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.
Thursday, July 30, 2026
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.
city museum, st. louis
in the morning i got on a plane and flew to st. louis for my annual visit for baseball games. i arrived before midday and wanted to fill in some time before i could check into my hotel near the airport. i went downtown, first stop was a BBQ place, i had been there before, sugar-fire. then it was on to the city museum. thankful that a ticket seller spoke of having lockers available for rent, as i used one for my travel bag. i might be cheap, but i am also practical, and i knew the fee wasn't all that much and i would feel more comfortable not having to carry the bag while touring this place. much of it was for kids, such as the slides. i went on a few but not too many. there was a carousel as well. i liked finding a section about architecture on an upper floor, including a profile about Louis Sullivan. and there was mention of a Montgomery Ward building, a former employer of mine. and there was music everywhere, at the BBQ place i liked hearing U2's 'with or without you'. it was a reminder of seeing this band in concert in this city at the hockey arena many years ago. at the museum i liked hearing Chappell Roan's 'pink pony club'. i wasn't at the hotel for long after checking in, wanted to get on the road again back to the airport for the game. cardinals were playing Cincinnati, and the cardinals lost 4-2. i liked getting a beer during happy hour at the stadium. much like when the twins have it, this is only available from gates open until first pitch and on 12-ounce cans.
sia, nostalgic for the present
in the evening i went to see a movie in Eagan, it was Sia's 'nostalgic for the present', also the name of one of her concert tours. haven't seen this musician in concert, and this movie will have to do. there are limited screenings, explaining why i was there on a weeknight. the dance choreography, acting out the songs, was really good. i was the only attendee for this screening, and now i have enough points for a reward with the loyalty program for this theater chain. i kept getting emails for weeks telling me how close i was. the songs captured the 'fragility of the human condition' well. i didn't know every song, but most of them in it. no surprise how many were from the 'this is acting' album, the most recent release as of the time that this was filmed. the song that made me take notice of this musician was likely 'elastic heart' which was in the movie. another notable one, 'guts over fear' with Eminem, was not. while watching the movie i was covering one ear to hear the songs better, i have done this before. it was what i really needed after a 'challenging' day at work to say the least. there was a meeting with a senior leader that i don't hear from that often. i didn't have a good feeling about it and was right. there were layoff notices, but i was in the group that is staying. probably know some of the people who are not. there was mention of it being due to outsourcing to India, i know another employer had done this years ago. while at the theater i did see a poster for 'nimrods', the green day movie, another music movie i am looking forward to. after the movie i drove to a Walgreen and dropped off a FedEx envelope, just minutes before closing time. i also picked up some things for myself, including two die-cast model cars. one was Charlie Brown and friends in space suits and the other was america-250. and i got some fruit punch, an ice cream bar, and cheese sticks. at work there was a dial-in meeting moderated by the CEO, and the backorder of check stock arrived.
out to lunch reply
i saw an odd 'out of office' reply in the shared box, it said 'out to lunch'. i am not used to seeing such a reply, usually it is being unavailable for the rest of the day or the full day. i went through the returned checks and notified vacation replacement about it. the case was closed on the check printer, after another tech arrived with parts. looks like the issue was some plastic from the check stock was sucked into the fan near the output tray and this is what was causing the 'hissing' sound. at least it has been handled. this was discovered after swapping maintenance kits on the two printers and there seemed to be no difference in the performance or sound of either unit. i let the manager that likes karaoke know about attending last night's Saints baseball game and the upcoming weekend in st. louis. the car went into the shop into the evening with the dealer, and i let the boss know that the recommended mechanic did not respond at all. even showed the text message to prove it.
what envelopes do we use?
i had a question from personnel in the Marshall office, it was 'what envelopes do we use?' for their checks. i said it was plain envelopes, no bank logo on them, just a return address. the boss asked about the court file, i said usually there aren't any special handling to pull out from it. a payroll check was picked up by the manager as the main contact was out of the office. the team lead was still trying to help me with logging in some volunteer hours, but i am just not getting to the screen i need to be on, and one big issue was a 'passkey'. a colleague in st. louis had asked if i had overnighted a check despite not being emailed to pull it, i said it was overnighted and i shared the tracking number. it was dropped in the box late in the day so it would likely be picked up soon enough. found out she is from Iowa like me, but from a different town, Ottumwa. there was mention of attending a bible camp in my hometown. except i had never heard of it and couldn't tell you where it was. a text was sent to a classmate about it and i was told it likely was a place where i had once seen a postcard for it online, and it would have been outside of the city limits, past the airport that i hardly ever went to. i should try to find it on my next visit, but lately those Iowa visits have been annual and i was already there in May. found all of it out due to mention of heading to st. louis soon for some baseball games. in the evening i went to the St. Paul Saints baseball game, saints lost to Columbus, 13-2. it was credit union night, and the CEO sang with the karaoke guy, the song was 'take the money and run'. nice that the beer at the sample table was Schell's, i am familiar with it from my visits to New Ulm for Oktoberfest. i also claimed a 'nacho bowl' as i was leaving the stadium, a plastic batting helmet, just needed to wash it out when i got home.
delay on getting tech
i was getting annoyed at work after creating a ticket for one of the check printers, because i had to keep justifying asking for a technician to look at it, and i was tired of all of the arguing. but then i said my boss has been notified about the delays, and not too long after that i was sent the form i needed to request one. then a tech arrived late in the workday, parts have been ordered. customer service asked for 46 check copies, this kind of volume is not typical. it was from the colleague that places supply orders for me. i liked seeing, based on check numbers, how most of them were in the same file. this made it easier to find them.