under my skin, avril lavigne

I went to a fish fry tonight at the VFW in Mendota. it was next to the governor sibley home that I had toured before, back in 2011. after the fish fry I looked around at the 'garage sale'. I bought two items, a CD and a book. the book was 101 president jokes, published in 1990. the CD was 'under my skin' by avril lavigne. I got it as I saw how 'so much for my happy ending' is on it. I already had one other avril CD. the one from 2002. I also saw one by selena Gomez, with the scene, but it wasn't the one with 'love you like a love song' so I left it behind. pleased how the final total wasn't much, $1.75. already listened to the CD and read the book, liked what was written about calvin Coolidge. I had planned on going to a fish fry at another place, a catholic church, but the doors were locked. then I checked the sign and it said 'only next week' so I missed that part when reading through the article about where the fish frys are in the area.
   I bought more postcards at convenience stores in the skyway. 6 at one and 8 at another. I was careful to avoid buying one I already had, explaining why I went through them the night before to check what I had. I also watched my comedy set from the 50-hour marathon from last year as my turn will be Saturday afternoon. I was taking notes about it, as I know how helpful it is.

thomas brand english muffins

this week somebody left English muffins in the breakroom when I went in there for lunch. it was Thomas brand. I usually have them as part of an egg mcmuffin at mcdonald's. so I don't have them plain that often, and I found out putting them in the toaster first did make them taste better. it was a pack of 6 muffins but just 2 were in there when I found it. the package said 'breakfast like no other' and does say 'must split and toast' on it. guess I just hate seeing food go to waste.
   I did a 5-minute comedy set at the department meeting, it was a taco lunch first. first time I did a corporate gig. on facebook I said it was 'good news-bad news'. since I got a corporate gig, but with the corporation I already work for. I liked how it made it through fine, though my arms were crossed. not sure why. un-nerved a little about this kind of crowd? a little chilly? both? hard to say.
   I did watch 2 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when amy wanted to cuddle with Sheldon after she wasn't a part of dress shopping for Bernadette's wedding. prime time episode was when Sheldon and amy worked together but the arguing was what propelled their work. I did take a walk around the neighborhood after this, but not as much as typical was found on the coins. it was just 5 pennies this time, but I still threw them in the change bank. I got the evening meal, a sandwich, at a nearby gas station and bought a greeting card there as well. since I liked the image of an elephant driving a car on it.

5 reasons you can't blame

I went to the performance venue tonight and I am often distracted by the TV monitors. in this case I liked watching a show I had seen before, '5 reasons you can't blame'. earlier ones were about some world series in the 1980s. these two were about the wayne gretzky trade in 1988, and the sports illustrated swimsuit issue. in both cases, they say money is/was a factor. this makes sense, as it is true about most things that happen in America. it was disappointing to find out I was cut from the show, but I have decided to learn a lesson from it. this is not the first time where I was cut, or it was in doubt that I would get stage time. if getting there an hour earlier makes a difference, then I will do it. I did get stage time at the comedy club, where I first went tonight. I did ones about a cranky old woman, I don't work here, and cupcakes.

bike helmet left behind

I was at the performance venue tonight and saw a bike helmet left behind at my booth. but I figured somebody would come back and claim it, and they did. I did ones about a Canada penny, hearing how I inspired somebody, cranky old woman, I like the postcards, and cupcakes in the breakroom.
   we did have cupcakes at the office in the afternoon, it was celebrating signing an extension with a client. I had a brownie cupcake, it tasted good. after I was done performing, I did my customary walk. when I got home, there was coins to go into the change bank, 31 cents. it was 2 dimes a nickel and 6 pennies. but I also know where to look for coins to pick up. a standout at the show I performed at was happy meal, and he did do this joke which pleased me. he said after he was done performing that he did it for me, knowing I was there in the crowd. he is warming up for a CD recording. also saw Belarus perform for the first time in a while. normally I just see him holding court outside the showroom.

frank and ernest cartoon

I have been changing some of the displays at my office recently. today I unearthed a page on a wall that was hidden by another page. one thing on it was a frank and ernest cartoon. it was a pirate and copyright joke. somehow it is relevant to our work in financial services. same is true with snoopy depicting each day of the typical work week. or cartoons shared about working in the collections department that was shared by a senior leader, although I myself am not a collector. it was a good page to put stickers on as well. so there is a shiny flag sticker on it, an 'I voted' sticker, a st, paul saints baseball team sticker, and seven from a page of national park address labels. one of the seven is Lincoln from mount rushmore. eventually this will go into a sheet protector in a binder. same is true with the business cards that were brought home. these cards are likely obsolete as there was a name change at my employer.
   I made it to the performance venue tonight. I did ones about a postal employee, a cranky old woman, being an inspiration, fish fry, eating peanut butter, and picking up a penny.

