back to back repairmen

it was a weird day. there was a repairman for the printer, and he left around the time the one for the envelope stuffer arrived. the former said it was all he could do since a part needed to be ordered. for the latter it was nice that it was running again in just under an hour. so it didn't take long to eliminate the backlog. although i stayed a little late to see the UPS labels were done. there was also a delivery of 25 boxes of envelopes, not sure who placed that order. 

  in the evening i picked up a redbox movie to watch this weekend, then it was on to the hy-vee in eagan. but i put it on my list that i still would like to get plastic spoons for lunch at work. then after having the string cheese from the grocery store visit i went on a walk and found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny visited a therapist, also the friends spoke of who they missed. it was followed by the friends getting a time machine. 

ketchup packets, wendy's

for the second straight day, i saw some ketchup packets from wendy's in the parking lot when i was leaving to go to my car. it was a reminder of how i haven't been to a fast food place in a while as i know most places are only offering drive-up service.

  it was a crazy day at work, my boss arrived and a machine went down right before then so i called for repairs. then a trainer was summoned as it meant having to hand-stuff the envelopes. it might mean seeing two repairmen on friday, for the envelope stuffer and the big printer. still wondering what i learned from the day, there had to be something. i was no doubt thankful when the day ended. 

   in the evening i did a virtual open-mic and there was a performer besides me and the moderator, somebody from atlanta who was wearing a braves hat. i went on a walk after it and picked up 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the star wars movie premiered, and sheldon spent the night with amy on her birthday. it was followed by the one about the quiz bowl, where sheldon tried to win all by himself. 

 

fire extinguisher inspection

the doorbell doesn't ring that often at work, but it did and a lady from the branch said somebody was here to inspect the fire extinguishers. i had a big check file to print, so no problem on being there for a while while he got a look at it somewhere else. i think it was about an hour, didn't pay close attention to the elapsed time. i said i wasn't quite sure where it even was, but it was on the wall near the door. i wanted to get the entry started early as all too often i am laying down and falling asleep, and it was getting harder to get it in on the same day, depending on when i woke up.
   in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 44 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy get back together, with help from a beach boys song, 'darling'. it was followed by the one where sheldon said a rival was weak, a refugee from north korea. 

message center, monster

i decided to respond to a message on monster because there was another email saying i hadn't. i went to the monster site and there were about 10 messages, some going back to february. most were from staffing agencies, and of course it is a moot point now when i am back at work with a direct-hire role. i had to ask them what kind of role they were hiring for, it is in the insurance industry. but my guess is it is in sales, and sales is not for me.
   in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 21 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were a thanksgiving episode, where some of the friends helped out at soup kitchen. sheldon and amy do an event as friends. it was followed by the one where sheldon gets sick and the other 3 dudes try to attend a marathon of 'planet of the apes' movies.
  at work i was asked to print a test check, but when i sent a copy of it there was no response to it. there was a call-in meeting in the afternoon, but for most of the hour i just listened to it and still did my normal duties. there was mention of new hires near the end, and i was one of them. so i made sure to print that page from the presentation.
  before I went on a walk in the evening, I watched some of what was on ABC. there was an hourlong program in memory of TV personality Regis Philbin, who I know best as a game show host, for 'Who wants to be a millionaire'. the next program was about the history of covid-19, and midway through it I got up and went on the walk. odd to see a history of the virus when the pandemic is still happening. but i am aware of how current events eventually have a way of reaching the history books.

the history forum

i found a subject in the history forum of great interest to me, baseball. so i said there was a book i have about the way baseball influenced american society. it is called 'brushing back jim crow' by bruce adelson. it is about integrating minor-league baseball. i found it when searching online after seeing mention in another book about the team in new orleans leaving town due to a fan boycott in the 1950s. proof of how long ago i bought it is that it was bought through borders, which is no longer in business.
   this evening i went on a walk and picked up 31 cents, including 16 pennies. at work they kept asking me to print copies of checks as the I.T. rep wanted to see how many are looking 'slanted'. at lunch there was a lady in the breakroom that was talking baseball, so this was of interest to me. so it meant i returned the movie to the video store at the end of the workday instead of at the end of my lunchtime. not a big deal to me. 'big bang theory' reruns were about amy's date and her friends decide to spy on her, followed by a lie to penny that led to a fake drug intervention.

flintstones movie

around midday i watched a DVD movie from the video store, 'flintstones'. i recognized many of the main actors in it- john goodman, rick moranis, elizabeth perkins, rosie o'donnell, halle berry, and elizabeth taylor. it was fun to see a live-action version of this story, and in the special features there was even a comparison on the opening segments. much of what is seen in it is familiar to those who have seen the animated TV show. goodman does well as fred flintstone, and the music group b-52's (for the movie the bc-52's) are in it. from the opening and closing credits, i noticed that two show-business powerhouses were a part of it- spielberg's amblin entertainment, as well as jim henson's 'factory' or 'shop' as well. even jay leno has a cameo in this movie, so much to be found in it to like.
   i went on a walk in the late afternoon and found 36 cents. before watching the movie i did some more cleanup around my home and got the fortunes from fortune cookies onto a page and most are now in a sheet protector in a binder. i noticed that two were duplicates, so those two were put in the trash. in the evening I attended a baseball game in a high school tournament at the saints stadium. eagan beat burnsville 2-0. first score was on a solo home run in the bottom of the 3rd, and eagan got the other run in the 4th with 'little ball'. there was no 7th inning stretch because it was just a 7-inning game. souvenir shop was closed, no roster cards, but i really liked being back at a game. it would be nice to attend another game in this tournament, such as the championship round next weekend.

