jelly roll, nye live

 watching jelly roll performing on 'New Year's Eve live' from nashville, on CBS. i bought one of his CDs after seeing a video on youtube of his testimony in congress. i had heard some of his songs on the radio and they are really good. one of the songs on another CD bought this year, the eminem disc, was a collab with this performer, whose real name is jason deford. back at work for the day, then another day off for the holiday. liked finding out how the check shop door has been secured. three mail tubs were sent out at the end of the day. a lady from a branch was making a big deal about a check i had overnighted, i said if it ended up at the wrong address then just return it. i had to explain that i don't approve any checks, i just print them and send them out. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when zac and penny were part of a costume party at the comic bookstore on New Year's Eve. it was followed by the one where leonard said 'science is dead' in a radio interview, and the friends find the grave of a scientist. during my walks i found 1 dollar 15 cents. 

three bars, one day

 this was my fourth and final day off, and i stayed active. in the morning i picked up a few things at a walgreen and saw the dude that had helped me with photos from another location. it is not typical for me to visit three bars in one day, but i did. first was in the afternoon, it was watching the iowa hawkeyes play in the music city bowl. looked good for iowa at the half, but they lost to missouri as iowa managed just three points in the second half. i had a pulled pork sandwich at the bar, with tater tots and grain belt beer, at gabe's. in the evening i went to a meetup event at a micro-brewery. didn't see that many people i knew there, but i still found people to talk to. i was there for about an hour, and did see a former colleague there near the end of that time. then it was on to the performance venue, where a big crowd showed up to support a young man who said it was his first time doing stand-up. i was on near the end of the night, and did not only bank stories, but also mention of seeing two movies and a cardboard cutout. during my walks i found 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we meet amy, as sheldon is blackmailed with a dirty sock. it was followed by the one where sheldon proposed to amy and she accepts. 

high sierra movie

 in the evening i went to see the movie 'high sierra' at the trylon in south minneapolis. this was part of an ida lupino series, and i chose this one because humphrey bogart is in it. i wouldn't expect a heist movie to make me laugh, but it did. a quip about a lady, and a dog, on a heist by the main character got a laugh out of me. i also liked the subplot of the main character wanting to help a young lady with a club foot, by getting her the surgery she needed. i had seen some other bogart movies before, one of them was 'caine mutiny', in a high school class. another was 'casablanca'. another day of not having much planned, at least until the evening. in the morning i did the laundry, and when it was done i drove to the best buy in roseville. i did my research and there was one box of baseball cards at that location, so i bought it. and i used the certificate i was sent, likely from buying a microwave oven a month ago. when i got home i had lunch, then i got to getting the cards into binders. i took some out because i don't value cards that have no stats on them, but there was still a net gain on the cards i have. i added one plastic page to one team's section. and one binder was swapped out as it was starting to fall apart. it was the evening by then, so i ate and went to the movie shortly thereafter. i had some popcorn and seven-up at the movie. i was online just before leaving and saw the news how ex-president carter had passed. i recall the first passing of an ex-president in my lifetime, it was nixon, near the end of year two of college in iowa city. i recall there was no mail delivery the day of the state funeral, and wondering what this means related to me working at a bank. i am used to all federal holidays being bank holidays as well. guess i will find out more when i am back at work, as i have one more day off. during my walks i found 53 cents. 

growth chart and postcards

 there wasn't much planned for the day, so i decided to go have lunch at the golden corral in maplewood near the mall. good thing this is just an annual visit as when i left i was full. i had two plates of food, drank some dr. pepper, and had a little ice cream and pudding. then i walked over to the mall, where i needed to use the bathroom. then i said i needed to get out of the food court as i had already eaten plenty. close to it was an independent dollar store, where i bought a charlie brown growth chart for a dollar and change. the sticker on it said it had been offered at a dollar general. i saw some ads for a museum that had artifacts from sci-fi and fantasy movies but passed on touring it. because i had seen just two of the 26 movies listed, both starring robin williams. it was 'hook', and 'night at the museum'. two employees spoke to me about it, even tried to drop the price of admission, but it still didn't seem worthwhile for me. i kept walking around the mall and found a store with a cardboard cut-out of actor danny devito. i went in to see what they had, and it was plenty of pop-culture items. i bought some musician postcards, including of the band REM, and johnny cash, along with a charlie brown book, 'good sport'. i recognized it as a companion book to the TV special and said i recall reading it in a barber shop when i was young. i liked how the employee, who identified herself as the owner, was willing to find a few things for me after i said i like charlie brown items. next stop was the best buy, near the mall. except they didn't have what i wanted, which was baseball cards. i wanted to use a certificate that was emailed to me a little over a week ago. guess it means researching things a little more. when i got home i tried watching a DVD but fell asleep and decided to try again in the evening after i had been to aldi for groceries and had eaten. it was the movie-length version of 'rudolph', with john goodman and bob newhart in the voice cast. during my walks i found 2 dollars 89 cents. 

fire inside movie

 i found things to do on my day off. in the afternoon i went to see the movie 'fire inside', in inver grove heights. i decided to move up seeing it after getting a closer look at the bowl game schedule. there was dense fog when i was driving to the theater, but i arrived just after the previews began. reviews said this boxing movie was 'inspiring and enraging', and i concur. it is a biopic about claressa shields, a lady boxer from flint, michigan. i really liked the part before the olympic games, and her first olympic games win. but not after it, where there was a lot of squabbling. much like other biographies i have seen, i am used to seeing the disclaimer in the closing credits saying, 'some scenes and characters were invented for dramatic effect'. i can guess three scenes in particular where this description fits. the one i liked the most was her coach/trainer. anyone who was ever been involved in sports knows the importance of a good mentor. i am a hard-nosed Midwesterner and this is one reason why i wanted to see it, as it has a setting in the midwest. but also, because i have enjoyed boxing movies before. i understand well when rappers make a boxing reference, it is not just a metaphor. sometimes in life, one has to fight. before i went to the theater, i had lunch at mall of america, at the A and W. couldn't find a magazine i wanted at the barnes and noble, and i was just about to leave the mall i decided it was best to eat there as it would save time and increase the odds that i would be on time for the movie. and i made it to the post office, two orders were picked up. and i liked watching 'jeopardy' after getting home from the movie, final clue was about winnie the pooh. in the evening i went to get groceries at the hy-vee in eagan. and when i got back i watched the second half of the holiday bowl on fox, syracuse was leading over washington state and went on to win it. this bowl still has meaning to me, as it was the first one i attended. this was over a decade ago, in san diego of course. during my walks i found 47 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy get sick trying to do a 'little house' birthday. but then they are better and go into the bounce-house for howard and bernadette's party for their first kid. it was followed by the one where penny and bernadette want to meet anu, raj's lady friend. 

downstairs breakroom

 at work i liked how it was a fairly slow day. there was just under a thousand checks to print, usually it is not that low. unsure how it compares to other years around holidays. coupled with just under a thousand left over from christmas eve, it was still not a lot that was sent out at the end of the day. notable about the day was doing some exploring. recently, a colleague saw the breakroom on our floor and joked about wanting to take the stairs inside of it. well i did and found another breakroom a floor below us. it was nice that it was a slightly different lineup of snack offerings in the vending machine. i like TGI friday potato skins, this one had a bag so i got one. not ready yet to do some exploring in the skyway system, but soon i will be. i did find the walgreen at lunchtime though, taking a walk outside. i got some ice cream and some coffee, much like at the walgreen close to my former worksite. a senior leader, more senior than the one i worked with during the two 'move days', asked about the move by instant message. i did speak of how it was a little crazy for the first three days, but things are fine now. and i forwarded a work order that was opened two days prior. i emptied some mail tubs, three in all, so now those can be used for mail again. office supplies were moved into a box and put on the shelving next to the envelope boxes. the second box cutter was found, so now we have one for check stock and one for envelope boxes again. early in the day the backorder of check stock arrived, brought right in from the freight elevator. in the evening i watched my DVD copy of the movie 'christmas vacation'. the one that makes me laugh the most would be clark's boss, who can't get his name right. funny in a movie, but in real life not so much. i did hear from a writer friend in houston through the facebook posting where i spoke of the crazy three days at work since the move. there was mention of the song 'ave maria' and i found some versions on youtube. the one by pavarotti was really good, also listened to one by gladys knight as the writer friend spoke of gladys singing it. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were both christmas editions. first was when raj's dad shows up, is not just on a laptop screen. the friends are at the lab and howard tries to bring a bird back to life. sheldon and amy exchange gifts, sheldon tries to make her mad but she loves the gift. this is one i hadn't seen before, surprised that there was any of those left. the second was when sheldon and amy went to texas, told in flashback, and sheldon puts undies on his head. leonard and penny try getting a tree, and now i realize this is likely a nod to the movie 'christmas vacation' since the actor playing leonard is also 'russ' in that movie. 

