adobe apps

 i still find some annoying things at work. around midday i find out i can't print PDF files and my boss said i need to call i.t. about it. now i guess i need to log into each PDF file through a new adobe app, even though before i just hit 'open' and then 'print' for those check files. it meant vacation replacement had to print those files for me. i can still print anything from the main app that we had before some checks went PDF. it meant getting a sandwich and bottle of juice and chips from the convenience store on the main floor as i didn't feel like heating up a can of soup. and sadly, these i.t. issues left me behind on all of my other duties such as the overnight labels. i went to another floor to deliver part of a supply order. our team lead had ordered some letter openers, but not the kind i use which look like knives or i call those the 'stabbing kind'. the ones just ordered are smaller ones, and mostly plastic. i had a check returned by UPS to deliver to that floor to the customer service boss as well. in the evening i got a look at the amazon wish list for a birthday party that my niece invited me to. i ordered two items, no surprise how one of them is a book. i figured i should order fairly early to allow for delivery time as i would like to be the one that puts all gifts into one box. since i had a gift card balance it took care of most of the price of the order. 'The conners' was about trying to convince dan to file a lawsuit against the drug companies over Roseanne's death. i am still watching mainly due to liking this character, as i like john goodman. i have been getting a steady stream of Facebook friend requests in the past week, some are from the same hometown as me. except i haven't accepted any of them yet. i have cut back on the friend list over the years, now down to less than two hundred. during my walks i found 91 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Bob Newhart made his first appearance as professor proton, then asks Sheldon to be his fill-in while still in the hospital. it was followed by the one where we hear the song 'be my Yoko Ono' as Sheldon gets an admirer, Ramona. 

validate or verify?

 the Fargo business line asked me to pull another check and send it to the email thread. did they say it was to validate or verify? either way, i said i was holding all checks until a got a green light. thankful it was just one check i had to do a 'twin copy' for as i didn't want to black out credit card numbers on a live check. i got the green light i wanted, but it still meant not all checks went out same day. the backlog from the previous day, a little over a thousand, was done in the morning. one big file went out same-day, as usual i print and run through the smaller one first. but it meant the larger one, over two thousand, will be carryover to the next day. if i get started early enough on it then it won't take long at all. as expected, with the first of the month the ach-pdf file was a big one due to rent payments, nearly a thousand pages. although some were overflows so that meant it was actually a little lower. i got one idea for a show i would like to attend next month, it would be to see a preview as it is cheaper. as usual, i am often trying to plan things out fairly well in advance. 'Night Court' was a weird one, a big inheritance going to a horse. i liked how dermatologist Emily from 'big bang' was in it, of course this would be Laura Spencer. during my walks i found 1 dollar 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Sheldon had delayed closure on things like dominoes. it was followed by the one where the friends have an 'intervention', saying Sheldon needs to learn to drive. 

fresh popcorn, candyland

i am looking at this empty box and it says, 'fresh popcorn'. i went to Candyland this evening after finding out there was no open mic to perform at. i knew this was possible, even said so to the bartender, as there was no Facebook invite. much like the previous day, i had already paid for parking in downtown St. Paul so i decided to walk around a little and get my money's worth. although after about thirty minutes, i got back into my car and went home. there wasn't much open aside from bars and restaurants, and i had already eaten. but i like popcorn, and i have been to Candyland before to get popcorn so that is why i went there. i got a larger box this time, usually i get the smallest. at work, vacation replacement was in the shop. there was an email request for a tracking number, except there was no check number given. after doing an 'alpha search' i found out it was a check that we didn't have yet, it would be ready to print later in the day. i liked how there weren't that many overnights to do, just over twenty. most of the Fargo checks did not go out as i was asked to pull one percent of them. guess the business line had made some changes and wanted to see what the checks looked like. i had to do 'twin copies' as i needed to black out the credit card numbers since the system won't let us send copies with credit card numbers on them. it was late enough in the day when we got the 'green light' that i just decided to let the Fargo checks carry over to the next day, a little over a thousand. it won't take long to run them through the inserter machine. during my walks i found 37 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Sheldon organized Howard and Bernadette's closet, and it led to finding a letter from Howard's dad. it was followed by the one where raj did a people magazine photo shoot. 

cuba movie, science center

 plans at the outset were to attend the St. Paul Saints baseball game, although i knew the weather didn't look promising. i was wearing a winter coat, after all. i made it to the venue an hour before first pitch and the gates were locked. two men were also there and checked their phone, it said the game was already called off. it means i have a rain check, and i will have to figure out when i will be using it. already have a ticket for a game about a month from now. i decided to stay downtown as i had already paid for parking and went to the science center. there were two movies of interest to me at this place, and i was able to see one of them this afternoon, the documentary about Cuba. it appears to have been produced by the BBC back in 2018. a big part of the story was a ballerina, along with searching for answers from the coral on this island. i ended up at the landmark center after i bought the movie ticket as i had some time to fill as the start of the movie was over an hour away. there was a free event about Guatemala, and in one room there was art from some young artists from local high schools if i am not mistaken. some of it was pretty good, i got pictures of the ones of a young lady holding a parasol as well as a red-haired girl looking into a mirror. plans are to make it back to the science center in less than a week to see the other movie, i bought that ticket already. and i got a good look around in the souvenir shop. four items bought, one of them was a smokey bear postcard. the other three were 'Charlie Brown and Snoopy' items. one was a small bag of candy, then there was a beagle scout button, then a magnet of Snoopy and Woodstock in space. i didn't do much when i got home, watched part of the college basketball game. Auburn beat Michigan State so now the final four is set. in the evening it was 'the Simpsons', Homer and Flanders feuded, and it led to couples counseling. later on, i did the dishes. during my walks i found 27 cents. 

alto knights movie

 in the afternoon i saw the movie 'alto knights' in Eagan. i wanted to use the second of two birthday offers for popcorn, and this was it. i don't go to the Emagine chain as often as AMC though, but i like how their loyalty card has a quote from the movie 'up in the air'. notable about this one was seeing Robert DeNiro playing two roles. this movie covers plenty of gangster history, including mention of what was later known as the 'black sox scandal'. one scene does have the radio broadcast of the 1957 world series in a barber shop, i guessed that one after hearing mention of some Braves players such as Hank Aaron and Yankees players such as Yogi Berra. and they covered the music of the time as well, including Little Richard's 'Tutti Frutti'. a big part of the story was the upstate New York 'gangster meeting' during that same year as the aforementioned world series. i was wondering about that, in terms of if it would be there, as i recall it being mentioned in the Billy Joel song 'we didn't start the fire'. it was the climax, as there wasn't much left in the movie after this was depicted. i got a shamrock shake at McDonald's after the movie and then i headed home. there as a steady rain by then so i knew i had to be careful on getting everything inside. besides the popcorn tub, i also had the cup with some Pepsi in it from having a sandwich for lunch at Jersey Mike's. and there were the two e-bay orders picked up from the post office. i printed an event ticket, and an invite, at the copy store before i went to the sandwich shop. in the morning i got a good look at the schedule for an upcoming film festival and ordered a ticket for a screening at the Edina theater. i was pleased to find out this was one of the venues as it is easier parking than St. Anthony main. considering the ticket prices are a little more at a festival, it is probably just as well that i plan on seeing only one during this twelve-day event. i am hopeful that some others of interest get a wider release outside of the festival. this includes a Minnesota-filmed movie that has Amy Madigan from 'field of dreams' in it. three screenings, two of them are sold out and the third is in Rochester. after getting back from the movie, i watched part of a united football league game on fox. i would say the long-term outlook for this spring football league is still 'cloudy'. i noticed a sparse crowd when i watched a game on the same network the day before, opening weekend for this season. then i watched the local news on WCCO and then got groceries at Aldi. when i got back i watched baseball on fox, Astros beat the Mets 2-1. during my walks i found 74 cents. 

violin player, fish fry

 i went to a fish fry at a catholic school this evening after work. notable was seeing a violin player on the stage. hard to tell what the other instrument was, but probably a 'concertina' since it looked like a small accordion. while waiting in line i saw someone pouring beer out of a pitcher to some patrons. i got plenty with what i paid for, including a breadstick. the one thing i would have preferred is the jugs being labeled so one wouldn't have to guess what drink was in it. there was three, and i wanted water and it was on the left. another patron said try that one if i wanted water. i didn't stay long, after i got food i was out the door in ten minutes. i wanted to get to the science center and see a movie in the omni-theater but i didn't make it in time as i knew part of being there was finding parking first. i learned a valuable lesson and will try again next week. what i wrote down was 'do not turn on TV when i get home or go directly to the fish fry and do not go home at all'. considering the wait in line for food, this would have given me the ten extra minutes or so that i needed to find parking in downtown St. Paul. it was a 'young Sheldon' rerun, where the mom is mistaken for a student at Sheldon's college orientation. pastor jeff gets a motorcycle ride from the dad as the episode ends. during the college campus scenes, the song 'two princes' by spin doctors is playing. this show did have music playing way more often than 'big bang theory' ever did. anyway, after the science center was a no-go i just went to the Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries. cashier thought it was a little odd that i wanted the paper, i said i still like reading it once a week. and i pay attention to the music while there. two songs i heard were Demi Lovato's 'heart attack' and then 'my city was gone' by the pretenders. at work there was two notable things. tech arrived in the morning, and we found out the problem with the inserter machine, was told it was 'hot product' after seeing the error message. this means just let it cool down a little between pulling it off the check printer and then running it through the machine. during that same time my boss tried to call me. it was about the ACH-PDF file. i did find two statements going to foreign lands but those did not 'go to the top'. during my walks i found 30 cents. 

