presidential beer ad

 i decided to get out a book about presidents, it was published in the 1990s. i was intrigued by one page showing a beer ad, for schlitz, with two presidents in it- ben harrison and grover cleveland. of course these were 19th century presidents. one does not see presidents endorsing products now. although i do have a postcard of a cigarette ad with reagan in it, but it was before reagan was president. i have beer postcards, the two schlitz cards were found at an antique mall near the xcel center. i understand the photos used in the book are from the library of congress. what prompted me to get out this book was due to ex-president carter being in the news since opting for hospice care. his niece has been representing the family, doing the interviews i am seeing. the notable carter photo in this book is with the older martin luther king. as expected, it was still hard to know how to fill in the time, day 6 of being on leave. i did some more word finds, then the walgreen appointment was in the mid-afternoon. i made it home just after 'jeopardy' had started, and i was pleased how things went well at the appointment. i am headed back to work in the morning, notified my boss. in the early evening i picked up some items from aldi. during my walks i found 63 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon had disputes. the first was with penny, who got 'three strikes you're out' and it ended with her calling his mom. it was followed by the one where howard is given sheldon's parking spot after being in space. 

penny press word seeks

 a big part of the day was filled with word finds. there was an extra copy of a penny press word seek i bought more than a year go i hadn't worked on in a while. i have been buying them every two months as they have had a charlie brown theme. some of the themes of the word finds do interest me, most recently it was one about famous aviators called 'pilot program'. i am also doing online surveys in the morning. when i have enough for airline miles for the month on one, i go to the other. it took longer this month because some surveys give nothing if one doesn't qualify. so i am more likely to skip those when they let you know in advance. and the mount for a survey given if not qualified went down, to 20 cents, it had been 25. so i am more likely to do surveys every day when this is the case, previously i was fine with skipping a day here and there if i was tired after work. there is also the recurring unanswered email going to the junk folder. this one said 'trying one last time'. when my name is there and not just the email, it did lead to more than just hit delete and not read, which is what i do with most in that folder. something like four times i have been asked if i am interested in chatting about franchise ownership, i am not. when i tried to unsubscribe the screen didn't look right to me. as i recall there was mention of finding me on linked-in. i haven't updated my profile in a while there, and i rarely chat with anyone on that site. sometimes i would get emails from that site inviting me to connect with an ex-coworker. except i don't miss most of my ex-coworkers. 

as expected, day 5 of being on leave wasn't much fun for me. i called the clinic in the morning and i didn't like how i was advised to try something that would no longer be helpful. in the afternoon i called my boss, said i have another appointment at a walgreen scheduled. what i didn't like was how i could hear my boss asking someone else the same question about work that i had already answered. during a walk in the evening i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we meet ramona, who is helping sheldon be more productive but is keeping him from his friends, hence playing the song 'be my yoko ono'. it was followed by the one where penny had a partner in a class, but leonard is jealous of him. then alex hits on leonard but he doesn't take it seriously.

supermarket and museum

 i was waiting for word on getting to walgreen around midday, so i passed the time by watching some charlie brown DVDs. there were two discs with valentine specials on them. one had 'no time for love', where some of the friends mistake a supermarket for an art museum. normally these aren't on the list for my annual viewing. these two were 'be my valentine' and 'charlie brown valentine'. it is likely because this isn't my most favorite holiday. i still didn't go to get a redbox rental, this can wait a little longer. i made it to hy-vee in eagan in the mid-afternoon after the walgreen appointment. when i went on a walk in the evening i found 1 dollar, all in quarters. the news had an interview with a ukraine-born conductor who was in town for a show. this time they finished airing it. tried watching it the previous day but it was pre-empted by a press conference about breaking news. 'the simpsons' was about carl and a belt buckle.

operation market garden

 there were so many things i wrote down and re-copied from my notes for the day, getting them onto a larger page. one of them was mention of 'operation market garden', found it online this week. this was a battle in world war two in europe in september 1944, in the netherlands. the air part was the 'market' and the land part of the battle was the 'garden'. guess it served some of its purposes, by liberating some parts of the continent, but not all. but we still know how the war ended. i don't recall this battle being in the history books i read. it was after d-day, and of course d-day, storming the beaches of normandy, gets plenty of attention. but i am constantly interested in learning so i am still willing to learn what i can about history, my college major. there was just two times i ventured out all day. in the morning i went to the post office, one e-bay order was there to be picked up. in the evening i placed some more orders, two on e-bay and one on amazon. the latter was for a lyle crocodile book, the one out of nine i don't have yet. the e-bay orders are still of foreign coins. i also went out late in the evening for a walk, and found 49 cents. i had a ticket for an event in the afternoon, the annual meeting of the credit union, but did not attend. i haven't been tested yet and figured it was still a good idea to skip it 'out of an abundance of caution'. i am still proud of what i got done, as the reviewing of notes had been on my list for a while. and i liked getting some things looked up, even if it was quotes from writers i couldn't read well because my handwriting can be sloppy at times. i know if it is about writing, it is likely something i found on writers almanac, from garrison keillor. another part of my notes is upcoming events, including movies of interest to me. 

