the ball came back

i did the long walk around the neighborhood after watching 'big bang theory' tonight. mostly the typical trash was found, along with a kid's shoe, that was put into the bag and then in a trash bin at a super-America. also notable was seeing a baseball, likely from a nearby little league game. but it was across the road from the field. so I threw it back, and it hit a tree so it came back across the road. I tried again and this time it stayed over as it didn't hit a tree. no game was in progress at the time. I also liked finding plenty of pull tabs from cans, that will be put in the donation box at work. and then there's the coins, as usual a good idea to check the car wash. I walked away with 38 cents, a quarter, dime, and 3 pennies.
   I did call the dental office this afternoon after calling my insurance provider this morning, hated hacing to do the leg work but had no choice as the dental office has fumbled around with it for over 3 months. looks like there finally will be some action on it.
   I watched 2 episodes of 'big bang theory'. syndicated reun explained why the elevator is broken, and the prime time episode was about raj getting an expensive gift from Emily. it was also about a patent application, and Sheldon was still being annoying with howard.

denied dental claim

I got a letter from my dental office saying the insurance claim was denied. now I need to find out more, as it sounds more like the insurance provider said more information was needed from the dental office. I was told I would be called by somebody in billing, I was not. so I may have to go over somebody's head to get this squared away. I already paid what they told me I needed to pay.
   I did get to the performance venue tonight. it included ones about the sing 'pour some sugar on me', getting some CDs, getting ready for visiting st. louis, a panhandler, 'excuse me', and finding some stuffed animals. it does help to get there as early as possible as I then tend to go on earlier.

bartender doffed cap

I had hoped to be performing tonight but the comedy show was called off, not enough people showed up. I had a beer and an employee was fine with hearing the jokes I planned on doing. he especially liked the one about seeing a panhandler on the way to the show. the bartender doffed his cap as a way of showing this.
    I walked around some after I had finished my beer, and ended up near a repair shop where I saw what looked like an ATV pushing a car along. this was my 'turn-around point', as I then headed back to my car. I picked up some trash in the lot where my car was parked and as I was putting it in a bin, I noticed somebody I knew from the national writers union. we spoke for a while, and one of the stories he told was seeing the litzaus (two brothers that are boxers) when they were toddlers in st. paul. he is also from st. paul, and is known for articles about boxing. I said I had seen Jason litzau's bout in 2007 at wilkins auditorium in st. paul.
   thr big talk near the end of the day with some of my colleagues was about my colleague from south st. paul, and we had to say 'we didn't hear anything'. I first got an inquiry before 3pm, and this is what I said in response as it was the first I had heard about it. somebody mentionedhow paramedics had arrived. there was something about seeing her just before then when we were doing a 'fan photo' of our facility czar. we were given photos of him on a stick this morning, kind of like what is done at the state fair, as part of a ribbon-cutting  ceremony related to our new facility entrance.  I did not attend the ceremony, too many people there.

minneapolis city council meeting

I attended the Minneapolis city council meeting this evening, as there was an item about development near one of the comedy clubs I frequent. many of my friends spoke on behalf of the club. looks like the developer is still going to the allowed to do what they want.
   I did a half day at work so I could attend. I wanted to  make the most of my time off so I did do some other things before heading to city council chambers. I had lunch once I got home, then went to south st. paul on a fact finding mission about the Charlie brown and snoopy statues from the pharmacy that closed last year. I was given some tourist information by the city government office. I wanted to get a movie returned to the library early on, but I didn't get around to it until the end of the night as I wanted to be on time for things. it went fine performing, as I got to everything on my list except one item. I covered things like paranoid, buying CDs over the weekend, and the two DVDs I watched.
 

dumb and dumber movie

I watched a DVD copy of the movie 'dumb and dumber' this evening, it was on loan from the library. happy meal had spoke of it after a show on Friday and told myself I should see it. it proves I may be too smart for my own good as I predicted one joke in it. this movie was funny on some level though, as being dumb gets them into a jam and then it gets them out of a jam. I like road movies, and this can be considered  a road movie. it is all right, even though I usually don't go watch movies that arwe full of stupid humor. I does look a little dated now, with seeing TWA at the airport, since that airline no longer exists. same is true with pay phones.
   the day started early with going to a pancake breakfast at a car dealer in south st. paul, for the kaposia says festival. I got plenty of pictures there. then it was on to cheapo records, as I wanted to see if I could find a selena Gomez CD, and I did find the new one, which incudes 'same old love'. it was one of three, also got one by nicki minaj, and another simpsons CD. I had to do laundry, and by then it was midday so I went across the road to have lunch at super-America, and I needed change for doing laundry anyway. I liked talking to a man who said 'nice car' as I was about to leave, he said he flew for the air force, specifically state department, VIPs. by then it was time to go to the comedy club and perform, and one joke I did was hearing the def leppard song 'pour some sugar on me' while driving back from the pancake feed. some others were about the recent car purchase. then on to sports authority as I wanted to see their liquidation sale. I got a baseball, and two pairs of socks. I watched the simpsons, had seen the episode where marge goes to jail for being a bad parent, then I ate at subway. I will regret not talking to somebody attractive there for a while, can't afford to keep wasting perfectly good opportunities at dating. confidence should be there, just make it automatic. 'hi, what is your name, want to have a drink sometime?' then I watched the movie, and then I saw something weird in my neighborhood. there were some stuffed animals in a grocery store cart, one I think was tigger from 'Winnie the pooh' and another was from angry birds. I got a picture of it after I took them out of the cart and sent the cart back to the grocery store. I found a nice hat nearby and put it on tigger's head for the picture.

