rental car swap

i started my drive to iowa this morning, just before 8am. i was pleased that there wasn't all that much traffic. first stop was in clear lake, at the casey's much like before. checked the owner's manual for the rental car as a warning light had popped on and was blocking a big part of instrument panel, saying 'maintenance required'. i drove it to the des moines airport and asked to swap it for another car. i started with a toyota and then got a nissan. at the rental car place the offer was to just reset the warning, but i preferred the swap and got it. made the call from another casey's, a mile from the airport. it didn't seem to be operating any differently compared to before seeing the warning but i wanted peace of mind, and this is the first time this has happened when renting cars. i ate at the second casey's as well, a slice of pizza at both stops but it was breakfast pizza at the first one. i scrapped the newton tour, not enough time. i did a tour of the valley junction section of west des moines, my first apartment after i finished college was there. took a look around at the costume shop where i would pay my rent. it takes on a different meaning now that i have done plenty of performing. i went to the target at merle hay mall and got a greeting card and gift card, wanted to give a gift for all three kids, not just the guests of honor at this wedding reception. then i went to check into my hotel. i still needed to drive to the event, it was at the community center in waukee. when i arrived i knew my priorities. hand off all three gifts, get myself a drink, and then i am ready. no surprise how i saw my dad first and this is who i spoke with the most. the first drink was a beer as i found out there was a keg, was told it was bud light. i had water, and soda pop, after that. i had to explain that what i gave to all three, besides a gift card and greeting card, was a pen and pencil holder from my employer. the guests of honor got more value on their gift card from target, and a picture frame as well. it seemed to go fine for quite a while, until the end when there was some 'family drama' about dedications, being filmed on a phone. and i was willing to help with moving things to the car. of course this event was just the wedding reception, as.the courthouse wedding had happened earlier, in june. went to a karaoke bar after this was done, near a mall, had been there before. a thin crowd made singing there less fun, i did green day's 'boulevard of broken dreams'. then i went back to my hotel and wrote about the day while having a beer, my third of the day. during my walks i found 2 cents. 

gift cards and comics

 after my workday ended i saw two comics. one is a show runner for a mic a sometimes perform at, i was next to where i work and talking to who picks up the mail. then i went to a target and got gift cards and at the customer service counter was a comic helping me with it. i know her as wolf's lady friend. this was just after i had been to the caribou where i got a blueberry muffin and a pumpkin spice latte. then after i was done at target i went to jersey mike's for a sandwich. all three of these establishments were in the same general area. then i went home. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon and howard went to texas and sheldon confronts his mom and is told to go to his room. at work i felt good about staying ahead of the game, some business lines were sending their check files early likely due to the holiday. it meant i could get started and finished earlier on creating the overnight labels. there were fewer to do as well. then i am called in the early afternoon by the dude who picks up the mail tubs, and was told there was a blue company envelope that should have been with the tubs at midday. i said i was probably leaving a little earlier than typical, might not be there when you arrive at the end of the day. well i was just about to leave, just got out of the bathroom, when i noticed the dude arrived. then i said i wanted to get the cart back inside the shop once it was emptied. during my walks i found 1 dollar 2 cents. 

learn to partner dance

 a dance studio opened up nearby and during my walk i saw a foldable sign near it saying 'learn to partner dance'. unsure when i will get to this studio, but i did take some dance classes in college. a friend heard and said 'don't get frustrated'. at work the boss did a one on one in the morning and left before midday. no word yet on when my move downtown will happen. i had questions besides that one but that was an important one to me. oshkosh business one wanted me to send out four checks for them, at first i had just two overnight labels and had to prompt them to send the other two. there was two ad-hoc files for tax checks, noticed one of them had another office as the return address. a senior leader called me near the end of the day and said it is not to go to our tax specialist. i will hear more soon about what to do with it but can't overnight it to a po box. i drank the hofbrau with the evening meal, then got a hamm's and a lift bridge at the nearby liquor store, so no five beers are waiting. during my walks i found 36 cents. 

copier re-boot

 i was printing out overnight labels in the afternoon and one printed, then it was just spinning and the other five wasn't printing. i decided to re-print at the check printer and then re-booted the copier. this seemed to work just fine, although i noticed the check numbers were not included as the package i.d. when re-printed. there was a delay on getting the fargo files, but i was still able to send those out at the end of the day. over a thousand from the previous day were sent through the machine before midday, and a third tub was needed, although not much was in it. i performed at a mic in the evening, using the set i used from two days earlier. crowd liked it and i was in a smartphone pic at the end of the night. this doesn't happen that often so i liked that. magic man was show closer. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 21 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we meet tam, sheldon's friend. bernadette and penny dish about raj to anu. it was followed by the one where sheldon doesn't want a table. 

alex trebek stamps

 in the morning i went to get stamps at the post office near my workplace. two were on my list and i got the sheet of alex trebek stamps, the 'jeopardy' host. another one on my list is hank aaron, the baseball player. now it means getting a look at the stamps i already have and moving some to a sheet protector as some i don't plan on using. also at work i was asked about an overnight that hasn't arrived yet, that was going to a colleague in a downtown office. i had to keep saying it was a day off for me, i was at the state fair. i would only have the tracking numbers for the ones i sent. it took a little while but the colleague finally said she would be contacting my vacation replacement. i usually have to say 'it was a day off for me' to somebody, and i don't take that many days off. nice that one file was just three checks, the one that wants all of their checks overnighted, a mortgage business line. i got a response to a text message from friday when i was at the meetup brewery event. laughed a little about mention of dropping a phone into a lake. later on i went on a walk and found 61 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when amy said 'what the hell' to penny after penny saying she didn't want kids. raj meets anu and she proposes. it was followed by the one where sheldon kisses amy on the valentines day train to wine country. 

