payee name change, then overnight

 i see all kinds of things when working with checks all day. in this case, i was asked to overnight seven checks by UPS. one had already been printed, and i had the label, just had to wait for the other six. and i found out these were the ones i had recently been told to shred because the payee name was not correct. once i had all seven i got them ready and got them in the box and said when the daily pick-up is. a senior leader had a dial-in meeting, i have joked that at times i have to remind myself that she's here as she's up high enough on the ladder that i don't hear from her that much. there was mention of how my role is likely changing later in the year, and the boss had spoken about this already. in the morning i let the boss know i was fine with a sandwich place i haven't been to in the skyway for an upcoming luncheon. i also had a check intercept request but they kept getting my name wrong, even though my name is clearly stated in my email signature. i let them know what the correct name is. 

prints by mistake

 no, not me, at least not in this case. every so often now, i am seeing prints showing up on the check printer that are sent there by mistake. i don't know who is sending them but i know more printers are showing up as available than before. what i have been doing is keeping that check printer empty so it doesn't automatically print. then when i know it isn't one of mine, from checking the message board, i cancel the job. it has been some weird things like meeting agendas, or even what looked like children's homework. since we just passed the first of the month, i started on the online classes i was assigned back in January. no need to do them too early when we get three months to do them. i figured starting them with just under a month ago is early enough. i did one class and there are four due soon, and i tend to do one per day in the morning until i am finished. i spoke of the weekend to the manager that likes karaoke, as it included not just the baseball game but also hearing from a college roommate. i said 'it has been a minute' since we've had an in-person visit, and i was advised to try doing another one again sometime soon. now i just have to figure out when is a good time. i wanted to do one when i was coming back from Dubuque in November but the logistics didn't work then. 

kid from cleveland movie

 in the morning i watched a DVD movie, a recent purchase from amazon, 'kid from Cleveland'. it was mentioned in a Facebook posting and i hadn't heard of this baseball movie before. i liked how it had plenty of players appearing as themselves, as this was about the 1948 Cleveland Indians winning the world series. and since i am a St. Paul Saints fan, once co-owned by Mike Veeck, i liked how Bill Veeck, the dad, also appears as himself. one scene in particular stood out to me, where the man challenged his wife in court during a custody hearing, saying 'you never gave me a chance'. as she remarried after becoming a widow, and it sounded like she wanted him around for the wrong reasons. around midday i was on the road, wanting to get to a college baseball game. the Minnesota gophers were playing Kansas, indoors at the Vikings stadium. it was the last of a four-game series. i rode the light rail there and when i was waiting for the train i had a young man with a face covering telling me how there were arrests this morning. this was due to the recent immigration agent activity. it started out with a greeting i didn't recognize, then the dude tried again and said, 'what's up?' and i know that one, most people do. the game was a pitcher's duel for a while, which i liked. but then Kansas went ahead, 4-3, and scored four more runs in the ninth and went on to win, 8-3. not much of a crowd as expected, as college baseball doesn't interest most people, at least in the Midwest. i estimated the crowd as two hundred, three hundred tops. i liked hearing plenty of music being played at the game, including 'Mr. Jones' by counting crows, and 'fortunate son' by CCR. i wasn't home for long after the game. i went to perform in the evening, closing the show as usual with this mic. i did stories about the bank, a movie i had just seen, going out of town, the mascot at the game, and who i see at the grocery store. 

i can only imagine (2)

