iron mountain boxes picked up

 at midday i was called and found out the dude from iron mountain had arrived. but i was confused as there was an email about not arriving until next week. except i re-read it and that was about the destruction of the media such as the microfiche. this was to pick up eight boxes that were in the check shop. when the driver took ownership of them i was given a form that i will file with the others. i wasn't home for long after work, basically long enough to have the evening meal, a can of hormel chili heated up in a saucepan on the stove. then it was to the comedy club, where i performed just before the show closer, also the show runner. i mostly did bank stories. guess i did watch a little TV as well while eating chili. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when 'almost paradise' is played when raj longs for a lady, and when sheldon wants to work with bert again. it was followed by the one where lucy bails on the first date with raj, saying she needed to go to the bathroom. penny appears on 'fun with flags' and helps sheldon with looking more open to the audience. during my walks i found 26 cents. 

counting microfiche

 after a morning dial-in meeting at work i was asked to count the microfiche as the team overseeing the destruction of it needed an accurate count. and the senior leader saying 'two hundred plus' wasn't good enough. it took a while to count, and four more computer discs were found in the tray and envelopes with the fiche. looks like all told it was just over one thousand five hundred pieces of fiche. some of it went back over thirty years, when i showed one of the envelopes to the dude who drops off and picks up mail he said he was in a refugee camp in that particular year. all of this left me behind on my normal duties, on a day where the fargo checks are high volume. despite this, i was able to get all but a thousand checks out the door, and the rest i can do the next morning. the toner cartridge arrived, and this time my name was on the box. i have the spare one again that i really needed after all of the arguing i had to do on the ticket opened with the help desk. the fringe festival is coming up, and much like in previous years i knew i needed to write out my schedule to see that i get to everything. it means this saturday will be the busiest, with ushering shifts as well as attending shows. but aside from that it is no doubt manageable. first ushering shift is thursday. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 55 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when raj meets lucy at a singles event at the comic-book store, then says 'later losers'. while amy gets calls about being sheldon's emergency contact and spoke of one of them being an ice cteam headache. 

flautist returns

 i performed at an open mic in the evening and i was informed that the flautist had returned from texas. when she was onstage, she spoke of being back for only a short time and then will be moving to paris, france, to be a teacher. her flute playing sounded as good as before, i think she had moved to texas two years ago. in my set i started off with bank stories and usually i don't, and there were some good ones that the branch manager had shared with me. also about volunteer training. at work i got a little farther on another box that had stapled items in it, using a staple remover whenever there was a few extra minutes available. the one meeting scheduled for the morning was canceled as the vacation replacement was out of the office. guess the content of it will be moved to the team huddle the next day. during my walks i found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard and amy work together and it makes others jealous, specifically sheldon as well as raj. then it leads to bernadette tricking sheldon into doing chores, much like in 'ton sawyer'. it was followed by the one where leonard is annoyed with sheldon and wants to move in with penny, while amy wants to move in with sheldon but nobody wanted to be honest with anyone about it. 

tulsa king

 in the evening i watched most of an episode of 'tulsa king' on CBS, joined in progress early on as i was doing other things first. pretty good, i had seen plenty of shows starring sylvester stallone before. i noticed it was edited for television as one scene said 'damn' and one could tell it was dubbed. a gangster that had moved to oklahoma, i understood that much before watching it. i liked how there was not much to do for the day. in the morning i did laundry. i wanted to get started early on it as i knew the olympic games from paris were on, specifically a basketball game. the USA men's team played serbia, first game of the tournament, and the americans won 110-84 after leading by 9 at the half. i joined it midway through the second quarter so i saw more than half of the game. i don't watch the NBA much so i don't know all of the players on the american team, although like most i am quite familiar with lebron james and steph curry. looking at what is in the olympic lineup, it looks like this is the only sport i will be watching on NBC. three sports are of interest to me, and baseball is not part of this year's lineup. another one, boxing, is only on streaming or online apparently. most likely i can still find highlights on youtube, it seems like just about everything can be found on that site. once the game was done it was midday by then, i had lunch and then i laid down for a while after putting away laundry. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 87 cents. since it is warm i did go to a nearby gas station as well, got a can of tea and lemonade as well as an ice cream sandwich. 

