muffin and cheese

 i went to easter church services this morning but i didn't stay long after the service was done. i went to the fellowship hall, had some juice, a little muffin, and some cheese, and then i left. i had some other things i wanted to do. i watched a little of the college basketball tournament but not a lot. saw the end of the first half of the purdue vs. tennessee game, then i laid down and fell asleep. found out purdue won. then i turned on the radio and listened to the st. paul saints baseball game, saints beat columbus in extra innings. i tried going to a bar for an open-mic but saw nobody i knew there so i guess the mic didn't happen this week due to easter. then i went to a holiday gas station, where i had a hot dog and an oreo ice cream sandwich and dunkin iced coffee. in the evening i called my dad and said the birthday card arrived. then i did the dishes. during my walks i found 55 cents. 

call me bill movie

 late in the evening i went to see the movie 'call me bill', a documentary about actor william shatner, in woodbury. there was plenty of clips from his acting career, no surprise how 'star trek', the TV show and movies, were shown the most. i did learn something while there, how there was two pilots for the show and shatner wasn't in the first one. i liked what was said about performing, how it is hard to watch himself on film, and i can relate to this. also what was said about stand-up comedy, which shatner has done sometimes. all about the timing, how delicate it is, and how it takes the 'courage of a madman' to do it. it helped to watch a trailer for it on youtube, where i saw a clip from 'big bang theory' where he guest starred as himself. this clip did seem to tell us why the title was chosen, as it was his line on the show. a clip from 'star trek' did seem to explain a gag sometimes seen on 'theory', the weird chess board that was used by sheldon. funniest had to be when shatner was asked to speak at an event honoring george lucas, as the gag was the confusion between 'star trek' and 'Star Wars', then seeing storm troopers try to haul him away. also liked hearing a song done with brad paisley, in reference to being a celebrity. i got plenty of things done before then. in the morning there was three things on my list. i got a can of german beer at a liquor store, so now there are four beers waiting. then i walked over to the post office, three e-bay orders were picked up, all were baseball cards. then i had a blizzard treat at dairy queen, mint brownie. then i went home for short time and when i went out again it was to jersey mike's for a sandwich. used more points for a free sandwich, and it was the first time having more than just chips and a drink with it as i got some  'tastykake krimpets'. reminded me of hostess or dolly madison zingers. it was afternoon by then so it was time for the college basketball tournament on ABC, the iowa women beat colorado 89-68. after the game i got groceries at aldi, and since i had some time before the movie started i went over to the nearby target store. i got a lunchables with capri sun and chocolate chip cookies, and consumed it before i went to see the movie. during my walks i found 52 cents. 

ornaments adopted

 i wasn't expecting to find christmas ornaments on easter weekend, but i did at work. it was in the hall near the check shop. some boxes and bags were marked as 'trash'. i got a look at the brown paper grocery bag full of ornaments and 'adopted' three of them. this was two santas and a star, which said 'happy holidays'. one santa looks taller than the other due to the hat being shaped like a dunce cap. i found branches for all three on my table-top tree when i got home. i also claimed a scale-model car, a t-bird, from this bag. at the end of the day i noticed the box of wrapping paper rolls was moved into the breakroom. in the afternoon i grumbled about being asked to intercept a check. i had done it before but this time there was two that i found and i didn't like having to guess which one. the request was late, so it was after i had run checks through the machine and it meant going only by payees when already in envelopes. when i found two for the same payee i was told to send out one but not the other. a meeting with a business line for early next week has already been moved back a week. near the end of the day i decided to unarchive a work goal as i was told by the boss how the team needed goals in by the end of the day. after work i went to a fish fry. i had been to the one at this church before, and knew the turn-off was tricky. make a turn and stay on the road that gets you up the hill, stay straight and the road name changes and you miss it. some fire-fighters were just outside the building when i arrived, guess they were there to eat just like me. i paid and got a slip of blue paper, then i sat down and a volunteer took my ticket and brought my meal. the potato was still hot to the touch when i unwrapped it from the foil. an older couple was at the table, and when i spoke of being an iowa native the man said he was from iowa as well, humboldt. after i was done i went home for a short time, then went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries. then i watched some of the college basketball tournament, duke was playing houston. i laid down at halftime and fell asleep, missed the second half, but found out duke won a close one. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 46 cents. 

