Welcome To The Black Parade

When I was driving back from the Gopher hockey game tonight I heard on the radio the song 'Welcome To The Black Parade' by My Chemical Romance. The song is kind of sad but there's also a way out being offered by it. This song is memorable to me as it begins with how his dad took him to see a marching band. Hadn't heard it in a while but I like it.
   The Gophers lost to Nebraska-Omaha 3-2 after leading 2-1 after one period. They fell behind early 1-0 but tied it up right away, and it was tied 2-2 after 2. One UNO goal was on a power play, just as the penalty was about to end. Liked walking around Mariucci Arena and looking at the team pictures, especially the ones with John Mariucci and Herb Brooks in them. I was fine with seeing coach Herb Brooks wearing an athletic warm-up suit instead of a formal dressy suit, this changed during his time coaching the team in the 1970s. I got plenty of pictures, some were of the display about the Olympic games which is a Brooks shrine. Then as I was leaving I got one of the Mariucci picture in the lobby.
   I was a little worried about making it on time after working today, but it all went smoothly on making connections. I took the bus home as usual, the email volume in my personal account was low so I cleared it quickly, then I got gas for the car. Then I was really on my way, and the traffic did bottleneck a little right before the first exit for the university. So I said it was academic that I would get off here instead of later, and parked in a ramp that was closer than where I normally park to the food establishments. I had a chicken strip basket at Dairy Queen, as I had a coupon. I made it to the arena just a few minutes before the scheduled start time on the ticket, but nothing important had happened yet. I still got to see player introductions and the national anthem.
   I ended up seeing a work colleague during the first intermission, who was on the way to the ATM with her mom. I had seen them at a St. Paul Saints game before.
   In the mail today was another postcard I had ordered from E-bay, the one of the Maytag home at Lake Geneva. So it arrived quickly, which I like. Same as the one of the Automatic Washer Company of Newton at the Iowa State Fair, which arrived a little earlier.
   I got another look at what was left on the Wonder Bread and Hostess items, I've been steadily working on it by eating one on most days. It should all be eaten before the expiration dates arrive, which is in about two weeks.

J.C. Penney Buttons

I had heard something about J.C. Penney giving away buttons as part of a contest, so I went to their location inside Maplewood Mall tonight after I was done printing things at the library. One is blue and has a white bird on it, possibly a dove. The other is red and white, looks like it's depicting a ribbon. I have entered both codes on these buttons, will find out later what I won if anything. Looks like it's a holiday shopping campaign as the website includes the word 'Christmas'.
   I picked up a Harvey Pekar book at the library, it was hard to find the graphic novel section at first. I did a search for his books and chose 'The Quitter' as the title intrigues me. I have three weeks to read it. When first flipping through it I noticed two things: a beatnik next to a microphone and some football players. This was called a 'virtuoso' graphic novel in the inside cover.
   There was a long all-employee meeting today in the afternoon, I had mostly the baby carrots and the fruit since it was between lunchtime and dinner and of course I had already eaten lunch. Then I had to rush to finish up special requests that had piled up before leaving for the day. I actually took a later bus home but it was a minimal difference, about 15 minutes. When I reached my stop I went to a convenience store to get a sandwich and potato chips, and got the same clerk from Sunday who wanted to talk about the special on bananas. I said I already had one at home. I wanted to get in and out so we didn't talk near as long as before. I think this is the first time I've heard somebody at a convenience store try so hard to sell fruit. Most of the time, people aren't thinking of eating healthy in these types of establishments, they're thinking of eating fast.
   I decided to destroy another disc so I could make room for one I valued more in a nice folio. The disc moved into it was one of me singing 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game' at the All-Star Game fanfest in St. Louis in 2009. Before I went to the library I sent another donation to a Salvation Army box. In the bag was a photo album that I had no use for as it was meant for larger postcards/photos, along with a few books that didn't do anything for me. I had meant to send the album there as part of last week's cleanup, and said I need to make it count when going to send another bag their way so I wanted to find another item to send with it.

Buy Me a Buzzcut

When I was waiting for the bus this morning, I threw out some trash which included a package of chicken flavored Ramen noodles. I had some of these while still in high school when I was visiting somebody I knew- they were already in college. I didn't like them and don't think I've had them since. On the way home I threw out trash I found on the bus when I reached my stop, a wrapper for a roast beef sandwich from Superamerica.
   I think sooner or later I will end up with an account at Amazon, as when I am searching I keep finding things they have that I like. This includes some Maytag books, such as the laundry encyclopedias and a microwave cookbook. I have two editions of the laundry encyclopedias, hand size and paperback, the third and fifth. Looks like they have the second and fourth. With Maytag cookbooks I already have a paperback handsize edition and something with larger pages but thinner volume, it appears to be a companion to their Dutch oven.
   At the comedy club tonight I spoke with a comic I had seen perform before a few times, once in the Twin Cities and another time in July in St. Louis. He was introduced by another comic I know, then I found out why he spoke of St. Louis. I said I had seen a comic do a joke about the menagerie owner who killed himself and released his wild animals- saying it was a neighbor to his parents- then he said 'I'm that guy'. The other comic when I was leaving said he would buy me a buzzcut, I said 'oh, we must be back at that one again'.
   After I was at the comedy club I decided to go through my box of music, and decided to destroy two sample CDs that had been sent to me in the mail. They were from the Teaching Company, and I still have two others remaining from them. I might go through and evaluate these again real soon.
   I had the Pretenders song 'Don't Get Me Wrong' stuck in my head for a few days so I finally had to go onto Youtube and find the song. My guess is I was thinking of it as I knew it was in the movie 'Gung Ho', starring Michael Keaton. It's a movie I have on VHS.
   I did watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special tonight before heading to the comedy club. It was largely by accident as I was switching over to the ABC where they air those specials now. Reminds me of how it has been parodied on 'The Simpsons' with Santa's Little Helper playing Snoopy.

Duplicate Requests

I am doing special requests at work this week. It's rare that we get duplicate requests, but I got one today. I print them before trying to find them 'in the files' and noticed right away it was for the same account, different requestors. So I decided to give the title to who requested it first, figured this was the fairest way to decide. There was a 10-minute difference on the requests. Then I had the fill-in boss arrive right before I went to lunch asking why I hadn't delivered it. I said I had noted the system saying it was a duplicate request. Odd that it brought management around, this is not typical. I later joked with a colleague how I wasn't about to give half-titles to two different people. It truly was a judgment call as to who got the title from me. But once I reiterated how it was a duplicate it looks like that was the end of it.
   At the comedy club tonight I liked hearing some favorite jokes of mine from somebody who has joked about wanting to do a 2-man routine since I had a Hawkeye jacket and he has a Gopher jacket. He did one about Tony the Tiger and winter, along with a masterful one about Minnesota and Wisconsin towns that sound like innuendo.
   When I went to do a weigh-in at work I saw somebody in that room, I am used to it being empty. They said there was a 'Turkey to Mistletoe' challenge to lose weight, first time I had heard of it. Then she said something about liking Zebra cakes from Hostess, but also something about them being like paraffin. I hadn't seen any of these kind of cakes in my recent searches.
  Recently I was thinking of a song I really liked, and jogged my memory how it was 'Impossible' by Shontelle. Liked the lyric 'all my scars are open'. While driving to the comedy club tonight, I heard 'Christmas Canon' by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. When I stopped to look around in a convenience store, I liked hearing 'Closer to Fine' by the Indigo Girls. So much good music out there in various genres.  

