witch hat

 a work, some were in costume. the customer service supervisor had a witch hat. goodies were there as well, noticed when i was bringing up mail. i had some brownies from a glass pan, and a pumpkin spice cupcake. there was a visitor to the shop, a sales rep from the envelope stuffer company. it was in relation  to getting a replacement machine soon. three boxes of overnight envelopes arrived, picked up from the branch. there was two safety drills at work despite the weather, as it had snowed. we stayed inside for the fire drill and went to another floor for the shelter in place drill. the branch manager spearheaded it. staying in tonight to watch the world series, game four, rangers lead 2-1 after a 3-1 win last night. tonight was a wild one, rangers had two 5-run innings to go ahead 10-0 and went on to beat the d-backs 11-7. rangers now lead the series 3-1. later on i went on a walk and found 48 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were both halloween episodes i hadn't seen too often before. one was about pranks between the friends, sheldon trying to get even with raj by scaring him with a snake. then he scares leonard at the end. leonard meets alice at the comic book store but is too honest about technically still dating priya. it was followed by the one where sheldon gets out of seeing the 'halloween' movie when amy intervenes. howard is in costume as sheldon and then it is countered with sheldon and amy in costume as howard and bernadette.

incorrect sit-balling

 i was waiting to perform tonight and somebody tried to spit-ball sports facts, trying to sound as smart as me. i spoke of players switching teams near the end of their careers, but the dude got it wrong. roger staubach only played for the cowboys. i got out my phone and proved that. it was a thin lineup, i went on fairly early and did more bank stories. along with one about going to the grocery store. some wore costumes, i brought out the scream costume again. at work there was a visitor in the morning. i was fine with the fuser being the spare one for now as the current part still works. all i care about is getting checks printed and swap out parts only when i need to. after work i went to the liquor store near work and got a can of modelo so now there are five beers waiting. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends went to a costume party at penny's and her ex shows up. it was followed by the one where leonard returns a day early from the north sea expedition to be with penny and sheldon caught him in the act, thinking penny was cheating on leonard. 

pork schnitzel dinner

 at midday i had a pork schnitzel dinner at the czech and slovak hall in st. paul. i had bought a discounted ticket a month earlier. i chatted with others at the table and when their plates arrived i had to speak up. they were given a yellow ticket and i was not, so i went back to registration and got a yellow ticket to give to the server. there was potato salad with garnish as well. for dessert we had apple strudel. after this was done i went to the nearby cooper's grocery store and picked up five items. his included another box of the charlie brown cereal made by kellogg for the season, called 'great pumpkin'. in the morning i renewed my membership with the american historical association, one of just two memberships i have now. in the late afternoon i went on a long walk around the neighborhood. i got pictures of some cool jack o lanterns. i had some pizza for the evening meal and watched 'the Simpsons', which had a documentary theme. then i went to a meetup event, at black stack brewing in st. paul. it is in the same building as can can wonderland. i chatted with somebody who had moved from austin, texas, and later on we joined another group that included somebody who was on his laptop for most of the time and not part of the meetup event. when i got home i did the dishes. during my walks i found 38 cents. 

twin cities horror festival

 in the afternoon i went to see a show at the twin cities horror festival. i had been to the venue before, in northeast minneapolis, in a former westinghouse building. when i arrived i found somebody i knew, and said he was why i was attending due to his appearance on TV to promote it. this was the duck. the show i saw was about the st. paul caves in the 1920s. there was a warning about the risk of splatter if sitting in the front row. this was an intimate room to say the least, as the front row was close enough to the performers that we were told to keep our feet and legs in so nobody tripped on them. there was four cast members, and three of them were women playing men. i knew it was done when one of them switched on a lantern, then the curtain calls and bowing happened. it was fairly short, kind of like fringe festival, just under an hour. of course there was a little errand running to do in the morning. i went to the post office, one order picked up. and i sent the recycle to the capitol. it was midday by then and the next stop was for groceries at aldi, then a sandwich at jersey mike's. then i rested a little at home and went out again, this time to the show. when i got back i laid down for a little while, then had the evening meal and watched the world series. it was game two. it was close for a while, d-backs were leading the rangers 2-1 at the end of the 6th, then went on to win 9-1 to even the series. later on i went on a walk and found 38 cents.

