bang bang, green day

tonight at the performance venue I liked seeing a music video on the TV monitors in the bar area. it was 'bang bang' by green day. I had heard the song many times on the radio, first time seeing the video. what caught my eye was seeing the grizzly bear in it, sometimes a band member is riding it while it is running. the lyrics that stand out are 'daddy's little psycho, mommy's little soldier'. another is 'the leading man in my own private drama'. I did ones about karaoke, work spouse, the computer, the library, the fan-fest, crafting, and the green day song. 
   at work I claimed some of the items left in the breakroom. one of them was a small hand-size book. others would be considered office supplies. I also claimed some advertising art, for lack of a better term. it wasn't too big of a deal to get it home on the bus tonight, it was small enough and I kept an eye on it.

magnificient seven movie

I watched a redbox rental today, it was the recent remake of 'magnificent seven'. I don't think I had seen the original, I know I hadn't seen 'seven samurai' either, which came even earlier. I watched it in parts, one hour before a date and then one hour after I was done performing at the donut party. I do tend to like westerns, and it was great to see actors like denzel Washington and ethan hawke in it. I know ethan had been in 'newton boys'- although that is not a western. it followed a storyline that I am used to in westerns, good guys fighting the bad guys. although the bad guys were the business interests, and not the typical outlaws. there was mention of some 'robber barons'.
   I did have a date this afternoon, it was at a coffee shop. we are both from iowa ,both attended the university of iowa, so we had plenty to talk about. after the date was done I went to the donut party. and I went to another open-mic in the evening, just after returning the movie. I did ones about karaoke in French, my work spouse, my computer, the library, the fan-fest, and the date.

shoreview library

I went to the grand opening at the shoreview library this afternoon. great seeing an orchestra there playing some modern music. I recognized them as 'yesterday' by the beatles, and 'demons' by the imagine dragons. there was refreshments as well, some bottled water and cookies. I liked seeing the book return in its full form, as I just see the door open and that is it. much like other grand openings, it was a photographer's dream.
   it was also nice getting to the twins fan-feat after I was done at the library. I would have liked arriving earlier as I think of my typical eating schedule, and it was after 3pm by then and hadn't eaten lunch. I got a hot dog and some hot chocolate. it was a great place to find baseball souvenirs as usual. there was two postcards of baseball stadiums, where movies or TV shows were filmed. two cards of former twins players. a strip of trading cards of those who played for rochester, NY, their minor league affiliate. one of the mascot for cedar rapids, another minor league club. a grab bag of baseball cards for two dollars, I counted 75 cards in it. and finally a Herschel walker card, from his time playing for the USFL's new jersey generals. I said it was time to leave for multiple reasons. it was close to 6pm, closing time. and I was running low on money. it is a good idea to stick to a budget.
   I was tired from these two events and decided to stay in this evening, even though a friend was performing in new hope, the d.c. native. I realized I had a backlog of baseball cards, so I decided to get them in the binders. it was a total of just over 200. this included a pack I bought at Walgreen a while back, and some that I got at the yogi berra museum in new jersey in august. I counted just 18 as duplicates, just under 10 percent. I destroy duplicates, so I liked finding out that I won't have to destroy many.

champs elysees song

I sang some karaoke in French tonight in Minneapolis. I took four years of this language in high school and still have an urge at times to pursue this interest. I chose 'champs elysees' for the first song as I recall singing it in class. the other was 'la vie en rose' as I had seen the movie. now I have the soundtrack as well. wonder what my teacher would say about me now.
   I also performed at the comedy club tonight, and spoke of singing in French. other subjects included my work spouse, my computer's name, and nicki minaj songs.

love is all around

tonight I watched a CBS special called 'love is all around', about mary tyler moore, who just died on Wednesday. the first part was an interview with oprah winfrey by the m.c. when I posted on twitter about watching this program I saw how somebody said they were bored with this idea and were changing the channel. I did stay tuned and thankfully they did do more about mary herself and not oprah. although I will admit much of it was covered in the article I read this morning in the star tribune, as it was mostly career highlights. not once did I hear mention of her playing mary todd in 'gore vidal's lincoln'. as a history major I would have liked seeing them show clips of it. and as I recall some scenes from 'MTM' were shown more than once, like the part about taking 'the pill'. there was plenty from 'the dick van dyke show', as well there should be, the sitcom she did before 'MTM'.
   I also posted memories on facebook, saying what Dad said when I announced in early 2004 that I was moving to the twin cities: 'sat hi to mary tyler moore for me'. and during one of his visits we went over to find the statue at nicollet mall after a twins game at the metrodome, we found it even though he asked me if it was a wild goose chase. when I watched 'MTM' reruns as a kid I recalled what he said about the opening segment: 'throws her hat up in the air in downtown Minneapolis, 10 degrees below outside'. or was it 12? either way, still really cold. I have seasons 1 and 2 on DVD, bought at a target. I am thankful I looked at the email from major league baseball, as it was footage of her throwing out the first ball at a twins game in 2002.
    I did take a walk around the neighborhood after this program was done, which aired from 8-9pm. I was pleased to find plenty of coins along the way, a total of 69 cents went into my change bank. although very little of it was from the car wash, mostly from the windows at drive-thru food outlets. I did watch 2 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when leonard and penny were fighting about her Nebraska friend wanting to stay at her place, and how Sheldon hated hearing the arguing. prime time episode was when Sheldon and amy Farrah fowler decide to live together.
   I did have the STEP interview just before midday. I feel like I did well but I have had this good feeling before and have been wrong every time. I think I will find out the result next week. I know I was more prepared this time.

