certified mail?

 i had a request to send some checks by certified mail. i let them know i could overnight it by UPS. then when the checks were printed i saw a PO box address, so i had to ask for a physical address and by the end of the day there was no response. so it waits until i hear some more. after the team huddle in the morning i got started on entering vacation day requests, as i have 4 days left to use. i entered 2 and will study the schedule more before entering the other 2. i can take 1 day off a week next month. near the end of the day i brought up computer equipment that was picked up from the branch to a manager that said it was for a new employee. going through emails i got more ideas about holiday events to do, one of them is this weekend. the holiday light display was listed there. 'the conners' finally had louise appear again. she was wielding a bat in order to get an unwanted guest to leave. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the story of edison and tesla was covered. it was followed by the one where stan lee was a guest star.

unemployment insurance contribution

 there was plenty of instant messages about one check throughout the workday. it was for unemployment insurance contributions, going to wisconsin. when i printed it i saw it was categorized as interoffice, but i already had the over-ride request to overnight it. seemed odd having to explain the process. most checks from this file i understand are urgent, it is why they go to that file. and when the questions started it sounded like the check wasn't approved yet. so i calmly stated what i do, how i send the overnight envelopes to the box just once a day. and it rolled over to the second file drop, only three across the two files for the day. during my walks i found 10 cents. after work i went to the nearby liquor store and got a bottle of summit so there are now 6 beers waiting. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when 'almost paradise' was played twice. it was followed by the one about who leonard takes with him to switzerland on valentines day. 'monarch' continues to have storylines that remind me of a soap opera, such as the vote to sell the record label.

ordering back issues

 i got the idea a little late about getting the saturday edition of the paper as i found out there were tributes to 'charlie brown and snoopy' creator charles schulz in it. the museum in santa rosa displayed 102 of these tributes on their website, some of the comics i had never heard of. but it is all about what is in the local paper. and i am aware of how the two papers in this area don't have much overlap on their comics pages. so i called the customer service line for the minneapolis paper and later on got a response to my voicemail. it said i can order back issues for up to a month on their website. when i got home in the evening i did. i was wondering about how to order the same day of the st. paul paper, and i was able to order it online as well. it was a little different, up to a year, and i could use paypal as the method of payment. both will go to my post office box, much like my e-bay and amazon orders. i found articles from the associated press, national public radio, and washington post about the tribute and printed them. at work it was still a fairly low volume day, although it was nice to get some checks printed that had been awaiting approval for days. i guess the approver had taken an extended holiday. some mail was taken across the street to the church, i don't have to do this but i do anyway as it wards off getting it back eventually. i performed at the open-mic in the evening, i spoke of how i spent the turkey day holiday. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 8 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when there was a 'bounce house' at a birthday party. it was followed by sheldon in a 'ball pit' and leonard having a 'joker' ring tone.

prune pudding?

 i went to do laundry just before midday and notice the elvis presley bag full of mostly baby food was still there. i got a picture of it this time. i got another look at what was inside and noticed there was some pudding cups labeled as prunes, and i didn't claim anything this time. once i was done i went home and the game i wanted to see was in the 2nd quarter, bears-jets, the bears lost. i laid down for a while after the game ended, and then i did my annual viewing of the turkey day movie 'planes trains and automobiles'. unsure if i noticed anything different this time when seeing it when i have seen it many times before. but i still like watching it as i like road movies. 'the simpsons' was about lisa and nelson in the future, had to laugh when the church sign spoke of 'runaway bride insurance'. there was one scene with four presidents in it, one of them being grover cleveland. the show is known for social commentary, so that scene likely was commentary in some form. later on i called my dad, but as usual it was a challenge because of trying to avoid subjects that annoy me is exhausting. we both spoke about how we spent our thanksgiving holiday. during my walks i found 2 dollars 9 cents.

