hamilton play

I started my drive to des moines, iowa, around 8:30am as I wanted to get to a play in the afternoon at the civic center, 'hamilton'. I recently bought the ticket on stubhub. I had seen a play there before, but probably not since high school, when I saw 'les miserables'. I got a photo outside before the play of the semi with the play's logo on it. somebody else wanted the same photo, and asked me to do it for them, and I said 'as long as you do the same for me'. there was a car near the semi but I had to accept it was going to be part of the picture. I looked around a little more before the play began, as it is downtown des moines and I wanted to find a drink before going inside, where it likely would be more expensive. I found a Hy-Vee grocery store, and it had a bottle of tea. I had already eaten lunch, at a chick-fil-a in Ankeny, just outside des moines. I wasn't in Ankeny for long as I knew I needed to get downtown soon, a 2pm start for the play.
   as a history major, I figured I would like this play and I did. during the intermission, I said it went fast but I was able to keep up with it. this of course was referring to many of the lines being rapped. in fact one scene reminded me of a rap battle from Eminem's movie, '8-mile'. I am just not sure how well I could sing the songs at a karaoke bar, as I usually have a hard time keeping up with rap songs. I did see somebody once sing a 'hamilton' song at a karaoke bar. after the play ended, while still inside the venue, I said 'worth it!'
   after the play ended I went back to Ankeny and checked into my hotel. I wasn't there for long as I wanted to get back to downtown des moines for the baseball game, and the stadium is just blocks from the civic center. I knew there was rain in the forecast so I was fully aware how the game may not happen. prepare for the worst hope for the best. it was postponed at the end of the 4th inning, the Memphis redbirds were leading 3-1. I stayed at the stadium for a short time, not wanting to get soaked. I bought a rain poncho at the souvenir shop, but I still was partially soaked while getting back to my car. I wanted to do karaoke but it was more important to get back to my hotel in Ankeny and get out of the wet clothes. I turned on the news and there was extended coverage about the weather, as flash flooding was happening. it was a chore getting back to the hotel as I was turned away when trying to go left, as a car was already stuck in the water. so I went west and found a mattress store parking lot where I could wait it out for a few minutes, and some others did the same. I parked at an arby's, a block from my hotel. about an hour later, I ventured out again, and it looked like the road was passable so I moved my car into the hotel's parking lot. sounds like it was a good thing where I didn't do karaoke as the venue is near merle hay mall, and the news said the flooding was bad in that area, maybe more so than at my hotel. I got a beer and some peanuts at the nearby convenience store and did some writing about the day, then that was pretty much it for the evening. I had to stop watching the news after a while as they kept reporting from the same places. and in the end, the most important thing was that I was fine.

call and wait

i seemed to have to call and wait a lot today. first it was due to looking for work, then it was related to picking up a rental car at the airport in the evening. but hopefully it will yield something on the job front, as I have two appointments for Monday. although one of them is to review evaluations of me from the test scoring job. the other is an agency where the man spoke of being from iowa like me, after seeing my updated resume. I didn't like waiting for the shuttle to the car rental place, I changed companies as I was doing a later pickup, by 3 hours. I talked with a man named vang while we were waiting. then I had to ask where the rental agreement was, the agent said it was put in the visor. then it was off to an ATM for beer money as I wanted to get to a karaoke bar. I found one earlier today while driving past, in st. paul. I sang 'everybody hurts' by REM. I would have liked getting there earlier as it would have meant being able to sing more than just one song. I stopped at a super-America after karaoke and got a bag of potato chips, there was a sign on the window saying 'cash only, sorry' and I said that was fine as I have some.

touristy or common

a classmate is in town with his family near the mall of America and asked me if that was too touristy or common for me. I say I get there every so often, and to IKEA as well. we spoke by phone in the afternoon, I was at the mall in Roseville at the time, but no time available for an in-person thing like dinner. no big deal, I know family comes first. we were just exchanging text messages at first, then we finally spoke by phone for about 20 minutes. I was on my way back to my car when it happened, about ready to leave the mall for the library, so I stayed in my car to take the call. I had to step out of my car for a brief moment as it was getting warm inside of it, and then I figured out how to get the window down without turning on the engine. I didn't buy anything at the mall, as I told myself that whatever I needed to get could probably wait until I had more money, and that means when I go bac to work. I decided this after going to jc penney, then the herberger's liquidation sale. 

