newton boys movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a purchase i made a while back, 'newton boys'. i recall seeing it at the theater back in 1998. i left iowa for suburban chicago about a month later. i recognized many of the actors in it, including matt mc conaughey, dwight yoakam, julianna margulies, and ethan hawke. as a baseball fan of course i liked the scene where baseball players are named- rube waddell, tris speaker, rogers hornsby, and ty cobb. in the closing credits i liked seeing the interview with the youngest member of the newton boys, joe, on johnny carson back in 1980. the movie was 2 hours, but it held my attention. i noticed some things that i hadn't before, which is typical when watching movies again for the first time in a while. when one of them was arrested, jess, it was by texas ranger frank hamer, who was also involved in the bonnie and clyde saga. although research states it was actually frank's brother that arrested jess. but i am aware of how a movie like this has a disclaimer saying 'some scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect'. it was funny at one point when one lawman called these bank robbers 'please and thank you country boys'. 

i watched some of the pro football games, but not a lot. vikings rallied to beat the carolina panthers 28-27, and i was out walking for a while after it. during the walk i found 58 cents. i will likely avoid getting snack foods out of the vending machine at work for a while so i have enough for beer for christmas dinner. i prefer being able to pay cash, that is. and it doesn't take all that many quarters to get a can of hamm's when i got one for thanksgiving for $2. i tried listening to the bears-packers game on the radio in the evening but fell asleep, bears lost their 5th straight game. 

broken hearts gallery movie

 i watched a DVD movie this morning, a redbox rental, 'broken hearts gallery'. i recognized bernadette peters in it, who played the art gallery boss. research yielded that the two lead actors, who played lucy and nick, are australian. singer selena gomez is listed as executive producer, but she does not appear in the movie and none of her songs do either apparently, at least from what i saw from the closing credits. although there is an image of a big ticket to a selena gomez show in the opening segment. the movie was all right, but i have seen better movies than this one. thankful i only paid just over a dollar to see it. and it does cover a story that needed to be told about dealing with reminders of past relationships. but it seemed to be told too much from a woman's point of view. that is not the whole story in a dating relationship. i did like the 'confessionals' from those donating souvenirs to the gallery, as those were good stories. lucy starts the gallery after getting fired from the gallery she was at where her boss is played by peters. it was annoying to hear lucy spout off at times, especially when dating nick, wondering aloud if she is going to get murdered- after getting into his car, thinking it was the uber or lyft driver she ordered. or claiming she was being manhandled when nick stopped her from making a scene when she tracks down her ex. it does seem to be a reminder of what i didn't enjoy about relationships, where all too often the man gets blamed even if it wasn't his fault. her two roommates do add plenty to the story, although this also serves as a reminder of what can annoy me. the roommates bet on lucy's relationships, but i am aware of how some people bet in real life on just about anything. and there is one character that doesn't talk at all except to state clearly how much money had been bet on those relationships. and even though this movie was under two hours, it still seemed like it was too long, not sure why. i do like the scene with karaoke in it. 

then there was the errand running. it was midday by the time the movie was done, so it was time to go to the post office. just one e-bay order was there, the other said 'in transit' but when we just had a holiday i am aware that can delay things. then i returned the movie to the gas station and got lunch there, the typical pretzel dog and cheese. i watched some of the college football on TV, but not too closely. it was penn state-michigan, then pitt-clemson. i laid down and fell asleep and missed much of the second game on ABC. by then it was early evening, and shortly after that it was time to go to aldi for my weekly grocery order. i also claimed a box of cereal near my home, it was unopened so why not? i hate seeing food go to waste and it will get eaten eventually. much like two days earlier, there were other things in the box where the cereal was found but i am careful about what i claim- and passed on the bread. during my walks i found 14 cents. 

facebook voicemail

 i got my first-ever facebook voicemail. it was about 10 seconds, and from the yemen native. i was thrilled to get it. during this pandemic, i am finding out who my real friends are. it doesn't surprise me too much, kind of already knew. but in terms of who is reaching out to me when the performance venues are closed, it confirms who is. and not too many have made the effort. i know, i could reach out to people first, but i have also said before how most of my friendships with performers lack substance. in some cases i don't mind, as all i ask from some is to swap stories and share laughs at the clubs, and a shared understanding of what it is like as a performer. but i also like it when the friendship runs even deeper. i know i have often struggled throughout life making friends, hard to say how often it is due to my own issues and not others. i am aware that a substantial friendship is not possible with everybody, for various reasons, as it helps to have shared interests and values. sometimes i have been overly thankful to friends, and asked for too much out of them. but i know i have matured since then and understand what works and what doesn't. and it proved some of the insecurities and lack of confidence i still had, which isn't attractive at all. but you live, and you learn. 

i did my weekly order at hy-vee tonight, but it was much smaller than usual, just 5 items. some things i didn't need to buy this week. i made it home in time to watch some of 'frosty returns' on CBS, john goodman voices the snowman. i went out on a walk in the evening and found 67 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when one of the scientists from fermi turned on the other, and it paved the way for sheldon and amy to get their nobel prize. it was followed by the one where sheldon is afraid of a bird. and he is told by bernadette and amy that they did not major in 'bird shooing'. at work the one on one with my boss was postponed again, not a big deal. i asked that a check be picked up only after i had returned from lunch, and it was nice that my request was honored. i was busy enough that i didn't check the score of the iowa-nebraska football game until late in the day, and it had went final by then. iowa won a close one. 

marie callender, or hungry man?