coat hangers

I went to get two items I knew I needed, after I went to the performance venue this afternoon. one was sheet protectors for baseball cards, the other was coat hangers. I did laundry and didn't like how the backlog on shirts not on hangers went from two to four, as there was two from the polar plunge this month. I got the sheet protectors from target, and the hangers from Walmart. I wanted to get both at the same store, but didn't like the choices at target on the hangers. I wanted the wire kind, but didn't see any. don't know if they still make them. and didn't want plastic. and mainly wanted five or six, instead of ten. so I was fine with walking across the parking lot. I could have bought even more, as there were some CDs on my list. but I knew I could wait a little longer.
   at the performance venue, the donut party, I did ones about a postal employee, a loud call, inspiring somebody, a cranky old woman, and I don't work here. I was the final comic in this show.
   also notable was doing laundry earlier today. when I was coming back, I recognized a shirt on a shrub and was thinking it looked like one of mine, and it was. so it was thrown into my laundry basket, after I took out the clean clothes of course, and it will be washed when I go again. it is likely that this will be in three weeks. I am thankful I didn't lose it for good, as I hate having to replace things, especially due to my own carelessness. this was one of my shirts for the office, so not just a tee. so I have way fewer of these to begin with.

song to song movie

tonight I went to see the movie 'song to song' at the lagoon theater in Minneapolis.  I had considered seeing something else at the Eagan theater since I have a free birthday popcorn waiting for me but nothing really appealed to me there. I liked what I read about it in the paper, about how the backdrop is the music scene in Austin, texas. I hope to make it there this year. this was likely the first movie I saw starring rooney mara. I correctly guessed how she is NFL royalty, as both of her names are the family names of the founders of NFL teams, the steelers and giants respectively. I had seen a few movies with natalie portman, besides the 'star wars' series also 'my blueberry nights', an indie movie like 'song' is. I liked the characters doing their own narration in it, and showing scenes at mundane places like a sears parking lot and at a Texaco gas station as well. I even saw a Wendy's sign in the background when they were at the sears scene. I also liked seeing some cameos from musicians such as the red hot chili peppers, and iggy pop, even val kilmer. I picked up a card at the theater that is advertising the movie, and it says 'love, obsession, betrayal'. we may have seen and heard this story before, about the story of trying to make it as an entertainer, but I still like seeing it.
   I liked how there wasn't much scheduled for this weekend. this made it easier to go to the antique shop near downtown st. paul, after having a breakfast sandwich at mcdonald's, and picking up e-bay orders at the post office. the jess kent CD, an amazon order, finally arrived. hard to tell if it was sent from Australia, or new Zealand, but I like having it. I ordered it after hearing part of her song 'get down' in a target commercial last summer. it has just five songs on it, but most of them work for me. the other orders were postcards, five in all. the final total that was added to my photo albums was 22 as I bought 17 postcards when I went to the antique shop. as usual, it took a while to look through all the postcards, and I hadn't been there in a while. the wild game was happening nearby, the wild lost to Vancouver. and the other typical thing was how I pulled out a decent amount, but then had to make cuts. I think I started off with 44 postcards but told myself to stick to a budget, and I only brought $20 with me. the cards are usually around a dollar apiece. five were from Minnesota, 4 from foreign countries, and the other 8 were from various states. I like how I continue to make nice finds whenever I go. and I trust that some of those not making the cut may still be available when I go again soon. I think I saw a few that I recognized from previous visits.
   after the movie I had hoped to get a little godfather's pizza at bobby and steve's, but it was not to be. nothing was in the warmer. so after thinking about it for a few minutes, I got a box that had two pieces of chicken and a biscuit. I had one of the pieces of chicken and the other will be saved for the next day.

brad paisley nationwide commercial

tonight I went to a burlesque show, and a TV monitor near the stage was on for a while. eventually it showed a commercial from nationwide insurance, with bard paisley, the musician. too hard to hear while at the bar, but it appears that they still use the slogan 'nationwide is on your side'. I was tired near the end of the show, harder to enjoy it. I really liked one musical number where a large man claiming to be shrek had two songs played. first was 'boulevard of broken dreams' by green day. then it was 'born this way' by lady gaga. at the office I found out more about my benefits. looks like I can use the spending account to pay for dental visits as well as medical.