leave of absence letter

 at work i was asked to overnight a leave of absence letter to an employee in arizona. guess they might have violated the guidelines and have been on it for a while. first time i have overnighted something that isn't a check in a while. last time was a corporate card cancellation. these are definitely 'few and far between'. an overnight envelope arrived and i opened it but it didn't look like a refund check. there was mention of a 'mutual customer' so i gave it to the branch manager. i was asked by the branch manager when i am moving downtown, i said last i heard it is still a month away. it rained in the evening, but it was before i went to go perform. there were storm warnings on the news but it moved through the area fairly quick. i still took a rain jacket with me. i did a bank story, and stories about attending the state fair. others were about a meetup event at the brewery and issues with pay at the pump. later on i went on a walk and found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and amy went on a scavenger hunt, inspired by a wedding gift. it was followed by the one where james earl jones was a guest star. i still like this one because it is where carrie fisher says, 'it's not funny anymore, james!'

taste of whole milk

 i used up the milk and orange juice i had bought at the gas station the night before. i wanted to stay in as long as i could in the morning before going to the grocery store, so sometimes i get a few items 'just to get by'. only choice on small bottles was whole milk, which i don't have too often. it seemed to taste sweeter than the two percent or skim milk i normally get. at least in terms of drinking it with a snack cake to finish it up, although it was mostly for the cereal. i made it to aldi for groceries after having breakfast. it was nice to have very little on the docket for the day. i followed up on the advice from the dude i met at the friday event, watching part of a smashing pumpkins documentary, found on youtube. and i got out my pumpkins DVD and watched it, this was a decade of greatest hits, along with a short film that was filmed in sweden. around midday i went to a speedway gas station and picked up a sandwich and a small bag of popcorn and ate it during the drive to my next stop, the st. paul saints baseball game. it was my seventh of the season. i wanted to arrive early to get the giveaway item, it was the team card set. it is the ninth, and i have the last five from this annual giveaway. i found space in a binder by doubling up business cards and this helped with freeing up four sheets for the entire set. the saints lost to scranton, 5-2. after having the evening meal, stouffer's meatloaf, and watching some reruns, i went on a long walk around the neighborhood. during my walks i found 1 dollar 42 cents. checking facebook i saw a posting from my college roommate, the physics major, how his dad had passed. 

eagan library

it wasn't originally in my plans to end up at the eagan library, but i went there 'on layover' when i wanted to stay occupied as i was waiting for the second session at the water park to begin. it happens to be in the same community complex. i went to the biography section and leafed through three books. one was by national geographic, 'who's who in american history'. no surprise how basketball players michael jordan and lebron james had pictures in it as both have done movies. another was by beer heiress frances stroh, called 'beer money'. and the third was about satirical columnist art buchwald, called 'funny business'. in both cases it was the titles that led to them standing out from the crowd in that section. besides the first one being a big book. when i made it to the water park i left after the first safety break. it was a shorter visit than previous ones. the lesson learned here is to try to make the annual visit before the final weekend of the season. this was the second straight year where i waited until the end of the season. i went to the cafe and had a fountain drink, and an ice cream bar. the third item was a smucker's uncrustable pb and j sandwich. this was a brief visit as i wanted to get to the next event, a baseball game. the cardinals were playing the twins in nearby minneapolis. the cardinals lost, 6-0. most runs were scored via the long ball. before i made it to the stadium i stopped at bobby and steve's and had a godfather's pizza and some juice. this was where i ate the smucker's sandwich as well. in the morning i did some of the typical errand running. first there was going to the post office, three orders were picked up. then on to the capitol to drop off recycle. then to the copy store, to print the attachments from emails from my insurance agent. along with an event invite for next month. when i got home it was midday and i had a pot pie for lunch. then i laid down for a little while, and when i got up it was time to get to the water park. after the twins game i stopped at a gas station near me and got bottles of milk and orange juice. the one errand i didn't do, get to the grocery store, i can do next morning. during my walks i found 27 cents. 

