compliment from wendy's employee

before I went to a meeting this afternoon, I wanted to have lunch. I first tried going to an arby's in st. paul on university avenue, but the line just wasn't moving. so I got into my car, and was pleased that I found a Wendy's a block away, if that. before I placed my order, the employee said he liked my pea-coat. I hadn't been to a Wendy's in a while. sounds like there will be more meetings related to this one, which doesn't thrill me. I just want to be back at work.
   this of course explains why I was disgusted when I called a temp agency and was told I would get a callback in a few minutes. I called again more than 3 hours later, after getting no response. I then said 'get me somebody else' as I was tired of this recruiting consultant failing to return my calls. it wasn't even close to being the first time it had happened. sounded like I got somebody that out-ranked her, and I said another agency had been putting forth way more effort in trying to find me a job.
   I went to a music show at a bar I once performed at tonight. I knew the show closer from an open-mic I once frequented. the first act played a few songs I recognized, from Elton john, nine inch nails, and alanis morrissette. she played guitar and piano, a one-woman show, though she had some help with the equipment (such as the microphone stand) from a longtime friend. I recognized another crowd member from the same open-mic, and greeted him as the 'Ouija board guy' as there is one on his guitar.

trader joe's

I made my first visit to a trader joe's grocery store this afternoon. I needed more cereal for breakfast and figured it was a good reason to see one of these stores finally. I no only got the cereal, but also a block of cheddar cheese. hard to say when my next visit will be, but I like how the prices seemed to be competitive. it likely helps that the cereal was the store's own brand, as the store brand tends to be cheaper. comparing it to a name brand, as I had Kellogg's frosted flakes, it is lower.
   I also had a job interview this morning, hopeful for the best. there was a gift shop or convenience store onsite and I got a postcard there. in the evening I went to a comedy show, good lineup that had tetris as show closer. enjoyed chatting with his dad about more than just comedy. this is a fairly new show, hosted by international falls, and the button, among others. I spoke of the 'long and winding road' of the stairs in this venue, in the dinkytown section of Minneapolis.
   after the show I went to do karaoke. I did 3 songs. it was 'ooh child' by 5 stair steps, 'big river' by johnny cash, and 'crucify' by tori amos. when I arrived I was surprised to see somebody I knew there, she was going to sing 'I will survive' by Gloria gaynor. she is a producer of the comedy marathon that I have had stage time at. she asked that I dance during her song, and I did dance some. I got the 'how right I was' feeling near the end of my time there, when I was hearing somebody sing ' I want to hold your hand' by the beatles. I knew right away why. it reminded me of my dad's story of hearing the song on the way to national guard duty at camp ripley in little falls, and he said the memory was 'holding hands in minnesota'. in my case, I was reminded of how I moved to this state for work and then found the courage to take the stage and be a performer.

office christmas party movie

I used a free code for a redbox rental and watched 'office Christmas party' starring Jason bateman and Jennifer aniston. I recognized somebody in it who had a bit part, he was still in high school when he started doing stand-up, around the time I started. there was two free codes that are expiring at the end of December, so now there is one left. this was a movie from a year ago, and it was no doubt a farce. there was plenty of sarcasm in it, in some cases a little too much. I liked how it was filmed in Chicago, since I have an affinity for the city. the storyline was familiar, in terms of it being a 'deadline movie'. in this case, it was sign a big client or people will get laid off. this is like many other redbox movies I have watched: more willing to give it a chance on video than at the theater, since I hate the feeling of wasted time and money. and it is more of a chore to go to a theater than get to redbox. I liked some of the characters in it, the Jason bateman character was one of them, seeing him make rounds at the office and all of the crazy things he has to witness. the other I like is the uptight HR lady, played by an SNL regular, kate McKinnon if I am not mistaken. since I am often dour I think this is why her role works for me.
   I made it to the performance venue and the friends of one comic was laughing a lot during my set, I said they should be at all of my shows.

pressed wrong button

I had a phone interview in the afternoon, and I got a text at the start of it. I responded with 'sorry, pressed wrong button'. I was a little anxious about the interview, can't you tell? but I would like to think that, once it got started, I presented myself well. But I have this feeling all the time at job interviews- saying 'I hit all of the right chords'- and I am hardly ever correct. I should find out soon enough if there will be an in-person interview. I know, sounds odd. I have had this cell phone for over 8 years, and I can still be a little clumsy with it? makes no sense. this interview was moved up from earlier in the week. I liked having it earlier as it meant there was no conflict with another appointment, which I found out was a little too close in terms of being less than an hour apart.
      I was thrilled to get 5 minutes at the comedy club, and after school bouncer, right before the yemen native. I said they must really believe in my abilities. and I made it count, as I say all the time it is easier and more fun the more I am performing. I did ones about the 'lady bird' movie, a lady at the zoo,  staying in town for thanksgiving, and sounding like forrest gump.