top gun maverick movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'top gun maverick'. i recognized tom cruise, val kilmer, and ed harris in it. even though this movie was just over 2 hours, it didn't seem that long. the action sequences were good. i had to laugh when one aviator was fine with 'bob' as his call sign. when not many actors from the 1986 version were in this one, it felt just as much like a remake as it did a sequel. there were some callbacks to the original, but not a lot. this felt like a decidedly different movie to me. likely due to the time passing between them, as some things have changed since then like people having cell phones. thankful i saw it, a coworker said i should see it in theaters but i still like watching movies at home way more. in fact the action moved quick enough to me that i didn't even ask where lady gaga's song was, it was at the end. this was why i bought the soundtrack a little while back. the credits do say it was dedicated to tony scott, who had directed the 1986 version. i read in wikipedia how there was plans for this movie as far back as 2010, but scott's passing was one reason why it was delayed, along with the pandemic. after the movie was done i needed to get on the road. i went to the post office, one e-bay order was picked up. then i dumped the movie at the gas station and went to get lunch at popeye's chicken. i used the drive-through, not typical for me, but i was pressed for time. i drove to como park and ate in my car. then i got out and went over to the pavilion and met the group for a meetup walk. we went around the lake, and tried to enter the zoo but tickets were needed. i was getting annoyed with the event coordinator, who couldn't get his facts straight. it was why i was fine with leaving at the end of the walk and not doing more with the group. i used the bathroom and noticed he had just sat down in the cafe with a beer. i really needed to get some other things done anyway. i got some christmas cereal at target, and printed a ticket at the copy store. i got a small box of peanut butter cookies at a cheese shop near the copy store, as i found them on the list of places where i could get airline miles. then it was home, where i laid down for a while. then i got up and went to aldi for my weekly grocery order. later on i placed 2 more e-bay orders. during my walks i found 27 cents.

trader joe's stickers

 when i was getting back from walgreen i saw a strip of seven trader joe's stickers near the employee entrance. so i claimed them. after looking at them more closely i decided to keep three of them and those are now on a page that will go into a binder. these are a cooked turkey, a jar of cranberry sauce, and a pumpkin. i not only got a snack at walgreen but also a special edition of charlie brown word finds. even though it was the day after a holiday, it was still busy for a while at work. in the morning there was a file of over 2,000 checks, that is normally 200 or less. i noticed how the lion's share had a zip code starting with a 9, so mostly california i guess. and a big shipment of envelopes arrived as well, the 50k for a special project. good thing i was in the hall and saw the courier, and branch manager, so i could re-direct them. i saw the mail code and said those belong in the shop. after lunch it was kind of slow though, and this was evident with the overnight package total being just 9. i made it to hy-vee in eagan for my weekly grocery order, and got a tub of pumpkin pie ice cream. and made a note of where some holiday themed items were moved to that still interest me. i watched the original 'frosty the snowman' on TV before i got on the road to the grocery store. later on i went on a walk and found 55 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns where when penny bonded with leonard's mom. sheldon and howard went out to the desert to shoot off a rocket, then sheldon is stopped for speeding. this is one i hadn't seen before. it was followed by the one where the friends react to a break-in with getting an 'intruder alert' net. after work i went to a nearby liquor store and got a bottle of famosa beer, no now 5 beers are waiting. my one 'black friday' purchase was a ticket to the holiday light display at the saints stadium. there was a discount code i used, it took care of the taxes and ordering fees.

pudding cup and a pen

 i did some walks on this thanksgiving holiday. at the laundromat i found a pen, and a pudding cup. the latter was inside a elvis presley bag. the rest of what was in the bag didn't interest me, as it was mostly jars of baby food. during these walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were both turkey day themes, no surprise there. the first was when elon musk was a guest star, the other was when sheldon had a beer with bernadette's dad. zach was invited as well, in order to sign papers to annul a las vegas marriage to penny. i was switching between the reruns and the second football game of the day, giants-cowboys, but the game was nearing the end, cowboys won. the first walk started shortly after the first game ended, bills-lions, it was also a close one and the bills won. in the morning i took out the trash, and after being online for a little while i watched the 'charlie brown thanksgiving' DVD. it was three segments- the actual special, the 'this is america' episode, and the 'making of' the special. the other annual viewing of a turkey day disc, 'planes trains and autos', can be done this weekend. i sent text messages during halftime of the first game, to my niece as well as to a classmate, both live in iowa. first time i had done so since labor day weekend. both meals were turkey, made by con-agra and found at cub foods, got pictures of both. drank a can of hamm's with the first and schell's with the second, so now 4 beers are waiting.

wheat ear pennies

 i still see wheat ear pennies from time to time, tonight i picked up one from 1940. when i went to look at the coin album and coin tin i was pleased with what was already there. looks like one of those i have is a steel penny, made during the second world war. if it is a year i already have, then it goes into the change bank. during this walk i found 29 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when bernadette tricked sheldon into doing chores, like in 'tom sawyer'. it was followed by the one where sheldon has a green lantern on a double date with raj. at work it was a fairly slow day as expected, being right before a holiday. some checks were set aside at the end of the day, will wait until friday because those employees were already out of office. i still need to figure out when to use up the remaining vacation days, found out i have four instead of just three. another department was having a potluck, i had some of the food on their table on another floor. a little subway sandwich, chips. homemade carrot cake, and a cupcake from cub foods. i got another look at upcoming meetup events, and i registered for a walk this weekend. it is more appealing to me than a potluck the same day. there is a black friday ticket offer as well, but i of course must wait to use it. 'the conners' was about the entire family going out of town, on separate trips. for some it was supposed to be a honeymoon.