i never promised you a rose garden

 i finished the book i had re-started this week, 'i never promised you a rose garden'. at times i had to stop and reflect on what i was reading, even looked up some of the words in it. but i am thankful i made it to the end. there is a movie version from the 1970s. according to wikipedia, dennis quaid and clint howard (ron's brother) are in it as baseball players. based on what i have read about the movie, it is hard to say as to if it is worth my time as it is likely hard to find. typical of going from book to movie, some things are changed or taken out. i recall finding this book when looking at resale shops when i first moved to minnesota in 2004. at some point i actually had two paperback copies, sometimes that happens where i buy a book i already have a copy of. i think what spoke to me was the title, as it is close to a song title. then it was reading the synopsis of the book, about mental illness. and we all know how mental health can be a delicate thing. parts of it are quite relatable, such as making friends with those who understand the struggle as they are going through it as well. or how sometimes it is tempting to just give up or quit because life can be hard at times. but sometimes we must fight for what is rewarding. day 4 of being on leave- hopefully the final day- meant calling to my boss to say i had an appointment to be re-tested. i was told the check shop was closed on thursday due to the weather, which is rare. it meant another day of watching 'jeopardy'. the mind exercise from this game show made being off work for a few days more bearable. i went to hy-vee in eagan in the evening, had a mask on when inside the store. lent just started, i had a place picked out each week in terms of finding a fish fry but of course this week's was scrapped. and i watched a DVD in the afternoon, 'farewell to arms', starring gary cooper, based on the hemingway novel. i had bought this disc at a gas station during one of my travels back from iowa but i think this was the first time watching it. there was plenty of previews after the film was done of other shows this company has, many of them cartoons. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends had an intervention for sheldon, who needs to learn how to drive. it was followed by the one where we see two different 'star trek' actors on 'fun with flags'- wil wheaton and levar burton- and amy, as the director, doesn't like either. 

tow-truck for a semi

 in the morning i went out to move my car for the snow ordinance. i knew it would take some time to shovel around it to get it out, so i didn't turn on the car right away. as usual, i am aware of how i don't use that big shovel too often. but i am thankful i have it whenever it is needed. in the early evening i went out to move my car again, and this is when i saw a tow truck for a semi. there are signs nearby saying 'no parking for commercial vehicles' but some do anyway. i not only got a picture of my snow-covered car in the morning, but also two of the tow truck and the semi. i drove a few miles to the gas station in the morning and then it was into my parking spot for the day. there were no calls to or form work, nothing for me to call about. clinic was closed when i tried to call, was trying to confirm the recommendation as to what day to re-test. after this i scheduled for sunday morning. there was a text from the branch manager saying the branch was closed for the day. i saw an email saying the branches at the credit union i have the car loan with would be opening late. proof of how each place is different with how they are handling the winter weather. i read some more in the book i re-started this week, 25 pages, there are about 30 left. 

another way i stayed occupied on day 3 of being on leave was listening to a lecture on zoom in the afternoon, from the american historical association. it was a 'book talk' with the author himself, an instructor at the u. of texas. there was also a moderator, as well as two other instructors who had read the book. it was about 'america's unfinished fight for democracy', trying to tie things back to the civil war of over a century ago. i was agreeing with the commentators, one of them from st. olaf, who were pointing out the flaws in the book. the author said he was writing for his students, well i am not one of them. so it sounded like he was writing for too narrow of an audience. but as a graduate of the u. of iowa, i am familiar with the old adage about college instructors: 'publish or perish'. i did take three pages of notes so there are some things that were mentioned where i can look them up and learn something from it. 

another thing of note was, as a baseball fan, seeing more spring training news from the regular email i get from MLB. there was mention of justin verlander, the only active pitcher close to reaching 300 wins, currently just under 250. it made me wonder about clayton kershaw, but he is just under 200 wins, same as adam wainwright. i am aware of how the most recent 300-game winner was randy johnson, and the 'big unit' made it with just over 300, at 303, and retired 13 years ago. there are various factors i am aware of as to why fewer pitchers reach this plateau now, although 18 of the 19 in the 3,000 strikeout club have reached that feat since the 1970s. 24 members in the 300-win club, and 10 of them added since 1982. during my walks i found 75 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj did a photo shoot for people magazine. it was followed by the one where sheldon and leonard use a 'chess clock' because the two weren't on the same page. leonard re-wrote penny's paper for a history class, she rejects it but then has bernadette and amy write it for her. sheldon is afraid of why steve hawking hadn't played in a while in their scrabble game. 

brief merit meeting

even though it was day 2 of being on leave, there was still calls to and from work. some of those as expected were from my boss. as usual, he sounds disappointed when i miss work, even though i rarely do. it explains why i was asked to move up my next appointment. well i would like to be back at work right away too. and i feel fine enough to be there, but was still advised to take it easy this week. in the afternoon, after my boss heard from payroll, there was a brief meeting about merit increases, i am getting 3 percent. i was surprised there would be such a meeting when the performance evaluation was done a few months ago. also heard from my vacation replacement in the morning, who had a question about the refund checks. and said he was likely the only one in the building due to the snowstorm. i am aware of how many do like working from home. i am doing my best to make the most of this week, by resting some of course. also read some more in the book i re-started a day ago, a hundred more pages so now there are just over 50 left. i found some clips on youtube from the movie it inspired as well. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny got addicted to a computer game inspired by 'conan the barbarian'. it was followed by the one where howard returned from space, but his friends and his mom were all too busy for him. most of his friends were doing games like pictionary, when he found them they were doing a pie-eating contest. 'the conners' was mainly about finding out harris is pregnant, and the family's reaction to the news. still some cast members such as louise are not seen, or even mentioned.