canada check tracking

 one thing i was asked to do was look up a tracking number, after the recipient claimed that it didn't arrive. this was going to Canada, as i recall suburban Toronto. i found out it was delivered. then i researched a little further, and this gave the address. almost the same, but not quite. guess it means it was delivered to a neighbor. not sure what this means for the requestor of the information, as all i do is give it out. unable to stop payments or do a replacement check. this was also a day of three meetings. i like how most days there are no meetings. one was a team huddle; it was a dial-in as the boss is still in California. i did state how it worked to cut the Fargo file in half. then there was a town hall, was told it was mandatory but i barely paid attention to it as i wanted to stay ahead on my normal duties. around midday i was a little paranoid about the third and final one as all it said in the title was 'touch base'. then i found out it was the annual pay rate meeting with the boss. it didn't last the full allotment of 30 minutes but i didn't mind. looks like i am getting a small raise, but i did admit that i don't look at the pay stubs that much. i did go into the workday site to look at one and then at least i know where to look to confirm that it will take effect soon. it was under the 'earnings' tab that i can look for it. i know it is just my take-home pay that i see on the bank statement. 

file cut into thirds

 i tried one thing on a Fargo file that was suggested at the recent dial-in, it was to cut the file in half. the file was over four thousand checks, and actually i decided to cut it into thirds. this worked just fine, as no duplicated checks printed. i let i.t. know about it and was asked if i had let the entire team know. i said the ticket was closed and the best place to leave the notes would be on the ticket. for this reason, this colleague re-opened the ticket for me and i added these notes to it. the two Vermont checks from last week were picked up. since i didn't know too well who it was i asked their name and said i like getting the right checks to the right people. she did say Vermont checks and i was sent an I.M. in advance so i knew to be expecting someone to arrive fairly soon. vacation replacement sent an inter-office envelope to the shop near the end of the day. this was after i had started the inserter machine to get the rest of the checks ready to go into tubs and then to the mailroom. i watched the state of the union address in the evening. the American men's hockey team, the recent Olympic gold medal winners, were one of the honored guests that showed up. there were some awards presented as well, as i recall a purple heart and two congressional medals of honor. good or bad, when i saw this happen i kept thinking of the movie 'Forrest Gump' in terms of what lt. dan said when hearing how Forrest got one. not a new thing for this president, at an earlier state of the union a medal of freedom was presented. at this one there was mention of plans to award the medal of freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to the goalie on the Olympic hockey team. 

it was after kickoff

 i notified someone in i.t. about a high-volume Fargo check file, usually it is low volume early in the week. i was asked if it was after kickoff, and it was. i had already printed some of the file by then. this must have made it harder to monitor what is happening in 'real time' in terms of why the printer has been stopping and then starting over. the same issue happened, about three quarters of the way through a file of about three thousand checks. thankful i caught it early and this minimized the number of duplicated checks that had printed. vacation replacement asked me for a contact for a business line based in Kansas City. it was one that i don't have to communicate with much as their file usually arrives just once a week. in the evening i went to perform. i did stories about a meetup event, girl scout cookies, the annual meeting, the bank, ramen noodles, and fish fries. 

9-volt battery

 this morning i bought a 9-volt battery from the corner store, along with a roll of toilet paper. the smoke alarm was keeping me up overnight as the battery was weak. when i got back from this shopping trip i turned on the TV as the gold medal game in the Olympic hockey tournament was happening, the men's division. the American team beat Canada 2-1 in overtime. team USA scored the first goal in the first period, Canada tied it in the second, and no goals in the third. the winning goal was early in overtime. it was annoying when the announcers said 'Canada was taking over the game' when they never led. this was said after the tying goal. with a low scoring game, one must give credit to the goalies for stopping shots. this was the final day of the winter Olympic games from Italy. once again, much like two years ago, i didn't watch all that much. if it was on at the bar on a night when i was performing, then i might watch some of it there. this was the only day when i watched it at home. since i was up early to watch the game, i was tired and i fell asleep for about two hours just before midday. then i had the urge to go out and about. i went to Eagan and had lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken. then i printed two pages at the copy store and went to the Barnes and Noble. i found the special magazine i was looking for, the 'year in review' by time magazine. i got another stamp on my loyalty account there. i watched a 'best of' show that NBC had in the afternoon, much of it profiled American athletes. then it was time to attend a meetup event, my first for this month. it was officially held at a 'spirits place', as that is where i got my nametag from the event coordinator. but i prefer beer and went to the nearby micro-brewery. while there i got a box of girl scout cookies. i like peanut butter, and there are two kinds in this category, i got the one in the orange box. i had pizza at home for the evening meal. i didn't do much in the evening, besides the dishes. 