3 blue binders

 i saw a business line for the first time, and asked a colleague by I.M. what to do with it. i was advised to look in the blue binder near my computer, there was three of them. and it said 'return to business line'. i confirmed the contact name as current by email. it went to cincinnati by overnight delivery, 9 checks in all. also notable about the day at work was a courier calling me just before midday. i said i wasn't expecting a delivery, at least this early. as of the previous day it still said 'awaiting approval' by a senior leader. it was check stock for a big project, 25 boxes. i advised them to go to the service entry, as usual i liked how it didn't take all that long. and a check was picked up after i had put out the cart, i was finishing up overnight labels. during my walks i picked up a dollar coin. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we see 'the council of sheldons'. it was followed by the one where sheldon teaches penny about physics. i also watched 'monarch' on Fox, it was a rerun.

well-dressed mc

 i performed at the open-mic tonight, and there was a fill-in mc. when another comic showed up i was asked where the main show runner was, and said the fill-in was well dressed, the wild guitar player, who did 'heartbreak hotel'. my set included mention of a motorcycle at the gas station. even though i was tired, i stayed until the show ended, which had 6 musicians doing a rendition of 'country roads'. at work i saw the tech in the early afternoon. i moved up my lunch a little for this reason, and saw them arrive while i was still in the breakroom. the mother-board was swapped out. i was asked by email if it was still there, and i said it was, in the 'back room'. dumb luck, because it isn't high priority for me to send things out for recycle. looks like the ticket is finally closed on the check printer. i saw plenty of places where the air can was used on the unit by the tech, gave me more ideas. since the main issue was the extra ink on the checks, but the air can took care of it. also looks like the tech i see the most is still cleaning up the messes of other techs. hopefully it is a while before i need to call for a tech on these machines. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 55 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were both radio interviews. first was when leonard said 'physics is dead' and the university said a retraction needed to be made. might be the first time i saw it, surprised there are any episodes left that i hadn't seen. it was followed by the one where kripke sabotages sheldon's interview with pubic radio.

mickey mouse balloon

 when i went out for a walk tonight i saw some balloons on the ground. one of them was a metallic mickey mouse balloon. i got a picture of it. during the walk i found 1 dollar 44 cents. i liked how there wasn't much to do. at midday i turned on the TV and watched a pro football game, as the bears were playing the falcons in atlanta. the bears lost. i laid down for a little while after the game was over. in the evening i watched 'the simpsons', where lisa was labeled a 'party narc'. a big project for the day was going through boxes of event programs. it meant pulling off the tickets for most, they had been stapled, and moving them into bags next to the others. one page is now in a sheet protector in the binders, as it was from seeing the 'charlie brown christmas' play in hudson, wisconsin, in late 2017. and it was nice to find a signed photo of fred lynn, it was from the college world series in 2007. this will go into the binders soon. i had wanted to find the tickets from seeing 'church basement ladies' shows, and i did. some were from plymouth, and others from burnsville as they had to move after the plymouth venue closed. there is another play in the series, but it runs until february so i am fine with waiting to see it until we ring in the new year. 

billy joel special magazine

 i like reading special magazines about various famous people. i read two today, about musicians from different genres. the first one was bout billy joel. i had bought it a week earlier so it was time to read it. i learned some things while reading it, such as he has been married 4 times. so before, and after, the one to model christie brinkley. also two suicide attempts, before he was famous. and i liked mention of a  presidential honor, the kennedy center honors. as well as a banner hanging in the rafters at madison square garden, in honor of his many performances there, lately a monthly gig. and being the final performer at two other new york venues, shea stadium and nassau coliseum. i had seen billy in concert when living in suburban chicago. it was with elton john, the last of three sold-out shows in rosemont. the other one i read was about loretta lynn, bought earlier today. liked seeing mention of loretta being awarded the president's medal of freedom. i learned how both had songs that were 'banned' but this made the songs even more popular. i bought it at the barnes and noble in eagan. i take a good look around, and got a few more ideas about what i might buy eventually. the next special magazine on my list to acquire would be about another musician, eminem. 