   I spent more time job searching, and got my resume sent to two more agencies. I also applied for specific jobs with two other agencies. then in the evening I went to the karaoke bar and sang two songs. it was 'no excuses' by alice in chains, and 'mama said knock you out' by LL cool J. I chose the former after speaking with another classmate by phone, my little league teammate. and I know he likes alice in chains. I spoke of hearing another song of theirs, 'them bones', at a burlesque show. naturally we spoke a lot about baseball. I will have to play it by ear as to if he can join me at the iowa cubs baseball game in des moines this weekend. his work schedule means he gets off work at the casino in the early evening, and it wouldn't give much time to be on time for the game.

job fair, ring bell

I went to a job fair in Burnsville, and then was informed there was a temp agency across the street. so I checked and there was a closer location to me. I made an appointment for later that day and had to ring the bell for service. but at least I am registered with them and hopefully will hear something good soon. none of the jobs at the fair were in my skill set or really appealed to me. two of them were rival consumer product companies and paid well for driving jobs but it would also mean plenty of heavy lifting and I have no idea of my back could stand the strain. I was advised to 'do something out of my comfort zone' when I spoke of how hard it was to get to work at a decent job. reminds me a little of being unemployed after getting out of college and was advised to 'take what you can get'.
    I performed at an open-mic in the evening and a friend said he is a security guard. so it is another job lead to consider. although I had some 'push back' ready, saying I have no experience in that area and that is often why I am passed over for jobs I would like to do. he tells me his work is fairly easy though. but at this point I still want to see if I am able to land an office job again.

wage haggling

I still can't believe some of the things I must deal with while job searching. one of those things is wage haggling. I noticed I got a call while on another call, and they didn't leave a voicemail but I still saw it on my cell phone as a 'missed call'. so I called them and found out it was likely a job I had already turned down as the pay was too low. I said this to them again, and he said he would get back to me. I got a call saying they could offer 50 cents an hour more, but it was still too low. I even used the term 'haggling' with them. I should expect this much by now from companies that see my resume on job boards. they are the kind that are from out of state, and will call and email me about the job. sometimes it is companies I have already interviewed with.
  I went back downtown looking for work, and I don't enjoy having to pay for parking, even if only for an hour. I got an application filed with an agency, but they told me they don't have office jobs that much. while there I heard somebody in the background talking about cleanup jobs at the saints baseball stadium after their games. I even went to a state unemployment office and asked about filing for unemployment insurance, something I dread doing but looks like I have no choice as nobody will hire me. while there I got a call and was asked to complete a 'right to represent' form, although now that I think about it this may have been a job I had already heard about from another agency a day earlier. and I didn't like how this second agency gave me an 'out of office' reply, saying their agent is returning next week. a lot of good that does me! yet another agency sent me a list of agencies to call, after saying they don't have anything for me. they've claimed this ever since I filed an application with them back in October. I was finger-printed for expected interviews, then nearly a month later finally got an interview but no offer. I have grown tired of the 'run-around', it feels like I am being lied to all the time.
   so, much like the previous night, performing is a welcome distraction. I was at an open-mic and I went on near the end. I said I didn't want to spend all of my time onstage whining, which is often what happened when I was unemployed before. thankfully I had enough material about other subjects where I didn't need to. the show runner, the 'extra murder' comic, liked the one about the two ladies I met at a karaoke bar this weekend. magic man was a fill-in show runner as well.

sales job webinar

at first, I was thrilled to have something to do in the morning related to work. I was invited to a webinar, saying the company was expanding in the area. then I find out it was for a sales job, and of course I am not interested in that line of work. I also went downtown and saw what temp agencies were hiring that I hadn't tried yet. one of them said they weren't accepting walk-ins and advised passer-bys to send an email. with another, their application period was ending for the day in a few minutes so I was sent home with paperwork to complete. I am trying really hard to get back to work and it still isn't achieving any results at all. I made calls to temp agencies I had already applied to and it yielded some leads, although one of them asked me to complete a data entry test and then said I wasn't fast enough. the client cares more about speed than accuracy.
   in times like these, I am thankful I have performing to keep me busy in the evenings. it takes my mind off of all of the failures. although there is disappointment in this area as well. I finally found stage time on my third attempt. I expected to be turned away at the first venue, but not the second. I was told that too many people had signed up online, so I still wanted stage time, and went to a karaoke bar, a place I will go to usually once a month. I did three songs, and saw somebody I knew there. she is a singer, but I was surprised to find out she does karaoke. she sang 'lose yourself' by Eminem, which had meaning to me since that was my first-ever karaoke song. I sang 'someday someway' by marshall Crenshaw, 'heartbeat song' by Kelly Clarkson, and for some reason I can't think of the third right now. I know I liked hearing it at some burlesque shows I enjoyed attending.
another performer said my style of singing was like bob Dylan, but I don't see that one.

