country roads, takeout dinner

 in the evening i went to the Ukraine community center in northeast Minneapolis to pick up my take-out fish fry dinner. while there i found out i could go inside the dining hall if i wish. i said i had other things planned for the evening but was willing to stay long enough to take some pictures. one of them was of the musicians onstage. as i was leaving i heard them say 'we will do this song in English and in Ukrainian'. then i said 'i know this one' as it was John Denver's 'country roads'. i skipped a year on getting a meal at this place as last year the line for dine-in was wrapped around the block, and hour-long wait. i said i had learned my lesson, i was going back to having it as take-out. i had to stop at a gas station first, then it was home, where i ate the meal after heating up some of it. much of it was familiar, the fish, fries, and coleslaw. the other item, pierogi if i am not mistaken, tasted fine as well. then it was on to Hy-Vee in Eagan for my weekly grocery order. i found a snoopy candy bar left over from valentine's day in the magazine section so this was part of my order. at work i was asked to overnight a check to Burnsville, but at first i had to tell them when emailed that the file still needed to be approved. i got it printed once i saw it was approved. the boss did show up to help with sending check samples and was there for just an hour but that was enough time to review most of them. only ones left are files we don't see too often. in the morning i had to deal with the condescending employee at Walgreen again. this time i stopped him right away when i was looking at greeting cards, saying something different. i said i could afford to spend a few extra dollars, and if i needed help i will ask for it. another check i was asked to overnight, from the Cincinnati file, i was told needed to be delivered by Saturday. i said all i can do is to get it in the UPS box by the given pick-up time and then it is up to the courier to pick it up and deliver it. after getting back from the grocery store in the evening, i watched some of the world baseball classic on fox. team USA was playing Canada. when i first tuned in the Americans were leading, 5-1, and went on to win it, 5-3. this sent them to the semifinals. 

printed 9 times

 9 times, the same number of sick days in the movie 'Ferris Bueller'. i was sending check samples to someone in i.t. and this is how often i was told to 'try again' or 're-print it'. the boss saw me say this was 'challenging' when i also wanted to stay ahead on my normal duties and decided the best game plan was to show up the next day. also, due to being stuck on this one check, as we didn't get to many business lines, in terms of changing the signature. the MICR line was off if the signature was too big. some of this was due to not being on the same page, as i understood i was to send samples of each one. but i.t. said just send the ones in need of a fix, scanning it inside of the ruler. payroll picked up a check after i said the previous day that i heard 'sending it inter-office' after the mail tubs were sent to the mailroom for the day. i said i go by what is on the check in the comment section, if it says 'notify' then i do that first. there were three ladies who showed up as i recall, and i only knew one of them. the work order on the doorbell was closed, but it is still not ringing. when i have the time, i will have to tell them to show up during my normal working hours. i saw the email arrived before i had for the day. it is easier to test things when i am there. i had the can of bell's 'fish IPA' with the evening meal, and bought a can of natural ice this week, so there still are three beers waiting. after the day i had i was no doubt ready for a drink by then. 

can't use laser jet

 the deliveries continued to arrive. after the two boxes of UPS envelopes, and the fluid bottle for the inserter machine, there was the toner cartridge this morning. the boss had sent an email saying it had been ordered so i knew it would be arriving soon. except it is the same problem that we've had before, as a laser jet cartridge was sent and we can't use that. we can only use a MICR cartridge for check printing. when i can find the time, i will have to let them know to send the right kind. other than that, the workday was largely uneventful and that was fine with me. mailroom employee found me in the breakroom to let me know the cartridge had arrived, i was lunching. i went back to the shop as it was in front of the door, i put it inside along with returned checks and then returned to lunching. in the evening i did an automated phone payment on my main credit card. i like knowing i have one less bill this month as the other credit card was paid off last month. the other card was used to pay a big car repair bill and i like how most months my main card is only used when needing to get gas for the car. naturally, i am still looking forward to this summer when the final car loan payment will be sent to the credit union. 

signage good enough?

 there was activity on two work orders. i entered a new one, it was due to the check shop doorbell not working. it was reported by the tax specialist. the other was acknowledgement of an earlier one, saying my request to put up a sign was canceled. i am told that the signage is already good enough to point out where the mailroom is, even though i still end up giving directions there to lost people. payroll manager said that envelopes were coming soon, except i haven't seen their file of paystubs for a few days. i am not complaining about that though, as i still have plenty of other things keeping me busy. i noticed a check file wasn't printing on one printer but it printed on another. since the boss was in the shop for the day, i hear the typical thing: call in a ticket. then eventually it did print. sometimes this happens when there is a delay of at least ten minutes on printing after hitting 'print', sometimes even longer than that such as nearly an hour. it had been a while so i guess i forgot this could still happen. it was a small file, the PDF checks, so it was just 40 checks that were duplicated that i had to shred. it was why i was willing to try again on a different printer as it doesn't matter as much when the file is small. 

