BBQ Comedy

Went to a comedy show tonight at a BBQ place, it was one of 5 invites from Facebook for New Year's Eve. One comedian said he would like to see the blog, unsure why I haven't spoken of it much recently. I know what I write isn't going to be popular with all, but it hasn't stopped me from writing, nor should it as one should let their light shine. Sometimes I approach comedy the same way- I could be pursuing it more but unsure why. I know I found out after taking a critical writing class how I have no problem stating clearly and politely what works and what doesn't for me. My problem may be having my life cluttered a little too much with various interests. Put another way, am I spreading myself too thin? It in many ways shows up in terms of often being tired, due to staying up late to write the blog.
   Got a few joke ideas being there, like the drinks served and seeing a chalkboard next to the urinals in the bathroom.
   After the show tonight I contacted a Catholic nun I know for the first time since early May, before I started the blog. Sent a prayer request by email. It inspired me to look up songs, or maybe I should say hymns, on Youtube. It included 'One of Us' by Joan Osborne, 'Hallelujah'- Alison Crowe covering a Leonard Cohen song, and 'When They Ring the Golden Bells'. 'Do you hear the bells now ringing?' Would have to say yes despite not being very religious. Various versions were found, familiar with Natalie Merchant's but also found ones by Loretta Lynn and Emmylou Harris.
    A notable day at work since it was a short day due to the holiday, released after 5 hours of work in the early afternoon. Also notable since I had missed an announcement from Thursday, how a part of the business had been sold. It was the reason why I was laid off and left suburban Chicago- a sale of a business. It is likely I will keep my job, but would still lose some friends. After work I returned 2 movies to Blockbuster and bought tickets for the Twins fanfest in late January.
    After the show I did something I am not too proud of, but it wasn't costly. Stopped at a light and for some reason I went through the intersection before it went green again, a momentary lapse. I said something worse than 'oh no!' after doing that. It may be why I was a little paranoid after it, such as seeing cop cars despite already being out of the town where it happened. Or maybe it was due to upbringing, how I didn't like cops in small towns who had nothing better to do than harass teenagers for easy fine money. A cop car was why I changed lanes, but they weren't interested in me. There must have been a disturbance at a bar and grill, it was where the one squad car pulled up to, and one was already there. Anything can happen on New Year's Eve, especially if somebody has had too much to drink.

World's Greatest Dad

I had a half-day of work today, finished around 12noon. I then went home and did get 5 more holiday cards sent, and watched the other DVD I rented from Blockbuster, 'World's Greatest Dad'. Funny in some areas, disturbing in others, definitely dark. I like how they covered the subject of writing, since it is the premise of the story being told.
   I realized this week 10 years ago was when it was announced that Montgomery Ward was closing up shop. I shared in my status update on Facebook how it was memorable since my writing was published in a Chicago Sun-Times article.  Readers shared Wards memories and what "monkey ward" meant to them. Still thrilled when I think about it that my words were chosen over so many others. We were lit up like a Christmas tree for a while after the announcement, as I was doing call center work then and it meant servicing life insurance policies once sold in the Wards stores.
   Went to a comedy show tonight and liked getting to speak at length with one comic, and with another they informed me there have been some covers of my favorite Beatles song, 'Eleanor Rigby'. Found 2 on youtube- by Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin.

American Hardcore

Just watched the documentary 'American Hardcore' about the punk band scene from 1980-1986. There was mention of Rollins, also of the Misfits, as well as The Replacements and Husker Du. The DVD cover did use the term 'emo' to describe some bands, I know recently somebody said 'somebody went emo' and I was correct that it was short for 'emotional'. I sure do understand the feeling of disillusionment, I have been there. Music helps me work through things.
   There was plenty of errand running today since it was a day off, like picking up more postage stamps for holiday cards. Also picked up a pair of pants for a date, used a gift card there just like I did on the date. We ate at a Red Lobster, first time at one of those places. I recall having seafood when I was in Boston on vacation in 2001, lobster. This time I had surf and turf, crablegs and steak.
    There is so much good music out there, I like the song by Sean Combs (or whatever he calls himself now), called 'Coming Home'. 'Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday'. It's a wonderful sentiment. I first heard it last week on the way to the football game, same day I heard 'Umbrella' by Rihanna. I like finding a song on Youtube after hearing it on the radio.
   Also heard on the radio how the Metrodome won't be ready for events until March, so it means the Twins fanfest scheduled for late January will need a change of venue. No big deal to me, I'm sure they can find another suitable venue. It's a popular event.

Bowl Gamewatch

Went to a sports bar to watch Iowa's bowl game tonight, they beat Missouri 27-24 in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. I was bored with all of the ballyhoo on how it was the first tilt in a century, since too much of it came across as race-baiting. A lot of things have changed since 1910! Iowa led at the half, 17-10. I had attended 2 games there at Sun Devil Stadium before, in 2005. And I've seen 2 bowl games before, one of them Iowa's 2 seasons ago, the Outback Bowl in Tampa, and the other the Holiday Bowl in San Diego in late 2006. Didn't like how they were slow in getting me my food and drink order, they got a small tip from me. And the food arrived before the drink, odd since it is usually the opposite, especially when it was a bottle of beer which doesn't have to be poured.
   Earlier in the evening I asked my college roommate for advice on my social life, he did offer some helpful hints. Still need to see how everything will play out, in practice, when actually used.
   Saw an online article about emails asking for a posthumous pardon for Billy the Kid, I've noticed this has been a news story before. It of course makes me think of Emerson Hough, who wrote about the Kid and Pat Garrett in 'Story of the Outlaw', one of 6 books by or about Hough that I own.

NFL History on Wikipedia

I saw Facebook postings from a comedian friend and it was about the chance of an NFL team with a losing record making the playoffs. I figured it had happened before, and was right- in the strike-marred 1982 season, 9 game schedule. I knew it was a notable season in terms of the league's signature rivalry, Bears-Packers, wasn't played that year as both games were wiped out by the strike. There were 2 teams with losing records, the Browns and Lions, that made the expanded 16-team playoffs at 4-5. Redskins and Raiders had the best records at 8-1, Redskins beat Dolphins in Super Bowl.
   Big crowd at the comedy club tonight, more comics than normal performing, just over 20. Nice to make it back when I had missed a few weeks, such as being at the football game last week. One comic friend brought goodies, I thanked him for that.
   I'm wondering if I'm asking too many advisors about my social life, when I seem to know fairly well how I already feel. I ended up articulating that when I needed to, unsure why I still appear wishy-washy, especially when each advisor will say something different more than likely. Facebook has changed things in the social world, good or bad. Then again, the internet has changed many things about our lives, like allowing me to write this blog and look up quick answers like I did about some NFL history.

A Big Hug

I didn't do much for most of the day until evening. Liked being able to watch some of the Bears-Jets game since those teams aren't on TV much in this area. Though I fell asleep during the second half and missed the ending, found out the Bears won. I've told myself this is more likely to happen when tired and comfortable- I was in my easy chair and was covered up with a blanket. Found out the Vikings-Eagles game has been moved back to Tuesday due to weather problems in Philadelphia. An online article I found said it will be the first NFL game on a Tuesday since 1946. I like it whenever history is referred to in these rarities, kind of like the recent college game at Wrigley Field. I kept thinking about it during today's game, since one article called it 'the long-ago home of the Bears.'
   This evening I was onstage at a comedy club I frequent, I did well as usual since I know what works and what doesn't. The club owner saw me after the show and said he often thinks what I will try for jokes is wrong, but the crowd loves it anyway. I am surprised at how it has a profound affect on people. The show-closer, or headliner, hugged me from behind after leaving the stage. He did allude to how he felt a little ill and usually hearing my jokes makes him feel better. One friend said they liked the 'self-deprecating humor', guess that is what I often will do. Did one about wearing a Chicago Blackhawks jersey, referring to the movie 'Christmas Vacation'. I did others about the football game from Monday, how the concession stand plastic made it look like a convenience store in a bad neighborhood. And how I would be fine being under Rihanna's umbrella, one of her songs, as long as the wind doesn't turn it inside out. My family, including my dad using old-school terms like 'courting' instead of 'dating'- are good as well.

Leisurely Christmas Day

Maybe 'leisurely' isn't accurate, unless you count the 2 hours when I fell asleep in my easy chair in the afternoon. I got chores done like putting away laundry from the previous day, as well as the trash, dishes, and recycle. Finished up the Chinese food from last night at lunch, mostly celery and mushrooms was left, not much chicken. Had more of the egg nog, just getting a quart at a time once a week. Still want to watch my weight. Had more of the Bavarian creme Danish coffee cake. For dinner I had a small pizza, may have been the first time I used the stove in more than 4 months. I went through my mail and shredded some of it, and got things in order for getting Christmas cards sent to people who had sent them to me. I had sent one earlier in the week, to my aunt, an ordained minister in Wisconsin. There were 10 other cards I had received, found out I had just 5 stamps so I've prepared just 5, the ones I received first of course. There was actually 7 stamps left, but I decided to use the other 2 for bills due in the next few weeks. I tend to do this when I get a bill, see that a stamp is added to the envelope right away so it's ready to send when I need to send it. But thankfully I haven't had to get stamps much recently, just for bills, a sheet of 20 can last for a while. I know the cards won't go out until Monday, and I am likely too busy to get more stamps until Wednesday, when I am using up a vacation day before year-end. I did take a walk in the evening, first to my car to knock off more snow from it. Then I went around the block, good to get out a little as one isn't excerising much when staying inside at home.
   Another thing I did was get a Ticketmaster review written and submitted from seeing 'Prairie Home Companion' in October, don't know why I waited this long. But I had no problem finding material, as I went to my blog posting after being there. Loved the music in it, something for everybody. I think what prompted me to write it, finally, was knowing I did the review for the Bears-Vikings game right away. The football game review is posted now, my 8th on the site. They call me a 'top 500 contributor', amazed how it didn't take many reviews to make this list. Apparently not many write reviews, or not many use Ticketmaster much, or both. Guess it wasn't the first time I was slow on submitting a review, it was about 2 months after seeing 'Phantom of the Opera' last year when I submitted one for it.  The 'Phantom' review was the first one I had submitted.

