you needed me, anne murray

while doing errand running I heard a song on my car radio. The first lyric that stuck with me was 'I sold my soul, you bought it back for me'. I guessed the artist correctly. it was 'you needed me' by Anne Murray. I was familiar with some of her songs. I searched for 'broken hearted me' after it was in an episode of 'cold case'. with 'you needed me' I also liked 'I can't believe it's true' and 'why should I leave? I would be a fool'. Though my favorite lyric has to be 'cause I finally found someone who really cares'. this can be hard to find in life, I speak from experience.
   tonight I went to two comedy shows. school bouncer headlined the first one I attended, then I went across town where big dog was headliner. I arrived before his set began, but just barely. I think the last time I had seen him perform was on my birthday in march, over a month ago. but I know he is hard to get ahold of on facebook, and he recently became a father as well. We spoke more after the show. Then he and some others, including blake, decided to go to a nearby bar/nightclub and I joined them there. I was encouraged to go out on the dance floor by these friends, but I needed time to work up the courage to do so. and I also wanted to get my beer drank down far enough where I was less likely to spill it. I am sure that spilling it on somebody would be considered a 'party foul'. it was nice to do something outside of my comfort zone, even though I went home alone. but at least I tried.
   this morning I was getting annoyed trying to order a breakfast sandwich at mcdonald's and I nearly left. I eventually heard from the order-taker how she was new. it is not the typical mcdonald's I go to, but the closest one to me is closed, being rebuilt, so I have to find another one for now. there was plenty to pick up at my post office box, 13 e-bay orders. and I went to the sears store in st. paul just north of the downtown area as I needed to renew my license plates. thankfully the line moved fairly quickly. I had hoped to renew them in downtown st. paul, which was the return address on the envelope, but was told it was no longer done there. I seem to be pointing out hypocrisies all too often. after I was done with the plates I got some socks at this sears store, but it took longer than expected as I was signed up for a loyalty program. I said I didn't want to pay a fee for it, this was in response to some mention of getting 'store credit'.

social media party

I went to a show in downtown st. paul tonight, known as 'the social media party'. I knew one of the performers and left shortly after he was done as it was getting late.
  I heard about this show as there was a card advertising it at the erbert gerbert I go to for a sandwich once a week. I found out the man who made my sandwich was one of the performers, but not the one I knew. the store manager was also there, and I liked being able to speak at length as usually there is no time for that when I want to be on time back at work. I had earplugs as usual, and he spoke of having ringing in his ears from too many concerts. I was standing for a while at this show, and at times between acts I needed to go into the other room just so I could sit down. eventually I was offered a seat on the wall that had 'reserved' signs up. this was offered by the lady that was with the store manager. I was invited to have some of the fries that arrived, and one of those I shared it with was an older woman from the virgin islands that now lives in Miami. I think she was the mother of one of the performers. it would have been nice to stay for the entire show but it was much longer than most of the comedy shows that I attend. doors opened at 8:30 pm, I was there around 8:45 when the show was about to start though it did not start until about 9:15pm. the performer I wanted to see was done just after midnight, and it looks like according to the posted lineup that it run close to bar close at 2am. I did like seeing a longer set than typical, close to an hour. but this was also what made the show longer, when I think most everybody got this long and this is not typical at comedy shows. but I already knew how a music concert is going to be different. many of them were rappers. and it was called the social media party as they were looking for social media connections. there was a TV monitor near the stage and it showed their image while onstage along with their social media connections. naturally this includes facebook and twitter, but in music I am also hearing more about sound cloud. I tried going there before but somebody else had that name and thanks to the show announcement card I found the alternate spelling.

ticket presale begins

one of my matches spoke of plans to see a CFL game this summer with friends. it reminded me how I would like to make it to Canada this summer, specifically Winnipeg. so I decided to do the research about tickets for the blue bombers, and the city's baseball team, the goldeyes. both are not on sale yet, but will be soon, in terms of single game tickets. with both there is a gap between when 'presale begins' and 'general public'. I also wrote down other things I want to do during 'baseball and museum season' to see how the logistics might work. I still have time to figure it out when memorial day is a month away.
   I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when leonard bought a prop from the movie 'time machine'. prime time episode was when Sheldon, and the pregnant Bernadette, did an activity together, dungeons and dragons if I am not mistaken. 'odd couple' was on after it and of course I liked how the episode had a baseball theme, about Oscar throwing out the first pitch at a mets game. I am still reminded of my dad saying 'Oscar madison' if we decided to drink right out of the milk carton.
   I wanted to take a long walk around the neighborhood but it was not to be, due to rain. so I went to the nearby taco bell to eat after watching TV tonight. the local news had more about the passing of prince, the musician. waiting for autopsy results and the claims on his estate.
 

mama tried, merle haggard

I realized I has two entries about prince this month but nothing about merle haggard yet, and both passed this month. I have a greatest hits CD and 'mama tried' is on it. I know the song is not auto-biographical, as the lyrics mention somebody getting 'life without parole'. but it is still a good song. it is the one called the 'number one hits', released in 1994. notable is the American distributor, dominion entertainment, is listed as being in Plymouth, Minnesota, so in the metro area. the Canadian distributor is listed in Winnipeg, Manitoba. other notable songs on it would be 'okie from muskogee', 'legend of bonnie and clyde', and 'fighting side of me'. like many CDs I have, it is from Cheapo so I bought it used. the sticker is still on it.
   it went well performing tonight at two shows, though I was tired at the second one. mason city was also discussing on facebook the albums by the band weezer, I said I have two albums, the blue and the green. I like 'say it aint so' and 'island in the sun' from those two. I was also reminded of how the band has achieved some immortality due to having songs on 'the simpsons' like 'island in the sun'. it was in a 'boat stories' episode where they parody 'mutiny on the bounty'. and at work there was a quick meeting about some changes in the department, realignment so that means some people must change supervisors but not me. not sure how many are affected.