Ceylon Court, Lake Geneva

I ordered a postcard on E-bay earlier today, it was the Maytag home on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. It was also known as Ceylon Court as it was a building from a World's Fair in Chicago. What prompted me to do so was seeing how the volume dropped to two listings and I wanted the cheaper one. I liked how all three orders from last week have already arrived, surprised how all of them were received today. It is not typical for them to arrive on the same day. There was the Wonder Bread postcard from the World's Fair in Chicago in 1934, the Wonder Bread magnets- 6 in all- and the 8 Hostess buttons. I am used to Monday being a high volume day for my personal mail and then very little on most other days of the week.
   I decided it was a good time to get some other postcards in the photo album since another one arrived. This included the one from the Embassy Suites Hotel in Bloomington as I had attended a conference there recently. The other was one that said 'Thank you for your service', which was from my employer. This was available around Veterans Day to send to members of the military. I kept this one as I thought my handwriting was a little too sloppy to be read so it was better to use another one to actually send out. It looked like it wasn't too popular of a thing to do. I had checked the box after placing my card in it and noticed it was just one of about five cards, and as I recall the office I work in has over a hundred employees in it.
   I made it to the comedy club tonight, and what was notable was how one of the performers said he was a native of Idaho but now lives in Great Britain. He was back to do some shows as he will be headliner at the same club for the rest of the week. Also got to speak with one of my comedian friends about a recent Facebook invite, as it was about a podcast. Haven't seen one before.
  Also notable today was what I sent back to the office after having it at home for a while. This happened to be two framed items from my work in suburban Chicago. One of them was kept as a joke, saying I was no longer employed by the company as of late 2001 all due to a computer error. I even said to them 'Somebody must think I still work here, they're still taking out taxes'. The computer error was due to my 401-k contributions as I recall. The other was an advertisement to my fellow customer service reps, if they wanted to move over to taking life and health insurance calls like I did. I used Power Point for it. I already had at my current office the teamwork award and 'key plaque' from my time working in the suburban Chicago office. I keep those just like I keep my bowling trophies. I tried to clean the bowling trophies over the weekend- which was when I found the framed items again.

Whopper Jr. at Burger King

I went to Burger King in Eagan this evening and had a Whopper Junior, first time I had been there in a while. Liked reading the paper there, at least what was left of it by then. Besides ads, I found two sections of comics- one from the St. Paul paper and the other from the Minneapolis paper- and the local section where I liked reading about the development plans for the former Schmidt brewery and the Union Depot in St. Paul. I had driven past the brewery before and mainly noticed the water sales being advertised, like a gallon of spring water for 50 cents. It's nice to see the Grain Belt bottle up on the corner as well, as it can't be covered up like the other billboards were.
   I stayed in with my date and watched the Bears-Vikings football game, Bears won 28-10. We later on watched an episode of 'Little House' where the town of Walnut Grove banded together and said they didn't want the railroad taking away their farms.
  After I went home tonight I went over to a convenience store and asked if they had any Wonder Bread or Hostess items left as I didn't see any, but the clerk was unsure if they had ever carried it. He seemed unaware of why they went out of business, I said it was likely a combination of factors. He kept telling me about certain items being sold for real cheap, like 6 bananas for 99 cents. I got a compliment about the winter boots I was wearing, I said it was due to going to the Gopher football game this weekend. He also seemed unaware of what the game result was so I said the Gophers lost. He must have been bored if he wanted to talk to me for a while, but at first I didn't mind too much as I like to hear people's stories. But eventually I knew I needed to move on as it was the stop I wanted to make before going to the grocery store.
   It was nice to see a picture I was in tagged on Facebook, it was taken at the comedy club on Tuesday. I said I don't dance much but I took two dance classes in college, as the caption made a reference to dancing. Not sure why, but it was the one where I was wearing a black shirt.
   This morning I had an odd dream, then again many of my dreams tend to be odd. It was one where I was reading a writer magazine that had the work 'bankrupt' in its name. I like to analyze my own dreams, I know I had been thinking about writer magazines quite a bit recently since I had done an assessment to choose which one out of four writer magazines I would keep as I didn't read them enough. The bankrupt part was likely due to Wonder Bread and Hostess deciding to liquidate recently, helped by already being in bankruptcy protection at the time of a labor dispute.  

Gopher Football vs. Michigan State

There's a columnist in the Minneapolis paper that I like reading. I just read through each Friday paper from the month of October and I often laugh when he writes about ridiculous things. There were three columns, may have been on vacation for the fourth. He wrote about curling toes at a Target store, in reference to how he's fine with no greeter at the door as it's why he likes going there. The next was about the lobby at the orchestra, where there currently is a labor dispute. It was suggested that the musicians still have shows at other venues, like at the Target Center and have Lady Gaga as the guest conductor. Even the one about the boring Halloween had redeeming qualities, though I don't see a big deal about many things being pumpkin-flavored in the fall. This is likely since a comic tried doing the joke on an open-mic night, and I like pumpkin pie and pumpkin-flavored Dairy Queen Blizzard treats. But I still liked the Halloween column as it made a reference to something I contend with often, which is somebody who keeps pressing the 'walk' button at a traffic light. I press it once, I know it means a pedestrian will get a longer walk time. It doesn't mean that the walk light will arrive any quicker.
   I also like the Charlie Brown and Snoopy cartoons. The ones for this month included Sally being overwhelmed when trying to learn math from Linus, along with Linus writing to the Great Pumpkin. There also was Linus wondering who took the last piece of cake, it was Lucy. Then there was Lucy being told by Schroeder that he doesn't give her gifts as she's loud rude and overbearing and mean, she said those kinds of people still like gifts.
   I went with my date in the afternoon to see the Gopher football game against Michigan State, as we got some cheap tickets from Cub Foods, a big sponsor of Gopher athletics. Gophers lost 26-10, their only touchdown was on a pick-6. We left early, at the end of the third quarter, as it was cold and it looked like the outcome of the game wasn't in doubt. We missed just one touchdown due to leaving early. We parked at the state fairgrounds and took a shuttle to the stadium, it worked out real well. As we were leaving there was something about how Gopher coach Jerry Kill did not emerge from the locker room at halftime.
   After the game we watched a video, it was 'You're a Good Man Charlie Brown'. We had seen the play earlier this year, and I did recognize some things in the video that was also in the play. Liked seeing the bonus features, like creator Charles Schulz being interviewed on 'Tonight Show' by Johnny Carson. There was mention how it was just some songs at first, then these songs inspired the play. 

