Winnipeg Hockey

I had to pause when the announcement was made about the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg. I had visited there, for a Van Halen concert in 2004 on Halloween weekend, the final event at the old Winnipeg Arena. I had seen the minor-league hockey team, the Moose, play the Chicago Wolves before. And of course I had seen the baseball team, the Goldeyes, play the St. Paul Saints. The MTS Centre I said was built to attract an NHL team, and it has. But it took a little longer than some fans had hoped, I am sure. The example I had given was the Met In Bloomington, MN, now the site of Mall of America. That stadium was built to attract a major league baseball team, and it did after 5 seasons as a minor league venue. I had even bought a book about Manitoba at a second hand store after visiting Winnipeg, as I liked my visit there. It was a long drive, and a rather gruff security guard on the American side. Also memorable was how it was the weekend before the election, so the joke I could have made was 'please let me back in the country so I can vote!' On the radio was profiles about the candidates, Bush and Kerry. Also recall songs like 'I'm on Fire' by Bruce Springsteen, as well as some French songs that seemed to be in rotation, they were repeating. A few years back, after this visit, I saw an arthouse movie called 'My Winnipeg', which did show the old hockey arena being demolished.
    I had some ice cream after dinner, went to Dairy Queen to have a Blizzard, they didn't have the German Chocolate Brownie type as flavor of the month so I got French Silk Pie instead. After the comedy show, I tried adjusting my car seat while driving, likely not an advisable thing to do, but nothing bad happened.
   

Como Zoo

Made it to Como Zoo in St. Paul today, we did find parking though it was still hard to do for a while. Liked seeing 2 different seal shows there, and got another smashed penny souvenir there. We waited a little to head out since there was some storm warnings in the area, but those passed quickly. We had heard some sirens in the area and decided to turn on the TV to find out more. Watched some of the game show 'Price is Right', something I don't see often since I am usually at work. After being at the zoo we watched 'Jeopardy', and didn't know the final answer, which was 'Twilight Zone' about the name of a part of the ocean. It's nice what can be learned from this game show.
   The final thing we did at the zoo was go on the carousel, liked seeing the history of it being displayed there about how it had been moved from the state fairgrounds a mile away in the name of preservation.
    I finished my errand running, when I got back home I put away the dishes, as well as the laundry. I got around to grocery shopping as well, at  a Rainbow Foods.
   Naturally a big part of the news today was Memorial Day observances, it's nice that it's more than just honoring veterans who have died but also those who are still alive.

One Coupon Left

I got laundry done after waffles this morning. Taco Bell coupon number 19 was used today at lunchtime, got a receipt. There's just one left to use now, and it expires in just over a month.
    I went to a birthday party today, apparently it was a multiple celebration, within my date's 'second family'. We had cake and ice cream, and after a while most of us went out to a restaurant, Green Mill. I was getting tired by the evening, and it was fine with me when my date decided it was time to leave. We watched another DVD, this one was 'Elizabethtown'. I liked it since it was a road movie, and there was plenty of good music in it I recognized such as 'In the Name of Love' by U2.
   Since it was a holiday weekend I knew I would be getting another chance to complete my errand running before having to go back to work. I had hoped to get my grocery shopping done but it will have to wait. I may have had enough time to go do laundry but not to put it away, I just left it in the basket. Same is true with the dishes. But it won't take long to put away either when I get around to it.

Shoe Shopping

I had hoped to go to Como Zoo in St. Paul today with my date, but it was crowded and couldn't find a parking spot. So we decided to postpone, also since it looked like it was going to rain, and it did shortly after we made alternate plans. First was to get to Rosedale Mall in Roseville for shoe shopping. My dress shoes were due for replacement, and a gift card had just arrived earlier in the week. The card was nice, it meant the shoes were half price.
   After the mall, we went to find more Charlie Brown and Snoopy statues. Many of them I knew about were in downtown St. Paul. The total is now up to 34, as 16 more were found. I liked finding something I was looking for, it was a covered wagon, apparently moved downtown. When I had seen it before, it had reminded me of Emerson Hough, since he had written a book called 'Covered Wagon'.
    The evening ended with us having dinner and seeing a DVD, 'While You Were Sleeping' starring Sandra Bullock. I liked it since it had a Chicago setting, and I had lived in the northwest suburbs for a while. I also like trains, and commuter trains figured into the storyline.
    

