iowa cubs/caucuses

i saw the article about the iowa cubs baseball team having special uniforms last night related to the iowa caucuses. looks like the iowa cubs won, 5-1 over Memphis, to clinch the division. it said this was their first time going to the playoffs since 2008. plans are to go to des moines later today, after picking up the rental car, to see one or two games this weekend. not sure what else is in store, but I usually do the quick visit to my hometown of newton as well.

georgia movie, jennifer jason leigh

i watched a DVD movie on loan from the library this morning, it was called 'georgia', a Miramax movie from 1995, starring Jennifer Jason leigh and mare winningham. the title is misleading as it is more about the younger sister, Sadie, played by Jennifer. both are singers, but Georgia has it together way more. some scenes were tough to watch, such as when the younger sister struggled with drinking and drug problems. the setting was seattle. I liked it because it is about performing. john c. reilly was in it as a drummer. aside from that I don't think I recognized any other actors.
   not much happened on the job front today, just another interview is now scheduled. I didn't expect much either, since it was the Friday before a holiday weekend. I returned the movie to the library and got two more, both are football movies. browsing through half of the section yielded those two, and three others I wrote down. two per week is enough, as I want enough time to watch them before they have to go back.
   I went to the st. paul saints baseball game tonight, last home game of the regular season. the saints trailed 2-0 but finally got a hit in the 6th, and this is when they scored all of the runs they needed to win, 4-3,  against fargo- moorhead. I did not stay for the food trucks or fireworks as I wanted to get to the karaoke bar. I sang 'American idiot' by green day. for whatever reason, 'longview' was not listed in the binder. I met weirdos at the saints game, karaoke bar, and at a convenience store tonight. so it means more comedy material of course. in other issues, it looks like the petition to close a hotel in my hometown has now passed 900 signatures, but still short of their goal of 1,000. the activity has slowed down a lot since the first day, so it is hard to say when they might reach their goal.

images of the world, national geographic

i went to sing karaoke tonight, and after I was done I went outside to play ladder golf. at one table was a book that said 'images of the world', looking closer I noticed it was published by national geographic. I noticed a few American images when leafing through it. one was of an older man with a cowboy hat on and there was a flag on the wall behind him. another was of the Lincoln memorial, of the statue inside it, a side view. I also got by on 'the kindness of strangers', as a man at the bar decided to get me a second hamm's beer. I made sure to finish the first before starting the second. I sang 'when you're gone' by the cranberries. I also liked hearing somebody song 'call me al' by paul simon. I had done that one before.
    I made it to a job fair in Shakopee with about 20 minutes left, just before midday. I saw one staffing agency being represented that was familiar. I said I still hadn't heard anything after he had submitted me for a role. I finally got an email response, and as expected it was saying it had been filled. I filed plenty more applications on indeed. I got another interview set up as well, for next week. I like how it is fairly painless on most applications. some say they want me to do an assessment, but then there is an option to submit the previous results that are relevant.
   I saw more about the petition to close a hotel in my hometown. it now has more than 800 signatures, the goal is 1,000. it was tough to read the reviews that were left online. according to the time stamps, it looks like the problems such as being unclean have been happening for a while. it is not listed on hotels dot-com, and no longer has a franchise backing, likely due to the poor reviews. it had been a best western for a while, then an America's best value inn. some sites still list it as 'ABVI', including the chamber of commerce, and it reverted to the 'newton inn' just this summer I think. the sign that one sees from the interstate is tacky.
   I kept seeing food ads on TV at the karaoke bar, and smelling pizza there as well. it led to me going to a holiday gas station on my way home. I got a chicken sandwich that was heated up in a microwave oven, along with a bag of peanut clusters from the discount bin. outside I saw a man wearing a marvel hat next to a backpack and leaning by an ice machine. I wasn't there for long, and when I went back to my car he was still there. odd.

petition to close hotel

I saw how a classmate had posted on facebook about a petition to close a hotel in my hometown of newton, iowa. it was in the wake of an arrest there related to methamphetamine. it is sad to hear about it, since I knew it was a much nicer hotel when I was living there. it is the newton inn, at one point a best western. events related to class reunions had been held there, what I called the 'all-reunion', but now this has been moved to the racetrack. I haven't signed it yet, but I did read through the comments by those who had. there was countless mention of not only drugs but human trafficking. although I am not sure if a petition will be enough. but it may garner the attention of the city government. when I did some searching online there was an article found about another hotel being bought by the city and then demolished, it was mid-iowa motel. one of the comments said that many of the bad people just moved to a different hotel, calling it the 'new mid-iowa'.
   my day started with going to a hiring event. when I arrived I found out there were no available jobs within my requested parameters, full time and day shift. it was at a fulfillment center. in the afternoon I went to the library to print some things, and I picked up another DVD movie to watch. I got around to applying to some jobs on indeed as well. but I haven't heard anything about the results of recent interviews. the waiting is tough. I performed in the evening, odd that when I arrived I was unable to use one of the doors. so I used the other one. I had a choice of two stools tonight, I chose the one that looked more comfortable. the other was wooden and had no cushion to it. according to the news, the nearby Walmart is closing soon. slow sales was cited as to why, it is near the new soccer field. I bought my microwave oven there more than three years ago when I needed a replacement. 