  

bike shop basement

tonight I went to a comedy show in a bike shop basement. resistable comic was the show runner, jane goodall performed and tetris was show closer. this was not a typical night for me as I skipped my normal performance venue. I wanted to get ready for an interview for a coveted opportunity, and it meant checking my notes and my outfits to see everything was in order. but I know where my priorities are, no big deal taking one night off from performing. I will be back at it soon enough. hard for me to stay away for long. at the office I not only found some helpful printings, I decided to do a cleanup of my files and it meant some things finally were placed in the recycle bin. as the saying goes, if one hasn't used it in a while then one probably doesn't needed. this made it easier to get one file back in the drawer it belonged in.


 

re-potted 2 plants

near the end of my workday I was pleased to find two items in the main break room. it was some miracle-gro soil, and a flower pot. so I decided to re-pot both of my plants, one was really in need of it and the larger pot works well. this would be the 'stepchild' plant that I think I inherited from a colleague that moved to another office many years ago. the other one I know I have had for a while, since 2008 when I worked in the basement. it did leave a mess and hopefully janitorial will show up in the evening after we are out to vacuum up the dirt that fell on the floor. when my boss saw the bag of soil he wanted some for his plants, and he made a bigger mess than I did. I saw that both plants were watered once they were re-potted. the larger one I kept just half of it as I noticed there was plenty of gaps on the root from pulling leaves off of it that had changed color or had broken.
  I did make it to the performance venue tonight. I did ones about what I saw at the capitol, paying for parking, game over, and meeting hamburglar. I started off with a reference to the show runner, soap opera, saying something about me wanting to finish my beer. so I thought of the TV show 'perfect strangers', especially the balki character. after the show it was nice finding 45 cents on a walk, it of course went into my change bank.

all my ex's live in texas, george strait

tonight I went to the performance venue and I continued with mention of the previous week's 'simpsons' couch gag. it was the song 'all my ex's live in texas' by George strait. I had to check the lyrics again and said there was four exes in it, instead of three. I also did ones about 'game over', what I saw at the capitol, paying for parking, the one bag man, pee wee herman movie, the recent burlesque show, and meeting hamburglar.
   it was a lighter volume than typical for a Monday payoff report, but I didn't mind. I got an online class related to compliance done as well.
   now I am trying to figure out how to make it happen for some travels this year. my boss just approved a day off so I can do my annual visit to Chicago-land. but I am also thinking about visiting texas, both Austin and san Antonio. pleased to find out that the cities are just 80 miles apart.

pee wee's big adventure movie

this morning I saw the movie 'pee wee's big adventure', on loan from the library. thankful I finally saw it as it had been mentioned before. I recalled a screening of it at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, don't know why I didn't make it there. and at the office recently it was mentioned there. I know I understand it better in terms of the scene that was on the video board at st. paul saints baseball games. it is the one where he dances to 'tequila' inside a biker bar. I knew the premise was that he went on an extended journey to find his stolen bike. the question was when and where it would get stolen. I thought it was ridiculous when he got out all of those chains to lock it up. and as a history major I liked that he ends up touring the Alamo in san Antonio. I haven't been there yet but I would like to go. there were plenty of weird characters in it, hard to say which one tops the list. probably 'large marge', or the escaped convict. there were enough things that I liked about it, so it was worth seeing. I said it reminded me a little of 'forrest gump', and 'dumb and dumber'. in many ways I could relate to the main character's struggle. much like pee wee herman, I like being left alone with my simple pleasures, and when those are taken away from me then there are problems.
    after watching the movie, I had to go do laundry. then after this was done, it was on to the performance venue. I did ones about 'game over', an email with a happy new year greeting, a doppelganger, what I saw at the capitol, paying for parking, and the pee wee herman movie.
    after I got home, I rested for a while and it meant doing the dishes after falling asleep. I watched some of both of the football games today, Atlanta and new England won to advance to the Super Bowl. during my walks I found plenty of change, and just over a dollar went into my change bank.

