re-format day

 this was the big re-format day for the check files. quite a few were done so there are not many left to do. i did not see the i.t. employee right away at work so i sent an email and got an i.m. response. i got started on other files, such as ACH, while i was waiting. it was harder to get all duties complete due to having somebody in the shop but i am likely to get caught up on tuesday. i held serve on the largest files, still a half-day behind. there was one file we could skip as it was canadian checks and it already uses a different stock. it was the first time i had met this colleague. this was also the first day of a new timecard reporting system. i had to read the reminder email as a guide to try to get it done the way it should be. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 65 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were about a quiz bowl. it was followed by the one at howard's bachelor party. i did the open-mic in the evening and one story i told was my take about a recent TV commercial. it led to the MC telling us about waterloo. i said to a performer that an original song he did reminded me of the plain white t's, and the response was he had heard this before. this is a recent college grad who had studied engineering. 

music museum postcards

 this afternoon i went to see the ice sculptures at the st. paul winter carnival, downtown in rice park. some of them were still being worked on, i was not used to seeing that. i also went into the landmark center, the former federal building, across the street. inside was a music museum, i had probably seen part of it before but there was mention of revamping it last year. i liked seeing some free postcards in one section, i decided to claim one of each kind, four in all. there was chopin, mozart, beethoven, and schubert. this was on the second floor, and on the same floor was a wood art gallery. of course i liked seeing the baseball bats there. on the first floor a concert was happening, and i left around the time it was done as i had seen most of what the building had to offer by then. i noticed a harp as part of the concert. in the morning i put in a DVD movie, a recent purchase from family dollar, 'the fighter'. i recognized marky mark and amy adams in it. the closing credits listed more than just sugar ray leonard playing himself, also apparently the cop training micky ward, the main character, played himself. it was probably the first time seeing that movie since seeing it when it was at theaters. 

   when i got back from the winter carnival i watched some of the NFL playoffs. first game was bengals-chiefs, and the chiefs were ahead in the third quarter but lost in overtime. the second game was rams-49ers, i watched less of that one as i decided to lay down for a while. i know it was a scoreless tie for quite a bit, and the rams won a close one so now the super bowl matchup is set, two weeks from now. later in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 41 cents. i also waded into a facebook argument, about baseball. i should have known better, but me doing this is much less common than it was. because i am aware of how it is a no-win situation. people are so entrenched into their opinions that they don't want to listen to opposing viewpoints. and i know some people care too much about emotion, which ignores fact. it eventually led to me blocking who had annoyed me, i noticed it is the 18th individual that i have blocked. never thought i would use the unfriend, unfollow, and block buttons, but i am happier now that i do. 

boogie movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'boogie'. i chose it when scrolling through the listings at the kiosk because the title intrigued me. i wondered if it was about music, but finding out it was about a high school basketball player it still interested me a lot. i did not recognize any of the actors in it, but i noticed the closing credits had the writer-director listed in the cast, having a small role as boogie's uncle. the movie was in memory of a cast member who also did some rap songs for the movie, his role was as the star player for the rival team. what made the movie wasn't just the basketball scenes, although i liked those. it was also the ones with his dysfunctional family-because of the raw emotion there. i liked how some scenes focused on just the eyes of the actors. as the eyes can still say a lot about how one feels. and i liked how boogie eventually goes to see the same fortune teller his parents saw before his birth. the setting of the movie was new york city. 

  after the movie was done i needed to get going on errands. so it meant picking up e-bay orders at the post office, seven of them. so just one is currently outstanding. and i did place some more when i got home. then of course i dumped the movie back at the gas station. then i was home and had a late lunch. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 dollars 6 cents. i went through some more of some old documents that were no longer needed and moved more important-and still relevant ones from my current job-into the yellow organizer i said i wanted to re-purpose. in the afternoon i went to family dollar and got a toothbrush and a box of cocoa puffs cereal. the latter item was in the discount section. 

rupee coin, india

 i found another coin to add to my foreign coin collection. it is a 2-rupee coin, from india. it is about the same size as an american quarter. this must be why i found it when returning a cart to aldi. during my walks i found 82 cents. this coin is from 2016. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon polished belt buckles for howard in order to get to meet steve hawking. in the evening i went to hy-vee in eagan for my weekly grocery order. first stop was their adjacent liquor store, and i got a bottle of schell's, a limited edition dark lager. so now there are 4 beers waiting. i cut back on some of the check backlog at work, as now just one of the two biggest files is a day behind on being sent out. but i was still behind on work and taking two calls near the end of the day from my boss was part of it. i was told about a check that would be printing that needed to be overnighted to a government agency in indiana. it sounded like a garden-variety overnight check to me, where i email the tracking number once the label was created. but i was told who all was on the email, people much higher up the ladder than even his boss. people i haven't met yet. one of them has her name as the signature on the checks i send out. to me, all of them are important, otherwise they wouldn't be overnighted. near the end of the day i still decided to take a few minutes to request amazon gift cards after getting more points in my account related to the recent project of re-formatting checks due to the new stock. i had to do 2 separate cards, a 5 and a 15, as there was no 20. i got them added to my account when i got home and will use them on my next order, likely for a photography book i had read about recently. one thing i picked up along with my order at hy-vee was a special magazine about the 1920s. i have read through it already and like having it. twice they mention maytag, in the appliance section, in terms of what became popular in the decade. 