duplicate business cards

i went through my binder full of business cards tonight and found a few that were duplicates. so it freed up some slots for cards that I wanted to fit in there. along with doubling up on slots where it wasn't a full-sized card. I know I hadn't looked at it in a while, because I haven't bought any 9-slot sheets in a while. I look at my baseball card collection more often, which uses the same kind of sheets. I also keep pocket schedules for sports teams in the same binder as the business cards.
   this morning I had an interview with the state government, near the capitol. it was not the typical interview, which feels too much like an 'interrogation' to me and this is why I hate interviews. there are background checks and reference checks to do, but it sounded like they were ready to extend an offer to me. although it wouldn't start right away. in the afternoon I called the census bureau, as I hadn't heard anything since the finger printing. but they must be doing background checks at this point. so it is still 'wait and see' with them.
   I had the pizza from the previous day at lunchtime, it tasted good. there was 3 slices, although I admit I picked off the red peppers. after this I went to the airport to scout out the rental car area. it looks like my upcoming reservation will be with an on-site company. I do recall one time last year I think when I amended the reservation and it was with a company that was off-site. so it meant having to take a shuttle to their facility. after this I went to the bank to make a loan payment.
  in the evening I went to perform. I got my bottle of soda just before going onstage and it led to me having it in my hand while I was performing. not the best game plan, especially when it was a plastic bottle and it was leaking through the cap as I guess it wasn't screwed on tightly enough. when I saw somebody motion to me about it, I took it upon myself to see that it was cleaned up at the end of my set. I am used to clean-up jobs since I was a janitor in college to pay my tuition. the floutist was on after me. I like hearing her perform but she was upset that some people weren't paying attention. the show runner spoke about it at one point, saying people should be more respectful.

black sheep pizza

i was in the right place at the right time at a venue tonight, the first place I went to. a patron was told that they couldn't bring food into the showroom, and I asked what was on the pizza. they said sausage and pepperoni, which sounded good to me. so one of the two boxes was given to me. it was black sheep pizza, I might have had this kind before but not too often. so I trust that it will taste fine when I have it on Tuesday.
   I had two phone interviews this morning, one of them was about 20 minutes earlier than expected. but not a big deal to me. then eventually I went to a job fair, and arrived with just a few minutes left. I liked seeing a flyer from the postal service, as it depicted a charlie brown stamp on it. but like many other job fairs I have been to recently, there is not a lot in my field. and I have already applied to the census bureau. in the afternoon I went to the library, and had a long list of things to do. I got to all but one of them. it mostly meant printing things to help with planning for the near future, and some sports schedules as well. also some reservations.
   it went fine performing this evening, at the second venue I saw. it is my alternate plan when the first usually doesn't choose me. I did two pizza stories, and shared my state fair story. an earlier comic spoke of being 'photo bombed' when a presidential candidate showed up and he happened to be nearby. at the first venue, it was nice to see chalm-skinn as well as having a beer that he ordered for me. I saw that I said 'thank you'.

badlands movie

I watched a DVD on loan from the library this afternoon, it was 'badlands', starring martin sheen, and sissy spacek. I liked finding this one after searching for road movies online. the body count was high in this one. I understand it was based on the Starkweather killing spree in the 1950s. at one point they are roughing it while on the run from the law, and bounty hunters. seemed a little odd to mention a federal reserve bank in tulsa, as I don't think that city has one. I noticed how grain belt beer was in one scene of this movie. this wasn't the only video I watched today. this morning I watched the one I had ordered from amazon, a charlie brown special, that arrived this weekend. I already has 'he's a bully', but hadn't seen 'short summer' yet aside from having it in book form. as usual it was fun to watch snoopy. there were some shorts from 'the charlie brown and snoopy show' as well.
   I made it back to the saints stadium, this is rare to make back-to-back visits. but this time I was there as a paying customer. I arrived about an hour before the scheduled start time, as I wanted the giveaway item- a Lexington park pennant. it was the fourth and final giveaway of this season related to the baseball museum that had just opened this year. I like pennants, so this was the only one of the four that interested me. the other three were hats and shirts, already have some of those. I had plenty of time to tour the museum a second time, it was the first time since memorial day weekend. there was light rain throughout, starting when I was still inside the museum. I spent just an inning and a half in my seat for this reason. the saints won 5-4. they went ahead 4-2 in the 8th, scoring 2 runs in that inning. but the Chicago dogs tied it 4-4 in the 9th, aided by a bases-loaded walk. I am thankful that it ended in regulation. the saints led off the bottom of the 9th with a double, then had a runner on 3rd with one out. a sacrifice fly to center field scored the winning  run. the regular season will wrap up in a week from now, and the saints are in the hunt for a playoff spot. a clip from the game, showing the walk-off win, was on the WCCO 10pm newscast.

croatian hall, south st. paul

late in the afternoon I went to the Croatian hall in south st. paul, as they were celebrating its centennial. it was nice to try some lamb there, might have been my first time. I liked seeing the dancers as well. after it I went to perform at the st. paul saints baseball game. it was zombie night. I was given a costume that was military fatigues, using scissors on it. I got a meal ticket, but due to eating at the festival I wasn't hungry for a while. but near the end of regulation I got some m and m's, as well as bottle of juice. it was nice being in some pictures, and getting comedy material from the event. people are more likely to talk to me while I am in costume. the game went into extra innings, the Chicago dogs tied it 1-1 in the 9th. It was still tied after 13 innings, and I left to get to the karaoke bar. when I got home and checked the score, looks like the saints won, in 15 innings, 2-1. at the karaoke bar I sang 'thriller' by Michael Jackson. the karaoke guy at the game had sang it.
   another notable thing was getting the finger printing done just before midday. I was at the library printing some things just before it. closed on-ramps and a stalled car that needed to be pushed out of the way made it harder. I picked up 3 orders from my post office box this morning. I moved up doing grocery shopping as I knew I would be busy at events for much of the day.

