egg nog cake rolls

over the weekend I bought a box of little Debbie egg nog cake rolls. there are 6 in the box, and I have had 3. it looks like they were already expired, but not too long ago. they taste fine, you can definitely taste the egg nog in them. I got them because I still wanted some holiday treats and it was all I could find, but I am aware how there will be way less after Christmas. they are all right but sweeter than what I am used to- such as cupcakes.
   at work there was a meeting scheduled on short notice, and my boss's boss spoke of seasonal workers being hired since tax season is coming soon. it was still a slow day on call volume, and our phone system, known as 'finesse', was down for about 30 minutes. so I listened to a scored call during that time.
   I liked seeing somebody I know from riding the bus this morning as well as in the evening, but he had a stickie on his phone that said something about his work shift changing so I may see him less often while riding. I shared my plans for the night, which is going to sing karaoke. I did two songs, 'carry on' by fun, and 'alive' by pearl jam. near the end of the night, a lady in heels and leather pants slipped and fell up front close to the karaoke jockey.

choosing parking ramp

normally I don't park in a ramp while performing, but with the snow emergency in force I wanted to dodge the plows. I entered the third ramp I looked at, but it looks like it was all indoors. and I saw the sign about being locked up after 10pm. so when I was done performing I found out I needed to call security to get in the ramp and leave. I didn't have to wait that long, thankfully. but the sign about the after-hours rate was misleading, I paid more than what the sign said. the show runner did a version of Scotland the brave after I spoke of it in my set.

overcomer movie

i watched a rebox rental DVD today, 'overcomer'. it is another faith-based movie from alex Kendrick, this time as a cross country coach after coaching basketball is not available.
   I also did 2 shows at the meat raffle comedy hour as the 'live blogger'. it was great to have landed this coveted gig again. I was getting more exposure than my own facebook account has.

hockey movie sequel

I watched disc two from the 'double feature' on loan from the library this afternoon, it was 'goon- last of the enforcers'. many of the original cast members were in it, I recognized seann William scott as well as live Schreiber from before. as well as the 'hockey hooligan', the main character's friend from back home. the 'villain' in this movie was a rival hockey player that was actually the boss's son. this villain was played by wyatt Russell, and I noticed in the closing credits that there was a 'thank you' to kurt Russell. wyatt is the son of kurt, and goldie hawn. found his Wikipedia article which said he had played some pro hockey, but his career was cut short by injury. some of the teams listed are pro more than likely, although the Chicago steel is actually a junior-A developmental team, below college level. I will admit that I didn't like this one as much as the first. there are likely various reasons as to why. one of them was how 'the goon' quit hockey due to injury and worked for an insurance company for a while. also how one of the journalists from a TV show about hockey was trying too hard to be funny. the movie was a little too predictable for me. I knew full well there would be no movie if it just showed him working a 'real job', and no surprise he had the urge to return to playing hockey. much like the first, the Scottish patriotic song 'Scotland the brave' is in it, but is not listed in the closing credits. it looks like it was filmed in some different hockey arenas than the first one, mostly in Ontario, including Toronto apparently. so even though it was about a team from Halifax, nova scotia, I am not sure how much was actually filmed in this city. but where it is filmed is not a big deal to me, even though I like knowing where movies are filmed. in the special features the 'making of' segment was just one segment, and much shorter this time, which I liked.
  of course Saturday is about errand running, and it meant going to check my post office box. one order was waiting there. and I had a few questions that I wanted answered at a credit union where I got my car loan. after watching the DVD I went to get groceries, and after watching the 6pm news I was on my way again, to Burnsville to see a play. it was in the church basement ladies series, this one is called 'hark, the basement ladies sing'. at first I was afraid I had seen this one already, knowing the setting was the year 1960. but the one I had seen with a Christmas theme was called 'away in a basement' so it wasn't the same play. seeing 'bulletin boards on rollers' from sunday school with maps of the holy land on it was evidence that it wasn't the same. along with one character being stationed in germany with the military and having known musician elvis Presley. this led to them getting some elvis songs in it. of course there was still some of the typical Christmas songs in it, as the title suggests. I also noticed the back cover of the program looked like a red church hymnal. I have seen most of the plays in this series, I think this one is the 8th. this is just the second I have seen in Burnsville. I was familiar with how the Plymouth venue went 'into transition', where I had seen some, but I don't mind the change of venue at all. I think there is just one play in the series that I haven'r seen yet.
   on the way back from the play I picked up a few items at a Hy-Vee, grocery items that I couldn't find at aldi. I found a pen at the customer service counter as I was leaving and said I wanted to write down a song I had just heard on my car radio. it was introduced as 'somebody from Clarksville, iowa', my native state. when I got home I found out it was Maddie poppe, and the song was 'not losing you', Wikipedia said she was an American idol winner. after the 10pm news I went to sing karaoke, and did two songs. it was 'guess things happen that way' by johnny cash, and 'don't you forget about me' by simple minds. I was the show closer, and the one I had walked home got me a chair to sit at their booth up front. eventually I was a 'seat filler' when she went to sing so we switched places. 

iowa in holiday bowl

after work, I found a paper at Walgreen to confirm I would need to go to a bar to watch the holiday bowl, the game the iowa hawkeyes are playing in, against the USC Trojans. iowa won 49-24, it was 28-17 at the half. this is the same bar I went to when I saw the game against Illinois last month. but I ordered something different this time- the French dip sandwich instead of the reuben. it will be memorable for having way more people there to watch the game, but this can be expected when it is a bowl game. I was at a table by myself, figuring nobody would want be occupying a big booth. I was near a group that was family members, one of them was having fun with another one by giving a 'thumbs down' in reference to football player gale sayers. and at one point two of them were talking about tiger woods, not sure why. I said 'we need to get them back to the football game, they are talking about golf'. it is a reminder of why I find I hard at times to watch games with others. one lady in the group was complaining about the hawkeyes having a few bad plays, like an incomplete pass. even though iowa never trailed in this game. the same one who said 'ferentz (the iowa coach) is getting old, who will replace him?' why not live in the moment and just enjoy how they won this game? this coach will be allowed to stay there as long as he wants. he has already been there 21 seasons and they have been doing fine, making it to a bowl game most seasons. but some people are never satisfied. I made sure to be wearing the bowl game items I had, a shirt and a button.
  after the game i went to sing karaoke, and did 'beverly hills' by weezer. the karaoke jockey encouraged me to stay and sing another song, but I said I needed to go because I was tired and was at a loss in terms of what else I would sing.
    at work it was fairly slow on call volume, although it is a reminder of how I still goof related to the the 'wrap-up' button on calls, staying in it for too long. I was walking past on office occupied by somebody in management and followed up with our conversation from last week. I said I found a way to make my cube more mine, by naming it 'sector 7-g', much like many other work stations I have had. then I think we spoke for about 20 minutes about various subjects, including places to visit in Minnesota. it was prompted by getting an 'explore MN' magazine from the library two floors above us. this was red wing, and winona. but I don't travel much this time of year, it will have to wait until the warmer months.

almost the same intro

i get to the karaoke bar tonight and when I am about to get my song request in I tried to guess the song being performed. based on the intro, I was thinking 'ballroom blitz' by sweet, as it was in the movie 'Wayne's world'. except it was 'want you to want me' by cheap trick. but it sounded like almost the same intro, something that hadn't occurred to me before. I did two songs, 'mr. jones' by counting crows, and 'Good vibrations' by the beach boys. I could tell that people were really on board with the first one, seeing a few people up front singing along with it. and one of them I saw after I had left the stage. the 'big dude' I see every so often, the one I had discussed sports with before, was next to me at the bar. when he sang I had to take notice halfway through the song, noticing it was him. it was 'she talks to angels' by the black crowes. when he came back to the bar I said 'you really can wail'.
    at work there was a higher call volume than Tuesday. but plenty of the calls I still needed to transfer to other departments. with one of them it was a form order request, and when I had a follow-up question on the resource line I was told it was a better idea to transfer it as well as it was about estates. the last call of the day might have been somebody I knew. when I was being asked about with-holding, that is the department I transferred him to. I like searching for accounts by phone number, and there was two accounts under it. one of them was a 'comedy LLC'. so technically I 'recused' myself but never let on that I might have known him. because I haven't talked about doing stand-up at my new job and prefer it that way, as it can be annoying when I hear things like 'tell me a joke' and I don't want to be an entertainer all of the time. if it was somebody I knew, I hadn't seen him in a while. we are more than likely facebook friends, but that is one of more than 200. there was a slight variation of the name, but of course performers have stage names all of the time.