french brittany dancing

 after work i went to the french alliance and did brittany dancing. it was the third and final session of the series i had seen in their regular emails. liked seeing a bagpipe as part of the musical instruments. the musicians were in the middle of the floor and we danced around them. this was the same room where i did their 'discotheque night' back in december. i preferred the 'circle' or 'chain' dances as no partner was needed. i sat out most of the partnered dances as i didn't bring one to the venue. i liked how i stayed active for most of the event, and i could tell as i ended up sweating. and i already knew how i don't enjoy being idle, as it gives me too much time to think. the price of this event was less than a meetup dancing event i had done before. if this event was offered again, i could consider going. before it started i went to the gallery room to see what art was on display, but not a lot was there. the art is often why i have been making regular visits to their building in recent years. i would like to think i did enough exercise from the dancing that i burned off much of the big meal i had, a gyro and fries. at work there was four check copy requests in the afternoon. i still like seeing the goodies for employee appreciation week. i had some more fruit cups. when i went to walgreen during my lunch i picked up a special magazine about basketball player caitlin clark. i have enjoyed reading it already, and liked how there is a section covering some famous athletes that are also iowa natives including kurt warner and bob feller. during my walks i found 25 cents. 

cracked cereal bowl

 in the morning i noticed a cereal bowl was cracked. it was the one i bought from target over a year ago, i had dropped it when washing it this past week. i got some work done and shortly after the nearby dollar tree opened for the day i found another one there. the replacement is a green plastic bowl. i wanted to continue to have seven bowls in the lineup, one for each day of the week. i bought some other items while there, some dish soap as well as two charlie brown books. nice how there is a wide variety of items there, for very little. i had been there a few times before. at work the employee luncheon was postponed, i knew this could happen as it had happened with previous luncheons. the boss and some others were reported by email as working from home, with the boss it was due to gout. i was still able to get mail delivered though, as some were still in the office. it is employee appreciation week so there was plenty of goodies on the upper level. i had two fruit cups and a bottle of apple juice, along with two cookies. one check i had overnighted just two days earlier had already been returned, listed as 'refused'. i was given an alternate address and it was sent out again. i had a bottle of miller with the evening meal so there are three beers waiting. 'the conners' was a rerun. later on i went on a walk and found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon was on the radio about a theory that was disproven by leonard. it was followed by the one where the friends take a train to san francisco and penny is called about a flash drive. 

steve martin documentary

 recently there was a segment on a morning news show on CBS about actor-comedian steve martin, about an upcoming documentary. i found it on youtube. i liked how there was many career highlights in it but did not see a clip from 'planes trains and automobiles', the movie he did that i know best. hopefully it is in the full documentary. and it means finding out how to watch it. if on cable TV or streaming services, i don't have those. looks like it was another day at work where most of my colleagues decided to work from home due to the weather. i didn't mind that much. i took a slight detour during the morning commute after seeing on a video board what the delay would be on the main road. at least i was moving, that was the main thing i cared about. there were some emails sent to me that were requests to overnight checks, and i didn't see those two checks until the second i-pay file. it is still working well to cut the two fargo files in half, or into thirds, and print some smaller files in between. i am printing about a thousand checks at a time, and still no cases of the printer shutting off in the middle like earlier in the year. at the end of the day my car was picked up from the shop, muffler replacement. first song i heard from the radio was 'second chance' by shinedown. i like the video for it, where a young lady leaves behind her family to chase the dream of being a ballerina. 'night court' had roz from the show's original run appearing, getting married in the courtroom. later on i went on a walk and found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj saw lucy again after penny spotted her in a bar, then various people say 'what is wrong with you?' after penny fixes him up and it goes badly. it was followed by the one where penny shoots a couch cushion with a paintball gun. 