printing quality

 there was two meetings scheduled at the last minute, related to printing quality on checks, due to the results from the quality control department. one of the things mentioned was having the printer serviced, apparently this involves more than just a maintenance kit, which was just installed two days earlier. more like having it vacuumed out, haven't seen this done and i have been there for over a year. i will try to get the call made soon to have the ticket opened for it. i am still a day behind on getting checks sent out for our two biggest files, and two extra meetings i know was a reason why. i was expecting to have just one meeting for the day, the team huddle, especially when i had just sent the test checks to quality control a day earlier. that is a quick turnaround. for the evening meal i drank the can of grain belt light beer, so now there are 3 beers waiting. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon got a star trek toy from penny and broke it. raj was given a dog, cinnamon, and said he was metro-sexual. 

one thing i got started on in the evening was going through a 20-pocket yellow hard plastic expanding file, which had plenty of printed pages and business cards in it related to the job search. it seemed like a good time to go through it when i have found a job i like and have been there for a while now. so there is even more now in the 'shred box' when i decide to run the shredder again. some of what will be shredded is from jobs that didn't last long, including one that lasted only four days, where they refused to train me. i will likely re-purpose this item as there is no shortage of documents to put in it. why not things from my current job? i know i have an envelope related to benefits and the welcome forms. 

the moth show

 i went to the moth show tonight in downtown st. paul at amsterdam. i was the first storyteller onstage. the theme was goals, i spoke for 5 minutes about getting into and graduating from college in iowa city. it is not too often that i do 'pay to play', only other time i recall was at an open-mic in new york city, in greenwich village. i had a firestone beer. i might have been there by myself but due to the choice of what i was wearing some others were there in spirit. the hat i was wearing, yemen native helped me pick it out for a date a while back. and the tie was given by my former boss, and mentor. even though i had a mask on after i was done with my stage time, as i was done with my beer, there were some who recognized me and said they liked hearing my story. i was asked if it was nerve-wracking, i said it wasn't my first time onstage. i got plenty of pictures, one was of the scoreboard for us 10 performers at the end of the night. and i was in the group picture as well. i think it was a good idea not to remind anyone of how frustrated i was last month. i just asked the gatekeepers what they needed from me, and presented the covid card and driver license. and when i put my form in the bag i spoke with a volunteer and not the producer. i did say to one producer how i do stand-up comedy so i understand the need to stick to your time. i got the business card from the storyteller after me, who spoke of his tattoo. during an intermission i got a picture of a red rotary-dial phone. i was surprised to see one of those, as they have been obsolete for a while. at work i got caught up on check printing but some still need to be sent out. i was asked to have some business lines re-format checks for the new stock, which i didn't enjoy since it was near the end of the day, harder to close out the day when this happens. before the show i did watch 'big bang theory' reruns. sheldon and leonard feud when leonard presents their paper, and howard uploads the video to youtube, to the tune of 'three blind mice'. it was followed by the one where amy makes a scene with sheldon when she went to visit her family but sheldon wouldn't go. in the evening after the show i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 77 cents. 

dayton freight

 the check stock shipment arrived in the early afternoon, and the courier was dayton freight. it was on a penske truck, coming from ohio, and the driver cut off the plastic from the pallet, asked me to sign the manifest, and i was on my own bringing it inside. he left shortly after this was done. it was 54 boxes, not a big deal to me as i have done it before. once it arrived i knew i had to skip a meeting about up-skilling as i needed to get caught up on check printing. i got most of the way there by the end of the day and what needed to go out, did. there was plenty of emails and calls about it. there is still sub-zero weather out there so i did not do a walk tonight. i stayed in and slept. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon impressed raj's date, a dentist, by saying she looked like a childen's book character. it was followed by the one where sheldon plays bongos when he is late for his hair cutting because his main hair cutter is in the hospital. 

email update sign-up

 i was looking at an email at work and it was the link to a shipment for the check stock. there was not much information about it, so i signed up for email updates about the shipment. looks like it is due to arrive on tuesday, a day later than what we were originally told. so it meant some check files did not go out at the end of the day. it was real cold again by late in the evening so i shortened my walk but still found 75 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when 'the whore of omaha' showed up and was living with penny for a little while and howard was interested in her. it was followed by the one where amy got the 'bestie painting' for penny. i performed at the open-mic, decided to be the first in the lineup, as i was already tired by then and figured it was better than going up ninth. notables were ones about the song 'margaritaville', as well as the kind of wine i saw at a liquor store. the flautist spoke about being part of an orchestra for a silent movie next month. i will have to see if it works once again to attend this event as i attended it in october. 