bahamas survey

in the evening I heard my phone ring. it said it was a survey, where the prize was a trip for two to the Bahamas. I had to say 'no' numerous times before the computer recognized it and ended the call, stating I would be taken off the call list. probably some time-share presentation, and thankfully I don't get these calls too often as I usually have my phone off.
   after resting and going through some mail and other paperwork I did take a walk around the neighborhood. there was plenty of trash to pick up as usual, but not much in terms of coins. all I found was one penny at the car wash. I made it home just after 10pm and watched a rerun of 'the simpsons' instead of the news, I had already seen the 6pm news. it was the one where marge was a real estate broker.
   there were goodies at the office at mid-morning, and I said it made me feel like I was at a wedding. since the sparkling juice looked like it was coming from a fountain. in the afternoon I showed up for my photo appointment, it didn't take long, under 10 minutes. I did already ask that this become my work ID photo as well. the political science guy asked what I knew about UIC, the U of Illinois at Chicago. I guess he is still looking at schools as he is considering going back to school to get a doctorate. I know why he asked, as I lived in suburban Chicago for 6 years. what I did say did involve what I knew with history, my major. I understand their athletic team name, the flames, comes from the 1871 fire. and I toured the hull house museum in one of my annual visits and there was a joke about 'urban removal' instead of 'urban renewal' in terms of much of the hull house complex, started by jane Addams, was demolished for the UIC campus. then there was the U of Chicago, a different school, where it is on the site of what was the 1893 world's fair. just this week I saw an online article about some inventions being introduced at a world's fair, and with this one it was the ferris wheel. Chicago was known as fort Dearborn at one point, and I did search e-bay to see what postcards were available but many of them were from the 1933 world's fair, already have those. some are older ones, and there are some of a monument to a massacre at the fort. the one item I did order from e-bay today was a postcard, a reprint of a 1930s maytag ad. I currently have plenty of postcards from the 1933 world's fair, something like 200, and haven't ordered any for a little while.

speed dating, resumed

tonight I am did a speed dating event for the first time in years. I did it a few times in suburban Chicago, then continued after moving to the twin cities in 2004. but I wasn't meeting anyone and got annoyed with a 'dating coach' I was referred to who insulted me. they didn't care about me as a person, just wanted to be paid. I said I needed more than 3 minutes to wow someone, that was why I quit. but this was before I started doing stand-up, in 2008. so now if somebody gives me a microphone and 3 minutes I can wow people. so I am hopeful to get better results this time. I heard about this event from Belarus, he must be the event coordinator. I had to pass on it before due to scheduling conflicts. it did mean a variation on my typical schedule, as one club I just didn't go to as I wanted to be on time for this event. but it was over in time to get to another one where I get more stage time anyway. so it didn't mean taking a full night off from performing. but this was fine, as sometimes I do need to pursue other activities as I am anything but one-dimensional.
   I didn't get business cards or phone numbers for anyone, but it felt good to try this again. most of the attendees were just looking for friends. and some I liked talking to more than others. I did get asked my opinion of the event, by the lady of the event coordinator. I said I was likely to try it again. it made it less fun as there were some no-shows, but I don't know what can be done about that. there was a comedy show before the speed dating began, sub teacher was performing. it was proof how I could match wits with the best of them as I could hear him saying things about me while I was in the bathroom, which was behind the stage. I did respond to some of it.  

sign of the times, prince

i went over to the first avenue music venue in Minneapolis to see the prince memorial there and got a picture of it. there was also some signs that fans had signed. I added some words, saying I liked the song 'sign of the times'. the song is social commentary, and being a history nerd that is why I like it. it touches on many subjects, like a 'big disease with a little name' (AIDS), as well as gangs (high on crack, toting a machine gun). this continues with a hurricane killing people at a church, the TV being 'if it bleeds it leads', sister killed a baby, send to moon, and a cousin's drug use. what I also liked is that it didn't necessarily offer solutions, but asked some valid questions. this was evident in one line being 'o why?' I know I have done this in my writings before as well. there weren't a lot of prince songs that I liked, but no doubt I like this one. i went there after performing at the donut show, i walked over there. and as i was walking back i knew full well i probably wasn't going to make it back to my car or the venue in time to get to a bathroom. so thankfully i noticed a grocery store had a bathroom and took care of things there. i looked around after this but there wasn't anything i truly wanted to buy so i left and continued on with my journey.
   before leaving for the show this afternoon i went to the JC penney in Roseville as i needed to replace two shirts for the office. both were bought from the discount rack, and with the gift card for my birthday it all cost me a dollar and change. one of them was purple, i said 'why not?' as of course i had prince in mind. i noticed i needed two shirts after doing laundry this morning as there was a tear in one after i got them home. and what i did is typical, i ripped it up and threw it in the trash.
   after the show i picked up a few items at family dollar, then watched 'the simpsons'. the episode was about going to the grand canyon and stealing what was needed from the rich. then i did the dishes, and eventually fell asleep. then it was off to Walgreen for another errand, and there was a man operating a machine, it was very loud. not a floor buffer, it moved around more like a vacuum.  

