Suriname Stamps

    Every so often I like to place E-bay orders. One of those tonight was for stamps from Suriname, in honor of the 1987 Pan-Am Games in Indianapolis. I also ordered some from Brazil, and Nicaragua. I liked making some nice finds on postcards, specifically the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. I do have to check the listings closely as to if I already have them, as I have over a hundred so far.
   After watching 2 'Big Bang Theory' episodes tonight I did venture out for a long walk around the neighborhood. It was cut short as I said it is not much fun to be walking in the rain, even if it was just light rain. I still picked up some trash, and then went to a Taco Bell for dinner. The syndicated rerun was when Amy wanted to move in with Sheldon after Leonard got annoyed with Sheldon. The prime time episode was about Sheldon and Penny doing an intimacy experiment. Howard and Bernadette were dealing with hassles on getting Howard's mom's remains back home. On the Letterman show, George Clooney was a guest, and he handcuffed himself to Letterman. The final guests on this show are all big names who have been on it before, as it is the most fitting way to do a farewell. The final show will be next week, don't know yet if I will be watching as I must accept some stage time if it is offered to me. And in this day and age I know things can be found online later, so no big deal if I miss it when it is first-run.

Blue Bandage

    I have a blue bandage on my hand due to a paper cut, I don't see this color used for bandages often. It was nice getting stage time at the comedy club, the first time at this particular venue. It was a place I had passed by before but had never went in, this was true for some other venues where I have performed. Notable is seeing a Snoopy statue outside. I heard about the show as the high-energy musician from Monday said she runs this show, and much like two days ago it was mostly musicians. But I don't mind as I like listening to music.
    Notable today was doing a walk to the saints baseball stadium during the Wii dancing allotment of 30 minutes in the afternoon. It looked like a high school game was in progress, as one of the team's uniforms said Johnson, the name of a St. Paul high school. At the comedy club the opening act included a guitar player. Nothing unusual there, except it was a kid of age 11 or 12. He was pretty good. I even gave him a shout-out when I was onstage, and referred to seeing a kid musician in St. Louis and saying the same thing there. My set was mostly inspired by music, seemed appropriate for the crowd. It included mention of when I have done Karaoke before, and finding out I was good at it. Notable for this venue was seeing drink holders on the microphone stand, I liked seeing this. The show runner said one performer likes to preach, I found out on my own she was right. He spoke for a while and some of what he said I agreed with but not all of it. He spoke of how it shouldn't be so competitive in the comedy community, how we all do better if we support each other. Well there were some musicians nearby who said it is the same way in their community as well. There are just so many paying gigs to go around, and the world as a whole is really competitive, so not much can be done about it.      