Laundry Done, Finally

I got my laundry done before my date tonight, and after a shortened workday and some other errand running. Almost went to another laundromat but an attendant happened to be there to give me change, thought I am still miffed about the broken equipment. I went to check the dollar bill changer and get pictures of the place, of the Coca-Cola sign out front and the comedian profiles. I don't like having to go even farther away possibly to do laundry, but I've done it once already. Unsure what my game plan is for the next time I need to do laundry.
   Work went fine today, some of it was just catchup from the previous day. Not much new requests came in, and I left with some brownies as I was encouraged to take all of them. The maker wanted to take the pan home to wash it.
    Saw 'Good Will Hunting', my favorite movie, tonight on my date, first time in a while. As expected, I moved away during the scene when Will breaks up with Skylar. It is a gut-wrenching scene for me, good chance it always will be. When I was getting ready like shaving after work I put on Youtube so I could hear 'Umbrella', the Rihanna song. I do write about music often, but why not? I do like Pink as well, besides Rihanna, and Lady Gaga. So much good music out there. In fact I am watching, or I should say listening, to the 'Yule Log' show, something done each Christmas. First time I saw it was last year, thought it was odd there was such a show. But it's a way to listen to good holiday music and have your own fireplace in case one doesn't have a real one. Guess I was usually on the road and unable to watch before, best idea for why I hadn't heard of it for so long.

Laundry Postponed, Again

I made the second attempt this week to try to get laundry done, still a no-go. Didn't get around in time at one place, just a few minutes after the 8pm cutoff. The other place still had a busted dollar bill changer, maybe I can get it done Friday before my plans in the evening. This time I think I will bring a camera to get a picture of the comedian profiles on the wall of Roseanne Barr and Brett Butler from 1989, as if there still is a problem with the equipment I see myself avoiding the place indefinitely. Nobody should blame me either, does me no good to go to a place if too many things don't work!
   Called my dad after reading the card, we discussed more baseball and football stadiums, especially the multi-purpose 'cookie cutter' era, as he had read a book recently about it.
   Odd to look up more information about the Rihanna song 'Umbrella', found out it was a hit in 2007, but this week was still the first time I had heard it. This is likely due to being a number one hit then, so it will still get plenty of airplay later on. It has a wonderful theme to it besides the captivating percussion and the 'ella' hooks in it. When it rains we go under umbrellas to ride out the storm, it provides some shelter or a haven if you will. May be one reason why it appeals to me, besides Rihanna being good-looking. I am drawn to 'diamond in the rough' stories, as I see myself as one. And reading her story sounds like another one, with her parents going through a rocky marriage and her dad's drug addiction, information I found on her Wikipedia page. I cover one ear, the left one, with my hand when I do the 'ella' hook, a way of emoting. I also like the opening by Jay-Z, which includes 'Rihanna, where you at'? I alluded to it when speaking to my work spouse today, seemed relevant as I was trying to find her. In a previous posting I spoke of my favorite songs of hers, but I left one out. It was the collaboration with Eminem, 'Love the way you lie'. I know I haven't written about Lady Gaga much recently, once joked how I was trying hard not to make this a Lady Gaga fan page. Recently I did add a better sign above the Gaga artwork I have, a reminder of what I saw at a county fair this August. In the background there was a baby saying 'goo goo gaga', I wrote this on a napkin with a marker and taped it above the artwork.
    It was a busy day at work, had a big repo request to do, 75 accounts, a big rush before yearend. One of the contracts I noticed said 'Emerson Hough Drive', figuring it was Lambs Grove, Iowa, but the contract said Newton. But it is a Newton 'suburb'. Then again I haven't written about Emerson Hough much recently either, though whenever I see anything western I think of Mr. Hough. Like when I saw the coffee play last week and one scene had somebody singing a cowboy song. Or even how the John Wayne western 'True Grit' has been remade, starring Jeff Bridges. And I added a few more Hough pages to my likes on Facebook, mostly school-related. The people on the contract no longer live there, as expected, when there was a North Carolina title attached. It took much of my day just to finish the request, needed help from my 'work spouse' to complete others. I did stay late today, but one hour unlike the 90 minutes on Wednesday.

Holiday Cards and Potluck

I was a little behind on going through my mail, including Christmas cards. One of them was from my dad, and he spoke about the Metrodome collapse in the card. He said it would be a bad situation but then there are people who can clean up the mess. He then asked if it had happened before, and it has, the 4th time since it opened in 1982. Tried to call him tonight after reading it, but no answer. He gave me the business card of his pastor, another contact since Dad is having surgery next month. Also wanted to tell him I don't plan on going to Iowa for the holiday since I have a date on Friday. Figured he might have also wanted to hear about attending the game on Monday that was moved to the Gopher stadium.
  Stayed more than an hour after my normal leave time at work as I wanted to get caught up on things. We had a potluck and I liked the cheese and crackers there. I brought a fruit tray, including pineapple, one colleague said she liked it. Volume may have slowed me down, but so did getting peppered with questions about my latest lady friend. I made the mistake of saying anything at all about it in passing to a colleague in reference to my plans for the football game. I stonewalled, saying I didn't have much to say since it's early. I later did confide in my 'work spouse' though.

Picking Up Fruit

I picked up a fruit tray after going to the comedy club tonight, for a company potluck. I went with the larger tray, figuring then it wouldn't run out too soon. Didn't like having to scrape the windshield since there was a coat of ice on it, hard to get that off quickly.
    For some reason I have a song stuck in my head from the drive to and from the Monday game. It is 'Umbrella' by Rihanna. It is a catchy song, and it made me chuckle to hear Jay-Z ask where she was. I liked 'Run This Town' as well. And I do recall 'SOS', an early hit, actually a cover of 'Tainted Love'. It was one I heard when I was in Detroit in 2006. The other memorable one from the drive was by whatever Sean Combs calls himself now, but I liked the backup singers more, the sentiment about 'hoping the rain will wash away the pain'.
  Still not sure when I am using the half-day, got busy with special requests today that I didn't think of asking my boss about it. Funny how a colleague misheard me when I said 'also to you' at the end of the day, sounded like 'steal to you' apparently. Same with when in the bathroom at the comedy club, 'no I'm not here to murder you, I'm just here to pee'. 'What a relief' was my response.

The Snowy Gopher Bowl

Attended the Bears-Vikings game at the U. of Minnesota tonight, Bears won 40-14. I estimated the crowd at 40,000, based on the number of empty seats in the upper deck, 45,000 tops. The online article I found said the announced attendance was about 40,500, so I was on target. Bears benefited from turnovers, after falling behind early 7-0 they got a field goal after an interception on a tipped pass.  I had more comfortable feet this time because of the boots, but since it snowed a lot during the game I headed for the concourse at halftime to get warmed up again. It helped to get the snow shaked off of me. Bears were up 17-7 at halftime. Before the game I met somebody who claimed to have attended the 1967 'Ice Bowl' in Green Bay. I do like hearing people's stories at events like these. There was a family from Fargo,ND, near me in the upper deck, I did take their picture on a digital camera when they asked. The wife held up a sign that said 'snowy and confused, where are my Cowboys?' The handwarmers I was given really worked, tried them in my right hand and I felt it real well after a while. I ate at a sandwich shop on campus before the game, Erbert Gerbert. It's a place I've eaten at before while there for Gopher events. At the stadium I had a Snickers candy bar and some hot chocolate. I picked up 2 free programs, one for  me and the other I am sending to my college roommate. I joked how the plastic that kept the heat in at concession stands made it look like a convenience store in a bad neighborhood. Some fans had fun with the snow by making sculptures out of it, using their big popcorn cup. Nice touch.
   The half day at work went fine, and I used a coupon from winning a Facebook drawing for a free meal. Found out he is closed Friday, due to the holiday, so I may want to move up eating there to Thursday. I liked that he honored it as long as I came in on Monday, drawing was Friday.

Picking Up Boots

I did go to Target today to pick up boots for the Bears-Vikings game on Monday. I first had to find some that were the right size, not too many for men. They were mostly for kids or women. But I found some, with a higher heel than my other shoes, and a higher top that covers my ankle. I picked up some better gloves as well, that may have been meant for women. I say this because they fit more snugly than most gloves I've had, but at this game it will be a good thing. I saw that they were black, same as the ones I had previously.
    The game of course is still a big news story, on TV tonight there was footage of the team doing a walk through and how the punter said on Twitter how it was 'unplayable' despite other officials saying it was fine. I wasn't getting comments for a while on Facebook about my plans to attend, but finally did. One comedian friend spoke of trying to unload his tickets, said I already had one. Liked seeing the footage from the 50th anniversary celebration at the convention center, unveiling the top 50 players. One of those interviewed was Bobby Moore- Ahmad Rashad. Though I knew him better as a journalist than as a football player.
    I liked watching '60 Minutes' and 'The Simpsons' tonight, as the former had a feature about people with biographical memories. It intrigued me to the level of wanting to inquire about being a part of the project. One line resonated with me, when somebody spoke of the unflattering comparisons to the 'Rain Man'. The latter show had a baseball theme, which of course I will like. And there were references to names of baseball players from the 1970s that I knew, like Dick Drago and Oscar Gamble, as well as the famous All-Star game where Pete Rose crashed into Ray Fosse.
    I wanted to do laundry after seeing these shows, but the first laundromat had a broken dollar bill changer and the other was going to close for the night within the hour. At first I said 'it will have to be moved back to Wednesday' but then I realized I still may have time after the half-day at work on Monday before heading to the football game.
   I used Taco Bell coupon #9 today for lunch. This one was notable as it was a rare one, in terms of getting a tray today instead of a plastic bag. I liked the tray more. Still a good record on getting a receipt, only twice before that I haven't. Definitely on the pace I had hoped for, wanting to be halfway through the 20 by the end of the month.

