beast of burden, rolling stones

i went to the karaoke venue tonight and did 2 songs. the first was 'beast of burden' by the rolling stones. it was what somebody requested last week when i was in the bathroom. i like the 'pretty girl' lines in it, along with it asking plenty of questions that end with 'enough'. the second one i did was 'alive' by sia. it was one that i had no problem singing with passion, as it reads like my life story. the show runner said our mutual friend, the button, had been losing weight. but i hadn't seen her in person  lately, only some facebook messages. the harmonica guy brought his lady friend, and the song i saw him do was 'c'est la vie' by bob seger. 

   i scored 219 tests at work today, slightly more than the previous day. sounds like there is no Saturday work being offered, i had avoided making plans until i had heard anything. i ordered a ticket for the college baseball tournament, as the Minnesota gophers are hosting one of the 16 regionals. i will be attending the lead-off game on sunday. i won't know right away what teams will be playing, but game 5 will be an elimination game. i just want to see a good game. the gophers were the subject of a feature on local TV as it is rare for them to host a regional. it said their game in Friday was already sold out, so i figured it was best to get a ticket early especially if i want to keep the price low and want an actual seat instead of standing room. it does raise some questions on what i was given, though, as the section is not listed on the stadium diagram for siebert field. temporary seating maybe? since i ordered from the gophers i know this has to be the likely answer. since i haven't seen the college world series in Omaha in a while this is a good event for me to attend. way cheaper and closer for me. 

herr's pizza flavored cheese curls

i decided to get the last bag of herr's deep dish pizza flavored cheese curls from the vending machine at the performance venue tonight. they tasted good, as expected, as I like pizza. i also had a slice of domino's pizza as well, pepperoni, as the show runner had some and he said it was fine to have a slice. i had a bag of herr's snack foods recently, during my weekend in st. louis, as there was some in a vending machine at the airport/ before the show i saw the show runner outside and i shared a story about being a transfer that got a response of 'save it for the stage', so he must have thought it was a good comedy bit. he did take the stage at the end of my set as he wanted to riff with me, and i enjoyed it. he even tried on my hat. i think one joke i did would be considered a 'pun' as i spoke of how i liked that he was the background music during one of my sets before, playing the same 'riff' on repeat. another performer liked my bit about a recent visit to a video store.
   the check engine light was still on with my car this morning, so i went to the mechanic before work and he said he was too busy today. but he told me i should be fine on getting to work, and i was. this of course was a hold-over from the previous night. he said part of it was likely due to the rain. i scored 215 tests.

myths and legends

i was impressed with a young performer at the first comedy venue i performed at tonight. he asked me about history, and it was about myths and legends that are still around. i said there were plenty, of course the ones in American history about Washington and Lincoln are best known. i even spoke of a grant wood painting in reference to it, as he did one called 'parson weems fable'. i was surprised to find out he was still in high school, he said he was only 15. i said 'be careful' as there are some perils with performing. i took off my hat to him as it is a big deal that he is performing at such a young age. i think he is the one that has played guitar before. i also spoke with his dad, i guess this was his ride.
   I also called my st. louis friend tonight, sounds like she received my letter about my recent visit and liked reading it. It was shortly after getting off work, i had scored 173 tests. there was some training, about 45 minutes, but it still felt like a lackluster day, as i was tired.
   i performed at two venues tonight, it felt great to get back to both after having to skip due to a twins game, and a saints game. i even made a joke about the show runner at the second, in reference facebook activity. notable tonight was all of the rain, so i didn't want to spend as much time walking between venues when it is so wet.

