unsecured loan project

I had a quarterly article due today for our weekly newsletter. I decided to write about a project that our department did in april, releasing titles on some of our unsecured revolving accounts. it didn't take long to meet with my boss to know what I was allowed to write about. he wanted to see it before submittal to proofread it. then it sent it to the editor, who was pleased to see it.
   I made it to the performance venue, and did ones about weekend activities, crisis before the holiday, and my upcoming class reunion. along with an honest internet dating profile.

90 second round trip

I found out it was possible to do a 90-second round trip at my office, from the breakroom to my cubicle. I was heating up something in the microwave oven during lunch and wanted to return an item to my desk, I arrived back just as I heard the bell. I have a 'stir break' at 90 seconds on the soup. I saw my bus driver trying to eat an orange in the evening while trying to drive, seemed awkward. I made it to the performance venue as well, and there was a break from the 'manufactured rival' thing this week. I spoke of my upcoming class reunion and my weekend activities- birthday party, saints game, and the comic softball game. also an honest internet dating profile.

puffcorn isn't chips

I went to the annual comics softball game and BBQ this afternoon and there was a facebook posting about how the event coordinator didn't want people bringing a total of 35 bags of chips. I had already bought a bag of old dutch puffcorn a day earlier at a target express store, and I said that puffcorn isn't chips. I liked how people ate most of it so I didn't have to eat much of it. I had some of it just after opening the bag, and there wasn't much left as I was ready to leave in the early evening so I finished it. I liked how somebody brought cornbread, it was from Hy-Vee. at the softball game I got two hits and scored a run, but not that good in the field. I had to chase one ball that actually landed beyond a wall that seemed to be serving as the home-run fence. and I fell down after trying to receive a throw at first base. some people were smoking while in the field, and some brought their beer with them as well. the game ended when some rain arrived, but it was nearly 3pm by then and about time to go to the picnic. I liked watching some of the Lego Batman movie. seemed weird to be sitting outside around a campfire when it is memorial day, but it is Minnesota after all. it was great to see so many people I know there, I even counted how many were in the circle around the campfire, in terms of how many are in the 'ring of honor', it was 10. yemen native said it was his first time playing softball, he got a hit and I said I never got one when playing little league baseball. this is just one of two days a year where I bring out my little league glove.
    I had hoped to get to an open-mic, but it was not to be. I was tired by the time I left the picnic, and
not long after getting home I fell asleep for a while in my easy chair. so when I got up I knew I still had some things to do, and put away the dishes that had been drying for much of the day. normally I do the dishes on a sunday but there was the saints game and wanting to do karaoke after it. I also took care of the trash and recycle in the morning. when I was out doing that I also returned 10 carts to the grocery store. an employee who was out searching for them asked if there was more, I said it was hard to tell. it looked like some kids was having fun with one of them, as one kid was riding in it while the other was pushing it.
 

otter's saloon

I wanted to do some karaoke tonight, and I went to a place called otter's saloon in Minneapolis for the first time. I had driven past it and saw mention of karaoke '365 days a year'. the song I did was 'let her cry' by hootie and the blowfish. it was more than an hour of waiting for my turn, but I liked seeing some of the performers before me. one of them did a hank Williams song that I had never heard of. I had been familiar with the song, and video, for a while. but it can take on a different meaning when singing it as karaoke. in my case I liked ' let her sing, if it eases all her pain'. seemed to fit well for doing karaoke, as singing does help ease my pain much like any other performing does. it was a crowded bar so I am not sure how often I will go there for stage time, at least it was crowded tonight.
   I wanted to perform after attending my first saints baseball game of the season. the saints lost to the Kansas city T-bones 5-2. the saints runs were scored on solo home runs, and the saints never led in this one. whopper's cousin was pitching. twice they had the bases loaded and then there was an inning-ending double play. there was also one inning where two runners were left on base. it was also food truck night and fireworks night as it is memorial day weekend. I said the lines were too long for food when I wanted some early on in the game, but could afford to wait as I wasn't hungry just yet. there was 12 food trucks on the warning track in the outfield, I chose 'tot boss'. I had some chicken tenders and tater tots, along with bottled water. I went back to the seating area to eat. then rain started to fall, but I was about halfway through eating by then. I still decided to finish up quickly as there was an announcement encouraging fans to leave the field as it was expected to rain for about 10 minutes. the fireworks were great, as usual there was music played during this time. I recognized songs like 'chicken fried' by the zac brown band, and 'kiss' by prince. I did laundry before heading for the stadium.