missed call, long walk

 in the evening i went on a long walk, after watching all of the 'big four' christmas specials i have on DVD. near the end of it i checked my phone and noticed that somebody had tried to call me, except i had the ringer shut off. later on, i got a text message and then recognized the same number, it was Yemen native. it said 'merry christmas' and i said the same as well. this wasn't the only christmas wish of the day. also got one by text from my friends in st. louis, which said they enjoyed reading my card about my stories of visiting st. louis in May. this day off did me good. i laughed, i slept, and as usual the long walk helps clear my mind. and i claimed two books from a 'little free library' close to the turnaround point. one of them was written by actor-comedian tim allen. unsure if i noticed anything that i hadn't before from these specials, but i still like watching them. actually, it wasn't four, it was six. there was two 'frosty' shows and two 'charlie brown christmas' shows on those discs. i watched them in the order i listed them in a facebook posting- rudolph, frosty, grinch, charlie brown. watched the first two, then had lunch and slept. then i got to the other two. the meals were two turkey dinners i heated in the microwave oven, bought at cub foods a few days back. along with some pumpkin pie and whipped topping. i drank a can of beer with both, so now there are four beers waiting. it was a pryes, then a bent brew-stillery, both are local twin city brews. during the walk i found 1 dollar 41 cents. 

vending machine lunch

 it was christmas eve, and i didn't quite make it in time to the convenience store for a sandwich. i saw the employee locking the door just as i had arrived. it saved me some money, i guess. i went back to the floor i work on and got some beef jerky from the vending machine. i also ate the raisins and animal crackers i brought in my lunch bag, but the can of soup is still unopened. two items bought from the machine actually, earlier in the day it was some more trail mix. the workday was a little easier, i was able to get caught up except for just under a thousand fargo checks. four mail tubs went out at the end of the day. i liked getting caught up on the overnights, even though i am told that UPS probably wouldn't be picking up from the box due to the holiday. i still wanted them off my desk, and gone, so those still went into the box. i paid more attention to how i exited the building and that made it easier on finding the light rail stop. when i was waiting for the train, i heard a christmas song being played, it was 'o come all ye faithful' and almost cried. why, i don't know. i went to a church service later in the evening and heard the same hymn. two hymns i wanted to hear but weren't part of the service, i knew i can find on youtube. this was 'angels we have heard on high' (or gloria in excelsis deo) and 'hark the herald angels sing'. i still like the feeling of the melted candle wax on my fingers from this christmas eve service. before going to church i watched part of 'it's a wonderful life' on NBC. i had seen it before, but it had been a while. a fresh perspective, i guess. when george bailey said, 'that's a lie!' it reminded me of saying it at work in the past week. i liked how i made it home from work a little earlier, in time to see the tail end of a 'young sheldon' rerun. after this, channel 45 switched over to 'yule log' except there was no music. sounds like viewers had to tune in to a specific radio station for that. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 84 cents. 

deli express sandwiches

 at lunch i wanted to save some time and it meant i still wasn't heating up soup in the microwave oven at work. i went to the convenience store and got a deli express sandwich, ham and cheese. vacation replacement saw this and said his brother works there, can get an employee discount. first thing i said was 'it does say eden prairie'. i looked at the package and saw this is where the company is based. i bought two items out of the vending machine on the same floor as me as well. there was some trail mix, and some chips. i noticed how the items in this machine are fifty cents cheaper than where i had moved from. a morning meeting with the mailroom people was canceled, but i still ended up meeting the mailroom boss from another office. she dropped by in the afternoon, seen on the doorbell camera. we chatted in the hall a little. it was a long day, tried to get caught up but hard to do. i did send out three mail tubs and nearly fifty overnight packages. i made it just in time when the courier was picking up the overnights. hopeful that the next day will be even easier, i would expect the overnight volume would be lower due to some business lines sending us less or nothing at all due to the holiday. in the evening i went to perform, and earlier in the lineup was mention of the 'garden song' and i said it was part of a sixth-grade graduation ceremony. then i spoke of other songs that were part of it in my set. and with the recent move at work, i covered that as well. and the discovery of 'same songs'. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 75 cents. 

spider-man sweater

 no, i don't own one. but tonight, i met someone who was wearing a spider-man sweater. it was at a meetup event at a micro-brewery, near can-can wonderland in st. paul. the dude is originally from new orleans, but moved to the twin cities seven years ago and works in a call center. found out we both like watching the charlie brown specials. i spoke with others first, but this is who i spoke with the longest. and i did say there was another event in this group soon, next week. i did the dishes when i got home. in the afternoon i went to multiple places in eagan. first was the barnes and noble, got the time magazine year in review edition. although i didn't like how the cashier tried to move me along too quickly, when i had questions about the loyalty program. i got a pie and whipped cream at cub foods, but the card reader in the self-checkout section didn't work so an employee had to finish the transaction for me. and tried to finish my sentence as well, which i didn't like. nice how nothing happened at the next place, the copy store. just needed to print out a gift certificate from best buy, likely earned from the recent purchase of the microwave oven. i watched a little of the pro football games for the day, but not a lot. i know the bucs-cowboys game was on at the brewery, and when i got home, cowboys hung on to win. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 26 cents. 

church hymn, fight song?

 i was watching the end of the ohio state football game and heard a song that sounded familiar. ohio state had just won big over tennessee. i said 'isn't that a church hymn?' and it was. i googled it and found out the ohio state fight song, 'carmen ohio', has the same tune as a church hymn, 'come christians join to sing'. i shared my findings with my 'ohio friend', on facebook. i know this has happened before, discovering how something was the 'same song'. 'god save the queen (or king)', and 'my country tis of thee'. another is 'greensleeves' and 'what child is this', another church hymn. this wasn't the only discovery of a song for the day. i went to a liquor store in the afternoon and picked up a can of beer. while there i heard a song that wasn't typical for a liquor store. usually, i hear something loud angry and fast, but not this time. i decided to commit some lyrics to memory and looked it up when i got home. it was 'skinny love' by birdy. there wasn't too much booked for the day. in the morning i went to the post office, but nothing to be picked up. i sent more recycle to a place near the capitol. then it was on to get a sandwich at jersey mike's as it was just after midday. i let them know i like how Mr. DeVito is still in the t.v. ads as his endorsement is why i first tried their sandwiches. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 68 cents. 

day one, downtown

 i rode the light rail into work downtown at the bank. i went to the security desk and said i was a transfer and was told if i have a badge then scan it. so i did. i went to the floor i was assigned to, riding up with a mailroom employee. so i went there first and introduced myself. fairly simple in remembering their names as it was the same two names of friends of a college roommate. then i went to the check shop, where people were waiting for me. this included the techs setting up the inserter machine. one of them, the fellow iowan, joked about the red sweater being iowa state cyclone colors. it took a little time to get my footing, but i decided it was like assembling a puzzle, get started somewhere and it will take shape. there were some minor i.t. issues to overcome on having the two printers set up, but everything was operational by midday. thankfully, plan b was not needed. vacation replacement was there, and we got out as many checks as possible. senior leader said the most important thing was getting the i-pay file out, and we did as well. only one file was not printed, and not all of the overnights went out, but we likely can get caught up on monday. one internal customer kept sending instant messages, which was annoying me. not the same one as the previous day. i did get the tracking numbers from thursday sent but was mistaken as to what the dude wanted. found out it was the file that arrived late on thursday. even after calmly explaining what was happening, not good enough. i did sent a final message saying i did what i could and would likely get to his request on monday, then signed off and left. i didn't want to stay any longer trying to explain things to someone who wouldn't take no for an answer. senior leader bought lunch at a nearby sandwich place, fine with me. the setup even has a doorbell camera for when visitors arrive. when i emptied moving boxes and sent them to a larger cart in a corner of the main room, i spoke of it being like 'clyde the orangutan' from two clint eastwood movies, when ordered to scrap a car. i said i do change things 'when i see the value in it' and i am seeing some value already. there are three other rooms in the shop, all have doors on them. one had envelopes placed in it, next one check stock, third one my workstation. in the evening i went to get groceries at hy-vee in eagan. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 77 cents. 

move day at the bank

 it was a crazy day at the bank as it was 'move day'. this was the final day at the location i was assigned to for four and a half years. so now it is time to turn the page and start the next chapter downtown. i found a way through although it was challenging, to say the least. not too big of a deal for the first half of the day, as we got most of the checks printed and run through the inserter machine. but then midday arrived, and this meant the people from the service provider on the inserter machine were there to take it apart as part of the move. they were in the shop for about an hour, then the movers were to do the rest. one dude arrived a little too soon, saying he was picking up the printers. but i said we were going to be using them a little longer, until 3pm. then we would be able to get all of the checks out by the end of the day, as the second i-pay file drops at that time. just as important, having the other printer that is used for the overnight labels. the annoying man that wanted a check pulled out from the oshkosh file sent me instant messages again, even contacting the senior leader that was onsite for the day. we had to be honest, both of us, about needing the file ready before the movers claimed the check printer, if it was going out same day. it arrived, just in time. now i am on record about it, so hopefully this senior leader, and my boss, will be able to figure out the best way through besides me saying 'i am already going above and beyond'. my boss did call from california in the morning and asked if the move was still happening despite the snowstorm that had just arrived in minnesota. i figured it was still on as i hadn't heard 'word one' about it. if this meant some arrived a little later than expected, so be it. all of it went on as scheduled. i got some pictures of what was in the hall at the end of the day, as most was already loaded on the truck but not all. i needed to go back to use the bathroom, after going to get a bottle of dunkin donuts coffee from the walgreen. i also bought some popcorn from the vending machine on the last day. then i drank the coffee and ate the popcorn on the drive home. i sent a text to our tax specialist saying that the tax checks are already in the lockbox. after having the evening meal, with the can of michelob, i took a walk and found 25 cents. then i listened to this year's eminem CD, 'death of slim shady'. 