rihanna drag brunch

i found things to do on my day off for memorial day. i went to another 'drag brunch' in downtown Minneapolis, taking the light rail there to see them do the music of Rihanna. one of the dancers had been on a ru-paul show, according to the MC. another one of them looked a lot like prince. the MC even did a turn dancing for us. naturally i liked hearing 'umbrella' a lot, as i like emoting (not emo) to it- the 'under my umbrella' part. i was hungry as i had just a banana before i departed for the venue. i ordered the 'rude boy breakfast'- eggs, sausage, potatoes, toast. my drink was hamm's beer as it was cheaper than the bottomless mimosas. i said i would attend another one of these events if they do the music of Sia. except i was unaware of a suggestion box being onsite.
   when i got home i knew i still had some chores and errand running to do, namely laundry. i also checked facebook and noticed there was an invite for a comics softball game, on short notice. so i said i would get to the game after doing laundry. i made it around 5:30, about an hour after it began. at first i just spoke with somebody on the benches, but said i brought my little league glove. one team was a player short, so i went in. as i recall i was 3-for-4 at the plate, one run scored. i was wearing my rain jacket while playing left field, there was a rain delay for a few minutes where we waited it out next to the school. some said they were going to a bar after the game, but i wanted to go eat my evening meal at home and then go perform. and i did. i spoke about the warm weekend, seeing 2 movies, the dollar store, 2 saints baseball games, and the 'drag brunch'.
 

let the sunshine in movie

this evening i went to see another movie at the lagoon in Minneapolis, 'let the sunshine in', a French subtitled movie. i am not used to them starting the credits as early as they did in this one. but i liked seeing an etta james photo in the background, and this was a foreshadowing for them playing etta's song, 'at last'. i know this isn't the first movie i had seen it in, as it is also in 'rain man', one of my favorites. at times i just threw up my hands when faced with what the main character was saying, as she either was hesitating to answer a question, or was just plain frustrated and there seemed to be no logical explanation for it. as expected, i understood a decent amount without relying on subtitles, about half. there was a lady that asked me what i thought of it after it had ended, she said the only French word she knew was 'oui', or 'yes'. 

   there was plenty that i did today. i was way behind on getting comedy souvenirs into binders, about a month, so i devoted plenty of time to it and got caught up. also did the shredding of junk mail, behind on this as well as i was out of town last weekend. and i finally read bank statements dating back to January. in the mid-afternoon i knew i was hungry, and had to figure out logistics for taking care of it. and it meant going to the nearby dollar store and picking up a microwaveable meal, along with some other items i needed. they were closed when i tried to go last night, something about electrical problems according to what was in the window. today there was a half-aisle blocked off and i noticed some water damage to the false ceiling above it. i also went to a video store, the one having a liquidation sale. i bought another video there, it was 'invincible', the one where marky mark plays the eagles football player. 

  then, finally, i ended up at the saints stadium, and i went as i like the food truck outing they have on memorial day weekend. the saints lost to gary 3-2. gary never trailed in it, and their first score was on a solo home run. it was warm and there were advisories about it. i took care of it by drinking from the water fountains often, while walking around as i had a standing- room ticket. i also got an ice cream sandwich there. then after the game i went to the twins truck, 'taste of target field', and had a chili cheese dog as well as some Gatorade. i wanted to see the fireworks but didn't have the time as i wanted to get to the movie. they have fireworks often, so i will have some more chances this season. 

beast movie

i had some appointments this morning, then in the afternoon and saw the movie 'beast', a british thriller, at the lagoon in uptown Minneapolis. i liked how it kept me guessing, such as at one point they said 'it's over'. but then i said 'wait a minute' as the movie kept going. i do like a thriller every so often for this reason. there are limited screenings, two per day, so i am thankful i am going now. this happens often with the 'art films' i like to see, as i know sometimes it means just one week, and usually just one theater is showing it. there was a domineering mom in it, i know something about that.
   the appointments were to get my car in the shop for an o-2 sensor issue, even though it just went off again. then i called an advisor, my college roommate, from the car before i left for my next one, a job interview in shoreview. but i am not sure if i would want it if offered. this is something i learned from a seminar i did through the state. sometimes one finds out things at interviews that make the job less appealing. so if one is not going to be happy, nothing wrong with turning it down.
   i went to the library to print some things, then on to a gas station in Minneapolis that has pizza i really like, godfather's. grew up with it in iowa. after the movie i drove home and sent a text to my st. louis friend. then i was out again to get groceries. i did karaoke tonight, but not at my customary venue. i showed up after watching the news and there was nothing onstage, so i found an alternate place to perform at. i did one song, 'soul to squeeze' by the red hot chili peppers. i know it is a movie song, from 'coneheads', but as far as i know i haven't seen the movie. a man in a cowboy hat was there and we briefly spoke, he said he had seen me perform there before.