decadent pumpkin bar

I try discount table items all the time at my neighborhood grocery store. this weekend it was some 'decadent pumpkin bars'. there were 8 in the package, already down to 2. I have been big on anything pumpkin for a while, it helped that I liked the music group known as 'smashing pumpkins'. the label says it is from hill country bakery in san Antonio, texas.
   it was a fairly leisurely day. I checked the paper in the morning and found out the bears-eagles game would be on local TV. no surprise there, as the Vikings already played on Thursday and the packers in the evening. but as a bears fan it looked horrible. the bears didn't get a first down in the entire first half, and lost 31-3. I did most of my dishes starting with halftime, but they weren't finished until well into the third quarter. then I did leave my home late in the afternoon to perform at an open-mic, the resistable comic is the show-runner. I bought another 'lost and found' item there, another CD. this one is a retelling of the 'rip van winkle' story. although it is not first on the list just yet, as I am now listening to the brad paisley greatest hits in my car. guess he did a song for the ZZ top tribute CD, it appears on this greatest hits CD.
  'the simpsons' wasn't on fox in the evening, so I switched it over to antenna TV for a while for more of the 'all in the family' marathon. I had seen the one where the bunkers visit the stivics in California, where the stivics tried to hide being separated. this was also a day where I added more photos to facebook, ones that were put on a disc last month. but until today, I had only shared the ones from the 10k laughs festival. some were from even farther back, such as a music show I attended in august, in fact it was the chameleon's show. she liked both photos I shared. these were two of 12 photos I added, including some for the 'Charlie brown and snoopy' album. one of them for the iowa album drew a comment from my cousin that lives near Milwaukee. it was the one from the fire and EMS station in van horne, iowa, as she hates the misuse of the apostrophe. I say I see it all the time. I also deleted a photo, and will probably delete some more eventually, as I want to stress quality when it comes to what I share with friends. it was a photo from high school, one I had to scan, and it was also a reminder of two people I have de-friended as they were commenters on the photo. I have way more friends now from performing, and have lost track of most friends I had from high school.

help with 'hey jude'

   I did some karaoke tonight, and somebody decided to join me to finish singing the second one, 'hey jude' by the beatles. the first was 'closer to free' by the bodeans. it was an older woman who did this, and in my performing career I have seen way worse before. it was a little unnerving, nonetheless. the thing I keep saying about performing is that it helps me with my focus. so this may have been why it didn't phase me that much. the part of the song where she joined me was rather simple, the 'nah nah, hey jude' part, rather simple to sing. I did greet her as I was leaving, and one of her friends suggested that we do another song together. I said I usually don't close down bars. the other song, 'closer to free' of course I know as the theme song for a TV show, 'party of five' on fox, Neve Campbell was on that show. though I haven't done that many TV themes before.
   I also made it to a pizza place before that and yemen native got me stage time there. it was my first time at this venue, but they do have an open-mic there so I have some reasons to go back if I want to. I started off with a forrest gump reference, I know that tends to work well. especially when the show runner said he had just met me.

lady bird movie

I went to see the movie 'lady bird' in Eagan this afternoon. I liked what I read in the write-up in the Minneapolis paper. it likely helped that they had laurie Metcalf as the mom. she has played unlikeable characters before, such as Sheldon's mom on 'big bang theory'. she played a passive-aggressive mom, and I know what it is like to have one of those! the storyline is about the main character's final year of high school, at a catholic school, around the time of the beginning of the second Iraq war. this movie is more evidence of why I like independent movies. there was a range of emotions, as there was drama as well as comedy. and I said 'whoa!' a few times, as it caught me off-guard. when I was claiming the free popcorn that was added to my loyalty card I was asked what movie I was seeing. I said I am aware it wasn't about the first lady, president lyndon Johnson's wife.
   my 'black friday' was fairly low-key, which is fine with me. I also went to the target near the movie theater and bought a CD and DVD. the CD was Genesis, greatest hits. the DVD was the first 'shrek' movie. I already had it on VHS but I like being able to junk the VHS copy when I get the same movie on DVD. I guess both of these have some meaning. genesis was my first big concert, in ames, iowa. and 'shrek' was a movie I saw an advance screening of, when I lived in suburban Chicago. I was given a free ticket by my former boss and mentor, who said 'I can't go, you go'.
  I saw a comedy show that some friends were performing in this evening, then I did karaoke at the same venue after it was done. blake was one of the three in this show. I liked doing 3 songs at this karaoke venue. it was 'land of confusion' by genesis, 'take a bow' by Leona lewis, and 'bird set free' by sia. it likely helped to be there early in terms of doing more songs than typical.
   I liked getting caught up on watching videos for the season. this morning I saw the movie 'planes trains and automobiles'. I like road movies, but for the first time I realized one hole in the storyline. how long should it take to get from st. louis to Chicago? seems like it takes longer than it should. but as my dad would say, they had to make a story out of it. the most memorable scene for me is when the two are riding in the back of a semi that is hauling cheese, nearing the end of their journey.