jesse james black train movie

I got a redbox rental this afternoon, 'jesse james vs. the black train'. it had the same feel as some other westerns I had rented from there in the past year or so, referring to the two about billy the kid, another wild west outlaw. and it appears some of the same actors as well. this would likely be considered to be a 'b-western' but I don't mind, especially at the price the redbox rental is. on top of that, I used a discount code so that brought it down under a dollar for the first day. the movie takes place near the end of the life of jesse james, as the northfield, Minnesota, failed robbery is early in the story. there was mention of 'pestilence' in it, but not much was found about the definition, just a 'fatal epidemic disease, such as bubonic plague'.
   this morning I went to the pancake breakfast at kaposia days in south st. paul. it was at a car dealer as usual. I met a candidate for u.s. senate there, since she is from that town. I tried to get to a movie after that, 'catcher was a spy', about moe berg, but I knew full well I didn't make it in time. it was in Lakeville, a fairly long drive for a movie, and I arrived at the theater's parking lot about 10 minutes after the scheduled start. I think this was why I was more interested in getting a redbox rental, and going from their selection from a to z I saw 2 that were of interest to me. the other is the one about p.t. barnum, the showman. I performed at a open-mic in the late afternoon, the one hosted by the resistable comic in uptown. I needed to call an audible on the drive there twice due traffic jams or construction. I had seen 'the simpsons' episode before, where bart fell down a hole and sideshow bob tried to kill him for the umpteenth time.

dental office flashback

I went to perform at a karaoke bar tonight and experienced a flashback to a dental office that I hadn't been to in a while. it was due to meeting two ladies while I was at the table trying to figure out what song I wanted to do. and eventually one of them asked me about dental visits, guess she was one of the receptionists so I don't recall her as well. odd thing was they weren't paying attention when I did my first song, one of them asked me which one I did. then they put in one and don't answer the call when they are called. it looked like they were outside smoking. I did 2 songs, 'bent' by matchbox 20, and 'family tradition' by hank Williams jr. I had my dad in mind when I did the second one, as he spoke of the song when I was at my uncle's funeral this week. I said I had heard it a lot at karaoke bars, but I hadn't done it yet.
  it was a good thing that I read Friday's Minneapolis paper before I went anywhere today. I found out that kaposia days in south st. paul is this weekend, so I went there after going to check my PO box,a dn then printing things at the library. I got a festival button at the dairy queen, so I can go to the pancake breakfast at the car dealer on sunday morning. I prefer to have it in advance, so I don't have to wait in line at the event. I got a look at the classic car show in the high school's parking lot, although some cars were already leaving even though there was an hour left in the time allotment. I liked seeing a Shelby cobra, a 2-seat car, and a willys overland jeep. after the festival I came home and slept for a while, then went to the grocery store. I knew aldi closes at 8pm, so much like some other times I arrived less than an hour before closing. but it doesn't take long to get through there as I know what I want and need. then I watched some of the baseball game on fox, before and after the grocery store trip. It was seattle at boston, and seattle won 7-2.

welcome back, for a day

i went back to the office, and there was a page waiting for me that said 'welcome back'. it was nice to be back, but it was for only one day. I scored 351 tests, the most for this project. I turned in my badge, for the second time, at the end of the shift. sounds like the night shift will officially finish the project for us. I saw 'boo' during breaks, we were doing the same project much like when I started in march. I spoke about being in iowa. he said he would take a few days off next week and take care of his mom. I know he said he is older than me.
  I went to the saints baseball game in the evening. I got a chili dog in mears park on the way to the stadium as the jazz festival was happening. I met a few other big ten alums at the black dog café before the game. I arrived just before they decided to leave for the stadium. it was why I decided to go to a Friday evening game, normally I want to stay home and rest after work. I was getting annoyed with an older woman in this group, after saying I had a standing room ticket, so I was not in their section. she kept telling me to buy a ticket, but why would I buy one when I already have one? while I was roaming during the game I also saw my 'work spouse'. it was nice to see her again, it was the first time since we got laid off in October. I got one of those round ice cream sandwiches again, as we all know I like ice cream a lot. the saints trailed early in the game but then had a big inning and tied it 4-4. the saints were leading going into the 9th, 7-6 against Winnipeg, but the saints lost 9-8. there was fireworks after the game, I found the big ten group and watched the fireworks with them. the nightly theme was the movie 'grease', and plenty of music from the movie was played.
   but it didn't end there. I went to a karaoke bar after the game and sang. I did 'chandelier' by sia. I really like that line 'holding on for dear life'. much like many of her other songs, I like how well she captures 'the struggle of life' so well.

