sing movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'sing'. this was the original, from 2016. i saw it listed at the kiosk i go to regularly a week earlier and decided to research it. since it is a 'jukebox musical', i was interested in it. i liked the singing in this movie way more than the stories about the performers and how the show interferes with their lives away from performing. i think this was due to  being so many stories to tell. hard to say which character i liked the most, but it was probably the exuberant pig gunter, who was partnered with another pig, the housewife rosita. it was hard to watch meena, the elephant with stage fright. some things were kind of predictable, such as still having the show despite all of the struggles to get it off of the ground. wouldn't be much of a movie if the show didn't take place. wikipedia said there were something like 60 songs in the movie, there was 5 in particular that i liked seeing in it. these were 'bad romance', 'shake it off', 'i'm still standing', 'under pressure', and 'hallelujah'. there was one called 'sound of violence' but it is nothing like 'sound of silence'. 

after the movie was done i got started on errand running. first stop the post office, three items to pick up including the CD i had ordered from the new ulm radio station. i dropped off recycle, got some copies printed, and picked up some more easter candy at two places. this was walgreen as well as the gas station where i dumped the movie. then i did lunch at home and got ready to go to what i call 'the state's museum' for the second of three free visits. there was the 2 temporary exhibits i was able to see this time, they weren't open yet in january. plenty of art on display, i liked seeing some of the photography as well as a portrait of carl sandburg. there was also a smaller exhibit about the internment of the japanese during world war two. i then went over to the armenian church but the line was long to get in for food there so said to myself i had better things to do than wait in line and went home empty handed. i know i saved myself some money by doing so. according to a facebook posting they might have sold out even before i got inside anyway. i watched some of the USFL action on Fox but not that close. i also made it to aldi for my weekly grocery order. i was pleased that there was still some little pizzas from home run inn, from chicago, so i got another one this week. later on i went on a walk and found 91 cents. 

does not flush

 i went to use the bathroom at work and one of the stalls said 'does not flush'. it was written on a paper towel and taped to the door. later in the day it must have been fixed because when i went in there was nothing in the bowl aside from clear water. i finished the special project of check printing in the morning, just over 2,000 checks. so it will be nice to have that done and be able to turn my attention to other things as i have been working on it for a month. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 45 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon said his replacement friends were having fun wrong. it was followed by the one where howard found out he has a half brother. the second was actually 'rain delay theater' as a st. paul saints baseball game was scheduled and eventually began, despite it still raining. i went to the hy-vee in eagan for my weekly grocery order and saw how much rain was falling and was surprised to see when i got back that the game was in the 4th inning, against nashville. i saw pennants for sale displaying a race car, sponsored by the grocery chain. i might get one later on. before the grocery order i went to their liquor store and got a can of grain belt so now 3 beers are waiting. cashier spoke of 'pocket sack'.

baby arrived

 no, not mine. my niece just had her baby, a girl. there were plenty of pictures on facebook. now it is a question of when i might make it to iowa to meet the kid. sounds like the kid was born after the due date, based on earlier postings. and i do recall saying that the month was nearly up when told it would be in april. at work there was mention during the team huddle of finally doing a luncheon next week, but it would be off-site. originally i was told it would be on-site, ordering pizza. late in the day i got an I.M. about a check i sent overnight, a month ago. it left me behind on my work. guess i had the option of ignoring it until the next day if i really wanted to. it seemed to go fairly well trying a different route to work. in the evening i went on a walk and found 7 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny kept saying 'i am fine' because leonard started dating priya. it was followed by the one where sheldon wanted to go to skywalker ranch. i drank the bottle of shiner bock with the evening meal so now 2 beers are waiting.

blue line extension

 after work i went to a nearby church to a meeting about plans to extend the light rail blue line. it was in the gym. i picked up some flyers that described the project. when i signed in i was told, as expected, it will be a while before it is available for use, probably not for another 6 years. currently of course the end of the line is the twins stadium. i spoke of how, based on my experiences of riding both lines, how the blue is more efficient than the green because it doesn't have to stop for car traffic near as much. there were easels up displaying different parts of the project and i got pictures of some of them. i wasn't there for long, about 10 minutes, as i wanted to get home and do my normal thing of watching the news and going online. at work my boss sent an I.M. twice. one was asking if we send overnight packages to canada, as there was an email about it. and we do. the other was about a pay raise, across the board at the company, effective in june. it is to reach what will be the new minimum. sounds like it won't be too much of an hourly raise from what i already have, but i will like having it. in the evening i went on a walk and found 79 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny said to leonard 'good morning, slut'. because leonard slept with a big contributor to the university, a rich widow. it was followed by the one where the friends have a big meal, the last food that howard's mom ever made. 

