follow the trucks

 when i was trying to get to a UPS facility tonight after work, i figured it was best to follow three of their trucks to it. this left me at the entrance that wasn't for customers, which was at the next light. but when i get there, i see a sign on the door saying they started closing early, at 6pm, as of february. so getting a box of overnight envelopes wasn't possible. i did take some out of the drop-off box in front of this customer entrance though. training a vacation replacement still isn't going well, still falling behind on work for various reasons. there was a last-minute meeting about mail i was invited to in the early afternoon although i didn't have much to say, it hardly seemed to concern me at all. service call was made on the envelope stuffer, as it kept saying it was blocked when it wasn't. sensor calibration was done. tech wasn't there for long, an hour. all of this may have been why i did more ranting than typical when i was performing tonight. i was on near the end of the night. then the show runner went on a rant of his own about dancing, saying he tried to teach dudes to dance in order to make them more attractive to the ladies. during my walks i found 50 cents.

jersey boys movie

 mid-morning i watched a DVD movie, a recent purchase from the closing video store, 'jersey boys'. i recognized christopher walken in it, as a mobster. it was the story of the music act known as the four seasons. i had heard of frankie valli, best as a solo act doing the theme song to the movie 'grease'. this song was not in the movie. some of the four seasons songs in the movie i had heard before, such as 'big girls don't cry'. i noticed how director clint eastwood got himself in the movie as there was a clip from 'rawhide'. the lasting impression was the troublemaker in the group, tommy, who had a big debt to another mobster. frankie kept him in the group due to loyalty from being in the old neighborhood. the closing credits say it was based on a play, and some actors reprised their role from the play. it ends with them re-uniting to perform in 1990 at their rock and roll hall of fame induction. 

   the other notable event from the day was attending another show in the minnesota fringe festival. it was the final day and it was the fifth show i attended in the 11-day run. it was the one that was a satire of podcasts, held in the basement of the u o m rarig venue. i had some potato skins from the vending machine before the show. i was recognized by the box office manager, who i had worked with on day one. and i was thanked by another front of house employee for volunteering, as i was using my volunteer pass. capping this year's festival with a silly show like this one works for me. after the show i stopped at mall of america on the way home and got some ice cream. dairy queen was closed, but the place next to it was open, where i earned some airline miles. during my walks i found 2 cents.

love 105 prom cruise

 this evening i went on the love-105 prom cruise. i bought the ticket on may 8, after the first postponement and before the second. it was at padelford landing on harriet island in st. paul. some things about it looked familiar, as i reminded myself i had been on this boat before, an event through my (then) employer many years ago. it was a good deal, not only the boat ride but also a meal. i paid ten dollars to park nearby, as the irish fair was happening on the island as well. this made the walking over to the landing harder to navigate, but i made it with plenty of time to spare. i liked how i found some people my age there, as all too often at meetup events i do not. there was two couples, j and a, then r and a, where i chatted with them for a while. with the former we were both at the DJ table, i put in a request for cyndi lauper's 'time after time'. with the first couple i was told that they had won tickets, and i liked sharing about some of the concerts i had attended over the years. a tip-off that the dude was my age was hearing how we had both attended smashing pumpkins shows. with the latter couple, the lady did most of the talking, at first about her line of work, in radiology but not as a doctor. later on she wanted to dance, and ended up dancing by herself as her hubby does not dance and i turned her down. i recognized some landmarks along the way such as the 35-E bridge, close to the lilydale, route 13 exit. along with the 'airport parking' ramp in big red letters. of course the (former) schmidt brewery sign, and i liked the way the st. paul skyline looked when lit up at night when we made it back to the island. i felt myself tingle when i heard bob seger's 'against the wind' during the event, reminding me of 'forrest gump' when forrest is doing all of the running. i will have to look up what other cruises these radio stations have as i heard about a karaoke cruise and of course karaoke interests me. 

   i had other things to do before then, made a list of four stops to make. the post office, where two orders were picked up. a UPS store in eagan, where i found more overnight envelopes to use at work. then lunch at home, then the other two. aldi for groceries, finally comcast to return the modem. i let them know my laptop does not charge with their modem being used so i have to go with the internet provider where my laptop battery does charge. i made it to the liquor store nearby as well, got a can  of icehouse so now there are four beers waiting. during my walks i found 1 dollar 40 cents.