   i had some other things to do, such as get to the post office. i made it there before going to the book shop, but there was no orders to pick up. in the mid-afternoon i watched the iowa vs. minnesota football game on Fox. iowa won a close one, 13-10. took bad the pick-6 did not stand near the end, but they still won on a field goal. i went to aldi for my weekly grocery order after the game was done, and having some pizza. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 54 cents.

surly brewing event

 after work tonight i went to surly brewing in minneapolis. there was an iowa alumni event in the beer hall, as the iowa vs. minnesota football game is this weekend. first time at this venue. i had some chili and fries, in addition to a glass of surly hell beer. i did the driving directions and found out it was just over a mile east of mariucci arena, so close to the campus. i saw various hawk items at the table near the bar, and picked up a button as well as a small note pad. i did get a look at the upper level, where pizza was served. i saw a few people there i knew, but not a lot. i liked the music i heard played, including 'interstate love song' and 'say it aint so'. then it was on to hy-vee in eagan for my weekly grocery order. first stop was their liquor store. i got a can of schell's so now 6 beers are waiting. i picked up a 'space jam' birthday card with a sticker inside, and a christmas-themed charlie brown activity book. and i found thanksgiving dinner at cub foods. then finally, it was the drive home. during my walks i found 1 cent. at work near the end of the day my boss called and said there would be a big check drop early in the new year, so it means ordering the stock and envelopes for it. overall it was a low volume of checks to print for the day, all of the mail fit into just one tub. in the morning i responded to a meetup survey. one of two i was sent, anyway. it was a duplicate, sent by two different groups. i passed on attending an event next month after finding out i could get tour tickets for cheaper directly through the museum. and the asking price for food was high as well. not the first time where i co-opted an idea from meetup, and find a cheaper game plan. unsure what my next event will be, when doing outdoor events such as the walks during winter months is a hard sell.

consecutive safety drills

 at work in the early afternoon there was consecutive safety drills. first was the fire drill, then the tornado drill. i am told it was the first time in three years, due to covid, so the first ones i had been in at the bank. at one minute after, i left the shop, figuring it was time. found out there was instant messaging on my phone, and an email sent. no alarm as the branch manager said it would have meant the fire and police department would have arrived. and we didn't want to panic any customers. i am thankful i moved up my lunchtime, not knowing how long it would take. but it was done in just over 10 minutes. first one was in the upper level entryway, second was in the breakroom. i still made it to walgreen a little later, and when i was leaving i saw some food in a bag near the front door. i inspected it and claimed the two bags of microwave popcorn, and popped up one of them in the evening. it may have been expired, but it still tasted fine. the rest of what was in the bag appeared to be perishable so i did well on claiming only the popcorn. a tech arrived to work on the check printer, and it printed for the first time in just over a month. so swapping out the fan worked. i showed the prints because there still was some extra ink on them so i was advised to keep using the other printer as the primary as parts still need to be ordered and a configuration was being done as well. for some reason the ticket was closed, but i let the tech know about it. i drank the can of surly with the evening meal so now 5 beers are waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 71 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when leonard and penny had a fight and sheldon said he should have held out for more than a comic book and a robot.

huntsville street names

 i was looking for articles about baseball in new orleans, to see if there was any action on getting a team back since their triple-a team moved out after the 2019 season ended. what i found was mention of a city that got a team back and it has been going well, in huntsville, alabama. the team was regionalized, and is called the rocket city trash pandas. and it was from a new orleans perspective, saying there was some street names with a new orleans theme. this was iberville, bienville, st. louis, poydras, and napolean. had to look up each one to know who they were. with the first two i found out this went back to when the area was known as new france, and wikipedia states that bienville was iberville's younger brother. st. louis is a cathedral in new orleans, oldest one in continuous use in the USA. poydras was the catalyst in the promotion of statehood for louisiana, and helped draft the state's constitution. the fifth one is a house in the french quarter. there is a legend that it would be a house for napoleon bonaparte after his exile. it was also known as the nicolas girod house, who had been mayor of the city. always pleased with what i learn about history when the opportunities exist. at work i was asked if any parts had arrived for the check printer, and i said they had, already noted the ticket on the previous day. so it looks like the technician will arrive the next morning for installation. my boss was asking as well. 'the conners' was mostly about darlene struggling to find a job, although it was due to her own bad choices. later on i went on a walk and found 51 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy hesitated to tell sheldon about being offered a fellowship at princeton. it was followed by the one where leonard tried to watch nebraska football with penny but decided to fly kites with the friends.