 i ate both of the turkey dinners today that I had bought for thanksgiving. first was marie callender, then hungry man. both are made by con-agra. the latter was 30 cents more, but both were under 3 dollars. no surprise how the hungry man took longer to cook since it weighed more, 16 ounces vs. 11.85. the latter was more calories, 400 vs. 280, and it had an 'apple cranberry compote' while the former did not. both tasted fine, but i will have to give the edge to hungry man as it was nice to have the cranberry as part of the meal. also at cub foods, i bought some pumpkin-flavored muffins. i wanted pumpkin pie but the only ones available were full ones, too big for just me. so i chose the muffins over having a half-pie that wasn't pumpkin. for the next holiday dinner i might choose differently, who knows? with the beer, it worked well to split the can of hamm's over two meals when i have the rubber-maid container. the hamm's tasted better than the summit, not too surprised when the summit is pale ale. i didn't mind too much changing some things around for turkey day this year, as i found beer at a closer place than before. going to a liquor store means more selection than a convenience store, besides the proximity factor. and the food was cheaper than going to get take-out from a restaurant. 

i did the annual viewing of two DVDs, in the morning it was 'planes trains and automobiles', in the evening it was 'charlie brown thanksgiving'. i still enjoy watching both. i placed some more charlie brown orders today as well. there was another special, from amazon, and a baseball card, from e-bay. it was nice using the gift card money available to knock the final price down on amazon. also in the morning, i checked my facebook messages and there was one from brawler. of course it serves as a reminder of how i haven't been to the clubs much since the pandemic began. i went on a walk in the afternoon and found 58 cents. i also found some food, it can be surprising as to what gets thrown out. first was a small bag of wavy chips at a bus stop, then later on was more of those 'zee zee' nutrition bars, this time strawberry flavored. the ones i claimed were all unopened packages, so i figured they were still edible. some things in the box were left behind, as i knew it was a good idea to pass on the fruit. i watched some of the two football games, houston beat detroit and washington beat dallas. the third game was moved to sunday, due to covid guidelines. 

luxury gift guide

 i was sent something in the mail from walgreen, and on the front page it said 'give merry', and called itself a luxury gift guide. there are various fragrance ads inside, endorsed by famous people, including elizabeth taylor, sarah jessica parker, jennifer lopez, lionel richie, and jennifer aniston. i do not shop for these things, hard to say why i was sent this catalog, although they might have sent it to all of those using their loyalty program. work was fairly ho-hum, thankfully no drama. there is always a chance of a 'crisis before the holiday'. overnight packages were down again, 17 in all. i got out close to the regular leave time, about 15 minutes after it. i went on a walk in the evening and found 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard became more assertive and landed a special project. raj made statements about the loch ness monster that appeared in a review of his planetarium gig. it was followed by the one where amy is sad and plays the harp when her friends go dress shopping without her, then she becomes maid of honor. 'the conners' was about darlene becoming a manager at the plastics plant. i still haven't heard mention of how they found a way to keep the house. 

boxes from the branch

 the bank branch manager brought over 2 more boxes to the check shop. these were the envelopes that i once said were 'nowhere to be found'. this was in addition to the four fluid bottles brought over late last week. one box was already opened, but the other was not. so i know what is in one of them, got too busy to check the other one so far. the early part of the day was getting caught up from being out of the office on monday, as some things were left behind for me especially incoming mail. there was also a fat file of checks to print, well over a thousand, a file that is normally just a dozen or less most of the time. there were various emails about it, apparently it is handled now, in terms of checking a box where i will not see these on my end. there was 29 overnight envelopes to do, so the volume dropped some, but i was behind on doing the labels for most of the day. in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 35 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon's mom visits and sheldon is gleeful when he gets sick from being out in the rain because then his mom can fuss over him. at dinner i decided to have one of the beers purchased the previous day, the bottle of summit. since the can of hamm's is a big one, i figured i could split the can over 2 meals on thanksgiving. i am saving the bottle cap, i have a fairly good collection going that i keep in the silverware caddy. some are reminders of my visits to suburban chicago. although i now prefer beer in cans when traveling so i don't need to find a bottle opener. having beer at dinner is a big deal, as this is rarely done. it is just the fourth beer i have drank since the pandemic began. one was at a saints game, the other two in new ulm at oktoberfest. i was mainly having beer when i was out at the performance venues. water is my normal drink at home for dinner, tap water or sometimes sparkling water. 

go to the statue

 i decided to wander around downtown st. paul after a dentist appointment this afternoon, for about an hour, then got on the bus back home. during that time i was over by wilkins auditorium and there was a sign saying that covid testing wasn't there, go to the entrance by the herb brooks statue. somebody was in their car near me and asked me where the testing was, ignoring the sign apparently. i said the statue is near the park, and then they left. besides the dental appointment, my first in over 3 years, i did get other things done today. some of it was fact finding, such as calling buca di beppo and finding out they don't have the individual turkey dinner for thanksgiving this year. their smallest portion serves 3 people, and that is too much for just me. so i knew i needed to get into motion and line up alternate plans. first stop was to a nearby liquor store, where i got beer- a can of hamm's and a bottle of summit. i knew i wanted beer with my dinner, much like previous years. then in the evening i went to the cub foods in eagan and got two turkey dinners from the freezer, along with some pumpkin pie muffins. it was nice getting some small but important things done on my day off, such as paying the utility bill by phone. and deciding to write a letter to the editor in my hometown. i like doing one annually there. i rode the bus to the appointment, for the first time during the pandemic. not too big of a deal, have a mask on and social distancing, same as most other public places. during my walks i found 27 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon tried to send cookies to nobel prize winners. it was followed by when wil wheaton gave an action figure to sheldon when he finally decided to show up at his party. i did a virtual open-mic in the evening, and when the MC sang 'the dance' by garth brooks it reminded me of how i couldn't dance to it at my cousin's wedding since it reminded me of bill young. this led to the MC telling a story about his family, as i recall about a sibling that committed suicide as well as finding out years later about a baby being given up for adoption. 