buick invicta, chevy nova

 it was a banner day for seeing cool cars. when i took a walk at the end of my lunch i saw one at the shop near the bank, it was a buick invicta. so i got a picture of it. this was a convertible, wikipedia said it was made just 5 model years. on the way home i saw another car on an auto transport for a while, only confirmed what it was when passing it, this was a boxy chevy nova sedan. i recall going to see a des moines buccaneers hockey game while in high school with some classmates in a 1979 nova. another notable thing i saw during the lunchtime walk was a flyer taped to a pole for a chewbacca roaring contest. it had already happened a week earlier, but it was still funny to me so i got a picture of it too. things got better at work as the part needed for the envelope stuffer arrived, i picked it up when i put out three toner cartridges for recycle. i swapped out the part and it is sealing well again. i called the tech to report the results. it was a good day to clear my plate at the end of the week, not just the cartridges but also returned checks were forwarded by inter-office mail. when i was putting out tax checks at the lockbox i saw a trash truck lifting the dumpster, that was cool. i don't get to see that too often, so it was worth it to stay out there an extra minute or two. in the evening i went to get groceries at the hy-vee in eagan, moved up a little as i knew the world series, game one, would be on. the reception on AM radio wasn't good, i knew the rangers took an early lead and then the d-backs went ahead 3-2 in the 3rd just as i was getting home. then i watched the rest on TV, on Fox. i managed to last through the rest of the game but i was tired, didn't want to miss anything. the long ball helped the rangers late in the game, a 2-run shot in the 9th to tie and a solo shot in the 11th, to win 6-5. later on i went on a walk and found 88 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when lewis black guest starred to settle a comic book bet about what kind of cricket. it was followed by the one where the friends go to a wine tasting and raj brings claire but it dind't end well.

box for ex-colleague

 when a colleague brought down refund checks to be overnighted i was also given a box to send to somebody who had just quit. it is going to Wisconsin. eventually i heard from the manager of that department who asked that it be sent UPS as well. it is rare that i send a box, but i got it done. i dropped it off at a retail location on my way home. mid-morning there was a visitor about the check printer, just as i was going to create a ticket for it since it was for a different issue. i added notes to the existing ticket, which was easier than creating a new one. another fuser, part of the maintenance kit, has been ordered. i called for service on the envelope stuffer due to the sealing issues and i got calls about it. the second stated that parts will be ordered, likely not showing up due to the cost to the company. guess i can swap out the parts myself once delivered. i drank the bottle of bell's October-fest with the evening meal so now there are four beers waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when the friends had a 'hate howard room' and secrets were spilled such as about the roommate agreement. stuart shows up in costume and was riding a bicycle.

call about loft membership

 i am a member of the loft, as i had taken some writing classes there. i got a call about the membership, previously there was an email. both were odd, as i renew in august and usually there is no fanfare about it. sometimes i do events there, when i hear about ones that i like. if i feel the need, i will respond to the voicemail. a work there was a request to overnight a tax check with some forms to san diego. originally it was listed as courier pick-up. a colleague arrived from another floor to get me the forms. it is few and far between on sending forms with checks, but i know why- so the agency knows where to apply it. one ticket was closed with the help desk, about the copier. probably should ask them to close another one. during my walks i found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon wanted to use a walk-in freezer as training or being at the north pole. it was followed by the one where two couples go to a cabin and play 'never have i ever'. amy drinks wine at the end for pushing all of the elevator buttons.

using quote marks

 i use quote marks all the time. at work i did so in an i.m. when i said checks were ready to be picked up. because i said i would be unavailable for a little while, attending a 'convention'. this is what i call meetings as conventions are held at hotels. it seemed to work as the checks got picked up right away. normally this colleague is notoriously slow on picking them up after saying they would. then it was taken literally that i really was going to a convention. i had found out these checks had the wrong contact on them, after contacting about them being ready. i say i get the right checks to the right people, even if there is a delay like this one. looks like a solution was found on the check printing issue, where i went to settings and selected the other printer listed, which has a different server listed after it. this was after my boss tried to figure i out with a youtube video. if there were boxes around the digits then i sent those to the local i.t. rep. it rained for much of the day so i didn't go on a walk during lunch. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 48 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard needed help on fixing the space toilet. while penny and stuart were asking for advice from leonard, then leonard gave bad advice to stuart. it was followed by the one where the friends apply for a patent on their idea but howard wouldn't get anything for it, as a NASA employee.