alternate parking

when i went to perform this evening i had to find alternate parking as the first pay station i went to wasn't working. it meant paying a little more but it wasn't too big of a deal to me. i went on early and did some bank stories. later on the show runner did the happy birthday song for me as one of my stories was about a delayed birthday card. i caught the ending of the iowa women's basketball game at the bar, iowa beat west virginia 64-54. at work i was emailed two overnight requests from the fraud file.  used my snow shovel for the first time in a while in the morning, although it was slushy by then as rain followed the snow. during my walks i found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when bob newhart was a guest star, and said 'back off, bowtie' to bill nye. it was followed by the one where leonard's mom shows up and leonard drinks wirh penny. 

nut roll, vending machine

 even with the snowstorm, i still ventured out a little throughout the day. one stop was to a vending machine at a laundromat, got a nut roll there. another was to a gas station for an ice cream sandwich. i stayed busy with going through my baseball card collection, found a few more slots to free up. watched some of the college basketball tournament, purdue won big against utah state. i liked how the big man for purdue, zach edey, was direct during the post-game interview. i laid down for a while and caught the second half of 'the simpsons', where marge was getting kids to a concert but apps were deleted. i know this is common now at many venues, where tickets are now on smartphone apps. i read through the golden books i had recently ordered, 'ghostbusters', 'shrek', and 'space jam 2'. all were condensed stories. during my walks i found 1 dollar 27 cents. 

color changer toy

 when i went grocery shopping at aldi i noticed some thomas the tank engine toys in one aisle. these were color changers, and i got the one that said thomas although some others from this story were available such as diesel. much like the hot wheels scale model cars, it is likely that i will keep it in the package. this was after i had the evening meal. in the morning i went to the post office, one order was picked up. it was the three golden books from amazon. before that i dropped off the recycle near the capitol. after the post office, i got lunch at the holiday gas station, a rib sandwich and hash browns. in the afternoon the iowa women played the opener of the national basketball tournament on ABC against holy cross. iowa started off flat but won 91-65 and had second stringers finishing the game. no surprise how there was some more caitlin clark commercials during the game, a newer one from state farm as well as one from xfinity. i liked the former as it has a sia song in it, 'unstoppable'. i watched some of the men's tournament on CBS as well, tennessee beat texas in a close one. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 dollars 54 cents. 

delayed courier

 most notable about the day at work was how the arrival of the courier was delayed. after being more than an hour late i called the number i had and i was told the courier's car was in the shop, and a fill-in was found. just minutes later, i get an i.m. from a colleague saying a call was being sent my way. except i see the colleague as i leave the check shop and i am asked to let in the fill-in. we got the mail, and the tubs, then i went to lunch. the PDF check file was a higher volume than typical, especially in the morning, over four hundred. i still check each one and there was some overnights in it. i was asked to overnight a check from the fraud file, which is printed in the afternoon. when i wanted to send the tracking number i noticed there was more than one employee with that name in the address book. it was the one from missouri, suburban st. louis. i spoke of visiting that city annually. after work i had a fish sandwich at mcdonald's. after i got home i decided to get groceries at a target and walgreen instead of hy-vee. this included some pizza rolls from the latter. i watched some of the college basketball tournament. some of these upsets don't surprise me much. james madison beat wisconsin, and as the saying goes if you let a team hang around for too long it is harder to erase the deficit. later on i went on a walk and found 2 dollars 37 cents. 

use an older icon

 at work i was asked to use an older icon for check printing after there was issues getting logged back in due to a server re-boot. i said i was fine with logging off for the re-boot only after the two largest files of the day were printed, both fargo files. and when i was able to print again, it was not a moment too soon as there was plenty of afternoon files waiting for me. a check was picked up late in the day, i didn't mind when i was asked about it. i said i do have a cut-off time for dropping off mail though. i stayed in for most of the evening due to snow in the forecast. i went through my baseball card collection and freed up two slots for cards i just ordered on e-bay. as an iowa native i have met casey blake, who played for various major league teams. i watched a little of the college basketball tournament, oakland won in an upset over kentucky. i drank the can of wabasha with the evening meal so now four beers are waiting. during my walks i found 1 dollar 11 cents. 