purple rain movie, prince

tonight I went to the mall of America theater and saw the movie 'purple rain'. first time seeing a movie there. it was free admission, just needed a wrist band. I still have it on as I write these words, but will cut it off before retiring for the night. first time seeing the movie, and it may be just as well that I didn't see it when it was new. I was young then, and the scenes with the parents fighting was a little too familiar as my parents did this too. but there were some funny scenes as well, and one of them reminded me of the 'who's on first' routine that abbott and Costello did. I said just about everything related to this event said 'Minnesota'. seeing it at mall of America, drinking a grain belt beer there, wearing a st. paul saints hat and jersey, and the movie was filmed at first avenue, the Minneapolis music venue. besides beer I also had some popcorn. after the movie I went to get pizza, at 'villa'. there was clapping at the end, which I don't see that often at movies. guess I did see this happen when I saw the beatles movie 'hard day's night', when it was re-released to theaters. 'purple rain' reminded me of '8-mile', as prince was essentially playing himself in it much like Eminem did in '8-mile'. and both are Midwestern musicians. I liked it, thankful I finally saw it. and it worked for me to see it there as I preferred to see it in a theater. the screening at the twins stadium didn't appeal to me near as much.
  I went to the first of three showings for the day there, starting just after 5pm. I saw that my chores and errand running were completed before then. it was no big deal, pick up mail at post office box, return a redbox movie, turn in change at the bank, and send a donation to goodwill. there was $11.90 in change counted, and exactly two dollars of it was pennies so it does pay to save and pick them up. the exterminator visit prompted me to think of donating to goodwill, seeing some items I just wasn't using. or just as important, they reminded me of my relationship that ended over two years ago. I already have 62 cents now in the change bank from just today.
   I also went to resistable comic's show at a micro-brewery in st. paul tonight, after getting back from the movie of course. but I made a wrong turn and was late, even though there was no excuse for it as I had been there before. although it had been a while.
  also notable was going to the library. I picked up three history books at their used book sale. one was about the war of 1812, of interest to me as it did reach some Midwestern cities like Chicago, then known as fort Dearborn. and I decided to delete most of the 'quotes of the day' from my Hotmail account, and it went back to 2008. it meant discovering some emails that I didn't know were still there, like being fixed up with somebody who just wanted to talk about british royalty. and there were many from when I was in a relationship. this morning I had a dream involving fans of NFL teams- the jets, packers, and bears. a bears blanket was left in the street and run over. no surprise there.

creed movie, stallone

I used a free night at redbox tonight, earned from my loyalty program. it was to see the movie 'creed', starring Sylvester stallone. I liked it, more so for the scenes with the training and the boxing match itself. it did remind me of some of the earlier 'rocky' movies, like when the fighter, the son of Apollo creed, was asked to chase chickens as part of his training. and I liked how rocky was offering sage advice. also liked seeing the mom from 'the cosby show', phylicia Rashad, as his mom. I guess she still goes by the name though she is divorced from ahmad Rashad, the former football player and sports journalist. thankfully I got one thing corrected, had to before renting. it said my card wasn't recognized for the free night. had to go home and check my online account, as expected there were no cards listed. then after I got it added things were fine.
  I did go to the mall of America after hearing on WCCO's 6pm newscast about some local theaters showing the prince movie 'purple rain' soon. but I must wait at least another day to do so. I ate at A and W after this.

northwest airlines napkin

I took a Ziploc bag full of napkins to work today as I was getting things moved around for the exterminator visit. I hadn't looked inside the bag for a while, and was surprised as to what was all in it. there was  a northwest airlines napkin in there, so I am keeping that one around and not using it. I had a frequent flyer account with them that was later flipped over to delta. some of the others were from weddings I had attended. a good number was from subway. they are better kept at the office where they will be used more. I use them there for lunch, like for the soup can once empty and washed out to soak up water. also to dry the microwaveable container once it is washed.
  when I rode the bus home in the evening I saw a 'survey team' much like I did on Tuesday morning. so I understood better what they were there for. I was getting annoyed with one man who kept talking up one survey team member in the back of the bus as he was a know-it-all. he said fines should be higher for not paying fares, but to me $200 sounds high enough. I did share some of my experiences with the other team member. one handled entry and the other exit. we were given what looked like a loyalty program card or credit card when we boarded the bus and were asked to give it to them when we got off. I got a picture of this card Tuesday morning.
   most of the news coverage today on WCCO at 6pm and 10pm was about the passing of prince, the musician who lived in the metro area. it didn't surprise me much, as I recalled when I lived in Chicago-land for 6 years how the first half of the local news the day football player walter payton died in 1999 was about him. most of my news feed was about the story. I first heard about it at the office, where somebody in the hall said 'prince died' and I checked online to confirm it. I recalled his song being quoted when bill young got married in 2010, 'let's go crazy'. when I heard it on the radio I would sing 'colo-nesco' instead of 'oh no let's go', in reference to a school name from my native iowa.
   after watching 'big bang theory' tonight I took a long walk around the neighborhood and it included walking up to the super-America for my dinner. I picked up 5 pennies as well, mostly from the car wash. I will be turning in the change this weekend, now over 11 dollars. the syndicated rerun was when Sheldon and leonard feuded about presenting a project together and the fight ended up on youtube as howard was filming it. prime time episode was about the friends being mad at each other, in part starting over leonard refusing to attend the roommate agreement meeting.
   I was thrilled to get one thing at the office today, it was a poker chip from the big sports fan. he said he couldn't attend a luncheon with the senior leader in may so he gave it to me. guess it works better for him to attend in june. when I go in may it is a Wednesday so I know that works fine, as I hardly ever take that day off. soon I will probably need to think about what days off I need for travels during 'baseball and museum season' as memorial day is next month.  

