State Fair Day #2

Had a date at the state fair today, used up the $17.50 of state fair bucks from the company outing last week. Liked getting pork chop on a stick of course, found out Amy K, the senator, likes it as well. It was mentioned in a TV interview we saw at WCCO. Also picked up some John Deere popcorn and a can of black pepper Spam. We also found all of the 13 real estate signs in the history walking tour, got a voucher for 2-for-1 tickets at a historic site. After a day at the fair I left her there so she could attend the Toby Keith concert at the grandstand, I went on to a comedy club. Liked meeting a family on the bus on the way back. When I spoke of the Charlie Brown statue search he said his ex-wife was part of the effort to get sponsors.

    Heard a song on my car radio today that I liked, 'Use Your Love' by the Outfield. The guitar intro is great, once of the best I've ever heard besides 'Owner of a Lonely Heart' by Yes.

    Besides the fair, we did get more statue pictures for the Charlie Brown and Snoopy project. We are now over 100, at 104 if I'm not mistaken, since we found 14 today. Five of these were at the fair, the other 9 were at offices open 'banker's hours' so this was the best day available to find them. We aren't out of ideas just yet, which feels good. Since we went to the fair after those offices, we reached the century mark at the fair. Also got tickets for a St. Paul Saints playoff game on Sunday, game 4 if necessary. But the only way it isn't played, when a best of five series, is if there is a sweep. So the odds are fairly high that it will be played, but must check the news to find out.  

Annual Meeting at Loft

Attended the Loft annual meeting tonight in Minneapolis. Saw a former instructor there, it was a reminder of how much had changed in my life since taking that class 4 years ago. I started doing comedy since then. Also notable: the class was around the time of the 35W bridge collapse. Pleased that he recognized me, wasn't expecting that but this has happened before. I trust this is a good thing, leaving a lasting impression, though I once heard a joke in response saying they had seen me on 'America's Most Wanted'. I haven't been on the show, so of course it was a joke. But still a good story to tell. This instructor did a critical writing class, I went to an open house event and another instructor said I was good for the class and was right. I am still surprised at times what I'm good at, but as the saying goes you'll never knoe until you try. I like being straightforward about what works and what doesn't, without being mean. It's also surprising about what relevance I am finding about events from before I started the blog, events I hadn't written about yet. It gives me hope that I can continue to find good subjects to write about for a while, one concern that writers have is experiencing writer's block. It was nice adding another stickie to the timeline of Loft history, found out the one from last year was still there and didn't want to duplicate it, this time I spoke of doing comedy as well, relevant to writing.
   The Kesha show was tonight at Wilkins Aud in St. Paul, I had to pass due to the scheduling conflict. But I did go to Cheapo after the event and got 2 CDs, one was a Pink CD which had 'Get This Party Started' on it, a reminder of seeing Chicago Wolves hockey games when living there. The other had James Bond movie songs, liked 'View to a Kill' by Duran Duran, the liner notes said it was a #1 hit.

Binoculars and Tape

After coming back from  the comedy club tonight I was cleaning out my car as usual. Besides the food wrappers I brought in binoculars and tape, left over from the weekend. I've had the Bushnell binoculars for a while, got them at a liquidation sale about a decade ago. The label on the tape said '3M packaging tape' and finally I'm using it as I had 2 rolls but the other finally reached the end of the line earlier this year. It does remind me of an article I've read online about how sometimes it's best to shop in your own home before anywhere else, as one might already have what you need. I've made this mistake before, buying 2 copies of the same book, or I once had 2 denim jackets. I try to buy just what I need for the near future, including for soap and toilet paper as well even though those items don't cost much. Next Monday is Labor Day, so the club is closed but I'm sure I will find other things to do with the evening off.

3 Home Runs

Went to the Twins game today, they beat Detroit 11-4. The 3 home runs helped, as all had runners on. Not a big fan of home runs unless there's 1 or 2 on, then it's a bigger impact. There was an alumni event at the bar called 'The Loop' a few blocks away before the game. There was a drawing, a $5 buy-in on the raffle, 7 items, but didn't win. The price of the game tickets included pizza and drinks, we ordered pepperoni, thin crust.