all in the family marathon

there is a marathon for the TV show 'all in the family' on antenna TV for the thanksgiving holiday. I had seen some of these episodes before, as reruns during my time living in suburban Chicago from 1998-2004. one of them was when the ending was 'you had the blade in backwards'. others were lionel's engagement party, and archie thinks he has food poisoning.
   I watched some of the pro football games today, but not a lot. I listened to some of the leadoff game on the radio, Vikings-lions. it was when I was on the way to a meetup event, a walk at the como zoo in st, paul. I had done it last year on turkey day as well. I saw some of the Japanese garden that I hadn't seen before. two other people were there, of course one was the event coordinator. the other wanted to get too close to the animals, even touching a turtle in the water.
   I walked to the super-America just before midday, to get a beer for my dinner, it was a Heineken. then it was on to the buca di beppo, where I ordered a take-out dinner. although there was a delay in getting me my order, and during that time I spoke with somebody who had a nametag on but didn't work there. he worked at a hotel and was waiting for an order as well, and said he had once worked at the ford plant in st. paul. I had to eat kind of quick in order to get to the meetup event. I like how there is enough left over that I can have another meal the next day from this order. and of course it is one of the places from the 'dining for miles' program, so I will get airline miles as well.
  as I write these words, I am looking at a coffee mug full of pens and pencils. it is the mug I bought at mall of America when the camp snoopy theme park was closing. I had to go get some souvenirs as I am a big Charlie brown and snoopy fan. this mug was in the freezer for a while, since the handle broke off. but then during a cleanup I realized I had enough pens and pencils laying around that there was enough to fill another cup. this would be the third, the other two are an iowa cubs cup (the minor league baseball team in des moines) and the desk caddy I got when graduating from high school. it was from my 8th grade history teacher. when he died last year a memory of him as my teacher, a reason why I majored in the subject in college, became part of my comedy set in the fringe show that I was a part of.

ice cubes on pavement

I performed at two venues tonight. the second was comedy, and after the show I saw ice cubes on the pavement outside the venue. so being the way I am about photos, I took a picture of it. but since it was at night, I may not keep the photo as it is harder to get good photos in the dark. it was hard to understand why the ice cubes were dumped there, I seem to see waste all the time and it is hard to see but what can we do about it? I hadn't performed there in a while, it was nice to be there again. logistics had something to do with my absence, as it is a show that starts kind of late and there are closer ones to my home than this one. but I know this night is in play again as my normal venue is no longer available. near the end of the night I got the 'how right I was' feeling, I get it whenever I am out truly enjoying myself, and of course I really like performing. I saw the button there, who just started a show at another venue, but for whatever reason I missed her set. I might have been in the other room, or outside, talking to other comics at that time.
    the first venue was karaoke, and I did one song, 'bittersweet symphony' by the verve. I said it was the story of my life. it was packed there, I guess due to being right before the holiday. for this reason, I was fine with doing just one song. and it paid off to go to another venue, and I didn't feel like going home just yet anyway.
   I had a phone interview before midday, hopefully I get an offer sometime soon as I have been getting antsy. but I know it can be hard to find something around the holidays. I also heard from my college roommate in the evening. he made me laugh a lot. it is helpful to be around those who know me well. he said he had just taken his wife to the airport earlier today.

it was singular

when the show runner introduced me tonight he said I was like nelson on 'the simpsons'. except the 'ha' I like to do is singular, and nelson says it twice. I had to respond to it, along with another show runner making mention of jack Kerouac, the writer.
   I did laundry today, and nearby was a fire station that had an old-time fire engine on display. I said 'that is so cool' and I was informed there is a museum about this subject in the twin cities. I was given the name of the place and will have to look it up online to see when I can go there.
   hard to say if I am getting closer to securing my next job. I do have a phone interview scheduled, but it is next week. I am still waiting to hear when two others are happening. I asked one place what their job paid, and was told 'depends on experience'. they found my resume on monster, so I said 'you will have to do better than that. you know how much experience I have'.
   it was great to see baby puppet at the first venue I went to tonight, although I did not perform there. this is a comic that isn't in town much. I slept for a little while in the afternoon, after the laundry was done. I didn't know what else I could do to stay busy.

josephine baker story

I watched the bio-pic, 'Josephine baker story', on loan from the library. much like other bio-pics, it seems to serve as a warning: it is not easy to be famous. lou gossett is in it, according to the special features he was in another bio-pic, about baseball player roy campanella. good luck finding it on video if it was 'made for TV'. guess she did have a career after the well-known 'banana dance'. I heard about it as an HBO movie a while back, but didn't see it until now. then I got it back to the library and got another movie. I find it easier to get one at a time instead of two as there is less of a sense or urgency to get it watched during the time allotment, one week.
    I also made it to the performance venue. there was an announcement from the MC about being respectful to other performers, it was prompted by a feud at last week's show. I saw one of the parties to this feud tonight but not the other. I did ones about be on TV someday, a request on karaoke night, joel osteen book, getting my neighbor's mail, a rant about interviews, the bio-pic, and a passer-by as I was arriving at the venue.