same high school mascot

 there are many days when the tax specialist will pick up checks in person, and this was one of them. there was two, one from the PDF file and the other was from vacation replacement. i saw this dude in the breakroom after the checks were picked up, as i was there to get some water. i found out we may have went to different high schools, but we had the same mascot, the cardinals. i did seem to get an answer, although i wasn't asking why i was seeing him there. something about being disappointed for not getting a raise from the bank this year and hearing that two colleagues will be laid off at the end of the month. i said i got a small raise for the year, and i know full well to try to keep costs down. this is a colleague that will be moving to the other tower soon, as i recall it will be at the end of the month. i showed vacation replacement the greeting card i bought from a convenience store in the skyway late last week. it was a st. Patrick's day card with a 'wizard of oz' theme. mailroom brought the checks i had ordered for my personal checking account. i was expecting it to go to the branch at the skyway level but not complaining that it was sent directly to me. i kept both items at work as i prefer to wait to take them home until i have a bag that those can go into. when i take the light rail to and from work, i am used to having the lunch bag as it is easy to grab when i need to go. and anything else if not in a bag might get left on the seat next to me. there is a luncheon invite for next week sent by the boss; it was the sandwich place that i spoke of. in the evening i went to perform. i did stories about the bank, seeing two movies, the baseball game, stickers on a car, and birthday offers from loyalty programs. 

lalaland movie

 in the mid-afternoon i went to see a movie in Eagan as part of the 'flashback cinema' series. it was 'Lalaland'. unsure why i passed it nearly ten years ago, most likely because there can be too many movies to choose from. it was a good story, but bittersweet, nonetheless. there was an intro given before it began, with plenty of background information about the movie. not too familiar with the actors in it, but J.K. Simmons had a small role in it. i was emailed a birthday offer from this theater chain, and i claimed it after the movie. this was the small tub of popcorn for free, but still plenty of popcorn. i ate some of it there but not a lot, most of it was taken home. i wanted to see the previews and i arrived just before the scheduled starting time. one of these previews was for the biopic about musician Michael Jackson. i picked up a poster for the movie 'goat' while there but haven't seen it yet. more likely to see it a week later when i have fewer things booked. i had enough time to get some ice cream at the nearby dairy queen, i got the blizzard of the month, mint Oreo. in the morning i went to do laundry and i used a birthday offer at the nearby caribou coffee. i didn't do much after the movie, i drove home and had the evening meal at home. besides laundry, i did do the customary morning walk and found more food near a dumpster. i claimed nine items this time, including a big box of cheerios cereal and two jars of peanut butter. it was unexpired, and unopened, and non-perishable, so why not? most of it will be eaten fairly quickly, probably won't be much left a week from now. 

squeeze play, ftw

 in the evening i went to another gopher baseball game, indoors at the Vikings stadium. this was part of the Cambria classic, and i briefly sat in an oversized wooden chair provided by the event's sponsor. gophers won, 3-2, over South Dakota State, in ten innings. a squeeze play was used to win it, and this is rare. i was smarter this time in more ways than one. i gave myself more time and ate at the Bobby and Steve's nearby where the food is cheaper than at the venue. and they serve small godfather's pizzas, i got the last one found under the heat lamps, 3-meat. the upper-level seating was blocked off so some of it was eaten in my car, which was parked nearby, along with a donut. the parking was cheap and i liked that. naturally, some things were moved up due to the event in the evening. in the afternoon i went to Aldi for groceries. for lunch i went to Ikea and had the Swedish meatball meal. not immediately aware of any birthday offers from them but still a good place to eat. when i saw dessert items while in line i said i am choosing the cheesecake as i know what that is. the other item was oatmeal balls, not familiar with those. after getting back from there i went to a micro-brewery and picked up a pack of girl scout cookies. i ordered a beer as well. i was there to see the girls walk around the place and say it was the last call for cookies as i arrived during the final hour of the three-hour time allotment. it is the second box or pack bought, two different kinds of peanut butter. still a question of when those will be eaten as i am still working on the Hershey's kisses bought the day after Valentine's Day. it was a big bag. in the morning i went to the post office, but there were no orders to pick up. birthday wishes are rolling in on Facebook. first one was from a classmate that is now an instructor in the Carolinas. i usually give it a few days before i say thank you to all of the postings.