Picking Up Glasses

I was surprised to find out my new glasses were ready so quickly, in less than a week. So I picked them up earlier today. A little confusion at first, but eventually they were found.
    There was another schedule change, this time the photo shoot. My comedian friend said she was ill so it has been postponed. Unsure yet when it will be now, may not be until after the holidays now but I said it was fine to have it done whenever it worked for both of us.
    I had a date tonight, ate at an Applebee's and saw the movie 'Unstoppable' starring Denzel Washington. It reminded me of 'Pelham 123' and 'Speed' since those were thrillers as well.
   Still finding more information about the Bears-Vikings game on Monday night at the Gopher stadium, there will be some giveaways. A live chat transcript said there would be hand warmers furnished by Mall of America, and coffee from Caribou. Besides getting better gloves, and boots, I think I will be bringing a seat cushion. I know from being at the Iowa-Minnesota game last month how those are metal seats and I'm trying to apply lessons from being there.

Schedule Adjustment

I found out there was limited options on my replacement on Monday when I had a full day off approved. So I decided to change my schedule and will be doing a half-day and leaving at noon. Then I still have plenty of time to head over to Minneapolis and hopefully get in to see the Bears-Vikings game at the Gopher stadium. At lunch I picked up 2 postcards at a Walgreen, of the University of Minnesota and of the football venue, TCF Bank Stadium. It serves as a beginning of the souvenirs from a historic day. As expected, they no longer need people to help with the snow shoveling at the stadium. It moved along quickly, plenty of people willing to help as it was a job, and I knew I wouldn't be available to help right away. Sounded like it was a little chaotic there. I trust there will be plenty of police on game night to keep order. I got an email from the Vikings about the game since I am a ticketholder. I didn't like the wording though, since it said 'response required' and it should have said 'requested'. But it was wanting to know if I planned on using my ticket, and it was a survey. My guess is they're trying to find out what kind of crowd to expect, since there is a chance that some will be turned away when it's smaller seating capacity than the Metrodome. Hard to say what crowd can be expected, there have been plenty of news stories on TV, online, and in the papers about upset ticketholders. It's due to the general admission policy, because of the change of venue. So some may stay at home, also due to the cold weather and the fact that no beer will be sold at the stadium.
   I did some more prep work for the photo shoot, more cleanup like sweeping and putting some things away in closets. It's nearly ready the way I want it. Also did the dishes earlier than normal in the week, I often wait until Sunday, wanted an empty sink. And I heard from a classmate on Facebook that shared a video, more media attention in my hometown, due to the '60 Minutes' story. It was the military veteran and his collegiate daughter, on 'the view' or 'the talk'. I did share some with her about my life, we hadn't talked much since college.  

A Free For All?

The Vikings announced their ticket policy for Monday's game against the Bears at the Gopher stadium. It will be a general-admission event, so it's first come first serve. So it may become a free-for-all. But I have one thing in my favor, already have the day off from work. So I can show up earlier than others can. All I really need is better gloves, and some boots. I was fine at the Iowa-Minnesota game less than a month ago at the same stadium and I was warm enough except for my feet. All along I said I would much rather see the game than have a refund, looks like I will get both. Upper level tickets will be valued at $29, I paid more than that from Ticketmaster so I will get a refund of at least $20. Hard to say what kind of crowd will be there, as I heard from some coworkers who said they are turning in their tickets for a full refund. They don't want to go outside for the game since it will be cold. Guess that means fewer people will be turned away. The Vikings went all out on telling people, I found the press release online near the end of my workday but got an email and a cellphone message as well.
    At work today there was a 'fish carnival' so themed as we did the fish training. I had somebody point out the artwork in one area, since it was inspired by the collapsed Metrodome roof. It said 'fishing for a new stadium'- and I got a camera phone picture of it. The ticket policy wasn't released just yet, was taken aback at first but made me laugh a little.  I needed something since I was a little preoccupied this week wanting to know more, knowing I needed to be patient. I had went through something similar in 2002 when a Cubs-Cardinals game was called off due to Darryl Kile's death, but that was more about the when and not the where. But it taught me a lot about being patient under 'extenuating circumstances'.
   Called my college roommate tonight, he told me more about moving from Memphis to north of Philadelphia within the month. I said I would try to find him a souvenir from this historic Bears-Vikings game, since I have before. Also used Taco Bell coupon number 8 tonight, so I'm on track to be halfway done with the 20 free meals by the end of December. Picked up a pumpkin pie and some ice cream at the grocery store after that, thought about it since I could have had that flavor for a Dairy Queen Blizzard treat this week.

The Coffee Play

I saw the coffee play, 'Triple Espresso', in Minneapolis tonight. Expected to see a play, it was more like a comedy show. The jokes were good, and enjoyed the audience participation. Liked the prompting to tell the truth, by hitting people on the side. Liked how there were many Minnesota references in it. After the play I went to pick up a package at a nearby Fedex location. It was the Insight Bowl items I had ordered, the bowl game Iowa is playing in. There was a shirt and a button. I think I still have bowl game shirts dating back to the inaugural Alamo Bowl, in 1993. The buttons of course last even longer, I think I have Rose Bowl buttons going back to 1981-82.
   Still not sure about the Bears-Vikings game. No mention has been made about tickets for the game, and apparently the league has not given their official go-ahead for playing at the Gopher stadium. I do like the idea of having temporary bleachers being brought in, but like many other ticketholders-according to the comments I see on many online articles- there are many who have questions not yet answered. Some spoke of what they paid for game and plane tickets, as I said to a colleague earlier today there are winners and losers with any change of venue.
   I found some online articles that interest me, about helping with snow removal at the Gopher (TCF) stadium. I'm thinking about helping when I have the time, which would be Saturday and Sunday. There was conflicting information though, one article said 6 hours for pay and another said 4 hours for free. It would definitely be a good story to tell, and of course write about. Especially when I have a Hawkeyes and Bears coat, I would be wearing an opponent's coat at a Gopher venue to help with a Vikings game.
   Really odd to see all of the buzz about this game being moved from the Metrodome, on Youtube I found a video called 'Hitler destroys the Dome' which was meant to be funny somehow.  Then there was the speculation about venues, 5 in all. Besides TCF, there was mention of Detroit again, Indianapolis, and 2 more college stadiums- Michigan and Ohio State. Why the last 2, I don't know. Another article mentioned Atlanta, though the plan is to play in Minnesota but issues besides tickets- like the frozen field and if beer will be served- are not yet answered and still might scuttle playing close to home. Liked seeing the videos of people helping with the snow, for me they're playing my song since I just bought a shovel after the blizzard last weekend and want to use it.

Wait and See on Venue

The news informed me the Bears-Vikings game will be moved to the Gopher stadium, staying in Minneapolis. Must wait and see about if I am getting in to the game, since the college stadium has about 10,000 fewer seats and I'm not a season ticket holder. I have seen some NFL games at college stadiums before. My first Bears games I attended were played in Champaign during the 2002 season, against the Saints, Lions, and Jets. I recall going to a class reunion that summer and somebody said 'you've lived in Chicago for 4 years and haven't seen a Bears game?' Surprised to hear it since they knew it was my favorite team. I said I figured it was hard to get tickets for, and it is if you wait too long. But I figured it would be easier that year at a temporary home, since Soldier Field was being renovated, and I was right. I know I will get more information soon as I am on the email list for the Vikings, as I regularly order tickets despite it just being for the Bears game each year. There was one year where I ordered a 2-game package, included an exhibition game against the Cowboys, to ensure I would get in to the Bears game. It was the 2007 season. The news spoke of possibly adding temporary bleachers to deal with the difference in seating capacity, my guess is they don't want to have to turn away people who bought tickets months ago, like I had before the season began.
    It was a fairly routine day at work, back in the office after having Friday and Monday off. Didn't take long to finish my share of the payoff reports, so it was special projects, auditing files, for the rest of the day. Signed myself up for a potluck as well, bringing pineapple.
     I made it back to the comedy club tonight, joked how I had to after missing the previous 2 nights. Didn't want people starting rumors how I might be in a hospital, jail, or graveyard after the weekend blizzard. One comic told a joke about being in prison for a short time, and I couldn't stop laughing after he told it. Seeing one comic friend was nice, it helped me with plenty of material and hopefully we will do another comedy duet soon. I liked being introdcued to another comic, informed he was part of the site where one of my clips was shown, never saw myself 'working the refs' but I did in hopes of getting more exposure.

DQ Blizzard Odyssey

I went back to a mall location today to use a Blizzard coupon, the equipment still was broken so I was advised to try another location and finally got what I was looking for- ironic to get these after a real blizzard. Also had an eye appointment today, memorable since the heat was out and they called me first asking if I wanted to reschedule. But I had my cellphone turned off and didn't know until I got there, so I decided to go ahead with the appointment with my coat on.
  It was a day off from work, got some other errand running done like dishes and recycle and trash. But it was a challenge to get the recycle dropped off, the dumpster was cardboard only, got changed recently. So I trudged through the snow to find an available one at a nearby building. Toilet wasn't running properly, called in a work order and it was fine when I got back from my appointment. After using up the salt I decided to turn my attentions to another item: some rice and barley soup I got as a holiday gift from when I lived in Little Canada for one year. Don't know why I hadn't tried it any earlier, it had been 6 years. I opened the jar and put the mix in a big pot along with just as much water and cooked it up. Unsure how many servings are in it, I've put one in my lunch for work on Tuesday. Probably at least 2 more left, based on how much fit in a plastic container.
    The footage from the Metrodome roof collapse keeps getting shown on the news, and it is a front page picture for not just the Twin City papers but also USA Today. It was also part of the top story on ABC's Nightline show, as it was a big snowstorm in Indiana as well. Naturally it was a part of the story of the Vikings-Giants game tonight, moved to Detroit. Giants won 21-3. It was a slow going to get to the comedy club, didn't make it in time so I turned around and went home. First I stopped at Porky's in St. Paul, I had went there before after reading about it in a book by comedian Louie Anderson. I ate in a rush then and wanted to take the time to enjoy it this time. I ordered fries this time with the pulled pork sandwich and a large drink, Sierra Mist, instead of a shake like before. Tasted fine, had to ask for ketchup packets, and a big part of the drink was ice. Finished some art for work, the Fish training, used colored pencils on a drawing of a fish.