measurement of museum social impact

 i went to the MN history center in st. paul this afternoon as i had a free ticket. i was selected for the measurement of museum social impact study and i am to make a total of three visits by the end of august. i was given a card when i arrived and got free parking. the special exhibit section was closed so i toured the other exhibits. i had seen three of the four before, but it had been a while-weather permitting, greatest generation, and then now wow. not sure if i had seen 'our nation' before, about native minnesota. usually i just look at the special exhibit. i was there right up until closing time. i was selected for the study in mid-november but i had just visited the museum in early october so i wasn't in too much of a rush to make it back right away. sometimes i just visit once a year. the special exhibit section is to open again in late february so i will want to make my second visit sometime after it opens. i wonder if my college roommate would be interested as well. i watched some of the NFL playoffs when i got back, rams beat the bucs and chiefs beat the bills. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 10 cents. it snowed again this evening, saw snowplows when i was out on the walk. 

addams family movie (2019)

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'addams family'. this was the 2019 version. i wanted to see it first before getting to the one from the past year which was being promoted on cereal boxes from kellogg i had bought. i liked it more than i expected to. the jokes in it were real good, such as the ones about thanksgiving, and junior high school. the music was good as well, aided by having snoop dogg in the movie as 'cousin it'. 'my family' and 'drop it like it's hot' were credited to snoop. other songs i noticed were 'everybody hurts' by REM, 'haunted heart' by christina aguilera, and 'wild thing'. the credits said chip taylor wrote 'wild thing', i knew he wrote 'angel of the morning'. i said 'i get it' about one family being named 'frump' as i am familiar with the term 'frumpy'. and i noticed the 'no regrets' tattoo that uncle fester had, though it was spelled wrong, likely on purpose. special features had wednesday executing some dolls of famous people from history, one was guy fox (fawkes), had to look him up. he was from the 'gunpowder plot' in great britain in 1605. a popular mask bears his name. after the movie was done i needed to get started on errand running. it meant going to the post office. 3 orders were there, 2 amazon and 1 e-bay. then it was on to roseville to get socks at JC Penney, and event tickets printed out at fed-ex office. then it was time to head home for a late lunch. there was 2 NFL playoff games, i watched some of them. both ended on last-second field goals, bengals beat the titans and 49ers beat the packers. later in the evening i went on a walk an found 1 dollar 9 cents. between games i went to aldi for my weekly grocery order. it was snowing when i went out to aldi.  

zins not sins

 i was at the hy-vee liquor store tonight and there was a display about the 7 deadly sins. had to look more closely and it said 'zins' as in a kind of wine. i still got a picture of it though i didn't buy it. i got a bottle of modelo so now there are 4 beers waiting. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard and lesley were dating but it ended and leonard said he knew how the frozen banana feels. it was followed by the one where sheldon went on vacation and tried to work in amy's lab. howard was told through the nerd-vine bernadette wants a prenup. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 13 cents. at work i got caught up on check printing, but some still need to be sent out. in spite of this there was 6 mail tubs put out, the most i have ever sent. branch manager rang the doorbell and said there was a question of if there was going to be more, i said no. while driving home there was something on public radio about actor- comedian louie anderson, who had passed. some comic friends has postings about it on facebook, including bathtub. alabama photographer was interviewed about it on fox-plus, and a local author who had interviewed me and wrote a book about comedy was interviewed as well. i watched some of the st. cloud state hockey game, st. cloud went up early 1-0 and then i was on to the hy-vee in eagan for my weekly grocery order. when i got back it was 9-1 st. cloud, over miami of ohio, at the end of the 2nd period, so i switched over to 'blue bloods' on CBS. 

moving the line

 there was plenty of emails i had to send at work because of wanting to move the line on the blue check stock. it meant the two largest files were either delayed on printing until the end of the day or until the next day. eventually we got it done, but it meant allowing for how some checks have a letter attached to them and some don't. i discovered a junk room near the restroom because the door to it was propped open for a while. peeking in i saw some empty drawers, overnight envelopes in a box, and a small fan on top of  a file cabinet. it is likely used by branch employees. when driving home at the end of the day i was listening to KFAN and a writer for the minneapolis paper said he would like to interview school bouncer's dad. it is still cold outside, even a newsman acknowledged this and advised people to stay warm, so i did not do extended walks. i still made it to walgreen, near my workplace, though for my weekly visit. when i was walking i found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon's mom helped him get his job back. she said 'shower shirt shoes shove off'. it was followed by the one where howard was first called 'froot loops' related to being an astronaut. sheldon caused a power failure on purpose in hopes of reinstating the roommate agreement with leonard. for the evening meal i drank the can of modelo so now there are 3 beers waiting.  