summit brewing, meetup

 this evening i went to a meetup event, it was at summit brewing in st. paul. i had been in that general area before but had not been off the main road where it is, turning at the port authority sign. i was running a little late, wanting to get caught up on emails after work. i stayed longer than i thought i would, but it helped that i spoke with a dude that is a technical writer, mostly about music. it led to me writing down to look up two things, when he spoke a lot about smashing pumpkins. one was what DVD i had by that band, i knew i had bought a used copy from a cheapo location. the other was a documentary, likely available on youtube. when i arrived i got a beer, it was a twins pilsner, and i had to get assertive with someone at the bar, saying 'keep your opinions to yourself'. thankfully it got way better after that. a dude saying he was a saxophone player was part of the conversation with the technical writer. i did see a younger man there that i recognized from previous events, claims to be a lawyer and said he was there to meet a lady but is attracted to women that aren't interested. i didn't enjoy this dude from earlier events, was making a big deal about age differences and cared too much about being right all of the time. thankfully this time i didn't see him until the end of the time allotment. i did get an offer to go to an after party but i turned it down as i wanted to go grocery shopping at hy-vee. as expected, a thin crowd at the grocery store when i go, the way i like it. nine items were bought. at work it was the first day back after a day off, thankfully not too much was waiting for me. i did hear how my vacation replacement got a big check file near the end of the day, explaining why there was a tub nearly full of checks when i arrived. i saw a spike in volume in some check files, but not quite as much as the thousand-plus that my colleague did. this meant a fourth tub was needed for all that went out at the end of the day. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 55 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when raj and howard went to a rock show with bert, replacements for amy. 

the definers, the defined

 i spent the day at the minnesota state fair, and much like before i capped it with a visit to the fine arts building. as i was about to leave i spoke of what art i liked and an employee said there was one she really liked, and i got a second look at it. the image was an open book and seeing some flipped pages, but the words on it meant even more to me. it was 'definitions belong to the definers, not the defined'. i said i reminded me of a subtitled line in the movie 'wayne's world', which was 'if you label me, you negate me.' i liked some others that depicted pretty ladies, as well as businesses such as eating establishments or even one that reminded me of 'tin man' from 'wizard of oz'. and there was the music that will help with remembering the day. near some rides it was alessia cara's 'stay'. research gives co-credit for that song, also to a DJ known as 'zedd'. as i was leaving it was jo dee messina's 'bye bye'. and in the middle, it was a cover band doing johnny cash's 'orange blossom special', and near it at o'gata's there was a bagpiper and a drummer. i liked how the small number of souvenirs i had fit into my jacket pocket, besides a few flyers and the fairgrounds map it included three postcards. one was from the newspaper museum, i had skipped a year or two there but thankful i made it back. the statue of liberty poem was on this one. the other two were bought at the territorial pioneers building, stopped there with the retired postal worker when it was raining. we met up with his lady friend, who also volunteers at fringe festival, and later on with his daughter, who had plenty of tats and seemed worried about his drinking. i used up the quarters i had from taking carts back to a grocery store, at the giant slide and then the 'all you can drink' milk place. i liked finding some of the charlie brown statues, knowing from previous visits where some of them were. along with crop art inspired by charlie brown characters, mostly snoopy. and there was postcards on display, in a building i stopped at on the way to 4-h (which has a lucy statue). some were linen postcards i had bought from e-bay. found the st. paul saints at fan central, had some ice cream after the giant slide. had a burger at ballpark cafe when i found the meetup dude, later on had a pork chop. capped the night with a funnel cake and bottled water. thankful i got started a little earlier on getting home compared to last year, knowing i would have to take a bus downtown and then transfer. found out a grocery store on this route has closed, i had been to it before but it had been a while. in the morning before i got started i got a breakfast sandwich at mcdonald's, then found 37 cents on my walk. 

duplicated check file

 at work a notable thing was a duplicated check file in the morning, a small file for reimbursements. since it was just ten checks i was fine with printing both and shredding one of those sets. when i did not hear from i.t. until late in the day i didn't know what else to do, as i wanted the screen cleared. vacation replacement was in early and stayed for the entire day, wanting to see that things were working fine as i am out of the office the next day. late in the day i picked up some overnight envelopes from the branch, five in all. i was able to get four of them forwarded. three were sent by inter-office and one by overnight, that one was a returned check. i wasn't sure what to do with the remaining one as it was a damaged check, even showed it to my colleague. saw a branch employee in the breakroom and found out this colleague will be at the state fair the same day as me. with one overnight request i responded not only with the tracking numbers, but also with copying the shared box. i said it was a good idea for whenever i am out of the office. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 29 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when sheldon was on a radio show when leonard disproved his theory, then amy and penny decide to drink while listening to it. 

odometer, loss payee

 when the call arrived this morning to nail down car insurance i was asked for two things besides the method of payment. it was the odometer reading and the loss payee. of course this would be the credit union, thankful i have just under two years left on the loan. i was sent emails to my hotmail account and can print those things this weekend. one of them appeared to be the insurance binder, showing just two months, but i am told all of the documents will likely arrive before the coverage begins. i signed up for electronic notifications so this should cut down on how much postal mail i will get. and i had to consent to having the payments by EFT. i prefer this over check writing or even phoning in the payment each month, and there is a discount for it. nice to have this done and over with, and it will take effect next month. at work it looks like i am caught up again on the PDF check files, there was some i.t. issues but then an email saying they were handled. it didn't affect the volume much as the volume was still low. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 40 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when raj met lucy again after the breakup my email, then penny fixed him up and everyone said 'what is wrong with you?' 