another big file delay

 the two largest files, both from fargo, were delayed again today, much like on monday. i got them printed, starting just after midday, and one still went out same-day but not the other. not much i can do,  depends on others. but since i still have some checks to print from the special project i stayed occupied for the most part. team huddle in the morning said next month we would be doing 2 days a week at the office, so it might mean the chance to do job shadowing and cross training. in the evening i went on a walk and found 92 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon did acting lessons from penny and she had to call his mom after he got stuck in a story that was a hybrid of star trek and growing up in texas. it was followed by the one where raj snoops on emily and broke a nightstand drawer. sheldon completed an application to live on mars. i did some research and decided on the next CD to order from new ulm. it was inspired by the recent purchase of a postcard from e-bay. i am able to order polka and waltz CDs from their radio station, the second order i have placed and the first since october. of course the first order was inspired by my annual oktoberfest visit. there might be another order soon but i think i will wait until the current order arrives. 

nearly a million

 i handled a check that was for nearly a million, going to a special agent with a  government agency. it was disappointing how i had to set it aside after forwarding a copy though, as i had spent a lot of time on just one check. i made a point of telling a colleague this in an IM, how there are other business lines that i handle. they said the check would have to be re-done, so it is moved back a day and the overnight package did not go out. at first it sounded like they threatened to contact my boss about it, but a little later i saw an email where i was given points. in the evening i went on a walk and found 54 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns where when the friends took 2 cars to a symposium, then they argue publicly, as howard was jealous after he met bernadette's ex. it was followed by the one where howard was at the airport trying to get his mom's urn back. the others did an activity where friends stare into each other's eyes for 4 minutes to see if they fall in love. i performed at an open-mic and i think the greatest reaction was to the story about 'leave me out of this'. i liked the MC singing 2 songs i was familiar with-'chasing cars' by snow patrol, and 'memories' by maroon 5. 

keebler bunny cookie

 my curiosity got the better of me and i bought a keebler bunny cookie this weekend at a walgreen. there is still some discounted easter candy available. the box says it is a delicious shortbread bunny cookie dipped in keebler fudge. so it was really just a big cookie. and it was more expensive than other things in this section for this reason. it tasted good though. it is one of many items i have bought once the easter candy was discounted, going to 4 different walgreen locations. in fact one of those visits was earlier today. as the saying goes, 'selection varies by store' and one thing i found and ate today was 2 oreo cookies. the main difference was the packaging, inside of a blue plastic egg. if it is like the other 3 'candy holidays' good chance i have enough goodies to last a month. this morning i watched a DVD movie, a recent purchase from family dollar, 'trouble with the curve'. i had seen it at theaters 10 years ago but this was the first time since then. of course i liked it because it was a baseball movie, about a scout for the atlanta braves. good cast as well, with clint eastwood, john goodman, and amy adams. in the evening after 'the simpsons' was done, about bart having a crush on a teacher and lisa having a pet octopus, i called my dad saying i got the pocket schedule for the iowa cubs, it arrived this week. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 22 cents. 

lady of the manor movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'lady of the manor'. i recognized melanie lynskey and patrick duffy in it. the premise sounded good to me, as it was about a tour guide in a historic home. but the movie wasn't that good. the main character was a slacker, and the script left a lot to be desired. for one thing, she was arrested for solicitation but i figured this meant being caught in the act such as naming a price and this never happened. and i also didn't like how she kept insulting the college professor of history that was trying to help her. i can relate to the prof in this movie as i have been on tours where i knew i was smart enough to give them, sometimes smarter than the tour guide. sign of the times, the young heir and his wife are on a dinner date but spend much of it on their phones, ignoring each other, except to do a pic to post on social media. the setting was savannah, georgia, but closing credits said it was filmed in tampa-st. pete, florida. it might have been purely coincidental, but i liked one of the lines being 'up in the air'-a favorite movie of mine, and one that melanie was in. i am thankful i didn't pay much to see it, with a discount code it was a little over a dollar. 

