tighten up, black keys

recently, I heard a song twice at sandwich and coffee shops that was catchy. but I had a hard time hearing all of the key lyrics correctly, so it was hard to find online. I went to facebook for help and somebody I didn't know had the answer. it was 'tighten up' by the black keys. I heard 'silly' after a guitar solo, but it was 'steady'. made it much harder to find. I did also hear 'I just know how I feel' but that was also not enough. not sure if I had heard the entire song either time. the video was found on youtube, it takes place at a playground. I had to listen to it more closely, and I understand it is about love and relationships. I was correct that it was from the alternative genre, as the Wikipedia article said it was number one on alternative charts in 2010. I may have heard of some of their other songs.
   this afternoon I went to a play about internet dating, at the illusion theater in Minneapolis. I laughed often, except when bad puns were used, and there were three. it was a farce at times, but also realistic about many of the issues faced when internet dating. I hadn't been to this venue much before, probably just once. that was for 'my antonia', based on the willa cather novel of the same name. it had a limited run, less than a week. this performance had tickets, the final one of this world premiere. it was sold out on Friday and Saturday.
   I would have preferred seeing events at the winter carnival, but it was not to be. aside from the play, I also needed to get laundry done. so that means next weekend for the winter carnival. then in the evening I went to the comedy club. I did do a joke inspired by attending the play. most of them were about things I had experienced this weekend.

elastic heart, sia

when I was driving back from the post office this morning I liked hearing a song on my car radio. I found out it was 'elastic heart' by sia. the Wikipedia article said her full name is sia furler, and she is Australian. there were many lyrics that caught my attention. this included 'wanted to fight this war without weapons', 'I trust no one', 'you did not break me', 'walked through fire to save my life', and 'it's hard to lose a chosen one'. 'walking through fire' I think I liked the most. the video I found on youtube depicted a 'cage match', wrestling. though of course the theme of the song is love, as the title suggests by mention of heart.
   I also watched my 'Fahrenheit 9/11' DVD this morning, I think due to checking my CDs and seeing one that had music inspired by the movie when trying to find what everclear CDs I had. this is another movie where it is a good idea that I don't watch it too often. it makes me sad and angry at the same time, and some movies trigger these emotions more than others do.
   around midday I headed off to the park and ride to take the light rail to the Twins fan-fest. I enjoyed this event as usual, plenty of small souvenirs available like postcards and trading cards. I got three psotcards of twins players in the hall of fame. these were Kirby puckett, harmon killebrew, and rod carew. I also liked getting an eddie murray magnet from their triple-a affiliate, the Rochester red wings. at one point it was an orioles team. in a previous year I liked getting a stan musial magnet from the same team, as it was a cardinals team before the orioles. it was great getting a picture with TC bear, the mascot. later on I found two of the racing mascots, also a good photo op where I spoke of Vivian maier. there was also souvenirs from Kirby puckett weekend in 1997, and opening day at the current stadium in 2010. in the evening , after getting back, I didn't do much aside from go to have a sandwich at subway.     

party in the USA, miley cyrus

I watched  a documentary about the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team and it had a Neil Young song in the closing credits, 'long may you run'. this led to me finding 'rocking in the free world', by the same artist. and for some reason I eventually thought of 'party in the USA', by miley cyrus. at first I think I found Miley to be annoying. sound familiar? it is what I said about other artists, but I just needed to get used to them. I like 'party' as it is a familiar story, about moving to a new city and trying to find your way. I do like the hook in it, 'butterflies fly away' and 'be ok'. also the mention of songs by jay-z, and then Britney, reminding me of how a certain song can put me at ease as well. though my favorite line has to be 'definitely not a Nashville party'. I do like some of miley's other songs, especially 'we can't stop'. I have also found some covers she has done, on youtube. this included 'crimson and clover' as well as 'don't dream it's over'. with 'crimson' she is wearing a revealing outfit, with black tape on her nipples.
   I was fine with staying in tonight, as I was tired. I nearly fell asleep while watching the video, and I didn't even have a blanket on me. it of course was after I went to eat at taco bell, and found a snack at a nearby gas station that I wanted on the third try. I had just $1.75 in cash on me, not enough for the ice cream sandwich, or the nutter butter. so I got the peanut butter crackers instead, even though the clerk said I could still have the ice cream sandwich. he said it was close enough. it just felt better paying in full, I can have ice cream some other time this weekend.
   at the office, it was tough at first to handle a simple flex time request for next week. on the third try I got it right, after finding out how the rules had changed and asking my 'work spouse' how it needs to be completed now. still waiting to hear about getting the password on the voicemail for my office phone reset. I have a red light showing and don't recall my password, people hardly ever call it. I give the number to the mechanic for my car, as I did run it in last night just before closing time. I had 2 tires replaced and a coolant sensor. when riding home to get to the shop a bus friend, the attorney, spoke of having her husband pick up the kids from day-care to avoid being fined. first time we had spoken in a while. I thought about my 'bus friends' after the Hillary Clinton look-alike shared a story on facebook about one of her bus friends. it was due to moving, and no longer riding that bus.
   I liked getting some pictures of the ice sculptures at the winter carnival in downtown st. paul before getting to work in the morning. I got some more at midday after I had a sandwich at erbert gerbert. I still need to figure out when I will go to this event in earnest, where I will have some of the food there as well as attend an event inside landmark center. this of course is across the street from the ice sculptures which are in rice park.  