walnut cake at festival

 i was double-booked for events for the day but i didn't mind. in the early evening i went to the greek festival at a church in st. paul. i had a gyro sandwich, fries, and a bottle of mythos beer. i went inside and got a look at the bake sale and got some walnut cake as well. i had been here before so i didn't feel the need to do the church tour, in the sanctuary. there were a few people dancing to the music when i was eating my food, but not a lot. i did have a nice feeling while there. i can point to attending festivals as to one thing that helped turn my life around emotionally. life is for the living, we are only here for so long, let's celebrate our time here! there are so many kinds of festivals- for art, celebrating ethnic heritage, a sense of community (including but not limited to a place of worship), or a combination of those. around midday i went to the other event i had booked, it was training for the fringe festival, for volunteer staff that is. a little bummed that the rarig venue at the u. of minnesota is not part of the lineup this time. i like the festival's policy about interacting with patrons, how it is best to ask first. i don't enjoy unsolicited help, or advice, so this policy is one i can get behind. i knew well enough to get started early on my drive there as i wanted to get some godfather's pizza from the bobby and steve's. i picked up my shirt while there and got my card as well, which holds my credits i can use to attend some shows. based on what i read, if i am interested in attending four shows i have booked enough volunteer shifts for it, which is three. the training session counts as one as well. after the greek festival i went to a walgreen near me to pick up some things, and i liked hearing lissie's 'best days' while inside the store. after the training i went to the liquor store near me and got a can of bud ice, so four beers are waiting. i went to the aldi for groceries as well, but a power outage meant the refrigerated aisles were not available. most of what i normally get there, i could still get. i went to a target and got a poster frame, along with the milk and orange juice i needed. during my walks i found 1 dollar 10 cents. 

contrary kid in branch

 in the morning at work i was asked by a senior leader to check if the laptops had been picked up, and they were. something about updates to them. while there in the branch area a banker asked what i was doing there, unaware that i hadn't moved yet downtown like most of my colleagues had. but this banker is not in our location that much, i mostly see her on fridays. she asked about my boss, as well as a colleague that i said had left in august due to absenteeism. while there i saw a lady arrive with her contrary kid, and the little girl said she had to pee and was getting in the way of me leaving the branch. when another banker got back from the safe deposit box area, i finally left through the same door. later on the branch manager asked where a mop could be found, unsure if these two things were related. i am still finding a few things with the bank's logo on it, this time a nail clipper. also some items with an old bank name on it- brochures, as well as a letter opener. some of these will get used, some will go into sheet protectors in a binder. in the afternoon i was trading instant messages related to a ticket i opened to get a toner cartridge for the check printer. i let them know that it was arriving with the wrong name on it, a branch manager in california that i have never worked with. in the evening i went to the hy-vee in eagan, seven items were bought. and three more at the speedway gas station as the grocery store was sold out of the minneapolis paper. i got the last copy at the gas station. later in the evening i went on a walk and found 72 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny talks with leonard's mom, while amy as well as leonard are upset about it. and it was followed by the one where sheldon and kripke work together on a grant proposal, while kripke thinks sheldon's work is subpar because of dating amy. 

laptop return boxes

 there was two laptop return boxes that i picked up from the branch at work. it looked simple to get them in the box, just slide them under the plastic. then i taped up the box and put the return label on it and they are ready to go. i call them 'urbancrest boxes' as that is where they are being sent to. actually there was a third, for an employee that just retired last week on another team. that manager said the box also arrived at the new location as well so the one i picked up is not needed apparently. i did see a colleague who was working remotely for the day and decided to pick up a check in person. i was advised that if i had a question about some mail, it is fine to open it. there was just one item, and there was checks and a deposit slip inside so it went to the branch's slot. when there is still incoming mail i have been forwarding most of it, not wanting to guess where it belongs as i wanted to avoid opening any of it. this one was a handwritten envelope, so it was more likely that it would go to the branch. at lunchtime i liked hearing a story from the branch manager, about doing training near the end of a workday and a customer was upset about her not being available. even though the dude was already told that the branch employees were unable to ger the ATM card out of the machine, especially when it was his wife's. something about the armored car company, who i sometimes see in the morning, would have to take care of it. i drank a can of czech pilsner from montgomery brewing with the evening meal so now three beers are waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 17 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we see 'the council of sheldons'. it was followed by the one where the dudes have their car stolen on the way to a comic book convention and the ladies argue about comic books. 

small plastic cups moved

at work i emptied two small boxes in the check shop. one was travel receipts, the other had small plastic red cups filled with tabs. once the cups were emptied i moved them to the breakroom. there are some other boxes i can empty, when i find the time, but thankfully not many left. when i scanned a fax on another floor in the morning i did find some more office supplies to use in empty cubicles, mostly pens and paper clips. i was asked to overnight a check to japan, it was the only check in a file that does replacements for other business lines. since there are some extra steps when doing overnight labels going to foreign countries it was the last one i did for the day. the boss scheduled a dial-in meeting for friday morning about the payroll configuration on the inserter machine. sounds like we will have to figure it out ourselves as the provider said it is not part of the service contract. in the evening i watched a speech by the president about bowing out of the race, it was at the start of prime time. during my walks i found 27 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when alex hit on leonard, then all four friends ended up in h.r. as sheldon threw them under the bus. 