  

burlesque movie, cher

tonight I used a free night to get a redbox movie, 'burlesque', starring cher, and Christina Aguilera. since I have enjoyed attending burlesque shows I figured I would like this movie. there are some things I liked about it. when it is a movie about performing I like the performing parts more than what happens offstage. but I am aware of how the offstage things will affect the onstage. as an iowa native I am ambivalent about how they wrote the Christina Aguilera character as an iowa native. they actually didn't cover this much, it is early in the movie where she works in a diner and then gets on a bus to los angeles. I find some good takeaways related to performing. this was true when cher was serving as a mentor. she said things like 'owning the stage' and 'do you feel like you belong up there?' a few times I found it to be a little predictable, like when rivalries existed and I correctly predicted a sabotage that would happen. although the sabotage backfired. it was also kind of predictable about the financial troubles faced by the club owner, and the threat of losing the club. but as expected, there is a happy ending and the club is saved. no doubt I liked some of the songs used in it. one of them I recognized right away, near the end I heard 'fade into you' by mazzy star. another notable one was 'ray of light' by Madonna. I wasn't too familiar with it but I recognized the voice and said Madonna must be the performer and was correct. I found the song on youtube and I liked the video. I got this movie at Walgreen after eating at arby's this evening.
   I liked getting all six items crossed off my 'to-do' list. one of those was to replace my denim jacket as it had seen its better days. this time I decided to buy it new, figured it might last longer. it was hard to find one at first. I went to a goodwill and the only one there had summit beer patches on it, wanted a more generic one. target didn't seem to have any, and I went to sears and found a good deal there. it was half off, and a few more dollars was taken off due to my loyalty program there. after this I went to the dealer and picked up new license plates for my car, I figured it was just going to be tabs or stickers. after this I went on to south st. paul to attend kaposia days, an annual festival. had to skip last year as I was out of state at my cousin's wedding. I got a dairy queen blizzard, but they were sold out of festival buttons. I found a button at a liquor store called 'hat trick'. also got some water, and a hot dog, from a food trailer next to the park in the middle of town. then it was on to the car show at the high school's parking lot. saw a VW there that wasn't a beetle. also liked seeing a buick that looked like the 'rain man' car. there was a flea market, I got a john wayne magnet and a snoopy notebook. even liked seeing a 'little library' with a snoopy theme. and it looks like how the lucy statue that was inside pro-x pharmacy is now in front of the town's library. there were five inside the pharmacy. not sure where the other four are but pleased how at least one stayed in town.

land, you varmint

I got home from work and I was getting annoyed by a fly that kept buzzing around. so I finally decided to follow it around and, much like before, said 'land, you varmint'. it took a few minutes, but I cornered it and smashed it. thankfully I don't have flies getting inside my home much.
    I did go to the comedy club tonight as I knew the big dog was going to be the headliner. he said there wasn't stage time available, probably should make my formal request much earlier especially when he is hard to get ahold of. the barber, blind side, the basketball player, and perkins were opening acts. I didn't know the MC, but was told he was from Chicago.
   the second show, the open-mic, I did get stage time at that one, first time in months. I did jokes about motel 6, a golf club, the car salesman, paranoid, and attending a burlesque show.
   I liked getting caught up on the letters at the office, aided by needing to reject one letter. I also got caught up on another thing, gift cards. I got two 'star awards' this month and didn't want to wait too long to order them as I know it can be easy to forget about them and they expire after a full year. I got gift cards for kohl's, and bed bath beyond. I still have one from bed bath, as I knew I would need another bookcase. one of them collapsed and now I have just half of it remaining, the other had fold-up shelves and is in bad shape. would it be relevant to use one of dad's saying and say 'what a way to go?' possibly. as I have three bookcases and the only good one right now I bought at bed bath. I know how true it is about how 'you get what you pay for'. at first I wondered how to get it home when it was already assembled, and an employee noticed something I hadn't about my car. it was how I could put the back seats down to extend the trunk. this did make it much easier for me, especially when I usually don't use the back seats anyway.

chipotle chips

the company bought our lunch on the previous day, from chipotle, and I still had some chips left over from it. well I finished eating them today, they are saltier than I prefer but I still will eat them. i don't eat there too often now, after finding out the burritos are high-calorie. i recall eating at one with office colleagues when i was in suburban Chicago over a decade ago.
   i took a long walk around the neighborhood in the evening, after eating at taco bell. i found the typical trash to pick up and put into a plastic shopping bag, and some things i saved as well. i collect pull tabs as i can turn them in at the office, and got five tonight. i also found 13 cents, a dime and 3 pennies, that went into my change bank. i got another photo of a McDonald's under construction. i say 'it is moving right along'. i saw some construction equipment at another site. nothing unusual there, but it said 'fiat allis' and this was a reminder of one of my temp jobs during my first year in Chicago-land. hard to recall all of them, and i prefer not to when most were short-lived.
   i watched 2 episodes of 'big bang theory' tonight. syndicated rerun was when the dudes were fighting over a ring from 'lord of the rings'. prime time episode was when Sheldon got a birthday party, and adam west from TV's 'batman' was a guest. i kept saying 'you're annoying' during the syndicated rerun, thinking of a time when bob Newhart was a guest star and said this to Sheldon as Sheldon sure was in this one as well, always scheming to get the ring.