poetry writing

in the middle of my workday I got inspired to write poetry. I knew full well I had to act upon it in order to get on with my day. this is why I like the anna nalick song 'breathe' as it refers to writing. 'if I get it all down on paper it is no longer inside of me, threatening the life it belongs to'. I was over-stimulated, thinking about various topics. like the music I listen to, as I can relate to it well, the struggles in life. or thinking about how sad it was to hear about some famous people who had attempted suicide, or those who were related to famous people. I try not to forget about how important writing is to me, just as much as telling jokes is. I know I once did way more poetry writing, albeit free verse. and I got used to how sometimes I could say things better in the written word than the spoken. it led to nearly every time I saw my 'ohio friend' that I had a writing ready for her. something that was appropriate for the situation, like when I was visiting Chicago-land. I know I also said this to my former boss and mentor, how I was better with the written word than spoken. she may be the most surprised about me now performing! but then again, how often is this recommended as a solution? some are scared half to death of public speaking.
   on facebook, there was some sharing of the article about trailer park girl's decision to quit a comedy festival in san luis Obispo, CA. something about not wanting to deal with a male comic that was known for sexual harassment. I said I am with her, as I know most people don't quit over something petty. it happens when something is really wrong. I speak from experience on this one, when I decided not to go on a church work camp as I was being bullied. I was used to being the brave one, and speaking up, as I had no choice.
   I watched multiple episodes of 'big bang theory' tonight. syndicated rerun was when leonard made it back early from his north sea trip, while howard and raj felt each other up. first prime time episode was about leonard moving out as he had married penny. second prime time episode was about barry offering a fencing class.
  I did get caught up on some paperwork, including getting checks written for some of my memberships. I like how I don't write many checks now. so it means dropping them in the mail at midday. but I still need some sheet protectors for more of my comedy souvenirs.

crimson and clover

I was headed to the comedy club tonight and heard on my card radio the song 'crimson and clover'. not sure which version, but it wasn't the one by tommy james. I know my dad would play tommy james music to wake me up sunday morning before we would go to church.
    it went well on performing. I did mention how being timid has cost me sometimes in internet dating. at some point one long-buried memory was of my first match I met from e-harmony, who dumped me after 3 dates. thanks to linked-in, I find out this match is married now so it hurt even more to be dumped. so I know full well I can't afford to be shy anymore. another long-buried memory that surfaced today was after I got out of a meeting with my boss about my performance evaluation. I spoke with a colleague who has a cube near the conference room. eventually I spoke of the HR rep that had hired me in suburban Chicago. the same rep also refused to give me my walking papers when I was laid off 12 years ago. whenever I would see her I would say 'thank you for hiring me' and because I was so thankful she said somebody else had to do it. when I think of the name mirva diaz, this is what I think of. I didn't think it was possible that I could have touched somebody so much!

chatterbox pub, st. paul

this week it was announced that chatterbox pub in st. paul had closed. it was tough to hear as this was a place where I liked performing. but it is not even close to the first where I have performed and is no longer with us. the others I recall are 400 bar, artists quarter, and campus pizza. I am hopeful this is replaced by another show somewhere, as there are two other locations, both in Minneapolis. or at some other establishment entirely. on the video board outside the xcel energy center one could see this as news being reported by the st. paul paper.
   I made it to the comedy club tonight, and some of us were discussing the posting from fantasia's blog about the twin city comedy scene. I said I could relate to some of the things being discussed in it, like some comics wanting to cut down the new ones. I said it explains why I don't go to the clubs every night of the week as it is insanely competitive. I have met some good friends from doing stand-up, but there are some people in the scene that I find to be annoying. I guess it is all about being careful and putting myself first. no surprise how at least one comic said it was 'sour grapes' as the entry writer has essentially quit doing comedy. mason city did say we should focus our energy on the good people in the scene, and he is correct.
   at the office an a.a. in the afternoon came around and asked us if we wanted to hold up a small sign for pictures, in reference to our employer becoming a separate company. I gladly did so, as it would be nice to make the company publications again like I did with last year's calendar.
   I am still thinking about school bouncer's recent post about being in Chicago, albeit just at O'Hare airport. it means I probably should get more of my plans finalized for my annual visit, as I do like making it there during hockey season so I can see a minor-league wolves hockey game. it did lead to me finding 'tonight, tonight' on youtube as I knew one line in it is 'the city by the lake', referring to Chicago. another notable thing on facebook was a thread from 2011 where I was tagged by the photographer, it was about internet dating.

transfer to car

tonight I liked getting a poster from a show I performed in this month. there was talk with woody about the logistics of getting it done, and one of the things suggested was to bring it inside the comedy club for me. but I said I was fine with going outside so I wouldn't have to carry it around. and the term I used was 'transfer to car'. more seamless this way. wasn't picked there so I went to another club, where I got stage time. sadly I had to contend with two annoying people at the bar area while waiting to get signed up for stage time. but the set went well. Many of the same jokes from the previous day were done. others were about seeing a little kid at dairy queen, and about a roundtable discussion with a senior leader who was visiting the office.
   a few people at the office asked 'how did it go?', in reference to my date over the weekend. I said it went well. one colleague asked to see a picture of my date, I didn't have one to share just yet. I did suggest a meal and movie for date 2. now we are trying to figure out when our schedules will match up.

