special project completed

 this was the sixth and final day of the special project. we were sending out two thousand checks per day, and this day's file was a little under that amount. as usual, i like it when special projects are done as it tends to be a lower volume of checks to print and send out. three mail tubs were sent out, and the backlog of Fargo checks went down, just a thousand. any carryover is run through first the next day. 

guthrie theater open house

 the lid-lifter for the day was the open house at the Guthrie theater. i shared a photo booth picture from the event on Facebook. then i went to the Minnesota Twins baseball game. the twins beat the white sox, 5-1. in the evening i went to perform, and after that i called my dad. 

bob uecker documentary

 in the late afternoon i drove over to Hudson, Wisconsin, and saw the documentary movie about baseball personality Bob Uecker. after the movie i stayed in town and ate at a culver's, first time at one. lunch was at Jersey Mike's. 

file won't open

 near the end of the day i was sent a UPS label but the file wouldn't open so i let them know. even if i could have printed it, there wasn't going to be much time to send it out same day. same colleague was asking for a check copy when i was out of office. i found out vacation replacement did handle it, though. the ticket opened on one of the check printers is still open, no one has arrived yet to look at it. i let them know that my manager has been notified about the delays. and now the printer is jamming in the maintenance kit area, so we definitely have a need for a tech visit. vacation replacement did the picture that was shared with others. payroll department had two people asking about checks to pick up, but there is just one to pick up currently. i said i don't know who the approvers are but i know i am most likely to get out of office replies on a Friday. in the evening i went to Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries and it looks like based on the nametag that the cashier helping me in express lane was in HR. 

dolly parton postcard, newspaper museum

 i had a day off and went to the Minnesota state fair. an early stop for me was the newspaper museum, i had picked up postcards from there before. this year there was one honoring entertainer dolly parton, who just died this week. when i sang karaoke i heard two of her songs being performed, 'Jolene', and '9 to 5'. when i sang it was 'today' by smashing pumpkins, and the song after me was hole's 'malibu'. lunch was at the Hamline dining hall, meatloaf and mashed potatoes. the evening meal was in the food, and garden building where sang karaoke, a steak poor boy sandwich. i had some ice cream from the place next to the carpet slide, and when i went down the slide i screamed like lt. dan from 'Forrest Gump' in the hurricane. many of the places i visited were familiar. there was the milk booth, all you can drink for three dollars. and the St. Paul Saints section of fan zone, where i bought a scarf and a sticker. i picked up a free magnet, a round one, at the 4-h building. and i liked doing the scavenger hunt where the prize was a magnet, it's called the 'history walking tour'. one of the twelve stops mentioned visits by President Theodore Roosevelt. at the fine arts building, my favorite was one depicting a dog, using beer bottlecaps. i went to the oink booth at the pig barn, my only visit at a animal barn. and i saw the Charlie Brown statue at the kemps farm hands exhibit. i watched the 6pm newscast for WCCO, and did a massage chair demo in the marketplace under the grandstand. while waiting my turn at karaoke i went to some nearby places, including the farm bureau building, where i got a mixing bowl utensil. i capped the day at the america-250 Ferris wheel, where i was in the Andrew Jackson gondola. all of them had a president on it. i rode with a special needs kid and his parents. i was a little nervous about being so high up in this ride but managed to do well enough by talking a lot through it. nice view up there, seeing the capitol lit up at night. i picked up three buttons throughout the day, and one of the purchased postcards was a Minnesota version of 'grace', the old man praying over his meal. 

late arrival at picnic

 i went to a picnic in the evening, it was sponsored by one of the organizations that i am a member of. it was in Como Park in St. Paul. i was a late arrival as i wanted to get to cub foods first to pick up another state fair ticket. it was the last day that the discounted advance tickets would be available. this explains why i had to wait in line a little at the customer service counter. retired postal worker spoke of having a scheduling conflict on day one and we decided to reschedule for Labor Day, the final day of the fair. i said i was still going to attend on the first day as i already had the day off from work. there were little sandwiches in a big box, i had four ham or turkey with cheese sandwiches there and took four more home with me for later meals. i didn't know anyone all that well there besides maybe the event coordinator. at work, i sent the refund checks in a UPS envelope for vacation replacement, who spoke of having a mild back injury. the tracking number was sent to a colleague that i don't know as well but she was the one who arrived to drop them off in the shop. i hadn't done these in a while but the boss confirmed the address hadn't changed on where i send them to. 

two inquiries, same check

 i know well enough not to get too loud when i see 'duplication of efforts', but i still don't enjoy seeing when it happens. this was the case for the day. the st. louis file had an overnight from Friday that i found but no one emailed me in advance. the Iowa native first asked about it, and i said it arrived on Monday. then the manager of the same department asked about the check. i said it was no big deal to check the file for special handling even if there is no email as their file is usually low volume, around 25 checks. but i also said it was harder to notify it was overnighted, and share the tracking number, if not emailed. i noticed how the check didn't have to travel far, staying in the metro area, ending up in the east metro. i said my vacation replacement likely wouldn't have searched the file if there was no email, and i had a day off coming up for the state fair. the Iowa native said she hadn't been to Iowa's fair in years, and the same is true for me. maybe once since i moved out of state.