First Avenue Show

Saw my first-ever concert at First Avenue in Minneapolis tonight, Jimmy Eat World. They played their popular song 'The Middle' during the encores. I went crazy, vigorously dancing and gyrating, during it. Tired, just went through 2 days worth of email, didn't get much sleep last night after the comedy show.
   Saw a comedian friend between acts, it was nice talking to him there. I did my best to walk around at the venue before the show, paying attention to all that was there. The amenities looked good, tile walls and metal toilets. There were 2 painted stars on the walls of this venue, dedicated to Prince and to Joe Cocker. I knew it was a favorite place for for the former to play, and I had read how Prince's movie 'Purple Rain' was filmed there in the 1980s. The latter star may have been the first show there, not sure. But it was dated 1970, and the venue opened that year.
    I did get a souvenir there, a pack of three buttons for $5. Since they kept my ticket at the front door I definitely wanted another souvenir.  The original confirmation of the ticket order may do in terms of having a ticket as a souvenir. Saw a vending machine there, the prices were expensive, reminding me of the airport. Liked seeing plenty of TV monitors there, in case you couldn't see the stage well. Before the show it was showing 'Beavis and Butthead'. It was likely the movie instead of any episode of the TV series since there was some racy things in it, even for them.
   One memorable thing was seeing two young men there wanting to keep me company apparently, I wanted to sit down since I was tired and this was in an area where you couldn't see the stage well. I was bobbing my head to the beat of the music, and they spoke of how they saw me 'riffing' I think. I don't see it as a big deal to go to an event by myself.
   After the show I liked getting some free stuff, not just flyers for upcoming shows but also bottles of Minute Maid juice, it was pomegranate blueberry. I drank it down real quick.

Killebrew Service

Left work an hour early to attend the Killebrew memorial service at Target Field, plenty of VIP's there. Made it to a comedy show across town right after it.
   First, the service. It was actually another date, met her first for dinner at a pizza by the slice place near Target Center, near the 'other' Target-named arena. We saw his statue and Hall of Fame plaque on display before going in. There weren't many people waiting when the gates opened, no problem getting in. The news said about 4,000 attended it. There was a helicopter overhead, guess the news wanted an aerial view, it after all was news. I liked how they started out with when he appeared on a show called 'Home Run Derby' back in 1960, playing for the Washington Senators. I had seen reruns of it on ESPN before. I liked the music quite a bit, there was a choir singing, and the recorded songs playing were nice as well. These included 'Tears in Heaven' by Eric Clapton, and as we were leaving it was 'The Dance' by Garth Brooks. It did bring back memories of being at the Kirby Puckett memorial service in 2006, although Puckett's had a larger crowd, maybe due to being a more recent player than Killebrew.
   I wanted to rush across town for a comedy show I would be performing in, so I got my date on the train and then left to get to my car. I arrived 5 minutes before the scheduled start of the show, but the start time was delayed nearly 30 minutes. Found out I would be doing more than just a duet at the end of the show, but co-hosting it by making comments about each comic after they performed. There was some musicians there, playing on an electric piano, reminding me of being at the memorial service. I liked getting the stage time, after a while my friend let me be the sole host and I did my best with it, was told I did quite well. Looking forward to when I can do it again. Even signed a few posters after the show, and taking cues from what was said about Killebrew having a legible signature, I decided to go with a more legible one.   

Early Bus Ride

I decided to take an early bus to work in hopes of getting more time to find some of the Charlie Brown and Snoopy statues, but came up empty. I got a few more leads though, just by going to some of the sponsors and knowing where the home offices of those sponsors are. I did find 2 more after work, before and after attending a comedy show. One is in Lilydale, near a gas station. I knew this one due to mention on a blog when doing searches earlier.
   There was a meeting about the health ahead program ending, it lasted shorter than the time allotment given, 30 minutes instead of 45. Liked some of the snacks there, like small bags of pecan sandies.
    I must have some passion for the statue search, as I was walking for a while next to a road with plenty of traffic on it and trying to find house numbers in the dark, hard to guess how much I walked but needed the exercise. Saw a few police cars go by with lights and sirens on, made me think of a joke where whatever they were being called for was more important than me. Though I did see some automatic lights go on when walking past at one point.
  