ramen and spam

 in the evening i did one thing that i don't do that often, cook on the stove top. because i like using my microwave oven a lot. i recently bought ramen noodles and spam and needed to see how well it works. i used two pans as i fried the spam, it meant flipping the patties a lot. i did this while the ramen noodles were boiling. i hadn't tried ramen since before college, when i went to visit my big brother. i think the word i am looking for is 'bland' as to why i didn't have them again for a while. when i was googling ramen in the 'Japan store' before buying it i found out a good meat to go with it is pork shoulder, which is spam. this did give it plenty of flavor. one notable thing was the smoke alarm going off, but i waved the smoke away when this happened. i was nearly finished by then. there are three more ramen packets to use. it might have been a little much to boil two packets as i had to slow down when the plate was nearly empty as i was feeling full. there was plenty to do for the day. just before midday i went to the post office and i picked up an e-bay order, it was the 'America 250' flag that i had ordered. this was larger than the 'desk flag' that i had expected but i didn't mind. i had lunch at home as i had an egg roll and potato chips left. over. it would normally have been eaten on Friday but i went to a fish fry that night. then it was on to Eden Prairie for the annual meeting of the credit union that i am a member of. the keynote speaker had lost a leg due to cancer as a youngster but has traveled the world as an athlete, including the Paralympics. i liked what was said about getting ready for the surgery, refusing the wheelchair, wanting to walk there by himself. after the evening meal i went to Aldi for groceries. then i watched a DVD, it was 'breakfast at tiffany's'. i hear that it is part of a 'flashback cinema' series and good thing i checked what discs i already have. i hadn't seen it in a while. first time was in college, after the song of the same name was popular. i liked the neighbor the most, who took care of her. when i first saw it i said 'that's the old man from A-team', George Peppard. holly, played by Audrey Hepburn, wasn't as likeable as she was a 'hot-mess' and living a lie. trying to be a socialite, wanting to forget that she grew up unsophisticated in the south. a reminder of it was when her estranged husband shows up. 

deviled eggs, 6-pack

 in the evening i went to the Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries and i found a six-pack of deviled eggs and bought it. i am used to seeing them at potlucks. i will have two per day until they are gone. it was one of eight items in this order. and i made a visit to Walgreen in the morning, but it was a smaller order. there were two checks that i knew i needed to hold for pick-up but i had to contact customer service to find out who it was for. usually, the name is there. i will keep them in an envelope as the colleague spoke of wanting to pick them up next week. late in the day i emailed the mailroom boss as i needed more interoffice envelopes. i like knowing that i don't have to ask for them that much. i am sent plenty when i ask for them. there were questions about overnights from the Cincinnati file. with one of them i had to explain that there was just one UPS pick-up per day, and one check just missed this pick-up, and it was picked up the next day. when i first checked the tracking number it said it was on the way and then i checked a little later and it was delivered. odd how the others on the email thread claimed they couldn't find this information when entering the same tracking number that i had. another was by i.m. in the afternoon. once i found out the payee, i said i had the check and the overnight label so had what i needed. i said it would go to the box later on and would likely be picked up same day. there was a dial-in meeting about the ticket opened due to the check printer stopping and starting over on high-volume files. one thing suggested was to 'cut the file in half'. i have tried this before and when the volume is high again i can try it. there was also a request to intercept a check from a fraud file but i didn't get the request in time so it still went out regular mail. had to be honest about how i need it as early as possible. 

steelcore shovel

 i have a steel core shovel for the snow, thankful to have it even though i don't have to use it all that much. i used it this morning to dig out my car and then i was on my way to the park and ride to get to work. i liked how it didn't take all that long, under ten minutes. it helps that it has a scoop that is two feet wide, and it is a sturdy handle as well. i think all of my colleagues decided to work from home due to the weather. it was why i was asked to go to another floor and pick up the reject fax. then of course i take it back to the shop and scan and forward it to a shared box. i overnighted a check when i saw this request on it, even though it was from a file where i don't get that many kinds of requests. i was asked by i.m. if it was overnighted, and i said it was. then i gave out the tracking number. i said it is easier to send the tracking when it is available when i am emailed. also increases the odds that it will be pulled and overnighted. on another overnight, the manager that sings karaoke was notified about a check going to a fort in Maryland. looks like it was delivered in the morning, earlier in the day than expected. i knew it must have been a big deal when a senior leader was copied on the email thread. i drank the bottle of pilsner urquell with the evening meal so now there are three beers waiting.