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.