The Shuffle, Round 3

There was a mandatory meeting at the office scheduled for 10 in the morning, prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. It was scheduled before I left on Friday, so I was left with it in the back of my mind over the weekend. It wasn't a 'pink slip' meeting, as some new opportunities were announced on transferring to other departments within the office. I had tried for this twice before and wasn't picked. I am still kind of miffed about it. It seems appropriate to call it 'the shuffle, round 3'.
    At the comedy club tonight there were plenty of pictures on the wall. Nothing unusual here, but they were  about the club's 20th anniversary celebration this week. As much as I would like to attend one of the shows, as it will be a good variety of entertainers, I don't think I can find the time in my schedule. It does make me think about what was going on in the world back when the club opened in 1991, and what was going on in my life. Same as any other 2-decade period, plenty can happen. In this area, the relevant thing is that the Mall of America hadn't opened yet. Even though it was Halloween, few performers were dressed in a costume, I saw just 2, both women.

Ides of March

Went to see the movie 'Ides of March' at the Grandview theater in St. Paul earlier today. It was anti-climactic at the end, seemed like it ended kind of abruptly. I liked George Clooney in it, he played a presidential candidate. It is likely somehow a reference to the Shakespeare play 'Julius Caesar' as a Soothsayer was known for saying 'beware of the Ides of March', or March 15. Also found 2 more of those Charlie Brown and Snoopy statues, looks like the total is at 111 now. It was the first we had found since the first of the month, the Linus in Sleepy Eye. We aren't out of ideas yet on where to find them. Liked eating at Genghis Grill in Eagan in the evening, made it home in time to see the Halloween episode of the Simpsons. It included a parody of the French movie 'Diving Bell and Butterfly', one that I had seen. It was about the editor of a fashion magazine with 'locked in syndrome', who was unable to communicate except by blinking eyes. So his memoirs were dictated this way.
    I liked getting most of my errand running done early in the day before the date, so there was less of a sense of urgency to get it done in the evening when I had less energy. I slept later than typical, until 10am, and said I needed to get milk and orange juice, not wanting to get a breakfast sandwich at McDonald's since I would be eating again around 12noon. So it meant doing the weekly grocery run then, which is more practical. Also did the dishes and recycle, and going through the mail, most of it junk. Since I tend to take out important things like a bill right after recognizing it, I find that it's no big deal to let most mail wait a few days before truly getting a close look at it.  

Look-Alike at Game

Saw a lookalike to that San Francisco Giants pitcher named Wilson- from a TV commercial- on the way to the Iowa/Minnesota football game earlier today. Hawkeyes lost to the Gophers 22-21, 2 missed field goals and an onside kick were costly. I did get a picture of this man and after I did it he said if I wanted one that I just needed to ask. It's the second straight year where Iowa has lost the battle for the trophy known as 'Floyd of Rosedale', a bronze pig created in 1935. I was fine with walking to and from the stadium and across a footbridge over the Mississippi River, good exercise and nice scenery.
    In the evening I went to Fright Farm in Maplewood, a haunted house. One actor was keeping people interested while waiting by gunning a Husqvarna chainsaw. I wasn't sure what brand, saw it was orange. It's proof of how I think, when I care about things like a brand of chainsaw and wanting to satisfy curiosity. So I saw it on a table, turned off, after I had went through. My dad had chainsaws as a kid, so hearing and seeing one doesn't bother me much. He had Homelite and McCulloch, those are red and yellow. I liked doing one thing after the haunted house, hadn't done it in a while. It was watch some of the shows after the 10pm news, like 'storm stories' and another where a local sports journalist interview people. Though I fell asleep in my easy chair while watching the first one, must have been tired.

Napa Valley Wine

I have been inundated with emails recently about the writer union I am a part of, looks like we are having another meeting soon. Trying to figure out the best time for it. The last meeting was a month ago, and little was agreed upon besides deciding to meet again. I said I wanted to participate more but needed to know the ways I can, and not much was said so far.
    I had 3 bottles of wine for a while that weren't cracked open, but slowly after meeting somebody they have been opened and drank as I met somebody who likes wine. The last of these was the Napa Valley wine that a friend from work got me while visiting there. My date liked it a lot, when we had it for dinner tonight, lasagna.
    Tonight was game 7 of the World Series, and somehow the Cardinals found a way to win again over the Rangers. During the 6th inning my date decided to go walk the dog, I went out as well, knowing it was a 30-minute walk and we would be back before the game ended. We decided to get up and dance a little after the final out, as I spoke of how I did this when the Cardinals last won in 2006. It seemed appropriate then as I was hearing them play the song featured on a Six Flags commercial where you see an old man dancing around, and the few words heard were 'hey now'.

