we all have superiors

 i was waiting in line for a while at the end of the workday to get the deposit of refund checks done and it wasn't happening. too hard to get all of the checks scanned, over a hundred. i said to one colleague how my superiors would want it done today, and was told the tellers were on overtime and he didn't want to get yelled at by his superiors either. it was when i said we all have superiors. so it means going back to the branch on monday, and i was told they could back-date it for today. so many people in line as it is month end and it was why i was in line as well. i didn't get the final approval right away, so i emailed and said that and was told it was there. i am used to getting this as an email without asking. in the evening i went on a walk and found 3 cents. when i was walking somebody came out of a building and i said i was just walking, his response was just passing through. i rarely have anyone ask me this. the 'big bang theory' rerun was a halloween episode where sheldon was dressed as the doppler effect. when i went to hy-vee for my weekly order i bought 2 boxes of cereal as the halloween cereals were discounted. so i got not only the third monster cereal, boo berry, i also got capn crunch. and i got the snoopy cookie dough as i noticed it was the last one. now it is a matter of when i will bake those cookies. we all know how i like charlie brown and snoopy, so it was on my radar. 

a bent fork

 after work tonight i went to a music shop and picked up a copy of city pages. there was a bent fork on the cover. i was expecting it to say 'so long' or 'farewell' but it didn't. so it must have been a sudden thing to shut down the publication, when there was no 'obit' in there, just an article by the star tribune, its owner. i looked at the masthead and the 'extra murder' comic was still listed as an employee, although on facebook he said he had been furloughed since april. the journalist who had interviewed me said he had written for them as well, and shared an article about going to a porn convention in las vegas in 2008. i am thankful i picked it up and didn't wait long as i am a big believer in 'get while the getting is good'. i went inside the entry-way to pick it up and then i left, if i want to go inside and look around at their merchandise i can do that when i have more time budgeted. i also have the edition from 2015 where turtle check was on the cover, and he signed it. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when there was halloween costumes mocking sheldon, and then howard and bernadette. it was followed by when priya bought clothes for leonard. and sheldon was trying hard to figure out howard's card trick. i went on a walk in the evening and found 35 cents. at work there was a long meeting in the early afternoon, slated for 90 minutes but it ran over. i was still working during that time, as i was printing checks and making UPS labels. one of the nice things about it being a 'dial-in' as i still could keep working. 

sealed for you

 i went to taco bell after work as it was the day for 'steal a base, steal a taco'. i added the free 'loco taco' to my order, along with 3 crunchy ones. i ordered carryout, and the bag had a sticker on it saying 'sealed for you'. i guess the order included a drink, but i didn't ask for a cup, i just wanted to get home and eat there. when i got home i saw an email that mentioned a twitter posting, saying the local 'indie publication' known as city pages would cease to exist. it was on the local TV news as well. so now it means trying to find a place where i can get the final edition. i know bars and music shops are common places to find it. i went on a walk in the evening and found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns included one where bob newhart was a guest star. sheldon needed advice about his marriage as amy was pulled off a project. it was followed by one where sheldon tried to have his own party after leonard went to priya and raj's but they deserted as well, so he relented and went where leonard was. i also watched 'the conners', it was a halloween epsiode where trick or treating was in the house. except there was no mention of what was happening to the house, which is in foreclosure. that might be in the next episode. my guess is they find a way to keep the house, as we have all seen shows do a ratings stunt before. at work i got called by one business line asking me to do them a 'huge favor' and i said that is what i do for many people all day. it just meant pulling out checks to be overnighted, something i had done before the call began, not a big deal. near the end of the day i got a label ready for an overnight package to indonesia. system said the postal code was too short, i added a zero, didn't want a postal code preventing shipment. 

cart arrived, no label

 my boss arrived near the end of the work-day and said the cart that was ordered this month was at the branch. it had been there for 3 weeks and there was no label on the box, and of course this means 'some assembly required'. when i have been assigned a list of 'escheatments' it is hard to say when i will get to it. but it will be nice to have a good cart again at some point. i had two managers ask me about a business line as to if they sent us checks. at first i said 'no' but checked dashboard again and noticed they had but it was late in the day and not enough time to get them out same-day. it was past the time they were due as well. so it will roll over to the next day. the 'big bang theory' reruns included a halloween episode where the objective was to prank sheldon. it was also when leonard met alice at the comic book store while he was dating priya. i went on a walk in the evening and found 12 cents. i watched the world series as well, the dodgers beat the rays 3-1 to take the series 4-2. the rays were leading 1-0 in the 6th and took out their starting pitcher, and in the same inning they went ahead 2-1. 

younger, thin dude

 at work today i saw somebody in the safe deposit box section, which is usually deserted. i said there was a 'younger, thin dude' that said there was an employee discount for those boxes. except i am told that the only ones available are really big. but the discount sounds good whenever i want to do them- half off. and of course i can try a branch closer to me to see if there are smaller ones for a lower annual fee. when i saw him in the breakroom at lunchtime i said i didn't know his name and referred to him this way. he gave me his name and said he liked the description i used. one business line did not upload any checks even though there was a late email saying which ones they wanted returned by UPS. so as my last act of the work-day i responded to the email saying there were no checks ready to print, so they won't be surprised at all. 

i did a virtual open-mic tonight and the moderator seemed to like the one about getting monster cereals for the halloween season. along with the odd thing that a walgreen employee said. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny said she didn't want kids. i laughed a lot when amy said 'what the hell?' to her when she found this out. , i found amy to be relatable, since she struggled to make friends. leonard got to drive the batmobile as well, i think it was the first time seeing this episode. i know some aired in prime time on mondays, i usually only watched on thursdays. it was followed by when raj's sister priya is in town, and leonard goes with her to catalina and raj was at home forbidding it. i also went on a walk in the evening and picked up 5 cents. i will still try walking as much as i can even though it is colder now, this was my first night using the winter coat as the leather jacket isn't warm enough. 

