Walking On Sunshine Song

  At work there was an IPO celebration, we saw the CEO ring the bell on TV at the New York Stock Exchange. We were given a gray shirt with a collar, and during this time they were playing the song 'Walking on sunshine' by Katrina and The Waves. I found out from the Wikipedia article it is also the name of the album it is from, and a movie. I know it from being in the movie 'Look who's talking' and in an episode of 'Cold case'.
    I kept saying there was too much activity today, as I didn't like being rushed along in the morning and I said I needed to get stamped in. I saw an underwriting supervisor on the way in and I spoke of how I just wanted to come back later for the giveaways, but pretty much wasn't allowed to. I said 'That didn't go according to plan', and she laughed. Usually I am allowed to, especially if it is just food and drink. I care a lot about stamping in on time. I was also rushing a little to get back from my lunch hour for two group photos. One was outside our building in downtown St. Paul, the other was inside it in the lobby. It did lead to some excitement as I got on an elevator that must have been too full. We dropped a little and weren't going anywhere, at least not very fast. We called security, and then the doors opened on second floor and all got out. Half of us decided to get back in, I was in the half that didn't. We waited for another elevator to get back to our floor. I could tell I was not alone on looking a little dour, as I said this to a colleague I may have  written about before who wears an extra-small winter coat. Besides the shirt we also got a drawstring bag with a tall 'Go-cup' in it,  as well as a mouse pad that smelled so fresh it reminded me of a tire store. We got what looked like a deck of playing cards, but looking inside they were meant to be interlocking puzzle pieces.            
     We did get catered food from a Greek place, the pita bread and chicken and salad all tasted good. There was little cupcakes as well. During lunchtime I went out to a celebration at Park Square theater nearby, about their new season. I got a little cupcake there with purple frosting as one of their plays this year is 'Color Purple'. I also bought another item at the card shop liquidation sale, it was some wall art. When I was getting it home on the bus an older man asked me what the picture was. I quickly showed it and said 'Snoopy', and 'I like Snoopy'. He was wearing a camouflage jacket and a Vikings hat. I knew it wouldn't be a chore getting it home as it is much smaller than the framed 'Rain Man' movie poster I got at another liquidation sale.
    This evening I went to the St. Paul Saints game as it was German night. The Saints lost to the Wichita Wing-nuts, 9-3. Wichita got 6 runs in the 2nd, and 1 in the 3rd. The Saints got on the board with one in the 5th. Both teams scored 2 in the 8th, for the 9-3 final. The scoreboard and light towers went out in the bottom of the 1st and were out for 2 innings. This of course made it harder to follow the game. I was next to a woman who said she was an ESL teacher at Anoka/Hennepin Middle School. She spotted somebody she knew there and they talked for a while near the end of the game, into the fireworks show as well. Her friend said her two sons were batboys tonight. This was game number 6 for me this year, and I hope to make it to 4 more in August.
   When I got home from the Saints baseball game I dealt with some more online dating aggravation. I saw two messages waiting in my email account, from the same match. One of them said the match wanted to skip to email, the other was how my first five questions were answered. I was a little excited about the request to skip to email, but this faded quickly. The message said 'Met someone else, best of luck to you'. Not the first time I heard it but it still stings a lot, and might still sting for a little while. I know well enough to bounce back quickly from these things, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it one bit having to do so. I closed the match, figured there was nothing else to do. Also odd that the match said 'Was going to ask about their date, we could be siblings'. This is meaningless for me to hear. It does make me think of a song, 'Goodbye says it all' by Blackhawk. Just about every human emotion has been captured in song. Where do I go from here? Well I think the advice from the big dog is still helpful, he asked me: 'What else are you going to do, quit?' This is still not a viable option for me.

Yesterday, The Beatles

     At the comedy club tonight I spoke with the university accountant before the show. Much of it was about music, and eventually the question was what happens to be the most covered song. After the show I looked it up online and Ask.com said it was 'Yesterday' by The Beatles. It has been covered more than 3,000 times. My favorite song of theirs, 'Eleanor Rigby', has been covered a lot as well, 131 times. I had to listen to 'Eleanor Rigby' on Youtube since I was thinking of it. The version I chose was an  animated one.
     Plenty of comics I recognized on the lineup. Pizza philosopher was MC. He did one about microwaving not recommended, and a variation on swear words. Ding dong ditch did ones about a cheese-ball tub, and underwear in the dryer. Self checkout did one about is mustache, and Freddie Mercury. Others were about watered-down tattoos, motorcycles, and metaphor of marriage. Bus fare
did one about being uncomfortable with his hands. Others were about a state fair horse show, being from an orphanage, and 'be proud, not a walk of shame'. The university accountant did one about high-5's. Others were about a pedal pub, and fitting a and in a Pringles can. The godmother did one about coffee stunting growth. Others were about BBQ tongs for reaching, a silent retreat at a church, her husband the cop arresting at a salon, and a 'for sale by owner' house. The Kentucky native did one about being on a diet, and losing 30 pounds. He spoke about eating Taco Bell at the doctor's office, having a law degree, and advancement at McDonald's. The bartender did one about living in North Minneapolis and rural Wisconsin. Others were about a coupon book and 'taco-cat'. The show closer I had seen many times before, he does the one about a guy who looks like a Pez dispenser after a botched suicide attempt.
   It is official, I have ordered a 4-show pass for the Fringe Festival which starts soon. A festival button was also ordered. Now it means going to an art gallery near the Lagoon theater to pick up the pass. I can do this before the first show I plan on attending, on Saturday afternoon.
   The treat cart made its rounds in the afternoon at work, before this the political science guy joked about how they should give us cyanide to put us out of our misery.  

Real Estate Infomercial

    I got home from the comedy club tonight and fell asleep, woke up to the sound of a real estate infomercial on TV. I performed tonight, was wearing the patriotic shirt so it was my first joke. I spoke with one comic I hadn't seen in a while and was asked about the blog. This was somebody who had been reading it to see if he was written about, I said what my schedule was and we hadn't been at the same shows much.
    The big dog also performed, and did the 'Die for you' song joke. Others were a voice impression of his dad, Christian Mingle ads, a peeping Tom which led to a smoke bomb, suicide by cop, and a piano technique to porn. Happy Meal was MC, and did one about a dental visit. Others were about insanity, a yoga mat, and the crowd is hostages. Self-checkout did one about his mustache. Others were about a tattoo story, and motorcycles. The bronze comic did one about giving away a bike helmet. Locks of love did one about a self-driving car. Others were about growing out hair for self-esteem, Ancestry dot-com, the 'Capital One' method, keep the coat, and an expensive baby. I saw the Oklahoma native near the end of the show, sounds like he was doing an interview.   

Card Shop Liquidation

     I was walking through the St. Paul skyway and noticed a card shop is having a liquidation sale. I stopped to see of they had anything of interest to me. I bought 5 postcards at 60 percent off, and a cloth coaster with a baseball theme. All told it was just over two dollars. The shop owner said to another patron how it will likely run until mid-August, so just over two more weeks. Much like at many other liquidation sales I have been to, I will be making multiple visits. It is best to give myself more time to look at everything, though I made some nice choices. I tend to get low-risk, low-cost items at these sales, since all sales are final. There may be some greeting cards that interest me, plenty of them available. It looks like some of the fixtures have already been sold. It also explains why the postcards were not a rack that spun around, these were on the walls next to the greeting cards. I write this off as 'Economic Darwinism' whenever I see it happen, a term that is already listed on Urban Dictionary. I said to a colleague that it may be a tough business to make a profit in, when greeting cards and postcards can be found at many other stores like Walgreen. Most of the skyway businesses are closed on the weekends, since the customer traffic is mainly on weekdays when offices are open. So this limits the times when somebody can operate a business.   
    I did perform at the comedy club tonight, starting off with mention of being at a podcast last week. Many of the regulars performed. The tetris comic did one about naked vs. nude. Another was about 'Dr. Quit'. The 'Extra Murder' comic did one about a new apartment. Others were about visiting Texas, ghosts, and phone books. The Maryland native did ones about Urkel, the morning after pill, hockey, and condos. The school bouncer did one about football and fur. Others were about his uncle's religion, and crossing the street in his neighborhood. The tortoise and hare comic did one about going to '9 by himself'. The resistable comic did ones about Target, a hipster roommate, and fewer choices. The laundry comic did one about being at the airport. Others were about the movies 'IT' and 'Deliverance'. Pizza philosopher did ones about internet dating and the humane society. The opera singer did ones about the Wet Seal, and pizza. He was wearing a Mt. Rushmore shirt. The Worthington native did ones about a tough dad speech, being a cyber bully to his dad, girls basketball, and country music. Fantasia did ones about a guy on the bus, pickup basketball, a scool suspension, and 'McDonalds and meth'. The Perkins employee did ones about Bilbo, Danny DeVito, and a South Dakota park wedding. The fever comic did ones about airport sandwiches, deer suicide, and a plane's emergency landing. The founding father did ones about women and makeup, and the 5-second rule, as show closer.  