lavender magazine

I performed at two venues today. although it was a different kind of performing at the first one, as it was spoken word but with a serious tone. I read two writings for an organization I have joined, one was submitted last year but as far as I know it wasn't published by them. the other was one that was written just for this event, and it spoke about my journey this year with searching for family history in 3 different Iowa cemeteries. I was told not to eat lunch before arriving as they would have food there. there was chicken on skewers, it was pretty good. this was at a place in st. Anthony main, next to the movie theater. as we all know, I love the view there across the river, seeing the skyline. I got two photos of it, better ones than before as it was during the day. it can be harder to get good photos at night, this continues to be proven in my attempts.
   in the evening I was also in Minneapolis, actually this venue was not too far away from the first, probably less than 5 miles. at the second I saw a photographer with a press pass for lavender magazine. I said 'hopefully you got my good side' after I left the stage. I knew the show runner, first time at this venue, and I signed up for one of the open-mic slots at this pre-booked showcase. I went on first after the MC, and I had some tater tots besides my normal beer order. usually I eat before arriving at the venue.

oh yes we did

'oh yes we did' is the slogan for domino's pizza. I like to make fun of it, saying 'what did they do?' well I had some of their pizza tonight, and the slogan was on the box. I had a little pepperoni pizza at the event I attended, a Minnesota gophers hockey game. It is good pizza, but I still like Godfather's way more. but I recall the novelty of domino's in my hometown when they first opened, since it was delivery pizza. I ended up delivering for pizza hut in college. the gophers were playing Harvard, the second in the 2-game series. gophers won the previous night, 4-2. gophers won tonight as well, but not in regulation. the score was 2-1, and the winning goal was in the first minute of overtime. it was the only time that Minnesota led, as the rest of the game they were either trailing or it was tied. it was scoreless at the end of the first period, and Harvard got the first goal just before the midway point of the second. then the gophers tied it with just over 5 minutes left in the 3rd. I had a seat just a few rows behind one of the goalie nets.
   I also went to the karaoke venue tonight, and did 'Saturday night' by the bay city rollers. I was at a loss for what song to do at first, but I said 'why not one about Saturday night?' I prefer getting more than one song in whenever possible, but of course attending the hockey game first meant I had less time. especially when I wanted to walk around a little after the game, and stopped at the Walgreen on campus as their food and drink is cheaper than at the game. then it also meant needing to walk back across the river to where my car was parked. I don't mind the walking at all, it is good exercise. and it isn't that far at all. it is just one light rail stop back across the river.

a girl's best friend

tonight I went to another 'final event' at wild tymes in st. paul, the final burlesque show. notable to me was the musical number 'diamonds are a girl's best friend'. I know the MC spoke of getting her drag queen name from Marilyn Monroe, who did the song in the movie 'gentlemen prefer blondes'. but like many others, I am more familiar with the parody, or 'mimicry', of it in a Madonna music video, 'material girl'. I liked seeing the Melissa joan hart look-alike performing again, it was the first time at this show in a while. and I liked seeing a co-producer doing a TV show theme song medley. it was the first time in a while, nearly 2 years was what was said after it was completed. the shows were fantasy island, jeffersons, batman (1960s version), Laverne and Shirley, star trek, road runner, Charles in charge, dream of Jeannie, brady bunch, andy Griffith, and twilight zone. the final act was by the same one who did the TV medley, and it was 'bohemian rhapsody'.
   I sent out some more applications, 20 in all, so 2 more than the previous day. I got an email about one of them, figuring it was a rejection letter. but it was an offer for an interview, so I am thrilled to hear it. still need to figure out what time works for it, but I said my schedule is open.

jobs on twitter

after applying for some jobs online with a bank, I noticed the email in my Hotmail account said 'follow us on twitter'. and sure enough, job listings for them were on twitter. I applied for 17 jobs, then saw another one there, so make it 18. hopefully I get some interviews from it.
   in the afternoon I went to the family dollar and got a brad paisley 'very best' CD. there was plenty of CDs to look at near the door. also got some peanut butter crackers, and toilet paper. I was in need of both, it was why I went there today.
   I watched 2 'big bang theory' episodes. syndicated rerun was when raj needed a place to live, and he ended up with howard and Bernadette, and stuart was already there. prime time episode covered the rivalry between Edison and tesla. it was in reference to wanting a military contract.
  I went to the karaoke venue in the evening, and did two songs. it was 'heaven is a place on earth' by Belinda Carlisle and 'for whom the bell tolls' by metallica. I was unaware of the long intro in the latter song, 2 minutes, before lyrics. so I spent time dancing, didn't know what else to do. there was a patron that liked seeing me do a metallica song. I spoke with another patron at the bar, he said he was originally from Sioux city, iowa. odd how he spoke of his family, sounded much like mine with all of the fighting. he said there was two separate funerals one time due to it.

early at wild tymes

I was early at wild tymes in st. paul tonight, a place I have enjoyed performing at for the past 2 1/2 years. this was the final open-mic there. thankful I went up early, I was number 3. there was way more signed up than typical, more than 30. I did ones about did I scare you, finding more ideas for  karaoke, singing Eminem at the ATM, buying furniture at an auction, seeing a music documentary, the fed-ex envelope, and need a job, you got one? actually I kept going since I hadn't heard 'one minute' as early as I expected, and did two about a former roommate. I saw a few people I hadn't seen at this mic that much lately, but there also were others that I had hoped to see and they didn't show up.
   I went back to the state employment office with what I was given, and saw another employee there and call more numbers. still not helpful to me at all. I also heard from somebody who told me that stage time is available at an art event this weekend. it is an event I had done before, but it is only done annually. 