alternate card at pump

i had to use an alternate card when paying at the pump this morning as it was rejecting my credit card, so i used the debit. this card has been re-issued various times, something about anti-fraud measures. guess i need to activate the one they sent me recently.
   at work i scored 254 tests, so slightly more than the previous day. we were dismissed 5 minutes early, likely due to the holiday weekend. i got annoyed finding out somebody opened the door on the microwave oven i was using, then failed to reset the time. i said 'common courtesy went out of style years ago'. felt the same way about wiping up a spill on the floor. i was taught to clean up your own spills. but then i also was a dishwasher and janitor for a while.
   this evening i made it to another karaoke bar. at this venue i did 2 songs, sometimes i arrive late and do only one. i did 'jump around' by house of pain, and 'sos' by rihanna. the first one was inspired by seeing a regular on my way in, and he made a comment about my outfit. so i eventually recited a lyric from it, 'word to your moms, i came to drop bombs'. i also noticed a small TV monitor on the darts machine.

blank page

i saw my first blank page while test scoring today. we see way more copied text and off-topic. i scored 251 tests. i have no choice but to rate some of them as 'non-scorable'.
  i made it to the karaoke venue tonight, lot was full so i parked a block away. it was great seeing the harmonica guy, much like last week. he did 'wagon wheel'. i did 'wish you were here' by pink Floyd, and 'what's the frequency kenneth' by REM. i was using the bathroom shortly after my second song and another patron suggested i do a rolling stones song. i said i had done 'mother's little helper' before. proof that somebody was paying attention. i also had to call and audible on the drink selection, not the first time. the bartender said they were out of hamm's so i had an old style. reminds me of being in college and my buddies would get cases of old style or leinenkugel.
   

cat cookies

at work i scored 194 tests. notable was seeing treats as usual, first time i had heard of cat cookies. i had some, they tasted fine. chocolate flavor, in the shape of a cat.
   i made it to the performance venue tonight, after watching a DVD copy of my favorite movie, 'good will hunting'. i spoke about various subjects, including  being in st. louis over the weekend.
   i continue to do those e-rewards surveys, and this time i decided to dump the airline miles into my southwest account as it has been nearly 2 years since my last activity and i don't want them to expire.

monument pork

i went to my first st. paul saints game of the season tonight, the theme was 'monument pork', honoring some of the ball pig mascots. the saints beat the Chicago dogs 5-1. it is likely the first of many games I will attend this season.
  at work we had a training and qualifying on the new test scoring project, then i scored 35 tests later in the day. i made to a repair shop in the morning and found out what is causing the check engine light, and made an appointment to get it handled.

midwest art conservation center

i did an alumni event this afternoon, at a place in Minneapolis that is part of their art institute. then there was a reception at a place in st. Anthony. i went to the performance venue later in the evening, after spending a little time at home. plenty of chores and errand running before the event.

rookie flight attendant

i flew back from st. louis in the evening. there was an announcement how it was the first flight for an attendant named alexis, so we clapped. i said 'we have all been rookies before'. it was no problem on getting back for my flight, the logistics worked well. no rain delay at the baseball game, and the cardinals won 5-1. i got a hot dog outside the stadium across the street from the musial statue. i took the light rail back to the airport and then went to my airport hotel to get my car, so i could return it to the rental place. my bag was in the back. i still had some time to eat before my flight, but options were limited. i had a bag of potato chips, along with some reese's peanut butter, and some vitamin water. i got a sandwich from a super-America after i got back.
   it was nice seeing my friend this morning, having breakfast at an IHOP. it was in south county. we liked holding each other as we were leaving, but i have known for a while that we are good friends.
   