march madness pizza party

 yet another food event at work during employee appreciation week, probably the final one for this week. it was the march madness pizza party. i went around midday to the main floor and showed my ticket as i had to register for it in advance. i had two slices of pepperoni, as well as some pink lemonade. i did shoot some hoops but it took a while to get two in. i chose a foldable frisbee with the bank's logo on it, along with the name of the building management company that co-sponsored the event. also notable about the day was the inserter machine. it threw the same error message nearly ninety times in the morning, then i shut it off and went to the pizza party. and much like many other days, i turn it on again a few hours later to 'close out the day' and it hums along just fine. over a hundred checks left over from the morning were run through in the afternoon. when i reported it to the tech, who is due back the next day, i said it was 'baffling to say the least'. after work i went over to a building i had visited for a member event last week and got a look at a limited-run exhibit that is closing in a few days. i got three pictures from the exhibit, one mentioned the Yellowstone River. my head hurt after being there as i wanted to read all of what i was seeing, as usual take a good look around. i am used to art exhibits being mostly pictures instead of words. not sure why this one was the opposite unless it's because book publishing is done there. i have already changed my weekend plans, but it was no big deal to do so as it was an event that i hadn't bought a ticket for just yet. i wanted to see a college baseball game at the u of m, but due to the weather report the schedule of the three-game series has been shifted, moved up. it became a single game today and a doubleheader on the next day, not important enough to me to knock off work for it. i will just go see a movie instead. after the exhibit i went to eat at the nearby Bobby and Steve's, a chicken dinner, likely the first time doing so there. usually, i just get a little godfather's pizza or a burger. then i went home on the light rail. during my walks i found 1 dollar 10 cents. 

potbelly sandwich

 more food events at work, and at lunchtime i went to claim a potbelly sandwich at the potluck as i knew the bank's management bought those. pretty good, i got a pizza melt. i liked getting in and out of that floor without anyone noticing i was there. then i ate it back in the shop, along with the typical goodies i bring, the little box of raisins along with some animal crackers. in the morning there was a food event as well, on a floor i hadn't been to before. there was fruit, bagels, and coffee, with caribou coffee cups. there was a request from a colleague to add a note on checks being sent inter-office, or inter-company, that the mailroom not image them in hopes they would arrive a little quicker. i let them know that i was fine with them being held for pick-up, and two of them i recognized from before the move showed up to pick up those two checks. i was seeing instant messages about how to get it done, including from the payroll boss. in the evening i went to a meetup event at a micro-brewery, dual citizen in St. Paul. some people there were fine to talk with, but near the end of the night one i found to be annoying and said, 'this conversation is going nowhere' and then i moved to another table. i didn't stay for long after that as it was past the event's time allotment anyway, i had more things to do at home. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny ruined Valentine's Day with her jealousy and Sheldon made Amy his emergency contact. it was followed by the one where Sheldon moved in order to keep penny's secret. it was a good one as raj, then Howard, dumped him on another friend by saying 'tag, you're it'. during my walks i found 75 cents. 

bagel, no plate

 the goodies for the day were bagels. i got to that floor a little earlier compared to the previous day. i used strawberry spread as the only other option seemed to be 'plain'. i saw no plates on the table, so i went to the nearby breakroom and got a paper towel for it. another activity around midday, another dial-in meeting, this time it was trivia. but i didn't dial into it at all. there was way more checks to print. there has been a plea to have more people sign up to bring a dish to share for a potluck. i haven't done many potlucks since i started there nearly five years ago. when there is mention of the company's management team bringing sandwiches i am more interested in having one of those. tech arrived to look at the inserter machine in the afternoon, but no jamming was happening. i had noticed it before, where it was happening in the morning but then i shut it off before lunch. then i turn it on again for the final run of the day and it hums along just fine. the tech spoke of making a return visit in the morning, on Friday, in hopes of 'catching it in the act'. because of the machine issues, i was behind on getting the overnight labels done and had to stay longer than i usually do to get them all done. i heard my phone ring before i made it home when i was at gas station. it was an Iowa number, and once i was home i checked it against saved numbers from text messages and noticed it was from my niece. when i made it home i asked 'how can i help?' and found out i am invited to an event next month for her kid. she spoke of what her kid likes, and some of those things i also liked when i was young like the cookie monster. during my walks i found 1 dollar 1 cent. 

employee appreciation week

 this week is all about employee appreciation week. there were donuts on another floor, i went to go see if there were any left once i had done some work for the day. i got a jelly donut and there wasn't much left by then, just four remaining after i chose mine. there was bingo on a dial-in meeting at midday but i closed out of it after ten minutes, wanting to stay ahead on my normal duties. there will be more activities throughout the week. when i checked the weekend box office i found out i had seen four movies in the top 35. besides 'eephus' over this weekend, also the Bob Dylan biopic, and two documentaries- 'October 8' and led zeppelin. i am probably going to theaters more often when i know that seeing it as a redbox rental is no longer an option. i was curious about what other cities had screenings for the baseball movie and no surprise how many of them were in the Boston area, where it was filmed. one of them is in Iowa, in Des Moines. and in St. Louis, a city i visit annually, it is at an arthouse theater near forest park. no surprise how the box office winners are often animated movies for kids. sometimes i those at theaters, but not too often. in the evening i went to perform, and did stories about the bank, seeing the baseball movie, and a bathroom mirror sign. during my walks i found 50 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Howard and raj bought a 3-d printer. it was followed by the one where penny has a birthday party for Leonard, and penny goes to an electronics store with sheldon to try to find a gift. 

eephus movie

 this afternoon i went to see a movie, 'Eephus', at St. Anthony main in Minneapolis. this is a baseball movie. the funniest lines in the movie weren't from the players, but the umpires and spectators. i saw it as a farce, as the game continued even after the umpires left, and it got dark. as a big baseball fan i knew i would see it if it got a release to theaters. there were some quotes from greats such as branch rickey and Yogi Berra in the transitions, or the beginning of each 'chapter'. plenty of classic cars in it, including a Plymouth Road Runner and a Chevy Camaro IROC. and i noticed a General Electric boom box in the dugout. one spectator had a white nacho bowl at his table. i have some of those, i found them at baseball games and use them as cereal bowls. the premise was one last game between two 'beer league' teams before demolition of the venue. i did get a small popcorn and a small drinking cup, i put fruit punch in it. i picked up a card as well, it was all i could find to remind me about the upcoming film festival at this venue next month. although the card was about membership, instead of being about the festival. the movie is named after a rare pitch. i guess there were some notables that made cameos, although i was unfamiliar with most of the actors in it. the radio announcer happened to be a former red sox announcer, and bill 'spaceman' lee pitched one inning in the game, a former red sox pitcher. i have some of his cards. no surprise there, as usually the only role that a non-actor will play is themselves. i had lunch at Ikea, using a birthday offer, free cake. i had the meatball meal. i called an audible on which screening i attended, as i knew i didn't make it in time to find parking. i decided to go shop at Rosedale mall in Roseville, and attend the next screening, three hours later. i bought three items there. first was a dairy queen blizzard, the flavor of the month, mint Oreo. then there were some shoes-using two gift cards- at JC Penney. finally, a pack of baseball cards out of a vending machine. i said 'worth it!' about the cards as it was just five dollars. it was the cheapest item in the machine, likely due to being ones that were already two years old. i didn't do much after the movie, besides having pizza for the evening meal and doing the dishes. i did laundry in the morning. during my walks i found 1 dollar 1 cent. 

long days journey into night

 in the evening i watched a DVD movie, a recent purchase from amazon, 'long day's journey into night'. i wanted to see it as Katharine Hepburn is in this film adaptation. i had read about Eugene O'Neill, who wrote this play, and seeing this movie i saw how much of it was inspired by gene's own life. this was no doubt true when we hear the background of the dad, mention of his being an actor and playing the same role for a long time because it paid really well. Katharine was good in this one, especially in scenes where she fell on the floor and struggled to get back into her chair. in one scene, i said 'guess she finally found the wedding dress she had spoken of'. other things that stuck with me were scenes when people drink from a liquor bottle and then replace it with water, then eventually the dad catches on to how it was watered down. another was when the dad tried to play a card game with his younger son and they ended up arguing, never really got the game started at all. i had heard of both actors playing the sons, but i recognized Jason Robards as the elder son better than Dean Stockwell as the younger one. the voice was familiar with Robards. in many cases, i said what was discussed by the family could be described as 'you can't handle the truth', a line from a different movie of course. this wasn't the only thing on the docket for the day. there was also going to a bar to see a basketball game before midday, in the national tournament. the Iowa women were playing Murray state, in the first round, in Oklahoma. i didn't make it in time for the start of the game, as i was at a copy store printing an event ticket. but it was near the end of the first quarter, so i didn't miss much. Iowa led by twelve at the half, and went on to win, 92-57. they really poured it on in the second half. i looked up one thing on my phone while there, about their opponent. Murray state is named after the Kentucky city the school is in, and it started as a normal school or teacher college. around halftime i ordered food, liked the mushroom and Swiss burger. also had some grain belt beer in the bottle. during my walks i found 96 cents. 

fool's errand?