pink lemonade sucker

there has been a bowl of goodies at work, an all that is left now is one pink lemonade sucker, made by jolly rancher. there was two bowls actually, and the other had halloween candy bars. i would have a sucker per day once the little candy bars were gone. first day back after four days off. and what a welcome back, as there was two dial-in meetings. the first was the team huddle in the morning, along with one moderated by the senior leader in the afternoon. i joined the latter after returning from lunch, and paying for the oil change for my car. i was planning on waiting until the next day to print all of the fargo checks, but at one point i hit 'print all' instead of 'print selected' so i had to let it finish. it meant some files had to wait an hour. some fargo checks will be run through the machine the next day. the commute wasn't too big of a deal in the early evening, as the roads were just wet. later on i went on a walk and found 80 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard found a ventriloquist dummy and bernadette performed with it for the first time in decades. it was followed by the one where howard and bernadette meet after being fixed up by penny.

baseball top 9 disc

 this was my 4th and final day off, and i still found some things to do. i finished up watching a DVD i recently purchased from cheapo. it was the top 9 in 9 different categories in baseball such as best home run, best hitting season, best pitching season. it was the first time i had heard about the 1975 world series having consecutive rainouts before game 6. and likely the first time i saw the footage of the home run that won the 1976 playoffs for the yankees, where fans rushed the field before chambliss had circled the bases. this was after the dental appointment in the early afternoon, and 'jeopardy'. i stayed in until i had to leave for the appointment due to the snow that was still falling. i ordered lunch online, a burger and fries, and picked it up from a nearby restaurant. first time in a while that i went to a place in the dining for miles program. i performed at an open-mic in the evening, notable was the story about restroom keys at the appointment. later on i went on walk and found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy did a 'fun with flags' retrospective. it was followed by the one where raj works for sheldon, to avoid being deported. 'eye of the tiger' was played. likely the first time i had seen the latter.

ambulance movie

 in the afternoon i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'ambulance'. this was a heist movie that would be considered a thriller as well. it may have been just over 2 hours but the chase scenes held my attention. the bank robbery was early in the story, and most of it depicts the thieves trying to get away in a hijacked ambulance that had a wounded cop in it. the lead robber was following in his dad's footsteps. it seemed a little far fetched that the getaway vehicle lasted as long as it did without being stopped. i figured there was tactics that could be used to stop it, such as damaging the tires. the setting of the story is los angeles, and it made me laugh when an FBI guy was called out of marriage counseling in order to help end the chase. i had it long enough to watch it, returning it to the holiday gas station about 3 hours after picking it up. i got a few other things done throughout the day, such as going through event tickets from many years ago and getting them better organized by venue. i swapped out some pages from sheet protectors in the binders as well. i added a flyer about a group of violin players i saw at the detroit art museum when i was there for my first writers convention in 2011. as i was about to return the movie i got a text from cul-de-sac asking if i was attending the mic tonight. i said probably not, but karaoke sometime sounds fine. 'the simpsons' was about duff-man in an online vote, and lisa wanting to get to an agatha christie museum. later in the evening i went on a walk and found 68 cents.

tacos and blankets

 i attended 2 events today, the first was at the roseville library. catered tacos were served, then we worked on blankets for a children's hospital. it meant cutting and tying the edges of them. i had two tacos while there and we were encouraged to take some home as well. so i took two home and had them for the evening meal. i went to the post office early, where i paid on my box for 6 months. there was plenty to pick up, 2 cards, 2 books, 2 CDs. after the event i went to target and got a box of rudolph cereal, the first of likely many more boxes of christmas cereal i am buying. there was seven kinds shown in an 'end cap'. two each for cinnamon toast crunch, as well as 'elf on a shelf'. just before the event i went to a barnes and noble and bought the special magazine about billy joel. two others of interest to me- about loretta lynn, and eminem- are there. but i am pacing myself with how many i get, no more than one per week. after i got home i laid down for a while, and when i woke up it was time to go to aldi for my weekly grocery order. then it was time to get on the road again, to the loft literary center in minneapolis. it was a launch event for the theme of the upcoming year. a speech was made by the new executive director. there was three performers after this, and one of them i didn't enjoy at all. somebody i found to be anti-cop, condescending, and swore too much. the act seemed to remind me too much of what i sometimes see at the comedy clubs. after it was done i picked up a small godfather's pizza from the nearby bobby and steve's and took it home with me on the light rail. it will be eaten the next day. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 84 cents.