finger printing no-go

I had a finger printing appointment for the census bureau this morning but it was a no-go. I drove over to an office depot and arrived when I was told to arrive, and yet I was told the system was down and my candidate number was not recognized. no information given as to when it might be up and running again. I spent over an hour, calling four different numbers and placed on hold numerous times, all to no avail. so I still don't know yet if I will have a job as I am running out of time to get the finger printing done. I am only given a week to finish it. I seem to have the worst luck ever, as the man at the office depot said it was the first time they were ever unable to complete it and they had done hundreds of them before. in a cruel joke, I get home tonight after doing karaoke and it looks like the system is up and running as I was able to make my own appointment. earlier, I couldn't, had to call the number I was given. so my second attempt will be just before midday on Saturday. I have a business card for office depot so I know it is best to call in advance this time to see if everything is a go on their end as well.
   since it is a Friday I wasn't expecting anyone to call about jobs so I figured it was a good day to go to the state fair in the afternoon. actually there was one call, from an agency, when I was waiting to take the bus. but they didn't have all of the information yet about the role so I was told to expect a call about it later in the afternoon. except the call never happened. such is how it ends all too often when working with a staffing agency. I now have two phone interviews scheduled for Monday morning. one of them arrived by email, after numerous attempts to reach HR. one time I got the voicemail for their general number, which doesn't sound the most professional to me. the other one was a call I made while I was dealing with the aforementioned 'no-go'. there was another one where HR was hard to get ahold of, I was holding up my end of the bargain with email and voicemail, and then I get a rejection letter. so I may not be missing much when they sound even less professional.
  as for the state fair, I am proud of how I am trying harder to take way fewer souvenirs home with me. I was able to get all of them into my denim jacket. I have a census day button, a U of M hockey schedule, 2 postcards from the newspaper museum, and 2 CDs about Minnesota history. I did the typical stops for me, getting a pork chop to start the day and ending the day with the big slide. I also like the fine arts building. I made it over to the agricultural building to see the crop art. the fancy comic was one of the pieces of crop art. but I also liked seeing charlie brown, johnny cash, and grain belt beer. in the center of the building I liked seeing displays about famous minnesotans, as there was a charlie brown and snoopy display. there was also one about 'wizard of oz' actress judy garland. there was some karaoke there, but they were full when I tried to sign up with just under an hour left. I still did some karaoke at my typical venue this evening, I sang 'steady as she goes' by the raconteurs.

mall of america button

i went to two job fairs, and at the second there was a mall of America button, saying they are hiring. so I claimed it, along with another table that had some peanut butter crackers. there is still not a lot at either of these job fairs. although when I talked about the sad stories of looking for work some of the people there ended up laughing. this was not my intention, but I have noticed I tend to be funnier when I am not trying very hard. I even said it to one of the officials on site, that if he heard some laughing in the hall that I was responsible for it. this morning before going to the job fairs, one of them being in the afternoon, I called a number to get finger printing set up for the census bureau. trying to schedule it online just didn't take. so now it is set up for Friday morning. only one place was given for the twin cities, in the west metro. the other two were out-state. I also applied to three jobs with the federal government, more long-term than the census bureau, and let my college roommate know about it. I know he has been beating the drum about wanting me to work there for a while. I filed more applications with a bank, and on indeed as well. I had to let one call go when I was on the way to the second job fair, called them back after it and found it was from an agency. I had applied for something nearby and I hope I can raise them again, but got their voicemail. I knew I would be too busy to go to the state fair today, it just started its 12-day run.
   in the evening I went to do some karaoke, two songs. it was 'back in black' by ac/dc, and 'love hurts' by Nazareth. before then I called my sister and found out, as expected, that my dad was out of town last week.

tootsie strawberry frooties

i went to another job fair just before midday, in Burnsville. and one of the employers there had candy. it was tootsie strawberry frooties. I had two of them, I don't see them that often. there still wasn't many companies there that are in my field. I saw the census bureau, lost count of how many times since Stillwater which prompted me to register with them. I did get the email from them, it arrived when I was at the job fair. I tried to schedule an appointment for finger printing but technical issues were getting in the way. I tried at home as well as at the library. so it means trying the number I was given. I am thankful to have an alternate plan available. I filed more applications with a bank, as well as on indeed. I also called an advisor after I couldn't find them at a job fair. they told me I was being too hard on myself. but I was also given some pointers for an interview with the state next week. I was told that they hardly ever tell people why not hired, after I found an email in response to my asking for feedback from an interview for the same role in January. I also made plenty of calls to follow up with staffing agencies I had registered with. I was unable to get ahold of most of them. one of them had submitted me for a role, but told me I wasn't picked. I hear this all the time. one of my applications required me to record some video responses, hadn't done this before. but I found out there was a webcam available, so I said I grew as a person by getting it done.
   when I arrived at the performance venue in the evening, it was a little unnerving to see some of the city's finest there. sounds like they were investigating an assault that had happened there. but it didn't affect our show. the fancy comic was in the lineup. I was hearing plenty of laughs from the crow. one of them was something I hadn't planned on doing, it was belching into the microphone during my set. the show runner said this was the first time she had seen it at this show.

pulling a weed

a notable thing about the day was being at the library and pulling a weed. nothing unusual there, except I saw it while in my car as I was leaving. so I put my car on park, and then opened the door so I could pull the weed more effectively. the first attempt wasn't far enough down. also notable about being at the library was getting a call from the census bureau. I decided to go to a more call-friendly part of the building, the entryway. I did a short phone interview there, and accepted an offer. I was told to expect an email soon about it, including a finger printing session. I had been to a job fair, in Woodbury, earlier in the day, and saw the census bureau there. I wasn't expecting them to call this early, I had been told at another job fair that it would be months from now. there weren't many companies in my field at this job fair. one of them was a ski resort. I filed some more applications on indeed, after the job fair.
   I enjoyed performing, as usual, in the evening. near the end of the night I noticed how some of the city's finest were just outside of the venue, two vehicles. but they never went inside, and after a few minutes they were gone. it was nice to see the trumpet player, first time in a while. when I first saw him he was doing a rap and I said 'get him a microphone'. near the end of the night there was a delay in a performer's set, technical difficulties finding the right sing apparently. I got a bottle of lime soda instead of pineapple as it was already cold. I noticed how some were paying attention when I spoke of rhode island, it eventually led to mention of my visit to boston.

