sauvage elixir commercial

 i saw a TV commercial when i got home and it was for sauvage elixir, a fragrance available at macy's. i had to look up the actor in it, found out it was johnny depp. he is shown playing a guitar in the desert, then we see all of these wolves or wild dogs. i don't think i had seen it before, but sometimes just one look is enough to remember it. i know i write about commercials every so often. at work i got caught up on running checks through the envelope stuffer by the end of the day. also notable was seeing a check for over 6 million for goldman sachs. i asked if a tracking number was needed, then was told to void and shred the check as it was already paid by wire transfer. i got more points i can use because i intercepted it, so that is cool. in the evening i went on a walk and found 89 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends told the colonel they couldn't meet the given deadline. bernadette talks to raj's dad about not being enthusiastic about parenthood. it was followed by the one where penny is addicted to online gaming. for the evening meal i drank the can of modelo, so now there are 3 beers waiting. i had bought a can of surly oktoberfest three days earlier. 'young sheldon' was on in prime time but both were reruns, so i wasn't paying close attention to them. season premiere is next week. 

doubled up deposit

 at work i had another refund check file to process, because month end is coming soon. i had to inform my colleagues how last week's deposit hadn't been sent yet because i had yet to be given the green light to send it. so there was two deposits to send in an overnight envelope across town at the end of the day. it was a higher volume than usual on overnights, 36 in all. there was one where the senior leader emailed me about it, a 'return to business line' going to st. louis for over 8 million. the technician arrived in the morning, around 9am, and the envelope stuffer is fine again. something about loose connections in the back with the conveyor belt. some other adjustments were made as well. he bumped up the speed, or cadence, to the highest level, but i brought it back down to what i normally have it as, 6 instead of 9, when he left. i am told it is less likely to stop on a slower speed. in the evening i went on a walk and found 66 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends tried out the retinal scanner since they are now working for the government. penny spilled the beans about bernadette being pregnant. it was followed by the one where raj did a photo shoot with people magazine. 'the conners' had a church scene in it, with jason alexander as the preacher. 

night walker

 when i was going past a fitness club i was called 'night walker' by the employee who is sometimes out there. although this time he did not appear to be smoking like before. i didn't talk to him for long, wanted to keep moving. during this walk i found 39 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard and penny had their wedding in front of their family. the colonel found howard, but talked to raj first. it was followed by the one where lesley talks with leonard about kids. and the friends went to the renaissance fair. at work i placed a service call on the envelope stuffer, but the technician was unable to make it today. i was told there was a chance that he'd make it first thing the next morning. so it meant having to 'baby-sit' the machine near the end of the day to see that of the checks that needed to go out, did. of course the ones from the bank's foundation went out, a thousand in all, but those arrived early in the day. the two largest files, nearly 5 thousand, will have to wait since they weren't the highest priority. in the evening i tried to listen to a comedy friend's CD, the yemen native, but i fell asleep near the end of it. i had heard many of the jokes before, but it still works for me. i really liked the one about walmart and white castle. the intro was done by his mom, it reminds me of what i heard at a comedy contest a while back. if the comic's parents were that supportive, he wouldn't need to do comedy. 

fidget toy

 i emailed a colleague about a package that arrived last week and was asked to open it. i found two items inside, i scanned it as an attachment and it was forwarded on. it was a 'sign in' card that looked like a beer coaster, and a 'fidget toy'. the latter was orange and made out of rubber, about the size of the coaster. i was informed that i can keep it, but not sure what i can use it for. at lunchtime i saw an unattended laptop in the breakroom. when somebody showed up to claim it i said i had done various online courses saying not to do that. the dude said something about normally working in another, nearby office. i might need to call for service on the envelope stuffer as the conveyor belt stopped moving near the end of the day. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 45 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon's mom met leonard's dad. and penny found it to be funnier than the other two did. it was followed by the one where sheldon tried to keep a secret about penny and howard said 'tag you're it'. i laughed at that part. i performed at the open-mic tonight as well. i was told one line sounded like the beatles song 'paperback writer'. i was much higher in the lineup compared to last week. at work there was an early dial-in meeting and it led to me sending more test checks to another department. 

emo drag brunch

 the big event of the day for me was the emo 'drag brunch'. it was the fourth brunch i had attended, but it looks like we were at a different venue this time. it was still in downtown minneapolis on hennepin avenue, but this time at crave, one block over from the union. i took the light rail to the show. good thing i brought a hershey bar with me as there was a bit of a wait to go inside upon arrival, around midday, and then of course the wait after ordering food. i ate the candy bar before going inside and up the escalator. i was at the bar and had a sam adams beer with my burger and fries. i recognized a decent number of songs played there, two of them back to back was 'zombie' by cranberries and 'bring me to life' by evanescence. i also liked hearing 'american idiot' by green day, and 'welcome to the black parade' by my chemical romance. as well as 'skater boy' by avril lavigne. i got some pictures of the performers, one of them had a tongue sticking out, posing for it. same one that found me and said 'thank you for coming' after the show. she had a 'always check your candy' shirt on, a good one for the season when halloween is coming up. i got the 'how right i was' feeling (aka 'self validating moment') while there, so i know i was having a good time. only drawback was seeing a few bees because we were outside. 

there was still some things to do when i got home. i went to do laundry. then in the evening 'the simpsons' was on, marge doing a play about y2k. i wanted to do more, such as watch a DVD movie, but i was tired so i laid down for a while. during my walks for the day i found 59 cents. i am also proud of the things i got done before going to the show, as i got caught up on applying stamps on pages. it was the 20th page i completed and put in a binder. ordering from e-bay and amazon has been helpful in building my stamp collection, seeing what stamps are used to send the orders to me. 