Great Pumpkin and The Series

Divided my time tonight at first between the Charlie Brown Halloween special 'Great Pumpkin' and the World Series. What a wild night! I put in a photo order at Walgreen and got home right before prime time programming began. I told myself I wanted to pick them up after the game was over, then couldn't wait until game 6 was over as it went into extra innings. After the 10th inning ended, I drove over to Walgreen again to pick up the photo order, and get some drain opener for the bathroom sink. I was listening to the radio broadcast in my car, and as I was pulling into the lot it ended on a walkoff home run. So there will be a game 7, since the Cardinals won tonight over the Rangers. It was something like the 4th walk off home run in game 6, the previous 3 were quite famous, in 1975, 1991, and 1993. The Cardinals kept tying it, 7-7 and then 9-9 the next inning, it ended 10-9. I did pull out my Great Pumpkin book while watching the special, and the election special after it called 'You're Not Elected' as it was a reminder of winning it when finishing 2nd in a reading contest in 2nd grade. The book has held up well, helps that it's hard cover.

Expensive Football Shoes

On the bus this morning I was bored having to listen to a woman talk about her son in high school. Something about how he quit football, even after paying the fee and getting the expensive shoes needed for it. And something about how he was too embarrassed to have her around at the swim meets he is now in. He's a teenager, what did she expect?
   I had another vivid dream this morning, meaning it was another odd one. I looked at the laundry that was drying on the line, and saw bedsheets but both were fitted sheets, made no sense to me. Also saw a blanket if I'm not mistaken. Don't know what it means, when my parents had a clothesline when I was a kid but I don't use one. Or possibly that I should do laundry more often, though it's already done every 2 weeks which is often enough to me.
    There were leftovers from the taco feed, but not the soupy chicken. I liked eating the shredded cheese, of course. And I'm thankful I found enough time to walk a bridge at lunchtime over the river.
    Game 6 of the World Series was postponed due to weather, so I didn't miss anything by going to the comedy club tonight. One comedian friend offered the last slice of pizza, I said 'thank you' twice to be sure I was heard, which made me sound like Little Caesar.
    I like how I get things crossed off my list eventually, in this case it was a copy request for Emerson Hough papers from being in Iowa City recently. What helped was I got one helper form out and taped it to my laptop, and got out my notes and put them nearby for easier reference. Unsure when they will arrive, but I will like having them. Hard to say what I will like the most, but the materials related to the movie 'Covered Wagon' will be nice, and the ad about Hough's books with a picture of Theodore Roosevelt will be as well.
   I liked driving over by the searchlights tonight after the comedy show, it's fun to find the source. I of course thought of the 'Charlie Brown Christmas' special where Linus said to Charlie 'check those searchlights' when looking for a tree. These lights were in relation to the new Little Caesar's location, and mounted into the back of a pickup truck.

Kelly Clarkson Songs

It was a notable day at work as it meant a farewell to our 'facility czar', who is transferring to Arizona. This was somebody who encouraged me to get a first-ever flu shot 2 years ago, I now get them annually. The food left a lot to be desired, as it was chicken tacos that were really soupy. I preferred eating the shredded cheese plain, there was plenty of it.
    There was an annoying knowitall on the bus in the evening, he kept switching subjects and couldn't get his facts straight about sports and politics (specifically, presidents). It was about the local sports teams and their stadiums, but also the World Series droughts of the Red Sox and Cubs, got them switched around, or even when Babe Ruth was traded to the Yankees. I wanted to say something but I knew better. good chance it will be a while before I have to see this man again. Still makes me think of the Kelly Clarkson song 'Mr. Know it All' since I've known a few. It's the typical they claim to know it all but intelligent people can poke holes into their stories and prove they really don't know anything.
     Liked getting a pizza at a Little Caesar's that opened nearby. I meant to look for magnets with the location on it but thought about it again only after I had left. I had one from two other locations. It's nice to compare them. Noticed how there were some searchlights in the evening, after getting back from the comedy club, which guided customers to the shop.
     During lunchtime I did a walk through the skyway with a group, asked for a map after it was done so I could do the route again later. I may even luck out and find another Charlie Brown and Snoopy statue.