gary sinise foundation

i have been passing by a construction site during my walks and noticed one machine had a logo on it for the gary sinise foundation. i am aware that it is named for the actor who played lt. dan in the movie 'forrest gump'. i decided to look it up online and watched the video given there, about 6 minutes long. it shows the actor doing photo ops and serving food to people. there is also mention of the 'lt. dan band' and the steppenwolf theater in chicago, of which he is a founder. its mission statement that is given on the front page of the website is 'we serve our nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need. it was created in 2011. i found out that this actor was also a grand marshal for the rose bowl parade, in 2018. i know him for more than just the 'gump' role, also for playing president harry truman and alabama governor george wallace. there is a display at union station in st. louis, now a mall, where he signed a newspaper, it was the famous headline 'dewey defeats truman'.
   i was wondering for a while what was going up there, on the site of a former gas station. but now it appears to be a food outlet, as i am seeing a drive-up window. still no sign up saying 'coming soon', so it remains to be seen what kind of food outlet. burgers, chicken, tacos? although there is a taco place and a burger place nearby. during this walk i picked up 36 cents.
   i knew well enough to get errand running done early, as i was unsure when i would be called into the office to do some overtime. so i returned the redbox movie to a holiday gas station, and picked up e-bay orders from the post office. also went to a fedex office and printed out various sports schedules and press releases, some of them related to the virus changing plans on that season. some went as far back as march. most recent was about the toronto blue jays finding a temporary home in buffalo, new york, where they have a minor league affiliate, triple-A level. some of these were put into sheet protectors in the binder right away. i also watched some baseball on TV, fox had a triple-header as the major league baseball season has finally begun. i just watched parts of each game. it was brewers-cubs, giants-dodgers, and yankees-nationals. i was called from work during the first one, about 1:30 in the afternoon, then i started my drive into the office. i logged nearly 2 hours of overtime, including the time to drive there, all to print just one test check. then when i was done i picked up a snack at the nearby walgreen, some pineapple juice and a meat/cheese stick, and drove home. on the local news after the baseball games there was a segment about a new ice cream place in new ulm, a place i like to visit for oktoberfest. i checked the website and the festival hasn't been canceled yet. although their county fair has, which i have attended only once before. but no surprise there when the state fair has been called off for the year.

escape plan, extractors, movie

i watched a redbox rental DVD movie tonight, 'escape plan, extractors'. i recognized sylvester stallone in it, and curtis jackson, aka the rapper known as '50 cent'. although the latter has a small role in it. i knew this is the third movie in the series, and arnold schwarzenegger is in the first one. it appears that the first two are available on demand through redbox, but not in disc format. the movie is about trying to free people from a prison in eastern europe that have been kidnapped. there is a body count, and plenty of blood spills. this is also a vehicle for martial arts. it was all right, i kind of expected the good guys to prevail in the end, but it is still 'the thrill of the chase' that interests me, how they get there. the movie is filmed in mansfield, ohio, and in one scene there is mention of being in a former westinghouse appliance factory. also about how many presidents, and astronauts, are from ohio. they speak a lot about the bad guy being the son of stallone's ex-partner, but this does not mean police, actually they mean business partner. this movie likely would have made more sense had i seen the two before it. i did see previews of both on this disc though, so i have an idea of what the other two are about.
   i found the movie at the walmart in eagan, no big deal to go there, as i didn't have to go that far inside the store to find the redbox kiosks. then it was on my way to the hy-vee for a weekly order of groceries. i found 3 more cans of fruit near my home outside, so i claimed those as well. it means no need to get bananas at the grocery store until the canned fruit is used up. and there is now 8 cans of it if you count the cranberry sauce. i moved up watching the movie as i expect to do overtime on saturday. when i got home i went on a walk and picked up 27 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon was interviewed for a documentary by leonard nimoy's son, adam. it was followed by one about sheldon and leonard fighting at the presentation of their paper. the episode ends with seeing chinese versions of the two friends watching the video online.
   at work things flowed well, though i still stayed a little past my normal leave time to see that i was satisfied about how far i was caught up on things. i made the weekly visit to the bank branch inside the same building to deposit refund checks. there was mention of making another visit, as a client demanded a deposit right away and not next week as month end is arriving soon. but i do not have final approval yet to go back to the branch so it means waiting until monday to get it done. i also found the time in the afternoon to call the st. paul saints and switch my ticket for the high school baseball tournament this weekend, due to the expected overtime. i now plan on seeing a game at the saints stadium on sunday evening. i checked the weather report and it seemed to be the most favorable day. and it means moving up some of my chores a little. as i likely won't have the energy to do it after being at the game, since it will be late in the evening when i get back.

cans of corn

more food was found near my home, in a box. it was not only 6 cans of corn that i claimed, but also 2 cans of fruit, 2 cans of applesauce, and 3 boxes of cereal. there was another box that i left behind, it had 4 cans of mixed vegetables, and plenty of perishable items such as almond milk, cheese, flaked potatoes, and dried cranberries. still hard to believe that so much perfectly good food is thrown out. i checked the cereal and i figured it was still good because the box wasn't even opened yet. so after i went inside to leave my lunch bag and leather jacket, i went back for the food. it will all get used eventually, although not in just one week.
   at work there was more test checks to print, in the afternoon, 7 in all. they were all penny checks, a reminder of cities i have visited. and it meant scanning them to the rest of the group once they were printed. i did this in the afternoon when the IT man contacted me, i had just returned from lunch.
   in the evening i did a virtual open-mic and was the only performer besides the moderator, who had her mic off when i started watching. after it was done i went on a walk and found 37 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and leonard had a semantic discussion when doign some illegal business, followed by when raj dealt with his parents trying to arrange a marriage to a dentist. this was also the one where raj asks sheldon why sheldon is telling him about his own culture.