3 Grocery Carts

I tried to find more Snoopy statues this morning and I did find one a few blocks away from me. Tried to find more by getting on an earlier bus but just missed it so I take to take the bus time I normally take. During the wait I decided to take 3 grocery carts back to a nearby store. I do this fairly often, it just looks better, same as tossing other people's trash into a barrel if there is one close. I know I don't have to do this, but if I don't then who else will?
    I did end up with more leads on where to find more statues, going online to search helps. There are some who have blogged about it before me. One blog was especially helpful, showing pictures taken from the ones found. It listed 2 at the airport, and more at the state fairgrounds along with many suburbs.
    Before going to the comedy club tonight I went to a Dairy Queen and had a Blizzard of the month, German Chocolate Brownie, good stuff. Since the month is nearly up I know it may not be around much longer. Tired to get one last night but didn't make it in time. Liked getting a shout out by the MC during the show, I was laughing loudly at some jokes.

More Snoopy Searching

I decided to take part of my lunch to go looking for more of the Charlie Brown and Snoopy statues, found plenty near my work, 8 in all, some locations had multiple statues. I'm going with ones I had recalled seeing before, it's best when going with the easiest ones first. Didn't stay long at the comedy club tonight, decided to get back on the 'fact finding mission' and found 2 more. Some locations, like the Xcel Energy Center and Ecolab, should yield multiples, I can get to them soon. I like getting excited about something, and being a Charlie Brown fan this excites me of course. When I just have the map and booklet from the final of the 5 years, Snoopy on his doghouse, it is a good beginning on getting some ideas. The state fairgrounds is another excellent location to look, besides some of the schools.
    I was late on getting signed up tonight for comedy since 3 straight exits on I-94 were blocked off, apparently due to the tornado damage. Did my best to get there, hated having to find an alternate route.

Snoopy Statues

I had another date today, and I knew she liked finding Snoopy statues in St. Paul so I helped her find 12. Five were at Lafayette Park, one from each year. Two more were at St. Paul College, others were found on the way to finding one as I recalled one being in the same general area. I call them 'Snoopy' although they can be other characters, as 3 of the 5 years was Charlie, Linus, and Lucy.
    I was a little moody with her and hated being this way, but event cancellations due to weather were tought to handle, 3 in one weekend. After we found the statues we drove over to another part of the metro in hopes of attending a baseball movie, when we got to right before where it is there was a police car blocking our way. Found out there was a tornado that had knocked out power, once we decided to walk closer we weren't allowed anywhere close to it. Hopefully there will be a makeup date, since I had already ordered tickets for the movie. Once we got back to her place we went out to walk her dog and the rains rolled in, we got soaked. Plans were to go get ice cream at Dairy Queen afterwards, but since my shoes were soaked and we were unable to dry them out like the jeans it meant not going.
   I felt a little better once I got a new rabies vaccine tag on the dog collar, though when I was holding down the dog to get worm medicine in him he just refused to open his mouth and take it and I didn't want to be bitten. We also did choes and errand running together, I helped with some cleaning and later fell asleep then we went out while I needed to grocery shop. We did hear tornado sirens while on the way to the grocery store.
     

mini golf

plans are to do mini golf near a mall and to have a nice dinner. haven't done mini golf in a while. found out later on it was inside the mall. i didn't do well at first on the game but got better as the game wore on. i made the most of an extra ball i found lying around and shot it in on the final hole for an ace, winning a free game, coupon is good for a year. i also went with my date to a supper club, i had a pork chop and a sweet potato. the wine was good as well. we also had her 'little sister' with us, who happened to know one of the theme park employees as mall of america, and we drove her home after the event. the makeup game was scheduled for today, since i was unable to attend i asked that we check the score online, found out the gophers were losing to ohio state 3-0 in the 9th. the game had started 2 hours late due to weather, and still didn't have a big crowd, less than 500. the biggest crowds the gophers had all season when playing at the Twins stadium were for doubleheaders, both of those had crowds of over 1,000. college baseball doesn't interest most people.