super-hero birthday

I went to a 1-year-old's birthday party this afternoon, probably hadn't been to one before except for my own. it was at a private home, for some reason I was expecting it to be at a community room in some public building. it was a super-hero theme, but I did not have a super-hero costume. I said the only one I own is the slasher from the 'scream' movies, and that is not kid-friendly. so I said I would show up wearing a 'star wars' shirt and call it good. I knew the parents from performing, as I recall their blog nicknames are Hillary Clinton look-alike, and dictionary or cardigan. I mostly write about my own performing now and not my friends, so hard to recall all nicknames. I did take plenty of photos there, but decided to stress quality and shared just three on facebook. one of them was the little girl enjoying her cake. another was enjoying one of the toys, I think it is called a 'corn popper'. I know it reminded me of a joke on 'the simpsons' as the professor wanted to paly with it more than the kids in the preschool or kindergarten class. there were some I saw there that I hadn't seen much lately, this would be grizzly adams, as well as the photographer. I had a cheeseburger, a hot dog, and a beer from Wisconsin that I hadn't heard of before. there was also some oreo bars, along with cornbread cupcakes. by the early evening I decided to leave, as I had been there for a while and needed to go do some more errands and chores. this included going to Walgreen to get photos scanned on a disc, hadn't done it since February. and go to the grocery store.
   before the party I did plenty of errands. this included going to my p.o. box, two e-bay orders were waiting, two state quarters from this year as I am collecting them and wanted to get them in the map. I also turned in some change at the bank, just under 15 dollars. I went to the library, got a hair cut, and picked up another CD at cheapo records. it was alice in chains, greatest hits. thankful it was available as I saw how it had mostly songs from 'dirt' and 'jar of flies', didn't want to get both if I could help it. as the saying goes, make it count and get just one. since I now have a car with a CD player, since June, I was able to listen to it right away while out doing errands. I really like 'them bones', one I recall hearing at a burlesque show. I said the song worked really well for the scene. and sometimes I am in the mood for heavy metal, and that is one of the categories the band is in.

strike theater

tonight I went to a show that was a fundraiser for a theater troupe. it was at strike theater in Minneapolis, in a building that looks like it was a factory or warehouse. whopper was a big part of the show, as was the david spade look-alike. they did plenty of comedy sketches, I liked the ones about the kid brother as well as the one about the interrupted wedding. I took a good look around at the building, and got plenty of photos. I know it was hard to find the theater venue at first, as I didn't see the sign right away from the road. I drove around the backside of the building, a bumpy road, and then tried again, seeing the sign the second time. so I parked and went around the front of the building to enter it. I said 'I am here if you need me' in relation to any shows they happen to be doing in the near future. I had a beer there, it was a 'suggested dontation' besides the admission fee. kind of funny how a crowd member said 'stop thanking us, weirdo' to david and found out it wasn't part of the act, but he still knew him.
   it was a busy day at work, as I was covering for a colleague that decided to start the holiday weekend early. so I was on my own doing the payoff report, and we had new titles as well, more than 200. I also had to copy the titles. but I made it through, with just enough time to get out at my normal leave time. I am thankful I don't have days like these every day, but when they happen I like how the day seems to go quickly. I did see the attorney on the bus in the evening, first time in a while. I spoke of some 'announcements' at my office last week, and how I was invited to a 1-year-old's birthday party this weekend. she said that the birthday is more for the parents as the kid won't recall it.

shoeless audition

I had audition number two for the fringe festival tonight, it was at hamline university in st, paul notable was needing to take my shoes off in the room where it was held, a dance floor apparently. there was two auditions in one. the first was with another performer, the second was a monologue. I will hear something this weekend about it. I already found out that I didn't get the role in the first one, where the audition was held at a church over a week ago.
   since this event was in the early evening, I saw just one 'big bang theory' episode tonight. it was a syndicated rerun, the one where bob Newhart first guest starred as professor proton. I laughed a lot when he said to leonard 'you're the genius' about dating penny. when I got back from the audition I did the walk around the neighborhood. I had a snack at the start, some peanuts, since all I had for dinner was a roller grill item (chicken) and a bottle of v-8 from a super-America. I found plenty of coins, 88 cents went into the change bank. it was 7 dimes and 18 pennies, just over half was found at the car wash. I made this one a longer walk than most of those I have had lately, and thankful I made it home without getting soaked as light rain started to fall on my way back.
  my boss was not in the office today, we got an email early on that said he was ill. so it was a fairly quiet day as there was just two in my department, me and my 'work spouse' as my cohort was out. so it took longer to finish the payoff report, but I didn't mind. I am doing the payoff report by myself on Friday as well. we celebrated birthdays in my department with ice cream sandwiches and fruit bars, I chose the former. normally we have cake or pie, this is a monthly event.