the founder movie

tonight I went to see the movie 'the founder' in Eagan, about ray kroc. it meant something to me to see it as I lived in des plaines for most of my 6 years in suburban Chicago. this was the site of the first ray kroc mcdonald's. the original building was demolished and a replica/museum was built on the same site. there is still a location open for business across the street. I liked meeting hamburglar one time at that des plaines location. I also recall from living there how that town had some milestone mcdonald's, like 1000 and 2000. the movie serves as a reminder of how history is written by the victors. I was familiar with how the first one was in California, and how kroc bought out the McDonald brothers. but others seemed to be unfamiliar with it. I've liked some other Michael Keaton roles, such as 'gung ho', and he seemed to be a good pick to play ray kroc. I liked how there was mention of Minnesota in it, explaining why the Minneapolis paper had a photo in reference to it. but it did leave out one notable thing in kroc's life- owning a major league baseball team, the san diego padres. the des plaines location is one of my facebook photos in the 'illinois' album. I do like seeing it during my annual visit to Chicago-land, so this means it is one of my 'old haunts'. it means ordering something there, like a shamrock shake. you can often find me at my neighborhood mcdonald's having an egg mcmuffin on a Saturday morning.
  also notable about the day was attending a demonstration at the Minnesota capitol about women's rights. it was a photographer's dream, and I got plenty of pictures of the signs I saw there. as the saying goes, think globally act locally. can't get to new York city or Washington, DC, for demonstrations, but I can get to them in the twin cities. before I departed, I called my date from last week and said I was no longer interested. I said it was due to being told I would get a callback when I called on a Tuesday night and I didn't. I needed that closure of saying 'no'.
   after the demonstration I went to the library, and then to target to pick up a DVD, of the Charlie brown movie from 2015. I eventually stopped at a Walgreen for a consultation as I have been dealing with a cold for a while, and got some cough syrup for it which should work better than the cough drops I was using. I will want to see when I can get in for an appointment with my primary physician. I ate at a Kentucky fried chicken before the movie, and liked getting a copy of  'coffee news' there. after the movie I came home and rested for a little while, but knew I needed to get up and go to the grocery store. I arrived about 30 minutes before closing. I recognized the cashier from before, he has flashy outfits and said he is a rap musician.

be our guest, see my vest

I went to a burlesque show tonight and as usual there were things I enjoyed about it. when I heard one song I said I recognized the 'simpsons' parody as 'see my vest'. it was 'be our guest', from 'beauty and the beast'. Haven't seen the movie though. I had to watch both song videos on youtube when I got home. this was in the second act. others I liked in this act were Adele's 'one and only', as well as 'radioactive' by the imagine dragons. in the first act I liked 'you're so vain' (a pun on 'vein'), as well as 'hooked on a feeling' and a lisa simpson song. it was 'got a bratty brother'. and the performer was dressed up like lisa, with a saxophone to go with it.
    I had two meetings related to the STEP program, people who would like to help me out. one was before lunch and the other was after it. the second became a short 'mock interview'. I would like to think that this gives me a leg up in the process. I want it badly, so it means getting pointers on how to interview well when it is solely based on the interview. lessons from performing will help me here. I was asked if I am nervous, well not when I am on stage.
    in the evening I went to eat at an arby's. I liked seeing something about 'this week's fun Friday theme' but listed nothing under it. so I asked when they were taking my order, and said 'works for me' when I was told what it was. then it was on to Walgreen, where I got an ice cream sandwich and a DVD movie called 'hoodlum'. it stars Lawrence Tierney and according to Wikipedia it is from 1951. it looked like a gangster movie, which is why it piqued my interest enough to buy it. now it means finding the time to watch it. I liked how it didn't cost much, just two dollars.

what do you mean, gone?

I asked my boss when we were told that a new colleague is already no longer with us, 'what do you mean, gone?' seems odd how somebody would leave the company so quickly. I think it had only been two weeks. though I think there was one time when somebody was offered a job and didn't show up. so we had to start over on the process. this was a young man in a neighboring cube, and his mom apparently works in the same office.
   I found plenty of coins on my two walks, one was at midday and the other in the evening. I guess the melting snow helped on finding them, mostly pennies. 43 cents went into my change bank, 38 pennies and one nickel. I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when Sheldon ran home to see his mom in texas after finding out his friends played a trick on him when they were in the arctic. prime time episode was when Sheldon drew up a 'relationship agreement' for leonard and penny.