cold turkey movie

 i watched another DVD movie this morning, the other recent amazon purchase, 'cold turkey'. it was of interest to me for multiple reasons, one of them being it was filmed in my native state, iowa. the other was the cast was quite familiar, many of them i recognized from TV shows i have enjoyed including bob newhart, jean stapleton, dick van dyke, tom poston, and paul benedict. i also liked seeing randy newman doing the music, and norman lear producing it. i first watched it with my dad, who sometimes would tell me about the movie, and he must have found a rental copy at the video store in my hometown. it has a setting in the fictional town of eagle rock, iowa, and was mostly filmed in greenfield. it is about a small town that has a bet to stop smoking for a month, in order to get a check of $25 million from a tobacco company. as an iowa native, i recognized a few things in it such as using anderson erickson milk, and an early scene is filmed at terrace hill, the governor's mansion. it does get ridiculous at times, but i think this is why it is known as satire. i still like the scene where a church hymn, 'o god our help in ages past', is played. i have always enjoyed the hymns more than scriptures. 

i watched some of the pro football games today, but not a lot. there was falcons-saints, and cowboys-vikings. i went on a long walk in the afternoon and found 7 cents. 'the simpsons' was about bart getting a voice-over gig and lisa performing in a dying mall. i called my dad in the evening as thanksgiving is coming soon, and figured he would want to hear about the movie i had just seen. he said my stepdad, and one of my cousins, has had covid. 

midnight cowboy movie

 i watched a DVD movie this morning, a recent amazon order, 'midnight cowboy'. it is a reminder of my college days in iowa city, as the rhetoric instructor assigned it to me to report about it. i recognized dustin hoffman and jon voight in it. i hadn't seen it in a while but still recalled the storyline well. they made a big deal about this being the only x-rated movie to win best picture. but it was released in 1969, the early days of rating movies. the rating was later lowered to an 'R', but by today's standards it might be PG-13. the most violent scene in it was when joe beats up somebody to get bus fare as he wanted to get ratso to florida where it is warmer. there were still a few things that i noticed again for the first time, such as joe carrying his zenith radio around wherever he went. i just recalled it on the bus to new york from texas, where he said 'going to new york city, ma'am'. i know that it has been mentioned in later movies, such as 'forrest gump' where one scene involving forrest and lt. dan seemed to be straight out of this movie. and it was when the song 'everybody's talking' was playing, which served as an unofficial theme song. i already had the movie on VHS but now that I have the DVD copy i will likely junk the VHS tape, which is what i normally do. 

this was an errand running day, and even though there was no redbox movie to return i still stopped at the holiday gas station to pick up lunch. they had the nathan's pretzel dogs again so i got one and some borden cheese. both e-bay orders were at the post office. i also sent a box while there, it was dumped on me at work as somebody tried to send it UPS but it didn't fit inside the box. it said 'no postage necessary if mailed in the USA' so i liked how it was nothing extra for me to send it. then it was on to drop off recycle, and i saw a man with a rifle near the capitol. there was a rally happening there and some in the crowd, which i saw from a distance, had trump flags. then my final stop was the gas station, as usual it makes sense to make the food stop the final one especially if it is perishables. i watched some of the college football games on TV, indiana-ohio state, kansas state-iowa state, and wisconsin-northwestern. i also went on a walk late in the evening and picked up 14 cents. iowa beat penn state, it was not on local TV but i saw some highlights. it's their fifth game of the season and so far none of them have been on local TV. the one against nebraska the day after thanksgiving likely will be, but i expect to be working when it is on especially if it is in the afternoon. 

broken pull tab

 i went to have soup, as i normally do at lunchtime. one thing though, the pull tab broke off and i was unable to get the can open. so i went to the nearby walgreen and got a microwaveable little tub of beefaroni. i know what to do with the can that won't open, get out the can opener, which i didn't have with me at the time. so this can gets rolled over to next week's lunch. it was another busy day doing overnight labels, final count was 65. this included 16 from the previous day where the file arrived late, and 35 more from the same business line. my boss saw the email about it and called me to find out more, i let him know about the spike in volume this week. so he 'read the riot act' in his response on the thread, as i said i was able to get them out same-day if given enough time. i stayed late to see that i was caught up on most everything since i have monday off. of course the last act was putting up the 'out of office' reply on my email. i also said 'quit scaring yourself' when the envelope stuffer shut off late in the day. found out why, it was my clumsiness. i pressed the wrong button and shut off the computer monitor that controls it. the colleague that will fill in for me asked what my weekend plans were, i spoke of the dentist appointment on monday. and how i have mostly been renting movies for the weekend for a while now due to the pandemic. i had to think about it, there have been some ticketed events, but largely few and far between. there has been the four st. paul saints games, the art exhibit at the fairgrounds, the first avenue exhibit at the history center, the opera at the saints stadium, and the day-trip to new ulm for oktoberfest. that might seem like a lot to some, but in a typical year i have events lined up most every weekend, especially in the summer. i know this is one reason why i started doing walking on a regular basis, as i like being active. after i went to hy-vee tonight for my weekly order, i went on a walk and found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when raj dated a deaf lady and howard did the sign language translation. 