staircase metaphor

I began the day at my hotel in des moines, iowa, as I was in town to attend my uncle's funeral. I arrived at the venue kind of early and decided to look around and found plenty of art on the walls. I liked the caption there, about the 'staircase metaphor' was in reference to overcoming fear. I like seeing metaphors as I use them in writings often. I learned something about my uncle from the obit, it said he once owned a gas station. I mainly knew about his later jobs, such as working for firestone. I liked visiting with my cousin's 2 kids while we were at the luncheon. one of them said she didn't know what to talk about, and then I helped her with ideas. she asked me things like my favorite cartoon, I of course say it's charlie brown and snoopy. there was military honors at the cemetery, 'taps' was played. but not a 21-gun salute. not long after it was over I was back on the road, as I knew I had things to do at home. when I arrived home it was mid-evening, and I called the office. I was informed that there is work on Friday, so this thrills me. then I checked email and not long after getting home I went to sing at a karaoke bar. I did 'you can't always get what you want' by the beatles. then I had 2 'weird interactions with the general public'. one of them said I sang well, then said he wanted money, and I turned him down. the other tried to make a point about bill murray being a part owner of the st. paul saints baseball team, and I said he doesn't run the saints. I get bored with hearing that factoid, lost count of how often I've heard it.

a fluid thing

a fluid thing has a double meaning today. I got an oil change done on my car. and I was advised to call and find out if there is test scoring on Friday. I scored 290 tests today.
  the oil change was done after work, I said if I was driving my own car to iowa for my uncle's funeral then this had to be done first. It was due for this service anyway, and I went to the dealer where I bought it 2 years ago to have this done. due to the sense of urgency, though, it was hard for me to wait, although I did and then at the end of the given allotment I asked if it would be done soon. the given allotment was 45 minutes, and during that time I read the papers I could find. when I asked about it they said it was nearly finished, was sent to be washed. since it isn't washed much I was fine with it, although there was an option to skip the wash. I disclosed my itinerary this time on facebook to my cousin's chat group saying when I was departing for des moines, and how I would be staying at a hotel while in town. at my aunt's funeral last month my sister claimed she didn't know when I would make it there.
  as usual, I like being efficient with driving to iowa. this meant just one stop, near the state line. I wanted to wait until clear lake but I wasn't sure if I had enough gas to get there, and this would have been 20 miles farther. it was tough having to drive through rain much of the way, but eventually it let up. I got started about 30 minutes later compared to last month, had no choice when I was waiting for the oil change. I packed in a rush, and it meant I didn't pack CDs for the drive. I still found things on the radio, besides some music also the twins baseball game. I was able to get their flagship, WCCO, for a while, until almost the state line, and the game was nearly over by then.

scoring evaluations

I had another meeting with the scoring director at the end of the day and found out I can ask to look at my own evaluations as a test scorer. it means asking for a meeting with HR, and then looking at them privately of course. I am asked to evaluate my team lead and scoring director on each project as well. I am not afraid of what I might see, but now that I know about it of course it piqued my interest. I know I do good work. I scored 325 tests today. and there are still plenty of blank papers as well, and I am not including them in my daily count.
   this evening I went to the Minnesota twins baseball game, so I wasn't at home for long. it meant moving back looking at email until after the game. the twins won, beat the boston red sox 6-2. I like seeing a red sox game annually as it keeps alive the memory of my favorite movie, 'good will hunting'. the twins trailed 1-0 at one point, the red sox had hit a solo home run. but they went ahead 2-1, playing 'little ball', and then the red sox tied it 2-2. then the twins went ahead for good in the 8th, scoring 4 in that inning. as usual, I don't enjoy the ling wait for light rail after the game as I just want to get home. but this happens all the time when one wants to ride after 10pm.

eager beaver poster

I went to the performance venue tonight and saw a poster on a back wall that was of an eager beaver, in reference to working hard. looks like this cartoon character was dressed like a construction worker. I hadn't seen it there before so I decided to get a photo of it, as one never knows how long it will be there. one of my jokes tonight was about lottery tickets, it got more responses than the others.
   at work I scored 275 tests, I was asking about when this project might end as I was thinking of my own schedule. since I have another family funeral to attend soon. it led to the scoring director talking to me at the end of the day, found out we are both originally from iowa. but it did lead to me getting out later than I really needed to be, but I still made it to the mechanic by closing time at 6pm. so they were still able to switch out the sensor that kept popping on, so hopefully that is the last of it.

fight or buy bonds exhibit

I went to the weisman museum at the U of M this afternoon to see two exhibits. one was about prince, the musician, final day. the other just started last week, called 'fight or buy bonds', about propaganda posters to drum up support for world war one. as a history major of course I wanted to see that one. I made it count on the parking fee, over by the football stadium. I paid for 90 minutes, had enough time to stop for some milk and a candy bar at the campus Walgreen, and I was back at my car just as time expired.
  I didn't do all that much after the exhibit, just the typical cleanup things around my home. more shredding of junk mail, as well as the dishes and recycle. of course 'the simpsons' was a rerun, but at least it was on. it was the one about visiting new orleans. I tried taking a walk in the evening but it started raining fairly early into the walk, so I turned around and went home.