napkin and crayon

I went to the comedy club tonight and had switched coats, this one didn't have deep pockets like another one does. it meant I didn't have pen and paper with me like I normally do. so I decided to write my set list on a napkin with a crayon. it worked fine, and this led to another joke to do. there were others that were 'answer jokes', like about the balcony critics on the muppets. also one about m and m candies.
  I liked staying in today. I woke up this morning earlier than expected, and eventually I did fall asleep and felt better than I did. I watched the movie 'only the lonely' on DVD as I said to my date how this movie helps to understand me. memorable is when the ally sheedy character said to the john candy character, 'fight for me!' I also liked the one where john's character punches his brother after he swore at him, in reference to saying his bride was 'plain'. my date said this movie is not on Netflix though. I did say via text message how I should try to see some of my date's favorite movies. this includes 'lord of the rings'. I have seen some in that series, but not all. I am still going through ideas on what we can do next. we both like godfather's pizza, but it is hard to find in the twin cities metro area. not many full service locations. some are gas-station locations, limited menu. but a date at a gas station doesn't sound too appealing.
  I did watch some of the two pro football playoff games, the broncos and panthers advanced to the super bowl. but I still needed to do things like take care of the dishes and recycling. I saw more of the first game, where the broncos edged the patriots 20-18. the panthers-cardinals game was on where I was performing comedy. panthers were way ahead at the end of the 3rd quarter. I also took back some grocery store carts, 8 in all. one of them had one of those barrel-shaped water containers, like for the office. I got a picture of it in the cart, yes still doing the Vivian maier thing. I later noticed this container was cracked. I did put it into a trash barrel.

minions movie

this evening after going to the grocery store I went to mcdonald's and got a redbox rental. the movie was 'minions'. I had heard plenty about it when it was at theaters and was willing to try it as a rental. of the three most prominent minions, I think I liked kevin, the tallest one. hard to say why. as a history major I liked seeing them go through world history. but eventually most of the story appeared to take place in the 1960s, in America and England. the gibberish from the characters wasn't annoying to me, as it was in a happy voice tone. the villains were good in it as well, and so was the music. since I had visited great Britain in 2012 the scenes from there made more sense to me like when they were in the 'underground' transport system, hearing 'mind the gap'. I used a code to get a discount on the first night of rental, and I liked getting to the mcdonald's likely just before closing. I thought about getting a sandwich there but I was already there for an egg mcmuffin for breakfast. in addition, I had a can of dented Hormel chili from the grocery store. I heated up the chili when I got back and put some string cheese in it.
   this day will likely be best remembered for the first date that I had at midday. we had a meal at a restaurant in the west metro at a mall. then we walked around for a little while after that. I showed my postcards that were ordered online and just picked up at the post office earlier today. one of them was of a parade in Italy with Charlie brown characters in it, so I had to have it. when I know my date has already found some of my comedy sets on youtube, after my name was googled, I know to be careful what I say in this forum. most of what we talked about on the date should stay between us. I may have talked a lot, but I listened a lot as well. and I spoke of my favorite movie, 'good will hunting'. because of this, when I got home I did watch my DVD copy. I hadn't seen it in a little while, and it may be just as well as I like the passion in it but I can only take so much passion at a time. sound familiar? I know full well I have spoken about passion before. there is plenty of swearing in it, but this doesn't bother me any. I try to avoid swearing but sometimes it is helpful as it can be appropriate at times. some scenes are tough to watch, that I will admit. first would be when will comes unhinged with skylar and says he doesn't love her and then leaves. this is followed by will at the construction site, when chuckie tells him he is sitting on a winning lottery ticket. then there is when his therapist and professor are arguing and the professor calls his friends 'retarded gorillas'. finally it is when his therapist says 'it is not your fault'. I thought the toughest for me was the construction site, but it was the one with his lady. I did say to my date that it is definitely one movie that helps understand me.
   I know I approached this date differently than others, knowing how important it is to put my best foot forward. and I feel I hit the right chords, but I did my best to learn from previous mistakes I had made. I told myself to approach it like when I am performing, as performing doesn't make me nervous anymore. I listened to some music before departing for the mall, 'i'm just me' by charley pride, and 'heartbeat song' by Kelly Clarkson. on the way there, on my car radio I heard 'same old love' by selena Gomez. after the date, I heard 'confident' by demi Lovato and 'exes and ohs' by elle king. some of these from the car radio probably were appropriate, especially demi's, as it asks 'what's wrong with being confident?' what else was different? when I saw my date off, I went home too. I didn't stay at the mall, just walking around. sometimes I do this, replaying the date in my mind. but this time I didn't have to. and I knew I had some things to do at home. in addition, it was emotionally draining this week, the anticipation of it. my 'work spouse' said 'be myself', though this hadn't worked too often before. I had a text message from my date saying 'I made it home', and I said 'so did I'.  

corduroy pants, corduroy song

I picked up some corduroy pants tonight at jc penney. pleased that I made it there before closing, just barely, which was 9pm. then after I was done I turn on my car radio and I hear the song 'corduroy' by pearl jam. 'I would rather starve than eat your bread, I am already cut up and half dead'. weird. but I like the song, so it works for me. a reminder of attending pearl jam concerts, twice. it was the opener at one of them.