Walgreen Loyalty Points

I've had the Walgreen loyalty card since Monday, made two purchases and no points despite some of the items being store brands like their soap and toilet paper and razors. Well I finally got some points tonight, by buying some Duracell batteries. Had to get some for my flashlight and for my video camera, so some C and some AAA. The flashlight is really special to me as I've had since I was ten, got it when I was in scouting. I got over a thousand points on these two eligible items, so it's different from other loyalty programs I'm already a part of. Same is true with how I got a discount on the batteries. I'm sure I will find some more eligible items that I can use at their store.
   I accomplished quite a bit today, a day off for me. I was with my date at a McDonald's in order to use the wi-fi there but I like their breakfast sandwiches anyway, especially the Egg McMuffin. Then I was on my way to do some cleanup around my home. I am pleased with what I got done but I can do way more. I needed to start somewhere, and that was in the bedroom by moving most things out so I could dust under the bed and then mop the wood floor. Also got around to cleaning the bathroom and two closets. I did decide to donate a few items, some were plush Christmas toys, as I wasn't using them enough and they do me no good just placed in a bag out of the way. Found one thing in a box that I said 'they're playing my song'. It was something called a 'record guard'. I said I wanted to write down what I had for media, especially the movies. Well there is a section called 'inventory and appraisal', and while they may not have had this in mind I did want to take inventory of it. As expected, I had way more DVD than VHS. I counted 119 DVD and 48 VHS if I'm not mistaken. This excludes two special categories, baseball movies and Charlie Brown specials. This adds about 25 more movies to the total. I got the movies in alpha order, so I now have a better idea of what is there.
   I was pleased to find out I guessed well on movies I bought last night at Walmart. I got 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' and 'Wayne's World' on DVD, thinking I just had them on VHS. I was correct, so I junked the VHS copies of those two as well as 'Roger and Me' since I also recently acquired a DVD copy of it.
   It wasn't too distracting to have the TV on while doing cleanup, as I focused well on what I was doing. Iowa's football game against Nebraska was on ABC, Iowa lost 13-7 despite leading for a while to end a dismal season at 4-8. Also saw some of the second game, Iowa State hosting West Virginia, and Iowa State lost as well.
   I do like days like these where I stay in and go outside only when I really need to. In my case that was in the evening to get some Little Caesar's pizza. I like pepperoni, and I am thankful I checked the box before leaving as I was given a cheese pizza at first and showed it to them. The shift manager corrected it right away. Before that I went over to the grocery store and dropped off a bag full of plastic shopping bags. Then later on I found even more in another closet! So when I went out a second time I sent them three more bags full of those plastic bags. The other things I did the second time was send the Internet bill to the post office, make the donation of plush items to a Salvation Army box, and then Walgreen. I had to make another stop, at Superamerica, as they didn't have the Minneapolis paper, must have been sold out. The Superamerica did have some Hostess items, but mostly little donuts and honey buns. There was also some Dolly Madison donuts, another brand owned by this bankrupt company, but I've avoided these as no expiration date is given.
   I did get one Hostess item, it was at a Holiday station early in the day when I went in to use the ATM. They had some orange cupcakes, a two-pack. The expiration date is farther out so it works for me. Today I had two Wonder/Hostess items for lunch: a hamburger bun and half of the strawberry fruit pie. Then I had the second half of the pie in the evening. Figured it would be easier to handle the high calories for the pie if I did half-servings, portion control you know. 

Rupert Murdoch and 'Free Press'

I decided to like a nonpartisan page on Facebook called 'Free Press' after getting an email in my Hotmail account that suggested it. The message said Rupert Murdoch wants to own another media outlet. We were asked to voice our opinion, and let the government know we are not for it. Naturally, this name is close to some actual papers, I had heard of the Detroit Free Press before. So it was a little confusing to me at first.
   I heard from my college roommate on Facebook, not sure why i didn't see the message any earlier as it had been there for a few days. My friend informed me of plans to be in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, next month for the holiday. Will have to see if it works in my schedule to go there. Since we haven't seen each other in person since 2008, in Memphis, I would like to find my way there if at all possible.
   I did the Thanksgiving thing with my date in the afternoon. But since we went there in the late afternoon, I said we needed to eat something for lunch first. So I had an Oscar Mayer Lunchable, I like having these every so often. We did watch some of the first two football games of the day, Texans-Lions and then Redskins-Cowboys. There was some controversy over a call in the first game, on a touchdown where the runner was down according to replays but it wasn't reviewed since the Lions coach was flagged for a penalty. The game went into overtime and the Lions lost. One attendee of the dinner kept saying to try his cranberry sauce, it was fine but I said I was more familiar with drinking cranberry juice. He was unfamiliar with the Irish music group The Cranberries, from the 1990s, I had seen them in concert in Moline, IL, in 1996. He was also arguing with his brother about taking out the trash when it was full. I liked trying the pies, I had a full piece of pumpkin cream and partial slices of the chocolate and apple pies.  

Chicago Hot Dogs- Chris and Rob's

I needed to do laundry tonight so I decided to go across the street from the laundromat to eat and to the Chicago hot dog place- known as Chris and Rob's. There are three locations in the Twin Cities, in St. Paul, Fridley, and Minneapolis. I like looking around at all of the pictures on the wall each time I am there, and the employee recognized me as the one who had given their business card before. He did ask when I was leaving if I would be writing about it. I think it is so cool that this place is inside a former railroad car, though they've added onto it. I would say it was a fairly routine visit as it meant getting a chili cheese dog, no onions, tater tots, and a can of Sprite. I like how I can go someplace where I am known since I am there often enough.
   Doing laundry, well I guess there was a good story from this visit as well. Since I was asked to help with folding bedsheets just out of the dryer. This is kind of a two-person job. I would have liked seeing the Charlie Brown special on TV tonight but I already have the Thanksgiving special on video so I can watch it whenever I want. It in many ways was a big deal to give up a comedy night, but the day before a holiday I knew I had some errand running to do. After laundry it meant going to the library to print things, arrived during the final 20 minutes but it was long enough to get things done.
   After the library I did go to a Rainbow Foods and got a box of Hostess mini-muffins, blueberry. There isn't much left in most stores I've tried, if anything at all. It varies at to what is left, but more often than not it is the Donettes- at least in the snack cake section. Sometimes I've seen other items, like sweet rolls or fruit pies. But I am still being careful about checking the expiration dates before buying, giving me more time to eat them. Even checked what it looked like at the Wonder Bread and Hostess bakery outlet in Maplewood, where I was at a few days earlier. It was no real surprise to me when I pulled into their parking lot and seeing a homemade 'Closed' sign up, as there's no need to be open any longer if all of the inventory has been sold and there have been no more shipments.
   One of the news stories today was about the bankruptcy court approving the company's request to liquidate, which was expected after Hostess was unsuccessful in mediation talks with the bakers union. It did get mention on the ABC affiliate in the Twin Cities. I also decided to order a few souvenirs on E-bay, one of them was a Wonder Bread postcard from the Chicago World's Fair from 1933-1934. The other items were Wonder Bread magnets on bottle caps, and Hostess buttons with most or all of the characters used to advertise their products. Reminds me of the McDonaldland characters, but I know very little about the Hostess characters besides Twinkie the Kid.
   It was a fairly slow day at work, no surprise there when right before a holiday. But some of this was due to IT issues. I got one payoff report early, then the other two were in the mid-afternoon, with just over an hour to complete before our record-keeper left for the day.  

