patriotic snoopy ornament

 i was at the hy-vee in eagan tonight and said 'we know how this is going to end' when i saw there was just one patriotic snoopy christmas ornament left in the greeting card aisle. so i bought it and it is on the tree with the others. i didn't have one just like it even though i already had some other snoopy ornaments. i think the one of charlie brown holding a tree is one i already had. so good thing i didn't buy that one. i think there were some disney characters to choose from in that aisle, as well as rudolph, but they don't appeal to me as much as charlie brown and snoopy. already have a rudolph as well. 

at work there was a repairman that arrived in the afternoon to look at one of the check printers. he was there for over an hour but all he did was test it. and it left me behind on check printing so i had to stay past my normal leave time to get caught up. he didn't seem to be as knowledgeable as the one who had already looked at it. in the evening i went on a walk and found 13 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard bought a mini-wheelchair toy with steve hawking in it. this was followed by when the friends helped with making 'penny blossoms'. i have continued trading messages with the yemen native on facebook. it was nice that he asked how i was doing, few other comics have reached out since the pandemic began. he spoke of learning film-making, so i joked how the movie still might get made. there is a movie script i was emailed 7 years ago and still have it. i would like to return to performing in person but have hesitated as i don't want to get sick. i would want some assurances of precautions such as capped attendance at venues. i know the st. paul saints baseball team has this in force, and i have attended one of their games this season so far. 

post office display

 i made my first visit to the post office near my workplace at midday. i liked the display in a glass case near the front door. there was a poster about 'the huns' so it must have been about world war one. also some literature about postal money orders, and some old hand-held stamping equipment. the plate on the wall said the building was dedicated in 1963, of course listing kennedy as the president. always an option to go back and get another look since it is close, just need to allow myself enough time to look around. 

at work i saw a higher volume than expected but found a way to get caught up. one inter-office envelope was returned to my department's slot so i need to call about where to re-direct. i went by how i was advised by a trainer as to where to forward it. there was also a request to send a check via UPS overnight to bermuda. one doesn't see overnight packages sent to foreign countries that often. 

i moved up my walk in the evening as it was on TV how the twin cities put a curfew in effect at 8pm. i picked up 14 cents. i listened to the baseball game on the radio, st. paul saints beat sioux falls 14-2. the saints had an 11-run inning in the 4th, and i didn't listen to it much after that. only missed one run after that inning. 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj was too ashamed to admit he was dating a janitor. it was followed by when the friends took a train ride to san francisco. but sheldon needed help and had to call penny during the ride. 

route change

 near the end of the workday i heard the doorbell ring. it was the man who picks up the mail tubs. this surprised me a little as i am not used to seeing them this early. but i was told there was a route change and it sounds like they will be arriving an hour earlier than before. so i will have to adjust, but it shouldn't be too hard to do. i just had to get the zip ties on one more tub and it was ready to go. there was one file that dropped late in the day that was well over a thousand checks. the 'companion' file earlier in the day was only 15. so most of them did not go out. only one did, saw it on the top of the stack as one to be sent by UPS overnight. i also found 4 that say 'please do not mail' when going through it like a flip-it booklet. i had a visitor that said i hadn't called yet about those four, i said because the file was real big. it is likely that it won't take long to get caught up in the morning. all of them were printed by the end of the day, because i didn't want to start off the day behind on printing checks. i at least had enough time to print them, just not enough to run them through the envelope stuffer as i wanted to take out the ones for special handling. there was also somebody that sent an instant message asking me to pick up a box. then she finds me while i am at lunch and asked me to return it because it wasn't meant for me. so i said i was going to wait until after lunch to take care of it. wonder if she is familiar with the story of 'the boy who cried wolf' as i found this to be annoying. 

  the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny re-decorates the apartment, and leonard doesn't like it. amy lies about her apartment still not being ready as she wanted to keep living with sheldon. it was followed by one where the friends play paintball and howard hooks up with lesley. i went on a walk in the evening and picked up 73 cents. i listened to a baseball game on the radio, the st. paul saints beat sioux falls 5-4. there was an email from the saints about the final 12 games of the season all being at home. looks like the first 2 are sold out, since they must cap attendance at 1,500. but i am not attending either of those games. seeing this does make it more likely that i will order early for the other 2 games i would like to see, already have one ordered for this weekend. i try not to order too far in advance, sometimes it is just a week before the event happens. 

little raisin boxes

 over the weekend i bought a pack of 6 little raisin boxes from aldi. it is a nice low-calorie snack. it does say 'california raisins' and this does remind me of the clay-mation characters that were popular in the 1980s. i still have some of those figurines, bought from a hardee's fast food outlet. they taste fine and i am putting them in my lunch, so a second snack along with the animal crackers. 