 at work i started off with a weird i.m. it mentioned fire drills and i was lost as to how that pertained to me. then finally this man asked me to go to another floor and try to re-boot a computer so it could be used remotely. at least i said i wasn't on the same floor as the others on this team. i found out the floor was largely deserted, saw just one employee in a cube and there was someone handling the recycle bins. i was given limited information, was told it was near a whiteboard on wheels. i found a computer where it said 'press escape' but after i returned to the shop i found out that wasn't it. i made two more visits, after being given the two serial numbers to look for. i found just one of the two and was unable to re-boot it. i only had the time to work on it during the first two hours of the day, as i had my own normal duties to handle. it seemed like a fool's errand, but later in the day i was given points that i can put towards an amazon gift card. this was the first time in over a year where someone had sent me points. so, i guess i won't complain about trying to do something that wasn't my job. i know this can happen a lot when i am onsite all the time, unlike most of my colleagues who can work from home on many days. there was a quick dial-in meeting just before i went to lunch, mention of a function moving to our team and it means having to hire someone for it. i had done part of this function, handling the refund checks, during the pandemic. i was the one that overnighted these once a week to an office on the other side of the metro area. i liked how i got out of the office at a decent time. it still helps to do as many overnights as possible before i have to run the machine late in the day. i had to call an audible on what fish fry i attended. i tried going to the one at the Ukraine center, had done it as a take-out order before. i saw a line wrapping around the block, i parked. then i asked someone near the front of the line how long they'd been waiting, was told forty-five minutes. i said that don't work for me, i wanted to eat right away. i went to an Arby's and found a fish sandwich there. the fish was big, plenty of it sticking out from the bun. i made it back to the Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries after skipping a week. during my walks i found 1 dollar 41 cents. 

prop rod placement

 i ran my car into the shop after work and i had a question about prop rod placement. i am used to it on most cars i have owned being anchored down somewhere, except this one wasn't. the tech said it was fine to have it where i've decided to keep it. i guess it was supposed to be anchored down but something must have been broken over the years. i got a loaner so i can still get around until it is done. i didn't like waiting a week to run it in but i know there has been a wait at other shops i have been to as well. sometimes there is a personnel shortage. at work the overnight envelope volume was just over forty, but i like how there wasn't that many to do late in the day. i do my best to plow through and get most of them done before the late afternoon running of the inserter machine. and it helps when there is little or no overnight requests in the second i-pay file. this time there was one, but i recognized it as a label i had already created. three checks going to the Polk county sheriff in Des Moines, Iowa. and it became four, i like it when i am able to lump together as many checks as possible. for the second straight day i bought something at a nearby store during my lunchtime. today it was the skyway walk to the Walgreen, the previous day it was a shorter walk to the main floor for a sandwich and juice and a greeting card with turkeys on it. one check was set aside for in-person pick-up except i haven't heard from this colleague after sending the i.m. i even said when i go to lunch to ward off this colleague showing up when i know i wouldn't be in the shop. in the evening i had another can of Sapporo with the evening meal, and now there are four cans left from this six-pack i started with. during my walks i found 51 cents. 

bathing prohibited

i went to an event after work and after it had ended i used the bathroom. a sign on the mirror said that bathing and body washing was prohibited. this seemed weird to me. this was a member- or friend- event, and it included an open-mic for readers. i was on after a no-show, and did some poetry i had just written a week earlier about riding light rail. one reader after my turn did an excerpt about her son who had a drug problem, and she got choked up twice during her short time at the mic. i like the cheese and meat discs and crackers there, although i got a burger and some strawberry milk at the bobby and steve's after it was done and ate the burger on the walk to the light rail. the drink i had at the event was a mixed one, cranberry juice and ginger beer. i could taste the cranberry in it, haven't had ginger beer much before if at all. at work i had a check intercept request where the combined value of the three checks wouldn't even buy a fast-food meal. when i got home i tried watching the news but fell asleep and when i woke up, 'comics unleashed' was on. for once i recognized a guest that wasn't famous, it was Arizona Chicago. a few of her jokes sounded familiar, she is one of my 'ring of honor' photos. another guest was Jon Lovitz. during my walks i found 50 cents. 

cascading hoppers ended

 at work my vacation replacement was in the shop, and noticed the machine was stopping a lot. after some testing, it was decided to end the cascading of the hoppers as there was something wrong about the programming of it when the tech was in to set up the cascading. all about whatever gets the checks through the machine and out the door in a timely fashion. one business line responded to the list of tracking numbers i had sent, asking when those would be sent out as overnights. i said there is an early pick-up time given on the box, and i get them in the box as early as possible. those would likely get picked up later that day. having that question is just as annoying as when i am asked if two checks are being put in the same envelope. the team lead wanted to exchange phone numbers near the end of the day due to a senior leader telling us about the impending snowstorm. even though there are many days, snow or otherwise, when i don't see team members at all during my workday. and according to the weather report, it sounds like there will be some snow but not a blizzard. it was nice seeing the customer service boss when i was leaving the building, getting ready to take the light rail home. 'Night Court' was a rerun, involving a lie-detector test. during my walks i found 35 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Amy liked being taken of by Sheldon when she was sick, but she gets spanked when caught in a lie. it was followed by the one where Sheldon gets a new rival, a teenager from north korea. 

pitbull and bon jovi

when i was driving home from performing tonight, i heard a song on my car radio that was catchy. it was by Pitbull and Bon Jovi, a remix of 'it's my life', retitled 'now or never'.  as we all know, i like songs that say, 'it's my life'. it might have been the first time for me performing on St. Patrick's Day. i know it is not too often that i see an Irish flag brought to the entrance of a bar anyway. i liked hearing the show runner doing some Irish drinking songs, and it meant seeing some people join him onstage and drinking a Guinness. there was the lady that brings the Muppet getting onstage as well, she sang 'Danny boy'. it reminded me of the song being in my favorite movie, 'good will hunting', as well as a college choir singing it when i took a trip to Seattle many years ago. i tried to make it until the end of the show, but it was running late and i was tired so i left with two performers remaining. the people i knew had already performed. the comic with an alliterative name, an occasional visitor to this mic, led to me being mentioned when a third comic went up. it was said that i stay to watch other performers and this one did not. at work there was one small PDF file in the afternoon that was carried over to the next day as i got it printed late. i was trying to get caught up on creating overnight labels. and one ACH-PDF statement, a dozen pages, was carried over as well as i wanted to have more time to seatch for an envelope to send it in. during my walks i found 50 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon and howard feud over a parking space. it was followed by the one where the friends go to a 'planet of the apes' marathon when sheldon gets sick. 

rosemary clooney show

 in the morning i watched a DVD, a recent purchase. it was songs from the Rosemary Clooney show. i guess this is why she is name-checked at the end of the movie 'grease'. had to ask my parents who she was, as this was before George became famous. looks like the disc was produced about two years after she died. i also liked the interviews in it, more so with those i knew- her brother, Nick, and nephew, George. there were also interviews with her five kids but i didn't recognize any of them. there was mention of her guest starring on the TV show 'ER', but not any clips from it. this was a weird path on getting me here, going back to New Ulm of all places. i have a disc of songs by the concord singers, and was googling their other discs and it led to finding out there was a record label called concord, and rosemary was signed to it. i wanted to get it down to ordering just one audio disc, then found this video disc and decided this was a better idea. there wasn't much on the docket for the day, i also got to re-copying notes, sweeping the floor, and running the paper shredder. in the evening i did my income taxes online with Jackson Hewitt, both federal and state. i checked over what i entered and this made a difference. at first i was disappointed about owing on the federal return for the second straight year but i checked what the completed forms said and corrected my reported income. this led to a small federal refund. the state refund was much more. this was in the evening, then after it was done i did the dishes. during my walks i found 84 cents. 

october 8 movie

 in the afternoon i went to see a documentary movie, 'October 8', at the Southdale mall theater in Edina. it was about the Hamas attack on Israel and the college campus protests since then. one reason i chose this one is some actors with name recognition in it, there was Debra Messing and Mike Rapaport. the former i knew from 'will and grace', the latter i knew from a small role in 'Copland' as well as guest starring on 'big bang theory'. i had heard about these protests in the news, but the interpretation in the documentary format meant more to me. at times what was depicted made me angry, due to the spread of misinformation. and this is more likely when there is so much social media available. after the movie ended, a theater employee advised us to share on social media that we saw it. sometimes i do this. i also recall another patron being disappointed on the crowd size. well i knew that this was just one of two theaters in the metro area showing it, the other being in Roseville. i said to this patron that documentaries don't get big crowds, no matter what the subject is. i used a birthday offer- one of two i used for the day- at this theater, it was free popcorn. i said it is probably good that it is just an annual thing as it was a lot of popcorn, it was a large-sized tub. i knew i would end up taking it home, and it was windy when i left so i had to hold a hand above the tub to minimize how much popcorn flew out. the other one i used was the free sandwich at jersey mike's, my lunch before the movie. this leaves two offers, from Ikea as well as another movie theater chain. used the one from AMC, there is also one from Emagine but i go to Emagine theaters less often. before lunch i went to the post office, two orders were picked up. i got a haircut at great clips, there was a wait, but it was shorter than predicted. some people check in online but i get moved up if those people haven't shown up yet. and the list got shorter when the duplication of a 3-person reservation was taken off the board. a man brought his three kids in, a son and two daughters. the youngest was shy, but i saw what the employee did to get her comfortable, saying she had the same name and telling her she was setting aside a sucker for her. i ended up with this same stylist eventually. then i got some groceries at a Cub Foods, including a family-sized box of Lucky Charms cereal. figured it was a good way of marking St. Patrick's day, which is soon. after the movie i stopped in Richfield and got the latest lady gaga CD, 'mayhem', at target. and i went to the nearby liquor store and bought a six-pack of Sapporo beer. this was in honor of my college roommate visiting Japan. i drank one can of Sapporo with the evening meal. then it was on to Aldi for groceries. i didn't do much in the evening. during my walks i found 2 dollars 7 cents. 

