2 Leaves in the Hand

A little girl had leaves on the bus today. She had 2 of them in her hand. One of them was dropped, and the mom said it was going to stay on the floor. Then there was yelling at the end of the day. Quite a contrast. The clash was hard to follow, at least the origin was. It was an older woman apparently having an opinion about what a younger woman was doing with her child in a stroller, just a year old. The younger woman didn't like being told what to do, and swore some about it. I've seen clashes like this before, in the end neither one is in the right if nobody wants to drop the matter entirely. Some of the younger woman's friends were obviously needling the older woman, saying things like 'cause that's what one-year-olds do'. The older woman got off the bus first.
   In the evening I had dinner at an East Indian restaurant with my date and her friend from college. The friend was driving a Mercedes Benz station wagon, didn't know they made wagons. It was a 'thank you' for helping out, as she will be filling in for the regular 'dog sitter' this weekend when the two of us go out of town. We talked for a little while before going to the restaurant, so we didn't get around all that early for dinner.

Adele and Lady Gaga

Watched 'Nightline' after the comedy show tonight, liked their 'Playlist' segment with Gloria Estefan from Miami Sound Machine. She likes some of the younger performers, mentioned 'Someone Like You' by Adele and 'Edge of Glory' by Lady Gaga. There were 2 no-shows at the contest tonight, the second semifinal. Some of the contestants were openly wooing my vote, had to tell one of them how I truly believe in the concept of  the 'secret ballot'.
   The bus is still a fun place to people watch. This morning I saw the same mother and daughter board and the girl is around age 10.  Fairly often, the girl has to be told it's time to leave, this is their stop. In the evening i saw one of the 'goth chicks' again for the first time in a while. She swore a little, and talked to herself as well, upset about the changes due to the light rail construction. Well I knew I'd have to find an alternate bus stop, and took the time to find it at lunchtime. No big deal to me. 'Big Bang Theory' was good as usual, I saw it and then went to the comedy club. In many ways this comedy night one replaced Monday this week since I had the writer meeting that night. So it still means 3 comedy nights.  

Someone Like You

'Someone Like You', the song by Adele, was playing on my car radio on the way to the comedy club tonight, and again while driving away from it. I liked hearing the song, especially the line about 'regrets and mistakes, they're memories made'. Good video on Youtube, like how Adele said it was in direct contrast to 'Rolling In The Deep', saying she 'was on her knees' in 'Someone'.
    The contest was nice as it was the first semifinal round, and it meant there wasn't any no-shows. Still vote for 3, the top 4 out of 12 advance. Iiked the closing comic, I had seen him at the club on Tuesday as well. He was from out of town, Florida, but does shows here every so often. At work, the gift cards arrived that I had ordered through the company rewards program. A colleague came to my desk to say the envelope had already been opened, I said there should be 2. Ihen a few minutes later I was informed how the other one was found, not opened yet. Usually they are unmolested, and put in my department's 'in bin' without any fanfare. Unsure why there were problems this time.
    I went to an informational meeting at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis earlier today, before my workday began. It is about an advisory board for the students. I said I was fine with once a month, as most were. Looks like they also want me to be there next Wednesday. This means notifying my boss about it, and adding it to the calendar.

4 Carts, 1 Ticket

   No, I did not get a ticket for the carts. Although it would be nice if there was some kind of finder's fee.
After the comedy show tonight I took 4 carts back to the grocery store. It was going to be 2 but then I found 2 more when I was heading back. There are various reasons why this is beneficial, evne if there is no financial gain for me doing it. For one thing, it's good exercise for me. And I believe in civic pride. As a kid I saw that all the time on trash cans: keep (this place) beautiful, don't litter. It was even on some of the snack food packages I saw.
   I also ordered a ticket for the Iowa/Minnesota football game next month, the single game tickets just went on sale. The bus driver this evening spoke more about having to get tough with riders, it was a followup to what had happened on Monday. He had to threaten a huge fine then, for illegal use of a transfer. It was the first time I had heard about the 'goth chicks' in a while. These women were known for causing trouble, and they were known for swearing a lot.
     I did tell some of my friends at the club tonight as to why I was absent the previous day, not sure how many actually noticed. I thought it was a sparse crowd for the show, and apparently the number of comics is being pared down a little to around 12 for the open-mic night. I said to the event coordinator how I was there if needed.

