peanuts celebration, valleyfair

I went to valleyfair today, first time in 8 years. they were having the peanuts celebration, and as a big charlie brown fan I knew I needed to go. I said 'worth it!' early on when taking plenty of photos there. I bought a few small souvenirs, including a linus magnet, and a large charlie brown coin. I got food there as well, one item was 'charlie brownies'. and I got two slices of pizza. I went to the water park first, since I wanted to eat and I knew the weather report before departing for the park. I got one run in on the lazy river, and shortly after I got out they shut down the water park due to the weather. I did plenty of walking around there, and went to a few shows including one medley of road songs across America. it started with 'life is a highway'. near the end of my time there I went to ride the antique cars and then thunder canyon, the water ride. had to share the ride with two young men, one of them said he went to community college in iowa, in Estherville.
   it was the early evening by the time I got home, and I decided to eat and I went to Walgreen as well to put a photo order in. I picked it up about an hour later and uploaded a few photos to facebook. one photo, with the whopper's cousin, already has 5 likes. he was a pro baseball player. no surprise how I hadn't put in a photo order for 6 months, and only found 5 photos of me since then. I don't take that many of me.
   I also made it back to kaposia days in south st. paul, for the pancake breakfast this morning. I got a few more ideas about what to see in that town after speaking to a city employee. I went to valleyfair right after I was done there.

washing pillows

I don't wash pillows that often, but I did this afternoon at a laundromat. there was three, along with two sets of bedding, and when I opened it up at the end of the wash I saw a hole torn in one of them and the cotton coming out. so I placed that one in the trash. I think it was one I claimed when I was a the office working in suburban Chicago.
   I got plenty done today, it helped that I made a list. it started with getting my license plate renewal done. I chose the one wearing the twins baseball jersey. it was across the parking lot from its old home, the sears store north of downtown st. paul. I also went to the post office before it but there was no orders to pick up. after it I went to the library to print my ticket for valleyfair. after dropping off some things at home it was on to south st. paul for kaposia days. I noticed some of the cars at their show had labels from the fairgrounds car show from a week ago. I got a corn dog and some bottled water, although it was small and it looks like the hot dog was a better deal, a dollar less and more meat than what I got. you live, you learn. I wanted to find the Croatian hall and I did, a half mile from the library. I spoke with a young man outside of it when I was taking a picture, I think he was out having a cigarette. he went inside when he saw a dog running at large, it looked like a huskie. I wanted to just go home and rest but I also knew I needed to do laundry, so I did that shortly after returning from the festival. then there was grocery shopping. it was evening by then, and I turned on the fox game of the week, pirates-brewers. the brewers won 3-1.
   after the late news I went to do karaoke, and sang 'lonely people' by America. when I put in the song I spoke a little with the karaoke jockey, who suggested having lunch together sometime. I said we weren't connected on social media, so a friend request was sent and I accepted it. upon arrival I wanted to park across the street but when I was backing up it triggered a car alarm so I parked on a different street. also notable was how it took too long to get a beer, so I got it for free. when I was going through the song book a lady in a red dress sat down next to me, wanting to see it after me. she had a nametag on, reminding me of my class reunions, and she was there for hers from st. paul central. I said I had been there to find a snoopy statue. when I spoke of being from central iowa, she spoke of attending nearby Grinnell college.

just doodling

I asked a coworker about a drawing on a post-it as he is one row in front of me. it was a fairly detailed smiley face. he said it was just doodling, I had wondered if he was any kind of an artist. this was during our afternoon break, and he spoke about seeing classic movies. this was after I said I liked going to see French movies as well as 'art films'. we finished another prompt near the end of the day and started the training for the fifth one, but did not get to the training session. the number of essays read dipped a little compared to the previous day. I left a voicemail with an agency but they called me back near the end of my morning break, I said I didn't have enough time to talk. I was told they would try again during lunch, although I didn't tell them when I had lunch, but they didn't call at all after that first call.
     I went to a Walgreen to pick up a few items I needed after work, but the paper wasn't there so I had to go to a gas station to get that item. in the evening I picked up a festival button for kaposia days in south st. paul, it was at a dairy queen. I ordered a blizzard as well. the parade was going on nearby so I got a glimpse of it after I finished my ice cream. then I went to the burger king. although it was a little annoying about how it was double the price for a whopper junior meal depending on how it was ordered. after the news I sang some karaoke, it was 'die another day' by Madonna. it was still on my mind after seeing the 'drag brunch' as well as her recent gun control song 'god control'. of course the one I sang is from the james bond movie of the same name.

mullet baseball card

i went to sing karaoke tonight and I saw some friends of the button while there. he said he liked collecting baseball cards where the players had a mullet hairdo. one of them was actually a pokemon card. he did a roger miller song, 'chug a lug'. I did two, 'you're gonna go far kid' by the offspring, and 'edge of glory' by lady gaga. the former I had heard at this venue recently and it sounded good. the latter I had in mind as I had heard it at the 'drag brunch' over the weekend. one man said he liked hearing the offspring song, and I would have preferred it stay on that subject. because it devolved when I went to the back room to do 'ladder golf' or whatever is called. we just weren't on the same page, when he wanted to talk about sitcoms. and eventually it got around to politicians he hates. it got to the point where I said 'i can't do this anymore'. it was time for me to leave anyway.
   at work I read 182 essays. we closed out another prompt and moved on to another one, the fourth of this project. they say we might end a day early, next week. I am still working on getting something else lined up. I was pleased to see an email when I got off work, it was from a contact from the university alumni chapter. somebody I saw at a recent event, he sent me a job lead. so hopefully something good will result from it.