same old love, selena gomez

recently I heard a catchy song on the radio and was pleased to find it on youtube as well, after looking it up as I had some lyrics. it was 'same old love' by selena Gomez. what made me take notice was the line 'my body has had enough' as 'I have had enough' became one of my favorite sayings in the past year. because I became more assertive. the video shows her surroundings well, some people in cars and others on the sidewalk. then I like how it does seem to be a reference to her fame, as she gets out of a car to stymie fans that were going to mob her. then it ends with her going onstage to perform the song. I did like another song of hers, 'come and get it'. it helps that she is attractive, but of course I still need a good singing voice in addition to the looks to impress me.
   I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when raj found Lucy's blog and decided to get more manly for lucy. and Sheldon didn't like a show being canceled since there was a cliffhanger ending. prime time episode may have also been a rerun. it was about Sheldon and the boys going to mexico. and the ladies were prompted to tell their families things they really didn't want to. after this I took a long walk around the neighborhood. as usual, it helped me clear my mind and think about any more preparations that are needed for the date this weekend. this is a different match than last weekend, I have no interest in pursuing the one from last weekend any further. too many mistakes made, like (twice) waiting 2 days to respond to text messages. then on the date I had to re-answer questions like if I drink beer (I do but not at midday) and what gopher event I was at on the day before (hockey).
   this morning my match did speak of finding me in a google search. I said I am hopeful that means my match isn't scared off at all. when I did the same kind of search I found my twitter account. but I knew full well there is nothing controversial in my postings there. it is mostly 'hey! I went somewhere!' and 'I like this food'. I did say some of my comedy sets are online. when comedy is my craft, it is one thing I am careful about when I date. the anna nalick song 'breathe' sums it up well about how I feel as a performer: 'I feel like I am naked in front of the crowd, cuz these words are my diary screaming out loud'. I like performing, but it is also when I am most vulnerable. but I am confident that it won't be too big of a deal to my match. as a comic, I really hardly ever get offensive in my joke-telling. but it is still a window into my life. I mainly do jokes about my office job, family, and internet dating, followed by traveling.
  I sent a list of Eminem songs that are my favorites to Maryland, after we spoke of it last night before performing. in terms of what songs help us get ready for performing. I listed 13, and then he spoke of 8 more, mostly ones I hadn't heard of.  

let's go to the mall

for wii dancing at work one of the songs was Canadian, 'let's go to the mall' if I am not mistaken. a newer one to me. also great to open for Worthington at the comedy club tonight. also shared the stage with Maryland and three by three.

http404 error

I was trying to go through my messages on e-harmony tonight and was stymied. I was getting an error message that said 'http404'. it looked like it may have went away by the time I had returned from the comedy club. I looked it up online and it said it was a common computer error, a link being broken or missing. or put another way, a 'not found' message. I did let my 'work spouse' know about a date being scheduled for the weekend and was told to be myself. I was also told that nobody is good at dating. I feel like I am trying harder with this one compared to most others, I even said so. it is because I don't want to keep messing up really good opportunities, can't afford to. I said to my match tonight how performing has changed me, mostly for the better. I still recall how I hated being shy. And I know the call-center job in suburban Chicago changed me as well.
   it went fine on performing at the comedy club tonight. I did ones about the upcoming date, the one from over the weekend, and being at the figure skating championships. I liked hearing music there in another room. I found out it was another death cab for cutie song, I think 'follow you into the dark'. the memorable line was 'illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs'. I heard 'soul meets body' as well, and there was a previous entry about that song. I still waited until I heard that line to confirm it was 'soul' before returning to paying full attention to the show.
   at work I helped the poli sci guy with stuffing envelopes so he could make the mail run. I had my own letters to get out, so I couldn't do that many of his. as expected, it was a high volume of work as it was the day after a holiday. you do what you can.  

star wars cereal

I had the day off from work due to the holiday. one of the things I did when I ventured out was to go to the family dollar. I got some Hormel chili to be microwaved for a late lunch. I also noticed there were boxes of star wars cereal, so I got one, my second. I had just finished the first one earlier today. this store had two kinds available, one had yoda on it, the one I bought. the other had darth vader. when I got a box at Walgreen last week there were two other kinds. One was a droid but not r2-d2, and the other (the one I bought) was somebody in a black cloak holding a light saber. there were some Christmas items still available, I got them for 90 percent off. this included a magnet, and some Russell stover candies. it was a small box, a caramel and a truffle. the other two items purchased were microwave popcorn, and lance nekot cookies. I liked having the popcorn, first time in this microwave oven. no surprise on how the box of cereal didn't last long. I thought it tasted like lucky charms, which is also made by general mills.
   it is still cold out there, so I waited a while to go anywhere. I did well on using the time available, such as getting the dishes done. I went out in the evening at the comedy club and performed, there weren't many who showed up due to the weather. but as usual, I liked having the stage time.

figure skating championships

this morning I went to the xcel center in st. paul and watched 2 sessions of the figure skating championships. It was the novice ladies and novice men's short program. I had seen this event the last time it was at this venue, in 2008. I lucked out when I decided to take the bus there since it was subzero weather, didn't feel like running my car. I rode with somebody who had a free ticket available. I had to ask why fake flowers were being sold, and I was told they don't leave debris like real flowers do. if people like what they see, they will throw something on the ice. the first item was a plush polar bear. there were some young ladies in charge of going to get these items. it caught my eye when I noticed they were wrapped up in fleece blankets, as they were sitting at ice level. after a while, even I decided to put my coat back on as I was near the ice, like two rows back. when I was leaving I saw these ladies posing for a group picture. I said 'hopefully you're being paid to be out on the ice'. and it sounded like one of the adults said 'of course'. I liked how I could pick my seat there, not a big crowd at all for this session. I did say when I saw a skater fall that 'you just keep going'. I've learned this is true also for public speaking. if you trip over a word, just keep going, work through it. I did get plenty of photos, and I still need to go through them to decide which ones to keep.
   I made it back from the event just after 1pm, and after a short time at home to eat lunch I was on my way into another event. this one was performing, and I used public transport again. it went fine on doing the 'answer joke' about people named 'junior' in front of who I was answering. I liked getting a card advertising the show as well, for my comedy souvenir binder.
  in the evening I ventured out to eat at taco bell.it was after watching 'the simpsons' and then part of 60 minutes where sean penn was interviewed about his rolling stone article about a drug lord. then I called Dad before the news started as I saw a Schmidt beer ad at the comedy venue that said 'same great beer every time'. he spoke of this slogan when he was in town before.  

