Cretin Derham Hall vs. Park hockey

    I went to Schulz Arena in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood for a hockey game tonight. Cretin Derham Hall beat Park 7-2. It was 1-1 after one session and 4-1 after the second. Cretin got 3 goals in the first five minutes of the 2nd, two of them on power plays. Park finally got another goal in the third, but it took a power play with a two-man advantage. I liked doing 'chuck the puck' during the second intermission, it was just a dollar. I try to see a game here annually as I can see the Snoopy statue inside. It meant giving up seeing the first-run episode of 'Big Bang Theory', but I did watch a syndicated rerun before leaving. It was the one where Leonard called Sheldon's mom as Sheldon needed to apologize to get his job back at the university.
   There was an early meeting at work about the company survey. I was ready to take notes, but I ended up writing 'A whole lot of nothing' in my notebook. It meant losing some valuable time on getting the payoff report done, but I had it submitted before leaving for lunchtime. I liked getting some walking done during lunch, though not all of it was outside. There was an art sale, but I bought nothing. It still was nice to see what was available. There were plenty of artworks of famous people like John Wayne.
   On Facebook I saw a posting about the top comedians in Chicago. The list writer said the 'Top Ten', but all of the listings happened to be Jim Belushi. So my response in the comment thread was 'Okay I get it, he likes Belushi'. The 'Simpsons' syndicated rerun was the one where Marge joined the 'Red hat gang' of women and stole from Burns.

Kneeling On The Ice

    At lunchtime I went out for some bridge walks, and I got both done which is rare but I gave myself enough time for it. As I was about to cross the street to start the first bridge I ended up kneeling on the ice as I felt myself slipping. Thankfully this is all that happened. But I was going slow so it was less likely that I would end up falling.
   I like to check my emails as close as possible. This included the one from broadway, as I did see a play there in 2005, 'Rent'. Previously the Charlie Chaplin biography interested me, but I don't see it listed now. This still leaves three others: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sleepy Hollow, and Motown. Though I have to admit how I have no immediate plans to visit New York City.
   In the breakroom at work in the afternoon I was there briefly and noticed on one news outlet there was a clip from 'Family Guy'. It didn't take long to recognize the gag. It was a double joke, about the Lindbergh baby and Amelia Earhart. In it the baby is flushed down the toilet accidentally. I haven't seen it much before, but I know I didn't care for them making fun of Michael J. Fox having Parkinson's disease. At work I had no idea speaking to one colleague about music would eventually lead to discussing politics, and I got bored and annoyed quickly. I don't enjoy somebody who lives in the past and plays devil's advocate. This is especially true when I know history way better, having majored in it. I did my best to hide how annoyed I was getting.
  On the bus after work I heard somebody speak of 'crystal and trees', I took it as methamphetamine and marijuana. He said he doesn't do the former but does the latter. He was helping somebody who was on a wheelchair. Then he often spoke of relatives who had died, and claims one of them was a victim of Jeffrey Dahmer. Usually entertaining to ride the bus home.
   At the comedy club tonight, a friend showed up unexpectedly as I was thinking he would be at another club where he's the headliner. Liked seeing the 'Magic Man' for the first time in a while. Finally remembered to bring my camera so I could do a picture with a fellow comic and add it to my 'ring of honor' and the Facebook page. Five were taken, I have narrowed it to three but will pick just one. I believe in quality, especially when there is limited space.
   I had an odd dream, it was about 'change it to a used item' since Dick Enberg grew up in a working class family. This is my favorite announcer, the 'Oh My' guy. I know he was on my mind since I had just seen 'Mr. 3000' and Enberg was in it.

DAV Calls

   I see that I check my cellphone at least once a day. This is usually on the bus after work. Today there was a voicemail from the DAV. I think it's the typical one about scheduling pickups. But if I have items to donate, I will just take care of that myself by finding a donation box in my area. I think this is a holdover from my landline as I decided to keep the same number when switching to the cell.
   At lunchtime I did get a look at the ice sculptures from the winter carnival, some are already melting. I checked the Macy's liquidation sale as well, but I'm still waiting to get more items there at a larger discount than what is currently being offered.
  At work we did reach the end of the special project, pulling titles on bankrupt accounts. I was the one to finish it, four pages in all. On two of these pages, I found  a grand total of one title.
   I definitely had the winter carnival on my mind, in more ways than one. So I decided to order a button from E-bay, the one from 1980. It says 'Jest Fest' and has a clown with ice skates on it. I think it's kind of funny that the button is in Florida. But I didn't know if I'd have the time to search the local antique shops to see if they had it.
   I did perform at the comedy club tonight, I was the second one after the MC. A friend was the show closer, who will also be headlining this week. I felt as though my performance was a little off, hard to say as to why. But when I first saw the timelight I decided to leave, and this is not typical. I tried a few new jokes, including about the winter carnival like the Mozart birthday cake and about my baseball bedsheets.  

Comical Mechanic

  When I was at the comedy club tonight, a fellow comic took interest in how I take my car to Jiffy Lube for oil changes as he had worked there before. He said another comic would be able to do some work on my car if I needed it. But I was informed he was not there to inquire further about it.
   There was a conference call at work in the afternoon, I liked being a part of it. I did bring up some valid issues in the workplace. These included the lack of cross training, communication about the boss being on leave, and HR reps being off-site. Not sure how I qualified for the forum, I just did the conference call from my cubicle. It may have been 'at random', I have heard this one before. There were some from other offices like suburban Atlanta.
   Many things are comical, when one thinks about it. I at times get surprised as to what can trigger certain memories that were long buried. In this case it was some reading worksheets in elementary school, and one of them was titled 'comical canine'. the answer ended up being 'Snoopy'. Another worksheet had the answers as characters from the TV show 'Happy Days', like Potsie.
   When I think about it, this is a notable anniversary day. On this date in 1986 the space shuttle blew up. That is how it was announced to us when we were in school. All I recall was right before it we were mixing something in a bowl and somebody tried to make a joke about me being Mr. Belvedere, which was a popular TV show at the time. I late had  classmate tell me he was home ill that day and ended up recording much of the news coverage onto a VHS tape. There was even an episode of 'Punky Brewster' where the teacher had a former astronaut on it telling kids not to be discouraged about the space program because of it.  