Writer Meeting

Went to a writer meeting after work at a library, it lasted over an hour until the library closed at 8pm. It was the first event I had attended since the convention in Detroit in June. There were some networking events in bars, but I couldn't find the coordinators there.  It's much easier to find them in a library conference room. Since we didn't get everything discussed by the time we needed to leave, the meeting continued outside for a little while. I had hoped to discuss more business than we did, but the main consensus was to meet again later on. Unfortunately many were unsatisfied, for various reasons. One of these being how the scheduling doesn't work for some who want to participate. Others say they are too busy to continue. I attended even though I preferred a different day of the week. I say this because it meant giving up one of my comedy nights to be there. Hopefully we will get things more settled soon. We even had somebody join us by phone, since they didn't want to drive all the way from Bemidji. It was meant to be a skype call but that wasn't working at all.

Corn Maze

I had a date at a corn maze earlier today, in Shakopee. Hadn't done that before to the best of my knowledge. It was a space shuttle theme, since the space program is retiring the shuttles after 30 years. I liked seeing the themes from previous years, dating back to 1997. Emerson Hough would have liked seeing the one about the Wild West. I liked seeing the other things there, like a band playing a tuba and banjo, 'Blue Ox Jazz Band'. There were plenty of tractors, and petting zoo animals. My date liked seeing the pig, calling out 'piggy piggy', saw it waking up after the flies were being a pest. There was even a cannon for shooting pumpkins.
   We watched much of the Bears-Packers football game after we got back, the Bears lost 27-17. We were tired and fell asleep on the couch in the middle of it. In the evening we watched 'The Simpsons' season premiere, which was funny as usual. I went home and got my errand running done, the grocery shopping, and dishes. Also needed to put away my laundry, it was still in the basket after being at the laundromat on Saturday. It meant ripping up one dress shirt that I wear to the office, as it was ripped by the dryer apparently but it was getting old anyway. A gift card I ordered recently, through a reward program at work, can replace it.

Lou Brock

I saw Lou Brock, a Hall of Fame baseball player, speak at a hospital in Maplewood earlier today. It was part of a centennial celebration. I liked getting an autograph on my hat and on a picture. These opportunities don't come along very often, so I was thankful to be reminded of it when reading about it in the St. Paul paper on Thursday. It was what prompted me to research it. There was a waffle breakfast at 9am, I arrived shortly after it began. Then Lou spoke at 10am. I liked hearing about his 2 patents, one is a special umbrella and the other a type of athletic shoe. It was a little annoying how some asked him questions about baseball that still seemed to be out of his expertise, when he is an ambassador he shouldn't be expected to know everything about the game as a business like TV contracts. But to each their own. I did speak of how my parents saw a Cardinals-Pirates doubleheader in 1974 in St. Louis, where Bob Gibson pitched one game and Lou stole a base in another. I liked having my dad describe Lou on base. 'He will look around, wiggle shiver and shake, then he's gone'. I was too young to see him play, but I still liked reading about his career. And I liked how the Whiteyball teams of the 1980s won with speed and defense. Base-stealing is a lost art. Lou also spoke about living with diabetes, referring to Ron Santo, a teammate with the Cubs, having the condition as well. Some had baseballs and pictures to sign, I had to think quick and decided on the hat I was wearing, better than the shirt.
    I went to Red Lobster for dinner with my date, along with 2 other couples. Good food there. In the evening I saw 'You've Got Mail' on DVD with my date. We shared some odd stories on dreams we've had, I had a recurring one about being back at Emerson Hough School. Another one was of destroying fences while driving as I was taking curves too sharply. She had one about going dancing at an outdoor venue, some people were rude to us. Then she found somebody from our home state wearing a Snoopy sweater. I often analyze my own dreams, aware of how some things in them are derived from current thoughts. Even though many dreams are bizarre, and far-fetched.