potluck greeting card

 i bought a greeting card in a skyway store i have passed by to get to the Walgreen. i had seen two, and figured i should get the second when it was fresh in my mind. a week later, i did. the art on it was really good, depicting a potluck table. just as important, i got it because there is a profile about actor-comedian Jeff Foxworthy on the back. and this is part of the 'you might be a redneck' series of jokes. and i got another bottle of Dunkin donuts iced coffee. test checks were printed mid-morning, once there was a file available. i.t. asked if it was a good time by i.m., i said no live checks were being printed just then. there were two files, both for the Fargo business line. just under twenty checks to print. and i had to black out the credit card numbers in order to get them through as a scan and then as an email to i.t. i was on a call about it when the doorbell camera rang, so i answered the door and it was the mailroom sending me the empty mail tubs as well as a returned overnight envelope. i joked how i really was in demand then. i liked how the overnight volume was lower, just twenty-five, as some days this week it was close to or over fifty. easier to get out close to the normal time when there are fewer overnight labels to create at the end of the day. when i got back to the park and ride i drove over to a fish fry, it was a church i had been to before. there was a line to get in, but it steadily moved. i was next to two ladies who talked about a trip to Hawaii. weird what happened with my turn with the cashier. at first i was given too little change from the twenty, then it was corrected. then i get over to the food line and was asked by somebody from the cashier table if she gave me a ticket. i said she did, and i put it in the fishbowl already. then i went to a table to eat and knew one packet of tartar sauce wasn't enough. a man thought i was leaving because of him, and i showed my plate, saying that wasn't enough tartar sauce. two packets proved to be enough. as i was leaving i had to look up a verse i saw at the entrance, isaiah 35-2. made sense once googling as it mentions the origins of this order of the church. after i was done there, i went to a speedway gas station to get the paper, chocolate milk, and string cheese. i was asked to open a door for a lady who was having trouble with the gas pump. after the news, and 'enough said', i watched a 'Rockford files' rerun. during my walks i found 5 cents. 

unresponsive rider

 the ride home tonight from work memorable, to say the least. a lady was found unresponsive by the fare enforcement team, sleeping on the seats. it was announced that we would be delayed, although the train did go one more stop and then we waited for the emergency vehicles to arrive. first i saw a fire truck, then an ambulance. hard to see anything when she was still on the train, aside from checking for a pulse. then she was carried out onto the platform after a few minutes, and we continued on. at work the notable things were being asked to print test checks late in the day. i asked if it could wait until the next morning, and i.t. was fine with that. also, because there was no file just yet. i said i had more time for it in the morning when there are no live checks to print. there was one file that i didn't let carry over until the next day, as it was the Canadian file. figured i should print before the end of the day even if i couldn't get it sent out same-day as i recall one time discovering a file for that business line a day late due to a bank holiday. meaning, i couldn't count on it becoming a 'red line' on the dashboard the next morning, reminding me it was still there. you do whatever works in terms of handling what is there. i can file it away overnight and then being it out the next day, it was ten checks. there was even a weird check copy request where it said 'respond to the link' except all i had at first was the wrong payee name and i asked for a check number. then for back-up purposes when it was found, i sent the copies to the original email and to the link. i drank the can of bent paddle with the evening meal and went to the liquor store and got a can of Budweiser, so there still are four beers waiting. during my walks i found 25 cents. 

liza minnelli documentary

 this evening i went to the Trylon cinema and saw a documentary about entertainer Liza Minnelli. i attended with a meetup friend, the retired postal worker, and his friend, who has the same name as a great-aunt of mine. i was largely unfamiliar with liza's big decade of the 1970s, so i did learn some from watching this movie. a few things sounded familiar, sadly, in terms of what it is like to be an entertainer. one quote was 'they wanted her', meaning, only seeing her as an entertainer. although there are times when she just wanted to be someone different offstage. much was said about her mother, Judy Garland. i could see how this would be annoying, where interviewers would ask about her mom a lot. this movie does paint her portrait, 'warts and all', as there is mention of her times in rehab. i said i recall how she was once mocked on 'Saturday Night Live', because that's what they do on that show. except that sketch is not in this documentary. i was paying attention to the previews of upcoming programming, and as expected there is another movie in May that interests me. i go to this theater more than the first-run theaters. at work it was nice to get caught up again, as there was a carryover of a little over a thousand Fargo checks. i ran those through the machine in the morning before the ACH statements or the tax forms for payroll. there was a quarterly town hall meeting, but i dialed in for just half of it as i wanted to stay caught up on work. this is the one that mentions new hires and those who are having service anniversaries. not mine, just yet, but soon enough. i wasn't home for long after work, i had a snack and then it was on to a holiday gas station. i got gas for the car and a sandwich for me. then it was on to the movie. then i did my after-work routine when i got home. i checked my Facebook news feed and my college roommate, the physics major, is headed to Japan. fourth visit there, first three for work, this one a vacation. during my walks i found 1 cent. 

pearl jam covers

 when i was driving home from work tonight i had 89.3, the current, on. there was a song by willie nelson and his son, Lukas. i said it sounded like a pearl jam cover, and it was. the song was 'just breathe'. according to online searching, there was something about it back in 2012, as well as last year. either way, it sounded good. it is nice when we hear an elder statesman willing to do covers. of course, i am reminded of johnny cash covering the nine-inch nails song, 'hurt'. when i got home i did 'pay by phone' on a credit card bill and then the phone was plugged into the wall with a battery charger. 'night court' was about telling the court's story as a musical. i liked this episode more than some others. at work i got started on the tax forms from payroll, just under five hundred went out. if i do at least that many per day then all will be out the door by the end of the week, or pretty close to it. hated getting a paper cut near the end of the day, but it can happen when the air is dry and i don't use lotion on my hands. the volume spiked on the overnights, i send fifty envelopes to the box by the end of the day. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard gets back from space and his friends are in the midst of a pie eating contest. it was followed by the one where penny's friend, the 'whore of omaha', arrives, and howard is interested in her. 

empty beer cups

 i was used to seeing some road construction in downtown st. paul but when i went there tonight i didn't see as much, which was nice. easier to get around. i went to perform and was recognized by another performer when i went to take my empty beer cup to the bar area. it was the silly performer, we hugged. as i recall, i attended her fringe show last august, it was about karaoke singers at a show she had hosted. early on before the show began i saw plenty more of these cups and was thanked by a bartender when i brought them out. still the janitor mentality in me, cleaning up after others. i did stories about the two meetup events i attended, birthday offers, the bank, and one inspired by dirt as a poet spoke of dirt. at work a box of tax forms from payroll arrived, i will get started on them the next day. vacation replacement was not in, spoke of a hurting back. i completed the final online class that was due this month. i had six to do and completed one per day. during my walks i found 1 dollar 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard was in space and was drugged by the other astronauts. sheldon hired an assistant, alex. it was followed by the one where lesley changed what was on sheldon's equation board. 

everyone's hero movie

 in the morning i watched a DVD movie, a recent purchase from amazon, 'everyone's hero'. this was the second of two discs in the case. i had seen an ad for this movie on another disc, 'night at the museum'. since this is a baseball movie it was of interest to me. it is about the Yankees in the 1932 world series against the cubs, and babe ruth's bat being stolen. it is animated and i was familiar with many of those in the voice cast. this includes William h. Macy, Whoopi Goldberg, and Rob Reiner. Joe Torre essentially plays himself, the Yankees manager. i know it was a fictionalized account of the series, but this wasn't even close to the best baseball movie i had seen. a few things in it were too far-fetched. the music in it was good, including 'Chicago, that toddling town'. then just before midday i started watching a college basketball game on fox, the Iowa men's team was playing at Nebraska. Iowa won and made it into the conference tournament with the win. late in the afternoon i went to the Mall of America for a meetup event. it was at a restaurant, 'fair on 4'. passed by it on previous mall visits, first time inside. memorable was getting my food order and it i could tell it wasn't my order, based on the kind of fries as well as i asked for cheese on my burger. some kept asking about it, i said i returned it and eventually i got the correct order. the mini donuts arrived first, and my drink was root beer. i got a look around before leaving, there is ax throwing as well as go-carts. and a big game room as well, including skee-ball. i got a picture of the bear onstage as it said 'do not feed the bear'. i didn't do much in the evening, besides the dishes. during my walks i found 43 cents. 

northern lights lecture

 there were multiple activities planned for the day, and my Facebook events list reminded me of one where i marked myself as 'interested'. it was a lecture at the Minnesota history center in St. Paul, about photography related to the northern lights, or aurora borealis. i haven't seen these in person so it sounded like a good idea to attend. it was in the afternoon and lasted for about an hour. there was also photography of wildlife, such as moose. there was a book signing by the man who gave the lecture. i was fighting to stay awake when they dimmed the lights for this event as i was tired. in the morning i crossed two of three things off of my list. there was getting to the post office, two orders picked up. and i bought two greeting cards as well, one of them was snoopy-themed. i scrapped the visit to the capitol for dumping into recycle bins as there was a rally happening. then it was on to the copy store to get two pages printed, one of them was a birthday offer from Ikea. after the lecture i went to Aldi and got groceries, then it was on to the vikings stadium in minneapolis as i wanted to attend a college baseball game. the minnesota gophers were playing purdue. the long ball was a big factor in this one. purdue won 11-6 and more than half the runs scored in the game were on home runs, including a grand slam that put purdue ahead for good. i went to bobby and steve's before i made it to the stadium as i wanted a little godfather's pizza. after the game i drove home and made it back in time to watch the news, then saturday night live was on after that. lady gaga was hosting, liked her more as a muscial guest than in the sketches. the 'rideable luggage' was a good sketch but the jokes in others just didn't land with me. during my walks i found 54 cents. 