great expectations play

tonight I went to see the play 'great expectations' at park square theater in downtown st. paul. this is a venue where I see one play a season. I hadn't read the Charles dickens novel that serves as the basis though. when we reached intermission I said it reminded me of a 'simpsons' episode where bart was briefly an heir to mr. burns. the way the main character, pip, was also narrator also reminded me of 'forrest gump'. one line I really liked was spoken by the reclusive rich lady. it was how 'beauty is a weapon' and 'love is poison'. sad but true. it sure had some twists and turns, especially in the second act. at intermission I got some cashews and hot chocolate. it was the three dollars I was given as change upon arrival. the previous day I was told to ask for it, as they couldn't make change then. I said send me with a note to this effect as I am no doubt demonstrative. the ticket manager made a joke how it would 'break the bank' but I said I would likely be giving it back if there was food and drink that I wanted, and I was right. before I saw the play I did like seeing how there have been various film adaptions. what caught my attention the most was how there was a 'south park' episode about it. I would like to think it at least has been referenced, if not parodied, on 'the simpsons' as well. I liked how not reading the novel or seeing any of the movie versions wasn't a hindrance at all. I of course am familiar with other novels written by dickens, including 'scrooge' (aka Christmas carol) and 'oliver twist'. I had seen the latter as a play at como park, but it was known as 'oliver'. notable was sitting next to a woman who was from out of town. based on her accent, I would have guessed a foreign country like great Britain. but she said she was from Maryland and was in town for the figure skating championships, which are starting at 'the x' this weekend. she had seen an orchestra show the previous night, in Minneapolis as I recall.
   also notable today was getting my hair cut for a date. I knew it was the first haircut since a st. paul saints game in august. I at first went to sport clips, 2-hour wait. so I went to another place in Eagan, got in right away. the date was at a pub in st. paul, first visit there. there was a short wait for a table, at first we were told 10-20 minutes but it was shorter. I didn't want to wait for too long when it was subzero outside and not much waiting space inside. after the date was done I printed some things at the library and then fell asleep in my easy chair after getting home. I knew I had to get up to get groceries and I did after watching the 6pm news. but I still made it on time to the play, aided by deciding to park in a ramp across the street.   

let's get weird

I was at Mariucci arena tonight for the gopher hockey game, and at one point the video board had a montage that said 'let's get weird'. an online search said something about its origin being on comedy central, but I haven't heard of it before as I don't have cable. this was my annual visit for gopher hockey, and Minnesota beat Michigan state 5-2. gophers went ahead 1-0 on a goal in the first minute. then they were up 3-0 at the end of the 2nd as there were goals about 2 1/2 minutes into the period, then about 3 minutes later. after passing the midway point of the third, there was a flurry of three goals, Michigan state's first goal was the second of these three. then Michigan state got the final goal of the game, with about 2 1/2 minutes left. I had a seat in row 11, behind one of the goalie nets. and considering that a goal was scored early, I am thankful I was in my seat before the national anthem. I had some domino's pizza and bottled water, and said it still makes me laugh when their slogan is 'oh yes we did'. the server wondered why I looked inside the box, a little pepperoni pizza. she asked if I thought the slogan meant a slice was missing. no, I said. it was due to once delivering pizza and not knowing it was just dough and sauce.
  after the game I stopped at a Walgreen and got a box of star wars cereal, made by general mills. on facebook, school bouncer shared an article that he is mentioned in, a publication called growler magazine. my cousin posted something about cat diesel power, I know full well what it is referring to.

that's what I like about you, trisha yearwood

I was communicating with somebody through internet dating and I referred to a country song as to who I want to date. I said 'don't want somebody to be my twin', which is a paraphrase of the lyrics. I found out the song was 'that's what I like about you' by trisha Yearwood. and that is how I feel, as it would be boring to date somebody if we were too much alike. I liked watching the video on youtube, as it shows the couple riding in a classic car with the top down. the man is in a hammock.
   I did get to some things tonight that had been delayed for a little while. an office colleague spoke of meetup groups as I said 'lack of effort' on the part of my matches is a problem in internet dating. he suggested meetup groups, something I knew very little about. it sounds like my college roommate met his lady through these groups. I also know I saw a group at a comedy show I attended one time. there were some jokes about them as the event coordinator had a red balloon tied to their wrist. I am now signed up for an event at an art museum in two weeks. it will be a busy day as I already have a ticket for the Minnesota twins fan-fest that day. it will likely mean going to the fan-fest first, getting an earlier start than I had originally planned.
   I watched 2 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when leonard got annoyed with Sheldon and said he wanted to live with penny. then it led to amy wanting to live with Sheldon, and eventually Sheldon said 'all is forgiven' to leonard. prime time episode was when Sheldon was annoying when he was ill, then went on an 'apology tour', even giving out shirts. it ended with the gang going to las vegas in a party van. I do like seeing Raj dating Emily, as she is way better character than Lucy, who kept ditching him. and it helps that they say Emily is a dermatologist, so she is a doctor as well.
   I did take a walk tonight after watching the prime time episode, though it was shorter than originally planned. I walked up to the super-America for dinner, and then went home. I often go even farther before I turn around, but this was still a long distance walk. it is still freezing out there, but thankfully not the frigid sub-zero weather we had seen recently. if it was I wouldn't have went out on the walk. I did pick up some trash like before. not much was notable, it was the typical things, food and drink containers, and a flattened cardboard box.