3 Dreams

I had some odd dreams on 3 straight days. First was an argument about the governor, where I was defending. I said he was doing fine, working on a new stadium and handled the government shutdown well. Then there was enlisting in the military, though I didn't know how to do formation or even who or how to salute properly. Finally I was at the comedy club, I either didn't like the joke or understood it and said so to a comedian friend. Another said I was an inspiration, and both get more stage time than I do. I analyze my own dreams often, I have a few ideas about these. With the first I am thinking it's because I don't like having to defend myself but often say I am ready to if need be. It means having to be good at it when challenged. Next likely was in reference to multiple things. I recall sharing stories about how it was sold by military recruiters as a way to pay for college, I had mentioned it recently in passing. Then there was a college roommate who was from a proud military family, he wanted me to enlist. The third is obvious, as I do spend plenty of time at the clubs, since I enjoy it. And yes, I have become more gracious about compliments due to doing comedy.
   Saw a comedian friend tonight at the club for the first time in a while, he said he had dental surgery. I asked about where his 'entourage' was, he said he hasn't had them in a while. I'm wondering if I should have one. Since I was at the comedy club tonight, I didn't catch much of Game 5 of the Series, I listened to some on the radio and a little on TV as I left the show early. The Cardinals lost to the Rangers and trail 3 games to 2. The Series now moves back to St. Louis.

VO5 Shampoo

My date was ill so I prepared the waffles this morning. I was sent with the 2 we didn't eat and decided to put some honey on the one I ate tonight. Thankful I got all of my errand running done before the World Series began this evening. All that was left by then was things I was able to do at home while watching game 4 of the series, like put away laundry and do dishes. Then after the game was over, the Cardinals lost to the Rangers 4-0, I sent on the recycle and got 2 items in the mail. So the series is now tied 2-2. One of them was a membership renewal. 2 things were notable about doing laundry earlier today. First, it was seeing a comedian friend when going to my car after getting the loads in the wash. Didn't recognize him at first, but he was bundled up. Second, it was seeing a condom or two under a former church pew inside the laundromat, which will look odd anywhere. Made it back to my employer's fitness center in the afternoon, decided to claim some VO5 shampoo and a plastic coat hanger I found in the locker room.
  Guess I was too busy, or too tired, to remember getting an entry in on saturday. I stayed in and watched a movie with my date, 'Benny and Joon'. I liked the proclaimers song '500 miles' in it and Johnny Depp is really talented. The choreography was well-done, and the Charlie Chaplin imitation was good. The original plans were to go to the theater and see a movie, the George Clooney thriller 'Ides of March' sounds good but she was coughing too much and didn't want to be a distraction. In the evening we made it to a friend's comedy show in the basement of a bar in Minneapolis. Liked how he did many of my favorite jokes, including 'Lugar', but he had the time for it, being the headliner. We ate at Burger King for lunch, in hopes of finding Simpson items mentioned on a TV commercial a week earlier, but they were gone already. In the evening before the show we went to Joe Senser's in Eagan. I had been to the one in Roseville before officially moving here a few years back. I was in town looking at housing and decided to eat there since it was next to my hotel, the Motel 6. It was also nice to make it back to the dog park, where I got to see my date's dog running at full gallop for a while. But he was hard to find at times, as there are some wooded areas there. Also saw a Hawkeye grad there, we discussed Hawkeye football a little. I did check the score online and knew they beat Indiana by 3 TDs earlier today.
   I did try to watch some of Game 3 of the series, but needed to get to the comedy club for the show. Plenty had changed with the game during the show, it was blown wide open and the Cardinals won 16-7 to go up 2-1. Albert Pujols had a big night, 3 home runs. Just 2 players had hit this many home runs in a World Series game- Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson.  

Revolver Tattoo

On the bus this evening after work I had somebody greet me by reaching over and saying 'my friend'. I said hi, he said 'hi, how are you?' and then changed his seat. He had a tattoo of a revolver on his arm, said 'slick' next to it, also had an iron cross on one hand. There was a crossing guard that was being too friendly to everyone, he had to back off when one girl said something to the effect of how she doesn't talk to strangers. Liked seeing a costumed 'Little Caesar' in the plaza, promoting the new location for the pizza chain. Got a picture of the costumed character along with an anchored hot air balloon. It was done from a distance so it wasn't too obvious- and I was able to since I have a camera with a zoom lens. When I passed by he said 'hi' and something about free pizza in a few days.
  A coworker spoke of scaring an actor at a haunted house, somehow that doesn't surprise me when he's multi talented and mischievious. I still need to figure out where I will be going to a haunted house this year. This coworkers did suggest one where he knows the performers, as he is a theater man. I also had a date in the evening, some dinner. It was nice seeing another tape-delayed episode of 'history detectives', the 3 segments were about a Civil War tintype picture, a ledger from the early days of Western movies, and land ownership in Harlem.