kenosha kickers

 i went to an event after work at a writer organization i am a member of. now i am told we will called 'friends' instead of 'members'. a chalkboard asked your favorite music acts, and one answer was the kenosha kickers. i knew this as john candy's band in the movie 'home alone'. looks like, based on online searches, there are many listings of souvenirs available with this band's name on it. along with a story about the inspiration behind the band, or at least who played the band members. i was one of the readers at the open-mic, and some found me after the event was done and said they liked what i had read. how it was relatable to write about walking. i had some cheese and crackers before it began. and i went to a gas station nearby after it was done and got some godfather's pizza, along with eggo-flavored milk. no doubt i could taste the syrup in it. at work i got more tax forms done, just under four hundred. machine was jamming a lot, otherwise i would have done more. but we are nearing the end on this project. when i got back from mcdonald's witrh a shamrock shake my boss was in the shop. but we found out there was no duplicated checks that we were asked to search for. late in the evening i went on a walk and dound 26 cents. 

duplicated overnight label

 early in the day i liked figuring out what had happened with the overnight packages from the previous day. i had created 26 overnight labels but the number sent to the drop-box was 25. i wondered why one was missing and checked history, noticing i had duplicated one of them. i found out which one wasn't sent out and voided that one. i like knowing it is few and far between on voiding labels. this may have been the first time i had duplicated one. despite the high volume of checks to print, it was nice to get out earlier than the previous day. but i am aware of how it makes a difference on how early i finish with the overnight labels, and if there are any in the second i-pay file. in the evening i wrote poetry inspired by a long walk i did recently as i wanted to have new material for an event at a writers organization i belong to. later on i went on a walk and found 38 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard got back early from the north sea and spent time with penny, but was caught in the act by sheldon. howard was emotional due to applying estrogen to his mom. it was followed by the one where sheldon is a hypochondriac with dr. stephanie and she tells him to stop talking, while leonard keeps telling penny that he and dr. stephanie are not living together. 

delayed birthday card

 i checked the mail and there was a delayed birthday card from my dad. finally arrived and was postmarked more than two weeks ago. guess this has happened with other mail before, as it has happened with cards from mom as well. then i was off to perform. i went early in the lineup and this is something i prefer as i was tired. i didn't do a bank story this time but i did a karaoke story. at work i ran a thousand more tax forms through the machine for payroll so there is about a thousand left. otherwise there wasn't too much out of the ordinary. the toner cartridge arrived so i guess i can tell them to close the book on the recent maintenance ticket. during my walks i found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns are when leonard is in the north sea, while amy and bernadette are at a convention together. both bad-mouth the guy that the other lady is with but are attracted to men that are just like who they bad-mouthed. it was followed by the one where dr. stephanie gives stitches to leonard and he cries. 

giving tree, shel silverstein

 i made a nice find at a little free library, it was the book called 'giving tree' by shel silverstein. i was familiar with this author due to his also writing songs made famous by loretta lynn, as well as johnny cash. but i think this was the first time i had read any of his books. when i was young i recall there was a 'giving tree' at church where people could leave gifts, guess that name was inspired by this book. it was about a tree that kept giving to a man over the course of the man's life, kind of a sad story. i recall this being the theme of some postage stamps i had bought during a visit to st. louis. a week earlier i had found four books on a walk, i decided to keep two of them. not just the art book, but also one about jonas salk. and i decided to leave the other two at this little free library when i got a look at what was already there. i am pleased with having all three of these books. i stayed in for much of the day, didn't have a lot to do. i went through the baseball cards i had bought a week earlier and got them in to binders. i did go eat at IKEA for lunch as i wanted to use one of my birthday offers, free cake. i got the swedish meatball meal. i have one offer left to use, at redbox. i placed another order for golden books at amazon, paying with the gift cards i had earned recently. when i went to aldi i got more than just the animal crackers i needed for my lunch at work, i also got some cookies as well as sliced cheese. in the evening i went on a walk and found 63 cents. 