wendy's 50 cent frosty

i went to eat at a Wendy's in the evening, on st. Charles rock road, and one reason was seeing all of the ads about the 50-cent Frosty treat for a limited time. also because i wanted to eat at a hot shots sports bar nearby. but it was taking too long for a server to acknowledge me and i was hungry. it was a noisy place anyway. i went there as i was wanting airline miles, delta dining for miles. so it worked fine on going to Wendy's, since it takes much less time to get your food. i got the typical burger and fries meal as well as some tea. i was scouting out some karaoke venues on this road, one of them said they didn't have it tonight and I thought it was odd that their minimum age was 30 instead of 21. so i decided to go back to the same one from last year, and did 'chasing cars' by snow patrol. i wanted to do more than one song, but there were reasons for that. i watched SNL until nicki minaj finally appeared as musical guest, and left for the venue after her first song. then another patron at the bar was making me feel uncomfortable. i was asked my name and age, twice, then she accused me of being autistic. something about her having kids and step-kids that are autistic. i just wanted to enjoy my beer while waiting for perform.
   i went to the cardinal game in the afternoon, but they lost to Philadelphia 7-6. there was a rain delay that happened in the bottom of the 5th, the cardinals had just scored on a sac fly to narrow the margin to 5-4. after the game i got a text from my friend, asking me if i was going to Sunday's game and i said i would be. we finally got it hashed out on having breakfast at an IHOP, on sunday morning. this was around the time when i was at hot shots, and i went to take the call in my rental car, an SUV, as of course it was easier to hear.

travel size sunblock

i picked up a few items at target after work. one of them was travel size sunblock. hopefully i will get to use it as i know airport security can be picky. i am flying to st. louis tonight for my annual visit for cardinal baseball games.
   we were done a little early at work, the project ended at 4pm. but i still got one hour of overtime in this week, due to showing up a little early for most of the week. there was cups of popcorn in the breakroom. thrilled to get another assignment, starting Tuesday.

green roof locked

we were told at work in the afternoon how the first project of the week, about a green roof, has been locked, or is finished. we had moved on to ones about laughing, and now an astronaut at the international space station. looks like my time there has been extended, to june 15. fine with me, as there are no other offers yet.
   i went to the karaoke bar tonight. and sang two songs. it was 'burning down the house' by talking heads, and 'water under the bridge' by adele. the first one was a crowd pleaser, no doubt.
   i am also getting ready for the weekend, seeing that event tickets have been printed. i went to the library for printing tonight before the karaoke bar. i am also researching karaoke bars to find this weekend, and perform at. also on my list is find a restaurant in the dining for miles program.
   i sure was pleased to see the harmonica guy tonight at the karaoke bar, he is back from Arizona now. saw him perform 'wagon wheel'. and i got the 'how right i was' feeling as two ladies sang 'closer to fine' by the indigo girls. i was reminded of how i had heard it when i was driving the U-Haul to Minnesota when i moved here over a decade ago.

popcorn in coffee filter

i like having popcorn at the performance venue, had to improvise tonight. saw no cardboard boats so i used a coffee filter instead. i got a photo of it next to my beer, a can of pabst. i dealt with somebody who wanted to talk to me during my set, not used to this. it ledt o me saying something about the story 'gift of the magi', read it in high school.
   i scored 175 tests, did more from the supervisor pool, but i 'hit a wall' in the afternoon and was really tired. i have ordered game tickets for 3 games coming up, and one of them is a st. paul saints game next week. watched my DVD copy of the movie 'up in the air' tonight to get primed for the weekend.