Wearing Black Shirts

At the comedy club tonight it was pointed out I was wearing a black shirt, same as one of the performers. So we had a picture taken on camera phones, but not on my phone. We had our backs turned to each other. I made a joke about the famous Siskel and Ebert pose where one has thumbs up and the other thumbs down, but it would have been harder to do in this pose. I was asked to look angry so I found a way to do that, and it meant showing a 'pirate eye'. This pose likely pleased my friend who was also in the picture, since he has called me a 'dirty land pirate' numerous times before.
   I didn't buy any more Wonder Bread or Hostess items today, but I did go through what I've got to figure out the 'schedule' of seeing these items are eaten before they expire. It shouldn't be too hard as most of the expiration dates are for next month, and just four for this month. I'm nearly finished with the bag of Donettes and the hot dog buns, then it's on to the fruit pie and the single cupcake. I may want to find a souvenir or two on E-bay, as there are some but some of the listings are expensive. My guess is the postcards will stay as a lower demand item, especially when compared to the diecast model trucks. For those who know me well they know I like postcards anyway. But I will need some time to get a good look at what is available, and this means knowing what key words to enter. I prefer 'buy it now' items over 'bid on' items, but I have done some bidding before. It varies as to what I see on the company's website, sometimes I do see more than just a 'we are closed' announcement as of course the bankruptcy court judge advised mediation, which was scheduled for today. But the late reports say the mediation failed, so the company will be going out of business. The judge said he was thinking of all of the jobs at stake, more than 18,000.

Wonder Bread Search

I finally decided to get a loyalty card from Walgreen earlier today, when I was on lunch and getting some soap and toilet paper. But the three items, including some Hostess mini-donuts, did not yield any points apparently. Hopefully I will find items that do. This is my 8th loyalty card, if you count Enterprise Rentacar which still hasn't arrived yet. At the Hostess display I noticed there wasn't much left, mostly some fruitcakes and those don't interest me.
   I did see in the news how the hearing for Hostess at bankruptcy court did happen, with the judge urging mediation between managment and labor unions instead of liquidation. What I do know is that the articles I read about the liquidation of the Montgomery Ward department stores in 2000-2001 were helpful. The one from the Wall Street Journal- when speaking of Wards- said it is likely to stir nostalgia with customers, but it won't break a competitor's heart. I am noticing how many other companies make snack cakes and bread, and actually I hadn't bought much of either in recent years. If I had, it was the Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies or the brownies. One feature claims that Little Debbie will be stepping up production. Looks like they want to fill the void in some form.
   At the comedy club tonight, I expected there would be some Twinkie jokes, and there was but just one. It was about how much they are now going for on Craigslist, I had heard more about them being listed on E-bay. The comic was referring to how the company had filed for bankruptcy before, and not even that could stop the Twinkies since they're really popular. Also at the club was some loud patrons behind me that kept wanting to know when a server would be around as they wanted to order drinks. They were warned twice by an employee how there was no talking. They even asked a performer, right before he was to go onstage, if he was a server. This was despite his outfit, which didn't look like a server's as he was wearing a zip-up hoodie. He called them 'hipsters' when he took the stage. They liked having a shout-out, even if it wasn't flattering.
   After the show I went to a Cub Foods to see what they had for Wonder Bread and Hostess items. There was no snack cakes to speak of, the display box had competitor products in it. Still some Wonder Bread left, so I got a package of hamburger buns. I have been eating the hot dog buns at a steady rate of two a day to use them up before they expire. Also found some sandwich bags hanging next to the bread display. At the Bobby and Steve's in Minneapolis I found some sweet rolls and coffee cakes, at the 'beehive' gas station some donut sticks, and the Superamerica I had been to just two days earlier two honey buns. They didn't have much else left and the clerk was surprised that there was anything left at all. A convenience store in downtown St. Paul had some single cupcakes.

Houston Aeros vs. Rockford Ice Hogs

Went to the 'X' in St. Paul tonight and saw the Houston Aeros game against the Rockford Ice Hogs, the Aeros won 3-2. They led 1-0 after 1 and 2-0 after 2. I donated a can of Spam to the food drive, along with 50 cents. I got a tree ornament, a Wild gingerbread man in a stocking, for $6. I already had an Aeros shirt from the most recent game at this venue in early 2011, along with some Wild socks and a Wild bath towel. There was mention of the game on the news tonight, shortly after the reporter gave a brief update about the NHL's labor dispute. It was relevant as the Aeros are a minor league affiliate of the Wild, and playing this game helps fill the void a little. One fan did hold up a sign about the labor dispute, saying 'We want the Wild back!' on one side and 'Hey Bettman, Hey Fehr' on the other. But it was hard to read what the rest of it said. I know these are the reps for both sides in the dispute. It was the fourth Aeros game at this venue, and I have seen 3 of them, missing the first as I didn't live in the area at the time.
   I had hoped to find another place with Hostess snack cakes but came up empty, trying Walgreen but maybe it's just as well as I had already found a decent amount at 5 different stores this weekend. The tough thing will be pacing myself while I try to eat all of it before it expires, but it helps how some things (like the cereal and cookies) have a longer shelf life than others. Those extend into next year. I know it is best to eat first what expires first, and I was paying attention to the labels to see what the expiration dates were. There are some stores that I haven't tried yet, so it's likely that I will find some more. I am familiar with those legal disclaimers like 'while supplies last' and 'selection varies by store'. 'For a limited time only' is another.

James Bond Movie 'Skyfall'

This morning I decided to search for some more Wonder and Hostess items after hearing how the maker of these foods is going belly up. I have now been to two grocery stores, one of them was a Rainbow Foods, and decided to get three items. Besides finding a bag of Hostess Donettes, devil's food, at the Rainbow, I knew it would be good to try other stores. At an independent store I found a pack of 3 Zingers, and plenty of Wonder Bread. So I got a pack of hot dog buns in the bread section. The next thing on my list was to try a bakery outlet, I saw how there are 5 in the Twin Cities when searching online. I know of the one in Maplewood best, so I went there and got a box of Raisin Bran cereal and Oatmeal Cookies. They were selling things for half off, that's what I call a motivated seller. I got plenty of pictures as well. After the bakery outlet, I found some Suzy Q's and a Strawberry Fruit Pie at a Superamerica. I have been trying to take pictures at each location as a reminder of what the displays look like.
   One of my comedian friends on Facebook already shared an app about 'Saving the Twinkie', saying it would become an identifier of who were stoners. I have heard that joke before about getting 'the munchies' while high. I said that some company would want to buy these brand names, it has already been proven how valuable the Twinkie name is. The best reminder is the attention it has had in movies like 'Die Hard' or 'Ghostbusters'.
   I went to see the James Bond movie 'Skyfall' with my date in the afternoon, in Eagan. Liked how they had many of the familiar things from the previous Bond movies. It was nice to see an Aston Martin car again, I knew they had been using BMW's for a while.  Although I really liked Pierce Brosnan as Bond, I think Daniel Craig also does the role real well. After being in Great Britain in June, it meant more to me to see them have a scene on 'The Tube'- their commuter train system, and hearing 'mind the gap'.
  We tried again to use the gift card for Outback Steakhouse in the evening, but it was an hour long wait for a table so we said 'don't bother' again and went to Applebee's instead. Someday I know we will use the card. I am suggesting we try an afternoon on the weekend or a Sunday night.
  After dinner, we went to the comedy club and I saw a friend perform. He was an opening act, and I thought the headliner was really good as well.
   After the movie, I did go to a Cub Foods and found some Hostess mini-muffins. Also bought a plastic Wonder Bread sandwich packer, which was hanging up next to the bread.