matt's cranberry walnut cookies

tonight I went to the grocery store late in the evening after I did more with my postcard collection. in the discount bin was a package of matt's cranberry walnut cookies. I don't think I have had these kind of cookies before, but I bought them. looks like they had just expired. they taste fine, don't need to have peanut butter cookies all the time. this also meant I didn't do the typical long walk around the neighborhood. but it was just as well, as it was raining when I went to the grocery store. I got a chimichanga and a small bag of BBQ chips as well. I watched some of the college basketball tournament but not all that much. I know Kansas routed purdue. it is now the regional round. I did see a syndicated rerun of 'big bang theory'. it was about penny claiming a free easy chair that had critters in it. I like it as it is the one where penny said to Sheldon 'what's up, buttercup?' along with two others rhyming questions.

perils and temptations

my employer has an internal social media system and I posted how I am a performer there. somebody in another office found me and sent me a message away from it, on i.m. I was informed how it was inspiring that I perform. eventually I spoke of some of the perils and temptations from performing, such as how two of my comrades died and drugs claimed both. then this colleague said he was a frontman for a music group, and I know these same perils exist there as well.
  I did make it to the performance venue tonight. I did various stories, one was about my postcard collection that I am still organizing more. it also meant adding some more cards of st. paul that I sent home after discovering an 8-card set that I stashed at the office for a while. it led to me finding another duplicate card. there are some more photo albums to go through to see if there are any more duplicate cards, but hopefully not too many. also want to look at iowa, and Illinois, as I have plenty from those states as well. I am holding on to the duplicate for now as I can still use it, send it to someone who will like having it.

american clock

tonight at the performance venue I picked up a card advertising a show called 'the American clock' by Arthur miller. it will take place at the Guthrie theater next month. I do like having these cards as souvenirs from performing. I haven't heard of this show, but it speaks of it being vaudeville on the card, and stories about the great depression. this is my favorite era of history to study, especially the alphabet agencies that put people back to work. so it may mean more research about it.
   I did jokes about researching ancestors, acronyms, sending postcards to family, a how-to article, and a reference to bathtub's joke about sitting as it seemed relevant to the MC waiting to bring me onstage. guess this is a 'frenemy'. but having 'manufactured rivals' seems to be part of performing, so I am taking it in stride. at the office I replaced more torn files to stay busy after the payoff report was done. and I liked finding more coins on a walk after performing, 54 cents went into my change bank. it was 2 dimes, 3 nickels, and 19 pennies. it meant cleaning off some of the pennies, as I like seeing the year on the coins.

minerva cars

recently I was at the performance venue and saw something on TV about discovering old cars. this included a Minerva, a car I had never heard of. but a search yielded a Wikipedia article that said it was a Belgian luxury car that hasn't been made in a while. so there we go. this is a problem at times when I am out performing. when there are TVs near the stage sometimes I am so distracted that I watch the TV more than who is onstage. It can be hard to choose.
   I did make it to the performance venue tonight, after deciding to get caught up on getting more comedy souvenirs into sheet protectors and then a binder. I did ones about marvin berry in 'back to the future', baseball play, researching ancestors, acronyms, sending postcards to family, and a how-to article. the MC did refer to the ancestry one when I was finished.
   at the office I liked how even though it was a high-volume Monday I got my share of the payoff report done more quickly than typical. it helps to avoid going online for as long as I can, avoiding emails, and avoiding doing walks around the floor as well. I liked being able to prove that I could do it. all about needing motivation. I also liked finding more joke postcards at a convenience store in the skyway near my office, 12 in all. I had bought some there before, so I knew which ones I already had. some appear to be by the same artist, so when I placed them in a photo album I tried to place them together when I noticed similarities.

kevin hart what now movie

I used a free redbox rental for my birthday that was expiring soon. it was for 'kevin hart what now'. since I do stand-up comedy I figured it would be appealing. although I have seen better comedy movies. I didn't enjoy the james bond parody at the start and end of the movie. and in his stand-up routine I liked some of the jokes but he swore more than I cared to hear. I like being able to prove that I can make people laugh without swearing that much. the jokes I liked were about relationships.
   I did some more with my postcard collection, and it meant finding more to use as thank-you cards to those who sent me birthday cards. I found four that I could part with, and those cards are ready to send now. it helped that two of them were duplicates. one was from graceland, one was a baseball hall of fame plaque, one was from the carl sandburg home in Galesburg, IL, and one was from a destination in Sandusky, OH, on lake erie. I took a picture of the four cards on my clipboard before putting them in my bag. I will send them in the morning from the downtown post office, near my workplace. it is easier than having to type out a letter and then find an envelope for it. I also organized it more and it meant moving the ones from Canada into a different album. it also reminds me that if I want to see Canada again this year for their 150 celebration that I should figure out when to go. it would be in the summer, and I should send myself a postcard from there this time. I had been there three times already but haven't sent one from there.
   I did make it to the performance venue in the afternoon, after watching the movie. I did ones about the baseball play, researching ancestry, bad advice about traveling, seeing the movie 'some kind of wonderful', and using acronyms. I got home and fell asleep, and woke up in time to watch part of 'the simpsons'. it was about trophies. I watched the show after it, called 'making history', since I majored in history, but I am ambivalent about it. as the main character doesn't seem to cover history much.