dinkytown gig

plans are to perform at a venue in dinkytown Minneapolis tonight. it is down the street from where I performed at last week. I haven't met the show runner yet but he said I was highly recommended, so of course I will enjoy having the stage time.
   there of course was some errand running to do after hearing from my mechanic. he said it was fine to drive the car until Monday, including to work, and the part will nor arrive until then. so I had a sandwich for lunch at a holiday station, then printed some things at the library, then to the grocery store. I am watching the cubs-cardinals baseball game on fox as I write these words, but I will want to depart for the venue soon.
   it was a good experience to perform at this event, I was onstage while they were determining the winner on a break-dancing contest. you just never know who you might meet while performing. I figured since it was a paid gig that I should give them my best five minutes, and I did. no problem knowing what those jokes will be, as experience pays. one of those was a taco bell joke, and another was about dating advice. there were plenty of TVs on at this bar, and I am used to this. one of them was showing a Canadian football game. since I don't have cable TV at home, I often try to watch while at a bar as I want to see the baseball scores at the bottom of the screen. in the back  and outside there was a big connect four game, and a chess game just as big. I said the chess game reminded me of what I have seen at the renaissance festival. some people found me after my set and said they enjoyed it, which is nice. it sure was nicer than hearing 'you suck' while performing, but I know well enough to ignore this by now. In addition, I have heard way worse things than this before. I said to the show runner how I would enjoy any more performing opportunities that he might have.

popcorn cups in breakroom

much like last month, on a Friday there was cups of popcorn in the breakroom. I had two cups, I like popcorn but I knew full well that was enough as it was really salty. I had to get up at one point while test scoring to go to the water fountain. I scored 205 tests. there was 'recalibration' tests to score as well, and I didn't count the ones I rated as 'blank', there was about 50 of those.
   I brought my car back to the shop after work, and let them know about the check engine light. I had somebody check it at an o'reilly before going to work, found out it was the same error code as before. I was advised to avoid 'after market' sensors. so the mechanic said he would find out if the part can be delivered for Saturday, and would call to let me know.
   I saw on facebook after work that my cousin announced the date if my uncle's funeral, it will be Thursday next week. I got a text from my sister and was asked if I saw the message, I said I had. my response was that I will have to see if I can get the day off.
    much like before, I decided to stay on the safe side with my car and decided to stay home after work. the most important thing was getting to work. I knew I was tired anyway, and I fell asleep for a while watching one of the rerun channels.

airport in peru

it is nice to be back at work. we are reading essays that are about 2 passages, one of them was about building an airport in peru. I scored 61 tests, of course we had training to do first. I said 'boo' to my neighbor from the first project during the afternoon break. I was buzzed in and the HR official handed me my badge. I could tell it was the same one as the post-it with my scoring number was there.
   after I got home in the evening, I checked the mail and there was something from my dad there. it was postcards of the American gothic house in southeast iowa.
   looks like the world cup soccer tournament just started. I read a paper in the breakroom and it said the US team did not make it. I had to read on Wikipedia about the US-led bid for hosting the 2026 tournament. looks like the only midwestern venue is the chiefs stadium in Kansas city. ten of the venues are American, 3 in Canada and 3 in mexico. it is 8 years away so it is a while before it is relevant. but it would be nice to find out if it is possible to see a game in the tournament. some had shared on facebook how they saw a game in 1994, the only other time when America hosted it. soldier field in Chicago was the venue mentioned.
  I made it to the karaoke venue and did 2 songs. it was 'lord mr. ford' by jerry reed, and 'against all odds' by phil Collins.
   

extended season

looks like my test scoring season isn't over, just yet. just before midday I was called and got an offer for another project, starting on Thursday. hard for me to turn down work, especially when there are no other offers yet, so of course I accepted it. I had a phone interview with a bank in the afternoon, then went to the library again to print more things and apply for more jobs with them. it has been a wild 2 days this week so far. but I know full well I will like being back at work, even if it is just for a little over a week.
   this will be another memorable night at the performance venue. I paused for a few minutes as there as some arguing at the bar that spilled into the room I was in, and it was too hard to compete with it. I let the show runner know that I had paused when he made it back. not sure what it was about, but a friend known as airway said some of them were on drugs or had too much to drink. it was nice seeing him again, first time in a while. he said he had been doing some overtime at work. the poet known as spoken words was also there, he is good.

mother of cardiologist

i went to the st. paul saints baseball game tonight. I was next to an older lady who said it was her first saints game. she also spoke of her son being a cardiologist at a hospital in town, as well as playing hockey for Princeton in college. I went early to the game as there was a charlie brown shirt giveaway, and I am a big fan of that comic strip. it was great getting pictures with the costumed characters before the game, they were visiting from valleyfair. the kids section of the park has a snoopy theme. the saints won, 6-5, over fargo/moorhead. one player hit 2 home runs, but both were solo and neither one were go-ahead runs. so it meant playing 'little ball' to win.
   there was a facebook video about the final open-mic at a venue where I was its 'best friend'. they read my posting about being at the saints game. but there was no mention last week where the last one was coming up. the bartender said I 'broke his heart', but I had told a show runner I would be attending the baseball game instead.
   I spent a lot of time this afternoon at the library applying for jobs online, it was 48 times to the same bank. I also did a typing test and excel test, as requested by one temp agency. hopefully it will yield something good soon.