loss payee

I called my insurance company this morning to let them know I had changed cars. so it also meant letting them know who the loss payee is as it is a 4-year loan. I got a proof of insurance card emailed to me so I made a copy and put it in my car tonight. I have been a little paranoid about how long it might take for the license plate stickers but I checked what was on the back glass and it said it was good for 21 days, so through the end of the month and into the next one.
   I got plenty done at the office, despite another meeting to attend. I got more of the letters out and I am nearly caught up with it. we got out chipotle orders at midday, and I ate about half of the chips and can eat the other half the next day. I got a burrito bowl and had water as the drink, the water part is typical with what I do.
   I performed at the comedy club tonight, and ended with one about the alice in chains song at the burlesque show. I also did ones about attending a lynx game, buying a car, the simpsons, internet dating, and attending an alumni event. it seemed like a fairly short list, but at least I am on it.

reading material and coffee

I saw the attorney in the evening when riding the bus home. I liked hearing about what she did with her husband recently in new ulm when they stayed at a B and B, a vacation from their young kids. she said what both of them needed was reading material and coffee. some of the places mentioned I had been to before, like the former post office which is now a museum. along with schell's brewery, and the winery. I said I hope to make it not just for Oktoberfest this year but also at another event where they fire the cannons, as I haven't seen that yet.
   I am still dealing with paperwork on the car transition. I registered the previous one as sold with the state online earlier today. I still need to cash the check from selling it for scrap. the other thing is to notify my insurance company and tell them about needing to change what car is on the policy. and of course list the loss payee as the credit union.
   I did make it to the performance venue tonight, and covered various subjects in my set. some were about what I had been doing that cause me to miss this open-mic a few times recently. so I did ones about my motel 6 experience, and attending a Lynx basketball game. others were about e-harmony matches, and ordering beer at the alumni event. I even quote song lyrics, from 'same old love' by selena Gomez. I was on shortly after the fancy comic, and I referred to how he has seamless transitions.

order cab, send text message

I picked up my car at the dealer tonight after work but it was more of a chore than expected. I called a number found on a cab and found out it was easier to send a text message to order one. I don't like text when I have a small keyboard. I got over there but the driver needed help finding it even though he mapquested it on his smart phone. I got them the check and  got the keys, then it was home so I could get things into the car that had been in the previous one. I really wanted to empty those two gym bags, they had been full for nearly a week. then it was eventually on to the performance venue where I did more stories about one car breaking down and shopping for another one.
   at work it was a rough day, a long one. what probably didn't help was how much time that was needed to sign the rest of the papers for the loan with the credit union. it was definitely way more than the 15 minutes I was told. but thankfully it is all done now, as I was getting frazzled. probably didn't help that I largely skipped lunch as I was so busy. notable about this car on firsts was the song. it was 'just like fire' by pink, playing on the car radio. and the first place I stopped at was a super-America as I wanted the evening meal.

replacement shirt, alumni outing

I got started on chores early like grocery shopping and doing dishes so I could get to an alumni outing from the university of iowa. we met at a pub north of the baseball stadium in Minneapolis, where I got a shirt that was part of the fee. it included a game ticket and appetizers as well. if you wanted beer, you had to buy it yourself, and I had a grain belt and a pabst. when I was waiting for the pabst somebody tried to make a joke about it and I said 'you're trying too hard'. this largely became a replacement shirt in my lineup as I noticed the one I was wearing had some small holes in it. this was a shirt I bought when I first moved to Minnesota in 2004, and it was an all-star game shirt as the NHL's Minnesota wild hosted the game that year. so besides the car, there was another thing I junked this week that had a good run. I took a picture of it before ripping it up and throwing it in the trash. there was a wide variety of appetizers, and for this reason I didn't need to have lunch anywhere. I liked the tater tots, fries, little pigs in a blanket, and a piece of chicken. eventually I had to get up and walk around as I was afraid I would keep eating if I stayed in my seat.
   at the game we had seats in the home run porch. it was warm and windy, and I did leave my seat at times to be in the shade for a while. I also decided to get a dairy queen dilly bar and some bottled water during these breaks, as well as go to the bathroom. I still watched the game during this time, as I recall both of the twins home runs were hit during these times in the shade. the twins trailed the new York Yankees early, a solo home run put the Yankees ahead 1-0. but the twins battled back and won 7-4, aided by a 4-run 6th inning that put them ahead 5-2. there were some socks that I got as the giveaway item, longer ones than the Twins socks I bought at the souvenir shop 5 years ago at a gopher baseball game.
  I took public transport home as I don't have my car yet, and after the train and bus brought me home I slept for a while. then I checked email and one of them asked about using a photo for an upcoming gig, had to ask which one and don't know yet. I also liked hearing from the Milwaukeean on facebook, found out we do think alike about some subjects. he liked how I said 'performing has made me happier than dating', and it is true. also saw a posting from mason city who said his kevin love video from nearly 2 years ago is getting hits again as the Cleveland cavaliers just won the NBA title, taking game 7 tonight over the golden state warriors.