  the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy have a brunch where they invite guests. it was followed by leonard and penny drinking together when leonard's mom visits. i went on a walk in the evening and picked up 29 cents. at work i didn't like how another file of checks to print was dropped late in the day, in the final 30 minutes. so i imported it but it will be printed the next day. there was the payroll file that was dropped off in person, that one doesn't bother me much. i just need to change the settings on the envelope stuffer for that file. 

waste toner bottle full

 this was the first time i had to call for service on the copier. there was a message saying 'waste toner bottle almost full'. the number given to call wasn't helpful, as i was eventually put on hold and decided i had waited long enough after 30 minutes. the recorded message while on hold was highlights from the world series. i like baseball, but it didn't put me in a better mood. so i called a different number from the copier, on the label. it was the copier company itself. i got through right away and a repairman was there later in the day. i showed him the number i called first and he said i shouldn't call that number again. a spare copier cartridge was ordered, and he put a replacement in after at first saying it was the wrong model. he also replaced the drum so there is no longer the problem with lines on the copies. it left me a little behind on my work, as i had questions to ask and answer. but i still gained from the experience. 

the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj and stuart go to the hot-tub owned by howard and bernadette. it was followed by the one when sheldon lends money to penny. i went on a walk in the evening and found 3 cents. i did a virtual open-mic in the evening and the most reaction i got from my comedy set was the first one, mention of looking up french author robert merle after the flautist spoke of this author. i liked knowing some of his books have been translated into english, and some of them became movies as well. one of them has george c. scott in it. i also got people started talking about songs by phil collins as another performer said he had a hard time doing a judy collins voice. i asked about a collins i had heard of. he liked my GE shirt, i said i once worked for that company. and there was reference made to a proverb about confession being good for the soul. 

remember the titans movie

 i watched a DVD movie, a video store rental this morning, 'remember the titans'. i recognized denzel washington in it. i liked the scenes at the actual football games, but understood the integration story leading up to it was a story that needed to be told. when this is 'based on a true story' i can expect that some of the scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect. this was a movie that was being shown at the saints baseball stadium last month, but i prefer watching movies at home. i watched the trailers before the movie, and do recall seeing 'disney's the kid' at theaters when living in suburban chicago. 

by the time the movie was done it was time for lunch, then i did get the last of the pack of baseball cards into binders. then it was time to do the laundry. after this was done i laid down for a while and fell asleep. in the evening i went on a walk and found 63 cents. i got a letter ready to go to st. louis, asking for some information. and the dishes got done as well. and an order was placed on amazon for 2 CDs. 

high note movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie from redbox, 'high note'. i recognized ice cube in it. this was the story of a fictional singer named grace davis, mostly told from the point of view of her personal assistant. this assistant was trying to be a music producer on the side. i liked seeing her car, the classic chevy nova. i knew somebody in high school that had one of those cars. eddie izzard was also listed in the cast, i think he was the one that had a bit part in the sauna. i do like music movies, and i think i learned a few things from it. there was mention of the song 'when a man loves a woman', followed by the rivalry between christina aguilera and britney spears. also found out the song 'first cut is the deepest' was written by yusuf islam, then known as cat stevens. i mainly know the version by sheryl crow. this movie was classified as a romance story, and it kind if was one. but i think wasn't the best description of the story. 

  i stayed busy for most of the day, nothing wrong with that. after the movie was done i knew i needed to get started on errand running. first thing was going to the credit union, made it just minutes before they closed for the day. i deposited the pay from being a comic at various gigs, over a hundred dollars. i figured it was best dumped in a bank instead of laying in an envelope in my home. after all of the cleanup i had done in the past few months i was able to find all of it. then it was on to cheapo records, i was looking for greatest hits CDs for loretta lynn and hank williams. i found one for the latter, also decided to get a CD of college fight songs. on to fedex office to print things. one was the st.paul saints ticket for just over a week from now. the other was the wikipedia article about french writer robert merle, this was mentioned by the flautist at the most recent open-mic. at these two stops i witnessed some weird things. opened my car door and heard a loud sound. a girl hit it with her bicycle, no words were said, she just got back on and rode away. then it was somebody who was picking up copies and tried to make a joke about how i hadn't picked up mine yet. everybody thinks they're a comic. finally there was the post office, made it just minutes before closing. there were two things to pick up. i was pleased that one postcard order had a pack of baseball cards, unopened from 1991, included. the order was for a baseball postcard. then it was home to drop off things and to eat and drink a little. after that was done it was on to the holiday gas station to return the movie. and i wanted a little godfather's pizza but there wasn't any. i decided to get a nathan's pretzel dog instead. a little later on i went on a walk and picked up 48 cents. by then it was early evening, so it meant watching the 6pm news and i also watched the time-life infomercial after it. this week it was soft rock from the 70's and 80's. i recall when some of those songs were hits. after going to the grocery store i checked the paper and found out there was boxing on fox, so i went there. the first fight of the night had just wrapped up, but i watched two others. one of them was joey spencer, a fighter i had seen at the minneapolis armory 2 years ago. he won his fight, a 4th-round knockout, actually TKO.