edible spoons

we finished another prompt this morning, about edible spoons. the first two were about it. there was mention of sorghum being a part of it. we are now on one about schools after the franco- prussian war. I scored 134 essays today, up from 78 the previous day but of course I had a full day this time. although I am still bristling about validity papers being brought to me, having to justify them and re-read them. there were postings at the end of the day about later projects, but I was not on the list. so it explains the flurry of applications filed on indeed tonight, after getting back from performing. I uploaded a resume to a place that a fellow performer told me about as of this morning, but I haven't heard anything from them yet. I was the first performer tonight, after the MC of course, wasn't expecting that. I tried to get a beer before I went onstage but it was taking too long, so I did it after my set.

flickering monitor

at work I was asked by the team lead if I noticed a problem with my computer. this was at midday. I said I hadn't, this was when I made it into the testing room to leave my lunch bag before going outside for a walk. well once lunch was over I tried to log into my computer, but after I did I saw how the screen kept 'jumping'. so after 10 minutes I said 'I have had enough' and decided to move to another monitor. he left a post-it on the one I abandoned, saying 'flickering monitor'. we were going over the qualifying papers during this time, so not a big deal. but I wanted something to change by the time I went to actual test scoring. at least for as long as I was there today. I had to leave at 2pm for an appointment, actually a job interview. I lucked out on how I was qualified on the new prompt before I had to leave, as it meant I only will miss those 2 hours and nothing more. this is way different from other projects I have done, as I am told there will be 6 prompts covered in just 8 days.  at this point I look forward to returning to work in the morning, ready to go. with the interview, it was for call center work. so I am not too thrilled about it, but I still have to consider it when no other offers have arrived yet. it is sad that I have to consider call center work just to get my foot in the door at some companies, despite all of the experience that I have.
    I was tired so after the interview I drove home and decided to lay down shortly after getting home. then I was up again in the early evening, so it was time to eat by then. then it was time to go out again, but at first I went to the library to do a data entry test related to a job application. as well as convert my resume to a PDF to send to another employer. I let a fellow performer know that I tried to submit one online but it wouldn't go through, as it needed to be a PDF. saw him at the performance venue tonight, and his cousin said I should try doing story-telling in Chicago. I said I am an ex-suburbanite, still visit there annually. another performer liked my bit about semantics. after the show some performers decided to go to another place for a drink, I walked with them for a while. but I had other things to do so when they arrived I continued on to my car. actually I had parked near the venue, and  we passed by it during the walk, but I didn't tell them that. I enjoyed the conversation too much as well as the company. and of course the exercise, from the added walking.

starburst gummies

the show runner liked to bring candy, and tonight it included starburst gummies. I hadn't heard of these before, but they tasted good. much like gummy bears do. the show runner likes to do the southern accent when he introduces me. I was fine with going on fairly early, in the first ten, as I was tired and knew it would get me out earlier. I liked hearing a musician duo doing a song mash-up, it included Lauren daigle's 'you say' and 'secrets' by one republic.
   at work we started a new project, and it meant nearly half of the day was training. I ended up scoring 111 tests. sounds like we will go through prompts quickly on this one. at the same time, a sign-up sheet was passed around, basically an 'inquiry on availability' through late july. I stayed in during lunch break as it was raining. I got a voicemail about volunteering at fringe festival, sounds like I can do the orientation remotely soon, online.

gaga madonna brunch

I went to my third 'drag brunch' in just under a year and a half this afternoon in downtown Minneapolis. the theme was lady gaga and Madonna. standouts for me was hearing 'bad romance', as it sold me on this musician, and the 'star is born' song as the performer had a puppet as a stand-in for brad cooper. I also gained a greater appreciation for the one known as 'judas', after seeing the lyrics again. already liked 'in the most biblical sense, I am beyond repentance', which said a lot right there. but also 'vomits her mind' and 'wear ear condom next time'. in many ways it reminded me of Madonna's 'like a prayer', another song done at this brunch, as it was controversial because of the religious themes. it was a little un-nerving with the big crowd waiting to go up to our seats, so I decided to get a seat at the bar and wait it out. outside the venue, I saw two men arguing but decided to ignore it and keep moving, let them figure it out on their own. I told the manager, who I knew from a comedy club, that I would definitely come again if they did Sia songs.
    I liked how it was a fairly leisurely day for a while. I eventually watched the charlie brown DVD that just arrived, around midday. it had three specials on it, although two of them were much older than the third. one of them was about a field trip to an art museum, and the most recent one was a valentines day special that was produced after schulz died. before that I was online for a while, and it did lead to looking at e-bay listings, specifically for the movie 'up in the air'. already have plenty of souvenirs for this movie, but I still found one that looked appealing.  after getting home from the brunch, I watched some boxing on Fox as that was on instead of 'the simpsons'. I recognized one of them, I think he was part of the fight card when I was at the Minneapolis armory just over a year ago, joey spencer. he won his 6-round fight by unanimous decision. I am still mulling over going back to the armory for their fight card next month.