Mozart Birthday Cake

   I went to the St. Paul Winter Carnival with my date in the afternoon after finding a Snoopy statue. I liked seeing the ice sculptures as usual, got five pictures of them. I also ate some of the Famous Dave's BBQ since they had a tent set up near the Landmark Center. Inside the Landmark Center they had some groups doing Mozart music. First, it was a string quartet and then a much bigger orchestra. I liked having some of the birthday cake after it was done. It was the reason I went as I liked hearing about it in the schedule of events that came with the button. One memorable thing was seeing a girl crawling around on the floor, seemed to be too old for that, looked like she was 7 or 8. The thing I was thinking after seeing it was the parents should give her a coloring book or electronic device to keep her occupied. Plenty of snow fell while inside listening to the music. I was thankful for some help along the way from a total stranger who picked up my Winter Carnival button, I said 'thank you' probably more than once. But I really felt this way as I didn't want to have to buy another one. It was pinned to my coat, after this I decided to pin it to my sweatshirt.
   I got the laundry done in the early evening and I liked seeing the work what was being done at the laundromat. There was 'Wet Paint' signs up and a door was installed between sections, showing they care enough to remodel and upgrade the place. I had the place to myself for most of the time I was there. After putting clothes in the washer, I went across the street to a grocery store to get a Little Debbie treat and a drink. I got two 'Little Hugs' which were drinks in little plastic barrel-shaped containers. They were three for a dollar, and it was five cents tax, apparently not a food item. I chose a blueberry and fruit punch flavor. I recall having 'Big Hugs' from Walmart when I was younger, I would like to think these were made by the same company.
   I had heard how Ashton Kutcher apparently will be playing Steve Jobs in a biopic, and I had to check IMDB for previous biopics about Jobs. There was one, called 'Pirates of Silicon Valley' from 1999, made for TV. It had Noah Wyle from TV's 'ER' as Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall from the first 'Vacation' movie as Bill Gates. If Kutcher is playing Jobs my guess is this will be a movie released to theaters and not just made for TV.

Sportswriter Question

   I went to the Twins Fanfest at the Metrodome in Minneapolis earlier today. As usual it was fun to be there as I am an avid baseball fan. I had a question for the sportswriters, this included Lavelle Neal from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Had any of them done journalism work besides sports? They had, but it was often in politics, and they enjoyed sportswriting way more. One of them spoke of being in court to cover the McCourt divorce, which led to the Dodgers being sold. I got the typical things like coupons, and I need to use them this time. All too often before I forgot about having a Dairy Queen coupon, and they expire fairly quickly, in about two months. It means taking it out of the bag it was in and putting it in the envelope next to my other coupons and gift cards. It was nice to get some cheap souvenirs like baseball cards, a postcard, and a Stan Musial photo print. All of these items cost me less than five dollars total. The food and drink at the event-a hot dog and a bottle of Sierra Mist- cost more. But I am used to paying quite a bit for food and drink at these kinds of events.
   After the event I saw a mural with Charlie Brown and Lucy on it, also in Minneapolis, near a Swedish shop on Lake Street. I got a picture of it to go with the ones from the Fanfest.
   In the evening I watched a DVD with my date, another baseball movie, 'Mr. 3000'. I had seen it before but it had been a while. I was pleased that Dick Enberg is in it, essentially playing himself, a sports journalist. I watched the opening of Saturday Night Live, there was a skit about Rosetta Stone. I spotted the joke right away, about learning a language so a pervert could do his thing in Thailand.  

Russian Woman on Bus

   When I was riding the bus home tonight, I heard another rider speak to someone. I could tell by her facial features and accent that she was likely Russian. She sounded much like a physician I know. After going to a large university and living in big cities, I am used to cosmopolitan environments and of course this means hearing various accents.
  I am watching a syndicated rerun of  'Big Bang Theory' and I really like this one. It was where Howard's mom refers to Sheldon as 'The skinny weirdo' after hearing Bernadette was getting a PHD, meaning howard was the only one in his circle of friends without a PHD. Then Raj's parents call on the webcam and ask about a tornado in Kansas City.
   After this I did watch the opener of 'Monk' as I wanted to see and hear the theme song, Randy Newman's 'It's a Jungle Out There'. It featured a magician and he was dealing with somebody who spoke through an interpreter, who said something about wanting the drugs to be shipped to the streets of San Francisco. I think this scene had a setting in Thailand.
   At lunchtime I did pick up some more points on my Walgreen loyalty card, as I am getting smarter as to what will earn any kind of points. I got two Hershey almond bars, which got me 100 points. I looked around at the Macy's liquidation sale but there was nothing I really wanted or needed right now. It would be nice to get another set of bedsheets but I want to see if the price drops some more, currently it is at 30% off. I liked getting my first look at the ice sculptures at the Winter Carnival at Rice Park, but some of them were still being worked on. I saw one sculptor with a chainsaw. Pictures will have to wait as I didn't bring my camera.

Frankly Mr. Shankly

    I did get a response to the Facebook posting about the song by The Smiths, 'What Difference Does it Make?' The comic spoke of another Smiths song, 'Frankly Mr. Shankly'. It was an honest song about fame, but delightful as well. I read the lyrics first, then listened to it on Youtube.
   I had the day off from work so I could a Roosevelt mentoring event, it was in Minnetonka. We ended up doing a science experiment where we ripped out the cotton from diapers, proving the water- absorbing power of the crystals inside. We had Panera Bread sandwiches for lunch. At first I didn't know what to discuss with my student, when asked about my occupation. Eventually we spoke of my outside interests, which more recently included ordering old postcards from E-bay. I found out food was another good subject, most people like to talk about that. I spoke well of Erbert and Gerbert sandwiches, one of the loyalty programs that I have.
   I made it home in time to rest a little before watching 'Millionaire' and Jeopardy'. As usual I learned something, as one of the 'Jeopardy' answers was Alice Walker, when in the category of authors. I read one of the issues in 'The Writer' magazine and a reference was made to 'The Color Purple', something that Alice Walker wrote. I know it was also a movie, but haven't seen it.
  This evening I watched two episodes of 'Big Bang Theory'. The syndicated rerun was when Bernadette called howard a 'Putz', after Howard's mom ended up in the hospital. The first-run was one where Penny had somebody write a history paper for a college class for her. After this I ended up at the library to return a video and print things. Then I went to Best Buy to get a CD, I decided to get Eminem's 'Marshall Mathers LP', my 6th Eminem CD if you count the '8-Mile' soundtrack, a semiautobiography. This will also put me over the top on getting a gift certificate in their loyalty program. I really like 'The Real Slim Shady' on this CD, it was where he said 'Will the real Slim Shady please stand up'.  

He Doesn't Get It From Me

    I saw the coworker who likes sports multiple times today when I was making my rounds to pick things up. At one point he spoke to a colleague about his son who reads a lot and said 'He doesn't get it from me'. I then spoke of how I did benefit from reading programs at schools and libraries, and how my prize for finishing second in a reading contest was a Charlie Brown book. I still have it, 'The Great Pumpkin'. But of course parents are also a big part of this, as many parents do read to their kids. And some of my elementary schoolteachers would read certain books to us. I ended up getting my own copies of some of these books, like 'From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'. Another was 'When the Boys Ran the House' and I liked this one a lot as they ended up at the World Series, for Game One. Then there's 'Million Dollar Jeans'. Some public service ads also advocated reading the newspaper as a way of promoting literacy, at least before the earthquake that was the Internet happened.
   I saw the news about Hillary Clinton testifying about embassies and at one point she said 'What difference does it make?' I searched the term online and found out it is also a song title, by The Smiths. A fellow comic is known for what I call 'Music Education' in his Facebook postings, so this comic sure has influenced me in this area.
   I saw an article about how the NBA's New Orleans Hornets will change their name after the season ends, to the Pelicans. I liked hearing this as it's more appropriate for the city, especially since their minor league baseball team once had this name. Saw ABC's 'Nightline' show tonight and there was a feature about 'Cat Fishing', which has received plenty of attention since the Notre Dame football player said he was a victim of it, an online dating scam.