metronome brewery

it was a busy day for me, my birthday. after work i made three stops. one of them was at a meetup event, metronome brewery in St. Paul near the Saints baseball stadium. i had passed by it a lot when i was attending a game, first time inside. this small venue was crowded but i found a place in the back, and spoke with a Canadian lady, who was from the Vancouver area. one dude there i found to be annoying, couldn't get his facts straight and proved to be a hypocrite. i think this is why i am fine with just sharing a conversation with most of these people and then going our separate ways. i was there for a little over an hour and then went to Hy-Vee in Eagan for grocery shopping. this time it was in a paper bag, usually it is plastic. i went to their liquor store first and got another can of paulaner, so there are once again four beers waiting. before i made it to the brewery i went to a fish fry, at St. Thomas More in St. Paul. i had attended this one before, and noticed it was in a different room this time, the auditorium instead of the lunchroom. peach cobbler was part of the meal, and it reminded me of my college roommate. after Hy-Vee i went home and checked email, as expected there were some birthday wishes on Facebook, as well as some birthday offers in my Hotmail account. i guess there are five offers, but one of the movie theaters i have a loyalty account with didn't send an email to remind me like the others did. i have one movie in mind, now it means finding another one to see this month. free popcorn is the offer from both movie theater chains. at work, both of the big supply orders arrived in the morning. first it was check-stock, then the envelopes less than an hour later. this has happened before. one check file was listed as 'awaiting approval' and then was withdrawn. this was after i responded to the emailed overnight list saying it wasn't approved yet. during my walks i found 30 cents. 

bag caught in door

 no, not mine. but i did see a bag caught in the door on the light rail when i was heading home. at the next stop a rider put the bag outside. as i recall it was a re-useable grocery bag from Trader Joe's. i see people block the doors all the time, but usually it is themselves which is much heavier than a bag. sometimes the operator will get on the intercom and tell them to stop it. at work i saw the customer service boss in the morning, when i was dumping out trash in the breakroom. she was picking up something from the mailroom. in the afternoon a business line from st. louis sent an i.m. about their check file and i said i had already printed it. in the morning a tech arrived about the inserter machine, postponed from the previous day. now it is set up where the trays or hoppers can 'cascade', and i was shown how to change it as needed on each job or configuration. then i did the monthly popcorn social and had some peanut m and m's as well. i drank the can of paulaner with the evening meal. during my walks i found 26 cents. 

leanin tree greeting cards

 during my lunchtime i decided to take a walk in the skyway to the next building over, to a convenience store that i had passed by often to get to Walgreen but hadn't been in yet. what had caught my eye before was the greeting cards. i got a good look at the display and bought one, made by 'leanin tree'. chose it as it is the 'year of birth' series. many years were available, i chose 1923 as that was the year of Emerson Hough's passing and of his book, 'covered wagon' being a hit movie. fourteen bullet points were about events of the year, including famous people born that year. one thing also there was mention of the attorney general declaring it legal for women to wear trousers anywhere. women got the right to vote in 1920, so it made sense that other rights would follow shortly after that. on the back of the card, it gives two web addresses. one is of the greeting card company, the other is of a museum of the same name, which according to online searches closed in 2017. i am aware of how some convenience stores have cards that been for sale for years, and some are dated if politicians are on them. this tells me the card had likely been for sale for a while if a now-closed museum is mentioned. there is another card, with a different theme, on display at this store that i will want to get sometime soon. good idea to get it while fresh in my mind, so likely next week. i bought two other items while there, a bag of skinny popcorn and a bottle of Dunkin donuts coffee. some businesses in the skyway weren't open, likely due to the winter weather. signs said a coffee shop closed at 12noon and a pizza place was 'closed for the day', so i guess it didn't open at all. it wasn't too big of a deal to get to work, main thing was getting out my big shovel to dig out my car. then i was ready to go, on to the park and ride. there were no 'big bang' reruns on as state tournament was on instead, high school boys hockey. i didn't watch that, i switched to the 'movies' channel and watched part of 'French Connection' as the channel is honoring gene hackman after his recent passing. later on, i went on a walk and found 76 cents. 

baseball ticket packages

 as we all know, i like to attend baseball games. i saw an email in my Hotmail account tonight, two actually, in reference to baseball ticket packages with the St. Paul Saints. i referenced one when responding to the other, as i had heard from a ticket sales rep. there is mention of a package that includes one of the 'banana' games in early august, except i have already ordered tickets for one of those games- Charlie Brown day. i guess this isn't the first year where i have heard from a sales rep. i did name some other promotions that interest me. i wonder what kind of response i will get. at work the boss was in the shop, and near the end of the day i was asked about preferred places for a luncheon right before i was sending the regular mail tubs to the mailroom. i said i am not overly picky, but don't know the nearby restaurants that well yet. i liked how the backlog of Fargo checks to run through the machine went down, it was a little over a thousand and now it is just over six hundred. i prefer sending out no more than three tubs a day and i have other things to do when midday arrives such as get started on the overnight labels. in the evening i watched the president's speech to congress, which lasted over an hour. during my walks i found 51 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Howard found out his space mission conflicts with the wedding and talks to Bernadette's dad about it. this was followed with 'episode one'. 

charlie brown chex tin

 i had bought plenty of boxes of Chex cereal during this past holiday season as many of them- five kinds- had Charlie Brown characters on the front of the box. the first one was back in October at a Target. i have bought most of them at the Hy-Vee though, and a few at a Cub Foods. i saw mention of the promotion on the boxes, buy three in the same transaction and send a copy of the register tape to get a tin. i sent a November tape in to the site in January, and the tin was waiting for me when i got off work tonight. nine characters are featured on this tin with a winter theme. hard to tell how much cereal it can hold when weight or volume is not given, but it is a decent-sized tin. not as big as ones that once held popcorn though. included is a packet of a party mix seasoning blend, and a recipe card. hard to say how i will use the tin, but as a big Charlie Brown fan i like having it. i still have some boxes of Chex cereal, it will be breakfast for a little while. not just corn cereal, with Charlie Brown on the front, but also peanut butter as i like most things that are peanut butter flavored. odd thing was the box said it was shipped from Battle Creek, Michigan, home of Kellogg cereal. Chex is made by their rival, General Mills. purely coincidental, i guess. i am sure it was a way to get people to buy more of their cereal, and for me it worked. i have been known to buy most things with those characters on it. at work there was plenty of ACH-PDF statements to send out, over a thousand, as we just reached the first of the month. first day sending it on copy paper, and this will save on check stock. vacation replacement was in the shop and we both went to the floor where the supply room is. we put three boxes of copy paper on the cart. i also delivered a check to the team lead while on that floor and got more inter-office envelopes to use. during my walks i found 77 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Howard has his bachelor party, and Bernadette said after seeing the video, 'you're not going anywhere, three-way' to raj. it was followed by the one where Leonard and his mom hug, while Stuart said he loves Denise. 

horton hears a who movie

 there wasn't much to do for the day. in the morning i watched a DVD movie, a recent purchase, 'Horton hears a who'. this was actually two discs, two movies, in one case. the other animated movie i will try to watch soon. the voice cast included Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, and Carol Burnett. i had seen a shorter version of this story before, as i recall it is bonus material on another DVD, the animated version of 'the grinch' TV special. i had read a dr. Seuss book when i was young about the same elephant, it was 'Horton hatches the egg'. when one line was in the movie, it sounded familiar to that book. 'An elephant faithful, one hundred percent'. i saw the movie as having a lot of social commentary in it, and this made it a better story for me. in the afternoon i went to a library to read a recent newspaper that i expected to have this year's fish fry list, except the list wasn't there. i didn't feel like doing an online subscription with the paper jsut to see the list. i did some more searching online and found a Lutheran church going to a different fish fry every Friday during lent, except for good friday. this gives me plenty of ideas. McDonald's is likely one of the seven stops as well. proximity makes plenty of sense on where to attend a fish fry, but there are plenty nearby within a short drive. i also ran my paper shredder for the first time in months, two plastic grocery bags filled. in the early evening i went to perform. there were stories about the bank, a U-turn, and being asked for donations. after i got back, i heard a crying child and then a music box while i was doing the dishes. i wanted to go to my neighbor and ask, 'why did the music stop? i don't mind'. i am sure the music was a way to try to get the kid to stop crying. during my walks i found 51 cents. 

emilia perez movie

in the evening i went to see the movie 'Emilia Perez', in Lakeville. not many screenings available in the metro area, this was the only one for the day at this venue. hard to tell but i might have been the only one at this screening. i sat up front. this one was on my list as i knew it had been nominated for Oscars, including best picture. this was the third and final one of the Oscar nominees that i wanted to see. this venue classified it as a comedy but there was nothing funny in this movie. a musical, a thriller? that is more likely to describe it. most of it was subtitled, not a big deal to me. wanted to see it also because i knew Selena Gomez is in it, as the drug lord's wife. the lawyer to the drug lord was a big part of the story. liked seeing a karaoke scene in it as i have done karaoke before. i got a good look around at this venue, as i saw posters for plenty of classic films on the wall. i got pictures of some of these, including of 'rain man', as well as 'vacation', and 'wayne's world'. i didn't do much after i drove home. in the morning i went to the post office, one order was picked up. then i went to jersey mike's for a sandwich as it was midday by then. i laid down for a little while, then i went to aldi for groceries. i went to a speedway gas station for the evening meal as i needed gas for the car. i got a bottle of juice and two slices of pizza, then it was on to rhe movie. during my walks i found 2 dollars 30 cents. 