broken flowers movie

saw a movie on loan from the library, 'broken flowers', starring bill murray. a road movie and I like these kinds of stories. although this wasn't the typical road movie. he was on the road by himself. and in some ways, he didn't find what he was looking for. I liked how he played the straight man to his neighbor, who was trying to help him solve the mystery of who sent a pink letter to Murray's character. her visited four women from his past, five if you count the one that died, where he left flowers at the cemetery where she is buried. I watched the bonus features as well, one of the segments showed the filming of it with all of the 'action' calls. this movie was from 2005, I said it already looked a little dated as one can see a northwest airlines plane when he is at the airport. of course that airline is no more, swallowed up by delta in 2009. a few days earlier I had seen 'lovelace', about a porn star from the 1970s who eventually shared her story on the Phil Donahue show. I returned both movies to the library once I had finished watching 'broken flowers'.
   I also made it to the performance venue, in the evening. I did ones about finding more ideas for karaoke, the phone book is still there, and getting a fed-ex envelope about benefits. I went to a state employment office, but the only help offered was applying for benefits and not jobs. I was asked to come back with more information, also completed forms. 

permafrost serial

I listened to a CD I recently acquired, called 'permafrost'. it is a serial in 13 segments. the main theme was about a lake and going to the state capitol to get it recognized. the narrator was a college student that wanted to tell us about her hometown. it seemed to be a very Minnesota type of story, and why I was willing to buy it. I had seen some of those 'don't hug me' plays, as well as 'how to speak minnesotan' along with 'church basement ladies' and this story does make me think of the others. each segment was 2-3 minutes.
   I got around to a few things today, but not as much as I wanted to. I went to the xcel center and got a ticket for a hockey game next month, a warmup for the Olympic games. I tried to watch a DVD but I fell asleep during it so I will have to try again soon.
   I made it to the performance venue tonight, and it was memorable to say the least before I took the stage. early on in the show a feud started while one comic was onstage, and the other performer wanted to continue the feud during their poetry performance. both performers left before my set. I did ones about a fork in the road, did I scare you, 2 more songs to do at karaoke, dex phone books, singing at the ATM, and furniture at an auction. I did not perform at the first venue I made an appearance at, but it was nice to meet a comic from st. louis there. he shared a story about the movie 'up in the air'. how a friend had a small role in it, as well as seeing snow in the neighborhood where the wedding scenes were filmed even though it was spring. I spoke of finding many of the places where the movie was filmed. still on my list is seeing the inside of the high school that actor john goodman attended, so I can see where the basketball scenes were filmed. if I want to see a game there, it means going there in winter and my annual visit is usually in the summer for baseball games. one of those 'someday' things I guess.

coors special at alary's

I went to see the bears-packers football game at alary's, a bar in downtown st. paul. it is known where Chicago bears fans will congregate. I had the beer special while there, coors in a plastic cup. the bears couldn't move the ball that well and lost 23-16. some will hang it on a challenge that backfired in the first half. I didn't understand the challenge at all. the bears had the ball first and goal, but wanted the call reversed and be granted the touchdown. but it led to the call being a touchback, and the bears lost the ball. fans were booing injured packers QB aaron Rodgers, bot sure why. but he was shown often during the game.
   the resistable comic had another open-mic in the late afternoon and I went to it. I did ones about the world war one exhibit, singing at the ATM, and a katy perry song. I picked up a CD as well, it was in their lost and found section. they say they put these items up for sale once they have been unclaimed for 6 months, so why not pay two dollars and see what I get?
   'the simpsons' episode was about marge becoming mayor. I fell asleep shortly after it, but then I knew I needed to get some things done. so it meant doing dishes and getting more items into sheet protectors, mostly for my comedy binder. another page of my weekly comedy notes was completed.

dare to be different movie

I went to see a movie at Bryant lake bowl in Minneapolis tonight, 'dare to be different', it was part of a film festival I had just heard about for the first time. I had been to this venue many times before, but this was the first time for a movie screening. it was a music documentary about a radio station, WLIR on long island in New York, that played many of the 'new wave' bands of the 1980s before most others did. three songs I heard in it were ones I recognized as ones I had done on karaoke nights. these were: 'back on the chain gang', pretenders. 'private idaho', b-52's. and 'tide is high', blondie. I had seen 2 of these 3 bands in concert, the first two. actually it was at the same concert, in 1998. then I saw the pretenders again a few years later. it inspired some of the songs I did at the karaoke venue tonight, especially the first two. 'view to a kill', duran duran. and 'desire', U2. the third I did was 'take this job and shove it', johnny paycheck. in the closing credits we see joan jett, and it appears the movie title is also the title of one of her songs, but I am not familiar with the song.