art walk in a park

after work i went to a picnic in st. louis park. i did a walk around much of the park and found some art on display on a fence. the theme for many was kindness. some of them looked pretty good. one of them actually said 'compassion'. i had been to this park before, the part with the art was the water park. i needed to get up and walk around a little after being at the table where many were leaving dessert items. i had sampled many of them and didn't need any more. the potato salad was popular, it was used up. i had some if it. there was small sandwiches as well, turkey and ham, i put some mayo on those. at work there still was some mail to forward, and a fax to scan and send to recurring. at first i needed to fill up the copier as it was out of paper, so i poached some from another printer. in the morning i got the UPS labels done for two boxes. one was bottles of sealing fluid going back to quadient in mississippi, the other is going to another bank office in california. i got started on a box of old receipts, having to remove staples before tossing the documents into the shredder bin, but had to stop as it was a high-volume day on check printing. i can find some more time this week to finish the box as it is a small one. there was test checks to print and put into a MICR ruler as well. vacation replacement asked by i.m. if it was quiet where i am, i said pretty much. there was an email in my hotmail account about the volunteer training for the fringe festival this weekend. i had signed up for three shifts a few days ago, some of my preferred venues were not available, at least on the opening weekend. later on i went on a walk and found 70 cents. 

love will turn you around

 i got a snack at the end of my lunch at work at walgreen and i heard a song inside the store. it was 'love will turn you around', except i knew it wasn't the one by kenny rogers. an online search said there was some other versions, most notably randy houser, on a 'tribute' album. the song is a memory of seeing the movie 'six pack' at a drive-in theater, when kenny rogers played a race car driver. as expected, it was fairly quiet at the bank since the third and fourth floor are deserted now. i did call a supplier to get an address for shipping back some sealing fluid bottles we weren't using. it was prompted by seeing how the senior leader said the boxes to ship some inactive laptops were on the way. there was some mail to forward but it helped that i checked the employee directory and found the new mail codes for benefits and payroll. i did find some more office supplies i can use in a bin and moved them to the shop. i did see someone from iron mountain in the morning, taking care of what is left in the shred bins. this was when i did the recurring fax. i did it every day during covid, just scan it to another department. in the evening i went to perform, there was a fill0in show runner as the main one is on a family vacation. i did some bank stories, also mention of climbing the water tower and going to the cinema. during my walks i found 76 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when amy was spanked by sheldon for lying to him when she was ill. 

brief encounter movie

 this afternoon i went to see 'brief encounter', a british film from the 1940s, at the trylon cinema in south minneapolis. i paid for the small popcorn and a can of 7-up in quarters. i laughed at times, especially when the leading lady gave us her thoughts. the funniest was when she wanted the gossip to stop talking. many of the scenes take place at the train station platforms, but others in shops as well as the cafe at the train station. the story can be considered heartbreaking as the couple can't be together despite their love as both are already married. i think this is why the theater said it was one of the great british films. in recent years i have been going to this theater more than any other, as i do like seeing classics. there will likely be another one i will see there soon enough, just need to check the schedule. and while there i saw a notebook saying 'suggestions' and i wrote down 'long days journey into night' starring katharine hepburn. in the morning i went through some things on the counter in my home that i hadn't looked at in a while and this meant more ended up in the shred box. then i shredded the junk mail and filled one plastic grocery bag. after the movie i watched some TV, there was a special report on some media outlets during prime time about the president bowing out of the race. then i went on a long walk around the neighborhood and claimed a small paperback book from a little free library. it was thurber stories. during my walks i found 55 cents. 

willy water, the mascot

 in the afternoon i went to tour the highland park water tower in st. paul. when i was there at midday to check the tour hours allotment, i noticed a mascot there, called willy water. i got a picture and then went to have lunch at the nearby arby's. when i searched for this mascot online the closest i found was 'willie the waterdrop'. i wanted to have lunch first, then laid down for a while. i am thankful i got the pic when i did as the mascot wasn't there when i went back with about an hour left in the day, to climb the stairs to the top. i had done this tour before, but it had been a while, probably a decade ago. there is a nice view from the observation deck, as one can see both of the twin city skylines from there, along with MSP airport. i got a postcard while there, along with two stickers. one sticker is of willy water, saying 'saint paul regional water services' at the bottom. the other said 'i saw saint paul from the top of the highland tower'. naturally another thing seen from there is the hockey arena named for charles schulz, the 'charlie brown and snoopy' creator, as the arena is just across the parking lot from the tower. i have seen some games there but it has been a while. i liked getting some chores and errand running done before midday, starting off with picking up two orders from the post office. then there was getting an advance ticket for the state fair at cub foods. i picked up a german beer from the liquor store near the post office, so now there are four beers waiting. in the evening i had a sandwich at jersey mike's, and it was nice where an employee put on an oversized hat so i could see what it looked like. i saw it hung up and asked about it, was told it was part of their giving month, in march. before then i got gas at the holiday station and asked about the redbox machine, i have used it every so often. i knew the company had filed for bankruptcy in late june, originally chapter 11 (reorganize) but it was changed to chapter 7 (liquidate). the screen on the machine was blank, was told they are waiting for it to be picked up. two employees were there, but one of them got annoying about it, giving me unsolicited advice even though i had already said if i want a movie bad enough, i will order a DVD copy from amazon. i think the last time i had rented from redbox was to use a free night offer, it was a birthday gift. wikipedia said the company was defunct as of over a week ago. the website was available 'in name only', when searching for locations by zip code, none were found. after having a sandwich i went to get groceries at aldi, then watched a basketball game on TV, on ABC. the WNBA all-stars were playing the olympic team, and the all-stars won, 117-109. later on i went on a walk and found 50 cents. also notable was ordering an amazon gift card from the enterprise rent-a-car website where i do surveys, first time in over a year. i did my first survey in four months, about festivals i have attended. i had passed on surveys for a while as they were asking for information i normally didn't have to give, then upon looking at it more closely i saw it was just my member number and email, not a big deal. i hadn't claimed a gift card in a while as that had changed as well, but also not a big deal. i asked for an available amount to use, and my first choice of gift cards was at the top on a drop-down screen. 