Joe Movie, Nicolas Cage

     I went to McDonald's in the afternoon and got a Redbox movie, 'Joe', starring Nicolas Cage. There were some things about the movie that reminded me of others, like 'Mud' and 'Winter's Bone'. All of these had a backwoods setting. So it made some sense when the previews included those two movies. I really liked 'Winter's Bone'. I don't know how many movies I have seen that Cage was in, I know I liked 'Con Air'. It was a movie I wanted to see at theaters, but didn't get around to it. I had a large postcard I had picked up from the theater to remind me. The main part of the storyline was a teenager who starts working for Joe, played by Cage. The boy is a hard worker and very mature for his age. Joe takes him under his wing, and acts more like a dad than his real dad, who is a drunk. The closing credits said it was filmed in four different cities in Texas, one of those was Austin and the others were towns I hadn't heard of. I liked seeing some of the special features, like how it was based on a novel by Larry Brown. I liked the interview with the book writer, he said the main complaint about his writing is that it is brutal. I liked his response, where he said his writing is also honest.
    I got caught up on some things today, like cleaning out one of my refrigerator drawers. I keep things like empty potato chip bags in there and eventually throw them out after writing down what I have eaten, periodically. I hadn't done it in a while, I counted 170 oatmeal packs so it likely had been four months. No surprise how it proved my eating habits had changed, as there were some Quaker Oats granola bar wrappers in there. I stopped buying them after seeing the food documentary 'Fed Up' in May. The changes have worked, as I have lost some of the weight I wanted to lose.
   Before I picked up the Redbox movie, I went to the Family Dollar store. I got some Lance 'Nekot'
cookies with peanut butter, as well as a CD, 'Music that inspired Fahrenheit 9/11', a documentary movie by Michael Moore. There is a Pearl Jam song on it. I know these aren't necessarily the same songs that were in the movie, since I recall the closing song being 'Rocking in the free world' by Neil Young and Young's son is not on this CD. I heard an employee say she was stupid not crazy, then she corrected herself and reversed it. In one aisle I was a little surprised by hearing a voice saying 'Excuse me', I said to the employee it must be the doll on the top shelf.
   In the evening I watched two 'Simpsons' episodes and then took a walk around the neighborhood. One I had seen before, where Homer looked forward to a 4th of July fireworks show and Bart is a coward during a race as he doesn't help Milhouse. I wrote about it before, as one line was 'Wrong holiday, Charlie Brown'. The second I hadn't seen before, it was when Homer helped deliver a baby in an elevator and then acts like a dad to the baby since it is named for him. The mom is a neighbor to a poker-playing friend of his. Lisa is picked as a junior cheerleader for the local football team and helps them with organizing as a labor union. In the closing credits they have a home pregnancy test as one of the things the cheerleaders endorse.

Postcard Show In Eagan

    I went to a postcard show in Eagan in the afternoon. I got 11 postcards, 7 were from the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. One was a duplicate, I will be giving it to the political science guy as it was about the Russian leaders from World War One. Two of the world's fair postcards were of General Motors, one was of the research rainbow and the other the Chevrolet assembly line. I also got ones of the Sears building, Seminole Village, a second Firestone card, and the British leaders from Pantheon De La Guerre, the same series as the duplicate Russian card. With the other four cards, two were of Minnesota. One was from the State Fairgrounds and the other from Como Park. The other two were from Chicago, of one of the forts known as Fort Dearborn, and New Orleans, of Tulane stadium AKA the Sugar Bowl. I had to laugh after leaving the postcard show as I looked around a little at the community center where the event was held. In one room I heard an instrumental version of the 'Muppet Show' theme song. Before the show I went to the Saints baseball stadium and got a ticket for a game at the end of the month. It was hard to compete with the PA announcer when I tried to
communicate with the ticket office employee. I was informed a corporate event for Super-America was in progress.
   I went to McDonald's in the morning for an Egg McMuffin, and now I have enough stickers for a free drink. I needed five, and two were on abandoned cups. It was their trash, my treasure. In the evening I listened some to the sub teacher's radio show. Topics included comic book movies and the war in the Gaza Strip. I also got more baseball cards, and got them in binders tonight. There were 236 cards, just 18 were duplicates. The dups will be destroyed, much like before. When I was at Target to get sheet protectors, and some of the cards, I heard the song 'Jar of Hearts' by Christina Perri coming from a car radio. It was a girl who passed by me when I was heading inside the store, as I had already parked my car.

Take Your Memory With You, Vince Gill

    For some reason I had a line from a song stuck in my head at work today. It was from 'Take your memory with you' by Vince Gill. Another was 'You'll think of me' by Keith Urban. Eventually it was
'A better man' by Clint Black. All are about relationships ending. I must have been thinking about how mine ended nearly a year ago.
   The political science guy spoke of a Rainbow Foods, now a Cub, in Uptown Minneapolis being where he would do drunk grocery shopping. This was spurred by seeing a full-page ad in the Minneapolis paper today, about the number of Twin City locations that Cub has, 'over 77 stores'.
   In the evening I made it to the Chicago hot dog place, known as Chris and Rob's, and the employee I know there did ask what my plans were after eating. I said I would be headed to a comedy show, and after I had placed my order one of his colleagues spoke of 'Last Comic Standing' and I said 5 of my friends were on that TV program. I had the typical order, tater tots and a chili cheese dog with some onions.
    At the comedy show, Fantasia had just finished his set before I sat down. IED/IUD did one about Fight Club laundry, somebody setting their house on fire, along with her dad being disappointed with her sports abilities. Bus fare did one about state fair horse shows and being from an orphanage. Rut-roh did one about the band Smash Mouth, and their Twitter response, 'you're a ham', and doing laundry. The Louisiana native did one about eating pretzels, and I got a shout-out for the QB joke. The nurses aide did one about dance lessons, suggesting she should be a stripper. Another was about a server vs. hooker comparison. She has an hourglass shape, due to a pitcher of beer. The former Perkins employee did one about Where's Waldo, and a family cruise. The Maryland native did one about attending a hockey game, being bad at pick-up lines, and Urkel. Tortoise and hare did one about a DUI. Others were about a tax rebate at White Castle, a Cobain impression, and a plastic rifle. A brilliant one was about Burger King, Dairy Queen, Carl's Jr., and Taco Bell. Mr. Pibb did one about rap sound effects. Another was about no walls at a bakery. The former restaurant host did one about Comcast customer service. Another was about jobs for rappers. Netflix did one about part of a skit from the previous show, which I didn't see. The fever comic did one about being frugal by stealing, and deer suicide fundamentalists. Grocery delivery did this joke, and how a colleague said e could lose a lot of weight from it but he is already thin.     

Venus In Fur Movie

    This evening I went to see the movie 'Venus In Fur' in Edina. I checked the Minneapolis paper's website, and it said this was the final night, just one week, not being held over. The story was familiar from seeing the play version at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis last year. It was in subtitled French, directed by Roman Polanski. I hadn't eaten dinner by the time I arrived at the theater, so I got a small bag of popcorn there. I had to order the popcorn and ticket at the same counter, nobody was staffed at the ticket booth. After the movie I went to the nearby Walgreen and got more baseball cards, a pack of 100. I also got a small pack of peanuts, but I stopped eating them fairly quickly as it was too much salt after having the popcorn. When I got home I did get some cards in the binder, but it was the pack of 36 from over the weekend. I had 5 duplicate cards and I destroyed them. I liked getting a free publication at the theater, it was about donuts and beer. It was said it was 'Homer Simpson's dream'. The beer was a bottle of Grain Belt.
   I did watch a syndicated rerun of Big Bang Theory before I headed out to see the movie. It was the one were Penny gets a nemesis, as she ends up fighting with the new tenant that gets plenty of attention from the guys.         