collector car insurance

i went to the 50's car show at the Minnesota state fairgrounds this afternoon. I picked up a small amount of souvenirs there. one of them was a magnet advertising collector car insurance. it was no doubt eye-catching, as it shows a lady in a bikini and heels holding a machine gun. it is from grundy insurance, and says 'do not touch', they are from Pennsylvania. there was also a brochure for an air museum at fleming field in south st. paul. I talked with somebody from new ulm that was in the car parts business. I liked having the free bus pass. I did plenty of walking there, no surprise at all. but an early priority was to get a late lunch. I found a place that had a corn dog and some bottled water. I brought ten dollars but still wanted a snack, like ice cream or a cookie. eventually I went back to a grocery store-type place and got some potato chips and reese's peanut butter. there was so much that I saw there, plenty of cars I rarely see or hadn't seen at all before. of course I liked seeing a few that reminded me of the 'rain man' car, the 1949 buick. there were some with Canadian plates on them, and a few from iowa, my native state, as well. I covered most of the fairgrounds, and when I got to the fine arts building I said 'oh, bummer'. because there was no art on display. but I was hearing some announcements about needing to go there if somebody had won a drawing. I liked seeing a car with a johnny cash theme. although at first it almost looked like james dean. as I was leaving there was some light rain. before I left I checked the weather report, and it said there would be no rain until the early evening. I knew the bus schedules, twice an hour, so I had it timed well as to the arrival. although I enjoyed the ride there more than the ride home, due to the company. on the way home it was an older man that kept talking about all of the changes. I said I had read the history books.
    before I departed on the bus I went to the post office, and found out my amazon order was there, a charlie brown DVD. so I have another thing on my agenda for sunday, besides just going to the 'drag brunch' that is in the late afternoon. I would like to see this video right away. I didn't stay at home for long after I got back from the car show. it was the evening by then and I wanted to eat. so I went to a popeye's  chicken, then grocery shopping at an aldi. there was a woman there in front of me with her young son, age 2 I think, who she said was 'being curious'. I said kids are known for that. eventually she had to corral him, and he was sat upon the counter while she was waiting for her order. I watched some of the baseball game, astros-yankees, on fox, although not that close. I think the yanks won after coming from behind. I was doing a big 'purge' on my facebook page. as always, it starts with something that annoys me. in this case, it was on a Huguenot page, somebody posting some offensive articles. people were leaving the group due to it. one asked if the man could be banned from the group, but the advice was to block him. I stayed with the page, at least for now, but I blocked him as well. I added a few 'likes' of pages, but I made plenty of cuts of pages 'no longer relevant' to me, so it was still a net loss. I also de-friended 4 people, and could stand to cut a few more from my friends list. if I have to ask 'when was the last time I saw them in person?' then I am more likely to cut them.
  I also did some karaoke after the late news. it was 'everyday' by buddy holly. I chose that one as it was in the movie 'stand by me' and I saw it again on a movie channel this week. I considered doing the title song, but I heard it on arrival so I decided it was best to choose something else. 

the kid movie, ethan hawke

I watched a redbox rental this evening, 'the kid', about billy the kid, the western outlaw. I didn't recognize many of the actors in it, just ethan hawke, who played sheriff pat garrett. it appears that Vincent D'Onofrio was also in it, although I didn't recognize what role he had, and also directed it. I like reading the closing credits and that is how I knew. the opening credits listed directing of course. a big part of the storyline was a teenage boy and his older sister, who meet up with billy early on. I found this movie while going through listings online.
   this was a 'gap day' on test scoring, I had hoped they would call me this morning but they did not. so I found other things to do. I went to check my post office box, two items there. and I got the paper, then it was on to a target where I got a toothbrush. I slept for a little while around midday. then it was out and about again, to the library to print things and look things up. I have a ticket now ordered for the st. paul saints game on july 3, and their big fireworks show. I researched the car show at the fairgrounds and found out I could print a free pass to get there on the bus. kind of like when I was ushering at the fringe festival last year. one thing I printed was some high school football schedules. I know it is still summer but I still like being 'armed with information' as early as possible.
   I went out to do karaoke after the late news, and I did 'this used to be my playground' by Madonna. I figured that would be a good one since I like baseball and it is from the movie 'league of their own'. and I am attending a 'drag brunch' this weekend which includes her music. before I went to sing I saw somebody I knew from the performing circuit. it was the MC from one of the open-mics that I frequent. surprised that anyone recognized me there, usually nobody does. he said he had a job lead for me and I will hope to hear more early next week. another man was there, he said it was his brother. and he was on the phone while smoking outside after I was done singing, talking to a date that showed up a few minutes later. I found out some things about this man that I never knew while at the performance venues, I think because our lives outside of performing usually aren't talked about there.