two libraries

i went to two libraries. it wasn't my original plan, but after checking the database of movies I realized I needed to. now it means finding the time to watch it, but of course I have a week when it is on loan from the library. I had an idea about wanting to find road movies, and much like with thrillers I was able to get some more ideas online. since there are lists dedicated to these specific subjects and genres. it is still about the 'path of least resistance' as I have run into a high demand for one of the versions of 'star is born' and I don't want to buy it on amazon when renting it is a better game plan. I have registered for some job fairs that are later in the week.
    I performed in the evening, and I was getting annoyed with people multiple times. first it was somebody that I had met for the first time, probably a new performer, telling me how to live my life. and that is the cardinal sin to me, since I don't tell anyone how to live theirs. the other was after the show, and much like before the mad hatter was witness to it. I was dealing with somebody who kept 'riffing' off what I or others were saying, and I finally told him off. he said he is used to hearing it, so it is somebody who is aware but that doesn't excuse them at all. it is hard for me to hide when I get annoyed with others. my set went fine, the show runner told a story about billboards after hearing one of my stories being about billboards.

bad times at the el royale movie

I looked through a package I had ordered in June with movie souvenirs in it, and decided to check redbox to see if any of those three movies were now available there. all of them were, and I decided to watch 'bad times at the el royale' first. it was at a box farther away than the others, might have been out longer. the souvenir about it, a keychain, said 'October 12' as the premiere at theaters. I did not know many of the actors in it, just jeff bridges. I am not sure what genre it belongs in, definitely not a comedy. more like a thriller. there was a vacuum cleaner salesman, priest, singer, and kidnapper all staying at the same hotel on the California-Nevada line. apparently this was the reno-lake Tahoe area. it is a 'period piece', there was a clip of a president Nixon speech about the Vietnam war. nothing was as it seemed to be for each of the characters in it, not even the hotel desk clerk, as a 'back story' was given. the hotel looked cool, with a jukebox like nothing I had seen before. it sure was a weird movie to say the least. the body count was high, not many were left at the end.
    I attended a greek festival at a church in st. paul in the early afternoon, parking about a block away near the governor's mansion. but I didn't stay for long. I evoked one of those yogi berra quotes to describe what I was seeing: 'nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded'. I had a sample of some pork chops I think, the stand was selling seasoning. the lines were long at all the other tents, and I wanted to get some lunch in so I left. I had a sandwich at a jimmy john's instead.
   another notable thing about the day was placing another amazon order, I think for the first time since june. it was for another charlie brown DVD. I have been chipping away at the list of 45 TV specials, and have well over half of them. most are now on DVD, but not all. but I have been unwilling so far to get more videos on VHS since I don't use my VHS player much now. the one I ordered has 'short summer' on it,  and much like some of the other TV specials I have it in book form. while searching on amazon I discovered more ideas for charlie brown books to order, such as those produced at the time of an anniversary of the comic strip. there is also another edition of the series of encyclopedias that I don't have yet. I wanted to pace myself I guess. I liked using some gift card money from enterprise rent-a-car surveys and I still have some left.

american empire lecture

I went to ft. snelling in the afternoon and listened to a lecture about America as an empire. it was from a visiting college professor that did a book signing at the end of the event. it did cover some things that weren't in the history books I had read. I wrote down four of them. one, how plans were at one point to have a much larger set-aside for native americans than just Oklahoma. two, how there were patriotic songs with 'columbia' in the name that I had never heard of. patriotic songs with 'america' mentioned weren't until the 20th century. three, a quote from the governor of the Philippines saying the land was being ignored by the US government in world war two. four, how the british started 'empire day' and America's answer to it was 'flag day'. both started during world war one. as the saying goes, 'as we seek so shall we find'. so I am proud of the opportunities to continue my independent study of history as my time at the u. of iowa gave me a life-long love of learning. before it I went to a job fair, and I am told I should hear something real soon, such as Monday, about interviews for available roles.
    I got some things ordered this evening. this included a st. paul saints baseball ticket for a week from now, and another amazon order for a charlie brown special on DVD. earlier in the day, I got an advance ticket for the state fair at a cub foods location. this evening I did some karaoke. I sang 'walk of life' by dire straits. a man was next to me at the bar, said he was new to the area, didn't ask him where he was from. he spoke of 'wis-dells', it was like 'oh, you mean Wisconsin dells'.

a half potato

the last item from the 'free food event last week' that I have is the potato. so after doing karaoke tonight I decided to cut it in half and eat chunks of it, dipping it into mustard. I don't mind eating it raw, I think I did this at times when I was young. the other half was put away for later, but I will likely want to eat it soon.
    there was some activity on the job front. I was called just before midday about an interview with the state government, but it won't be for more than a week from now. it was as I was on my way to my car to get some items at a Walgreen. so I decided to go back inside where I could more easily write things down about it. the other notable event was hearing from a fellow alum on LinkedIn. he said he has a friend that works at a credit union. I said I had hit a snag while applying there, the site wasn't accepting my resume. but when I was advised to apply for something, I tried again and was able to upload it farther down. sometimes one must make an 'end run' around technical issues.
   I made it to the library to print some things, including the invite to a job fair the next day. later in the evening I did some karaoke. I sang 'there she goes' by sixpence none the richer. I got a little sidetracked after getting my beer at the bar, as somebody recognized me from performing. I had to say I still am performing, as he kept referring to seeing me at venues that are now closed.