Gopher Hockey Game

I went to the Gopher hockey game this afternoon, they played Minnesota-Duluth, and it ended in a 2-2 tie. I probably did too much running around before it, as I was left tired by the time I got there. I'm sure there was a smaller crowd than normal since it was postponed one day, looked like the arena was just over half full. Gophers scored first, UMD Bulldogs tied it 1-1 near the end of the first session, then went ahead 2-1, the score at the end of the second session. It was my annual visit at Mariucci Arena, the Gopher hockey venue, I like seeing the team pictures up on the wall. I still notice how dour Herb Brooks looks in the pictures, but he said it well about being the 1980 Olympic coach- 'we're here to play hockey' in response to being told he was an ogre. They had the 'little chippers', pee wee hockey players, during the second intermission, so named as it was sponsored by Old Dutch Chips.
    I had a hard time sleeping, I think due to being wound up from being outside in the cold. Then I heard a lot of beeping, and it was the snowplows coming through. So I said if I was already up I might as well move my car into the street from where it was, but had to wait until somebody shoveled out the driveway as the plows blocked it with snow. I made it to my date in a nearby town, had breakfast there and discussed various issues including our blizzard stories. Another thing I spoke of is how I had heard from a classmate, and how we haven't spoke much in the past year, and she told a similar story about a college friend of hers.
   I did get a shovel after the date, but found it was kind of big and didn't fit inside the trunk of my car. So I am keeping it inside my home. Also tried to use a Dairy Queen Blizzard coupon, how odd after a real blizzard, but there was equipment problems at the mall location I went to. So I said since it took me a while to get there I need to eat lunch somewhere, and had some pizza and potatoes at a Sbarro in the food court. I had planned on using a Taco Bell coupon for lunch but moved it back to dinner. While at the mall I saw a live cooking demonstration by a local talk show I've seen before as a studio audience member. It's reminding me to look up online how long the waiting list is, when I checked before it was 2 months. On my way to the mall I saw the news crawlers downtown from the public radio building, it said the Metrodome roof collapsed under the weight of the snow so the Vikings-Giants  game has been moved to Detroit. Many of my comedian friends shared links of the collapse on their Facebook status updates. So now the next game at the Dome is in doubt, one I have a ticket for, against the Bears. There have been changes of venue in NFL games before, a 49ers game was moved to Stanford after the 1989 earthquake. More recently there was a Chargers game moved to Arizona in 2003, a Monday night game, due to wildfires in San Diego. Of course there's Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in New Orleans, where all of the Saints games that season were moved, mostly to the LSU stadium in Baton Rouge and to the Alamodome in San Antonio. It also meant moving a college football bowl game, the Sugar Bowl, to Atlanta. My guess is it's a financial hit since it means refunds to those who are unable to make it to the game in another state.
   After the hockey game I did eat at Taco Bell and found a parking spot, at first I didn't like where it was since the snow ordinance is still in effect but I wasn't alone in parking on a night plow route that is not entirely plowed. I watched some of the Eagles-Cowboys game, and fell asleep before seeing the ending. Decided to go outside and use up the container of Morton Salt I've had for a while on some of the ice on the pavement, might be table salt but it works. I got the salt for gargling after a sore throat and kept it for a while since I don't like wasting anything.

The Blizzard

I ended up questioning the wisdom of where I parked after getting back from the game, as I ended up trying to get my car out for the snow ordinance and it took a long time. I left it where I didn't want to but had no choice, not wanting to get stuck again. I was not alone, as some others parked in a driveway next to some garages like I did. And they will have to get to theirs before mine, so I should be fine until morning.
   At first I didn't care much at all, staying in and waking up late. I had some unusual meals today, no breakfast and for lunch a TV dinner. Also had some more Paul Newman cookies, the last of the egg nog from the previous day, and 2 bottles of Leinenkugel beer. It was left over from a 6-pack I bought in Iowa City in late October, my former roommate said he wouldn't be drinking it. I still have 2 more to drink, as I drank 2 while at his place. I watched much of the Army-Navy football game, though I fell asleep during the second half but Navy was way ahead by then and went on to win. Also was on Facebook quite a bit. This sure is a blizzard for the ages, as it closed the airport and left a football game in doubt. The New York Giants were to play the Vikings on Sunday but their plane was diverted to Kansas City. Now the game has been moved to Monday night. I have a ticket for a Gopher hockey game, it was moved to Sunday afternoon, was scheduled for tonight. I expect to get a shovel since I didn't have one and ended up using a broom, then the scoop part of a broken shovel that was abandoned in a snowbank nearby.

School Lunches and Skyboxes

I had a school lunch for the first time since I was in school as I went to meet my student. I got plenty with the $3.50 I paid, a sub sandwich, salad, roll, 2 types of fruit and milk. Read an article about Michelle Rhee, the school chancellor in Washington, DC, while waiting for my student. She has received media attention before about trying to improve the record, and image, of the schools. It was mentioned she was at the DC premiere of the documentary movie 'Waiting For Superman', one that I meant to see but haven't yet. So I decided to become a fan of it on Facebook for now, will probably have to see it on video.
   Also made it to a Wolves basketball game at the Target Center in Minneapolis tonight, a mentoring program event. Wolves beat Detroit 109-99, we had skybox seats, first time there. I had them with my employer when I lived in suburban Chicago, for some events at the United Center, Bulls and Blackhawks games. Crunch, the mascot, showed up for pictures, and we had pictures taken on the court after the game had ended, haven't done that too often before. We ate at Smalley's before the game, near the arena. Made sense to me about the restaurant's name after getting there, seeing pictures of Roy Smalley, the Twins baseball player.
   It was a day off from work, didn't do much aside from getting some Paul Newman cookies from the discount table at the nearby grocery store, my dad liked Paul Newman movies and bought his popcorn. Also ordered a shirt and button for Iowa's bowl game in Arizona later this month.

Grocery Store Literacy

I stayed beyond my normal leave time at work to see that things are caught up since I am out of the office on Friday and Monday. I wanted to make it to a comedy show tonight that I keep getting invited to but was tired and stayed home, watching 'Big Bang Theory'. Then I went out to the grocery store to get some egg nog and potato chips and a candy bar. I thought about getting the Paul Newman cookies on the discount table but I wanted to keep it under $5, what I had in my wallet. While I was there I was asked to read what was on a WIC check, haven't seen these too often before. It spoke of the types of milk, eggs, and beans available to them. I may have read kind of fast for them but when they asked me to do it again I did so. It was a lesson in literacy and I thought of a classmate I had just heard from, who said she was studying ways of improving literacy rates in elementary schools. I am a big advocate for reading, as it gave me a leg up in life. I know this since one must read a lot to keep up in college classes. I still think back to my prize for finishing second in a reading contest in second grade, it was a Charlie Brown book, the Great Pumpkin. Still have the book, and have added plenty of other Charlie Brown books since then. First time I had heard from this classmate in a while, just before going to the store. She posted a picture on Facebook and I had asked where she had been in Texas. So I think I will wait until they respond again before I tell them about the literacy story. I did tell them a little about a date from this weekend.
In this case the challenge for literacy isn't always just with young people, but also older people in the immigrant population. I had no problem helping them as I like it when people have taken the time to help me. I call it 'my good deed for the day'.
    I did get a date scheduled for the weekend, but phone kept hanging up and don't know why, it did the same with Dad on Wednesday. Sunday brunch was suggested, a fine idea.

Junked 34 Pens

On Tuesday I went through my pens at work and threw out 12 of them, apparently the ink had dried up. Decided to do the same at my home tonight and threw out 34 more. I am also deciding to send some of them to work where they may get used more, especially the markers. It's good to do this every so often, more likely to find a pen that works this way. Many of them reminded me of places I had traveled to since I had bought them while traveling in cities like New Orleans.
  It was also the typical record-keeping night, and it meant writing 2 checks, a phone bill and the monthly payment on the Best Buy account. For Best Buy it meant driving over to a nearby location so I don't have to mail it and it gets posted more quickly. And I'm looking at a pile of shreddings from the junk mail I went through.
   I checked my messages and my dad called me, he said he was having colon surgery next month to take out a polyp. He had told me at Thanksgiving about having a colonoscopy scheduled. Still feels odd to tell him about dating at all, but he does ask. If there's nothing to tell, then I say so. But there is somebody of course that I have reached 3 dates with.
   We had the holiday party at work today, there was some confusion about how to get it entered properly on my timecard. I had hoped for some more lunch-type food, but all they had was little tacos and little egg rolls. Otherwise it was cut-up fruit and cookies. Would have liked seeing some cheese and crackers, especially cheese.