Boss Is Absent

We were informed early in the workday that the boss would be absent, due to illness. No big deal, we know what we need to get done. And there are days when I don't see the boss at all, as we might both be too busy.
    I went to Subway for dinner, after a long delay on the bus ride home. I think it was due to construction. Then I found some peanut butter crackers at a dollar store, really like those things. Made it home right before the second game of the World Series began. A graphic was shown during the game about how the Cardinals had never played in a 1-0 Series game, and this continued. They led by a narrow margin, 1-0 going into the 9th, then gave up 2 sac flys and lost to the Rangers 2-1. So the series is now tied 1-1. Hard to win a 1-0 game, very little margin for error. I did once see a 1-0 game, at Tiger Stadium in Detroit in the final season of 1999.
   Also at work, there was a conference call I was a part of. It was an orientation for a mentoring program through a local high school. I could tell that the event coordinator was trying to be funny, as I asked what food was being served and he asked what my favorite food was. I said it likely was Godfather's pizza, he said that's what was served. I said 'ha-ha'. He must have had in mind how I do some comedy, he has seen me perform before.

Time Keeper

It was nice having a turn as the time keeper tonight at the comedy club, did it for 2 comics as the main one had to go onstage. It means using a stopwatch and a flashlight, just paying attention. Watched some of the first game of the World Series tonight before and after the show. It was nice seeing the Cardinals win it over the Rangers 3-2. Will try to watch more of game 2 on Thursday. I did plenty of paper shredding tonight before the show as I wanted to organize my paid bills more, getting them grouped by account into one envelope.  So it meant many of the other ones were shredded, along with inserts I don't need. The trash can is nearly full because of it. At work there was bartlett pears in the breakroom, I ate one at lunchtime. I have come to the understanding that it is best to not renew a magazine subscription. Nothing unusual there, but it is the Sporting News, and I've had it since grade school. There was a card I got recently, when I called I was informed how they are apparently going online. I wasn't really reading it enough anyway, but it was odd how there was no response to my mailing saying I would renew the subscription. I expected to get another statement and then sending in a check, which is customary for me.

The Ford Plant

When I went to the bathroom at work earlier today I saw an abandoned paper, the business section. On the front page was something about the Ford plant in St. Paul closing in December. It has been there since the 1920s. I've tried to get a tour there, but have been told there haven't been any since 9/11. I called this an 'invalid' reason. I like the Dairy Queen near there as I like ice cream, and they have plenty of nice pictures on the wall, including of the Ford plant. They make the Ford Ranger pickup there, so I think more than one of my dad's vehicles over the years have been made there. I think he said an F150 pickup he owned was made there as well, one he had when I was in junior high and high school. I knew there was an interest in closing the plant for years now, but the company kept finding a way to keep it open. My dad had asked about it and told him whatever I knew from reading the papers and watching the news on TV.
    It was nice attending the comedy show tonight, saw a new comic (to me anyway) that was funny, and some of my friends were performing as usual. I'm used to them not always doing favorite jokes since they need to try new material. It was definitely not a rookie, she said she had performed at a club I had heard of before. I am on their email list as the same promoter happened to promote a show last year where Tom Arnold was the headliner.

Catfight on the Bus

I printed a flyer that said a comedian friend had a certain gig this weekend, wanted to confirm before deciding to attend since it is a longer drive for a show than typical. Also because it's a 'pay show' where I must buy tickets. When a mutual friend sent a text message, I found out it was inaccurate information. So it means seeing the show he really will be at, somewhere else, or doing something besides a comedy show. Will have to find out what works. There was a clash on the bus this morning, surprising how it was 2 women clashing, since it's rare. One of them was unwilling to move over a little to allow another rider to sit since she said she can't stand people who smell. The other rider made a valid point, if she's that picky then why ride the bus? What's typical with these clashes is that in the end, neither one is any better than the other. Since neither one wants to drop it. They got off at my stop, and still wanted to spar verbally by saying 'have an unpleasant day'. Definitely not necessary.
   This may be why I like going to the comedy club, as I can laugh of the long day at work. I think I will want to find a way to get to my friend's show this weekend.  Of course it mainly means seeing if it works in my schedule, but it all comes down to priorities. I can find a way to make it work in my schedule. It can be nice to see shows that aren't open-mic every so often as it means longer sets for those who are performing, and a chance to hear some of the older jokes as open-mic is still about trying out new jokes to see what works and what doesn't.