great place to work

we had a celebration of the 'great place to work' survey at the office. there was pizza at midday, and salad as well. I had four slices, and some of the salad. there was a meeting before it to discuss the survey results. I also have meetings set up now related to preparing for the STEP program interview which is next week. thankful that some want to help me out with it.
   I did perform tonight. no problem finding material of course. I did ones about date 2, an elle king song, hash house, a doppelganger, bottle full of bud, lady ghostbusters movie, beastie boys song, and an email from the mayor.
   I fell asleep for a while after work and eventually I knew I needed to go get a sandwich from super-America. I looked at some of the postcards I have of the Chicago world's fair as well, since I just ordered another one from e-bay. I know I already have more than 200.
   on facebook there was something about my class reunion later this year, asking for photos. I contributed before, hard to say if I will again as I am unsure of how many I have.

available space

I started off my comedy set tonight with mention of 'available space'. it was in reference to the show runner, soap opera, making mention of how I was sitting closer to the stage compared to the previous week. so I said it was my 'simpsons' couch gag. others were about date 2, hash house, an elle  king song, royal tenenbaums movie, and do I have a doppelganger. I was on near the end of the show.
   I did call my date from over the weekend, but the call was short as I was informed how their phone had a low battery. at the office, I now have an interview for the STEP program, it is next week. first day back at the office, so a high volume on the payoff report. there was donuts for some birthdays in our department, I chose the cinnamon roll. it reminded me of doing the same at the donut party over the weekend. I did tell my boss about seeing a shirt I didn't buy at a store, about the frazier-ali 'thrilla in manila' fight. how I took a picture of it but that was all, I knew it didn't fit.

royal tenenbaums movie

saw the movie 'royal tenenbaums' movie on DVD today, on loan from the library. liked it more than I thought I would. I knew it was about a dysfunctional family, and I came from one, so in wasn't sure if I would like it. but it was funny enough. it helps that it had good actors all around, including and especially Gene Hackman. But I also liked how it had something in common with another fractured family movie I liked, 'running with scissors'. two actors, Gwyneth Paltrow and alec Baldwin, are in both. although Alec is just a narrator in 'tenenbaums'. does it send a message in some way? probably. I liked when Royal, played by Gene Hackman, had fun with his grandkids after their dad, played by Ben Stiller, wanted to make them live a sheltered life. the Wilsons, Luke and Owen, were also prominent members of the cast. really liked the music in it, as a Charlie Brown fan I recognized the song from Charlie Brown Christmas in it. there also was a version of 'Hey Jude', originally done by the Beatles. there was something by Paul Simon, Elliott Smith, and Bob Dylan as well, as I recall.
   I did some cleanup around my home, and I did venture out in the afternoon on this day off from work, a holiday, to do some shopping. I went to Target and JC Penney, both in Roseville. I had a gift card to use at the latter, and got some jeans. now there is four cents left on the card. at the former I got some toothpaste and two DVDs.
    I did go perform as well, though it was kind of treacherous due to the freezing rain. I did ones about date 2, hash house, an elle king song, lady ghostbusters movie, a beastie boys song, a spill due to the freezing rain, found notes in crayon, and a happy new year wish.

 

lady ghostbusters movie

I watched the redbox rental this morning. I am calling it 'lady ghostbusters' as it is the one from the past year and has the same name as the original from 1984. I think I still have the soundtrack from the original movie, on cassette. it was all right, but not as good as the 1984 version. it is hard to be just as good as a classic, it has been proven many times before with other sequels and remakes. or now the term sometimes is 'reboot'.
   there were cameos from the original cast members, as I recall bill murray was the first one. didn't see rick moranis, but I understand he isn't into acting much now. and of course Harold ramis died before this movie was filmed and released. I recognized the other cameos rather well, from annie potts, Sigourney weaver, dan aykroyd, and ernie Hudson. it was no doubt an update, as there was mention of internet sites in it like amazon and the government agency known as homeland security. those weren't around in the 80's. I liked the erin gilbert character the most, as she was a 'stodgy academic' and I have called myself this too. there was plenty of special features on the disc, and I watched them. some of it was behind the scenes with the special effects, like using a 'green screen' for effect in some scenes.
   I performed at one comedy show, in the afternoon. it was the donut party, but this time there was some cinnamon rolls in addition to the donuts so I had two of the rolls. it was a nice change of pace. I spoke of date number 2, being vulnerable onstage, a hash house, an elle king song, the 'lady ghostbusters' movie, and a beastie boys song. being vulnerable was inspired by the show runner, international falls, saying we should be onstage. as usual I liked seeing the 'traffic report' bit.
   before I went to the show I stopped at a dairy queen to use a 2 for 1 blizzard coupon that I knew would be expiring soon. as usual I ate one there and got a cover for the other, as I take it home and freeze it for a later day. after the show I eventually fell asleep and when I woke up it was 6:30pm. the NFL playoff game was still on, green bay at dallas. since I hadn't eaten yet, and wanted to watch 'the simpsons', I didn't go to another open-mic that was scheduled for the evening. guess I was a little too comfortable in my easy chair when I woke up. 'the simpsons' was a mashup of 'great gatsby' and a more recent story, as I recall they said 'empire' but that is a fox show that I haven't seen yet. then after taking a short walk, I decided to watch the Charlie brown DVD I acquired over the weekend, 'all-stars'. the companion on the disc was 'a Charlie brown celebration'.