goon (hockey) movie

this evening I watched a DVD movie on loan from the library, 'goon'. it is a hockey movie, starring seann william scott. i also recognized liev schreiber, and eugene levy, in it. most of the movie takes place in canada, and it appears all of it was filmed 'north of the border' as well. the main character was a bar bouncer, then gets a tryout with the local hockey team. there was a 'hockey hooligan' in it, the main character's friend. i am aware that there are 'hooligans' of most any sport, but that is not why i was watching the movie. and i will admit that i do not go to see the fighting in hockey, as i go to see the skill. and most of the storyline of this movie was about the fighting, as there is a reason why it is called 'goon'. the main character is an 'enforcer'. i had to laugh a little when he still wants to act like a bouncer, such as cleaning up after somebody spits in the locker room. there is a love interest in it, and i am ambivalent about that based on how her character was written. there aren't that many hockey movies that i am aware of, aside from 'slap shot', and this isn't that much like it. i liked hearing a bagpipe version of 'scotland the brave' near the end, and it made sense to have it when the team is called 'highlanders'. in the special features the 'making of' segment is long, as there are numerous clips taken from the filming, as well as interviews with the actors. the case has the sequel as well, and i will want to watch it on a later day. i liked knowing it is based on a true story.
    I was active today, despite having the day off for the holiday. i had 'yule log' on for most of the day if i was home, as i like the concept of the program although it seemed like at times it was on 'repeat'. i went on a meetup walk at como zoo in st. paul, we went outside to see the animals first. when we went inside to see those exhibits, i asked about the seals and penguins. i guess the event coordinator meant to take us there but didn't. so when we were done i went out again to see that building, the 'marine animals'. when i got back i had lunch, including a can of steel reserve beer. then i went out on a long walk around the neighborhood. i netted plenty of coins, including but not limited to the car wash. plenty of pennies were found there, and in all i found over a dollar's worth in coins. so i said this was enough to get another bag of old dutch chips from speedway. that is what i did tonight after watching the movie, as well as get gas for the car and get christmas cards mailed to the friends and family that sent them. there was five cards in all.

santa claus business card

I was walking around a Walgreen tonight and saw a business card for santa claus, so I picked it up. something about 'proof of meeting santa'. I didn't buy anything on this visit. I checked my camera and it looks like the memory card is fine. I put it in the machine and I can see full pictures there. I took notice of seeing a police SUV in the parking lot upon arrival. I said to myself, 'hello, mr. cop', before getting out. plenty of cars in the parking lot, but I am aware that this location is open when others aren't. my next stop I did buy something, it was a can of beer and a small bag of potato chips at a speedway. then I went home and dropped off what I had bought and was on my way again, to the Christmas eve church service. as usual I like the feel of melted wax from the candle on my fingers. I liked how the preacher spoke of a story I was familiar with in his sermon, it was 'best Christmas pageant ever'. it was a story read to us in elementary school. there was some small nativity scenes in the fellowship room, but it was mainly open for people to get offering envelopes. there was no coffee and cookies.
  it was a slow day at work, I got just 6 calls. I broke my record for longest wait for a call, twice. it was 44 minutes, then just under 58 minutes. and not my typical calls either. two were transfers, one I ended early as it was all static, two were about residency, and one was a language line call that led to re-sending a letter. there was molasses cookies and I had some. in the afternoon, after getting my first call once I returned from lunch, I logged off and decided to review scored calls. I did that for nearly 90 minutes, as it kept me busier than what I had been doing. no big deal on getting on an earlier bus in the morning, I checked the schedule, it was just 10 minutes earlier. it looked more full due to reduced service. in the evening it was just 5 minutes later, but sparse ridership.

sat on camera

i was getting ready to perform tonight and when I sat down I accidentally sat on my camera. it is in my coat. now the screen doesn't show most of the picture. so I felt I had no choice but to mention it onstage, although not the first thing. it was the first time I got 7 minutes at the comedy club. yemen native followed me and called my set a 'diary'. I said it compared well to how happy meal once called one of my sets a 'boring ted talk'. I saw plenty of crowd members after the show that said they liked it. I said it is nice to find something I am good at, and it feels good to be onstage. now of course the issue is what I do with the camera, especially this close to the holiday.
   at work I put somebody on hold and said 'they needed to cool off' after I kept trying to explain to them that we got duplicate filings. so it meant there was nothing on file for the current tax year. they just didn't get it, even though I clearly stated it numerous times. after work it was nice to see who I ride the bus with. he spoke of how his office would be closing early on Tuesday, at 12noon. it reminded me of needing to check the bus schedule for the next day, wondering if it will be on 'saturday' schedule. I didn't have to think about it for a while, of course.

facing the giants movie

i watched a DVD on loan from the library around midday, 'facing the giants'. I like football movies, this one was about a high school team in Georgia and its beleaguered coach. I did not recognize any of the actors in it, but watching the special features helped me with understanding a cameo. it was the coach of the u. of Georgia football team. the closing credits said it was fictional, and I wanted this to be based on a true story but it was not. I guess there were some tip-offs that it wasn't. such as when it looks like their season has ended after a first round playoff loss and the phone rings a day or two later, saying the other team had to forfeit due to using two ineligible players. it's still a nice 'triumph over adversity' story, just depends on how you feel about the 'preaching' in it. since they talk about faith in God a lot as well as certain bible verses. the closing credits do mention a Baptist church in Georgia producing it. in some ways I guess the football metaphor works. when the opponent in the state finals is called 'the giants' and the field goal kicker is named david. of course one will think of 'david and goliath', being a 'giant killer'. some of it may have been inspired by 'hoosiers' as the state finals opponent has more than twice as many players, which doesn't seem likely when there are usually classes based on school enrollment.
   I did laundry, and while waiting for it to finish I picked up a few items at the dollar store. I usually go on a different day, but with the holiday coming up I decided to move it up. and I went to the library to return a movie and picked up another one. then eventually it was on to a holiday gathering for comics. I liked seeing bathtub, and his wife, there. I had hoped to see the puppeteer there, when her husband arrived, but he spoke of how she couldn't make it. he told a story about her mother-in-law and performing. it was a thin crowd compared to previous years. I know some people couldn't make it because of scheduling conflicts.

love and mercy movie

i watched a DVD movie on loan from the library in the early afternoon, 'love and mercy', a bio-pic about brian Wilson of the beach boys. it was no doubt hard to watch throughout, since it was telling the honest but painful story of him being controlled by his shrink. I recognized some of the actors in it, john cusack played brian and paul giamatti played the shrink. and it told the story of meeting a lady when he was at a Cadillac dealership. there was also plenty of scenes where brian was being yelled at- by his dad, by a bandmate, by his shrink. there was mention of his dad once being the band's manager. as expected, when it is a musician bio-pic, there was plenty of music in it. with most of the beach boys songs, as shown in the credits, it said brian Wilson was the writer. except for 'surfing USA', where it said chuck berry was the writer. first time I had heard about that one. the movie was kind of long, just over 2 hours.
   it was a day for errand running. I went to the post office to see what was in my box, just one postcard, but it sounds like the other is on the way. also made it to the bank to pay on a loan. and to a grocery store where I knew they had some charlie brown wrapping paper. there was a bagpipe player outside this one, next to the salvation army kettle. then there was two stops at other grocery stores to get my weekly food order. I was trying to find the local news at 6pm but the channels I was looking at had other programming on. one of them had a show with a disturbing scene in it, which caused me the change the channel right away. it showed a teenage girl being held hostage, in a hangman noose. nobody should blame me for avoiding that one!
  in the evening I made it to the karaoke bar, and sang 'memories' by maroon 5. pleased to find it in the song book, since this is a recent hit. also liked seeing two ladies decide to dance near me during the song, proves that people are really enjoying it.

a different layout

I went to a hot dog place, a different location than what I was used to, this evening. when I went to take care of the trash, I didn't know where to go as it was a different layout. hard to say when I will go back, it was my first visit in a while. what I paid for a chili cheese dog and tater tots seemed kind of high, it is why I cut back on eating out. about twice as much as a hot dog, chips, and drink at a convenience store.
    at work there was meetings with my boss, and another manager. I spent plenty of time off the phones today, also due to listening to scored calls. I would like to think this will lead to progress, but I need the time to prove it. I said a lot of this is on me, on figuring out the opportunities to improve by reading and studying things well.
   I went to the karaoke bar, though I got around kind of late as I fell asleep while the news was on. I did 'impossible' by shontelle and it was well-received, based on having some tell me they liked it once I was done.

non-salt seasoning

at the 'convention' at work today it was much more informal. it led to us creating little jars of non-salt seasoning. I at first said I didn't want to get yelled at for doing it wrong, then found we were only making it for ourselves. there still was having to ask how many teaspoons are needed to equal a tablespoon, was told it was three. now it is a question of if or when I will use it, when I don't cook all that much aside from using the microwave oven.
    I went to do some karaoke tonight, and sometimes it is nice to know people. the karaoke jockey said I could get up in 6 songs, even though it was crowded there. I am not used to seeing that size of a 'throng' there. so I did 'jump' by van halen. plenty of Christmas songs were done by others, no surprise at all. one singer had a santa suit on. there was one dude that I couldn't ignore, who had colored lightbulbs on a string and evergreen branches as part of a centerpiece. was he trying to sell them? no idea, didn't ask.

hook 'em hawks

i saw the news how hayden fry, former iowa hawkeye football coach, has died. as an iowa native and graduate of the u. of iowa, it meant something to me. I recall one of many things about fry as coach being bumper stickers saying 'hook 'em hawks, well it works in texas'. this was also the day when I went to pick up my order of holiday bowl items- a button and shirt- from the UPS store.
   at work there was another meeting with my boss, me once again asking when I will be certified, and once again no answer. I am frustrated that I am still stuck in a trial program that not others are in.
   I performed tonight, the first one after the show runner. I try to avoid relying on notes, but needed to look at them briefly near the end of my set to recall a karaoke story. some laughed when I said 'that is a good one' when looking at it.