Schedule Adherence

   There was an all employee meeting, at least for my department, this morning. It was about schedule adherence. I don't think these new policies, or just plain enforcing the existing ones more, will affect me much. Many of the concerns were about things like being available for family. I am unmarried and have no kids, and I take the bus to work, and it is just a 20-minute ride. The policies are mainly about being on time in the morning. I am thankful it did not run the entire 60-minute allotment as I really wanted to get back to my normal duties. Since I left early Monday we were behind on the settled letters. I did 28 of them, the lion's share. We got sandwiches from Erbert Gerbert. I got the roast beef and ham, called Comet Candy if I am not mistaken. It was another 30 minute lunch as I was flexing to make up some time.
    I performed at the comedy club tonight. I was third, or actually second after the MC, who was the radio personality. I did one about a dollar bill on the wall at work, something I had just seen earlier today. Many of the others were the same as what I did last night, like the smashed penny souvenir. I had to wait until after the show to get caught up on emails. I was the only bidder for two items, a Soldier Field Pan-Am Games postcard and a first-day cover. I got smarter with the Delcampe order to see it that will be sent to be PO box, checking it over closely before completing the transaction. It defaults on the E-bay system, so not the same issue there.  
   Also at the comedy club, Radio personality did ones about houseguests, pilgrim with pigment, a Rain Man reference, apple orchard, corn maze, kooky garage sale mom, get a puppet, cargo pants, enjoy your rock lawn, sunflower seeds, scrap booking, stamp collecting, stealing cats, and those kind of brownies. Whopper did ones about I'm real on cover letters, proof on social media, physical fitness, taxi cab, phone book, and confessions. Long Straw did ones about dressing philosophy, Gap v-neck, who let the dogs out, Baja Men, what garbage we prefer, how to not wear a fedora, Catholic singles, and childhood insult. Turtle Check did ones about ready to go, doing pushups, torn pants, charcoal burn, a fight witness, a beard, Home Depot, and Paul Walker tattoo. Twin Peaks did ones about Grandma called me a hipster, she watches Twin Peaks on VHS, knit sweaters for cats, dyslexia and diarrhea, pity sex, and who has watched Usual Suspects? Morton Salt did ones about roommate on Craigslist, Genghis Khan, seagull with broken leg, serenity prayer, and Foreigner songs. Mr. Pibb did ones about Urban Outfitters book, cop in trunk, clowns and commitment, his lady fears June bugs, Rihanna, obladi-oblada, Game of Thrones sword, MOA and Southdale, spoon and cherry, Orange Julius, Anakin and C3PO, Woody Allen, dated a twin, yeast popcorn, throwing sand, hopscotch, New Yorker cartoon, is this your cat?, IUD poking, and Dad kisses.

Rembrandt Paintings

    I saw a copy of a Rembrandt painting at the Bobby and Steve's in Minneapolis tonight. Seemed   like an odd place to display art, anchored to a pole near an entrance. as I recall it was of 'Lucretia'. I went there to get some Godfather's Pizza. I don't know Rembrandt paintings well, I mainly know it as the name of a music group, who did the theme song for the TV show 'Friends'.
    The painting became my lead-off joke tonight at the comedy club. It was a place I hadn't been to in a while, and first time I was there to perform. I liked seeing various beer cans on a wall display. One of them was Pickett's. It reminded me of growing up in Iowa, and the movie 'Take This Job And Shove It'. The movie took place at a brewery in Dubuque, Iowa, and they were switching from Star Beer to Pickett's. The Wikipedia article said this actually happened, so the movie was based on actual events. Notable among the performers was a high energy musician, I hadn't met her before. I didn't know many of the performers as most of them were musicians, but all I care about is getting the stage time. A few were people I hadn't seen in a while.
    After work I went to a reception for the University of Iowa president at the Millennium Hotel in Minneapolis on Nicollet. It was announced that the president was retiring, so it is a farewell tour of sorts. There was a video shown about what has been happening at the University. I did see somebody from the local alumni chapter who spoke of a summer outing. Hopefully I can attend it, I think she said it will be in August and that month is not too booked up yet.    

Chippy Waffles

     I went to Opera Singer's birthday party cookout at Como Park in St. Paul. I actually arrived in the picnic area before he did. When I spoke of visiting Chippewa Falls in Wisconsin, his native state, he called it 'Chippy waffles'. It was cool and windy, and did rain some. I brought a bag of BBQ chips and some little cupcakes. Not all of the cupcakes were eaten, but I can take them to the office. I had a hot dog and bratwurst, and liked the potato salad as well. I liked doing an event with comic friends away from the clubs. Plans were also for visiting the zoo, but I didn't have the time. I went home and did the dishes and rested, then went out again. It was on to the Soap Factory in Minneapolis to do volunteer work, tearing down displays. I was first assigned getting coat hangers onto a rack. It meant  separating the wire types from the plastic types. I got a photo of it. There was still plenty to do, even though it was the final shift of the day. While moving a table I got cut on a thumb going past a metal door. I needed a Band-Aid, and got some ointment before the bandage was applied. Near the end of the two hour shift I was back at the clothing racks, placing garment bags made out of trash bags over them. I was told to use as few as possible, so it wasn't one to a hanger.
   Before I ventured out at midday, I did get some more baseball cards into binders. One pack of a hundred was taken care of, but there is still another one. A few cards in it were not authorized by major league baseball, and made by Panini.      