man in the white van movie

 in the afternoon i saw the movie 'man in the white van' at the mall in eden prairie. normally i don't go to a movie theater on a weekday, but according to the schedule i found on fandango it looked like waiting until the weekend would have meant way fewer options to see it. only one actor was recognized, it was sean astin, playing the dad. according to the closing credits, astin was also listed as a producer. i am used to seeing this with indie movies. it is a chance for actors with name recognition to produce or direct as well. the setting was florida in the 1970s, and this was a pretty good thriller. every so often, one would be caught off-guard as to who shows up. or even a scene beginning with a fried egg. a big part of the story was the sibling rivalry between annie, the main character, and her sister, margaret. after that it was annie riding her horse, annie's friend patty, and annie's younger brother, daniel. the opening credits let people know this movie was made by a studio 'owned by fans', might explain why there is a fairly limited release in theaters. it meant the 'investors' in the movie were listed in the closing credits, alpha order by first name. i think i once saw a facebook posting about investing in a movie, but passed as it was hard to justify doing so when one doesn't know if the movie would even see the light of day. before the movie i had lunch in the nearby food court, at leeann chin. after the movie i had a blizzard treat at dairy queen, french silk pie. in the morning i went to the post office, two orders were picked up. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends lost a bet in a bowling game to wil wheaton's team and wore lady superhero costumes at the comic book shop. it was followed by the one where sheldon and amy do 'fun with flags' and bert calls to tell people about having a lady friend. 

reading the 'move manual'

 at work i wanted to get farther on helping with the move so it meant finding the manual that was an attachment on the dial-in meeting from mid-november. it was eleven pages, but actually ten as the final one just said, 'the end', no real information on it. reading it was quite helpful, as it showed on the diagram where each item such as a table would go in the new home downtown. i still wanted to get to my normal duties, but during the short time i worked on this special project i got most of the things i touch on a daily basis labeled. even some of the things not shown in the pictures. i stayed a little late due to wanting to type up a letter to my friends in st. louis. seemed a little odd that the mail tubs were not picked up when i left. in the evening i went to the liquor store and picked up cans of budweiser and miller, and a bottle of grain belt. now there are six beers waiting. i am trying to plan out my upcoming day off as well. it likely means seeing a movie, based on looking at the available schedule. and it means an annual visit to a food outlet can be moved back to another day off, as i must think of proximity. also, at work there was a delivery. some moving boxes were dropped off, but i don't know how of many of them will be used. much of what is to be moved is already in a box or would be hard to be put in one. during my walks i found 3 dollars 25 cents. 

moving out floor mats

 i knew it was time to get started on the final push at work for moving downtown. this meant labeling some of the things we want moved, putting post it notes on them, and taping them on. i started off with things that weren't used much, such as the box fan, two carts that aren't blue, and the only file cabinet that has envelopes in it. i also decided to move some floor mats out of the shop and into the adjacent empty file room. i put them on a blue cart to get them moved. these mats hadn't been used at all, and only one is ever used. it is the one in front of the inserter machine. i am told that looking at the attachment from the november dial-in meeting is also a good idea, that will be the next step. but of course, i still wanted to see that my normal duties were carried out. this included handling a residual issue, a returned package of six checks that was intended for an attorney office in miami. i confirmed what the correct address was, and five of the six did not have it. i am told it was an excel error, auto-filling. and i sent the tracking number as well. one check file did not arrive, but i know it is one that was outsourced to poland and has been late fairly often recently. in the evening i went to perform and was on near the end of the lineup. i did not only bank stories but also going to mall of america on my day off, as well as attending three events over the weekend. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends acted out their version of 'lord of the rings', fighting over a ring. it was followed by the one where sheldon and amy tried to collaborate on a science project but ended up insulting each other. 

nutcracker ballet, minnesota version

 in the afternoon i went to burnsville and saw a minnesota version of the nutcracker ballet. i had an upper-level ticket, first time at this venue in over a year. it surprised me a little that it registered on my 'laugh meter', but it did. there was when the personified wind-up toys were carried out at the end of a scene. then there was when the captain of the boat picked up a little fish girl. i had heard some of these songs before, and now it made more sense to hear them all in the same show. i think there was times when i would hear a song in a commercial, such as for m and m's, likely used due to the high chance of recognition by viewers. i was a little under-dressed there, wearing a hoodie. many of the ladies were wearing dresses. at intermission i did look around and saw souvenirs available but passed on the postcards. those were only available as a five-card set, and more than what i normally pay. i said the one with the boat was what i liked the most. i had some pizza for lunch before reaching the venue from a nearby speedway gas station. i laughed when i saw a display near the front door. figured i should explain myself to the cashier, saying 'love that elf guy!' there was also a grinch on the other end of the table, a plush one, buddy elf was a cardboard cutout. after the show i went to eagan, to the barnes and noble book shop. even though the time magazine i was looking for wasn't there, i found other things of interest. an employee found me a small charlie brown book i didn't have, and during that search i saw an adaptation of the first 'ghostbusters' movie where the cast is schoolmates. then i had some coffee. i walked over to the copy store to print an event ticket, and on the way back i went to use the bathroom at the cub foods. i found out this store has the winter carnival buttons and bought the one with the city's skyline on it. 'the simpsons' was about krusty's aunt saying, 'the problem is you'. then i did the dishes. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 79 cents. 

tap my drum

 tonight, i went to the glow holiday lights festival at the saints stadium in st. paul. i had been there before, but i think there were a few new things and i didn't mind. one of these was 'tap my drum'. i saw some kids beating on the drum, then i waited for my turn. nice how it lit up when someone beats on the drum. i liked how one of the light displays was a big ball with the saints logo on it. when it is at their stadium this makes perfect sense to me. i was recognized twice by employees from attending baseball games there. first was the ticket taker, then an usher-tainer in the warming house/museum. i was there for just under two hours, touring the museum near the end of the night. and it was pointed out to me how there is a gopher near the floor, in reference to the movie 'caddyshack', hadn't noticed this before. i heard an announcement shortly thereafter, figuring it meant closing time was soon, and i got in line right away for the giant slide. and as usual, i screamed like lt. dan from 'forrest gump' during the hurricane. and when it was done i said 'worth it!' nice how the donut hole was filled in so my butt wasn't on the track at all. and of course, i did the typical chores and errand running before i made it to the stadium. in the morning there was going to the post office, but no orders to be picked up. then i went to the half price books in st. paul. the time magazine i was looking for wasn't there, but i bought a charlie brown cookbook. it was on sale, so i liked getting a good deal on it. nearby was a jimmy john's sandwich shop, i had lunch there. then i went home and watched some of the army-navy football game on CBS, although i fell asleep for a little while during it. navy won it. then i went to aldi for groceries. late in the evening, after getting back from the stadium, i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 10 cents. 

two hyvees, then dancing

 i was active after getting off work at the bank. i had to get gas for the car and went to a hy-vee. it was about time for the evening meal, so i also went inside and got food. the burgers looked good, but the pizza looked even better, so i bought two slices. my next stop wasn't home, but another hy-vee, this time in eagan, where i went for my weekly grocery order. i used the express lane as the self-checkouts were taken out. in fact, it was in the same space as where the store once had self-service. when i made it home i went through emails, but it was time to head out again. i didn't want to all that bad as it was a cold night and i was tired, but i had paid my money for a dance at the french alliance in minneapolis. i went to last year's event as well. when i arrived i heard a beatles song, 'i saw her standing there', reminding me of the movie 'rain man'. i wrote down many of the songs i had heard, more than a dozen. notables were some movie songs, two from the 'vacation' franchise. i even requested one, lady gaga's 'bad romance', and said 'thank you' after the deejay played it. also liked hearing 'goodbye to you', as sometimes one needs to hear a song about parting ways. when i got home again, i retired for the night. at work, there was visitors to the check shop, so i heard the doorbell for the first time in a while. one of them was a senior leader, the other two was the movers for next week. sounds like the game plan was 'label whatever you want moved', works for me. during my walks i found 1 cent. 

returned envelope questions

 when i returned from the day off, vacation replacement said an email in the shared box was flagged. i looked at it once the remit emails were cleared out. i sent the tracking number as requested, it was overnighted monday as the file it was in was late on the previous friday. i had to let them know it was being returned to sender. UPS claims the street address is not correct. it was going to an attorney office in miami. i let them know that i send it to whatever address i am given and wouldn't know more until it actually arrives back at the branch. there was a returned envelope for the day, but not this one in question. looks like i have two visitors to the shop next morning, one of them senior leader, about what is to be moved next week. guess we want to see that we are all on the same page. there was a quick dial-in meeting about it after i was copied on an email, requesting to visit the site. i let them know there is no security desk, not many personnel left at this site, ask for the branch manager. i drank the can of miller with the evening meal so now there are three beers waiting. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon still wanted to go to comic-con even though the rest of the friends said they would skip it for various reasons. 