Jack Nicholson Impression

     At the comedy club tonight, I was onstage and liked doing a Jack Nicholson impression. It was from his role in 'A Few Good Men'. I recall being told I liked to quote the movie, by a colleague I knew from suburban Chicago who recently became a Facebook friend. I liked the lines when he was on the witness stand, such as 'You can't handle the truth!' and his answer to the code red question. I also liked doing one about the Cajun cougar. I hadn't done it for a while, but I know cougar jokes do well at the comedy club. I saw somebody before the show outside, who wanted to hear the joke after referring to it. The software developer was MC, and did the tequila and compliment joke. Turtle Check did one about changing shapes. Others were about the Discover Card commercials, and a variation on a swear word. Auto correct did one about office small talk. Others were about taking an acting class, babies stealing friends, internet news stories, ladies night, and her college friends. The
Red-faced comic did one about his mom, and the guitar routine. The big dog did one about the Christian Mingle ads. Others were about 'Dad works for me', furniture sales, finding a dead body, and taking things for granted. Locks of Love did one about a self-driving car, and her husband searching for heavy-duty trannies. Conga line did one about her outfit, not a farmer. Others were about doing a show in Williston, ND, the crash of the Weiner-Mobile, truck nuts, and a Kenny G workout. The
godmother did one about a bucket list. Others were about latex gloves, a silent church retreat, and a cashier. Capital City did one about 'Dirty 30', and a 'Trannie' janitor. A comic I haven't wrote about before did one about her husband avoiding deportation. The Kentucky native was show closer. He did the book signing joke and Taco Bell joke.  

Chilling Like A Villain

     I liked finding a store near the comedy club that had some Charlie Brown and Snoopy items on display. I had meant to go in there before, but usually just saw it after the show and it was already closed for the night. so it was helpful that I showed up earlier so I had the time to look around before heading to the show. Two of those were little buttons. One of them has Woodstock in sunglasses and a beach chair, saying 'Chilling like a villain'. Another has Snoopy with a mask and cape on, saying 'S is for superhero'. The third item is Snoopy holding a heart shaped valentine, it is a package of tissue. Finally there is message in a box, 40 cards spread over 8 designs. These cards are about the size of a baseball card. Five are Snoopy and Woodstock enjoying ice cream or donuts. I like the tin these cards
came in, as well.
    At the comedy club the school bouncer was MC. He did the put a ring on it joke. The big dog was near the end. He did one about spanking a kid changing the brain. Others were about Christian Mingle ads, seeing a dead body, and taking things for granted. Grizzly Adams was show closer. He did one about walking cats. Others were about drunk me becoming real me, a hair drug from India,  thrown away popcorn, and the ultra-sound clinic. Bus fare did one about 'poop in bar'. Others were about a state fair horse show, and being from an orphanage. The fancy comic did one about baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie. his version of WTF is 'wow that's fancy'. He also said he is a Michelle Obama look-alike. Self checkout did one about his mustache. Locks of Love did one about a self-driving car. She grows her hair for self-esteem. The former restaurant host did one about Comcast customer service, and being called 'Ragu' in school. Another was about a leaf blower.

Burn And Brew Podcast

     I went to Burnsville tonight to be part of a podcast recording, called burn and brew. This of course is not where I typically go, but I will give up a comedy night when I have a good reason. This was my first-ever podcast, so it was a good reason. I made it there well in advance, no problem finding the place in a strip mall. I found that the experience being on the sub teacher's AM radio show was helpful, and quite relatable. The best idea is to wait for the host to call on you. I won this appearance at a silent auction. It was at the Die Laughing comedy marathon in April. I bid on it as it was for a lower amount than the others. The burn was a cigar, not much experience with this. The brew was from Wisconsin, it tasted fine to me.    
    I also looked into more internet dating events, in-person ones. A colleague suggested it, the one who said she would be a Twitter follower if I joined that social media site. I went to Match dot-com and found out apparently I already had a profile uploaded, from when I lived in suburban chicago. And I left there 10 years ago. It is hard to remember all of the websites I have registered with in the past, especially if I haven't been on their site in a while. I needed to make a list so I more closely keep track of the passwords and such. I did some editing and imported photos from Facebook. Once I changed the city to Minneapolis, I did see some events available, each one has a different fee to pay. So we will take it from there. I of course must wait for approval of my profile after all of the edits. The other thing will be figuring out when I have the time to attend some of these in-person events, when I go to comedy shows often. But I think I can find a way, even if not right away since we are still in what I call 'baseball and museum season'.   

Basket Case, Green Day

    I went to a music venue tonight in Minneapolis, and did karaoke, then comedy. The song I chose was 'Basket Case' by Green Day. I started off by saying it was one I could relate to. Much like before, I really enjoyed it and I seem to be good at it. One comic even decided to come closer to the stage and dance to it, and we high-fived. I traded places with the red-faced comic, who did the guitar set. He wanted to be moved up as he was meeting someone at another venue. My comedy set included jokes about arguing on message boards, graffiti I saw in the bathroom, my date this weekend, and when I got pizza after it. The one about message boards was inspired by hearing the MC, the international falls native, do a joke about her experience arguing on message boards. After my time on stage, I did thank the MC for the stage time and said I was really honest about the story I told about my date. I am hopeful about getting a second date, but know it is best to hold back enthusiasm as I have been turned down a lot. When I got back from the show, I did get a message from my date. It said 'Nice to meet me' but also 'Wish you all the best in dating and meeting new people'. I asked for clarification, and wanted to know if there was an interest in a second date. But I have heard this line before, so I am thinking this is another 'One and done', sadly.  

Sharon Van Etten

     After getting home tonight, I went to listen to some music on Youtube. For some reason I saw a video by Sharon Van Etten as one of the first mentioned. The name sounded familiar, as she had just performed at First Avenue in Minneapolis this week. I had read an interview with her, and for some reason I was impressed. But I usually like seeing people get interviewed, because there is so much that can be learned. As I recall, there was mention of leaving an abusive relationship. And on some level I can relate to someone who works through their pain in their art, and this helps them become more well-adjusted. Or maybe it was not wanting to become too famous, evident with wanting to play small venues like First Avenue. I hadn't heard any of her music until finding some songs on Youtube tonight. I listened to three, I am most impressed with 'Taking chances'. It depicts a tarot card reader. 'Magic chords' had a constant drumbeat to it, like drums from the American Revolution era. The constant drumming works for me. But the lyrics were kind of hard to follow, aside from 'Nothing to lose.' The video caught my eye as she is wearing a Puritan-type outfit and then lays on her back in a pond. The first one I listened to, 'Our love', was kind of slow but I liked it being filmed in black and white. I also like some of the lyrics, 'I am a sinner, I have sinned.' And mention of a half-mast flag. The chorus seemed a little too simple and repetitive, mostly saying 'It's our love'.  I had to listen to it twice as I wanted to give the song a fair chance.
    This was a fairly busy day with doing events. I went over to Keller golf course in Maplewood to see the festivities related to re-opening after renovation. I got plenty of pictures there. I passed by it often when I lived on the East Side but hadn't been there before. I liked getting a ride on golf carts, both to and from the parking lot. I said I probably hadn't rode on one since I was at baseball spring training, 8 years ago, in Florida. I like knowing it is affordable to golf there, 18 holes is just $40 but it does bill itself as being open to the public. I did see some of the speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, but didn't want to stay long as I needed to get home and make final preparations for a date.
    For the date, we met near a Minneapolis park in the afternoon and then walked over to a park bench, where we spoke for a while as we saw a pickup basketball game off in the distance. I noticed how one of the players had a Torii Hunter shirt on, number 48, a former player for the Twins. My date complained of feeling ill, after working out with a personal trainer earlier in the day. So we parted ways after 30 minutes. My date did ask about the comedy I do, and I did my best to answer all questions. I was also asked if I like kids, after we saw a toddler at a nearby bench. I said I like the enthusiasm that kids have for life, that too many of us adults eventually lose. I am hopeful that we meet again, and I even said so in person, but that is up to my date. I feel we are compatible. My date is intelligent like me, has a master's and is working on a PhD, and I need intellectual stimulation in my life wherever possible.
   I know I don't allow myself to be vulnerable too often, readers. But I feel like this time I need to be. I have seen many matches from internet dating fizzle out quickly. I have had to accept that either 'Those ships have sailed' or 'It was never meant to be'. When I called my college roommate last night, I said one of my main thoughts was 'Don't mess this one up'- and I had seen this sentiment before. The Ally Sheedy character had it in the movie 'Only the Lonely'. Did I make some mistakes before? Yes, who hasn't? But I have tried to learn from them. I told myself that I am putting my best foot forward way more often than before, so that alone means the success rate is higher. I needed to learn patience, as I have understood how the alternatives often don't yield a better solution than waiting things out.
   If my date has found these words, understand that like most other people I have different sides to myself. Hard to say what the odds are, since I spoke of the blog but didn't give out a business card. But I think it is in my best interest to not reveal it until our relationship progresses further, as one date is still too soon. Sure I do comedy, I am confident while performing my craft, but who isn't? We all have strengths, and good or bad we have weaknesses as well. I didn't want to accept those for a while, just wanted to whine and this got me nowhere. But I have weathered those storms and I am well-adjusted now, as my college roommate said to me. So I know I have qualities I can present to others and they will have to accept me for who I am if we are going to be friends.
    We all have insecurities, my problem for a while was wearing things on my sleeve. I had to learn to be poker-faced about many things. But as Eminem said in one of his songs, I am exorcising my demons, this was in 'Not Afraid'. Comedy is a wonderful coping mechanism, it might make me look cocky or overconfident to some but nothing could be further from the truth. I let my guard down when I am most comfortable, like when I am onstage, or when I am with my friends. And there are times when I do so because I have no choice. At some point I will likely be comfortable enough to be more vulnerable around my date, but it is early.
     I expected to eat at the date but I didn't. So I went over to Bobby and Steve's near 35-W and had a little Godfather's pizza there. Before I went in I saw some young men, who gave me a greeting. They tried again, even though they got my attention, and I said 'I heard you the first time, what do you want?' and one of them swore at me, unsure why. It wasn't worth worrying about, I just kept walking inside. Then it was on to the Roseville library to print some things, where I saw a box of books outside and I looked through them. I found three Charlie Brown and Snoopy books, the woman said she was donating the box to the library. So I got the three books for free, which may be a really good deal. These books look rare, one is a hardcover and the other two are thin Hallmark books.
   The final event was going to Bastille Day at the French Alliance in Minneapolis. It was held in a parking lot across the street from their building. I lucked out on seeing someone who knows me when I arrived and was paying my admission fee. It was the cameraman from earlier in the week, from the All-Star Game fan-fest. I was introduced to his friend as somebody who knows the big dog, and the lone lady in The Turkeys. This made me feel good, though I did say if it's a Twin City comedian then I probably know them. I liked getting pictures of the French cars there, Peugeot and Citroen. I was expecting to see some Renaults as well, but didn't. It was nice to listen to the music there, and have some white wine. I had to remind myself not to drink it like beer, as I nearly choked on it by drinking it too fast. I left around 9:30 as I wanted to get back home on the light rail before the trains become less frequent at 10pm. I saw fans from the Twins game, was told the Twins lost. The giveaway was headphones, sponsored my Delta Airlines. I saw somebody wearing an Iowa Games shirt, and they were communicating with some others in sign language. Being from Iowa I am familiar with this event. The Iowa Games is the state's version of the Olympic Games.
   After I got home, I like watching 'Life to the Max' on WCCO. There was a feature about St. Augustine, Florida, a city I visited in 2003. I walked around in the old fort there. Before it was 'Storm Stories' and a hurricane in Hawaii during the filming of 'Jurassic Park' was profiled.