turn the light off

I was the last one out of the test scoring room in the early evening, so I was asked to turn the light off. I scored 379 essays, aided by plenty of blank papers. I wanted to count those up on the post-its I had as well as complete the course evaluations. we were told that it was likely the last day of the project, as the night crew might finish it. but if there was a need for us the next day, they would call us. there was popcorn in the afternoon, in paper cups. I had just one cup, decided to get some after I saw somebody leaving the breakroom with some. there was also donuts brought in from kwik-trip, and I had one of those as well. I am sure I can find some things to do on Friday, but I would really like it if I got called for some work even if it was just a half day.
   I also got a time and day nailed down for an interview next week, it took a while as I said I had to justify any amount of time away from work since test scoring is a no-benefit job. they found me an afternoon time.
   I made it to the karaoke bar tonight, but did just one song. it was 'good thing' by fine young cannibals. I didn't want to wreck my voice so I figured one song was enough. I am still using my cough drops and at times I can feel the sore throat. before I ventured out I sent a text message to my sister, saying I talked to my dad on Monday, and thank you. I got a response a few minutes later.

pop hates the beatles, allan sherman

this week I heard a weird song from a new prague radio station, it was 'pop hates the beatles' by allan Sherman. I let mason city know about my finding, he said he hadn't heard of it as I had asked if mocking that band was a popular thing. so I had to check youtube to confirm the song title and the performer. the other listings stated this musician did plenty of parodies. Wikipedia made mention of weird al yankovic, who was inspired by him. this song is to the tune of 'pop goes the weasel'.
    during the afternoon at test scoring we heard an announcement that didn't make sense. since it was about a dog in the passage, and there isn't in the one we're doing. found out it was for the other side of the room, they are working on a different prompt. I read 280 essays, was trying hard to crack the 300 level. I spoke with my neighbor a little at the end of the day, who called me a 'partner'. I guess that is accurate since we were paired for reading some essays together before we were turned loose on the previous day. when we got back from the mid-afternoon break, there was postings about the next project. and I gladly accepted another one. still trying to hash out the details on an in-person interview related to the position I had a phone interview for this week.
    I made it to the performance venue tonight, and I liked getting to a joke I didn't do the previous night. it was the one about being at the comedy club this weekend. I was on near the end of the night and used the stool again since the mic-stand was short. I am dealing with a cough and sore throat, so after the show I went to a Walgreen and got some cough drops. along with a few other things I needed. I like making the most of my shopping trips.

birdwatching and lemonade

we finished another prompt this morning, it was about the lemonade passage. and the one before that, about birdwatching, was completed just over two weeks ago. as far as I know, I haven't done both at the same time. what I liked was that I still had a full day of test scoring. I scored 142 essays, we had some training in between of course. as far as I know, the project will still end as of Friday.
    there was a phone screen during the first break. I had a voicemail after work that said an in-person interview was already lined up as of Wednesday, but I had to call them back and say that is too soon. I need to give some advance notice. I told them this already, I guess that not enough information gets shared with this organization. I just don't like having to repeat myself.
   I made it to the performance venue tonight, just as the floutist had finished I spoke about various subjects of course, and certain acronyms helped me with recalling the subjects. I even spoke of seeing 'stand by me' on the 'movies!' channel.it reminded me of how I am good at storytelling and writing, as the writer and storyteller is a character in the story. so not just a narrator. I find inspiration in many places, we all know this well.

speak up and move

I went to the Minnesota twins baseball game tonight. I used light rail to get there. on the way home I didn't want to miss my stop so I knew what I had to do. after I got off another rider said it was in doubt as to if we would get off. I said something about necessity being the mother of invention. I had missed my stop before, when I lived in suburban Chicago. it taught me to pay attention when your stop is coming up. and it means 'speak up and move', making it more likely that you will get out the door at your stop. I do prefer taking light rail, as it means not needing to look around for parking as there is a 'park and ride' available. the twins lost to Boston 2-0. the twins had a good chance to even it up in the 8th, 2 on nobody out, but a runner was caught in a rundown. Boston scored in the first, and again in the 9th. my dad called me when I was on the escalators on the way to my seat, just minutes before the game began. I made it to my seat during player introductions, but really couldn't hear him so I moved to the concourse and the first inning was played during my time there. he asked about the game and we decided to wind it down once he heard it had already started. he still wasn't sure why the call didn't go through last night. I said I see them play the Boston red sox each year as it is the way I keep the memory alive of my favorite movie, 'Good will hunting', since it has a Boston setting.
    at work I scored 288 essays, there were still some blank papers, about 10 as I recall. we are nearing the end of this prompt, will likely finish it up Tuesday morning. at first we were told to slow it down on test scoring, less than 400 for the day. not an issue for me as I have passed 300 for the day but not 400. the project is still slated to run through Friday so it means training on another prompt. I am still trying to get something else lined up for when test scoring season ends, and have an interview for Tuesday during my first break.