Mosaic Festival

Went to the Mosaic Festival at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis earlier today. Liked seeing all of the tables there, had some sweet potato pie among other things. Also gave a shoutout to Emerson Hough, my inspiration as a writer, in the school paper- it was just 1 ticket (50 cents). I had the day off from work to attend a mentoring event at Lake Nokomis, also in Minneapolis. much of it was moved indoors due to rain. I tried to attend the Gopher baseball game against Ohio State at Target Field tonight but it was rained out. Despite this, I still got another smashed penny there, number 22. Unable to attend Saturday, already have plans. I left my ticket at the Harmon Killebrew statue, there was plenty there like peanuts and cracker jacks, flowers, posters, pictures, even a dollar bill and 2 quarters. A coin with the 'Serenity Prayer' caught my eye as well, along with cans of Killebrew root beer.
    I saw TV coverage of the Killebrew funeral on the news tonight. Liked seeing Charley Pride performing 'I'll Fly Away' there. I looked up other versions on youtube, found Hank Williams (Sr.), Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and a clip from the TV show 'The Waltons'. After posting it on Facebook I was informed there was a version on the 'O Brother Where Art Thou' movie soundtrack. Then I found more versions- by Jars of Clay, Kanye West, and Alan Jackson. It appears to have been covered to the Nth degree. Much like the Kirby Puckett memorial service, it appears to be upbeat, which I like. since we should celebrate life, not mourn it.
     It seems relevant to have done a shoutout to Emerson Hough, since it was this weekend a year ago when I attended the 'save the school' fundraiser in my hometown. It was what prompted me to start this blog. Also notable, I picked up another one of Hough's books from Borders, I had ordered it 2 weeks earlier. It is 'Story of the Cowboy', one that Theodore Roosevelt liked. So now I have 7 by or about Hough, 5 of these were acquired after the school fiasco began.
   

blue suede

when i was riding the bus home tonight after work i saw a girl wearing blue suede shoes, much like the song made famous by elvis presley and others. i stayed an hour later than normal to see everything was caught up since i am out of the office on friday. it was a busier day at work than typical, 2 meetings to attend. i got a certificate for top performer in my department for march, i saw the email waiting for me on monday. i ordered 2 gift cards with it, to the gap and to express where i can get some good office-appropriate outfits. what likely helped by stats then would be taking a day off just once. much like in september, i didn't take any time off that month.
    i turned down some facebook invites for comedy shows tonight and stayed in to get caught up on going through mail and ATM receipts. 'big bang theory' had its season finale, as usual i enjoyed it. i got my membership fee sent in to the loft in minneapolis, a literary group i belong to, as the the form finally arrived. i was ready to just send in the check before even getting the form.

harmon killebrew

i saw a colleague wearing a harmon killebrew shirt at work today, as the popular twins player died of cancer on tuesday. i was checking online about how the club is honoring him, it looks like there will be a memorial service at target field next week. it will be on thursday, and off day for the twins. i had attended the service for kirby puckett at the metrodome in march 2006, i had just returned from spring training in florida a few days earlier. there was about 15,000 people there that night, a snowstorm kept many people away. but living nearby i didn't mind getting over there, when it's baseball and history it felt like an event i needed to attend. i am hopeful it won't be too hard to get in that night, but must wait until more information becomes public.
    i mostly stayed busy auditing files today at work, didn't take long to finish my share of the payoff reports. also decided to make some calls about plans for upcoming events. my boss wondered what i was doing, taking a call on my back under my cubicle. i said i wanted to avoid having people hear me while on the call. i decided to get it into my routine tonight at the comedy club. the call was related to a writer convention i am attending this summer.

smashed penny souvenirs

i finally got an album for my smashed penny souvenirs tonight, it can hold 36 pennies and 21 slots are already filled. it's a good look back at many of the places i've visited, like a cabela's in owatanna, minnesota. but also the mark twain museum in hannibal, missouri, chinatown in san francisco, 2 each from new york and seattle, and 4 from st. louis. there's a web address on the back, 'penny collector', that mentions other places with these machines. so it has given me some ideas about where to get more, nothing wrong with seeking them out as it's a cheap souvenir. just need 2 quarters and a penny, and some of these places i do visit every so often. even if it's just on an annual basis. looking at the list by states, it's mostly tourist sites, as expected. since people want a memory of being there, much like why i try to save event tickets from concerts, sporting events, and movies whenever possible. now it's just a matter of getting the event tickets in a scrapbook when i find the time for it.
   i did resume the bridge walk at lunch today, and made it to the comedy club tonight. some of my friends were in a contest and i correctly guessed 2 of the 3 who advanced to the semifinals.