illusion museum, mall of america

 i had a day off from work and went to the mall of america. seeing the illusion museum inside this mall had been on my list for a little while. i went in the afternoon, but i had lunch at bubba-gump shrimp first. i sat at the bar, where i saw the movie 'forrest gump' playing. i am thankful i made it in time to see the part where lt. dan screams during the hurricane. i said to the server how i scream the same way when i do the giant slide at the state fair. i had the shrimp poorboy sandwich with some fries, and an icee drink, cherry flavor. this led to an unexpected souvenir, the green cup the drink came in. i do have the movie soundtrack on CD. but i guess we should get back to the museum. i needed some time to get warmed up to it, but i liked the color room, seeing the colors change when my shadow moved. i am also the type that likes my space, so some parts of the exhibit i skipped and came back to once there were fewer people around. i did get some selfie photos, a museum employee helped with one of them. i did need a second look and then some of them made more sense. it was often about how far back i was looking at it, and from what angle as well. a few things were actually more fun as a two-person thing, such as the 'head on a platter' exhibit. i bought two postcards in their souvenir shop. i said my head hurt a little from the stimulation from all of these exhibits, probably not alone on saying that. i made it home in time to watch most of 'jeopardy', the final clue was about madame curie. in the morning i picked up two orders at the post office. then i went to target and bought two boxes of seasonal cereal, one of them capn. crunch. i was also pleased to find a puzzle in the section near the front door, one hundred pieces, the theme was the movie 'christmas vacation'. i did the puzzle in the evening, it took me just over an hour to finish. during my walks i found 63 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon was stuck and leonard was called after sheldon ended up in a ball pit. it was followed by the one where bert was stood up on his date and joined sheldon and amy on theirs. 

arby's after a long day

 it was a long day at work, then when it was done i went to arby's for the evening meal. i wanted fries and i do like their curly fries and i do like their commercials- we have the meats! what made it a long day was an idiot who kept sending me instant messages about overnighting tax checks. i had to say twice how i was going 'above and beyond' by sending them out same day. the file was approved more than an hour late, near the end of my workday. there was fifty-one checks in the file, usually i send all of them to the oshkosh office. there was a request to pull out fifteen of them and send them directly to the payees. i have done this before, but not this many in one day. all of them appeared to be counties in california. what made it easier was how the overnight labels and the forms to go with the check were emailed to me, then i didn't have to create the overnight labels. it may have been the latest that i have stayed to see that the work was caught up. i had considered just going over to the mcdonald's near the office for the meal but decided i needed to get on the road and get home. once i was close to home it was when i got the idea for arby's. vacation replacement was in the office in the other room of the check shop, but i mostly did the check printing work by myself. toner cartridge for the check printer was picked up from the branch near the end of the day, and i ordered more overnight envelopes before i left as well. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 14 cents. 

pension envelope?

 no, not for me. but i was checking for deliveries in the branch area near the end of the workday and saw a pension envelope. the other two packages were returned checks. i got those other two lumped together with a live check that was going to the kansas city office, so they weren't laying around for long. it means that in the morning, i figure out who i send this pension envelope to. best guess is somebody in benefits. also notable about the day was how i was pleased with one overnight request. at first all i noticed about it was a 13-check file, but all were 'return to business line', the hopkins office, and that pleased me as it meant just one overnight label to do. in the evening i went to perform, and it was nice seeing the fancy comic there. i did stories about the bank, going to the movies, the white elephant gift exchange, a concert, and speed dating. during my walks i found 1 dollar 28 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon got incredible hulk hands from raj as an enticement to be part of a second double-date. it was followed by the one where sheldon got an emotion detector machine and it led to people being angry due to forced honesty. 

muppet christmas carol

 this morning i watched a DVD copy of a movie, 'muppet christmas carol', a recent online purchase. seeing it as a theme for an upcoming 'drag brunch' prompted me to see it, finally. although i am picky on the drag brunches i attend, usually it is just once a year, so i probably won't be seeing this one. not sure why i had passed on this movie for so long, when i have enjoyed other muppet movies over the years, including 'treasure island', where i got a poster. a role was found for just about every familiar muppet character, and some of those i still really like are in it. this includes animal, who was in the band of course, as well as sam eagle, the dour one. i had seen other 'scrooge' movies before, and my favorite still might be the one called 'scrooged', the one with bill murray. it worked well having gonzo as the storyteller. seeing plenty of candles in this movie, based on a book written before electricity, reminded me of the candles i recently acquired from the gift exchange in a meetup event, so i paused the movie and lit one. then the candle was put out shortly after the movie ended. the other notable event of the day was going to a micro-brewery for a speed dating event. it was in hopkins, i had been to this brewery once before through meetup. first time i had done speed dating through this company, waited until the preferred age group was available on a day off, making it easier to get to the event. i did speed dating with another company many years ago, but that didn't pan out, nobody was interested. this one had a longer time with each date, five to seven minutes instead of three. i know i put my best foot forward this time, all too often before i didn't. i knew somebody who said that some potential mates would be impressed with how i work at the bank, so it was mentioned, at least. i liked the setup on the beer, self-serve once you get a card. i didn't do much after getting home, watched some of the football game, chiefs beat the chargers on a last-second field goal. during my walks i found 50 cents. 

la grande bande, st. mary's

 in the evening i went to a concert at st. mary's church in lowertown st. paul, it was french baroque music, by la grande bande. it is an outfit based in out-state minnesota, gaylord if i am not mistaken. there were two different programs available, one of them was carols that the crowd could sing along with. this included 'angels we have heard on high', or 'gloria in excelsis deo'. nice when i am able to recognize the familiar, but most of the carols here, be it in french or english, i hadn't heard before. the subtitles were on a screen close to where the performers were, and there were some carols where it was just violins playing and no singers at all. of course, the subtitles reminded me of being at an opera. there was an organ prelude, i am thankful i showed up early enough to hear most of it. then i am not rushing to find my seat. i think i had been to this church before, for a serving of booya soup. after the concert i walked past the saints stadium, only blocks away, and it served as a reminder of another event i am doing soon. the holiday light festival at the stadium is in full swing. in the morning i did my typical chores and errand running. went to the post office but no orders to pick up. then there was dumping recycle at a bin near the capitol, and i went to an art museum. it was a small one, some art by wanda gag was there, a name i knew from visits to new ulm. there was one by grant wood there as well. i spent just under an hour there, then i went to have a sandwich at jersey mike's as it was just after midday. then i picked up some items at the nearby target, including two boxes of cereal and some egg nog. then late in the afternoon it was to aldi for groceries. i did watch some of the iowa women's basketball game, playing tennessee, in brooklyn. hawkeyes were leading when i had to leave for the concert, just past the end of the first quarter, but i found out iowa lost. too many turnovers. i had a quick dinner at a speedway gas station on the way to the concert, it was a Slurpee and a slice of pizza. late in the evening, after getting back from the concert, i went on a walk and found 3 dollars 88 cents. 

white elephant gift exchange

 after work tonight, i went to a white elephant gift exchange, a meetup event. it was at the bowling alley in st. louis park, but we stayed in a party room near the front door and didn't do any bowling this time. first time at such an event, read up online about it in advance. i chose number 8, but some of the early numbers were not chosen. i chose a package with elephant wrapping paper, it included some soap and bathtub bombs. it was stolen by the moderator, and i chose the other one with the same wrapping paper. it was three yankee candles. one gift wasn't chosen, and it was given to me. it was the one i brought, a word find book i found at five below. it was the time of day when i have the evening meal, i had a french dip sandwich with fries, and a glass of beer, a surly. the tip was already added in, 20 percent, so i didn't add any more. i was getting annoyed for a little while, as some insisted on talking about 'the news of the world'. it lasted longer than the given time allotment, about three hours instead of two. i went to the cub foods near the movie theater after the event was done, got the paper and two small bottles of milk, one of them chocolate. i was tired when i got home and didn't do much, not even go through email. i can find the time to look at it in the morning. at work there was a dial-in meeting in the early afternoon, i think it happened due to an i-pay file spiking in volume on my day off last week. now it means looking at the excel attachment included, not just the PDF where i print the checks. i got caught up on getting checks sent out as expected, it helped that the two fargo files were way smaller than typical. just two mail tubs were sent out at the end of the day, and just over half were the checks left over from the previous day. during my walks i found 50 cents. 

bona movie

  after work tonight i went to a free screening at the trylon in minneapolis, for the movie 'bona', from the philippines. it was about a young girl who becomes infatuated with a b-movie actor and becomes a mother figure to him. the scenes were mostly in the slums of manila, and it is not too often when i see this kind of squalor being depicted. things like carrying water in tanks for bathing. there was plenty of vulgar language in it, but this was nothing i hadn't seen or heard before in movies or in real life. all of the dialogue was subtitled, although at times it appeared the actors were speaking english. in the background early on there was a tv commercial for General Electric. i was wondering if anything american or english would be in it, and it looked like a few things were. it also reminded me of a former colleague from suburban chicago who would say 'salud' when i sneezed, blessing me in spanish. there was a scene where someone said 'salud' but it apparently was being used as a woman's name. before the movie i went to eat at a burger king, had a whopper junior. but it was a little unnerving when an employee had to unlock the door to let me out. i also had some cookies with the meal. at work i was able to cut down on the backlog once the tech was finished with working on the inserter machine. first time in over six months that we have had to call for service, i like how it had been a while. both the check stock and envelope orders arrived, but half of the check stock is on backorder. the envelopes were dumped in the mailroom, a branch employee let me know. i made quick work on getting the boxes moved to the shop once i found out. during my walks i found 50 cents. 

ikea photo-op

 i had a day off and did some chores and errand running. also went to Ikea for lunch, had the swedish meatball meal. when i was leaving i saw a display that was a photo-op, where one could tag their photo with a twitter hashtag. all i did was eat there, did not buy anything else. i got plenty done before and after it. there was an appointment at walgreen for a vaccine. then i printed some event tickets at the copy store and got some pie at cub foods. then it was on to the post office, where one order was picked up, after lunch i copied more notes related to orders to place soon, consolidating pages so i could put more in a shred box. then it was using the shredder, one more plastic grocery bag was filled. i went to aldi and bought a snoopy doormat as well, finding out just one was left. and i liked watching jeopardy, the final clue was about the start of the second world war in poland. during my walks i found 1 dollar 48 cents, and another bahamas coin, my fourth. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny was injured in the shower. it was followed by the one where christopher lloyd was a guest star, as a houseguest. 