santa does stand-up

there was the holiday edition of a comedy show and one of the comics was dressed like santa and even brought gifts. at first I had the one that was a star wars puzzle. but then Arizona Chicago noticed another one was a book, and I said to myself that I prefer the book. actually there was two books I got tonight, as the other was from the button. it was a holdover from a previous event. since it is a charlie brown book I really like having it. the one from santa was related to writing comedy. I also saw the Wisconsin couple there, as well as the fancy comic, sub teacher, and brawler. I was put on the 'maybe' list and I knew it didn't look good on performing tonight. I was there for about three hours, and knew my parking meter would expire soon. so I greeted the show runner, the 'extra murder' comic, and said I needed to go as I have work in the morning. oh, I also liked seeing cul-de-sac, likely the first time since he moved to southern California. so it was still worth it because of all of the people I saw, although I prefer to keep it at 'few and far between' in terms of a night of watching my friends perform without me performing as well.
   at work I liked how I didn't have to call the resource line much. there was donuts in the morning even before going through the turnstiles. I chose one with lemon frosting. I am still tracking my UPS shipment online. looks like it is already in the metro area and is scheduled for delivery on Wednesday, after spending some time today in des moines.

replacement online order

I like placing e-bay and amazon orders. most of the time they go through without much fanfare. this weekend I found out what I had ordered was not available, and one option given was to choose a replacement item. and this is what I ordered, a different postcard. Already got a response saying this will be fine, and it appears to be on the way. I tried to call about an order with the iowa hawk shop at midday but was put on hold and hung up after 5 minutes, didn't want to wait that long. so I tried again in the evening as they are open until 8pm, and was informed there is a UPS tracking number that has been generated. so when I got home I entered it and requested it be diverted to a retail location.
  at work I had some unusual calls to say the least. one was an account with 3 tax returns already this year. after noticing the names were not matching. in the evening I performed at the comedy club. I said 'weirdo' more than once while onstage. it was great to see some comics that I don't see that often. this includes pizza philosopher, school bouncer, and yemen native. the last of these mentioned got me a ride back to my car at the end of the night. although I don't mind having to walk there, good exercise. but it also meant spending more time with somebody I know, stating how my holidays have been. or what my plans will be.

lost in america movie

I watched a DVD movie on loan from the library just before midday, 'lost in america'. I recognized some of the actors in it, including the star, albert brooks. found out he was also the writer and director. another one was garry marshall, who played the casino boss. Julie Hagerty played the wife of the main character. in the end, I liked the special features more than the movie itself. because the movie wasn't quite what I expected. I figured there would be more to the story than there was, in terms of being 'lost in america'. the couple does travel in a Winnebago, but the movie doesn't cover all that much time on the road. there was a stop at hoover dam, as part of their visit to las vegas. I found it hard to listen to the ranting of albert brooks after a while. I liked the special features more because there were interviews in it, with brooks as well as those who knew him well. I was mainly familiar with him doing the movie 'defending your life', saw it at the theater. but I found out he had been performing for a while, and clips from the ed Sullivan show as well as johnny carson were shown. along with how his father was a performer before him. I liked hearing him talk about the craft of performing. I also was reminded of how Julie was in the movie 'airplane', I just hadn't seen it in a while. the interview with the agent spoke about being an agent for some other Hollywood notables, such as Sylvester Stallone. I liked one scene in it where the wife is walking through her workplace at the start of the day to get to her office, and she picks up a big plush toy and puts it back in the display rack. this is also the kind of thing that I would do. also notable was albert being clad in a bathrobe while in the casino, proof of how ridiculous it was getting.
    when I returned to the library with this movie, I got another one. and in the morning I went to the grocery store. I think the cashier is my neighbor at my job. he sure looked familiar. after the movie was done I turned on the bears-packers football game. it was early in the second half, bears were trailing 14-3, and they lost 21-13. after getting back from the library, eventually I watched 'the simpsons'. I saw how it was a takeoff of 'the grinch'. then I switched over to the kennedy center honors. one of the honorees was sally field. it was nice how they included clips from 'smokey and the bandit' in the video montage.

dancing and caricatures

i went to an event at Amsterdam bar in downtown st. paul this afternoon. it was a dance troupe dancing to songs from the 'charlie brown christmas' TV special. a band was playing the songs. just before intermission, there was an invite to join the dancers onstage, and I did. after the show, I got in line and got a caricature. I had seen this Charles schulz impersonator before, at the Minnesota fringe festival in 2016. I found out one of the dancers is also a performer at st. paul saints games, and she is married to another saints performer. after the dancing, and the caricature, I said 'worth it!' as a big charlie brown fan, I knew how this was going to end. when I saw the city pages email this week, it meant I needed to attend this event.
   I got some of my errand running done today, but not all of it. I went to the library to print some things, after picking up three e-bay orders at the post office. then it was on to cub foods to get egg nog and a few other things. there was a santa greeting customers, and I got a photo. I had hoped to get a winter carnival button, but they didn't have what I wanted, the 'hot and cold guys' playing hockey. so I tried another cub foods after the show, and they had it. in the evening I planned on going to the grocery store, but I laid down and fell asleep for a while. and the store had just closed by then. so it has been postponed until the next morning. after the news I went to sing karaoke, and did 'drive' by incubus. the karaoke jockey was wearing a bow, like the ones on wrapping paper.

american community survey

tonight I decided to go online and complete the American community survey. there was a mailing sent by the census bureau, two actually, in the past week. it said on the envelope that my response is required by law. I entered a user ID code that was given. one insert had frequently asked questions about the survey. it helps provide the census bureau up-to-date data about our rapidly changing nation more often than once every 10 years, when the actual census is conducted. except there is a census to be held next year. the data is used to decide where to locate new highways, schools, hospitals, and community centers. it estimated the completion time of the survey at 40 minutes, but I tend to go through surveys fairly quickly and I know it took much less time than that.
   at work I was off the phones for an hour. there was a call placed just before lunchtime, asking for a fax to be sent to a state agency in Alaska stating that the caller had not filed an income tax return in Minnesota last year. the resource line said we needed a power of attorney form authorizing it. and we took care of it after lunch. I was one of three seeing the fax was done, through the copier. and it meant typing up letters in reference to it before sending it. one copy went to his mailing address. then I made a call on another account, where there was an unclaimed property letter sent on his wife's account. this was for somebody who lives near Duluth. I noted both files, and I noticed that my voicemail got a response right away, about 2 minutes later. but another agent got the call as I was still in 'wrap-up' mode.
    there was plenty of weirdos at the karaoke bar tonight. upon arrival, there were some dancing outside right by the entrance door I used. then somebody touched me on the chest and I asked if he knew me. this was after I had sang, my selection was 'tuff enuff' by the fabulous thunderbirds. I was able to understand the lyrics better than before, as boxer Muhammad ali is name-checked in it. as I was leaving I was hearing people near the door, different from when I arrived. it was an asinine discussion where I could tell that they were getting bogged down in semantics. the words used have the same meaning, but they are using different words to get there. 

'pretty woman' song

when I went to do karaoke tonight, I went onstage and said I was doing the sad song from the movie 'pretty woman'. of course this was 'must have been love' by roxette. it was hopping at the bar tonight, so it took a little while to get to sing. the loopy bartender was near me at one point, but she was on duty so we didn't talk for long because it was busy there. I liked how many were on board with the song I was doing.
   at work there was the weekly department convention. there was 'rapper cookies'- m and m cookies- there, so I had some. near the end of the day I heard from somebody on the resource line who said I needed to call somebody from two weeks ago. they got evaluated on the call and not well, because they advised me that I didn't have to call them once finding a letter on their wife's account after the call ended. I said I needed to wrap up a request from another call, so it would have to wait until the next day to call them. once I saw some of the notes on it I was familiar with the call right away.
   this morning before I went to work I placed an event ticket order. it is for seeing the performance of songs from the 'charlie brown christmas' special, as well as dancers. when I saw it in a city pages email I said 'we know how this is going to end'. because I am a big charlie brown fan. it is at a st. paul bar this weekend.

albie's wowbutter EZ jammers

when i was taking the light rail home after work I noticed a paper sack that was wedged between the grab bar and the wall. I looked inside and saw a sandwich in it. so I claimed it because it was still inside the wrap, the seal was not broken. it said 'wowbutter' is a toasted soy spread peanut butter replacement. I ate it when I got it home, it tasted all right but not great. guess I am used to real peanut butter. it says it is 'safe for school' likely due to it not being peanut butter. there are the heads of two smiling kids on it, a girl with a ponytail, and a boy, both licking their lips.
   at work there was another meeting, or I like calling them 'conventions'. this one was a new hire event. but just nine of us were there, one was absent. a colleague said he 'didn't get the memo' and preferred to just take calls. some of my classmates I hadn't seen much of since training ended. we have been given different supervisors, I am one of three sent to the same one.
   in the evening I went to perform, arriving just before the show started. I went to the gas station first to use the ATM, and to get more air into one of my car tires. we had a good crowd tonight. some of my jokes were well received. and the show runner referred to my final one about seeing a weirdo at karaoke. something about joan rivers and the fashion police. I left as the main part of the show ended as I was tired. there was an 'improv contest' after the main show.

hugging caused spill

i was performing tonight and while in the bar area I saw somebody that I hadn't seen in a while. it was mason city's friend. he was so glad to see me he aggressively hugged me, and I didn't say in time I was holding a drink. it led to the drink getting spilled. thankfully it was just water. but I knew well enough to speak up and say 'cleanup in aisle 2' to an employee. I had to state that it is not a joke. it was nice seeing chalm-skinn as well as the crow. the 'extra murder' comic spoke of the pre-booked lineup next week, so it should be a good show and hopefully I will be on it as well.
   at work there was a quick training session, about 30 minutes. it included how to handle calls from tax protesters. thankfully I was told these were few and far between.

