courier did not return

 sometimes the checks for the tax specialist are courier pick-up, especially later in the week when the dude is working from home. i finally decided to ask the name of the courier who has been picking them up since we were moved downtown over a year ago. i spoke of the previous one, saying we did chat a little and how we'd be moved once he got back from Africa to visit family. the courier said he did not return. it did remind me of how this man spoke of being on WhatsApp with a lady, apparently divorced but interested in getting remarried. we even exchanged waves. this leads me to think the trip was to see more than just family and deciding to stay in Africa due to a better offer- for love. the boss said to hold off on searching for the reject fax on another floor until further notice. i reported how i search for it once a week, on a day when most are working from home, and hadn't found it in three weeks. fine with me. two checks for payroll were printed, in the afternoon. i pointed out to the boss about a low volume check file still had the old signature on it. this led to it being changed, but I.T. has to change it. in the evening i went to the Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries. it was a small order, seven items. but i try to buy what i need, no more no less. i watched some of the UFL football game on TV, Dallas at st. louis. Dallas won a close one, aided by penalties. i tried to watch a fellow comic, Yemen native, on 'comics unleashed' but fell asleep during the 10pm news and missed the start of the show. i was familiar with two of the three jokes i heard, those still work for me. 

former boss responded

 i had spoken of what i did over the Memorial Day weekend to vacation replacement, and it led to me sending a message to a former coworker, who was briefly my boss at a former job. i got a response in the morning, the day after sending the message. but i kind of expected a delay as there is often a red dot to indicate his status, meaning 'in a meeting'. due to the employee directory, i found out we work in the same building now. had to catch up a little on how we both are doing, but soon i hope to ask if it is possible to go lunching as it can be boring to be lunching by myself all of the time. i was invited to the facility manager meeting, a dial-in, but it was brief, just over ten minutes. vacation replacement dropped off some outgoing mail, near the end of my lunch. i was on the main floor as i wanted a snack. there was also a mention a 'kudo board' being created by a colleague in another office. 

grease movie

 in the evening i went to see the movie 'grease', in Eagan. it was part of the 'flashback cinema' series. it added to my point total with the loyalty account but still not there yet on the reward level. i had been getting plenty of emails about it. i had seen the movie a few times before, but it had been a while. i recall singing in the chorus and one concert was songs from this movie, especially 'summer nights'. had to get past the scenes where people are bullied or pranked, but i am aware of how art imitates life. my parents even had the movie soundtrack on an 8-track tape. this movie is still fun to watch. i figured it was a good warmup to attending a drag brunch soon where this movie is the theme. i ate at the nearby taco bell, then went in to purchase the movie ticket. i did order some food and drink inside the theater, bottled water and some fries, but i ended up taking most of the water home as i wanted to increase the odds of needing a bathroom break during the movie. the fries were brought to my seat in the auditorium i was in. i still like the opening scene a lot, as it is animated. same reason why i like the scene at the drive-in theater as one can see animation in the background, advertising the food and drink. then there's hearing the song 'la Bamba' at the diner, a reminder of a biopic i still enjoy watching. along with the line 'blanche, stop blubbering'. that scene included mention of famous people, had to ask my parents who Rosemary Clooney was as her nephew, George, wasn't famous yet. i drove straight from the park and ride to the theater complex as i wanted to be on time. at work, there was a check sent to another floor, in the afternoon. the second i-pay file was nearly 1800 checks, and those did not go out same day except for a check to be overnighted and i was emailed about that one. the toner cartridge for one of the check printers was swapped out late in the day. 

unmonitored shared box?

at work i had a question from a colleague about a check file that i print. i said it was low volume, few and far between. just seven checks for the month, just over 40 for the year. something about a caller had questions on a payment. the file has a return address in Memphis, although the only contact we have is a shared box and no one responded when i sent a message there. i got a 'thumbs up' when i spoke of it. one clue from a check that was returned said forwarding time expired and seemed to say the business line moved to the suburbs of Kansas City. but it doesn't seem like a high enough priority to pursue further. i saw a text message and i was asked to confirm a dental appointment, in a week from now. two payroll checks were picked up, in the morning. i said 'you win a cookie' to the tax specialist, in reference to the movie 'Kelly's heroes'- about being the first visitor of the day to pick up checks.  