liberty valance play

this afternoon I went to see a play at the round theater in Minneapolis, it was 'the man who shot liberty valance'. I had seen the movie version, starring john wayne. most of the storyline was familiar from seeing the movie. I just didn't recall all of the character names and was asking who was playing jimmy stewart, as well as john wayne. I also liked the leading lady, a spirited woman, miss Jackson. they did well on making the set look like a wild west saloon, as there was a cow skull on display. there was also some art in the area by the concession stand, with a western motif, woodworking. I tend to see one play at this venue per season, and for next season it will likely be 'prints', about the ma barker gang kidnapping the hamm's beer heir. although before then I would expect to get there for the fringe festival in august, as it is usually a venue for this festival.
   in the evening I went to the comedy club and saw baby puppet perform, she isn't in town much, being based in los angeles. she was the MC, and I also knew the middle performer, wee bit. but I didn't know the headliner. although it sounds like one of his credits is comedy central. he spoke of being from Washington, DC. after the play I went home and tried to call my dad but it rang and the machine did not pick up. so I sent a text message to my sister, who responded just over an hour later and said this has been a problem before, and will check it out.
   also notable about the day was charlie brown and snoopy. I had it on my mind to check how many of those specials I have on DVD, and about seeing which ones I can order. according to Wikipedia, there are 45, and I have 33 of them. and I decided to watch 'easter beagle' as well as 'arbor day', as those were on the same disc. since I am a big baseball fan, I wanted to see 'arbor day' as I knew that baseball is part of the storyline. and I hadn't seen 'easter beagle' yet this year. if I don't see them close to the holiday on an annual basis on TV, then I know I can watch them at anytime when I have the time due to having the disc. I think that is also one of them where I have it in book form as well. looks like it hasn't changed much as to what I can still order, and I did order one from amazon. it has 3 specials on it that I don't have yet. and it should arrive within the week. I knew I had to study things well as there was one disc with three on it and a later re-issue had just two. all about wanting to get my money's worth. it includes a valentine special from 2002, one of those produced after Charles schulz died. I have accepted that some of them are hard to find, at least on DVD. some of them are only on VHS, since they must not have been popular enough to be released on DVD. two of them are listed as part of an Australian edition, and I am not sure about wanting those when it states that those will not play in DVD players in this nation. there are ones I don't have yet such as 'the emmy winners' and 'the 1970s collection' so it means more studying as to if or when I get them. since I know it mean some duplication. when some discs have 'bonus episodes' there are three that I have twice.

grease bucket

i went to a game in the high school baseball tournament this afternoon at the saints stadium. just behind my seat I saw what looked like a full bucket of grease. odd to see it there as I figured it would have been handled before the tournament began. so got a picture of it, after the game ended. it was semifinal day, but I watched the first game and I left as I had other things to do. east ridge beat Stillwater 6-5. it was 1-0 east ridge in the top of the first when I arrived after buying my ticket. another run was scored in that inning on a close play at the plate to out them up 2-0. there were something like 5 plunked batters and some throwing errors, but I must remind myself they are still young. there was  a lady in my row that got disgusted whenever east ridge was disappointing. she was a hard-to-please fan. sounds like new prague beat rogers in the second game to set up next week's matchup for the state title at the twins stadium.
    I picked up two orders from the post office this morning. one of them was the movie items order, the other from e-bay. then it was on to the library to print some things. then after that it was straight to the baseball game. I considered seeing a movie instead, but I know that 'rocket man' will likely will be in theaters in two weeks from now. after the game it was grocery shopping at aldi. I didn't do much this evening aside from karaoke, which was after the late news. I sang 'born to die' by lana del rey. when I wanted to eat, I waited until after the game was over, and went to a nearby speedway. it is way cheaper than eating at the stadium, as they don't offer any discounts just because it is a high school game.

2 norman lear live episodes

tonight I had a list of things I wanted to do online, and one of those was to watch something that was on ABC last month, it was a 'live on stage' version of two episodes produced by norman lear. first was 'all in the family' and the second was 'the jeffersons'. they chose well on many of the actors, people I recognize such as woody harrelson as archie. I had watched these shows before, either as first-run or reruns. other things I got done were getting event ticket orders placed. one was for a play this weekend, the other for a twins baseball game. I also liked seeing a facebook photo with baby puppet in it, found out she is performing in the area this weekend. I am trying to see if it is possible do get to yet another event in this case the high school baseball tournament. no big deal on deciding to move it back on seeing a movie. it will likely still be there in two weeks from now. I made it to the karaoke venue after the late news, and did one song. it was 'self esteem' by offspring. at work I read 325 essays, a slight dip from the previous day. but I also didn't have as many blank papers compared to the previous day. trying to get an interview set up for sometime early next week.

history at the bar

I was at the karaoke bar and I enjoyed discussing history with another patron. it was spurred by seeing bill Russell on TV after the NBA finals ended, Toronto beat golden state to take the series 4-2. this man claims that Russell doesn't get enough credit for being a star player. as a history major, I was fine with weighing in on it as I have said it is really 'the fame game' as to who makes the history books. eventually we did cover more than just sports. I don't do this 'mind exercise' that often so I really liked it. he even spoke of taking a biblical history class, something I hadn't done. I did two songs, 'bridge over troubled water' by simon and garfunkel, and 'mother mother' by tracy Bonham.
    at work we are still moving right along with the project. I scored 338 essays, aided by plenty of blank papers which don't take as long. mark it as 'B' and move on. at one point I had something like 32 in a row, and I said 'finally' when I got one that wasn't. near the end of the day I had not quite as many, but still 10 consecutive. there was a posting on the wall about the next project after this one ends in about a week from now, but it was taken down right away. so I guess we will have to wait until they re-post it. since I have no other offers yet, but still working on it, I would be fine with them extending me a little longer.
   in other issues, I was pleased to find a charlie brown statue tonight. I went to search for it on my way to the karaoke bar, after seeing it the night before on my way home from performing. it was nice to get the pictures I wanted without even saying a word. it was outside the entrance to a bar, and there were two people outside in conversation having a smoke. after doing karaoke, at first it looked like I would be stuck in traffic for a while on a freeway due to construction. but much like before, I just needed to see one person decide to back up and turn around because it was a standstill. then this gave me the courage to do the same thing.