white collar sweatshop

I had a half day at work, done at 12noon, to get to a dermatologist appointment, after it I went to the Roseville library and found some free books available there. one of them is called 'white collar sweatshop'. the extended title is 'the deterioration of work and its rewards in corporate America'. it was published in 2001, and since I work in corporate America there is likely some things in it that I find to be relatable. this was one of three books that I picked up. the other two are history books, which as a history major appeal to me. there is 'America, a portrait in history' and 'a history of civilization, 1815-present'. those two were published in 1974, and 1976, respectively. not sure why all of them became free books, but I am not complaining about that at all.
   tonight I performed at two different venues. I had more stage time at the second than the first. there was ones about the news is on, a Shakespeare quote, junk mail, doing karaoke, LL Cool J, seeing a bio-pic, and grease is the word.
 

selling earrings

when I was at the performance venue tonight I saw somebody go through the place and try to sell earrings, I did not buy any. I had seen people sell flowers before. I guess one is kind of numb to these things when seeing them, where saying 'no' is almost automatic.
  I did ones about the news in the breakroom, a Shakespeare quote, doing karaoke, a calendar arrived, and seeing the Emily Dickinson bio-pic. I also answered a joke by the first MC and said I had been on some brewery tours as a kid. after the show I did a walk and it yielded 31 cents that went into my change bank, 2 dimes 11 pennies. it will be ready to turn in change again at the bank soon, likely this weekend. since my system is to turn it in when the card is full as the new total is written on the card whenever something is added.
   at the office it was a fairly slow day, but I did get one of my travel reservations made. I also looked at another profile, this one related to our gift card rewards site, and made an addendum to an article that is due to be in our company newsletter this week.

golden grahams

I usually have a breakfast bar from the convenience store in the skyway on Monday morning. most of the time I choose lucky charms. but sometimes I choose golden grahams instead, and I chose it this time. I like how stopping there doesn't take long, and it also doesn't take long to consume them either.
   I went to the performance venue tonight and did ones about grease is the word, news is on, an LL cool J song, a Shakespeare quote, doing karaoke, junk mail, and seeing the Emily Dickinson bio-pic over the weekend.

still rock and roll to me, billy joel

tonight I went and did some karaoke, and chose 'still rock and roll to me' by billy joel. this was a song that I wanted to do before, but was told that somebody had already done it that night so I decided to do a different song then. I really enjoyed this one, especially the line 'the new fashion honey, all you need are looks and a whole lot of money'. when I know this isn't a new fashion at all. it was 2 for 1 beers, I had a grain belt. I had to ask at first why I got two as I had been there before. the bartender informed me it was a special that is in effect for one hour, and I must not have been at this bar during that hour before. with other performers the notables were 'baby got back' by sir mix a lot, and one called 'crippled inside'. I hadn't heard the latter before, and the former had two people onstage though one of them kept singing the wrong words, or at least out of order.
   I went there after going to the comedy club, much like on Friday, in hopes of stage time, but it was not to be. I still watched the opening acts, and left shortly after the headliner went on as I said I needed to get stage time somewhere. it was a valuable lesson about performing, as it might have been approved by the headliner but not the club manager. you live, you learn.
   this was a fairly busy day for me. I went to the first game of the twins-royals doubleheader. I was planning on attending just one game, and it became two due to Saturday's rainout. this was the iowa alumni outing, and I met my fellow alums at a bar called darby's near the stadium for food before the game, and to get my ticket. the royals were aided by the long ball, going up 5-0. there was two 2-run home runs, and a solo shot, to stake them to this lead. the twins got as close as 5-4. the royals tacked on an insurance run, and that became the final score, 6-4. due to the weather, I said one game was enough, along with my schedule of wanting to get other things done today. it was chilly and had rained some earlier today. I found out the twins won the second game. I was not alone on leaving before the second game began, as it appeared most people did. still want to check online for the box score to see the attendance figure, my guess was no more than half full, 20,000 or less.