tyga box systems

 it was the last day before the move downtown for most of us at the bank. i still don't know when i am moving as well, but i know the dial-in meeting scheduled for next week was postponed, moved back a week. so i likely won't hear anything until the meeting happens. not many were onsite to take care of what remained. i saw hard plastic totes lined up and ready to go, the label on it said 'tyga box systems'. these look like the mail tubs i use every day, although the tyga boxes are more oblong. i claimed a few more supplies that i can use, especially thankful to find overnight envelopes in one section, about a hundred of those. plenty of plastic coat hangers in one bin, i but them in a box and can donate them to goodwill. i claimed another small flag on a stick in the morning, and a wooden wall hanging that said 'america' on it. this was an easier day for me as there was fewer people around compared to the previous one. i knew it was a rare opportunity to have two shred bins in the check shop, so when  iron mountain emptied what we had i claimed two of the larger bins. then if they aren't coming back much since most have left, i can go longer with the bins i have. although i probably don't have much left to toss into a shred bin, thankfully a colleague took care of most of it for me. in the evening i went to the hy-vee in eagan for groceries, eight items bought including the paper. i read the article about the passing of actor-comedian bob newhart, i enjoyed watching reruns of 'bob newhart show' after the late local news in des moines when i was in high school. and i had attended two comedy shows where bob headlined, in rockford, IL, when i lived in suburban chicago, then in minneapolis after moving to the twin cities. later on it went on a walk and found 85 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon and howard were fighting over a parking space. 

another storage room

at work another storage room was found on the same floor as me, behind the door to a conference room close to the breakroom. it looked much like my working area, with the shelving and the fence in it. and it had some more holiday decorations in it. hard to say how much more i will claim though, already have some flags. i did claim two more items with the bank's logo on it throughout the day. there was a silicone mobile pocket and a small gift bag, looks like this brings the total to twenty-five. a senior leader made it to the check shop after a retirement party for somebody in fixed assets, retiring after 49 years. results were that we need a media disposal bin, and i am to call a supplier to have a box of fluid bottles picked up. senior leader asked for serial numbers on two laptops. there was a potluck in customer service, so i didn't need to eat much of my own lunch that i normally bring. i liked the cheese and crackers there, also some cookies and brownies, and had a sandwich as well. there was a courier pick-up for a check in the afternoon, branch manager brought the courier to me. i had them sign a printed email so then i had the name of who had taken ownership of the check. at times i might have sounded a little overwhelmed, not just to the senior leader but also to the branch manager at the end of the day. i take my work seriously, but i am not a machine either. it has been a wild and crazy week, some emotion out there, and it meant saying 'goodbye for now' since most are moving downtown as of next week but i still don't know yet when i will be. i watched a speech by a presidential candidate in the evening, the final day of the party's convention. i drank the can of a craft beer from st. louis with the evening meal so now three beers are waiting. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 2 cents. 

wheels on the mail cart

 no, not 'wheels on the bus'. this morning at work we finally got the tools and screws needed to fix the two mail carts. and the third one, which hadn't been used for a while, was scrapped for parts. swapping out two wheels- and adding back screws to the handle on another cart- seemed to work just fine. we got a green light to empty more boxes of records, some were over twenty years old and still had cable ties on them that we had to cut off. i had help in the afternoon to get eight boxes ready for iron mountain, those were records under ten years old. unsure when those will be picked up though, someone else makes the request for pick-up. not many shred bins left, two more were filled and a third is partially filled. waiting for a senior leader to tell us how to dispose of computer discs, microfche, and CD's. along with laptops where the serial numbers were not found in the system. i sent some equipment up to the third floor, a small check printer and a micrfiche reader. declined an invite to a welcome party next week as i am not moving yet. response from the organizer was that we will get you there as soon as we can. had to laugh about that invite, when most others will still be moving. in the evening i went on a walk and found 67 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon got drunk on long island ice tea and tried to confront wil wheaton. then levar burton was on 'fun with flags'. 