margaritaville ringtone

 a colleague had her last day of work today, due to retirement. near the end of the day i hadn't seen anyone so i called and said i had a card ready. so she arrived to pick it up, and the employee being trained as her successor was there as well. i will know her for having a 'margaritaville' ringtone and in the card i said it reminded me of when i did karaoke. something i had said in person when i first heard it. hadn't met many people yet at the bank but i needed to acknowledge this one. i said it would likely be a while before i can retire. we hugged and she said she would be sleeping in the next day. i said you have earned that right. it was weirdly coincidental that i heard this song while driving home. others i heard included 'one's on the way' by loretta lynn, and 'got me wrong' by alice in chains. it is cold out there so i did not do a walk tonight. i had another reason as well, as i was tired. i managed to make it through watching 'the conners' and then i laid down. it was about harris wanting to move in with her guy. and i checked the closing credits, it appears the actor playing her beau's dad was musician joe walsh. explains why he is playing a guitar in the final scene, next to john goodman. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard and penny went on a date and leonard banged his head on the table. it was followed by the first edition of 'fun with flags' where sheldon and amy were dressed in a german theme at the end. 

check stock meetings

 the team huddle was called off this morning, but there was a check stock meeting scheduled for the late afternoon. looks like the box sent to us doesn't work unless i.t. can change a few things. i tested the stock that was on the delivery table in the morning and the digits were too low. it might mean pausing the special project as that drains the volume real quick. so we are running low on inventory again. a manager showed up twice to look at laptops stored in the shop, the second time to claim just a bag and not a laptop. in the evening i went on a walk and found 39 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon cleaned penny's apartment while she was sleeping. it was followed by the one where leonard and penny get back together and penny still has one of his asthma inhalers. amy holds out hope on doing double dates, but bernadette would much rather do them with penny. 

old list discovered

 i decided to do some more cleanup as i had the day off. i wanted to stay busy. it meant putting some things away in the closet, and other things were filed away in boxes. later on i found  an old list, apparently from february 2020, before the pandemic hit. most of the things on it i didn't do, because most events that year ended up canceled. i am proud of one thing on it that got done, it was ordering a brick for new ulm as i like going to oktoberfest there. guess some events were technically delayed, as there eventually was a graduation reception for a niece, a year later. most of the lists i make are done once a week and most things are crossed off and completed, then get put in my shred box fairly quickly. so it was a big deal to find one that didn't match this description. i got a haircut in the afternoon at sport clips. i am still missing the boat on checking in online. i just wait in the store and sometimes it can take a while. but i am also more likely to get moved up if people haven't arrived yet. this is what happened today, after waiting for about an hour. but i usually go on days when i don't have much to do so i don't mind waiting, especially when they have the TV on, to ESPN. later in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 62 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon got a tiara for amy, and i laughed a lot during this one. especially when she said she was disappointed with penny, but we know that isn't going to last. i also performed at the open-mic, and got to most things on my list. one story i covered was analyzing my own dream. and shredding business cards from temp agencies, because it was a reminder of jobs i am no longer at. and who wants a reminder of  jobs that didn't last long, if they got me one at all? not me. the flautist performed 'praying' by kesha, a song i know and like. then used the word 'dissonance', meaning lack of harmony among musical notes. as i recall the next song was 'amazing grace'. 

reese's peanut brittle

 this weekend i finished the bag of reese's peanut brittle minis that i had bought at a walgreen. i like reese's peanut butter a lot so i am willing to try different versions of it. this of course was bought due to being discounted after christmas. next weekend i will likely finish the second bag, which had a few more minis in it than the first did. the bag says it is peanut brittle flavored creme with crunchy peanut butter. and one sees orange and green stripes on the wrappers to these minis. on the back of the bag it says 'go nuts, it's the holidays'. this isn't the last of the reese's i have at this time as there are plenty of 'trees' as well, in single packs but also some 2-piece packs. 

i wanted to get started kind of early this morning on laundry so i could watch most of the NFL playoff games at home. i got laundry done just before the first game began, eagles-bucs. i shut it off at the end of the first quarter, bucs were way ahead by then. i wanted to catch the iowa/minnesota basketball game on the radio. at first i went with the radio station listed in friday's paper, but that wasn't it, as i was hearing the football game. so i went online and found out the alternate station for the 'gopher radio network' and switched it there. iowa was way ahead for much of the game but minnesota came close near the end. iowa still held on to win, 81-71. there were some times where i have attended this game. but in recent years i have cut back greatly on event tickets and the savings has helped with paying down debts. i watched more of the middle game, 49ers-cowboys. but not much of the third and final game of the day, steelers-chiefs. i said i wanted to get things done, and i did. it meant going through a binder holding pocket schedules and business cards. i wanted to free up space for three pages for various kinds of trading cards, some for sports cards. and i threw out most of the cards i got from looking from work, it was time to send those bad memories to the shred box where they will be shredded soon. the bucs, 49ers and chiefs won today. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 3 cents. so i am getting started on the next save-up goal, most likely some beer. 