wet-vac dumped out

 when i had some down time in the morning, i knew there still was something in the wet-vac. i had used it twice since starting at the bank, on the bathroom floor. so i took it outside and dumped it out. odd to see some of the residue once i had, as there was a yellow push-pin. still inside was some paper clips, 5 in all. so i cleaned them off and put them in the box with the others to be used. i also used a paper towel on the filter to get as much gunk off as possible, but some of the filter came off as it was wet. but at least it is empty now, and i can leave it in the other room with a clear conscience. it likely hadn't been dumped out since prior to my start nearly 6 months ago. good thing i found a grassy area to dump it out, considering what was inside. also at work there was a big request to overnight checks, but it arrived late in the day and had to tell the business line that it would not be done same-day. i got an instant message asking about it, but said it was approved only 12 minutes before my scheduled leave time. when i was able to do 22 overnight requests this week on the same day, i was given way more time, more than 2 hours. i don't care if they were disappointed, as even at a meeting this week i said i need as much time as possible to complete them. my boss was interested in how i was unable to add a day off to an online calendar, it asked for a phone number and email account to verify but wouldn't let me use the work email. so he may be in on friday about it. will see if codes sent to my hotmail account are good enough. in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when leonard and amy went to a wedding, and sheldon went to a toy train store. 'young sheldon' was about sheldon having a broken arm and having people sign the cast. 

rock music stickers

 when i was driving home from work tonight i was behind somebody who must really like rock music. there was plenty of stickers on the back of their car, i recognized 5 as rock music. red hot chili peppers, nirvana, oasis, green day, and rolling stones. i once had a pearl jam sticker on the back of my car. there was a high volume of overnight requests, likely related to the state farm file. i did 48 for the day, and 25 were from just one requestor. as usual she apologizes when sending the email. i confirmed that they wanted this many overnighted as usually it is just a 'one off'. in the evening i went on a walk and found 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny was trying to seduce leonard as she wasn't on board with him being a sperm donor for her ex, zack. it was followed by the one with the throwaway chair. i like the snappy door answers from penny, starting with 'what's up, buttercup?' i also watched 'the conners' after the news, darlene first said she was pregnant and then found out she wasn't. the news started a few minutes early, right after the credits of the rerun were done, as there was a press conference from the governor about dialing back on some businesses due to the pandemic. although it was annoying that it was just the audio as i am used to them doing the video as well. hard to say how much it will affect me as i haven't been to bars since march, and the same is true for restaurants as well. fitness centers, i don't go there. i have been doing walking as my form of exercise, don't need a fitness center for that. it serves as a reminder to try to get the thanksgiving dinner order in early as they are allowing take-out. this is how i normally order it anyway. 

underdog, alicia keys

 when i was driving home from work i heard a song on the radio that stuck with me. i wrote down some key lyrics and found out it was 'underdog' by alicia keys. the video shows people from different walks of life, and at times alicia is singing and dancing with them, at times she is alone. lyrics that were memorable for me was 'the things that change us', 'this goes out to the underdog', and 'built to break the mold'. stories about underdogs tend to be good stories, the triumph over adversity. in the evening i went on a walk and found 12 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard was jealous of colleagues working on a meteorite and dreamed that he ate them. it was followed by the one where penny did a hemorrhoid commercial. at work there was a meeting around midday about the checks from a business line arriving late to customers. it was slated for 30 minutes but ran over by 12. i let them know that volume has went up, but i print them and send them out same-day. so it has more to do with what happens before i get them. i knew this was likely even before i heard people speak about their part of the process. the fire alarm also went off, before this meeting, but there were employees from facilities saying it was just a test when i emerged from the check shop with my coat on. 

tears of a clown

 i read a recent interview in the minneapolis paper with musician smokey robinson. what stuck with me was the part about the hit song 'tears of a clown'. i had heard it many times before but i think i must have ignored the title and the lyrics and it always sounded like a happy song to me, based on the melody. smokey said stevie wonder did the melody, which sounds like a circus. smokey did the lyrics, and said it was inspired by the story of pagliacci, an italian clown. my research found that 'pagliacci' is italian for 'clown', and it was the name of an opera. i know the song even better as being name-checked in other songs, especially 'beautiful' by eminem and 'coming home' by diddy dirty money. this time i did take the time to listen to the song on youtube, in order to pay attention to the lyrics, and they are deep. i found some other versions of the song there as well, although i think they were british bands as i hadn't heard of them and it was from a TV program called 'top of the pops'. as a performer i understand well the reality of 'tears of a clown', and it made a lasting impression in the eminem song. i spoke of the song when i was doing virtual performing tonight. also this evening, after performing, i went on a walk and picked up 29 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when two scientists from fermi lab in chicago wanted to share in sheldon and amy's discovery. it was followed by the one where priya said she is moving back to india. 

at work the special requests started early. there was a skype message shortly after i arrived, and it meant i started check printing a little later than typical. although i made up the time quickly, and had enough time to finish 2 online classes that were due at the end of the month. then near the end of the day were 2 more skype messages. one of them wanted a screen shot of the icon i use to log on to the test check system. the other was a special request for a check copy, much like in the morning. it meant getting out later than i wanted to, but it was still at a fairly decent time due to starting the stuffing of check files earlier. it is necessary when the volume has went up on some business lines. i got around later than typical for the virtual performing as i was listening to the monday night football game, bears-vikings. bears lost 19-13. 