four ignition tests

the mechanic checked my car and said four different ignition tests were done, nothing found. no charge then for the service, hopefully no check engine lights on for quite a while.
  I stayed busy with other things as well. while waiting on my car, I walked home and then did dishes and took out the trash. I also started chasing down job leads, based on the business cards I had already from agencies I had registered with. I have two leads that look promising, as there was an updated resume request. I turned in some change at the bank, then I was about to go to the library and print things when I realized I had to do pay by phone for two bills due today. so I stayed in for a while before going to the clubs. I performed at the second venue, much of the material I also did the previous day. some variations included responding to hearing an indigo girls song for the previous performer.

college transcript

I followed up on job leads given by my writer friend before midday, and in order to complete one of the applications I had to look at my college transcript to check what writing classes I had taken. I hadn't looked at it in a while. I got email confirmations for three of them, but not the fourth. but hopefully I will hear something soon from all of them. I answered over a hundred questions on the fourth one. when I let my writer friend know, she spoke of a fifth company to check out. she also spoke of needing to get back to another hour of test scoring.
   I performed at two different venues, the second was my initial visit there. the first show started late.  I took the bus there, as I didn't want to get stranded anywhere. I spoke with the bus driver about various subjects, after seeing a 'victory garden'. found out she is a recent college graduate and is a writer. I lucked out on not needing to ride the bus home, as a fellow comic, the crow, got me a ride to the second venue, and then home.
  I still need to do the dishes but can do them in the morning.

scatterbug pokemon card

i was in the family dollar store this afternoon and saw a pokemon card on the floor in one of the aisles. it was for scatterbug. i know nothing about pokemon, but i often pick up cards as they are good souvenirs to put into the binders i have. the card advised people to flip a coin, and shuffle the deck. except i just found a single card. i was in the store to get a can of spaghetti.
  i woke up later than expected this morning, or at least when i finally decided to get up, which was close to 11am. i called the repair shop, and was advised to bring in the car on Monday morning, the mechanic said the information i was given the previous day wasn't entirely true, how the technician was fired instead of quit. but for my purposes, what difference does it make? i will try to find a way to get by until then. i still went driving in the late afternoon, to two grocery stores, the first of them was aldi. i got a larger order there than the second. but after this i stayed in for a while, and one of the things i did was watch a baseball game on TV. the mets and Yankees were playing on fox, although it is a reminder of why i don't watch national broadcasts of baseball that much. since all too often there is not much variety, too much the new York teams. this happened with NBC doihg game of the week, and ABC doing Monday night baseball as well. the mets led early 3-0, but the Yankees used the long ball to get back into the game and won 4-3.
   the mechanic said it should be fine to drive the car until Monday morning, so i will do my best to get to a karaoke venue tonight. not just because of having to skip last night, but also last weekend. did 2 songs, 'don't you forget about me' by simple minds, and 'foolish games' by jewel.
   i got a text message from a comedy friend, we attended the job fair and Timberwolves game in april. he asked how i was doing, i said i was looking for work again. i did speak of a writer friend, that lives in Houston, giving me some leads. sounds like she has done some test scoring as well, as she spoke of having to scan a copy of her degree to get the job, much like i had to. also some mention of some other gigs that may be working from home and online. i'd like to think i will do fine, but i don't enjoy the job search process, but then again, who really does?

end of season

the end of the test scoring season, at least for me anyway, arrived at midday. it was unexpected, as the project was slated to run through june 15, so it meant we finished a week early. sounds like it mat have ended for some others as well. my name was not on any lists posted in the hall, and it likely would have ended for me soon anyway. another test scorer said it usually runs until july 4th. i am thankful it lasted as long as it did today, as the moderator first said there would be just 2 hours of work. but it is hard to say how many were absent on the final day, for various reasons. this may have allowed for more work than expected. as i recall, i scored 45 tests, more than the first day of the project, but of course there was training on the first day. there was the typical 'log off, log back on' near the end, wanting to see what was really left in the pipeline. i didn't get to read that far in the book i brought to read though. it meant turning in my badge to my team lead.
   after i was done at work, i stopped at the post office to check my PO box. there was plenty to pick up, four items in all. an e-bay order, both amazon orders, and the postal service order. the last one was for the mr. rogers stamps. hopefully i get to see the movie about mr. rogers soon, already have a card promoting it. i had some chili at home, what i had brought to the office but didn't get to eat there. i went to the library to print things, and on the way there the check engine light popped on again. i am really tired of this happening, the third time in as many weeks. an o'reilly auto parts store was near there, sounds like it was a sensor that just got fixed on Monday. so hopefully it will be fixed for free. i went back to the repair shop and was advised to call in the morning to see if they can get me in. although i was told they are short-handed, as a technician just quit. so i decided to stay home, normally i do karaoke on a Friday night, but i didn't want to get stranded anywhere.