Football and Roses

I got my date some roses at lunchtime, a Rotary fundraiser. There was 2, hopefully these will last longer than some others I've given. It reminded me of attending a Guns-n-Roses concert in college, how roses were sold there. I said 'well they can't sell guns but they can sell roses'. Though the title also makes me think of a somewhat funny commercial when I was a kid, about bathroom sprays. How the kid said 'now it smells like fish and roses', meaning it didn't cover up the smell well enough.
    We went to the North St. Paul football game against Simley, big crowd as it was homecoming. So that made it easier to decide to sit on the visitors side, where there still was seats available. It was early in the first quarter when we arrived, and it was tied 7-7 at halftime. Simley did well with running the ball, North St. Paul with passing. I didn't like seeing so many mistakes, like how the North Polars picked up 2 fumbles and an interception in the 3rd quarter but no points, it stayed tied 7-7 at the end of the 3rd. But they finally broke through in the 4th, as a long pass play helped set up a touchdown that put North ahead 15-7. I understood the strategy about going for 2 that late in the game, as it forced the opponent to do the same to stay in the game. A long run got Simley back in the game, but the 2-point play failed and they were left trailing 15-13. North got it back at the 2 with just over a minute left, a Simley fan said the sportsmanlike thing to do was to have the 'kneeldowns', but North had other ideas. North got a quick touchdown to put them ahead 22-13. Again, the strategy made sense, as tacking on more points definitely sealed the win. And who wouldn't go for a TD that close to the endzone in a close game?  A few penalties were notable, both against Simley. One was an unsportsmanlike conduct call, fighting after a player lost his helmet. The other was when a kick return for a TD was called back, an illegal block probably. But the same player had another long scamper that counted, the one that narrowed it to 15-13.  

Holiday Road

I put in my DVD of 'National Lampoon's Vacation' and noticed how the opening montage of postcards includes one from Detroit Lakes, Minn., where one of my comedian friends is from. I put in the movie as I was expecting to find something else. But it looks like the tourist trap we saw from the road in Florida likely wasn't it. It looked similar, and was called 'Gatorland', in Kissimmee. We were in another town as I recall, but the alligator mouth as the entrance was familiar. This is still a favorite movie of mine. I like the song in it, 'Holiday Road', and I like vacations. More recently I had seen how there was a sequel to 'Christmas Vacation', but it appears just Randy Quaid is in it and not Chevy Chase. Still unsure if I want to see that one.
    After watching 2 episodes of 'Big Bang Theory' I went out to a nearby store and got some delicious peanut nutter crackers. It was a funny story to tell as the 2 clerks were talking in another aisle, and oblivious to what I was doing. They likely wouldn't have noticed if I had walked out without paying, and I tried waving my arms to get their attention, to no avail. But it did end up on the cameras, I could see that much. So I went over to them and said I was ready to check out. Also called a college roommate, to tell him about the recent visit to Florida. Still trying to figure out scheduling for another dinner, a double date with his family.

Lunchables For Dinner

Picked up my car after work, a bulb was burned out on one headlight. A cop stopped me after the show on Monday and said a light was out, right after getting off the interstate. But I didn't get a ticket for it. Eventually I had dinner, and it was Lunchables at a convenience store. It reminded me of a comedian friend referring to Lunchables in his set, as he likes them a lot. I thought about just going to a Superamerica since I have the rewards card after going to an ATM, but decided to stay where I was as there was too much construction on the road and it led to a delay due to merging traffic. Then I went on to the comedy club nearby, where the contest was still going on. There still are no-shows, 3 tonight. The MC was somebody who was a contestant from my night onstage. It bothered me a little about my parking brake light coming on after already having it in the shop earlier in the day. But since it was just there I will want to wait before taking it again, especially if it doesn't look important enough.

Stories From The Bus

It can be fun to hear stories from the bus, today it was some high school girls talking about things that sounded trivial. Like falling asleep and forgetting about arguments with their boyfriend. Wrote some of it down and will need to look at it again, in my backpack. Except I can't find it now, but as I recall some of it included what their pets did to wake them up. They seemed to be unaware that I was writing anything down, and hopefully I can find it again.
   I was onstage again tonight, but at a different club. I was fairly early life last night, and it was nice how the MC was a friend, the magician. He did get confused who was up next, but I made it my first joke. I like getting a few extra minutes of stagetime at this club. And it was fun to hear a friend make comments about each of the comics before him. I braced myself when he got to me, but smiled when he said it was an inside joke about me having a date. Naturally I got the joke, since I had done jokes about online dating not going well for a long time. Since my date was with me I didn't stay long after the show, and it was easier to talk once I took her home as it's quality time when walking the dog and we can't talk at the club.