Kate Urquhart Benefit

   I went to the comedy club tonight as usual and I found out it became a benefit event for a fellow comic, Kate Urquhart. Hadn't seen her in a while, was informed she had just died of cancer. According to her Facebook page, it was on Sunday. I bought five raffle tickets and walked away with one item, it was a comedy shirt. When the comic who donated it saw this he asked about signing it, but it's a black shirt except for the letters and that's hard to do. I was thankful he was willing to exchange it for a size that fit me, as medium was too small for me. Hadn't seen him in a while, but knew about some of his escapades on Facebook. Must go where the work is. Big crowd tonight, standing room only, saw plenty of fellow comics there. This included two of them that I'd like to add to my 'Ring of Honor', those that I have pictures with. So far it is four. But I didn't bring my camera with me so it will have to wait for another time. I am reminded of one of her jokes, about 'Be the HR incident that you read about'. It was the inspiration for one of the gift baskets at the silent auction, which was her version of Margaritas, 'Katearitas'. More than once I spoke of how it seemed appropriate to be there tonight, as it was two funerals and a wedding that got me into comedy. One of those events was a benefit event for a co-worker who was dying of cancer. So yes it's bittersweet.
   I liked how my car started tonight without too much trouble, wasn't sure since it's still near zero and I didn't run it on Monday. Not too much was notable about the mail today despite no delivery on Monday. The main thing was seeing how a postcard from E-bay arrived. It was a lackluster day at work, hard to find the energy and I wasn't as focused as I wanted to be. So some work I wanted to get done will wait another day. But I'm sure I will be fine on getting caught up in short order.  

Campbell's 'Soup at Hand'

    I wanted to try a new concept on soup, and this was Campbell's 'soup at hand'. I am used to soup being in cans, this one was not. It says 'just heat and sip'. Along with 'm'm! m'm! good! to go'. I got New England Clam Chowder. It also says on the label that it's great tasting sippable soup, anytime, anywhere. Just microwave, snap on the sipping lid, and go. While I have had drinks in go-cups before, I'm thinking I prefer having soup a different way. This explains why I went back to buying it in cans after trying this once. I kept the empty container in the sink for a while saying I wanted to write about it at some point. Guess I was waiting for a day when I was running low on ideas. This day seemed to fit the bill as I had the day off for the holiday.
  I did wake up close to the normal time, compared to when I'm up for work. Then I said I wanted to get caught up on chores first. And when it was subzero outside I wanted to delay going outside for as long as possible. So this meant doing dishes and getting the trash and recycle ready. Then I went outside but I was quick about it of course.
   When I returned I decided to research some things online, and I was pleased to find out how the miles from an in-house survey for American Airlines last month finally posted. It may have been just 500 miles, same as when I redeem from answering surveys at E-rewards, but every little bit helps. Almost forgot about doing the survey, as they were slow to post the miles, slower than Delta is. I still have about 2,000 miles to go before I am eligible for any kind of award ticket. Next was finding out about the opening act for Pink when I see the concert in two months. It is City and Colour, a Canadian whose real name is Dallas Green, haven't heard of this music act before. But opening acts mean very little to me usually, as that is not why I choose to attend most concerts. I wanted to check the bus and light rail schedules so I could have lunch with my date in downtown Minneapolis. I made the connections just fine, arriving just a few minutes after the noonbell.
   I ended up sharing more of my findings while we had Chinese food. This included finding out more about a Jackie Robinson biopic scheduled for release in April, titled '42'. Harrison Ford, according to IMDB, will be playing Branch Rickey, who signed Jackie to play for the Dodgers. It was filmed at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, a stadium I've heard of before but haven't seen in person. There was mention of a previous Jackie Robinson biopic, where he played himself in 1950.
   Other findings were also about baseball, the anticipation for the season is one thing that keeps me going on these brutally cold days. I shared my findings of various Stan Musial items available on E-bay, and how I had just bought a Musial paperback book. There was some mention on the Cardinals website about remembrances of Musial at the 'Cards Winter Warmup', which is an off-season fan convention apparently. I would expect it to be comparable to what the Minnesota Twins have, known officially as 'Twinsfest' but I call it the 'Twins Fanfest'. The 'Warmup' is held at a hotel in downtown St. Louis, just a few blocks from the stadium. It looks like there were already plans for honoring Musial this season, though these events will take on more meaning now. There are two giveaway events with a Musial theme, first a harmonica giveaway in April and the other a statue replica in July.
  Due to the weather, I decided to stay home and not venture out to the comedy club tonight. I wanted to get caught up on some reading, and read all of the papers I had from december. This included a Thursday in with the 4 Fridays, bought it by accident as I wasn't paying attention to what was stocked in the coin rack. It was Thursday December 20. I like reading each section, except the classifieds. There were some good articles about redevelopment plans for real estate, renovating the former Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul and the Ceresota Building in Minneapolis. In business, there was mention of how it would no longer be 'Government Motors' as the federal government planned on selling its stake in General Motors. They originally invested in the bailout of 2008-2009. In the editorial section, there was support for having John Kerry to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, along with an argument against federalizing voter registration. It was said that each time voting restrictions were taken away, the result was the voter turnout declined. Apathy is way too prevalent in many things in life. I liked reading the funny columnist as usual, who had columns about cows with a hacking cough, snow ordinances, Mayan calendars, and Twitter seats at plays. Another notable thing was about ex-Pres. Clinton, who will be honored with the EPA building in D.C. being named for him.
    I watched Jay Leno tonight, appeared to be a rerun based on the post-election jokes. There was an interview with Sally Field, about her role in 'Lincoln' as Mary Todd. I liked hearing them play 'Shouting The Battle Cry of Freedom' when she appeared, as I recognized it as being a Civil War song. Wanted to hear it again, so I found it on Youtube.

Outback Steakhouse in Roseville

   This evening I went to the Outback Steakhouse in Roseville and finally used my gift card. So I am now down to two, the Old Navy and JC Penney cards. I like the little loaves of bread they serve with the meal. I ended up having two of these loaves with my date. I had their fish and chips, but it was odd how I needed to ask for ketchup for the fries. I am used to seeing it on the table in squeeze bottles without having to ask for it. I was given some in a little stoneware cup, but it proved to be enough for the fries I had. It was likely the first time I had eaten fish and chips since I had been in Great Britain in June.
   We did watch some of the NFL playoff games, but it was mostly the first one, 49ers-Falcons. Even though the game was in Atlanta, and the Falcons led at the half, the 49ers found a way to win. We saw very little of the second game, Ravens-Patriots from Foxboro, MA. The Ravens won, so both of the road teams won which is not typical in the conference championships. The Super Bowl will be in two weeks, in New Orleans.
   I did check E-bay to see what there was available for Stan Musial books, and I found one that was a paperback 'pocket book', for $6 Canadian. It appears to have been published in 1961, so this was when he was still an active player but nearing the end of his career. The exchange rate is comparable at this point between the Canadian and American dollar. It should be arriving in about a week, which is customary for E-bay orders though some take even longer. As expected, I needed to refine my search. When just entering his name I had over 9,000 hits. But adding 'books' this narrowed it down real well, to just over 200. Some of these still were 'dummy hits' looking more like baseball cards than books. Some copies of the same book had a much higher asking price, but the value tends to be higher if signed by the author or the subject of the book.  