Dayton's Bluff

Dayton's Bluff, this was a place I visited today as I got a good look at the community center on St. Paul's East Side- in this neighvorhood on 7th Street. I was informed this Dayton, an early settler, was no relation to the governor. I liked seeing some postcards there so I bought 3. One was of the 3M complex, which is now gone. Another was what remained of the Hamm Mansion after it was destroyed by fire, just a post from a gate apparently. The third was of Johnson Parkway, a major road through the area. There is also a Johnson High School, their athletic teams are called the Governors as the school is named for a governor who died in office. My guess is this road is also named after the governor. I paid $5 for them and no change was available, but I said consider it to be a donation since we just had 'Give to the Max' this week.
     This was a day off from work from me, which explains why I had the time to see this community center. I also made it to Dayton and Champlin. Made sense to combine those two when both are close to each other. On the radio this morning there was mention of Hostess Brands, which makes such notable food items as Twinkies and Wonder Bread, plans to go out of business due to a strike by the bakers union. The company was already in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, had filed in January. The company had previously filed in 2004 and exited that filing in 2009. There has already been reports on the news of a run on certain items, especially Twinkies. One woman was shown leaving a bakery outlet and had the cart full of boxes of Twinkies. I decided to go to a grocery store this evening to see what they had. The store already had a sign up in the snack cake and bread aisle saying the Wonder and Hostess brands would no longer be available, and asking customers to buy the store's brand. I bought a bag of Donettes, little else was left- at least with the snack cakes. i think there still was plenty of Wonder Bread. I also got a can of Spam to donate to a food drive conducted at the Aeros hockey game at the X this weekend. I said it was very Minnesota of me to donate this product.  

Deli Express Italian Sub

I had very little food left, at least I didn't want to eat the TV dinner tonight. So I went to a nearby store tonight and got a Deli Express Italian sub. It was tough to decide when to go since I was watching a syndicated rerun of 'Big Bang Theory' and wanted to be back in time for the first-run episode. I missed the first few minutes. It was nice to see this convenience store open, as it had been empty for a while and anyone who knows me well knows how I bemoan seeing empty buildings. I've used the term 'Economic Darwinism' for a while to describe it, then found out this term was on Urban Dictionary.
   I then made my way over to the library to print some things and ordered two items from E-bay. One of them was a card advertising the movie 'North of 36', based on the Emerson Hough novel.
   After I got home I became interested in getting out my box of records, that is mostly billing statements of bills I have paid. I am thankful I went through it, something I do periodically, as I found a loyalty card to file away for better safe-keeping with the others. Most of the time I am just putting bills from the same company in just one envelope to save on space. Anyway, the card I found was the American Airlines card. So of the seven accounts I have, there are currently six cards. The one I don't have a card for, Enterprise Rentacar, is on the way. This one doesn't look like a credit card, like most of the others do. So now four of the six are kept in a drawer where I have a better idea of where they are, and pull them out more easily when needed.
   Another thing I found was two Discover cards. I cut up both as I got one with a later expiration date on it, albeit by two months. I hadn't activated them as I wanted to pay off the card before charging any more on it. This card is just one of two cards I have, the other being a Visa. One of them brought back a memory, as it was in a cardboard holder that had a free gas card from Superamerica in it.

Game Theory

The theater guy spoke of how one of his friends said they didn't like the TV show 'Big Bang Theory' saying it was too simplified. This friend's craft is in the sciences. Then he reminded the friend of what he called 'game theory', about wanting to appeal to as many people as possible. It was the trump card. When I spoke of how a couple I had hoped to see a movie with had already seen it he said it was 'lame sauce'. I hadn't really heard either term before.
   Tonight I did something that wasn't typical, as I saw just part of the comedy show I attended. I went out to call my dad as I prefer to do so within 24 hours after getting a voicemail. When I was on the bus checking messages, I noticed he called me last night when I was at the club. He wanted to know if I was traveling to Iowa for the Thanksgiving holiday, I said no. He also told me my sister has plenty of 'livestock', didn't know what he meant. Found out she has 3 dogs and 3 cats now apparently, I didn't know it was that many now. One would think that it would be too hard to take care of so many pets.
   After the show I went to a Superamerica to get some puffcorn, I like how it's available when popcorn isn't. When I came out and was about to get into my car I noticed off in the distance how a raccoon was feasting from the dumpster. It may have been far away from me, but I couldn't take my eye off of the critter.
   I've been trying harder to keep track of my loyalty programs as I've acquired some more lately. To the best of my knowledge, I have seven. Some I use more often than others. I use Superamerica the most since I need food and fuel. All of them currently have balances except Erbert Gerbert sandwiches as I had just reached the standard for redemption: buy 10 sandwiches and get number 11 free. I don't keep all of the cards on me as it would be too hard to do. One of these is Best Buy, as I don't go there much. I have been offered a loyalty card with Walgreen, twice so far, but haven't accepted yet. I want to know that what I commonly buy there, namely soap and toilet paper, are eligible items. It's a free card, so I may eventually decide to have it. But I prefer to be educated about the benefits in advance.
  I will admit that I do shop fairly often at Walgreen, as they have plenty of small items that I like and not just soap and toilet paper. I also like doing photos there and they have a nice seasonal candy section. I may end up discovering plenty of items are eligible. When it was most recently offered to me I said I didn't get pharmaceuticals much and was unsure what else was eligible. But this is just a small part of what they do. There's even a Rebox movie kiosk at most locations I've been to.

Wireless Microphones

The theater guy likes telling stories, and I like hearing them. When I spoke of my Planned Parenthood visit he said he once ordered a shipment of condoms from them. I then had to ask what the need was, and he said it helped with preventing wireless microphones from shorting out if the mics are wrapped in them. Sounded like the performers were fine with it. He also said at first it was sent to student life, as he did theater in college at Mankato State. When he picked them up he said he went through 20 of them a night. Which sounds crazy without qualifying it like he did with me.
   When I arrived at the comedy club tonight, I found out it was no joke when a friend said his folks were there in the crowd. He even made references to them in his routine. I liked being able to meet them after the show. Since he was show closer it means he will be there all week, and I am hopeful to make it to one of the shows.
   Other notable things was deciding to cut in half three CDs or DVDs I had no use for, all of them were given to me. One had the ABC affiliate's 2009 fall lineup on it, which I got at the State Fair. The other two were from a band called Profuse that I saw at Canadian Days in Little Canada. Not sure the year, maybe it was my first year, which was 2004. I recalled how one of them didn't play at all so a replacement was sent to me. I had wanted to move some more CDs into a nice folio many of the others were in. Though there still may be more that I can part with due to lack of use, including those that were free samples sent to me in the mail. I got those from a college-level course catalog.
   I just converted some more of my survey money, dumping 500 more miles into my Delta Airlines frequent flyer account. I had to wait 30 days from the last one, and have $25. Well the 30 days had just passed today, and I just had enough after answering a short survey. So now the survey balance is down to 22 cents. Since the surveys yielded less than last month, it might be slightly more than 30 days until I dump more miles again. I know this has happened before, but I do my best to answer every survey right away or otherwise it might close real early and I get nothing. 
  Also notable today was seeing the grouch on the bus. Except she actually tried to make conversation this time instead of jsut complain to everyone. She spoke to a woman who was studying to be an LPN and had a child with her.