3 Years In Comedy

I was picked to go onstage tonight at the comedy club, I was 5th. Made reference to how it was 3 years ago this month when I first went onstage, after an unusual year that included 2 funerals and a wedding. How it doesn't sound as fun as '4 weddings and a funeral'. Went to see one friend right after it, he was at the bar. He high-fived me right after the set, and I asked him if the pauses were just right. Not too long or too short, that is. He said whatever I do seems to work, and the most important thing is having fun with it. I do enjoy it whenever I get stagetime, it was nice to hear the feedback on the mirror image. It was the first time in 3 months that I had been picked at this club. Also was the first time in a while that I stayed for the entire show, I had been leaving about midway through saying I had some things to do.
   First day doing the special requests at work since going to the new system, it seems to work fine but I don't like how it prints out 2 pages for each request instead of one.
  

Playing Outburst

Played the Outburst trivia game today, don't think I had played it before. Also made it to the Cap's Grill in Minneapolis for lunchtime and got another statue picture there, this one was 'Chef Charlie'. There were plans to take my date's dog to the dog park, but the weather prevented us from doing so, plenty of rain. I ended up calling 2 of my college roommates in the evening as I needed to hear from both about my upcoming plans. With one I plan on seeing them soon when in town for a football game. With the other I found out he is staying in Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving, so he is not coming back to the Midwest to see friends and family. I had hoped to get all 3 of them called but 2 is pretty good. My date left to see the Emmy Awards with a friend, so there was plenty of time to get caught up on errand running in the evening.

Don't Hug Me County Fair

Went to see a play called 'Don't Hug Me County Fair' tonight at Camp Bar in downtown St. Paul. Had hoped to get to the dog park but it will wait another day. Got plenty of errand running done early, much of it was getting things cleaned up and arranged better around my home. It included getting a dead mouse into the trash after it had been found and caught in one of those 'glue traps', they do work when used. Also got the dishes done since there were enough of them to do and the best opportunity to do them this weekend. It was the third trash bag I had sent out this week, but I was getting serious about cleanup and it meant getting rid of shipping boxes I no longer needed from the recent Ebay orders.
   The play was nice, though the venue was cramped, so named as it really was inside of a bar. I had seen the 'Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol' before, but it was in Minneapolis, over a year ago. It was funny, I understood most of the jokes but some were funnier than others to me. There was more than one Sarah Palin joke that I recognized. Many were lowbrow jokes, I know those sell. Some made you think a little, as they were puns. We had the lunch buffet at the Godfather's Pizza in Burnsville, I liked knowing there is one as I liked them from growing up in Iowa. The other ones I know about here, and there are very few, are just personal pan pizzas and not sit-down locations. This includes the Bobby and Steve's at a gas station in Minneapolis near the Metrodome, along with inside the main terminal at MSP airport. We watched some of the Penn St.-Temple football game as it was on the monitors there.

Pinstripes and Football

It took some patience, but I was satisfied with getting pinstripes painted back on a Snoopy figurine. The pinstripes were due to the suit, as it was a gangster theme. I did it after going to a high school football game tonight. Liked seeing a streetrod parked next to the stadium, so I got a picture of the car. St. Paul Highland Park beat Humboldt 20-8, Highland Park trailed 8-7 at halftime after a field goal try hit the crossbar. At first I said I would have liked seeing them get more than 2 field goals from 2 fumbles, but it was enough, putting them ahead 13-8. Humboldt turned it over on downs late after a pass was incomplete, a trapped ball.  Highland Park added another touchdown, eventually sealing it with an interception. I don't like seeing dropped passes, there were a few. But there were many more line penalties, offside penalties that is, and I didn't like seeing that either. Humboldt went ahead early 8-0 on a touchdown set up by a long run by a fullback, which brought them to first and goal. Highland Park eventually rode 'big mo', which can change quickly. After fumbling a punt return and giving it back, the defense had a goal line stand. I still like how high school football works well as entertainment, a reminder of my small-town Iowa days. It's everywhere and cheap to get in, I paid $5 which is cheaper than many movie tickets. The food and drink was also competitively priced, a hot dog for $2, popcorn and a can of soda pop was $1 each. It was kind of chilly and windy, but I did my best to bundle up there. After all, many of us are familiar with the term known as football weather.
   At work I had a 'one on one' meeting with my boss, something they regularly have at my employer. It was odd how I was advised to look at opportunities at another office nearby, since our growth has been flat in the past 3 years. We have been on the attrition system, where we don't replace those who leave since we aren't busy enough. I would like to find something where I'm challenged more, and some have already transferred to this other office. Thanks to the mentoring program I am in I could easily lean on those I know to network for what is available.