murder mystery

 i had a role in a murder mystery party tonight at a private home in richfield. first time i had done such an event, nice to hear about it through meetup. my character didn't commit the murder. i was working with some professional actors, including the one playing my wife. i brought an item for the potluck, a vegetable tray i bought at target. one of the actors said he had been an attorney, and then a spy. a band performed, i recognized one song they played was 'titanium' by sia. some others were 'paint it black' by the rolling stones, as well as the 'pulp fiction' song that i am told goes back even farther than that movie. my costume was a suit. i kept a few flyers, clues from the murder mystery. some of the votes from the crowd as to who did it were near the mic that the band was using, and i claimed one before others threw them into a bonfire. i stayed there for a little while even after the band was done playing as i enjoyed talking with some of the people there. 

i did my errand running early, in order to have time to do this event in the evening. of course that meant going to the p.o. box, there was 7 items to pick up. four were stamp orders and the other 3 were CDs, two of them comedy CDs. i dropped off recycle near the capitol, then it was on to target to use a coupon that was expiring today. i not only got the vegetable tray there, but also a burrito for lunch, some socks, tape, and a small tub of ice cream. i saw a charlie brown special magazine near the check-out lines, i got a picture of it but will wait to buy a copy. first sighting of it, so it will likely be there a little longer. i noticed it had two different kinds of covers. then after having lunch at home, and after watching a little college football on TV, i was out and about again, to get groceries at aldi. the game i was watching was notre dame vs. wisconsin, from chicago's soldier field. i fell asleep for a little while, then it was time to leave for the meetup event. during my walks i found 1 dollar 55 cents. so i have reached 2 more saveup goals, a can of beer from the liquor store near work as well as some chips from the vending machine at work. in the morning i watched a short educational video i had recently bought at family dollar, it was about the settlers at plymouth. i found the website that produced it, there were plenty of other titles available there. the previews on the disc included a video with basketball star david robinson. 

ballpark belle

 i went to the st. paul saints baseball game tonight, and one of the 'usher-tainers' was called 'belle of the ballpark'. hadn't seen that one before, but for some reason she recognized me as somebody who had attended games at midway stadium. i said i had, and i trust that people remember me for the right reasons. near the end of the game i got a picture with the belle, a cop did that for us. i said i am fine with wearing a mask as no one asks me to smile. i spoke some about performing at saints games before, but they were one-offs such as the 'saturday night live' themed night. the saints won, 3-1, and were playing the iowa cubs. a 3-run home run was enough to win it. there was fireworks after the game, three songs stood out for me during the fireworks. 'friday i'm in love'-the cure, 'feel this moment'-pitbull and christina aguilera, and 'wake me up when september ends'- green day. also notable was seeing a movie ad on the big video board, it was for 'american underdog'- about NFL player kurt warner. it is due out in december, so still a bit of a wait. but i will likely see it. 

at work the 'one on one' session with my boss was in the afternoon, i had just returned from lunch. i asked a colleague about cell phone providers, as i am thinking about switching. i saw something about needing to get a new device due to a merger, so i call the customer service number and get voicemail. that's bush league. during my walks i found 1 dollar 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was about cutting lines and hiring people to do things such as waiting in line for you. it was only one rerun tonight, then on to the saints game. it was my 11th, and final, game i will be attending this season. 

who's covering for who?

 i found it odd that when the doorbell rang to the check shop late in my workday, it was who would be picking up the mail tubs. they were 15 minutes early, and arriving early did them no good because i still needed to go to the mailroom and pick up what was there. the cart was still wheeled out at the regular time. he spoke of covering for others, and i said when somebody was in this week they had said the same thing. since i usually don't see who is picking up the tubs, i am not aware of who is covering for who. there was also an impromptu meeting late in the day about 'umlauts', that were supposed to be on a check going to iceland but weren't. i didn't understand why a meeting was held about just one check. 

in the evening i went to hy-vee in eagan, moving it up one day on the weekly grocery order because i will be at the saints game friday. also had some things printed at fedex office. i needed fewer things this week, but i still got a box of cereal, cheerios pumpkin spice. this of course was after i had eaten. i had the bottle of dos equis with the meal, so now there are 3 beers waiting. later in the evening i went on a walk and found 35 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj introduced claire to his friends, and penny's ex, zac, also happened to be there. sheldon and bernadette played dungeons and dragons. i don't think i had seen this one before, but i liked it. this was followed by the one where howard goes to the ER to stall for time related to leonard's surprise birthday party. 

live episodes

 i watched the live episode of 'the conners' tonight. i almost forgot when it was on, as i had watched the news on fox-9 plus. then i turned off the TV and was going to lay down and listen to the saints baseball game and do a word find. but after a few minutes i reminded myself and turned it back on and got it over to ABC. i didn't miss much as i saw some of the opening credits. the storyline was good, a season premiere. it included wedding planning for dan and louise, as well as darlene's relationship issues. there was a tribute to norm mcdonald at the end of it. i recall seeing a live episode of 'ER' many years ago. next show i look forward to is 'young sheldon', it season premiere is still 2 weeks away. 