oreo cupcake

there was treats tonight at the show I performed at. they were supplied for mad hatter's birthday. I chose the oreo cupcake, one of three types there. this same performer liked a story I told about famous brothers. it was hard to understand one performer, in terms of them deciding to laugh while telling a story about being disowned by their dad. I saw nothing funny about it. I spoke of this to the mad hatter, and he said it may have been a 'multi layered metaphor'. either that or just a 'nervous laugh'. hard to say.
   at work I called the resource line a lot, not sure why. either weird calls, was tired, or both. I am aware that each day will be different, so hopefully as the week goes on that it will be easier. I am still a rookie so it is fine if I still have questions. I am probably not alone on feeling this way, based on what a colleague said to me. the one who seems to be my 'work spouse'.

in the good old summertime movie

this morning I watched a DVD movie on loan from the library, 'in the good old summertime'. it claims to have a setting in Chicago, but when most of the movie takes place indoors it could have been anywhere. I recognized judy garland in it. she was the one that wanted a sales job in a musical instrument shop and got it, after being able to sell a harp. I liked how there was mention in an intro on the special features about where the movie got its inspiration. first came a version starring jimmy stewart, called 'the shop around the corner', then this one, and eventually 'you've got mail' starring tom hanks. I also liked seeing some 'Chicago shorts' which where 'travel talks' by jim Fitzpatrick. although they were from a while back, I still liked seeing them. since I recognized many of the places shown, such as the museums and soldier field. as for the movie itself, yes it is funny how two people can butt heads in person and hit it off when writing to each other anonymously. I also liked seeing buster Keaton in it, the vaudeville performer. it said this was his last movie.
   I went to an audition in uptown Minneapolis this afternoon, at a venue I have been to many times before. it was for a sketch show, and I knew two of the producers. it didn't take long, and I picked up some show announcement cards for my souvenir binder. after it I tried to go to a target, but I left the place disgusted. the item I wanted was sold out, plastic sheets or pages for baseball cards. I was going to buy a few other things, since I found some charlie brown items, but all of the cashier lines were too long, including self checkout. the lesson learned here seems to be don't go there this time of year. I at one point said to myself 'nobody goes there anymore, it is too crowded' like yogi berra. 'the simpsons' was not on tonight, the miss universe pageant was on instead. I switched it over to something else but then fell asleep.

inside lleywn davis movie

around midday I watched a DVD movie on loan from the library, 'inside llewyn davis'. i chose it because i saw it in the bin and said 'it was right in my wheelhouse'. it is a music movie and john goodman is in it. as expected, i found out much of it was influenced and inspired by bob dylan. when one thinks of greenwich village in 1961, and folk music, his name comes first. in fact, one of his songs was in the movie, 'farewell', a/k/a 'fare thee well'. i recognized some of the actors in it, besides goodman there was also justin timberlake. but both of them had small roles. and it was hard to root for the main character, llewyn, as he was temperamental and was burning bridges with many of the people in his life. i will admit i said 'idiot!' more than once while watching it. i also liked it because it was a road movie, and this is where one sees goodman's character, a jazz musician. i liked the scene showing the bathroom fixtures at a rest area on the way to chicago, though the term used for it was actually an 'oasis'. a house cat also figured into the story line. this is a coen brothers movie, and i have seen some other movies done by these men. 'o brother, where art thou' is another one of their movies, and has goodman in it as well.
   since it is the weekend, it means errand running. I went to pick up what was waiting at my p.o. box, three items, one of them was a 'chicken soup' CD, the lone amazon order, the other two were e-bay. i also made it to walgreen and got some fill-in items for my lunch. after returning to the library, to return a movie and get another one, i was home for a short time and then went to get groceries as well as have dinner at mall of america. i went to the a and w. it was odd seeing a post-it on my car when i was leaving, it gave email accounts, or possibly social media. since it said 'snap us' this may be snap-chat, and i am not on that site. i watched some of the football game on TV, ohio state vs. wisconsin, the big ten championship game. ohio state trailed at the half but had a good second half, and were up by 13 late in the game when i changed the channel to watch the late news. then it was on to the karaoke bar, where i sang 'i can see clearly now' by johnny nash. this was a song on the CD that i jsut picked up earlier today. at first i was taken aback by a man wearing a robe, and showing plenty of skin. i noticed his hat reminded me of what randy quaid was wearing in the movie 'christmas vacation', playing cousin eddie. when i saw this man i asked him if this was why he chose what looked like a costume, i heard something about being at a nearby building for a semi-formal event. one listed singer that was a no-show was a bachelorette party, so possibly with them. he sang a beastie boys song i didn't recognize, it mentions paul revere as well as a baseball hat. i liked hearing a lady sing 'the only one' by melissa etheridge, she really could wail. and it was a reminder of being at college in iowa city, when the song was a hit.

little debbie prices

I was at Walgreen tonight after work to pick up a few things, my weekly order. I wanted to know the price on the little Debbie donuts, since it was not listed on the display. so I let the cashier know, who brought over two packs but I just wanted one. found out the same pack of six little donuts was cheaper than what hostess has. this was helpful because I wanted to pay cash and avoid using my debit card. I got the birthday cake flavored kind. and I got the paper so I could check the movie times for the weekend. although there are no movies of interest to me at theaters. so it leaves watching the DVD on loan from the library this weekend, as it has to go back soon.
   at work some of the notable calls included a language line call where the caller was upset, finding out the refund check was already cashed, claiming someone else did it. another one was near the end of the day, somebody wanting us to recommend a tax preparer, and that is outside of the scope of what we can do. the call volume stayed low, but we are still in the off-season. a colleague recognized me when taking the bus home, I felt bad not knowing them at first but what I said was true on them being bundled up for the winter weather. this makes it harder to recognize anyone.
   in the evening I went to the karaoke bar and sang 'end of the world as we know it' by REM. the karaoke jockey said that there was space for me because some others were no-shows. another benefit of just showing up. as I was going home a cop stopped me, saying I was weaving but I don't believe I was. I said it can be problematic to drive when there is ice and snow on the road. but I was sent on my way, no ticket, which was nice. I did say 'weird' to myself after hearing this, because it was.

trail's end popcorn

at work there was a box of microwave popcorn, I claimed two of the bags. it was for trail's end, and said it was fundraising for scouting. something like over 70 percent goes there. the bags and box said it expired in 2015 but I took it home an popped it in my microwave oven and it tasted fine. when I searched for this company online there was mention of their home office in Austin, texas. the reviews said the popcorn was expensive, I wouldn't know as this was put out for anyone, likely due to being expired. I ate half of the bag already, and the rest was put in for my lunch the next day.
   in the evening I went to sing karaoke, and I did 'wonderwall' by oasis. I liked how one dude I hadn't seen in a while was there, we had talked about sports, including presidential medal of freedom winners. he did 'black' by pearl jam, I said it was a nice reminder of being at college in iowa city. I bought another thin candy bar from the karaoke jockey as well, for a band trip fundraiser. I watched some of the football game before leaving, but not a lot as I fell asleep. the bears lead the cowboys 24-7  by then and I saw the ending at the bar, bears won 31-24.
   also at work, when waiting between calls I sometimes do an online search for word meanings. this week this included 'audible' and 'defect'. those can have different meanings, based on usage. this was something I already knew, just wanted to confirm it.

fluid bottle change

a manager near me, not mine, this morning left a stickie saying the fluid bottle was changed. not a big deal to me, but she said the other one had a potent smell. I like having the fluid so I can clean off the laminated form I use for notes when taking calls. I had plenty of weird calls today, a high number were just transfers to another department. there was also one that was conferenced to a colleague, who had the experience to explain why a property tax refund would not be sent out. another was two taxpayers on the same call. I said it was fine, just had to go through the verification process with both. I am trying harder to write down the social security number so I can avoid looking up the wrong account because sometimes the phone number on the caller ID is misleading.
   in the evening I went to perform. I was on near the end, and thankfully a man in the back who wandered into the room didn't approach me. he was talking during the show, which of course is a bad idea. it was nice seeing the resistable comic for the first time in a while. and this joke was done tonight. also nice to see the fancy comic. we have the photo before the show starts as many people leave early. thanks to laundry, who was not there tonight, I am trying hard to smile in these pictures. since they are uploaded to facebook for all to see.

bingo card at mixer

there was another meeting or training session this afternoon, also 90 minutes, a mixer. much like in training, there was a bingo card. so it meant having to get up and move around and talk to people. I asked the commissioner about sales and use tax, since I hadn't heard much about use taxes. calls went fine, still sometimes getting IMs since neighbors are listening in to a call. I really don't like this happening, because they are hearing just half of the call if they are going by what I am saying. I know some people will hide behind 'just trying to help'. I think this is also happening because of the low call volume during the off-season.
   I went to perform in the evening, after watching part of a brad paisley special on TV. I made it back to a venue I hadn't seen for a while, first time since spring. 'extra murder' comic is the show runner. I saw a few people there that I don't see that often. my set was fine, the material was much like the previous day. with this one I was getting laughs before I even went into telling a karaoke story. sometimes this happens, but this is a weird thing whenever I experience it. we comics do like getting laughs, I guess I still care too much as to what it is for. I want it to be for the right reason. I pointed out how there was some art being offered as part of a silent auction. it was sports items, related to the Minnesota Vikings, the local football team. none of the items had bids on them. the show runner said it was likely due to having had no home game lately. even though the asking prices did seem kind of high to me. but to each their own.