haircut next to caribou

 i found ways to stay busy on veterans day. i got a haircut at great clips. it was going to be at sport clips but i get there and the sign on the door said it was 'temporarily closed' and directed customers to the next closest location. i have lost count how many different hair shops i have been to since the pandemic hit. so after getting some cheese and a drinkable yogurt at target i made it over to great clips. it was chosen largely because i wanted to print some things at the nearby fedex office. after seeing there would be a wait for service, i went to get a lemon bar and a pumpkin spice latte at the adjacent caribou coffee. i found out this is a common thing to do. but i went right back to great clips after getting my order, so i would be ready when my name was called. i am told sometimes they do go over and try to find people at caribou, but i wasn't counting on this. i referred to how karaoke venues will say 'going once, twice' then move on to the next name on the list. i had considered this place before, but got there too late in the day. once i was done there it was time for lunch so i went home and ate there. late in the afternoon i watched 'jeopardy' for the first time in a while. it was a tournament of champions. i said 'fool!' the second time when a contestant decided to bet it all on a daily double, but both times it paid off and that was the winner of the day. i learned something as well, how the term 'podunk' has an origin in the name of a tribe in connecticut. in the evening i made my customary visit to the hy-vee in eagan. and i went to their liquor store first, where i got a can of schell's, so now 6 beers are waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 33 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon went to a cowboy bar, and amy played 'soft kitty' on auto-harp. it was followed by the one where raj and howard tried to pick up goth chicks, and one of them, sarah, kept saying 'not that anyone cares'. i liked her a lot.

goodnight saigon

 when i was driving to work in the morning i had the new prague radio station on. and there was mention of events marking the upcoming veterans day. at the end of one speech it referenced the song 'goodnight saigon' by billy joel. i was not too familiar with it. but i found it on youtube. it does seem to capture the vietnam war well, from a soldier's perspective. the speaker said it was representative of the marines. and i had to look up 'parris island', which is early in the song, found out this is a training center for marines, in south carolina. at work there was two notable things. first was how three techs arrived in order to get the expansion tray moved to the check printer that is still working. and mention of how we are still waiting for parts. in this case it is a fan, as it has been overheating. i am told if this doesn't work then there is no choice but to replace the unit. still no idea when the parts will arrive though. the other notable thing was getting registered for benefits, for the new year. it was the last thing i did before leaving for the day. when i have four days off, and the deadline to register is in a week, i decided it was the best time to get it done. on 'young sheldon' we meet mandy's parents. later on i went on a walk and found 67 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj and penny were acting like twins. it was followed by the one where lewis black was a guest star, as a cricket expert. i drank the can of inbound with the evening meal so now 5 beers are waiting. 

loretta lynn medley

 i switched over to ABC in the evening but 'the conners' wasn't on. there was a medley of loretta lynn songs, as it was the country music awards show. i found the comedy routine from the two MCs, one of them football great peyton manning, to be annoying. once i was one with emails, about 30 minutes later, i went back to the news on another channel. at work there was a dial-in team huddle, and the boss emailed about getting the expansion tray moved to the check printer currently working. still waiting for approval on replacing the printer, which won't be cheap. the walgreen cashier said she was trying to get to know the names of regulars, almost got mine right. of course names are known when running the loyalty account. i liked finding a small box of pumpkin spice moon pies. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard's mom said he prattles and was offering insight about raj's living arrangement. it was followed by the one where the friends return from the arctic and leonard tells sheldon the data was a sham. 

i ate, then voted

 when i arrived at the voting precinct, i said 'i got off work, i ate, i am ready to go'. the election judge laughed a little about it. but i usually do eat before i do much else after getting home from work. i drove to the precinct as it was a mile away, and a good idea as it was raining. i liked how it didn't take long to vote. then it was back home. it meant seeing just one 'big bang theory' rerun, it was the one where the friends go on a north pole expedition. 'monarch' on Fox depicted a debutante ball. one of the songs played was 'this one's for the girls'. then it was election coverage after that. except the precincts were reporting in so slowly, so i didn't have the TV on for long as there were other things i wanted to do such as lay down. i also got an article bout eminem's induction into the rock and roll hall of fame into a sheet protector in the binders. the article found as the companion story was about pink's concert at the Xcel center in 2013. at work it was a fairly routine day, i don't think i heard the doorbell ring at all. during my lunch i sent some mail over to the neighboring strip mall, one of these places was the smoke shop. a restaurant said it was closed sunday and monday, so it should have been open but a passer-by said it had been closed for a month. so i found a bank envelope to put it in and it was returned to sender. i still have the self-evaluation and registering for benefits to do. 