pdf check delay

 there were some PDF check files at work, but not as many as usual. there was two in the morning, then at midday there was an email saying there would be a delay. i am used to two i-pay files, one at that time and one near the end of the day but saw only one and it was at the end of the day but labeled as the midday file. i can only print and send out what i actually get. there was also a request to send two checks that normally go back to oshkosh out to the listed recipients. i was sent the overnight labels for both but just one had an invoice to send with it. vacation replacement had questions because of wanting to stay in the loop due to filling in for me later this week. one was about who gets a low-volume check file when it prints. in the afternoon i took a call from an insurance agent and i am closing in on getting car insurance set up with another provider. i was informed what information is still needed, such as odometer, loss payee, and method of payment, and this will be handed off when i am called the next morning. i feel confident that shopping around led me to the best deal available. i went to perform in the evening and spoke of looking for insurance, the voting precinct, bank stories, and attending a concert. later on i went on a walk and found 25 cents. i went to a picnic after work although i barely knew most of the people there. 

souvenir baseballs

i got a look in a box where i keep souvenir baseballs, among other things, when i put another one in it. i hadn't looked at them in a while but pleased with the collection. some of them i had bought, at the saints stadium or other places. some were foul balls, mostly from the saints stadium. the one from this weekend wasn't the only one from this year, of course. as there was the one from the customer service boss. there are some i have kept in the package, such as the homer simpson ball. one that has been elusive for me is a charlie brown and snoopy ball. as i recall, i did get a golf ball though. not sure why when baseball is a common theme from the comic strip. i know i have other souvenir baseballs in some metal cans, including a home run ball from a minor-league game when living in suburban chicago. hard to say what the next one for me will be. i am going to another saints game soon but i already have some of those. guess it means checking more closely to avoid duplication. it was nice not having that much to do for the day. in the afternoon i watched the women's basketball game on ABC, indiana beat seattle 92-75. watched part of a preseason pro football game in the evening, new orleans saints at san francisco 49ers. but i went on a long walk in the evening, because a preseason game doesn't interest me much. during my walks i found 1 dollar 75 cents. when i got back i did the dishes. 

green day, smashing pumpkins concert

 this evening i went to the show at the twins baseball stadium in minneapolis, green day was headliner and smashing pumpkins was an opening act. i was fine with showing up a little late as i was only interested in those two bands. i missed the first opener and just barely saw the second. i got off the light rail a little early as i wanted to get some godfather's pizza at bobby and steve's. then i walked the rest of the way to the venue. i went to a twins employee to ask what band was on when i arrived, before going inside, and had to tell someone else that 'i wasn't talking to you'. the stadium employee had the information i needed anyway, when each band was scheduled to take the stage. and i arrived with plenty of time to get to my seat in the upper level and look at the merchandise at the souvenir stands. already have shirts, only purchase i made was a four-pack of green day buttons. i got a high-five from a lady who had an 'ernie' puppet as i knew that was a reference to the 'dookie' album. i actually watched the pumpkins set while standing, then went to my seat for the green day set. i felt myself tingling during many of the pumpkin songs, and this gave me the 'how right i was' (or self-validating moment) feeling i have spoken of before. pumpkins played many of their hits from the 'siamese dream' and 'mellon collie' albums so i was pleased. even sent a text to the dude who has interviewed me as i knew according to the facebook invite how he was attending too. green day played many of their hits as well, although i knew full well how they would be playing all of their songs from the 'dookie' and 'american idiot' albums. but it was nice to hear a few others besides that, such as 'time of your life' (or 'good riddance') as the closing song for the night. and concerts are still about promoting the new album, and i heard some from the 'saviors' album, which i had bought from target. another souvenir wasn't even bought at the venue. i found a baseball on the way to the show, as i was doing 'park and ride' and taking the light rail to the venue. i wrote on it when i got home about attending the show, and it will go next to the foul and home run balls i have lucked out on getting. when the show was at a venue primarily known for baseball, it seemed appropriate. it was cool to see a 'bad year' blimp- in reference to the 'dookie' album- during the show. i now like the song 'jesus of suburbia' more after hearing the lyrics more closely as it is relatable. for a while i couldn't get past the title. thankful i figured out the work around for accessing the ticket on my phone before the day of the event as it was no big deal on getting in to see the show. when i made it back to my light-rail stop after the show ended i patted the train as it left the station and said 'worth it!' even though no one heard it, i saw it as important to say it. for events i have really enjoyed, i remember the event more than the amount of money i paid to see it or any logistical issues. third show for bands, first for both in well over a decade, so long ago that this venue didn't exist then. 

i did get some other things done before i made it to the show. in the morning i got a breakfast sandwich at mcdonald's, and a second collector cup except it was coca-cola so not the snoopy cup i was hoping for. guess i will try again soon, especially when the asking price on e-bay would buy plenty of meals. i went to get groceries at aldi early, shortly after it opened for the day. and at midday i got a sandwich at jersey mike's. when i got home i watched some of the women's basketball games but not a lot. i laid down for a little while and listened to some of the CDs i have for the bands i was going to see later in the day. and i had the first piece of pumpkin pie had just bought in celebration of seeing the show. during my walks i found 1 dollar 30 cents. 