once the movie was done i got started on errand running. it meant going to the credit union where i deposited a small check that arrived this week, and i had them move some of what was in savings over to my certificate of deposit. a walgreen was nearby, so i went over to get some discounted easter candy. then it was on to the gas station, where i dumped the movie, and i looked around inside. while there i heard a song i found out was called 'bonaparte's retreat', i liked how some bagpipes were in it. then it was on to the post office, all three orders were there, all postcards. then i ordered three more. after having lunch i watched some USFL football, pittsburgh vs. philadelphia, but not that close. then i went to family dollar where i got a clint eastwood DVD, 3 movies in it, as well as more kool-aid. but the drinks will be for next weekend. after laying down for a little while i went to aldi for my weekly grocery order. after having some pizza it took a while but i found a good movie on TV, 'young frankenstein', with gene wilder. i recall seeing it halloween weekend when i drove up to winnipeg, canada, many years ago for a van halen concert. later on i went on a walk and found 91 cents. 

wicker egg chair

 tonight i went to hy-vee in eagan for my weekly grocery order. while there i saw the big plush dog from a previous visit, this time in a wicker egg chair. so i got a picture of it. not buying either one, both are kind of expensive and hard to find space for them as well. i went to the liquor store first and got a bottle of hofbrau munchen so now there are 3 beers waiting. during my walks i found 1 dollar 57 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny said 'take your sheldon back' after he annoyed his friends who were working on a science project. it was followed by the one where howard's mom died. not too much out of the ordinary at work, moving right along with the special project and when i sent the email giving the status update i said it is likely finished in a week from now. this is going by the current pace. there was some test checks that i printed in the morning, 10 in all, testing the positive pay function. i hit print on some real checks before i got started with it as i didn't want to fall behind on check printing. 

cupcakes and donuts

 with this being the day of the week where my department is in the office, it is more likely to find goodies. last week it was cupcakes, this week it was donuts from dunkin. although not the only time i saw donuts available, as this week payroll had some carrot cake, as well as donuts but from hy-vee. this becomes part of my mid-morning snack along with the triscuits. the colleague who brought the donuts had a stick with a plush mouse on the end to poke a neighbor, i said 'thanks for the warning'. my vacation replacement showed up before midday, i was thankful for this as i got a question answered about shadowing on some checks from the main printer. sounds like it means calling in a ticket for it. a story was shared about the death of a grandparent, and ordering clothes online to prepare for it. for the special project the last of the checks from late march went out, but here is still a little ways to go. target date to finish is the end of the month, based on the pace of the volume going out per day. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 13 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy met zac and kept saying 'hoo' as she was aroused. raj and howard try to wrestle to decide who is the sidekick. it was followed by the one where sheldon said he would create a meme of a bored cat saying 'oh really'. steve hawking was trolling sheldon and leonard. amy was writing fiction inspired by 'little house', part of the way that each of the ladies were embarrassed by art they had done. i drank the can of heineken with the evening meal so now there are 2 beers waiting. 

kool aid and can opener

 no, i didn't need a can opener for the kool-aid. this was the 2 items i bought at family dollar tonight. i didn't want to leave with just one item when the can opener didn't cost much, so i looked for other needs i had. it was a 6 pack. when i was waiting at the checkout counter a patron behind me in line tried to include me in an argument he had with the cashier. i asked them to figure it out on your own. i was late on seeing the start of 'the conners' but not a big deal as i found out it was a rerun. at work there wasn't too much out of the ordinary. two little boxes were picked up from the check shop in the first hour. later on a meeting scheduled for that afternoon was moved back a week. it was a dial in meeting, and not the team huddle. in the evening i went on a walk and found 76 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard and penny fake a relationship for her dad. it was followed by the one where howard does the 'emily or cinnamon' trivia game, about raj. sheldon goes crazy to be productive and then the friends make him get some sleep. 

test check meeting

 i was emailed about doing some test checks, and we were trying to hash things out but it wasn't going that well. i copied my boss on the thread, who suggested scheduling a meeting about it. this was a good idea. so one was scheduled for the afternoon, lasted 10 minutes. the test check session will be friday morning. i said i usually print them on stock but found out i won't need to. what is different here is being asked to positive pay them even though they are test checks, but the positive pay part is what is being tested this time. there was just three on the call, my boss had a half-day and was not part of it. our local i.t. man was the third. the dude who called the meeting is apparently based in oregon, i was not aware. moving right along on doing checks from the special project, less than four thousand from late march remain. i am still finding goodies in the office, in the payroll section. first it was carrot cake, today it was donuts from hy-vee. in the evening i went on a walk and found 44 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when there was an 'indiana jones' parody, as sheldon stole the movie after the theater was full. it was followed by the one where sheldon and leonard were at the store, holding purses for their ladies, and end up crying. 