manchester by the sea movie

I went to see the movie 'Manchester by the sea' tonight in Eagan, as date number two. I know it has a Boston setting and stars Casey Affleck. this helps in my book since my favorite movie is 'Good Will Hunting', also a Boston setting and Casey is in it as well. I am trying to recall what lines he had in 'Hunting', as I recall he was the one that wanted his double burger and then Ben through it at him.
    I cringed a little when my date gave an opinion about 'Hunting' when we met at a Noodles and Company for dinner near the theater. Something about a lot of swearing in it. I said it was hard to find a movie that doesn't have any.
   There were many things that I liked about this movie. Casey plays a handyman and janitor in it at apartments, and I liked them showing mundane things like throwing various items like furniture into the dumpster or shoveling snow. I said it reminded me of them showing them cook the food in 'winter's bone'. there were plenty of bar scenes in it, and I liked seeing a sign in the background for narrangansett beer. I have had it when I was in new York and I know it is popular in the boston area as well. there was beautiful scenery in it, showing the light houses and the harbors where the boats were kept. there was some swearing in it, but I didn't mind that much. and I liked a reference to Minnesota as they spoke of a family member moving to Minnetonka.
   I did plenty of errand running today, got most things crossed off my list. a few things have to wait for various reasons, one of them being that I ran out of time. but it was nice to pick up a redbox rental, using a credit that I knew would be expiring soon. and I got a DVD on loan from the library, with the holiday weekend I should have no problem finding the time to watch it. and there was the stop at JC Penney to get some shoes. I knew there was a need as the winter is hard on shoes. I used the gift cards I got from family for Christmas, and there is still some value left on one of the two. I also stopped at a minute clinic as one of my ears had been bothering me. found out it was an ear infection, which didn't thrill me as I recall getting them all the time as a kid. I was given some antibiotics, filled inside the same target store that the clinic is in. while waiting I looked at the DVDs and I eventually decided to get just one, as it was a Charlie brown special that I didn't have yet. there was just one copy left, it was 'Charlie brown's all-stars', one of the older ones. I think I have it in book form. I also saw 'the peanuts movie' from just over a year ago, but figured I still could find it later on as there were more copies available than just one. I also wanted to get a haircut for the date, and went to sport clips. one of the NFL playoff games was on, seattle at Atlanta.

toro centennial book

this week I claimed a book left in the main breakroom. it is called 'legacy of excellence', a centennial history of the toro company. I understand that my dad still has a toro snow blower, and it is more than 20 years old. this book is over 200 pages, and is divided into 10 chapters. plenty of pictures in it, no surprise there. what caught my eye was seeing mention of the TV shows it sponsored in 1968. this was the smothers brothers comedy hour, and the ed Sullivan show. another is of president kennedy using a toro golf master.  there was a card that fell out of it, mention of being a partner with my employer as the toro company turned to us for the financing of purchases of their products.
    I saw a comedy show tonight, a friend was in town. he is the Michigan native that is now based in Chicago. his lady friend was part of the lineup as well. I got stage time at the open-mic after it. I did one about mason city saying I looked like a gangster with the coat I had on. others were about the martin luther exhibit, cleaning out a cube, and comments about my lunch. I was brought on by a gwen Stefani or no doubt song, and said I had seen no doubt in concert.
  

loft literary center logo

I was double-booked tonight. the lid-lifter was an event at the loft literary center in Minneapolis. I am a member there and it was celebrating the unveiling of a new logo. I had some popcorn and after the unveiling there was cake, and some tote bags with the new logo on it. there was also ones with the old logo available, so I picked up one of each. I was in some of the pictures. I got there just before the speeches started. then it was on to a micro-brewery to perform. I have had stage time before there, the resistable comic was the show-runner. I was still wearing the name tag from the previous event, so this was alluded to when I was brought on stage. I did talk about the event as well. then it led to mention of therapists since it was a therapist that recommended I take writing classes there. I also spoke of acting like a diva, but not intentionally, at the office this week. and I did one about seeing a cubicle being cleaned out. this was an unusual day as I didn't make it home until both events were done. so things like looking at emails had to wait.