Lou Brock At Saints-Lemurs Game

    I went to the St. Paul Saints baseball game tonight, my 5th of the year. Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock made an appearance, I got one photo when he was being escorted to the press box for an interview during the game. It was the first time using a camera I got as a service anniversary gift in February. I have four photos on it. One is action from the game in the first inning. There was the aforementioned one of Brock in the stands, as well as one of Brock I saw on a wall. It was a printed online photo in the exit leading to the concourse. Finally, the pig at the entrance gate said 'Welcome Lou Brock!' When I got an autographed picture at an anniversary event at a hospital, he was there to speak about diabetes. I think this was the case again, as I got a drawstring bag from Novo Nordisk. In it was a pedometer, hackey sack, and sunscreen.
   I arrived in the seating area just before the game began, and saw Brock throw out the first pitch. The visiting Laredo (Texas) Lemurs scored first, with a single run in the first. The Saints tied it with a solo home run in the 3rd. The Saints got 3 more in the 4th, and 2 in the 5th to go ahead 6-1. Laredo got single runs in the 7th and 8th, but the Saints went on to win 6-3. I used a voucher for a free hot dog and small soda, I got a 7-Up. When I was at the concession stand somebody complained about the wait for cheese curds, 30 minutes if I am not mistaken. I would have decided to order something else if it was taking that long. When I got ketchup and mustard nearby, somebody kept offering to buy a shirt off of somebody's back, it said 'Surrender the booty' and had the name of a Florida city that I don't recall. I found the man after it was over, and said it was hard to understand. With most people, hearing 'No' is enough, they don't keep trying. I called my college roommate during the game, waiting for a pitching change to leave my seat and go to the concourse. I wanted an advisor about an upcoming first date this weekend. My last date was over a month ago, and even though I know well enough to 'Be myself' I am still a little nervous about it as I want it to go well.
   At work it was a busy day, but I liked getting caught up on things. I had enough time to perfect and file a pack of contracts that had arrived earlier in the week. I also got my cubicle decorated again, waiting for my lunch break to do so. The walls are full again, and I said it is officially 'Sector 7-G' again since I have the sign up saying so. My college roommate would tell me I don't work in a nuclear power plant, as it is a 'Simpsons' reference. It was written on a printed online photo from a company outing when I was working in suburban Chicago, we were at a Blackhawks hockey game. The collectibles are still in a box, but I am sure I will find time soon to go through the box. Some things decorating the walls before were not displayed this time, nothing wrong with a change of pace.

Changing Cubicles

     It was moving day at work. I changed cubicles around midday. Our I.T. guy found me and asked when I was going to lunch and said I would be moved around then. I spent most of my lunch moving things over after he moved my computer and phone. So I didn't have soup, I went into the skyway and got a sandwich from a convenience store. My collectibles were placed in a copy paper box and I still need the time to get them displayed the way I want, in a covered overhead storage shelf. A few things were thrown out, but not much. I had plenty of empty Fed-Ex packs, and threw them out. I knew the pull-tab bank for Ronald McDonald house was full, so I finally emptied it into a plastic bucket in the main break room.
   I had to call again for service about my laptop anti-virus protection, and it took a while for it to be corrected. I fell asleep before it was completed. I also watched 2 'Big Bang Theory' episodes. The syndicated rerun was when Penny borrowed money from Sheldon. The prime time episode was where Leonard was wearing an uncomfortable red sweater since Sheldon said it was a 'Teachable moment' related to a rental DVD that was found in the same box.
   I have heard about some shows for the upcoming Fringe Festival, my comedian friends are doing some of them. I have been sent Facebook invites for four of them. Now I am trying to figure out how to get to each show that is of interest to me. It may be hard to do when there are 7 on my list! Coupled with the first weekend being the same one as Canadian Days, an annual festival in Little Canada I like to attend, I may have to make some tough choices and not go to all 7 shows. It would be very ambitious of me, since I made it to just one show last year, and one show 2 years ago. I did a
a preliminary study of the schedule, and it looks like I would have to see more than one show on some days.                  

Punchline Movie

     I found the movie 'Punchline' by accident while trying to search for another channel after getting back from the comedy club. There are plenty of 'Companion' channels now, where the first digit is the same but the one after the hyphen is not. I don't think I have seen the entire movie yet, and still haven't. But I saw a decent amount of it. When I saw it before I recalled the part where the characters played by Sally Field and Tom Hanks are on a bus and trying to figure out what is funny about her life. She is married and as 3 kids, and tried to figure out a way to do a make 'Son of Sam', David Berkowitz, joke. I liked what was said near the end to her family as to why she did comedy, as it was relatable. I've made people laugh for a while. There are three things she likes to do, and it is the third- the others were being a wife and mother. I recalled how the Tetris comic spoke of this movie before onstage, saying comics need to see it to understand their craft better. Now I understand better what he meant. After it was 'Moscow on the Hudson', starring Robin Williams. It makes me think of the political science guy I work with.
    At the comedy club tonight, the show closer was the one who likes to say the venue name and the day of the week at the start of his set. He did some familiar jokes, about drinking, as well as one about a body cavity search. The bus fare comic did ones about a state fair horse show and being from an orphanage. The International Falls native did one about the crowd being a '3 birth control pill'. Others were about bathrooms of the world, and a dog rescue poem. Conga Line did ones about performing in Williston, ND, and eagle meat. Laundry comic did one about finding a tooth in the garage. Software Developer did one about his daughter calling a lot. Another was about tequilas and compliments. The Maryland native did ones about O'Doul's, hockey, Urkel, everything is broke, and having a marketing degree. Auto Correct did one about an acting class, babies steal her friends, and trips to the casino. The sub teacher did one about a ghetto wind talker. The Kentucky native did one about having a law degree. Others were about being scratched, and 'we have a cat'. The university accountant did one about fad names. Others were about gymnasts, and fitted sheets. Fantasia did one about Batman.  

