the one about the dog conga line. The godmother did ones about a relative trying to diagnose her with lupus, yoga at church, being asked to be officiant at a carnie wedding, and being married to a cop. The Tetris comic did the ones about Taco John's and trains, home use catheters, and taste buds.
    I hadn't seen the show closer in a while, as she now lives in southern California. She did one about being called a pretty Steve Buscemi, and growing up in Washington State where they had battleships and meth in her hometown since it was a military town. She herself served, in the Air Force. So I will call her 'Air Force nuke launcher' as she does a joke about this being what she was in charge of in the military. She also did one about heroin being a legal drug for a while.
    I had traded messages with her on Facebook in the past week, since she posted her tour schedule there. I said Rochester is not close enough, haven't been there for comedy yet. But I was pleased to find out she planned to be in the Twin Cities as well, just didn't know specifically when. She did make a joke about how that town should be close enough, when she arrived tonight, since she drove 2,000 miles to get to the area.

Shakespeare's Othello, At The Guthrie

    I had the day off from work today to attend a play at the Guthrie as part of the Roosevelt mentoring program. We saw Shakespeare's Othello. I did admit how I cheated a little and read about the play on Wikipedia in advance. My student did not show up, was told English is his second language and he fears getting too far behind in his classes. I was paired with another student but he didn't speak much. I followed the story fairly well, as it was about a secret marriage where the bride's dad didn't approve. Othello was involved in a military action in a foreign land. Some jealousy happens, and then people die. Death is one thing that can be expected when the play is called a tragedy. Lunch was furnished there, I had two sandwiches, a roast beef and then turkey, since there were some left over. The event coordinator did offer me more, but I had to say I had already eaten two. Since I was near Bobby and Steve's I went over there after the play ended and got a little Godfather's pizza before getting on the light rail back home in the early afternoon. I will have the pizza later in the week. Since some more E-bay orders arrived, I worked on getting them into my binder of first day cover stamped envelopes. I did place some orders before getting on the road for the play in the morning, and another just before I left to go to the comedy club tonight. So I ordered a total of four items today. The fourth order was honoring the 150th anniversary of savings and loans, in 1981. I found it when doing a search for those stamped in Chicago, as many of my recent orders were. Seems out of place now for those who recall the S and L woes of the 1980s, where many lost faith in this kind of financial institution so
these places closed in droves. Bad loans was to blame. I recall there were at least two in my hometown of Newton, Iowa, one was called Mid-Iowa and the other American Federal. Both went away, don't know if there are any left in Newton- or how many are left nationwide.
    At the comedy club tonight, the Maryland native did his joke about his dad drinking O'Doul's with vodka. The Tetris comic did jokes about a train operator stopping the train for Taco John's, and he did his catheter joke as well. The self checkout comic was the M.C. He had some good jokes about the performers, including one who ran the light. Even I did a slashing motion across my throat as I saw the light more than once. Eventually the show runner went to the techie, who had the microphone shut off. The M.C. did say when the show ended how the roads were bad after the snowfall. I will admit I didn't want to leave that bad but knew I had no choice. I made it home just fine, but I took it slower than typical as I wanted to avoid sliding off the road or into someone.

Squirrel At Dunkin Donuts

    At the comedy club tonight, I liked hearing some new jokes including one by the 'Bathtub comic' about a squirrel getting fat from Dunkin Donuts. The 'Extra murder' comic was the show closer, I liked his jokes about payphones, phone books, and trying to kill a bat. I gave out a few business cards when comedian friends said they were interested in reading the blog. The 'Auto-correct' comic said she reads regularly. She seemed pleased to hear her name is after one of her jokes. So I may have the pleasant problem of more reading as they want to find out if I am writing about them.
   It was nice to make it to the club on time tonight despite staying late to try to get more work done. I changed my strategy to compensate. I had made it too late a few times this winter and I wanted to avoid this again if at all possible. It helps how I wasn't home for long after stepping off the bus. It makes a world of difference when I decided to wait on looking at email and postal mail until after the show. There was a bumper crop of postal mail, helped by getting 6 E-bay orders. Four were first day covers, the others were postcards.    