Casey Blake

   Went to see a basketball game in the afternoon at Minneapolis Roosevelt, they played Fond Du Lac Ojibwe. This is a school near Duluth, explaining why it was on the weekend to allow for the travel time. I do some mentoring programs at Roosevelt. The 'Teddies' of Roosevelt had a big lead at the half and went on to win, 89-73. They had more depth and were taller, it didn't surprise me much. This was the same result when I saw the matchup last year.
  I called my dad this morning and he spoke of a feature on TV in Des Moines about basketball player Chris Street, who died in a car wreck in 1993. Casey Blake was one of those interviewed about it, who went to high school in Indianola as well. I had met Casey a few times as we had a mutual friend. I know he recently retired from baseball, I had seen him play in person a few times, for the Indians and Dodgers.
   I will also remember this as the day of finding out about two baseball Hall of Famers who passed on. First I had heard about Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver, around midday when checking email. Then in the evening it was Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals, a recipient of the President's Medal of Freedom. He is one of just 8 baseball players so honored, it is the nation's highest civilian honor. I am in St. Louis on an annual basis and I am familiar with how the Musial statue is a famous landmark outside Busch Stadium. I knew I had Weaver's book, and I did end up finding it on one of my three bookcases. It was called 'It's what you learn after you know it all that counts'. I do have some Cardinal books, but don't think I have a Musial book. I have one about the Gashouse Gang team of 1934, and another about Dizzy Dean, a pitcher with the Gashouse Gang. Musial didn't play for this team, as his playing years were from 1941-1963. I never saw Musial play but I knew he made appearances at Cardinal games every so often after retiring. He was well-known as an ambassador for the team and for the game. I knew the Medal of Freedom isn't his only Presidential honor, as he also served as the President's fitness advisor, for Lyndon Johnson. I knew Arnold Schwarzenegger also held this position, for Bush-41. I don't know much about the position, but I would expect it to be largely ceremonial, plenty of photo-ops.  

Ralph Lauren Touch Screen Gloves

   At lunchtime I went to the Macy's liquidation sale and got some gloves, since mine were in need of replacement. The ones I bought are known as 'touch screen gloves' from Ralph Lauren, and I think I know why. Some touch screens don't work if gloves are on. I found this out at a Redbox when trying to rent a movie. And I prefer not having to take off gloves when it's cold. During this same lunch hour I also used two of my loyalty cards, for Erbert Gerbert sandwiches and Walgreen. I needed toilet paper and knew it wouldn't get me points at Walgreen so I got more than just that. In addition, I bought the yogurt granola bars again, as those things are tasty.
   This morning I had two odd dreams, dealing with two different comedian friends. One of them wanted to be intimate with me in an abandoned Subway sandwich shop, I said no. But it advanced a little too far. The other was me taking care of their car, but I was still late for school. Not sure what the first one means, but I think I know the meaning of the second. Since I am still doing things like getting postcards of Newton, Iowa on E-bay it means I still think about my hometown fairly often even though I don't visit much now. And I recall in the dream how the car was a column shift, much like my first car. Even though I don't think about it much, a 1976 Ford LTD, I'm sure I will never forget my first car.
  I liked attending a member event at The Loft in Minneapolis tonight. First there was the happy hour and then a reading from three writers. They were out of cheese by the time I got there, I was a little bummed about this as I like cheese. The first wrote about 3 girls killed at a camp in Oklahoma in 1977. The next did some family stories, especially about their grandma, and it included one about oxtail soup. It was where she said the name 'Richter' was German for judge. The third spoke of the businessman who made sea monkeys popular. The sea monkey man later married an actress from the adult movie known as 'Venus in Furs'. At the cocktail party after the reading, I heard a woman say 'That's the beautiful thing about divorce'. I said to myself I didn't think divorce was beautiful. I drank a Summit beer, though this was a wine crowd. I was asked how I liked it, I said I like Grain Belt more. And how I liked seeing some Grain Belt murals around the Twin Cities. I got pictures of some, in one case I was thankful as the building has since been demolished. Then I was asked if I could sing the Hamm's song, 'From the land of sky-blue waters'. I saw somebody I recognized right away, based on the nametag as I had taken his travel writing class. To somebody else I spoke of my most popular blog entries, this included one about socks I bought at the airport in Iceland. She did say they have good socks there. In a cafe on the lower level as I was leaving the event, I noticed a bookcase and one of the books there was 'Up In The Air'. I knew it had been written by a Midwesterner.
   After the event, it should come as no surprise that I picked up two Godfather's pizzas, since Bobby and Steve's is nearby. A state trooper went inside shortly before I did. I overpaid for parking a little, wasn't sure how much time I needed. but it's better than the alternative. The newer meters where a debit card can be used are nice. On the drive home I was left wondering if I could finally get another song in my head besides 'Mandolin Rain' by Bruce Hornsby and The Range. Last night, I heard 'Magnet and Steel' by Matthew Sweet, and tonight it was 'The Story' by Brandi Carlile, either of those would do. Especially when 'Magnet' was in a road movie I liked, 'Overnight Delivery'.
   I did watch a video on loan from the library after the event, it was 'My Beautiful Laundrette'. I've visited laundromats many times before, and I was interested in how they would do a movie about one. It also helps that Daniel Day Lewis is in it. The movie was from 1985. It taught me how racial tension is an issue in Great Britain as well, not just in America. In this case it was between native-born Brits (Anglos) and Pakistanis. I liked how there was plenty of information about the movie in the Wikipedia article I found. It led me to look up another article, where it said the term 'Laundromat' was originally a brand name for Westinghouse.
   I did watch 'Nightline' on ABC for the first time since it got a new time slot. Notable was a feature about a big crocodile being hunted in the Philippines.

Wakeup Call For Auntie

   When I was walking to work after taking the bus I heard somebody say 'Wakeup call for auntie' from a payphone. Then he said 'Enjoy the rest of the month'. This is a man I usually see each morning, in front of this same payphone. But I usually didn't pass by at the right time to hear anything notable.
   I checked the movie listings and it looks like I have a little longer to finish the novel 'On The Road' before it is at theaters. It has been in New York and Los Angeles, and was scheduled for a wider release this month. But now it has been pushed back to March. I have been reading it while on the bus in the mornings, but haven't made it that far yet since it's a short bus ride each day. It has been a good read up to this point, enough to keep reading. It's just as well as I would expect this to be more than enough time to finish it now.
   I did watch 'Big Bang Theory' twice tonight, the first of course was a syndicated rerun. I had seen both before but I still liked both. The first was penny interfering with Leonard dating Raj's sister. The second was Howard returning from space and everybody being too busy to notice.
   I did hear from a friend who now lives in Chicago, first time in a little while. She has started journalism school at Northwestern. Hopefully I will get to see her in person the next time I am in town. I said I was sending my moral support on her studies, saying it's helpful to watch others to be inspired but at the same time there is no substitute for doing the work yourself.
   I did just get enough survey money to redeem from E-rewards, but I had to change the award. I had been dumping the miles into my Delta account, but it looks like this option is no longer available. So I chose the American Airlines account instead. Also got an email from the airline about their new look. It appears they're no longer using the eagle between the two A's but a simple eagle head as their logo. According to the video, the previous logo had been around since 1968.  