Green Line To Fanfest

     I went to the All-Star Game fan-fest today, the last day. Even though I live in the Twin Cities I did like having the green line painted on the pavement leading people between the stadium and the convention center. I took light rail to downtown Minneapolis and then saw it. I arrived just before midday and decided to go to the block party and see some of the parade before going to the fan-fest. I got a drawstring bag at the block party. I didn't like the options given on food and drink, it was on the ticket system. So I found my way to the Walgreen on Nicollet and got a sandwich there. Hard to do when there was a big crowd wanting to see the parade. I got the 'Welcome' greeting and then said I was there to get a quick lunch, and found it in the back of the store right after that. Also got some bottled water and peanut butter crackers. I saw the part where the Chevy trucks were lined up before going over to the hotel where each All-Star player got in. Since it progressed slowly I saw no need to see the entire parade. It left me more time at the fan-fest. I also got pictures of the 10 Charlie Brown and Snoopy statues across the street from the convention center. I walked around for a while wanting to take everything in. I did get my own baseball card, I now have three, one from each fan-fest I have attended. I got annoyed with somebody who was trying to help point out where I needed to go sign a waiver, I even said I didn't like being pushed along. Found out he wasn't even a staff member. I know well enough by now to get over these things fairly quickly. It helped to talk to some young men about our shared interest in baseball who were behind me in line while waiting for our turn for photos. I also got photos from Scotts lawn care, and Budweiser. The latter was a pledge to avoid drunk driving. I saw some of my fellow comics while there, one of them was the airport bartender. I liked all of the free souvenirs available, including a baseball from Chevrolet. And I caught a Softee ball thrown into the crowd before the parade began. Others were inexpensive, like a postcard of the Metrodome that mentions the 1985 All-Star Game, it was a dollar. And a Homer Hanky from the Minneapolis paper was two dollars. Naturally I liked seeing Charlie brown baseball cards available, I got two and will keep one of them at the office.
   After getting home I did the typical going through email, but I wasn't home for long as I wanted to get to the comedy club. Good lineup, I knew many of the performers. The preschool teacher did one about a Huck Finn outfit, the song 'Down by the bay', and a caterpillar book. The Perkins employee (though he recently said he quit the job) did one about an Amelia Earhart haircut. Others were about his mom playing a CD, orphan envy, a family cruise, and a park wedding in South Dakota. The red-faced comic did one about is she working? Others were about 'I'm not dead yet' shirts, and Red Bull vs. cocaine. The software developer did ones about a Yanni concert and being in therapy. The Hillary Clinton look-alike did one about a match on OK Cupid. Others were about meeting with her boss, a Brazilian wax, and a T-Mobile coverage map. The bathtub comic did one about flooding at Valleyfair. Others were about a destroyed bird nest, calling an electrician, and an escaped zoo animal.
The 'Extra murder' comic did one about matching names. Others were about a food truck fair, a donut burger, and a lethal ingestion. A comic that does a joke about 'Exorcising demons' also did one about being in grocery delivery. Another was about shampoo at a dollar store.

Smooth Operator, Sade

      I just listened to 'Smooth Operator' by Sade on Youtube after hearing part of it over the weekend. The memorable lyric to me was the mention of Chicago, followed by Key Largo. And of course I like reminders of the Windy City. Articles I found spoke of the song being about a jet setter, and of course it is also about his dating life when it speaks of 'Love for sale'. I hadn't heard it in a while.
    At the comedy club tonight, I liked seeing a lineup of many familiar comics. The Tetris comic did ones about animated porn, and gloves. The 'Extra murder' comic did ones about matching names, food trucks, and a donut burger at the food truck event. I got a shout out as I laughed at the mention of lethal ingestion (as opposed to injection). The bathtub comic did ones about an escaped zoo animal, a doll factory, and roller skating. The Belarus native did one about his tiger shirt. The 'Happy Meal' comic did ones about wisdom teeth, and Metallica mixed with karaoke. The bus fare comic did ones about sleep yelling, being from an orphanage, and trying to quit smoking. The Maryland native did ones about condos, everything is broke and so is he, a marketing degree, Urkel, and yoga pants. The sub teacher did ones about attending a wedding, ghetto wind talking, and a wolf with the sheep. The Worthington native did ones about a tough dad speech, snake owners, and cyber-bullying his dad. Postage stamp did ones about Jeopardy and bar trivia, along with post offices and trains. The opera singer did one about mosquitoes and drug lords. I did not know the show closer, but he spoke of his wife being from Minnesota. He did jokes about 4-way stops, ashes, and Christian rock. Two other comics that I probably don't have a name for yet also performed. One placed well at a contest, and did ones about dating standards and World Cup announcers. The other did one about exorcizing demons, a pun with physical fitness.  

All-Star Sunday, Joining Twitter

     I went to All-Star Sunday at the Twins stadium this afternoon. I liked seeing the Futures game, though I thought it was odd to have Puerto Rico as part of the World team when it is a U.S. territory. But I have heard the joke before, like on the 'Uncle Buck' TV show. 'You can't make up your mind, what are you, Puerto Rico?' Since it often functions like a separate nation but isn't. As host team, the Twins had 3 players in it. No surprise how all players were used in it. There was 25 to a side, both teams had 10 pitchers. My guess is all 30 major league teams had at least one player in it. The USA team won 3-2. My hometown Iowa Cubs, out of Des Moines, had 2 players- 1 for each team. In last month's game against Albuquerque, I saw both players in their lineup. There was Kris Bryant, at third base, and Javier Baez, at shortstop. The former was just drafted last year. Baez had a home run in today's game, with one on, for the world team in the 6th. The USA team also had a 2-run home run in the bottom of the same inning. The program says the Futures game goes back to 1999. There is an ad for the Arizona Fall League in the program, I did see one game there in 2005. Prince Fielder played in the game I saw. It was part of a visit to the Phoenix area where I saw 2 football games in Tempe, in October.  
    There was a celebrity softball game after it, lasted 6 innings. There were pictures of 17 famous people in the program, along with baseball card photos of 10 retired players. Now I have some celebs to look up on Wikipedia, as I don't know all of their names. I understand they were mostly actors and musicians. Some others were local athletes in other sports, such as Adrian Peterson (Vikings), Maya Moore (Lynx), and Zach Parise (Wild). I understand there were 2 others added, I think they were wounded veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. I knew the names of all of the retired players, many of them were stars from the 1980s like Ozzie Smith, Andre Dawson, and Rickey Henderson. As expected, it wasn't a serious game, proven by the shorter timeframe of 6 innings as well as shorter fences. I did speak of in advance how I had seen celebrity editions of game shows like Jeopardy and Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The celebs often don't take the show seriously as they are guaranteed certain amounts to go to their chosen charity. There was a band that performed 2 songs between games, don't recall their full name- something about 'At the Disco'. There was fireworks after the second game, it lasted just 15 minutes and I had no heartburn about it as I wanted to get home. I left in my car to get to the park and ride for light rail just after 3pm and got back home shortly after 10pm. But it was well worth it to be there. I bought 5 souvenirs besides today's free game program. I got the official All-Star Game program, a Charlie Brown and Snoopy All-Star Game pin, a full size All-Star Game pennant (already had a small version), a button, and an Peppermint Patty figurine. So now I have 2 figurines from this series, as I have the Snoopy that was a giveaway at a Twins game in early June. Of the ten characters, I said I wanted Patty as she is holding a bat. I like Linus the most from the comic strip, but he is holding a blanket and sucking his thumb in this one. In the earlier series he is just holding a blanket, I could accept this much easier.
   When I returned home, I had an invite for joining Twitter from my Ohio friend. So I accepted as I hadn't heard from her in a while, but I did send a message recently on Linked-In so this is possibly what prompted the Twitter invite.  I spoke of being at All-Star Sunday in my first tweet- to her- and said thank you. It didn't take long to get followers, I had 3 before logging off for the first time.  

Ivory Tower Movie

     I went to see a movie, Ivory Tower, at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis. It was about the increasing cost of a college education. Some of it apparently is due to funding cuts by government agencies to state universities. It covered the relevant history well, like the G.I. Bill at the end of World War Two. Then there was the legislation from the 1960s that created Pell Grants, which helped me attend college. It goes back even farther, to the land grant college act during the Civil War known as the Morrill Act. Many colleges were created due to it. I also liked how it covered businessmen who funded schools like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Stanford. The fourth, Cooper, I wasn't familiar with, but Cooper Union in New York City was covered a lot. Same was true with Harvard, America's oldest college. There was coverage of a local school, the U. of Minnesota, and spoke of the cost of their new football stadium. It will likely leave some angry at President Reagan, as it was said many of the funding cuts to education goes back to his time in office, not just as President but also as Governor of California. California's current governor, Jerry Brown, does appear in it. There were no real solutions offered, but it is sad to hear about those who are graduating with a mountain of debt. One of those profiled claims to have a six-figure debt.
    I also went to an event in the evening, after doing errand running like to get a baseball ticket for a game next week. I tried to redeem an award at Super-America, but my card is worn from plenty of use and the card number is hard to read now. The solution offered was a replacement card, this one I am told is laminated so I shouldn't have the same problem. I also got two CD's at Cheapo near the theater. One was Train, as it was cheaper than seeing them at Basilica Block Party. It was 'California 37', which has 'This will be my year'. I like it as it goes through recent history, and I did write about the song before, since the title of the entry was the lyric 'Oldsmobile joins the cassette'. The other was 'Global Warming', by Pitbull. I like having it as it has 'Feel this moment'. I like it as it has the line 'Still undefeated like Shula', in reference to the football coach.
    The event I went to was a fundraiser for an upcoming Fringe show, next month. I was a raffle winner for the final item, Nintendo artwork. I also got a ring of honor photo with the roller grill comic, who is in this play. I understand he rooms with another comic, who works as an airport bartender and moved from Arizona. I liked hearing the Mason City native talk about music while there and I did show a photo from the Ramsey County Fair this weekend, it was about the band Aerosmith. He said he wants to be known as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, I said then do a joke about it. Plenty of food there, I had some of the popcorn and tortilla chips as well as what I call 'Rapper cookies'- M and M cookies, or actually this one was Reese's Pieces. Video games were being played, a tournament. So there had to be a guard to prevent people from walking through while the game was happening.