corgi in crowd

 i did an open-mic tonight and at times one could hear a corgi dog barking. the owner had the dog in the bar area but eventually brought it into the show-room. the MC even spoke about it. i was on near the end of the night, and one of the stories i told was about the pizza party at work being postponed, again. at one point i went out to the bar area and could hear the flautist practicing in the bathroom. one of the songs she did was 'nothing else matters' by metallica. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 11 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when an FBI agent interviewed howard's friends and sheldon made things worse. it led to sheldon giving up his spot to howard, but only briefly. it was followed by the one where levar burton was a guest star, on fun with flags. when sheldon decided to end the show and begin it again. his friends cleaned out a colleague's office, and sheldon claimed the chmpagne bottle. at work the correct envelopes arrived, along with a toner cartridge. at lunch the pull tab broke off and i was unable to get the soup can open. now it means bringing a can opener to cut it open. i went over to walgreen and got a burger in a box, along with some discounted easter candy. one item in the mail at home was from a family friend, who is running for office again but in a different district -and county-in iowa than before. 

blues brothers movie

 this morning i put in a DVD movie, a recent purchase from amazon, 'blues brothers'. it is a double feature disc so the '2000' version is on it as well. i first saw it on WGN-TV back in high school, and it meant seeing an edited version. i think i had seen the unedited version just once before, when i was in california on vacation staying with some shirt-tail relatives. it had been a while since i had seen it, so of course i had a different perspective than before. and it is nice to have it on disc as the existing copy is on VHS, and recorded from TV. i recall dating somebody who asked why i kept referring to the movie, well it is a classic and they hadn't seen it. and of course there are plenty of notables in the cast, besides belushi and aykroyd, who have small roles in it such as ray charles and aretha franklin. an early scene at a church, where james brown plays the preacher, listed chaka khan in the credits. an observation i had made a while back was how a few things in this movie reminded me of 'smokey and the bandit', also released by universal, 3 years earlier. both have a soul food cafe, and both are known for car chases. both have a scene where a police car crashes into a semi-truck. 

once the movie was one i watched the easter service on the fox channel from our lady of grace, a catholic church in edina. then it was on to the USFL game on NBC. houston was shutting out michigan at the half, 17-0, so i laid down and when i woke up another program was on. so it was over to '45', where the saints baseball game was on. saints beat indianapolis 5-1. i got a look at my postcards again and freed up space in 3 slots in my photo albums so there is space for upcoming orders. 'simpsons' wasn't on so it was over to a rerun channel that was showing 'alice', i watched 2 episodes. one mentioned a class reunion, for vera if i am not mistaken, but it was more about flo going to night school. then i did some more shredding of junk mail, one plastic shopping bag was filled. later on i went on a walk and found 24 cents. 

scream, re-quel, movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'scream'. i recognized some of the original cast members, especially neve campbell, the main reason why i wanted to watch it. this movie had a new term in it, 're-quel', and the meaning of it was explained as well. it is the merger of a re-boot, and a sequel. and said 'ghostbusters' would be considered as such. i recall saying i had seen the first two in theaters in the same year, but after that i don't think i had seen any others- until now. so according to wikipedia, there are two that i haven't seen yet as this one is the fifth movie in the franchise. much of the storyline is familiar to those who have seen these movies before, and this is why i liked it, as it made fun of the rules in horror movies. also how it keeps the viewer guessing. an early scene in it meant something to me, probably not the case for all as it took place at a bowling alley called 'cardinal lanes' in modesto, california. there is a cardinal lanes in my hometown of newton, iowa. another memorable scene was sid saying she wouldn't set foot in woodsboro again, but we know how it ends- she does. wouldn't be much of a movie if she didn't. and of course there are scenes of people watching the earlier movies of the franchise. some names in the cast sounded familiar, in terms of being 'legacy actors'- as there was actors named gooding, and quaid. those two are the sons of cuba gooding, and dennis quaid. 

after the movie was done i got started on errand running. there was two orders to pick up at the post office, then i went to the capitol and dropped off recycling. after this i went to the gas station and dumped the movie, then went home and had lunch. after checking email i laid down for a while, then went to aldi for my weekly grocery order. after watching the news i got ready for the meetup walk, finding things i would need for it such as a flashlight, and a blanket. i chose the simpsons one as it hadn't been used much lately. the light was a small one so it wasn't too effective, but i really didn't need it when others brought stronger ones. i kept a quick pace so of course this was helpful. at the end was a bonfire, along with little chip bags and little brownies. it was at a nature center in bloomington, first time there. it was nice to see a sunset and a moonrise. there were plenty that had dropped out of the walk, i noticed i was the 10th one from the wait-list added and ten more were added after me. i laid down after getting back from it and then went on a walk and found 60 cents. 