some kind of wonderful movie

I watched a movie on loan from the library this morning, 'some kind of wonderful'. I was inspired to do so after seeing the soundtrack for sale at the family dollar in my neighborhood, but I did not buy the soundtrack. I know I didn't like it as much as some other john hughes movies, though it did capture teen angst well. this may have been why I didn't like it, since I don't miss being that age. there was more drama than I cared for, with the main character's family as well as what was happening at high school. I did like the places he visited when he went on a date with the lea Thompson character. this included an art museum, and an amphitheater. I know the story did not take place in Chicago, like most john hughes movies do, but in California. not many actors that I recognized in it, besides lea there was also john ashton, who played his dad. I liked some of the lines from his drummer friend, the tomboy. a new twist on 'don't judge a book by its cover', as well as one about swallowing pride and blood. I know I didn't like who lea dated at first, as I kept swearing at that character. since he was a snob and treated people like dirt. but it did remind me of what my dad said when I was young, about some characters. 'you're not supposed to like them'. I had tried to watch it earlier in the week, but I was too tired and fell asleep. so I knew it would be easier to try again on the weekend, especially in the morning.
    I made it to the post office just before closing this afternoon, and picked up what was there, 5 e-bay orders of postcards as well as a magazine. I said the man helping me was funny, and I decided to claim british penny that was in a small dish. I recognized it as being different from the others, since it is larger than an American penny. eventually I made it to the library as well, to print things, also just before closing time.
   I made it to a show in the evening in uptown Minneapolis, it was related to women's history month. I had seen plays by this troupe before, this was the third edition of it that I had seen. this was about villainous women. after the play I walked down to a Walgreen and picked up some supplies before I got in my car and went home. I also made it to the grocery store just before closing time. see a pattern here? i think some call it 'Parkinson's law'. I had been working on better organizing my postcard collection, and now I am satisfied with it. instead of destroying some of them that I no longer want, especially the duplicate ones, I am mailing them to family that sent me birthday cards. already sent one to my dad when I was at the post office earlier today, and will get two others ready this weekend. usually I write brief letters to all, and I still might send letters to the other two. I will be keeping most of the postcards, only a handful are not being kept. I wanted to stress quality, so it means doing an assessment about the best ones, especially places I visit regularly like my annual visits. I also had to ask myself where the postcards from Galesburg, IL, were as I traveled there this fall. a quick check of a tote bag with tourist souvenirs, and they were found. 

bobber, water safety dog

I saw the tail end of the st. Patrick's day parade, which is near my workplace in downtown st. paul. as usual, there was plenty of free items to be had. though the most notable for me was a trading card that depicted 'bobber, the water safety dog'. there is also mention of 'ranger jane' on it. I gladly accepted it when it was offered as I like all kinds of souvenirs. and when this is the size of a baseball card I can fit it into sheet protectors and then into a binder. it appears to be issued by the US army corps of engineers. there is also mention of a 'trading card game' on the back, and a website to go to about it.
   in the evening I did get to the performance venue, a micro-brewery on the east side of st. paul. I did ones about a tramp stamp, the 'amelie' movie, a birthday party when I was young,  baseball play, and researching family history. sounds like they are moving soon to the downtown area. I got stage time as another performer didn't show up. as usual, I liked the popcorn at this place. I did not visit a fish fry due to performing tonight, but I did have a filet-o-fish at mcdonald's.

spam single classic

I was so busy for a while tonight that I didn't have dinner until it was late in the evening. I went to the grocery store just minutes before closing time and got a spam single classic. I also got some string cheese, lay's BBQ chips, and some reese's peanut butter. I was going through the postcards that are stored in photo albums. they are better organized now by the state of origin. when they are newly acquired they are often placed in the newest album available. I hadn't done this in a while, and now some albums are devoted to just one state. this is true of my native iowa, actually two albums now. and also Illinois, two albums as well. I had ordered more Chicago postcards from e-bay and it prompted me to look at what I already had. no surprise how I found two duplicate Chicago postcards, since I visit there annually that increases the odds. one duplicate set was of the theater, and the other was of the water tower. I will send one of these duplicate cards to the office, where it will get seen more often.
   I watched some of the college basketball tournament  while I was busy. and a syndicated rerun of 'big bang theory', the one where Sheldon threatens to notify priya's parents about her dating leonard. there was I.t. problems at the office, made it hard to get stamped out for lunch. but the breakfast was good, usually I just have bacon eggs hash browns and toast while traveling, staying at a hotel.