pure country movie

 i watched a DVD movie this morning, 'pure country'. it was the flip side of 'honeysuckle rose', a recent amazon order. i recognized george strait, and kyle chandler, in it. what george did reminded me of what i saw in another movie, 'the fugitive', where he decides to go clean-shaven early in the story. lesley ann warren played his tour manager, and i kept saying she looks a lot like susan sarandon. i do like the main idea in the story, having to go back to the basics and do music his own way. although it is still odd to just leave behind his band while on tour and go home to visit his grandma to get there. he does visit the cemetery as well, it seems to explain why he doesn't go see his parents. no surprise how eventually a private eye was dispatched to try to find out his whereabouts. one of the actors in it, rory calhoun, i think was name-checked by mr. burns in a 'simpsons' episode. 

this was also a day for doing laundry, after the movie was done and having lunch. i saw a man reading the paper from nearly a week ago at the laundromat, and on the front page was mention of the passing of game-show host alex trebek. it led to discussion of other subjects, including comedy shows, except he had never heard of 'godwin's law'. i also went on a long walk after laundry was done and found 62 cents. during the walk i passed by a car wash where 19 hockey pucks were left behind. 'the simpsons' was about grandpa being a person of interest in a disappearance of a lady he had dated. i watched some of the pro football games, first was jags-packers then seahawks-rams. 

an imperfect murder movie

i watched a DVD movie this morning, a redbox rental, 'an imperfect murder'. when searching it online i found another title for it, 'the private life of a modern woman'. i recognized alec baldwin and charles grodin in it. 'activist investor' carl icahn appears in it as himself. it was painful to see grodin's role as he played somebody that is senile. most of the movie takes place in the main character's apartment. this is where her ex shows up, and where he dies, and where some other visitors show up. this includes the cop, played by baldwin, as well as one of her artist colleagues- she is an actress. there was classical music throughout, including by brahms and j.s. bach. there was a painting that is shown often as well, but i couldn't find mention of it in the credits. it looked like an impressionist painting, a very busy one as plenty of people are in it, many things happening, and most of the people in it are naked. it was a short movie, 71 minutes, most movies are at least 90 minutes. apparently it was from 2017, on the festival circuit, and just released this year. it was a day for errand running, and it meant getting to the post office. all four orders were there. i also paid for the box, for 6 more months. then it was time to return the movie to the gas station and get lunch. i got a corn dog and some cheese. there was some college football on TV,  but i didn't watch much of it. there was indiana-michigan state, usc-arizona, and wisconsin-michigan. i laid down for a while and fell asleep. but looking back, i probably should have went out for a walk during the afternoon. later on it started raining. i still found 2 cents while out and about. i made it to the aldi grocery store in the early evening for my weekly order and there was a purchase limit on cans of tuna, limit 6. i usually just get 2 per week for lunch, so not a big deal to me. there might have been limits on other items, but it was the only one i noticed, in terms of the items i regularly get. i think the news said there might be a run on some items at grocery stores due to the pandemic. there has been a spike in cases and some states are placing more restrictions on businesses but not wanting to call for a lockdown just yet. 

window down, cold driving

 i wanted to see if i could get the passenger side window down in my car, and i did this morning on the way to work. one problem, though- couldn't get it back up. so it was a cold drive into work. i went into the office and got cleared what was waiting and went to investigate an hour later. i cleared off some of the ice around the window and was able to get it all the way up. i was ready to dump some fluid in there but thankful i didn't have to. i did this when it was subzero one winter. what did i learn from all of it? sometimes it is best to leave alone something non-essential i guess. driver side window had no problem getting it down and back up after the ice and snow this week. when i made it into work i parked in a different spot as a way of hiding that the window was down, near another car and not in the row near the sidewalk. i was a little paranoid about what would happen. i got out much earlier than usual, about 10 minutes past my scheduled leave time. i think it was due to starting the end-of-day functions earlier, such as running checks through the envelope stuffer. it was kind of necessary after the issue with the machine stopping, at the wetter sensor area, and it was a pain to have to keep clearing it. so i told myself it would be easier to ride it out if i gave myself more time. and try to correct the problem right away instead of thinking that it will correct itself. 

i went on a walk in the evening and found 73 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon amused himself in a ball pit and wanted a menial job to get unstuck from an idea. it was followed by when penny gave sheldon a napkin signed by leonard nimoy. and i made it to hy-vee in the evening. i was listening to the iowa- minnesota football game on the radio. the score was 14-0, in favor of iowa, for a while. that was the score when i started the drive, and at halftime when i arrived at the grocery store. and when i made it back home. it was 20-0 by the time i had put away groceries and had finished having a little cup of ice cream, and some egg nog. iowa went on to win 35-7, so they keep the floyd of rosedale trophy another year. when i was young i recall my dad writing on a chalkboard hanging on the wall in our home, 'went uptown, and the iowa- minnesota game score'. i don't recall what year though, but i think iowa won that year as well. 