paperclips, euro coins

 i claimed a few more items at work. i looked in one container and noticed there was more than just paperclips and push pins. i found some euro coins as well, so those were added to my collection. it included the first 5-cent euro coin i have seen. near the end of the day i saw two boxes filled with paperclips and binder clips. i even claimed a 'keep this coupon' ticket as it can go onto a page in the souvenir binder. fixed assets manager asked for a box to be sent to phoenix near the end of the day and had questions about what was left in one room of the check shop. i was given some big binders that i can use for my baseball card collection, even if it is just to replace some binders that are falling apart. lunch was early as i was part of the birthday luncheon, going to a vietnamese place in the brooklyns, much like before. i took home a box as i was given plenty of rice, likely the first time i had used the refrigerator at work. there are four in the breakroom. i finished the rice as the evening meal. there was a team huddle in the morning, some issues the boss discussed at that time such as trying to get the payroll configuration added to the inserter machine. i said i followed a lesson from the football team, letting the coach argue it for me. in the evening i watched the baseball all star game, the american league won 5-3. later on i went on a walk and found 58 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon was waiting for steve hawking to make a move in a game of 'scrabble'. while leonard decided to write a paper for penny for a college class. 

green towel, menacing clown

 two notable things claimed during the cleanup at work was a green dish towel, and a printed image of a menacing clown. the towel will get washed before using it, nothing wrong with having another one of those. the clown picture will go into a sheet protector in a binder with other weird things found at work. the boss was working from home, bad back from clearing branches after the storm. vacation replacement was in the shop and i said we still needed to hear about one corner of boxes that belong to a senior leader. along with some microfiche/film, as well as some laptops that had been turned in. in the evening i went to a mic to perform. i did some bank stories, donating a box, going to walmart, and going to the basketball game. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when howard returned from space and his friends and mom were too busy for him. 

lynx-fever game

 i liked not having all that much to do for the day. in the morning i got a haircut at great clips. and in the afternoon i went to a minnesota lynx basketball game, against the indiana fever. the u of iowa alumni chapter made it one of their events as caitlin clark plays for the fever. i was rooting for a good game, and it stayed close throughout. largest lead i think for either team was 7 points, and it was tied numerous times. indiana won, 81-74. a good view from the top of the lower level, except i told myself i was there to watch the action on the court and not the video board. it meant looking down instead of straight ahead as the video board in this venue, the target center in minneapolis, is big. i was in the group pic on the court after the game and said 'i feel like forrest gump' getting into the picture. after leaving the court i said 'worth it!' about the entire experience. i still had some popcorn with me that i had claimed, but i finished it before leaving the venue. i rode the light rail to and from the game, but had to walk a little, as the end of the line was the vikings stadium due to construction over the weekend. i made it to a bar where the alumni chapter was meeting and had some pizza that was provided to us, and ordered a beer, a pabst. i found the event coordinator and got the story of how the ticket became available. there was a 3-ticket order but one of them had to cancel. i also found the chapter president, who i had traded emails with to get the ticket ordering squared away. we were in a back room this time at cowboy jack's, called the barn. when i rode the light rail home after the game i was next to two young ladies who had traveled from winnipeg, canada, to see the game. they were wearing indiana fever shirts. in the evening i went on a long walk around the neighborhood, up to a gas station where i bought a fruit pie, a bottle of gatorade, and the st. paul paper. during my walks i found 1 dollar 52 cents. this week i also drank the can of wandering leaf and got a can of natural ice from a nearby liquor store, so four beers are still waiting. 

donation wait shortened

 it was a chores and errand running day. in the morning it was the post office, three orders picked up. dropped off recycle near the capitol and printed two event tickets at the copy store. then i went home and had lunch as it was midday. i laid down for a little while as i was tired and i also watched some of a WNBA game on TV, new york beat chicago. i also waited out the rain, then went out again to donate another box to goodwill. there was a long wait, i was the sixth car in line, so i parked and went to the other side and handed off the box. i told the attendant that i didn't feel like waiting. then i went to walmart to get shoes and bought a small pack of baseball cards. they were discounted, a year-old edition of topps cards. then i went home and got groceries at aldi. when i turned on the TV for the baseball game on fox there was a special report about an assassination attempt on an ex-president. there was a split screen for a while, then just the news. i correctly guessed the game, which had no sound on during the time there was a split screen, was moved to fox-plus, and it was. the twins were playing the giants on the coast, twins won 4-2. i watched the press conference after the late local news and there was not much information to be given, as expected. it was in pennsylvania, there was spokesmen from the state police and the FBI. a rally attendee was dead, the shooter was dead, the ex-president was whisked away and is fine. much like with 9/11, i didn't want to keep watching the news after finding out what had happened as i still had other things to do. and this is why i switched over to the baseball game. during my walks i found 25 cents. 

