drag brunch, grease theme

 around midday i went to downtown Minneapolis and attended another drag brunch. theme was the movie 'grease'. thankful i saw the movie less than a week ago as it primed me well for this event. as usual, plenty of good costumes from not just the performers but also some in the crowd. not all of the songs played were from the movie, but most were. i recognized 'let's get physical', which was a number one hit by Olivia Newton John, but it wasn't in that movie. there was a minor issue with the food and drink order. i knew something was wrong when the food arrived first. i asked for my server and found out i needed to order a different beer. done! was told they had grain belt, guess they didn't, i ordered a miller lite. there was at least one apology about it. on my way into the showroom i was recognized by a staff member. this still surprises me, but it happens all the time. but i didn't think i was THAT memorable to others. i had hoped to take the light rail there but it was not to be. i get to the park and ride and found out there was buses replacing the light rail, and i knew this meant it would take longer to get there. i got back into my car and drove to a ramp near the venue. i went to a gas station after the event then i went home. in the evening i watched another baseball game on TV, also cubs-cardinals, but on NBC this time. the cardinals won. in the morning i did laundry. i was motivated to get started fairly early, after having breakfast, as i wanted to be on time for the brunch. i had some coffee at a nearby place as well. and i sent a text to a college roommate looking for some guidance about a trip i am trying to plan. 

hamilton, jefferson lecture

 in the afternoon i did another lecture at the Minnesota history center in St. Paul in the America-250 series. this one was about the clashing visions of two founding fathers, Hamilton and Jefferson. this has continued in many forms over the years. there were more laughs than what i would have expected at a history lecture. there was mention of 'the musical'- 'Hamilton'. i guess the play did get more people interested in history so its influence is hard to ignore. it is my understanding that the play is still running on Broadway. as usual, the lecture had a book signing after it. before it i had lunch inside a Filipino grocery store on university avenue. there was plenty of rice in what i had ordered and some of the rice was taken home and it served as my evening meal. before that i checked my PO box but no orders were there, then i went to drop off recycle at a bin downtown. i didn't do all that much after the lecture. i went home and laid down and fell asleep for a while. when i woke up i knew i needed to get to Aldi for groceries as the store would be closing within the hour. then i watched the baseball game on fox, cubs at cardinals, but the cardinals lost. 

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.