go get my phone

 at the end of the workday i was about to leave in my car and i did the routine check of my lunch bag. my phone wasn't there, as it was still inside hooked up to a charger. i had to shut off the car and go get my phone. once i had my phone i left, a few minutes later. it was another day of needing help on the check printing of the larger files, but it was a different colleague doing so as the one from last week is on vacation. i did hear from i.t. by i.m. but it was just that it was handed off again. so not much to report aside from our local i.t. rep, who was able to correct the boxes around the digits for the files where i was seeing that. overnight envelopes arrived, ordered by a colleague, but the pouches aren't on them. so i ordered those by the end of the day. my order of envelopes hasn't arrived yet. in the evening i went to perform, it was a thinner lineup than the previous week so i went on earlier. i did bank stories, as well as going to booyas. later on i went on a walk and found 89 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends went to las vegas and a hooker was hired for howard. it was followed by the one where adam west was a guest at sheldon's birthday party. liked this one because penny gave the pep-talk to sheldon, after leonard and amy argued about who should.

jack-o-lantern spectacular

 late in the evening i went to the zoo in apple valley and saw the jack-o-lantern spectacular. there was plenty of walking before getting to the section where all of them were. one saw plenty of food and drink stands, even food trucks, before then. what I liked were the themed carvings, as those tend to stand out more. such as the pumpkin being the head on a farmer blowing a horn. or honoring things like the state fair. the lines to see them didn't always move that well though, as some would stop to film it or get pictures. but i am thankful i went to see them. there were other things to do before i went to apple valley. in the morning i did the laundry. when i was done it was midday by then, so i went to the booya at st. agnes school in st. paul. i didn't play any of the games, but notable to me was one called 'off with their head', throwing bean bags at a mannequin head. then i went to a dairy queen for a blizzard treat. when i got home i laid down for a while, didn't watch much of the pro football games but caught some of them on the radio. i tried to do a long walk but stopped to talk to somebody who recognized me from an organization we both have attended events at. he was working on a fence. then it was time for the evening meal, i had some pizza and watched 'the simpsons', about a mcmansion and a car salesman. during my walks i found 1 dollar 9 cents.

podcast during football game

 late in the afternoon i went to a friend's place to do a podcast, this was cul-de-sac. i was watching the iowa-minnesota football game on TV so when i started the drive i found it on the radio. the game was on when i got there. iowa lost 12-10. some of the planned subjects we didn't get to. they have two little dogs. when we were done they went out for dinner, celebrating one year together. and i went home. i got plenty done before then. i ordered two event tickets, then went to the post office and picked up two e-bay orders. i went to the copy store to print the event tickets, but hit a snag when i was unable to get logged on to the first computer i tried, it was stuck. so i switched to another one. i went to a booya at the american legion on the east side of st. paul. i had coffee with it as there weren't many drink options. i went to the bar area and got a boat of popcorn as well. then i went to the hy-vee in maplewood and got signed up for their upgraded loyalty program. first time seeing that location since it was flipped over, last time i was there it was still a rainbow. when i got home i went to get groceries at aldi, then turned on the game. during my walks i found 36 cents.

skeleton in pumpkin

 i went to hy-vee in eagan tonight and there is plenty of halloween decorations there. looks like they have added some. this week i saw some inflated cloth ones, previously it was just metallic balloons. notable was a skeleton sometimes hidden inside a pumpkin, when popping out with of course the pumpkin top worn as a hat. it was a small order, just seven items. i wanted to get as much done as possible before i went, including playing a bill by phone. it was another long day at work as the IT issues came back, the fix didn't stick. no matter how many times i called at the behest of my boss. so it meant many of the check files were printed by a colleague, who will be on vacation soon. i got an egg salad sandwich at walgreen during lunch, moved back my weekly visit by one day. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 8 cents. i picked up a can of icehouse at the bus stop, so now there are five beers waiting. there was two cans, i dumped out the open one and kept the unopened one. not the first time i saw some beer there. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when stuart argued about comic books with sheldon after a date with penny. it was followed by the one where sheldon has a funeral for his computer, playing 'taps', then shows amy his storage locker.