voice interview

it was a busy day from beginning to end. after I do a shift at work, I go to an iowa alumni event at a bar in Minneapolis. then there is performing, and finally I am home. I wade through emails and found out there was another option on interviewing with an agency besides the webcam- a voice interview where they call my phone. so I have completed that now, along with assessments for two jobs I applied for through indeed. I think I have done some similar things before, where they ask me to test the line by saying my favorite movie, which is 'good will hunting'. so where do we go from here? I don't know. but I feel like I am running out of time to have something lined up that starts right after test scoring season ends. I was called at the end of my lunch break about an application I had filed, but they did not call again during my next break. so I will want to follow up with them on that. and there are a few others I can call as I want to stay fresh in their minds. I am pleased with the numbers from the day at work, as it was 280 essays read despite leaving an hour early for the alumni event. I would like to think I gained something from being there, as an event coordinator gave me some ideas for job searching that I hadn't tried yet. I said most of my applications had fallen on deaf ears.
   I stopped at a speedway and got a quick evening meal as they only had appetizers at the alumni event. I got some pizza, a cookie, and juice. then it was on to the performance venue, and much like before I pulled down the screen for the show runner. before the show she was outside talking to a friend and I heard a joke and said you got a grin out of me. I think it was awkward that I was passing by at the time, but I needed some air before the show and I also went to put something in my car.

dented ravioli can

I made a visit to the dollar store after work and got the last can of ravioli, under the 'generic' label. it was a dented can, so now on my next visit it likely means getting chef Boyardee. I also picked up some bars of soap, and some peanut butter crackers. I was surprised that the can was still there, as I saw it when I was there last week as well. the main thing still is needing a fork as well as a spoon when eating it at work. not a big deal. I read 313 essays at work. all I care about is trying to read a few more than the previous day, and I did. although it sounds like they want us to read even more. I went outside for the first break, but it looked like it was clouding up even then. I got a good look after stepping outside the front door at lunchtime, then went right back in. and it was raining for the afternoon break, but I was just quick about getting to my car so I could hear my phone better while in my car. I've said it has become my 'de facto office'.
    in the evening I went to the library in hopes of completing some forms and an interview there, but it was not to be. so I will have to let agency know it was a no-go. and ask if an in-person meeting is possible to take care of it. then after that it was on to the performance venue. I went on before I got my drink order in. as I was leaving the venue, another performer was doing a freestyle rap and looked in my direction and said he liked my 'improv story telling'. I had to laugh as I wasn't expecting that.
but it is flattering.

trivia break

in the afternoon we started off with more trivia after getting back from our lunch break at the test scoring job. we have done music, TV shows, and now movies. some of them I know and some I don't, guess that goes with the territory. the scoring director said the cards were made in 2006, so not up-to-date entirely now. I noticed the goodwill price tag on the can. I scored 297 essays today. it is more evidence of how keeping track of how many I've done on post-it notes helps me with my pace. I responded to a voicemail about a job, but I don't know what will become of it. I hadn't expected anyone to call me after trading some emails on Saturday. the more I found out the more questions I had, and more doubts on if it was a worthwhile venture for me. oh, did I say it was through an agency? definitely a reason why I am wary, as I've had two of those in the past year that didn't pan out. I also got emails from another agency, found out it meant starting over on the paperwork even though I had an in-person meeting with them 6 months ago. I was told that was with a different department. Ugh!
    I made it to the performance venue tonight and did my thing there. the floutist was on shortly after me. I know I was hearing laughs for one of them, I think it was the one about the 'hot mess' at work. I had two karaoke stories as well, along with mention of fox TV shows I had watched.

non fiction movie

saw the French movie 'non fiction' at the Edina theater around midday. I enjoyed it because it covered many relevant issues related to book publishing. how it has changed due to things like the internet an e-readers. I saw some American things in it, such as singer Taylor Swift being name-checked. and one actor, the author who wrote about his affairs, holding a Lisa Simpson coffee mug. sometimes it was literal English being said, such as 'feel-good books' and 'feel-bad books'. I think it was an inside joke when Juliette Binoche was in it and there was mention of having her be the one reading the audio version of a book. I went to the first screening of the day so I would have time for other chores and errand running.
   when I got home I had a late lunch, and then went to Eagan to have some ice cream at the dairy queen. good idea, as there was discount coupons for Valleyfair. then I went to the Hy-Vee and got two TV dinners and a bag of mini-donuts. it was a reminder of basic business class as the bag was $2, not much more than if I had decided to get just a small pack of 6, which I couldn't find. then I did some laundry, and by then it was time for evening TV shows. 'Last Man Standing' on Fox seems to be an intelligent comedy, starring Tim Allen. it was why I kept it on even though I had hoped to see 'the Simpsons' on at this time, as sometimes it is. but it was still on at 7pm, the episode where Lisa ends up in Canada for a while. it also is a joke about defunct retailers as one scene shows the Toys-R-Us giraffe trying to hang itself.
   before I went to the movie, I decided to see what I could order with points from a loyalty card that I have to the Eagan movie theater. since it closed and that is the last one in Minnesota owned by that chain I figured I had no other opportunities to earn points. and it appears that they expire after a while if not used at all. so unlikely I will end up getting a free movie ticket, it was what I had hoped for. I ordered four items, still had to pay for shipping. one was socks, one was a keychain. the other two items were for a movie called 'Missing Link', Wikipedia said it was a box-office bomb, an animated movie. I ordered a puzzle, and some stickers. it would have been a shirt, same number of points as the puzzle, but it looked like the only size left was extra-small, too small. I noticed that the 'price' had been slashed on many items for this movie, in terms of the points needed to order it. although one item, an activity book, was listed as 'sold out'. so it likely means seeing it as a Redbox rental when it is available there. I have said it many times before how I am willing to give some movies a chance as a rental that I wouldn't see in theaters.