at work i spoke with someone in payroll, who said there were some stuffed by unsealed envelopes to send my way. i said to have them put in a box and i will handle them. it meant using a rubber band and getting them in the tubs with the others. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 10 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends were all mad at each other. it was suggested it was their version of 'game of thrones' and this may well be the case but the reference was lost on me because i hadn't seen that show. though i know there have been parody episodes before, such as 'lord of the rings' and of 'tom sawyer'. 

dance studio

 i went to a meetup event tonight at a dance studio. first time i had went dancing in a while. i spoke of taking some of these classes when i was in college. i got plenty of practice in as there was rotation on the partners. it was nice to see more people my age or even younger there, as i was used to the hiking events where most weren't my age and were usually a generation older. there was a fee, when i got home i checked the event details and when i signed up i had passed right over that part of it. i paid with my card. hard to say if i will make a return visit, but at this point it is doubtful. i was used to free admission at the meetup hiking events. in addition, after it was done there was a dude that said 'lighten up' to me even though there was nothing i had said or done to provoke this comment. there was mention of a halloween party, but i will wait and see if there are better offers as to what i can do that weekend. one of the ladies had a snoopy and woodstock shirt on so of course i noticed it right away. when i got home i called my college roommate, the physics guy, who spoke of likely closing on a house in des moines soon. i still extended the invite to visit the twin cities but it sounds like it will still be a while before this happens. 

later in the evening i went on a walk and found 48 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj brings a big teddy bear. it also had the friends playing 'never have i ever'. it was followed by the one about the time share time machine. i still got to see some of the second rerun before heading to the dance studio. at work the fluid bottle arrived, brought over by the branch manager. there was a fill-in for the mail pick-up duties, who rang the doorbell this morning and i said the tubs can go in the mailroom, then i pointed out where this is. i got a bag of lay's BBQ chips out of the vending machine, and it will likely be eaten later this week. 

froot loops box

 when i was leaving work i saw plenty of boxes near the UPS bin waiting to be picked up. one of them was a froot loops box, nice that somebody was willing to re-purpose a box. it sure stood out among the others that were plain brown cardboard, since it is much more colorful. somebody asked if the pickup had already happened for the day, as according to the sign on the bin it says it had. i said it hadn't changed for over a month, as usually it will move back to green in the morning. after work i went to the liquor store near work and got a can of corona, so now there are 4 beers waiting. in the morning i got two items from the vending machine, a hershey candy bar and a bag of fritos chili cheese corn chips. one supply order arrived, one box of envelopes. only the fluid bottle is now outstanding. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 58 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon showed his storage locker to amy, after playing 'taps' for his computer. it was followed by the one where sheldon forms his own quiz bowl team. i also performed in the evening, the last one of the night because i fell asleep and showed up later than typical. the most reaction was from the one about over-hearing someone talk about music. 

autumn daze festival

 around midday i got on the light rail and went over to st. helena catholic church in south minneapolis for the autumn daze festival. i had seen a billboard about it on hiawatha, and i found out this was paid for by one of the parishioners. first stop was the information booth. i found out my button was a prize winner, $10. although at first i was asked to sign the form 'as is', too hard to do when trying to write on top of plastic. so they took the form out of the sheet protector and that made it way easier to do. i didn't have the prize money for long as i wanted a pork chop on a stick, although it was a 20-minute wait. so i found a table near the stage and watched the performer, who had been doing 'i will always love you' when i was off in the distance. i didn't recognize any of the later songs she performed as they were in spanish. also while i was waiting for the pork shop i went to get ice cream. at first i was in line for a 3-scoop cone, but then i noticed there was another line for milkshakes or soft-serve. i wanted the latter more, and it was the same price. i took plenty of pictures, this included the 'clown face' game. after eating the pork chop i went to do the tour of the stained glass windows inside the church. there were many themes involved, and i noticed one of them was american explorers. then it was on to the book sale, a bag of books for just 5 dollars. i got 11 books, as expected some of them were baseball, and some were history. i probably should have went to the car show much earlier, as by then i saw some of the cars leaving although there was nearly an hour left in the show's time allotment. also notable about the church tour was seeing two plaques honoring the 'chaplain corps' during the second world war. once i was done at the festival i went over to the donut shop from earlier in the week, a half-mile away. i got the pictures i wanted of the homer simpson photos on display there. 

   before leaving for the festival, i did go through my disc collection. this was due to one of the DVDs i bought at family dollar this weekend. it led to cutting up 4 discs i had no use for, or in the case of one of them it was scratched up from trying to use it to free a disc stuck in my car's disc player. i have 4 zip-up disc cases, some of them have discs dubbed by a friend. since i had freed up some slots it led to getting 2 discs about speaking french into those zip-up cases. in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 dollars 6 cents. so i have reached my next save-up goal, a can of beer from the liquor store near work. this is in addition to the candy bar and chips i can get from the vending machine at work. 

ted bundy movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'ted bundy, american boogeyman'. it was billed as an exclusive to redbox. i did not recognize any of the actors in it, but not a big deal as i care more about the story being told. i do recall it was big news when bundy was executed in florida in 1989. i know this wasn't the first movie about this serial killer, as i recall one being on TV many years ago. the weirdest scenes in it had to be the ones with his mom, louise, when investigators arrived to interview her. 