Bangles Song 'Manic Monday'

I was driving home from the comedy club tonight and heard the Bangles song 'Manic Monday'. Nothing unusual there, except it was repeated and then it sounded like some type of system malfunction. It seemed to be an appropriate song for many people out there. Hadn't heard it in a while, found it on an oldies station.
   The day didn't start out well, as I was on my way to the office and about to go inside when I slipped and fell. I was asked if I was all right, I said 'just my pride' and got up and went on my way. Winter arrived this morning, making it more slippery.
   After work I went to an open house at the new Planned Parenthood facility in St. Paul. I got the invitation in the mail as I am a contributor. There were cookies and two different floors. I arrived during the final 30 minutes, likely why I heard from one official 'Take as many cookies as you want.' But I decided on having just two, along with some milk.
   I liked how there was plenty of art there on the wall, some was outdoor scenes and others were pictures of people like family photos. In one room there were kids coloring in a page that looked like the new building. Contributors were listed in the hall and near the front desk. There was even a  mention of Governor Mark Dayton receiving an award. I got a picture of it and the sign out front.
   I get to go onstage at the comedy club tonight, I was number 7 in the lineup. I like how I'm farther down now when chosen. It went fairly well but I could tell my voice was slipping a little, likely due to finishing my drink too soon. But for some it was hard to tell, as I did get many laughs. I notice how jokes about my dad go well, so I did two of those and I did try one about falling this morning.

Ike LaRue Books

This weekend I got another Ike LaRue book. I already had 'Detective LaRue' but now I have 'Dear Mrs. LaRue'. I think it is so funny that there's a children's book series with a dog personified, especially this way. 'Dear' was about the dog being sent to obedience school, 'Detective' was about the dog solving his own mystery about why he was in jail, being accused of abducting the neighbor cats. According to my online research, there are at least four books in this series by Mark Teague. There is also one about the dog running for mayor, and another about sending postcards home from traveling all over America. There are many things on my list to get, hard to say where this one ranks.
   I went with my date to an art event this afternoon, and I told myself that I could easily do what the performers were doing. Many of them just weren't that good at all at public speaking, The first wasn't speaking directly into the microphone. Another was tripping over words and pretty much stuttering despite being in college, and another said 'and, um' a lot. Comedy is public speaking, so I have plenty of experience in this area.
   Before leaving for this event we did watch a Halloween episode of 'Little House' on DVD. It was one where Laura thought she saw a woman's head being cut off, but it was just a mannequin.
   I did watch some of the Bears-Texans football game on NBC tonight, the Texans won 13-6. I still had some errand running to do, like dishes trash and recycle along with groceries. Also decided to do more of the 'picture shuffle' as I just had acquired another photo album. It meant deciding to shred 9 more pictures as they were too dark to see what was in it or redundant and irrelevant. This was true of getting multiple pictures of welcome signs from stockyard days in New Brighton in 2007. Quality over quantity is what I want to stress. I'm moving right along on it, as I have pictures moved up through August 2007. I'm in the middle of those from my vacation in Seattle that month. Still hopeful to get the 'school binder type' photo album eliminated soon and have nearly every photo I know of to be in an album somewhere. But I still have a ways to go, as the 'binder' is the 8th album.

Embassy Suites- MSP Airport

Went to a conference today at Embassy Suites hotel near MSP Airport. I got a postcard there of the hotel in the gift shop. There are four smaller images on it. The first is the hotel as it looks like outside, then what a room looks like, the indoor pool, and finally the eating area in the middle. I got a picture of the hotel outside during a break, at lunchtime. I saw the pool as well but didn't go into the pool room. I liked seeing plenty of good art at the bar, such as of Met Stadium in Bloomington when the Twins were in the World Series in 1965. In addition, there was some of the last event at the Met, a Vikings game. One image showed fans stripping the scoreboard for souvenirs. I know other places in this area of town have these reminders, even though the Mall of America is on the site of Met Stadium and Ikea is on the site of Met Center where the NHL's North Stars played.  
  At one point I was paying attention to seeing a critter on the table, a ladybug if I'm not mistaken. So I got up and killed it, crushed it with my napkin. Plenty of food there, first with breakfast pastries and then bars, brownies,and cookies during and after lunch. Had to pace myself, waited until I was leaving to get the big cookie. I told myself to wait to have the second Dairy Queen Blizzard treat for another day after having all of these sweets.
   In the evening I did see my date, we stayed in and watched a DVD. I had found one at the library that looked catchy called 'The Winning Season'. According to my online searches it was a made for TV movie from 2004. I liked the premise to it, how a Honus Wagner baseball card led to a boy being sent back in time to the 1909 World Series where Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates played the Detroit Tigers. Ty Cobb was a villain in it, no surprise there. Since it was a fantasy movie, it did remind me of the likes of 'Field of Dreams', 'Back to the Future', and 'It's a Wonderful Life'. I could tell that the baseball cards used were replicas, as the image looked way more like the actor playing Wagner, which was Matthew Modine.

Marlon Brando Movie 'Wild One'

Last night I picked up a movie from the library, it was 'Wild One' starring Marlon Brando. In the early evening I watched it and I liked the story in it, about the main character falling for the local lawman's daughter. The song of the same name was not in the movie. For some reason I expected it to be, as it is played a lot in other movies like 'Crocodile Dundee 2'. Whenever they're at a biker bar it seems appropriate. Also liked seeing Lee Marvin as Brando's rival.
  I had hoped to return it to the library right away tonight, but the electronically-controlled dropbox was unavailable. It did feel a little like a wasted trip, but I needed to eat and had eaten before getting there. I went to Little Canada, a town I lived in for a year when first moving to the Twin Cities, and ate at a Taco John's. I started trying to think of if I had any old haunts there, but I'm not sure at all. I often went to the malls and libraries in nearby towns- Maplewood and Roseville. In Little Canada it is helpful to know Rice Street, as many businesses are on this street. I had eaten at the Arby's and McDonald's but it seemed like I enjoyed the A and W drivein more. And the A and W has been closed for a while. When I drove past it tonight there is no longer a 'for sale' sign up, but it is still empty aside from one car parked in the lot.
   I had the day off from work to attend a Roosevelt mentoring event at the U. of Minnesota. I had wanted to take the bus and light rail there, but decided to drive in as the first leg- the bus- was 10 minutes late.
   Upon arrival on campus, I decided to go to Mariucci Arena first to get a hockey ticket for a game later this season. I had inquired about how many accounts there were, and said I was fine with having them merged. It was largely due to being locked out of one account, being unable to remember my password, so I just created another account. I did eventually see how they merged the accounts, and it had plenty of events in the order history like the 'Great Conversations' series. One time I saw ex-VP Walter Mondale speak as part of 'Conversations'.
    It was a fairly straightforward event, hearing an admissions rep speak. Then there was lunch, earlier than I am used to as it was before 11:30am. After that there was a scavenger hunt to find various landmarks on campus. After the mentors were dismissed I did stay around to look at the bookstore to see if there were any nice souvenirs. Already had plenty of postcards of the university so I didn't get any more. But I did like a magnet I saw and three little buttons, including one button saying 'Put on your big girl panties and deal with it'.
   Before watching 'Millionaire' and Jeopardy' I did do some errand running, stopping at the post office to get a greeting card. I like how they have some with 'Charlie Brown and Snoopy' themes. I already had three, two were of Snoopy- one blue and one orange-  and the third a Linus. Also saw a Lucy, so I bought that one today. But I didn't see one for Charlie Brown. I tried going online for the listed company but it was hard to find anything in particular. There's a quote on the front, and on the back it speaks of when the character was introduced to the comic strip and some of their personality traits. After this I went to Walgreen and got a frame for the Charlie Brown and Linus postcard that arrived this week. It might have been a little too big at 5X7 but I prefer this over too small. Nothing wrong with seeing a little white space surrounding it, like another frame for it.