Back From Iowa City

Made it back from Iowa City earlier today, a nice weekend there watching a football game where I had went to college. Iowa beat Northwestern 41-31, after leading 17-7 at halftime. The game was hard to watch at times, since Iowa was beaten on many stats like first downs and total yards. But they made the most of the turnovers, one of them being a 98-yard interception return. They never trailed in this one, though Northwestern did battle back to tie it before the 3rd quarter ended. I liked attending the alumni event at the Fieldhouse, the former basketball venue, before the game. I won a raffle item, a beer can cozy with the Hawkeye logo on it. There was food, but at first I didn't have much as it was from 3-5 pm and I am used to eating later than this.
   I even went out of town to see a few sites. I went to the Little Amana exit on I-80 to get some wine, I had been there once when I was a kid with my dad. For lunch I ate at the Maid-Rite, which was adjacent. I was able to order from both menus, having a 'mini pizza' from Godfather's, mushroom and pepperoni on it. From the Maid-Rite menu I had a strawberry shake. Next was to the baseball museum in the small town of Norway, in Benton County. I had wanted to see the town for a while, since I like baseball movies and the movie 'Final Season' was about the town's baseball team. The field was a half mile down the main road in town, and there was a game being played when I showed up. I didn't stay long as I wanted to get back on the road to Iowa City for the game in the evening. Before leaving Iowa City on Saturday for the Amanas and Norway I found 2 homes on the National Register of Historic Places. One was an early governor, Kirkwood, and the other was Grant Wood, the artist. It was near where I lived the final year of college. It finally dawned on me about one of the street names near where I lived, it was called 'Lukirk' which would be a 'mashup' of 2 governor names, Lucas and Kirkwood. Then it was finding Irving Weber School, and yes it was in a fairly new neighborhood as expected. I saw a silo on the drive over to it. I was taking pictures nearly everywhere I traveled to, since I don't know when I will get around to finding these places again. It's nice to have these places crossed off my list. A few more things can wait for the next visit.
   I ate at Outback Steakhouse tonight with my date after getting back into town. Hadn't been there in a while, but the food is good there. Also did a Skype call in the evening after dinner.

Finding Emerson Hough

I didn't get started as early as I wanted to this morning on the drive to Iowa City for the weekend, but early enough. I hit the road around 9am, had hoped for an hour earlier. I still made it to town around the time I wanted to so I could research Emerson Hough at the University of Iowa library. They have a special collection of his letters. I liked seeing an advertisement about buying his books, it not only had Hough's picture on the back but also his friend, President Theodore Roosevelt. I think I've seen or heard of instances before where a presidential endorsement is used to sell a product. I didn't come away with any copies, the librarian said there were no students available to help out. I ended up with plenty of notes so I can email what I want copied sometime next week. It was a much smaller collection than the one at the main historical building in Des Moines, but I didn't mind at all. Made it easier for me to decide what I wanted, as there was just 2 boxes to look through.
   After the library closed at 5pm, I went back to my car to get my camera, it was parked in a ramp across the street from the student union. After looking around inside the student union, which still has some areas (like the basement) closed since the 2008 flooding, I went up the hill to find the Irving Weber statue I had read about on Wikipedia. He was an Iowa City historian. I found it downtown near campus, as part of a literary walk of fame honoring writers with ties to Iowa. This was due to the famous writer workshop held there each summer. I made a nice find in this walk of fame, as I saw a covered wagon as part of it on the sidewalk and wondered if it was honoring Emerson Hough, and it was! Each 'plate' had a quote from a writing by that particular author, and Hough's was from 'Covered Wagon', a novel that later became a movie in the 1920s. The walk of fame had been there for 10 years, first time I had seen it. I ended up taking plenty of pictures from there, along with a few others of downtown at the pedestrian mall. This included the Englert Theater, where I saw movies but now does concerts and live theater, along with 'books on parade' much like the Charlie Brown and Snoopy statues I've been finding all this year. In the evening I made it over to my friend's condo, he still lives in the area as he works for the VA hospital there.

All Caught Up

Not to be confused with 'All Shook Up', the Elvis Presley song.  I wanted to be caught up by the end of the workday, and I did make it, since I will be out of the office on Friday. Even finished the new titles, just barely, as they arrived late in the day after being copied. Didn't deviate much from the leave time, just a few minutes later than typical, wanting to put up the high and low-tech signs saying I will be out.
    Saw a double episode of 'Big Bang Theory' tonight, as part of a date. We also had dinner, and watched a tape-delayed episode of 'History Detectives' from public TV. The segments were about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, illegal gambling in California that eventually moved to Las Vegas, and a fundraiser for the Cub Scouts in NYC during the Depression. Looked up the Wikipedia article about finishing schools, haven't heard about those in a while. Switzerland is well known for them.