supervisory functions

i got more exposure to 'how things work' at the test scoring site. there was a glut of 'non-scoreable' papers so we got to do 'supervisory functions'. i ended up giving a score to some of them, but others stayed the way they were, either 'refused' or 'copied text'. one had a smiley face on it, another filled up the page with random keystrokes. this was done at the end of the day. and we finished a little early that i read a few pages from the book i brought with me for the 'lulls'. i consider myself to have scored 191 tests, including these from the supervisory part.
   there wasn't much 'down time' after driving home from work, as i wanted to get back on the road and go to the twins baseball game. so i checked email, got it knocked down to just 3 survey messages, ate, and drove over to a park and ride. i went because they were playing the st. louis cardinals. it is the first of a two-game series. st. louis scored first, but they didn't get any hits after the third. the Minnesota twins won 4-1. there were some young ladies in my row as the game started, then i heard them say, when some of them showed up to find the others, that they wanted to 'get food' and i never saw them again. not complaining about that though. probably made it easier for me to pay attention to the game. when i was riding home on the light rail i noticed how plenty of the stadium ushers were on the train as well. i wanted an earlier train but it was full. but it is a reminder of some of the hang-ups i have with public transport as there are usually fewer trains after 10pm, so it meant waiting nearly 30 minutes for the next one. i found things to do, didn't want to just sit around. so i took a long walk and knew when i needed to be back. walking is the most common type of exercise i do. in other issues, not much movement on the job front. but hopefully i will hear more soon.

copied text

at work there was a rash of tests with copied text on them, unable to score them. although it sounds like we may get more of a security clearance to score them, will find out soon enough what this means. first half of the day was training and qualifying, second half was scoring. i was tired so it explains a little why i scored just over 50 tests.
   tonight at the comedy club i was informed by cul-de-sac how he is leaving town soon, i said 'win one for me someday'. a line from 'field of dreams'. i made it to the performance venue, went on first as it was either that or go on late, and spoke about seeing 'tully' among other things in my set.

tully movie

just before midday i saw the movie 'tully' at the highland theater in st. paul. it was the first screening of the day, i was just one of two people there. i have seen most movies directed by Jason Reitman, and i have enjoyed most of them, especially 'up in the air'. so this is a big reason why i saw this one as well. i continue to say how Reitman is a latter-day norman lear, as he is willing to tackle real-world issues that others aren't covering. i liked the passion that Charlize theron had for this role. most memorable was when she came unglued in response to sugar-coated words. I've been there, it was relatable. there were times when i laughed, but this was largely a serious movie. especially when the premise is an overwhelmed mother of three. in the Thursday edition of the Minneapolis paper there was an article about the controversy surrounding it. i was annoyed that one part of the article decided to print a spoiler, even though they warned people to stop reading if they didn't want to see a spoiler. i only read that part after seeing the movie, and it was and wasn't kind of a spoiler.
   there was plenty of things i did today besides see the movie. i took a long walk before it, and it netted some coins. i went to a video store liquidation sale, and bought three DVDs, a dollar each. it was 'brokedown palace', 'most dangerous man in america', and a bio-pic of joe louis, the boxer. the middle one is one i meant to see at theaters, but since it had a limited release it was harder to go see there. but i hope to find the time to see it sometime soon. i was careful as to what i bought on this visit as i didn't want to get one that i already had. so it inspired me to go through what i had and get them into 'alpha' order, and made a list. this 'gut feeling' saved me from buying one of them. now i can go back with the list in hand, will make it easier.
   shortly after the video store visit, i went to an open-mic. i spoke about various subjects, including seeing the movie and going to the video store. when i got back i watched 'the simpsons' episode, it was about them going to Denmark. and of course i did the dishes and recycle.
 

birthday, beatles

i did 3 songs tonight at the karaoke bar. the last one was 'birthday' by the beatles. i was invited to a friend's birthday party on facebook. she is known for having the muppet at one venue i perform at. the other two i did were 'smooth operator' by sade, and 'Allison road' by the gin blossoms.
   i did plenty today before that. i turned in change at the bank, it was just over 10 dollars and it went into savings. paid my box fee at the post office, then went to work as there was overtime available. i scored 107 tests, which is good for it being a half-day. i also got groceries, and some socks at the herberger's liquidation sale in Roseville.