different training room

there was training this afternoon about property taxes, and it was still in the basement but it was in a different room. I was doing my best to pay attention but it can be hard to do at times.  there weren't all that many calls today, but some weird ones. such as somebody refusing to get off the line until somebody helped them. and I found out it was in my range, after another department rejected the call 3 times. I heard a different thing each time as to why, because I got somebody different each time.
   after work I picked up my car, thankfully it was a minor thing with one of the tires. it cost me nothing, and I am thankful for this. in the evening I went to my once a month venue. another comic found me after the show and asked me about karaoke. of course this was due to how many of my stories are about being at karaoke bars. the question was what my go-to song is, but I said I don't have one. I like trying a wife variety of songs. I don't want to be a 'one-trick pony' and do the same thing each time. this also explains why I am re-writing my comedy sets each week. it would be boring to do the same thing each time, and really not challenging either. I considered going to the button's show, which her friend told me about last week in person, but I prefer stand-up over karaoke when looking for stage time. it is hard to say how often I would make it when most Mondays I am at an open-mic that I really like doing. we have to put our craft first, although I do like seeing friends as often as I can. notable tonight was finding an alternate place to park, as it said my preferred place was full. not a big deal to me, each I keep saying that performing is a 'fluid thing'.

angel heart movie

I watched a DVD movie on loan from the library this morning, 'angel heart'. I chose it because I had heard about how lisa bonet was in it as a voodoo priestess. this was a big deal since she was on 'the cosby show' as denise at the time. other actors I recognized in it were mickey Rourke, and Robert deniro. it is about a private eye that works a case in new York city, and then new orleans. and people he talks to end up dead, shortly after their meeting. the setting was the 1950s, so I had to allow for the portrayal of the south at the time, it was before the civil rights movement. the opening credits say it was based on a book, called 'fallen angel'. just as important to me was watching some of the special features. one of them spoke of the Hollywood portrayal of voodoo as a religion, saying it usually has been inaccurate. I did go on a cemetery tour that included a stop to see a voodoo priestess when I was in new orleans in 2002. I recall dollar bills being left on statues where she spoke to us. another notable thing was mention of how it was a controversial movie upon release, but those who didn't like it hadn't seen it. comparisons were made to 'last temptation of christ', which I haven't seen yet.
   I made it to the library in the afternoon to return two movies and get another one. still waiting for some of those in my list, but looking though those in the racks I still get some good ideas. I typed up a letter to a friend that lives in st. louis, saying how I was doing since the july visit. I spoke of how I got a job since then, and spoke of what I did besides see baseball during the july visit. I said 'thank you' again to the friend, and the assistant, who helped with getting me a good seat at one of the two games I attended. I didn't watch much of the pro football games today. after the library, I went to target and got some winter shoes. I didn't want to go through another weekend of wet feet. that was happening too much as sometimes I had no choice to walk through slush, and puddles.

less than zero movie

this evening I watched a DVD on loan from the library, 'less than zero'. I recognized many of the actors in it, such as Robert downey, Andrew McCarthy, jami gertz, and James spader. it was hard to watch Downey's character as he was the one with the drug problem. but I am aware of how there are real people like this out there. I think this is why I liked McCarthy's character a lot, trying to talk sense into people. I liked the passion in it. I understand it was based on a novel. it was about three friends from high school in Beverly hills, that re-unite when one of them is home from college. the music in it was good, such as 'hazy shade of winter' by the bangles, and one in the credits by roy orbison, 'life fades away'. it doesn't end well, and when it is about a junkie then nobody should expect it to end well. when I went to sing karaoke tonight, my second song was 'hazy shade of winter'. the first was 'high and dry' by radiohead.
   I did some other things today, such as check my post office box. not much was there though, and one item I also got at home, a card from the census bureau about jobs. I went to two grocery stores, and then it was to the prep bowl. this is what the high school football championships in Minnesota are called. I saw the last game of the day, the 5-a final, chaska vs. st. Thomas academy. chaska scored first, a field goal. st. Thomas couldn't move the ball well at first, but then benefited from a short field to get a TD and go up 7-3, which was the halftime score. it looked like this score would hold up, but chaska got a late TD and won 10-7. chaska was aided by some penalties, such as pass interference as well as targeting. I took the light rail to the Vikings stadium, and with the winter weather we are having I knew full well this was a good idea. I had some godfather's pizza at bobby and steve's after the game, then headed home. some fans from the college game, Minnesota gophers vs. Wisconsin, were on the train as well. I was able to figure out, based on how some of them talked, who won and it was the visiting badgers.

i only want you to love me movie

I watched a DVD movie on loan from the library this morning, 'i only want you to love me'. it is German, and from the 1970s. I don't mind subtitled movies, although when I see them they are usually French. it caught my eye when flipping through the racks because of the image of somebody on a commuter train. and then of course the title itself. reading the description on the back, it meant something to me when 'the marriage of maria braun' was mentioned. It is by the same director, Fassbinder. 'braun' was a movie I heard about in a college class, known as rhetoric, a speech and writing class. I was not assigned the movie, and I still haven't seen it, but the title was memorable. I was assigned an American movie, 'midnight cowboy'. hearing about German movies during my first semester in Iowa city was proof of how 'it is a different world than where I came from'.
   now I should probably discuss 'love me', the movie I actually just saw. it is about a newlywed who moves to Munich for construction work. he hides the money problems from his wife, and some of them are caused by expensive purchases but also because having a baby can be expensive. it very much reinforces the choice of the title, as it was done for love and acceptance, which for a long time eluded the main character. one thing in it may have been true at the time, how Munich was the most expensive city in the nation. during the cold war, when there was two Germanys, this may have been the case, as the capital in the west was Bonn, and Berlin was divided by a wall. at times his money troubles meant having to ask his parents for help. certain scenes I am thankful were in it, as it captured the reality of life well. such as when he sleeps on a mattress, no bed frame, in a flat (apartment) before his wife moves in. and then seeing him all alone while waiting for a commuter train. were there any American things in it? probably. looks like the main character was wearing wrangler jeans. and in the special features, the 'making of' part, there is mention of an actor being 'like Charles bronson'. also in the 'making of' part, I noticed that 'doppelganger' seemed to be the same word in both languages. Wikipedia states it is a German word, so it was 'borrowed' from this language. there was one point where I was confused, thinking it was his dad in a bar scene, but it was a 'doppelganger' in his adopted city. the story is told through flashbacks, while the main character talks to a psychologist. it was a good story, it held my attention.
   when I went to the library to return two movies, I got two more. I think I will have enough time to see them this weekend. it was mostly a leisurely day, but I also made it to Walgreen for my weekly order which includes getting the Minneapolis paper and a few food items. I had hoped to watch the Iowa vs. Nebraska football game on TV, but the paper said it was on big ten network. so for a while in the afternoon, I laid down and fell asleep. I also did my annual viewing of the charlie brown thanksgiving special. in the evening I watched some of 'bonnie and clyde' on the 'movies!' channel. after the news I went to sing karaoke, I chose 'fire down below' by bob seger. it was snowing by the time I left for the karaoke bar. 

leisure seeker movie

this evening I watched a DVD movie on loan from the library, it was 'leisure seeker'. I recognized Donald Sutherland in it, helen mirren I have heard of but don't know near as well. it is about an elderly couple driving a Winnebago RV from Boston to Florida, to see the hemingway home in key west. this is definitely not a comedy. I laughed only once during it. this was when somebody falls on the ground and then falls asleep rather quickly. I like road movies, but this was hard to watch at times. since Donald's character has memory loss, this part of the story was hard to watch. but I did like seeing what stops they made along the way, such as at a historic site in virginia, with a colonial theme. at times in this odyssey one might wonder if they will get to key west, but they do. the movie would fill incomplete if they didn't. I liked mention of various writers besides just hemingway, as James Joyce, Tennessee Williams, and jack London were also mentioned. I am ambivalent about the 2016 election being a backdrop, as it seemed to add very little to the story. I do like one message the movie sends- how the travelers are saying 'it's my life' in the face of worried family members.
    even though it is thanksgiving, there was still plenty that I did today. I woke up early enough where I was able to get the annual viewing of 'planes trains and automobiles' in before a meetup walk at como zoo in st. paul. the walk ran beyond the expected end time but I didn't mind. when I was driving home I got the first football game on the radio, bears-lions. then I put it on TV when I got home. the bears won 24-20, and since there were other things I wanted to do the rest of the day that is the only game I watched. in the evening I picked up a turkey dinner from a nearby restaurant. no big deal having to move it back a little.