white westinghouse toaster

 i claimed more items from work during the cleanup. i noticed one of those available was a toaster. i already have one, a proctor-silex, but i think i will keep this recent find, a white-westinghouse. it looks like an upgrade for me, and i can donate the other one to goodwill along with other finds made during the day. this included some bowls, as well as some books, including two dictionaries. even a blue wicker basket. the thing i have already noticed about the toaster is that it has a distinct bell when it is done. i also like how the crumb tray slides out. when i went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries in the evening i did get some english muffins to test it, and it worked fine to me. i am reminded of other small household appliances that i have. i don't use a toaster much, and the same is true for the waffle iron, but i still like having it. i guess i got the waffle iron at work as well, technically. i think i got it with points a while back, maybe when i was working in suburban chicago. it is a krups. and i found out the name of who i spoke with, at first i referred to him as 'the dude helping the lady'. a payroll manager, same name as a cousin of mine. when i said i was donating what i could to goodwill, he said we are putting out as much as possible but we are running out of days. this is true, as the move to a downtown office is just over a week away now, for most people. when the file room for benefits was being cleaned out i said i saw a northwest airlines sticker on a box, proof of how it had been there for a while. fixed assets manager said she was donating things to goodwill as well, and said she was keeping a box of four vases. it was nice that the overnight volume dropped, but i tend to expect this at the end of the week. it was down to twenty-five. there was a late request to pull four checks, but i was able to find them. it helped that they were basically the same payee and close enough on check numbers. and i left them on a table, so not in a tub yet. i got things squared away with the basketball game ticket this morning, paid with paypal. the ticket will be sent to me shortly and it means adding the team's app to access the ticket. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 34 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon got an assistant, alex. when amy called, she said sheldon didn't say alex was a girl. then amy said to penny 'that skank is your problem' as she was interested in leonard. 

lanyard and picture frame

 i claimed more items at work. at the end of the day it was a picture frame, i think my niece would like having it. and i claimed some more items with the bank's logo on it, besides a lanyard also a jar with a glass lid. i was trying to move as much as i could to the breakroom in hopes that more people seeing it meant a better chance that things would get claimed and not go to waste. volume has high again on the checks to be overnighted, just over fifty. near the end of the day i went a few blocks down and bought a festival button at the ice cream social, and got some mac island fudge ice cream. then it was back to the workplace but by then all i had left to do was cleanup. all of the checks that were in tubs were picked up by then or dropped in the box waiting to be picked up. there was a quick dial-in meeting at midday but not sure how it pertained to me. there was a special report where the president was doing a press conference when i was ready to watch prime-time TV. during my walks i found 73 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when the astronauts wrote 'f. loops' on howard's face. still working on the method of payment for the basketball game this weekend, for whatever reason i was unable to log into venmo and asked if paypal is fine as i use paypal way more often. 

fifteen inch ruler

 i used a fifteen-inch ruler at work this morning when my boss did a dial-in meeting and needed to know how long and high the table is for the copier that i print overnight labels from. i found them recently in the cleanup and was surprised to find them that size. i have seen 12-inch, and yardsticks, but none like these before. i finally got what was needed to call to have the payroll configuration added to the inserter machine. the payroll manager dropped off the envelopes and form samples late in the day. and the team lead arrived in the morning and picked up two iron mountain boxes. sounds like i have an offer for a ticket to the lynx basketball game this weekend, still have some questions though. how much, what section it is in, and how i pay. i already have a ticket for the twins game in august, another event through our alumni chapter. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 10 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when howard was in space and lied to his mom, and his wife. raj was lonely so he drops in on leonard and penny and gets kicked out. 

autograph your work

 i claimed two more items at work from the recent cleanup. one of them was some framed artwork, saying 'autograph your work with quality'. the other was a shirt and the plastic hanger it was on, theme was the dilbert comic strip. team lead in customer service found some overnight envelopes made over a decade ago, and i used them right away. the cart i put the mail tubs on seems to have some bad wheels on it and works best when moving backwards. vacation replacement left early, mention of food bought from the nearby dollar general that didn't agree with him. also mention of once playing santa, as a favor to his sister, at a party in faribault. i got a look at the show schedule for the fringe festival next month and i figured out when to see shows. probably will attend two on the opening weekend and the other two on the closing weekend. i have seen a show on the final day before, not a big deal. still need to sign up for ushering shifts, i usually do ushering on the opening weekend. i also have to work around two baseball games that i already have tickets for, first is a twins game and the second is a saints game. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when howard and bernadette got married, told in flashback as howard is getting ready to go into space. 

leading zeroes on checks

 at work there was a request to re-print a check, except i couldn't find it in my database. there was leading zeroes on it, and i know not many business lines have this. i checked the 'catchall' choice, one of twelve, and it wasn't there when searching by payee name as well as check number. so i asked the senior leader to get me a check copy, found out as expected that it wasn't one i had printed, the return address was owensboro, and i do send mortgage checks to that town but not to the given address. looks like the boss is on vacation for the week. i saw more things left out to be claimed in the payroll department, such as a framed poster as well as a shirt on a hanger. some of those left in the breakroom have been claimed, and i no longer see the box those plush toys were in. i did a search for shows at the fringe festival, and after writing down nearly twenty shows i narrowed my list to four. it gives me a better idea in terms of how many ushering shifts to do in order to earn enough free passes. in the evening i went to perform and did stories about being at meetup events, the bank, and going to an art museum. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon got an emotion detector machine, and raj invited his exes to his place. it was followed by the one where howard finds out his space mission was moved up. 