rush movie, 1991

 i watched a DVD rental movie, 'rush', around midday today. i have decided to specify that it is the one from 1991 as online searching yielded the answer that there is another movie with the same name, from 2013. i chose this one as i know it as the movie with the song 'tears in heaven' by eric clapton in it. this song is playing when we see jennifer jason leigh is running on the beach. i recognized her in it, as well as sam elliott. gregg allman, of the band known as 'allman brothers' is in it as well, but i don't know who that is too well, aside from of a few of his band's songs such as 'rambling man'. this movie is about under-cover narcotics cops, who end up doing some of the drugs. the music for this movie not only includes clapton's song but also patsy cline, and charlie daniels. most memorable to me has to be when we see somebody burn themselves with an iron, as i was asking 'why?' there is also clips from 'all in the family' and 'saturday night live' to give it a more authentic feel of being in the year 1975. the ending was stunning. 

once the movie was done, i went to do laundry. during my walks for the day i picked up 56 cents. i watched game 5 of the world series after switching over from '60 minutes' which had interviews with the presidential candidates. it worked well on sitting in a chair while watching the world series, as well as being online at the time, as i was staying awake. all too often lately when i lay down in eventually will fall asleep. this is why i told myself not to lay down tonight, because i am running out of chances to watch baseball during this shortened season. dodgers beat the rays 4-2 and lead the series 3-2. the rays tried to steal home to tie the game but it was the final out of the inning. then the dodgers hit a home run in the following inning. 

zombieland (2009) movie

 i watched a DVD movie this morning, a redbox rental, 'zombieland'. this was the original from 2009. i had seen the sequel, also as a redbox rental, in april. i enjoyed this movie as i related to the main character, played by jesse eisenberg. he is a paranoid loner. it was funny to see the woody harrelson character on his quest for twinkies. he sees an abandoned hostess delivery truck and it is all 'snow balls' and that isn't good enough for him. odd how there is one scene where they push a car out of the way even though the cadillac SUV they are in has a big snowplow blade on the front. every vehicle that woody drives has to have a number '3' on it, also kind of funny, even a yellow hum-vee. i know one reason why I liked this movie, and the sequel, is because i like road movies. and the music is good in it, songs from metallica, willie nelson, van halen, and hank williams. bill murray appears as himself in this movie, as the four travelers reach california and decide they need a place to crash and stay at murray's home. and it was fun to see the different ways they use the rides and attractions at the theme park to kill zombies. 

this was an errand-running day, and the first stop was the post office. two e-bay orders were picked up. i also dropped off recycle, and then the movie, and while at the gas station i got lunch. it is the alternate meal when godfather's pizza is not available- nathan's pretzel hot dog and a stick of borden cheese. i watched some of the college football but not a lot. the iowa hawkeyes started their season today, but their game wasn't on local TV. checked the score online and found out they lost a close one to purdue. i watched some of the world series in the evening, after going to aldi for my weekly grocery order. the rays rallied to beat the dodgers 8-7 and the series is tied 2-2. i also went on a walk and found 6 cents. 

monster cereals

 when i was at hy-vee tonight for my weekly order, i picked up my first box of 'monster cereals' for the season. it was 'franken berry'. i only saw two kinds there, the other being 'boo berry'. but have no fear, i noticed the closest aldi has the third, 'count chocula'. i do recall seeing these three as a kid, but wikipedia confirmed one thing- they are now a seasonal thing, produced by general mills for halloween. i plan on getting a box of all three by halloween. there is also mention of 'fruit brute' and 'yummy mummy'. i have never seen the former in stores and only barely recall the latter, but it did say both were discontinued, likely due to poor sales compared to the other three. the back of the box says 'everyone is invited to the monster's bash'. all 3 cereals are shown there, and asks how many familiar faces can be spotted in the crowd. there are nine, and they appear to be other brands sold by general mills such as cocoa puffs, lucky charms, even the pillsbury doughboy. i plan on eating it right away since i finished the box of star wars cereal this morning. 

i watched some of the world series, game three, this evening. the dodgers beat the rays 6-2 and lead the series 2-1. dodgers scored first, it was 1-0 when i got into my car and started driving to the grocery store. and when i was done and started driving home they were ahead 3-0. it works fine to catch a game on the radio, as i have said before the announcers describe things real well. i went on a walk after the game was done and picked up 70 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when leonard was pursued by a rich widow at a fundraiser. at work there was a late request to overnight 11 checks. this didn't thrill me at all. it was going to be 16, but i let the requestor know that we can't overnight to a PO BOX and 5 were going to boxes. it was a fairly slow day up to that point, compared to the previous two days, but i didn't mind. 

ice cream candy bar

 i went to walgreen at lunchtime and got a few items. this included not just juice, and lunchables, but also an ice cream candy bar. i chose a twix. there was also a snickers bar. i usually get a haagen dazs but it was not available. the ice cream candy bars have no stick in them. they are all right, but not my favorite way of serving ice cream. it is low calorie and satisfies my craving so it still served the purpose. it was raining but thankfully the place is near work, one block over. 

i watched the debate, it was still chaos at times but not as bad as the one from last month. at one point it sounded like biden called trump 'lincoln' and at another point 'godwin's law' was invoked. i also went on a walk and found 27 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon hired penny as an acting coach. at work it was really busy for me. i started the day off with checks already printed from the previous day but i was caught up by the end of the day. there was also a quarterly call-in meeting about the business, and a huddle after it. the repairman emailed me and said there was a warranty claim placed on the printer for the motor as a fuse was blown when doing the parts installation this week. i still don't like being down to one printer but have no choice, and i spoke of it at the huddle when asked by my boss. and i did a virtual open-mic in the evening, before the debate. and i was the only performer besides the moderator. 