Eight Legging It

I'm still not sure where I got the term '8-legging it' from, may have been something I misheard. But for some reason it's what I say whenever I'm running late and that described this morning. I told myself I could still make the bus for work and not have to drive in and pay for parking, got ready in less than 10 minutes. It meant going without breakfast, but I had some cookies at work, left over from the previous day. It would be funny to see what an artist rendering of it would look like.
    Checked messages on my cellphone after work, there was one from my college roommate from the night before when I was at the comedy club. I had called him after my date on Saturday, something I do often after dates. Still playing phone tag, said that Wednesday would be less busy for me as tonight is another comedian night. I informed my lady friend of the same thing, a short call, was touching base and trying to figure out what we can do this weekend. But we may only have time for dinner, which is fine with me.
    When I get bored at work I start thinking about subjects to look up online to keep my mind busy. Today it meant looking up the Wikipedia article about historian Irving Weber, somebody I heard about often while at the University of Iowa. I was familiar with how an elementary school was named for him there, and I thought of him again as I saw his name at the swimming venue while in Iowa City in late October. I still to learn as much as I can, it helps that I'm receptive to learning wherever possible. In this case it was how he became one of the owners of the Quality Chekd Dairy, a brand name I did recall seeing  in Iowa every so often.  
     This week I also looked up the Wikpedia articles about track star Steve Prefontaine, I liked his 'diamond in the rough' story and I have one of the movies based on his life, 'Without Limits', on DVD. In addition, I have the book and documentary about his life. Also looked up the largest football stadiums in the USA, after reading an article about the matchup in the Rose Bowl. A friend at work is from Wisconsin, and said the Badgers would be playing there, but wanted to look up their opponent, it is Texas Christian. It reminded me of how the Rose Bowl stadium was once the largest in the nation, but has since downsized and some others got larger. The University of Michigan football stadium is now the largest, seating more than 113,000. There are apparently now 6 that seat more than 100,000, and all of them are college stadiums. Just 2 of the top 20 are NFL stadiums. And after thinking of how I saw a week-old copy of USA Today on the bus about the World Cup sites if the USA got the tournament, I looked up the ones from the 1994 tournament that the USA hosted. There were 9, and some are no longer used much like the Silverdome near Detroit. I have seen events at some of them, like Soldier Field in Chicago and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Both of those were football games, and at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC I saw a baseball game. Of the top 20 stadiums, I have seen games at 2 of them, one of them is the Cotton Bowl, the other is Ohio Stadium at Ohio State University. Proof of how college football is really popular, and it makes sense why. It's more of a local thing as not every state has an NFL team. And school spirit seems to trump civic pride.

Plenty of Cookies

My boss put out plenty of goodies today, Girl Scout cookies along with candy bars. Probably ate more than I should have. There was some shuffling of duties today since one colleague was out, I didn't mind it at all. Some of the printouts arrived late, and I didn't go to lunch, around 1 pm, until they were finished. Otherwise it was a fairly routine day, not too many messages waiting for me due to being out of office on Friday. There was one from my 'Ohio friend' suggesting I make a list of what I want in a mate. Currently mulling that one over, though she's usually correct about what will work for me. I said I know well now what I don't want, and it is important to know this, but I prefer positive motivations. Guess it worked for her on finding her husband-to-be. Funny how she said somebody even described him right down to the socks! I did let her know about reaching the 3rd date with somebody over the weekend, how it may be successful in spite of myself.
   Speaking of the date, I did let it leak to some of my comedian friends on Facebook, but very few specifics, so some of them asked me how it went. I said it went fine, and the 'company line' I give is that if you get me on stage I will tell the rest of the story. One of them said she was discussing lesbian sex, seemed to be a cue to leave since I know nothing about the subject. Saw somebody who hoped to get picked, but when he reminded me how he went over his time I said 'don't count on getting picked again'. It's right at the bottom of the page. In fact, a duet went over their time tonight. When one pays attention, one usually knows which ones likely will have the microphone cut off.

Drumline and Chasing 3000

I watched both of the DVDs I got from Blockbuster today, first was 'Chasing 3000' about an odyssey to see the 3000th hit by Pittsburgh Pirates player Roberto Clemente. Liked that Ray Liotta was in it, reminding me of another baseball movie he did, "Field of Dreams". I like road movies and baseball movies, so it definitely filled the bill for me. The other, "Drumline", was a nice story, I actually thought it was a documentary when I first heard of it. It was a familiar story, of somebody talented and needing some guidance.
    I made it to the comedy club tonight, as usual it was nice to see everybody I know. After I got home I saw the message about the bowl game and opponent the Iowa Hawkeyes will have, it will be Missouri in the Insight Bowl in Arizona. I was familiar with the story how the two haven't played since 1910, though there was a 4-game series scheduled and Missouri backed out. It was why Iowa scheduled Northern Iowa in 2005. My dad had told me the story about the 'gentlemen's agreement' many college football teams had due to the racism in sports at the time, especially in the southern states. Nonwhite players weren't common then in football or baseball. It was why there was a Negro baseball League. A similar story about a black player being beat up was what led to the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, when Iowa plays Minnesota. Other Iowa schools dealt with these issues, like at Iowa State. The football stadium is named for Jack Trice, who died from injuries on the field, in the 1920s. Even later, in the 1950s, I found a story in the book 'Rites of Autumn' about a cheap shot on a Drake player. As a history major I understand the way things were. I do not condone what happened, nor do I apologize for it since it was a long time ago and wasn't done by me.
   At some point it will mean ordering a bowl game shirt and button, I've ordered this online many times before. Since I don't know how much time I will spend in Iowa for Christmas- on days the stores are open- it's best to just order online. With what the shipping charge is it makes perfect sense to order both, since the shipping is more than the button is! I'm familiar with much of the history of the current bowl games, and many of the defunct ones as well. This bowl hasn't been around for all that long, just over 20 years, and started in Tucson- as the Copper Bowl. Some other bowls survived since they changed vanues like this one did. It is in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix, home of Arizona State University. It is the former home of the Fiesta Bowl, now played at the newer NFL stadium in Glendale. I saw 2 games at the Tempe stadium in 2005, the final year the NFL Cardinals played there. It was against the Carolina Panthers. The college game was Arizona State vs. Oregon. Saw a baseball game as well, it was October and the Arizona Fall League, rookies and minor leaguers. It was at the spring training stadium for the Padres and Mariners in Peoria, west metro, and what inspired me to go to spring training in Florida the following March.

Dinner and Movie

There was a show on cable called 'dinner and a movie' where a couple of journalists go through a recipe during the movie breaks. I did the dinner and a movie tonight. I was a little late, had a hard time finding the restaurant since it was in an unfamiliar town to me. But she's still interested, yay for that. It was tough dealing with the rejections before, knowing any mistake could be fatal. I like having margin for error, but don't care to abuse that privilege either. We ate at a TGI Fridays and was going to see 'Unstoppable' starring Denzel Washington but switched to 'Due Date' starring Robert Downey instead, since it started about 15 minutes later, gave us more time. I'm starting to feel more comfortable now since it's the 3rd date. Maybe she is as well but she was a little shaky tonight, when I asked her about it she said she was nervous.  I noticed it in her hands and she said it was why she got BBQ sauce on her shirt, it was a Winnie the Pooh character shirt, Eeyore the sad donkey.
    I think I'm learning a lot about myself since I started dating much more, like how sometimes one must lie to themselves and act confident until one really does feel confident. I recall a friend from work- sometimes referred to as my 'Ohio friend'- saying what I lacked most at the time was confidence. This was somebody who worked in sales, and being around them I understood the importance of good  salesmanship no matter who you are and what you do. Since sometimes what you need to sell is yourself instead of goods or services. One line I spoke resonated with me tonight, it was how I found out my life became easier to live when I started living it more for me and nobody else. It's the theme of the Alanis Morrissette song 'Perfect', how sometimes parents want the kids to succeed where the parents didn't. Or the Nurse Hathaway character on "ER" explaining her suicide attempt- how it was due to trying to live her life for others. Whatever happens, I know I will be fine now since just showing up and trying is an accomplishment. Having a few successes helps too, knowing what works and what doesn't.
   We did discuss our circles of friends more than before. I felt like I had to after the dust-up surrounding my announcement of the scheduling conflict when unable to attend a friend's comedy show. One of them said she was 'imaginary'. But I did well on defending myself, sharing a few details about the planned evening to satisfy them. I was declared the winner, guess being a dour comic can be effective. She spoke of one of her friends wanting to meet me, unsure why but it is an unusual request. She even said her friend wanted to make sure I wasn't some creepy guy. She told her friend it was still early, and this is true. I don't have any plans yet of when to introduce her to any of my friends, but I think my college roommate who lives in a nearby town is likely a better candidate than most or all of my comedian friends. After the date I went to a Blockbuster video store and found 'Drumline', a movie mentioned after seeing the Grambling band perform at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during the Texas State Fair. Also picked one up about somebody on an odyssey to see Roberto Clemente's milestone 3,000th hit. There was a Hispanic couple there and it was fun to see how body language crosses language barriers- how the woman playfully hit her man after he said something, seen it before.
   Another notable event today was getting two books at a Barnes and Noble, one about Lincoln and the other about cultural literacy. Both were in the discount section. Saw somebody who commented about my Chicago Blackhawks jersey, for once it wasn't somebody turning their nose up at me. I live in a hockey-mad region so they just liked seeing a hockey jersey. So we spoke about hockey for a while, including how there was a book signing there that day. There was even mention of how both of us have met sports novelist Ross Bernstein, apparently he churns out books at an amazing rate.