bookcase collapsed

I was moving things around tonight to get ready for an exterminator visit. there is a large bookcase that I haven't used in a while that was kept in a corner. it seemed unstable, and it was. as I was moving it the bottom half of it collapsed. so now I may decide to use it again when I know the weak part of it is gone. the collapsed part was put in the trash, no other use that I know of for it. I liked how I got it done in two hours after eating at taco bell. then it was off to a bar, where I saw some of the Minnesota wild's playoff game. it was midway through the 2nd when I arrived, wild up over the dallas stars 1-0. but the wild trailed at the end of the 2nd, 3-2, and lost by that margin as well. I left to go back to my car before the game ended as I was tired.
   I asked my 'work spouse' what activity would be surprising to hear if I had done it. it was in reference to hearing before how nothing is surprising about me now, since I go to burlesque shows and lady gaga concerts. first answer I got was attending country music concerts, but I've done this many times already. then skydiving, haven't done that and no plans to either. I said I was interested in other answers, by giving this colleague more time to think about it. this is kind of a 'chess game' and even though I may get comedy material out if it I don't want to say too much about my plans or ideas. suffice it to say, when I thought of something to do eventually I thought of  the Grinch, where it was said he got 'an awful, awful idea' - or is it really that awful? is it just out of character for me when I am known as dour?

my colleague's cousin

I've said it before how I can only handle so much passion and drama for so long. this was one of those days. early on I heard a different voice tone from a colleague in document release that was different, I think she was on the phone. then she said it was the news she didn't want to hear. she said her cousin shot himself, and he was just 26. it reminded me of how a distant cousin of mine committed suicide the same way when I was 12, he was just 22. and I know the family was never quite the same after that, as it was their only son. my dad told me about how he wasn't allowed at the visitation when his cousin's husband died. I know it must be tough to have lost her son and then her husband, but hard to understand shutting people out of her life because of it. with my colleague's cousin we were told he worked for the fire department as a dispatcher, and he seemed fine, a new relationship. but I know some people try to keep their problems hidden, I speak from experience. this is what we were told when bill young passed, a friend I knew in the comedy circuit. he decided to put on a happy face out in public, didn't want to bother people with his problems. he suffered alone. though I understand bill fell victim to something different, an accidental o.d. it was the reminders of bill that made it tough for me for a little while, where I could feel the ashen face again when I spoke of him. so it was a good thing that I did a walk around the floor and saw another colleague that is a big sports fan, and he helped me take my mind off of it even though I didn't say anything about what had happened. he is upbeat about the chances the local hockey team, Minnesota wild, have in their opening playoff series. it was what the doctor ordered, and it was easier to get back to work after it. I also told myself all the more reason to go to the comedy club tonight to support some friends in a contest. it was great to see the first member of my 'ring of honor' there, he was one of the judges tonight. I think it was our first visit in over a year, since he went back to Chicago. I knew some of the other judges, like university accountant and the southern photographer. bathtub was m.c. and grizzly adams was show closer.

love you like a love song, selena gomez

tonight when I was at the performance venue I liked seeing the TV monitors showing music videos. one of them was 'love you like a love song' by selena Gomez, and the scene. loved the opening lyrics as it is true. 'every beautiful thought's been already sung, and I guess right now here's another one'. much like before, the video can help with understanding the song better. like one line being 'and I keep hitting repeat'. I am ambivalent about two lines though, as one is 'feels like I've been rescued, (followed by) I've been set free'. unless the 'feels like' helps with avoid any redundancy. a lasting impression of the video was the outfit changes, like the Beethoven look when the word 'symphony' was sung. and how the main setting is a karaoke bar.
  it went fine on performing, I was able to shift on the fly when I drew a blank on some of my planned material. I did do the one about a colleague being disappointed that I am single. and the cougar, and the terminator, and a blues traveler CD. and I did one about calling my dad, something I had just done last night.
   for lunch I didn't have soup as I went late due to the high volume on the payoff report. I had some hard boiled eggs and v-8 that I got from a convenience store in the skyway.

mickey mouse nippon postcard

recently I made an e-bay order for some Charlie brown postage stamps from japan. I received them, and like some other orders there was a throw-in to it. in this case it was two postcards of other animated characters. much like the Charlie brown stamps they are stamped 2014, and say 'nippon'. one of them has mickey mouse on it as the postage, and under it is Minnie mouse and Donald duck. the other has Winnie the pooh and piglet as the postage, and mickey mouse characters under it including pluto the dog and goofy. even though it was unexpected, I like having them. also a nice message in small print at the bottom of the card saying 'happiness is a state of mind'. the rest is in Japanese so I don't know what it is saying. like most postcards I put them in a photo album, but it meant going to Walmart today after performing at the donut show as I know that store still has them and not many do. at least at an affordable price and the type where I can slip one card in a page and most of them will fit. I had a definite backlog as I got 22 of them in it once I brought it home. two were bought this week as part of the 'art crawl' in the downtown st. paul skyway, of union depot and the saints baseball stadium. I even like including free ones from non-profits that want my money. it is more like a notecard or greeting card, and is called 'parade partners'. it is three kids sitting on a curb waving American flags, waiting for a parade. others were from the Chicago-land visit in march, and a big number of these were from the frank Lloyd wright home and studio in oak park. I still need to leave feedback stating I got the orders. when I pick them up at the p.o. box over the weekend, when I am doing plenty of chores and errand running, I am not always thinking of going to e-bay right away.
  I spent much of my day getting comedy souvenirs into binders, something I hadn't done for a few months. it was the typical show announcement cards, and some were from last year like the ones from NYC and Toronto. I am not sure why those weren't put in sheet protectors and binders before, but I know I need the time and energy for that project. a few things will not be included and put in the shredder as I want to stress quality of course.
   it went fine performing, I brought out the 'Cajun cougar' joke, one I hadn't done in a while. I also answered a joke that another comic had about Charles Lindbergh. when I am a history major I know full well I probably can tell a better history joke than most. in the evening I called my dad and got no answer. he later called me during the 10pm news and said there was a bad connection. I stated when I wanted to make it to des moines for an iowa cubs game this season. we spoke about various subjects as usual, and he wanted to talk about elections and supreme court vacancies. I preferred it more when it was about t.v. shows. but I even said this when I was in Toronto, how I would much rather talk about entertainers than politicians.  