Bookcase Filled

After watching 2 episodes of 'Big Bang Theory' tonight I got the book case filled. It meant clearing space on the wall for it that had been occupied by books in a stack on the floor. There are enough books to fill a third case. There was a photographer at work today to take new I.D. pictures, saw examples of their work which included our facility manager that recently moved to Arizona. Even though it was just I.D. pictures, I was preparing for it like I did with school pictures, which meant things like combing hair and tucking in my shirt tail. I did take a good picture, may have helped how I was wearing black. I joked how I must be more comfortable in it, same as why the driver license picture looks good. It was what I said to the security guard at the airport when they commented about it. I liked having a night of not really going anywhere, leaving the car at home, one needs thse every so often. I thought about going a few places for errand running but decided it could wait another day. I did take a business card the photographer had available for future reference, as expected there were even more examples of their work online but the ones in person looked great.  

But I'm Holding On

I had an oil change done on my car after work this evening, after a few delays. I thought about having it done Tuesday but got sidetracked with going through the mail. Still did a little more, in terms if finding more to shred, then had the oil change done. After leaving the comedy club tonight I liked hearing a song on my car radio, 'Tide is High', a reminder of finding courage before. Heard it at a Walgreen after returning from a visit to Green Bay in 2006. I am still amazed at times in terms of what I find about that is relevant when it can be things happening before this blog was started. Since I liked the song I said I would find the courage to ask out a girl, not wanting to be left wondering. 'The tide is high, but I'm holding on'. When I arrived at the comedy club the bartender said there was still a need for an MC, I said I was fine with the role but the club owner went with somebody else. It tends to act on that information quickly once known, and show up a little earlier, I got there just minutes before the scheduled start time. I did express interest in the role at later shows.  

Thoreau and Mail

Called the post office today and asked them to start delivering mail again since I was back in town and didn't see any on monday. After work I went through it, sadly very little if any was truly relevant. There were a few magazines, but some were actually catalogs that I don't order from. Still don't know how I got on their mailing list. I am reminded of studying Henry David Thoreau in high school, who was a recluse. He said he could easily do without the post office. I ended up shredding most of the past week's mail. It may motivate me not to renew a few magazine subscriptions, especially those that I don't read too often. Actually, very few of them are read, hard to find the time when doing comedy and dating somebody.
   Made it to the comedy club after sending 4 items in the mail, 2 were bills. One was a clearinghouse entry, the final one was a request to be taken off the mailing list of a nonprofit. Hadn't been to this club in a few weeks due to scheduling conflicts, there was a rough road leading to the club but I managed. The contest is done now, so it's back to open-mic nights. It was nice to see one friend onstage of course, hadn't seen him in a while. After the show I went to move my date's car, who is still in Florida until Wednesday. There was a notice about work to be done on the driveway. I had a tough time at first figuring out the key, it was a 'hidden' or 'magic' key. The yellow tape was already up for some reason, seemed to be too soon based on the notice given. I drove over it, and it broke, so I re-tied it once the car was moved.

Back in the Routine

First day back at the office, the payoff report was late due to I.T. problems. But I liked being busy for the entire day when it finally arrived, just needed to find the time to walk down to the post office to mail a check. Heard somebody yelling about having to wait for a call along the way. I know well enough to avoid engaging people in conversation when it doesn't concern me, I know it usually isn't worth it. It's best to keep to yourself and mind your own business. I just become aware of it as it can become problematic. It serves as a warning as to what to avoid. At the office it sounded like they were a little short handed as a colleague was out last week due to illness.
   Also the first day back at the comedy club, didn't go there all of last week. Though one of those was the club being closed due to the holiday. Nice to see many friends there, including one who flew back from California. She even did a Facebook posting saying she hoped to see me there. Hopefully it is a while before I take another day off from the clubs. I like the circle of friends there, and it was nice to hug the friend who was coming from out of town. I did tell many of how I had just returned from Florida and how it went there.