looking for worms

when i made it home after work i saw a man that asked me where to find worms. i said some stores sell them. then i saw him trying to dig for worms. also mentioned was how i seem to see them when it rains. and how they are sometimes known as night crawlers. i just wanted to get inside and didn't want to ask things like what he wanted them for.
   looks like i am doing some overtime this weekend, on saturday. this is what was said at our morning huddle. notable was how my boss's boss sent an I.M. asking me to let somebody into the building just as the huddle was starting, was told they had forgot their badge. at the end of lunch i decided to call the st. paul saints about my ticket order for this weekend, and found out it was no big deal to to change the order for me. i wanted to check the weather report first and i have until friday to change the order. sounds like it is kind of open-ended at this point, about when i go into work that day, so it may be best to just move it back to sunday although saturday evening still might work for the baseball game. aside from that, it was a busy day at work but things flowed well. there was just one hiccup on the printer, and i don't mind having to reprint a check as long as it doesn't happen too often. there was a request to find a check after it was stuffed and placed in a tub, a duplicate of one that was to be overnighted. it didn't take too long to find it, an educated guess about where to look was helpful.
   in the evening i went on a walk and found 3 cents. the oldest penny of the three was the cleanest, go figure. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends took up a fencing class, followed by when penny's friend from back home hooks up with howard.

cardinal potatoes

i was driving home after work and went past a community center that had plenty of boxes of food in the parking lot. i got a good look at it, and went back on foot after dropping off my lunch bag at home. i decided to get a 10-pound bag of Cardinal potatoes. they are russet, and the bag says it was packed for Agri-Pack in Pasco, Washington. there were some other things available, but this was the only thing that really appealed to me. as i recall from the pictures, there was also apples, cucumbers, cabbage, and carrots. some of it looked like it had been out in the sun too long, and this seemed to be most evident with the cabbage. a sign near the bus stop said it was free produce from 2-3:30 pm, so i was kind of lucky that it was still available more than 2 hours after its scheduled ending. i went out for a walk later on and all i saw was empty pallets propped up against a tree, so i am thankful i picked out something when i did. i pulled out a small potato from the bag and washed it off and sliced it up. it tasted good in chunks, dipping it in mustard. hard to say how long the bag will last, but i don't think i want to have one every day.
   on the aforementioned walk in the evening i picked up 40 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon tried to go back to living in 2003, followed by leonard hooking up with leslie after practicing on his cello.
   at work i felt proud of how i met the challenge of seeing some jams on the check printer. of course it meant marking where it happened in order to re-print. i actually went back into a file to know what checks to print as i accidentally shut off the printer when trying to move it back closer to the wall after finding all of the jammed pieces of check stock. not a big deal, just some math was necessary to help with knowing which ones based on sequence. including which ones were already printed due to being stamped as 'overnighted'. one special request late in the day asked if we still had seven checks from march and april, i replied by saying i found three of them. will have to wait for their response as to what is to be done with the ones i found.

all around me, flyleaf

at the virtual open-mic tonight, i liked one song that the flautist played. found out it was 'all around me' by flyleaf. wikipedia said this is a heavy metal band from texas, and this appears to be the band's only song that charted on the top 40. the video starts out with everything in white, then color flows from the ceiling like a river of blood. i like the contrast on colors, seen it in other videos. the hook or chorus is a powerful one. 'i can feel you all around me, thickening the air i'm breathing, holding onto what i'm feeling, savoring this heart that's healing'. also liked 'i'm alive'. this appears to be a love song, based on lyrics such as 'and you whisper you love me, the music makes me sway'.
  with my own set, hard to say what got the most reaction, but likely it was the facial contortion from the moderator when i spoke of my cousin contacting me about the name of a camp. still a thin lineup, but more than the other mic i'm doing.
    at work, things moved well, even found time to take recycle to an upper floor. my boss's boss sent an IM to ask how the files were going, saw it when i returned from lunch.
   i did a walk in the evening before the open-mic and picked up 5 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the 4 friends went to mexico and got stranded there after it caught fire, followed by when sheldon's mom showed up to help him get his job back. the latter is one of my favorite episodes, but my number one is still the one when howard's mom is in the hospital. when bernadette said 'Me?'

arachnophobia movie

i watched a DVD movie this morning from the video store near my workplace, 'arachnophobia'. i recognized jeff daniels in it, as well as john goodman. the latter was why i rented it, although goodman does not have much of a presence until the second half of the movie. he is the comic relief as the exterminator, and is still listed third in the cast. i correctly predicted who was going to die when the movie begins in venezuela, as it was the man that didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the expedition. i liked seeing a clip from the TV show 'family ties' in it, and i knew the episode as well. it was the one where the family wants to see the movie 'ET' but the mom is held up at work. also liked some of the music in it, recognizing 'summer wind' by frank sinatra, and 'left my heart in san francisco' by tony bennett.
   i got started again on the cleanup around my home, wanting to get to the boxes from the office that were still taped up even though i was laid off more than 2 years ago. i found plenty of things, including more ornaments to put on the christmas tree. i started with five, and i emptied another box today so it is now down to three. still a question of how to re-purpose those two boxes, but putting books in them seems like a good idea at this point. some things were thrown out. a mold-a-rama from the como zoo was broken, so i might want a replacement during my next visit. there were plenty of collectibles in these three boxes, including die-cast model cars and a scale model semi-trailer with the walgreen name on it. most of it has been sorted already. in the late afternoon i went on a walk and picked up 8 cents.