oh the innocence

i did one song at the karaoke bar tonight, it was 'i am mine' by pearl jam. i like the line 'oh the innocence' a lot. i am aware how the song is inspired by a concert tragedy, but i know how sometimes tragedy inspires great art. there was a man that wanted to talk about love after his song and before mine, and the man in charge had to say something when he wanted to sing along during another person's song.
   at work i scored 195 tests, one more than the previous day. there was some movement on the job front, i had a phone interview after work. i also had an agency saying i was 'hostile' and I said in response how i was being honest when i said i didn't have much time to talk. their loss, not mine.

jumper, third eye blind

i did 2 songs at the karaoke bar tonight, and the first was 'jumper' by third eye blind. i had heard it on my car radio recently, that is where i get much of my inspiration now on what to sing. the other one i did was 'human' by the pretenders.
   at work i scored 194 tests, sounds like a test scoring project i agreed to got delayed for the third time. but i am staying on the current one for Friday, and i have been offered overtime this weekend as well and i will likely do some since i need the money.
   i laughed a lot while watching the season finale of  'big bang theory' tonight, it was about Sheldon and amy getting married. the guest stars helped with that, including mark Hamill from 'star wars'.
   there was some movement on the job front, i had 3 voicemails waiting for me at break time, butall from temp agencies. one of them seems a little inept though. and a phone interview is scheduled for a direct-hire position on Friday, early evening.

familiar from meetup

i went to a performance venue tonight that was new to me, in Hopkins. it was familiar to me when i attended a meetup event nearby over a year ago. i think i ended up parking in the same lot as before, in the downtown area. and probably went to the same gas station, a shell. i understand this open-mic just moved from another night recently, chalm-skinn is the show-runner. then i went to my customary venue in another town after that.
  at work i scored 165 tests, and it was annoying that i was asked to re-score a test a second time. so it was mentioned in my comedy act tonight.  

re-scored test

at work i scored 179 tests today. i didn't understand why i was asked to re-score a test. i came up with the same score as earlier, was told it was not correct. i am still trying to fight to stay awake. i made it in 30 minutes earlier as it is hard for me to turn down overtime, and i managed to last until 5pm. i am unwilling to work later than the customary end time, got too much to do.
   i made it to 2 venues tonight and performed at both. i spoke about my line of work, along withgoing to the family dollar store after work.

can't serve you

no, it wasn't said to me. to young kids, probably teen-age boys, heard this at the karaoke venue tonight. i did 3 songs: 'hey good lookin' by hank Williams, 'family portrait' by pink, and 'bring me to life' by evanescence. light crowd doing karaoke, at first i just spent time walking outside. it was to satisfy curiosity, and found out what i saw wasn't historical markers. it was about planting trees on the light rail line.
  at work it was announced that one could do overtime, by showing up 1 hour early or staying 1 hour late. i scored 140 tests, looks like i did 73 on Thursday. this was the first day when i was doing the counting, i have noticed it motivates me to get more of them scored.

kellogg's chocolate frosted flakes

i finished up the boxes of cereal i bought at goodwill this morning. it was Kellogg's chocolate frosted flakes. it tasted fine, i got two boxes and it was a dollar apiece. usually one doesn't find cereal this cheap, but it must not have been selling at another store such as target. this weekend i got oatmeal at Hy-Vee, so it might be a while before i have cereal again for breakfast.
   i did plenty of walking today, and it netted a bumper crop of coins. the final total that went into my change bank was nearly a dollar, mostly in pennies but also some dimes. i needed to do laundry and went to take care of it in the afternoon. some of the walking was while i was waiting for the laundry to finish, and on the way back i discovered a video store across the street. looks like they are having a liquidation sale, it will run through the end of this month. i said i would like to make a return visit when i have more time to look around. surprised to find one, as in big metro areas they have largely vanished since redbox and Netflix are popular.
  in the evening i watched 'the simpsons' episode, it was about ned flanders becoming a teacher. after it i watched some 'big bang theory' reruns on another channel, but just two episodes as i still had other things to do like the dishes. the two i watched were about howard being in space.