peaches, presidents of the USA

over the weekend I bought a can of peaches from the discount table at the grocery store. not sure why it was discounted, as it is not dented. but it did have a family dollar label on it, and it wasn't bought at that store, so this may be why. it did make me think of a song called 'peaches' by the presidents of the USA. I recall hearing them when I was in college. I found the video on youtube, and I was reminded of how they fight ninjas in it near the end. I know this band also had a song called 'lump'. it was later parodied by weird al, called 'gump', in reference to the movie 'forrest gump'. what I liked about the 'peaches' song was the line about 'peaches come from a can, they were put there by a man, in a factory downtown'. I decided to eat half of the peaches, the rest can be eaten the next day.
   it went well performing at the comedy club tonight. I did do two newer ones, one was about a text message from an online match. the other was about an annoying thing that happened at the office.
 

haley reinhart

I was wondering for a while what version of 'creep' by radiohead I had heard recently. but my guess is the one by postmodern jukebox, where haley reinhart is the singer. I found out on wikipedia how she was a contestant on American idol. I haven't watched this show, I just know how Kelly Clarkson was a winner on it. the songs she was has done with 'jukebox' are listed under 'guest appearances'. I do recognize many of the song titles, sounds like she is mainly known for doing covers. as a former resident of suburban Chicago I also noticed how she is from that area, the suburb known as wheeling.
   I was doing my best to get caught up on settled and paid in full letters at my office job, but there were so many I didn't make it but it is a much smaller carryover now. it went great performing at the comedy club tonight, I tried a joke about people named 'junior', an 'answer joke', and I was pleased with it. I gave a beatles card to mason city as he is known best for his wide interest in music, it was a duplicate card and said it would otherwise be thrown away. I try to do what I can for people that help me out.

man who sold the world

it was announced that musician david bowie had died. I may be able to recognize some of his music, but I didn't know it all that well. I often heard about the movie 'labyrinth', made when I was young, but I think I saw it once and that was it. there are two things I shared on facebook in response to a post, in terms of what first came to mind. one was how one of his quotes was in the movie 'breakfast club'. the other was how nirvana covered 'man who sold the world' when doing 'unplugged in new york' and after playing it said it was a bowie song. mason city said I likely knew some of his new wave music from the 1980s, and I said I could recognize 'let's dance'.
   I went to another comedy club after I wasn't picked, it was the first time at this venue since may. it was nice to get some stage time, but I may want to be more mindful of the time as I was there later than I should have been as I was yawning a lot. I had my phone shut off as that is what they wanted us to do at the start of the show, and it was later than I thought it was.
    

presidential bobbleheads

it was subzero weather outside so I didn't feel like going out unless I really needed to. one of the things I did was get more pictures that will eventually be added to my facebook page. I don't think I have one added yet from Washington, dc, as my most recent visit was 2009, same year I joined. I do have three presidential bobbleheads though. two were from the Washington nationals, as they have the 'racing presidents' to entertain fans between innings. I understand it was originally the four mount rushmore presidents but they have since added William howard taft. anyway, back in 2007 I made a visit to RFK stadium, the final season the nationals would be playing there. I would have liked getting the Lincoln bobblehead but it was not the one being given out at that game, against the st. louis cardinals. Thomas Jefferson was on that night. I bought another one from e-bay, Theodore Roosevelt, as I do some mentoring at Roosevelt high school in Minneapolis. naturally I also liked reading is how 'teddy' is emerson hough's friend. the third was also bought from e-bay, but was not from the nationals series like the other two are. I have learned that just about any famous person- living or dead- can now be found in bobblehead form. it did remind me of when I worked with somebody in suburban Chicago that I called 'bobblehead doll' as all she ever did was agree with me. so for now, the picture of these three bobbles will have to do in terms of anything from d.c. as it can be a real pain to scan something that dates back before memory cards. and I think most of those four d.c. visits did. all three have memorials there, though the one for teddy is not as well known as it is an island in the Potomac. I found it after discovering it was best accessed on foot from the Virginia side of the river, not all that far from the iwo jima memorial. as a history major in many ways a bobble of a president interests me more than one of some sports stars would.
   the first time I went out was to get fuel for my car before heading for the comedy club, the donut show, in the afternoon. I figured I might arrive late if I waited for the light rail so I drove to the club. it was nice to get stage time there. the host, grizzly adams, called the regular mc, international falls, during the show. she is in los angeles but I think will be back soon. I listened to much of the Vikings playoff game against the seahawks on the radio, but it was still going on when I got to the club. so I finished watching it there, Vikings lost 10-9 after a last second field goal went wide left. it sounded like another show was still happening, after being canceled at first, but I didn't go. there were other things I wanted to get done, like go through a bag of travel souvenirs from the past summer. I did find some items that I was able to add to my comedy binders, like the list from the show I performed at when I was in Toronto.
     I also watched 'the simpsons', where bart had a sub teacher who served in the military. after the episode was done I went out again, to take the trash and recycle out and then eat at taco bell. I was fine as long as I was moving, and it helped that there was little or no wind. I also exchanged some text messages with a match from e-harmony. I know full well it is a good thing when I get a phone number so even though I am not big on texting I know it helps to try to be accommodating.
    another thing I did was cut back even further on my facebook friends list. I am now down to 290, after thinking it might be too hard to go lower than 300. if I am looking, I can find those to be purged. it is usually somebody that I haven't heard from in a while. but sometimes it is somebody that I find to be annoying. can I cut even further? probably. call me crazy, but I see nothing wrong with wanting quality and try to have it reflect the true friends I have.

celebrity name game

I was getting things done at the laundromat and I was bored when at first all they had on the Tv was a car dealer infomercial. then the next program wasn't a pro football playoff game, which is what I had hoped to see, but a game show hosted by craig ferguson, who once had a late night talk show. one of the editions I watched of this show, known as 'celebrity name game', had actor/comedian tom Arnold as a celebrity guest.
  I also went to a burlesque show tonight. I really liked it when the dancers were dancing to songs I knew like a cover of 'creep' by radiohead, or 'just a girl' by no doubt, or 'umbrella' by rihanna.