field trip, the sequel

 mid-morning at work there was another field trip downtown, with my boss. we didn't stay for long but we did get to the floor most of my colleagues are on, as well as where the check shop will be. the customer service boss has the rat statue up. i noticed i-pads at conference room doors, i am told this is how the conference rooms are booked. we found the UPS box as well, on ground level. hard to say if i will eat out more for lunch once i move there. i know there is a sandwich place in the building, and a coffee place. vacation replacement said the coffee place has long lines, but i don't go out for coffee much so this is likely no big deal to me. even though it was a typical high volume for fargo checks, it was still small enough to get all of it into just three mail tubs. and when i returned, it wasn't that long after these largest files of the day were ready, so i liked how the delay was minimal. sounds like the boss will be out of office on move day, flying to california to be with his daughter for her cancer surgery. i did some cleanup as i will have the next day off, sending four empty fluid bottles to the recycle dumpster. and i removed staples from expired forms, then got them in the shred bin. in the evening i watched an animated special on ABC, 'santa claus is coming to town'. i don't recall having seen it before. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon kept hurting himself after bert won an award, and penny called sheldon 'dolores' because of it. 

ford handkerchief

 recently i found a ford handkerchief, as in the automaker, during one of my walks. looked in really good condition, folded up. so i washed it and it is hanging in the shower. even though i don't currently own a ford car, i have before, including two mustangs. it not only has the familiar ford blue oval on it, but also the website address under it, repeated as a pattern across the hankie. guess it does remind me of when i bought some hankies at the liquidation sale for montgomery ward. at work there was a dial-in meeting at mid-morning about alternate plans on check printing on move day later this month. hopefully we won't have to resort to a different office doing check printing for us. there was also some instant messages from a lady asking about a check for over four million going to another bank office. i said there would have been a delay on stamping it due to the holiday last week. but it shouldn't take long to arrive as it is just going to the other side of the metro area. it sounds like a check where there is a request to overnight it, due to the high amount, except nobody asked me to. during my walks i found 75 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard tried to watch the nebraska football game with penny's friends, then decides to fly kites with sheldon at halftime. it was followed by the one where sheldon tries to seduce amy as a 'rat pack pee wee herman'. 

paper shredder replaced

 i bought a paper shredder a few days before the microwave oven and finally decided to use it around midday. i filled two plastic bags and i have even more that i can run through it. when i went to junk the previous one i looked inside the box, the bill of sale was from september 2018, from the walmart on university avenue that has since closed. so i had the previous one for just over six years. i noticed how i decided to get the same model, but i don't need a fancy one for my paper shredding needs. mostly junk mail is run through it. i noticed one change on this newer model, there is a small window on the bucket, easier to see how close it is to being full. in the morning i did my annual viewing of my DVD copy of the movie 'planes trains and automobiles'. i still enjoy watching this road movie. i went to perform at an open-mic in the early evening. i did stories about how i spent turkey day, getting another microwave oven, going to an exhibit, and chatting with a neighbor. i didn't do much after performing, mostly just the dishes. only time i watched TV all day was the late local news. during my walks i found 1 dollar 11 cents. 

girlhood exhibit

 went to the 'girlhood' exhibit at the Minnesota history center this afternoon. standouts were mention of feed sacks as DIY clothing, as well as a Twiggy lunchbox thermos. my dad once said to my sister when school clothes shopping how she was 'wearing it like a feed sack', sounded weird to me as a kid, but i guess that was a common thing for a while. as for who was on the thermos, i mainly knew her for having a cameo in the movie 'blues brothers'. i spent just over two hours there, finishing up just before closing time. i bought some souvenirs as well, two stickers. one was of caitlin clark in her WNBA jersey, the other was of the geena davis character in the movie 'league of their own'. neither women were part of the exhibit, but there was a section about girls playing sports, especially basketball. i watched some of the films on display, there was three about birth control and sexually transmitted diseases. the first one, from the World War one era about syphilis, seemed to be that era's version of 'scared straight'. there were six sections in this exhibit, also ones about girls going to school and to work. i lunched at chick-fil-a before the museum, heard the trampled by turtles song 'wait so long' as i was pulling into this food place. in the morning i went to the liquor store, bought two cans of beer, a michelob and a miller, so now five beers are waiting. also went to the post office, two orders were picked up, so i placed two more e-bay orders when i got home. in the evening i got groceries at aldi, during my walks i found 1 dollar 62 cents. 

stainless steel microwave oven

 i bought a microwave oven after work tonight. i chose one made by General Electric, at the best buy in Richfield. i had one with this brand name before as it is my former employer. the one made by rival lasted nearly nine years, bought in January 2016 from the Walmart on university avenue that has since closed. i knew it was time to get another one when i noticed just before going to work in the morning how one of the prongs from the plug was stuck in the outlet. i figured it was no longer safe to use. guess it went out with a bang as it cooked both of my thanksgiving meals. i went online and it said the average life span of this item is seven to ten years, so it sounds like i am getting my money's worth so far. i did my research before going there, and with the brand name i wanted i knew this was the store to visit. and the location as well, as not every location had this brand and this size. i wanted another small one- 0.7 cubic feet. this is my third microwave oven, and the second with the GE name on it. i looked at the earlier entry where i spoke of the dire straits song 'money for nothing' as well as what food was first put in it, burritos. this time it was a TV dinner, chicken strips. i could tell the salesman wanted me to get a larger one, likely since it cost more. but i knew my needs and the compact countertop model i chose is just fine, not just for the meals i normally eat but also when i want popcorn. i did ask about air fryers, as a friend of mine really likes her fryer, but decided a microwave oven is still the right thing for me. first one that is stainless steel, a good reason to try to take really good care of it and clean it more often than the ones i had. it was on sale as it was black Friday, and of course the store was packed. i ended up parking in a lot that was meant for an adjacent store, as i am a big believer in the path of least resistance. the next steps will be to haul off the junked one to the dumpster and get the new one registered. the postcard said it can be registered online. at work i liked how a business line is still taking a break for the holiday, much like Wednesday no checks were sent. still plenty of overnights though, from the mortgage file. it appears just that one business line is on break though, as i still sent out more than three thousand checks for the day. when i got home after picking up the appliance i watched some of the football game on TV, Iowa Hawkeyes were playing Nebraska, on NBC. when it reached halftime i went to get groceries at the Hy-Vee in Eagan. before that i went to the five below in the same complex and found a gift for a meetup event for next week. along with something for me, a homer simpson solar bobble-head, it goes well with the snoopy i already have. while at the grocery store i found a half-franc Swiss coin, it will go in the tin with other foreign coins. when i got home the game was nearly over, and Iowa won on a last-second field goal. i didn't do much after the game was over. during my walks i found 3 cents. 

extra puzzle pieces

 i found a way to stay occupied for most of the day, it was put together a charlie brown puzzle i had bought at MSP airport a few years back. it was 500 pieces, finished it then retired for the night. except there was three pieces left over, go figure. wonder if another puzzle is missing that many. it had many of the themes that the comic strip is known for, such as snoopy on his doghouse, as well as schroeder playing the piano. what prompted me to get it done was getting one with these characters but with a space theme from five below recently, another one i can do on the days off in december. i did watch much of the first two football games of the day. the bears found another way to lose, in the opener against the lions. kept hearing 'here we go' before plays in the second, cowboys beat the giants. i liked how jelly roll was one of the halftime performers during the second game, i have one of his CDs. i ate both of the turkey dinners to mark the holiday and drank a can of beer with both. there was bud ice for the first, and a miller with the second, so now there are three beers waiting. i had the last two english muffins as well, and the pumpkin pie. now it means figuring out what i do with the rest of the whipped topping in the can, get another half-pie maybe? before the first game i watched the macy's parade, then switched to putting in my DVD copy of the charlie brown turkey day special after seeing the 'beagle scout snoopy' balloon. no surprise how there was mention by the announcers of the specials being on the apple streaming service. there is usually a reason for why some things make appearances- as it is all about advertising. then after the second game there was 'masked singer', with a charlie brown theme. this one had mention of apple t.v. as well, along with the characters arriving from knott's berry farm. during my walks i found 1 dollar 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were both thanksgiving editions, no surprise there. first was when sheldon has a beer with howard's father-in-law, and we found out penny married zac in las vegas. then there was the one where the friends volunteer at a soup kitchen and howard meets elon musk. while sheldon and amy go to the aquarium. 

box full of plastic

 at work i decided to move a box to another room in the morning. it was a box full of plastic, and the label had an old bank name on it, so it had been there for a while. i didn't know what else to do with it, because i didn't feel like tossing it in the trash, so it is someone else's problem now. it was sent to a storage room i had recently discovered, where i had previously claimed and used most of the copy paper i had found. i liked how it was a fairly light day on check printing, as one business line did not send any checks at all. this is the one from kansas city, account closures, with plenty of overnights when it is sent. but i know this is most likely around a holiday when there are fewer personnel available. there was an email i reported, but then found out it was legit although it was just a small bank logo on it when i clicked on the link. didn't sound right when it said, 'something needed my immediate attention'. when i did log into my account, i found a notice there about my health insurance, HIPAA regulations if i am not mistaken. and there were plenty of other notices as well, unread, going back for quite a bit of time. huh. in the evening i did some more research about more e-bay and amazon orders to place in the near future. there was not only CDs i discovered, but also more of those little golden books. i have ten, and three more are on the way. during my walks i found 50 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj and sheldon worked together, and it was a rare one with music, a song from the 'rocky' movies in the background. it was followed by the one where sheldon and amy have brunch guests, while penny signs autographs at a convention. 