eagan movie theater closed

i was checking movie listings and noticed that Eagan  wasn't there, thinking about seeing 'rocket man' sometime soon. I went online and it said the theater closed in late april, and I made my final visit in march. the place was sold, and an ax-throwing place is part of the plans for the new owner. it was one of my loyalty programs but those things aren't all what they are cracked up to be. so it means going somewhere else to see it when I feel the need.
    I picked up one post card order at the post office, the other 2 are on the way. I went to the jc penney at rosedale mall in Roseville after this. I needed some shoes and got some socks as well. and I used 2 of the 4 cards. when another patron saw me talking to the cashier, he said I should be a comedian and I said I already am. then it was on to the library to print some things. and I like the taste of godfather's pizza so I got one at a bobby and steve's. then to NAPA to get a ticket for the car show at the fairgrounds. and to aldi for the weekly grocery order. not long after getting back it was time for the baseball game on fox, cardinals-cubs. cubs won 9-4. not my only baseball of the day as I watched the st. paul saints DVD I bought the day before. it is called 'for the fun of the game', really enjoyed it. mark hamburger, a pitcher for the team at one point, was interviewed on it. after the late local news it was time for karaoke, I did one song. it was 'i can't wait' by nu shooz. it seemed like a good idea after getting shoes at a mall today.

jelly of the month

jelly of the month was the name of a music group that played at the st. paul saints baseball stadium tonight after the game ended, and before the fireworks. sounded like they had a song about charlie brown, or at least various charlies. it was charlie brown and snoopy night, an advertisement for the valleyfair  amusement park. as a big charlie brown fan, I will likely be going out there soon, haven't been there in 8 years. the saints won, they beat Milwaukee 4-0. saints scored 3 in the 2nd, after loading the bases. and they got the other one in the 5th. there were some double plays, the 'pitcher's best friend'. I even said I wanted to see an inning-ending double play, and I did.
   at work I read 254 essays, I am aware that was down from the previous day. I was thinking too much about other things at times. I was asked to submit my time card early, before midday. there will be no overtime this weekend. after the game I went to sing some karaoke, I did 'lithium' by nirvana.

d-day 75

I read plenty of articles about D-day on the 75th anniversary while I was having an oil change done at the dealer. I even said I wanted to wait to pick up my car until I was done reading. some were on the editorial page. and of course there was some segments on the TV news about it. as a history major, I figured it was a good idea to read them. there was mention of local movie theaters having screenings of 'saving private ryan' as well. I had seen that movie before with my college roommate, on video. at his home when he still lived in iowa.
   at work I scored 301 essays, I felt good about that. but I know it was aided by having some of them be blank pages. also notable was a young lady in the row in front of me being caught asleep at her computer. not once, but twice. she went out to talk to H.R. at one point. I noticed she had some pillows and a blanket at her workspace, one of them was a 'butt pillow'. I understood that the rule of thumb was being discharged when it happens the first time. I haven't talked to her but she did seem to be a 'hot mess' due to having even more items at her workspace- such as something that says 'i am silently correcting your grammar'. not sure what will happen to her, but most important thing is taking care of my own little corner of the world.
   I went to the karaoke bar after being home a short time, long enough to eat, after getting back from the dealer. I did two songs: 'we didn't start the fire' by billy joel, and 'just dance' by lady gaga. I figured the first one was a good idea since it was the D-day anniversary, and the song covers history. the harmonica guy was there as well.

scoring room names

this may have been the first time where I had truly noticed the names of the test scoring rooms. it is Aristotle, Einstein, and Socrates. it was process of elimination in terms of finding out where I would be assigned for this project. I went to three rooms and my name card wasn't up. the AA said it was the one out of four I hadn't been to- as one room is actually split in half by a long partition. next to me is a team lead from the previous project. I know this had happened before- it is all about where one is needed. and if they don't need that many team leads they will be a scorer. the first half of the day was training, and I was able to score 106 tests in the second half of the day. I had to wait a few minutes, like many others, to get in the room this morning. they were still setting up for us I guess.
   I listened to a comedy CD while driving to and from work today, it was the third one from happy meal. I was laughing a lot, and pleased how I show up in one of the tracks as he likes to do crowd work. this evening I made it to the performance venue. it was a light lineup. much like before, I was asked by the show runner to pull down the screen that covers up most of the mirror. I was tired so I didn't want to stay too long after the show. I recognized the name of one of the other performers, it was somebody that had sent me a facebook friend request. I said I prefer meeting people now and knowing who they are, then adding them. so when I got home I did. it was a 'zero sum' thing as I cut two people from my friends list. both were people I hadn't heard from in a while, people I first met at a venue that is now closed. I had added somebody last night after seeing them perform in the contest.