blank screen show

I sometimes say I am watching the 'blank screen show' at the office in the main break room. there are many times when I prefer this over actual programming.
   I made it to the performance venue tonight. I did ones about a lent fish fry, the movie 'amelie', the high school hockey tournament, sneezing, a baseball play, breakfast at the office, an idiot trying to tell me how to live my life, and a card from my aunt in Wisconsin.

germania, iowa

I have been searching online about immigrant ancestors. I made a nice find about a great-grandma and her family. not only are her parents buried in iowa, but so are her grandparents, who arrived more than a decade earlier in America. when I searched about my great-grandma, it was said her parents were headed to find his brother, who lived in Germania, iowa. I had never heard of the town, and found out why. there was a name change in 1919 due to 'world war one hysteria', and it is now known as 'lakota'. this is in northern iowa. on my next visit there, likely for a minor league baseball game in may at the earliest, I will want to find the cemeteries they are buried in. with my great-grandpa, I didn't find near as much. I know he moved here when he was still a young man in his 20s, and I would like to think he was excited when he arrived in new York. I am picturing it like balki is in the opening segment of the TV show 'perfect strangers'.
    I did make it to the performance venue tonight. I did ones about brett favre, the movie 'amelie', pay raise, seeing a play, and sneezing. and I got annoyed with somebody I was talking to after the show and said 'bye' as it became a nowhere conversation where somebody was trying to tell me how to live my life. that is a cardinal sin in my book.

5 minute rookie

I performed at the comedy club tonight, and I think this is the first time I did 5 minutes at their open-mic. I made the most of it. I did ones about a tramp stamp, my birthday, pay raise, sneezing, and the des plaines mcdonald's. brawler said he liked the set but that I stepped on one joke. I do like getting feedback about what works and what doesn't. and as usual, there was the 'blues brothers moment'. Worthington did one about hitting deer. I liked hearing brawler do one about superheroes. school bouncer did one about how 'it's there' and planting seeds. I liked being able to confab with one of the managers after the show, or as I understand a former manager.
   at work it was a high-volume day, so I opted out of the career fair happening in the hall. my boss did schedule a meeting in the afternoon, but it didn't take long. I ordered two postcards on e-bay, one was of the Chicago stockyards and the other was of Sears. when riding the bus home I spoke with the attorney, as I often do once a week. she spoke of her family doing a jigsaw puzzle, it went well considering her kids are young, like ages four and two.
   

safe at home play

this evening I went to a play at the saints baseball stadium, CHS field, called 'safe at home'. there were 8 different scenes in this show as I recall, and plenty of walking around the stadium to each one. after a while, I got used to seeing the TV monitors saying how much time was left. there was even one where it was wordless, between two mascots. I knew there was going to be a notable actor in it, Don Shelby, a former news anchor at WCCO-TV. I liked seeing some parts of the stadium that I hadn't seen before, even saw more than when I was a performer back in august. it meant seeing the home team clubhouse. I arrived just in time for the 'tour' I reserved for, which started at 6:20pm. it was slower going on the roads due to the snowstorm. I saw snow starting to fall in the afternoon, just as I was leaving the library and on my way to the performance venue. this of course was the donut party, and I did ones about a tramp stamp, my birthday, pay raise meeting, and the French movie 'Amelie'. I saw the movie on DVD around midday so I would feel better about junking the VHS copy. I hadn't seen it in a while, but I still liked it. some things in it remind me of me, like the character who had the album of discarded pictures from a photo booth. it is also memorable in terms of how it is referenced in later movies, including a favorite one of mine, 'up in the air', about the garden gnome.