ticketmaster app

 i am attending a concert soon, first time in years, and things have changed since then. tickets are often now on smartphone apps. it was getting annoying when i added the ticketmaster app to my phone but i was unable to get to the login screen. it would either get stuck or i would get kicked out. i went to a cricket wireless shop near my workplace and the employee wasn't that helpful, trying the same things i had already tried. restart the phone, uninstall and reinstall the app. one thing i tried while in the shop seemed to work, though. it took me a little while to think of one thing that i hadn't tried yet. i have no problem logging into hotmail on my phone. there was an email from ticketmaster and i logged into the site through it and saw my ticket. with the ballpark app for major league baseball, i see two baseballs moving on the ticket. with this one i still see some action on it. i really didn't want to switch phones just to get into a concert. i should be fine for quite a while as my needs are not that great on a phone. it is mostly make and take calls, send text messages. the attendant spoke of having to file for bankruptcy due to medical bills, a kidney transplant. i picked up a sandwich from a speedway gas station and a bottle of juice and headed back to work, i essentially spent my lunch break at the phone shop. but i like having the peace of mind about getting past any technology issues for this show. i was far enough ahead on work that i could afford to, especially when the overnight volume was low and i had already done all of the labels up to that point. a box for returning a laptop was put out with the mail tubs at the end of the day, a colleague asked me to forward it to their office downtown. in the evening i went to hy-vee and eight items were bought. saw some pies there, but not pumpkin. i went to cub foods and three items were bought. found a pumpkin pie there and a charlie brown thanksgiving card, from american greetings. surprised me a little as i am used to charlie brown cards mostly being found at hallmark shops. later on i went on a walk and found 11 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the dudes went to visit a reclusive scientist in the woods, while the ladies did a bachelorette party for amy but amy passed out at the bar pretty early. it was followed by the one where howard did a song for bernadette while she has in quarantine. 

market bbq food truck

 there was an event nearby tonight next to the micro-brewery and i briefly attended it. there was two food trucks and i ordered from the one called market bbq. the other was a taco truck. i knew there was more scheduled but the people at one table said the ice cream, and popcorn, trucks did not show up, and no reason was given for that. my order was a pulled pork sandwich and chips, and i ate it at home. a bee kept bothering me when i was outside at the event, all the more reason to take it home and eat it inside. i already had some beer ready for the meal, and i drank the can of bud ice with it so now there are four beers waiting. there was some music being played, when i got my order it was a billy joel song, but once i was back after eating the meal there was one more song and that was it. there was a bounce house for the kids. at work my boss helped with getting some mail moved. it was an IRS envelope with a disc inside. there were two people in the employee directory with that name but neither one was based in this state, and it was decided that neither one would receive it. after a few emails i was told to send it to atlanta, and i did in an overnight envelope. i had this envelope for a week as no one had responded to my scan of what it looked like when i asked for help with it. a few other things were forwarded via inter-office mail at the end of the day so i am pretty much caught up on that part of my work. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 75 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj and howard found a drone and tracked down its owner. sheldon was voted out as the head of the tenants association. it was followed by the one where amy works at caltech and sheldon ends up reacting to stimuli the same way the monkeys do. 

phone cord to nowhere

 there were plenty of notable things at work. one of them is being asked by i.m. if there is a phone in the mailroom. i did find a cord plugged in but no phone, so it was a 'cord to nowhere'. then i was asked to find out more about it. i looked under the counter and found a code on the label where the cord had been plugged in. i was told there had been a phone but it was unused, but during my time working at the bank i hadn't seen one. and nobody had their desk in the room either. i also got caught up on running checks through the machine, after being confident i had all of the right ones printed from the previous day. there was one check near the place where i 'drew the line', cutting the file in half, and it was the only check with that payee name on it. the other two notables were from my boss. one was finding out an ACH reject fax from cincinnati has now been moved downtown so i no longer will be seeing it. i hadn't seen it nearly a week, and i was checking every day. then there was asking if the media had been picked up for destruction. this was the floppy discs, compact discs, and microfiche. iron mountain picked those up in the morning, and i asked the rep for a copy of the form so i could prove that the vendor had 'taken ownership' of it. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 97 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the guest star was bill gates. it was followed by the one where penny asks leonard about his mom's book and tries to use it to feel sad on purpose and get more attention from penny. 

mcdonald's collector meal

 for lunch i went to mcdonald's near my workplace for the collector meal. i had the chicken nuggets and fries. the collector cup i was given, once i looked inside the blue plastic it was in, was shrek, jurassic park and minions. this was one of six kinds. i had hoped for the snoopy and hello kitty kind. i will likely try again this weekend and get a breakfast sandwich, then try to order it on e-bay if i don't get the one i wanted. i got the idea after my boss was in the office last week and i saw the to-go bag saying 'collector meal', then researched it online. this is celebrating various promotions the fast-food chain has done over the years. i had mine in a to-go bag as well and walked back to work where i ate the meal in the breakroom. notable about the day was getting a page while check printing, it explained why the machine stopped printing checks from the first of two fargo files of the day. there was more than six hundred left but i am confident i printed the right ones all around. no problem with the second one. and a while back when this happened i even went to the policy of doing barely more than a thousand checks at a time to put the odds in my favor that this wouldn't happen. and it has worked well for me. i am still getting mail i have to forward to a downtown office. in the tub at the end of the day was two of those gray packages from new york city. others i will be handling soon were thin overnight envelopes, one of them is refund checks. i went to vote in the primary election after work, and after i had eaten the evening meal. it meant not watching the news much as there was just an hour left until the polls closed. not much on the ballot, just two federal offices, senate and house. saw the health department warnings in this high-rise housing complex about the soft drinks in the vending machines. later on i went on a walk and found 40 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when the friends went on a scavenger hunt. it ended with howard and amy singing neil diamond at a karaoke bar. i got the show cards and other souvenirs from fringe festival into sheet protectors and then the binder set aside for it. kind of nice to flip through it and look at each year, dating back to the first show i attended over a decade ago and of course the one year i had a role in a show a few years after that. 