pants in rotation

 i knew i had lost some weight since i started walking regularly in march, and checked a bag that had two pairs of pants in it. based on what the tape measure read, i am able to wear them again. so i put them into the rotation. hopeful i can keep the weight off, as i feel great being thin. not sure how long ago they were worn, but i have a hard time throwing out anything useful. clothing usually will get thrown in the trash and ripped up before it gets donated to a resale shop. in the evening i went on a walk and found 51 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was the halloween episode where sheldon was dressed as the doppler effect. i also watched 'young sheldon' in prime time, it was when sheldon was a docent at a train museum. at work there was a repairman for the envelope stuffer at mid-morning, and he was out around midday. i panicked a little when it was jamming near the end of the day, but i was able to get all checks run through. i was shown the sensor that must get cleaned to avoid malfunction, and this must have been the culprit. i ran my finger across it multiple times in hopes of clearing any dust from it, after using a clorox cloth on it. i did get my request  for a day off for thanksgiving week in, but by the end of the day there was no action on it. i know my boss said he is not in on friday, so it looks like i will be waiting a few days on it. 

honeysuckle rose movie

 i had the day off, veterans day is a bank holiday, so i wanted to have something to do. so it meant watching one of the movies recently ordered from amazon. 'honeysuckle rose' was on DVD as part of a double feature. now that i have seen this movie i understand why i would hear the song 'on the road again' often on the radio. movie songs tend to get plenty of attention, especially if the movie is a popular one. the tour bus is in just about every scene, on the back it says 'show bus'. it starts off with willie nelson trying to hit golf balls in the grass next to some cows, then someone goes to find him and said they needed to go. i also recognized charles levin in it, as he also played elliott the cop on the TV show 'alice', his character married vera on that show. one sees plenty of beer throughout this movie, some lone star- no surprise when it is texas- but probably even more budweiser. there is a scene where 'crazy' is played, a song that willie wrote, but one doesn't hear the entire song. a small role was played my mickey rooney, junior as well. i liked this movie, as music movies tend to be fun ones. 

there were some other things i got done today, the big one being getting my car into the shop. i was told to get some front end work done before winter, and since i had the day off it was a good day for it. i also was called by the dental office and the appointment is rescheduled for thanksgiving week, two days prior. now i will have to find out if my boss is fine with that day. i figured there is a better chance than the friday after it. during my walks i found 1 cent. i got lunch at family dollar, along with some trash bags, first visit there in a while. in the evening i watched a country music awards show on ABC, expecting 'the conners' to be on. it was nice to see charley pride perform 'kiss an angel good morning', he got one of the awards. there was also a segment honoring the 40th anniversary of the movie 'urban cowboy' and the song 'looking for love' was played. 

the let go, elle king

 when i was driving home from work tonight i had the radio on as usual. i really liked what i was hearing on 89.3, the current. i wrote down some key lyrics and looked it up when i got home. found out it was 'the let go', by elle king. i had heard some of her songs before, such as her big hit, 'Xs and Os'. the video takes place at home, even shows the 'record' part of the video camera. she has a mask on and takes it off when she starts singing. there is a guitar player as well, sitting on a piano bench. at the end of the video she puts her dog in front of the camera and shuts off the camera. it works for me because i like hearing the passion in her voice when singing the chorus. i read the lyrics separately, after seeing the video on youtube, it helps me understand the song better. i saw how it changed from 'waiting for the let go' to 'not waiting'. other lyrics that stand out are 'nothing lasts forever, i guess so' and 'expensive lessons are the best to know'. we've all been there with the latter. the video 'mast head' said it was released in july. i like knowing that musicians are still at work during the pandemic and still releasing music. i liked seeing a quote by elle when looking up the lyrics. she said it is not just about relationships, but can also be about expelling anything poisonous. 

somehow i made it through the work day, though i panicked when the envelope stuffing machine stopped. there was an error i couldn't clear with a sensor, this first happened around midday. so i called for service, but after i did i tried the machine again and finished what was in front of me. when i was finally called i said this to the technician, and said the next day was a bank holiday. so they would send somebody on thursday morning. it stopped again when i had another batch to run late in the day, but once again just letting it sit for a few minutes was good enough to finish up. although i was preparing for the worst and some checks were hand-stuffed. i stayed in after work due to the snow, so there was no walk tonight. 'big bang theory' rerun was when ramona kissed sheldon and then sheldon flies to princeton to propose to amy. 

scheduled and canceled

 i checked my timecard this morning and when i saw hours already added for wednesday, veterans day, i knew it is a day off for me. so i scheduled a dental appointment for that day, in the morning. i checked my voicemail at the end of the day and found out it was canceled, receptionist said the dental assistant was not available that day. of course it was disappointing, as i hardly ever hear of the provider canceling the appointment. so now i have to figure out what day off i want to take for this appointment. i do want to get it done this month. in other issues, the shipment of check stock arrived, 25 boxes. it was delivered to the bank branch so i took the cart over there and made 3 trips to get it done. i got a skype message that told me it was there. in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 70 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard and friends serenaded bernadette when she was in quarantine related to a raccoon virus. it was followed by the one where amy got a tiara. it was really funny to me because she said she was disappointed in penny but knew that wouldn't last. because it is her 'bestie'. i did a virtual open-mic in the evening and said the show's closing song, 'rainbow connection', is on a kohl's commercial i am seeing on TV. but it sounds like a version by willie nelson, instead of the muppets. the moderator hadn't heard it but he did tell a story of growing up in washington state and seeing TV commercials for rainier beer, something about the sound of a motorcycle sounded like the name of the beer. 