a quiet passion movie

tonight I went to see a movie at the lagoon in Minneapolis, 'a quiet passion', about Emily Dickinson, the writer. since I also enjoy writing, I liked this movie. I am used to bio-pics being 'based on actual events' and 'some scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect' and as usual, I guessed some of the scenes that likely fit this description. this was a comedy, and a drama, at the same time. I liked the discussions they had in it, usually philosophical. the arguments stayed civil, and even when they argued it sounded dignified. I have to allow for the fact that this would be considered a 'period piece' since she was from the 19th century. so it was decidedly a different time period. they did cover some of the news stories of the time, such as the firing on fort sumter that was the start of the civil war. it made me cringe when they showed Emily in pain. I liked how she spoke of being stoic.
   it was a big day for errand running. this meant going to the PO box, an amazon order was waiting, a book. then the ATM at a holiday gas station, where I bought a hash brown and some food items from the discount table. on to use some of my gift cards in Roseville. first stop was the Kohl's, I had 8 dollars left on a gift card there. I got a Christmas- themed Charlie brown tie, 90 percent off, and some socks. then it was JC Penney, more clothing there. actually it was a '20 percent off' barcode to scan. I printed some things at the library, then went to Target and got a portable CD player. had to ask for one, it was stored in the back. final stop was cheapo records, got two CDs. one was 'superunknown' by soundgarden, and the other was the 'good will hunting' movie soundtrack, my favorite movie. I listened to some of these in my car, but also once I got home. but I was so tired from the errand running that I fell asleep while listening to one of them.
   in the evening I ate at popeye's chicken, then there was the adventure that was getting ice cream. first stop was dairy queen, but then I told myself I already had dairy queen this week. then it was a mcdonald's, but just one register was open and it was taking too long. so I told myself there was another one not far away, and went there. no problem getting served right away. I had a ticket for the saints baseball game tonight but it was rained out. I am still wearing my saints hat and jersey, the one that says 'st. paul', as I didn't want to change outfits. I already have plans for the rain check, as I want to go on memorial day weekend, just a week away.

fisher dry roasted peanuts

after work I decided to see what was placed in the discount bin at the grocery store. there was a 12-ounce bag of fisher dry roasted peanuts, so I bought one of them. also got an applesauce cup, a cherry fruit pie, and a can of chicken noodle soup. nice that it was a total of under four dollars. before that I got a hot dog at the super-America. then I watched some reruns on antenna TV, and ate some of the peanuts before I left for the comedy club. I got a guest set, the second show. I did ones about an office colleague, burlesque, my class reunion, and taco bell. also a reference to the 'walk up song'. d.c. native was MC, and I didn't know the headliner as he is based in los angeles. those two asked for a ride to another venue, and I gave them one. we arrived just before the show ended, and I watched some of the baseball highlights on cable TV in the bar area after that.
   at work it was bust for much of the day, not just the payoff report but also new titles. and my boss had a meeting during the first half of the day. many of us claimed the snack foods in a basket in  the conference room. I liked the ritz crackers, and nutter butter.

black hole sun, soundgarden

the big news I saw on facebook, and later on the 10pm news, was the death of chris cornell, frontman for soundgarden, as well as audioslave. it was apparently due to suicide, after a show in Detroit. I was not familiar with audioslave, but I was familiar with soundgarden. as I do have the soundtrack from the movie 'singles'. 'birth ritual' by soundgarden, and 'seasons' by chris cornell, are on this soundtrack.
   I know some mentioned the song 'black hole sun', and this one did have a memorable video to say the least. it shows various people smiling, although it looks forced, or fake. there were plenty of lyrics that resonated with me, when finding it on youtube. 'in disguises no one knows' I think of my own performing. and there is the hook, 'black hole sun won't you come and wash away the rain', although this doesn't appear to be a good solution as many of these people are swallowed up by it. signs held up saying 'end is nigh' and 'faith lives' seems to explain 'and my youth I pray to keep'. also notable was 'times are gone for honest men' and 'heaven sent hell away'. also memorable about the video was a man using a switch blade knife to comb his hair. it is from the 'superunknown' album or CD, along with 'spoonman' and 'fell on black days'. looking at their other singles on the discography on Wikipedia, other standouts were 'outshined', and 'ty cobb'. as a big baseball fan it caught my eye to see one that is also the name of a baseball player.
   I did the other typical things tonight, watching 'big bang theory' and the walk around the neighborhood', it yielded 9 pennies.

caught stealing and ejected

I saw a rare thing at the performance venue tonight. somebody was caught stealing and ejected. a fellow performer noticed how the electric piano player kept going despite the drama.

ominous announcement

I said it was ominous when the senior leader scheduled a meeting on short notice in the afternoon. and no, it wasn't good news. I went to a dental appointment after it, found a dental office one floor above where I work. I made it to the performance venue, and was the final comic of the night.

buck owens blvd, bakersfield

I was going over paperwork at the office and saw an address for a dealership that was on buck owens blvd. in baskersfield, California. I have noticed this before, roads named after famous people.
   I was thrilled to perform at the comedy club tonight. I did ones about the couple I saw in passing, stick figure family, red hat society, a man near the movie theater, and my class reunion next month.