feed your holiday spirit

 i got mail from a restaurant that said 'feed your holiday spirit', gift cards included. except it isn't a good deal at all, 20 off 100 and 50 off 250, from buca di beppo. i had been doing thanksgiving dinner there, in order to get airline miles. but it seemed like their good deal had vanished so i found an even cheaper dinner at the grocery store, no surprise there. also notable about the day was the music i was hearing on the drive home. the announcer said that songs of recent rock and roll hall of fame inductees were being played, this included eminem's 'lose yourself'. it brought back memories. seeing '8-mile' when i lived in suburban chicago. seeing Em in concert at MSG in NYC, a weeklong vacation in the big apple. and it was my first karaoke song. i went online to confirm it and an article said another one of this year's inductees is dolly parton. i toured the rock hall on labor day weekend, the same year i saw '8-mile'. at work there was a question about when some letters were picked up and sent out by the postal service. eventually i had to add energy park people to the thread as i couldn't answer their question. hard to understand why they care so much, as the letters are low volume, usually less than 10 per day. and i send out thousands of checks per day. an overnighted check was returned, it was damaged. so i re-printed it and let the business line know i was re-sending it, part of my daily send of tracking numbers. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 28 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj was labeled as spoiled and decided to stop spending his dad's money. it was followed by the one where howard was working on the space toilet, and leonard screwed up his karma by giving bad advice to stuart about dating penny. i laughed a lot at this one.

it is now gdansk

 i was reading through the daily entries i get from the garrison keillor writers almanac and it mentioned danzig, germany. never heard of it. found out it is because the city is now known as gdansk, poland. it was part of the territory germany ceded after world war one ended. i had only known danzig as the name of a heavy metal band, found out it had the name as it was the frontman's stage name. guess it explains the first battle of world war two being the invasion of poland. what i also found out about gdansk was that the solidarity movement from 1980, led by lech walesa, started there. and wikipedia said there is a park in that town named for president reagan. i like what i learn when i decide to look up things. i found some ways to stay active throughout the day, it included shredding some junk mail after having breakfast in the morning. and i ordered 2 comedy CDs that had been on my list for a while, done by a local record label and i know the performers. this might be it on getting comedy albums, as it is harder to find those on CD as many are no longer made in that format. an MP3 download is all the rage now. once midday arrived i watched some pro football, dolphins-bears was on CBS. saw the first half, then laid down and fell asleep, the bears lost a close one. in the evening i performed at an open-mic, cul-de-sac brought a lady friend and an intro was made. in my set i started off with mention of wearing my leather jacket onstage, and the story about re-claiming my coat a while back. i was told i buried the comic after me, so i must have been a tough act to follow. later on i went on a walk and found 68 cents.

copshop movie

 this afternoon i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'copshop'. it had been on my list for a while, and i had rented it before but found out i was stuck with a blue-ray i couldn't use. so i decided to search where i could still find it in the format i could use, and it meant going to a cub foods instead of a holiday station. there was plenty of action throughout, a high body count. it was all right as a thriller, but still a far-fetched story. for one thing, criminals being able to shoot their way into a prison. and prisoners being released because they might be able to help the good cop against dirty cops. along with a cop hi-jacking an ambulance although she appeared to be near death for a while. notable was the rival hit man who poses as a balloon delivery man, i didn't like him because he just wouldn't shut up. the setting was nevada, and part of the story was the murder of the attorney general. assassinations are rare now, so this also made it far-fetched. the movie will be memorable because i decided to get a new DVD player. the one i had kept stopping and i said 'i have had enough' and went to target to get another one. it was wrecked by a damaged redbox rental a while back, where the commands on the screen switched over to portuguese. i ended up with the same model, a Sony. as i just wanted a simple player. i saw some pigeons flying around in the store while there. and i got some discounted halloween cereal and candy, along with a pair of socks. the first disc i watched on it was a charlie brown special, 'it's magic', on the same disc as 'great pumpkin', which i did my annual viewing of the previous weekend. 

i did the typical errand running, picked up 4 orders at the post office. just after midday i went to the taco bell in eagan for my lunch. i wanted locos tacos as they were promoting them in the world series, 'steal  a base, steal a taco'. didn't get a free taco though, it would have meant signing up for their app and i am trying to keep it simple when i don't eat out much. i got some candy at the nearby walgreen, a total of five for the day so now i have 31 pieces of candy in the bag at home. it will last for a while. not a big deal how watching the movie in full was delayed until afternoon, still had plenty of time to watch it and get it back in order to pay for just one day of renting. nothing was planned for the day in terms of events either. in the early evening i went to aldi for my weekly grocery order, after having some pizza. i made it back before the world series began. it was game 6, a scoreless tie for a while. astros beat the phils 4-1 to take the series 4-2. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 90 cents. i picked up a can of surly from the nearby liquor store so now 6 beers are waiting.