trauma center movie

i watched a DVD this morning, a redbox rental, 'trauma center'. i recognized bruce willis in it, he played a police officer. the closing credits said steve guttenberg played one of the doctors. it was about 'dirty cops' shooting another cop, and a waitress being the only witness to a murder. and how the two cops hunt her down in a hospital. i like thrillers, and it kept my attention well until the end. also part of the story was the teenage sister to the waitress being in the kid's section of the same hospital. this was another movie that was filmed in puerto rico. there were some previews on it, so i wrote down two of them and found out those two are at redbox, but not the closest kiosk to me. i like how i am getting more ideas with each rental. one of these also has bruce willis in it, the other has stallone and 50-cent.
    i made a list of errands to run and i was pleased that i was able to get to all of them. the main thing was 5 stops, after watching the movie. i dropped off recycling, then it was on to the credit union to turn in change. it was harder than with the 'big bank' as i had to push all the coins through a slot. but i ended up with just over 17 dollars as a deposit into my savings account there. then it was on to jc penney to get some shirts with collars i can wear to the office. i picked out 2 shirts from the discount rack, and due to the gift cards it cost me less than 4 dollars. next was to a hardware hank, to get the festival button for canadian days in little canada. i read the card attached to it, not many events this year as expected due to the virus. final stop was the post office to pick up e-bay orders, there was four. i had to understand the logistics well of when places opened and closed, such as when jc penney opened as well as when the credit union and post office closed. so i decided to go to the credit union early, and it was near the mall where i bought the shirts, both of these places had a 'flower statue' outside, probably a rose, as it was roseville. in the evening i also went to get groceries, first to aldi and then to a holiday gas station. i went on a brief walk and picked up 4 cents, so i already have more to put into the change bank. hard to say what standard i will have for when to go turn in change again, it was the first time in 5 months. but i also didn't know where i could as some bank branches were closed to the public due to the virus. i did see signs up when i went in about having an appointment, but i didn't need one for what i was doing. the walk was brief due to the weather. i saw some lightning in the sky when i got started, and it wasn't long before there was some rain.
  in other issues, i saw what was posted on the st. paul saints website about the high school baseball tournament to be held at the saints stadium. only a crowd of 250 is allowed, and the tickets are general admission, for $10. i studied the schedule a little already, and will likely want to buy a ticket soon to make sure i get in. while listening to the saints game on the radio tonight, i got another idea. the saints beat milwaukee 11-8. the idea was looking at the logistics to see one of their games in sioux falls as there are no plans for them to play in st. paul this season. so i went to see the cost of rental cars and hotel rooms. the game tickets are $15. not many weekend home games left for them in this brief 60-game season, just three, and one of them happens to be next weekend. if i go i think i will want to send myself a postcard to remember it. i can think of it as replacing most of my typical annual visits, such as the ones to chicago, st. louis, and des moines. i expect the major leagues to have a 'fan ban' in effect, and the iowa cubs aren't having a season, so going to two of those three doesn't seem like a good idea. and of course i already canceled chicago in march.
   i had a facebook message waiting for me this morning, from my cousin that lives in suburban milwaukee. she wanted to know the name of the church camp we attended as kids. it was called knox knolls, near guthrie center, iowa. i still have a shirt from there, and two postcards that my mom and sister sent me there. they were on a church work camp in washington, DC, at the time. my cousin said my sister was a counselor there once, i don't recall what year or that she had been one at all. the camp has long been closed, as the church sold it many years ago. it had been a farm. i recall when the camp's former boss died of cancer, as my mom told me in a call.

pre-printed label

it was kind of nice that one of the UPS labels was pre-printed today. it was emailed to me and i needed to find the check and have it overnighted there. it was one of 30 envelopes that went out, a high volume for this part of what i do. i was busy all day trying to stay caught up, including a rare meeting. it was about using excel. at the end of the day i had some ice cream at the dairy queen, and got a movie for the weekend at a nearby video store as well. usually i would do those things at midday. in the evening i picked up some things at hy-vee in eagan, then went on a walk. i picked up 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon did 'fun with flags' without amy, followed by leonard's first date with penny- and he gets injured.

coin shortage?

i have read an online article recently that states there is a coin shortage in the land due to the pandemic. it does mention that traffic at change counters is down, in my case i haven't been to one in 5 months because the bank lobby has been closed to the public. apparently some food establishments are asking people to pay with a debit card or use exact change due to the shortage. i am already using the card most of the time, makes it easier to track purchases when i see them on my monthly bank statement. i still like self-service coin-operated places such as vending machines and laundromats though. personally, if the shortage is to due to more 'hoarding' then i expect to take care of most of my 'stash' this weekend. i can go to the credit union for the change counting and there are two earmarks i am taking care of as well, leaving just the laundry money. i try to turn in the small change at the change counter regularly as it does me no good at home.
   at work i got caught up, aided by one of the trainers showing up to help out. he made another visit to the nearby dollar general, a big food order, and i was offered one of the twinkies. at lunchtime, i went to walgreen to get a sandwich and apple juice, as i am feeling hungry all too often lately. not sure if it is just due to having tuna salad and crackers twice a week at lunch, but it is probably not jsut due to that single factor. it was just as well to have two people today because the envelope order arrived. we let the boss know it was placed last week and still not here, so it was expedited. 25 boxes, i used a cart and brought in 12 of them, two trips. the trainer left the pallet it was on outside next to the dumpsters. there was a meeting early in the day, complaint was how the format was off on the checks, and likely the first time i used their special kind of 'ruler' to prove it. this was hard to tell at first as i wasn't used to looking for it.
   in the evening i did a virtual open-mic and was the only performer besides the moderator. somebody did see the set and asked me to adjust my camera to see all of my face, so i know there had to be people watching, but not sure how many. i went on an evening walk and picked up 52 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and leonard spent leonard's wedding night together, followed by when the two friends were yelled at by penny for cleaning her apartment at night while she was sleeping. i think this second one was the first episode i saw when it was first-run and prime time. it was what was on when i woke up after falling asleep, likely watching the news.