Clapping And Playing Kazoo

     At the comedy club tonight, one comic started with clapping and playing kazoo, to the tune of what is known as the 'Hey Song' or 'Rock and Roll Part 2'. Found out he is from New York and in town for the All Star Game, a cameraman. Another visitor was from the Raleigh, North Carolina area.
    The Tetris comic did ones about Wisconsin gas station shirts, and how he should sell his own shirts. Also, there was one about being threatened. Postage stamp did ones about his new pants, the pay gap, a homeowners ad, a gay NFL player, and toy trains. Pottery barn did one about being engaged, like being in battle. A cat was adopted, it was puking. He is addicted to TV and takes pot for it. The 'Extra murder' comic did one about Wisconsin being a giant AA meeting. Another was about bar names and strip club names, Dr. Jekyll for one and bean snapper for the other. Others were about huffing exhaust fumes at a food truck fair, a donut burger, a water shortage documentary, and a North Dakota tourism ad. IED/IUD did one about a weird dad, and a Liam Neeson movie. 'Champ' is what she is called. Fantasia did ones about 'Gotta talk to them', and how he sneezed blood. The restaurant host said he no longer has the job. He was called Ragu in school. He did a joke about a missing kid photo, and a leaf blower blaring. The Mason City native did one about 'the city is run by pigs'. Others were about living through the dot-com thing, kicked in the head by a crow, and the death of Whitney Houston. Just hit play, was his advice to her fans. The red-faced comic played guitar, and sang about a DUI. The big dog did one about getting married, didn't want her to leave. Others were about vows, 'Honor', voice impressions for 'Charade', internet dating ads, and those who have their dads working for them. Grizzly Adams did ones about throwing away popcorn, and a hair drug from India. Mr. Pibb did ones about the 55 year old friend, and no bakery walls. The Belarus native did a callback to the guitar bit, his tiger shirt, and the red-faced comic returned to the stage. The poster artist did one about the song 'Monster Mash'. The International Falls native did one about it being a 3-pill night. Others were about dream catchers, and bathrooms of the world. The Maryland native did ones about hockey, Urkel, it's all broke, and having a marketing degree. Happy meal was show closer, and did one about uncrossing arms. Others were about short bald and fat, and needing pain killers due to a tooth problem.
    Earlier in the evening I went to the Ramsey County Fair in Maplewood. I got a tea sample, and liked seeing the art in the 4-H building as well as the main exhibit building. The latter had one of an Aerosmith shirt.

Laundromat Tokens

     This evening I took a walk around the neighborhood, and decided to take a slightly different route this time so I could do a 'Fact-finding mission'. There was a banner about a Laundromat now being open. Plenty of equipment available, but this was the evening and it was deserted. Two TV monitors were on, not sure now what programs. Really odd what the dollar bill changer dispenses. If a dollar, all quarters. If five dollars, then 12 quarters and 2 tokens. I used tokens for laundry in college, but I don't miss them much. I am doing my best to figure out logistics for the weekend, to get to all of the events on my list. Had to ask on Facebook about one of them, confirmed it was at a private home since I couldn't find a venue name on the invite.
    At work we were asked to cover up the company logo on outgoing letters, unsure why. I liked getting to the other pack of contracts, and there weren't many letters to do today. I liked the lady comic I just saw on the Seth Meyers show, she did a joke about the diabetes problem in America. Another was about reminder tattoos, including 'Remember the Alamo' and 'Look up what the Alamo is'. Other guests were two former pro baseball players, Sean Casey and Kevin Millar, who are on MLB Network. I like Millar as I am reminded of how he once played for the St. Paul Saints.

Green Leaves On Chili

     I went to another Vietnam event at a Minneapolis café tonight, but it sounded like there was confusion as to when it would start. I understood 6pm, and very few people were there when I arrived. A server understood 7pm. So I ordered some chili and ice tea, as I needed to eat. There were green leaves on top of the chili, I hadn't seen this before. I took most of them off, but the one leaf I tried did taste fine. I asked for crackers as I am used to having them with soup or chili. I was given oyster crackers. Eventually the event coordinator showed up, and it was fairly informal. It was moved outside. There may be another event later this month, will wait to hear more about it in terms of the when and where.
   Then it was over to the comedy club, and the software developer was MC. He did the one about his daughter calling him at work a lot. When I saw how the big dog arrived, I went out to say hi. I also spoke of a sketch idea I have, will hope for the best. He suggested I read a certain playwright that I hadn't heard of yet. The International Falls native did one about dream catchers. Others were about a police dog poem, and a smart IUD. Mr. Pibb did one about the 55 year old friend. Others were about no walls at the bakery, and rubbing a tag. A comic I think I will call 'Ding Dong Ditch', but didn't do this joke tonight, spoke of being raised Catholic. Others were about a hierarchy at the potluck, and how she once stole communion. Morton Salt did one about what he bought at Walgreen. The Tetris comic did one about being called a local hero, and said he rescued a baby. Others were about the crowd not being in the splash zone, and the Wisconsin story. He saw a 'Born and raised' shirt at a gas station, and was threatened, in the latter.
   The big dog did one about getting married, and how his friends are rude but not about this subject. He didn't want her to leave, and the vows made him think of a Japanese man when they said 'Honor'- and I liked the voice impression. Others were about internet dating commercials, and seeing a dead body. After the show I liked how he was discussing the business of comedy, mainly about online videos for his troupe known as The Turkeys. The godmother did one about a bucket list. Others were about the drunk girl at the salon, saving turtles, being spooned by a dog, and how she's not a fan of camping. She also did ones about being stalked by a classmate, acronyms, and the mailman wearing latex gloves. The Kentucky native did one about 'Being willing to work here', and a Barnes and Noble book signing. Auto-correct started off by saying she has the same therapist as the MC. She had an ultrasound on her leg, and babies have stolen all of her friends. The bartender had been in the hospital, and did the 'Taco-cat' joke as well. The laundry comic was show closer, and did one about movie night with his kids. Another was about his wife giving birth.

Drunk At Salon

     Tonight at the comedy club, the godmother was one of the performers and spoke of being married to a cop. He had to go to a salon to deal with somebody who showed up drunk. Others were about a bucket list, crying too much, saving turtles, being spooned by a dog, acronyms, and yoga at church. The big dog did one about getting married recently. I still like the honesty in saying 'I didn't want her to leave'. Others were about the vows, like the wise words in them, a 'Charade' (he pronounced it 'Shuh-rod') and internet dating ads. The 'extra murder' comic did one about moving into a new apartment. Others were about phone books, a decommissioned U-Haul at a food truck fair, a donut burger, and a documentary about water shortage. The show closer was the university accountant. She did ones about fad names, porn names, that's so raven, and Tootsie Pops. The MC was half of the Valley Meadows act. He did the Twin City comparison joke. A comic that has done a 'Ding dong ditch' joke did one about getting a break from family by being in prison for DWI. And she took a dollar from a college fund to punish one of her kids. Self checkout did one about an 'Irish hug'- 'Pop!' and called Alaska 'God's country',  after a recent visit there on a cruise if I'm not mistaken. The nurse's aide did ones about taking dance lessons, something about her parents were suggesting she be a stripper. she has 2 jobs, and hasn't finished her degree. 
   I liked how I accomplished plenty at work, it helped that there was a lower volume of course for two of the three things I am in charge of- the payoff report and new titles. No new titles, so the ones left over from the previous day were easily done. I did 16 letters, all of them from Thursday and Monday are done, and 11 are left. All of those were from earlier today. I rejected two letters as there was just not enough information. I don't enjoy doing this but I have no choice as I don't want to guess. I will admit this made it easier to get more caught up on letters. One colleague, a large man who likes to talk about foreign leaders as he majored in political science, is ill with a cold again today. I asked- as a joke- when I heard sniffles if he was bummed about the death of a former foreign minister of the USSR. He hadn't heard of this news yet. I saw it on  the front page of one of the Twin City papers, passing by a coin rack on the way into work this morning. This colleague surprises me, I expected him to be a fairly serious guy but he admitted to liking the Marky Mark movie 'Ted', the one with the vulgar teddy bear. I haven't seen it yet. He also said he plays fantasy football.    