three shred requests

at work one notable thing was getting three requests to find a check and shred it. usually there is just one. another notable thing was the IT issues, and after lunch it led to me calling in a ticket about it. check printing was problematic until then, either boxes around the MICR digits or the check would print with a blank page. a colleague was requesting check printing from remote on many files for this reason. re-booting did not correct the issue, no matter how many times i tried, after the system updates. but i still found a way to get caught up by the end of the day, where just the two fargo files did not get sent out. nearly two thousand checks, i can do them the next day, those won't take long. i drank a can of natural ice with the evening meal so now there are four beers waiting. there was a speech from the president at the start of prime time about the wars in israel and ukraine. later on i did some researching and decided what show to see during the horror festival and when. now it means making it official, by ordering the ticket for it and for another event. it meant trying to work around other events already booked, as well as wanting to stay in and watch the world series on the nights it is on. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny got a rival in the building, and it led to a catfight. it was followed by the one where the friends end up singing at a karaoke bar, many of the songs have 'baby' in them as bernadette was pregnant with her first kid.

coloring contest

 recently i got an entry for a coloring contest. had to look at it more closely. two reasons why i will not be entering. it means posting it on Instagram, and i don't have an account here. and the prize is something i already have, a CD I bought directly from the performer. still nice art though, so i will keep the page and put it into a binder with other souvenirs. at work my colleague showed up to help out in the shop, although i likely could have finished running checks through the machine by myself. but who was i to turn down help? it freed me up to do other things, easier to keep the overnight labels caught up. although i didn't enjoy trying to justify everything i did just because somebody else was there. it was a narration if you will. i do prefer working by myself. and the special file we were told to expect, did noy arrive. so near the end of the day, i still positive paid what was received and printed and sent out from the fargo people. if it arrives later in the week i can handle it myself, especially when colleagues like to work from home as many days as possible. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 55 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends help make penny blossoms. it was followed by the one where we see the valentines day edition of 'fun with flags' where lonely friends call during the live show.

rasputin on TV

 i was watching the news on the evening and there was a depiction of Rasputin. this was part of the promo for the twin cities horror fest. i recognized who spoke on behalf of the fest, it was an actor i had seen perform at fringe festival. sometimes Rasputin is name-checked in pop culture, such as in an indigo girls song. so i was familiar with the story. now it means finding out what i can about this fest, such as ticket prices, venue, and what the showtimes are. at work the two fargo files were late, ready to print mid-afternoon. all of the special handling went out, plenty of US treasury checks being sent inter-office. some of the regular mail did as well as my vacation replacement showed up to help out for about half of the day, running the envelope stuffer. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 40 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends were on a train and sheldon needed to call penny for his flash drive. it was followed by the one where sheldon's grandma, or mee-maw, visits. in both cases we hear the term 'moon-pie' as penny reads the letters from her in the first one.

make-up file soon

 in the afternoon there was a brief dial-in meeting where my boss said there would be a make-up file soon from the fargo people. something like two thousand checks. most likely will be on wednesday. and my vacation replacement is ready to help out with it. same person read through an online owner's manual on the newer copier and we figured out how to get started on scanning from it so we don't have to go to another floor to get it done. the envelope delivery happened around midday, and it worked fine because there was no rain. in the evening i went to perform, the last of 21 on the lineup. i did stories about the bank, and godfathers pizza. they went past midnight, wanting to get everybody onstage. and at one point we sang happy birthday to a musician, the one that likes doing buck owens songs. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny shot a couch cushion with a paintball gun. it was followed by the one where sheldon went on an apology tour to go on a party bus to las vegas with his friends.