when the way gets dark, lucinda williams

 when i was driving home after work today i had my car radio on and i liked hearing a song by lucinda williams, found out it was called 'when the way gets dark'. it is a song that offers hope. the most memorable lyrics when i first heard it was 'don't give up, take my hand'. when hearing it again on youtube i also liked was 'hang on tight, don't be afraid, you have the reason to carry on, never alone'. it is on an album called 'good souls, better angels' and apparently it was just released earlier this year. i still recall well the first time i heard lucinda williams, it was at the downtown st. paul post office, and the song was 'essence'. the sultry voice was a lasting impression, and eventually i saw lucinda in concert at first avenue in minneapolis in 2014. 

in the evening i went on a walk and found 75 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy were married. i liked seeing penny stand up to amy's mom when the mom had doubts about it. of course there was a big name guest star in it, mark hamill as the wedding officiant. it was followed by the one where the friends went to big sur, and penny gets moved to the second car because she wanted people to stand up to sheldon, the 'travel supervisor'. work was really busy, getting caught up on check printing and repairmen were in the check shop. now the 'expansion tray' is on the alternate printer and i am told the parts are being overnighted. no choice but the re-route all printing, but hopeful that both printers are running again soon. i was told there was likely a blown fuse when the new parts were put in. i also watched the world series, game 2. rays beat the dodgers 6-4. at times i took a break from it. first was to watch the season premiere of 'the conners' on ABC. the second time was for the walk. it helped that the rays scored first, on a home run in the first inning. 

dust clogging check printer

 the repairman was back for a second day around midday. i was shown the inside of the check printer and there was plenty of dust clogging it. so i supplied some paper towels to have it cleaned up. although we reached the end of the day and the printer is still unavailable. something about the motor and it means the repairman will be back for a third day. checks were printed for all business lines except one, it was a really high volume. i printed some of it by the end of the day, but only like 20 percent. when i looked outside after a colleague picking up checks said it was slippery out there i decided i was fine with staying a little late to try to chip away at the check backlog. i got gas after clearing  snow off of my car and made it home in time to see one rerun of 'big bang theory'. it was when sheldon works with penny on an app about shoes because he was annoying his friends when they were working on their project. i watched some of the first game of the world series, dodgers beat the rays 8-3. there was some stolen bases so the taco bell 'free taco' promotion is on for next week. one of them was changed to a wild pitch, but in the same inning there were three that counted, including a double steal. didn't feel like doing the customary walk due to the snow. it is rare to see winter weather this early. i recall a snowstorm in 1997 when i was coming back from a football game in iowa city. it meant going much slower on the interstate, but the most important thing is getting home in one piece. same thing i said about driving home tonight, although it wasn't all that bad on the drive home. it helps that some of my typical route has some stoplights on it, which requires one to go slower and makes it easier to stop when necessary. 

romania coin, 10 bani

 over the weekend i found a romania coin, dated 2019, 10 bani. the basic unit of currency there is the leu. i am still surprised at times as to the coins i am able to find. in many ways it is like traveling the world without having the buy a plane ticket. and it is a fun challenge to find out about these coins. of course the online search yields plenty. another coin found recently was from 'up down', an online search said it is a bar and video game parlor. it is a national chain, and the location in this area is in minneapolis. when i saw this token i would have expected it to be from a car wash or laundromat. i went on a walk in the evening and found 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy was picking out a wedding dress. it was followed by when amy is out with her friends and says 'hoo' a lot after meeting penny's friend zac, because she is aroused. at work there was a repairman that arrived about the big check printer, finally. because the parts arrived last week. but he said he needed to come back after getting help from a colleague about the 'tear down' of the unit. the payroll dept. also wanted to swap out one of the statements sent to me. as usual, i said they would be run through the machine the next day since they arrive late in the day and aren't the highest priority item. i did a virtual open-mic in the evening and the moderator liked the one about sending myself a postcard and had his own story about acquiring postcards at one point in his life when on the road a lot. 

yellow rose movie

 this afternoon i went to see a movie, 'yellow rose', in inver grove heights. i lucked out on hearing about it as i was checking times online for another movie when i found it. this movie is about a young filipina that is interested in being a country singer. i learned something from watching the movie, as the song 'crazy' was in it but it didn't sound like patsy cline. the closing credits said the version used was by loretta lynn. when i got home i found this version on youtube, guess it was from a tribute album to patsy in 1977. there is name-checking of willie nelson, and johnny cash, in it as well. dale watson, a country singer i hadn't heard of, plays himself in it. one memorable thing i saw in the background of one scene was, for lack of a better term, 'candles in glass' and two musicians were on them- prince, and dolly parton. the movie does depict immigration raids, and the main character's mom is deported to manila. most of the movie takes place in austin, texas, and not much of it in manila. the movie does remind me a little of 'star is born' as the main character is talented but hesitates at first on performing. but there is no movie if she doesn't! in the end it reminded me of 'wild rose' more, another recent country music movie, although the other 'rose' takes place in nashville. and the movie reminds me of how i would like to visit texas, not only to see austin, and san antonio, but also having a writer friend in houston. i moved up my walk around the neighborhood in order to see the movie and found 6 cents. just before midday i went to a catholic church and got some take-out booya soup, a pint. the priest noticed me taking a picture of a sign and asked why, i said i was documenting history as we are living in the time of a pandemic. i watched some of the pro football games today, first half of vikings-falcons, the vikings lost. when i got back from the walk there was bonus coverage of bears-panthers, bears won and are now 5-1. in the evening, after the movie, i watched the baseball playoff game on fox, dodgers-braves. it was game 7 and the dodgers won 4-3 to take the series 4-3. just saw online tonight how iowa wrestling coach dan gable will be receiving the president's medal of freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. 