Back From Florida

Arrived back from Florida this afternoon, got unpacked eventually but wanted to go get ice cream at McDonald's. In the evening I watched 'The Simpsons', after trying unsuccessfully to get my laptop running again. The phone company said it would be Wednesday at the earliest, which is annoying having to find an alternate place to check email for that long. Redeemed some more points, or dollars, for airline miles. Now there is less than a dollar in the account, but it's the way I wanted it as I wanted to get them dumped before they expire. It doesn't take long to accumulate from answering online surveys. Unsure when I would be eligible for a free trip or half price ticket, but I have dumped 4,500 miles into the account since May, which is more than I get from flying on most flights. This is due to getting the 'house minimum' when doing short flights in the Midwest, which is 500 miles per flight. I even had to remind myself how I would get more food and snacks on the flight as it was a longer one than I'm used to. I got a good look at the smaller terminal at MSP when I got back, besides the Snoopy statue there is a children's playground that listed the military terms for each letter of the alphabet. I knew some but not many. It is what led to me being a little late at baggage claim, my bag was waiting at the airline office since I took a while exploring, maybe 30 minutes. But I also knew I couldn't return once leaving, so I knew I needed to make the most of it. This included getting a sandwich as it was past lunchtime. The suitcase was practically full as I was willing to help get some photo albums back home, 6 in all. Unsure if my date is able to get the other 4 back.

Salvador Dali museum

Went to the Salvador Dali art museum in St. Petersburg, a car depicting rain inside of the car was part of it. Hard to say the most memorable piece of art there, the Lincoln portrait was notable. At least it looks like Lincoln from 20 meters away but there are other things more clearly seen when up close. There was also one of his brother who died young, and a hologram of musician Alice Cooper's head.  Also saw a baseball game, went into extra innings but didn't stay until the end. The Tampa Bay Rays were playing the Boston Red Sox, we stayed for 10 innings and the Rays won in the 11th. When it goes into nextras you just never know how long it might take, and her mom was getting tired so she said we were leaving at that time. It may not have been a bad idea at all, as we beat the after-game traffic. We did catch the ending on the radio. Her sister showed up and it was nice meeting another family member. The museum was close to the baseball stadium, we also went to the pier and saw some of the pelicans being fed fish. This was where I decided to get another 'smashed penny' souvenir as they had those machines available. It was the second, as the first was at the space center. Now that I have seen Tropicana Field there aren't many major league stadiums left that I haven't seen, at least a glimpse of or an actual event of some sort.

Brad Paisley Show

Went to the Brad Paisley concert at the state fairgrounds in Tampa tonight. Kind of muddy, it had rained earlier in the day. Spoke with the man next to me between acts, he was impressed how far we had traveled for the show.  I said I saw a car with Canadian plates in the lot, from the Labrador province. Somebody saw my Johnny Cash shirt and loved it, then showed me their tat, it just said 'cash' though. so it wasn't as obvious to me how it was for Johnny Cash. My date did say I would blend in well if wearingt the shirt, and she was correct. We went to a car museum earlier in the day, saw plenty of European cars there from the 1920s and 30s. Some were from Czechoslovakia, as some were made for party leaders after the nation went Communist. Others were French and German, like Citroens, had seen a few at a Bastille Day celebration. For French cars I mostly know Renault, but there weren't any. The Mercedes-Benz looked more like a VW, found out it was no accident as it was made before the VW was. There was even a Delorean, now mostly known as the 'Back to the Future' car.
   We did eat at a Hard Rock Cafe before the show, it was inside a casino operated by the Seminoles. I like seeing the artifacts on the wall there, so much music history on display. It was nice to see the music videos on the screens there while eating. With the concert I liked having a 5th row seat, she is in the fan club and can get better seats than most due to pre-sales apparently. Didn't know the opening acts that well, aside from one doing Bobby Brown's 'My Perorogative', a reminder of my high school days. Even though I didn't know country music well, at least the newer performers, I still liked some songs, including when there was a Brad impersonator with an oversized head, he was brought out twice during the show. One of the songs was making fun of celebrity scandals.

Space Center Tour

We did a tour of the Kennedy Space Center today, and another Snoopy statue picture was available. This was due to Snoopy being chosen as the macot for the space program in the 1960s, it was inside next to some newspaper headlines from all over the world from the moon landing in 1969. I recognixed one of them better than others as expected, as it was the one from the Des Moines (Iowa) Register, saying 'Man Walks on Moon!' Also ate at a Thai restaurant, had some Thai beer for the first time. It made me think of some foreign beers I've had before, like Tsingtao at a restaurant in Philadelphia's Chinatown, or Tecate while in Phoenix. Had a hard time thinking of the name of the latter, I just knew it was a Mexican beer that wasn't Corona or Dos Equis. When driving to the space center we saw Orlando on the way, including the Citrus Bowl stadium and Tinker Field. The former was where the Iowa Hawkeyes have played bowl games before, as it is home to the Capital One Bowl, once known as the Citrus (and before that Tangerine) Bowl game. The latter was the home of spring training for the Minnesota Twins, who have since moved it to Fort Myers. I think there is still a minor-league baseball club there, Double A, but unsure of the affiliation now. These things can change fairly often.
   On the way back we saw the town of Christmas, on another side of the road was a church that said 'Fort Christmas', found out from an online search how it was a military fort during the Indian Wars, specifically the Seminole Wars. The Wikipedia article said there was 3 separate wars.