my dancing shoes

 doing a meetup event tonight, dancing at the VFW in Bloomington. it did say 'get your dancing shoes on'. well, it will be the same ones that i wear to work. i had one beer all night, it was a cup of grain belt. i had some popcorn as well. it was crowded in this venue, next to a Cub Foods. i did find the group i was with though. for a while i was sitting down in a booth, as i wanted to finish my beer before going onto the dance floor. and it was crowded on the fairly small dance floor. i danced to four songs as i recall, early on it was one by twisted sister and the final one was by Bryan Adams. when the band decided to take a five-minute break i said i was done as i was tired. i had been there for two hours by then. i got some pictures while i was there. one of them was of the helicopter near the main entrance. i am used to retired military equipment being a part of these veteran groups. looks like the building also doubled as the local American legion chapter. after a long day at work, this event was something that i really needed. it was my fourth event with this group since joining it in November. it is still hard to top the first one, bowling, in my book though. but at least i enjoyed it more than the event i had done a month ago. i stayed late at the office to get the overnights caught up, there was over fifty to do. i was contacted by i.t. about printing test checks, but it was in the afternoon. i said it was my busiest hour of the day, trying to get the regular mail tubs to the mailroom to be picked up by the courier. Fargo files arrived late, all were printed but none of them went out same day. i.t. said we could move the test checks to monday morning, fine with me. during my walks i found 85 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was part two of the final episode. once it was done i picked up the paper at a speedway gas station and then it was on to the meetup event. 

prefer single serving

 went to the liquor store, got a bottle of beer, Stella Artois. cashier tried to convince me to get another item out of the discount cart, liquor bottles. but i said i prefer beer as it is single serving and a lot less potent than the liquor. i drank the can of bud ice with the evening meal, so there still are four beers waiting. my weekly visit to Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries was moved up one day. i didn't use the express lane this time and i was given three plastic bags, i prefer it all fitting into one or maybe two. at work we finished the special project of all of those overnights from the previous day, there was fifty-three more to do. vacation replacement asked if i needed help, hated having to hand off more of them but i did. i sent nearly half of them to my colleague, still did twenty-seven which is more than many days there. there was one stack of a little over five hundred Fargo checks remaining, i can run them through the machine early the next day. pleased that my boss let i.t. know to contact us on Friday about printing test checks as we really were busy enough already. during my walks i found 1 dollar 29 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Bernadette said 'metrosexual, my ass' about raj after giving him a little dog. it was followed by part one of the final episode. 

overnight requests, century mark

 around midday there was three emails in the shared box. it was a total of one hundred and one overnight requests from just one business line. this was no doubt a spike in volume, and the previous day it was eighteen, and on most days nearly twenty would be considered a spike on its own. i copied my boss on it and at first i said there wasn't enough overnight envelopes available. we were told it was due to replacement checks where the original ones were sent to the wrong payee, and it was a regulatory issue in terms of needing to overnight so many. i noticed many of them were under ten dollars, and the cost of overnighting them is nearly that much. these small checks wouldn't even buy a fast-food meal now, and some were for under a dollar. we went to the mailroom and i found out we had enough as the recent order of two boxes of envelopes had arrived. i didn't get to any in my share because i was tackling everything else. my vacation replacement finished share, which was forty-eight. in addition, the two Fargo files were late, and i printed all of the special handling checks. but the lion's share had to wait, two thousand in all, until the next day. we can only do so much in any given day and my boss let the manager know that not all of them would be going out the same day. it was yet another day of me getting a quick lunch at the convenience store on the main floor, a sandwich and a bottle of juice. this was the second time this week that i have done this. in the morning before things got busy i did find the time to apply for an internal job posting, first time since starting there. purely coincidental as it had been on my list to do so for a week. weird thing that was likely also purely coincidental? when i got off the light rail back at the park and ride, there was some big bird droppings on my car. i used the windshield washer fluid on the part that landed there. during my walks i found 1 dollar 98 cents. in the evening i went to get a small bag of chips at the laundromat vending machine. had to say to the kid who wanted to press the buttons that i wanted to use the machine. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Amy makes a scene with Sheldon, after being coached by penny on how to do so. it was followed by the one where a competitor of Sheldon and Amy's for the Nobel got drunk and exposed his colleague at fermi lab for being a fraud, a plagiarist. 

six people, same name

 in the afternoon at work i didn't enjoy one instant message that arrived. it was a manager who asked me when i was sending the previous day's tracking numbers. i had already sent it and say i hit 'reply to all' so whoever is on the original thread gets them. there were shared boxes on the thread, but this boss wasn't, saying the shared box didn't get it. well i got out a screen snip that proves who was on the thread and said, 'take it up with who sent it to me'. i don't like people coming after me half-cocked but there is not much i can do about it. i know this manager has done it before. even though i got a 'thank you' after this was received it doesn't change my feelings about this boss. first thing i said when wanting these tracking numbers again is how there are six people with your name in the employee directory. both the first and last names were common. i said to try emailing me, then i am more likely to send it to the right one. in the morning the check printer stopped in the middle of printing one of the Fargo files and there was an error page. i scanned a copy to i.t., who said it was likely a server issue. when this happens, i know it is important to take good notes to see that all of the checks are printed, and only once. it stopped before it was halfway done, and it meant the four checks pulled for special handling were in the re-print part. i wrote down which ones so i knew what four i had to pull out as a duplicate. i start off with printign the special handling first, this is why i knew i had to guard against anything being duplicated. this is the fourth time that this has happened in a little over six months. i had saved the other three. backlog on checks went down at the end of the day as there was a little over six hundred remaining. there was a spike in volume on checks to be overnighted and it took a while to get caught up. it led to me taking a later train than typical, and i rode to the same stop with somebody i know from i.t. during my walks i found 55 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when penny cut Sheldon's hair. it was followed by the one when leonard threatens to quit his job at the university, then gets a great project out of it. raj makes some comments at his planetarium gig that are made fun of in the paper. 'night court' was when dan and abby each have a hand caught in a box that was given by a magician. 

pumpkin pie greeting card

 i made a visit to the convenience store on the main floor to get lunch, a sandwich and a bottle of juice, and decided to get a closer look at the greeting cards. the ones about politicians were dated, did not buy them. i liked one about pumpkin pie for thanksgiving, so i bought that one. it will go into one of the photo albums where i keep other postcards and greeting cards. there was a spike in volume in one of the check files that arrive in the morning, this led to playing catch-up for most of the day. some days the total of the PDF checks is just over one hundred, but one of these morning files was well over a thousand. it led to some of the Fargo checks being saved for the next day, over a thousand, also due to the Fargo files not being approved until midday. this is two hours later than typical. i have had a backlog before but i don't enjoy it much. i went to perform in the evening, there was not just bank stories but also light rail stories and Facebook oddities. during my walks i found 1 dollar, all in quarters. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Sheldon and Kripke played basketball to decide who would win an office. it was followed by the one where Sheldon and Amy did sensory deprivation tanks. Sheldon loved it and Amy hated it. 

america: everything you've ever dreamed of

 this afternoon i went to the Trylon and saw a documentary, it was called 'America: everything you've ever dreamed of'. this was actually a collection of short documentaries, filmed between 1971-73, running rime was a little over an hour. i really liked the one about the painters of billboards, it was of a car, the Ford Gran Torino. this would have been the 'sign painters in Brooklyn' mentioned in the description of the film when i made the advance reservation. it began and ended with retirees in Sun City, Arizona, and those segments had some overlapping footage. memorable in those two segments was seeing the 'adult tricycles' the retirees were riding on. not part of the description was 'campus crusade for Christ' but this was a reminder of what i saw in churches when i was young. hearing them sing 'they will know we are Christians by our love' was a familiar song to me. it once was recorded as a way of advertising the church's statewide camp for young people. 'Help-line operators' was part of the description, and it reminded me of my time doing call-center work. when there was mention of 'some people just want somebody to talk to' i was reminded of a call where i could tell that is what the caller wanted, and i said 'i am just an average joe'. it was called 'caustic and deadpan', well i saw the deadpan a lot but the caustic, not so much. it would have been mainly in the segment about 'denizens of a bowery men's shelter'. as those were alcoholics, drug addicts, and former mental hospital patients. there was a segment about 'how to be ladylike' and it showed women how to hold a purse. i had to look up 'comportment' to know what it meant as this was called 'female comportment instructors'. it said, 'how one behaves or conducts themselves'. also memorable were the rooms used by honeymooners in the Poconos, and the executives at 'Musak' who were in the business of music and described what music was best for someone based on their occupation. hard to follow how the segment about Tonga fit as that is not an American territory. it was a stark contrast to the other segments though. not much else to do for the day, picked up a few things at Walgreen on the way to the movie. in the morning i watched three charlie brown specials on DVD. first was 'happy new year' and the other two were Valentine's Day editions. and i did the dishes in the evening. during my walks i found 28 cents. 

jim abbott, keynote speaker

 went to the annual meeting for blaze credit union at the mega-church in Eden Prairie this afternoon. the circus was still part of the opening act, but this time there was a keynote speaker. it was Jim Abbott, the retired baseball player, born without a right hand. Jim even had a catch with Dan Stoltz, the CEO, onstage. but Jim said he didn't want to hit the mascot truck, 'archie', the 1952 ford, so it meant having his back turned to it. when i got home i found out i have four of his baseball cards with the angels. there as a video shown before his speech, it included footage from his no-hitter with the Yankees. i got plenty of pictures there as usual, including one of the St. Paul Saints mascot, Mudonna. being a sponsor of the saints led to name recognition and choosing them when i was looking for a car loan. according to the stats given at the meeting, just under half of the employees were present. i have a friend from meetup groups who is an employee and would not be attending. i sent a text message to this friend when i was having lunch at Taco John's in Eagan before heading for the meeting. before leaving the building and claiming my $25 i saw a sign that pointed where the chapel is. i got a look at it and this 'chapel' looks as big as a sanctuary at some churches! in the morning there was chores and errand running. first stop was the post office, one order was picked up. then recycle was dropped off near the capitol, then on to the copy store. two tickets to Saints games were printed, as well as a confirmation on a member event next month. after the meeting i drove home but didn't have all that much to do for the rest of the day. i had the evening meal, then went to Aldi for groceries. after this i watched a DVD movie, a recent purchase, 'Star Wars e-1'. this completes the viewing of the five discs i had bought from half-price books. during my walks i found 76 cents. 