dancing and kissing puppet

tonight I went to the comedy club to see a friend perform. she ended her set with a dancing and kissing puppet, and I got a picture of it. I don't know if she had a nickname before, but I think she will now be 'the puppeteer'. I did a selfie with her on her phone after the show. I cleared a chair for her mom when she arrived, a server was leaving empty bowls and such there as it was near the back. it took a while to get home as it was after 10pm and there are fewer trains and buses at that time of night. but I shouldn't have to do this much longer when I can take possession of the car on Monday. after no likes or comments on a facebook thread about car shopping, I finally got some attention when I said I had signed a purchase agreement. I didn't want to say what I bought or how much I paid for it when I don't have the car just yet. I did go through the history of cars I had owned, 2 mustangs, an LTD, and a grand am. since the venue was near bobby and steve's I did eat there after getting off the light rail. I got some godfather's pizza, and a milkshake. the clerk wanted to remind me to blend it, and another one had done this about a week ago, and I said I preferred paying first.
    I also went to the german festival at the former Schmidt brewery in st. paul this afternoon. I had some potato salad and a bratwurst there, along with a peanut butter cookie. I did go inside a tent where there was some live music, one song was 'roll out the barrel'. there was plenty of mention of and exhibit about martin luther coming up at an art museum in Minneapolis, so I may have to go to it. also saw something about hot air balloons, I guess they have a festival for it in Hudson, WI, in February. I am thankful I went as I got plenty of pictures there. I even saw a kid's puzzle about Germany, but I knew it was dated as it had two Germanys so it was before the fall of the berlin wall in 1989, and the re-unification shortly thereafter.
   I called my dad just before midday to say I had bought a car, and he was telling me he still hasn't decided yet if he wants to help out when RAGBRAI, the famous bike race, arrives to the town he lives in. this would be in July, so still a month away. if he does help out he said it likely would be washing dishes, as he is not good at working with the public. sounds much like me, as I did fine as a dishwasher and janitor when I was in school but it was hard to do call center work, my first role with my current employer.
    
  

them bones, alice in chains

I went to a burlesque show tonight. one dancer chose 'them bones' by alice in chains for her musical number, she was a pole dancer. what stuck with me was 'I feel so alone' in this song, and I had a feeling this was the performer and I was right. I liked reading about the song, though some of what was posted about the meaning wasn't necessarily true. some debated about whether or not it was about the death of the frontman for mother love bone, another seattle band. the video is memorable and kind of graphic, to say the least. but it sure is memorable. it depicts animals fighting, and child being born. according to one opinion, it fits the lyrics. 'I feel them bones are me/some say we are born into the grave'. with this band, I know other songs better. like 'man in the box', 'rooster', as well as 'no excuses'. sometimes I am in the mood for this kind of music, it is described as dark.
   notable about the day was taking the day off for car shopping. it started later than expected, but not a big deal. I turned off the alarm at the time I normally do when I go to work, then fell asleep again and woke up again after 8am. that was the scheduled time to pick up the rental car. but I still got around early enough to get done what I wanted to get done. first order of business after getting the rental was go eat, and I found some breakfast pizza and orange juice at a holiday gas station. then it was on to the post office and there was just four items in my box, two were not for me but a previous box holder. so I marked them 'return to sender' and put them back in the mail. the other two were for me, e-bay orders. it was my first time in two weeks checking the box since I had to skip last week. next was the scrap yard, where I picked up my check from selling my previous car. it was in st. paul near a college. I got some nutty bars from the vending machine while there. I still wanted to research cars more before going to a dealer, and it meant the Roseville library. I narrowed down the list some more as some of the cars were farther away than I really wanted to go. one of them was in Owatonna, outside the twin city metro area. I decided on two dealers in inver grove heights, and I asked a mechanic about a check being done. he said it was fine and how much it would be. so then it was on to the dealer, finally. it was already midday by then. I found a compact car that I liked, low mileage, used, and in my price range based on the pre-approval I had from a credit union. mechanic check went fine, thankful I did it as I had more information ay my disposal when negotiating. I agreed to buy the car when two hundred dollars was taken off the price. I liked dealing with the paperwork man at the end more than the salesmen, no surprise there. I can take possession of the car on Monday once the loan paperwork is completed and I am given a check to take back to the dealer. guess I can have a poker face when I need to, and is one time when I needed it. I said 'I like the car but I can't ignore what I found out'. I found it was easier to test drive the car when the salesman wasn't with me anyway. since I drive by myself all of the time. I still returned the rental to the place I rented it from and not another enterrpise location, even though the dealer wanted me in their car right away and said there was a location closer to them. it sounded like it was onsite at first, but the test drive revealed it wasn't. and it was far enough away that I said I would have been arrested if I had tried to walk it since it was so warm. I knew full well that I needed to protect my own interests, and it was just fine to turn down what was offered by the dealer if it wasn't a good deal. I felt good about how well I did, I kept saying 'worth it!' when it was all said and done. it was mostly referring to the mechanic check, but many things about the experience were to me. even of I hadn't done them much before, or my first attempt in some cases. I would like to think I will have this car for a while, maybe not nearly 13 years like the one I just had.  but still a while. I owned one for 5 years, another for six and a half.

