booya list

 i was wondering for a while if booya servings would be happening this fall, with the pandemic happening. i found a list in the st. paul paper, calling it 'the brave, the few, the takeout only'. some of them have already happened, but i have my eye on one that will be held in a little over a week. i am partial to proximity of course. many of the typical places are having it, such as catholic churches and veteran groups. the article also spoke of a 'notable newcomer'- as they say that can-can wonderland (the big game room) has taken over st. paul brewing. mention of how they are serving booya on thursday nights. i know that a pint is comparable to one big can of soup from the grocery store, so i have set aside enough quarters for a pint. i am fine with takeout only, and when they say 'serving until gone' i know well enough to try to arrive early. in the evening i went on a walk and found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj met a married woman and then became friends with her fireman husband. it was followed by the one where sheldon uses a virtual presence device. at work there was an envelope delivery just before midday. 

minor league baseball agreement

 i had read multiple things about negotiations between major league baseball and their minor league affiliates. i found three articles, saying the agreement expired at the end of september. they are from ballpark digest, baseball america, and the boston globe. there is mention of one league that will become a wooden bat summer league for college players, the appalachian league. rob manfred, the commissioner of the major leagues, has spoken of 'one baseball'. the plans are to contract teams, down to 120 clubs, where each major league team has 4 affiliates. short season and rookie league teams are the most likely to be cut. congress has weighed in on it, sending a letter saying they are opposed to any contraction. i liked seeing the history of minor league baseball being covered, this is mostly done in the ballpark digest article. the national association dates back to 1901, in a meeting at a chicago hotel. sounds like this is tied to what was happening in the major leagues, where the american league declared itself a major league to challenge the national league, which led to a peace agreement that spawned the world series in 1903. it sounds like independent leagues have signed on as 'partners' to major league baseball, not sure what this means. when there was a short season for the majors, and most minor league teams did not play due the pandemic, it has been a weird year for the sport. it remains to be seen what all of changes will be. previously, there was talk of the st. paul saints becoming an affiliate, but the saints like their independent status too much so that would be a hard sell. 

it was a busy day at work, as the two biggest files were a total of nearly seven thousand checks to print. all were printed by lunchtime, although i still needed more time to run them through the stuffer. but i liked how i was caught up by the end of the day. it helped that i waited on doing the UPS labels. i tend to get into a rhythm when doing them, so just as well on trying to do most of them back to back. found out i have no key card access to the file room on the other side of the fence, as expected. somebody from payroll asked me if i could let them in to look for a box, but the system wouldn't allow it. in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard played in a band with raj and burt at a bar mitzvah. it was followed by when howard was using a robot arm and it led to him going to the hospital. 

camera order picked up

 i placed an order for a new camera at the best buy in eagan on sunday and didn't feel like waiting nearly a week to pick it up. so i got the idea near the end of the workday to check the schedule for best buy in richfield, where it was found. they close at 6pm, so i decided to get it on the way home. it was a little off the path i normally take to get home, but i didn't mind. i was in line with those checking out, as the cashiers did order pickups as well. nothing to sign for since it was already paid for, and odd how there was no request for i.d. there was an email saying it was picked up as well. now it is a matter of when i get a look at it and start using it. this one is yellow in the front. i looked around a little while inside the stores on both days but only bought the camera. it was time to get another one because the lens wouldn't open when i was ready to get another picture in new ulm over the weekend. 

it was annoying when i arrived for work in the morning that a box wasn't picked up. it was a toner cartridge being sent to be recycled. i could tell that the driver just pushed it out of the way to open the drop-box. i called the number i had for the courier and was told to try again on leaving it next to the drop-box. it was a typical low-volume day for the first day of the week. as i was driving home i was listening to a CD as usual and when i went to eject it the disc wouldn't come out. so now i will try to see if i am able to get it out without having a mechanic do it for me. i went on a walk in the evening and found 27 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy tested their friends to see which ones were best to be in their wedding party. it was followed by the one where sheldon meets amy for the first time, it included being blackmailed with a sock by howard and raj. 

beavis and butthead movie

 i watched a DVD movie this morning, 'beavis and butthead do america'. i liked that the voice-over actors were names i recognized, as they had bruce willis, demi moore, and cloris leachman. it was much like other 'dimwit' movies i have seen, as it was a farce. alomg with how being dumb gets them in a jam, and out of a jam. they go to las vegas, the hoover dam, grand canyon, and yellowstone before reaching the nation's capital. i watched some of the special features, and much like many of the others i was mainly interested in the theatrical trailers. i watched some of the pro football games as well, starting off with chargers vs. the bucs. chargers got a pick-6, my favorite play of the game, and led when i went to do laundry, but i found out they eventually lost. the second game was colts-bears, and the bears lost 19-11. the bears game was listed in the paper as 12noon but it may have been moved back due to a game being moved to monday- patriots vs. chiefs- due to both teams having some positive covid tests. during my walks i found 12 cents. i fell asleep for a while in the early evening but woke up in time to hear the segment on '60 minutes' with comedian jerry seinfeld. there was mention of his being inspired by seeing the world's fair in new york city in 1964. in the morning i returned the rental car, but it was more of a chore than expected. i like filling up at the airport gas station just before returning it, but i found out it was closed. so i had to find another gas station, farther away.  