I took a pill in ibiza, mike posner

when I was out and about I heard a song on my car radio around midday. I found out it was 'I took a pill in ibiza', by mike posner. it was a haunting, but relatable, song. what stuck with me was the line about 'you don't want to be stuck up on that stage singing'. well I do comedy and I have said the same about telling jokes. the original video had a bob Dylan feel, and INXS as well, as he went through signs during the course of the song. one of those said 'detroit', in reference to the lyric about going back to his hometown.
   I also made it to two comedy shows in the evening, one was at a micro-brewery. tetris was having a CD release show. the other show I went to he was also in, across town, Arizona Chicago headlined the second one.

passion of joan of arc

double booked tonight after work. first I went to the st. paul cathedral and saw a silent movie from 1928 about joan of arc. I first heard about it through a brochure at the bastille day event from the French alliance last july. I found out the MSP film-fest was another sponsor. it was the proverbial 'two birds with one stone' as it was the first time at this cathedral and I hadn't seen many silent movies before. I do have 'the covered wagon' from 1923 on DVD, as it is based on an emerson hough novel. the movie did keep me interested. I think I had seen some other movies about joan of arc before, as I recalled a made-for-tv movie from the 1990s that said 'her heart never burned' at the end of it. this one was subtitled, and I took French in high school. so once I started reading  more than just the English subtitles, I knew it was like many others I had been to. it was loosely translated and not literally translated, more like how people talk than how they write. I said this about seeing 'toujours' more than once, which can mean 'always' besides meaning 'still'. also seeing 'votre' as part of what is known as 'lords prayer' as 'votre' means 'your'. the nice thing about getting the ticket at the venue was not having to pay the online fees. I was afraid that ordering online meant having to print from my Hotmail account, and I had no time to do this today. at some point it would be nice to do a tour of the cathedral. I had passed on it before as I think most of them are during the week when I am at the office. well I did the governor's mansion tour, and took a day off for it. and I kind of have vacation time to burn so it is really no big deal if I use a day for a tour again. before the movie started I thought of how the joan of arc story probably was parodied on 'the simpsons'. I recall a scene where the soldiers are counting in French, and at the trial lisa (playing joan) witnessed hypocrisy.
   the other event was the burlesque show. I found out I didn't miss much as I arrived when the Melissa joan hart look-alike was onstage. and I noticed she was the leadoff in the second act. I liked the merger of ideas as usual on what they made fun of, like one performer looking like velma from 'Scooby doo' and dancing to 'what a feeling' from 'flashdance'. final musical number was 'let's get physical', the Olivia newton john song. I also liked hearing the lounge singer version of 'come out and play' (or 'keep them separated') by offspring. one dancer pulled a hammer from her cleavage while dancing to 'bust your kneecaps'. other songs intrigued me and I wrote down lyrics I hopes of finding them online later on. as usual I didn't think the magician or MC's were that funny, but there was no cover charge for this show so can't complain about the price.

a drill, an evacuation

I was returning from my lunch, a long walk around the downtown area, and before I got stamped in I heard an announcement about a tornado drill. I said I was still going to stamp myself in. then less than an hour later I was on my way to deliver something and my boss said 'you've got to leave' and found out it was not a drill. there was a fire alarm. so I said I am still taking my phone and my camera with me, so it meant picking up my snoopy backpack. as dennis hopper said in the movie 'speed', 'I am crazy not stupid'. I could have done without some people making jokes about it like 'who burned their popcorn?' it wasn't popcorn. it sounded like something caught fire on the roof due to the use of some welding torches. there was mention of an option of going home early and still being paid for the full shift but I stayed. it was in reference to smelling smoke on our floor when we returned. I made the most of the time in the afternoon, getting the settled and paid in full letters caught up.
  during my lunch walk I went over to mears park for an event about the nhl's Minnesota wild starting a playoff series. except I arrived just minutes before it ended so it was in 'tear-down' mode already.i went over to super-America and got a chili dog. then I looked around at the souvenir shop at the saints baseball stadium. I already have quite a bit so I am not sure what I would want to get aside from a ball with CHS field, the venue's name, stamped on it.
   I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was about howard saying he didn't want to work with Bernadette. then it led to Sheldon being annoying to amy when she started a new job near him. prime time episode was a rerun. it was the one about Sheldon and amy deciding to be together on thanksgiving. howard and raj and their ladies went to help at a soup kitchen. after this was done I took a long walk around the neighborhood. I find out it is a good idea to check the car wash for loose change as most of what I found was there. I picked up 38 cents, 8 pennies a quarter and a nickel. but I tossed 2 pennies when I got home as they were really beat up and it was too hard to recognize what was on them. besides the typical trash, I also picked up a flower. it was next to an empty bottle of Windsor Canadian whiskey. close to my 'turn around point', when I start my walk back home, I saw a man in his yard with a cellphone. he must have been trying to find something on the ground, using the phone for light.

dollar on pavement

I did the Wii walk this afternoon and it was kind of windy. I am thankful I had brought my coat as I had it draped on me. as we were on our way back to the office the event coordinator found a dollar bill on the pavement and said she'd put it into a donation jar when we got back.
   I decided to attend one show for politicking purposes and got a shirt that mason city sells at shows. it was a benefit event with raffles and a silent auction. I was not aware of this right away. I performed at the second show. I've had worse sets but also better ones. I spoke of having a dream where a blues traveler CD figured into it, the one called 'four' with the cartoon smoking cat on it. not sure what it means unless it was in reference to my class reunion.