dry erase board on table

there was a department meeting this afternoon in a small conference room. I noticed how a dry erase board was on the table instead of on the wall. first one with the new boss, but the previous boss was still sitting in on it. I was covering for my cohort so I was busy with the payoff report and new titles for most of the day.
   I performed at two shows tonight. it went well, but I had a longer set at the second. it meant doing more jokes or stories of course. I did ones about it's been done, cleaning out a cubicle, martin luther exhibit, and comments on my lunch. I also answered somebody's joke about the trump family history. I will do this when I feel like I can tell a better joke. at the second one I was told to 'come on down' and I made a reference to being called legendary before. and I did one about saying some of my office job bosses were better than others, in reference to a conversation with my new boss this week. I grumbled about having to move my car for the snow emergency after getting parked for the second show, since I arrive late enough at night that I usually don't have to pay.

ping pong at train station

I work in downtown st. paul and decided to take a walk during my lunch break. I ended up going over to union depot, and saw a game of ping-pong happening at this train station. it is nice how there is plenty of activity there now since it is a transport hub again. I didn't stay long as I also wanted to get over to the saints baseball stadium. but I will admit how it is hard to see the field this time of year, when there is snow on it.
   in the afternoon I did get my application in for a program I had interviewed for in previous years. I made a reference to susan lucci to my boss about it, as she was nominated numerous times before she finally got an Emmy- lost 18 times, won on the 19th nomination.
  it wasn't much fin getting my car ready for the road tonight as there wasn't much snow on it but there was a sheet of ice to scrape. I got part of it done, then went to the gas station and did more. then I tried going to a minute clinic at a target store but it was a no-go. I didn't make it in time, as they were closing soon. so I walked around the store and eventually got a small pizza hut pizza from the snack bar. then it was on to the library to print some things.
   I did make it to the performance venue, after dropping off some things. I started off with the 'couch gag' in reference to sitting at a table way in the back. then the others were about it's been done, cleaning out a cubicle, marty luther exhibit, and comments about my choice of lunch.
   I did like seeing the attorney on the bus tonight, I spoke of having some coloring books from the office and gave her two of the four as I know she has some young kids. I decided to get them sent home tonight as I can store them with other things documenting my career in a strong box. at last check, there still are plenty more coloring books available in the break room. so I can claim some more if need be.

coloring books- diet, exercise

there was a big box of coloring books left in the main break room that I discovered at midday. I did check further and noticed there was two kinds. one was about diet, the other about exercise. so I did claim both kinds. it is nice to have for historical pruposes, as it helps document my career. I think I know why they were available as these books had the GE logo on it and we aren't that company anymore. I claimed two sets, one of them I can give to this kid I am told I am a godparent of whenever I meet the kid. there were crayons available as well.
   due to the snow I noticed it was slower than typical getting home on the bus tonight. so I stayed in longer than usual before I went out for performing. it meant I took care of some important things, like lay down and sleep for a little while. I've done this before, take the safe way out. it went well performing. I did the 'simpsons' couch gag, in this case how I am introduced and it led to a reference to Austin, texas. then there was it's been done, winchell, cleaning out a cubicle, marty luther exhibit, and being ill on days off. besides ones about the coloring books, and somebody making comments about what I am having for lunch. people learn this about me quickly- the cardinal sin is to try to tell me how to live my life.

after the birthday party

I performed at two different venues today. one of them was the donut party in the afternoon. the second was in the evening, and at that one we waited until a kid's birthday party was done. they brought out hats and treats and sang 'happy birthday' to them. no big deal, though when we were waiting in a different part of the venue I did have a server ask me if I wanted anything. I said I would want a beer closer to when our show was happening. I did some of the same jokes at the two. or I improved on them. it meant doing two stories about office colleagues instead of one. at the second I did one about a colleague's cubicle being cleaned out. confronting one was done at both. I liked doing the traffic report at the first one since the show runner, international falls, hadn't but did do it after me. I also did ones about the 'it's been done!' meme, emoji candies, winchell, and the martin luther exhibit. I did see one performer, new to me anyway, at both. she only performed at the first one.
   before I left for the first show, I did spend some time with shredding junk mail as well as getting more comedy souvenirs into a binder. it did lead to more being found that were laying around, but I am mostly caught up again. notable was getting the growler magazine article from last month in the binder. I didn't want much more time to pass on that one since it was a big deal.
   I fell asleep for  little while between shows, back at home. I watched some of the NFL playoffs on TV but not much, I caught more if it this weekend on the radio. I did wake up in time tonight to prepare dinner before heading out to the second show. I am used to eating before I get to the venue.