Rolling Stone's Top 50 List

    I had a dental appointment after work this evening and saw there was a copy of Rolling Stone magazine in the waiting room. It had their ranking of the Top 50 rap songs of all time. I was pleased that Eminem had two songs on the list, 'Lose Yourself' and 'My Name Is'. There was a picture of Notorious BIG- AKA Biggy Smalls- on the cover. The dental assistant asked me about the typical subjects such as if I had seen any concerts lately. I had not but I have a ticket for the Pink show in two months.
    At the comedy club tonight the club owner said he saw a comedian in San Francisco that had the same style as me, I said I didn't know I had one. Notable was one of the comics being a foreigner, born in New Zealand and settled in Australia. He did an in-law joke, saying his ex-mother-in-law was an extra in 'The Hobbit', basically saying she was ugly.
   At work we started in on a special project. It is pulling whatever we can find on accounts on a big list. We were told we can expect to find just under a third of them. It is tedious to do and I need breaks from it. But I still completed 13 pages in spite of this, as I started on it after returning from lunch. We still have a ways to go, as there are over a hundred pages.
   I watched some of Jay Leno tonight, and actor Mark Wahlberg was on the show promoting his movie 'Broken City'. Russell Crowe is also in it. I still usually still refer to Wahlberg as 'Marky Mark', his stage name as a musician, as I recall it fairly well. The movie starts Friday, hard to say when I will end up seeing it. But I usually don't go on the opening weekend. One big news story was how actor Conrad Bain died, he was Mr. Drummond on the TV show 'Different Strokes', one I did watch often. My dad liked to make a big deal about Bain being a 'Canadian import'.

Fruit Survey

    I like doing online surveys for the airline miles. I did one earlier today that was about fruit. It was a long one but I got $10 in survey money for it. When asked for comments at the end, I even said the survey was too long. I said I mostly like whole fruit, and this is true. I usually get bananas, though I don't notice much what brand is on the sticker when I get them at the grocery store. I was able to name two brands, Chiquita and Dole. Thanks to this survey I should be able to dump more miles into the Delta frequent flyer account soon. I hadn't been qualifying for many surveys lately.
   When I was taking the recycle outside I noticed plenty of soda pop cans so I pulled the tabs from them, six in all. It means more for the box I have at work, for Ronald McDonald house. It's a sad commentary about litter where I live when most of the pulltabs I pick up aren't mine.
   I had to take lunch early as I met with a manager for my performance evaluation. As expected, I got a better one than I normally do as it was a different manager giving it. I did ask a few questions about procedures since I had the forum available, things I had wondered about for a while. There were some things that didn't make sense, due to what looked like redundancy such as having two procedure manuals.
   At the comedy club tonight I saw many of those I acted with at the diner this weekend, in fact five of them were at the same table. One of them did his 'bald, no BALDING' joke that I like and I got a shoutout when I laughed at it. A friend did a new joke, about dog juice- an invention- that has some possibilities. I am told these 'diner skits' should be on Youtube, but don't know yet as to when.

Mandolin Rain Song

   Over the weekend I at one point spoke of the song 'Mandolin Rain' by Bruce Hornsby and The Range when I heard a banjo. This is due to mention of a banjo in the lyrics. Well after I was at the comedy club tonight I told myself I needed to hear this song again, so I found it on Youtube. One some levels, it is a haunting song, but I like it. 'Listen to the mandolin rain, listen to the banjo wind, listen to the tears roll down my face as she turns to go'. I seemed to hear a piano more than a mandolin, for whatever reason. This is in contrast to 'Losing My Religion' by REM, where I clearly hear the mandolin in it. In some ways it is no accident that both music acts use this instrument, as I understand country musicians like using it and both bands are from southern states. REM is from Georgia, Bruce Hornsby is from Virginia.
   At work we got some training to take care of a system being managed by the theater guy, who has left the company of course. Overtime is being offered to eliminate the backlog this week, hard to say how much I will end up doing. I was asked to cover for a colleague's normal duties in the afternoon so I had no time to try this new thing myself.
   It was nice to get picked tonight at the comedy club. I was number 11 in the lineup, the latest I've appeared if I'm not mistaken. I did some new jokes, they went well. This included one about being asked to eat a Reese's peanut butter cup. I was asked because the man's wife didn't want him having it as he has diabetes. I am still surprised how sometimes I get laughs before I start telling the joke. I take it as a vote of confidence in my abilities when I do an intro like 'I hope we all had a nice Christmas and New Year's, I know I did.' This was just meant to be a setup.

Milda's Cafe Minneapolis

   The day began with me watching the movie 'La Vie En Rose' on video. I was thankful I finally watched it, as I recall wanting to see it when it was at theaters in 2007. It was shown near my hotel in Seattle, where I was on vacation in August of that year. I like biographical movies, but at times this one was hard to watch. There was plenty of yelling and screaming in it, and drug problems as well as collapsing on stage. I liked hearing the title song as well as the one that I understand is french for 'I Regret Nothing'. I will admit it was easier to understand when showing her in America, in New York and Los Angeles, along with name dropping of 1950s famous people such as Marlon Brando, Ginger Rogers, and Charlie Chaplin.
   I checked my cellphone messages and saw one from a comedian friend, who did give me more information about a gig at a place in Minneapolis. I made it there in the afternoon, it was a diner known as Milda's Cafe. What made it easier to find was hearing it was near the International Market Square. The diner is closed on the weekends, explaining why it was available for filming. I was in one skit where I was a diner customer while my friend spoke to another customer. He turned him in to the police, then asked me how I felt about him framing a friend. I liked having this opportunity, I said in some ways it helped with a 'bucket list' item where I wanted to be a movie extra. A fire alarm caused a break in fiming, two fire trucks arrived but no fire was found. It was in a building shared with other businesses, so anything could have tripped it and not necessarily us as we weren't cooking anything. I got plenty of pictures of the place, as there was some artwork on the wall. I found some coins on the floor and put them in the tip jar. I was asked what my favorite 'Peanuts' character was, as it was known I am a big fan of the comic strip. I said it was Linus, and I was playing Linus to my friend's Charlie Brown. I like how Linus is intelligent and is a loyal friend to Charlie.
   I did get to my chores and errand running after the diner. I finally got some more points on my Walgreen loyalty card, by buying some yogurt bars near the checkout line. It is tough to go there and know what I really need usually doesn't get me any points there. I did one irregular thing after it, eat a dinner at a Dairy Queen. I like the Blizzard treats, and wanted to use a coupon since it was expiring soon.  I don't get their hot food much. I ended up getting a chili cheese dog and some fries so I didn't have to hunt around for another place for dinner, as it was getting kind of late by then. I had five items, and finished three there as I eat one Blizzard treat there and take the other home for a later day. Besides the other Blizzard, I took home the drink as I didn't want it to go to waste and I had barely drank from it.   