office etiquette

 at work i decided to look further at what my vacation replacement discovered the previous day. i found four examples of office etiquette displayed in a corner of the check shop. it was 'big mouth', 'messy', 'home away from home', and 'all up in your business'. i got pictures of them. i figured i had found all of what was in this shop. when i moved those posters out i saw some paper clips on the floor next to it, so i scooped them up and put them in a drawer with the others. near the end of the day i had somebody i.m. me from another office saying somebody was asking about tracking numbers. i said the labels had been created and would send the tracking numbers shortly. i also said to let them know that UPS only picks up once a day, so it would just say 'label created'. hard to understand some people being impatient about it. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 83 cents. i watched some of the st. paul saints baseball game on TV, it was just getting started when i got home and was on instead of 'big bang theory' reruns. before and after i went to hy-vee, of course. looks like it was a sparse crowd due to the cold weather, saints beat indianapolis 6-4. i made it to the mcdonald's near work for a fish sandwich, then i went home and ate it there. also seemed odd that tonight i was given a spot at a meetup event after being wait-listed over 2 weeks ago. 

cart and coat

a shipment of check stock arrived before midday and it was a little confusing when the call came in. i at first said go to the service entry but they said they were on the upper level, so i met them there. i brought out a cart and then realized once i got there how it was cold enough to be snowing where i said i needed to go get my coat if i was going to be outside for a few minutes. so the driver loaded some of the boxes on the cart and the others were put inside the building next to the employee entrance door. driver didn't understand me at first, then i noticed how cart and coat can sound the same. the pizza party was postponed, again. the boss said he fell in the driveway and decided to work from home. a colleague still brought in cupcakes, i had one and then was told late in the day there still was some remaining. so i was given two more and said 'one a day works for me' and left them in the check shop. somebody still emailed us about ordering pizza but i understood the compony was paying, so i didn't go that route. i had brought a can of spaghetti in case the pizza party was a no-go so i had it covered. i am used to taking care of lunch on my own on most days. my vacation replacement decided to hang out in the shop for a little while just before, and a little after, lunchtime, saying there wasn't a lot to do for his role. in the evening i went on a walk and found 53 cents. i drank the can of jever with the evening meal so now there are 3 beers waiting. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon thinks he is screwed, not wanting a relationship with amy, after amy said she wanted to have him meet her mom. but it was a ruse to have her mom think she was in a relationship. it was followed by the one where the friends have a prom and it has just as much drama as a real high school prom. 

closed for meeting

 near the end of the workday i went to the branch and the door was locked. an employee said they were closed for a meeting. i asked if there was any deliveries on the table, so i was let in and picked up the one box there and i was gone. i was able to get checks printed again from the special project. an envelope order arrived as well, but no check stock yet. after work i got a can of modelo from the liquor store near work so now there are 4 beers waiting. in the evening i went on a walk and found 69 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when there was two sci-fi stars debating as to if howard and bernadette should 'make the move'. it was followed by the one where billy bob thornton guest stars as somebody who tried to woo penny. 'the conners' was about darlene getting a raise, and dan hiring friends to build the house for darlene and becky. 

more server issues

 there continued to be more server issues at work. it led to being unable to print checks for a while this morning. a colleague in another department suggested switching to a different server, this seemed to work. it was a struggle to get someone to look at the server room. i had to copy my boss on the email when they were 'poo-pooing' what was happening. but then somehow even the copier started printing again, when the tech was onsite, so it was nice that i no longer needed to use the one in the branch manager's office for UPS labels. the technician said it would be referred to the server team, and closed the ticket i had opened the previous day. i was still behind on sending things out, more than a thousand checks from the fargo file still need to be run through the next morning. and very little from the special project went out, just two as i like doing one extra to ensure i get all of them from the daily file. the other ticket, a maintenance kit for the smaller printer, saw some action as well. the kit arrived in the morning, over at the branch, now i am waiting to have somebody do the installation. in the evening i went on a walk and found 12 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon got cats to fill a void left by ending things with amy, then resumed the relationship after his mom used reverse psychology. it was followed by the one where sheldon and raj did a simulation where they went underground in a mine, it lasted 11 minutes. 