one love movie

 this afternoon i went to see the movie 'one love', the bio-pic about musician bob marley, in eagan. notable about being there was using my birthday offer, a free small popcorn. except the tub looked pretty big to be a small, but no complaints from me! i wasn't too familiar with the subject of the movie, mainly being name-checked in a red hot chili peppers song. along with the song/movie title being in a TV commercial for the jamaican tourist bureau. but after seeing the movie i said 'oh, i guess i had heard that one before' about many of his songs. i had heard of his son, ziggy, who does the intro to the movie. when i was hearing 'rastafari' in the movie, fairly often, it reminded me of a 'simpsons' episode where homer wears a jamaican hat. it compares well with the many other musician bio-pics i had seen. it helps that it ends on a high note, as it is the best way to end the story. hard to say what will be the next movie that i will see in theaters. although there was a big display in this theater for the upcoming 'ghostbusters' movie where one can tag themselves in photos. i got plenty done before seeing the movie. there was checking my box at the post office, no orders to pick up but i still tossed the flyer in my box into the recycle bin. then it was on to great clips for a haircut. nice how the wait wasn't too long, there was more staff than on previous visits. then it was on to jersey mike's for a sandwich, using points to make it free one as it was one of my birthday offers. after the movie i had a blizzard treat at the nearby dairy queen. then i went home and laid down, fell asleep for a while, waking up with just enough time to get groceries at aldi, after i got back i noticed i got everything except animal crackers, so i can make a return visit the next day. then i went to sing karaoke. i did two songs, 'unstoppable' by sia, and 'losing my religion' by REM. i got green beads during the first song. when i was drinking my beer at the bar after the first song, a dude spoke of going into the wrong bathroom. then he sounded like a nut, about who is in control of everything. i was happier when he left the bar area. during my walks i found 52 cents. 

 

unused garlic

 i went to a fish fry after work at a church in the east metro. i noticed there was garlic available but i didn't use any at all, left it on the table. probably was meant for the flat bread. once i sat down at a table i noticed a young boy kept staring at me but i said nothing, i just went about my business of eating. eventually i spoke with the man next to me about various subjects, there was three kids at the table, two boys and a girl. we are nearing the end of lent and i already have ideas for meals for the next two fridays. it was nice taking the time to sit and enjoy the meal. other times i am picking up a take-out meal on the way home from work. i drank water out of coffee cups, i didn't mind. at work i ran more than a thousand tax forms through the machine, first chance i had to do so after getting caught up on running checks through. there is about two thousand left. there was a dust-up about a check from the previous day that i didn't overnight. i said i was only overnighting two as one of the emails was duplicated. it would have been the opportunity to tell me there still was three and what the third one was. when heading home i dropped off a box of check stock at a UPS facility as another bank office needed it. after the meal i went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries, including two more boxes of cereal. some still are listed as a manager special. later on i went on a walk and found 50 cents. 

easel going to NYC

 i move outgoing packages for UPS down to the branch whenever i see it. there was three items and one of them is an easel. after doing so i let the branch manager know that it was beyond me as to why the bank was sending an easel to NYC. but it inspired me to listen to taylor swift's 'welcome to new york' sometime soon, and i did this evening. also notable about the workday was a meeting in the afternoon, a dial-in about the un-printable pages we see when printing checks. our i.t. people saw what was happening and cleared them and said a call would be placed to the provider about it. i am still finding some annoying things on a singles site on facebook. there was a posting where one group member spoke of stealing hoodies from family members and i said to myself this is somebody i don't care to meet at all so i blocked this individual. i am aware of how hoodies are a popular item, i have two and one was a giveaway at a st. paul saints baseball game. but i don't see this as somebody that i can trust with anything if i hear this before even meeting them. 'young sheldon' had a storyline about mary re-joining the baptist church. yet another thing that i see being done just for the punchline. i know this is supposed to be a comedy show, which means punchlines are to be expected, but it still seems like the writers are trying too hard and this makes it harder for the show to go out strong in its final season. i drank the can of miller with the evening meal so now there are five beers waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 51 cents. 

blank pages piling up

 my boss and vacation replacement were in the shop in the morning and we saw how the blank pages are piling up from the check printing. it is proven that they are un-printable and seem to be a cover page for each check file. and i have had to highlight and then hit 'print selected' to get anything printed. a meeting about it was set up for the afternoon, then moved back a day. another meeting was actually a luncheon and scheduled for next week, then moved back a week. it will celebrate birthdays for me and my vacation replacement. volume is still high on the fargo files, sent out four mail tubs at the end of the day. backlog went down, but still a little over two thousand. next day is more likely on eliminating it since the volume should be much lower. at lunchtime i got another shamrock shake at mcdonald's. in the evening i got two beers at the liquor store near me, a modelo and a voodoo ranger, so now six beers are waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 6 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the dudes played d and d, then the ladies joined them after their las vegas trip was a no-go. it was followed by the one where we meet ramona, and the song 'be my yoko ono' is playing as she takes over sheldon's life. i am still watching 'the conners' because i like john goodman. except they still aren't showing louise that much and the fighting between darlene and becky over who is smarter was an annoying storyline. 