auto insurance quotes

 i am looking for a different car insurance company and i went online to find quotes. no surprise, since i was asked to give my email and phone number i got plenty of text messages and calls. but it did lead to the information that i wanted. as expected, some rates are better than others and i am still trying to compare the coverage to what i currently have. i don't want to reduce the amount of coverage at all. most of the companies i was quoted i had heard of before, the big companies that do TV ads all the time. i would like to get this squared away soon, have another company lined up probably within the week. at work i took a call from a home-based employee in colorado, and i referred them to my boss as well as the customer service manager. she had questions about the procedure of issuing checks, i said i print and send them out. in the evening i went to perform and spoke of attending the fringe festival, as well as a bank story. looks like it was the final time for the flautist performing at this mic as she is moving to france soon. she did some movie songs and said one of them in the south is known as the 'shrek song', it sounded like leonard cohen's 'hallelujah'. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the second child of howard and bernadette was born. it was followed by the one where sheldon caught leonard with penny, arriving home a few days earlier than expected from the North Sea. 

belt from target

 i saw that i needed to replace my belt, which i have had for years. i went to a target in the afternoon and found one, it was their store brand, cheaper than the levi's brand. while there i also bought an olympic-themed charlie brown shirt, replacing an old snoopy shirt with a christmas theme i had bought from sears many years ago. this was the final day of the olympic games from paris, i watched the gold medal game for women's basketball in the morning. the american team beat france, 67-66. this was really the only sport that i tuned into, as boxing was not on NBC and baseball was not part of the lineup this year. i watched three games and two of them were the gold medal games. after getting back from target i went to see one more show in the minnesota fringe festival, it was karaoke after dark, at the round theater. i signed up to sing and did lady gaga's 'bad romance'. burlesque performers did their thing during each song. i was focused on singing so i barely noticed the performer doing her striptease, aside from something being left on my shoulders. when the song was done i found out it was her blue glove. great costumes and song selections. it was show number five that i had seen at the festival. in the evening i took a long walk around the neighborhood and found 70 cents. 

sister ros bobblehead

 in the evening i went to the st. paul saints baseball game, and there was a giveaway item. it was a bobblehead honoring sister ros, the massaging nun. before the game she put her hands in wet cement and this will be apparently on display at the museum onsite. the saints lost to columbus, 11-8. most of the columbus runs were via the long ball. saints were trailing late, 11-3, and tried to close the gap but it fell short. since i wanted to arrive early enough to get the giveaway item i did not do the customary eating before arriving at the stadium. i had a cream soda, chili cheese dog, and a salted nut roll at the venue. this was a fairly full day for me and i didn't do much after getting home from the game. it started off with my typical errand running, going to the post office, picked up two orders. then it was on to the capitol to drop off recycle, and i moved up going to aldi for groceries as well. i wanted to be in uptown by midday, and i was. i had a reuben sandwich at caffrey, first time there since christmas eve. i had chips, a can of pineapple flavored soda, and some carrot cake as well. then it was on to the fringe show i wanted to see, about pop culture fandom on social media. it was largely about taylor swift. i laughed a lot. it was at the huge theater, which had moved, first time seeing a show the new location. it was about two blocks from the sandwich shop. after the show i went home and watched the olympic games on NBC, it was the gold medal game for men's basketball. the american team beat france, 98-87. then shortly after this was done i was on my way to the saints game. i made an odd find when getting back errand running. i saw a beer carton near my car and i decided to put it in the nearest dumpster. nothing unusual there, except i looked inside the carton and there was two bottles, one of them unopened. so i claimed the unopened one, a heineken, and put it in my refrigerator. at halftime of the basketball game i went to a nearby gas station and got a small bag of popcorn. then during the second half i ate the popcorn and drank the beer. during my walks i found 29 cents. 

blueberry pie snack mix

 i made my weekly visit to the walgreen near my workplace and there was no single serving ice cream candy bar available. i ended up buying their store-brand blueberry pie snack mix, and a bottle of dunkin donuts iced coffee. the snack mix tasted fine and was a little cheaper than the ice cream. at work the check stock shipment arrived just before midday. oddly enough, i emailed about it and then i was called by the courier a few minutes later saying they were onsite. there was no fax to send to recurring in the morning. i was emailed a few hours later asking it be sent and i said i didn't see one. i checked the paper tray and there was enough paper in it so the supply status had nothing to do with it. in the evening i went to hy-vee in eagan and ten items were bought. one of them was a charlie brown halloween card. seems wrong to see halloween and thanksgiving items this early when it is still summer though. saw a special magazine about sports stars and got a picture of it, i would like to think waiting another week means there still will be a copy there to be found. later on i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 9 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard tried to write a book. amy ended up on the professor proton show. it was followed by the one where leonard is in the north sea, while raj talks to mrs. davis at a mixer. 