 in the afternoon i went to see a movie, 'i can only imagine' (2), at the theater in St. Paul, highland park. i think i was the only attendee at this screening. good story, i recognized two of the actors in it, Trace Adkins and Dennis Quaid. i didn't like the opening act at first, because he liked to prank people. a big part of the story was the teenage son of the frontman being on the tour bus and then performing in the tour. i am used to a movie 'based on a true story' having 'some scenes and characters are invented for dramatic effect'. in fact, this one had a disclaimer in the credits saying, 'this is not a documentary'. i liked hearing the story behind the hymn 'it is well with my soul', how the 1871 Chicago fire was a part of it. while there, i heard a song i knew and like, crowded house's 'don't dream it's over'. it was part of the closing credits for the other movie currently showing at this theater, 'goat'. is that enough for me to go see it? i don't know. i know it is about basketball, though. in the morning i picked up an amazon order from the PO box. and there was another parcel, but i opened it and nothing was in what looked like a rolled-up piece of carpet or insulation. it looked like it was from the seller of the e-bay order that i had picked up a week earlier. then i went to Jersey Mike's for lunch. while paying for my sandwich, i made a donation to Special Olympics. it was a dollar and my cookie was free. i did say i am already signed up for a volunteer shift at this summer's event. in the evening there is a meetup event to attend at a micro-brewery. 

what is a commonwealth

 near the end of the day, there was a request from the tax specialist to have same-day courier pick-up on those tax checks. except those checks are not available until the afternoon, and the courier didn't have enough time to get it done. the one deemed most important is for 'the commonwealth of Kentucky'. it reminded me of how i had meant to look this up before, why some states refer to themselves as a 'commonwealth'. there are just four. i googled it and no surprise, it was related to British law, referring to the 'common good'. something about how all of them have that word in their constitution. in the morning there was a check from the travel and expense file to the manager that likes karaoke. she was in a meeting at the time, so in a conference room on a 'dial-in'. she kept saying 'thank you'. i said i did notice in the email thread there was mention of it being a replacement check. near the end of the day, i asked for a tracking number on a check i had overnighted. nothing unusual there, except another department or shared box had asked for the same one just three days prior. i even showed them the proof of the 'duplication of efforts'. it was sent to San Diego. the change of signature happened on the checks, but when i put some into our ruler i noticed one of them was off, the signature was too big. the boss wanted a list of goals sent in the morning, it didn't take long. it was the last day, and the boss was doing just a half day. i was asked to find an ACH statement as well, a copy of a transaction from over two years ago. the request was from payroll. in the evening i went to a fish fry, it was the Lebanese church in Mendota heights. i like their fish fry, plenty of rice with the fish. then i went to Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries. an employee that has been my cashier before greeted me upon arrival and asked me about my weekend plans. this is someone that i hadn't seen in a while, a few months. 

johnnies bar, river falls, wi

 in the evening i went to perform at a bar called johnnies in river falls, nearby but in Wisconsin. i was invited to do a guest set by the headliner, Yemen native. i did not know the other two performers that well, but might have seen one of them before. i cared a lot about being on time so i did my best to get started earlier on doing the UPS overnight labels. no surprise, this helped out a lot. it didn't take all that long to get there once i got onto i-94. the set was close to the one that i had done earlier in the week, except i also spoke of what i found on the light rail. before i made it to the venue, i stopped at a nearby gas station for the evening meal. it was a circle k, and i knew it was basically a holiday station, which is what i am familiar with. i had some chicken sticks and a hash brown. then i parked in a big public parking lot where i saw a historic bell on display. i got a look at the marker that told its story. i also got a good look around at the venue itself. there were some stained-glass windows, and a mural as well. near the end of the night, the bar owner wanted a photo of all four of us performers next to the mural. even the bathrooms were decorated, above the fixtures were baseball cards behind glass. since it was in Wisconsin, all of them were Brewers players. the 'green room' looked like a storage room to me, but it served the purpose well. i found a table and chairs so we could sit down. dart boards were there, and the dart boards were moved back out to the bar area after the show was over. i enjoyed chatting with some of the patrons, and the bar owner, after the show. i saw a few tickets in the trash and claimed them as souvenirs. i like having souvenirs of the shows i have performed in. at work i went to the branch in the same building, skyway level, and ordered checks. i liked knowing that it is free for me as i am an employee. the ticket on the check printer was closed, again. the boss asked about the signature on the checks i print, but we found out the change in signature didn't take. vacation replacement asked me to pick up some mail from the mailroom, but when i went there i was told there was no mail to pick up. the answer was that it was something to be discussed in person. 

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.