analog phone, laptop phone

 the analog phones were picked up, four in all, after being put in a box and sitting in a corner of my office for the two months since i moved downtown. my boss asked me to follow up on an order for a phone tied to my laptop. i did so, and my boss was copied on the email. surprised to hear something right away as the order was placed more than a week prior. guess i have a laptop phone now, at least i was given the number, but i don't know yet how to use it. as usual, i was thinking of staying ahead on my normal duties. there was plenty of PDF checks in the morning, nearly five hundred, so i ran those through the machine early due to the volume. no need to wait until afternoon when i have the time to run them right before or right after the Fargo checks. the ACH-PDF files are also run through early. for lunch, much like the previous Friday, i went to the skyway location for a pizza place, but this time had a slice of sausage. i am probably not going to make this a regular thing, though, as i know it is cheaper to bring cans of soup for lunch. i still eat out some on the weekends though. in the evening i went to Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries and was recognized by the cashier as i prefer going to the express lane. during my walks i found 76 cents. there were no 'big bang theory' reruns on as state tournament was on, high school girls hockey. it was the semifinals, saw some of the first one before going to the grocery store. Hill-Murray was leading 2-0 over Rosemount at the end of the second, and i hear they went on to win it. no surprise as Hill-Murray was way ahead in the shots on goal category. 

asking for mail code

 at work i had received the alternate address for forwarding some returned checks, that are handled by the Poland team. but then i noticed i didn't have the mail code so i asked for it. this isn't the same as what is on the checks themselves, so it hasn't been updated yet. when it was sent to me i searched it in the employee directory and saw a few names i recognized under it. two of them were from 'out of office' replies that i sometimes see. based on this, and seeing none under the earlier one, i got the checks we had into an inter-office envelope and sent out at the end of the day. i try not to hold onto those for long. there was one PDF check file that didn't go out same day, as i noticed one file that arrived in the afternoon had nearly two hundred checks in it. this was way more than the i-pay file. i wanted to have the time to go through and see if any of them were special handling and none of them were. looks like they were all refund checks, and fairly small, one hundred dollars or so, definitely not amounts that would typically be overnighted. i drank the can of bent paddle with the evening meal. then later on, i went out and picked up three items. this included a small bottle of milk, a small bag of chips, and a can of Michelob, so there still are four beers waiting. i just wanted enough milk to get through the next two days on cereal for breakfast until my typical grocery run. i got the chips from a vending machine inside a laundromat. when i was waiting to get on the light rail to go home i saw a couple taking a picture outside the courthouse, even though it was still freezing outside. then when i got on the train i was near a man who was talking to himself, while he was eating some ice cream. during my walks i found 50 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Sheldon caused a power failure and created 'Leonard's day' while Howard got the astronaut nickname 'Froot Loops'. it was followed by the one where the friends did experiments on and with Howard and Bernadette's kids, while penny got an offer from a competitor at a convention. 

unwanted apps

 i looked at my phone tonight and saw plenty of apps that i didn't know i had and didn't want. don't know how they got added, i think many of them were for gaming. so, i deleted them, and kept one that wasn't google, the MLB ballpark app. i still need that one for baseball tickets. i think this freed up twenty percent of memory space on my phone. it was discovered when i tried to add the minor-league baseball app, but when i tried to log in i kept getting kicked out. so, i deleted that one as well. this was due to ordering another ticket for an early- season St. Paul Saints baseball game. i had to sign up for an account first, guess they switched ticket-selling providers. when i looked at the ballpark app, it was a nice reminder of games i have attended when the tickets went there, although not in every case did this happen. when i saw a Twins game through the alumni chapter we were given paper tickets as it was a group outing. so, the only ones i saw on the app were ones i ordered directly and not through a group. i think i found a way to get into the site where i can print the tickets myself so i don't have to use the minor-league app. i am used to 'print at home' anyway. at work there was a dial-in meeting in the afternoon, but the boss and the I.T. people did most of the talking, didn't say anything at all. i saw it as an opportunity to get some of my normal duties done, in this case it was getting Fargo checks into inter-office envelopes. i moved up my lunch a little for it. and i saw a big spill in the breakroom covered up with plenty of napkins. during my walks i found 20 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj thinks he is dating his phone, Siri. it was also when we first see 'fun with flags', where Sheldon and Amy dress like Germans for that flag. it was followed by the one where William Shatner and Kareem Abdul Jabbar are part of a celebrity d and d game with Wil Wheaton. 

linkedin job postings

 i have various email subscriptions in my Hotmail account, and i have done my best to unsubscribe from those that are no longer relevant to me. for a while i was just looking at those job postings from LinkedIn and saw very little of interest. sometimes there was something from my current employer, the bank. this evening i saw one that was of interest, and now it means figuring out how to apply for it. i haven't inquired much about transfers since i started as i like what i do. at work there was two meetings in the morning. one was about the ACH files that just went PDF. i was still waiting for those to finish printing when it began. then right after it was the team huddle, first time since i had moved downtown. some colleagues were working from home due to the subzero weather. later on, i had a quick meeting with the boss about a pay raise. i was given the printed page. in the evening i watched 'night court'. roz returned as a bailiff. i do recall saying when watching the original 'night court' how i wanted snappy comebacks like that character, along with carla from 'cheers'. inspiration for my eventual foray into doing stand-up. during my walks i found 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard and penny 2.0 began, which often meant fighting but also having sex. it was followed by the one where leonard tells wyatt, penny's dad, to back off. it was in reference to the offer to be a sperm donor for her ex-boyfriend, zac. 

becoming led zeppelin documentary

it was a day off from work, due to the bank holiday, and i decided a good way to stay occupied was to go see a movie. i went to see the musical documentary, called 'Becoming Led Zeppelin', in Edina at Southdale mall, mid-morning. before i made it there i first went to a Walgreen and got a vaccine done. as the title suggests, it is mainly about how the band was formed and then the band's early years. i was pleased with all of the music in it, first was what inspired the band, then it was songs from their first two albums. of the three surviving band members, it was mostly Jimmy Page being interviewed, but this made sense as it was Jimmy who formed the band after the Yardbirds broke up. there were audio interviews with the late John Bonham, the drummer, as well. notable was when the band passed the Beatles and became number one in album sales. i liked what frontman Robert Plant said about songwriting can be hard, as it means being intimate and exposing yourself. i know i have said this about the performing i do, as i usually do sets about my own life. after the movie was done i drove to Mall of America and had lunch, at Hooters. i was flattered when i got carded, but they likely have to card everybody. i had ordered a beer, a Surly. for the food part of the order i had the fish sandwich and fries, no complaint at all about the fries as it was more than most places i had been to. there were four songs i noticed while at the mall, three while having lunch. there was Alanis- 'hands clean', Pitbull- 'give me everything', 'Everclear- 'wonderful', and Selena Gomez- 'love you like a love song'. the fourth was while i was looking around inside the Five Below, but didn't buy anything on this visit. i did get some ice cream at the American Cookie place though, as i like ice cream and earning airline miles. i walked around most of the mall, doing a lap around floors one through three. when i got home i placed two calls, one was to discover card, the other was to my health insurance provider. then i watched jeopardy. the final jeopardy clue was about diseases mentioned in novels, i correctly guessed it was scarlet fever that was written about in little women, and little house. in the evening i went to perform, and i did speak of my day off as well as bank stories. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Amy got a tiara from Sheldon, laughed a lot at this one. it was followed by the one where Leonard has a dream that he eats Bert, then Raj. 

cameraman movie, buster keaton

in the afternoon i went to the u of Minnesota and saw a silent film, 'cameraman', with buster keaton. it was at Northrop auditorium. i had seen events there every so often since moving to the twin cities, including a robin williams comedy show in 2008. most recent event before this one was a Christmas edition of cirque du soleil just over a year ago. i showed up early as i heard there was popcorn available, and i got some. i also put my name in a drawing. this 1928 movie was on my list as i had read how a scene was filmed at yankee stadium. i liked it, especially when buster tricks a man into picking up something off of the pavement, then kicking him into the water. even though there was plenty of slapstick, it was a good setup in many scenes in terms of wanting to avoid making the same mistake, and this was also good.  after the q and a with the organist who backed up the movie, there was the aforementioned drawing. i was the winner of getting to meet the organist and get a close-up look at the organ. it was truly a case of 'must be present to win' and i was drawn for an earlier prize but no one responded like i did when the later names were drawn. the event moderator said she was calling an audible and awarding it to me. when i said 'works for me', there was a smattering of laughs from the crowd. sounds like i still get the other prize too, which is two tickets to another event at this venue, but don't recall which one. guess i will hear more by email soon. in the morning i ordered two more items on e-bay, a postcard as well as a CD. the former is of the winter carnival, the latter has charlie brown songs on it. i didn't do that much after getting back from the movie. there was a delay of about ten minutes after getting on the light rail. i tried to watch the anniversary special of saturday night live but laid down and missed some of it. later on, i did the dishes. during my walks i found 76 cents. 