green chip interview

i went to a 'hiring event' tonight after work, in the west metro. i was given a green chip, plastic, and waited for them to call that color but they didn't. i went in when they said i could, and had four interviews. the first was 'all locations', i was most enthusiastic there. sounds like they want to schedule another interview soon, next week. there was water, and cookies, in the lobby, i had some of it. before i arrived, i wanted to eat some dinner, but all i found nearby was a target store. so i went there and had some lunchables as well as a small can of pringles chips.
   since i knew we were reaching the end of the line, i went into work 30 minutes early as it sounded like it won't be a full week. it was all handwritten tests today, i scored 130 of them. the moderator said it wouldn't be a full day Friday, maybe just 2 hours. so some may not want to come in for that much if it is a long drive, but i will since work is work. we did some more trivia, i knew the one about the barenaked ladies song name-checking leann rimes.
   i went to the performance venue tonight, and sang karaoke. it was 'my immortal' by evanescence. i had sang it before, but i really like the passion in it so it was time to sing it again. it proved to be a crowd pleaser, i had some after i was done saying that i did it well. the KJ spoke of giving up being a wedding DJ on weekends, said that needing insurance was tough as well as always being booked and having no free time on the weekends but he said the money is good from it.

appleton trivia

we must be nearing the end of the project as we did some trivia at work. i knew the one about the origin of the word tuxedo. the moderator spoke of trivia marathons at the college she attended, in Appleton. another indication of nearing the end was seeing some of the handwritten papers, near the end of the day. i scored 191 tests.
  i performed at two shows tonight. one of them was the 'one-minute sets'. it was the birthday party for international falls. although it was hard to find a parking spot there, in the dinkytown section of Minneapolis. eventually i found a surface lot, with a low-tech method of payment. it meant stuffing dollar bills in s lot, i am used to running my card now. one comic claims he couldn't find parking, and was absent. i pointed to him as he was in his car as i was about to go inside. the other venue i performed at was my typical one for the night. a short lineup, a little bummed that some of my friends were not there. somebody got ejected, the performer i will call 'target techie' as he was 'still in uniform' from work was telling me about it. i saw some of it but not all, just when the man got ejected. i have been performing for a while, it no longer fazes me when somebody gets ejected.

searching for keys

i performed at two venues tonight. at the first my set waited a little while comics helped somebody search for their keys. eventually they were found, not sure when but it was after my set began. no problem finding material as usual. i did ones about car in shop, attending a baseball game, a recent movie, and doing karaoke. i also gave a ride to one of the MCs after the second show, was glad to. i said i just needed to finish my beer, and pay the parking fee. easier to get to know somebody one on one when this happens, i was asked how long i had been doing stand-up. i also stopped at a bar after this was done and was spotted by a bartender that liked seeing me. i said i like using the candy machine, since it is cheap as it is just a quarter. i said i have to think of where i can get stage time, and it explains why i hadn't been at the venue much lately.
   i scored 227 tests today, as usual getting warmed up later in the day. i saw postings on the wall stating the projects starting after the current one is done, and i have no offer yet. all the more reason to attend the aforementioned job fair this week. sounds like the project may be ending a little earlier than expected as well.

loaner car jump start

  i decided to put my car in the shop and got a loaner car so i could still get to work. although i needed a jump start after getting to work, not sure why. one of the repairmen spoke of what he does at karaoke bars. this evening i was outside catching up with comedy friends and one of them offered donuts from a nice box, i chose the one with sprinkles. i said 'thank you easter bunny' when i did. this was from the tall basketball player and bike rider.
   i scored 200 tests today, had to push myself to make it to that level. we were asked if we were available after the current project ended, i signed a form being circulated saying i would be.
   i sang some karaoke tonight, 3 songs. '9 to 5' by dolly parton, 'just like a pill' by pink, and 'i don't want to go on with you like that' by Elton john. i wanted to get a few things done before arriving at the venue, such as get registered for a job fair, so i arrived after they had started.