kaposia mural

 i like seeing art anywhere, and this evening i saw a mural near the event i was attending. it showed a couple reading the paper and the name of the paper was kaposia. it was another meetup event, through the micro-brewery group, at dual citizen in st. paul. upon arrival i spoke with the event coordinator, who said he as an accountant by trade. i sent a text asking if the credit union employee, who i had met at an earlier event, would be attending, she said she was running late. i found out she works at the same credit union where i am a member, i have had two car loans there. i had some things i wanted to get done before i made it there so i wasn't there right when it began. one lady spoke of being a therapist but how people want to unload issues on her after finding this out. another spoke of being autistic after being asked if she was married. i didn't do much after it was done, i drove home and did the dishes. i liked how i didn't have much to do for the day. i listened to a CD i had just bought at cheapo, the one by the swedish sibling act called first aid kit. i went on a long walk around the neighborhood as well. during my walks i found 1 dollar 38 cents. 

keith haring exhibit

 in the morning i went to see the keith haring exhibit at the walker art museum in minneapolis. i decided to go on a free admission day, the first saturday of the month is free admission there. i still had to pay for parking, in the ramp, though. i bought three postcards after i had toured the museum. there was one of the artist in front of his mural. another was of a smiling face with the tongue sticking out, also on the activity guide. the third was of a woman watching TV, it is mostly red. when i saw this painting i had to step back in order to see better what was described on the caption. there were warnings in some sections about the art being, for lack of a better term, vulgar. but i know sometimes what i see in life is vulgar, so this didn't bother me much. in one section there was his graffiti in new york subways. i was just as interested in the advertisements i was seeing as it served as a good time capsule. before i made it to the exhibit i went to the post office, one order picked up. then it was to the credit union to have change counted, a quarterly thing i do. over thirteen dollars went into my savings account. then it was to goodwill to drop off a donation, mostly items i saw at work from the recent cleanup. i wanted to increase the odds that they would actually get used by someone, instead of just thrown out. i ate out for lunch, as well as the evening meal, going to chick-fil-a, and then jersey mike's. in the evening i went to cheapo discs. i bought a CD by first aid kit, 'stay gold', which has 'my silver lining', their biggest hit. the one i had hoped to see there, but wasn't, was 'ruins', which has 'fireworks' on it. i ordered that one from amazon after getting home. i went to aldi to get groceries after i had lunch, then laid down for a while. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 78 cents. 

duplication question

 at work there was an i.m. in the afternoon from kansas city. it was a question on check numbers, but based on the given payee i did not see anything duplicated. it meant getting another file to do. i said i already had the tracking numbers from the first two files done. i had enough time to get the later file done as it was before 3pm. it did remind me of a file that said 'awaiting approval' and eventually it disappeared. first day back after the holiday, but i did not see a spike in volume anywhere. still seeing some out of office replies though. i adopted another plush toy, it is wearing bib overalls. looks like a christmas tree ornament but it is not going on my tree, too big for my little tree. when i see a loop on top of the toy it tells me it can be an ornament. i went to hy-vee in eagan in the evening but it was a small order, seven items. i got pictures of some of the displays, caitlin clark gear and a gift card as a sweepstakes prize. a mini eiffel tower at a coca-cola display for the upcoming olympic games. kings hawaiian bread promoting a movie, 'despicable me'. i have seen one movie in this franchise. later on i went on a walk and found 52 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy and penny went to a spa and sheldon did a contract to help leonard and penny in their marriage. raj and howard tried to use science in the baby room to avoid squeaks on the floor. it was followed by the one where howard has a bachelor party and wil wheaton posts a video from it online. 

fireworks, first aid kit

 i was driving home after a meetup picnic, much like last year it was at phalen park in st. paul. i had the radio on and 89.3, the current, was playing 'a to z'. i was so moved by the song i was hearing that i had to listen to the end of it before leaving my car. a google search on the lyrics said it was 'fireworks' by first aid kit, two sisters from sweden. i was hooked even before i heard 'beach in chicago'. an article i found said the act was inspired by ballads from yester-year, by the everly brothers as well as skeeter davis. i see myself ordering this CD sometime soon from amazon. the retired postal worker did not make it to the picnic as it was raining a lot. i was getting bored hearing somebody talk about the election to someone else near me. eventually i just got up after i had eaten and walked around the park a little, going to the part honoring their sister city in china and mention of gifting them some charlie brown statues. when i got back i spoke with an older lady who had retired from the same bank i currently work for. normally i don't want to talk shop away from work, but it sure beats the election. i brought a small vegetable tray from cub foods and ended up eating many of the carrots from it. since it was a day off it was nice to watch 'jeopardy'. then after watching a 'young sheldon' rerun i was out the door again, this time to the saints stadium. there was a delay to get the field ready after all of the rain, more than an hour. i went to the souvenir shop and bought two items with the saints logo on it, a patch as well as a golf ball. i walked through the museum after it. saints lost 11-0, playing the braves team from suburban atlanta. there still was a fireworks show after the game, but not food trucks. considering i had eaten plenty at the picnic it was just as well. notable songs from the stadium included ones by simon and garfunkel, zac brown band, and mellencamp. during my walks i found 48 cents. 