masters thesis found

at work the political science guy said he found his masters thesis from the u. of south Dakota when he was doing a google search. he said it was weird, I said there are a lot of weird things and 'if it bleeds it leads' before finding out what he said he had found. hard to say when I will want to search it myself and read it. I don't think I have read these too often. I know I didn't have to write one. another notable thing was a colleague in document release asked why I didn't have a mate yet. I said 'fix me up'. hard to say what it will yield, but I am not holding my breath. when I made it a facebook posting it got 19 likes- so far. so I guess it is good comedy material anyway. also at the office, I did do the bowling outing. I was able to make up what I had missed from the previous day so now I have bowled four frames. I am off to a disappointing start though, no strikes or spares.
   I did my best to get more caught up on getting comedy souvenirs into the binder tonight. I found out I needed more sheet protectors so I went to get some at the family dollar. I got two packs of ten, two packs of 'star wars' puffy stickers, and more of the JIF pretzels and peanut butter. there wasn't all that much to add, as I last added something about a month ago, but I still liked getting more things in it. and this led to confirming how I have two stickers from opera singer's band, circle of heat, so one of them will be sent to the office. there is a good collection of stickers and cards already on my wall there, so it will be in some good company. there was also some pages from the comedy marathon, and some small items from last night's performance.

bowling at the office

in the hall near me there was bowling at the office for one hour today. it will be going all week. I was too busy with the payoff report to participate though. it is plastic pins and a foam rubber ball. I am thankful that it is just one hour per day, as it can get noisy.
   it went all right performing tonight, I probably knew more of the performers than usual but not too many. a few poets as well. I had to go back to my car after ordering my beer as I left my camera there, along with my pens and notes. the MC introduced me with a southern accent so I did my first joke about it. also at the comedy club, I did another 'snap chat' with school bouncer. I don't have a 'snap chat' account so I haven't seen how many have viewed the earlier ones and what they're saying about it. I spoke of being single and how blind side was manufactured rival number 2 since he said school bouncer could fix me up but found out it wasn't true. I also saw brawler, who said he still liked the 'going to the town house' story from when I was in a relationship. though I haven't been in one for a while. I decided to claim another comedy souvenir for my binder, it was a 'keep this coupon' ticket laying on the floor. hard to say what it was for, but sometimes this kind of ticket serves as the drink ticket. but when there is also live theater done at this venue, I am not sure of the intended purpose.

everybody hurts, avril lavigne

when I was out and about this afternoon I heard three songs I knew. it was a cover of 'everybody hurts' by REM, 'if I die young' by the band perry, and 'jar of hearts' by Christina perri. when I tried to find out who did the cover, what I found on youtube was avril lavigne. but her song called 'everybody hurts' is just the same name, a decidedly different song. some of the lyrics did resonate with me, including 'it seems like i'm losing something deep inside me' and 'it's OK to be afraid'. I did see avril in concert in 2005 in Moline, IL, and I did like some of her early songs like 'complicated'. I got a picture of one of the things I liked seeing, it was a bike with a horn, at the Roseville library. I did honk the horn and then got out of there right away before somebody asked 'what are you doing?' I even found 15 cents on the pavement, next to some glass shards. it was 10 pennies and a nickel. still surprised to find coins as often as I do. it was thrown into the change bank, and before long I will be ready to go back to the bank and turn in what I have. it is already over eight dollars and the card used to keep track of it will be full soon.
  the day will also be remembered for performing. I had a 7:30am time slot at the comedy marathon, which may have thrown my sleep patterns off but I was thankful to have the stage time. I had plenty of notes, 24 bullet points, but used just half of it. it's not too often where I get this long of a set, 30 minutes, and I was afraid I wouldn't know how to handle it. but I did just fine. I did ones about my grandpa and grain belt beer, a guidance counselor, gangsters in st. paul, internet dating, I kept saying 'thank you' to the event coordinator, going to bobby and steve's, my boss, a spare credit card, my work spouse, a colleague being nice, and a hank Williams interview. some of them I did at the donut party in the afternoon as well. I did sleep some after getting back from the marathon, and from the donut party. in fact I missed some of 'the simpsons' due to it.but I did understand there was something about 'the bad news bears' as a broadway play. at first I thought it was a parody of 'damn yankees'.

the summer help movie

saw another movie at the MSP film-fest tonight, it was 'the summer help'. it was a documentary about college students, mostly from eastern Europe, coming to America to work summer jobs. this also had a movie short before it about street photography. I liked asking a question of the film-maker after the screening, it was about the process of who they decided to profile in the movie. I was informed how it wasn't too much different from casting calls for other movies. the film-maker was inspired to cover this subject after being an instructor at the American university in Bulgaria.
   it was the typical busy day for me on the errand running. I was surprised when I went to the post office how something was waiting at my box. I made four e-bay orders this week, and they were all from foreign countries. one from japan was there, it was a sheet of Charlie brown and snoopy stamps. I also went back to shoreview to return the two DVDs this week, and noticed a new library was under construction next to the current one. I went over to the community center to find the linus statue, and it was on the lower level. it may have been my first time seeing it since the bill young memorial, over a year ago. I typed some thank-you letters in response to birthday cards that were sent last month. I had meant to do this on Friday but I got too busy at the office.
   I also made my first visit to the comedy marathon this weekend. I wanted to do a look-around and become familiar with things before I end up performing there. I didn't bid on any of the silent auction items this time, I told myself I shouldn't have to pay to be on a podcast. one of the performance I saw there depicted a vacation to a tropical destination for some ladies, and I liked them playing a parody of the green day song 'wake me up when September ends'.