rogue hostage movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'rogue hostage'. i recognized john malkovich in it. john's character was a congressman who also owned a discount store called nelson's. the premise is he makes an appearance at the store and then a hostage situation happens. other characters are all inter-related in some form or another, including a social worker who is his stepson that happens to be there to get one of the kids from his case-work some food. some things didn't quite make sense though, such as a bodyguard appearing dead, bleeding out after being shot, but then is shown alive in a later scene. along with an employee saying she was still in vet-medicine school but later spoke of opening her own practice. guess this is one of those movies where i was willing to watch it when it is way cheaper as a rental. after the movie was done there was errand running to do. this included going to the post office to check my box. four of the five e-bay and amazon orders were there. so i placed four orders when i got home. looks like the baseball card order will arrive early next week. i also went to family dollar and got trash bags, a box of cereal, and some small bags of potato chips. after this i largely stayed in for the rest of the day, as there was some NFL playoff games on. the leadoff game was raiders-bengals, then it was patriots-bills. the bengals, and bills, won. between games i went to aldi for my weekly grocery order. of course the bengals game meant something to me when i sent tickets through my work there this week. later in the evening i went on a walk and found 18 cents. i had hoped to get a museum visit scheduled for monday but found out the place is closed that day, so it is now scheduled for next weekend. i have a free ticket as i am a 'social impact study participant', selected back in november. looks like i am to make three visits and take a survey after each one. 

where are the tubs?

 when mail was dropped off at work this morning i saw just one tub and there should have been five. in the afternoon once i was caught up on things i started calling to find out where they were. first call was on an 800 number, found out it went to cincinnati. i said this did me no good since they stay local. so i tried another one, got voicemail, and was given another number from it. and i found out the four tubs were there. i sent out three at the end of the day, more full than typical, because i wanted to keep one in the check shop. so i am hopeful that all seven tubs are sent back on tuesday. not sure what would be done if there are not enough when i get back. guess it would mean finding out if i could get special permission to go across town to get them. notable about the day was all of the music i was hearing when driving to and from work. first it was 'live music friday' on the new prague station. somebody did a medley of standards on an organ, or was it a calliope? found out the official names of some of them. 'jimmy crack corn' is actually 'blue tail fly' and 'circus theme song' is actually 'entrance of the gladiators'. on the way home it continued. i wondered if there was a metaphor at work when hearing 'bridge over troubled water' by simon and garfunkel, because i was driving on partially snow-covered roads. it is a song i have done at a karaoke venue. others were by lana del rey, offspring, eurythmics, and pitbull. i made it to the hy-vee in eagan in the evening for the weekly grocery order, and the liquor store employee said the winter weather had led to a drop-off in traffic. i got a bottle of paulaner and a can of surly, so now there are 4 beers waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 55 cents. both of the 'big bang theory' reruns appeared to be from the final season. there was the one where sheldon and amy were in sensory deprivation tanks, followed by the one about finding citations on their nobel theory. 

bengals ticket office

i got a check to print and send out that is slated to go to the cincinnati bengals ticket office. the email thread said they wouldn't release tickets for the playoff game this weekend until they were paid. good thing i was told about needing to overnight it as there as no mention of it on the check. and the address had nothing more specific than the stadium so i added 'ticket office' to it. i had to go online to confirm the playoff game happening, and the bengals are playing the raiders. this wasn't the only check i saw going to a sports team. also saw them for the seattle mariners and the chicago cubs. i called the number for the cubs and got the voicemail of somebody in the season ticket office so then i had something more specific for them as well. and it sounds like there is more drama related to check stock. my boss was on the phone to the supplier and it might be a while before more stock arrives. although there was mention of sending some test stock, a different color though. 

i did some research on amazon and i am finding more charlie brown books of interest. this goes back to finding two at target about thanksgiving. no surprise how some of them are cheap, if willing to get a used copy, although one must still figure in the shipping cost. found out there is even one called 'great pumpkin returns'. some of them are 'board books' so of course they are thicker pages than a typical book. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 45 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the ladies took turns finding embarrassing things about one another. with amy it was a little house inspired story involving sheldon as a time traveler. it was followed by the one where sheldon was told to take a cap off and then there was an intervention to get him to go to sleep. for the evening meal i drank a can of corona so now there are 2 beers waiting. 

pallet too small

 the check stock shipment arrived around midday. i met them just outside the branch. the driver spoke of how the shipment for another client had a pallet that was too small. i had to look at it and i noticed that it was, for the pallet jack he was using, but the pallet for the check stock was normal size. i was thrilled to see this delivery as i was able to get caught up on check printing. the big file from the previous day was completed and sent out, just over 4,000 checks. two other files, totaling over 2,000 checks, were printed and i will run them through on thursday. just after i had the cart put out at the end of the day i had somebody who arrived with a red bag. i said i was fine with it as long as this doesn't happen too often. because i hate wasting supplies, as it meant cutting of the zip ties to a tub to get another item inside. just after i closed the box again the official who picks them up arrived. one overnight package was slated to go to a baptist church in kentucky, on a street named for patty loveless, the musician. wikipedia said she is a cousin of loretta lynn. in the evening i went on a walk and found 46 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy was spanked by sheldon for lying to him. at first she was sick, and she liked having sheldon taking care of her. it was followed by the one where sheldon had penny do his haircut, after it didn't pan out going to the hospital in hopes of his regular barber would still get it done. 