waterloo in pop culture

i spoke of previous class reunions on a date this weekend, i said how some classmates had mellowed out since they 'had met their waterloo'. i knew there was a song about it, found more than one. the one by stonewall jackson was closer to what i was familiar with than the one by ABBA. but a few words were different. both songs were inspired by napoleon's defeat at the battle of waterloo in 1815, proving he was beatable. on youtube i also found clips from 'bill and ted' as well as a parody of the iraq war, set to the ABBA version of the song.
     i did go to the comedy club tonight, but didn't stay for the entire show as i was tired and had a few things i wanted to get done at home like get in a registration form for a convention next month.
   i didn't get a bridge walk in today at lunch, but i did get over to the walgreen to get some more shampoo since i had just run out this morning. i like doing the bridge walk so i want to resume them real soon.

greatest movie ever sold

got all of my errand running done, and in between i went to see 'the greatest movie ever sold' at the st. anthony in minneapolis. i liked morgan spurlock's documentary 'super size me' and this one was good as well. they could have done more about the history of sponsorship though, such as title sponsors on college football bowl games and of the early TV shows. surprised how i appeared to be the only one in the theater for a late afternoon showing, didn't make it around on time for early afternoon so i went to get groceries instead. got my laundry done after the movie, and after using coupon number 18 at taco bell. got a receipt this time, makes a difference when the manager takes the order. wanted to get back home in time for watching 'the simpsons' so it was to go, usually i eat there. now there's 2 left, still on the pace of 2 a month to get them sued up by the end of june before they expire.
   also called tonight to discover card about my cashback balance, i had enough to get 2 gift cards, for DSW shoes and for bed &bath. i need to replace some shoes and found out bed & bath does have some storage bins and book cases.
    

sibley home

went to the the sibley home in mendota today, also the faribault home. enjoyed getting frybread there, tasted like elephant ears at the state fair. it's actually called the sibley site, since he was more famous, being the state's first governor and it's now a state-run facility. liked hearing the history of the DAR and WPA getting involved with fixing it up and preserving it. reminded me of how i wasn't all that familiar with the fur traders in the area, recalled hearing about john jacob astor and few others. it's nice that my date enjoys history much like i do.
   we also went to the st. paul saints game, saints beat sioux falls 10-3. the game was in the evening, we went to the sibley site first. there was a grand slam in the first inning. it was opening weekend, the giveaway promotion was a metrodome whoopie cushion. it was kind of cool and windy there, light rain as well. she likes taking pictures of snoopy statues, i knew there was one at midway stadium where the saints play. it is now planted in the soil outside the gates, before it was beyond the gates near a wall with a little fence around it.

twin cities live

i was in the studio audience on a show called twin cities live earlier today, done this a few times before and i liked dressing up in a halloween costume for it. last time was likely over a year ago, it's a more popular show now as i made this reservation back in february, 3 months ago. now i'm told they are booked up until september. they had a group of women with purple dresses that looked like the red har club, seen this as a joke on a 'simpsons' episode before, and one of my comedian friends has done it as well. got my seat switched early in the show, i was next to a journalist interviewing somebody who was scratching off lottery tickets, 100 in all i think, but got just $26. i like gettign free stuff, this time it included a book written by a guest today, 'normal gets you nowhere' by kelly cutrone. sounds like a good read, she's a fashion publicist with a cable show.
   i did some errand running before the show since i had a day off, it included getting some puzzles to the workplace as i didn't have the time to finish them before leaving the office on thursday. i did get some pictures of snoopy statues i saw nearby, since i had a camera with me.
    i didn't do entries the opast 2 days, since i like doing them late in the evening and the site was unavailable then. it said 'due to maintenance' so i badly wanted to get an entry in. usually i just skip one day since i am out of town and busy.
     wednesday was the saints season opening block party, i like attending it each year. they show off the pig mascot there, i get a softee baseball as well. there's plenty of food for real cheap, proceeds going to charity. slices of little caesar's pizza for a dollar, 2 white castle burgers for a dollar. i had one slice of pizza and 4 burgers, and a free can of sun drop. also tried my luck at whiffle ball, from a tee using air to keep the ball above the tee. also liked getting pictures of little caesar and mudonna, the saints 'furry pig' mascot. the 4-legged mascot is an actual pig, and there's a different pig and name each year. this one was in reference to teen idol singer justin beiber, 'bei-boar'.
   didn't do much on thursday, i liked staying in and watching 'big bang theory' and shredding some junk mail as well as consolidating old forms, eliminating some envelopes. also was reading from a book about french huguenots, dad said we are descended from them. one member of the huguenot group on facebook claimed there were huguenots in canada, another member said there wasn't. then said there was, but not for long, i found out this was true from online articles. in the early days they allowed protestants there, but when the quebec charter was written in 1627 it barred them from migrating, stated 'catholics only'. before that the huguenots dominated the fur trade. in addition, the main migration was the mass migration after the edict of nantes was revoked in 1685. most of what is written about the huguenots is the mass migration. and the famous people who were huguenots are mostly from the american revolution, since they largely vanished quickly after moving to america. they married into others religious and ethnic groups. some of their facilities survived and are now on the national register of historic places, like the huguenot church in charleston, SC. there is also settlements in new paltz, NY, huguenot street there. along with the thomas paine house in new rochelle, NY. the museum for the huguenots in that town. boston has faneuil hall. the ones with the most fame are paul revere, francis marion- 'the swamp fox'- and peter faneuil. many presidents have huguenot ancestors, starting with washington. i shared 3 photos from the huguenot church, which i saw while in the carolinas last year, on facebook. one of them was tagged by somebody from south africa. it was the photo of the huguenot presidents. the other 2 was the cornerstone and the church after a service.