death on the nile movie

 this morning i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'death on the nile'. i chose it as i knew it was based on an agatha christie novel. i like thrillers, and this was a whodunit, close enough. i liked how his one involved a cruise ship as it serves as a reminder of when i went on a riverboat cruise earlier this year. after the movie was done i went to the holiday station to return it, and hoped find godfather's pizza there as it was midday but here wasn't any. i went to another one and found it. as an Iowa native i had that pizza a lot but it can be hard to find around here. i watched some of the pro football games, the leadoff game being bears-vikings. bears lost 19-13. i was following the game on the radio when i was searching for pizza, then watched it on TV when i got home. i missed most of the second half as i laid down and fell asleep. later on i took a long walk around the neighborhood. in the evening i watched some of the baseball playoff game, also on fox, rangers-astros, rangers won 2-0. i laid down after watching the first four innings and woke up just before it ended. i didn't have much for the evening meal, but i wasn't that hungry either. i felt full right away after having the pizza for lunch. all i had was the leftover crusts and some peanuts. later in the evening i went on another walk and found 71 cents.

boy wonder play, harold stassen

 in the afternoon i went to the history theater in downtown st. paul and saw the play 'boy wonder', about Minnesota governor harold stassen. for a while i only knew this as the name of one of the state office buildings bear the capitol. what i liked most was the scene with the cowboys from south st. paul that help with his campaign. the opener of act two was with charles lindbergh, a reminder of another play i had seen there many years ago. during intermission another attendee said she nearly quit her membership when they made a mockery of the lindbergh baby. it was my first visit to this venue in over four years. it was not quite half full. i had a seat in the balcony, good view of the stage. after it was done i went home and watched the Hawkeye football game. i missed the first half, started watching early in the second half with iowa leading 7-3 against wisconsin. iowa went on to win 15-6. in the morning i went to the post office and picked up two e-bay orders. then i went to the credit union and dumped change into their counter, over 11 dollars, which went into my savings account. at midday i went to have a sandwich at jersey mike's, noticed a family of five arrive after me, including three boys. they were ages six to ten i guess. they had gray wolf lodge ears on, one was wearing a packers jersey, donald driver, another had a pokemon shirt on. in the evening after the game was done i went to aldi for groceries. then i went to the liquor store and got another can of natural ice, so now there are five beers waiting. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 53 cents. 

delivery postponed, rain

 around midday a courier arrived, along with a branch employee, and said he was delivering envelopes. but it was still raining and i was fine with it being postponed until monday when the weather report would be more favorable. first time this has happened, but of course we didn't want the boxes to get wet. the mail tub was found, it was under the counter in the mailroom and there was computer equipment in it so i swapped it out for a box i had in the check shop and the mail tub is out for use again. no clue who was trying to use it for something besides mail. there was a dial in meeting in the afternoon, i moved up running some of the checks through the envelope stuffer. it led to more test checks being printed and scanned to my boss and our I.T. people. in the evening i went to the Hy-Vee in eagan, nine items were bought. later on i went on a walk and found 83 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard's mom visits and bonds with sheldon, the two end up singing karaoke in the apartment. this is while leonard and penny get drunk together, as the mom analyzed penny and she cries while saying 'your mother's here'. i hadn't seen that one too often before. it was followed by the one where leonard sees a psychiatrist trying to pave the way for a sales call for penny. it leads to penny seeing her and the shrink said both of them spoke of the 'man child'- sheldon- a lot and she wasn't sure if he was real.

mail tub missing

 there is usually a tub for mail in the mailroom where people can drop off mail. but it is now missing, and hard to say who took it. anyone can walk into the mailroom. it led to people bringing mail to me. the shipment of check stock arrived around midday. some of the boxes were already on a cart in the branch and i directed the courier to the service entry for the others. there were more test checks to be overnighted to toronto. there was another adjustment made before they were ready, on the MICR line. still a little behind on running checks through the machine but it is likely that i can get caught up by the end of friday. the volume went down and will likely go lower as it peaks in the middle of the week. after work i got a can of indeed oktoberfest from the liquor store near work. and i drank the can of busch light with the evening meal so there still are four beers waiting. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon and amy spent her birthday together, while his friends went to see 'star wars'. wil wheaton said the same thing as sheldon did, being his replacement at the movie, how he liked it more than expected. 