VFW South St. Paul

   I wanted to make it to the VFW in South St. Paul for a swap meet. It was for St. Paul Winter Carnival items. We made it, but we arrived just as it was closing up. It was my first time at this particular venue. It was hard to get around in time when we had too much errand running on our plate. This included wanting to go to the Godfather's Pizza in Burnsville to get double points on the loyalty card. I can still try an antique shop on the East Side if there are more buttons I want, or E-bay as well. But we all know I prefer shopping in person, taking care of the shipping myself.
  I am thrilled to find out about a Charlie Brown exhibit in Chicago, and I will have to find a way there soon as it closes next month. It is at the Science and Industry Museum. I saw the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA, but it was back in 2004.
   I went to a friend's comedy show in Minneapolis tonight. We went to the later show, figured it would be an easier ticket. Upon arrival the manager said there were just four seats left in this club, so we chose the two up front. I like supporting my friends at their comedy shows when I can. I did know many of the performers, no surprise there when I am at the open-mic shows regularly. I heard about the show due to a Facebook invite, and I hear about many shows this way. In fact I had a message waiting for me asking if I wanted to be in a show this weekend, I said yes but needed to know the when and where.
   We did try to watch some of the NFL playoff games before heading for the show. The first game, Ravens-Broncos, went into double overtime, which is rare. The Ravens won on a field goal less than two minutes into the second overtime. They rallied to tie it in the last two minutes of regulation, I said it was about to become academic but then the Ravens tried a long pass play and it worked. I could hear the signal calls from Bronco QB Peyton Manning in this game, noticing he said 'hurry hurry' often right before the ball was snapped. The other game was Packers-49ers, we saw even less of it but I know the 49ers won. Then there's two more games tomorrow.

Macy's Liquidation Sale- St. Paul

    I went to the Macy's liquidation sale in downtown St. Paul earlier today. Bought two pairs of socks, with all of the discounts it was just under $5. I looked around some but I figured more purchases could wait. The sale just began on Monday, and there's still plenty available. I tend to be careful when I shop at these kinds of sales as they remind you how 'All sales are final'. There were some nice winter gloves as well, but even being half-off they were still more than what I normally pay. They were brands like Isotoner, and the minimum price before the discount was $45, some were as much as $85. I don't have to buy gloves often, but I don't recall paying THAT much. This is likely since I often shop at discount stores like Target.
   I watched 'History Detectives' with my date tonight, first time in a while. Segments included a powder horn from the French and Indian War, along with an almanac from the American Revolution era and the show was able to find the man's grave next to a Boston church. I was also intrigued by the segment about the national anthem, as there was a group involved with divising the music for it as of course it was originally a poem by Francis Scott Key. John Philip Sousa was one of those on this committee, I think he was the only one with name recognition. A small part of one of his songs, 'The Thunderer', was played in this particular segment. I liked this song in the Clint Eastwood movie 'Bronco Billy' as well as in the play 'Teddy and Alice' about President Theodore Roosevelt and his daughter.  On public TV I noticed they were doing a feature about actor Cary Grant, at first I wasn't sure who it was about but I kept hearing the name 'Archie'. I had the paper with me and had the answer, and I knew his real name was Archie Leach. We largely saw this much by accident while the tape of 'Detectives' was being readied.

Jeopardy Online Test

   I did take the Jeopardy online test tonight, after a false start last night. I finished it fairly quickly, it was 50 questions. I think I knew at least half of them. A few I didn't know at all, such as some Shakespeare plays. I know some of those plays but not all of them. I like the satisfaction of still trying annually on the audition, same as 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'. But I did the 'Millionaire' audition at a nearby casino, in person is nice of course.
   At work it was busy in the morning for me, completing my normal duties and then the Excel class. After a 30-minute break it was on to the job interview. There were two interviewers in person and somebody from HR by phone. I did my best to answer all questions but was unsure about some like the one about what gets me frustrated. I said I didn't know we could admit this. I did speak of doing comedy briefly before this, when thinking how best to answer what my proudest professional accomplishments are. So I went with writing instead of comedy, thinking it would sound better to go with something related to what was in the office. Although I said I am no longer afraid of public speaking due to doing comedy. I kept it positive throughout, so I know this helps me. But I will have to wait to hear how I did. I know what's in my favor is being an internal candidate, and how they are looking for more than one employee to fill their needs. In the afternoon it was covering special requests, as a colleague left early. It kept me busier than I normally would be, so I liked it.
   The Oscar nominations were announced today, I was most interested in those for two movies I had seen. These were 'Lincoln', with 12, and 'Silver Linings Playbook', with 8.
   When I was at the library tonight printing things I decided to look at their DVD's first. I like knowing they had a wide variety, so much that I mostly just looked at the first one in each section. I did check out 'La Vie En Rose', one I had meant to see at theaters. Another one they had there was 'Serpico' starring Al Pacino, a reminder of being in St. Louis annually. I see a poster for it inside the airport at a bar.
    I did watch 'Big Bang Theory' before heading to the library. It was a fun idea to have them dressed up in 'Star Trek the Next Generation' costumes, they were stuck with wearing them after their car was stolen. Also funny to see their ladies debate comic books, wanting to understand them better. Or even how they were stared at in the comic book shop as the men hardly ever see women in the shop.

Making a Patch, Saving a Patch

   It's best to save money wherever possible. In my case after doing laundry tonight I realized the best way to do so was to sew a patch on a sock. I wanted the socks to be an even number, so this was necessary. This can happen after doing laundry, seeing holes. In this case there were two pairs that I threw out, which is not typical. One pair at a time is more common. I also decided to rip up a winter hat as well, as I hadn't used it in a while especially after I received a replacement at a stadium giveaway nearly a year ago. I told myself I would save the patch from it, and I did. I also got a picture of the hat before it was ripped up and thrown in the trash. It was hard to part with it on some level of course as I had it for a while, well over half my life. I am moving the patch to the office, where it will have company next to some other souvenirs I have.
   It was surprising a little to see nobody getting elected to the baseball Hall of Fame today. Two players-Craig Biggio and Jack Morris- did get over 60 percent, but 75 percent is the needed for election. According to the online article I read there were some elected by the Veterans Committee, so there still will be an induction ceremony in the summer.
    I really didn't want to spend the evening with chores and errand running but I got plenty done. It's tough for me to give up a comedy night. Besides laundry and the patches, I sent two shirts to the donation bin as they were becoming too small and less comfortable to wear. Since I just bought two at Old Navy I already had replacements found. It was a nice little walk down the road, at an intersection with a traffic light. Also got the dishes put away, after washing them last night and letting them dry.
   At work it looks like there will be more training soon, after seeing some emails waiting for me this morning. We informed the manager that we were unfamiliar with a process handled by a colleague who left the company recently, the theater guy.  I did my best to see that I am ready for the Excel class and an interview tomorrow by finding what I could about the class on a shared drive and looking up the most common interview questions. With the interview, I wrote out answers so I am better prepared for them when asked. I've learned how I tend to do better in life when I put my best foot forward.