frescados tortillas

I found another adventure, by having to rent a truck to get the other two furniture items moved from the auction site to my home. also pleased with what was on the wagon-themed table, an ad for frescados tortillas. it calls them 'premium' and has the slogan 'the tortilla you've been waiting for is here.' and it shows somebody holding a filled tortilla. much of what was on the table I had no use for, and left behind. as there was boxes of plastic containers there, likely for baking as this was in the bakery department. not sure if I have had this kind of tortillas, but it is cool to have this kind of ad. I measured it in case I ever want to frame it, as sometimes I do frame things like posters. it does remind me of a science building that I worked in as a janitor in college, as there was some artwork on the wall and it depicted food made by old el paso. as it has been proven by andy Warhol painting Campbell soup cans, most anything can become art. having the rented truck and appliance dolly to haul things away was really helpful, as I should have known it would be hard to move these items as most file cabinets and tables don't have wheels. looks like the second file cabinet is locked, so I may have to drill through the lock on this one.
   I performed at two different venues tonight, first was a comedy venue as I was part of a contest and like all other contests I have been in I did not advance. I was mainly thankful just to have the stage time. then after a little time at home I went to do karaoke, and the balloon artist was there as the MC and made a balloon for me as I was leaving. I did one song there, 'hands clean' by alanis morissette.

online auction, bidding extended

I decided to participate in an online auction today, and no, it wasn't from e-bay. I noticed how bidding could be extended multiple times for the items listed. I had looked at the listings in the past week, there was more than 400. I found 12 items of interest to me, and the 3 items I won were the only items I bid on. and I was pleased to get these items for low prices- a table and two file cabinets- for a total of less than 20 dollars. worth it! I have already picked up one of them, and I have until Monday evening to pick up all items. I found out I needed to have a copy of the invoice, and it was afternoon by the time the auction closed and I got my paid invoice as I had to get it printed at the library. it does remind me of seeing some auctions when I was young, growing up in iowa. these were mainly ones where I was related to the property owners, grandparents of mine. some items weren't bid on at all. and it was a little surprising as to what can get the most attention. in this case I noticed how a payphone was part of the auction, I have no use for one and no space for it. I found out it sold for 35 dollars. well I guess they are becoming a collector's item now, since there aren't many left.
   I stayed a few extra minutes at the library as I saw a display about some of the stereotypes that kids at school are dealing with. in the evening I went to the performance venue and did two songs. it was 'the one that got away' by katy perry, and 'it's my life' by no doubt. of course an advisor inspired the first selection. a friend of a friend did 'sos' by abba, not familiar with it. as I was leaving I heard 'talk dirty to me' by poison, a reminder of attending a class reunion. a man who had lived in Chicago was there, first time in a while. he said he likes the bother the karaoke jockey. on the way to the venue I liked hearing a program on public radio that I would call 'book talk'. the author spoke of his bio about general/president grant, and it sounded like it was being broadcast from the fitzgerald theater in downtown st. paul.

the one that got away, katy perry

I went to an advisor, for the same reason why most do- I had a dilemma. eventually I was asked if I was familiar with the song 'the one that got away' by katy perry. I said I was. then I went to watch the video on youtube. this is a haunting song, aided by a sampling of a johnny cash song near the end, a version of 'you are my sunshine'. of course katy name-checks johnny cash in the song. I know I have said this before, how 'Eleanor rigby' by the beatles was also a haunting song. in this case, like most people, we know what it is like to have 'the one that got away'. related to dating relationships of course. where the relationship just didn't work for whatever reason. even though it probably could have. I got choked up while watching this video, and this is rare. reminded me of how I felt when I found out bill young had died, as I had an ashen face then. but I am thankful I watched the video, as it is a story that needs to be told. and I said to the advisor that I have found another song to do on karaoke night. since I have done 'Eleanor rigby'. some of the images in the video are unforgettable, such as seeing a vintage ford mustang car crashing.
  I made it to the performance venue tonight, doing ones about the world war one exhibit, the dex phone book, is it a beatles song?, a text message abut voting, and the katy perry song.

life inside out movie

I watched the second of two movies on loan from the library at midday, 'life inside out'. it is about a middle-aged woman who decides to go back to performing her guitar at an open-mic. and her teenage son proves to be good at it as well. notable is she wears a coat onstage that was made out of drapes by her sister, and her sister is trying to make money from scrapbooking. there are parts of the movie that I didn't enjoy, such as when her teenage son is being picked on by his two brothers. it was a little too familiar from my own upbringing. but I am thankful I saw it, some of what was depicted I could relate to as I am a performer as well, especially since I go to plenty of open-mics. I didn't recognize any of the actors in it, but not a big deal as I still liked the story a lot. in fact, there was just one name I did recognize at all in the closing credits, as kevin nealon, who performed on 'Saturday night live' is listed as a producer. there was one off-the-wall performer at those open-mics, as I recalled seeing a lady wearing white pantyhose on her arms and trying to play a kazoo.
   I voted in the early evening, but not much on the ballot, just mayor and school board. at first the election official couldn't find my name, but the pages were stuck together. even on the last day I saw some campaign ads, albeit from text messages.
  I made it to three different performance venues tonight, performed at two of them. I got airline miles at the first but did not perform, great to see the big dog there as MC. also got the new comedy CD from mason city. second one is my typical place, though I wasn't there the past two weeks. I did ones about having my leg pulled, text messages about voting, a dex phone book, and the world war one exhibit. I also did some callbacks to some jokes I felt the need to answer. third venue was for karaoke, although the button wasn't there, having left just before I arrived. I still had a beer and did one song, 'only time' by enya, and I spoke to her friend as well.