there was a tavern

 i went to perform in the evening, it was the final edition of this variety open mic, at least with this show runner. there was a page passed around near the end, it had the lyrics of what we'd be singing, 'those were the days'. a lyric from early in the song is 'there was a tavern'. sometimes i call a bar a 'tavern' as my old man sometimes used that term. i don't know much about what the show will be like going forward, and this includes being unaware of who is taking over as show runner. some pizza was ordered and i did have some of it, besides the typical bags of candy that somebody usually brings. I've seen plenty of shows I've performed at close over the years, so this isn't new to me. although this show means more when it is the main one i perform at after cutting back due to the pandemic. the venue does have another show I've performed at, on a different night of the week. if need be, i will just go to that alternate show more often. besides my testimonial of what the show means to me, and many others gave one besides me, i did my typical set. i did stories about the hike, the movie, the baseball game, how two TV shows are essentially the same, and the bank. for lunch i had hoped to go to a bar which serves a famous sandwich, but it was closed for the holiday. i had recently picked up some art which is an image of the bar. try again when they are open, i guess. i went to an Arby's instead. i also did a chore in the morning, the dishes. it was moved back one day as i was too tired to do those on my customary day. and i could justify it when i had the day off for the bank holiday. lately i have been doing plenty of study online, with articles and YouTube videos, about converted or repurposed buildings. in the twin cities, i have seen some just before closure and expected conversion, some after it, some before and after. for the third category, what stands out the most is three grocery stores and a dollar store. the grocery stores switched to another chain, largely due to one chain's star being on the decline such as rainbow, or a Supervalu turned independent store. those three were snapped up by stronger competitors- cub foods, Hy-Vee, and Aldi. and the dollar store became a microbrewery. but i know that all kinds of buildings have been converted, including houses of worship. sometimes the houses of worship can switch to another faith like the grocery stores did. when i was doing all of this study, including why not just buildings but also people convert to another faith- it reminded me of some college classes. i really liked the western civilization class, and it was one reason why i decided to major in history. i still very much have a love of learning. 

talk of the town movie

 just before midday i went to a movie in Columbia Heights, it was 'talk of the town', part of their Cary Grant series. although the character i ended up liking the most in the movie wasn't him, it was the law school instructor that later defended him. i liked his speech near the end about the rule of law. it reminded me of the final speech in Charlie Chaplin's 'great dictator', which is from the same era. i got some popcorn and bottled water while there. i saw a promo for another movie, it is a documentary about bitcoin. while there i liked listening to public radio in my car, there was a segment about ultimate fighting and a prominent man in this sport is friends with the president. there was a mention of its history, including senator John McCain once calling it 'human cockfighting' which was a catalyst in getting more regulation of it. after the movie i found a trivia book, art and science, in a nearby little free library. then i got in my car and drove to a gas station. i was low on gas and got a sandwich as well. i spent some time at home, but not too long as i wanted to get to the St. Paul Saints baseball game. the saints lost to Omaha, 5-3. as usual, there was some of the long ball in the game. during my walks around the stadium, it was cool to be recognized by school bouncer. i was introduced to his family. not too many get this same gleeful greeting that i gave to this dude. since it was Memorial Day weekend, there was food trucks after the game and then a fireworks show. i ordered from the converted ambulance again, 'dine 1 1'. i found a Filipino food truck there as well, but only after i already had some food. it reminds me of a former coworker who is Filipino. during the game and fireworks show it was cool to hear music, as usual. standouts were a movie song, 'everybody's talking', from 'midnight cowboy', then 'party in the USA' by Miley Cyrus. i sent some text messages as well, the one i sent to Yemen native, i hit send just as the fireworks began. the other was to a classmate from high school, the first one in nearly a year. i had heard from the former much more recently, but it was still three months ago and i said it was time to send another text. 

our birth hospital

 i went on a hike through meetup in the evening. i was on the wait list at first but a spot opened up hours before the event began. i made it to Aldi for groceries and then it was to the park in Bloomington. i stopped to eat at a holiday gas station about a mile away, at the outset not where i planned to stop. but due to construction, i said i need to exit here as i didn't want to wreck my car. it worked out just fine on getting a sandwich there. i liked this hike more as it was more engaging, even though i have been to this venue before. enjoyed the chats i had with two people on the walk. i was introduced to the second by the event organizer. when it was done it was to the campfire, and some of us roasted marshmallows for smores including me. a group event we did was share what hospitals we were born in. this is where i found out there were two other Iowa natives at this event. as i recall, one from Sioux City and the other cedar rapids. i only briefly spoke with both as i was in the parking lot, when i was getting ready to drive home. i did plenty of the typical chores and errand running as well earlier in the day. there was going to the post office, one order was picked up. i framed it when i got home as i was the photo of Rick Monday saving the flag. i had lunch at jersey mikes and used some points to make it a free sandwich. other notable things were hearing an instrumental version of the song 'mad world' on a Facebook posting for grain belt beer. i liked finding versions of the song on YouTube, more familiar with the Gary Jules cover than the tears for fears original. there was also the news story about the end of the line for Schlitz beer. i haven't drank it much, can be hard to find. i have a postcard of the brewery in Milwaukee in my collection. i recall reading how it was the number one beer for a while. then Anheuser-Busch became number one, aided by the brewery buying the st. louis cardinals baseball team and becoming a big sponsor of this sport and others.