animal crackers movie, 1930

this was a full day for me and activities. first was a movie at the trylon micro-cinema in Minneapolis in the afternoon, 'animal crackers', a marx brothers movie. not sure if I had seen one before. but I liked it, I feel that the jokes hold up well even though the movie was made a while back, in 1930. as far as I know it was my first time at this venue. I ordered my ticket in advance through paypal, and I took a good look around at the area after my car was parked. it meant plenty of photos. a man outside the nearby coffee shop asked if I had a cigarette, I said no. but we still talked for a few minutes after that. but then it was getting closer to the start time of the movie, so I said 'I have got to go'. they weren't kidding when they said it was small, as I nearly missed it when driving past. resistable comic arrived after I did.
   after this I went to a Walgreen across the river and got some supplies. but the construction on the road near the store made it harder to get in and out of the parking lot. I did not go home after that, as I wanted to get to the Minnesota lynx basketball game at the xcel center in st. paul. lynx were playing Chicago, and the lynx won 70-61. the halftime margin was the same, 44-35. I did not have any food and drink there, as I wasn't hungry enough to be willing to pay the given prices. I ate at a super-America instead. I decided to do the dishes when I was home, but it wasn't for long. I wanted to get to the final open-mic night at willy's in coon rapids. there was various gimmicks, I was part of 'march sadness' and advanced to the third and final round. this included jokes about the events I attended this weekend, as well as ones about taco bell. and I did one about the way people acted around me when I was in a relationship.

citizen jane movie

tonight I went to see the movie 'citizen jane' at the lagoon theater in Minneapolis. it was a documentary about jane Jacobs, a writer that became an activist against urban renewal projects. I was not familiar with her, but I liked seeing this movie. I am pleased that they covered more than just new York city, as there is more to America than just our largest city. Midwestern cities such as Chicago, st. louis, and Detroit are mentioned as well. she was taking on Robert moses in her activism. I wondered why no mention was made of fred trump, the president's father. he was a real estate developer at this point and time, the 1960s, though in a different part of the city- not manhattan. I picked up a card at the theater advertising the movie, stating it premiered on april 21 in new York and would be in additional select cities starting on may 5.
   I got plenty done today, besides seeing the movie. I picked up three orders at the post office, my weekly visit there. I printed some things at the library, had to skip last week when I was out of state. as usual, I try to make my time count there. I went to an audition for a fringe show in the early afternoon. then it was on to see a play in Plymouth, part of the 'church basement ladies' series. this one is called 'rise up, o men'. it was scheduled to end in early april, but was extended through may 21 which gave me more time to get there. I was seated near some members of he 'red hat society'. I arrived about an hour before showtime and I bought a ticket then, with cash, as I saw too many problems from ordering online, my card was compromised before. it was funny like the other ones I have seen in the series. I think I have now seen 5 of the six, all but 'second helping'. at times the slapstick comedy was 'overdoing it' for effect, however. I went home for a short time after the play and then it was off to the movie. I went to eat at the arby's in uptown Minneapolis after the movie, a place near the lagoon theater. I had to take a photo of the self-serve soda fountain, hadn't seen that kind too often. having to press buttons for your selections, only one spigot. looks like there will be plenty on my list to do for sunday as well, though grocery shopping isn't one of them as I went to the store after the 10pm news tonight.

hoodlum movie, 1951

tonight I decided to stay in and watch a movie on DVD, 'hoodlum'. it was a 'film noir' from 1951, I found it at a Walgreen. I have had it for a few months, it just hadn't topped my priority list on seeing it. I see the storyline as still being relevant in this day and age. it begins with a convict at a parole hearing. he is released, and ends up working at his brother's gas station. but a life of crime is still tempting, and it isn't long before he turns to crime again.
   before I watched the DVD I did venture out to have my evening meal, and I went to the Chicago hot dog place. I may have been inspired by the 'big bang theory' rerun I had just watched. it was the one where Sheldon decides to ride the rails for a while. and he speaks of the hot dog stands he sees at different train stations. after that I went to the nearby cooper's grocery store to see if there was anything I wanted from the discount table. there was, one item was a can of ravioli. the others were snack items, a cup of applesauce, and a box of little Debbie snack cakes. the cakes were left over from easter.
   it was a bust day at the office, as I had to cover for a colleague that was taking a vacation day. I got through the payoff report and new titles by the end of the day, but just barely. I also submitted an article for 'news to know', our newsletter, but I was told by the editor how there was no space left so it would have to wait until next week. no big deal, as long as it gets published.

hey, I'm from Iowa!