midnight crossing movie

 around midday i watched a DVD movie, 'midnight crossing'. i recognized dan travanti, ned beatty, faye dunaway, and kit cattrall in it. i like thrillers, but i will admit that this movie wasn't that great. it was about searching for buried treasure on an island between cuba and florida, left there in 1959 around the time cuba went communist and one of the characters was in the navy. i think i was bored at times while watching it as the story didn't move all that fast. this was especially true when they on the boats and on the way to the island. faye plays somebody losing her vision due to glaucoma. the movie did remind me of 'fatal attraction' when a character looked dead but wasn't. i liked how there wasn't much to do today, and i watched some of the pro football games after the movie was over. first game was lions-vikings, and the vikings won. then i went on a walk and found 3 cents. the second game i saw was steelers-cowboys, and the steelers came from behind to win it. 'the simpsons' was about a british lady that was interested in homer. i also spent some time going through a 20-pocket expanding file and taking out many of the reminders of my failures when looking for work. and it reminded me to contact an advisor i met from the job fairs in burnsville to let them know that i finally 'got signed'. of course 'the purge' led to me running the shredder for the first time in a while, and i filled 2 bags. another big part of what was added to the 'shred box' was the mailings i got that tried to tell me who to vote for, and of course the election is over. when i was walking i went past a place that had a TV on, and it said that game show host alex trebek had died. the ending segment on '60 minutes', spoken by scott pelley, was about the election and the history of elections in america, reminded me of what i might have said myself. 

the corrupted movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'the corrupted'. it is a british crime thriller. i did not recognize any of the actors in it but i still liked the story. the movie begins in 2002, before london is awarded the olympic games. then it fast forwards to the present time. two brothers are the main characters, and one of them is an ex-convict that is a boxer. i would have liked seeing more scenes of him as a boxer, aside from a fund-raiser that is sponsored by a 'property developer'. at times it was hard to keep up with who were the good guys and who were the bad guys, as some of the cops were corrupt. of course there is a body count. memorable were scenes of an employee of a crime syndicate being strung up in a meat locker next to sides of pork. i had seen some 'brother movies' before and the story can be compelling. where they may be really different people, but can put those differences aside because they are family. 

it was an errand running day, and it meant going to the post office. all three e-bay and amazon orders were there for pickup. i dropped off the recycle, and went to another post office and got a sheet of bugs bunny stamps. it is honoring the 80th anniversary of this character. when i dropped off the movie at the gas station i also got lunch, a nathan's pretzel dog and some cheese. also one of those 'sponge bob' characters in the discount bin, which included a hollow chocolate egg. i watched a little college football, but the hawkeye game wasn't on local TV. i found out they beat michigan state for their first win of the season. in the evening it was to the grocery store, picked up another halloween box of cereal, kellogg frosted flakes. i watched some of the boxing matches on fox, but the main event ended quickly, 45 seconds in, as i think one of the heavyweight fighters either had a knee injury or a concussion from the other fighter's bicep. before the boxing matches were shown on fox, president-elect biden gave a speech. some of the remaining states had completed vote counting earlier in the day apparently so the media outlets were able to project a winner based on the number of electoral votes. i picked up 38 cents throughout the day during my walks. 

cinnamon shortbread egg nog

 this evening i went to hy-vee for my weekly food order. much like last week, i saw some egg nog and got a quart carton. this week cinnamon shortbread, last week pumpkin spice. both are from anderson erickson, the iowa-based dairy. i got a box of pumpkin spice shredded wheat as well. i also went on a walk and picked up 45 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny's ex, zack, asked leonard to be the sperm donor for his baby. it was followed by the one that is my favorite, when howard's mom is in the hospital. i think because bernadette said 'me?' when his mom wanted to see her first. and she gets assertive, asking him 'is that ok with you?' when she goes to the bathroom. at work it was fairly slow for most of the day, but there was a late request to overnight some checks. two boxes of envelopes from the monthly supply order arrived, picked them up after i was back from lunch. before going to the grocery store, i reserved a movie at redbox and used points to make it a free movie. the first night will be, and that is all i need too watch it. 

tell your story

 i was looking through a drawer at work and found an unused pencil, it said 'tell your story', so i claimed it. it serves as a reminder of what i have been doing for a while through performing and writing, and how i intend to continue with it. there was 2 meetings, the regular huddle and then one about the new procedure on the refund checks. the latter kept changing times, on up to same-day just hours prior. i went to lunch and found out it was moved up 30 minutes, starting less than an hour before my return. and somebody wanted to be called about scanned checks just prior to it, so it can be chaotic at times in the check shop. but i still got out at a reasonable time at the end of the day, which is nice. in the evening i went on a walk and found 22 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends went paintball gaming and many of the couples were arguing. it was after amy did interviews about the theory she did with sheldon. it was followed by one where sheldon invented chess pieces such as the serpent, and raj took meds that led him to take off his clothes in public. i did a virtual open-mic in the evening and was the only performer besides the moderator. a cereal box was in the background, one of the monster cereals, so i spoke of it.  

cleaning sensors

 around midday at work the envelope stuffer pretty much stopped, even though i was able to get it going again for a little while but then it stopped again. so i knew i had no choice but to call for service. i ended up seeing 2 technicians. the first was a woman who said her son is a basketball coach in fort dodge, iowa. this was mentioned when i spoke of the dairy queen in my hometown. the other one arrived to help out and may have been at home when called in, i had seen him work on the machine before and have his business card. by the end of the day it was running again, they took apart the machine to clean the sensors. i confirmed that this was outside my scope of knowledge about the machine. so i was pleased that i was still able to get all of the checks out same-day. the man the brings the mail and empty tubs in the morning was late, and when he arrived he showed me pictures on his phone of his car being broken into, an apparently stolen as well. he spoke of needing to rent a car to get there, and called me 'buddy', although i don't see him that often it meant something to me. in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy had a funeral for their theory. it was also a cross-over episode with its prequel, 'young sheldon'. it was followed by the one where leonard signs a new roommate agreeement that benefits sheldon as priya didn't want her parents to know she was dating sheldon. howard destroys a watch in a magician audition as well. 'the conners' had a marie antoinette cartoon mocking darlene. 