scoreboard trivia question

i went to a college baseball game this afternoon and there was a scoreboard trivia question. i knew the answer when they asked what year that Rihanna's 'umbrella' song was popular, it was 2007. the national tournament was in town, and it meant going to Siebert field in Minneapolis. the MN gophers weren't playing in the game i saw, so it was a sparse crowd. i bought the ticket before i knew what teams would be playing, just wanted to see a good game. UCLA beat Gonzaga 10-4, and never trailed in this one. UCLA struck early, and led 2-0 at the end of the 1st, and Gonzaga went hitless until the 7th. it was kind of fun to see the enthusiasm from the kids when they were chasing down foul balls. UCLA scored 2 in the first, aided by a ground rule double. then one in the 3rd, aided by a hit batter. then 2 in the 6th, aided by an error and wild pitch. then 3 in the 8th, aided by a triple. and 2 in the 9th, aided by a double. Gonzaga got one in the 7th, aided by a double. and 3 in the 8th, aided by a 2-run home run. It eliminated Gonzaga from the tournament. later on in the evening i checked the score of the second game, the Gophers beat UCLA 13-8 and will advance to the super regionals, to be held  next weekend. i stopped at a Walgreen on campus near the light rail stop after the game to get a drink and a bag of potato chips. then it was home. i don't mind having to transfer at MSP airport, as it gives me to feeling of having flown somewhere this weekend. on the way to the game i spoke with a man on the train that said he once lived in the housing projects in Chicago, then moved to the Quad Cities. he said he was thrown out by his dad age 16, and now doesn't want his son living with him, who is over 40. he spoke of having drug problems at one point in his life, then gave his life to God. and something about going back to church as he left his phone there, it was being re-charged.
   i didn't do much after getting back from the game, it was evening by then. i heated up some ravioli for dinner and fell asleep for a while after eating. the news was on by then, so i got the dishes done.

pope francis movie

i had plenty to do today. in the afternoon i saw a movie in Roseville, 'a man of his word', about pope francis. i wiped away a tear a few times while watching it, as he spoke well about various subjects. as an American of course i liked seeing footage of his visits to America. this included the UN and the 9/11 memorial in new York, addressing congress in Washington, DC, as well as a prison in Philadelphia. this was in 2015. i have mostly known charismatic popes in my lifetime, as john paul II became pope when i was very young, and francis is much like him, understanding the PR side of being the pontiff. although i am not catholic it is hard to ignore the media attention given. the paper did say it was more of a documentary than a biography, and i concur. good thing i waited to see it as there were two other movies with a more limited release than this one. the paper listed it as being at 8 theaters in the area, although one of them was Rochester and that is not the twin cities so there was no need to consider seeing it there due to the distance.
  before this i went to an event honoring a fellow comic, the late roger Schultz, at a Vietnamese restaurant in st. paul. it was in a plaza, i had never been there, although the address was familiar as it was on the same street as the former saints baseball stadium. i was there for about 30 minutes, long enough to talk to a few people including an event coordinator. i had some rice and a pork chop with some tea. what made it easier to make it a brief visit, although i knew i couldn't stay long, was a woman there who got a little too loud about politics, as i didn't want to discuss that subject.
   after the movie i went to the library to print a few things, and my car stalled in the parking lot twice. i got it home fine, after stopping at the grocery store. but it did lead me to alter my plans for the night. normally i go perform karaoke, but didn't want to get stranded anywhere. at first i decided to just leave my car untouched for the rest of the weekend. but after watching 'Saturday night fever' on the 'movies!' channel, i got the idea to get the check engine light looked at. since i saw multiple ads during the movie for a check engine device. the closest o'reilly auto parts store was closing for the night at 9pm, but another one was open an hour later. i wanted to satisfy my curiosity as to what was wrong, and was told there was 7 codes, although some were duplicated. i had the techie write them down for me so i could look them up later. one of them said 'multiple misfire' which explained why it stalled on me twice. i still decided to stay home after finding this out.
  naturally i was following the scores in the college baseball tournament, to find out what matchup i would see on sunday. Gonzaga won the first game, so Canisius is eliminated. the Minnesota Gophers won the second game, in extra innings, over UCLA. so i will be seeing Gonzaga play UCLA. these two teams had squared off on Friday, and UCLA won on Friday. i think it will be a good idea to take public transport over to the venue, since i don't want my car to break down anywhere along the way. i want to be on time for the game, so i know well enough to get started early on my journey.

morning candy gift

i am now getting used to the current moderator of the test scoring project to give us candy on Friday morning. at first i was confused about this, as i was in iowa for my aunt's funeral and saw it waiting for me when i got back. i tend to eat them right away, since i like chocolate candy. i scored 228 tests, so it was the highest for the week. i had hoped to hear something about an opportunity from an agency, but haven't yet. although i am less anxious about it when there is two weeks left in the project. and there are more leads to chase, such as an email from the car dealer group where i bought my car nearly two years ago. they have a job fair next week.
  i made it to the performance venue and did some karaoke, one song. it was 'champagne supernova' by oasis. one of the regulars, who likes to play darts when not singing, said 'kill it' and suggested that i do a rap song. i said i have and they are hard to do as the lyrics go quick. after i was done singing i went to a nearby cub foods and got some string cheese and two small bags of potato chips. naturally some of it was eaten in the car before i even got home.