hugging a pole

I was double-booked tonight with performing. the lid-lifter was a contest at a micro-brewery. it was a challenge to get there due to construction but I found my way there before the show began. I ended up parking under a bridge as I didn't know where else was available nearby. I did not advance but I was just thankful for the stage time. I even said to the show runner, happy meal. Arizona Chicago was the show closer, I hadn't seen her perform much lately so it was a real treat. when she was paying for one of her drinks after the show ended she ended up with more than her change. the other item was a reference to one of her jokes. it was crowded at this venue so I ended up hugging a pole during her set as I didn't know where else to stand and stay out of somebody's way. the other one was the customary visit to the karaoke bar. I did one song, 'this is the time' by billy joel.
   I had planned on attending two job fairs but it was not to be. found out the first one was misleading on the flyer, as it was about healthcare and that is not my field. I still spoke with an official at this office, for much longer than expected. it is hard to say where it will lead at this point, since it ran long I did not attend the second job fair, knowing I needed the time to get there on the light rail. and I had a phone interview lined up at midday so it meant wanting to be back in time for it. hard to say where the interview will lead as the interviewer did not seem to be that serious or professional with me. she sounded fairly young, like just out of college. I said the main thing I knew about the company was about my ex working there, as far as I knew. don't know if this makes a difference at all. I also heard about a job fair that will be this weekend. I don't think I have much scheduled for Friday. I did contact two people I know on LinkedIn and spoke of a recent interview with a bank. I am hopeful that they will act as a reference for me and give me a leg up in the process. yet another notable thing was driving past a billboard that spoke of a hotline for jobs with the state government. I called it and it sounds like they may be of some help. I did one thing that many do now. if it is hard to write it down, then take a picture of it. I parked my car first and then walked over to it. then after I got home I did what is fairly common now while waiting for the phone to ring- I laid down and fell asleep for a while. although nobody called in the afternoon. I made some follow- up calls though. one of them was to confirm that my resume was received. it was a little annoying that I sent it to the agency in late july when they requested it and today they claim they can't find it. I hear this only after a day of waiting to hear about a job I was told I had been submitted for. except I wasn't if the resume was 'lost'. the second time I made sure to copy people on the response.

florence and the machine

this week I liked the sound of a song on the jukebox at a venue I was performing at. I wrote it down so I could look it up later on. it was 'sky full of song' by Florence and the machine. it sounded like a band that was new to me, but I found out it probably wasn't. I recognized one song title, when checking Wikipedia, it was 'dog days are over'. I had heard that one before. they are a british indie rock band, and I do like indie or alternative music quite a bit.  
   I had the interview with a bank this morning, felt good about it but still must wait more than a week to hear the results. I also signed up for a hiring event in the afternoon, but when I met with the people onsite they told me it was for sales so I had to pass.
    I had two calls from family, this is not typical, at least in the same day. one was this morning and from my sister, saying she couldn't find my dad and said I hadn't heard from him. something about a relative in the hospital. the call in the afternoon was from the one in the hospital, a niece. I am aware of how I don't speak about family much, and for those who know me well enough, they know I have my reasons. she is still in high school, and I asked how she is doing in school. I was pleased to hear how she has interests in the arts, although I didn't talk at all about my being in the arts. I said that it is best to do what you love doing, and that is one of those things along with working with kids. I liked how we found things to talk about even though we didn't know each other all that well. and of course I liked that somebody cared enough to keep me in the loop about it. she said she recalled seeing me at a family wedding in Wisconsin 4 years ago, my cousin's. so the next step might be to connect on facebook, as I am interested in hearing about her pursuit of her interests.
   it was nice to go perform tonight, not just my own stage time but also seeing some 'ring of honor' members that I don't see too often. this included the crow, the Wisconsin girl, and conga line. the last of those three was the show closer, and she had a song about the upcoming state fair. the crow spoke about being on the road, making all the way out to the west coast and performing at stops along the way. Wisconsin girl showed pictures of state fair food she wants to eat, they were on her phone. some of my mannerisms and voice inflections seemed to get more laughs than my jokes did. but I am aware of how this can happen. 

youth has no age

I saw some art on a building in downtown st. paul after I was done performing tonight. it said 'youth has no age', a quote attributed to Picasso, the painter. so I got a photo of it and the other ones next to it. another one said 'we all smile in the same language'. before the show I found another snoopy statue, inside a building. so it meant shooting through the glass. so it means finding out if I can get into the building at some point to get a better picture. I liked being show closer tonight, and I still have the running joke with the show runner about responsibility.
  there was some movement on the job front, but still no offers yet. I got called or emailed about more interviews, one will be Wednesday morning and the other on Thursday. the former is in person and the latter is a phone interview. I was pleased to get called so quickly for the in-person interview as I had just done the phone interview on Monday. there was also the flurry of applications I filed on indeed, and taking out the ones saying 'expired' by archiving them.
   I went back to the library as I wanted to print the interview invite. so I also made sure to watch the movie I had on loan so I could return it in the same trip. it was the first version of 'star is born', from the 1930s. I noticed how much of the script seemed to be verbatim compared to the 1950s version I had just seen in the past week. the main difference being is that the oldest version has her being a farmgirl and having to move to Hollywood, and having a grandma as part of the story. at this point it leaves the two newest versions to see. there are DVD copies of the 1970s version at the library, but they were all checked out. so it means waiting it out. I saw last year's version at theaters, but might want to see it again to do a full comparison of the four.

I don't mosey

when I went to perform tonight, the show runner introduced me and spoke in that texas or southern accent. I said 'i don't mosey' when he used that term. I tend to walk with a purpose. I was near the end of the lineup. mad hatter wrestler was there but did not perform onstage. only after the show ended did he start playing a piano. before I departed there, of course I did my usual making of rounds. I was a little annoyed with one of them and didn't hold back with my contempt- by giving an obscene arm gesture. I recall it being in the movie 'major league'. I found out, according to online research, it appears to be called 'the Italian salute'. another comic got this same gesture a while back. I am amazed that what can be found online. I just needed a few key words, same as anything else, and it was there.
    there was two interviews today. one was in person in the morning. the other was a phone interview, in the afternoon. I would like to think I have a good chance with both, but the former doesn't start until after labor day. there were a few other emails expressing interest, and I still need to respond to one of them that arrived late in the day.