Translated Acronyms

  Near the end of my workday a senior leader showed up at my cubicle and asked for help with finding documents in the vault. It was rather simple finding them once I knew what was needed. I called them 'Roosevelts' as the acronym is 'FDR' and of course I majored in history. But I know in this case it doesn't mean 'Franklin Delano Roosevelt'. It seemed kind of ominous for why he wanted to know, as there was some mention of selling off accounts and this has happened before. But I do have the interview for another role on Thursday so it may not matter at all.
   When I was leaving the comedy club tonight one crowdmember said they had seen me perform at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis and how they liked my comedy. I liked hearing this, even said so. I got a fist bump from them. I wanted more than just beer tonight so I ended up having some cheese curds as there was no popcorn available. I was charged the happy hour prices, which was nice.
  I'm trying to read the novel 'On The Road' by Jack Kerouac before seeing the movie, and I just completed reading the introduction when riding the bus this morning. But I think I want to get more serious about reading it soon, like this weekend. The movie hasn't arrived in the Twin Cities yet but is expected to be here this month according to a postcard I picked up recently.
   I heard from a fellow delegate with the National Writers Union and she hasn't heard of much activity lately. I wanted to ask as I had seen a message about how the elections for the delegate assembly will be happening in the next few months. Since I liked being part of it before I would like to do it again.

Faygo Soda Pop

   I was riding the bus home tonight and a woman asked me what stop that a grocery store was on, saying she needed to pick up an order that was waiting. She said the grocery store had some brands that she couldn't find in other places, like 'Jiffy' baking mix and Faygo soda pop. I said I had seen Faygo some but not much, I knew it is from Detroit. Then I spoke of how it was in a Youtube video I like, which is part of the background for the John Rich song 'Shutting Detroit Down'. This was when the music group Insane Clown Posse was drinking the soda pop. There were many Michigan musicians in this homemade video, including Eminem, one of my favorites. I ended up watching this video again when I got home.
   I kept experiencing 'micro sleep' inside the comedy club tonight, but I know this can happen when I'm tired and they dim the lights. Another comic said he knows it can get warm enough in there when one is so comfortable that they can fall asleep, which may also be a factor. There was another event being promoted before the show began, another movie. It is called 'A Haunted House' and will premiere on friday, Cedric the Entertainer is one of the actors in it. I am used to them promoting movies there, as I already had posters for 'The Campaign', along with 'Horrible Bosses'. Also got a card for 'Think Like a Man'. Of these three, I saw just one of them at theaters, 'Man'. But I was willing to try the other two on video from redbox. so I will likely see this one as well at some point.
What helped me of course was getting up and walking around a little, which is what I did near the end of the night, when there was two comics left. I spoke with a fellow comic in the bar section, sounds like he will be attending the Twins fanfest at the end of the month. We spoke at length for a while, I was asked how my holiday went. I said I liked the movie 'Silver Linings Playbook' when asked about it. And how I like both baseball and football, it helps how I was equipment manager on my high school's football team. I had seen him outside the stadium before one of the Twins baseball games last season. He said he had done a show in Omaha, and I said I had fond memories visiting there for the College World Series. I made it there six times for the opener but haven't been there the past two years, it would be nice to make it back. Then he said he had a show coming up in Missouri, sounded like the college town of Columbia. I said I liked visiting Chicago and St. Louis annually, and I have seen comedy shows in both cities. He did a joke about his fiancee's pet rat. I know he has done jokes about here before, like the one about her being an aggressive cuddler.

Silver Linings Playbook Movie

  I went to see the movie 'Silver Linings Playbook' with my date in the afternoon in St. Paul at the
Highland Theater. It was my first time at this venue, and I like seeing these older and smaller theaters. When I was a youngster in central Iowa I liked being able to walk to the theater, and it's really hard to do this anymore when most theaters are huge cinemas nowhere near residential areas.
  I will admit that I didn't know much about the movie before going to see it, but it was enough to hear about two actors I like being in it- Robert DeNiro and Jennifer Lawrence. I knew about the main character dealing with mental illness as well. I truly ended up pleased with it, as the story worked real well for me. Plenty of intelligent jokes in it, like asking for an apology from Ernest Hemingway. But this wasn't the only literary reference in it, as there was mention of 'Lord of the Flies' as well. Or saying how much they like Ben Franklin as it takes place in Philadelphia. Or how they found a way to merge interests in pro football and dancing, which are way different.
   I have liked Jennifer Lawrence since I had seen 'Winter's Bone' but I didn't see 'Hunger Games'. I've seen plenty of Robert DeNiro movies, hard to say which one I like the most. One that really stands out is 'Midnight Run' from 1988 when he played a bounty hunter. I watched 'Bang the Drum Slowly' in college as I read the book for a class. I like baseball movies, and I knew this was an early role for him. There was 'Raging Bull' as well, along with 'Goodfellas'.
   After the movie we went to the Radisson in Roseville for the starving artists sale, but we arrived just as they had closed. We went on to the Twins pro shop, and got tickets for the fanfest later this month. Also went to a world market store with candy and snacks from various nations. I recognized some shortbread cookies, may have seen them at Walgreen before- Walker, from Scotland.

The Spencer, Iowa Native

   I like ordering items from E-bay as we all know. One of them just arrived, it was the Charlie Brown Around Town poster. It was just ordered this week, I like the quick shipment. In searching for these statues around the Twin Cities I have used some guides such as the booklet and original list of the final year, the Snoopy doghouses. I bought it new when I first moved to the area. Then more recently I bought a VHS tape of the original Snoopy series. I wanted to find a frame for it, much like some of my other art as I care about protecting my investment. I did get a frame right away, at a Walmart in the evening.
   I liked speaking with an Iowa native when eating lunch at Taco Bell in Eagan, he was from Spencer and we spoke about various subjects. Some was about movies but also about being from Iowa, and where this intersects does include the movie 'Final Season'. He said the South Clay pitcher was his wife's ex-husband.
   In the evening I went with my date to a restaurant inside the Holiday Inn in Minneapolis near the Metrodome. We were directed to the bar area as the main restaurant was closed. As we were there the big playoff game was on TV, Vikings-Packers. The Packers went on to win but we didn't see the entire game there. Wasn't sure at first who won the first game of the day, Bengals-Texans, but later found out the Texans won. Liked watching 'Life to the Max' after the late news on WCCO as there was three good features. One was about health programs in New Ulm, a favorite city of mine to visit. The others were about an island in Hawaii, and where the George Clooney movie 'Perfect Storm' was filmed, in Massachusetts. I knew 'The Simpsons' did a parody of 'Storm' as well.  