double overtime hockey

I made it to the xcel center this afternoon for the high school hockey tournament. I like seeing the small school final as it is the proverbial 'path of least resistance'- a smaller crowd, and a day I don't work, unlike semifinal day. it was finally decided, in double overtime, in the final minute of the second extra session. Hermantown beat Monticello-A-ML 4-3. there was no score at the end of the first, and Monticello was up 2-1 at the end of the 2nd. though Hermantown out-shot them for the entire game, 15-1 at the end of the 1st and by more than double at the end of the game. one overtime goal was waved off, so I wanted to see if the second was for real. even though Hermantown trailed for a while, I knew they weren't going to lay down and die with the way they kept shooting the puck as eventually it would go in. I went to get a Band-Aid during the first intermission, as a paper cut from the office from the previous day re-surfaced. I asked where first aid was, no problem getting a bandage, actually they gave me two. I am still wearing the first one as I am writing. Monticello scored early in the 2nd and 3rd, and I was just getting back to my seat both of those times as I wanted to walk around during intermissions. I did get some popcorn while there, and ate half of it at the venue. I took the box home and eventually will eat the rest.
   it took a while to leave downtown st. paul on the bus after the game so my visit to the library to print things will have to wait. I eventually fell asleep after getting home, and knew I had to get going again. I wanted to get a ticket for a play at the saints baseball stadium called 'safe at home'. I had hoped to see it tonight, but it was not to be. all booked up, so I made a reservation for sunday. I paid for parking long enough to get the ticket ordered, then went to eat at a popeye's chicken, the one on university avenue. on to the dairy queen to use a 2 for 1 blizzard coupon. there were some kids at DQ that were blocking the bathroom and the exit so I said something to management and they broke it up. I decided that I needed to watch one of the DVDs I had bought in the past few months. I chose 'breakfast club'. with that one, as well as 'amelie', the DVD copy replaces the VHS version. I wanted to get them watched so then I feel better about junking the VHS copy. so 'amelie' is next on the list. but I have a backlog at this point, as I have 3 other DVDs, bought from amazon, that I haven't watched yet. the replacement videos were found at a target location.
   after I was done watching the video, I went to my neighborhood grocery store. I liked making a nice find in the media section. sometimes I get a special edition magazine, and this time I bought one from rolling stone writing about Saturday night live. at first look, it appears to emphasize the early years. this doesn't surprise me much, as I saw an art film about SNL a few years back that did the same thing. I know I will like reading about cast members like janeane garofalo, and molly Shannon. the former is one of three comedy influences, and the latter might as well be. I recalled an article about molly in the Chicago sun-times paper back in 1999 that stuck with me. it said comedy was her therapy after losing her mom in a car wreck at age four. it reminds me of how I have decided to work through things in my performing.

mayor of poundtown

I went to a comedy show tonight at a micro-brewery in Minneapolis and got a free download of a CD. also got a shirt that said 'mayor of poundtown'. this was a comic that I saw perform in Madison, WI, when I was in town attending my cousin's wedding over a year ago. I knew all of the openers, including brawler, the button, yemen native, and fish noodle. this comic will be added to the 'ring of honor', and I was holding up the shirt in the photo.
    I made it to the VFW in south st. paul to do their lent fish fry. I arrived 30 minutes earlier, that made a difference. it may have been my first time there so I got a good look around, and plenty of photos as well. when I went back for seconds I did not have the potatoes, for whatever reason they just didn't taste good to me. but I liked the macaroni, baked beans, and fish. now it means trying to figure where I go for fish next week.
    at work there was a meeting for the advisory board I am on, I said I was fine with it being postponed from an earlier date. since Friday is a lower day than Monday. I noticed I hadn't emptied the deleted items folder in a while so that was done.
   

arguing with myself

there was a department meeting at the office before midday and I go to the venue, nobody in there. so I go back to my cube and ask my boss if there is a meeting. I said I wasn't going in to an empty conference room and arguing with myself. it was why others didn't go in at first either, I found out. but we did have the meeting. sounds like my boss wants me to perform at the office as a warmup for other meetings, will have to hear more soon about this matter.
    I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when leonard went to catalina with priya, raj's sister. even though raj forbade it. prime time episode was when the friends were having issues in their relationships and, according to leonard's mom, solved them with a 'buffer zone', having roommates live with them such as stuart, and now raj. after that was done I did a long walk around the neighborhood, and it netted 46 cents. it was 2 dimes, a nickel, 21 pennies, and went into my change bank. at first it was hard to recognize the nickel as it was dark and it was really beat up, likely from being in the street. as usual, much of what I found was at the car wash. this still seems to prove what I've read in the Wikipedia article, where pennies are usually either thrown away or found in jars. they just aren't used all that much.

pay raise and donuts

first day back at the office after being at the capitol. there was a meeting I was called to, my two managers were there. found out it was announcing my pay raise. one of them jokes about how I can buy them beer, based on how much it will be. before that I said one time a pay raise was comparable to a movie ticket each week. I was advised not to say what I make, but I think it stands to reason that I do make more than many do there due to years of service. this is the proverbial 'merit increases'. i was only able to write down what it is, and effective in early April. no copy of the form was allowed. since I was out of the office on my birthday, my boss brought in donuts and cookies to mark the event. I had a jelly donut.
    I did make it to the performance venue tonight. I did ones about the polar plunge, are we dating now?, the pay raise meeting, can you do mine too?, my birthday, coffee at the baseball game, and ran out of fish. I missed the first bus home tonight from the office, it didn't stop for long. so I saw I was much closer to the stop when a later one arrived. sometimes I like walking around a little while waiting. I picked up a penny during this time, I knew it was one due to the size. though I had to scrape it a little to make it more visible when I got it home, since it likely had been out in the elements for a while. so of course once finished it went into the change bank.