norman lear documentary

tonight I made it to the MSP film-fest and saw the documentary about TV show producer norman lear. I noticed he was the commonality on many of the shows I watched when I was young, like the jeffersons. much of the movie was about the influence of 'all in the family' and I was disappointed how I didn't see anything about 'one day at a time'. in spite of this I still rated it five stars when asked to vote. I did pick up some literature there so I could see if there were other movies I wanted to see as the festival is just getting started. there are some, one of them is actually a silent film from 1928 about joan of arc and not at st. Anthony main in Minneapolis- where most of them are being shown. I had picked up a card about the joan of arc movie at an event last summer, from the 'oratorio society'. I knew well enough to act quickly when I was reading about the norman lear movie as I got home from work and was going through emails on Hotmail. it looked like there was just one showing during the festival, and starting in under an hour. so I was off in my car instead of watching a rerun of 'big bang theory' after the 6pm news was done. and I may have ended up seeing a lear-produced show on antenna TV. at times like these I am thankful to be an avid reader. in my facebook posting about the movie I said it answered one question I had wondered about for a little while, as a green day song has a lyric about 'down with the moral majority'. mr. lear takes on the 'moral majority', which was led by TV evangelists, when he founded the activist group known as 'people for the American way'. I ordered an advance ticket online and ate at bobby and steve's, and arrived just before the movie started. I finally decided to get out my loyalty card and use some of my points, and got a f'real milkshake and a little godfather's pizza. I saw somebody in the bathroom after the movie wearing a button saying 'end the embargo in cuba'. I saw a different person with a patriotic backpack outside the theater getting a picture of the sign when I was snapping a picture of the same image.
   at work it was a busy day as I wanted to get the settled and paid in full letters caught up and I did. we had a lunchtime event in reference to opening day in baseball, and I had two hot dogs. there was also Wii baseball but I wasn't that good at it. I did win a drawing for a door prize, it was  a Minnesota twins hat. not sure how many Twins games I will attend this season, though I have already ordered one ticket for a game against the Yankees in june as it is an alumni outing.   

it's not butter

I, like many other people in the office this week, have been partaking of the goodies that have been left in the break rooms after these high level i.t. meetings in the main conference room have finished. one of them appeared to be yogurt. when I was claiming some of it this afternoon I saw my senior leader and he said 'it looks like butter'. I said it's not butter, I wouldn't eat it if it was. there was some banana bread and grapes as well, had to 'get while the getting is good' with the banana bread. not sure how much longer this group will be in the office, but I understand most of them are out of towners.
   I was covering for my 'tag team partner' and had an advisory board meeting in the afternoon so I was busy for most of the day. it meant I got to fewer of the settled and paid in full letters. but I have no meetings scheduled for Friday, and Friday is a good catch-up day when it is the lowest volume day in terms of the payoff report.
   this evening after I was done watching 'big bang theory' I went to eat at taco bell. then later on I went to pick up some things at the family dollar. I looked at all of the CDs and DVDs there, I have made some nice finds before. I got one CD, Nirvana, 'unplugged in new york'. the cashier heard how I spent the start of my visit looking at all of them and wondered why I got just one. I said some of them I already had, others didn't interest me. and this was true. I also got some microwave popcorn, toilet paper, laundry soap, and something made by JIF. it was pretzels and peanut butter, ate it shortly after getting home. it was the first time in a while that I had bought laundry soap, as I was working on a container of granular soap that I got after being in the studio audience at twin cities live, I think more than 2 years ago. odd how I found plenty of loose change inside the store, 14 cents, a dime and 4 pennies. it went into my change bank. some was on the floor in the aisles, others was at the check out counter. the latter was likely left behind by an earlier patron. I know I had to ask about what was still on the counter, napkins if I am not mistaken. she said the earlier patron didn't want it. the cashier was also interested in what was going on outside, something about somebody had their dog tied up. now that reminds me of what I saw at taco bell. I saw a dude in a union jack shirt show up, leather jacket, leather gloves as well. he said to his lady 'have whatever you want'. for some reason I like watching how couples interact with each other. it seems to mean more to me after having been in a long term relationship.
   I watched 2 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when leonard did a graduation speech via skype. prime time episode was about raj being too involved with Bernadette's pregnancy, and at one point giving them a big teddy bear that was bigger than him. the other two couples went on a camping retreat, but stayed inside due to the rain. and it led to secrets revealed due to playing the drinking game 'never have I ever'.

man on the moon movie

I watched the other DVD on loan from the library tonight. it was 'man on the moon', about andy kaufman. like most people, I knew him best from the t.v. show 'taxi'. I know most bio-pics will say 'based on actual events, some scenes and characters were changed for dramatic effect'. but it was an eye-opener about the people he alienated from pranking people in his act all the time. jim carrey did well on playing andy. it looked like many of his co-stars from 'taxi' played themselves. except danny DeVito, who played a different role, his agent. I am thankful I saw it though, as it is another window into stand-up comedy. it was recommended to me by mason city over a year ago, not sure why it took this long to find it and watch it. Courtney love was in this one much like 'feeling Minnesota', but this was purely coincidental. it didn't occur to me when I checked out both. no surprise how the REM song 'man on the moon' was prominent in it when it was the movie title as well. I do recall this song being a hit. at work I got the letters caught up, it helped that the volume was lower and I rejected two that I couldn't do. and it was nice performing tonight. I did do one about seeing the andy kaufman bio-pic. others were about the fugees song and the hank Williams movie I saw recently, as well as having food from taco bell.

feeling minnesota movie

I found a movie I wanted to see at the shoreview library, two actually. I watched one of them tonight shortly after getting back, it was 'feeling minnesota' from 1996. it was weird, to say the least. I knew going into it that it was about a love triangle, two brothers wanting the same woman, and one of the brothers was played by Keanu reeves. I had hoped to notice where it had been filmed, but all I could tell for sure was one scene when they are driving had the grain belt beer sign in Minneapolis. IMDB listed the thunderbird hotel as well, in Bloomington near the mall of America, and this was a hotel shown near the end of the movie. I liked hearing 'ring of fire' by johnny cash at the start of the movie, and a version by bob Dylan in the closing credits. but I am thankful I didn't pay money to see it at the theater or as a rental. the other movie I got on loan from the library was 'man on the moon', about comedian andy kaufman. I was able to get there just before closing time, which is 9pm. I should be able to get both back this weekend.
   at work I did meet with an underwriting supervisor as part of the mentoring program I signed up for. he did help me some with pointers about interviewing, and it was also helpful that we stayed within the time allotment. I was busy getting more of the settled and paid in full letters done, but still not yet caught up.
   my bus friend in the evening, the attorney, was carrying a hard plastic cooler. she said it had lunches in it for colleagues who were coming back to the office after being in maternity leave. I said I think of myself as being the good friend as well, supporting friends in different ways emotionally.