bringing weather with me?

when i returned the rental car at the airport i got the same agent as i did on Thursday. he asked me how iowa was and said 'i must have brought the weather with me' as there was a severe thunderstorm warning announced at the airport. but i got home on the bus without any fanfare. it rained some but it didn't last long. 

   as expected, i didn't do much on my final day in des moines, which is typical when leaving in the morning. one does the most important things. it was shower, go get continental breakfast, pack by bag, check out of hotel, and get on the road. when i checked out i asked about calls and the desk clerk spoke of having a battery charger there. i said 'lot of good it does me now' in reference to my phone's battery dying and not having a charger with me. i was more leisurely, making more stops on my way back. i stopped at the casey's in clear lake as it was midday by then. i had a slice of pizza, juice, and some peanut butter crackers. i stopped in Faribault as well, for more juice. and again in Lakeville, to look around at the cracker barrel, but didn't buy anything. it didn't take long to unpack, as usual. i did go on one errand with the rental car before returning it, as i went to the grocery store, a Hy-Vee. i had a gift card to use, a visa card from the super-America loyalty program. i got a hot dog and some juice at a super-America for my evening meal, and i was back to driving my own car by then. i got caught up on emails, it took the longest to clear the ones related to taking surveys. but as we know, i like getting airline miles, so i do as many surveys as i can. i had hoped to go out and perform tonight, but it was not to be. i realized i was probably too tired for that. i have fallen asleep a few times since i got back. nothing wrong with taking a night off from it. one of the first things i did when i got back was find my battery charger and get my phone charged up. i checked my voicemail and there was just two messages there, the two i was expecting to hear. one was from an agency, the other from a classmate i spoke with when i was in town. 

my aunt's funeral

i made it to des moines just after midnight, there was plenty of rain during my drive but that was all. i made one stop along the way, at the casey's in clear lake. i got a can of Coca-Cola, slice of pizza, and some reese's peanut butter. i brought some CDs to listen to as well. all i did after getting to town was check into my hotel and get ready for bed. no need to do much more that late at night, especially when i had things to do in the morning. i got my continental breakfast, then headed for the church in west des moines. along the way i stopped at a Walgreen and got a sympathy card, along with a small bag of peanuts.
   when i arrived at the church, i recognized my sister first. she laughed a little, had to ask why. she said something about not knowing when i would arrive, even though i let dad know about it. she was standing next to my uncle. then i found my dad, and no surprise how we talked a lot. hadn't seen him in almost two years. i also spoke with some of the church employees, since i would be singing at the funeral. i arrived shortly after family visitation began. i was informed how i would be doing the 'recessional'. i didn't talk to my cousin that much, but she had many other people that wanted to talk to her and she was crying a lot, and it is hard for me to see crying. i got up twice during the ceremony, first to get my program from the family room, then to get the printed page of the song lyrics to 'i'll fly away' as i had a hard time remembering a line from it. i did fine with singing it, although i felt myself pausing after the first verse, afraid i would forget the next line. it was a little more nerve-wracking than expected, as it is nothing like karaoke when one has the prompt right in front of you. my cousin hugged me after i was done. my dad said it might have been easier had there been an accompaniment, such as a piano player, and i agreed. i got some photos of the facility and then went to the luncheon. then it was on to the grave-side service, at the cemetery in Booneville. she was cremated and my cousin's daughter held the box on the drive there. i got a ride with my uncle, and my dad and sister were in the same car. i saw a U-Haul facility on the way there, plenty of trucks parked next to what looked like an abandoned motel. there was also a gated community in the area. i looked around at the cemetery a little, and we left shortly after the grave digger covered the hole. then it was back to the church, where i picked up my car and went back to my hotel. i called a classmate, who was at his office, the judge in des moines, and it was nice to talk about various subjects for a little while. he said he would be in the twin cities next month, hopefully we can have lunch somewhere while he is in town. he gave me the number of a classmate, mutual friend, my little league teammate. and i spoke with that classmate even longer, although from the hotel phone as my cell phone battery was dying and i brought the wrong battery charger with me. we hadn't spoken much since his wife left him a few years ago. i watched a little TV, then fell asleep. when i woke up it was getting late, so i knew i wanted to go out again, this time to a karaoke bar. i sang 'fix you' by coldplay. it was across the road from merle hay mall, and i had been to the mall earlier in the day, bought a pair of winter gloves at a clearance sale at the sears. i looked around at the younkers liquidation sale but didn't buy anything.