graham crackers and potatoes

 sometimes there is food set on the counter in the breakroom. this morning it was two items that i claimed, a box of graham crackers and some potatoes. there was even more but i look at what i will consume, and the expiration dates as well. there was some mustard bottles from the publix grocery store chain, but it had expired over a year ago and i already had some mustard at home. i like it when they put out cereal as i definitely eat cereal. at work there was a meeting about test checks near the end of the day. the service call arrived around midday and it didn't take long. something about a sensor in the middle of the machine that i had overlooked before. envelopes from various business lines were sent as samples for analysis as there had been sealing issues with some of them. still a little behind but can get caught up soon. no fargo checks went out but i am caught up on everything else. also another month where the supply order was delayed. a senior leader was added to the thread, looks like the order form will be changing as of next month. i shouldn't have to follow up after i send the form, an i still don't care who places the order, all i care is that it gets done. i did explain that what a colleague said was correct, i need the check stock and envelopes to get my work done. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 48 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon and amy got back together, aided by sheldon hearing a beach boys song.

root beer video

 in the evening i was on youtube and i was pleased to find a video about the history of root beer. no surprise how it claims that it began at a world's fair, in this case philadelphia in 1876. as many products were introduced this way. this was hires, created by a pharmacist, much like coca-cola was. i had heard of the five brands shown in the five-minute video, some i have drank and some i have not. i have had a and w, mug, and barq's, but not dad's or hires. a and w was the other brand also mentioned instead of just shown, likely due to the restaurants of the same name. i watched some of the baseball playoff game on Fox, rangers were leading against the orioles 6-0 when i laid down and fell asleep. their lead held up as the rangers won 7-1 to take the series, a three-game sweep. at work the inactive copier was picked up around midday, much like before the branch manager was the contact. called for service on the envelope stuffer near the end of the day, after re-booting it twice in the morning and once in the afternoon. i am told the tech will arrive around midday the next day. checked tracking numbers and it looks like most packages that had been delayed were finally delivered. day after a bank holiday, no surprise there. this explains why i had some to move from the branch. and another IRS envelope to send to atlanta. i didn't want it sitting 'on layover' in our office for long. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 32 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends had a killer robot and were challenged by kripke, who destroyed it. and it was followed by the one where penny leonard and bernadette spy on amy's ate at a restaurant.

anchorman movie

just before midday i put in a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'anchorman'. i had heard about it for a while and was pleased that it was available. enjoyed it more than i thought i would. there was plenty of satire in it, this likely helped as i do like satire. i laughed a lot when seeing jack black as a biker who punts the anchorman's dog into the water. along with a rumble between five different san diego news teams. the song 'afternoon delight' was in it, so a connection to my favorite movie, 'good will hunting'. in the morning i had an appointment with a physician, annual physical. then i went to get coffee at caribou, and copies at the nearby fed-ex office. after the movie was done i had lunch, then went to take recycle to the capitol. then to roseville for photo booth pictures at the mall, now an annual thing on oktoberfest weekend. i chose the halloween theme for the background when i saw it available. then on to walgreen where i got the photo booth pictures from new ulm printed from my phone. i got some string cheese while there. saw the end of jeopardy, the final clue was about women authors. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard kept saying to penny 'we're not living together' about dating dr. stepahnie. it was followed by the one where wil wheaton sets up an interview between sheldon and the son of leonard nimoy about 'star trek'. it leads to mention of still having feelings for amy. then i went to perform in the evening, besides bank stories there was mention of picking up the rental car and going to new ulm. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 4 cents.