Wet Microphone And Dragons

    At the comedy club tonight, the Tetris comic did a joke about how dragons know what they did, and about a wet microphone. There was also two Wisconsin stories, one about a gas station with all Southern accents and the other about being threatened. He followed a comic I hadn't seen before, who did jokes about an MBA, being from Vietnam, and advice from strangers. I liked asking the Vietnam native about her story after the show. I found out she started doing comedy while in New York City, after taking a class about it. Since she was given 5 minutes, I figured she had been doing comedy for a while, was told 2 years. And the stage presence, looking comfortable and being funny, told me this as well. As the saying goes, 'In words and in deeds'. Regarding her native country, she spoke of Hanoi. She is visiting the Twin Cities and is hopeful to make a return visit sometime. The advice I gave is comparable to what I give to others: do comedy because you enjoy it, and keep doing comedy if it makes you happy. I know this is why I continue with it. It is not too often that I am impressed with a comic the first time I see them perform, but it helps that I was given a fresh perspective of course.
   There were plenty of good comics tonight. An employee of another club, probably have written about before, did one about weird books as well as being broke and doesn't eat much. The Belarus native did one about his tiger shirt and feeding a chicken to the Rolling Stones. A comic I will call 'Samurai Sword' did this joke, which is also known as 'If you ask most people', along with one about a crow. The crow joke is a good one as he sells it well. The next comic spoke of living in Hong Kong for a while, and about different kinds of cereal. The 'Extra murder' comic did one that continued a Wisconsin joke that the Tetris comic started. Others were about a strip club name and about a water shortage. A comic I will call 'Postage stamp', though he did not do the joke tonight, did ones about a homeowners commercial, the pay gap, and toy trains. The fever comic did ones about fireworks, airport sandwiches, and suicide deer. The Worthington native did ones about witnessing a 'Tough dad' speech, being a cyber bully to his dad, and Jimmy Buffett parties. The Maryland native did ones about hockey, Urkel, and 'Femi-ninjas'. The Oklahoma native did one about a haircut, balding and this is why we wears a hat, and comparisons to his dad. The Perkins employee did one about having an Amelia Earhart haircut. Others were about serving to the homeless in Eureka, CA, attending a park wedding in South Dakota, and heckling construction workers. The last comic, who has done a joke about his name in reference to a founding father, did one about having a gig in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Prairie Home Companion, 40 Years

    Around midday I made it to Macalester College in St. Paul for the 40th anniversary of the public radio show 'Prairie Home Companion'. I took the bus there and when I got off on Snelling. I asked a cop, who was next to a squad car, if everything was fine. I said what I was interested in doing and he helped me cross the street. Even on the last day there was plenty to do and see there. The main stage outside was deserted, and I got a photo of it. There were tents with various things in them, some had food and drink. Others had displays about the show, like how they achieve certain sound effects. This tent also had two vanity plates in reference to the show- 'Guy Noir' and 'Wobegon'. One display had a poster about the movie of the same name, I did see it at theaters. Another showed host Garrison Keillor in various photos, including when he interviewed former Vice President Walter Mondale. I did get a joke book there, and I got annoyed with who sold it to me. She said I missed a lot by making it on the last day, I said I don't like having to deal with crowds if I can help it. I said I was going President Clinton on her and saying 'Depends on your definition of the word'. I got the last laugh, as a community sing-along was happening in the gym. it was where I got a photo of Keillor. Many of the songs performed sounded familiar from attending church. This started with 'Do Lord'. Another was 'Rock of Ages', played at my grandma's funeral. Later on it was 'Home on the Range' and 'Working on the Railroad'. One display was about the upcoming play about the show at the History Theater.
I even was spotted by somebody who recognized me from somewhere, but had to figure out where. It was when I went to a play in May about a photographer at Park Square Theater.
    I got home and I was unsure at first about how to stay occupied before needing to leave again. Well this was no problem at all. One of the souvenirs I got at the event was a postcard, and I wanted to get it into a photo album. I did, but in the process I had to take it off the shelf in my closet. This led to another album falling off and collapsing on the floor. The glass inside shattered as well. This was an album I got at a secondhand store, and judging by the art on it this may have been somebody's wedding photo album. I cleaned it up and then had to move the photos. I did have another album ready that I had bought at a secondhand store, and now it is full.
    The other event I went to today was a movie, 'Violette', at the Edina theater. It was a French subtitled movie about a writer. So there was two reasons why I wanted to see it. The movie was sharing a screen with another movie, so it was down to two showings a day. I knew this meant it wouldn't be around much longer. The movie was more than two hours but it flowed well. I agreed with many of the things said in it, like how the main character saying her life had always been difficult compared to others. And her mentor said she could work through it with her writing. The storyline did get emotional at times, like when she told her mom to shut up. I heard somebody say it was a sad story, well I commented how the bios of writers usually are. I said my story is, and I am a writer. Before the show I went to a nearby Walgreen and got an ice cream sandwich. Two other items I bought were a Minnesota Monthly magazine- from May when they compared Minneapolis against St. Paul-and another pack of 100 baseball cards. I chose the one with a President Kennedy card on the front. There weren't many duplicates, just five, and I destroyed them.
   The movie did touch on many of my emotions, I realized this while still watching it. I thought of some of my writings, like ones I even sent to a physician. Or visual art that was just words, a simple creation from colored pencils. And my college roommate, who now lives in Farmington. He once said to me how surprisingly well-adjusted I am, since he had met my family. Finally there was poetry, like one titled 'Go be a writer!' Can't forget Emerson Hough of course, a big inspiration for me. I know it has helped me with my writing, as expected. One must not turn down the most likely opportunities to be inspired. This continued into the drive home, where I heard two songs in particular I liked. One was 'Peace' by OAR, the other was 'Just give me a reason' by Pink. So it was a good 2-movie weekend, one about comedy and the other about writing.  
    When I got home again I watched two episodes of the Simpsons. Not sure if I had seen those before. One of them seemed familiar, where Bart was adrift in a hot air balloon. And it led to the news anchor finding faith in legitimate news gathering again. When I turned my phone on again I saw a text message waiting for me, it came in on Saturday. It was from an ex-colleague in suburban Chicago, judging by the 847 area code and asking me if I still work for the same company. I responded to it and asked who it was, said I am still with the same company, and visited the area in March. It was sent late in the day so I don't expect a response right away.

Obvious Child Movie

   This afternoon I went to a movie, 'Obvious Child', at the Lagoon in Minneapolis. I had seen it being promoted at the comedy club, which is what they normally do with comedian movies, as one must think of their target audience. I saw it as being a realistic portrayal of stand-up comedy, including and especially the graffiti in the bathroom. I was familiar with how the movie deals with the subjects of an unplanned pregnancy and abortion in it before attending. As a member of Planned Parenthood I no doubt support having their services being made available. I liked seeing Richard Kind in it as the dad to the main character, Donna. I recalled how he was on the TV show 'Spin City'. It takes place in New York City, like many other movies do. I liked seeing a book shop as part of the storyline. At first I didn't understand the title of the movie, but this was answered while watching the closing credits. I said I thought one song sounded like it was performed by Paul Simon, and it was. He has a song called 'Obvious Child' listed in the credits. No real surprise how I enjoyed the previews as well, three in particular. One was about Yves St. Laurent, another was called 'Boyhood' and Ethan Hawke is in it. A third has Jim Parsons in it, Sheldon from 'Big Bang Theory'. It is called 'Wish I was there' or something close to this. And I saw plenty of advertising cards in the lobby, including for 'Venus in Fur', directed by Roman Polanski. I had seen the play version, nearby at Jungle Theater.
   I went to the movie after checking email and printing a few things at the library. After the movie I noticed the Rainbow Foods in Uptown, near the theater, had signs up about half-off on some items. And another posting said they would be closing Sunday and then re-opening a few days later. So I got two items, a mixed fruit cup and a block of Monterey Jack cheese. I expected both to be half-off, but just the fruit was. I ate the fruit right away, just outside the store, without a spoon and not using my fingers, almost drank them. I saw two markers or plates on the wall there, about how there was a hockey venue on that site. One did mention the Minneapolis Millers, this was not just the name of a minor league baseball team but also a minor league hockey team. Since I had the cheese with me I decided I needed to go home and unload, the rest of my errand running could wait. When I went out again it was to get a new shower curtain at Target, since mine was starting to tear. Also got a pack of 100 assorted baseball cards there. A notable card in this pack was a Cap'n Crunch card, Cal Ripken was on it. I know sometimes baseball cards are inside cereal boxes, sometimes I bought the cereal because of the cards. Another notable card was about the movie '8 Men Out', about the Black Sox scandal. Charlie Sheen was on the card as he plays one of the White Sox players.
    My other two stops were in Roseville. One was at Little Caesar's to get a pizza and this visit will get me more airline miles since I am now a member of the Delta Airlines dining program. In the same plaza I saw a Family Dollar store, a big sign said a liquidation sale was in progress. I got a 4-pack of toilet paper, not on sale but still cheaper than getting one roll a time at Walgreen. When I got home I turned on the TV and tried to watch the baseball game on Fox, Orioles vs. Red Sox. But at first I spent some time hanging the shower curtain and then getting the cards into binders, so I didn't pay much attention right away. I know the Orioles were trailing until they had a 4-run inning, aided by some Red Sox errors. The announcers did say it was the second game of a day-night doubleheader, since a game was rained out the previous day. Then I did the dishes, watched the news, and got groceries.     