orange cupcakes

I know it is common to have birthday cake, and my birthday is today. so I decided to stop at a super-America before I went to the performance venue and got some orange hostess cupcakes. another time I recalled getting some carrot cake to mark the event. I did ones about doing the polar plunge, are we dating now?, being asked a lot of questions, batman, and birthday offers from email. I decided to make my birthday visible to facebook friends and I was pleased to get 40 wishes, at last count. one of them showed an image of snoopy blowing out candles on a cake. as a big Charlie brown and snoopy fan of course I liked seeing it.
   I had the day off, there was two appointments I had made. the first was going to the state capitol for my annual visit to meet who represents me. I left a little earlier than typical so I could get to the next appointment. I stayed long enough to have lunch, as I had a meal ticket good for up to 12 dollars and what I had was just under ten. I wanted to confab with a fellow comic, and we did this in the afternoon. I know it was helpful to do so. after that I realized I hadn't sent a card to a classmate who has the same birthday so I went to the family dollar and got a card. while there I got a CD of popular songs from the 1990s.

karaoke line dancing

it was a wild night doing karaoke. at one point we did some line dancing. not sure what song, but it was 'down down, to the right to the left'. one lady there said she had seen me perform at the open-mic, on another night. another showed me her batman tattoo. I liked doing 3 songs there. 'what would you say' by dave Matthews band, 'everybody hurts' by REM, and 'tide is high' by blondie.  I made my birthday visible on facebook and it looks like some birthday wishes have already arrived. I decided to hide it for a while and it meant none of those last year, but I had heard it was a way to avoid identity theft.

sock found

I did laundry at midday, and when I got out a set of sheets for the bed I found a sock. I had figured it was lost when I last did laundry 3 weeks ago but I guess not. so it will be put back in the rotation.
   I did the donut party after going to the library to print things. I did ones about being in Chicago-land, the polar plunge, hit on at a karaoke bar, are we dating now?, and ran out of fish. the show ran longer than typical as there was so many there. I liked seeing the comic that likes the band black flag, he said it was his first time there.
   during my walks today I found 18 cents that went into my change bank, a nickel and 13 pennies. after getting back from the donut party I had dinner and watched 'the simpsons' as well as the premiere of a show about time travel. as a history major I said I should give it a chance. the main character went back in time to the American revolution, history instructors if I am not mistaken. I also got more items into one of the comedy souvenir binders, though there is just one sheet protector left. so I will need to get more in order to place more items in there.

iowa baseball vs. oral roberts

I went to a college baseball game at the Vikings stadium this afternoon. I checked the schedule of the dairy queen classic and found out there was an iowa game that fit my schedule. it was the one against oral Roberts. iowa never trailed in this one, going up 3-0 in the first on a home run. the long ball was good to them, most of their runs were scored that way. iowa won 7-5. it was my third event at this venue. I had a hot dog and some coffee while there, as I wanted an order that left me some change from $10. but normally I don't drink coffee. they gave me plenty of cream and sugar for it. as expected, the crowd was small, as college baseball doesn't interest most people.
   after the game I walked over to the macy's store in nicollet mall, as the liquidation sale is still happening. hard to know when to go when I think of having to pay for parking. I got two items there, undies and a bath towel. I take some care in inspecting the merchandise when it is all sales final, but I knew my size for the undies and hard to go wrong with a towel. I got plenty of photos there, another reason why I wanted to go. I wanted to get to the library but it closed before I got there, as I wanted a good look around at the store as I may not be able to get there again before the sale is over. I can move it back a day on printing things at the library, by going there before the donut party.
   I attended two comedy shows tonight, and did one thing I never thought I would do: turn down stage time. a friend was doing two shows at one venue, but after being at the first one I said I was leaving. I turned down the stage time for the second show as I said I just wasn't feeling it. I went to another show across town and the show runner said I looked sad, I said I was tired. later on after the show ended I said I, like most comics, had some issues I was dealing with and didn't want to burden anyone with those petty issues. the tired part was valid, though. hard to enjoy a show while tired. I liked meeting one of the comics after the show, saying I recognized her joke about working at a jewel grocery store from when I was in Chicago-land last weekend.
   I know that during the baseball game I was briefly paralyzed by the thought of how the lion symbolizes bravery and courage, except for the 'wizard of oz' lion anyway. and how I needed it to get through life. although I have said long ago how I had adopted the elephant as my symbol as that animal is known for being strong and having thick skin, something that is needed in order to survive in corporate America. it explains some of the plush elephants I still have, although I have downsized my collection some. what I like about performing is that it is a good way to avoid being paralyzed by any thoughts I have, as I am in control when onstage. I also thought about the weezer song 'say it ain't so' as I have heard it twice at karaoke nights this past week or so. the metaphor and imagery in some of the lyrics, like 'the son is drowning in the flood' really works for me.