small beer bottles

 i drank coors light with the evening meal. nothing unusual there. except it was two seven-ounce bottles that i had bought from a nearby liquor store a week earlier. i was not aware that beer was sold this way, i was used to twelve ounces, can or bottle, being the smallest volume container. i decided to use some things that don't get used much, for this reason. i used two different bottle openers, both found on vacations, one in Toronto and the other Atlanta. and i drank the beer out of a charlie brown-themed a and w cup i had bought from e-bay a while back. usually i just drink out of the can or the bottle. later on i went to the same liquor store and got a can of bud ice, and a bottle of summit, so now five beers are waiting. at work my boss was in but left to work from home in the afternoon. a tech arrived to look at the inserter machine after i noticed an exposed wire. we found out it was a grounding wire. this was discovered after moving the unit farther away from the wall to get a picture of it. there are still more questions related to trying to get the check shop moved downtown. oh, and it looks like the payroll configuration is finally available for use. the same tech wanted to show me how to adjust it and more testing was done on the current setup. this was when my boss was at lunch apparently, although when the tech arrived my boss did talk to the tech a little. the question is what the cost will be as at first through an email thread we were told it was not part of the service contract and there would be an expensive hourly fee involved. i checked some tracking numbers in the morning and it looks like UPS finally picked up from the box on wednesday night. i finally got a response from the internal team, but at first it was where the box is. then i was told it would be escalated, even after i said all had been picked up. so this team seemed to be useless to me. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 10 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was a season finale when leonard was about to go to the north sea and lucy dumps raj via a text message. 

overnights not picked up

it was a struggle to get the overnights picked up from the box. for a second straight day, nothing was picked up and i was getting more complaints about it. i sent an email to an internal UPS team, no response at all. my boss said call an 800 number, and i was stuck in their automated system for a while until i got someone with a pulse. i call before midday, was told i would be called when all were picked up. more than four hours later, nothing. so i called again. i got doubletalk about 'bear with us' and then a few minutes later i was called by a rep from an office in a nearby town and given their direct number. something about the normal driver was not available, sounds like a case of 'fell through the cracks'. i sent all of the envelopes for the day to a UPS facility myself on the way home, treating it like the times when the box was jammed or the door was locked. i can check in the morning on the tracking numbers to oshkosh to see if the two days of envelopes were picked up from our box. i hardly ever have to call about it, but this was aggravating how i obviously was unable to tell them to do their job. my boss wanted test checks printed and run through the machine, and this is why i said something about UPS because there was a delay on getting the test checks done. in the evening i went to a fringe show, a lady i saw while ushering informed me what show she was in this year. it was a camping show at mixed blood, but they tried to do a funny show and then serious and it fell short. pick one or the other. later on i went on a walk and found 49 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard and his band played 'six tons of granite'. it was followed by the one where the friends play d and d and then the ladies join them after las vegas was a no-go. 

world map magnet

 i found another odd thing when on another floor getting a fax scanned to another department. it was a magnet with a world map on it. good chance it will go into a sheet protector in a binder eventually along with other finds i have made at work. since the move was announced a few months back i have added to this collection quite a bit. before then a big part of what i had kept were pages about pay raises and when i got points that i would out towards amazon gift cards. i also noticed that the big boxes full of electronics equipment are still there. there were multiple complaints about overnight packages not arriving. even though i had all of them there a little early in case the pick-up was early, i guess that UPS did not arrive at all. so i did a 'schedule a pick-up' through my account. i like how i don't have to do this too often, as most days whatever is in the box is picked up. oshkosh wasn't the first one to say so, which surprised me a little. my boss was working from home due to gout, according to an email. i was asked by i.m. what my birthday is, then i declined an invite to a birthday luncheon this week as i am not moved downtown yet. the logistics of getting there, then back to where i still work, would be tough. i am used to having to spend some time getting caught up from a luncheon when it is longer than my typical lunch allotment of thirty minutes. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 30 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were both good ones. it was when amy hugged penny after penny said she is an idiot if she doesn't pick her as maid of honor. it was followed by the one where bob newhart is a guest star as professor proton, then sheldon is asked to fill in for him. 

flamenco show

 tonight after work i went to the flamenco show at the fringe festival, venue was the southern theater. it was raining before the show and after it. i put this one on my list after reading the emails sent out by the festival saying it was a last-minute replacement. the acrobatics in it was good, and so was the singing even though i didn't know the language. in one scene two dance partners acted out a bullfight, with the lady playing the bull. i think the lights went out just before the show began, when i was going up the stairs to the showroom. then shortly after that the lights were back on, auxiliary lights i guess. i found a meal at the nearby bobby and steve's, not hot sandwiches available at the time so i chose a roast beef from the cooler. i ate the sandwich, chips, and cookies in my car after parking in a ramp near the venue. at work the most notable thing was a request to overnight nine checks from the fargo file, thankfully all going to the same place. those were already marked as such, but when i get an email then i know who wants the tracking number when it is ready. during my walks i found 21 cents. 