pop chips tangy barbeque

last night i bought a small bag of chips for a dollar at the laundromat and decided i needed to eat it today. so i did as part of the evening meal. it was pop chips tangy barbeque. it says it is bold and crunchy on the front of the bag. on the back it asks 'with all this crunch who needs fried?' also no moist towelette required, and if looking for something fried, try the state fair. you can get deep fried anything there. the company is based in playa vista, california. i decided i needed to eat it quick as the package expired last month. but it still tasted fine.
   at work it was a horrendous day. there was another complaint about the special handling i was told i didn't do, although the evidence i found showed that the check didn't ask for it. in addition, our largest files had I.T. issues and they were unavailable to print until late in the day. i printed out about 10 percent of one file, over 300 checks to be inter-officed. this is way more than typical for one day. i am told a colleague will be in on thursday to help out and get us caught up again. my boss asked the others on the email why there were delays when the testing early this month seemed fine. it was a much lower volume than typical on checks going out the door, as only one tub was put out at the end of the day. usually the lowest is two.
  in the evening i went on a walk and found 17 cents. the  first 'big bang theory' rerun was when raj went on a date with emily in a cemetery. it also appeared to be a season finale, as it was the one where it ended with amy saying 'goodbye, sheldon'. this was followed by what appeared to be the first episode, where sheldon and leonard meet their new neighbor, penny.

hillshire snacking, small plates

i could feel my stomach before lunch and decided to get a supplement to the lunch i brought, which was tuna salad and crackers, and it meant going to the nearby walgreen. i wanted to get oscar mayer lunchables, but i think they were all sold out. so i got something similar by hillshire farm, called 'snacking, small plates'. it was italian dry salame, gouda cheese, and toasted rounds. i was used to crackers so hard bread was an adjustment. but it tasted fine. first time i had seen the spelling of the meat this way, with an 'e', i am used to 'salami' as the spelling. the drink was also a 'second choice' as the can of pineapple juice was not available. it was 'bubly' sparkling water, blackberry. the can said this brand is owned by pepsi. notable was having to go there in the rain, so i was quick about it and put my leather jacket on my head to shield it from the rain.
   work went fine, even though it was a high volume day on check printing it slowed down a lot after the largest files were printed. there was a big shipment of boxes of check stock to pick up in the morning. there was 35 boxes and i made 3 trips with the cart to get them all into the check shop. also picked up 'air cans' and a toner cartridge. the bottle of sealing fluid was delivered by a pregnant lady from the branch.
   it was also a day for earmarking funds. i want the festival button for canadian days, so there is an envelope set aside for it now. and there is a plastic bag for the ice cream cone i want from dairy queen on friday. i checked the facebook page for canadian days and confirmed they are having a scaled-back version of the festival this year. this was announced in may. so it is a good idea that i go get a button this weekend as usually i get it at the festival site, and that is not possible this year. this more than likely means mailing in the contest entry as well, another thing i take care of at the park. this leaves the remaining amount from the most recent ATM visit to be set aside for my next round of doing laundry. I know I am saving money by cutting back on visits to the ATM.
   i went on a walk in the evening and picked up 14 cents, all pennies. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the mothers of sheldon and leonard met, followed by part 2 of the final episode.

final car payment

i called the credit union this morning while i was having i.t. issues and inquired about my car loan. the quarterly statement arrived over the weekend and it confirmed how the loan wasn't paid off yet. i was expecting the final payment to be in june, but i guess they were a little off on the interest and the final payment is this month. it will be just under 11 dollars, and once the balance is zero there will be a lien release. i also asked about their branches, and they are open to the public. so i have a place where i can turn in change, and dump it into my savings account. i was required to have a savings account to get the loan. so i have another place to stop at for errand running this weekend, along with getting more shirts for work at jc penney. another place would be to get a festival button in little canada. their festival, canadian days, is coming soon. i went onto facebook and found out they are selling buttons at least, even if the actual festival may not be happening this year due to the virus. five places are listed, one of them is the town hall. i will try the gas station and hardware store that is listed, the other two are a bar and a pizza place.
   at work things went fairly smoothly once the i.t. issues were out of the way. i was advised to re-boot, and this worked although i didn't like having to do that so early in the day because i hadn't even been in any of the apps yet. the boss had a vacation day, so there was no team huddle. in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 57 cents. i did a virtual open-mic and i had a question from the flautist after it about the man i saw face-down in the grass, but it wasn't the same location where she had decided to call 911. the 'big bang theory' rerun was the first of two parts on the final episode, where sheldon and amy win the nobel prize.

h and k, christmas movie

this morning i watched another DVD movie, it was the christmas edition of 'harold and kumar'. i recognized danny trejo in it as harold's father-in-law. it was another farce. the 'waffle bot' was kind of funny. and they found a way to get neil patrick harris in the story, this time he was actually an actor. now that i have finished the 3 movies in this franchise i am fine with moving on to something else, and definitely ready for it. i have 7 on a list to choose from, so the video store should have some of them. the movie had plenty of the typical christmas songs in it, and i found out one of them was written by iowa native meredith willson, 'beginning to look a lot like christmas'.
   i did laundry in the afternoon, and after it was all put away i went on a walk and picked up 70 cents. so i already have enough for a bag of chips out of the vending machine. and i filled 2 more bags by running the paper shredder.
  this was expected to be the day to attend an alumni event at a twins baseball game, but of course like most events it was canceled due to the virus. they were scheduled to play toronto.  of course the major leagues hasn't started their brief season yet. and i don't know if i will be attending any twins games this year as i would expect a 'fan ban' to be in effect. other events i tend to do in mid-july include the french alliance's bastille day event, and the ramsey county fair in maplewood. the former decided to go on but as a drive-through, not sure what happened to the latter. and a drive-through event doesn't interest me at all. since the state fair was canceled, i would expect that most county fairs are canceled as well. i am aware of how there aren't many animal exhibits there besides a petting zoo. i like having some of the food there, and seeing some of the art as well. it serves as a good warm-up for the state fair.