rosedale mall photo booth

 this morning started off with picking up a rental car at the airport. after this it was on to errand running, such as picking up orders at the post office. there were four, one of them was from amazon, a charlie brown DVD. just before midday i made it to rosedale mall in roseville as i wanted to use the photo booth there. i was inspired not only by the recent cleanup- where i had found previous strips from photo booths- but also the music video 'where i stood' by missy higgins. i held up a sign while there saying 'life during the pandemic' and under this was how it is oktoberfest weekend, my annual visit to new ulm. there was an unexpected souvenir found when claiming the 2 strips- there were 2 others of a young lady still in the slot. guess this can serve as inspiration for my writings. i still wanted godfather's pizza this weekend so it meant the next stop was the bobby and steve's in minneapolis. i figured that the lunch buffet in st. peter might not be happening, due to the times we live in. the gas station was a carnival atmosphere, likely to drum up business for the repair shop part of the establishment. i ate in the car and finished before i left the parking lot, then it was clear sailing all the way to new ulm. 

i made it to town later in the day than i normally do, around 3pm. the visitor center was closed, but i still found my way around fairly well as i have been to this town many times before. there was an official guide available and i claimed a copy. i found the venue where 'music in the steps' was happening, a former school building that is now a performing arts place. it was on the same street as turner hall. the band played plenty of familiar songs, such as 'folsom prison' by johnny cash, '16 tons' by tennessee ernie ford, and '8675309' by tommy tutone. i briefly left to see the final show of the day at the glockenspiel, the clock tower. then i was back as it was time to pick up my food order, i pre-ordered it from turner hall before starting the drive there. good food, it was bratwurst and sauerkraut and spaetzle, and apple strudel. i went back inside state street theater and ate at the will call counter. i still made it to some other familiar places in town, such as german park. i mailed the order form for a brick earlier in the day. when i arrived at the park i noticed some teenage girls trying to do a video jumping together near the fountain. i also found the baseball field as the guide mentioned a renovation there. and i had some superman ice cream at 'mn eis', a place that was on TV. i told the girl serving me to hold onto her enthusiasm throughout life, as she laughed easily when i was trying to figure out what to order. then it was to the post office to mail postcards, one to myself and the other to my dad. i wanted to let dad know i finally ordered the brick, not only honoring my annual visits for oktoberfest but also his uncle. he told the story of his uncle hopping trains during the depression, including this town. 

i also made it to sleepy eye, just west of there, to see the linus statue. couldn't find at first as it was dark, and the lights were off not only at the library, but also the hardee's across the street. linus had a mask on, a reminder of the times we live in. when i made it back to new ulm i figured i would just go to the bathroom and leave, but found out i could get in free to the ballroom as there was just 30 minutes left in the show. the band playing was 'church of cash' a johnny cash tribute band i had seen before. the frontman spoke of being from new ulm. i asked for the song 'hurt', and they did play it eventually. i had a schell's beer and a pretzel there. then it was on the road, and i made one stop as i was getting tired. it was at a gas station in jordan, and it was helpful to get out of the car and walk around a little and go to the bathroom. thankful i did this annual event, as so many others were canceled due to the pandemic. as usual i enjoy my time there. it might be that i am out of town and i once told myself to 'act differently, enjoy yourself'- have a different mindset. and something about festivals. i must have arrived at an understanding that it is best to celebrate who i am and stop being ashamed all the time and hiding 'behind a cloak of degradation' whatever it is, new ulm is a special place for me. 

badland movie

 i watched a DVD movie tonight, a redbox rental, 'badland'. i was going through the listings in alpha order and thankfully i found something early. i said that a western, with bruce dern and mira sorvino, would be a good one. trace adkins is in it as well. the main character was a pinkerton detective hunting down war criminals. the story was told in four chapters, the second and third were longer than the other two. plenty of shooting in it, no surprise when it is a western. and the price works well for me, with a discount code i got it for under a dollar for one night. i said 'sometimes you just need to try again' when there was a problem with it coming out of the machine. it said 'something went wrong'- first time i have seen this happen. but it still ends well, didn't feel like going to another machine anyway. of course it has nothing to do with a movie with almost the same name- 'badlands'- martin sheen is in that one. when i was searching it online after seeing it i saw this pop up. at work it was a slower day than the previous one, no problem with that as it is easier to breathe. in the evening after i got back from the hy-vee in eagan i went on a walk and found 29 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy consider getting married at the courthouse but decide against it at the last minute. it was followed by when leonard tells penny the story of how he became sheldon's roommate. i also listened to some of the baseball playoff game on the radio when driving to the grocery store. i was surprised to get KMOX, the st. louis cardinals flagship, this far north. cardinals were in a scoreless tie with the padres for a while, they were trailing 1-0 when i got home and i found out they lost 4-0 so their season has ended. 

walgreen loyalty program

 i saw an email saying the walgreen loyalty program will be changing soon. i know this has happened with other programs i have used before, such as the ones at speedway and super-america. of course i want to keep the points i already have, and it does mention having to enroll in the new program for the points to roll over. i happened to go to walgreen, near my workplace, at lunchtime today for a snack. an ice cream sandwich and a drink. it was a busy day getting caught up at work, starting off with two big files that arrived late wednesday due to I.T. issues. and there was the team huddle, and after it was a meeting about UPS fees. looks like needing to check a different box when it is being delivered to a residential address. there was also a skype message, and an in-person visit, from two different people late in the day. had to let them know that i had already sent the mail tubs out. had to because the pick-up man will ring the doorbell and ask where they are if they aren't there. in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends tried to get bitcoin off an old laptop. it was followed by when sheldon's friend and science colleague visits, who was called 'dr. slut-bunny' by penny.