ice cream at twins game

 went to the minnesota twins baseball game this afternoon, the annual outing through the alumni chapter. during the game i said i had to have some ice cream as so many others near me were getting some. i spent an inning and a half in the concourse after getting up for it, wanted a break from the sun which was getting into our seating section, the left field bleachers next to the foul pole. the twins scored plenty early, up 8-0 a the end of the second inning, and went on to win, 13-7, over the chicago white sox. we met at a bar near the stadium, cowboy jack's, and i picked up my ticket there. some food was provided, i had plenty of the tater tots and fries. i ordered a beer, a can of pabst. i wanted to be in my seat before the first pitch so i knew when i needed to leave the bar. i wasn't home for long after taking the light rail back to my car at a park and ride. it was just five or ten minutes, long enough to eat and drink a little, then i was out again, as i wanted to perform at a mic. i was the show closer and did mention being at the twins game as i still had a twins hat on and the yellow charlie brown-themed saints jersey. also did some bank stories, including ones about microfiche and walking in the rain. i was tired so i went home shortly after the show ended. later on i went on a walk and found 10 cents, and did most of the dishes as well, all but one pan and the silverware. 

music by skippy

 i took a lot of pictures throughout the day, the last one was of a button on a sash that said 'music by skippy'. i found it in an apron i used for collecting tokens while ushering at the fringe festival. it was my first shift of the day, at the barker building at the u. of minnesota. the second shift was at the round theater. while at the round an attendee recognized me and i asked if she has a show this year, found out it will be at mixed blood. i gave out programs at this second show, at the end of the night. i waited a little while to get back to my car due to the rain as i didn't want to get soaked. i attended one show in the afternoon, it was silly miss tilly's show at the southern theater. it was based on a true story from her experiences as a karaoke jockey at cancan wonderland in st. paul. after this show i had a beer, a can of schell's. after my first ushering shift was done i went to bobby and steve's and ate a godfather's pizza, then went home on the light rail. there was a three-hour gap between ushering shifts and i wanted to rest up a little. now i have completed the three ushering shifts i signed up for and can look forward to seeing shows for the rest of the festival, there is eight days left. sounds like i have four credits left on my card and i have found four shows of interest to me. the day started off with having pancakes at canadian days in little canada. there was no orange drink from mcdonald's so i chose a small bottle of water to go with the pancakes. i knew well enough to arrive early, to get a parking spot at the nearby school and get in line before it got really long since the 5-k run had just ended. i was done well before the bagpipe band started playing, and i yelled out a song request, 'scotland the brave', and the show runner heard me and said when it was next. this made my day and i laughed a lot. then it was on to their car show. there was a car from some of those new york cop shows, including 'blue bloods'. i also liked seeing some of those older cars as usual, including a packard, kaiser frazer, studebaker, and a willys. at midday i had a sandwich at jersey mike's and another patron said i looked like some interviewer of rock stars, i said i had heard worse before. then on to aldi for groceries, and then my day at fringe began. first session i ride3 the light rail there, second session i drove there and parked at a ramp near the venue. during my walks i found 27 cents. 

tom's taste of chicago

 this was night one of canadian days in little canada, and i was looking for food and chose tom's taste of chicago. i had a chili dog with some onions on it and a can of a and w root beer. first things first of course, this meant getting my festival button so i could get an ear on corn. then i completed the card to register the button and saw it placed in the cylinder. when i was about to begin eating the chili dog a young lady from rice street royalty brought over a piece of chocolate cake, so i ate that as well. i walked around a little after i was dine eating but not much else of interest there. band hadn't started yet and just two cars for the classic car show were there, a buick strretrod and another buick that looked like the 'rain man' car. then it was on to hy-vee in eagan for groceries, bought eight items. at work i found out what a 'cipher lock' is, that is currently what we have, where door codes are entered. sounds like a senior leader prefers badge access but still limited access to the check shop once i move. after work i went to the liquor store near me and got a bottle of coors light, and this week drank the can of natural ice, so there still are four beers waiting. during my walks i found 1 dollar 50 cents. 

skeleton shirts

 this was night one of the minnesota fringe festival, and for me that meant a shift of ushering. i didn't do much although i am ready to do what was necessary. the main thing i did was collect tokens from the patrons, there was twenty-six. the show that was onstage when i arrived was kind of loud, and near the end we saw some performers go into the lobby where i was and the three were wearing skeleton shirts. i recognized a patron when people were leaving the venue and said i would do my best to see his show in uptown. the show onstage after it where i was taking tokens had comics in it, one that i heard onstage and the other went through the lobby to get to the stage when arriving at the venue. the other usher went to see the show. then shortly after it began the house manager said i was free to go. it meant leaving behind the little flashlight i was given to find seats for late arrivals. i have two more shifts scheduled for two days from now. before i made it to the venue i stopped at two nearby venues and picked up show cards. it is good that i read the emails that the festival sends us as i heard about a show serving as a last-minute replacement, a flamenco show. if i have five credits then i will likely be attending it. at work the boss was in the 'other room' of the check shop doing meetings for the first half of the day, then not long after returning from lunch left for the day. vacation replacement was there in the morning as well, and it looks like figured out how to get the payroll configuration added to the inserter machine. there was the dial-in meeting close to midday and i found out my move downtown is not happening right away. i am told that due to getting budgets approved, along with demolition and rebuilding, it will likely be the end of september. not a big deal to me, business as usual until then. i did let all stake-holders know once i did, such as the tax specialist, whose checks are put in a lockbox for courier pickup. late in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 dollar 4 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj was sleeping with bernadette's colleague and was spying for bernie. it was followed by the one where the dudes talk to girls in school about getting into science while the ladies dressed up like disney characters and went to disneyland.