Construction Delay

The bus was late this morning, informed it was due to a construction delay. Seems wrong to have construction this late in the season, it's October after all. But as the saying goes about the Midwest, there are 2 seasons: winter and construction. I don't like being late for work, thankfully this is a rare thing.
    Didn't go outside at all during lunch due to the rain. There was a false alarm on a fire drill, after a real drill on Tuesday. It went fine onstage tonight, one crowdmember said she liked my name. It led to some crowd rap, I usually try to avoid this as I want to stay focused on my prepared jokes. I had a brain freeze but recovered well. I know well enough to just try to go to the next one I remember on my mental list. I decided to lead off with a joke I thought of shortly after arriving at the club. It was about crowd noise at the Monday Night Football game this week. Much like many other comics, I like trying to work in some new jokes to see how well they go. But one must be aware of tried-and-true jokes that the crowd will like. It was a good mix of the two categories.

Oh No, Another One

I was sent another modem, then went to the UPS facility to confirm it was a modem and was told I could refuse it. So I did, since I already have one. I was thankful I had the time to take care of it before needing to depart for the comedy club. This morning there was the usual people watching on the bus, a big talking guy who appeared to be homeless based on the collapsible grocery cart he had with him. He spoke about the likes of George Foreman having comebacks, and so would he. For some reason it still reminds me of the Gene O'Neill story 'Iceman Cometh' about all the sad stories from the people with failed lives.
     In the evening after being at the comedy club I saw a small grill set up in my neighborhood, wonder what he was grilling. Liked seeing a comedian friend back from NYC, I talked with his friend for a little while. I didn't do so the previous night. Found out he wasn't staying for the next open-mic tomorrow, as he has a dayjob and wanted to fly back home. So I liked knowing how in some ways we were similar, despite living in different parts of this great nation of ours.

Loyalty Card

On the way to the comedy club tonight I went to the Superamerica and got my dinner, but also asked for the new loyalty card. I didn't care much about it until it took effect, though there were slips of paper printing with receipts for a while that spoke of it. It was nice to see one friend there, he introduced me to another comic, I did my best to remember his name by saying it right after I was told his name. The first comic scheduled failed to take the stage, so they don't wait long and on to the next one. I was pleased that one comic I had sent a 'happy birthday' wish to recently was there. I had asked in the wish if he was having a show nearby soon, since he had moved to New York City in April, and he said 'soon'. Didn't realize it would be this soon. One of his friends from NYC had some jokes I liked, one was about 'getting home safely' and the other was about euphemisms for growing up in a poor family. I left before the show ended, but thankful I stayed for these 2 comics.

Penguins at Zoo

Went to the zoo in Apple Valley today, liked seeing the penguins. I thought of a comedian friend while there, as he has a penguin joke where he sings a variation of the Kenny Rogers song 'the Gambler'. We also saw the farm section, first time seeing it as I am usually just there for concerts. One time I had been there for a mentoring event, but it was during the winter months and some exhibits are seasonal. There was mention of Norman Burlaug there, a reminder of the walk of fame at German Park in New Ulm, as he was a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his work in agriculture. We saw a cow getting milked, nearly 30 pounds of milk, a Guernsey.
    In the evening we watched a tape delayed episode of 'History Detectives' from public TV. It was about a White House photographer from the 1940s, a doll from the Civil War, and a Florida explorer map from the 1600s. I was tired after all of the walking at the zoo and nearly fell asleep while watching the tape. We were at the zoo for much of the afternoon, when we got back I tried watching some of the Patriots-Jets game on CBS but wasn't paying much attention to it. Enjoyed going to a Little Caesars to pick up a large pepperoni pizza, hadn't done it in a while.

Modem and Laundromat

Went back to a laundromat in Maplewood that I once frequented, hadn't been there much since I moved last year. It was nice talking to the owner, I prefer working with her instead of the hired hands as she knows what she's doing and is real friendly. At times she even brought in the pet bulldog. She tried to teach me a Hebrew term, saying she grew up in St. Louis Park, saying it meant 'the Crazy Gentile' as she was given this nickname when living there. Found out we aren't that much different, as I spoke of a friend 'going emo' on me after his divorce, he hasn't spoken to me since. She said this happened to her as well. I would have liked having a business card with me as I could have left it there, since she expressed interest in seeing me do comedy sometime. It was a sentiment I've heard from others: in the past year you seem to be way happier, many think it's due to me dating somebody.
  It looks like the 3rd modem works fine. Met another Husker fan when picking it up, she was from Sioux City. It reminded me of a classmate from college in Iowa City who spoke of attending East and taking a Heelan boy to prom, and she said she did the same thing, which is at least a little scandalous when Heelan is the Catholic school there. She was wearing a Husker sweatshirt as she attended the U. of Nebraska, I shared the stories of the 3 Husker fans I knew before her. One was a coworker at the U. of Iowa, the second a coworker in suburban Chicago, the third a coworker since moving here. The middle one said he became a fan after getting so excited watching a kick return for a TD in 1972, found out it was Johnny Rogers.
   While at the mall after laundry I went to the Macy's to use a gift card I had recently acquired, through the company reward program. I got a dress shirt and 3 pairs of socks, still a few dollars left on it. Didn't like the sales rep making too many suggestions, eventually I said 'I'm the one with the gift card'. This was also where I heard on my car radio how Raiders owner Al Davis had died, known for moving the Raiders out of Oakland and then back to Oakland. In the evening I had a date, after watching the end of the Iowa-Penn State football game on ABC, Iowa lost 13-3. We went to see a movie, 'Moneyball', I liked it as it's about baseball and it's nice that they did a movie about a GM. One often hears about a general manager, who finds the players for the field manager. Big crowd there at the AMC in Roseville, used up a gift card I acquired at the company function in June at the science museum.