flautist wore combat boots

 i went to the open-mic to perform tonight and the flautist wore combat boots. even though she is a pacifist. i liked one song she used while performing, it was 'all around me' by flyleaf. it was also nice to see the mad hatter there for the first time in a while. emcee liked my story about being called 'night walker'. later on i went on a walk and found 57 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 the girls go to las vegas and the guys try to work but end up watching movies. it was funny to see amy fall out of bed while hung over trying to close the drapes. at work there was a server issue near the end of the day and i had to find an alternate printer for UPS labels. it meant going to use the copier in the branch manager office. more than half of the overnighted envelopes still went out but it was tied to the branch schedule, and when it closes for the day that is it as i have no access on my own. so i did as many as i could and the others have to be carried over to the next day. i figured i had seen it all on technology issues. i let my work spouse know before midday by instant message how i had chosen a twins game outing this summer over another event. after thinking about it for a while, it was really no contest as to which one to choose when the two were on the same day. 

postcard evaluation

 i didn't do much today, nowhere i really needed to go. so i looked through my postcard collection in various photo albums and evaluated which ones to keep. i was able to free up enough space to get some cards in the album that were bought at the 'failure museum' exhibit at mall of america in december. i bought 11 cards in all, and i got 5 of them in an album. it meant taking some out and moving them to another album, some were moved to the shred box. sometimes i take them out and have them ready to send to others. those i bought from e-bay i tend to keep, those that i got for free and were meant as advertising i am less likely to keep. another thing i did was find two printed event tickets. and those are in a sheet protector in a binder now. one of them was from touring the federal reserve bank in minneapolis in 2011. i did get out for walks, twice during the day, and from those walks i found 1 dollar 19 cents. i also knew i needed to find the time to pay two bills due today, my cell phone and my car insurance. nice being able to pay online and by phone. for the evening meal i ate the last of 3 meals i got from the fish fry on friday. once a day for those is enough as there is plenty of rice in it and i definitely felt full after eating all of it. 

death in texas movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'death in texas'. i recognized bruce dern in it. john ashton was in it as well, as a cop, but i didn't recognize him easily because he doesn't look much now like he did in movies such as 'beverly hills cop' or 'midnight run'. there was a body count in it, as it is about a  recent parolee stealing money from drug lords to pay for a liver transplant for his mom. many scenes were in a bar and i liked the lady bartender in it. after the movie was done i made it to the post office just before closing time, nothing to pick up. i had picked up a postcard on friday. then it was on to the saints stadium as i wanted to see a college baseball game, hamline was playing luther in a double-header. hamline won 6-0 in the first game, just 7 innings. then i left. the saints pocket schedules are not out yet. then i got some emails printed at a fed-ex office and went home. one of them was an order confirmation for an alumni event in june. when i got back i laid down for a while. then i had the evening meal, the second of three fish dinners. then it was time to go to aldi for the weekly grocery order. after this i got bars of soap at the family dollar. i went online an ordered a DVD from amazon, and a postcard from e-bay. later on i went on  a walk and found 20 cents. the bars of soap was paid for with small change. 

twins opener, ford wind breaker

 in the afternoon i went to the home opener for the minnesota twins. i was offered a free ticket in the company suite so it was hard to turn down. i met a senior leader for the first time early on. first time i had done such an event since my time in suburban chicago, attending blackhawks and bulls games at the united center. twins lost to seattle 2-1, all scoring was on home runs. odd how the twins player who hit the  home run was pinch hit for in the 9th. the game ended on a warning track fly ball. i had seen the club level before, when attending the twins fan-fest annual event. after the game i didn't feel like waiting for the elevator so i walked down a ramp to the main level. it was nice to get a pocket schedule on the way in and a wind breaker jacket sponsored by the local ford dealers. i had some of the food furnished in the suite, pizza and chicken. also some juice, and a can of budweiser. when walking back to the light rail i noticed all of the media outside the stadium, and not just the local channels but also one from duluth. after i got back to the park and ride i drove over to a church having a fish fry, it had just ended but i was still able to pick up my order. actually i got 3 meals as it was the last fish fry of the season. then i went over to the family dollar and got the last 6-pack of happy drinks as i wanted something besides water to drink with it. then it was to the hy-vee in eagan for my weekly grocery order. and i went to their liquor store, getting a bottle of shiner, so now there are 3 beers waiting. later on i went on walk and found 1 dollar 86 cents. i woke up and the late show was on, james corden, and it was memorable to see an interview with the front-woman of a band called japanese breakfast. she sings real well, but it was distracting during the interview because she kept covering her face, almost like she was embarrassed about something. in the morning i had my car worked on, another expensive repair bill that doesn't thrill me. while waiting for the car to be done i watched a DVD movie, 'the babe', the bio-pic about baseball great babe ruth, when john goodman played him.  