Stars And Stripes Forever

    I accepted a Facebook event invite from a comedian friend, as Grizzly Adams said he would be at a 4th of July parade. I tried to make it in time for the parade, but I didn't. One thing that factored into it was waking up later this morning than expected. Another was not knowing this particular St. Paul neighborhood well. I did like making it to the park where the festivities were held after the parade had finished. I liked hearing a band playing 'Stars and stripes forever' by John Philip Sousa. My dad liked to say 'For-never' since he is eccentric. When the band had finished I decided to sit in one of the seats they had left behind, as they were in folding chairs near the stage. I had a crunch ice cream bar on a stick there, as some ice cream trucks were near the park. When I was leaving I said 'What is this?' and noticed it was a Charlie Brown statue next to a school. I hadn't found one of those in more than six months. I got two photos of it, front and back, as well as one of the school welcome sign. When I got gas at a Super-America after this event, I liked hearing 'These are days' by 10,000 Maniacs there. It was partially interrupted by a commercial announcement, but I heard most of it and stayed so I could hear all of this good song. Then I went home and watched Jeopardy and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.
     There was no comedy show tonight as the club was closed for the holiday. I watched some 'Monk' reruns in the evening and then ventured out again to see fireworks in Roseville. I knew there would be some at the Capitol in St. Paul, but not sure when. The paper had the one in Roseville listed, but not the one at the Capitol. It was helpful to go there, as I became familiar with Central Park, where the fireworks were held. It is on a different street, Lexington, than the library, which is on Hamline. I also saw the town hall and fire station. I got one photo there, it was of a park sign with the fireworks in the background as they had just begun. I brought a blanket to sit on but I wasn't comfortable since I was sitting uphill. Some other fireworks were seen off in the distance, but often blocked by trees. I heard some music in the background, from an ice cream truck across the road. It was odd to hear the truck playing Christmas music this time of year. The driver license station was also in this area, but I hadn't been there in a while. The show lasted 20 minutes, and there were delays getting home due to construction and a traffic jam after the fireworks show at the Capitol ended.

Into Your Arms, Lemonheads

    Tonight I went to the St. Paul Saints game. Plenty of music was played, I recognized 'Into your arms' by the Lemonheads though not all of the song was played. I also recognized samplings of Led Zeppelin songs, 'When the levee breaks' and 'Dyer maker'- probably my two favorites of theirs. Big crowd at the baseball game, the video board said it was over 9,000 and said it was an attendance record. The 4th of July fireworks show usually is a big crowd. There were lines for all of the food stands. I got bratwurst and some bottled water. I finally got to my seat near the end of the 1st inning. Later on I did get a bag of peanuts and ate half of them at the game. The Saints were playing the
Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks, and lost 5-4. The Red Hawks got single runs in the 1st, 4th and 6th to go ahead 3-0. The Saints finally got on the board in the 7th, narrowing it to 3-2. Both teams scored 2 in the 8th, for the final score. I was the last one on the little bus taking us back to Gabe's bar after the game. I noticed the check engine light was on and the odometer had over 300,000 miles on it. When I got home the first thing I did was go to my neighborhood grocery store to get a frozen dinner, and I made it there just minutes before closing time. I did see a Facebook invite about a 4th of July parade just before midday from a comedian friend, Grizzly Adams. Aside from the Saints game I hadn't finalized any plans yet for the holiday weekend. I plan on checking the paper to get some ideas. It was a catch-up day at work and I liked how I was able to get plenty done, including the second pack of contracts.

Animal Crackers And The Zoo

    At the office today in the afternoon we had people giving us a little bag of animal crackers to promote attending the company outing at Como Zoo in August. I should be able to make it this time since there is no wedding (2 years ago) or writers convention (last year) to attend this time. I was on the phone with the help desk (or not-much help desk) about issues logging into and out of Kronos, the time card system. It is taking too long, and it got annoying when it took 5 minutes to stamp in from lunch. A ticket was opened and apparently somebody onsite will be looking at it, don't know when. I also got something about creating an online profile at my employer, about being entered into a drawing for $500. I saw a stickie from an AA asking if I needed help creating one. I said it just hasn't made the top of my priority list yet when I am usually occupied for the entire day with more duties now, most every day.
   At the comedy club tonight, I spoke more with the preschool teacher about the blog. I do like to
discuss my writings as I enjoy writing. It is helpful to get another perspective, she said these people are like characters since I gave them names. In many ways this is true, as some appear more than others do. She was the first comic after the MC, and did a joke about wearing an outfit at the office that made her look like Huck Finn. Others were about the caterpillar book, and singing the song 'Down by the bay' in her preschool class.
     The laundry comic did the bakery, prison, and prostitute joke. He also did the movie night with his kids joke. Happy meal did ones about karaoke, heavy metal music played by his neighbors, and a clumsy girl on a date. The software developer did one about teddy bears for his daughter. The 'Extra murder' comic did ones about a new apartment, phone books, a donut burger at food truck day, and a friend's man cave. The sub teacher did the history tattoo joke, and I like history jokes. The godmother was show closer, and led with the bucket list joke. Others were about an inquisitive cashier, Edina tennis, and the mailman wearing latex gloves. The Texas native and barber did one about oxymorons. Rut-Roh did ones about 'An arm and a leg', and Smash Mouth. Capital city did one about a 'Jannie'. The Kentucky native did one about discovering music, since he grew up in a strict religious family.
  After the show ended, I drove home and liked hearing 'Closer to free' by the Bodeans on my car radio. It was the theme song to the TV show 'Party of Five' on Fox, Neve Campbell was on it. I liked screaming during the part where you hear a scream early in the song. Also notable today was the International Falls native asking me on Facebook if I had called Minnesota Public Radio. I said no, but I like many of their shows. Apparently he liked buying books real cheap and likes to read biographies. We have some things in common.

Lewis Black, ACLU Ambassador

     Earlier today I read 'Stand', the magazine published by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In the back I saw an article written by Lewis Black, the comedian. I have seen him perform before. The article is called 'Our democratic recess' and he talks voting rights. They're the foundation of our freedom, so let's use them, not suppress them. He states that less than 60 percent voted in the 2012 election, calling it 'Pathetic'. I agree. The quick bio at the end describes Lewis Black as a Grammy award-winning comedian, actor and author. In 2013 he partnered with the ACLU in the fight for voting rights.
     Tonight at the comedy club, I said the MC looked familiar, it was the one from the contest. He talks about being from Denver, 80's music, is high energy and tonight one bit was about dog food. When the big dog showed up I asked if he was on tonight and he said it was up to the Mason City native. I said 'Find a way to make it happen if you can'. The big dog did perform, and may have even if there wasn't an early no-show. He spoke of physical judgment and called himself a 'Handsome bastard'. Another was about Christian mingle ads. Many jokes were about getting married recently. He didn't want her to leave, spoke of the vows, and something about Pam Anderson and Baywatch.
The Texas native and barber did ones about oxymorons, grilling, Michele Bachmann, and Candy Crush. Fantasia did ones about role playing, standing ovations, and masturbating bus guy. Bus fare did ones about being from an orphanage, a town meeting, I'm no ghost, State Fair horse show, and 2 for Robocop. The Maryland native spoke of dating as a non-profit, hockey, Urkel, his condo, everything is broke, and having a marketing degree. Mr. Pibb did ones about a 55-year-old friend and fidgeting. The former restaurant host did one about Comcast customer service. The show closer was the Yemen native. 'Which car is yours?' was an early bit in his set. Others were about learning English, teaching Arabic, 'Good Will Hunting' in an acting class, and working at a gas station.