Ordering from Ebay

It was a day off for me, need to use up days before the end of the year. It was a leisurely day, decided to get caught up on things like seeing orders are made. This included getting event tickets ordered like for a play and for a basketball game. Two other items had been on my list for a while, finally ordered them as well, one of them from Ebay. It was a Simpsons mug, I had a printed page from February reminding me I had wanted to order it even then. But I wanted to pace myself after getting some other Simpson items, then the Emerson Hough saga began. It will be nice to have it, as I've already added some Simpson apparel like a shirt and sleepwear. I use those items, unlike most of the others which I consider to be collectibles like patches and figurines. I thought about ordering some items inspired by the TV show 'the Office' as well but couldn't quite find what I wanted there, checked the NBC site and they had more of what I wanted. So I ordered a magnet and ornament as I wanted the stick-figure logo and the Dunder Mifflin logo. Getting a Theodore Roosevelt bobblehead, Emerson Hough's friend, is also on my list. Some of them looked better than others, sometimes I've seen it as part of a set. This is due to the 'Racing Presidents' promotion the Washington Nationals baseball team has- the 4 Mount Rushmore presidents. When I saw a game at RFK Stadium in 2007 I did get one, but it was the Jefferson bobble.
    Another thing I did was go through slips of paper I had in my backpack and wallet, where I had been keeping notes there. Some of them were hard to read, decided to consolidate them onto a larger piece of paper that I would see more often. Some of them were getting tattered, especially one in a backpack pocket from unzipping it often. Should be easier to find the important things in both now.
   I liked getting a special edition magazine as well, published by People about TV shows that changed our lives. As expected, 'All in the Family' was in there, along with 'the Simpsons' , 'MASH', and 'Mary Tyler Moore'. As a Bob Newhart fan I liked seeing mention of 'Bob Newhart Show', something I grew to enjoy as syndicated reruns back in high school. Figured it was best to get it now since I had seen it for a while and it's best to get while the getting is good.
    Saw what the snowstorm really looked like this evening, when I went out for errand running in the afternoon there wasn't too much snow yet. Went down to the Taco Bell and used another one of those 20 'Office' coupons I won, the 5th. Didn't get a receipt, 2nd out of 5, and the first where I had to sign it. There is more snow expected, explaining why the snow ordinance is not yet in effect.
   Went onto Myspace tonight for the first time in while, since there was a pending friend request there. It was from a journalist, I accepted it. Still don't have many friends on this site, just the 6th. Decided to look up the same journalist, Melissa Rowley, on Facebook along with a band called Sideproject as I am on Facebook way more and have more friends there, nearly 200.

Email Warnings

I had an odd email waiting for me this morning at work, asking me to update tax information. It looked on the level since it had the company name imprinted in the link to click on. When I did it said if it was a real phishing email it would have led to being quarantined. I didn't enter any personal information or passwords, so I should be fine. Found out I wasn't the only one duped by it. There were some bagels left from a celebration on Wednesday, when I had 3, so I had 1 more. It was for winning a fundraising contest during the United Way campaign in October.
   On Facebook I saw a posting from a comedian friend about being in Wisconsin doing some shows, almost thought about going there to see one of them. But the distance wasn't the thing keeping me away- the impending weather and getting a date scheduled for the weekend prevents me from going. Guess I will be seeing one of his shows out of town about 50 miles away in January, but a road trip for a comedy show would definitely be fun. Same one who calls me some odd names and reminds me of people I knew in high school, but if he didn't like me he'd ignore me. Dinner and a movie is what I have planned for Saturday's date.
    This week I liked watching a Playlist feature on ABC's 'Nightline' show. It was with country singer Brad Paisley, not too familiar with his music but I liked some of the songs he mentioned like 'Money For Nothing' by Dire Straits and 'Black Parade' by My Chemical Romance. I decided to find 'Parade' on Youtube, it's nice to be able to find just about any song there.
  

Richie Havens

At work today a coworker asked me if I had looked up Richie Havens. I hadn't, but I recalled asking about the picture in their cube. I looked up his Wikipedia article and was impressed with what I found, like how he was the opening performer at the Woodstock 1969 festival. Same was true with one song being co-written by Lou Gossett, doing movies with the likes of Richard Pryor, performing at Clinton's inauguration, and writing an auto-biography. I liked how people can help me with my knowledge of music, as I like learning the history of entertainment and entertainers.
   I stopped at a grocery store I hadn't been to before tonight, picking up come egg nog. There was something about a dinner being offered this weekend for real cheap, so I may go back.
    Speaking of Wikipedia, I liked looking up things like 'davenport' after laughing at the name due to seeing it in my paperwork. I thought of the 'Wayne's World' movie line how it was '2 chimps on a davenport in a basement'. There's a city in Iowa with this name, and I've called it 'couch city' for this reason. Then I discussed with the same coworker things like schools being named after their benefactor, like Ball State or some Ivy League schools, in reference to sometimes a trademark becomes the most popular name for an item (like Mason jar as a canning jar). I found an article about Colonial Colleges, mostly Ivy League schools, so named since they were founded before the American Revolution.
   I slept for a while after work tonight, but I am thankful I looked up some of the Richie Havens music on youtube, so I could follow up with my coworker about it as I hated forgetting to do so earlier. I spoke of how I get more things done when I write them down.

No Spoons for Lunch

I ended up singing the Alanis Morrissette song 'Ironic' after what happened at lunch today. For the second straight day we couldn't find any spoons in the breakroom. So I used a fork instead, for soup of all things. Naturally the song was slightly different, as it was 'it's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife.' Before lunch I finished an online class that had just been assigned, and after lunch I finished the other one. Made up all of the time now after being late on Monday, with shorter lunches.
   Saw a friend at the comedy club tonight I hadn't seen in a while, asked for advice about my latest dates but I don't think he really gave any, but that's fine. It was nice just to see him again. Was informed by another comedian friend how he moved his open-mic night to Thursday, will make it easier for me to attend. It had been Monday, and I said things like comedy shows- along with movies and baseball games- are easier to do one a night.

  

Late for Work

I hated being late for work this morning, but pretty much expected to be when I had a horrible time trying to get to sleep. I think it was mainly the noisy neighbors. For this reason, I decided I was too tired to go to the comedy club tonight. I needed to get caught up on record-keeping and go through mail, shredding the junk mail, as well. Found out I missed a birthday celebration there, would have been nice to see. But we all must make choices from time to time. I did feel better after laying down for a while.
   I like finding music on youtube, and after seeing a comedian friend last night it spurred me to look up more versions of  'Tide is High'. Found 2 versions by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, one of them was with Rihanna. Watched the Blondie version again, nice to see Darth Vader in it, that version was released in 1980, same as 'Empire Strikes Back'.
   A book I ordered arrived earlier today at the office, now I need to find the time to read it. This one is a 'Don't Know Much' book about literature, but it looks like Emerson Hough isn't in it. There are plenty of books in this series, even one about Abraham Lincoln. I already have plenty of Lincoln books, more than 10. I noticed one of them, 'Lincoln Conspiracy', was also a movie in 1977. Looks like some of the movie clips are on youtube, will have to see what is from the play 'Our American Cousin', the play shown when he was assassinated. Naturally I would still like to see the play, but it is hard to find. But I liked seeing the play 'Our Leading Lady' in the Carolinas in April, about the lead actress in the play, Laura Keene.

P-Diddy Reference

Tonight I was onstage and the comedian after me wondered aloud if I was just messing with people and was really P-Diddy in disguise, ready to speed off in a limo. I said 'not even close' but I liked getting zinged, who wouldn't? I had plenty of material ready from seeing my family over Thanksgiving. And from having 2 dates today, really had to rush to be on time at the comedy club since the second date was pushed back due to a change in venue. Hard to say what will become of the two, but I said my schedule is more available now since the holiday is over. I got the message earlier today about being offered stagetime and said 'yes I am in town, and I like the picture of your dog'- a bulldog- on Facebook.
   It was a fairly full day, along with doing laundry, which I did between dates and resting in my easy-chair. It feels good as usual being onstage doing what I enjoy and what I'm good at, and getting commendation for it. I've heard of 'hiding under a cloak of degradation' before, guess that described me for a while. When I saw a comedian friend tonight- same one that followed me- I said I thought of him when hearing a ska song this weekend as he likes doing music education. It was the John Holt song 'Tide is High'. I told the story how hearing it on a loudspeaker at a Walgreen- the Blondie version- was what helped me find the courage to ask a girl out. She didn't call me after I gave her my card, but I knew I had to follow through as I would have otherwise hated the song. I know this well how songs can bring back a bad memory or two, so I am careful about when I listen to music. Sometimes it means not turning on my car radio for a while.
   It is another reminder of what I am good at, recognizing music, since I've spent plenty of time listening to it on my car radio. I recall a fortune teller reading me well at the Renaissance Festival before, saying I have a talent for music. I said 'I know what I like'. I don't know if I have a talent for PLAYING music, which is what I figured she meant, though I've played some harmonica before. I see myself as a good drummer, maybe since it helps with working out frustration and I've often been just like a drummer in the roles I've held in life. Since I've often been the forgotten guy in the back, that still performs an important task- I was a dishwasher and janitor while in school. It is a good callback to that 'cloak of degradation' - since I'm probably selling myself short if I still think of myself as just a 'drummer' in life. If I'm onstage doing comedy I'm a frontman as well!
   I just read how actor Leslie Nielsen has died, I liked how they mentioned serious roles he did before 'Airplane' and 'Naked Gun', like 'Swamp Fox' or a 'Tammy' movie. I recall an official with the Swamp Fox festival in Marion, Iowa, telling me the story about trying, unsuccessfully, to get him to be the grand marshal for the parade.

Cold, Disappointing Game

I went to the Iowa-Minnesota football game today, a cold game and disappointing as Iowa lost 27-24. Playing most of the game from behind didn't help, and I'm sure the pundits will hang it on the onside kick from Minnesota early on, giving them more confidence. I ended up walking back to my car after the game, took a bus over to the game from across the river. It was a university walkway over the river that I had never walked on before.
   I didn't do much before or after the game, rested a lot. Main reason was to save on my energy. I woke up with diarrhea in the middle of the night, then threw up in the morning. What I ate at the Hawkeye Huddle the night before apparently didn't agree with me. But I said it would take more than that to keep me away from the game. I picked up a generic version of Pepto-Bismol at Walgreen on the way to the game, wanting some 'insurance' if you will. Though I seemed to feel better shortly after the nausea passed. Didn't end up eating much today.