my workday started off with me yelling at a colleague. he swore when he spoke of Iowa, my native state. I said 'hey, I'm from Iowa! how would you like it if I was bad-mouthing your home state?' he is from Wisconsin. he did show up at my cube and said it was related to the titling regulations in that state, something I already knew. but I was still disgusted about it. he has done this before, making disparaging remarks about the Iowa caucuses. we hadn't talked much in a while, as I got annoyed with getting unsolicited advice about my dating relationship. the day did get better after that, kind if had to as there was nowhere to go but up. we had pizza from davanni's if I am not mistaken, as a thank you for or hard work for a recent project. some of it was deep dish, I liked it. my 'work spouse' spoke of not liking being the center of attention about personal accomplishments. I said I often feel the same way, even though i am a performer. there was 'slow claps' when we were leaving the conference room where this luncheon was being held.
   i watched 3 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when penny got fired from an acting gig in a movie, playing a gorilla. and raj saw Emily again. prime time episode was the season finale, Sheldon was tempted by somebody from his past. and it was a 'cliffhanger' as it ended with him flying to Princeton to see amy Farrah fowler. there was another episode after the season finale, not sure if i had seen it before. it was about Sheldon and amy visiting his mom in texas. and Bernadette was upset that the baby kept crying. i laughed a lot watching the season finale, more so than most episodes i think. i even said so on facebook and twitter.
   after this was done i did the customary long walk around the neighborhood. it yielded plenty of coins, just over a dollar's worth. it was 3 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickel, 11 pennies. as usual, plenty was found at the car wash. but i was surprised to find so many quarters, though i will find good use for them. i also looked up a few things on my list, one of them being marx brothers movies being shown at a local 'micro cinema'.

snow in the breakroom

I said 'there was snow in the breakroom' as there was dairy queen blizzard treats there. it was oreo flavor. I had two, but since they were under the lights for a while I was basically just drinking the second one. I understand the remaining ones, I counted 37, were being sent to a freezer so they would last longer. I saw somebody starting to do this when I was in the breakroom. she asked if there were carts available, she was using a weaved basket. but I didn't want to speak of carts in my department, as those carts are notoriously 'borrowed' and not brought back. so then we are searching the floor to see where they were left. the treats were first announced at a meeting I didn't attend, the quarterly update. I shy away from these meetings since they were moved to a meeting room that is too small. where I am left standing outside the main door. this has happened ever since a big meeting room on another floor became unavailable, as it was rented out to another tenant.
I went to the performance venue tonight but the show ran long and I was cut. I had been showing up earlier than before, but it looks like I will need to show up even earlier.

lanyards, belt clips

usually I don't notice how people have their work ID displayed when I am at the office. but when my boss was making rounds early in the day I noticed he has it on a lanyard. I have some of these but I have my ID on a belt clip. must be personal preference, same as many other things in life where there is more than one school of thought. I also had two 'conventions' at the office. one was the advisory board, thankful it was moved from a Monday. we went over a survey about 'news to know', our weekly newsletter. I liked hearing how some really like the 'how-to' articles I submit. have another one coming up for this week, and the quarterly article about my department is due at the end of the month. the other one was shorter, and about the payoff report.   
    I made it to the performance venue tonight as well. I did ones about lanyard and belt clip, why do you like baseball?, searching for immigrant relatives, eating a chicken sandwich, karaoke after the game, and I did a callback to another comic trying to do a joke about a Humphrey bogart movie.

why do you like baseball?

my boss asked me a question near the end of my work day. it was 'why do you like baseball?' and I found a way to answer it. I said I had a lot of exposure to the sport as a kid. this is especially true with Iowa Cubs games in Des Moines with my dad. but also seeing a major league game in a neighboring state each summer. he likes soccer.
   I made it to the performance venue tonight. I did ones about why do you like baseball, searching for relatives, eating a chicken sandwich, doing karaoke, what dad said about my reunion, rain songs, and not a library.