Robin Williams and Homer Simpson

Normally I watch 'Nightline' on ABC but when I found out Robin Williams and Homer Simpson would be on 'Letterman' on CBS I watched Letterman instead. Both are favorites and made me laugh, no surprise there. Homer was helping Letterman with the Top Ten list. Robin Williams did an extended interview, hard to keep up with his high-energy comedy. I knew this from seeing his show at Northrop Auditorium at the University of Minnesota in 2008. He had jokes about his travel being diverted due to the hurricane, about kids he saw wanting halloween candy, visiting a bed and breakfast for a wedding anniversary, and a Marlon Brando impression from Brando doing an acting class apparently. I still like any reminders of those connected to my favorite movie, 'Good Will Hunting', which Williams was in.
   I had basically run out of food as I didn't want to eat a can of soup, it was all that was left. So I went to the grocery store and got a meal tonight for real cheap- 2 burritos and a bag of chips for $1.84. I knew I had enough pocket change for that much. I watched two episodes of 'Big Bang Theory' tonight- a syndicated rerun and then a prime-time first-run episode- then went to the library to print some things. The first-run episode had recurring guest stars Levar Burton and Wil Wheaton on it, as both had been regulars on 'Star Trek' shows.
   I'm starting to look like a big shot! I was surprised to get an invitation for a free membership from Enterprise Rentacar. It's for access to 1,200 global business lounges with a company called Regus. It says it can be used to 'Stay in touch with your office and clients.' Well I really don't have any clients, but I do like knowing I may have a place where I can check email for free while out of town. It looks like they have locations in the Twin Cities, once the member card arrives I may want to check out one of these nearby lounges.
   I know some of this is likely due to my Enterprise loyalty membership finally being activated this week. I also got an invite to POPs (Popular Opinions Prevail) from Enterprise, where I can 'view surveys and discussions'. Wonder if it means it's another way I can earn points in my membership account, that would be nice.
  Speaking of 'The Simpsons' I liked the syndicated rerun I saw tonight. It was the one where ex-President Bush (41) became a neighbor to the Simpsons. It ended with another ex-President, Gerald Ford, inviting Homer over to watch the football game, and both tripped.

Alpha Order

I had thought of how recently I had checked what I had for CDs for Lady Gaga, Eminem, and Pink. But some other music acts are also well-represented. Looks like the winner in my collection is Smashing Pumpkins, with 10 CDs including the Mellon Collie double-CD. Some of those I have are singles, but I still like having them. I really like hearing their song 'Tonight, Tonight' at the comedy club tonight before the show. Getting these more into alpha order than they were means I have a better idea of what's there. I have a zipup case, two open cases, and a box that once held copy paper. The four acts mentioned here are the ones now in the zip-up. This might also prompt me to get rid of some I haven't listened to in a while and really don't want, I've done this before. Another one well-represented as I recall is U2, and I did seem them in concert in St. Louis in 2005. Some still have the price tags on them, since I like buying used quite a bit.
   I did search some more about what is on Amazon dot-com earlier today. For Emerson Hough, I was surprised to find more items available. There are coffee mugs, framed art, and jigsaw puzzles depicting some of Emerson Hough's books. It was mostly 'Covered Wagon', 'North of 36', and 'Way To the West'. Though of the 17 items listed, 2 were from 'Story of Cowboy' as well. It made sense how the first two were done as art as 'Wagon' and '36' also were movies. But I don't have an account yet, so I expect to wait a little on ordering anything there.
   I found out a family friend did win re-election to the state legislature in Iowa, this is somebody I had sent campaign contributions to. It was a wider margin of victory than two years ago, but the same opponent.

Comics Unleashed Show

I was watching election coverage after getting back from the comedy club, projections early on were for Obama getting re-elected. Saw Romney's concession speech as well. Then eventually I fell asleep and a show called 'Comics Unleashed' was on. I watched it for a few minutes, one did a Kermit the Frog voice imitation that was dead-on. I recognized one of the comics on this show, as it was David Alan Grier, who was on 'Living Color' with Jim Carrey. Will have to ask if my comedian friends are familiar with this show. Thisd has happened before, where the show I see when I wake up becomes one that I enjoy. This happened with 'Big Bang Theory'. And with 'Twin City Live' as well, though it was a rebroadcast I saw overnight for 'Live'. It still prompted me to be in their studio audience eventually.
   I was onstage at the comedy club tonight, had hoped to see myself on video camera but found out the battery died so I don't know yet how much was filmed. I had just changed the memory card, which was full. I did recall hearing what sounded like the camera shutting off and turning back on, found out that was when the battery was dying. I did a joke about my shirt, which I had bought at Cracker Barrel, a patriotic one. I had received plenty of comments about it at work, including my department's senior leader saying he was saluting the shirt. Like some other performers, I was going out to the bar every so often to check the TV monitors to see how the election returns were going. I saw to it that I went to vote shortly after getting home from work. At first I was a little on edge as I saw plenty of people bunched up at the front door, but some were in line for same-day voter registration. So this did make the actual line much shorter. I had to wait in line for a few minutes, but not too long, after getting my ballot. I still wanted to vote at a booth where there would be some privacy.

Who Said Checkers?

At the comedy club tonight, one comic I know was doing a joke about board games and I shouted out 'checkers' more than once. Then he asked who said checkers, saying he was thinking of more recent board games. Well I will have to admit that the universal symbol for a game room at the airport does happen to be chess and checkers pieces.
  The show closer kept going and going, unfazed by people leaving, saying he was staying onstage until all crowdmembers left. I was asked when I came out to the bar how he was, I said he overstayed his welcome.
   The three postcards from Delcampe arrived, all of my hometown but were sent from the Carolinas. It is of the former junior high school, hospital, and the 'Maytag block'- now the Midtown Building. This brings me up to 10 on what I have for the E.C. Kropp series. The Charlie Brown postcard with Linus arrived as well, apparently was sold at a comic book convention in California advertising an upcoming graphic novel taking place in Japan.
   Recently I did look up when and where the next World's Fair and Pan-Am Games would be, found out the next Pan-Am Games would be in Toronto in 3 years. So it prompted me to look up what was available on E-bay, and I did see multiple listings for postcards from a previous Pan-Am Games, especially Winnipeg 1967. So it looks like another item to be put on the 'wishlist'.
  When I arrived home tonight there were plenty of flyers left on or next to my door about the upcoming election. Nothing unusual there, except I was used to them being inside my mailbox. I prefer them being in the mailbox as otherwise my home looks less 'lived in' and more of a target for thieves. This is why I know it is best to see what's at home after work before going anywhere.