mitchum deodorant

I did the walk around the neighborhood in the evening. one of the things I picked up and put in the plastic shopping bag was a unit of mitchum deodorant. haven't used any of  this brand before but I have seen the ads. I was pleased to walk away with some coins as well, it pays to look at the car wash as most were found there. it was a total of 12 cents, all pennies. I washed them in the sink when I got home as some were grimy and I figure it is best before they are thrown in the change bank.
  I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes. syndicated rerun was when raj gave Sheldon a green lantern and incredible hulk hands to get him to be a wing man, or to double date. prime time episode was when Bernadette tells howard that she is pregnant.
   I had to cover for a colleague at the office, so it took longer to finish the payoff report. I didn't do that much more research on the expected car shopping venture. the main thing was calling the credit union about the pre-approval, as no APR was listed. I found out the estimated APR is a low one so I am pleased. I just wanted as much information as possible. I have compared it to buying a microwave oven, as I did this early in the year. I rely on it greatly much like a car, and didn't want to be without either for long. but a microwave oven is way cheaper of course. I have also said 'ford bull' fairly often as I was thinking of my dad. he said this when he drove a car borrowed from his aunt when we were in Arizona when I was a teenager visiting her. it was my first-ever plane ride, and he said this as we were in a ford Taurus. it is one type of car that I am considering, based on my online searches up to this point as to what is available.
   I did some settled and paid in full letters for the first and only time this week, but one request was sent to my boss as it is a sold account, sold over a year ago, and we must find out if we are to send one when this is the case.

anna molly, incubus

this morning I was walking through the skyway before reporting for work, and at an erbert gerbert sandwich shop I heard some music. I circled long enough to hear a key lyric where I could look it up later, and found out it was 'anna molly' by incubus. I had seen this band in concert at the myth nightclub in Maplewood, as I liked their song 'drive'. the key lyric I wrote down was 'ships couldn't sail me back'. I also like the opening lyric, 'a cloud hangs over this city by the sea'. sets the tone well for the song. 'wish you were here, I need you now' is also good. though what caught my attention in this song wasn't the lyrics, it was the intense drumming in it, which I like a lot. I found the video on youtube and it depicts a girl found unresponsive in the grass, then at the end stops the coroner from doing the autopsy. probably some meaning to that, not sure what. but as artists have said before, sometimes it is 'whatever you want it to be'. I also know the Wikipedia page said the song title has another meaning, since it sounds like the word 'anomaly'.
   I am still dealing with issues on my car, as expected. two people called me this morning on my office phone about picking up my car. I called the repair shop at midday and was told it was picked up.so now I can look forward to getting the check in person on Friday before I go car shopping. I did plenty of researching online about used car lots, and there are four that appear to be worth a look. I am thinking of the larger selection, as I like having plenty of options. the four most important thigns to me are price, mileage, size, and make of car. there likely is something that wins on all four 'nice to haves', but not a lot. sometimes it works just fine though, where it narrows the list quite a bit. know what you want going in is helpful. I did get pre-approved for a loan at a credit union that I found in the skyway.
   in spite of challenges on getting around for performing, I did get to the club tonight as I could make it on the bus. it worked well on doing stories about the car, with mention of the song 'lord mr. ford' by jerry reed. others were about a question on facebook about what 'metaphor' means, when somebody was discussing the song 'power of love' by huey lewis and the news. others were about being stuck, the incubus song, and doing the 'Vivian maier thing', referring to photography. and of course cleaning out the car. seemed to be a good way to handle an emotional thing, parting with this car, tell these stories about it.

end of the road, boys 2 men

I noticed I was saying 'end of the road' often lately, in reference to figuring my car had reached this point. I finally decided that it had, and let the mechanic know 'I've had enough'. it prompted me to look up the song 'end of the road' by boys 2 men. I knew it was a big hit in 1992. notable in the video was the background depicting 'end road station', letter B. it looked like the new York city subway system. although I am aware that the group is from Philadelphia. I guess it is relatable to many when the song has lyrics like 'although we've come to the end of the road, still I can't let go'. other lyrics in it I also like. this includes the spoken part, 'I just didn't care, and I feel pain too'. and it is hard to top one rhyme in particular, 'pain in my head I'd rather be dead'. in the background of the video there is a 'boomerang' banner, and it was a song in this movie, starring Eddie Murphy. after it on YouTube is another one of their songs, 'so hard to say goodbye to yesterday'. also seems appropriate. lyrics that work for me on this one include 'how do I say goodbye to what we had'. and 'I'll take with me the memories'. the video shows the group pouring beer more than once, often done when one has died. with the images of famous people who had passed on in the background, it did remind me of 'the dance' by garth brooks'. and as I recall, I did evoke 'so hard to say goodbye' as well as 'the dance' when I spoke at a memorial for bill young.
    at work I was making some calls in reference to getting a quote for the car from a scrap dealer. the repair shop said it wasn't possible to just sign the title over to them as a way of paying the repair bill. and I was told it wasn't likely to have them show up tonight when I was there to clean out the car. I wanted to get it all done in one fell swoop. well the scrap dealer will be around the next day, and I left the keys and the signed title with the repair shop. I also ate there as they had a good chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy. 'Fly like an eagle' by the Steve Miller Band was a song I recalled hearing while eating. good thing I got started early on this venture, as it takes a while to get there on the bus and light rail. then of course the time involved with cleaning out the car. it was a good thing that I brought two gym bags with me, as I needed both. I don't think too much about what is in the trunk of the car as I don't use it much. after getting back home on the bus I had it all in a grocery store cart. there was the two bags, a lawn chair, one of the two snow brushes, and a golf club. I left behind a few things, but not much. a gas can as there was no space, and hadn't used it in a while since I hadn't run out of gas in a while. and a window flag, a giveaway item from a baseball game in Cincinnati in 2002, before I even bought the car. I was told I didn't have to pull off the plates but I did anyway. I like having the plates from the cars I have owned, besides Minnesota of course I also have Iowa and Illinois. I took plenty of pictures of the car, not sure how many if any will be shared like on Facebook. one of these was the final odometer reading, over 193,000 miles. I didn't kneel on the pavement next to the car as it was raining, so I did it inside the car and said 'goodbye old friend. we've had a great run, nearly 13 years'. I honked the horn one last time. and patted the outside of the car saying 'goodbye old friend'. it was hard not to look back as I was walking away, but eventually I knew I had to. it was on to the light rail stop. I shared a ride with a delta pilot who had a name that reminded me of two Iowa governors. I did allude to why I had so much with me, including a weapon (the golf club).
   after some thought about it, I will be taking Friday off as my day for car shopping. at first it was going to be Wednesday but I noticed the rental cars would be expensive, those that were available anyway and not many were. found out pushing it back two days made a world of difference. and it gives me more time to research car buying and see what kind of financing I can get away from the dealer. I told myself I need to be more intelligent (actually I kept saying savvy) about buying a car this time. and I know full well that if I have a rental car with me, I can just leave if I don't like what I am hearing from the dealer. another sporty car would be nice, but something with good gas mileage is important as well, with miles under 100,000 preferred. something that gets me around the twin cities is most important, as I don't go out of town that often, more so during the summer months.