me and my broken heart, rixton

 recently i was out and about and heard a song and had to pause. i found out it was 'me and my broken heart' by rixton. research said the british band is now known as push baby. there was mention of how it was based on 'lonely no more' by rob thomas, an interpolation of it. this may be why i liked it as i agreed with how i didn't want to be angry anymore. surprised a little how i missed it being a hit as it reached the top 20 on the billboard hot 100 but it must not have been on the radio stations i was listening to. the video shows a poker game between the band and con artists and the police show up to raid the game. and we see scenes in a boxing club as well. i guess this is more proof of how music can be calming. at work i largely got caught up on the backlog after the server issues. had to figure out which one of the three choices given on what check printer to use. all checks are printed, three mail tubs went out at the end of the day. there still are some checks from a fargo file that need to be run through the machine but it shouldn't take that long the next day. especially if my vacation replacement expressed interest in helping run them through. we spoke by phone in the morning, he did another day of working from home, spoke of being ill. 'night court' had a story about sheep and a psychic, and more mention of abby's dad. later on i went on a walk and found 78 cents. 

stuck cartridge, server issues

 the toner cartridge was still stuck in the printer until almost midday, when a tech arrived and freed it. it took some jiggling and wiggling to get it out. then it meant putting in another one as the stuck one was empty. before then my boss said to have some checks, including for our tax specialist, printed at the branch. had to figure out check stock placement as the branch manager first gave me checks printed upside down. i cleared the backlog, then went to lunch and there was server issues. so more unprinted files at the end of the day. the system listed them as printed but didn't print them. it meant just one mail tub of checks went out at the end of the day. i sent out as much as i could. i went to perform in the evening, i went on near the end. one of the stories was hearing a word for the first time at work in an email. i liked chatting about performing with the mad hatter, who is still singing in spanish. during my walks i found 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when raj did a photo shoot with people magazine. 

scenes from childhood

 i went on a long walk around the neighborhood after watching a basketball game. not only did i find some coins, i found books on a bench at a former bus stop. one of them was 'scenes from childhood'. it was paintings my mary bruce sharon. i like having it, hadn't heard of this artist before. sounds like grandma moses, only starting painting later in life. i liked not having much to do for the day. i used one of my birthday offers, at caribou coffee. so now there are four left. then i made it back home to start watching a college basketball game. the iowa women were playing nebraska in the big ten conference tournament championship. iowa trailed at the half but found a way to tie it and won in overtime. in the evening i watched 'the simpsons', a parody of 'love boat'. during my walks i found 1 dollar 11 cents. and i found the time to shred some junk mail. 

baseball cards, best buy

 i had another best buy gift certificate to use, and i wanted to use it soon since it is expiring in two weeks. so i went to the eagan location to get a pack of baseball cards. except there weren't any. a team member said the roseville location had some so eventually i went there. a team member saw what i was getting and said he hoped there was a good card in it. except i didn't know the player's name he mentioned, found it was a player for the reds. i said i hoped some of my older cards are worth something, such as a nolan ryan. after i was done there i went to a bar to watch a college basketball game. the big ten tournament was on, and the iowa women were playing michigan in a semifinal. iowa was ahead at the half and won big, even had all second stringers finishing the game. plans are to watch the championship at home as it is on CBS. i didn't do much after getting back from the bar. i picked up some small food items at a holiday gas station, including a pb and j sandwich, as i had nachos in addition to beer at the bar. i did plenty before i went to best buy. there was going to the post office, two orders picked up. dropping off recycle at the capitol. printing an event ticket at the copy store. along with going to aldi for groceries. and sometimes it can be hard to read my facebook news feed, even after unfriending and unfollowing some. there was a posting from the flautist, who moved to texas a while back. she spoke of breaking her flute onstage, on purpose, out of frustration. also of having multiple sclerosis, and essentially giving up. i don't know how to respond to all of that, so i didn't. during my walks i found 1 dollar 21 cents. before midday i got a bottle of miller at the liquor store near me so now four beers are waiting. 