Two More Loyalty Programs

When I got around to errand running in the evening, I got signed up for two more loyalty programs. Sort of, anyway. Since one had just needed to be activated and was technically there since 2009. This was Enterprise Rentacar. I can see my account which says I have some points from one rental at the St. Louis Airport in July, a city I make an annual visit to. The online customer service said I needed to choose a password more than likely, and it was enough.
   The other was with Godfather's Pizza. I wanted to get the card registered quickly since I had just received the card this weekend, eating there Saturday evening since it was too busy at Outback. I didn't want to forget about it. Two different ways to redeem points are for a free lunch buffet and a free large pizza apparently. I had hoped more locations were eligible but in Minnesota there was just two listed. Aside from Burnsville, where I got the card, they listed St. Cloud. But this is not in the Twin Cities metro area, so I'm not up there much.
   I went with my date to Mall of America earlier today to help another couple with looking at laptop computers. They were late, had planned on meeting them at 1pm. So when they arrived we said we wanted to eat first, and there were plenty of choices in the food court. I had Bourbon chicken and rice, and finished a taco that was offered to me. Liked seeing a McDonald's mural there with more than just Ronald on it, also Grimace- and Birdie the early bird. There were also larger than life size drinking cups and sandwiches above the storefront. I got pictures of both. It was nice finding home plate from the old baseball stadium, as well as the Harmon Killebrew home run seat. The banner is still up saying 'Thanks for the memories', as he died last year. So this time I got a picture of it on my digital camera, all I had with me last year was the camera phone.
   One of the places we looked at was the Apple store, but theirs are expensive. So we also looked at Best Buy, and I found a Pink CD I didn't have yet. It is my fifth, as I got 'Funhouse'. I had it on my list for a while to look at what I had for Eminem, I had four. One of these was a single, 'Without Me' and another was the '8-Mile' movie soundtrack, which made me a fan. The third I looked at was Lady Gaga, I had three. This includes 'Fame' and 'Fame Monster', and a 'Just Dance' single. I wanted to see what I already had for Eminem before I got more. I had the 'Used' tags on for many of them, most of them I bought at used shops. It's cheaper that way.
  Before we went to the mall we watched 'Great Pumpkin' on DVD, one of many Charlie Brown specials I have. I like the companion, 'It's Magic', as Charlie finally gets to kick the ball in it.

50 Cent Movie 'Freelancers'

Finished watching a Redbox movie, 'Freelancers', earlier today. Good cast, besides rapper 50 Cent there was Forest Whitaker and Robert De Niro. It was about corrupt cops in New York City. Plenty of rap music in it as expected. But I'm not sure if 50 Cent himself had any songs in it. The memorable one in the closing credits was just one word: decoy.
   In the afternoon I went to North St. Paul High School with my date to see a play: Hello Dolly. I did see that I read what the play was about in advance. In this day and age, it meant going online and printing the Wikipedia page. The song of the same name was played more than once. I noticed how it took a while for the curtain to go up when I first heard some music, my date said it looked like they wanted to finish the song before the play officially began.
   It was funny in many places, it was worth seeing. At the intermission we did get food and drink, I knew it was a high school play but was still surprised about how cheap it was. We got two drinks and a bag of popcorn for just two dollars.
  I liked seeing the venue again, I had seen two plays there before: 'Oklahoma' and 'Fiddler on the Roof'. I recalled seeing framed posters on the wall in the auditorium of their previous productions. This included 'Grease' and 'Byebye Birdie'. The former had catchy images on it, all were icons of the decade being covered in the play, the 1950s. This was Howdy Doody, Mickey Mouse Club, James Dean, and Marlon Brando all saying 'Grease is the word'. It does remind me how I haven't seen 'Wild One' yet, it looked like it was depicting Brando's role from that movie. A library may have it. Of those depicted there, I haven't seen 'Birdie' yet but would like to. I understand it's loosely based on Elvis Presley being drafted into the military.   

Squirrel Eating a Caramel Apple

At lunchtime today, I was out walking and saw a squirrel eat a caramel apple. Not sure how the critter found it, unless it was just left there. I had to study it for a while, seeing a stick in it and part of the caramel that was left as well. This was from a distance of course. Wonder how the squirrel felt about the sweet part on the apple.
   I did laundry tonight, and a notable event was checking it after I was done. I noticed there were some small holes in the back of a Snoopy shirt, so I am taking it out of the rotation and putting it in the back closet. I like it too much to rip it up and throw it in the trash, often what I do with a 'retired' shirt. This was a 50th anniversary shirt, so it's likely rare. All the more reason to keep it around in some form.
   I also went across the street from this laundromat to eat at the Chicago hot dog place. I did inquire about their interest in the Wolves minor-league hockey patch I have for their displays, was told they are in a holding pattern due to remodeling at their three locations. So I will be holding on to it for a little while longer.
  I still have a hard time figuring out their ketchup bottles, as those bottles there have a wide mouth. I usually end up with way more ketchup than I am going to use, as it flows so freely. Waste not, want not, is what I try to live by.
   Even though I am not contributing to their displays just yet, I did remind myself to bring a business card so I could give it to them. It looked like they had received many others, and now of course it is easier to contact me if need be.

Tru-Moo Chocolate Milk

When I was walking at lunchtime earlier today, I saw a gallon jug of Tru-Moo chocolate milk on top of a newspaper box, next to a green pepper of all things. I'm sure there was some really good story behind how both got there. I do like chocolate milk, but not in that size of container. I prefer single serving bottles. Portion control is a good game plan.
   A colleague had a 'Dex' bag, it was the first time I had seen mention of the company in a while. I liked their ads on T.V., where somebody personified a phonebook. One I really liked was a kid saying 'Dex, don't ask' when there was a bike lock (U-lock) stuck on his arm. I would expect that I'm seeing these commercials less often as I'm seeing phonebooks less often. Inside the skyway in downtown St. Paul I see how a set of four phones is down to one, along with just one phonebook hanging next to it. This is the kind where there are partitions for each phone, allowing for some privacy but not as much as a phone booth of course.
   My boss has been out of the office for a few weeks, went home ill at midday one day. A colleague in another department asked at lunchtime when my boss was coming back, I said I didn't know.
   There have been plenty of events this week at the office related to the Health Ahead program this week. This has included some cake, and today it was little bags of baby carrots. I got two bags as I wanted to finish up more of the dip I was given. I used to eat those carrots all the time in my lunch. But I haven't in a while, afraid of my lunch being stolen out of the refrigerator. So I bring soup on most days and heat it up, something I can keep at my cubicle.