inflation greeting card

 when i went to walgreen near the end of my lunch i found the inflation greeting card i was looking for. no surprise it was in the shoebox greetings section. it says 'got you some balloons, couldn't afford the helium kind'. must have been sold out and then re-stocked recently. while there i was waiting in line to pay for the bottle of juice and an ice cream candy bar while a lady was holding up the line, wanting a receipt for a canceled transaction. she left in a huff after being hostile to the manager and saying she had worked for this chain store at one point. it is a reminder of why i don't miss call center work. both of the big supply deliveries arrived in the morning, first the check stock and then the envelopes. the courier was about to unload the envelope boxes in the branch area when i was there briefly but i pointed out where they belonged, knowing they were for me. some of the items found during cleanup were sent to the breakroom, some were plush toys from the payroll area and others were from benefits, based on a bowl being labeled as such. a swiftie asked for help on getting legal documents sent out, arriving when i was bringing in the check stock shipment. i was ready to overnight it but then noticed it was a PO BOX address, unable to overnight to a box. sounds like she went across the road to get it sent at the post office. there were three cork boards left out from the cleanup, i claimed one of them and i would like to think i can find some use for it. of course, this is the kind of thing often used as a bulletin board in public places. in the evening i went to perform, this show is fronted by the photographer. university accountant was the show closer. i did some stories about an old song i heard on the radio and a recent TV commercial for a car. i did not know the emcee, but when asked what to say about myself i said i had been interviewed about performing before. during my walks i found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when christopher lloyd was a guest star, as a tenant found by sheldon. it was followed by the one where raj claimed to be metrosexual after asking his parents for help to find a date for howard and bernadette's wedding. 

reimbursement call

 at work there was a call from my boss on handling the reimbursement on the metro-pass as my move has been delayed. i finally found out what T and E meant, travel and expenses. there were various steps to get it entered, on a site or app that i hadn't seen before. i adopted another christmas ornament that was found in the payroll area. not too many people in the office this week due to the holiday. saw the branch manager in the breakroom at lunchtime and she spoke of how it is 'business as usual', hasn't heard yet if the branch will remain. in the evening i went to a cub foods and picked up a vegetable tray for a picnic this week. and i went to the nearby walgreen and got some tea, string cheese, and TP. i saw a lady having to tell a toddler to stop running, eventually she just scooped up the contrary kid. while there i heard the song 'eternal flame' by the bangles, i am ambivalent about it. a gentle song, sounds good. except it reminds me of a page in a high school yearbook when a student took his own life. but i was already quite aware of how many memories can be tied up in music. later on i went on a walk and found 11 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon kept hurting himself after bert won an award. liked how penny called him 'dolores'. it was followed by the one where amy makes a scene after sheldon backed out on spending time with her at a family funeral, as he preferred spending time with the dudes playing a video game. 

ben franklin stores

 i just ordered a postcard over the weekend that shows a ben franklin storefront, it was definitely a long enough chain of ideas that led me there. trying to find an inflation greeting card and couldn't. trying to find an inflation postcard that mentioned dime stores and couldn't. a reminder of how my hometown had a woolworth, it closed decades ago. it was what the town had instead of a ben franklin. the woolworth actually lasted longer than the k-mart did after walmart arrived, i recall a sign inside k-mart saying 'we will not be undersold' except they were. when i go to new ulm for oktoberfest i do see the former ben franklin storefront, in the middle of town. they changed around some letters so now it says 'zen' instead of 'ben'. i think one thing driving me here is knowing the store was named after a founding father. the articles i have found say it is due to his speech saying 'a penny saved is a penny earned'. besides postcards, i am seeing plenty of other things on e-bay with the store's name on it. shopping baskets, rulers, wooden nickels, stickers. so it is possible that i decide to order another item besides the aforementioned postcard. i even found some videos on youtube about the store. one was from iowa public tv, saying the last one in the state is in sheldon in northwest iowa. one of the two articles i found online mentioned there was just 125 stores nationwide left with this name, as of 2015. this was in the st. paul paper. so shopping at one may be hard to do, especially when it is hard to tell as to if there are any left in the twin city metro area. both articles, the other being from the minneapolis paper in 2022, did say that they were the target and walmart of their time, stating why there aren't many left as it was hard to compete with those two big-box stores. at work i reported back to the 'move team' two things. one was the need for a doorbell for the check shop at the new location, something i take for granted. except it tells me when i have a visitor. the other is asking for the estimated delay on me moving with the rest of the team, prompted by my metro-pass arriving. except there was no answer for this, just mention of the reimbursement process. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 35 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon tried to seduce amy by dressing like a 'rat pack peewee herman'. it was followed by the one where sheldon gets a haircut from penny after visiting his barber in the hospital.