the part was found

I had a voicemail from the mechanic this morning on my office phone. I responded once I found my password and found out the part was found for my car. but it sounds like it may be more trouble than it is worth to get it running again. I was told an email would be sent telling me what the car is worth, compared to the estimated repair bill, but it did not arrive. and I started thinking in terms of accepting this car has met 'the end of the road'. I asked my boss about taking time off for car shopping this week, and was told Thursday isn't good as my tag-team partner is out that day. so Wednesday or Friday should be fine. I did post a facebook message asking if anyone would like to help me find the best deal possible, but no responses yet. I posted more photos to my facebook albums as well, 15 in all, including to the one about emerson hough as I did find two more movie posters, covered wagon and north of 36. four were posted to the Charlie brown and snoopy album, including one of the postage stamp honoring the Christmas special. so that takes care of most of those from the CDs I had done in January and February. still may be more to upload from the disc I did this month.
   I didn't go to the clubs tonight when I knew it would be harder to get around without my car. but I found other things to do, like fall asleep before a 'big bang theory' rerun was over. eventually I got up and took a long walk around the neighborhood, and stopped at a super-America for dinner. I did pick up some coins along the way that went into my change bank, 10 cents, a nickel and 5 pennies. I tried to get toilet paper tonight as I am on my last roll but wanted to avoid using my card for a small purchase so I will try again at Walgreen downtown close to my workplace.
   I was getting frustrated at the office as it sounded like just one copier was working. it meant more delays on getting the payoff report submitted. it meant no letters were done, but hopefully I can get caught up on Tuesday.

free stadium tour tickets

as usual, it was worth it to read the paper. I read Friday's Minneapolis paper and it reminded me of what I had heard about recently, how there would be free tickets to tour the new Vikings stadium this summer. I have mine now for a sunday afternoon in July. I see it as doing the Vivian maier thing, getting as many pictures as I can.
   I performed at the donut show this afternoon, and I started off with why I wasn't calling my dad. it was in reference to the visit in des moines a week ago. another was about a verbal sparring partner, somebody I am matching wits with at work, the stickie bit.
  my car is still in the shop, and I walked over to check on it after the show. I got my empty change bank out of the car and took it home with me on the light rail, a reminder of where the car broke down of course.
   I started hearing about the nightclub shooting in Orlando online and through my facebook news feed this morning, and in many ways going to be among friends at the comedy show was the right thing to do. international falls said she didn't want to be at home watching the news, and I agreed on that one.
   I added another 'ring of honor' photo this evening, it included soap opera and a tall comic who I think has done a bit about looking like a basketball player. it got 20 likes, which was nice. I added some others, hadn't uploaded photos to facebook in four months. there was six total photos added, two were from opera singer's shows. two were from podcasts, and the sixth was a movie poster, 'ship of souls', a 1925 film based on an emerson hough novel. I originally started writing so I could tell people about this author, so it made sense to add it. this is one of five movie posters, still need to add the others, they are on an earlier disc.

stuck in reverse

I got started fairly early on my errand running today as I wanted to get to the twins baseball game, which started at 1pm. but fate intervened. first thing was to turn in change and deposit the amount I savings at my bank, I got $12.13. this time the value of the pennies was more than the nickels. but as I was leaving my car got stuck in reverse. I shut it off and then can't get it started again. so I had to call for a tow and asked for bobby and steve's as they have a location in Minneapolis just blocks from the twins stadium. after my car and I arrived, I did have some godfather's pizza and a vanilla shake. the it was off to the twins game, my first of the season. the twins lost to the boston red sox 15-4, it was 4-0 boston after one inning and 5-4 boston after 7 innings. I see one red sox game a season as my favorite movie is 'good will hunting' and this helps me remember this fact. I got a standing room ticket for $20, and it was fine just walking around the stadium for the entire game. most of the lower level was shielded from the sun. and I took advantage of the free water available, in paper cups that looked like the same kind one serves snow cones in. my car is not ready yet so I had to find another way home, and was pleased that it was just a buck 75 to take light rail and then transfer to a bus. I had to pay the fare myself as I didn't have my bus pass with me, left it at home.
   in the evening I ate at taco bell and then got groceries, and briefly spoke with who may have been the manager about the problem with the locked bathroom the previous night.