ava movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'ava'. it is about an assassin. i recognized john malkovich and colin farrell, as well as geena davis, in it. there was a castmember credited as 'common', i correctly guessed it was a rapper. with a one-word name like that it was a good guess. i liked how it showed more than just the assassin being on the job. there were plenty of scenes showing the 'down time' as well, especially in her hometown of boston. it involved seeing her sister, a musician, as well as her mom (played by geena davis) who is in the hospital. the funniest thing to me was when she went to a gambling den and there were porta-pottie doors to go through from the alley. not just how it was a good cover, but also the company being called 'CPR'- clean portable restrooms. there are also scenes showing her at alcoholics anonymous meetings. of course there is a body count, at one point she admits to being paid to kill 41 people. i liked how it held my attention throughout, but when it is the customary 90 minutes this helps. but it also comes down to 'the thrill of the chase'- we kind of expect to see the assassin finish the job and escape, but we still want to see how it gets to the end result. also odd how one character in it, part of the assassin ring, never talks or hardly ever does. we first see her eavesdropping when the assassin is handling her first job, after picking up somebody in a range rover from a paris airport. i like how this was another cheap rental, under a dollar, because of a discount code from redbox. 

this of course was an errand running day. besides returning the movie to the gas station i also made it to the post office, there was one item to pick up. i tried watching some of the college football on TV but wasn't too interested in it. i had other things i wanted to do so i didn't watch for long. if it isn't my school playing, the iowa hawkeyes, then it is hard for me to be interested. the hawkeyes haven't started their season just yet, but next weekend they will. i also went on a walk and found 31 cents. i did check the art near the dumpster and some of it was still there after getting back from errand running. but when i first walked by, somebody was looking at it. hard to tell what they were doing, but it looked like they were taking a wire off of the back of the frame. looks like they claimed some of it. when i passed by the second time, back from getting something out of my car, they were gone. the oil tanker artwork was claimed, but the other one i noticed- about pelicans- was still there. it served as a good use of puns- 'peer' and 'pier' pressure. also still there was one of a wolf, another of a tiger. i reviewed my camera and it looks like the pictures from the previous night looked just fine. so i still have a reminder of what the oil tanker artwork looked like. it was too dark to tell if the pictures were too dark. i checked the scores online for the baseball playoffs, the rays won their series 4-3 and the other other one, dodgers-braves, is tied 3-3. so there will be a game to watch on fox sunday night. 

jump in the ocean

 when i was out for a walk late tonight i passed by a dumpster and there was some framed art next to it. one was of a tanker truck, another had what looked like some kind of story on it about pelicans that said 'jump in the ocean' at the end of it. i tried getting a picture of it but it was too dark. i am hopeful that it is still there in the morning to get a better look at it. during this walk i picked up 29 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon met denise, the comic book store employee. it was followed by when penny pretends to be dating leonard again to impress her visiting dad. at work it was about getting caught up at first after a day off. there was a visitor that arrived to look at computer printouts that were tossed into a box in the next room. it was what i was told to do by who trained me. it was the first time that anyone had looked at them. in the evening i went to the hy-vee in eagan, and after getting back i fell asleep for a while. i did some researching online and found some more ideas for e-bay orders. i found some articles that mentioned famous people meeting presidents, and some of those photos are for sale on this site. i was interested in two musicians who have met presidents. of course i already have a good collection going of postcards on this subject. but 8 by 10 photos, not so much. no real plans made or event tickets bought for this weekend besides going to a booya soup serving on sunday, but i still want to get some things done. i checked the scores for baseball playoff games tonight, looks like neither series has ended yet. braves lead the dodgers 3-2 and the astros-rays series is tied 3-3. 

kenya coin, 10 shilling

 when i was out and about, getting things done on a day off, i found a coin on the pavement. it was in uptown minneapolis, but it was hard to tell at first where this foreign coin was from. it said '10 shillings, 1997' so i figured it was a former british colony. i could see on the other side 'president daniel toroitich' and when i googled it i found out it was from kenya. the nation was too hard to read, really worn, could only make out 'republic' on that side. the online listing found had this president in a photo meeting president bush-43, and said he just died earlier this year. i am aware that the twin cities is a metro area large enough to have a major airport, this makes it easier to find foreign coins. this will go into a tin with the others, as i know i have space there, unlike in albums which have been full for a while. 

it was helpful to make a list, as i got plenty done on this day off. there were eight things on it and most of them were done. it started with a doctor appointment, a physical, my first appointment since late 2016 as i couldn't afford health insurance when i had sporadic work. it was confirmed that i have lost weight since the last appointment, 30 pounds, i said i had walking nearly every day since the pandemic exploded in march. i still have band-aids on me from the blood draw, flu shot, and tetanus shot. next stop was walgreen to get shaving razors, and a small breakfast as they asked me not to eat before the appointment. i also made it to target express to get some aim toothpaste. and to the post office, one order was there. an order of 2 shirts, the band green day is on it. i think i will give one of them to my nephew. at midday i went to eat at IKEA near mall of america, as i had a 'welcome back' coupon. no surprise how it was a thinner crowd compared to labor day. i had some salmon. i also went to to do early voting at a library. there was a line to get inside but it moved fairly quickly. one election official spoke of the cost of the box where ballots are placed in, saying 'only people out of town on election day and the handicapped' should vote early. i wasn't expecting to hear an official's unsolicited opinion about it, and could have done without hearing it. i didn't make it to two places on the list though. i figured i should have copies of the car title and lien release before submitting them, and it sounds like there is a long wait to get serviced at the DMV as well. the other was a movie. i wanted to get to one at the lagoon in uptown minneapolis but didn't make it in time. it was taking too long driving there once i got onto lake street from hiawatha, down to one lane due to construction. i think some of it was due to the riots there in late may. it meant that it was harder to get through traffic lights. but i still wanted to look around the area as it was the first visit since the unrest. it was sad to see some craters in the ground, likely buildings that were burned in the riots and have since been demolished. there was some art up at a (probably closed) CVS pharmacy, i got some pictures of it. and one that said 'don't burn, people live here'. the gas station across the street from the bryant-lake bowl, the venue where i was in a fringe play, was gone. it was a super-america that of course became a speedway. it is sad to see buildings i have been in either gone or closed. i got some lunchables at the target near the theater. as for the movie, i am hopeful that i can find it eventually as a redbox rental. 