free bread

I have been eating some 'free bread' this week. it is hot dog buns from aldi. it was nice to find on my way out of the store, the cart was put out just before I went through the checkout line. there were loaves of bread as well, but I figured the hot dog buns were enough. a pack of 8, eating by myself, means they will still get eaten in a timely fashion. I noticed the 'sell by' date of nov. 26, explaining why they likely became available in a free cart. I am down to one bun, which will work well with dinner the next day. I went to order thanksgiving dinner tonight, and found out the place was all booked up, even with carry-out, until evening. so it means eating something else at midday. you get what you get when ordering on short notice.
    at work I stayed a few minutes past the end of my shift for the third straight day. this tends to happen when getting a call just before the end of my scheduled leave time. this was sending an inquiry on amended income tax returns. there were three, and two of them were last touched 6 months ago. I want to see that things are done right, and it means looking up the procedure first. and wanting it cleared before I leave. so not a big deal, just take a later bus home. it was a sparse crowd on the bus, but this can happen if people are off a little early for the holiday. at lunchtime I made it to another building to get a bus pass with my name on it. this meant taking 60 minutes for lunch.
   I went to perform in the evening, and the three karaoke stories from the past week went over well. I started off my set with mention of hearing music from the main room, it was music videos on a TV monitor. I could hear 'truth hurts' by lizzo real well, so before I went on I went close to the door so I could hear it better. there was a contest for a gift at the end of the show, a minute on stage about turkeys. I also spoke with some new performers after the show, one of them moved here from texas for graduate school.

scrolling down farther

much like the previous day, I got a call near the end of the shift which led to a form request. I had to call the resource line and found out I needed to scroll down farther to find it. at first I said it wasn't there, as I was used to the first field having what I needed. I decided to see 'how the other half lives' when taking the bus home as there were more available seats up front. the caller wanted copies of tax returns, sounded like there was a sense of urgency but the caller lived more than an hour away.
   looks like yet another open-mic was a no-go. I show up at the venue and it is locked up and lights off. so I got some popcorn and then went to do karaoke in another town. I sang 'pinch me' by the barenaked ladies. it was on my mind due to a lunch conversation. where someone made an observation about how busy it was in the breakroom. and it made me think of the song lyric, 'where hungry people like to eat'. it was nice to see the button's friend, likely the first time since she moved back from Colorado. the button did not make it, likely due to the weather. when I arrived it was light snow falling, but when I left more than an hour later there was plenty of snow on the ground. so I was fine with taking secondary roads home. the server from last week served me this time, although it was odd that she forgot my drink and then swore in my direction. I was at a table with people I knew, different from my M.O. of sitting at the bar.

dollar store audible

I went to the dollar store after work and got more than just a can of spaghetti. I also got toilet paper, except it wasn't my first choice. I had hoped to get the 4-pack but the section was empty. and it meant getting a single roll. at work there was some goodies, I decided to partake of the little cheesecakes wrapped in paper like a muffin. there was also cinnamon rolls, but I told myself I was good until lunchtime and none were left by then. I got a bag of chips from the vending machine, but I may want to cut back in doing so. It was no big deal when the 'snack shack' was around, needing just fifty cents for many items. but I do recall how at previous jobs I usually avoided buying vending machine items. I stayed a few extra minutes after my shift ended as there was a form request, sending out a booklet for filing property tax returns. there was shadowing in the afternoon, but just two calls during that hour. I started off by asking about password reset for reviewing scored calls. but this didn't eat into the hour that much.
   in the evening I went to perform, but the back room was not available because some rehearsals were happening. not a big deal, but it is a smaller stage. I had 3 karaoke stories to tell. I do need to try harder to get to the comedy club on time to sign up, second straight week that I haven't. it is all about how early I leave home, and what I do on the drive on the way there, how many stops I make. when I arrived it was nice to see not just brawler but also turtle check, as well as sub teacher and opera singer.

mystery drink

I went to a bar to see a football game around midday, the Chicago bears were playing the new York giants. for my first beer order I chose the 'mystery drink' because it was a dollar cheaper than coors. but I didn't like it, tasted fruity, and that is not what I am used to from beer. so for the second half, I got the coors beer in a plastic cup. at halftime I went to a nearby gas station and got a hot dog. when I got back the second half had started. bears trailed 7-3 at the half but were up 10-7 when I got back. the bears went on to win, 19-14. I got a picture of a bear statue with a football jersey on it.
   after the game ended, I went to the library and picked up two DVD movies as I have more time to watch them with the upcoming holiday. I also picked up some egg nog at cub foods. in the evening I watched 'the simpsons', it was a thanksgiving episode that was more like a Halloween episode. after this I watched some 'big bang theory' reruns. it was when raj was honored by a magazine, when Sheldon learned to drive, and when Sheldon got free dinners from grad students. I called my dad after this since the holiday is coming up and we hadn't talked much lately. then around the time of the 10pm news I was getting beeps from my phone, low battery. so I knew I needed to get it plugged in to the wall and charged up.

no safe spaces movie

I went to see the documentary movie 'no safe spaces' this afternoon. except this led to calling an audible, more than once. I went to inver grove heights, but the computers were down, which led to long lines. I didn't feel like waiting around for a fix to the situation. I said I shouldn't have to deal with this, where they are so dependent on computers to sell tickets. I had wrote down the schedule of theaters showing it, and was aware that it was also at Edina southdale, 30 minutes later. I made it in time to see it in Edina. I was familiar with comedian adam carolla, who was one of the main players in it, from one other movie that was recommended to me by somebody that knows I am a performer. the one about going on the road again after the sitcom ended. it was a decidedly older crowd at this screening, I was likely the youngest one there. some of what was covered didn't surprise me at all, since I went to college in iowa city in the 1990s when one heard a lot about political correctness. there was mention of Charles murray in it, who wrote a controversial book 'the bell curve', and I had heard how some of his lectures were disrupted with things like pulling a fire alarm because some didn't agree with him and didn't want him to talk. it meant something to me once I found out he was from newton, iowa, much like me. but he does not appear in the movie. some other comedians besides carolla do, such as tim allen. it is disturbing to hear how lectures at university campuses are canceled when somebody complains that they don't want a conservative speaker on campus. people should be allowed to decide on their own what they do and don't want to be exposed to, instead of having it decided for them. I have said the same when hearing about 'banned books'. much was said about free speech in it, and of course the image of the statue of liberty with tape over its mouth will be memorable. also memorable will be cartoons such as the first amendment with gunshot wounds, and a superhero called 'social justice warrior'. also odd to hear a recorded conversation where one side said 'they are 18, they are adults' and the other said 'but they are young adults'. I have to agree with the former.
   the second audible was after the movie. I wanted to go to a nearby bobby and steve's to get some godfather's pizza but there wasn't any. so I left and found pizza in another town. before I made it to their location, I stopped at a comedy venue and said hi to a server. I said I needed to get signed up again for their weekly open-mic, haven't been there since july. in the evening I went to a karaoke bar and sang 'moneytalks' by ac/dc. sounds like the karaoke jockey will be leaving, according to somebody at my booth they are going full-time as a manager at a grocery store. I escorted another singer home much like earlier this month.
   in the morning I made it to the post office, had to skip last weekend as I was out of state. one e-bay order was there. just before midday I went to a sports bar to watch a football game, iowa vs. Illinois. iowa was up 7-0 early on when I arrived, and iowa went on to win 19-10. so I only saw them kick field goals, it was lackluster but the win is most important. it was a sparse crowd all around at this bar, I may have been the only one there to watch that game even though plenty of TVs were reserved for it. I am aware how the crowds are lighter at this bar since the saints stadium is no longer nearby. this is why I liked going there for a while. 

uneven table

during lunch I decided to sit with some classmates from training. and it meant avoiding an uneven table again. not sure what made it uneven, aside from broken shoes on the table legs. still trying to figure out what works with lunch schedule, it may be doing 45 minutes but can't do a full hour. I am commonly doing more than 30 minutes, even though I have officially only asked for 30. but I am finding out that 30 minutes is not enough if I am talking to others. and when I am new of course having the time to cover what we are dealing with is helpful. there was a 'repeat potluck' and I had some of the dessert items such as pie. also liked the little cheese squares, but some of the cheese, what looked like kraft singles, had been sitting out for too long. this is hard to ignore, how some things have a limited shelf life.
  in the evening I went to sing karaoke, I did 'bad blood' by taylor swift. I wrote another posting about performing on facebook due to it. although I am unsure what inspired it. buzz words such as ambivalent, and owning it, were ones that I explored. the karaoke jockey spoke of how it was unexpected that I chose this song but I like doing a wife variety of songs. the crowd was really on board with it, and this is nice but it tends to happen when it is a popular song. although one must be careful about it, as it looked like one crowd member wanted to sing along with me and I don't care to share the stage with others, especially people I don't know. this is proof of how performing has changed me, as I have had to adapt to my environment. a case of  'what works and what doesn't'.

shine a light

i went to sing karaoke in the evening, and I was getting tired near the end of the night. I was at the bar and the bouncer noticed, so from the other end he decided to shine a light on me. I responded with a 'ha!' I did two songs, 'it's a sin' by pet shop boys, and 'American idiot' by green day. the former was inspired by hearing it on 'young sheldon' tonight. there was a lady that knew my name, I said we hadn't been formally introduced. I invent mnemonic devices, and with her I was thinking of the TV show 'our house'. she spoke with the bouncer fairly often tonight, and was wearing a camouflage shirt. she said she is a server there, but I don't recall her being a server for me, so possibly working on nights I am not there. as I was leaving she did a trick with a ballcap she was wearing and a Michael Jackson 'hee hee'. at least she was more fun than another lady who misheard what I said, and always has looked like a 'hot mess' to me.
   at work we had a potluck, I ate two different kinds of meatballs, one had BBQ sauce. with the call volume it meant waiting on doing a replacement check request, since it was right before the potluck began and I wanted to see I was doing it right. and there was a 'convention' during the first half of the day. although I was bored at times when they were talking about taxes, even though it is now my line of work. it led to some 'doodling', mainly writing down the cars I had owned. bad of me, isn't it?