run off the plug

after a show I attended tonight, school bouncer was doing a snap chat video and asked me to be in it. what I wrote down was that he asked me to say 'run off the plug' twice. when I searched for this I saw some mention of 'run off on the plug' on youtube, something about a video game. I performed at the first show I was at, a guest set. woody got me stage time so he will be added to the ring of honor soon.

hello, adele

when I was driving home from the comedy club tonight I heard the song 'hello' by adele. I had been hearing it fairly often since it was released. one classmate said on facebook how it was a 'crazy person rant'. well I guess many people are liking it. and I am onje of them. I found the video on youtube and it already is nearing a BILLION views. I like how the video does tell the story further. part of it, the beginning part, shows adele coming to a house in the middle of nowhere to make a call on a cellphone and then she takes the covers off of furniture. but probably the lasting impression from the video is seeing the man outside while it is pouring rain. for those who read the blog often, you know know I like seeing passion in things, including and especially music. one can see this song does have passion in it, seeing how adele really has pipes. this is evident with hitting the high notes like when she gets to 'hello from the other side'. this song does remind me of 'someone like you', as the two have similar themes, about a failed relationship. hard to say what line in the lyrics I respond to best. it likely is 'sorry for breaking your heart' as it is followed by 'it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore'. it does remind me of being at class reunions. at one of them, the 10-year, a classmate apologized for being a jerk to me in high school. it didn't seem to bother me much, but it must have bothered him if he said something. I think I had written about 'someone like you' when it was a hit, about four years ago. I liked hearing some what inspired it in a youtube video, about being 'on my knees really'. it sounds like the album that 'hello' is from is selling well, breaking records already. and it was a big deal when her concert tickets went on sale, as they went to 'scalper prices' fairly quickly. I don't have any adele CDs yeat, but I will probably pick one up eventually. it means I should try to see what is at used shops like cheapo, that is where I get many CDs now.
   I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when amy was ill and Sheldon took care of her, and the episode ends with her getting spanked for lying to him. howard wants to impress Bernadette's dad, and it means penny helps him with understanding fishing. prime time episode was when Sheldon and raj discover an asteroid. Bernadette and howard clean the house after stuart leaves. leonard and penny see the same therapist, but separate appointments. I didn't waste any time when the episode ended, not even staying for the closing credits, so I could get on the road to the comedy club. it was a micro-brew, I had been there once before, to attend a CD recording. I liked performing there, as it was a bigger crowd compared to most places I perform. it was also nice to visit with the event coordinator, happy meal, after the show. I said I will likely want to get there more often, now that I know better what it is like. and it meant a lot when he said he liked my joke telling, as well as my honesty when I am writing either on facebook postings or the blog. I will gladly file it next to some others who are in my corner. it includes people like the Wisconsin girl, who said 'I spoke from the heart' at a memorial. or also small world, who said I am the 'real deal'. I did hear more about possible stage time at some other venues. some are places I haven't been to yet. but I know it is just as important to get to some venues that I haven't been to in a while. in due time, I can get around to it. some of it means studying the schedule to see how it will all fit.  

money for nothing, dire straits

I thought about the song 'money for nothing' by dire straits as I needed to replace my microwave oven, and of course they speak of this appliance in the song. about needing to install them. so after I fell asleep in the evening after getting home I went off to target to find one. they had some but was out of stock on the smallest one, 0.7 cubic feet. I wasn't sure what to do at first but I knew I really needed one, so I went across the road to the Walmart. they had one made by rival, and I got a product protection plan as well since it was just 3 dollars for 2 years. I got it registered right away. I liked how the microwave oven I had lasted for a while, nearly 10 years as I got it in may 2006. I asked myself  'haven't you done without one long enough?' the same question asked in an ad campaign for toro lawn and garden equipment. I think the slogan was mainly for the snow blowers. the one I had was made by general electric, and bought at a best buy. I knew well enough to haul away the other one fairly quickly. so after I went to the comedy club to perform tonight I did just that. I found a grocery store cart along the way and got a picture of it in the cart, after getting one of it on the counter top as I wasn't sure if I had one already. so then I hauled it in the cart the rest of the way to the dumpster. the one I had was rattling too much and I didn't seem to be performing like before, especially when it came to the oatmeal I like having in the morning when I go to work. so I did fire up the new one shortly after getting home with it, and had two burritos. when most of my cooking is with this appliance I knew I couldn't wait too long to replace it. after two days of knowing I probably needed to, I was off to the store. I wanted to wait until the weekend but it would get expensive to eat out during that time, even if it was mainly at super-America.
  I am still going through my facebook friends list to find a way to shrink the total. I now have it down to 300. it was hard to find seven more to de-friend to get it down to this round number. that still seems like a lot, but I know some have even more than I do. for wii dancing we did do a walk in the skyway, this time I was one of three.