hadn't left yet

I made my typical stop at super-America for dinner tonight on the way to the comedy club and must have been distracted by seeing a Canadian penny in a donation jar. I say this because I walked out with the food but not the drink I had bought. I went back inside and the clerk handed it to me and I said 'thankful I hadn't left yet'. this made it easier to go back for it.

ready or not, fugees

recently I was listening to music on my car radio and heard the fugees song 'ready or not'. what got my attention was the line 'defecate on your microphone'. I was thinking to myself, 'did they really sing that? yes they did.' but I also understand that isn't a swear word so it is one way around the censors. another line I liked was 'born again hooligan' and 'I could do what you do' along with 'I play my enemies like a game of chess'. with rap I like how I do pick up many of the references. in this song this included porgy and bess, Elliot ness, al capone, buffalo soldier, and cassius clay. the Wikipedia article said it was a hit in 1996. I might have heard it before but hard to say. I know this was a year of transition for me, as I was unemployed for 3 1/2 months and finally got a job just weeks before Christmas. I had heard of the band before, as I recalled how an alternate name was 'refugee camp'. I did notice how the band's name was spelled with letters that looked like the same ones from 'the godfather' movies.
     I was active for much of the day. I went to the university and saw the first game of a baseball doubleheader between my school, the iowa hawkeyes, and the home team, the Minnesota gophers. the hawkeyes won the lidlifter, 6-3. I found out later on that the gophers won the second game, by the same score of 6-3. with the game I saw the hawkeyes went ahead 6-1 with a big 4-run inning in the 5th. Minnesota narrowed the margin in the 9th. I ate at the nearby mcdonald's in dinkytown after the game. I wanted to get to the comedy club and perform so that is why I only attended the first game. I did one joke about getting a text message and it wasn't my birthday, along with one about being rejected by big brothers big sisters. I liked hearing 'when the levee breaks' by led zeppelin coming from the bar area but it was hard to hear the lyrics. I had hoped to hear the end part where they say 'get to chicago'. in the evening it was nice to see another prime time episode of 'the simpsons', first time in a few months I think as I was busy at an open-mic during that time slot. it was one about the relationship between smithers and burns. another plot was a parody of the movie 'casablanca', the school play, with lisa as the leading lady.  

I saw the light movie

this afternoon I went to see the hank Williams bio-pic, 'I saw the light', at the Edina theater. what made it way easier to attend it was knowing my original plan fell through. I wanted to see the iowa/Minnesota baseball game but it was postponed due to weather. as expected, I liked the music more than the rest of the story. it was tough to see his volatile marriage depicted, but it was a story that needed to be told. one lasting impression was a scene where he was playing with the garage door opener. I am still not sure why this made me laugh. the three Hank songs I know best are in this movie. this includes 'hey good lookin', 'so lonesome I could cry', and 'jambalaya/on the bayou'. 'lonesome' I discovered when I heard a cover of it on a cowboy junkies CD. many of his songs hve been recorded by other musicians. the movie served as a reminder of my visit to the rock and roll hall of fame in Cleveland in 2002 as some of his outfits were there. he was credited with influencing early rock musicians. I liked the interview he did, when he said 'everybody has a little darkness in them. I am talking about anger, misery, sorrow, shame'. as a performer I find these words to be profound, and relatable. I liked reading a promotional sign on an easel after seeing the movie, it looked like it was straight from a new York times article. it does mention earlier hank movies, like a Canadian film from 2005 called 'hank Williams first nation'. or 'the show he never gave, saw it when I was young, sounds like it was based on a play. I found out from it how there is another hank bio-pic, called 'your cheatin heart', from 1964. after the movie I spoke with a lady from Faribault who was seeing a later showing than me. it was a big deal how she traveled at least 50 miles to see it.
   I moved up doing laundry to this evening so I have the chance to see one of those college baseball games on sunday as it is now a double-header. I went to small world's comedy show after that. it was funny to see one comic after the show confused with school bouncer. the button, and the Wisconsin guy, were two other performers at this show that I knew.
   

taco bell breakfast burrito

this morning I noticed one colleague had brought in food as usual to celebrate Friday. this time it was from taco bell, and it was the first time I had a breakfast burrito from there. it tasted good. some of what was brought in were soft tacos, that I had at midday and then in the evening. when I noticed how at the end of the day how some were left, I said I didn't want them to go to waste and then no searching was needed to find my evening meal. it meant heating them up in the microwave oven for a minute and that was it. normally I don't have that much taco bell in one day.
   I did do another meetup event tonight, the Brazilian music in downtown st. paul. I have done three events, all at the same venue but it can be hard to find what will fit my schedule. it was nice to see some familiar faces like the postal employee. one musician was playing a triangle, it was my one photo of the night.
   I watched some reruns on antenna TV in the evening before I went there, first the jeffersons and then all in the family. for the latter it was an episode where joey was entered into a 'cutest baby' contest by archie. as a history major I was interested in how it did some foreshadowing. archie claims to mike how he wrote in Nixon in the 1976 presidential election, to get him riled up. but in reality it was a vote for the third party candidate, Reagan. then at the bar he said 'you will get Reagan in 1980' and this proved to be correct. sometimes it is helpful to see what predicitions are made on shows.