delay in transit

 i was expecting the shipment of check stock from fed-ex and was given the tracking number from the supplier. but the latest update about it in the afternoon said 'delay in transit'. not much i can about it then. my boss asked more than once, including calling me early in the day, which led to me asking for the tracking number. one check file did not go out except for special handling for his reason. because there is not a lot left in the shop. i let the branch know about it and was informed that fed-ex usually delivers through them. when i was checking for deliveries on another floor i noticed a colleague just got a pizza delivery from domino's. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 16 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon used a 'virtual presence device' and penny called him 'shel-bot'. it was followed by the one where sheldon drives penny to the hospital after she gets injured in the shower. i am noticing the pattern on what is shown this week as there is mention of a 'soft kitty sweepstakes', a tie-in with 'call me kat', the show that mayim bialik is now on. i watched it once and didn't like it, because her character is clumsy, nothing like when she was amy on 'bang' where she is competent and dour. i like dour comedy more than slapstick. 

a third microwave oven

i knew there was a third microwave oven in the breakroom at work, but this was the first time i am aware of that somebody had used it. this was when i hadn't finished with my soup just yet when two others had arrived for lunching. this included the one that is retiring soon. i said i knew the phones had no dial tone but i wasn't sure about the third microwave since it was technically in a different room. the two main ones are above the counter. my boss asked me about an invoice, i said it was the boxes of check stock that hasn't arrived yet. near the end of the day i was asked about a check scanned folder, it was from april but we still have it. i said i had multiple irons in the fire but found the time to search when there was a big file running through the envelope stuffer. i also sent mail to a smoke shop in the adjacent strip mall. and other items were dropped in a nearby mailbox, as i saw no need to have someone else get them back in the mail just by having them in the tubs. i liked how there was a tub full of inter-office envelopes sent to me in the morning. thankfully i don't have to ask for them that often. in the evening i went on a walk and found 3 dollars 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends went to las vegas and hired a hooker for howard, after lesley dumped him. it was followed by the one where sheldon gets sick and the friends try to wait it out by going to a 'planet of the apes' movie marathon. i performed at the open-mic, and it was nice to see the flautist performing there, back from visiting france. she did a linkin park song. i spoke of what the pope said, the song 'nightmare' by halsey, and re-routing checks. 

fortress movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'fortress'. i recognized bruce willis, and shannen doherty, in it. this story took place at a 'retirement camp' that was actually a military compound. bruce's character lived there and was visited by his estranged son. this led to mercenaries following him to the camp. then there was a big body count. i kind of liked one character that was armed with a knife and was comical at the end, saying he had 'saved the day' and wondered why nobody would give him a ride on his own 'golf cart'. i read how this is the beginning of a trilogy, so when the movie ends, showing a character that was left for dead, it is proof of how there is more of a story to tell in the next movie. it was the typical movie length, just over 90 minutes, but it still seemed like the ending was long and drawn out. 

after the movie was done i went to mall of america and picked up another book at the barnes and noble, this time it was about route 66. and i went to walgreen and got some cheese, as well as a snickers ice cream candy bar, the last one. after i got home i went to the family dollar and picked up some toothpaste, toilet paper, and doritos chips. it was midday by then and the bears-vikings football game had just started, bears were ahead 3-0 and led 14-3 at the half, but lost 31-17. after the football game was done i dumped the movie at the gas station, and considered going to do laundry but decided it was kind of cold out so it could wait another week. later on in the evening i went on a walk and found 3 dollars 58 cents. so i have enough for 2 beers on my next visit to the liquor store. i saw a facebook posting from a friend in the performing circuit, the one who does the 'by yourself' poem, who said a friend had committed suicide. i said when i was 12 i attended the funeral for a distant cousin who had taken his own life, something that i will probably never forget. 

hawk toys order

 i had errand running to do today and i was pleased with getting most of it done. one of these stops was the post office, one item to pick up from my box. it was the citrus bowl button. there was a postcard sent with the order, i had bought it from 'hawk toys', based in west branch, just east of iowa city. there is mention of sending an email to set up a private shopping appointment. this was an e-bay order. the amazon order it looks like is on the way. i placed some more e-bay orders, this time for sports cards. i got 6 things done on my list. two of them were dropping off recycle. then it was making a deposit of change at the credit union, i do this quarterly, it was over 16 dollars. and i made it to a fedex office to print 2 items, one of them was a jc penney gift card, from answering surveys. then after the post office it was home as it was midday by then. i unloaded things and did lunch, a chicken sandwich from hy-vee. then i got the final thing done, going to the shop to have a headlight replaced. i had been stopped by a cop the night before about it. i had noticed it last night on the way home from work. thankfully it didn't take long to do. then it was home again and i laid down for a while. by then it was early evening, so i went to aldi for the weekly grocery order and then had some pizza. later in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 37 cents. i watched another charlie brown holiday DVD, 'want a dog for christmas', along with the other special on the disc, 'happy new year'. there are still some more things i want to get done on sunday. 