test scoring pairs

i was paired with another test scorer today for a little while. i didn't enjoy it, discussing it with someone else, wasn't used to it. i am used to handling it by myself. but later on i was on my own, so of course it was happier. i am already handling it differently than the first project, as i didn't keep a tally of the number of tests i had scored. or use any post-its to write down notes. but we also are just giving one score, instead of three.
   i picked up the rental car after work, and got a response to a text from a classmate, the judge in des moines. he said there was precarious weather in central iowa, a few tornadoes have touched down. but it looks like it will have tapered off by my ETA, and most of the watches and warnings have expired or have been canceled. if it is just rain then that is not too big of a deal to me. Dad called me just before i left town, i said i was packing my bag.

boy named sue, johnny cash

i went to two venues to perform tonight, first was an open-mic and the second was the karaoke bar. i sang 'boy named sue' by johnny cash at the karaoke bar. i looked at the book and said it was a good one as i will be seeing my dad in a few days. and i wanted to get more singing practice in as well. it was nice that the open-mic was on again, because last week it wasn't. it was a short lineup, made it easier for me to get to another venue.
   it was nice to get back to work as a test scorer this morning, after being 'on vacation' for over a week. i saw an HR rep, who was there for paperwork for the new hires, and said my aunt had passed. so i knew i needed to get a note to my boss about it. this was the training day, and i have already qualified to score tests. although i hated being so tired, fighting to stay awake at times. so i of course welcomed the breaks, where i could get up and walk around some. i have a different team lead this time, but somebody i recognized as he was a moderator from the first project i did. no surprise how i fell asleep in my easy chair after i got home. i have made the hotel reservation as of this morning related to going to iowa soon, same hotel from when i was in the area for my class reunion. it works well to search on hotels dot-com. will have to see if any other reservations need to be made.

saluting the train

i was walking to a performance venue tonight and i had to wait for the light rail, there were two trains going in opposite directions. i rarely see this. i saluted the second one when i got close to the track. seems a little weird, but i think i was inspired by snoopy doing this in a Charlie brown special at one point. i performed at two venues, pleased that i finally heard Arizona Chicago do a set since she moved to the area. liked the one she did about toys-r-us. bathtub comic was there as well, got his second CD and liked his one about a house on fire. school bouncer arrived after performing at another venue, i asked to hear some of his school bouncer stories. i spoke about interviews, de-framing photos, and picking up pennies. then i went to the second venue and did much of the same, although in both cases i started off with a callback.
   i had the appointment and phone interview, hopeful that the interview will yield something of course. i stopped at the goodwill and bought another DVD, two CDs, and a book. my dad called me about my aunt's passing. i let my cousin know on facebook how i would like to sing at the funeral, when Dad called me he said i can so i said 'thank you' and i will be honored to do so. now it means doing some preparing. haven't used my video camera in a while, i would like to film myself there. and of course a hotel reservation, probably can find something good on hotels dot-com. it might be a little weird to see family don't see that often, but i will manage. same is true about performing in front of them. but we can't ignore what finally propelled me into performing. it was the summer of 'two funerals and a wedding' 10 years ago, as i spoke at the two family events. so it means i will be driving to iowa soon.