this was a day for errand running. first order of business after the movie was done was to check my post office box. four items were ready for pick-up, two of them emo CDs ordered from amazon. two e-bay orders were there as well, an oktoberfest button as well as two new ulm postcards. later on in the day i placed some more orders, two comedy CDs as well as more baseball stamps. i made it to the armenian festival at a church in st. paul. i swore at myself when i tried going there after picking up copies of events or things to look up. this is because i didn't check the driving directions there, and couldn't find it but knew all along i was close. so i just went home and found the page i had printed as a place holder, which had a small map on it. and i made sure to check the mapquest directions before departing again. as expected, no problem finding it when i was better prepared. the food was good there, it was the main reason why i went again. i had the pork kebab, although it was in a tin pan and not on skewers. there was also green beans with tomato sauce as well as rice. i did look around a little after eating, noticed how one room was vacant, under renovation. 

then it was back to my neighborhood. i bought 2 DVD movies at the family dollar. the cashier was interested in how one of them was 'fried green tomatoes', on the same disc as 'coal miners daughter'. she wants to hear how 'tomatoes' is, i had to say i hadn't seen it but i had seen the other one. also how i don't make it in that often. the other disc was in a sleeve and not a hard plastic case, 'how stella got her groove back'. i had referenced this movie title before and i figured it was time to watch the movie to understand better the reference i was making. i looked at their CD section but most were christmas-themed. i have a few christmas CDs but it is not a big interest of mine. some of their discs i knew i already had, just by the first look i knew it. with others i wasn't sure and had to go home and check what i had. i haven't ruled out going back sometime soon to look through their CDs and DVDs again. there was also the weekly visit to aldi for groceries. i went early as i knew the fox baseball game of the week would be on in the early evening. it was cubs-brewers, plenty of home runs in it and i fell asleep near the end but found out the brewers won. later on i went on a walk and found 58 cents. 

it was helpful to print three items around midday, as i have already done some research on one of them. it was the one from the state historic society, their series of lectures. there are six, based on the titles i narrowed my list i was interested in to four. then i read the descriptions included with it and narrowed it further to two. these are once a month, starting in october, and each one has two sessions with one of them being available on zoom as well as in-person. the second session is in-person only. i am fine with doing the virtual version as it means not having to pay the parking fee. i know i have partaken of some of these lectures in the past  year. some of them were also through the american historical association. 

music spotlight, nirvana

 i went to hy-vee in eagan tonight for my weekly grocery order and decided to search for a special magazine i had seen there on a previous visit. found it, covered up by one about the history of game shows, near the check-out lines. it was 'music spotlight' and about nirvana, 'the band that changed music forever'. i liked how it did make some references to other popular bands from seattle, such as pearl jam. there was even mention of the movie 'singles'. the cover also says 'nevermind, 30 years later'. i do recall nirvana's 'smells like teen spirit' being on MTV a lot. there is nearly a hundred pages in it, plenty of photos, even a section where one can test their knowledge about the band. some things in this magazine i was familiar with, but not all of them. there is mention of some movies about frontman kurt cobain and his wife, courtney love, and the conspiracy theories surrounding his death. but also an 'authorized documentary' so i think that one interests me more. there is also a 'where are they now?' section and i did see dave grohl's post-nirvana band, the foo fighters, in concert in indiana many years ago. i do have three nirvana CDs, 'nevermind', 'in utero', and 'unplugged in new york'. i don't think there was mention of 'hype!', a movie about the seattle music scene, kind of expected it when 'singles' is referenced. it was a good read. and it will likely lead to me looking up some things i saw in it and possibly a few more amazon orders, much like when i bought the special magazine about willie nelson. 

at work i fielded a call from the company's foundation, was told there was some fraud on their end. i was told i answered their questions about the checks i print, but wasn't sure how. also notable was a dial-in meeting in the late afternoon, still got some work done during it. this was a continuation of the series about the problems discovered on check printing on my day off in late august. still not sure what the solution will be, but it sounds like there may be another meeting about it in the near future. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when emily manipulated raj into coming over, and he was calling his other lady, claire, for advice while driving to emily's place. this was followed by the one where sheldon gets a younger rival, a defector from north korea, who is just as obnoxious as him. 

delayed mundane things

 at work i wanted to stay busy in the morning so i decided to get caught up on some mundane things that had been delayed for a while. there was three in particular. one was finding a check that had been scanned to another department, and send it to the shredder. also sent to this bin was two boxes full of invoices that originated in new york and forwarded from our head office in a nearby town. the former i was told to have destroyed last week. the latter i got an email from a senior leader in july saying to dispose of it since we made multiple attempts to find the owner. the third was getting toner cartridges, two of them, ready for being returned to the recycle department. i will see they are 'put out' for pick-up in the morning. there were two dial-in meetings but i still did some work during both. if there were checks to print i still printed them. one was boring, going over the earnings numbers. the one in the afternoon was about survey results. and also about moving stickie notes around the link. i posted one, it said 'recognition'. at the end of the day a friend from meetup arrived, dropping off a script for my role in a little over a week. after this was done i still had to go back inside to finish up on work as there was a late request for checks to be overnighted. there always is this file late in the day, but the volume of overnight requests was still higher than other days. in addition, the two files that have been arriving late did so again, after a day of being on time. it was a little annoying to have a request to pull two checks and overnight them to a branch, separate from what i figured was going to be it on email requests. i had just run them through the envelope stuffer when i was notified, but was able to find both. i have had to do this before so i know it helps to have the payee and city name when searching. i drank the can of amstel light with the evening meal so now there are 3 beers waiting. also in the evening i went on a walk and found 3 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon was ill and his friends tried to avoid him by going to a 'planet of the apes' marathon. 