renegades, x ambassadors

tonight after the comedy show I performed at I liked hearing some music. it was my first appearance at this venue. this included 'renegades' by the x ambassadors. I had been hearing this song fairly often. I finally looked it up on youtube, and the video depicts disabled people lifting weights, participating in athletics like wrestling, and hiking. I do like some of the lyrics in it, they can be considered empowering. this would include 'go forth and have no fear', as well as 'our time to make a move'. I also like the reference to movie directors, as one line is 'spielbergs and kubricks'. it is nice to use this term, renegade, for a change instead of just hearing 'maverick' all the time. I also noticed about this song all the time how one hears a crack of a whip, or just numerous people doing a clap in unison.
   I was running late this morning so I took a later bus, but I was still on time for work. it just meant that I didn't have the time to walk the skyway like I prefer having. I was on my own doing the payoff report as my 'tag team partner' was out of the office, scheduled day off. it made the day easier for me as I stayed occupied for longer, as Tuesday is usually a big drop in volume compared to Monday. another notable thing was done after I got back from the comedy club. I went onto facebook and cut back some further on my friends list. I am down to 307, a net reduction of 18. I did add somebody today, so I could tag them in a photo I had already posted. she was playing music at one show I attended, and may already have a nickname like pontoon. it wasn't easy to downsize the friends list some more, but I had to ask myself who some of these people were. I either didn't recognize their names, or hadn't heard from them in a while. in some cases it may have been some people that I had never met! I probably could cut it down some more. most of the time I de-friended people where there were no common postings, or maybe one- like a birthday greeting- from a while back. it's just not enough in my book.
     a comment was left asking me to share a joke or one-liner. usually with jokes, be it mine or those done by others, I usually just say the subject and that is all. sometimes I am also behind on adding my full comedy notes as well, at times farther behind than I really want to be.

lionheart hard cider

tonight I was at the comedy club and there were free samples of hard cider, called lionheart. I said it made me think of a jean-claude van damme movie that I haven't seen. I usually just drink beer but this tasted fine. sounds like it will now be served at the club. I said I was used to seeing posters for an advance screening of a movie. after the show I heard  a weezer song being played, it was 'my name is jonas'. I like 'island in the sun' more.
   there was somewhat of a crisis at the office this morning. I couldn't get stamped in as the screen was blank. so I was advised to re-boot it. thankfully I will be getting my life back soon, in two weeks. I didn't know what to do about our rigid attendance policy other than take an earlier bus. and I think this will be continuing even after the 3-month period expires.

SOB, nathaniel rateliff and the night sweats

recently I have heard a catchy song I found out is called 'sob', by Nathaniel rateliff and the night sweats. I found the video on youtube, it has a prison theme, of course this makes me think of various music acts. this would include elvis Presley doing jailhouse rock, the blues brothers doing the same song, and johnny cash doing folsom prison blues. not surprising how the song has a hook to it, as most do. in this case 'son of a bitch' is what made me take notice. I hear this more than needing a drink. this is a simple song, at some points no music is being played so it does fall into the blues, and folk genre. it did make me think of 'ho hey' by the lumineers, found out this is no accident besides being the similar genres. both acts are from the Denver, CO area. I liked reading about this act on Wikipedia, how the frontman is from rural Missouri.
    much of my day was spent doing a cleanup of my facebook friends list. I have it pared down to 325. I figured if I did it in one fell swoop then I wouldn't need to do much about it for a while. this is especially true when I have been slower to add people. over the weekend I did add one of my cousins, who liked some of the photos I have. much like before, if I didn't recognize their names and there had been no posts in common, then they were likely de-friended. I kept those that were just added in the past year. every so often I will go through and de-friend a few, especially after I find somebody to be annoying. I know I did speak of this to jane goodall, who understood this well. she said it was important to avoid negative energy. even though I added plenty of photos to facebook this weekend, there were some that I decided to delete. it is all about quality, and in some cases just one from a place I have been to works fine. I know this is what I decided about the ones from my cousin's wedding. I attended a comedy show the night before in Madison, WI, and I posted two show announcements. one photo got 15 likes, the other zero. so I kept the more popular one. another thing I did was add more articles to the comedy binders after getting them into sheet protectors. this filled in much of my day well. when i was satisfied with what I had done I checked the clock and it was 5pm. so I decided to get on the road to the comedy club, riding over to the park and ride and taking the light rail. there was a delay as somebody got hit by a train, and I arrived just before the show began. I stopped at a nearby target store first and got a small pizza hut pepperoni pizza. it was proof of how I live 'the manic life of a comedian' as I was eating it on the walk to the club. the set went well, and I included a joke about the delay as somebody spoke of following directions on the shuttle bus.

tolerance for stupid

I went to have lunch at the mall of America with a college roommate, and I liked how he gave me a term I wasn't familiar with before. when I said my favorite sayings likely have been 'I have had enough' and 'thanks for the warning' he said something that made sense to me. he said when one gets older, your tolerance for stupid is lower. first in-person meeting in over 3 years, both of us are now busy in our lives. I know I spoke a lot about doing comedy, but it is a big part of my life now. hopeful that we get something set up again soon. he did say something about ticket offers for the wild, the pro hockey team in the area.
  after I was done there I had a snack at the IKEA nearby, hadn't been there in over a year, when I was there for a wedding gift. and in the evening I went to a friend's comedy show, I had done this show last year and working on getting booked again for this year.  

jake's city grille, eagan

 I went to a comedy brunch at jake's city grille in Eagan around midday. I liked being able to say hi to so many people, some I hadn't seen in a while. I did some politicking as well, as I knew it was the best place for it. I did get another ring of honor photo there, it would be the olive garden comic as I recently ordered his CD from amazon. I am now up to 86 comics in it.
   I went home and took a short walk around the neighborhood, then I was off in my car again, to a sports bar to watch the iowa hawkeyes in the rose bowl. I left at halftime as they were doing poorly, down 35-0 to Stanford. I had one beer and didn't order any food. I shared this on facebook with a classmate from high school and he insulted me about it, so I de-friended him. I de-friended some others at the same time, wanting to get the list closer to my 'real friends'. I liked hearing how another comic said he was doing this, nothing wrong with that.
   I added some photos to facebook tonight, besides the 'ring of honor'. and I created a new album called 'comedy friends', as one album was too big. so now there is one that is renamed 'my comedy highlights', places I have performed at.