tears in heaven, eric clapton

my stagetime tonight was karaoke, 3 songs. 'tears in heaven' was the first. I recall when this song was a big hit, 25 years ago. and I was familiar with the story about how it was inspired by the death of Clapton's young son, who had fallen out of an apartment window. it was in a movie called 'rush', but I haven't seen it yet. the video I found on youtube does have scenes from the movie, which is typical for movie songs. hard to say when I will see the movie, as I know this was before DVDs. so the odds of me finding it aside from ordering it from amazon are not that high, is my guess.
    I also did 'give a little bit' by supertramp, and 'wild world' by cat stevens. I am running low on ideas from the list I had made, but sometimes just looking through the books at the venue will yield something good. I like doing a wide variety of songs, and one can easily do so when there are thick books to look through. after the first song, there was a man in a football jersey, number 21 for the chargers, who said he liked hearing it, there was a couple at my table who said the same thing later on. so I like knowing, as usual, how performing is something that doesn't just make me happy.
 I got some poster frames at target. one was for a movie, and another was a show I performed at. these had been waiting for a while for a frame, as I know it can be expensive to get them. it was nearly 20 dollars for these two. there was a dust-up about the self-checkout I was using, as it wasn't printing receipts. somebody had to be called in, and it still wouldn't print them, at least itemized ones. all I got was the total, and the method of payment. I was told that no security guard was going to have a problem with it, but I still get paranoid about these things. as I have had experiences before of being accused of doing things I wasn't even doing. I got some peanuts, and a little pumpkin pie. and a pack of Charlie brown Christmas-themed bookmarks. these bookmarks were in the dollar section near the front of the store.
    at the first venue I made an appearance in, I did not perform. but it was blake that told me how the live shows at the studio are on hold for a few months. it seemed odd, as I had just filmed two more reviews just over a week earlier. I will look forward to them being on again, as I really enjoy the exposure and somebody believing in my abilities.

dotting the 'I'

the second 'simpsons' episode on tonight had plenty to do with ohio state university. it started with mention of how principal skinner got an acceptance letter to the school, as he wanted to dot the 'i' as part of the marching band, in the word 'ohio'. I will have to ask my 'ohio friend' if she has seen the episode. there was also a joke about expanding the big ten conference.
   my car got the day off, I didn't really go anywhere today. there was plenty that I found to do at home. it meant getting more comedy souvenirs into sheet protectors and binders, and of course doing the dishes. although I should be starting another binder by now, the fourth. the third was started at the end of October last year, a page about acting at a haunted house was the first item. also got the pack of 100 baseball cards into a separate set of binders. thankfully there weren't many duplicate cards, less than five. I also checked some online auction listings. the inspection of the equipment is in a few days, just a day before the bidding ends. there are more than 400 listings, but just 12 are of interest to me at all. this is for various reasons, such as the size of the items and how much I think I can use them. most items have no bids yet, but I am the type that likes 'the path of least resistance', where it is easier to bid on what hasn't been bid on yet. in terms of getting it for lower prices. It does remind me of buying some buttons at an auction house a few years back. I was the only bidder for the item, or 'lot'. there was also some skype conversations with friends. it does seem to be a fine tool for communicating, although still fairly new to me.

have you ever seen the rain, CCR

I did karaoke after going to a friend's comedy show, and I performed 'have you ever seen the rain' by CCR. I said I had to do a rain song, especially when it had been a steady, but light, rain for much of the day. also since I was told that somebody had already done my first choice, 'tears in heaven' by eric Clapton. I got there near the end of the night, so I really had time for just one song. the comedy show was one I have performed at before, it is held once a month.
  it was a busy day of getting things done. of course it meant going to my PO box. not much there, but my renewal for the PO box was there, I renew it every six months at the end of the month. then it was on to the world war one exhibit at the Minnesota history center. it is closing soon, in a week, so I knew I needed to go now. great seeing some movies and music of the time there. I listened to songs by al jolson, as well as sophie tucker. the movies were starring Charlie chaplin, and mary pickford. as usual, I learned something. there was a profile about baseball player Christy Mathewson, who was a pitcher for the new York giants. he did military service in this war, and was gassed and didn't live long after it, died less than a decade later. I was more familiar with all of the famous athletes that served in the second world war. I took plenty of pictures there. I liked what was in the music and movies section. about how pop culture- as it always does- provides a welcome break from the grim realities of life.
   I also stopped at the library to print some things, arriving just before closing time. and then the grocery store, followed by a play, 'suddenly last summer', written by Tennessee Williams. it is a reminder of how he is a brilliant playwright, good drama in it, and often relatable. although sometimes it is hard to watch drama when there has been so much of it in my own life, my own family. I had seen 'glass menagerie', another play of his, at a different venue. and some of the movie adaptions of his plays as well. I arrived just before the play began, as I often say I live 'the manic life of a comedian'. sub teacher was the show closer at the comedy show, and chalm-skinn performed as well. the button's friend was at the karaoke venue, and she did 'wrecking ball' by miley cyrus.