force of nature movie

i watched a DVD movie this morning, a redbox rental, 'force of nature'. i recognized mel gibson in it, he plays an ex-cop. i had heard of kate bosworth as well, but not sure from what show. it is about a heist during a hurricane in puerto rico. i liked it, kept my attention. it would have to be considered a 'thriller', and i do like that genre of movies. just as important, i was paying attention to the previews on this disc and there is another one to be added to my list. it also looks like a thriller, called 'trauma center', starring bruce willis. i found out it is at redbox as well, so it looks like next weekend's movie has been found.
   when i went out to return the movie, i picked up a few snack food items at the holiday gas station where the kiosk is. then it was on to fed-ex office to get my income tax forms printed, and filed. i wanted to print them first, and as expected, it was a good idea to do most of the entries before i arrived and then save it. looks like i am getting plenty as a refund from federal and state. i had waited this long to file because i expected to pay a penalty for having no health insurance for part of the year. this is what happened in the previous tax year. but i found out that this mandate had expired. i had said before that calling it 'the affordable care act' is misleading when one can get penalized for not having it when it can be hard to afford it while unemployed. i like how it doesn't take long to file through h and r block electronically, and due to requesting the refunds by direct deposit that shortens the waiting. i have already received text messages saying that both tax returns have been accepted. the federal one was accepted within minutes, the state one was after nearly 2 hours.
   after going to the grocery store in the evening, i decided i wanted to do more than just watch another movie. so i got out a book and read most of it, about the st. paul saints baseball team. i liked finding mention of not just the hall of famers that played for the earlier version of the saints, but also a segment on '60 minutes' in the 1990s. i found it on youtube! it was 10 minutes, enjoyed watching it. hard to say when i will attend my next event at their stadium. the movies don't interest me, especially when there is an admission fee this time and there wasn't when i saw 'space jam' there on the 4th of july, 3 years ago. the saints have no plans to play there this season. there is mention of a high school baseball tournament there, but not all plans have been finalized for it yet.
  at midday i did my weekly walk to the post office to pick up orders, but there was just one waiting there. will have to contact a seller to find out why i don't have an invoice yet. so it is a good idea to wait on ordering more until more items arrive. i also picked up 27 cents during the walk.

goodrich chocolate malt

i went to hy-vee in eagan this evening to get some groceries and wanted single serving ice cream. what i found was a goodrich chocolate malt. the package said the company is based in norfolk, nebraska. it tasted fine, but since it was warm i noticed it had melted a little by the time i got home. i ate it right away, was planning on doing this anyway. frosty malts do remind me of attending baseball games, especially iowa cubs games when i was young. not sure when i will be attending my next game. while at the store i also saw a patriotic plush snoopy and got a picture of it.
   at work of course it was a fairly low volume day because it was a friday, just two mail tubs were put out at the end of the day. but there was plenty of UPS envelopes to do, 27 in all. and I did the deposit of refund checks at the bank branch in the same building. i also saw some emails about finding an alternate address to send returned checks to. so it meant having to search for those checks. i did those special requests near the end of the day once i was caught up on check printing. i even had to reopen two of the UPS envelopes because i saw an email about another check was to go to an attorney in new orleans. with the other it was a returned check, going to the same business line as some newly printed ones. odd to see 'reason for return' on some of these. such as 'refused' or 'did not pick up'. some of these are a big chunk of change. not too many returns, but still odd nonetheless.
   in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 14 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny walked out of an audition, followed by when leonard's mom showed up but only to do some research.

ketchup and mayonnaise packets

i decided to use something besides the typical mustard on the chicken strips meal tonight. there were some ketchup and mayonnaise packets found at work, 2 of the former and 1 of the latter. it worked fine, and it may have been more than what i typically squirt out for mustard. it was red gold ketchup and chef's quality mayonnaise. i tried not to mix them but some mixing happened after a while, it was inevitable i guess. in terms of what i have found stashed at the workplace, this is probably it aside from the plastic spoons. kind of nice not needing to bring spoons from home to have soup for lunch.
   at work the volume was much lower, as expected. but there was a dust-up about apparently another check that wasn't overnighted. so it meant a trainer coming in for a short time in the afternoon. i was not aware of how this would he happening, although i did talk to my boss on the phone for a few minutes. still not sure what lesson is to be learned aside from pay close attention.
   in the evening i went on a walk after a virtual open-mic and found 28 cents. the open-mic had people from all over, one of them was from malaysia. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when the rival scientists from fermi lab, rivals to sheldon and amy, fought among themselves. it was the second, much like the previous day i fell asleep after work and missed the first one.

rice krispies, summer fun

I have been eating rice krispies for breakfast for much of the week already. I had bought some over the weekend as I wanted to get a patriotic item. this seemed to fit the bill as it is a 'limited time'- having red and blue krispies. it says it is 'great for summer treat making'. on the back of the box it talks of summer fun with rice krispies treats. this includes 'sweet and fruity kabobs'. and it gives a website address on pinterest to 'explore more fun decorating ideas, or share your own creations'. I usually just eat them as cereal in a bowl and do not get into baking treats or anything else. 