in the evening i went on a walk and found 31 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy wanted a bachelorette party and she must have gotten drunk early on as she doesn't remember anything. it was followed by a takeoff of 'indiana jones' when sheldon steals the movie when he can't get in. amy said she never had a slumber party so she finally has one, but didn't understand at first what 'girl talk' meant. i tried to watch the baseball playoff game on fox tonight, dodgers-braves, but i was laying down and fell asleep. found out the braves won 10-2 so they now lead the series 3-1. i haven't watched a lot of the baseball playoffs this season as not many games have been on fox. but i will try harder when the world series begins, and if there are any more games left on fox during the league championship. 

delayed postcard arrived

 i was wondering if the postcard i sent myself from new ulm would arrive at all, and earlier today it did. it looks beat up, and the section with the address was a little torn. so i taped it and then put it in a plastic protector before it went into my photo album. the card i chose was of the former post office, now the brown county museum. i had been making this annual visit for over a decade, so it was time to give myself this souvenir. it led to me calling my dad to find out if he got one from me and he did. sounds like much earlier than mine. though he said he had a hard time reading some of what i wrote. it was a typical call, a long one about various subjects and one of those was politics. he said he has already sent in his absentee ballot. one thing sounded familiar to what i deal with, car dealers making plenty of contacts related to buying another vehicle. i find it to be annoying, and many others likely do as well. 

in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 5 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when an FBI agent interviewed the friends related to howard, and sheldon shared too much. it was just one episode as i wanted to be caught up on everything before leaving the office for a day off. a colleague that trained me will be filling in for the day. he was in for a short time around midday to see if there were any changes since he last worked in the check shop. there were some, hard to say how many. 

visitors log

 one of the things i recently found in the check shop at work was a visitors log. there were some entries in it from 2015. i don't know what this means, possibly that there was less of a controlled access than what it has now. there are likely some other things there that i haven't found yet. since it appears that so many things there have been untouched for a while. it serves as a good storage facility, best explanation i can think of. this was found in a drawer that is part of a table where i leave checks for most of the day until i am ready to run them through the envelope stuffer, in case there are requests for special handling. speaking of this, late in the day there was one check that said 'courier pickup' but i changed it to an overnight delivery since it was out of state. only one who gets courier pickup is our tax specialist, who is in the same metro area. two shipments arrived that were tied to open tickets. one of them was a toner cartridge and the other was a registration assembly. the latter is from a ticket that was opened over two months ago, hard to believe it is still ongoing. so i emailed and hopefully a technician will be in soon for installation. first day back after the holiday, the volume was kind of high for some business lines. 

in the evening i went on a walk and found 31 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when stuart goes to the park when babysitting for howard and bernadette. it was followed by when sheldon said leonard violated a pinky swear with howard that neither one would date priya, raj's sister. i didn't watch any of the baseball playoff games tonight as neither one was on fox. but it sounds like that atlanta and tampa are closing in on reaching the world series. atlanta is up 2-0 and tampa is up 3-0. 

on the rocks movie

 in the late afternoon i went to see a movie, 'on the rocks', in eagan. had to check twitter postings, and it appears it was the first time i had been to a movie theater since february. that was when i wanted to see 2 movies on the same weekend before the oscars, it was 'ford ferrari' and 'marriage story'. of course theaters were closed for a while due to the pandemic. it was the first visit to this theater since it re-opened under a new owner, and now has an ax-throwing club inside the theater. it was hard to ignore how the theater looked so empty, not just in terms of patron count but also very few movie posters inside. i saw one for 'ghostbusters' and very little else. 

now for the actual movie itself. i liked reading about it in the minneapolis paper. bill murray is in it, and much like many other movies he is in he excels at being goofy. jenny slate is in it as well, not sure what role she had. the credits said she was 'vanessa', my guess is she is the one that does a lot of talking about her dating relationships in scenes with laura, the main character, and laura mostly listens. i think these were mostly scenes when both are dropping off or picking up their kids at school. it is a father- daughter movie, where the bill murray character does some surveillance on laura's husband when laura wonders if he is cheating on her. there is also a scene when they go to mexico. the scenes when laura has dinner with her dad, felix, (murray's character) are priceless because they were matching wits. most memorable has to be when the two are prowling around at night in a classic convertible, an alfa romeo. i understand that it was directed by sofia coppola, of course many know that family name as her dad directed the 'godfather' movies. apparently she also directed 'lost in translation', another bill murray vehicle. laura's husband, dean, is played by marlon wayans, not too familiar with him, heard more about damon wayans. this is a fun romp of a movie, i am thankful i went to see it. 

i had the day off as it was a bank holiday, and i was fine once i decided to make a list and be active as much as possible for the day. and i got to most things on the list. one of them was reading the paper, as i get it on fridays and i was a little behind. this is what gave me the idea to go to the movies. and i got some junk mail shredded as well. some of what was on my list was looking up things online, and get bills paid by phone. when i got back from the movie i was able to watch one 'big bang theory' rerun, it was about sheldon meeting amy's mom. i also went on a walk and found 72 cents. and i did a virtual open-mic, and this time the moderator took notes and responded to some of them. such as the mention of the ax-throwing place, and visiting first avenue for a concert. i also watched some of the baseball playoff game on fox, dodgers-braves, and the braves won with a big 9th inning, 5-1, after it was tied 1-1 for a while. 