spicy chicken sandwich

i stopped for lunch on the way to a job interview this afternoon. I decided to get a spicy chicken sandwich, although at first I wasn't sure if I could handle it. the clerk said if you have had the chick-fil-a sandwiches there are fairly close. it tasted fine. I put some mustard on it. I also got a bottle of water from the lounge as there was some in the cooler. I was early for the interview but it was delayed. I am hopeful to hear something good soon, as I know I presented myself as well as I could.
   it was a no big deal to have this 'gap day' in test scoring, as I found plenty of things to do and get done. it meant calling the dealer and now I have an oil change appointment for Thursday evening. I can go do karaoke after it is done. I went to the library to print some things, and I registered for an alumni outing I had been emailed about. it will be next week. and I saw something about another 'drag brunch', I have been to two so far. there will be one about Madonna and lady gaga later this month. some of those shows were already sold out, in fact all but one. no big deal to have a day booked more than two weeks in advance, although normally I try not to.
   after the interview, I found a staffing agency office and presented a resume. I had been called by somebody in another state and I needed to satisfy my curiosity. I made some calls to follow up on job leads as well, but mostly got voicemail. in the evening I went to the comedy club and did some stage time in a contest. there was a screaming lady near the entrance to the club when I arrived, she attracted the attention of some security guards. I know I did well in my set, doing my best material, but I did not advance. only three out of twelve did. but I have never advanced past the first round of a contest, I am just thankful to have the stage time. the judges included a member from the band babes in toyland, as well as soul asylum. in the morning I watched two of my sets from a comedy marathon- this year's and last year's, both on youtube. I don't watch myself much on video, but I still like to see it every once in a while. especially the marathon- as it is a longer set than what I normally do.

oil change no-go

for the second time in the past week, I tried to schedule an oil change appointment at the dealer and it was a no-go. I have a gap day with test scoring on Tuesday but found out they are already booked up. sounds like I might have to make an appointment a week in advance, or go in the evening and of course the latter interferes with performing at times. after the call was done, where I said I needed more time, I realized that Thursday evening might fit well. so I will try again on Tuesday to get something nailed down.
   at work we reached the end of another project, I scored 153 papers. we were offered work on Tuesday for another project, as an announcement was made that they were way behind, but I turned it down as there are some things I want to get done that day. one of those is an interview. but there are a few other things I can take care of besides that. when I am willing to work Saturday when overtime is offered it leaves less time available for chores and errand running. sometimes one just needs the time to clear the mind and figure things out. I liked being able to reach 8 hours for the day, so I was still there for most of the day. there were course evaluations to complete, I said the scoring director was fine but I have had better team leads.
    I performed tonight, was advised to wait a few minutes for the 2 for 1 special on beer to kick in. I liked how the parking in a nearby ramp didn't cost much. the show runner made a price is right reference when I was introduced, so I answered it when I got started. since an Austin native was there I heard about spam again. so it meant going to a cub foods to get a single serving of spam since I like the taste of it. I even said this had happened before. I saw some limited edition foods there for the fourth of july, including cereal.
    

ft. snelling national cemetery

this afternoon I made my first visit to ft. snelling national cemetery. it was as a volunteer to help collect flags for an organization called 'flags for ft. snelling'. I had heard on the news how they needed help, so I said it would be a good experience to be a part of. I collected over 400 flags, and this is about 1 in 500 markers there. I am not sure how many volunteers were there, but it was called around 3pm and we got started around 12noon. I had done volunteering before, but nothing like this. when I was 12 I recall visiting my grandfather and going with him when he made his rounds to do the same thing. but of course this was rural iowa, and nothing like a big cemetery like this one. I had been to the old fort of the same name as I like visiting historic sites. I found out the cemetery is listed on the national register of historic places as well. I got plenty of exercise in with all of the walking that I did. I decided to be prepared for the event by bringing food with me. I had some peanut butter crackers, as well as bread. we were given bottled water. near the cemetery's information center I saw two big markers, one had the text of the memorial day declaration and the other had the Gettysburg address on it. I think I had seen plaques like these near the front door at the state capitol as well.
   later on in the day I was on my way to cub foods to get some 'budget meals' for the week when I passed by grand old day in st. paul. so I found a parking spot on a nearby street and walked around a little at this event. it was near the tail end so I wasn't there for long. I was a little tired from all of the walking at the cemetery anyway. I got a small cup of fries while there. on my way back to my car I saw a snoopy banner from the year it was the winter carnival theme, in 1990. a lady in front of that house said she was part of the royalty from that year.

choir robes, liquidation sale

i went to a shopping center in woodbury after work. the main reason was to see the charlie brown and snoopy statues at keys café. but I look at some other stores as well, since I don't make it in that often. this included a Christian bookstore, selling other items such as choir robes. so I got a photo of it. I did not buy anything there. I scored 102 essays in just under 4 hours. had to take an alternate route as there was construction in that area.
    in the evening I tried to watch baseball on FOX. but they had red sox-yankees. after the news I went to a karaoke bar and sang one song, 'carry on' by fun.