I'm Just Me, Charley Pride

    Recently I heard a song I really liked, called 'I'm Just Me' by Charley Pride. I think my reason for liking it is largely linked to needing to search for who I am for a while and finding it, and as a result finally feeling comfortable with who I am. It was a number one it in 1971, according to Wikipedia, and I understand why based on the lyrics. Nothing more or less, not the worst or the best. It fits well with me often saying what you see is what you get. I liked finding it on Youtube after hearing it on my car radio, and one commenter said he was proud to have seen Charley in concert twice. I have seen him once, in 2012 at a casino. When it was played on the radio the D.J. did say Charley was on tour again, he still tours even though he has reached what is retirement age for many. But as I have said before, it is what they know, what else are they going to do?
    I did listen to a friend's radio show this morning, and I knew the guests as well. Subjects covered were Twitter, an accidental shooting in Texas, Obama's options on the Crimea ordeal, and the search for a male body part in Great Britain.
   I stayed in for a while, getting baseball cards into binders. Of the pack of 100 I just bought this weekend, just 5 were destroyed so it is good how I don't get many duplicates. Then it was on to doing laundry, and I noticed I needed another shirt replaced. So I went to J.C. Penney at Rosedale Mall in Roseville and used the gift cards sent by family for my recent birthday. I liked seeing the sales associate had them wrapped in the shopping bag while still on the hangers. This made them easier to get home as it was like picking them up from a dry cleaner. I likely would have waited if it was just one, but with two I think of needing something to wear every day at the office. I like it when I just have to do laundry every 3 weeks, so it means having 3 weeks worth of shirts. I finished the book
'Nickel and Dimed' by Barbara Ehrenreich when I got home after reading more of it while doing laundry. After watching a Simpsons episode about gangs at a theme park, and then eating at Taco Bell, I watched an episode of the Bob Newhart Show from the DVD I bought at Target this weekend. It was when Bob spoke at career day at his wife's class. 

Monuments Men Movie

    I went to see the movie 'Monuments Men' at the AMC theater in Roseville. I fell asleep for a little while in the afternoon but made it to the evening showing. Most notable scenes for me both involved the Bill Murray character. One of these was when a record from his family was played during the Battle of the Bulge, it was 'Have yourself a merry little Christmas'. The other was when he needed to see a dentist and the dentist was too distracted, talking about other subjects. It should come as no surprise how I liked some of the music in it as I often write about music, though it was just one of three songs listed in the credits. There was plenty for me to like about this movie, starting with the all-star cast. Not only was George Clooney in the lead role, but it also Matt Damon, of course
Bill Murray, and John Goodman. I stay to watch the closing credits and I saw how Clooney also directed, and his dad, Nick, had a small role in it as an older version of himself. As a history major I liked seeing a movie done about historical preservation, as this mission was about getting art back that the Nazis stole.   
    This was a full day for me, starting off with wanting to get plenty of errand running done. I first washed out bottles and cans for recycling, but had to stop since I didn't have soap for the dishes. So I went to Walgreen and got dish soap along with a few other things. When I was finished I got a box of Girl Scout cookies as somebody was selling them outside of the store. I just kept going, by doing groceries as well. One employee said he didn't expect to see me so early, and I said I already had my shoes and coat on so I decided to continue my errand running. Then in the afternoon I went to a comedian friend's birthday party. Nothing unusual there, but it was at a roller skating rink in St. Louis Park and I hadn't been skating in years. The things I do for comedian friends, but comedy has given me so much. Thankfully it went fine, I didn't fall at all. At one point I stopped and was asked if I was all right. I was advised not to look down, and I said it was easier said than done. It was nice to step out of my comfort zone. I did see the guest of honor and his wife there, the 'Bathtub comic', since I could speak with them more at length than one can at a comedy show. 
    I like how music is everywhere. So many good songs I heard today while out and about. At the grocery store it was 'Someday Someway' by Marshall Crenshaw, and 'It's My Life' by No Doubt. While driving back from the movie it was 'Insane in the brain' by Cypress Hill, a reminder of a longtime friend who told me it was his vacuum cleaning song in college. It was also in a Simpsons episode. I am watching 'Life to the Max' and there was just a passenger train feature and I liked hearing a song that said take a train, the C and O, B and O, Santa Fe. Also recently, it was 'Follow your heart' by Brett Dennen, a reminder of visiting Chicago last August. I decided to tone it down on the finger pointing during 'It's My Life' but it is an emotional song for me. I do the finger pointing during the part when 'It's my life, don't you forget' is said, as I have had to say it to some people before, especially family.
   The errand running continued after the movie, as I stopped at the Target near the theater. I picked up more plastic sheets, this time for baseball cards and business cards. Earlier at Walgreen it was sheet protectors for full 8 1/2 by 11 pages. I wanted to get a photo album for postcards but I am picky as some postcards will not fit in all albums. I got a DVD after checking the music and movies section, it was season one of the Bob Newhart Show, his sitcom from the 1970s were he played a Chicago psychologist.