   I was tired after the game, fell asleep while dinner was being made. I later helped with dinner, stirring the cheesy rice. 'Simpsons' episode was about magicians and peaches. Also watched an episode of 'History Detectives' that my date had taped for me. Much like before, I liked the history being covered. It was about the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, vandalism of an Andrew Jackson bust on the ship known as 'Old Ironsides', and a Native American Indian weaved basket.
  The errand running after the date included grocery shopping, but it was a smaller order compared to previous weeks as I didn't need as much. Not all of the breakfast and lunch food was used up yet. I buy less if there are items left as I prefer to use just what is needed for the week.

Breakfast at Perkins

Had breakfast at a Perkins this morning, was meeting family who was in town for the Twins game. It took some time to figure out what else to do for the rest of the day. But the day filled up well, used up a gift card from Bed Bath and Beyond to get a bookcase. I've had my car for over 8 years and just learned something about it when trying to cart the bookcase home: it has fold-down back seats from the trunk.  

Then it meant getting it assembled, which thankfully wasn't too difficult. Just needed a hammer and some screwdrivers. It is 5 shelves. Also made it over to the Borders in Woodbury for the liquidation sale, I got 2 'anthology' history books and a day-by-day Charlie Brown calendar. In the evening we saw a DVD, an episode of 'Little House' where Johnny Cash was a guest star. It led me to sharing another memory of being at the fair, as somebody at the nearby bandshell was playing Cash songs. But I didn't like how he started 'Ring of Fire' then switched to 'Folsom Prison' midway through 'Fire'. I said I wanted to hear 'Tennessee Flat Top Box' but it wasn't played. Found out it was the same song my date hadn't heard in a while. I really like the guitar interlude in it. Still not sure why her dad thought about walking out of 'Walk the Line', something about how it was too real. I will admit it was hard to watch in some areas, but I really liked the music in it, as it was like just being at a concert.

Ring of Honor

I presented 'ring of honor' pictures to coworkers who were in them. Also brought in one that was already framed, it was the 'long lost twin' of a coworker. The other is a college roommate, and both are sarcastic farmboys. It was from when he got married 11 years ago.

   I made it over to a Blockbuster Video store nearby tonight after work as I had read in the paper how it was closing. It was due to losing their lease, since of course the buyout by Dish Network was in April, which helped them exit bankruptcy protection. I bought a bag of microwave popcorn and a DVD, 'Winter's Bone'. Saw it at the theater last year and I still speak of it well, since many of the characters reminded me of people I knew growing up in small-town Iowa.

   On the date tonight we watched a movie after dinner, 'It's Complicated'. I was told that I was a lot like the Steve Martin character, and I did see this as the mannerisms were quite similar. Some parts of the movie were more fun than others, I liked the funny parts more than the serious when of course the serious parts were divorce-related.

Parking Lot Pill Whiner

Sent a photo order to Walgreen tonight after being at the state fair today, the opening day, for a team building event. When I picked it up I saw somebody in the truck next to me swearing and said he was ready to go crazy as he said he had been looking for a pill for an hour. Even if he was talking to me, I didn't talk to him. I got in my car, locked the door, and left. Wanted to get out of there right away.

   It was an unusual day, as we had 3 hours of work then on to the fairgrounds. It was long enough to get the payoff reports submitted. I took a bus over there, one I had taken a few times but not too often. It let me out about a block from the main entrance, and since we were given an hour to get there and it took me about 20 minutes I was early. But I liked it that way. The team building event was a scavenger hunt, getting pictures of many things at the fair, including a Lucy statue over by the administration building. What I liked about it was getting 2 more pictures done for my 'ring of honor'. I had hoped to get it done at the science museum event but some of them left before I got there. And of course my workplace isn't camera-friendly so it means doing it off-site. I did walk around the fair a little with 2 of the 3 colleagues I got pictures with after the team building event was over. We used some of the fair bucks we were given, $25, for food from a Greek place in the international bazaar. Since they didn't plan on coming back at a later date, and I do, I was given their remaining bucks. One of them, a smart guy who has joined Mensa, called the fairgoers 'proletariat' and bemoaned how slow they were going.

    Eventually I left as well, after walking around a little by myself and I liked seeing a bagpipe player at O'Gara's. I had hoped to do a writer networking event at a bar in town but it was a no-go again. I showed up even earlier than before, but the event coordinator did not, so I left and went home. I felt there was no need to stay around for an event that wasn't happening.