concord steel

 when i went to put out the cart at the end of the day i noticed there was some carts out there, possibly with weights for the elevator as it said 'otis' on one side. on the other side it said 'concord steel, 500 pounds'. notable about the day at work was the shipment of check stock arriving, and when the courier called i said i would meet them on the upper level. then i realized the elevator was broken, so i advised them to go to the lower level. i did the pay-stubs early in the day, before lunchtime, and i liked how the machine didn't stop when i ran them. at lunchtime i went to a CVS pharmacy and i liked how there was some discounted halloween candy. usually i go to walgreen. i got a bag of snack sized reese's peanut butter, bat-shaped. in the evening i got some more at the hy-vee in eagan, which had multiple carts out with various discounted halloween items. i keep adding to the bag at home, now 26 pieces in it, which will last me for a month. so i probably won't be making too many more stops for candy. half of the 16 items bought at hy-vee tonight was the candy. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 24 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon said 'nice try, blockhead' when the friends wanted him back on the team for the military project. it was followed by the one where sheldon learned about 'friends with benefits' from penny while the friends were in las vegas, and a hooker was hired for howard.

event choices

 i see various event invites, so sometimes i have to review them and choose which ones interest me. a meetup event didn't make the cut as it was an art tour, already have plenty of art. i chose another event because food will be served, a volunteer event. world series, game five, was tonight. astros won 3-2 and are now up 3-2 in the series. joined after watching 'young sheldon', where the dad is the football coach again. it was tied 1-1 in the second, so it was nice how i didn't miss much, just like the night before. astros went ahead 2-1 on a home run. later on i went on a walk and found 22 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon got an emotion machine, and many were revealed to be mad. it was followed by the one where leonard said 'take me to a bar' after penny went on a date with stuart. i drank a can of schell's with the evening meal so now 5 beers are waiting. at work some parts arrived for the check printer but it was still a no-go. i don't like the attitude of this tech, who was being sarcastic about how i could note the file.

fallen women books

 this evening i read the wikipedia articles i had printed this week about 'fallen women books.' i had noticed how elizabeth gaskell had been in garrison keillor's 'writers almanac' and i was interested in mention of two books by her, 'ruth' and 'mary barton'. it was part of covering the struggles of the working class in victorian england. one of the articles compared it to 'scarlet letter', by a different author, but from the same era. haven't read any of those yet but i had heard of 'scarlet letter' many times before. at work there was a team huddle in the afternoon, first time in-person in a while. in the morning was a dial-in quarterly meeting about the business performance. i logged in on time and there was nothing, so i did something else for a few minutes and tried again a little later and then it was on. odd how it didn't start on time. there was more about the buyout of a bank with a big presence in california, just received approval from the regulators. i still got checks printed during that one. after work i got some cheese at a target, and more discounted halloween candy at a walgreen. in the evening i watched 'the conners', then it was over to the world series. louise works with jackie at the diner, and darlene quits her job. liked how i didn't miss much on the series, only in the second inning by then. astros beat the phils 5-0 to even the series 2-2. it was a combined no-hitter. so these past two games prove the old adage about how the name of the game is pitching, as both were shutouts. astros scored with 'little ball', first run was when the batter was plunked with the bases loaded. later on i went on a walk and found 66 cents. 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard tried to avoid squeaky spots in the baby room. it was followed by the one where there was a catfight between penny and the new neighbor.

neck muscle

 there was a facebook posting from a writer friend in phoenix and it spoke of something i hadn't heard of, so i had to look it up. it was a neck muscle, the sternocleidomastoid. so i learned something. at work i saw a property tax bill for somebody in california, not addressed to the bank. so i sent it back to california, saying it was sent to a bank branch. online search had weird things about this man, such as a story about offering hush money. in the evening i watched the world series, game three. phils beat the astros, 7-0, plenty of home runs were hit. before the game there was going through email. notable was seeing the one about the gift card for the museum visits, so i gave my mailing address. and i saw another reminder about renewing my history association membership, so i paid it online. there were two event invites of interest to me, one of them from meetup, but i have a few more days to respond to them so figured it could wait for now. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 15 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when bernadette had the baby blues, one of the stories shared about how the friends spent the holidays. it was followed by the one where the friends helped make penny blossoms.