  at work it was hectic for a while, due to getting some files that I rarely see. there was four from the foundation, three of them were big. in all, it was over two thousand checks, and there are many days where I don't see any for them. but it didn't take long to get caught up once I got started, as it means getting started on printing the checks as quickly as possible once they are there. it meant that some things will be pushed back to the next morning, such as responding to an email about refund checks. another one I knew I needed to act on  right away as it spoke of getting a check overnighted after it arrived as returned mail. we got an updated address for it. 

   i went on a walk in the evening and picked up 33 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun i watched was the second, as i fell asleep after work and missed the first. it was when raj was misunderstood at his planetarium gig, when he spoke of the loch ness monster. 

gaudy necklace

for whatever reason, i looked at my little table-top christmas tree and noticed there was no iowa hawkeye ornament on it. well now there is, and i didn't have to order it from e-bay or the hawk shop. i just decided to re-purpose something, same as how there is now a st. paul saints ornament. in this case it was a gaudy necklace i had bought in new orleans in 2002. i cut off the beads and then strung up the remaining 'tiger hawk'. a simple solution. i said the same about 'the simpsons'. so i decided to look in the box with simpsons and 'star wars' items. i found an ornament of homer sucking on a candy cane, so it has been strung up as well. i put the ornament box back in the big box after i collapsed it. the tree represents most everything i like now. and it has been 'a wash' on the lineup changes since the cleanup from earlier this year. i added four and took down four. there are plenty of 'charlie brown and snoopy' ornaments, no surprise there. also the st. louis cardinals, chicago bears, and two from the montgomery ward liquidation sale. i still have the wards price tag on them. also the minnesota wild, the local hockey team. proves i am a minnesota resident now, when one is of hockey.
   in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 12 cents. before this i liked finding some episodes of norman lear shows on ABC. they did a live version of 'good times' when there was an alderman election, and 'all in the family' at christmas. i had seen the earlier ones, 'all in the family' and 'the jeffersons'. great cast members all around, including woody harrelson as archie bunker, and kevin bacon in the 'all in the family' episode as well. the 'big bang theory' reruns i watched were about mom's last meal, as in howard's mom. it was followed by sheldon and amy doing a sensory deprivation tank and their varied reactions to it.
   at work it was a higher-volume day, as expected. there was a problem with some of the envelopes, evident by the machine stopping several times. i figured it was best to ride it out as i was told that the humidity can foul some of them. and it meant some of the checks were placed in a different envelope when the address didn't line up in the window. i got caught up by the end of the day, and i stayed a few extra minutes when one file dropped kind of late. i noticed they were 'zero checks' and i let the trainer know by IM. i was advised not to print them until i heard from IT. no problem, no interest in printing 'zero checks'. so it meant skipping over them and printing all of the others that were waiting.

bicycle and mirror

when i went out for a walk in the evening i saw two items next to a dumpster. it was a kid's bicycle, and a big mirror. so i liked the challenge of doing a selfie in the mirror. i picked up 17 cents. it has been said before that one understands a society well by seeing what they throw out.
  at work it was a slower day than typical, so it helped me on getting caught up on a few things. it also meant looking at another drawer to see what was in it. it meant throwing out some more brittle rubber bands that had broken. there were no 'test checks' to print. and no visitors to the check shop. but i did do the deposit at the bank branch. was it slower due to the first day back after the holiday? possibly. but usually the opposite is true on the jobs i have worked in the past.
  notable about the day was the news about the death of charlie daniels, the musician. i had seen his band perform twice, once at a county fair in suburban chicago and again at taste of minnesota. i had 'decade of hits' on LP record when i was young, and later got it on CD. his band's song, 'let it roll', captured performing and being a performer real well. so i went to listen to it on youtube tonight.
also notable was seeing the schedule being released for major league baseball. but at this point i still expect a 'fan ban' to be in effect. i did call the st. paul saints office, but no information yet about game schedules or ticket prices for the high school baseball tournament later this month. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj got caught snooping on emily, and howard and bernadette were eaves-dropping on them. it was followed by sheldon sending cookies to nobel winners he had alienated.

h and k, guantanamo, movie

i watched the second 'harold and kumar' movie this morning, the one about escape from guantanamo. it happened on the way to amsterdam, and by the end of the movie they do get to amsterdam after plenty of diversions along the way. this was another farce, completely ridiculous and unlikely storyline. but i understand by now how some movies are not to be taken seriously. there was somebody playing then-president bush (43) in it. i still like harold way more than kumar. neil patrick harris is in this one as well, and ed helms has a small role. i recognized many of the songs in it, by poison, ice cube, boys 2 men, and kenny loggins. somebody was surprised to find out i found the first one at a video store, since i posted on twitter about it. they wondered if a video store was still a thing. but i really did find it at an independent video store.
   in the late afternoon i went on a long walk and picked up 12 cents. i also ran the shredder and filled 2 more bags. not much else to say about the day, still really warm and it rained a little. 'the simpsons' was about movie spoilers.

