jelly roll, nye live

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

three bars, one day

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

high sierra movie

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

growth chart and postcards

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

fire inside movie

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

downstairs breakroom

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

missed call, long walk

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

vending machine lunch

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

deli express sandwiches

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

spider-man sweater

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

church hymn, fight song?

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

day one, downtown

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

move day at the bank

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

man in the white van movie

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

reading the 'move manual'

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

moving out floor mats

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

nutcracker ballet, minnesota version

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

tap my drum

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

two hyvees, then dancing

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

returned envelope questions

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

illusion museum, mall of america

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

arby's after a long day

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

pension envelope?

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

muppet christmas carol

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

la grande bande, st. mary's

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

white elephant gift exchange

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

bona movie

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

ikea photo-op

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

field trip, the sequel

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

ford handkerchief

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

paper shredder replaced

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