New Swimsuit

Flew to Florida today to meet my date's family. We got another picture of a Charlie Brown and Snoopy statue before leaving, as it was at the airport terminal, the smaller of the 2. Went to the pool today, but first went to a Marshalls to get a new swimsuit. The pool was at her family's home in a gated community as they decided to retire there. Found out when I was at the lazy river at Valleyfair last month how mine didn't fit too well. Going to the pool was nice, since it was a private one. Liked laying on the floater for a while, even after I got 'prune fingers'. balance of course is important with those things, when you're first getting on them and off them. Also liked having lunch at a bistro, some of the artwork looked like France and another section looked like New Orleans. I like looking at the artwork at restaurants. The parents were right by the gate at the Orlando airport, wasn't expecting them to be able to get this close when things have changed since 9/11. but each airport can have a different layout of course. In addition, I was used to having nobody waiting for me upon arrival.

1-Day Workweek

This was my one and only day at work this week, as I am out of the office for the rest of the week. Did laundry after work, then went to the Borders liquidation sale in Woodbury. Found a Clarence Darrow book there. Had hoped they would have a Simpsons episode guide but those were already sold out apparently. Since it covers 20 years, those were expensive, original price was $150. I was so busy with laundry that I decided not to get to the comedy club tonight, which was no big deal to me. I wanted it this way, leaving no dirty clothes behind while out of town. But it did mean some things weren't entirely dry, like towels. So I found a place to hang them up and dry more thoroughly around the home.
   I held myself to what I had said before about wanting to leave little or no food behind as well. It meant my refrigerator had a bottle of beer, a bottle of wine, a ketchup bottle, and a TV dinner. I was picked up so I could leave behind my car in my neighborhood and see that I would be up in time for the flight in the morning. I packed in a rush as usual, there probably will be something I would need and didn't pack. So it means asking how important it is and if one can live without it for the time I am away.

Ren-Fest and Shoes

Went to Ren-Fest today. Before we arrived we went to the Mall of America to get shoes. The ones I had were so worn that I was able to poke a finger through the soles of one of them. Had the pair nearly 2 years this month, so they predated the starting of this blog. I was starting to have knee problems and already it seems that those problems have been lessened. I was advised to try on multiple pairs, I chose the second as they seemed to cushion my feet more. The main advantage of the others would have been $10 cheaper and the black and gold colors reminded me of my college's school colors. Having the gift card helped, a redemption from the Speedy Card program.
   At Ren-Fest I did the stocks for $10 and was accused of being a moron. I said it would be nice to hear what was said about me since I do comedy. I did hear worse at the comedy club, they reminded me how they must allow for kids in the crowd. My date was a little disgusted but decided to get pictures of me and even got some of it on audio. Made it to the Robin Hood show, one colleague was Little John in it and the other just helped with getting tips after the show and finding customers before it.
 Watched a DVD of 'Winter's Bone' in the evening, first time seeing it since I saw it at the theater last year. As expected I did find ways to fill in the time while having Labor Day off from the office and the comedy club. I once again spoke to my date about how much of it reminded me of where I grew up, since it takes place in the backwoods of southwestern Missouri.   

Red Velvet Cake

Had some red velvet cake for dinner this evening, in uptown Minneapolis. We got 2 more statue pictures, had hoped for a third but the restaurant was closed for the holiday weekend. So now we're up to 106. Went to the St. Paul Saints playoff game, they lost to Winnipeg 5-2. The series is now tied 2-2, game 5 decides it on Monday. Horse ride in downtown Minneapolis was nice, after the game. The horse's name was Marty, it was a 30-minute tour that began at a hotel and went through a park. I got a few pictures and the ride operator was knowledgeable about the area's history.
   The cake was at a restaurant called the Fusion, little did we know what would be happening there. After arriving we heard people talking about the Kardashians, and a camera crew did show up. I had heard of the reality show 'Keeping up with the 'Kardashians' but haven't watched it as I don't have cable TV. Some stayed in hopes of catching a glimpse, the crew did ask for patrons to sign a contract as the cameras were expected to move around. But it was already getting kind of late, so we didn't stay around for long after we were done eating. Didn't like how we had to ask for the check more than once before getting it, almost like taking care of famous people became way more important.
   With the Saints game I saw a sparse crowd as expected, since playoff games are not scheduled that far in advance. But I had hoped to see a favorite promotion, 'What's in the Bag?' by Cub Foods, and didn't. It was a reminder of how things can be different at playoff games. But it was nice how we did arrive much earlier than we did for the same opponent last month, so we could hear the Canadian national anthem.