notes added to check copy

 i had a visitor pick up a check before midday, this is definitely not too common now. but this colleague was working from home for the day. and there was a request to add notes to a check before it was sent to a government agency, so it was known what it is for. and i made a copy of it after the notes were added, scanned it, and printed out a copy before notes were added. since i have seen the sense of urgency on these special handling checks, i advised this colleague to go to the post office across the road to send it if it needs to go out right away. i have seen how mail in the tub isn't stamped until the next day. i heard what it was like for my vacation replacement on my day off, something about i.t. issues until midday. and the trash i put out in the hall wasn't picked up friday although the bins were empty when i arrived in the morning, so i brought them all in. branch manager asked me at lunchtime about my day off. thankfully there wasn't too much left behind for me to discover. i did some research on polka CDs, likely inspired by telling my dad about this year's visit for oktoberfest in new ulm. i found two more to order soon. i narrowed the list to one for each music act, wanting to make it count on what i buy. this is what i have done so far for others as well, three in all. of course, also on my list was some discovered that weren't polka, but on a label called concord when looking at a new ulm band called the concord singers. during my walks i found 76 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when howard and bernadette found out raj and stuart were in their hot tub, while sheldon and amy decided to share a toothbrush holder. 

look, pause, discover

 i had the day off for a dental appointment, and this meant going to downtown st. paul. i got a good look around before and after it. before it i went to the food court where in once ate when working downtown, although not many options remain. the cajun grill had a sign up saying they had just closed after 26 years. this meant having pizza by the slice. then farther down in the skyway i saw a display that said 'look, pause, discover'. it was quotes from famous people, especially writers. something about 'writers blocks' and espresso coffee. guess it means looking it up some more online. hard to say what i will do when i do the next appointment in six months. i was reminded of how a sandwich shop, erbert gerbert, is still open, but not in the skyway. and then there is the skyway grill, which moved to a different food court. those two are the front runners. then there was going to rice park to see the big christmas tree, put on display by the salvation army. and then going inside the landmark center, where there was displays about governors. it went all the way up to the current one, walz. and there was some art that will be sold at auction soon to benefit a women's shelter. one had some media on it, a VHS tape of MASH, as well as a cassette of the judy garland album, 'star is born'. i got plenty done in the morning as well. there was sending another donation to goodwill, followed by getting a paper shredder at walmart, and then picking up turkey day dinners at cub foods. all three were done in eagan. then i went to the post office and two orders were picked up, and when i got home i placed orders for two more, on e-bay. i watched 'jeopardy' and found out there was a mixed drink called a 'gibson', the clue was two baseball players with that name. i went to perform in the evening and the show runner gave me a twins baseball jersey. i did not do any bank stories this time, but i did some rants about what i have seen in some facebook groups i am in. along with mention of the news story about the president pardonint turkeys for the holiday. during my walks i found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when lewis black was a guest star, followed by when sheldon and amy start living together and they were called 'weird' by penny. 

i used to be funny movie

 in the afternoon i watched the movie 'i used to be funny' on bluray. i decided to go back to the beginning, even though i had seen part of it a few days earlier in order to test out the player that i had just acquired. in many ways this was beneficial, as i noticed some things the second time that i didn't the first time. the main character, a stand-up comic in toronto, mopes around for most of the movie. this was why i liked her roommates, who are also comics, more. as a comic, i liked the parts about stand-up comedy, except there didn't seem to be much of it. a big part of the story was the missing teenager, and the main character once was her nanny. i agreed with what the reviewer said in the new york times, the article i printed to remind me that i wanted to order it if it ever was on disc. she said that the movie took too long to get to why she had PTSD. it was only hinted at for a while, and i did catch on to some of the hints. this was why she moped around and would refuse to take the stage and perform, even when announced by her friend and roommate. there were many things about stand-up comedy that this movie got right. one of these is the jealousy when a peer gets a big performing opportunity. there are four other movies i had seen about stand-up since i started performing, and those four seemed to have more scenes depicting stand-up. that being said, one thing i liked about this movie was how ruth buzzi was name-checked. this did prompt me to look up the name, found out it was somebody on 'laugh-in'. i like anything that refers to comics of yester-year, as it helps me with understanding more about the history of the craft. i got some things done before i put in the movie. before midday it was copying notes on pages i had printed, it was ideas of things to order online. i like being able to consolidate things and i get a fresh look at what i wrote down. except i will wait to order more until more of these orders arrive. but it sounds like some should be arriving soon, and i can see what i can pick up the next day as it is a day off. then at midday the bears-vikings game was on, bears lost in overtime. 'the simpsons' was a good one, doing three stories. one had a 1950s theme, then robot clones, but the one i liked the most was the 'fahrenheit 451' parody that name-checked 'big bang theory'. then i went on a long walk around the neighborhood, where i found 1 dollar 9 cents. when i got back i tried to call my dad, we spoke of upcoming holiday plans, but his battery died after 15 minutes so the call was cut short. 

lawshe memorial museum

i went to the lawshe memorial museum in south st. paul in the afternoon. it had been on my list for a while, except i didn't get around to seeing it during the town's festival, kaposia days. free admission was nice. right away i noticed a linus statue on display, it had been at the pharmacy in the middle of town. i didn't mind that part of the museum was temporarily closed to the public, as i arrived with less than an hour to see things before closing time. there was plenty about the agriculture of dakota county, as well as the women's suffrage movement. i bought eight postcards, four were of posters from the first world war. only one was of this town itself, the road known as concord, i drove on it after exiting i-494. the others were of the governor's mansion, fort snelling, and the sibley home. i had been to the sibley home, the first governor of the state, also in dakota county, over a decade ago. i chose this day to see the museum as i attended a spaghetti dinner at the croatian hall, just a few blocks away. it was a fundraiser for kaposia days, i had just heard about the event through facebook a week earlier. it was shortly after i had liked their page. in the morning i went to the french alliance to see an art display. it was about the passion of paris, so many of the themes were of love in this art. i noticed how sheet music was often used in the art. and of course at times i had to step back a little to see what point the artist was trying to make. i got a good look around in the gallery, saw each artwork at least twice. and as usual, i was the only one in the gallery at the time, the way i prefer it. i saw some art books just outside the gallery and looked at them when i was done. one of these was impressionist paintings, a reminder of how i haven't been to some of those museums yet. some are domestic locations, such as the met in new york city and the getty in the los angeles area. another is 'dorsay' in paris. before my arrival to see the art, i went to the post office, two orders were picked up. i had a sandwich at jersey mike's for the evening meal. i was tired by then and didn't do much besides laying down, and going to aldi before i got the sandwich. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 76 cents. 

five little pumpkins

 i went to hy-vee in eagan tonight for groceries and when i was leaving i saw the 'toys for tots' box. on top was a book called 'five little pumpkins'. it said it was 'touch and trace nursery rhymes'. an online search revealed this is also the name of a song. another thing of note in the box was a football still in a box. i got a picture of the 'rudolph' cereal boxes to remind me to check if i already had bought that cereal. when i got home i found out i did, one of two from target, the other being pebbles. i am not up to those cereals just yet as i am still working on the ones from the halloween season. at work i tossed some more of my papers in the shred bin. a meeting scheduled for the morning was moved back a week. otherwise, it was a low volume day on check printing, and i didn't mind. i watched some of the high school football on channel 45, the championship games, before heading out for groceries. and when i got back i watched 'blue bloods', sounds like the next episode is in two weeks. it must be a 'behind the scenes' about the show is next week, marking the final episode which will be soon. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 33 cents. 

liquor store cashier

 every so often i make a visit to a liquor store to get a can of beer as i like a beer with the evening meal once a week. tonight, i went and got cans of miller light and busch light. i drank the can of 56 with the evening meal, so there are five beers waiting. notable about this visit was finding out the cashier is in school at a junior college, with plans for law school eventually. this was found out when i was told of sending an email to himself. two things in particular stand out. i said i had a classmate that was a judge but died of cancer four years ago. also, how i was 'stubborn enough' to reach the finish line and graduate. i advised the dude to 'find out what works for you to reach the finish line'. i know i have done this before, when i hear of someone in law i speak of my late friend. i think this is why i try to avoid thinking about friends who have passed, as 'life is for the living'. do i miss them? of course. but i am also aware of the reality that they are gone, and i can't change that. this is something i can work on, i guess. at work i found some more papers to toss in the shred bin. there was a UPS envelope for our i.t. rep and i was told it was 'tokens for new users'. waiting to hear more about the 'distribution' of the contents of the package. there was a dial-in meeting just before midday but part of the time i was still doing my normal duties, sounded like an optional meeting about company ethics and security. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 50 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends were working together. there was when sheldon led a project at the north pole. then there was when the project for the military started, and they tested the eye scanner. 