unimpressed person

this was the final day of the Minnesota fringe festival, attended 3 more shows, bringing the final total to 9. at the final one I attended the performer did some audience participation and when she got to me she referred to me as the 'unimpressed person'. no, I think of myself as having the 'wait and see' attitude about shows I attend, especially when it is improv. this show was called 'the kid', the embodiment of a 1980s rock star. I would have liked hearing more music, more singing. I also saw a panelist show that I think is a podcast. it was my 'lead-off' show of the three today. one subject they covered was a fringe show that was pulled due to inappropriate (and probably unlawful) behavior by the performer. the second show was a spoof of the TV show 'the office', and much like the podcast I knew somebody in the show. the TV spoof was getting good crowds and it meant going to sit in the upper level, but at least I got in.
   at the end of my day at fringe, I took the light rail home. some of the other passengers were coming back from the twins baseball game. when I got home I decided to get some of the souvenirs from the fringe festival into sheet protectors and into a binder. as usual, plenty of postcards with good art on them advertising shows in the festival. it was the evening by then, and I wanted to watch 'the simpsons' but it wasn't on so I switched over to some 'big bang theory' reruns. I was kind of watching them while I was busy, but I think I was paying attention fairly well to those 4 episodes. one was about raj trying to date a janitor, another was about 'fun with flags' that were combined or shared. it was a metaphor for the relationship between Sheldon and amy.
   I had run out of sheet protectors so late in the evening, after the news,  I went to Walgreen and got some more. I picked up a few other things I needed while there, including some little donuts for breakfast in the morning. of course I also got the dishes done.

ushering extended

i had my fourth and final shift of the Minnesota fringe festival today. it was meant to be just two shows, but it sounded like there was no usher at the venue after the end of my scheduled shift. so I stayed on for another show, and got another free ticket. there was 30 at the first show, 40 at the second, and 65 at the third. it rained some during this time, and buckets were put out to catch the leaks. the third show was considered to be 'sold out' although 3 tokens remained. I got a button from this show even though I was on duty and couldn't go see it. there is a picture of phil Hoffman, the actor, on it, advertising the theater company. part of the show's name was the actor's name. my day at fringe started with attending a show, it was a belly dancing version of 'wizard of oz'. there was no dialogue in it but I knew the story well enough that none was needed. I wiped away a tear when the wizard gave out 'awards' so this show moved me and that isn't easy to do. then I went to have a late lunch, going to a nearby speedway and had some pizza. then I had a vanilla ice cream cone across the street at the mcdonald's. the rest of the time was filled in by looking around at a book shop. I didn't buy any books as I already have plenty, and I recognized a few that I already had.
   after I was done with fringe for the day, I went to go eat the evening meal. I went to a popeye's chicken place. then it was home, as I was tired and wanted to check email and the fringe schedule. I think I have a show that would fill the third free ticket for the final day, sunday. there was mention of volunteer appreciation day at fringe central. I went to it last year, but not this year. although there was mention of karaoke. I still did some karaoke, at my normal place for this day of the week. it was 'desire' by U2. I was thinking of this band after a feature on the news about the josh tree park in California, and of course one of the band's albums is named after this park. although the song is not on that album, it was earlier. most of the TV monitors had the replay of the twins baseball game on, but one of them had something else- the movie 'flashdance'. I stayed at the bar until the movie ended, although I couldn't hear it at the bar there still was closed captioning.

a star is born movie, judy garland

i watched a DVD copy of 'a star is born', the one from 1954 starring judy garland. it was due back at the library today, so it was time to watch it. I had waited because it was long, nearly 3 hours. although I could tell some scenes were added back in, not seeing actual actors but still photos. of course seeing last year's movie version starring brad cooper and lady gaga spurred more interest into the earlier versions. much of the story was similar in these two, except this one from the 50's was more about acting than singing. I liked the passion in some scenes, and this included hearing judy's voice which reminded me of her role in 'wizard of oz'. I didn't watch much of the special features, just the theatrical trailers from all three versions up to that point. when I returned it to the library, I decided to check the database to see if other versions were available. I lucked out and found the first one, from the 1930s. it is shorter, so I would like to think that I won't take the entire week to watch it.
    not much happened on the job front. I did get a callback from a network contact, while I was watching the movie, so I paused it. this led to me signing up for the job fair at an office I hadn't seen yet, which will be next week. I aired plenty of my frustration about job searching. after returning the movie to the library and printing some things, I went to a Walgreen for what is now my weekly order. then shortly thereafter it was on the road again, to get on the light rail to the fringe festival. no shifts of ushering today, but there were two shows I wanted to attend this evening. one was about a high school girl struggling to make friends, the other was social commentary with a historical figure as a backdrop. I reviewed both, gave a higher rating to the former. the latter couldn't decide between being a historical piece or social commentary. I liked some of the jokes but others just 'didn't land' with me. I saw whopper at the latter one, along with his co-star, the david spade look-alike. another one I had recognized was the moderator from the nerd podcast show from the previous weekend. I saw yemen native outside of a comedy venue when I was headed to a gas station to get a little godfather's pizza. after that it was back home on the light rail. then eventually it was on to do karaoke, and I sang 'life is a highway' by tom Cochrane.