self checkout shut off

 i went to hy-vee in eagan tonight and the self checkout shut off when i had 3 items left to scan. nobody came even though the red light was on so i just had a cashier do it for me. but it meant moving to another lane. on the way home i put a window down in my car and it wouldn't go all the way back up. so i figured getting some windshield washer fluid would do the trick, and it did. family dollar was closed for the night by then but a nearby gas station had some. this has happened once before in winter. at work there was another meeting in the morning, a short one, about check stock. looks like some will arrive early next week. there was one shortly after it about return to office, which has been 'paused' for a month. this one was scheduled as it was expected to happen on the following monday. during my walks i found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns were the second half of the final episode. when i found out it was followed by one i wouldn't enjoy- leonard's bully showing up- i switched it to another channel and watched a 'mash' rerun about giving out a promotion. it's a rare 'bang' episode that i just don't enjoy, so no need to watch it. after work i stopped at the liquor store near work and got a can of modelo, and corona, so now there are 3 beers waiting. when i was driving home from work i saw an amber alert on the video board above the road. then i started hearing something inside of my car and had to turn off the radio to find out what it was. found out the alert was on my phone as well. on the evening news there was something about it, and even after the news said the kid was found i got another alert on my phone. 

hillbillies and 90210

 i was watching 'young sheldon' tonight and an observation was made how two shows were basically the same show, 'beverly hillbillies and beverly hills 90210'. never really occurred to me before. the main storyline was sheldon being naive about being popular, 'renting out' his studying and nap room. as to what the collegians were using it for. later in the evening i went on a walk and found 27 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when they show the first half of the final episode, when sheldon and amy win the nobel prize. it was followed by the one where stuart goes on a date with amy- and sheldon eventually decides he doesn't like this. i placed an order for a kurt warner card tonight, after getting an email from e-bay saying the one i had been looking at was no longer available. i ended up liking the one i ordered more, since it not only mentions both MVP awards from the first super bowl season, but also the grocery store work and arena football. i looked at plenty of listings before deciding on which one to order. i noticed i don't have that many basketball cards so i think that is next on what i might order there. just need to think of the players that would fill a 9-card page, besides the one page i already have. and two team sets i bought from a variety store in suburban chicago on a visit back to see some 'old haunts'. at work the benefits employee that is retiring soon brought around the successor when a check was ready to be picked up. the two arrived just before another colleague arrived to pick up their check. i saw the first two at lunch as well. rare to see visitors at opposite ends of the check shop at the same time, the front door as well as through the fence. still waiting for check stock, but one box of envelopes arrived so i got out a cart for it when picking it up. i drank the can of modelo with the evening meal so now there is 1 beer waiting. but i plan on getting more soon. 

where is this printer?

 there was a box on the delivery table for a week as i didn't recognize the name on it. a colleague said it belonged to the check shop. there was a toner cartridge inside, but it was too small for what i use. i called the customer service number and was told it was for a different printer. i see the branch about it and was told it was likely on a different floor, based on the code on it and for payroll. except i couldn't find this printer until the end of the day when i went back to this colleague about my findings. the box was sent there once it was found, and i was told some checks are printed by payroll. it explains the smaller cartridge. more envelopes arrived around midday, but still no check stock yet. i did some research about 2 pages of football cards i have in a binder, and noticed half of them are hall of famers. no surprise there, as i recall throwing out some cards as a kid and i kept mostly the names i knew, the big stars. well over half are quarterbacks or running backs. i also checked e-bay to see what was there for kurt warner after seeing the movie this weekend. there were some listings for his card as an iowa barnstormers player, sponsored by taco john's. no surprise how it is going for a pretty penny as an asking price, hundreds of dollars, as it is a rare card and he is a hall of famer. i am more likely to get one as a rams player, way cheaper. in addition, i found out the barnstormers still exist, although they are in a different league. they were in the arena football league, which is now defunct. the team is now a member of the indoor football league. and plays at wells fargo arena, the successor to vets auditorium. during my walks i found 50 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard went to the airport to stop raj from going to england to propose to anu, and there was mention of the movie 'notting hill'. it was followed by the one where amy said to sheldon how she didn't minor in bird shooing when a blue jay was bothering sheldon. 'the conners' had drama as usual, darlene trash talking ben and jackie confronting her guy's ex and then getting hurt playing in a pickup basketball game. 

welcome back goodie bag

 my boss was in the office after the team huddle to look at the boxes delivered. when he left i was given the 'welcome back goodie bag' as plans are to be back at the office next week. even though i have been there the entire time! some items have the bank's logo on it, such as a pen, stickies, and face mask. along with some kind of bag with 4 zippers on it. i have drank the capri sun, which has mario from 'donkey kong' on it. also see some starburst, tootsie rolls, and small hershey candy bars. and a 'salty mix' of peanuts and raisins. there was a meeting about check stock in the afternoon, a call in. and it resulted in finding out we will hear more on wednesday. i am fine with helping out in bringing it into the shop as i have before, such as when the order has been dumped at the branch. or even when it arrived on an 18-wheeler and i went to the upper level to meet them. i sent a box to walgreen as i noticed it was at the wrong drop box. it needed to go to fed-ex and we have a UPS drop box. i helped a business line determine that an outstanding check file was a duplicate. i got 14 checks of theirs to send out and they deleted the duplicate file. there was something on the news about announcing the new name for the washington football team, no surprise how it will not be the wolves. i already know of 2 teams calling themselves the wolves, minnesota's basketball team and chicago's minor league hockey team. in the evening i went on a walk and found 11 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when one of the dudes from fermi lab was accused of plagiarizing a thesis, and he was 'outed' by the other one. it was followed by the one where sheldon's mom visits and he is upset that she isn't doting over him. so he seems to get sick on purpose, during a rainstorm, so she can. 