donuts across the street

 after work i went to find a festival button. there were 8 places listed besides the festival site itself. i was pleased that i found one at my first stop, a car repair shop. i noticed across the street was another place on this list, a donut shop. so i went there and got 2 donuts and a bottle of apple juice. i liked seeing the homer simpson photo there, actually 2. one was on a bulletin board by the entrance, and the other was near the donuts themselves. so i may want to go back this weekend and get a picture of it. my camera battery was low so i figured it was best to wait. i also found the festival site, a half-mile away from both places i stopped at. and on the way home i drove past a comedy venue, although i haven't performed there in a while. i am pleased that the festival button was just 1 dollar, i am used to them costing more. but i am aware this may be due to the event being at a church. 

at work there was a quick meeting scheduled to get my name added on a sticky note to a meeting that will be held on thursday. since most people were using yellow i decided to use a different color so it would stand out some more. i picked up 5 boxes from the delivery table. three were for the branch and the other 2 were for me. it was the UPS envelopes i had just ordered on monday. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 19 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends went to sing karaoke after it was announced that bernadette is pregnant. i had to look up one of the songs, found out it was by justin bieber. of course i like the episodes with karaoke in them, it is one of two i am aware of. it was followed by the one where penny sings a song from 'rent' and leonard thinks up a lie to get out of seeing penny perform. it led to sheldon devising a lie about a drug intervention for a cousin he invented. 

slow commercials in survey

 i have been doing e-rewards surveys for the airline miles, and tonight after work i was trying to do one where i was reviewing insurance commercials. but i was tired of it stopping all the time, and they were supposed to be just 30-second spots, that i said 'i have had enough' and abandoned the survey. i am still gunning to do enough of them in order to cash out 1,000 airline miles for the month. and there are plenty of surveys to do- many days i get 2 emails about it- so reaching the goal seems likely. 

at work the 2 files that have been arriving late in the afternoon still did, but this time i found the time to finish them before the end of the day. it will be nice to have no carryover. after work it was slow going getting home as there was a police vehicle blocking a lane after a car crash. of course after getting through that intersection it was clear sailing. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 38 cents. so i have reached the next save-up goal, a festival button. i saw a billboard about a festival this weekend at a catholic church and decided to research it online. there is a car show sunday, so that interests me. and of course festivals have plenty of food, drink and music. i didn't have a pork chop on a stick at the state fair this year but it sounds like i can have it this weekend. now it means finding a button. a newsletter with the schedule of events listed 8 places besides the church itself. no surprise how all of them are within 2 miles of the church. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when 'fun with flags' on valentines day included calls from raj, and kripke, whining about being single. it was followed by the one where sheldon and leonard fight after leonard gave a speech, and howard captured it on video, with the background music being '3 blind mice'. 

big check file finished

 i printed and sent just over 2,300 checks from the big file in the morning so i understand this means the file is finished now. hopefully another big file like this won't be happening again anytime soon. all told it was just over 24,000 checks. normally this business line sends 10-20 checks per day. there was also an instant message asking if i send out tracking numbers. i said only if they are requested, so somebody emailed me with the check they wanted it for. two files from the same business line are still arriving late, there is enough time to print them same-day but not send them through the envelope stuffer. this time the overnight request was sent just 15 minutes before my normal leave time. in the evening i went on a walk and found 27 cents. it was shortened due to light rain. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon's grandma visits. it was followed by the one where raj is drunk and boring on a date arranged by his parents. howard kept saying 'worked for my parents' in response to things hinting at a loveless relationship. i performed at the open-mic and i did the one about semantic issues, spurred by needing to clarify a request at work. the flautist did an evanescence song. great seeing a big dude that is a country singer with a cowboy hat. there was also an R and B guitar player, saying he did a muddy waters song. after work i went to the liquor store near work and got a can of modelo beer, so now there are 4 beers waiting. i got two candy bars out of the vending machine at work in the morning, a hershey and a butterfinger. 

raising cane's chicken

 i made what was likely my first-ever visit to raising cane's, a chicken place, in eagan for lunch today. when i placed the order i said i had seen the video board ad on the interstate, 35-e. and i liked seeing the charlie brown characters as part of the ad. i liked how they do things a little different there. for one thing, i got texas toast with my order, chicken fingers and fries. i kept two napkins and the paper cup i drank out of as there was charlie brown characters on both. even though the cup had the annoying image of lucy pulling the football away from charlie, the thing i never liked about the comic strip. good chance i will make another visit there sometime soon, although i have cut back on fast food since the pandemic hit. 

i made the most of the day off. i also went to family dollar after having lunch as i needed some tape. while there i also got a box of pop-tarts, and a DVD. there were two other discs of interest, but i told myself to make a mental note and check what i already had. found out i already had one of them, but not the other. so i can go back eventually and get the one i don't have. much like a week earlier, when i got my CDs in alpha order, i decided to get the DVDs in alpha order today. i did this for the same reason, wanting a better idea of what i already have. i had made some purchases since i had last done this. and it meant crossing some more off of my VHS list, as it dwindled from 32 to 27. it also meant a re-deployment of boxes, and using an additional one. i watched 'fire on the track' about steve prefontaine in the late afternoon, it was a replacement for a VHS copy. although i had to try multiple times before the main disc played, the bonus feature disc played without any issues. in the evening i went on a walk and found 84 cents. so now i have enough for not just one candy bar at work, but also a second. 