hung up in closet

i was feverishly trying hard to find a sweatshirt and couldn't. it wasn't in a Ziploc bags like some others were. then I checked a closet and it was hung up in there, along with 2 others. guess I didn't recall doing this. I was trying to find it, initially, when I was packing for the weekend in iowa. then I said I needed to go, it was taking too long, would try to find it later.
   at work there still was some weird calls, but I feel like I handled them better than the previous day. one of them was about reporting a tax preparer. no fraudulent returns were filed, but the caller said the preparer did not prepare or file them. a colleague said we just need to tell them that we will enter the information and it is up to other agencies to act upon it. we are not in licensure and we are not law enforcers. another spoke about being a 'snowbird' and changing his residency for tax purposes. but he was also trying to ask me questions I really couldn't answer, based on just having tax returns that doesn't state how much income was social security. I was informed that the state of Minnesota does not have withholding taxes on social security anyway.
   I performed in the evening, and this week I was the leadoff comic after the show runner. quite often lately I have been the show closer. I decided to start off my set with mention of what happened last night, the show that wasn't. hard to ignore that there is some material from it. a comic said he had an idea for another story I was telling, related to visiting iowa. although it was just an 'introduction' and other things appeared to be a stronger story to tell. I checked and I do not appear to be connected as a facebook friend with this comic, although we have talked on a fairly regular basis at the clubs. the in-person interactions mean more to me. because this is what we had before facebook.

happier place preferred

i went to perform at an open-mic and upon arrival I hear my name, and found out it was meant to be a distraction. this was from the one that often has the muppet doll. two people were arguing, but one was saying more than the other. the mic did not happen, or at least it did not proceed beyond a 'suspended' status. so when I arrived at candyland to get some popcorn, I said I was there because I preferred a happier place. then it was on to a karaoke venue as I still wanted some stagetime. I arrived before the start of karaoke, and did the first song. I chose 'we can work it out' by the beatles, inspired by what I had seen at the first venue. it was either that or 'bad blood' by taylor swift. I got a drink ticket for performing, so now it means figuring out when I will return to use it and what I will be having. this is a big deal as this is a venue I visit on a less frequent basis in the past year.
   at work I was told not to call myself an 'incompetent idiot' because of having to hand off a call after IT problems. I said I wanted to avoid looking like one to the caller, which to me is a difference. some of these issues are happening because I hate being a rookie. but I think it also makes a difference as to who is helping me on the resource line. some people are better than others, and I just hate having to repeat myself. and I don't know what else to do when it becomes an in-person thing because they arrive at my cube to discuss it further.

letter generating

at work, I had a caller requesting a rent paid affidavit, so it meant generating a letter. this of course is related to the property tax returns, when there is no certificate of rent paid. it was a busy day due to having some of the staff diverted into training. what kind of training it was for, I don't know. I was taking back-to-back calls for a while. I like the exposure, although at times it is some tough scenarios to handle. and of course I prefer having gaps between calls. but I am there to take calls so that means do as much as I can. some of this was covered in training, but doesn't mean much until we are actually taking calls about it.
   in the evening I briefly went home between venues, as I was behind on chores. the main thing left was doing dishes. I got down to the last of it, putting silverware into the coffee mug. so there wasn't much left to do once I got home again. this is rare for me to do this, but I couldn't ignore the need for finishing chores. this is what makes it tough about being out of town, as I either have to do things before the normal time or after. and one can find it hard to find the time or energy. then eventually I went to perform, and some jokes got a good reaction from those watching. these were about trying to remember names at work, since it is a new job, and being out of state over the weekend.

coffee break image

I began the day in Urbandale, iowa, at my hotel room. as usual, I like it when not much is planned for my last day out of state. get breakfast, check out of the hotel, and get on the road. I got a muffin, granola bar, and hot cocoa near the front desk. it was wet in the des moines area when I started my drive, not a big deal, better than snow. the rental car gave me messages at times, one of them had an image of a cup of coffee, saying 'consider taking a break'. I would often see it after about an hour of driving, but wanted to go farther before stopping. I made my first stop in clear lake, iowa, about halfway home. I had just enough gas to get that far, and the 'low fuel' message popped on just before then. it was just before midday, and I got a can of dr. pepper and a slice of pizza. I stopped again at a rest area just south of Northfield, Minnesota, to use the bathroom.
   once I made it back to the twin cities there was still some things I wanted to get done right away. one of those was going to the library to print some things. another was getting a TV dinner at cub foods. it was about time to return the rental car by then, so I made my way to the agency after stopping at a gas station to return it with a full tank. after I get home again I made it over to the grocery store for my full order for the week. I watched 'the simpsons', about a visit to costa rica. I did some online surveys but deleted half of them, figuring I did not have enough time for all of them. I caught some of the bears-rams football game on the radio, bears lost 17-7.

bill montgomery

i attended the memorial for my uncle, bill Montgomery, around midday. it was in Chariton, iowa, a town I did not grow up in but visited often over the years because my parents are from there. I woke up before the alarm went off and got breakfast from the front desk area. I was on the road ay 9am to give myself plenty of time to drive there, as it was just over an hour away. upon arrival at the church I said what I was there for, who my mom is, and I need a bathroom. once I relieved myself I went back to my car and got out my outfit so I could change into it. although my mom said that jeans would have been fine, I brought dress pants because I planned on wearing them. I sat up front next to my mom and her 2 sisters. one of my aunts is also an ordained minister and was an officiant. it meant something to me when the older aunt shared how my grandparents were opposed to her living with her second husband before marriage. she said she wanted to get a good idea of if it would pan out, and I am for that sentiment. there was food after the service, and it was likely the first time I ate in a church pew as there was nowhere else to sit in the basement. it was nice to see family, although I wish it was for a different reason, since weddings are more fun. I was sent with some food as there was plenty left over. I think some was still left at the church and I said that hopefully it will all get eaten after the sunday church service the next day. it was hard to ignore the building across the street, as it looked condemned and there was a notice posted at the front door to that effect. I hate to see empty buildings, hopefully the condemned building is demolished soon.
   on the way back to des moines, I made a few stops to take pictures such as in Osceola as the Amtrak station is there. I got on a train there at age 8 when I went with my parents to see Chicago. I was listening to the iowa-minnesota football game on the radio, then I was able to watch the 4th quarter on TV when I got back to my hotel. iowa won 23-19. in the evening I went to sing some karaoke, at a place I have been to before while in the area. my selection was 'ode to my family' by the cranberries. it was a song I played a lot around the time of another family funeral, my grandma, just over a decade ago. 

mailroom tour

we did a mailroom tour this morning, saw the incoming and outgoing mail. it ran long so a meeting with my boss had to wait. it was postponed from an earlier date, and I like tours so I like that it still happened. I understand that a tour is easier to do this time of year, outside of tax filing season. we saw a sound-proof room as well. it was a floor below where I am usually working.
   I am going out of state for the weekend for a family funeral. after work I went straight to the car rental outlet, although once I got there I still had to wait in line to get the car. it was odd to see a valet this time, as I am used to having to find the car on my own. it didn't take long to pack, just a small gym bag and a garment bag. I stopped at a holiday station near home to get dinner, a hot dog. and after that my only other stop was in clear lake, iowa, at a casey's, halfway to my destination. I got some pizza there. I was fine with just getting to des moines tonight, and then finish the drive in the morning. in my rush to book a hotel, I didn't notice that the one I chose had no computer on site to check email. I was informed that a nearby library was available, so not a big deal. I made good time on the road once I got started, and made it to the des moines area just before midnight. I sent a few messages on facebook before I left town, and one of them was to a karaoke jockey saying I couldn't make it on Saturday. I like keeping people in the loop when they are used to seeing me each week.

yoplait peach yogurt

this morning at work there was a breakfast for us new employees. one of the things I had there was Yoplait peach yogurt. it had been a while since I had eaten yogurt. I also had a jelly donut from dunkin. then there was the department staff meeting a little later on. I ended up staying late because a call ran long. it was from somebody who was representing their deceased parents. this wasn't a case of it going 5 minutes over, it was more like 30 minutes. so it means putting in a request on my time card to have it entered as 'comp time'. as this is one option, the other being overtime. eventually I was advised to conference in a colleague that was helping me with it. when this happens I saw it as being 'above my pay grade'. after work I saw a letter from the test scoring company, an annual mailing. it said I would be offered work next season, but even though I liked the work I am hopeful I won't need it. I am on a direct-hire position now. although I will admit I liked having the option of it being available for a second season when there were no other offers.
   in the evening I stopped at the library on the way to the karaoke bar and printed some things, some orders I had made. then I did two songs. 'china grove' by the doobie brothers, and 'when smokey sings' by abc. during the second song I saw somebody arguing with the karaoke jockey, but I knew I had to ignore it so I liked being 'above the craziness'. it teaches me the importance of priorities. I can control what is happening onstage when I am there. the first song was chosen as I wanted one that made me think of  Iowa, my native state. the song was in 'field of dreams' and I am going to my native state this weekend.