polar plunge, lake calhoun

my workday ended at 1pm due to going over to the polar plunge at lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. I stamped out at that time, then went into the skyway to get lunch. I went to a Chicago hot dog place, first time there. I got a chili cheese dog and some bottled water. at 2pm we headed over to the event. I got a ride in a minivan, my boss was driving. registration was no big deal, and I got another long sleeve shirt. I found a place to change into my outfit, there was heated tents everywhere. and I said to the cop I liked seeing the tents as it would be better than trying to use a porta-pottie. I kept my coat on for as long as possible, even during one of the group photos. there was food provided by some sponsors. this included red baron pizza, and dairy queen dilly bars. we were given drink tickets and I used one of them for a beer, a summit. I said it reminded me of performing, as there was a brief time in the spotlight and much of it is waiting for your turn. it wasn't too big of a deal to do the actual plunge, just get in and get out. I swore when I went in, as the feel of the cold water was a little shocking. I went waist-deep, and needed just one towel- I had brought two. the boss brought us back to the office at 5pm, and it meant that I could take my normal bus home. I did see the attorney as I was ready to board. I figure it is a good idea to avoid wearing out my welcome, so having a bus conversation is something I just do with her on Monday.
   I was getting a little frustrated tonight, as some of my plans were not to be. I go to the south st. paul VFW for the fish fry, figured that arriving at 7pm was a good idea as they serve until 8pm. but an employee said they were already out of fish, and I got a 'sorry'. so I started driving, and ended up at the bobby and steve's in Minneapolis and got a fish sandwich there. it was close to a performance venue, but only on the fourth attempt did I find a parking lot that wasn't full.
   I did see the big dog perform, I was ready for a 'ham and egg' routine but it was not to be. I didn't get picked for the open-mic and didn't want to go home so I found a karaoke bar. I did 'private idaho' by the b-52's. it took a while for my turn, though.

 

knitting on the bus

this evening I was crossing the street to get to the bus stop and there was a lady behind me. we board the same bus and she starts knitting. she said she was knitting a hat, and usually gives away her handiwork to charities. as i recall, it was for kids with cancer. it was delightful talking to her and she was given my business card when she got off the bus. she had missed her stop and had to go back the other direction. I said I like telling the stories of others. I spoke of music being a subject that I like to write about, and some of my charity work. this included a dance marathon in November, and the upcoming polar plunge.
   I watched 2 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when Amy Farrah fowler shared with Sheldon how she was attracted to zac, who had dated penny. prime time episode was before the child of howard and Bernadette was born. raj and stuart were both discovered using their hot tub, thinking that the couple wasn't home but they were watching from a window above them.
   after I was done watching a little T.V., I went to the family dollar and got some toilet paper. then it was my typical walk around the neighborhood. it meant finding more coins that went into my change bank. although of the 43 cents I had, 17 was from the family dollar purchase. and it still meant finding plenty of pennies, including at the car wash. I passed by a laundromat that is not open yet. actually it was 44 cents, but one of the pennies found was Canadian, special edition from 1967 that I already had, so it will go into a wishing well or something similar soon.
    this morning I called new ulm and said I didn't have my order form I had asked for last week. this time they sent it to me by email, not sure why this wasn't offered before. so now it means getting it submitted sometime soon.

fish fry season

I am aware that today is ash Wednesday. so to some they know it as fish fry season. I decided to go online and find out who is having fish frys during lent. looks like it some of the places I would expect. some are restaurants, some are VFW and American  Legion halls, some are churches, especially catholic churches. I will have to see if I am able to get to one as early as this Friday.
   another thing I did was check the Minnesota gopher baseball schedule. they are playing some home games at the Vikings stadium this season. this weekend is the dairy queen classic.
   I made it to the performance venue tonight. I did stories about visiting Chicago-land over the weekend. and how I am getting ready for the polar plunge on Friday. already have the company shirt that was handed out this week.