joy movie, jennifer lawrence

it worked just fine to stay in for the most part tonight. I went to eat and then picked up a redbox rental. it was 'joy', based on a true story about a mop inventor, played by jenny Lawrence. I usually say that much more than Jennifer. I have liked her since I saw 'winter's bone'. jenny doesn't disappoint in this one. I will admit that the first part, covering her dysfunctional family, was hard to watch but the story still needed to be told. I say this because I have one of those kinds of families as well. but once they get into the actual invention of the mop and trying to get it on a platform where it would sell well then I liked the movie more. some of the actors were familiar from other movies jenny has done, as she has acted with Bradley cooper and Robert de niro before. at times when she was struggling, I said 'this can't be how the story ends' as no way would there have been a movie about it. I am used to the disclaimer about how it is 'based on actual events, some scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect'. I have a good idea what scenes likely were, as they are trying to sell a  movie. thankful I saw it, so yes I think it is worth seeing. like many movies I was more willing to try it as a redbox rental, as it can be a chore to see movies at the theater due to the cost and the distance. another takeaway was hearing a rolling stones song in it, but I don't think I recognized too many of the other songs, even after checking the closing credits for what music was used. I got the joke about the soap operas that her mom watched, as at times the lines were blurred, implying  that the real family was a soap opera.
   I ate at a subway as I was getting annoyed how long it was taking to get into a bathroom at a taco bell. door was locked and a mom was talking through the door, I guess her kid was in there. she saw and heard me leave and I made a point of telling an employee at the counter that I wanted to eat there but was leaving, and why. and all I wanted to do was wash my hands before eating. I have already proven that it is liberating to say 'I have had enough'.
   I liked seeing a panelist discussion at the office in the afternoon. I knew one of those fielding questions about his career path, a man who happens to be Filipino. I had a question about how they approach interviewing, something I still struggle with. I learned things that I hadn't learned before when one is in passing in the halls, or in the break room, as we often have tight schedules.
 

live blogger, part two

I was thrilled to get the chance to work with the Wisconsin couple again, much like at the meat raffle show late last year. this was at a different venue, and I was asked to be the 'live blogger'. it was a contest night, five contestants. heavy machinery was the MC and pinch finger was the headliner. I did not know the feature act, he is from new York city, but he was good. I liked his jokes about cat ladies and being invited to his ex's wedding. machinery did one about PE teachers. others were about a seafood tag and kraft singles. pinch finger interviewed me early in her set, I said good luck to the contestants and what I liked about the earlier acts. I was asked if I needed anything, I said a bathroom break so I was able to go onto the stage to use the one in the green room. she did ones about lunch ladies, and live in the now. others were about harlequin romance books, Danielle steel, mom burns plastic, intervention, going ren, and helpimg make tacos. then I was interviewed a second time, and spoke of being in Toronto for the pan-am games last summer. it was in reference to one joke she did about being on the phone with a parent, reminding me of when Dad called me when I was in Toronto. others she did were about service cats, and bottle rockets. she shared some stage time with the MC near the end of the show, and it included one about a book of the bible, ecclesiastes. after the show they took me back to my car as I said I had parked a few blocks away. it was hard to find a parking spot in the area, I think not only due to the comedy show but also the Twins game. I had her sign a flyer promoting the show, for my comedy binder. he had already signed an open-mic lineup earlier. I had meant to do both after the meat raffle show but we just wanted to get out and go home as it was late and we were tired. normally I don't go to the clubs this night of the week, but thankful for the stage time as I like working with great comics like these two.
   I still watched 'big bang theory' tonight, but just one episode. syndicated rerun was when leonard tried to watch a Nebraska football game with Penny's friends and eventually went to fly kites with Sheldon. at work I was able to fish out a origami paper crane, it was caught in a file cabinet. I just needed to get something to reach in far enough and make the end sticky enough to fish it out. it worked to put some tape on the end of the ruler. also notable was being in a rush to get on the bus to work. I didn't notice until I got to the office that I didn't have my belt, I left it at home. but my outfit still fit just fine, and I decided it was best to have a poker face about it. we even had a group photo for the mentoring program, I was in the back row next to the senior leader that is often razzing me. I find his daughter easier to talk to.
  there may be a song or two to help me remember the night of landing a coveted gig. when I got in my car to go home I did hear some music on my car radio. there was one that went 'Ophelia, everybody falls in love' I think. others I knew better, like 'holiday' by green day and 'wagon wheel' by darius rucker. I liked hearing 'tennessee' in the last one, reminds me of visiting a college roommate 8 years ago who lived in that state at the time.

stickies and post-its

I performed twice tonight. the first venue I got 3 minutes, and the second I had a crowd member ask me what a 'stickie' was, I said it was like a post-it. the joke was about an office colleague. I am adding another comic to the 'ring of honor', it is software developer. the club owner did that one, we had meant to do this one much earlier but he split after the show. we got it done before the show tonight, the lid-lifter. still busy at the office, so not able to get to many events related to 'career week'.