Defective Modems

Went to a high school football game tonight, in North St. Paul. Mahtomedi beat them 18-7. As usual, it was no surprise who won and who lost. The visitors were able to convert on 3rd or 4th down 3 times in the first half to keep drives alive, and got 2 long pass plays to set up a touchdown, leading 11-0 at the half. The only score for North St. Paul was set up by an interception return. I hated seeing mistakes deciding the game, but it happens fairly often. North St. Paul had a 1-yard punt due to an unlucky bounce, followed by a fumble by both teams. There were also some 15-yard penalties, not sure what for, but also an impact play.
  Before the game I went to the mall to replace my modem. The one I was given never got off the ground. So I began this entry at a Fedex Office location, and will have to go back and get another one. The odds of having 2 defective modems have to be astronomical. One of the messages I saw was on Facebook, from a classmate about the reunion next year. They went into greater detail than another did about the planning, and I liked having more information available to me.

Knowitall

I dealt with a knowitall tonight, hated that. Couldn't wait to leave the event when it ended. It was one of the few times where I showed up a little early, it was due to some computer problems. Normally I don't make it on time as I like to check my email right after work, but I'm unsure as to what is wrong.
    I could tell the event coordinator was getting a little annoyed as well, but was too polite to say anything. It was because she said 'hold on a second' at one point. I think we've all dealt with these types before, and in spite of this that doesn't make it easier to handle each time we see them. I'm sure these people have their story and their reasons for acting this way, but it is no excuse to me. They like to bully people into thinking they know everything, when in reality some of them don't know anything. I should know, I've been able to poke holes in the claims of one know-it-all before.
    After the event ended I went to to library until it closed, got a few event tickets printed like a Dairy Queen 2 for 1 Blizzard coupon. Now I need to find out when I have the time to use it as I have 2 weeks until it expires, possibly this weekend. Checked to see if a copy of the movie 'Grumpy Old Men' was available, but it was checked out. Will have to try again soon.

Flash of Genius

I may have had a 'flash of genius', like the movie about the intermittent wiper, tonight at the comedy club. It was after hitting my head while going up the stairs to get a beer. I wrote down 4 jokes shortly after it. Sometimes inspiration is in spurts. One friend said this is why he keeps pen and paper near his bed, so he can write things down right away after being inspired. What can motivate me is knowing I may forget it quickly if I don't write it down. My memory may be good, but it's still best to help oneself out by writing down as much as you can.
   I did another advisory session at Roosevelt HS in Minneapolis earlier today. I was the first one who arrived, despite waiting at a left turn signal for 5 minutes due to the light rail. One of the things I noticed in the homeroom was a Chilean flag as it was a Spanish classroom as well. The instructor had the students vote for a homecoming king and queen, even suggesting they vote for themselves if they had no other ideas. I knew their homecoming game was moved back a week due to not fielding a varsity football team this season, not enough upperclassmen. So it is now a JV game, against St. Clair, a school near Mankato, also just fielding JV instead of varsity for the same reason. But their opponent is a much smaller school. After I introduced myself, along with the other volunteers, we went into the auditorium and saw a presentation on the screen there for the rest of the session. I was expecting more material to be covered, but it was the introductory session to the students.

Ditched Bike

I'm still amazed at all of the people watching available from riding the bus to work. In the evening I saw a rider get on and left behind a bicycle to do so, he said he was giving it to the 3 kids at the stop. It looked like a nice red bike. He said it was given to him, but of course many would wonder if it was stolen at some point. The same man then hit on a young woman who was reading a book, then stopped after it was revealed she already had a boyfriend. Then he said he already had a girlfriend. At first he lost interest, then started up talking to her again. Not sure how it ended, as my stop was before theirs. I went to a shop that had some tasty cookie crackers. A good friend of mine was at the comedy club tonight, he was doing some new material but I still yell out 'Lugar!' in hopes he does that joke for me. Also saw 2 Charlie Brown and Snoopy items tonight. One was a giant Pez dispenser and the other was a Build-a-Bear.
  Also liked finding some more songs on Youtube, especially Eminem. This included 'We Made You' and 'White America'. Found those while looking for favorites like 'Please Stand Up' and 'Need a Doctor'.  