Callebaut Belgian Chocolate

   The site leader brought in some chocolate to the office today, and I was told by our security guard they needed a hammer to break it apart. Apparently paper towels were placed between the hammer and chocolate. The packaging said it was Callebaut, the 'finest Belgian chocolate'. Some of it was brought around to my department. I did sample it and it tasted good.
   Also at the office today, I told one colleague how I am thankful they are filling a void on the sound bites as they had one for me. Since two colleagues left, who were known for sound bites, I was unsure who would. She said to another colleague that she was 'going to get philosophical with you' and asked 'Why do we have children?' She must have been having a problem with hers.
   While taking the bus home, I saw two notable things. One was a goth girl on the bus who had some handcuff earrings for her left ear, and both ears had those 'spreader' or 'plugger' earrings in them. At one stop I noticed there was an outdoor grill being used at the fire station. I know some people love to grill food and will do it whenever they have the chance, even in winter.
  I had to look up exchange rates on some currency, since I was looking at the Icelandic coins I bought as a set at the Keflavik Airport in June. They were from 1967-1980, and all were a Krona or less. According to the Wikipedia article these are retired coins now, which may be why they were being sold as souvenirs. I looked at the exchange rate and it said a Krona was about the same value as a penny. Then there was the three Danish coins I was given by a friend, totaling 7.5 Krones. These are worth about $1.31. The Icelandic coins have already been moved to the office, and I will be moving the Danish coins there as well. They are taped to a 3x5 card with three others I've had for a while. This includes a nickel I got in high school when somebody threw it at me. Much like before, I think they will get looked at more if kept there.
   This evening I went to a Famous Dave's for dinner. The ambience reminded me of the Cracker Barrel in Lakeville, wanting the rural feel like the Funk's G-corn sign near the bathroom and ancient car brand ads like Willys in the bathroom. The most memorable thing likely was the neon sign near my table which said 'Eat' or 'Meat' inside the shape of a pig. I definitely ate meat, I said to the order-taker that if I didn't like pork then I wouldn't be here. I had a pork sandwich and some potato salad. I went on to Walgreen and got some soap and razors, along with some leftover Christmas candy that was real cheap, 75% off.
   I liked reading through the paper tonight as the political cartoon reminded me of a story my dad told me about grandpa, he liked to say politicians were 'sworn at' instead of 'sworn in'. I watched two DVD's I've had for a little while. One was 'Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer' and the other was a Charlie Brown special, 'Warm Blanket'. I acquired both of these around Thanksgiving. I watched all of the special features with 'Rudolph' which included two music videos, both were doing versions of the 'Rudolph' song. One was from Destiny's Child, and the other was Regis Philbin. The Philbin version was a parody of 'Apprentice' where Donald Trump was in it as well, replacing Santa and getting to say 'You're fired' at the end.

McDonald's Arch Card

   I feel the need to clean up around my home every so often. In my wooden change dish I noticed I still had a McDonald's Arch card I picked up when waiting for the bus after work one day. Well I finally checked the balance online, as expected there was a zero balance. It was used on December 7, just $5 was on it when used, so when I picked it up was likely shortly after it was used. I see plenty of skid marks on one side, and on another is their famous slogan 'I'm lovin' it'. I am reminded of how I haven't been to one in a little while, aside from returning Redbox movies. I do like their breakfast sandwiches, especially the Egg McMuffin. But I don't use their gift cards at all.
   The big news story was the water main break in Minneapolis. Found out this includes a comedy club I've been to, Acme in the Warehouse District. Another big news story was the Macy's store in downtown St. Paul will be closing. I had been there before, but not much lately.
   After I watched 'Big Bang Theory' tonight I went over to the library to print things. Then it was on to Old Navy to use up a gift card. I got two shirts there, which did take care of most of the balance. This also prompted me to get out a thread and needle and sew a button back on another shirt. It was the one near the neck so it wasn't a pressing need to me for a long time. Currently I have three cards, besides Old Navy I have Outback Steakhouse and J.C. Penney. I have wanted to use the Outback card but all too often it has been on a Saturday evening when there's an hour wait for a table. When I hear this I of course get cranky and grumpy. Hopefully sometime soon I will find a time that works in my schedule when the wait it shorter for a table, like an afternoon or a Sunday evening.
   Since I work in an office there are some good sound bites fairly often. Today it was related to a colleague saying she wanted to talk about 'The fiscal cliff'. I asked if they wanted to push somebody over the cliff, and they thought it was funny. I had the time to get caught up on paperwork since it was a fairly slow day. So I got my request in to have the day off in three weeks for a Roosevelt mentoring program event.

Feeding The Cat

  At the comedy club tonight one fellow comic was asking about my relationship, and said she was 'happy for me' and 'depressed' at the same time. I didn't know how to respond to this, when it's a mixed message. This is the southern girl who said she still isn't doing well with Internet dating. Then it ended with her saying she needed to go to the bathroom. I said it sounded like somebody saying they needed to feed their cat when the conversation isn't going well.
   It went well on doing some more new jokes tonight, such as one I thought of just before leaving for the show. It was due to watching 'The Middle' on ABC. The young boy on it has nervous tics, and likes to say 'Whoop'. It is somewhat comparable to me saying 'Ka' or 'Hut'. Also did one about the Grim Reaper pictures from the University last week.
   There wasn't too much notable about going back to work. I changed the calendar of course, now the Audubon Society calendar has a bald eagle for this month. And it meant submitting a monthly stat report and throwing out old records from October. I did find 'The Simpsons' quote online when the family was about to join the country club. It was a fun quote about 'her idea of wit' is the commonly accepted definition of wit, which made it even funnier. It was much like the one where Homer is an opera singer and has an obsessed fan, then says to her 'Now you understand you will never have the only one you could ever love' which is the storyline of 'Phantom of the Opera'. After I was at the comedy club, I did see most of one episode, a syndicated rerun. It was the one about con artists, which ended in a court case where the conmen- Bart and Homer- were conned.

All Is Quiet

  I recall the U2 song 'New Years Day' where the lyrics include 'All is quiet' on this day. Hard to say if this was the case for me. I did watch some of the Rose Bowl parade, which was followed by one of the day's football games on ABC, the Capital One Bowl. I watched it with my date for a while, but then we left for a gathering in the afternoon. It was tied at 31 at the time, and I found out Georgia went on to win the game, 45-31 over Nebraska. This game is played in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl, a previous name for the game. It has been around since the 1940s, and was once known as the Tangerine Bowl as well. The venue is next to Tinker Field, where the Minnesota Twins had spring training for a while. I did get a glimpse of it when in Florida over a year ago, but we didn't stop as the driver wanted to get through the city before rush hour hit. I understand how Tinker Field is on the National Register, and in an aerial view during ther game it looked like there were cars parked on the baseball stadium's infield. Iowa has played in this game once, and it still has a tie-in with their conference, the Big Ten. This was one of six games scheduled for the day, including the Outback Bowl in Tampa, and I saw Iowa play in it three years ago. Iowa beat South Carolina that day, and South Carolina beat Michigan in this year's edition.
    I like reading the history of college football bowl games, having attended two of them myself. Besides the Outback Bowl, I also saw the Holiday Bowl in San Diego in 2006. But it is hard at times to keep up with it, when the corporate sponsors can change often. I found out this was true for one bowl, known as the Russell Athletic Bowl. It is in Orlando, so this one was once called the Champs Sports Bowl and is played about a week before the Capital One in the same stadium. It was originally known as the Blockbuster Bowl and played in Miami. I know other bowl games have survived as they were moved. This was true for the Liberty Bowl, so named as it started in Philadelphia but has been moved to Memphis.