new zealand coin

 i went to hy-vee in eagan tonight and it was nice finding a foreign coin in the return slot at the coin counter. it was a 2-dollar coin from new zealand. online research said the bird on it is an egret. it will go in the tin with the others. after work i picked up a fish dinner from the ukraine center in northeast minneapolis. it was a long day at work, as just before midday the check printer went down. needed to swap out the toner cartridge and it is stuck inside the machine. technician is not arriving until monday at the earliest. looks like the iowa women beat penn state in their first game of the conference tournament and will play michigan in the next round. during my walks i found 2 dollars 36 cents. 

birthday offers

 i find out it can be good to sign up for loyalty programs. my birthday is this month and i have seen five offers. there is IKEA, caribou coffee, the eagan movie theater, redbox, and jersey mike's sandwiches. two of them i signed with in the past year, the sandwich shop and movie theater. i will have to check as to how long i have to use all of them, i know for caribou it is one week but that is longer than it had been in some years. at work there was plenty of overnight labels to do, and some of them arrived later than typical. when there was a stop payment request on a check that i overnighted last week, i said that is your business to request one. of course, another department has to handle stop payments. how it got misplaced at the branch is beyond me. i drank the can of watermelon vodka with the evening meal so now three beers are waiting. i watched president biden's state of the union address and the republican response, which was given by alabama senator katie britt. the lead-off program of the night, 'young sheldon', was about sheldon and his mom returning from germany. finally there was another scene about his dad being a football coach, i feel like that is not covered often enough and all too often it is just a punchline when it is. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 36 cents. 

snoopy hershey kisses

 for the valentine day candy holiday i got plenty of snoopy hershey kisses. this was two boxes and a bag. still working on them. i noticed there are plenty of characters from the comic strip represented on the wrappers, besides just snoopy. i haven't opened the bag yet but i noticed the wrappers from the two boxes are in red, as well as pink. the top half of the box has snoopy on it so i consider this to be the souvenir i was looking for that will go next to the others. once the bag is emptied, same thing. at work, two boxes of envelopes arrived, picked up from the branch near the end of the day. still wondering about the rest of the monthly supply order. in the morning i did another online class, three completed now, and just one left. i placed another order for an amazon gift card with the points i was given this week. with how much i have in gift cards now, my next amazon order is likely a free one. just a question of what i get, and when. i know there are some CDs and DVDs on my list. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 26 cents. there were no 'big bang theory' reruns on as the state high school hockey tournament was on. hermantown was way ahead against alexandria when i swtiched it back after watching 'the conners', already a rerun, and the news. 

caitlin clark shirt

 after work i went to scheels in eden prairie, at the mall, and picked up a caitlin clark shirt. this is the white one that nike just released after she broke another scoring record this weekend. i got a bottle of powerade as well. i got a good look around at the store, it has two levels and the shirt i wanted was on the lower level. there is a ferris wheel inside this store but i didn't ride it. i got a picture of the herb brooks mannequin, honoring the famous olympic hockey coach. as a u of iowa grad i see getting the shirt as a way of representing my school. there are some hawkeye huddles this weekend as the big ten women's basketball tournament is at the target center. i will try to attend one, as my schedule allows. at work i know things will get better as the branch manager let me know when i was in the breakroom for lunch how some boxes arrived, it was the overnight envelopes i had ordered. i did not send out a high number of the PDF checks as i noticed there was a payee but no mailing address on it. i sent out an email to various shared boxes and managers to let them know. i ordered a st. paul saints baseball ticket for april vs. the iowa cubs, after getting notice i had a credit from a rainout in september. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 11 cents. 