cart assembled

 i had some time this morning to assemble the cart that arrived last week. i was pleased that the only assembly needed was the wheels. it said a wrench was needed but i was able to get it done without one. although i still might want to see if i have one in the back of my car as i would like it as tight as possible. i had to switch the wheels as at first i had the swivels in the back and they need to be in the front. near the end of the day a business line said there was 24 checks to be sent out with letters. i wanted to wait until i got clear marching orders so i only printed the checks today. in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 1 cent. i knew i needed to get out for a walk tonight as after finishing up going through emails as the election returns were starting to roll in. and that early, i knew it would be too close to call. and it still is later on in the night. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy asked friends to do citations on their theory. it was followed by the one where howard proposes to bernadette. 

hy-vee home and gift catalog

in the mail i got a home and gift catalog from hy-vee, now it is a question of if i will order anything from it. in the back there is a page showing a book about kansas city chiefs quarterback patrick mahomes. i know i am getting the catalog due to having their loyalty program card. 

at work i let the branch manager take ownership of the refund checks from friday, he rang the doorbell to the check shop twice. the second time it was to say how a ticket was opened, since we tried to deposit them but the new scanner didn't recognize them. at the end of the day i was given a UPS label, actually two, and was advised to overnight them across town. looks like the same place where most of the mail is sent that is in the tubs. so i notified my boss as to what I had done, figured he wanted them sent same-day so no need to wait for approval on that one. i placed supply orders as well since it was a new month. in the evening i went on a walk and found 22 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon tried to bond with his in-laws. it was followed by when penny kicked a dude in the groin for sheldon. 

coyote ugly movie

 this morning I watched a DVD movie, 'coyote ugly'. there were many actors i recognized in it, of course one of those was john goodman, who played the main character's dad. maria bello, tyra banks, and bridget moynahan were others. enjoyed the story as a whole, about a girl from a new jersey town who goes to new york city to try to make it as a songwriter. the only thing that didn't ring true was her stage fright, it got old how she kept saying 'can't do it'. plenty of music in it, since it is about a loud a crowded bar. hard to keep up with all of the songs in it. charlie daniels band, and stray cats, were two i recalled well. and leann rimes appears as herself, and she  has something like four songs listed in the closing credits. they do get around to the origin of the name of the bar, much like most other movies do, since it is the movie's title. i liked a connection that i saw to a later movie, 'up in the air', as there is a scene where violet's friend gets married. her friend is played by melanie lynskey, and her character gets married in 'air' as well. 

i watched some of the pro football games today, the leadoff was vikings-packers, vikings won a close one. the later game was saints-bears, bears lost in overtime. i paid some bills today as well, such as my annual membership in the american historical association. and i went to walgreen to see how much halloween candy was available. i was not alone on wanting to take advantage of it now being half-price. i got some string cheese, as well as 12 pieces of candy. most of it was russell stover, but two of them were reese's. i wanted a variety, so i got one of each flavor that i saw on display. it was also a day for picture taking, as i went over to the state's museum and got a picture of the sign advertising the exhibit about first avenue, the music venue. in the evening i watched the halloween episode of 'the simpsons', of course they call it 'treehouse of horror'. there were some things in it about the upcoming election. after it i called by college roommate, who said he plans on getting a townhouse soon so hopefully i can see him again in person soon. after it i went on a walk and found 23 cents. 

true history, kelly gang, movie

 i watched a DVD movie this morning, a redbox rental, 'true history of the kelly gang'. it is a 'bush ranger' movie, or an 'australian western'. i recognized russell crowe in it, but he had a small role. i found out there were plenty of movies about this outlaw, dating back to 1906. crowe has a song in it as well. and they do play the british national anthem in it, 'god save the queen'. i recall learning nearly 10 years ago, while watching the olympic games, how it is the same song as 'my country tis of thee' but different words. it is an engaging story, starting when ned kelly was a preteen boy, before of course his time of becoming an outlaw. i was intrigued by seeing a depiction of bare-knuckle brawling in it. and i would expect 'some scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect' which is typical for movies 'based on a true story'. it was kind of funny how they describe 'donuts', as 'cakes with a hole in them', and say they are a common thing in america. 

this was also an errand running day, and it meant going to the post office to pick up e-bay orders. all four were there, but the amazon order is still on the way. i tried going to another post office to see what stamps they had for sale, as i am interested in the sesame street stamps, but the line was too long. so i continued on to the holiday gas station and returned the movie, and got lunch. it was a cheeseburger as the hot dog in a pretzel, and godfather's pizza, were not available. i watched a little of the college football today, but not a lot. the early game was michigan state at michigan, and the michigan state spartans won. i was trying to follow scores online, as the iowa game was not on local TV. iowa lost to northwestern 21-20 despite having a 17-0 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. i also went on a walk and found 22 cents. in the evening i decided to do my annual viewing of my DVD copy of 'great pumpkin' as it seemed appropriate for halloween and i am a big charlie brown fan.