city of lies movie

 around midday i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'city of lies'. i recognized johnny depp and forest whitaker in it. this is based on a true story, of a cop investigating the murder of christopher wallace, the rapper known as 'notorious BIG'. it led to an exposure of cover-up of apparently LA cops working security for a record label, and some of those cops as suspects in the murder. there is also mention of the murder of another rapper, tupac shakur, as at one point a theory existed that those murders were linked. both are still unsolved. wallace's mom, voletta, appears as herself in the movie. as a baseball fan i liked seeing how the sport was part of the movie. the investigator would attend some of his son's baseball games. 

of course this was a day of errand running. i got started early on getting to the post office, but there was nothing to pick up from my box. only thing in it was meant for another box, so i pushed it all the way through and it fell to the floor inside. then it was on to the copy store, where i printed a ticket for a st. paul saints baseball game later this month. along with a meetup event i am attending, the same weekend. on the way there i saw an ad on a video board for cane's chicken, which was of interest to me as they were using charlie brown characters in the ad. i found the place but it was too soon to have lunch there. after the movie was done i knew it would be 2pm or later before i got there again so i told myself to move it back a day on having lunch there. i went to aldi for groceries after getting back from dumping the movie, as there were two things i would be doing for the rest of the day. at the gas station where i got the movie i picked up an ice cream sandwich and 2 hard-boiled eggs. first event was watching a college football game, the iowa hawkeyes were playing iowa state in ames. i watched it until halftime, iowa was up 14-10. then i knew i needed to get to the st. paul saints baseball game. i was able to find the game on the radio while i was driving to the saints stadium, and the score didn't change during that time, there was 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter by then. after the saints game i found out iowa went on to win 27-17. the saints won a lopsided game against omaha, 21-4. gert the flirt, one of the usher-tainers, was in the section i was sitting in at one point, getting people to sing 'happy birthday' to fans. there were food trucks, and fireworks, after the game ended. but i ate before entering the stadium, a sandwich i bought at the nearby speedway gas station, so i was fine with passing on food at the stadium. notable was a song played during the fireworks show, 'celebrity skin' by hole. one of the lyrics was 'so glad you could make it', seemed like a good selection for fan appreciation night. it was meant to be the end of the season this weekend, but 10 more games were tacked on and i have a ticket for one of them. during my walks i found 57 cents, so i have reached my next save-up goals. a can of beer, likely from the liquor store near work, and a candy bar from the vending machine at work. 

wildflower honey

 i was at hy-vee in eagan tonight and there was a posting next to wildflower honey products, specifically BBQ sauce. it said 'bee informed'. there was mention of how billions of dollars from bee pollination go into agriculture production. didn't buy it but got a picture of the little sign. notable on what i did buy was a box of 'field of dreams' cereal. it was part of the 'hottest deals of the week' section. i brought back 2 boxes from ames, iowa, last month and have finished one of them so far. not sure when i would see it again so i figured it was fine to get a third box, even though i don't eat corn flakes much. also tried the chocolate milk that was flavored like snickers candy bars. it was due to the store brand being sold out, at least the reduced fat version was. already seeing plenty of halloween items, it was why i bought a box of pumpkin spice twinkies. i just had some oreo cookies, caramel brownie flavored, so i wanted to wait on getting the seasonal oreo cookies. looks like there are plenty available so waiting a week is probably not a big deal. also saw a big display of 'monster cereals' from general mills. there was four, i had seen three of them before, first time i had seen 'monster mash' cereal. so another thing where i got a picture to remind me of being interested in it. i stopped at hy-vee's adjacent liquor store first and got a bottle of dos equis, so now there are 3 beers waiting. 

at work there was a big request to overnight checks to the business line, just over three hundred. it was just the second time that i had used a box instead of a thin envelope. the checks from the 'big file' were late on being approved, in the mid-afternoon, so i will wait to do them until monday. during my walks i found 80 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon went on an apology tour. it was followed by the one where howard dates penny's friend, the 'whore of omaha'. it is also the one where penny goes out dancing with friends and briefly drops in on her neighbor and their friends playing video games, and said 'told you'. 

more CDs found

 i decided to get a look at comedy CDs, especially those done by friends. i have 29 from just one record label. it also meant checking what i have against the list found online, and i gleaned some more ideas about what to purchase. in all of the shuffling around i found 2 discs under my bed. i know this was from the big re-arrangement over the weekend. one was of a band from new ulm, of course i bought it while in town for oktoberfest. so i decided to file both away with the others. and i have ideas for four discs to order sometime soon. one i found on amazon, and the other is from another record label. when looking at what was for sale on their site, i recognized some as discs i already had so it must have been bought out and changed their name. the other two must be ordered directly from the label, same place that produced the 29 i have so far and would bring the total to 32 from that label. i will likely wait until the weekend to order more as i want to see what i am able to pick up from the post office box on saturday. one site, called CD Baby, said they retired their music store in march of last year. i think i had bought at least one disc from their site but not sure which one. 

at work i sent 2,000 more checks out today from the big file. there was another dial-in meeting in the afternoon about the font on checks, trying to figure out why there are boxes around the digits when a colleague prints them. it led to my boss emailing somebody who said 5 checks are needed for testing. i would have done it myself but the meeting was in the afternoon and i needed to get more checks printed, especially when one business line has been sending their file later in the day than typical. during my walks i found 1 dollar 82 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon decided to work with raj and they discovered something, while amy was out of town. it was followed by the one where lesley smashes a frozen banana in front of leonard and sheldon asks penny what a tie on the doorknob meant. for the evening meal i drank the can of modelo with it so now there are 2 cans of beer waiting.  