repurposed supply boxes

 at work the vacation replacement was in for the day, but i still did most of the check shop work. one mandate we had from the boss was to do cleanup related to the move. so we went through the desk, the workstation, and cleared out most of what was there. it meant what i wanted to save i moved into some empty copy paper boxes. i labeled both of these repurposed boxes as 'office supplies'. there was paper clips, binder clips, napkins, and bags i still wanted to use. late in the afternoon the boss did call me and ask about it, i said my colleague was down the hall. so when both of us was there we spoke with the boss. i took an alternate route home due to the winter weather, i prefer to stay off the divided highways during a snowstorm. when i got home i went through email as usual and found two more events to sign up for in december, one of them through meetup. sounds like it means getting a gift for one of these events. during my walks i found 26 cents. 

netflix button on remote

 i knew that step one on using the bluray player i just bought was to take it out of the box that i put it in to get it home on a rainy night. i did, and i noticed that there was a netflix button on the remote control. along with one for bluetooth, and i don't use either. not too big of a deal to get it hooked up, i used the HDMI cord from my DVD player. i put it in the recent purchase from amazon, 'i used to be funny', and watched part of it, satisfied that this player works. i can watch the movie in full this weekend. i still wanted to do other things such as take a walk, since it was still raining in the morning. at work there was two meetings. the first one was about the tax checks once i move downtown, sounds like there won't be phones there so we had to exchange cellphone numbers. the other one i said i would not attend as there was no dial-in option. later on, i got the slide show version of the meeting, and if it was like most quarterly meetings i probably didn't miss much. recent orders were picked up from the branch, the UPS envelopes as well as the toner cartridge. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends went to las vegas and hired a hooker for howard. it was followed by the one where leonard's dad and sheldon's mom met and spent the night together. penny loved it, sheldon and leonard hated it. 

wandering leaf brewing

i went to a meetup event, through the micro-brewery group, at wandering leaf in st. paul. i knew that it was in what was a family dollar. i moved around a little while there, saw the dude in the cowboy hat that spoke about living in austin, texas, for a while. there was also a young lady in scrubs who said she was a pharmacist at a group home, and lives in woodbury. a dog named jupiter was getting passed around and at one point somebody tried to put a nametag on its head. as usual, when i arrived i wanted to find the event coordinator. i said i was thankful that the group finally made it to this place, it had been on my list for a while. another lady spoke of how she likes blue cheese in her food. i stayed for a little over an hour, then knew i needed to get going to the next event. this of course was performing at an open mic. not too many in this edition though, don't know if the rain kept some people away. i did some bank stories, along with ones about the grinch as well as attending a meetup hike. at work an envelope box was picked up from the branch near the end of the day. the boss had a question about a check but it looked nothing like one that i print, this was when i had just returned from lunch. i picked up a used bluray player nearby just before midday. during my walks i found 76 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when stuart went on a date with penny, then leonard went with howard and raj to a bar to try to meet women. it was followed by the one where stuart was hired to wait in line for sheldon at a movie, and to go shopping with amy. 

man ray, return to reason

 in the afternoon i went to see 'return to reason' at the trylon cinema. it was four short films, a total of 70 minutes. it was subtitled as it was in french, but silent films as it was from the 1920s. i liked when they were in motion, in a car going somewhere. i am aware that man ray was a leader in the dada and surreal movement, it was why these films were being shown. when some of the music was playing i was stomping a foot to the beat of it as it sounded good. i had some popcorn and 7-up at the movie, more affordable there as it is non-profit. i liked how i didn't have much to do for the day until then, stayed in shorts as i was inside for a while.i watched most of the bears-packers game but had to leave to get to the movie. bears were leading at the time but found out they lost. after the movie i printed two event tickets. i didn't do much else after the movie, watched some of the chiefs-bills game, chiefs lost. 'the simpsons' was about bart becoming attached to a brain in a jar. during my walks i found 25 cents. 

pacific northwest timber country

 in the morning i went to a lecture at the minnesota history center in st. paul. it was about the pacific northwest timber country. the speaker was a professor from the u. of oregon, and had a book for sale. the book was called 'strong winds and widow makers', during 'q and a', it was revealed this was inspired by a song of the same name. as usual, i liked how i learned something from being there. in this case it was about the labor union known as the IWA, the international woodworkers of america. i liked how there was mention of how those who work in that industry understand it best and are aware of the balance needed between the need for wood but also preserving forests for recreation. i got a look around at the souvenir shop after the lecture, and it gave me some ideas for what to buy on my next visit. there is a limited run exhibit called 'girlhood' that will run until early june, so i still have some time to see it. better to go on a weekend where i have less planned. i got a pic of a sign near the front door about a DAR meeting onsite, it had wrapped up before the lecture did. the lady near the sign spoke of 'evacuation day' in new york after the american revolution ended, hadn't heard of it before. then it was on to a pizza place down the hill near the xcel center. i had a big slice of sausage pizza and some tiramisu, along with some sparkling water. then i went home and got groceries at aldi, and laid down for a little while. when i got up again it was time to go to a meetup walk at a nature center in bloomington. i had done this walk before, but first time since april. i roasted a hot dog at the campfire after the walk. in the morning, before the lecture, i went to the post office and picked up one order. i paid for my box fee, for six months. i didn't do much after the walk, when i got home i watched the news. during my walks i found 57 cents. 

solar bobblehead

 i went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries as usual tonight. another thing i did before i got there was go to the five below store in the same complex. i found the charlie brown and snoopy socks i was looking for. the other item i bought wasn't the jigsaw puzzle that was on my list, will have to research some more to see what location has those. saw everything but snoopy in the puzzle section. i also bought a solar bobblehead. there was two of interest to me, besides snoopy i also saw homer simpson. so at some point if i feel the need i can get homer as well. i liked seeing a metallic grinch balloon at hy-vee, plenty of christmas decorations are up. at work there was a dial-in meeting, just before midday. it was the one about moving the check shop, and it looks like this is just a month away. i let the tax specialist know, and it sounds like there will be another dial-in about the tax checks. the backlog of checks to send out went down some more, likely will be eliminated on monday. i try to send out no more than three mail tubs each day, and not a big deal if some of the fargo checks are sent out a day behind. i am still doing planning for the holiday season, and more event tickets will be ordered soon. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 74 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon played d and d with bernadette, who was unable to go drinking with the friends as she is pregnant. zack was at the bar, and raj brought claire. 

salad days, music documentary

 i went to a movie after work tonight, it was 'salad days', a documentary about the music scene in washington, dc, in the 1980s. it was part of the 'sound unseen' film festival, just my second visit to this festival, and first time in seven years. the screening was at bryant lake bowl in uptown minneapolis. what made this movie for me was interviews with musicians i had heard of- henry rollins, and dave grohl. i often said 'yep' or nodded in agreement with what was said in the interviews. this included when there was mention of releasing music on your own record label- the 'do it yourself' concept. it even got a laugh out of me when there was a comparison made to the 'island of misfit toys'. understanding what the nation's capital was like during that time helped, especially mention of the neighborhoods these music venues were in such as georgetown university. during my weeklong vacation in the town, i stayed in foggy bottom, close to george washington u, just blocks from the white house. i think the only mention of a big venue would have been the national mall, in reference to 'revolution summer' in 1985. i had to go to the bathroom once during the screening, waited as long as i could, but i know i didn't take long, just a minute or two. this wasn't the most ideal venue for a movie screening, as the door to the showroom was opening and closing a lot. i ordered a can of grain belt beer before the movie started, it was orange, in reference to 'pheasants forever'. i knew about this due to attending oktoberfest in new ulm. and i had a meal at the speedway gas station across the street before going inside, two slices of pizza and some peanut butter cookies. i sat on a nearby bench while eating and said to a passer-by how 'i heard that one, but didn't see it'. as i heard a 'crunch' and then 'damn!' about a block down. a car crash maybe? in that part of town, who knows? i don't know why it took me secen years to get back to this festival. there are others that i have attended more often, in st. louis park, and at st. anthony main. i did press 'like' on all three of their facebook pages, it will increase the odds that those film festivals will stay relevant to me when they happen again. at work i found out the cake from the previous day was for the birthday of a bank employee, that moves around a lot at various branches. there was a dial in meeting in the afternoon, moved up my lunch for it. but much of it was i.t. related so i was told it was fine to leave the meeting, and i did. there were other things i could get done such as overnight labels. i picked up a snoopy and woodstock 'pom hat' at walgreen during lunch, replacing the minnesota wild winter hat that i have had for twelve years. during my morning commute i said 'what the?' when i saw smoke off in the distance. i got closer and saw a car on fire, a nissan, but on the other side of the divided highway than me. then a little behind the burning car was two people hugging, possibly those who had escaped the car. during my walks i found 50 cents. 

anyone order a cake?

 near the end of my workday i was taking the overnights to the UPS box. on the table next to it, i saw a cake, from 'nothing but cake'. did not recognize the name on the receipt but i read it hadn't been there for long, about 30 minutes. i let the branch manager know, and was told it was a branch employee that i hadn't heard of. and the branch manager went to claim it. just plain weird that it wasn't brought into the branch by the courier. the boss was in and left after a half day. the two fargo files were late, approved when i was at lunch. i was able to get one of them printed and out the door by the end of the day, but not the larger one. so i guess i will run that one through the machine, more than two thousand checks, the next morning. i put in two vacation day requests for early december, still have some days left to use besides those two. during my walks i found 50 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when the friends went to a cabin and played 'never have i ever'. raj brought an oversized teddy bear to howard and bernadette. 