credit card system down

 i tried to make a phone payment on my credit card tonight and the system was down. the only way i was able to talk to somebody with a pulse was to saw my card was lost or stolen. and i was told i am given another day to pay without any late fee penalties. i tried to get through with online banking as well, but i don't know if i have an account set up there. so it meant working on other things for now, and try again in the morning. 

  there wasn't much on my list of things to do today, since the errands were done on saturday. i watched a charlie brown DVD i recently ordered from amazon. it was the 1970s collection. it had two specialson it that i finally have on DVD, 'play it again' and 'it's a mystery'. in both cases, it said it was the first time for both in this format. it was midday by then, so i watched some of the pro football games on TV. it was raiders-chiefs for the opener, raiders trailed for a while but won by 8. cowboys-giants was the second game on that network, CBS, but i had the urge to get outside. so i went on a long walk and found 37 cents. i watched 'the simpsons' in the evening, although i am not sure who all of the artists were. one of them was french and his instructor was beheaded when france had royalty, so probably not cezanne. the others were named- leonardo davinci, diego rivera and his wife frida, and vincent van gogh. after this i laid down and fell asleep for a while. i am proud of what i did for a while this afternoon while watching football. it was getting more cards that were filed away in a bag in a box, into some photo albums. much like earlier, it meant deciding to take some cards out, so seven more were sent to the shred box to make room in the albums. but i still file it under 'stressing quality'. or in the case of one slot now open, wanting space for a postcard i just ordered this weekend. it was of the bus station in minneapolis, now the music venue known as first avenue.  actually it was no big deal to toss some of these cards, as three of those twelve this weekend were duplicates. and i know why, it was a holdover from when i decided to send the duplicate to the office. of course that is an office i am no longer in. and some other things were moved to the box that has baseball souvenirs. 

first avenue exhibit

 in the early afternoon i arrived at the minnesota history center to see the exhibit about the music venue known as first avenue. it was scheduled to run for a year and end in early may, but the pandemic hit and the museum was closed until october 1. now it is scheduled to run until early january. i am thankful i made it as it did remind me of visits there. first show i saw was jimmy eat world in 2011, then later on i went to see lucinda williams. local band soul asylum i saw at a different venue, the saints baseball stadium, in 2016. as usual, i learned something while there. the venue has had some different names since it opened in 1970, after previously being a bus station. in fact the first one was 'the depot', and it didn't become 'first avenue' until early 1982. i do recall how it was closed for a while during my first year in minnesota, in 2004, the exhibit said it was for 17 days in november. it was due to the venue's owner, fingerhut, filing for bankruptcy. one of my photos was of bands i had seen in concert, but not at that venue. it was the U2, and the pretenders. since it is a small venue of course it is usually up-and-coming bands that play there. a tour van was on display. hard to say what was the biggest takeaway of being there. i spent much more time looking at the display about the venue itself than of the photos of prince, which were in a different room. it may have been seeing the part about a husker du song, 'diane', being inspired by a rape and murder. naturally there were things about the movie 'purple rain' in it, as many people know about the venue due to the movie. there were some videos to sit and watch throughout, one of them had 'zombie' by the cranberries in it, another band i saw at a different venue. i didn't buy any souvenirs in it, because there was very little about the exhibit i had seen. at least that were of interest to me, and i like small ones like postcards. i got a good look around and stayed until just minutes before closing time. 

this was also an errand running day. after taking back the redbox movie, it was on to drop off recycling, then dumping ten dollars worth of change in my credit union savings account. finally i went to pick up e-bay orders at the post office, and get a sandwich as it was midday by then. after the exhibit i watched a little college football on TV, and eventually fell asleep. in the evening i went to the grocery store, and went on a walk where i found 30 cents. so i have already started adding to the change bank, but no surprise when i have been walking nearly every day since march. i also got a look at my postcard collection since i was adding those i recently acquired about new ulm to the albums that i keep them in. i am trying to stave off buying new albums for as long as i can, and it sometimes means tossing some postcards i no longer value. often they are free ones advertising something, and not ones that i actually bought. in this case five were moved out to get the new ulm cards in. it also meant moving some to a different album. now that i have seen the exhibit, there is not many events i have in the near future to attend. main one i am aware of is going to a serving of booya soup next weekend.   

murder on orient express movie

 this evening i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'murder on the orient express'. this was probably the first time i had seen a movie based on an agatha christie novel. i know i haven't read any of her books. this is the version from 2017, though i found out there were other film versions such as the one from 1974. i recognized penelope cruz, michelle pfeiffer, judi dench, and johnny depp in it. the actor playing the detective was also listed as the director, and a producer. part of the plot i could tell was inspired by the lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder. when the train is snowbound, a man is found dead. and then the detective is pressed into service to solve the murder. it is solved before the train starts moving again. i will admit i might have been a little too tired to be watching it in the evening, but it kept my interest well. and i liked watching the special feature about the author of the novel, which had interviews with those that knew her best. i had a feeling when the movie had reached its ending, it was when the detective asked somebody to straighten his tie, as the man was taking him to the next case. it was part of the beginning of the story as well. i liked seeing what music was in the closing credits, including songs by cole porter, duke ellington, and billie holliday. and michelle pfeiffer was credited with singing one of the songs. 

at work the envelopes i had been waiting for finally arrived. it was 2 boxes so we should be fine with that business line for a while. i went on a walk after getting back from the hy-vee in eagan, and found 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard and bernadette became parents for the second time. it was followed by the one where sheldon and raj work together, but not very well, as it ends with an explosion in the office they are sharing for the project. 

grimace, mcdonaldland

 tonight i was on facebook after performing in an open-mic, the only performer besides the moderator. i saw a posting by mason city, it was about grimace from the mcdonaldland commercials. i spoke of getting to meet hamburglar when i lived in suburban chicago. i was surprised that nobody spoke of barney the purple dinosaur in it as they are the same color. of course these are comedians so it quickly went down a rabbit hole, after posting the wikipedia article. i still have a postcard of these characters. although it has been a while since they have been in the commercials. i know that this character likes the milkshakes, and each character was known for promoting a certain product. 