my girl movie

 mid-morning i put in a DVD movie, a recent purchase from a resale shop, 'my girl'. i recall there being a dust-up about this movie because it deals with the subject of death. but this still didn't get me to see it for a while. death is a big part of the story in more ways than one, where the main character's dad is a widowed funeral director. even before they get to the controversial part of her friend's death. it was gut-wrenching when you see her emotional  at the funeral, after shying away for a while. but i am still aware of how sometimes people do die young. however tragic this may be, it is still reality. plenty of music from the time period being covered in the story, which is 1972. this included some by CCR, including 'bad moon rising', though this was in a bumper car scene where it was prophetic. in the morning after having cereal for breakfast i returned the rental car to the airport. in the afternoon i went to aldi for groceries. at midday i went to the holiday gas station and got a rib sandwich and hash browns, along with a redbox movie i will watch the next day. did not watch any pro football, wanted to get show cards and other souvenirs into sheet protectors and then the fringe festival binder. it was time as the festival ended over a month ago. later in the afternoon i went on a long walk in the neighborhood, hadn't done one that long in a while. later on i called my dad, first time since june. it went better than others as we talked about my trip to new ulm for oktoberfest. along with movies. late in the evening i went on another walk and found 89 cents.

broom hair, don't care

 there were halloween signs at the airport when i picked up the rental car. one of them said 'broom hair, don't care'. there was a wait but i knew better than to complain, it is a part of life. once it was done there was just one stop for me, the post office. nothing to pick up, no surprise when there had been no orders lately but there might be other things in the box. i made it to new ulm just after midday. first stop was taco john's as it was lunchtime. then on to the middle of town. i went to the research library first, since i knew it was closing early. decent number of books there but what i liked more was an art gallery a floor below it, second floor. hadn't seen anything above first floor, which has a bar and gift shop. there was an artwork called 'trainwreck' that was catchy. i had some popcorn and apple strudel in this area, also did the ax throwing. it was five dollars for five minutes, hard to beat the price. the ax stuck to the target only once but it was nice i finally tried this. got to the photo booth just as it was closing, got pictures sent to me by text so still hopeful i can print them somewhere. saw a puppet show, a variation on 'little red riding hood' that had appearances by bert and ernie as well. had some ice cream, made it to german park to find my brick and do the gravity rail swing. and saw the linus statue in sleepy eye. made a brief stop at turner hall, then on to the hotel at the edge of town. had the evening meal there with a bottle of schell's deer brand beer. saw some of the narren in a concert hall, near the end of the set of one of the scheduled bands. when i got back home i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 6  cents.

sparkle and shine

 when i was out and about i saw a sticker that said 'sparkle and shine'. when i did an online search the top results were for a song, cleaning, and a tattoo and piercing place. even a version of the 'keep calm' meme. during this walk i found 11 cents. earlier in the evening i went to the hy-vee in eagan, 11 items bought. one of them was halloween twinkies. i figured that even if i couldn't find them there or at target a week ago, there would still be more soon and i was correct. it was part of a display near the self checkout section i like using. it was the first item i picked up during the visit. at work there was another I.M. from oshkosh saying their overnight package of checks hadn't arrived. earlier in the day i checked the tracking number for their wednesday and thursday package, neither one had moved. i checked with our internal UPS team and a 'schedule a pickup' was ordered. found out i can do this myself, thankful i didn't have to before when they usually pick up once a day at the end of the day. when i called this team it was hard to ignore how the dude was trying to answer my question before i was done asking it. near the end of the day i checked the tracking numbers and it said both were picked up and were on the way so i let the business line know. i scheduled a pick-up as i was leaving for the day to see that all of the day's envelopes went out as well. so i would like to think it is all caught up again. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard's facebook status was changed by sheldon to 'in a relationship' with dr. stephanie. it was followed by the one where we meet 'uncle harvey', the helium tank that sheldon and leonard bought from the black market. it was also one where amy's friends hijack her phone and make fun of matches on an internet dating site.

partial rainbow

 when i was driving home from work i saw a partial rainbow off in the distance near the end of the commute. when i got home i got a picture of it. it did rain some during the drive but not a lot. at work i sent a tracking number to the oshkosh business line as i was told their overnight envelope did not arrive. hard to tell from the activity but it might not have been picked up by UPS yet. it is beyond my control when it is picked up, don't know if the time was moved up or a substitute driver was getting to the box earlier in the day. there still was an issue with being unable to save the spreadsheet i use for the check printing stats and i was told a colleague tried to move the drive that it was on. so there was a quick meeting with the team lead about it. two boxes of inter-office envelopes arrived, i got the larger one. the other one was sent up to the main floor. and i sent a badge and new hire packet, in separate packages, up as well. i drank the bottle of grain belt with the evening meal, and went to the liquor store and got a can of natural ice, so there still are four beers waiting. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 76 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we meet dr. stephanie. howard decides leonard is dead to him due to the betrayal. it was followed by the one where the friends try to learn fencing from kripke. liked hearing 'count on me' by bruno mars when i was getting an event ticket printed at a fed-ex office.