back to south dakota

 a colleague who was back for work said near the end of the day that she was driving back to south dakota soon. she had been in the office for a week and i found this out when she was across the fence looking at benefit records in the afternoon. she spoke of plans of being back in the spring. hopefully i am in the office at that time, as i do like seeing familiar faces. but i likely will be as i don't take that much time off. there was two requests in the afternoon on the fraud file, a check intercept and a check pull to have it overnighted. i grumbled about it but i found both. i am used to the intecept requests by now. i ended up getting points from it that i can use to get another amazon gift card. but it left me behind on my work. in the morning i did an online class. four of them are due at the end of the month, so now three are left. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 cents. the 'big banh theory' rerun was when howard ate peanuts to keep leonard at the hospital a little longer to help with the surprise party plans. 

maestro movie

 went to a late screening of a movie, 'maestro', that was finished in the early morning, in eagan. i had seen plenty of movies that brad cooper is in, including 'a star is born'. and i do like bio-pics, especially about musicians. i was largely unfamiliar with the subject of this movie, composer/conductor leonard bernstein, besides being name-checked in an REM song, 'it's the end of the world as we know it'. the song is in the movie. i did read up on mr. bernstein before seeing the movie, which is up for oscars. impressive what he accomplished, such as doing the music for 'west side story', as well as kennedy center honors. cooper played bernstein, who also directed it. also recognized sarah silverman, who plays his sister. and as a charlie brown and snoopy fan i liked seeing snoopy appear twice, as a plush doll and as a macy's parade balloon. when i woke up i wanted to get started fairly early on laundry, so i could have it finished before a college basketball game began on Fox. the iowa women were playing ohio state, starting at midday. caitlin clark passed pete maravich for the scoring record with a free throw just before halftime and iowa went on to win, 93-83. next up is the conference tournament, iowa's first game will be friday. the alumni chapter will have gatherings related to the tournament games, unsure if i will attend any of them. i know the championship will be on local TV on sunday, on CBS, so no need to go to a bar to see that one. in the evening, after i went to perform, i did order a caitlin clark trading card on e-bay. while performing i did do more bank stories, and mention of attending a fish fry. later on i went on a walk and found 81 cents. 

drive away dolls movie

 just before midday i went to a screening of the movie 'drive away dolls' in inver grove heights. multiple reasons for why i picked this one. there was a good write-up about it in the minneapolis paper, and i like road movies. i had seen plenty of coen movies as well. i had seen some movies with margaret qualley before, among them 'novitiate' as well as 'sanctuary'. matt damon was in it as a senator. and it led to me looking up 'the europeans' by henry james as one of the ladies reads it. sounds like this novella was an inspiration for the movie. it takes place in 1999, guess that explains why we see them driving a k-car, a dodge aries. i picked up a poster after i had seen the movie and got a frame for it at target. this was after i had a sandwich at jersey mike's, near the target. when i got home i framed it right away, and i got a look at the other things i had framed. a nice chicago bears print showing soldier field had been unframed for a while but now it is again. i decided that a caricature of me from a company outing many years ago wasn't as worthy for framing as the bears poster. nothing to pick up at the post office, i got some hash browns and a hot apple pie from a holiday gas station on the way to the movie. i got a can of bud light from the liquor store near me so now four beers are waiting. i went to get groceries at aldi after i had the evening meal. i got a look at what was in sheet protectors in a binder and consolidated some more in order to get more recognition from work into the binders. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 dollars 44 cents. 

call them gentlemen

 i was picking up a fish dinner from a catholic church near work at the end of the day and a lady i paid for the dinner decided to refer to two boys seated nearby as 'gentlemen'. i said i liked it more than some other things, definitely better than 'sonny'. i was fine with paying an extra dollar for a brownie. i not only got fish, but also a baked potato, cole slaw, green beans, and some garlic bread. at work it was a big day of ordering in the morning. putting in the monthly supply order of check stock and envelopes was just the beginning. there was also a re-order of UPS envelopes since the order from two weeks ago didn't arrive. as well as ordering an amazon gift card since i got more points for intercepting checks this week. in the evening i went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries. i saw a display for gatorade with caitlin clark. i had bought her frosted flakes cereal previously. part of the day was trying to figure out logistics for the weekend, and i think i got it done. definitely want to see the iowa women's basketball game vs. ohio state, on fox, on sunday. and there are two movies i would like to see as well. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj and howard bought a 3-d printer. it was followed by the one where we meet missy, sheldon's sister, and all of his friends want to date her.