i went on a walk in the evening and found 20 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy was on professor proton. it was followed by when sheldon's mom showed up after sheldon and amy broke up, because sheldon tried to get cats to fill the void. at work it was announced that one of the trainers has been admitted to the hospital, so she may be having her baby soon. and when i asked about a supply order, i found out that some of the envelopes that arrived on wednesday were not what was ordered. but i am to accept whatever arrives. the colleague that orders supplies called to expedite what hasn't arrived yet. 

booya list

 i was wondering for a while if booya servings would be happening this fall, with the pandemic happening. i found a list in the st. paul paper, calling it 'the brave, the few, the takeout only'. some of them have already happened, but i have my eye on one that will be held in a little over a week. i am partial to proximity of course. many of the typical places are having it, such as catholic churches and veteran groups. the article also spoke of a 'notable newcomer'- as they say that can-can wonderland (the big game room) has taken over st. paul brewing. mention of how they are serving booya on thursday nights. i know that a pint is comparable to one big can of soup from the grocery store, so i have set aside enough quarters for a pint. i am fine with takeout only, and when they say 'serving until gone' i know well enough to try to arrive early. in the evening i went on a walk and found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj met a married woman and then became friends with her fireman husband. it was followed by the one where sheldon uses a virtual presence device. at work there was an envelope delivery just before midday. 

minor league baseball agreement

 i had read multiple things about negotiations between major league baseball and their minor league affiliates. i found three articles, saying the agreement expired at the end of september. they are from ballpark digest, baseball america, and the boston globe. there is mention of one league that will become a wooden bat summer league for college players, the appalachian league. rob manfred, the commissioner of the major leagues, has spoken of 'one baseball'. the plans are to contract teams, down to 120 clubs, where each major league team has 4 affiliates. short season and rookie league teams are the most likely to be cut. congress has weighed in on it, sending a letter saying they are opposed to any contraction. i liked seeing the history of minor league baseball being covered, this is mostly done in the ballpark digest article. the national association dates back to 1901, in a meeting at a chicago hotel. sounds like this is tied to what was happening in the major leagues, where the american league declared itself a major league to challenge the national league, which led to a peace agreement that spawned the world series in 1903. it sounds like independent leagues have signed on as 'partners' to major league baseball, not sure what this means. when there was a short season for the majors, and most minor league teams did not play due the pandemic, it has been a weird year for the sport. it remains to be seen what all of changes will be. previously, there was talk of the st. paul saints becoming an affiliate, but the saints like their independent status too much so that would be a hard sell. 

it was a busy day at work, as the two biggest files were a total of nearly seven thousand checks to print. all were printed by lunchtime, although i still needed more time to run them through the stuffer. but i liked how i was caught up by the end of the day. it helped that i waited on doing the UPS labels. i tend to get into a rhythm when doing them, so just as well on trying to do most of them back to back. found out i have no key card access to the file room on the other side of the fence, as expected. somebody from payroll asked me if i could let them in to look for a box, but the system wouldn't allow it. in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard played in a band with raj and burt at a bar mitzvah. it was followed by when howard was using a robot arm and it led to him going to the hospital. 

camera order picked up

 i placed an order for a new camera at the best buy in eagan on sunday and didn't feel like waiting nearly a week to pick it up. so i got the idea near the end of the workday to check the schedule for best buy in richfield, where it was found. they close at 6pm, so i decided to get it on the way home. it was a little off the path i normally take to get home, but i didn't mind. i was in line with those checking out, as the cashiers did order pickups as well. nothing to sign for since it was already paid for, and odd how there was no request for i.d. there was an email saying it was picked up as well. now it is a matter of when i get a look at it and start using it. this one is yellow in the front. i looked around a little while inside the stores on both days but only bought the camera. it was time to get another one because the lens wouldn't open when i was ready to get another picture in new ulm over the weekend. 

it was annoying when i arrived for work in the morning that a box wasn't picked up. it was a toner cartridge being sent to be recycled. i could tell that the driver just pushed it out of the way to open the drop-box. i called the number i had for the courier and was told to try again on leaving it next to the drop-box. it was a typical low-volume day for the first day of the week. as i was driving home i was listening to a CD as usual and when i went to eject it the disc wouldn't come out. so now i will try to see if i am able to get it out without having a mechanic do it for me. i went on a walk in the evening and found 27 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy tested their friends to see which ones were best to be in their wedding party. it was followed by the one where sheldon meets amy for the first time, it included being blackmailed with a sock by howard and raj. 

beavis and butthead movie

 i watched a DVD movie this morning, 'beavis and butthead do america'. i liked that the voice-over actors were names i recognized, as they had bruce willis, demi moore, and cloris leachman. it was much like other 'dimwit' movies i have seen, as it was a farce. alomg with how being dumb gets them in a jam, and out of a jam. they go to las vegas, the hoover dam, grand canyon, and yellowstone before reaching the nation's capital. i watched some of the special features, and much like many of the others i was mainly interested in the theatrical trailers. i watched some of the pro football games as well, starting off with chargers vs. the bucs. chargers got a pick-6, my favorite play of the game, and led when i went to do laundry, but i found out they eventually lost. the second game was colts-bears, and the bears lost 19-11. the bears game was listed in the paper as 12noon but it may have been moved back due to a game being moved to monday- patriots vs. chiefs- due to both teams having some positive covid tests. during my walks i found 12 cents. i fell asleep for a while in the early evening but woke up in time to hear the segment on '60 minutes' with comedian jerry seinfeld. there was mention of his being inspired by seeing the world's fair in new york city in 1964. in the morning i returned the rental car, but it was more of a chore than expected. i like filling up at the airport gas station just before returning it, but i found out it was closed. so i had to find another gas station, farther away.  