state line sign

the day began at my hotel in west des moines, iowa. I got breakfast the nearby mcdonald's and I was back on the road shortly thereafter. but I thought it was odd when I entered Minnesota there was no state line sign. granted, I wasn't on the interstate, but I was still expecting one. I did pull off to the side of the road and got a picture of the county road sign which said 'Faribault county' about where I expected to see 'welcome to minnesota'. I made a change from my typical route as I wanted to find another cemetery, this time near buffalo center. this was much farther off I-35 than rowan. I got off at the Hampton/clarion exit so I could go through Belmond, where I understand my dad was born. it also meant going past the rowan cemetery again. of course this meant more photos of the welcome signs and other things that caught my eye. I really liked the one in buffalo center as there was a buffalo on it. I think I had seen it online and it got me interested in finding it. it was time for lunch when I arrived in buffalo center, and I knew there wouldn't be many options there as it is a town of just under one thousand residents. but they have a casey's convenience store, so I had a chicken sandwich there. as expected, no problem finding the cemetery outside of town, I was aided by finding the location on google maps. I found out there was two cemeteries next to each other, and this saved me some time as I knew not to look at one of them. I found both relatives that are buried there, even though I had a picture of just one of the tombstones that I found online. I got photos of those two, as well as others with the same name. some were next to one of the two I was looking for. this was the parents, and one set of grandparents, of my great-grandma. all were immigrants from Germany, though not at the same time. according to my online research, the grandparents arrived more than a decade earlier. as I recall I spent nearly an hour there as one of them was harder to find than the other. but I didn't want to drive all that way and miss out on one that I knew was likely there. I found out it was in a different row, after deciding to just walk the rows. when I crossed into Minnesota I was still a little off my normal route. I got onto I-90 and it was 25 miles to albert lea, which is where I finally got onto I-35 again. I wanted a drink and got a bottle of Coca-Cola at a Hy-Vee gas station in Faribault. the entrance onto I-35 wasn't the one I use in albert lea, it was just a mile north of it. and it didn't appear to have any services right there, so I kept going for a while. I was listening to the twins-red sox game once I was finished listening to the CDs I brought for the drive this weekend, 8 in all. it didn't take long to unpack once I got home, the typical 'dirty clothes and cheap souvenirs' as I like to travel light with just the duffel bag. but I still had to get caught up on chores and errand running. the first one I did was go to the grocery store. then it was doing laundry, and I called my dad back when I was there. finally it was doing dishes. it meant not going to the performance venue tonight. but not a big deal to me when I still had some stage time this weekend after the baseball game.

searching for family heritage

after going to my post office box this morning to pick up orders, I drove to my native state of iowa and attended an iowa cubs baseball game in des moines tonight, against Memphis. on the way there I  found a cemetery where some relatives are buried, a small town in northern iowa near interstate 35. I wanted to see a classmate while I was in town, but it was not to be.
    since I had to wait until the post office opened, which is 9:30 am, it meant that I didn't get started on the drive as early as I wanted to. but it was no big deal, as all it really meant in the end was having a little less time to rest at my hotel in west des moines once I arrived. I stopped at a shell gas station in Eagan to use a gift card I received recently in the mail. it was activated once I got an insurance quote. if the tank wasn't topped off by then, as it was $20, it was really close. after this my next stop was the welcome center at the rest area just south of the state line. I wanted an iowa road map, in order to make it easier to find the cemeteries. then my next stop was at the casey's in clear lake, as I like the pizza there. my next stop was in rowan, at the first of two cemeteries to find. I figured it was best to do the other one on the next day, since it was much farther off the interstate. it didn't take long to find where my great-grandparents are buried, it helped to bring a photo of the tombstone with me that I found online. I sent a text message to my classmate as I was about to leave, and got a response fairly quickly after that. he said he was still on the bike trail and probably would be for most of the afternoon. I wasn't that far down the road by then, so I decided to go into the town of rowan and look around for a little while. the population is under 200, so the business district is small. and it looked like all of the businesses were already closed for the day. this included the post office, and library. i got plenty of photos while there. I didn't say a word while there, as nobody spoke to me. I saw a woman about to get onto a john deere riding mower, and few other people while in town.
   once i arrived at my hotel, i did fall asleep for a short time. when i got up i knew i needed to get to an ATM, and did so before arriving at the stadium. i didn't have an advance ticket for the baseball game so i had to wait in line for a few minutes to get one. i had reserved grandstand, 3rd base side, something my dad taught me. he said the sun is at your back if sitting there. the game was scoreless for a while, but the iowa cubs got a solo home run in the 7th. Memphis went ahead 5-1 in the 8th, including a 3-run home run. the iowa cubs got another solo home run in the 8th, and this score held up, Memphis won 5-2. after the 2nd cubs run the Memphis pitcher threw a 'purpose pitch' at the next batter, and was warned by the umpire. attendance was just over 8,000.
   after the game i found a karaoke bar to perform at, near merle hay mall. this was a place i also performed at in October, when i was in the area to see a Charlie brown corn maze. i did one song, it was 'dirty laundry' by don Henley, a swipe at the news media. this was something i proved i could sing with passion. the man in charge of karaoke enjoyed it, and i said i was no stranger to the stage as i do stand-up comedy. songs performed by others on this night included 'friend in need', will have to look up the performer on that one. the other notable one was 'cocaine blues' by johnny cash. i found a convenience store after leaving the venue that was still open, so i got a can of beer and some peanuts that i could consume back at my hotel room. it is something i often do now, have a drink at my hotel at the end of the day while writing about my travels.