gogo squeez

i went to a block party tonight put on by a health clinic and I ended up with a pouch of apple sauce, from 'gogo squeez'. it tasted fine, actually it says it is apple strawberry and fruit on the go. the green cap looks like a wing nut. I saw the Minnesota department of revenue there, and spoke about the hard luck I have had on getting a job, including but not limited to with their organization. when I got home, it motivated me to apply again. I found out I hadn't filed applications with the state in 6 months, and I filed 13 of them.
   it was an up and down day on the job front. but still no offers, in the end that is the standard. I attended two job fairs, and it was odd related to the delays on getting to the first one. I was about to leave in my car and I get called by an agency. then, much closer to the job fair site, I made a wrong turn and ended up at a dead end due to a construction site. and that is where I got the second call, from the same agency. so it might have paid off on making numerous calls from the stack of business cards I have. although with the first one, it was call center. and even after agreeing to an interview, I get a follow-up email and was told the position was recently filled. the first job fair was a small one, and one of the organizations was the census bureau, already applied there. but I saw the one that had asked about me, and she told me about being out of work for a while as well, and having to keep taking pay cuts to get back to work. although this isn't comforting at all, it is the sad reality of the job market. the claims are to be record-low unemployment, but for who? when I can't get a job even if my life depended on it? the second job fair I arrived at during its final hour. one rep I spoke with wasn't with the job fair, but gave me a referral to another workforce center office, that I haven't been to yet. when I called I got the voicemail. I did a brief phone screen shortly after getting out of the job fair, responding to a voicemail. when I got home I found out the medical scribe company rejected me. wow, I am a writer, and yet, not good enough to be a scribe. sad that they don't see what my abilities are. the waiting is always tough. I did get two emails inviting me to interviews, that will be held on Monday. both are banks that I have filed countless applications with. I am reminded of advice from a senior leader at my former job, to try credit unions. when I was out and about I drove past one of them, less than two miles from my home. so this has to go onto my 'to-do list' for Friday as to where I need to file applications with. I have no choice but to apply directly to some companies, even though it seems easier to apply on indeed. I hardly ever get interviews from indeed applications, so it seems like a waste of time to apply there. but I hate having to set up a new profile with each place I apply to, and try to remember each user i.d. and password as well. looking at what I have written already, it shouldn't surprise me at all how frustrated I am. I try to keep it to myself, but it is too hard to do.
   I sang some karaoke in the evening, and this is one of those times when I really needed it. I sang 'viva la vida' by Coldplay, and I liked how when I was in the back playing ladder-golf there was somebody that said they liked hearing it. I feel better onstage than at the bar, where I spend too much time thinking. it was also nice to see the harmonica guy perform.

smiling, flexing pineapple

i was at a job interview where I saw a smiling, flexing pineapple on the dry erase board. kind of nice, it brightened my mood. it was in a library conference room. i had asked in the email if there was something earlier than next week, and thankfully there was. hopefully the typing speed thing is not a big deal, I was a little caught off-guard about that one. otherwise I liked how it was nothing like most other interviews I was a part of. I was one of 8 there, and 2 interviewers. after looking at all of the prep forms in my organizer, I said 'Me!' when one of them arrived back as I knew I was ready. I liked seeing some of the art on the wall there, got some pictures of it after the interview was done. it was about Minnesota history and there was quotes from various famous people.
   I went to the dollar store to get a can of spaghetti around midday and I was pleased to see an event near my home. it was food distribution, so I got a number and ended up with a potato, a bag of apples, and some bread. I could have had even more vegetables such as a head of lettuce but said what I had was fine. a flyer spoke of some other places where this event takes place in the city, it is near my home once a month.
   I performed this evening, and my initial bit was inspired by another comic talking about being called for jury service. there was a fill-in show runner, that I didn't know too well, but we hugged after the show was over. the typical show runner was there, arriving after the show started, but she said she wouldn't be performing at all.

pennant at job fair

I went to a job fair and I got a pennant from an airline. I mostly have them for sports teams. the census bureau was there again, so I didn't say much to them. I sent off another flurry of applications on indeed. I got a call from a bank, but found out the position was in Mankato so I had to turn them down. sometimes when I apply, it was a mistake as I didn't check the location close enough. usually narrowing it down to Minnesota does just fine. and as usual, when I didn't know what else to do, I just decided to lay down in the late afternoon and fell asleep for a while. I ran the paper shredder in the morning, but had to stop when the red light came on. it was a warning for overheating. I hadn't run it in a while, and the bucket was full by then. there isn't much left now so I liked how well I knocked it down.
   I performed in the evening, and I don't recall putting my name in the sign-up list but the show runner knows me so not a big deal. looking back, I realized I made a reference to two Christmas shows, odd to do when it is still august. one was a simpsons episode, the other was Rudolph. I spoke about the island of misfit toys. the techie told a story about the cook getting to meet santana, the musician, when he was in town doing a show at the nearby xcel center. I also noticed how one crowd member was wearing multiple things saying he was single, or available.

beat the postcard home

I flew back from st. louis just over a week ago, and the postcard i sent just arrived today. it does remind me of what my dad liked to say about vacations, how we would 'beat the postcard home'. i like having it as it is a compact reminder of my annual visits there. since postcards are small and one must choose carefully as to what is said on it. i've found out that it works well to bring a stamped card with me so i don't have to hunt around for either item while i am in town. i chose the image of a fourth of july fireworks show, likely on the riverfront. other notables arriving in the mail today were another completed background check for employment, two items from my car insurance company, and a catalog from the hawk shop- the university of iowa.
  not much was done on the job front today. I went to a job fair in north st. paul, but it had some of the same companies as the one in stillwater last week. and i think there were fewer companies as well. i saw an email from a medical scribe company i had applied to, so i responded to it. there was also something from an agency, but i saw it near the end of the workday so the rep was not available. i will hope to hear more soon about it. besides the job fair, i also decided to get the property tax refund forms ready and mailed. so it meant some more time away from home. while i am working i am aware of how i tend to check my email less often. i wanted to get caught up on things i didn't do on sunday, such as some of those online surveys, as well as doing the dishes.
  I performed in the evening, at the once-a-month place. before then i liked covering multiple subjects with brawler. it started with mention of being a part of fringe this weekend, and it will be memorable as i used the word 'glib' since i liked hearing it when gary coleman was a guest star on 'the simpsons'. i did one thing tonight after getting home that i have done before- checking online to see i had used a word correctly, and there were some variations on meanings found. there were some newer comics that liked hearing me talk about the craft of performing, after the show was over. i didn't end up using all of my prepared set as i decided to answer a joke about the space program where the comic did not get their facts straight. as a history major, i have a hard time ignoring it.