nucky's speakeasy

 this afternoon i went to an event at Nucky's speakeasy in Anoka. it was my second time doing speed dating, and the first time in two months. the time allotment was for six hours, but it didn't last that long. the speed dating part wrapped up around 6pm, and the scheduled start was 3pm to be signed in and get a drink. during my time there, i drank one beer and then had some ice water. guess there was an Elvis impersonator performing later on, but i noticed most people left shortly after speed dating was done. this was one reason why i left when most others did, also because it was getting crowded there and i got sticker shock when looking at the food menu. i pulled one from a wall caddy and the bartender said that one wasn't in force for the night, which didn't make sense to me at all. i would like to think there is a better chance that i get a match this time, as the organizers said we can pick five instead of three. i recognized one date from the event of two months ago but didn't let on about that. either way, i know it is important to do events like these as i haven't done internet dating in years. it was time to eat the evening meal and when i got close to home i stopped at a popeye's chicken place. the super bowl had just been in new orleans so that place was on my mind. when i got home i watched a DVD movie, 'catch-22'. it was a recent purchase from barnes and noble. due to the event in the afternoon, my visit to aldi for groceries was moved up. i went there shortly after getting back from having a sandwich at Jersey Mike's for lunch. in the morning i went to the post office, one order was picked up. i also went to the copy store and printed a receipt for a ticket to a st. paul saints baseball game that had just been ordered. when i got home i found out the actual ticket was in a separate email that went to the junk pile. i moved it to the main inbox and will print it on my next visit. during my walks i found 12 cents. 

cloth flower

 there were cloth flowers being handed out near the elevators in celebration of valentine's day. i got one and said it would go into a vase that i was given at my grandma's funeral. i knew there already was a flower in it, but it was dead. as i recall, it wasn't the one from the funeral though. i know sometimes people go into bars to sell flowers, and i got a yellow one when i was singing karaoke. i checked out a key to get into the shop for the third, and final, day. a tech was already working on the door when i arrived on that floor, and i didn't need to use the key at all. the door was fixed by mid-morning, and i was asked to help with testing it. i scanned my badge three times and the door worked properly. i still kept the key until the end of the day, though. i wanted to stay caught up on my normal duties. i did leave the floor at lunchtime as i had seen a sign in the skyway saying there was a happy hour discount at a pizza place. one dollar off on pizza slices after 1:30pm until closing time, so i got one, along with some spring water. emergency phone was tested in the morning, a call out to my boss. there was a dial-in meeting mid-morning, about ACH statements going PDF. in the evening i went to hy-vee in eagan for groceries, and while there i got some valentine-themed cheerios cereal. it was in a cart with other items for this unofficial holiday. i went to a walgreen as well, as i wanted the paper and they were sold out at the grocery store. i bought the last copy at walgreen, and some snoopy-themed candy, hershey kisses. during my walks i found 60 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when we meet the scientists from the fermi lab who stole sheldon and amy's idea. 

emergency phone installed

 at work a tech showed up to do the emergency phone installation. it was in the morning, and this took up half of my workday. i wanted to see that all were fine with the placement. and it meant having my boss sign off on it, who was onsite and arrived from another floor. having it in the room where my laptop is, that wasn't practical. building manager said it had to be near the main door. it was placed on a different wall than the check printer and inserter machine, but still close to the door and to the exit sign. guess it can be used for more than just emergency calls, although once programmed it is lit up red and says, 'dial 911 for emergency'. a different contractor also showed up, related to the door, but i was told that there would be a return visit the next day. not much has been done about the door yet and it still means picking up a key and giving up my driver license to get it. when i turned it in at the end of the day to get my license baclk the guard made a big deal hearing how i have printed checks in the millions. i ran through over a thousand tax forms and let the payroll manager know where i was with it. i said if i don't finish what is in the shop by the end of the week then early next week. i drank the can of Michelob with the evening meal. i also went to the nearby liquor store and bought a can of bent paddle so there still are four beers waiting. during my walks i found 76 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Stuart went on a date with Amy, a movie. Sheldon shows up and Amy said he used a 'quadruple negative'. it was followed by the one where Zac asks Leonard to be a sperm donor. 

basquiat movie

 tonight, after work i went to the trylon cinema and saw 'Basquiat'. this was part of the 'sound unseen' series, which also has a film festival in November. i did see one in the film-fest, at bryant lake bowl in uptown Minneapolis. the trylon is a much better venue for a movie, though. i attended with the retired postal worker, who gave me the idea through a text message. the venue claimed that the screening was 'sold out', but we sat in the front row and there were some empty seats. i was largely unfamiliar with the subject of this biopic, but i did read up about this painter in advance. like some other famous people, died of a heroin overdose, at age 27. the cast had plenty of notables in it, including David Bowie (as Andy Warhol), along with Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Courtney Love, and Parker Posey. when the closing credits start rolling, we hear 'hallelujah', the john cale version. this movie was in black and white, except for a scene after the credits rolled, in color. i recognized this scene from earlier in the movie, it was when he uses a big paint roller. i correctly guessed one scene as announcing when Warhol had died, figuring that based on the time period being covered that this would be mentioned somewhere in the story. my friend suggested seeing another movie in this series sometime soon, and i am up for that. i think this was our first in-person visit since the state fair in august. after i got home from work, i wasn't there for long. i dropped off a few things and had a snack and then i was gone again, wanting to eat at a burger king before making it to the movie. i went home after the movie, knowing i was tired and wanting to do my after-work routine of going through emails and such. at work i was waiting at security for twenty minutes due to access to the check shop being changed when the door was locked. i was escorted into the shop and later on was given a key but needed to give my driver license for it. i got it back when i turned in the key at the end of the day. looks like we will have someone looking at the door the next morning. just under a thousand tax forms went out, besides the checks. vacation replacement was in the shop working some more on updating the written procedures, i was asked to proofread the one about a file that went PDF. during my walks i found 26 cents. 

takis fuego

 in the morning i saw vacation replacement, who had been to the vending machine, and was told that an extra bag of snack food dropped. this was Takis Fuego, hadn't heard of it before, but i know the second word is Spanish for 'fire'. i made it through the bag, slowly, and got water to help me through it. taking it slowly made this spicy thing more manageable. i got the drive mapped out that i needed, by using the 'Eva app'. i used it to create excel spreadsheets that report the stats on the checks printed by me each day. and it helps me with where to move the check files that went PDF, once those are printed. then i got the laptop boxed up and to the mailroom, and the UPS label was slapped on the side of the box, in the afternoon. i took out the additional items in the box, some cords as well as a docking station, and only sent them the laptop. sounds like this was all that was being requested. we did see a tech related to the '911 phone' installation, but not as early as projected. found out a cable is still needed to get it done, so it means a tech visit has to be rescheduled. the check stock order was delivered as well, and this led to me creating another work order on the door as the courier got inside the shop without any help from me. i did see a tech in the afternoon, but the door isn't fixed just yet. tech left before i had completed all of the overnight labels, i was behind due to the high volume of checks from the Fargo file. there was a flurry of emails about it, and two colleagues, including vacation replacement, kept asking about it. the other was the team lead, as the boss was ill and was absent. 'Night Court' had the bailiff get a pie in the face as there was plenty of clowns in the court. during my walks i found 75 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when Sheldon and Amy set their paper on fire, and it led to the shower curtain catching fire. this was also a cross-over episode with 'young Sheldon' as we see his football coach dad, and his brother, appear on a VHS tape.  

laptop return prompt

 near the end of the workday i saw an email from a colleague who said i needed to return the older laptop. the newer one i have had for a little over a week now. i was still using the older one as i didn't have a drive mapped out just yet that i use every day. i had seen this colleague on occasion related to the check printer. i then asked where the box to return it was, as i was used to seeing a small oblong one. there was no response by the end of the day. guess it means using the one the newer one arrived in, as i did find a return label there. i was pleased to get another thousand tax forms for California employees run through the machine and out the door. there is just one box remaining now. in the evening i went to perform. there is still a smaller crowd, even after moving back the start time by thirty minutes. i started off with mention of 'old man and the sea', saying i only knew it as the name of a Hemingway novel that i read back in college. show runner, when doing the announcements and ground rules, said it was also the name of a long song. i did some bank stories as well, and mention of a movie i saw on super bowl Sunday. during my walks i found 25 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Sheldon's mom visits and Sheldon gets caught out in the rain. it was followed by the one where Howard translates a Russian paper and finds out this disproves Sheldon and Amy's paper. 

brave the dark movie

 around midday i went to see 'brave the dark', at the mall in eden prairie. this movie is about a homeless teenager that is adopted by his teacher. it was hard to watch, to say the least. i wasn't sobbing, but i cried a lot. i did see someone leave the auditorium, but if it was a 'walk out' or a bathroom break, i don't know. there were some reminders of unhappy things from my younger years. i didn't recognize any of the actors in it. i know one thing i saw in the closing credits wasn't typical. it was asking for donations on their website in order to get more people to see the movie. after the movie i went to the nearby dairy queen and had a blizzard treat. i looked around inside the barnes and noble book shop as well. i spent a while in there, finding one DVD, 'catch-22'. i had hoped to find another item of interest to me, but couldn't. then i went home, and not too long after that the super bowl began. eagles won, 40-22 over the chiefs, after leading 24-0 at the half. i had hoped for a close game, but it wasn't. no commercials really stood out to me. it was a lot like the lineup of previous super bowls- plenty of ads for cars, beer, and snack foods. in the morning, i got started early on laundry as i knew i had to move my car for the snow ordinance. but i didn't  mind as it meant i was done well before midday and was still able to get to the movie. during my walks i found 35 cents.