same code on envelope

 i needed to call to order a maintenance kit for a check printer and the rep said i needed to email a shared box. the response i got was i was mis-directed. it is why i dread having to call as it has proven to be the 'not much help desk'. a ticket was opened and closed, i asked them to re-open it as i don't have the equipment yet. near the end of the day i picked up a box of envelopes from the branch, and it was a different business line than what was ordered, same as last month. i see how it is the same code on both. as usual, the last day before being out of the office, i wanted to get caught up on things as much as possible. and it meant sending a 'keep in loop' message at the end of the day. one of the things in it was how i tried to get a fluid bottle open and couldn't. some colleagues, including my vacation replacement, decided to work from home so they joined the team huddle in the morning remotely. i drank the can of hamm's with the evening meal so now there are 2 beers waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 28 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we first meet amy farrah fowler. i liked it because howard said 'good god what have we done?' it was followed by the one where howard threw out the first ball at an angels baseball game. this will be my first day off this calendar year. 

xfinity commercials

lately i have been seeing plenty of xfinity commercials. the young lady in it is cute, had to look up who it is. online searching said becky g, real name rebecca gomez, singer and actress. she does make mention of 'more concert tickets, including my shows', but never mentions her name in the commercials i have seen. so much like david spade doing commercials for sierra trading post, and i am still seeing those even though it is no longer 'beat it steve', it is good entertainment even if i am not buying the product. with xfinity, that is a cell phone company and i like the provider i chose back in november. at work i was informed that an event has been moved back a day, so i asked for a day off in order to attend it. there was 3 visitors to the shop before midday. first was about the event, then somebody picking up a package. those two overlapped. the third was somebody dropping off band aids, two of the three i was meeting in person for the first time. otherwise not much out of the ordinary, still plenty of checks to print from a special project from fargo. now i printed those $60 or more. in the evening i went on a walk and found 68 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard was telling penny why the elevator was broken. it was followed by the one where sheldon teaches a class and the only one signing up was howard. amy was good in it as she eaves-drops on her friends to know when they will call, as she is finally popular. also brilliant when she said 'say my name' to a starfish as she was stimulating its pleasure cells. 'the conners' wasn't on tonight so after i was done checking email i laid down for a while. 

will take fed-ex

 i saw a fed-ex envelope this morning in front of the UPS box at work so when i had the time i decided to walk it over to the walgreen nearby. just before i got there i saw a fed-ex truck and the driver said he would take it. fine with me. then i went back to the bank. at work i decided to send out the highest value checks in the system since there are two special projects, high volume of checks, now. proof of how most are low value as i cleared out all of those $100 or more and this was just a fraction of what was there. there was one check for over a quarter million. looks like the special event ticket just arrived, emailed to me and now it means using a smartphone app. in the evening i went on a walk and found 14 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon had a visitor, that penny called 'dr. slut bunny'. it was followed by the one where sheldon returns from sabbatical, he was picked up from arizona by leonard and amy. it is really wet out there, i could tell while driving. 

not golden valley

 notable thing at work was when i was sorting the mail and seeing how much wasn't for the bank. it was for a place in golden valley, not even the same town. so i wasn't going to try to hand deliver it. that meant it went into an outgoing tub at the end of the day. my boss said there is another big file of checks coming soon, of course this doesn't thrill me. since we aren't even close to being done with the first one. i can only do so much. there was no show to perform at tonight, and i was tired so not a big deal. it meant i laid down for a while after i was done with checking email and watching the news. later on i went on a walk and found 53 cents. in the morning i got two bags of chips from the vending machine. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard and penny share custody of sheldon. penny takes sheldon to disney-land. it was followed by the one where sheldon decides to go on sabbatical and it meant getting on a train. leonard and penny say goobye to him and penny hugs him. it was likely a season finale. 