it was a long thread

 my boss called me about a response to an email. i said there was no request to overnight a check. like some other emails i have seen before, it was a long thread. when i went to print out the email in order to research it, i noticed it was 11 pages. in the morning a delivery arrived, for envelopes. it was nice that the delivery man was more willing to help compared to some others. he had a pallet jack to help bring the pallet closer to the service entry door. i am moving right along with the big check file, 2,000 more were sent out despite it being a high-volume day across all business lines. guess i found a way to get some done. in the evening i went on a walk and found 37 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when wil wheaton replaced sheldon at the screening of 'star wars' because sheldon was with amy on her birthday. i also like this one because bob newhart guest stars. it was followed by the one where sheldon's mom shows up to help get his job back after he insults his new boss. i tried to listen to one of the three CDs bought this week after having the evening meal, but fell asleep again. but i should know by now that this is likely to happen when laying down. 

keyboard, mouse unplugged

 there was a meeting in the afternoon about the recent issue with checks that printed on my day off. i was asked to try the computer in the back room, and at first i didn't know why nothing was happening when i tried using control, alt, delete. then i noticed the keyboard and mouse was unplugged. even after plugging them back in, there was little i could do as it is a little-used unit. still hard to log into the app where checks can be viewed and printed, needing an extra password. so hard to say what was accomplished from it. i did get 3,000 more checks printed from the big file, aided by printing those before any other business line. the boxes of check stock arrived near the end of the day, on a different floor, so i had to get out a cart and move them to the shop 12 at a time. there was 40 boxes, so the last 4 were put on a hand truck. one business line is still sending their file late so it means waiting until the next day to process it. when there are overnight requests in it, all the more reason to wait in order to see i pull out the right ones. in the evening i went on a walk and found 63 cents. so now i have reached the next save-up goal, a can of beer and a bag of chips. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon was bothered by an 'ear worm' and once her figured out it was a beach boys song he went to find amy. it was followed by the one where leonard goes to see lesley and she heats up her soup quickly. the younger niece sent me a facebook message and said she is pregnant. 

those who wish me dead movie

 i watched a DVD movie in the afternoon, a redbox rental, 'those who wish me dead'. i recognized angelina jolie in it. this is a thriller, involving forest fires. and assassins. at first i didn't understand them depicting a forest fire and then somebody wakes up in another state, but eventually they show the connection between the two. memorable will be the scene where people go into a creek to survive the fire. it held my attention throughout. it is decidedly different from, say, 'always', which was more about fighting the forest fires and this was more about surviving one. it was my first redbox rental after a month off. i was out of town on some weekends, and for others i wanted to get caught up on watching movies i had purchased. i am thankful this wasn't the only thing i had planned for the labor day holiday. but we all know i can't stay idle for long, just how i am wired. i went to cheapo records and turned in 8 CDs. not much was given for them, 3 dollars taken off of my bill, but at least i got something from them. i bought 3 CDs while there, and 2 postcards. the discs were sia's 'music' movie soundtrack, 'zeitgeist' by smashing pumpkins, and my chemical romance's 'black parade'. i was going to get four discs, but when one of them was rung up i noticed the price on it and said 'not that one'. putting back one of them cut the total in half. i picked up a burger and some vitamin water at walgreen for lunch on my way home. 

there were some other discs i wanted to get while at cheapo, but couldn't find them-or figured i could find a cheaper copy somewhere else- so it meant going online and ordering them from amazon. three discs were ordered there, two by linkin park and the third was a greatest hits disc from fallout boy. this should help with getting more primed for the drag brunch, provided that all of them arrive before then and it is more than 2 weeks away. i did listen to 'black parade' this evening already. after returning the movie and sending more recycle to the capitol grounds, i went on a meetup walk at ft. snelling park. i liked talking with one lady there at first, but then i was reminded of how annoyed i was getting with an older dude from the memorial day walk who wanted to talk about the vietnam war. that's a history book item, it was a long time ago. during my walks i found 16 cents. for the evening meal i drank the can of budweiser with it so now there are 3 beers waiting. 

respect movie, aretha franklin

 this afternoon i went to see a movie in eagan, 'respect', the bio-pic about musician aretha franklin. i was pleased to find out marc maron played a record label boss in it. i am used to the disclaimer as well, 'some scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect'. i can usually guess which ones. early on in the movie i changed my seat because i was in a row where others insisted on talking. no big deal to say to myself  'i have had enough' and move away from them. i ended up much closer to the screen. like many other bio-pics, it doesn't cover the subject's entire life, but mostly how they got started and then the pinnacle of their fame. in this case a gospel concert at a los angeles church in 1972. i liked how the closing credits included images or aretha herself as it looks more authentic. this included getting the presidential medal of freedom, as well as acting in the movie 'blues brothers'. just as important, i liked seeing some of the previews. this included the gucci movie that lady gaga is in, as well as the clint eastwood 'macho' movie. 

during my walks i found 39 cents. i was proud of one thing i got done in the evening, it was going through my CD collection and getting them in 'alpha order' so i had a better idea of what is there. it meant setting aside 8 of them, hopeful to sell them to a resale shop. i did this due to the upcoming drag brunch, as i might want to buy a few CDs to be more familiar with the music expected to be played there. of the 23 music acts listed, i have discs from 4 of them, and seen those 4 bands in concert as well. i also re-copied some notes, including my list of things i would to order from e-bay. it was time as i had crossed off many things and it was getting hard to read what i had written at times. 