Running Around Town

Just listened to 'Run This Town' by Jay-Z on Youtube. Found one of my bandannas and I am wearing it now while writing, inspired by the look in the video. One friend from work is still surprised about the interests I have in music, but I have a wide range of interests. It took a while to like rap, but much like alternative music it tapped into my emotions and is very therapeutic. Also tonight I went to a used CD shop and got 'Pisces Iscariot' by Smashing Pumpkins. I did get 'Adore' and 'Machina' earlier, all are replacements for the versions recorded on cassette tape by somebody I once knew in suburban Chicago. I had enough time to listen to "Iscariot" tonight, I like 'Landslide' on it but knew few of the other songs. Did this after the Hawkeye Huddle in downtown Minneapolis, an event done before Iowa road games. I've done these before and like the people I meet there, one of them had an "Iowa native" shirt on, and I knew my classmate's brother is the company owner. Liked hearing 2 Lady Gaga songs there, 'Poker Face' when arriving and 'Paparazzi' near the end. It reminded me of seeing my aunt over this Thanksgiving, and she called Gaga 'an idiot'. I like needling older people about Gaga, since they're too old to appreciate her talent as an artist. She's the latest version of the 'temptress', like Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, and Madonna before her. Also liked seeing an older woman grooving to 'Get This Party Started' by Pink, definitely made me grin.
    It was a nice drive this morning after the holiday, liked how I made fewer stops than on the way there. It was 2 instead of 3, but when nature calls you answer it. Staying in a hotel worked just fine, I was more comfortable and slept better with the heater on. Saw 'Pretty Woman' on cable, liked certain scenes in it like when Edward played piano only for strangers and the pillow talk where Vivian said the 'bad stuff is easier to believe'- sad but true. I was on the road around 8am on Thanksgiving and made it to my destination, West Des Moines, around 12:30. My uncle said he didn't know if I would make it, but he sent the Facebook response to my earlier message after I began the drive. My sister was there for a little while, and extended lunch away from work. It was nice seeing my dad, though he is old-school. After checking into the hotel I eventually made it over to the casino and had a drink there, couldn't find my friend who works there but I sent him a message on Facebook saying I had been there.

Waiting to Venture Out

I was checking the weather report often this week, and it still sounds like waiting to hit the road for the holiday is the best gameplan. The evening news spoke of a road closure in Iowa on the road I am planning on driving. And there was plenty of snow already as I was getting off work. So I stayed in tonight and watched a movie, 'Planes Trains and Automobiles'. Seems appropriate when it's about trying to get somewhere for Thanksgiving. Called a friend of mine tonight to wish them a happy holiday, we spoke for about 8 minutes. I am pleased that I have permission from them to do jokes about them, but I'm still not sure about following through with it. I prefer keeping them as a friend, so I usually don't do jokes about friends. Maybe this is why many of them are about exes and myself.
   I showed some artwork to a colleague today, it was of an Amtrak train that I drew when I was 8. This was after riding the train to Chicago for a family vacation, the San Francisco Zephyr. Realized I drew it more like a stretch limo than a train. A former boss and mentor said it looks like I drew all women as passengers, I said 'maybe all of the men are on the other side'.
  

Bearing Gifts at Work

Odd things happen all the time at work, today that was bearing gifts related to the company's Health Ahead movement. I chose the bar of soap as I will need another one soon.
   Another notable event was telling the colleague, the theater man, about my interest in seeing a play called 'Triple Espresso'. I had a card from its run previously, when I had missed it. There will be a nearly 2-month run of the play so now I need to figure out when to make it. As expected, it is 5 dollars cheaper on lower-demand nights, that is performances not on Friday or Saturday. So I see myself going on one of those days. I did the same when I saw the world premiere of 'Little House' at the Guthrie 2 years ago. The caricature of 3 men on the card reminded me of one thing I had heard before, how former 'MASH' castmember Mike Farrell is involved with it somehow or was at one point.
    Went to the comedy club tonight, one comic looked a lot like filmmaker Michael Moore, another was a large man who was from Oklahoma and he had a joke about automatic doors I liked. I did one thing there I wouldn't have done 2 years ago for multiple reasons. I made a call in the bathroom to my date from the past weekend. I didn't have a cellphone 2 years ago, was just getting started with comedy and online dating (on a serious level) at that time as well. Proof of how things can change. I felt tired at work, so I decided to lay down for a while after work before going out and felt better as expected.
  I'm checking the weather report periodically and it looks like I am better off waiting until Thursday morning to start the drive for the holiday, which is what my original plans were.

Displaying More Artwork

I did some more cleanup around my home, and decided to display some of my artwork that had been in storage for a while. I like how it looks, flanking the TV and next to my easy chair. Near the TV: Lady Gaga painting, Cardinals Gashouse Gang, Norman Rockwell's painting of a man asleep in a fishing boat, Grand Vin de France 1919, Fight Club, and Chat Noir. Liked having a few French ones of course. The ones next to the easy chair are cartoon puzzles, Charlie Brown, Shrek, and Pinky & the Brain. I moved some of the books and put more of them on the bookcase I have. I got an empty box of copy paper for all of my CDs that didn't fit in the cases I already had. Also put some art on the table where I write this blog, one was an essay contest certificate and the other being a poem called 'Follow Your Dream'. The Serenity Prayer, inherited from my grandma, is nearby. As the Sheryl Crow song suggests, the change will do you good. Guess I needed some motivation and got it, from one of my comedian friends doing the photography project.
    It was actually an afterthought to do the cleanup, I was on my way to the comedy club and stopped for fuel and couldn't find my wallet. So I went home and still couldn't find it, checked my coat pocket and it was there, I am used to it being in my pants pocket. I recalled how when boarding the bus tonight I put the wallet in the empty box next to my lunch bag and Star Wars backpack, this confusion did contribute to my misplacing it. Another factor was the freezing rain, I needed time to scrape frost before going anywhere.
    There were 2 notable things at work, one of them being my computer was replaced, finally. There were two previous delays. It also led to some cleanup, I don't dust much behind it and it was suggested moving the nic-nacs to a file cabinet above it. I will see them more often, when it's open of course. And I tossed out about 50 FEDEX packages when told they are not eligible to be recycled. I had saved them for over a year, thinking they may have been.
   The other notable thing was a colleague constantly grimacing in pain, especially in the shoulders and back. So he took an extended lunch and went to a chiropractor, much improved. It was definitely more notable than my boss returning after more than 2 weeks on leave due to surgery, she put in a half day and I don't think I even had the chance to say hi to her.

Using Available Space

Felt good about getting caught up on sleep, literally. I did some errand running as well, like get batteries for a portable CD player, the remote control for my DVD player, and the digital camera. I found 3 duplicated books to donate, but as expected I didn't make it in time to the donation place. So I got groceries nearby and headed home. I had dinner and then drove to the comedy club, but not enough people so the show was called off. I did see a comedian friend there and she followed up on a Facebook comment thread. She's a photographer and spoke of a project where she photographs comedians in their homes.
   One of the good things about the show being called off was having plenty of time to do some cleanup around the home in anticipation of the visit. I decided that I needed to use the available space a lot better, and it meant putting more in the closets like newsprint and magazines. It looks way better now, but there's still a ways to go. With any project, though, it helps to take pride in how far you've progressed. It helps keep you motivated and focused.
   Another notable find from the cleanup was a radio I was given when entering the 2005 College World Series. Probably hadn't used it since it was given to me, opened the back to look at the batteries and one was rusted, then the spring came out. So I decided it wasn't worth saving, hated putting it in the trash but I really had no choice. Must think of my safety and health.

Abraham Lincoln Books

Tonight I decided to go through my books and see what all I had, as expected I found plenty about Abraham Lincoln. There was 15 in all, looks like 2 were the same one, different printing, from the Carl Sandburg series. I already knew about having 2 copies of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' so I guess I will donate both duplicate books soon to a secondhand store. I had bought plenty at stores like Goodwill in recent years, they're cheap there and some are hard-to-find.
   I have the books better organized by category than before. Some of these categories are: Charlie Brown, traveling, writing, baseball, French, self-help/psychology, biography, and history. None of these categories surprised me much, since these are all interests of mine. Anybody who knows me knows I have had my struggles over the years, and have tried to find answers in self-help/psychology books. I think this is because it was hard to know who to trust, and the therapist I had didn't have many answers for me. I liked how she recommended that I try writing, but in other areas she was little or no help to me.
   I know what prompted me to go through these books, it was watching a college football game- Notre Dame vs. Army from Yankee Stadium in New York. I had bought a book from the History Book Club in 2008 about the events at this venue, and wanted to see again what was in there about the series. There was one page about the 'win one for the Gipper' speech. During this game they did go through the history some, and I liked seeing the archival footage.
  It was a busy day all around for me, I had an oil change done on my car nearby. When they finished I was still reading an article in Sports Illustrated about Joakim Noah, a pro basketball player, so I stayed a few extra minutes to finish it. I had seen him play for Florida in the college basketball tournament a few times, I recall how he had that competitive fire but sometimes couldn't rein it in when needed to prevent this attitude from being costly.
    Then it was on to Kohl's at the mall to use a gift card, and to get an outfit for a first date today. Got a green shirt and pants, to replace ones that were getting ratty or stained. This is my first pair of corduroy pants in a while. This first date went well, meaning there will likely be a second one. We went to a Chinese restaurant I hadn't been to before a few miles away, then to a hobby shop across the street. I said I wanted to get to a gamewatch with my fellow Iowa alums, so that is when the date ended. Iowa led at halftime but couldn't hold on to beat Ohio State. I had 2 beers and some cheesecake, since it was between meals. I was reminded of why I don't go often- besides the cost of food and drink. There can be some obnoxious fans there, one of them kept standing up and blocking my view of the screen.