passion and emotion

i liked attending a lunch and learn at work earlier today, about emotional intelligence. it was a seminar given by a senior leader that i know fairly well, which was a good drawing card for me as part of 'develop U' week. made sense on having to hold emotions in check in order to be successful, i know some would call this passion as well. there's nothing wrong with having a competitive fire as long as it's controlled well enough. i knew joakim noah, the basketball player, sure has the competitive fire.
   almost forgot about needing to pay on my best buy account so i had to go voer to their nearest location after work tonight before going to the comedy club. i liked getting a shout out from the contest coordinator, when he was reading who was the winner of the night. i said 'i wish' since i wasn't onstage tonight. apparently there was hail in the area, but no hail damage on my car.

stella's fish cafe

went to an alumni event at stella's fish cafe in minneapolis tonight after work. football player chad greenway was there, as he is a hawkeye grad. thought it was a fun name for a restaurant. got a pocket schedule for the football team.
   at this event i was paying attention to the music i was hearing overhead. it included 'island in the sun' by weezer and an island version of 'over the rainbow'. i had heard the latter before many times on movies and TV shows, usually when somebody dies. then i found the story of the performer, it is israel or 'iz' and he died in 1997. the video on youtube said 'iz lives' and showed them spreading his ashes in hawaii.
   on the news there was something about bullies doing 'table topping', hated hearing how this still happens as it happened to me.

doing my hometown

i went to central iowa with my lady this weekend, it was nice showing her around my hometown of newton. there was an ambitious list of things i wanted to see, we saw 12 of the 14 on the list. i made sure to include the 6 places on the national register of historic places. 2 houses, one now a restaurant, the county courthouse, Emerson Hough School, a church, and maytag park. plenty of pictures were taken, i liked it that way. my first school in town, lincoln school, is long gone but the cornerstone was kept as part of a small park. Without a doubt, Emerson Hough School was the one that meant the most, as it was what prompted me to start the blog. it was nice to eat at maid-rite, loose meat sandwiches, as well as at dairy queen. we capped the time there with seeing the football stadium. then it was on to des moines for the iowa cubs baseball game against the new orleans zephyrs, cubs won 1-0 in the 10th on a solo home run. bobby scales, an infielder, was playing for them, and has seen action with the big club in chicago as well. it went fine on seeing my dad and having her meet my lady, i wasn't sure about it at first. then today we drove home and went to a birthday party through her friends that live around here. it was nice having some pizza, as well as cake and ice cream, meeting plenty of people that i had hoped to meet before but there was a canceled event previously.

crowded art gallery

i went to an art gallery tonight after work since i had heard about somebody i knew having art on display there. didn't stay long, small venue, too crowded. it was in lowertown st. paul. plenty of color in her paintings though, liked seeing it. my favorite was the photos of grand central station in new york city. been there before. said the same about seeing photos of union station in chicago as part of an art display at the round theater in minneapolis while there for a play. line was too long for food and drink, went to a superamerica nearby to eat dinner since i hadn't eaten yet. while driving downtown i saw a lucy statue outside a church, so i stopped long enough to get a picture of it. finding those charlie brown and snoopy statues is truly like a treasure hunt.
   did more online research about the newton country club, one article said the elks lodge was interested in buying it but not sold yet to anyone. the reporter questioned the wisdom of it. liked one of the commenters suggesting they turn the golf course into a cornfield. it's tough doing business with a bankrupt company, i hope that my class reps decide they aren't touching the country club with a 10-foot pole. i'm doing my best in voicing my opinion and presenting my findings to all.