rosedale mall photo booth

 this morning started off with picking up a rental car at the airport. after this it was on to errand running, such as picking up orders at the post office. there were four, one of them was from amazon, a charlie brown DVD. just before midday i made it to rosedale mall in roseville as i wanted to use the photo booth there. i was inspired not only by the recent cleanup- where i had found previous strips from photo booths- but also the music video 'where i stood' by missy higgins. i held up a sign while there saying 'life during the pandemic' and under this was how it is oktoberfest weekend, my annual visit to new ulm. there was an unexpected souvenir found when claiming the 2 strips- there were 2 others of a young lady still in the slot. guess this can serve as inspiration for my writings. i still wanted godfather's pizza this weekend so it meant the next stop was the bobby and steve's in minneapolis. i figured that the lunch buffet in st. peter might not be happening, due to the times we live in. the gas station was a carnival atmosphere, likely to drum up business for the repair shop part of the establishment. i ate in the car and finished before i left the parking lot, then it was clear sailing all the way to new ulm. 

i made it to town later in the day than i normally do, around 3pm. the visitor center was closed, but i still found my way around fairly well as i have been to this town many times before. there was an official guide available and i claimed a copy. i found the venue where 'music in the steps' was happening, a former school building that is now a performing arts place. it was on the same street as turner hall. the band played plenty of familiar songs, such as 'folsom prison' by johnny cash, '16 tons' by tennessee ernie ford, and '8675309' by tommy tutone. i briefly left to see the final show of the day at the glockenspiel, the clock tower. then i was back as it was time to pick up my food order, i pre-ordered it from turner hall before starting the drive there. good food, it was bratwurst and sauerkraut and spaetzle, and apple strudel. i went back inside state street theater and ate at the will call counter. i still made it to some other familiar places in town, such as german park. i mailed the order form for a brick earlier in the day. when i arrived at the park i noticed some teenage girls trying to do a video jumping together near the fountain. i also found the baseball field as the guide mentioned a renovation there. and i had some superman ice cream at 'mn eis', a place that was on TV. i told the girl serving me to hold onto her enthusiasm throughout life, as she laughed easily when i was trying to figure out what to order. then it was to the post office to mail postcards, one to myself and the other to my dad. i wanted to let dad know i finally ordered the brick, not only honoring my annual visits for oktoberfest but also his uncle. he told the story of his uncle hopping trains during the depression, including this town. 

i also made it to sleepy eye, just west of there, to see the linus statue. couldn't find at first as it was dark, and the lights were off not only at the library, but also the hardee's across the street. linus had a mask on, a reminder of the times we live in. when i made it back to new ulm i figured i would just go to the bathroom and leave, but found out i could get in free to the ballroom as there was just 30 minutes left in the show. the band playing was 'church of cash' a johnny cash tribute band i had seen before. the frontman spoke of being from new ulm. i asked for the song 'hurt', and they did play it eventually. i had a schell's beer and a pretzel there. then it was on the road, and i made one stop as i was getting tired. it was at a gas station in jordan, and it was helpful to get out of the car and walk around a little and go to the bathroom. thankful i did this annual event, as so many others were canceled due to the pandemic. as usual i enjoy my time there. it might be that i am out of town and i once told myself to 'act differently, enjoy yourself'- have a different mindset. and something about festivals. i must have arrived at an understanding that it is best to celebrate who i am and stop being ashamed all the time and hiding 'behind a cloak of degradation' whatever it is, new ulm is a special place for me. 

badland movie

 i watched a DVD movie tonight, a redbox rental, 'badland'. i was going through the listings in alpha order and thankfully i found something early. i said that a western, with bruce dern and mira sorvino, would be a good one. trace adkins is in it as well. the main character was a pinkerton detective hunting down war criminals. the story was told in four chapters, the second and third were longer than the other two. plenty of shooting in it, no surprise when it is a western. and the price works well for me, with a discount code i got it for under a dollar for one night. i said 'sometimes you just need to try again' when there was a problem with it coming out of the machine. it said 'something went wrong'- first time i have seen this happen. but it still ends well, didn't feel like going to another machine anyway. of course it has nothing to do with a movie with almost the same name- 'badlands'- martin sheen is in that one. when i was searching it online after seeing it i saw this pop up. at work it was a slower day than the previous one, no problem with that as it is easier to breathe. in the evening after i got back from the hy-vee in eagan i went on a walk and found 29 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy consider getting married at the courthouse but decide against it at the last minute. it was followed by when leonard tells penny the story of how he became sheldon's roommate. i also listened to some of the baseball playoff game on the radio when driving to the grocery store. i was surprised to get KMOX, the st. louis cardinals flagship, this far north. cardinals were in a scoreless tie with the padres for a while, they were trailing 1-0 when i got home and i found out they lost 4-0 so their season has ended. 

walgreen loyalty program

 i saw an email saying the walgreen loyalty program will be changing soon. i know this has happened with other programs i have used before, such as the ones at speedway and super-america. of course i want to keep the points i already have, and it does mention having to enroll in the new program for the points to roll over. i happened to go to walgreen, near my workplace, at lunchtime today for a snack. an ice cream sandwich and a drink. it was a busy day getting caught up at work, starting off with two big files that arrived late wednesday due to I.T. issues. and there was the team huddle, and after it was a meeting about UPS fees. looks like needing to check a different box when it is being delivered to a residential address. there was also a skype message, and an in-person visit, from two different people late in the day. had to let them know that i had already sent the mail tubs out. had to because the pick-up man will ring the doorbell and ask where they are if they aren't there. in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends tried to get bitcoin off an old laptop. it was followed by when sheldon's friend and science colleague visits, who was called 'dr. slut-bunny' by penny.