taco bell between shows

it was another busy day for me with the fringe festival. I had another shift of ushering, then two more shows to attend. although my role as an usher was diminished as there was a second usher that arrived before me and already had the apron on for collecting tokens. so I handed out programs. I did a check of the seating area but not much was found. the venue was small enough that it could have made it with just one usher. I read some from a coffee table book about the history of the city of Minneapolis. I was also given an ice cream sandwich by a techie. I had asked about what was in the refrigerator, a maytag model. this was the same venue where I had the unified audition in april.
   I didn't want to mill around at the venue after my shift was done, even though the first show of the day that I wanted to attend was at the same venue. so I took a long walk between shows, and since it was dinner time I decided to eat at a taco bell. it was northeast Minneapolis and I walked under a bridge for 35W to get there, I liked having a decent view of the skyline from there and it became one of my photos. I made it back about 20 minutes before show time, so still fairly early. I made sure to change my shirt as I was off-duty and didn't want anyone asking me questions. it was the 'nerd rage' podcast, and one of the debaters does a history show I like seeing in march. I found her after the show and said I liked seeing the performance. then it was on to the next show at a different venue. it was a spoof of the movie 'bill and ted'. I did not know any of the actors in it but there was name recognition in who was listed as the director, as well as a writer. it is nice to get the first weekend of the festival out of the way. I know I will be a little less busy on the second weekend. I didn't want to interfere with my own performing schedule so that means four days off from fringe and I will pick it up again on Friday.

paris is burning movie

I saw the movie 'paris is burning' this evening at the lagoon in uptown Minneapolis. it was part of a busy day. as I recall, this movie caused a dust-up when I was at the university of iowa related to their 'sec act' policy. apparently it was shown in a class but nobody was warned about the content. it is about drag queens in new York city. I saw it and nothing was shocking to me at all. it is about real people and real life, and I like watching documentaries as I want to understand things better. it had nothing to do with the city of paris and there was just one clue as to how the movie got its name, as I recall it was the name of a fashion show. as I was leaving I had somebody tell me that they lived in Harlem during the time of the 'vogue' movement that was being documented in the movie. I noticed how some of these fashion shows were happening on what looked like a basketball floor that said 'elks', wondering the meaning of it. I have heard of the elks lodge.
    the day started early by going to the pancake breakfast at Canadian days in little Canada. it was no problem finding parking this early. I liked getting in line for pancakes early as the line moved quick. I had nearly finished them by the time the bagpipe band started playing, and then I got up to get a better view and some pictures of them. I liked how they had a dancer this time, some years they didn't have one. after their performance I got a good look at the car show. I saw some rare cars such as a british ford car.
   I had another shift of ushering that started around midday, and due to it I decided to change my schedule of seeing shows for the day. I saw a performer that was in line and found out he wasn't doing every performance of a show at another venue. so I took the light rail back to the park and ride after my shift and then was at home for a little while. I saw one show  in the early evening, a one-man show about the family oh john wilkes booth, the actor-assassin of Lincoln. after the movie I went home again, but after a little while it was on to sing karaoke. I did 'broken hearted me' by anne murray. I recall hearing it on an episode of 'cold case'. I was wiped out by the time I got home after doing karaoke. no surprise at all with all I had done for the day.

dog drinking from paper tray

went to Canadian days in little Canada this evening for the corn on the cob feed. there was somebody with a dog that was drinking from a paper tray, probably meant for fries. I was invited to pet the dog, it was mixed breed. four, I recall three- corgi, husky, Labrador. I spoke with the couple for a little while, but had to go to the Minnesota fringe festival to work my first volunteer shift as an usher. it was two shows, and I found cards at the venue at the U of M for four of the seven shows I wanted to see. I had to check when I got home, looks like one of them I wanted to see dropped out. so it means finding a show to 'replace' it in my lineup. it should be no problem whatsoever, when there are over a hundred shows to choose from and some with a historical content as well. I haven't attended any yet, makes it easier on using the tickets of course. I collected the tokens, it was 43 at the first show and 25 at the second. after I was off-duty I went to sing karaoke, it was 'my church' by maren morris.
   not much to report on the job front, applied to some jobs with a company I spoke with at the job fair the previous day. there was a phone interview in the morning as well, with an agency. then in the afternoon it was to the library to work on property tax forms as it is due soon.

ennui is french

I went to do karaoke tonight, and after I did 2 songs I went into the back area to do ladder golf. I heard people at a table discuss the word 'ennui' saying they didn't understand how the spelling doesn't match up with the pronunciation. finally I heard somebody say 'it's French' and I said 'thank you'. I knew it all along. I spoke of taking 4 years of french in high school. but that wasn't necessarily where I learned the word. it is used in english to refer to 'boredom'. I know Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan spoke of growing up in 'suburban ennui' as he was from suburban Chicago. it was nice finding the word online, as it said it was a 'loan word' from french. sometimes the term is that the word is 'borrowed', close enough. it also said the meaning is close to 'annoy', another word absorbed from the french language. before this i spoke with somebody for a little while after my second song, saying he liked the selection. although he kept getting it wrong as to what band member of the pumpkins died, it wasn't the drummer, but the tour keyboardist. the 2 songs i did were 'come undone' by duran duran, and 'disarm' by smashing pumpkins. so there you go about the discussion i had. it was nice to hear some clapping after it, as this meant many were paying attention and enjoying it.
   before this I went to an event related to Canadian days in little canada, their annual festival. there was ice cream available from culver's, so i got a root beer float. there was a 'kid friendly' rock band performing at the band shell. the festival will get started in earnest on friday.
   I started the morning with calling selective service to get my registration number, then i was able to complete the application with the census bureau. i also wanted to get to a workforce center to see who could help with tweaking my resume, and i went to the one in woodbury per the advice from the stillwater job fair from the previous day. after this i briefly was home to get ready for a job fair, and it was near mall of america and the airport. i spoke with all of the companies represented, and some of them sound promising. one of them said it required a 3-year commitment, and as long as the pay is good i am not going to have any heartburn about it. after i got home there was some follow-up calls in relation to some recent interviews. but eventually i didn't know what to do, and laid down. falling asleep is one way to handle waiting for a call for interviews.