Fort Des Moines

    I was back at the antique shop near downtown St. Paul this afternoon, and one of the postcards I bought was about the women's Army auxiliary corps at Fort Des Moines, in my native Iowa. Actually it wasn't a typical postcard, but the fold-out kind. This program existed during World War II. I knew the current fort is on Army Post Road, been past it before a few times. Some of the pictures in this folio include the post chapel and post exchange. Another folio post card I bought was of Chicago, and I recognized the image on the back cover. It was of Soldier Field with an obelisk, as I had a postcard of it with 'World's Fair 1933' stamped on it. So I placed the folio in the World's Fair postcard album next to the similar postcard. I like making some nice finds there, actually I found both last week but put them back as I wanted to stick to a budget.
    In the evening I listened to sub teacher's radio show. School bouncer, Michigan, and Rut-roh were guests. School bouncer spoke of a song he performed that is on My-space. I thought about going out to a comedy club but the show I was interested in was sold out. So I decided to stay in and get caught up on things like get more stamps placed on a page. I filled the page so this page is now in a binder. One of my orders from Delcampe arrived, a first day cover of Haiti stamps made for the 1959 Pan-Am Games in Chicago. It honors Jean Du Sable, the first resident. It bothered me that it was sent to my home when I asked it be sent to my PO box, but it looks like the address from Paypal, my method of payment, is what they are going by. I hadn't ordered from this site in two years.
   It was also nice to get to Union Depot for Train Day, meeting Sprinkles the Clown and a man from the National Park Service who had a fish puppet. I toured a railroad car and locomotive.

Milestone Smashed Penny

    I went to Union Depot in downtown St. Paul at midday after having a sandwich at Erbert Gerbert. I found the smashed penny machine and got one. When I got home I checked the two albums I bought to see how many I had. This was a milestone, number 50.
   I did perform at the comedy club tonight. The crowd was a little lighter than typical. I did one about going to the Saints stadium to get a ticket for a game next month. Another was about the sandwich order taker I see at Erbert's.
    Also at the comedy club, Netflix did ones about tap dancing, girl's girl, they're your enemy, and a car and a vagina. Mr. Pibb did ones about a nosebleed, cop in trunk, clowns and commitment, yeast popcorn, and Anakin and C3PO. Perkins did ones about cheating, frequent flossing miles, and a gypsy curse. Maryland did ones about an apartment fire, mold, and a pawn shop job. Fantasia did ones about like I'm mad at her, rock stars, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tetris did ones about a City Pages artist, unavoidable man, windows 95, Best Buy ad, fake taxis in NYC, hospitals, and cat pictures. Postage stamp did ones about Garfield, Heathcliff, Toy Story, evolution, and 3-0. Louisiana did ones about depression, court ordered therapist, multiple lines, supermarket make a point, and Best Buy rewards. Tortoise did ones about inferiority complex, pandas, non functional hats, Scar-face Simpsons shirt, catcalling, Fedora the explorer, an ex on Tinder, and the Rock the actor. Duffel Bag was wearing a Coca-Cola sweater. She did ones about a religious family, turned from Lord, birthday cake on Christmas, bad at being a real adult, laundry equipment, dental appointments, one time use Tupperware, and life insurance. Rut-roh did ones about realistic dreams, Apollo 13, internet bill, cat in heat, cell phone, bowl of rice, eight dollars, and weekend plans. Bus fare did ones about teeth in hotel room, Yelp reviews, always here on pay-day, and spilled soup on baby. Nebraska did ones about covering drinks, White Castle, stay in school, be all you can be, rock climb sky dive and dic-pics, and taking off shoes. The crow did ones about a 5-minute window of time, beer and weed, mental blocks, and a job and not live with parents. Software developer did ones about personalized plates, and tequila and a compliment.