Junkmail and Statues

This is all I really dealt with today, and found 2 more statues to photograph. Also got an Egg Mcmuffin at McDonald's, had no breakfast food left at home.
   I thought about doing laundry today but got started on finding statues again, and this time getting pictures. There was over 30 in this category, now there are less than 10. Good idea how I eventually brought my camera when she takes her pictures as it saves having to go back later. I told myself I was close to many of them and it wouldn't take long to find them, but it took much of my morning and afternoon to re-find them. It was nice talking with a man outside one place, found out they kept just one, the one we found earlier. He was smoking a pipe while inside a car, don't see those too often.
   It's nice how I was paying attention, as this is what led to finding 2 more. When I got to one downtown I walked back to my car and found another. Made a difference on where I parked this time. The other was on a road I hadn't seen much of before, and was at a school.
    I shared this information once I arrived for my date, which was more about errand running as it meant bed shopping. It was a reminder of my job as I spoke of them being at my employer before, then noticed the credit application was from my employer! A different office handles it. What's my sleep number? I didn't know this before. Then in the evening it was on to a restaurant, Cleveland Wok in St. Paul, for an early birthday celebration. For once some of her friends decided to eat somewhere besides the Green Mill, an observation I made once prompted of the history by my date.  

Names of Love

Went to see the French movie 'Names of Love' at the Edina theater tonight. I understood about half of the French, after studying that language in high school, good but not fluent. Plenty of good observations, social commentary that is, in the movie. Funny, then serious, at the right times. Relevant to American audiences, since many of the social issues are the same as in France. Odd how somebody after the movie claimed they didn't know what 'gens' meant in French. I reminded them how not everything is literally translated, it means 'people' not 'names'. Called my college roommate after the movie, hadn't heard from him in a while. After 20 minutes I heard his wife in the background and said it may be time for me to go. He was busting my chops at times but i didn't seem to mind.

    I really like driving in my car, thought about it after the movie, must be thinking of a poster I once saw. 'In solitude man lives in all ages'. And I like listening to my car radio, like when 'Alive' by Pearl Jam was played. I liked singing right along with it. 'Oh I, uhh uhh I'm still alive, hey I, oh I'm still alive, yeahh yeahh.' Sometimes it's best to remember what it was like before being transformed, remember the pain and then the relief, the pleasure, of getting rid of it. And yes, college in Iowa City did transform me, I felt more free there than where I had been. In some respects, it was appropriate to call my college roommate tonight as it helped on reaching this epiphany. He even said 'dude, you changed' in reference to how I didn't go see the Emerson Hough papers at the U. of Iowa when I had the chance as a student. But now I am making plans to see them when I go there soon.

   Found out the St. Paul Saints won in extra innings tonight, so the playoff series is tied, 1-1. So game 4 on sunday is on, the one I have tickets for, against Winnipeg.

Comedy in Costume

I got some stagetime tonight at a comedy club, Corner Bar in Minneapolis. It was suggested that I do something different from what I've already done so I did- going up in costume. Liked doing something in a different character for once. It was like having an 'alter ego' I have sometimes joked about. I had a costume from the 'Scream' movies so I put it on, including the mask. Made it harder to see, which is sometimes why I don't have the mask but figured it was best with full costume here. At first I sat on the stage, but was told by the technician to get on the stage so I did stand. No big deal, didn't have to walk around much. I did a few jokes about being a 'victim' of the Grim Reaper during Red Ribbon Week in high school, how they wanted to shut me up then. Also a few jokes about the 'Scream' movies, like how they killed Fonzie. There was even one about my ex, who said the costume was 'so 90's', which doesn't explain why they did another sequel. At some point I want to see myself on video, it sounds like we had a small crowd watching online even though the in-person crowd wasn't big by any means.