minnesota lynx game vs. phoenix

I went to my first-ever Minnesota lynx basketball game tonight, at target center in Minneapolis, against the phoenix mercury. the lynx won 89-81, despite trailing for most of the game. but they took over in the fourth quarter. I liked how I paid about as much to see a timber-wolves game, at the same venue, but sit much closer for this lynx game as all were sitting in the lower level. I made it due to attending a history play in march where I answered trivia questions onstage and got lynx merchandise.
    I made it to the comedy venue afterwards but there was no stage time available. so I went home, I was tired. 

millions of cats

I was at the comedy club tonight and finally met a facebook friend and for some reason he ordered the book 'millions of cats' from amazon as I had mentioned visiting new ulm and touring the wanda gag home, the author. odd that somebody thought I was too loud on the bus, even the attorney didn't understand why another rider had said this to me. the attorney spoke of having a getaway at a new ulm b and b, and I said I liked visiting new ulm for oktoberfest.

next stop, golf tournament

I started the day in des moines, iowa, at a motel 6 and my dad spoke with a couple that was staying at the same hotel. the couple was headed to a golf tournament. I gave them my business card and enjoyed the conversation with them about various subjects. the wife said she had at one time worked at the American embassy in paris, france, which impressed me. if you're reading, I would say I am hopeful that I am  contacted  as I would like to think I would gain from knowing both of you. I do like to write, evident here, and I like sharing the stories of people I have met. I would like to think both might gain something from knowing me as well. I do make an annual visit to St. Louis, MO, and according to dad this couple lives in Columbia, MO, not all that far away.
   I made two stops on the way back to the twin cities. first was in Williams, iowa, if I am not mistaken, at the flying j travel plaza. the other was also in iowa, in clear lake, at a casey's where I could use my new Hy-Vee loyalty card. I wasn't all that tired, despite the noisy neighbors making it harder to sleep at the hotel. I did drink two cans of Coca-Cola during my drive, something I prefer to avoid due to the sugar content. I did the quick unpacking, since I just had the duffel bag, and then I slept for a while before taking the rental car back to enterprise. then it was some but not all chores and errands, got the laundry done and got to the grocery store just before closing. dishes will have to wait, but of course there aren't many when it is just me. I gained some more Canadian coins for my next visit to Canada, hopefully this year. it was a quarter and dime at the laundromat, so now I have $9.85.

play catch at iowa cub game

plans are to go to des moines, iowa, to see my dad and attend an iowa cubs minor league baseball game. the website states that fans can play catch on the field before the game. I plan on getting in a quick visit of nearby newton, my hometown, as well.

homefront novel, chuck logan

I just finished the novel 'homefront' by chuck logan. it was on loan from dad and I will be seeing my dad soon. I had 58 pages left to read today. I had been reading it some, then I put it down months ago, deciding to walk the skyway in the morning instead. well about three weeks ago I decided to start reading again, on the bus in the morning, about 10 pages before I get to the office. it worked out fine as a plan. he sent it to me as he figured I would like the references to the twin cities in it, and the author lives in Stillwater. it was long, just over 400 pages, but something about it kept me reading. I guess there were enough subplots, and the suspense of how it would end. the main character, phil broker, is an undercover cop. and his wife, nina pryce, was in the army. they are living in northern Minnesota and end up clashing with 'a vengeful local clan' as the back cover states. the cover states it also became a movie, and winona ryder is in the movie version.
   this was a day off for me, and I liked getting all ten items crossed off my list. this even meant going to a garage sale near the Roseville library, where I picked up a Red Skelton DVD. I am still very much a student of the craft of comedy. I also liked finding some patriotic Charlie brown and snoopy stickers, after saying what my biggest interests were. I also went to Walgreen and did a photo order, first time since February. the employee was a young man who said he had a lawn care business that was doing well.

california scents air freshener

tonight I did the long walk around the neighborhood and I ended up at the car wash. there were some air fresheners inside next to the dollar bill changers, from California scents and it said 'free'. it depicts a palm tree. I will put it in my car. it was nice to find some change there as well, 17 cents. a dime a nickel and 2 pennies. among the trash found, there was a polo ralph lauren shirt, short sleeve, it was blue. well before I got to the 'turnaround point' I was in dire need of a bathroom. thankfully I found a restaurant on the route, and I was able to get in and out from the side door without having to talk to anyone. it is what I prefer. kind of like when I wanted pictures of a post office that was closing, it had depictions of different ways of delivering mail like a biplane. I said 'be quick and be gone'. as expected, the walk was much easier after going to the bathroom. then I went on to a super-America and had a roller grill item, a chili dog. love those loyalty programs.
   I watched 2 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when Sheldon and the guys went to the north pole. prime time episode was when Sheldon's grandma visited.

scan card twice

we got a new security entrance at the office this morning and it means scanning the key card twice before we can get into the workplace. I didn't enjoy this and made a joke about it.
   I went to the comedy venue tonight, it was many of the same jokes from the previous night. I also did ones about the song 'jumpin jack flash', and hearing talk of a boat purchase, it was an elevator conversation. I had to contend with a heckler, and thankfully this doesn't happen too often. there was a prime time game show on ABC that I was watching before departing, the host looked familiar but not sure where. I think it was called '500 questions'. of course I knew the history questions in it.