Knitting

Somebody on the bus this morning was knitting. Another rider asked them what it was and they were informed it would be a scarf. I didn't see metal needles, which is typical, but wooden ones and they were quite big. But the yarn was thicker as well.
   Saw half of the comedy show tonight, needed to leave early to get caught up on errand running as I didn't get around to things like the trash and dishes due to calling my dad the night before. It was a long call as usual, about an hour, and he told me about watching the Ken Burns documentary series about Prohibition. It may have been just as well, since I noticed the dumpster was full last night, actually overflowing. It was nice being back at the club after having to skip last week for a writer meeting, haven't heard yet when the next writer meeting will be.

Parade of Homes

Went to see the Parade of Homes today, the final day for it. Saw 6 homes in all with my date, one was in Little Canada, where I once lived. 3 were in Eagan, 2 in Edina. Memorable will be the one where it was a $5 admission fee, it meant not just taking off shoes but also putting on those booties like in the hospital or the airport. Some were hard to find with GPS, so it meant going low-tech and looking at the given map. Found out it was due to some homes being in new neighborhoods where the streets had just been finished. One of them had an Ansel Adams book, I flipped through it. All of them had interior designers to make them look lived-in. There was plenty of old movie posters in the basement of one, a 'man-cave' which had a game room and a big movie/TV screen. Liked the Simpsons episode tonight as it was about Theodore Roosevelt, it prompted me to look up IMDB to find out what movies had a TR character in them besides 'Night at Museum' and its sequel, and there were 2 about his time with the Rough Riders.

New Ulm and Sleepy Eye

Went to Oktoberfest in New Ulm with my date today, an event I like doing annually. We did stop at a few places along the way, like in St. Peter at a Swedish shop so she could get candy, licorice apparently, I tried some of it. Then it was on to Sleepy Eye to get a picture of the Linus statue there. It is in front of the library on the main road in town. We saw how the heart in his hand had been bolted back on, so it's much less likely to have the same problems with vandalism like before. This is especially true when there were floodlights surrounding it. This was the best time to get the picture, when the town is just 14 miles from New Ulm.
    We did find many of the buildings in New Ulm on the National Register of Historic Places, but there were so many it would have been hard to find them all. A good number of them were ones I had seen before, like Turner Hall, where I like to have a drink. There were some painful reminders of how the town, like many other small towns, have been left behind by the economy. I saw some empty buildings near the middle of town where the festival was held in the afternoon. One of them was a convenience store that had a sign in the window, saying it was to be sold at a 'tax forfeiture auction' the previous month. Not sure what that is, wondering if it's much like a foreclosure auction. We did do the horse wagon tour, it did go near the B and B that was destroyed by fire in July. It was a downer to see it charred and a fence surrounding it. The tour guide said there were no immediate plans for it, unsure why. It may come down to who owns it now, since the owner died in the fire. And it is part of a historic designation, but it looks like it would be hard to salvage or rebuild it.
   As usual, I not only made it to Turner Hall, but also to German Park. It was nice to pause in front of the fountain and read the pillar from the Wanda Gag home with the poem about kindness. Also made it to the winery outside town and my date bought 2 bottles of wine there. I climbed to the top of the 'Hermann the German' monument and got a smashed penny souvenir on this site. A new thing I did was go to Martin Luther College, where we found Old Main as it's on the National Register. Nearby, there was a statue of Luther himself. We saw part of a glockenspiel show shortly after arriving, and I pointed out the Wanda Gag home. There is a sign out front now, with a cat on it as she was famous for writing a children's book called 'Millions of Cats'. We finished the evening at the Holiday Inn, where I made it in time for the keg tapping. The food and music was good as usual, we listened to some polka music in one room and then went to the main room or 'poolside' where we eventually went up front and danced a little. I liked seeing the costumed Narren characters, found out it means 'fools' in German. We heard some college football games on the radio on the drive back home, and some asked me how the Iowa Hawkeyes did today. I told them they had the week off, no game scheduled. I was wearing my Hawkeye sweatshirt. I had hoped to see the couple from Plymouth that I first met at the Fest many years ago, but I heard from them by email and was informed how they are going on the second weekend.