sending up envelopes

 i had two requests for inter-office envelopes. first was by I.M. then another colleague asked by email a minute or so later. so i copied the first one on the response when i asked for more from energy park as i was also low on volume. there was an immediate need so when i sent up invoices and a refund check i gave them the two envelopes they were in. since i need plenty i am not big on giving them away and could justify sending just those two. a lead, not the manager of that department, asked if i needed anything when i was sending them up, i was answering questions and it wasn't idle chatter that was happening. the first half of the news tonight was the twins celebrating their sweep in the first round against toronto, winning the best of three series. next up is houston, and since houston is a higher seed it would mean the twins have to win some on the road to win the series. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and penny feuded about the 'three strikes you are out rule' an it ended when penny called sheldon's mom. it was followed by the one where howard and raj play in a band at the comic book store, the song is about thor and dr. jones. this one is part of the promo, one of the show's 'greatest hits'.

cupcake in afternoon

 there was an email from a senior leader saying a visitor brought goodies and some were left over. so i got one in the afternoon just as i was starting to close out the day, it was a cupcake. it meant going to another floor of course, in the center aisle. a colleague asked me how many vacation days i had left, it is six. one is a floater as veterans day is on a saturday. this was my vacation replacement, found out he is taking two weeks off at the end of this month and start of next month. i sent up some iron mountain boxes to another colleague, who had been placing supply orders for me. i felt the need to say 'some assembly required'. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we meet ramona, who takes over sheldon's life. and this is why the 'yoko ono' song is played, a rare song on the show. it was followed by the one where the dudes go to mexico in an old van and it caught fire. while two of the ladies make calls. penny finds out her pet pig died and amy fakes it at first since her mom is strict.

baseball playoff preview

 there was a one-hour program on Fox this evening, it was a preview of the baseball playoffs as the twins are in the playoffs, playing the blue jays in the wild card round. former twins pitcher glen perkins was one of the panelists, along with the Fox journalists. hard to say how much of the playoffs i will watch, when i have some down time i guess. it was a productive day on making reservations, three were made. nice that i was able to make two of them online. good thing i am checking schedules like the hawkeye football schedule before more reservations are made as sometimes it is nice to have a saturday free to watch college football if the hawkeyes are on local TV. at work it was a low volume day on check printing. confusing when somebody spoke of approvals and found out it didn't mean more people needed to be copied on the supply order for the month. then why email me about it? during my walks i found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends had an intervention, trying to get sheldon to learn to drive. it was followed by the one where sheldon does a 'broken up' edition of 'fun with flags', including czechoslovakia.

flora and son movie

 in the afternoon i saw a movie, 'flora and son', at the edina theater, 50th and france. it was my first visit since the change in ownership and since the renovation, where the bar now looks like from the movie 'the shining'. so of course i got pictures of it. reminded me of when it was parodied on 'the simpsons'. this was a music movie, the setting was ireland, starring the daughter of the u2 frontman. and it was about the journey of mother and son as musicians, who end up performing together. there was plenty of bad words in it, about as many as in 'good will hunting', this was hard to ignore. but i still liked the story. closing credits said a song was written by freddy mercury, i was used to the queen frontman's name being spelled as freddie. at midday i went to a booya, same venue as two weeks prior. i didn't stay long, i had the booya, a nd w root beer, and popcorn. i picked up a rib sandwich and hash brown from a holiday gas station for the evening meal and then went home. i realized i had just enough time to get to edina for the next screening of the movie, so i wasn't home for long. i rested a little when i got back, then it was off to perform at an open-mic. i did more bank stories, and one about being at the shoreview art museum. during my walks i found 2 dollars 34 cents.