martin luther exhibit

this afternoon I went to see the martin luther exhibit at the Minneapolis art institute. it was crowded there, explaining why at times I looked at some of the rooms 'out of order'. as usual, when I go to museums I expect to learn something. I did like how in one section they did have the 95 theses listed. I hadn't read them before but I took the time here. some of the artifacts at the exhibit were not attributed to luther himself but were relevant to the time he lived in. and I liked learning about some of his contemporaries as well. I did have to rush through some parts of it as we were getting the announcements about the museum closing soon. I guess if I want to get a look at the souvenir shop I can make a return visit sometime soon.
   I didn't mind it at all how there was very little on my plate to do. I did make it to check my post office box at midday, and two e-bay orders were there. both are Oktoberfest buttons, from different cities. one says it is from Chicago and Schlitz beer is a sponsor, and shows part of the city's skyline. the other is from Kitchener and waterloo, cities in Ontario, Canada. I did read some about the town of Kitchener, about how it got the name due to anti-german sentiments in world war one. it had been named 'berlin'. I also read about Kitchener himself, he was a british military man that died in this war. there will be more souvenirs coming soon, as I ordered two more postcards this week.
   tonight I went to a comedy show, late in the evening. it is hosted by somebody that I think I called 'small world' as I recalled this song being part of his comedy set one time. this is a rare thing now, where I attend a show and not perform, but he is a good guy. this is a once a month show that I have performed at twice before.
    notable with facebook activity was seeing a posting from the Wisconsin man. it was in response to me saying I bought some 'emoji candy' that I found in a discount bin at a gas station. he said he would do a 'meme' of me saying 'it's been done!' and he finally did.

replacement improv performer

I went to a show at a micro-brewery tonight, I knew the show-runner. I ended up being a replacement for somebody who didn't show up. I saw the sets of those before me and it seemed to be right up my alley. I know I made a reference to 'big bang theory' twice. also to 'the simpsons'. it was about resolutions, robots, lactose intolerance, and pets. the jokes I did were supplied by Philadelphia, who I shared a table with for a while. I haven't met the no-show, and according to the show runner, he hadn't either even though he has been scheduled for his shows twice. I made a reference to those who got a big break due to things like this to a crowd member, specifically dick clark, and Pavarotti. I understand dick clark replaced somebody who was fired for a drinking problem. and Pavarotti was a replacement as well. this was a venue next to one in frequent. I was going crazy trying to do the mapquest directions and then found out what it was next to, so I ended up using the same parking lot. I had seen his 'improv' shows before, but at a different venue in Minneapolis, in uptown. and we had worked together before, in one of the big dog's Turkeys shows. I was thankful for the opportunity. I made a reference to a joke I had done before, about john wilkes booth and steve bartman, where I often just show up and become part of the show.

shur fine chili

tonight I didn't feel like eating what little food was left in my home. so I went to the grocery store and had the urge to have chili, and I got the shur fine brand. at first I thought it was funny to see an arrow included with the serving suggestion, a chili dog. it said 'hot diggity dog!' but then I had an empty orange juice bottle, same brand, and it said 'liquid sunshine' on the serving suggestion. since I have an affinity with the Chicago-land area I am pleased that this company is based there. according to the label it says 'distributed by topco associates' in elk grove village. other package labels as I recall say Skokie. I heated it up in a pan on the stove and then added some string cheese to the bowl once it was ready to eat. this was chili with beans. there was five items I bought at the grocery store. the other three were some pudding cups, sparkling ice water, and reese's peanut butter candy that was discounted since it was left over from Christmas. I also took six carts back to the store.
    I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when Sheldon lent money to penny. prime time episode was when Sheldon and amy went to texas to visit his mom. stuart was also able to get howard and Bernadette's baby asleep by talking to it, guess he can be boring to listen to. and at times Bernadette was crying more than the baby.
   it was a busy day at the office as I was covering the payoff report for my cohort. I still need to figure out when I am using the half-day I am carrying over into the first quarter of the year.

   