return and exchange on shoes

after work I went back to jc penney and made a return and exchange on the shoes I bought on Saturday. I tried wearing them at work for two days and they were too tight, and it was hurting my feet to wear them. so I knew I had no choice. I tried on multiple pairs before I settled on the replacement. it meant paying a little more, but comfort is more important than price. the new choice has no laces, which I will enjoy, not having to re-tie them all the time. I did it before I went to perform, and spoke of it in my set. the show was just getting started when I arrived. we were done kind of early, I think the weather held down attendance.
   at work I started much earlier in the day on taking calls, and there were some weird ones. such as asking for the language line and the caller hanging up really early so I had to tell the interpreter and that was the end of the call. another was a colleague losing a call and I was on the line for a while, in part due to the caller thinking it was intentional. I said 'i think I got your call' and was told the last thing to say was 'the check is on the way'. when I offered options on lodging a complaint, which were probably not in line with what the caller wanted, the caller hung up. I did what I could.

double piece of cornbread

i went to perform tonight and when I got my drink order in the chef said there was cornbread, and I was pleased to get a double piece. but I ate only one there, and decided to take the other one home. since it was wrapped in aluminum foil it was no problem preserving it. some of what I said was in response to what the show runner was saying, and I said 'we covered it last week'. one performer I hadn't seen in a while, and found out goes by initials. it might have been the first time for him at this venue. he once asked me a question then I found out he wanted help on writing something on a laptop, so once I found out I said I couldn't help him since I wouldn't get credit for what was written. I prefer that people be honest with me. I liked how the chef gave me a line for the show runner, when I was called to the stage while I was getting my order in. no doubt it was more quickly than I was expecting.
   at work I did take calls on my own, but only starting just before midday. I wanted to get caught up on administrative things, so I looked up some things and made a list of questions to ask my boss. except my boss was on the way to a meeting, so it will have to wait. this was likely the last day of having an hour-long lunch. but I know there are adjustments that must be made at times, and I know better than to be picky as I like being back at work and having a productive routine. this was the final day listed on the pages for our days of training.

an actor prepares movie

i watched a DVD on loan from the library, 'an actor prepares'. I recognized only one actor in it, Jeremy irons. it was about an actor going across the country to get to a wedding, while traveling with his estranged son. I like road movies, so when I heard about it I said it has to go on my list. at one point I said 'this made sense' where he gave somebody the slip, and I should have expected it. as a baseball fan of course I liked how one scene was at a minor-league baseball game. another one was with the green giant statue. but I also saw in the closing credits how it was filmed on location in Georgia. I noticed a house in one scene had a plate up saying it was on the national register of historic places, so more things for me to look up. I have been to plenty of car shows, so I liked seeing a classic sports car in this movie, a Plymouth barracuda. of course when it is a road movie there has to be some hazards along the way to make it more interesting, wondering if they will make it on time.
    I got plenty done today on a day off, for veterans day. I did plenty of online surveys, it was delayed due to technical problems from the previous day. and I got the movie back to the library, then went to lunch at Kentucky fried chicken. after this I got a haircut and went to pick up some items at the family dollar. I liked how the wait at sport clips was much shorter than expected. in the evening I went to perform, and when I arrived I found out there was a student reporter from the local university, so I did an audio interview and she was there to record our performances as well.

motherless brooklyn movie

saw the movie 'motherless brooklyn' in inver grove heights this afternoon. I chose this theater based on the schedule I wanted to keep. because I wanted to see a football game on TV first, bears-lions. the movie is long, over 2 hours, but it kept my attention so I didn't mind. this has a good cast all around, besides ed Norton I also recognized bruce willis and alec baldwin in it. it took a while before I heard the movie's title but they do cover the origin of it, and I am used to hearing their 'explanation'.  I was next to somebody who laughed when they saw the Tourette syndrome tics by ed Norton, but I didn't see them as funny at all. I liked how a jazz club, in Harlem, figures into the storyline, because of course I am a performer and I liked mention of what a performer thinks about performing. how it is often more of a curse than a blessing. the jazz club is the easiest way to get music into the movie, and most movies have some. looks like Wynton marsalis was a performer there, I stay for the closing credits. as a baseball fan I liked mention of the sport in it, though it is just a backdrop, about trying to keep the dodgers in Brooklyn, a way of giving the time period for the movie. my dad would likely have known the cars well in it, since it has a setting in the 1950s. I know one car early in it was a dodge, since it was in big letters on the trunk.
   I watched the bear-lions game, starting at midday, although I fell asleep during the middle. the bears won 20-13, and there was mention of how back this series goes, to when the lions were the spartans, in Portsmouth, ohio. after I got back from the movie, I caught the ending of 'the simpsons', something about a 'lumber jill'. then I saw some 'big bang theory' reruns, including the one with the 'quiz bowl'.  I also did some shredding of junk mail, and I was able to eliminate the pile this time. other times I didn't want to do too much at once as the shredder will shut down if overheating. it helps to run it more often, such as every two weeks instead of once a month.

spare pair of shoelaces

I knew it was time to get a pair of dress shoes to replace the one I have. I was pleased how there was a spare pair of laces in the ones I bought. I wanted to stretch my money, so I went to the clearance section to look at what was available. I ended up paying just over five dollars because I had some gift cards to use. I do like a good deal. I went to the jc penney in Roseville to find what I wanted. it was a day of errand running, of course this starts with going to pick up the orders at my po box. then it was on to the bank, where they had some goodies, and 'penny checks' on a board near it. I think it was a garden-variety 'customer appreciation day'. after getting the shoes, I had hoped to see a financial advisor at a credit union, but they had just closed for the day. so I went to the library and printed some things. it was time for lunch by then so I stopped at a speedway gas station and had a chili cheese hot dog. I saw no boats so it meant using napkins instead to carry it out. I wanted to get home and watch the iowa-wisconsin football game on TV. I fell asleep and missed some of it, but I saw the start and end of it. iowa lost 24-22.
   in the evening I did some online surveys, and fell asleep again while watching the late local news. once I woke up I wanted to get to the bar right away to sing karaoke. I did 'the story' by brandi carlile. while I was waiting I watched a show about the Minnesota Vikings, the local football team. I recognized who was on it, as it was a fellow comic, Worthington native. there were some problems with the technology, the karaoke computer needed to be re-booted multiple times. so it was in doubt as to if I was going to sing, but I was aided by some people leaving early. near the end of the night, the karaoke jockey doesn't wait long for somebody to get to the stage and sing before they move on to the next person. since they want as many singers as possible.
   this was also by typical day of getting groceries. it was the first time this season to get some egg nog, and I will likely get some once a week through the end of the season. I tend to see it in stores through new year's day. I chose a half gallon as that is all I could find, normally I get a quart. I saw 'almond milk' but I didn't want to take a chance on it, being reminded of when I tried soy milk egg nog and didn't like it at all.

the big peach

I noticed the star tribune sports section was a throwback 'peach color' as the gopher football team has been doing well for the first time since the 1960s. I recall the sunday edition of the des moines register being called 'the big peach' for this reason. but it was just the first page with this color.
   at work it was the second day of rotations, I took 4 calls near the end of the day but I didn't like who was shadowing me. they called i.t. over and I don't think anything was wrong with my computer. and I had to keep putting callers on hold because they were too pushy. I could have figured it out on my own. we have Monday off and are due back on Tuesday. I am still waiting to hear what our schedule is for that day, as there was no email yet about the rotations. I met with my boss before lunch and she was interested in how I do karaoke. I am more willing to talk about this than doing stand-up. although I get some of the same kind of questions. the calls I was getting seemed to be more representative of what I will get, plenty of questions about the property tax refund forms. one of them just wanted to know if there still was time to file it, and I said yes because the deadline is in august if next year, giving people an extra year. so I didn't even ask them for any information to look at their account.
   in the evening I watched 'la bamba' on DVD. it still works for me on lessons about performing. I had considered watching 'good will hunting', which i say is my favorite movie, but I have strong feelings for 'la bamba' as well since it is a musician biography. after the late news I did some karaoke, one song. it was 'invisible touch' by genesis. much like most selections, I was inspired to choose it by hearing it on the radio recently.

20 year wait

I finally took some calls this morning, shadowing. but it was just two. the caller said, after being transferred to me, was that he had been waiting 20 years to get the answer. I was advised to have him call the feds, he said he had already called them. I had to call him back as my partner lost the call when we were calling the resource line. he also asked for my badge number, I don't have one, and asked why there was no mention of the call being recorded. I said I am used to hearing this message 'ensure quality', and I started off by asking why it has taken this long to try to find an answer but he didn't say. I still need more exposure than this, as so far I have been on seven calls over three sessions. but it is a slow time of year, so we can't create calls, only handle the ones that we get.
we were on rotations, it also meant listening to calls in the basement as well as going over scenarios on independent study. I found answers for half of them, and the other half I expect to find on Friday.
   in the evening I did some karaoke, 'bullet with butterfly wings' by smashing pumpkins. a facebook friend mentioned it as one of the 3 favorite songs by this band. the posting started with a pumpkin image, but he said it had nothing to do with the band despite it being about music. this would be the record label owner. he said the other two favorites were from 'gish', an album I have but don't know as well as the later ones. I didn't see the typical binders full of karaoke selections but I was advised by another regular that I can just ask the karaoke jockey if he has it and he did. I liked what he had to say about training new people, I am here if you need me, but it is fine to make some mistakes. it reminds me of what I have said about being in training- I learn best when I am the one doing the work.