expired coupon

i found an expired coupon in the pocket of a leather jacket i bought recently at a secondhand store, it expired over 5 years ago, from a grocery store. there was also a penny, i am keeping it but throwing out the coupon of course. went to the dairy queen to have the blizzard of the month, german chocolate brownie, tasted good. didn't like having to use the drive thru, but it was late and the walk-in section was locked up already. also ordered another Emerson Hough book, 'story of the cowboy', a used copy from borders. another slow day at work, a meeting was canceled making it even slower.
  called my dad about the upcoming weekend, as usual a long call, over an hour, longer than it needed to be.

surveys and airline miles

i take plenty of online surveys, and the points keep adding up. i decide to put them towards airline miles. i redeemed some points tonight, first time since september 2009, 2,000 miles. but this is still more than what i earned from my most recent flight booking in march since it was a short flight. now must wait another month to redeem more. even with this deposit, i still have a ways to go for a free trip or a half price ticket. last time i used the miles was for a half price ticket in early 2009 when i went to washington, DC, my most recent visit there, one of four over the years. before that it was to memphis, tenn., to see my college roommate. it can be annoying at times when it says 'you may have another opportunity waiting for you', but it doesn't take all that long to do, likely less time than an over-the-phone survey, which i don't do anymore. online is more my pace, flipping the screens over quickly when ready.
   went to the comedy club tonight and they weren't kidding about the 'bottomless popcorn', was given a second bag and was so thirsty from the salty food i had another beer. maybe that was the point, since i normally have just one beer there. the remaining popcorn will be going in my lunch for work on thursday. attending an event at the science museum next month, registered earlier today. it is being offered through my employer.

dice on bus

I was taking the bus home from work tonight and heard some kids in the back shooting dice and snapping their fingers. thought this was odd, hadn't happened before. likely illegal, but a good story to tell. i did a facebook posting asking for advice about comedy clubs in st. louis, i plan on traveling there this summer. i had done some online searching already, but when i have comedian friends i have people in the know that i can contact. one of them turned it into a joke, saying he knew funny baby bears. realized i had written it as 'cubs' not 'clubs'. asked him if we were playing chess, since he also said 'checkmate'.
   i got my bio submitted by email for a writer convention next month, though it was brief. also was added to a group on facebook for my class reunion next year, i am hopeful they will have it at the izaak walton club, since it's named for Emerson Hough. a classmate said one place is called the 'old' country club since it is in bankruptcy, it was where we had the reunion last time. we've had it at a different place each time so far.

contest entry

i got my name in as an entry for a comedy contest tonight, though i needed an extra slip of paper to see that i wrote it neatly enough to be read. tried to list all of the dates when i am unavailable, like being out of town or at concerts, but may have missed a few. hopefully it's a date where i can make it without having to clear my schedule, hasn't been a problem before. still trying to plan out some travels for this summer, like the annual visit to st. louis, wanting to see a comedy show there this time. hated how i almost kept falling asleep at the comedy club tonight. but it tends to happen when tired and they turn out the lights or turn them down. not a lot of work today, assigned special requests for the week. tried to stay busy by takign out thin and torn files. doing my best to get back in the habit on walking the bridges at lunchtime, though it was cool and windy but i was bundled up well enough.

hawkeye baseball

saw a hawkeye baseball game at the twins stadium in minneapolis, the iowa hawkeyes beat the minnesota gophers 7-1. there were some subtle differences from Twins games, besides the much smaller crowd. i saw how the gopher flag, a big 'M' was up instead of a Twins and the Minnesota state flag. Then of course there was the electronic scoreboards being changed for the event, but i liked seeing the out of town scoreboards still were there. it said the Twins lost to the Royals in Kansas City, of course the Twins being out of town was why the venue was available. Before the gates opened i decided to go inside the pro shop to see what was there, and got a pair of Twins socks since i need new pairs every so often. since it was cold and windy it also served as a way of staying warm, my date had a harder time staying warm. it helped that i had sweatpants on underneath my jeans, my only pair, Emerson Hough Huskies. It was nice seeing my school play, and seeing some Hawkeye fans, likely alumni who live nearby. I was not alone in showing up with Hawkeye apparel on.
   When i went to turn on the 10 pm news the national news was still on, saying Osama Bin Laden was dead. Eventually the local news was put on, but i fell asleep for a little while before this happened.