capone movie

i watched a DVD movie this morning, a redbox rental, 'capone'. i recognized linda cardellini and matt dillon in it. this movie depicts the final year of capone's life, while living in exile in florida after being released from prison. i could guess which 'scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect'. i found out there was another version of the song 'blueberry hill', as this movie has a version by louis armstrong. wikipedia said it was performed even before then, back in 1940, and gene autry had one of those 1940 versions for a movie. like many people, i knew the one by fats domino, aided by it being on the TV show 'happy days'. another notable scene of the movie depicts capone watching the movie 'wizard of oz', along with his reactions to hearing dramatic versions of his life on the radio. the movie depicts capone at his worst, with dementia and having delusional dreams.
  i returned the movie to a gas station, and while there i got a small tub of ice cream as well as some white castle burgers. the latter was inspired by last week's movie rental. i was pleased that this was an option so i don't have to go to a drive-through window for it. i went on a walk in the late afternoon, and found 36 cents. this was after going to the grocery store, which was closing early due to the holiday. i bought a box of 'limited edition' rice krispies cereal, a patriotic version. after the local news i switched over to the channel known as 'movies!' and found part of '1776', a play i once saw at the guthrie. the second was 'yankee doodle dandy', starring james cagney. i understood the selections were in honor of the 4th of july. i don't think i had seen all of the latter before, but it was a good story about a playwright/actor that received a congressional medal of honor. at times it was hard to hear the movie because of the fireworks going off nearby. i did go outside and get a look at the fireworks once the movie was done. i also caught part of the st. paul saints baseball game on the radio, they just started a shortened season this weekend, in sioux falls. i caught more of friday's game. nice to have some baseball, finally.

dole pineapple juice

i had more for lunch at work than just what was brought in my bag. i was feeling weak in the stomach even before going  to lunch, figuring it was due to a lack of food. so i went to walgreen and got some lunchables as well as a small can of dole pineapple juice. figured it was better than just having the can of tomato soup and the animal crackers. it says the juice is a product of the philippines. i was fine after deciding to have more food and drink. the pineapple juice was a reminder of my first visit to the nation's capital, in 2000. i had some since it was in the vending machine at the hotel, which was a few blocks west of the white house in the foggy bottom neighborhood. although i recall the juice tasted a little 'tinny'. hard to say how long the juice was in the machine though.
   work went fine, i got caught up on printing the test checks. i did the older ones in the morning and more dropped later in the day. i was correct about just entering the alternate name of the system where 'test checks' were found in the search box to find it. and then i logged out once all were printed, to avoid confusion with the system where the 'real checks' are printed as part of my normal duties. there was a 'return to business line' request from st. louis, and i knew full well to get it over-nighted this time. it was the last UPS label of the day that i printed. there was a big shipment of old records to be picked up on the upper level, 8 boxes in all. somebody rang the doorbell to the check shop to let me know. all of them were addressed to me. i found space for them on the shelving, had to move things around a little. so i should be fine going forward, on hitting all of the 'toll gates' and getting out at a reasonable time. i did stay a few minutes after my actual time of stamping out, but i am getting better at time management i guess. 'necessity is the mother of invention'. that quote applies here. i did take a longer lunch as i was over on time for the 2 weeks, and the company does not like to pay for overtime. it not only allowed me to get to walgreen, but also to pick up a movie at the video store.
   in the evening i went on a walk after going to pick up some groceries at the hy-vee in eagan and found 1 cent. going to the store was nice, got pictures of some patriotic items, a t-shirt and balloons. i was wearing my patriotic shirt, bought at the cracker barrel in lakeville many years ago. i liked hearing 'tide is high' by blondie while in the store. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when bernadette made an airline employee cry when the ashes of howard's mom were misplaced, followed by amy doing 'baby experiments' on sheldon.

signed by void

there was a dial in meeting about test checks to be printed out, and I noticed it was signed by 'void void'. confusing at times as to what was priority, as i was getting inundated with emails about it, being added to the meeting 3 minutes after its scheduled start. in the afternoon there was plenty of 'real checks' to print and i had to ask which one was more important. so i decided on doing the real checks because it sounded like there was no agreement on what to do with the test checks. one of the trainers was in for under two hours, had a half-day. i got my questions answered about what to do with the unusual incoming mail. she said a lady in another office can be condescending. it was hard to tell at times what was relevant to me on the dial-in meeting, not the first time i said this as to why i was included on a meeting. i tried going back to the test checks at the end of the day but couldn't get logged in, had been to that system only once. so i will try again in the morning. also didn't help that there was a late request to find a check, it arrived more than 30 minutes past the deadline for these kind of special requests. so sadly we seem to be at everybody's 'beck and call'. i still couldn't get out of the office on time as i wanted to see that all of the overnights were done, envelopes closed. and that the figures on the spreadsheet matched up as well. trying hard on time management but when things are unpredictable it is hard to do. 

   in the evening i did a walk and found 36 cents. i did a virtual open-mic and was the only performer besides the moderator. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard's mom died, followed by when william shatner and kareem abdul-jabbar were guest stars as members of a dungeons and dragons game hosted by wil wheaton. 

not in oregon

at work there was a request for a courier pickup on a check, except it was from an employee in oregon. i am not in oregon, and the trainer was contacted by IM and i was advised to call as to what they wanted done. so it was decided, in a call lasting about 10 minutes, that the check be overnighted to the recipient, in the los angeles area. it was a high volume day for doing overnight labels, 35 in all. it was up from 18 on tuesday. the repairman was there waiting for me in the morning, so i went in and the morning scan was done after he was shown the machine. i was told that a screw was loose in one area, and the solution for the other was using different envelopes. some mention of what the humidity can do to them, so on the huddle it was mentioned about the thermostat. so i did lower it to 70, as that is what was recommended on the posting next to it on the wall. he was in and out in under an hour, and the machine was tested, just had to print a file of checks first. found out my choice on how to send the over a million check backfired, as there was an email asking for a tracking number. it was from somebody different than who i chatted with the previous day. eventually my boss's boss stepped in and said 'i am a rookie, we will take care of it'. i had asked some questions but if they wanted it overnighted wasn't one of them. 

   in the evening after i ate i went on a walk and picked up 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy wrote a book about time travel, followed by bernadette doing a simulation of being weightless in space. on the walk i liked finding a fountain, so of course that meant getting a picture of it. a man was walking his dog when i was there.