beer serving trays

 i went bowling around midday at an event i was invited to by brawler. i was impressed by all of the beer serving trays on display there. one of them depicted the famous 'blue boy portrait'. another was of narragansett beer, which i had when in new york city. there was also plenty of the typical beer signs on the walls there, farther away from the bowling alley section. some beers i had heard of, such as grain belt and hamm's, but not all of them. i had the house beer there, and some chili, at a place in south minneapolis. i bowled 2 games, a 99 and a 100. i moved up some of my errand running, including going to the post office to check my box, so i could attend. i showed up even before the guest of honor did. i even made an early visit to aldi for my weekly grocery order. i arrived before they opened for the day, so i just walked around for a few minutes while waiting. there was 3 items to pick up from the post office. i liked how it was more than just comics there, in fact i only recognized one of them who was there with his young son. i've done his show before but it has been a while. notable was one point where i had to step back and pay attention more to find out what song was playing, it was 'like a rolling stone' by bob dylan. 

after bowling was done i went home and watched some college football. i laid down for a little while after having the evening meal. then i put in a DVD movie, 'field of dreams', as they had just played an MLB game there last month. it had been a while since i last saw the movie, and i said it looks dated due to seeing public pay phones in it. but it was made over 30 years ago. i still very much like this movie, as an iowa native and a big baseball fan it was more likely that it would be enjoyable to me. during my walks i found 1 dollar 13 cents. i also listened to some music on youtube, wanting to get prepped for the drag brunch later this month. i found some songs by fallout boy, and i guess i had heard 'uma thurman' before. it is three weeks away so i have plenty of time to find more songs relevant to the emo theme. 

presidential pets

on CBS tonight there was a special about celebrity pets. of interest to me was the segments about the pets kept by presidents, they profiled calvin coolidge and theodore roosevelt. at work my boss called me in the afternoon shortly after i got back from lunch. it was in reference to an email asking for 2 checks to be overnighted, and wanting a tracking number from it. i had to ask what was so special about it. then i found out it was going to a lawyer office. when i created the label after looking at the checks i noticed there was no 'overnight' code on it. so it was a good thing that they told me as otherwise i would have sent them regular mail. i finished 3,000 checks from a big file, my boss wanted as many done as possible with it. i had hoped that doing 2,000 in the morning before printing anything else would be enough, but on the same call as the one about overnights i was asked to do more whenever i had any down time. that late in the day i knew i couldn't do 2,000 more if i wanted to send them all out same-day. there still was some from another business line where all i had time for was to print them out, because they were sent late, just after 3pm. this is a business line that usually sends them at least an hour before then. but they know the rules, about needing to give me enough turnaround time. so i have the proverbial 'work cut out for me' when i return on tuesday. 

in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 47 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard and raj helped sheldon do a puzzle as a craigslist ad to meet a lady. amy went on a date with a british man and her friends were caught spying on her. it was followed by the one where they started over on the rotation, going back to the first episode where sheldon and leonard meet their new neighbor, penny. i also made it to hy-vee in eagan for my weekly grocery order. still seeing some cereal boxes where the 'space jam' movie logo is showing, and i got another one. eventually i will want to cash out on points and get the prize i want. also at work on the way in to the shop i bought a candy bar from the vending machine, since i had reached my save-up goal. it was a butterfinger, largely due to a memory of 'the simpsons' being part of an ad campaign. 

sprinklers while raining

 i went out for a walk this evening and saw sprinklers on, even though it was raining. go figure. i also found 72 cents, so i have reached the next save-up goal of a candy bar from the vending machine at work. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when bernadette told howard she wanted to redecorate the house. also part of the storyline was sheldon interviewing with the son of leonard nimoy, also revealing he still wanted to propose to amy. it was followed by the one where they have reached the final episode, sheldon and amy winning the nobel prize, sheldon giving his speech thanking his friends. at work there was a meeting mid-morning about the checks printed last week on a day off for me. during that time i got a call from UPS about a package going to a foreign country, i advised them to call me after the meeting was done, and they called again 1 hour later. it was the typical call in this case, didn't know what to tell them about needing more information such as a phone number for the recipient. i print the check and send it out, i rely on whatever information i am given by the business line. looks like the big check file needs to be finished in less than two weeks from now, based on a conference call with my boss in the afternoon. i was able to get more checks out from it in the morning, we have completed half of it already. in other issues, i heard from an old friend, who is in town for a little while. there was mention of an event this weekend so i will do my best to attend it. for the evening meal i drank the can of milwaukee's best with it, so now there are 4 beers waiting. 

pulling weeds

 i decided to take a walk around the block during lunch, and along the way i noticed some weeds growing out of the cracks next to a wall. they had probably been there for a while, might have noticed them before, but this time i decided to pull some of them. mostly the taller ones. it is something i have done before, so not a big deal. also at work near the end of the day the branch manager asked about some checks that were printed on a day off for me, last week. this was on the heels of a senior leader asking the same thing. there was boxes around the MICR digits. not sure what is to be done here, as this hasn't been happening when i am printing them. in the evening i went on a walk and found 93 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and leonard do a shady deal for helium, and i laughed when the tank was dressed up and sheldon called it 'uncle harvey'. it ended with them watching 'ernest goes to jail' with the helium dealer. also part of this episode was amy's phone being hijacked because her friends wanted to look at her dating app, and judge some of the people on it. the former i really liked, the latter i didn't like at all. it was followed by the one where it was announced that sheldon and amy had won the nobel prize. sheldon didn't like the media attention and would try to avoid it.