medical delivery van

 there was two supply deliveries in the morning, less than an hour apart. one of these was the check stock, in a little van with a sticker on the door saying it also did medical deliveries. the driver said this was happening more often due to covid. it should have been an easy day at work but there seemed to be interruptions throughout the day that put me behind on my work. it was things like asking for check copies or a very late request to pull a check from a file. i didn't mind when the envelopes and check stock arrived since i prefer in the morning when i have more time to get caught up on my normal duties. i am running low on overnight envelopes and the order i placed last week has not arrived. i am trying to think of what is to be done about it, such as what stores might have them for sale such as hopefully office supply stores. nine items bought when i went to hy-vee, and much like at walgreen this week i am already seeing halloween candy for sale. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 53 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon and amy stayed home, disappointed that their theory had been apparently disproven decades earlier.

napa almond chicken salad

 near the end of the work day i got an i.m. from the customer service boss, the one that likes baseball and karaoke. she also has a tat on a shoulder blade, something i noticed when passing by when she once was moderating a meeting. the fluid bottle order somehow was delivered to her area. so i said i would investigate and it meant bringing up a cart as i knew it would be two bottles. while there she said there was sandwiches left over from a meeting, from panera bread. i chose the napa almond chicken salad. i knew i couldn't chat for long so i said thank you by i.m. when i got back to the shop. there was one visitor to the shop, just before midday, wanting iron mountain boxes for storage. i said it was 'some assembly required' and they were still in the zip ties, ten were claimed. i let my boss know about it as there are not too many visitors to the shop. it was easier to get my work done, as expected, since nobody dropped in, and there was nobody to train. as the trainee was working from home. i drank the can of modelo with the evening meal so now three beers are waiting. i watched 'young sheldon' as usual and i clapped twice during this one. it was the lead-off episode of the season, where the mom says 'i have had enough' and leaves church during the service. then sheldon points out hypocrisy. i clapped the second time when she closes the door on the preacher when he tries to talk to her at her family's home. during my walks i found 75 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon tried to learn comedy and construct the perfect joke. it was followed by the one where sheldon tries to bond with amy's parents while anu tells raj 'shower with me, raj!'

condescending show card

 went to see fringes how number four tonight, at the rarig venue. it was the burlesque show. my review said it left a lot to be desired. i am used to burlesque shows being way less than 16 performers. i also found the show card to the condescending, it encouraged the audience to cheer while the performers are dancing. i think most people are smart enough to cheer at a live performance, be it sports concerts or theater, whenever they see something they like. it also seemed to be wrong to be throwing tips onstage. it can be hard to tell what is being thrown, it could just as easily be garbage. one of the performers was morbidly obese and another had pronoun tattoos on their bottom. a lady was crying when the monologues about what burlesque is were done but it didn't land with me. as i have said the same things about performing so it wasn't in any way unique to burlesque. the show ran short and was filled in with more advertising for the troupe. after the show i had to deal with an idiot who was in my way when i was trying to leave the venue. i said there were better places to check your phone. training a vacation replacement isn't going well as we are still falling behind each day. and it doesn't help when a colleague keeps dropping in as i am pretty much forced to take an unscheduled break. the trainee missed the UPS training by being off on the time zone difference for when it began. during my walks i found 23 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when the ladies were in the playhouse with bernadette, and howard knew about it but didn't say anything.

another supply order delay

 it had been a week since i had placed the supply order and i hadn't seen anything so i followed up and it wasn't done, again. the new person claimed to be busy but didn't tell anyone. good thing i have copied the previous colleague in charge of it, who took care of it again. i was going to ask about it even if my boss didn't ask me. there was another high volume file drop from the fargo business line and much like before, no warning. i am still waiting to hear how much to order for that one. training someone can be tough especially when there are too many cooks. not just my boss but this time a colleague wandered in to the shop claiming to be bored. the colleague seemed to be unaware that we were just getting started, was only the second full day. so i still did what i could off to the side, things that still needed to be done and eventually the colleague went back to another floor. in the evening i went on a walk and found 66 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon had amy taken off her own project, and we see bob newhart guest star, wanting to be at a deli.