Lily Tomlin Movie

I watched a DVD I found at the library, it was a vaudeville/variety show starring Lily Tomlin called 'Search for signs of intelligent life in the universe'. There were a few lulls in it, but there were some great observations made in it by each character, like how 'all we know is what little we know about what it all means'. Or 'creative without talent is like a perfectionist being unable to do anything right'. I had hoped it would be a comedy show, since she is known for comedy, but this still came across as intelligent which I liked.
   I had the day off from work so I could attend a mentoring event at a local college. Learned something as usual, like the Piper mascot being a reference to the 'pied piper', another German story like the Brothers Grimm tales. My student was absent, said he might be out of state visiting family. But I liked getting to know who was assigned me for the day, said he was interested in studying journalism and writing at Columbia U. in New York. I spoke of my interests in writing, like the blog.
  The event was done by the early afternoon, I had hoped to get more errand running done than I did after it but was tired and wanted to get home. I did scout out the location of my date on Saturday, wanted to do a dry run so I was familiar with the neighborhood. It meant parking my car and walking around, since it's at a slower pace and one can see everything much easier this way. When I got home I slept a little and woke up in time to watch 'Jeopardy', I may not know every answer but more than half which is good.
   Besides watching the DVD there were other things I got done this evening. One of them was ordering a book from the club, I had two books from the 'Don't Know Much About' series already and will add  a third, about literature. Used some bonus points and free shipping offers, so it will total less than $10. First order since March, third of the year. I did thin out the envelope some more to keep the articles about books I wanted to read the most, ones about the Civil War, Great Depression, and the West. Emerson Hough would be proud that I kept some about the West, some were people he wrote about.
   I used the 3rd of the Taco Bell coupons tonight, this one I didn't get a receipt as the clerk said he needed to keep it as it was a free meal. If I steadily use these then it will be no problem finishing all 20 by next June, like 2 on the weekends whenever possible. Hopefully I won't grow tired of Taco Bell by then, I know some of my comedian friends like to do jokes about it.
   Another notable thing I did was check Facebook and see a comment I knew I should respond to, since I am well-read on history. It was about a college football game that will be played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Northwestern vs. Illinois, and using just one endzone for safety reasons due to the brick walls there. I said there had been plenty of football played there before, as the NFL's Bears have this name due to playing at Wrigley, with the Cubs, for decades but moved to Soldier Field in 1971. Bears even played one game at Northwestern in 1970, so it's coming full circle. Found out the article was much shorter than the version in the paper, though it was an update of sorts that wasn't in the paper. Upon a closer look at what was online, I found it was a blog instead of an actual article. With the version in the paper I liked how it covered the football history at Wrigley, calling it the 'long-ago home of the Bears' and the first college game there since 1938, DePaul vs. St. Louis. Those 2 schools no longer have football programs.  It is a notable weekend for college football venues, as Indiana-Penn State will be played at the home of the NFL's Washington Resdkins and Notre Dame-Army at the newer Yankee Stadium. I know the latter  matchup had been played at the older Bronx stadium, it was mentioned in a book I picked up covering the history of the venue in its final season.

ALL CAPS, lower case

One online match sent me a message in all caps, except for her email address. She went right to email stage due to her trial membership running out soon. This is in direct contrast to my writing style, using lowercase whenever I can. Sadly I don't think it will go anywhere, as I checked where she is online, and it's 60 miles away. I prefer matches being 30 miles away or less. Should have checked it before accepting the match, most of the time I do that.
   I stayed an hour past my normal leave time today at work to see that I was caught up before being out on Friday for a mentoring event. It was a high-volume day of special requests, but I wanted to prove I could do them on my own. It meant I was home just in time for prime-time TV. Wanted to watch both of the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving specials but 'Big Bang Theory' was on opposite the first one so I switched over after 'Theory' was done.
    I did some more shredding of catalog pages from a while back, I had been ordering some history books but the club no longer sends out catalogs. There were some pages worth reading- describing the books- even if I didn't buy the book, others were reminders of books on my list. Still, I haven't ordered a book from there since March. Though the recent purchases reminded me of ones on my list, especially since one was mentioned in a book I just bought, about being a similar theme. Thinning out the envelope does make it easier to find the ones I really wanted. I've piled up some bonus points due to my previous orders, would like to see if I can use any of them.

Droid Troubles

I liked the line 'trouble with your droids?' from one of the Star Wars movies- Empire Strikes Back. I've said it before when machines broke down at work. It happened at the end of the workday, few people around to do much about it. So I moved to another copier and emailed people to keep them in the loop about it, toner bottle was full and I don't know how to handle that.
    Checked my cellphone messages after work on the bus, and there was one about a book I ordered from Garrison Keillor's store last week, already in. Hadn't finished reading the one I bought last week, about 'The Simpsons' show. This one is called 'Idiot America', I think I will like it as well. I'm trying to get into the habit of checking my phone after work, at times I don't check daily and it's because I get a low number of messages.
   Read with interest about the recipients of the presidential Medal of Freedom, there was an email about former St. Louis Cardinals player Stan Musial being honored. It is described as a lifetime achievement award, unfortunately like many other awards sometimes it's given posthumously. This was true for Jackie Robinson, awarded more than a decade after he died. Musial will be turning 90 soon, and I found out from the Wikipedia article he has had presidential honors before. He retired at the end of the 1963 season, and served as President Lyndon Johnson's physical fitness advisor for a few years. Then he was the Cardinal general manager for one season, 1967, when the club won the World Series.
  I was pleased that a colleague asked me if I was a history major, he must have heard me mention it to others. He sent me a link to Gutenberg for online books, and spoke of a biography of President Abraham Lincoln written in the 1880s. I know his law partner William Herndon was a biographer, but this one has a different author.

Gift Cards

I had ordered 2 gift cards last week through my employer's reward system, they arrived today. It was the Kohl's card, and the Red Lobster card. But that's not all. The card I won as a prize from the 'company wing-ding' this month arrived as well, for a grocery store. So it was a bumper crop of cards today. I put them in the envelope where all the others are, saves space.
    Looks like the first date is on for Saturday, offered her a Chinese restaurant nearby. Enjoyed seeing one of my friends at the comedy club tonight, he said he would be competing in a comedy contest out of state this week. It feels good to have made friends from going to open-mic nights, though I wish I saw more people I know more often. I was informed how one of them lost his job in the past few months, guess he would have less money to be in bars. I liked seeing his 'entourage' as well.
   A notable event today was taking a call at my cubicle. Nothing unusual there, except I decided to go underneath since I didn't want to have anyone hear me speak my social security number. It would have been a funny story if anyone had walked by during that time and asked what was going on. When I had done this before my then-boss thought something was horribly wrong, since all one could see was my legs and feet coming out from under the cube. I stayed there until the end of the call, it is kind of comfortable when on your back.

Bagels

There were bagels at work, celebrating something but I don't recall what. Since I had a light lunch due to the high workload, doing special requests, it did me well to have 2 bagels. It got a little sticky since I was using some jelly as the spread, then ate them while pulling files. Made it through the day just fine, which I liked. Nothing left over for the next day.
  Sent a picture to one online match, said she couldn't see any pictures as a trial member. Since there was a low battery on my digital camera I was unable to find out-without some serious guessing- which one was the one with my dad. So I sent the first one on the CD, with some friends from school. There was plenty of messages exchanged with one match this weekend, inquired about having dinner soon but still waiting to hear from her about it. Made it to the comedy club as well, had hoped to see more friends there but I did see one, and said I would like to do another comedy duet soon.

Fitness Center

I made it to the fitness center today, first time in a while, maybe the first since I started the blog. It's free since it's through my employer. I like going on a Sunday, free parking and I have the place to myself. Decided to go to a different grocery store after it, since it's cheaper than the one in my neighborhood. Used the second of the Taco Bell coupons, at halftime of a football game I was watching today. So there's 18 left! Sundays are nice, usually very little that needs to be done. Reminds me of a Bangles song 'Manic Monday'. "wish it were a Sunday, that's my funday my I don't have to run day."
   When looking up my hometown of Newton, Iowa on youtube I was surprised to find 2 things- fights at the VFW, and a news story about actor John Ratzenberger appearing 3 years ago in Iowa advocating against outsourcing. Too little, too late for the Maytag plant, it was just a week before it was closed. Yes, this was Cliff on "Cheers".
   It was nice making it back to the comedy club tonight. There may be some promising matches from online dating, hard to tell at this point. I think the activity is due to the free communication period, but take it how you can get it.
  

Facebook movie

I saw the Facebook movie, 'Social Network', tonight after much of the snow had fallen. I liked how references were made to Napster in it, how that site changed music much like Facebook changed networking. This is true, as I don't listen to CDs much anymore, since I can find plenty of songs on Youtube. I decided that seeing the movie served more than just the purpose of seeing a movie that I had wanted to see. It also gave me more time to figure out the snow emergency routes here, about what streets and sides of the street you can park on to avoid getting ticketed and towed. It just meant looking for the signs, easier to do on foot of course. So I parked my car in a nearby lot and walked around to get a good look at the signs. And yes, I did make seeing the movie a status update on my Facebook page, seemed appropriate on many levels.

Taco Bell Coupons

This summer I won some Taco Bell coupons through a contest on TV, the 'word of the day' on syndicated reruns of 'The Office'. There are 20, at first I was going to turn them over to my boss and let her decide who gets them, since it said 'lunch for 20 people in your office'. But I got no response, so I figured I was on my own with it. Tonight was the first time I had used them, may want to use some more this weekend since I only have until the end of June to use them. I know why they weren't used for a while, they were in my desk drawer at the office. No locations close to work. This is one of many times where I switch having things between the office and home.
   I thought about going to see the Facebook movie tonight but didn't get around early enough, since it's Friday I decided to read the paper. I get it once a week for the sports standings and the movie times. Also got caught up on record-keeping and paper-shredding. It also included writing out a check for the utility bill. Guess the movie will have to wait another day.
   It was a fairly ho-hum day at work, at the end of the day it meant getting caught up on some paperwork- like insurance benefit elections-  since I would have more free time this week than the next.