conflicting dial-ins

i had two dial-in meetings this morning, scheduled for the same time. the way i handled the conflict was to do the one with my boss first, as it was about the midyear evaluation. it was scheduled on short notice, but it didn't take long, about seven minutes. then it was on to the other one, with facilities management. we now have an interim director. i said i liked attending the events where an app is not needed to register for it, such as the popcorn event most months. going through an app started this calendar year, and it is not compatible with my phone, so i said i had to 'bow out' of many events. in the evening i went to eat at cane's chicken in Eagan, then went to get groceries at the nearby Hy-Vee. there is plenty that i have planned for the weekend, and i shared some of that when asked by the cashier that recognizes me.  

korea coin

 in the morning i was between buses on getting to work, on layover in downtown St. Paul near the hockey arena. on my way to the next bus stop i passed by a pay station and saw coins on the pavement. i picked up all four and noticed two were American dimes. those went into my change bank when i got home. the other two were foreign coins, one i could tell right away was from Ecuador. the other had Asian characters on it. i googled it on my phone once the bus ride began and found it. i entered Chinese 100 coin and found out it was a Korean 100-won coin. both of these foreign coins were about the size of an American quarter. i keep seeing online how the exchange rate for the Korean coin would value it as being a little less than one of the dimes. but i like having it, and this is how i get most of the foreign coins i have- dumb luck. seeing them while out and about.  

taxidermy stories

 i went to perform at an open mic tonight, first time in a while at this venue, although at one point i frequented it. there were some wild card slots but i didn't know that many people besides the MC, magic man. got a fist bump from the show closer, who i guess will be a performer at shows for the rest of the week. notable about the show was one of these wild card performers, or replacement for a no-show, did stories about taxidermy. we spoke after the show, enjoyed each other's sets. when i spoke of being an Iowa native, she said she was too, from Clinton, in eastern Iowa. it felt great being onstage there again, and much like after being in st. louis i didn't want the night to end. it was likely why i stopped at a nearby holiday gas station before going home to get a juice drink, some cheese, and two hash browns. 

security cashiering

 at work i went through the returned checks and there was some refund checks sent to me by the mailroom as well. two were marked as such, and two others as 'security cashiering'. when vacation replacement was notified, all four were moved on. there were donuts on another floor for my boss and another member of our team. when i went to get one i noticed how no one said anything, i figured i would have been recognized, especially by the team lead as the donuts were on a table next to her cube. there were a thousand checks from the Jacksonville file, normally their daily volume is 20 so i had to ask the business line if it was a 'one-off' and copied my boss on it. in the response, it sounded like it was. had to ask as we had enough envelopes to cover it but not if it was a larger 'special project'. 

consecutive rental returns

 i checked the voicemail on my phone and found out my car was ready so i went over to the dealer to pick it up in the evening. i turned in the rental or loaner car as well, and it meant consecutive days where i had turned one in since i was out of town over the weekend. i went to have ice cream in my neighborhood after i got home. 

headphones, flying home

 i began the day in St. Ann, Missouri, at my hotel, the Wingate. it was nice having another continental breakfast there. as usual, i liked how there wasn't much planned for the final day in town after i had eaten. i showered and then packed up and checked out of the hotel, then it was on to returning the rental car. i made it to the airport with plenty of time to check in for the flight home. i was smart enough to ask for headphones this time, found out i needed them to listen to the music available from the seat-back. there were plenty of genres available, i mostly listened to the two that were marked as alternative. notable to me was finding a song i wasn't familiar with, it was Paramore's 'misery business'. the title caught my eye. it was loud and fast, but sometimes i am in the mood for that. my friends were out of town, but after i landed at MSP i saw a photo from their safari in Africa, it was a cheetah. first order of business was getting lunch as it was midday, from panda express. i saw a photo booth near a snoopy statue and got a photo as there was an america-250 background for it. it was the second photo booth of the weekend, the first being at the city museum. and i bought two Charlie Brown items at another place, one was a candy bar with peppermint patty and Marcie on the wrapper. at first i didn't want to leave as i didn't want the trip to end, but i told myself i needed to get on the bus and go home as the longer i stay the more money i spend. i had chores and errand running to do at home. there were stops at three different grocery stores. first was Aldi, then after performing at a friend's open-mic i went to Hy-Vee and a Cub Foods. in the rush to get in and out of Aldi, i didn't get everything i needed. but the item count was lower at the other two, four and two items respectively. and as for cub, i wanted a state fair ticket but the customer service counter was closed for the night. i still bought two boxes of Chex cereal there as they still had a few boxes remaining with Charlie Brown and snoopy characters on them. i called my dad in the evening and i spoke of the trip, and i was asked if i had visited the brewery but i did not. i said i did recall a trip to that city when i was a teenager when Dad spoke of getting a weird call in the middle of the night. 

old capitol, st. charles

 i made it to two museums for the day. the second stop was in the afternoon, the old capitol in St. Charles. it didn't look much like a capitol building, no dome on it, but it served as a capitol for just five years. the part of town reminded me of the antique shops in Stillwater, or even historic sections of New Orleans or Charleston, SC. i did a tour after picking up some lunch at a gas station a few blocks away, including some small white castle burgers. i parked blocks away near the Lewis and Clark museum close to the river, as this was the closest available parking i was aware of. after having continental breakfast at the hotel, including a 'make your own waffle', i went to pick up the rental car. this made it much easier to see two museums, especially when neither one was served by public transport. the first stop was the red cedar inn, on the former route 66 in a town called pacific. both properties are listed on the national register of historic places, and i bought some postcards at both. i knew i needed to get back on the road after the second museum, drive back to the hotel so i could take the light rail from the airport to the stadium. the cardinals won, blanking Cincinnati, 7-0. and i noticed more music while out and about. there were two songs in the rental car, there was 'two princes' by spin doctors, and 'under pressure' by David Bowie and queen. at the stadium it was Paul Simon's 'call me al'. and it was another night of drinking a can of beer while back at my hotel, while writing about what i did for the day. both were Anheuser products, no problem finding them when it is near where they are brewed. it was a Budweiser select, then a Busch light. i liked finding both at the gas station near the hotel. but i didn't need to get peanuts the second night, after claiming a big bag at the stadium.