thermos insulated lunchbox

 late in the afternoon i went to the office max in eagan looking for inter-office envelopes. there weren't any, and the comparable ones were kind of expensive. i still looked around to see if there was anything else i needed. in the clearance section i saw some lunch bags. one of them was made by thermos, black, depicting constellations and planets. i knew it would be a nice reminder of my time living in suburban chicago as i know the company's home office is in schaumburg. it was a good deal, got it for 3 dollars, marked down from 14 dollars. the lunch bag i had, made by tupperware, had seen its better days. but it had a good run, not sure how long i had it but it had been in use when i was at a job i was laid off from more than 4 years go. i saw it abandoned in the breakroom so i claimed it. not sure if i had bought any lunch bags before, usually they have been given to me by the employer. of course this doesn't count the charlie brown lunchbox, as it is being used for storage of charlie brown items. i ripped up the existing lunch bag and tossed it in the trash. the new one has two sections, so i will have the soup can in the lower part and the plastic container for the soup in the upper part. the tag said it is a canadian product, and i did search it online where i found out thermos products are sold by canadian tire. it was hard to find the same one i had bought in online searches, but similar ones were found and it was considered to be for kids. it looks like a little backpack, and this is no accident. based on my findings, there are some product offerings where a backpack and lunch bag are sold in a set. i took a picture of the old and new bag together, and kept two things from the old one. one was the strap, but as i recall it wasn't an original part of it. i moved the strap to another bag. the other thing was the label saying 'tupperware' on it, an this was sent to the plastic bag with the user guide. i am hopeful it lasts for many years. the wikipedia article bout the company said there was a smithsonian exhibit called 'taking america to lunch'. the company's website does depict various themes for the lunch bags they sell, consistent with the metal lunchboxes from many years ago with movie and TV show themes. 

another place i stopped at in the early afternoon was jc penney, to get a shirt with a collar for work and some socks. it was the one at the mall in roseville and while there i got a dairy queen blizzard as well. i did an open-mic in the evening, same venue as the one i do on most mondays. later on i went on a walk and found 51 cents, shortened due to the snow. 

patriots day movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'patriots day'. i recognized kevin bacon, john goodman, and jk simmons in it. john was why i chose it, he plays the police commissioner. there is a police superintendent as well, which is confusing. this movie was about the boston marathon bombing of 2013. i do recall this news story, so some of what was depicted was familiar. so i knew when they got to the part about the boat, the story was nearly finished. of course it is typical of movies 'based on a true story' where some scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect. this would explain mark wahlberg having a role in it, besides being a producer. his character was fictional, explaining why a boston cop is seen in nearby watertown, which would be out of his jurisdiction. i knew red sox baseball player david ortiz is in it as himself, but does not appear until the end. at first i had chosen another movie to rent, but when it was spit out by the machine i noticed it was blue-ray and i can't play a blue-ray movie. so it got returned right away. since patriots day is in april, i am aware this is likely why the movie was available there since it has been around for a few years, released in late 2016, early 2017. 

once the movie was done it was time to get to the credit union and have change counted, i do this quarterly. the proceeds went into my savings account, and some of what is there my get transferred to the certificate of deposit once the maturity date happens later this month. then i dumped the movie at the gas station and went to pick up e-bay orders, all three were there including the iowa hawkeye socks. then it was time to get home and have lunch, a turkey pot pie. after doing some research online i went to the open house at the french alliance in minneapolis. i bought some postcards there, as well as some banana bread and a latte. next stop was a store that has dunkin donuts cereal. i also got some greeting cards about the pandemic, proof of how anything will get made if somebody thinks it will sell. i see it as a historic artifact, and those two went into my photo albums along with the french cards. i had pizza for the evening meal, after going to aldi for my weekly grocery order. and i did a philosophical posting on facebook inspired by the visit to the french alliance. how art had answers for me, such as quoting a langston hughes poem. or thinking of 'i regret nothing' by edith piaf. during my walks i found 1 dollar 65 cents. so i am already getting started on the next time i deposit change. 

live anywhere in the world

 i went directly to a fish fry after work and while in the dining hall i saw a sign on the wall asking 'if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?' not sure how i would answer that. i made it near the tail end of their scheduled servings as there was going to be a play starting, 'mary poppins, jr'. yep, junior. not sure how it is different from the regular one. it was at a catholic school, and much like last week it meant eating on school trays. then i went home where i saw the ending of a  'big bang theory' rerun, where bernadette said to howard, 'welcome to team putz' about hiring somebody to take care of howard's mom. then eventually it was on to hy-vee in eagan for my weekly grocery order. except i didn't bring my loyalty card to scan, noticed this when i was at self-checkout. i went to their liquor store first, where i got a can of heineken so now there are 3 beers waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 36 cents. at work i was asked to send some check stock to our rep at the check stock company in reference to seeing if there is any watermarks in them. the shipment of check stock arrived in the afternoon, but some of it was on backorder. the driver called me and appeared clueless, had to do more guiding to get the dude to the service entry near the dumpsters and the ATM line, even moving orange cones out of the way.