sunset a system

 there was two dial-in meetings at work, the first was about 'sunsetting' a system that i didn't use. but i guess most of my colleagues do. there was also mention of an employee in another department that was being too loud. i asked my vacation replacement after it was done and found out my best guess was correct. the second was in the afternoon and was considered to be a 'team huddle'. sounds like i have a 'move date' now, a month away. i said i should get some vacation days in but avoid that particular week as much as possible. there was three check copy requests from kansas city, i sent the first two shortly after the third one arrived. one file with overnights in it was approved at the end of the day, so i said it would not be going out same day. there was two lists for that file, and the first one had one more check on it than the second. looks like there was slightly different check numbers on them as well. i know when this has happened before, i would go by the payee and amount as to what to pull if check number was off by one. in the evening i got the postcards from recent travels into photo albums, had to move things around a little. smaller postcards got moved to another album, as some recent finds were kind of big, the ones from the rochester art museum that is. some souvenir stickers were moved to the binder labeled 'pocket schedules and business cards' as sometimes i also like stickers as souvenirs. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny shot the couch cushion and gets shot in the paintball game at the end of the episode because of it. this was followed by the one where we see sheldon's storage locker. 

five below, mall of america

 it was a day off due to the bank holiday. a simple way to stay occupied is to have lunch at mall of america. i went to the a and w. there is actually two, but this would be the one in the third-floor food court. i also had some ice cream, from a place where i knew i could get airline miles. but the lasting impression of the visit was the store discovery i made, a place called five below. it was the third place i went to when looking for socks, specifically with a 'simpsons' theme. the first two only sold socks and didn't have what i wanted, but i found a two-pack at this variety store. i also bought a four-pack of buttons with a 'shrek' theme. what caught my eye when walking past was a snoopy display, in one of the store's sections selling shirts. didn't buy any of those, but thankful i gave this store a look. there were plenty of 'hello kitty' items as well. surprised i hadn't heard of this store before, as according to my online search there are plenty of locations in the area. i had shopped at 'dollar stores' before, which can have some of the same items. the other thing on my list was to get a charlie brown calendar from the barnes and noble, and i did. usually, i don't get it this early, but i knew what i wanted, so why not? i also signed up for their loyalty program, something i refused to do when it was a paid membership, but now it is free to join. so it meant i was given a card, made of cardboard. just before midday i did a haircut at great clips, still works to go there. i drove to another place first, but it was still closed, at least on the day i wanted to go. there was a little bit of a wait, due to the number of people who checked in online. i like how i move up the list quickly, though, by being there in person. after getting back from the mall, i watched 'jeopardy', something i enjoy doing on a day off. in the evening i went to perform, found out i was moved down on the list by the show runner, guess i was not alone on this happening. i did bank stories and mention of ridiculous commercials on TV. during my walks i found 12 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard's mom visits and ends up analyzing penny and singing with sheldon. it was followed by the one where raj goes to see dermatologist emily, while having claire call to say she was also available. 

swan lake movie, imax

 in the afternoon i went to another movie at an AMC theater, this time it was 'swan lake', in Roseville. guess that one of their auditoriums is IMAX. i was trying to find out in advance if it was going to be subtitled, as i knew it was a production of the paris ballet. found out it didn't have to be, as they don't sing, they just dance. so it was like when i saw a belly dance version of 'wizard of oz', at the minnesota fringe festival a few years back. after a little while, i caught on with what has happening with the story despite no words. when most stories are driven by two or three characters, one would see how those onstage the most were the two that had fallen in love, and the villain. i managed to stay awake, despite being tired and in a darkened room. it helped that i switched positions every so often in my seat. there was a decent sized crowd for this screening, likely aided by it being a limited-release film. it was only scheduled for three days in theaters, and a limited number of screenings on those three days as well. this was the only one scheduled in Roseville for the day, and the last of the three days. after the movie i stopped at the nearby target store and bought two CDs. this was lady gaga's 'harlequin', and eminem's 'death of slim shady'. in the morning i did laundry. i didn't do all that much after getting home from the movie. i watched some of the pro football games, eagles beat the cowboys. then some of '60 minutes', some stories were about the election, then about the war in ukraine, and a man who is covering the war. then 'the simpsons', although it was a weird one with vignettes about various people, including the lunch lady. then some of sunday night football, lions playing the texans, but i fell asleep near the end. when i was on facebook i saw a posting about an episode of 'mr. belvedere' which had baseball hall of famers in it. i knew this show as the one bob uecker was on but hadn't seen that episode. i found it on youtube so i got a good idea of what the episode was about. during my walks i found 37 cents. 

fighting spirit movie

 in the afternoon i went to see a movie, 'fighting spirit', in edina at southdale mall. it was a documentary about military chaplains. i liked how there was some hope in it, as the main interviewee for it traveled to kansas to witness the burial of a chaplain from the korean war. i learned some things as well, which is what i had hoped for, as a history major. there was mention of 'four chaplains', from the second world war, and the chapel of the same name. i had my college roommate in mind when seeing it, the one that lives in farmington. this is who i sent a text message to shortly after i got out of the movie. i was asked about it and this was basically what i said. along with how it would be more relatable to those who had done military service. no surprise how it was released this weekend, as it is veterans day weekend. i am familiar with how documentaries usually don't get big crowds, and no one else showed up for the screening i attended. this has happened before. i arrived early for the movie and looked around the mall quite a bit before going inside the theater. i was pleased with what i got done before the movie. it was a day of chores and errand running, as usual. it meant going to the post office, three orders were picked up. also dropped off recycle near the capitol. i got groceries at aldi around midday, then went to get a sandwich at jersey mike's. this was one reason why i was early at the mall for the movie, as i didn't go home at all after the sandwich. after the movie i went home and checked email, found out i was added from the waiting list on a meetup event. it was a group i had just been added to. i let them know i would make it as soon as i could. i had to check directions online, and then it was on to the venue. it was a bowling alley in apple valley. i bowled two games, neither one did i reach the century mark, but the second game was better. i had a surly beer and a coney dog and fries while there. later on, after getting home i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 37 cents. notable songs from the day that i heard were 'roam' by the b-52's, at the bowling alley. and 'two princes', by the spin doctors, at cub foods after bowling. it was one of three places where i had stopped for cereal. first was target, near the jersey mike's, got two christmas-themed cereals despite them being out of the chex boxes with charlie brown characters on them. one of the two bought at cub was a chex box, the other was pumpkin spice mini wheats. then it was hy-vee, where i got the other three chex boxes. and now i have a receipt to submit to get the tin being offered by chex for the holiday season. seven boxes of cereal in one day, i think i am good on cereal for a little while. 

peanut bags

 i got a closer look at the conference room and storage room i had discovered the previous day at work. there was a box of peanut bags inside the toys for tots box. i ended up claiming some copy paper that was on the desk, as i can use it for printing not only the overnight labels but also the paystubs. there was a dial-in meeting in the morning, about the payroll tax forms sent to employees in various states early each calendar year. still trying to figure out the logistics with not being in the same building as the others. in the evening i went to the hy-vee in eagan for groceries and noticed some LED santas on display. a little surprised how some halloween candy was still available, i bought some more reese's peanut butter. a magazine which mentioned air fryers caught my eye and made me think of a friend from meetup groups that likes her air fryer. i heard from this friend, who sent a text message saying she has covid and likely won't be at the next micro-brewery event. during my walks i found 35 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns both had kripke in them. first was when sheldon tried to make a friend and the two go to a rock-climbing wall. then it was when adam west was a guest star at sheldon's birthday party. i liked the part when penny decided she'd be the one to give a pep-talk to sheldon after leonard and amy were arguing who was best to do so. after getting back from grocery shopping, i watched some of the college football game on fox, iowa playing at UCLA. iowa trailed at the half, i laid down and fell asleep and missed all of the second half but found out iowa still lost. 

misty, lesley gore

 i like having my car radio on at 89.3, the current, as i learned some more when driving home from work tonight. when 'misty' by lesley gore was played, the deejay said it was another song made popular again by tiktok. i guess this has happened before, although it is usually songs more recent than this one. i did find the song on youtube as well. and i did some research. there was a movie called 'play misty for me', starring clint eastwood. a different version of the same song was in the movie. and i recall an episode of 'cheers' where cliff sings it. i was more familiar with other songs by this artist. the boss was in the check shop and noticed the two monitors i was asked to set aside haven't been picked up yet. i said i hadn't heard 'word one' from either colleague that wants them. i also copied the boss on an email where it was confirmed about the outsourcing of two of the check files we service. those files have not been on time much lately. when walking past an open door to a small conference room i decided to go inside, nobody was there. a room attached to it had a desk in it and some shelves used for storage. what caught my eye the most was a box that said, 'toys for tots'. i am still discovering things about this building and have been there for a few years. it is a small room and i think this is why the department i am in didn't use it for meetings. when i went to walgreen for a snack at the end of my lunch, including a bottle of dunkin donuts coffee, i noticed plenty of charlie brown in terms on display in the seasonal section. the big box was actually a split, with harry potter items on the other half. i bought one item, a four-piece metal pin set. there was two sets available, i chose the one which includes charlie brown. the other did not, and i am a big believer in how there was more to the comic strip than just snoopy. i might pick up a few more items from this display but i prefer to pace myself, starting off with one is a good idea. i had the can of hamm's with the evening meal. then i went to the liquor store and got a can of bent brewstillery, so there still are four beers waiting. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when 'monte' the robot was destroyed by kripke's robot. it was followed by the one where the friends do karaoke after bernadette announces she's having a baby.