monster trucks, regular trucks

i did the 'think fast' comedy show tonight, and I couldn't wait to get onstage. it meant doing somebody else's set and I did fine. there was one about monster trucks, and another about regular trucks. also about puppets, and pizza rolls. I liked seeing what somebody could do with my set as well, which included ones about karaoke, and burlesque. although it seemed like most people were struggling to tell jokes with the list they were given. I had done this show before, when I was filling in for somebody that didn't show up.
   I did hear from one agency, but just how there was no response yet from where my information would be forwarded. I was wondering what was happening after my two calls were unanswered, so I sent an email this time.
   I ate at the A and W at Mall of America in the evening, before I went to go perform. still want to see the Crayola exhibit sometime at this mall. it helps that I got a free ticket in a state fair gift bag.
   I also watched one of the movies on loan from the library, 'get a job'. anna Kendrick was in it, who was in 'up in the air'. I liked it as it does serve as a 'message movie'. since not only the recent college grad was looking for work. his dad was as well, after getting laid off. it would be considered a comedy, some notable gags in it like an 'initiation' for one of his friends who wanted a job. and had to prove how badly he wanted it.

arguing at pool table

I went to a karaoke bar tonight and witnessed the bouncer deciding to close the pool table for a short time. a cardboard sign was put on it saying 'no more pool tonight, thank you'. but it was re-opened, saying 'as long as you aren't arguing'. the pool table was over by the quarter candy vending machine I use after getting a beer, so hard to ignore what was happening. I did two songs tonight. first was 'gangsta's paradise' by coolio, and second was 'walking contradiction' by green day. the second was inspired by somebody at my table doing a pat benetar  song, one of the lines was 'talk is cheap'. and I knew a green day song had that line as well. people really liked the coolio selection. I had seen the couple before when I was performing at this venue.
   also this evening, I watched my first episode of 'young sheldon'. it followed 'big bang theory'. I like how it was different enough from 'theory', which is a farce. 'sheldon' seemed to be more about satire, and I like satire. I offer up Sheldon reading a self-help book by dale Carnegie as evidence. he decides to meet who checked it out before him, and their rantings were hilarious while he plays the straight man. some of the gags on it were introduced in 'theory'. I really liked watching 'theory' tonight as bob Newhart was a guest star again. there was interest in doing a re-boot of professor proton, so it made sense to have Arthur on it again. although of course he died in an earlier episode, so it is in a dream sequence where only Sheldon sees him. this would be Bob Newhart's fifth guest appearance if I am not mistaken, he was killed off in the third.
   I had another interview this afternoon, and I feel like this one went real well. although I have this feeling all the time and I am hardly ever correct. I will hear soon enough if it was successful. I did my best to prepare for it. after I got back I had some jambalaya rice with chunks of spam. it is two servings so I will have some more of it soon. and before I made it to the karaoke bar I returned two more movies to the library and got two more. 

hickok movie

I got 2 more movies watched today. first was 'hickok' about wild west figure wild bill Hickok. it covered his time as a lawman in Abilene, Kansas. he is well-known for his death, which was in a different town, also due to the 'dead man's hand', as he held the aces and 8's. I liked seeing some actors in it that I knew, although I didn't know who played wild bill, or his fellow lawman, Arkansas. but bruce dern was in it as a physician, and kris Kristofferson as the mayor. it sounded like the evil businessman that wanted wild bill dead was played by a country musician.
   the other movie I watched was 'the phenom'. it was about a young baseball pitcher that went to see a sports psychologist, as he couldn't find the strike zone after a while. paul giamatti played the shrink, and ethan hawke played the pitcher's domineering dad. I grew to dislike the dad a lot, but as I have been told before, you're not supposed to like him. one scene served as a reminder of being careful, or cautionary. the main character is at his motel, and talks to a lady that speaks of her husband who is a creep. he picks her up, and when they are making out, she pulls a fast one on him and he gets robbed. so she was the bait. the movie doesn't have many baseball scenes in it, but I didn't mind.
   in the evening I got a text message on my phone stating I was at 75 percent of my minutes for the 30-day period, which we are currently halfway through. guess I have been on the phone more since I went on vacation. so I will want to cut back on usage for a little while. I know one office I have been on contact with has been more than once, and kind of lengthy calls as well.
    I watched some of the world series tonight, the decisive game 7. the astros got an early lead, aided by a throwing error, and beat the dodgers 5-1 to take the series. I was onstage when the final out was recorded, hard to ignore when it was on a TV monitor nearby. my set included ones about being at 2 haunted houses, doing karaoke after one of them, the song 'gangsta's paradise' by coolio, a dream about a bicycle, famous people are different, logging onto skype, and 'the phenom' movie.