walk off home run

went to the twins baseball game tonight. it ended on a walk-off home run by joe mauer, the twins beat the boston red sox 4-3. boston was trailing 3-1 in the 9th and tied it. Boston never led in this contest. it was my annual visit to see a boston red sox game as it is the way I keep the memory alive of my favorite movie, 'good will hunting'. I had a seat in the upper deck, first base side. I stayed there as long as I could, but it was really windy after a while. I left my seat after the 7th inning stretch and went to a lower level, where I was more shielded from the wind, for the rest of the game.
   at the office, we had a department meeting at midday, make your own sandwich. then there was bingo later on, Spanish words as it was cinco de mayo.
   I heard from one of the people I knew when living in suburban Chicago, the frontman for a local band. but he doesn't recall us working at the same temp job. bummer. trying to think of what I might say to unlock the memory. I know he joked about how well I could quote my favorite movie.

lost track of

I finally decided to search for some people I had lost track of over the years. two of them I knew from living in suburban Chicago from 1998-2004. one of them appears to have changed names due to marriage, an office colleague. another I knew more briefly, and earlier, from a temp job. he happened to be a frontman for a local band. I still have his band's CD and he was often in the back of my mind how he should know I am a performer. since I recall saying how I couldn't do what he does, or did. performing has given me so much, and I feel like this might have been one of those things that, eventually, influenced me to get me onstage. I spoke of both when I was with friends at the performance venue the night before. I am pleased with what online searches can yield. a third that I found I have known since moving to the twin cities, but had also lost track of. a fedex/kinko's employee that I knew was also into weightlifting and in school to be a chiropractor. he accepted my facebook friend request, we had a mutual friend there.
    I also did my customary walk around the neighborhood, after watching 'big bang theory'. it yielded 32 cents, 2 dimes 12 pennies. just over half was found at the car wash. syndicated rerun was when amy got sick and Sheldon took care of her. two prime time episodes. lid-lifter was about amy getting a chance to work at Princeton for the summer. then the nightcap was when howard and Bernadette's baby was born.

loopholes

at the performance venue tonight I liked hearing the spoken word performer. the first poem had good imagery and it finally dawned on me about the term 'loophole' referring to exploiting contracts. since one line was 'every loop has a hole'. the second poem was 'by yourself'- a time-honored one. I liked the contrast in writing since he spoke of the team barry bonds played for, the giants. and it was followed by the opposite of a giant. I did ones about late for lunch, a fellow bus rider, ending an internet dating match, French weekend, 2 panhandlers, and turning in an ATM card. the last happened to me while walking through the skyway at midday, at least the 3rd time I have witnessed this. an office colleague was in line at the bank when it happened. hard to ignore how he just walked away from the ATM with his card still in it, and there was annoying beeps after that.

hotmail changes

I get back from the performance venue and wanted to check my Hotmail account. except there were changes and it was a frozen screen every time I tried to access it and delete things. so hopefully waiting a little while means it will eventually correct itself. I did ones about a found student ID, you're late, bus riders, ending an internet dating match, and the French weekend. there was a photo posted on facebook of me onstage, I liked it. when the bartender came to take my order, I said his esteemed colleague is disappointed when he doesn't get to serve me. so it meant waiting until he was available. although it is no big deal who serves me.
  at the office I had two 'conventions'. one was for my department, the other a 'lunch and learn', the first time in a while that I had done this kind of session. it was about your brand, and I liked the snacks that were furnished. when it came to writing my bio, one of the exercises we were asked to complete, I said I find it easier to write one about performing, and I think I know why. this was a 'dial-in' meeting where the people from my site were gathered in the main conference room, the largest one at our site. next to the main breakroom.

cheap seats, alabama

tonight I did karaoke, and the second song was 'cheap seats' by Alabama. it is an anthem about minor league baseball. it seemed like a good song to do when I love the sport and expect to see some more games this season- besides the four college games I have already seen. others said they enjoyed hearing it, and I liked the gesture from them. the first song I did was 'drive' by incubus. I had seen them in concert at the myth nightclub in Maplewood. I liked the mention of 'I should be the one behind the wheel' as I do like songs about taking control of your own life. this morning I heard 'my prerogative' by bobby brown when walking through the skyway, and I liked the spoken parts in it. 'I made this money, you didn't, right ted? we out of here.' as I like 'it's my life' songs. but bobby's song was not listed in the book. no big deal, still plenty to choose from.
   at work I got the 'wired on wires' pages of the payoff report submitted just before I went to lunch at 1pm. the rest was submitted near the end of my day. a new employee started, a temp. not sure how many temps will be brought in.