i.t. man from texas

it as delightful to meet the new i.t. man, he spoke of being in texas for a while, working for Montgomery ward in dallas as I recall. this was after I said I worked for an ex-Montgomery ward business in suburban Chicago. at first he showed up to rip out a computer of a colleague that is now officially retired, her name is Barbara. it was announced last week, but I hadn't seen her in the office for a while. my boss was surprised to hear how he showed up that quickly, when we had our 'touch base' weekly meeting in the afternoon. I am pleased to look at my online calendar and found out it is the only one I have for the week. he did help me with my own equipment, switching out the keyboard and monitor. he tells me the component will be replaced soon as well. I wanted to clean things up, as I hated leaving behind a keyboard that I had just sneezed on. but he said it was fine. he spoke of having a friend that is also a performer, a musician as I recall, and how he handles being on social media like facebook.
   I did make it to the performance venue tonight. I didn't eat an actual meal after getting home, had some snacks then fell asleep for an hour in my easy chair. but it was cold outside, didn't feel like going out to eat that bad. I had some peanuts, still some left from the can I bought from family dollar last week. in my set I did ones about the 'walking in memphis' sheet music still onstage, also about visiting new Orleans as visiting Memphis made me think of it. others were about confronting an office colleague that I thought was a friend, the Charlie daniels band song 'let it roll', and more about internet dating. though it is hard to know what is happening with it at times. another performer that I like seeing shared a story about meeting school bouncer's dad in las vegas when he happened to be there to get married. before leaving for the venue I also liked getting more caught up on getting souvenirs from performing onto pages and into binders, it was 6 pages tonight but I hadn't done it in over a week. it means that most from December are there now.

calendars from non-profits

I finally decided to look inside an envelope from the civil war preservation trust to see what was inside. I was pleased that it was a calendar! usually I get way more from non-profits, but this year it appears to be just one. I am hanging it in my home. I still have last year's up at the office, but I have received one from the company before. I liked the one I got from the union of concerned scientists for two straight years, even though I never became a member of their organization or contributed anything. the civil war trust has expanded to try to preserve battle sites from more than just the civil war, also the American revolution. I cut back on most of the history organizations that I am a member of, though I kept this one and the American historical association. I think it helped to hear that my 8th grade history teacher, the late Russell clayton, said he was also a member of the civil war trust.  
   it was the first day back at the office after a 3-day weekend, so I was busy with the payoff report for a while but there were no new titles. I did chuck some of my personal records as I had the time, I put the ones from October in the shredder in the afternoon.
   I did make it to the performance venue tonight, and 7 cents found on the walk after the show went into my change bank. I said the 'couch gag' joke would be about the video game 'mortal kombat', inspired by how the show runner, soap opera, brought me onstage. I also did ones about a lady gaga song at karaoke, an adele song, and what a pen looked like.

cheez-it sandwich crackers

I bought some crackers from the discount table over the weekend at the grocery store. it was cheez-it sandwich crackers. Italian 4-cheese, 6 packs, made by sunshine. on the back label it does say Kellogg as well, so this may have been part of the Keebler/Kellogg merger. they taste good, of course it helps that I like cheese. it says on the wrapper that they are new, and made with real cheese.
   even though I had the day off, there still was things to do. I watched the outback bowl, but after a while it wasn't much of a game. iowa trailed 10-3 at the half, to florida, and lost 30-3. after it was done, I went to do laundry. then it was off to the comedy club. and after that to do karaoke. I did 'breathe' by anna nalick, and then 'born this way' by lady gaga.

let it roll, charlie daniels band

I found another song that captures well how I feel about performing. it is 'let it roll' by the Charlie daniels band. after a show last night I spoke of this song to a crowd member, but couldn't think of the title. I just knew that one line in it was about 'being good at only one thing'. the actual line was 'I never was good for anything at all/except for playing kinda loud'. and a later one is much like it: 'it never did get me anywhere at all/but it makes me kinda proud'. other lines were relatable. 'I could feel it in my feet/hear it in my head' and 'let it roll/let it flood down to your soul'. I recalled attending a no doubt concert in 2002 when I lived in suburban Chicago where I could how loud it was with my feet after one song, probably 'just a girl'. and I stayed grounded during my college graduation in iowa city by playing pearl jam and gin blossoms songs in my head. another line reminded me of another time when I spoke about performing after a show, to a crowd member that bought me a beer. I downplayed the importance of what I do onstage, and he said 'I needed to laugh'. it reminded me of the line 'if you got any troubles/just tune on in/cause it will ease away your pain'. I just thought of it as easing away MINE. the song starts off with advice from his dad. I don't know what advice my dad gave me, aside from 'don't follow in my footsteps at the maytag plant, you will get laid off'. I heard this song when I was young as a classmate liked this band. I did get the album as an LP record at first as I recall, 'decade of hits', and now I have it on CD. I have seen this band perform twice, both at free shows. first was the DuPage county fair in wheaton, IL, when I lived in the area. the other was at taste of Minnesota, after I moved to the twin cities.
   I did attend the bears-Vikings football game, a season-ending game. the Vikings won 38-10, bears had no chance at all, never led in it, too many turnovers. during my walks I found 46 cents, 3 dimes and 16 pennies. it of course went into my change bank. I wanted to do more, but I am ill, battling a cold. I got some cough drops before the football game, but I am still coughing a lot. some things I have struggled to do today, not having the energy, I have had to push myself some more. hopefully things will turn around soon. I hate being laid up over the weekend, but at least it is still better than missing some workdays.