frango caramel chocolates

at work when i had a check ready for a colleague to be picked up i also gave a holiday card. and i was given a card and some frango candies, caramel chocolates. i recall these being at marshall field's when i lived in suburban chicago, and i guess their successor, macy's, still has them. i tried some before leaving for the day and they are good of course. this colleague said she would be retiring later this month and would bring her successor around eventually. i will have to ask why it is not going to be on a friday though, i made a note of the date given. i let my boss know how a special project is still not a go yet, when the fargo people wanted to give us a schedule on check printing. because the check stock hasn't arrived yet. so it sounds like my boss is setting up a meeting with the supplier on tuesday. in the evening i had a can of paulaner with my meal so now there are 2 beers waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 72 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj was misunderstood at his planetarium gig and it was reported that he believes in the loch ness monster. it was followed by the one where raj meets emily, a deaf lady, and howard translates for her. 

american underdog movie

 in the late afternoon i went to see a movie, 'american underdog', in inver grove heights. this is the bio-pic about nfl player kurt warner. i wanted to see it as it is about an iowa native, although the credits show it was filmed in oklahoma. and it has the typical disclaimer 'some scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect'. along with how it is not a documentary. i knew this was true by the scenes related to the u. of northern iowa. the football stadium is depicted as open-air but that team plays in a dome. along with his time with the barnstormers where wells fargo arena in des moines is shown but hadn't been built as of the time period being covered. still a good story though, although the ticket price being over $10 is a reminder of why i usually just get the ticket- no food and drink-because an outing at the movies can get expensive. when i saw the credits i saw 'oj simpson' for who played rams player marshall faulk. i found out later on it wasn't the bills and 49ers player from the 1970s, but actually 'oj keith simpson', so of course not the same person. i do recall when the rams won the super bowl and they made a big deal about warner being an employee at a hy-vee grocery store at one point when he was presented the game's mvp award. this is depicted in the movie. a big part of the story was his wife, brenda, and how they met. 

i did some other things today. in the morning i went to aldi to do my weekly grocery order. then i watched a DVD, 'charlie brown's christmas tales' which included the one where linus and lucy move away but come back, called 'is this goodbye?' then it was to mall of america to get a charlie brown calendar as well as a jigsaw puzzle. had to ask where the puzzle was, it had been moved. also got some cheese, and some discounted greeting cards, from the walgreen, and a small blizzard treat from the dairy queen. i found out the giants-bears game wasn't on, so i didn't watch the pro football action that close. i showered before going to the movie, and it was time for the evening meal when i got back, had some pizza. called dad late in the evening, as usual a long call. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 42 cents. 

dinner drive, kyle petty

 in the evening i was flipping through channels and was pleased to find a show on what was called the 'circle network'. it was 'dinner drive' with kyle petty, the race car driver. i decided to keep watching because i said 'isn't he interviewing pitbull, the musician?' and he was. guess that pitbull has bought into a race car team. i like seeing people get interviewed, and i liked what pitbull said about how music brings people together. and how basketball taught some important skills- besides just teamwork. i have said this about performing as well. it also served as a nice reminder of hearing 2 pitbull songs when driving home from work a few days ago. it was 'dj got us falling in love again', with usher, and 'feel this moment', with christina aguilera. 

this was a rare day for me, i woke up and stayed in sweat pants all day, did not go anywhere. but i had reasons to stay in. for one thing, aldi is closed on new year's day, so have to wait on the weekly grocery order. the iowa hawkeyes were on t.v. as well, playing in the citrus bowl against kentucky. and just as important, it is cold out there, subzero temperatures. after watching the bowl game i laid down for a while and it was early evening by then. during the citrus bowl i did send a text about the game to a college roommate, mr. physics. this was just after iowa went ahead in the 4th quarter, after trailing at halftime, 13-3. i said 'it was puzzling how iowa couldn't move the ball in the first half but got their act together in the second. still a lot of game left though'. and iowa lost 20-17. kentucky drove for a touchdown and then iowa got intercepted on their next possession. still a fairly good game to watch, just not the outcome i had hoped for. another thing i did was place an amazon order, first time in over a month. it was for the barenaked ladies greatest hits CD that has the 'big bang theory' theme song on it. and in the morning, before the football game, i watched a DVD. it was the movie 'christmas vacation'. still trying to get the annual viewing of christmas shows in. oh, and i know full well that the hibernation will have to end soon. so sunday i plan on going out to get groceries, and might get a few other things as well.