fluid bottle hiked up

 in the afternoon i was getting an error on the inserter machine at work, low fluid. i decided to hike up the bottle and it worked; it managed to last through the end of the day. then i can swap out the bottle in the morning when i have more time to meet deadlines. i liked how it was a fairly low volume day on check printing. vacation replacement was not in, saw an email early saying 'working from home' due to a visit from a plumber. in the evening i went to perform at an open mic. i saw a guitar player for the first time in a while, who does 50's inspired music. when the show runner sang a Dave Loggins tune i said i had it on a compilation CD, because 'the night Chicago died' was a hit that same year and on the same disc. i did stories about the bank, a pharmacy liquidation sale, a meat market, and going to the Saints game. during my walks i found 25 cents. at work the building events for the new month were announced, no popcorn event in July as it is too close to the holiday. this led to me getting a small bag of popcorn out of the vending machine at work. it was my mid-morning snack, along with the customary granola bar. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Sheldon and Leonard cleaned penny's apartment. it was followed by the one where penny got a free chair and then said 'what's up buttercup' to Sheldon after Sheldon tried to remove it, hearing it was a throwaway. 

pancakes then rest

 in the morning i did the pancake breakfast at Kaposia days in south St. Paul and got the button, it says 50 years. i got some pictures as usual, there was the lion mascot from the Lions club. another was of some of the St. Paul winter carnival ambassadors. i got a look at the new cars at this dealership, which sells Chrysler brands. much like before, i am reminded of how those sticker prices are usually more than what i make a year. this is why i have bought used cars. it was nice chatting with an older couple who was at the same table as me. i spoke of some other festivals i plan on attending this summer. i was there for about an hour, arriving just after the breakfast began. it was long enough to do what i wanted to do. i drove past the stockyard gates before leaving town, not far from the dealer. i didn't do much else for the rest of the day, mostly resting. also got some event tickets ordered, and reservations made. then it meant going to the copy store to print these four items. i stopped at a Walgreen for string cheese, ice cream, and a bottle of Dunkin donuts coffee as well. except i didn't like the ice cream being locked up, as there was a wait for a store employee to unlock it. i already don't buy soap there for that reason, and i guess i might have to add ice cream to that list. late in the evening i did the dishes. during my walks i found 1 dollar 51 cents. 

health mart pharmacy

 in the morning i went to a health mart pharmacy that will be closing soon, the one on west 7th in St. Paul. it had been on the news because the business has been around for over a century. i recall a pharmacy in my hometown being an independent franchisee of health mart as well. i bought two items there, some razors and a sticker. it would have been three, but the Charlie Brown portrait was out of my price range and i didn't want to haggle over it. as the saying goes, 'if you have to ask you probably won't like the answer'. there was no price tag on it but there was on the two items i bought, so no mystery on those two. then it was on to the post office, two orders were picked up. i also heard about some window employees who have already retired or will be retiring soon. with two of them i liked one but not the other, the third i didn't know that well. then on to the former work site with the bank, except i get there and find out the toner cartridge is one that i can't use. it is laser jet and that can't be used for check printing. i said to the branch employee it can be returned to the sender. i stayed in town for a little while after this first stop. i tried finding a festival button but went to five places and no luck. although the fifth one had more information than the others did. i bought some cookies and Gatorade at the meat market, and it sure smells like the cookies have been in the meat market for a while. then i left town and had lunch at the taco bell in Eagan, loco tacos. i went home and rested for a little while, then got up to get groceries at the Aldi. had to move that one up as i wanted to get to the St. Paul Saints baseball game. actually, it was a double header as a rainout from earlier in the series was being made up. it meant starting two hours earlier than originally scheduled and shown on my ticket. saints played Louisville, and it was a split. saints lost the lid lifter, 7-3, but the saints won the nightcap, 5-4. the long ball played a big role in both games. i liked doing the food truck thing again after the second game was done, going to 'dine 1-1' like before. i got fries and a 7-up this time, the slushie from before wasn't satisfying. between games i got a chili cheese dog and some root beer and old Dutch chips. i chatted with a ticket sales employee before entering the stadium. it was nice hearing music throughout the event. there was 'walking on sunshine' on the way in, being played at the nearby farmer's market. then Eminem's 'berzerk' as the second game began, and katy perry's 'firework' during the fireworks show. during my walks i found 1 dollar 75 cents. 

dragon fruit vitamin water

 in the morning i went to Walgreen to get some cookies and a drink. this time i bought a bottle of vitamin water, dragon fruit. i wanted something fairly low calorie, and there was not a lot to choose from. i not only drank it with the peanut butter cookie in the morning, but also with my lunch. backlog of checks has been eliminated, except there was a delay on getting the Fargo files. thankful the volume across the two files was just over a thousand so i still had enough time to print them and send them out same day. there was a late request to pull twenty-two checks from a fraud file. i could have said no but i noticed my boss was copied on it. i was told that those were duplicated from the previous day. i had already run them through the machine but not in the tubs yet, and it meant going by payees when already in envelopes. i noticed two of them were less than a dollar, but most were for way more than that. it meant some checks did not go out as i wanted the time to find the duplicated ones as it sounded like a high priority. there must be some new people in that department as their files have been late the past two days. in some cases, late enough that i have to print them the next morning. while i was waiting for the Fargo files i did the overnight labels early, in order to stay busy. it was nice to have those out of the way, and it meant i could leave a little earlier as there were no overnights in the second i-pay file. in the evening i went to get groceries at the Hy-Vee in Eagan and reminded myself to bring the envelope with the gift cards in it. another one was used so now it is down to two partials and one full card. during my walks i found 1 dollar 12 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we see the friends doing group karaoke, much of it was baby related as Bernadette is with child. it was followed by the one where penny does a hemorrhoid ad. 

tiger portraits

 i see all kinds of things when out for a walk. this morning it was two tiger portraits, next to a dumpster. i got a picture of it. one of them was two Siberian tigers, the other was three white tigers and two of them were cubs. i see getting pictures as a way of taking it home without actually having to. this was true of some other 'dumpster art' i saw earlier this month, the one of a man praying that is seen in the background of scenes in 'young Sheldon'. i found out that one is called 'grace'. i had hoped to find a postcard version of that one online but i haven't. only available copies appear to be larger ones. at work i was surprised to see the boss in the shop in the morning, but as usual he doesn't seem to stay the entire day in there. and i was ordered to call in a ticket about the door, as it wasn't locking properly. it has to be pushed or pulled all the way through. vacation replacement noticed it a few days earlier as well. it wasn't too big a deal to me, but when the boss says to do something i do it. backlog of checks went down, it is now just over five hundred. there was an event sponsored by the building manager on the main floor, i went for just a few minutes around midday. i picked up a cowbell and a paper fan on a wooden stick and then i left. there was a granola bar included with the bell, both were in a small sack. i had the can of surly with the evening meal and got two more cans of beer at the nearby liquor store, another surly as well as a bud ice, so now five beers are waiting. during my walks i found 55 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we see a valentines day edition of 'fun with flags'. it was followed by the one where it was likely a season finale, as we hear Priya is moving back to India. 

retirement card signed

 no, not my retirement. i went to another floor in the morning after vacation replacement dropped off some returned checks for me. i knew there was goodies on that floor, i had some of those. this included a cupcake and some melon and pineapple chunks. i also signed the big retirement card, although i had to clean the frosting off the marker first. it led to a reminder of what was likely the first retirement i had witnessed, it was in elementary school. the school's librarian was retiring, and we saw the letter being written on an overhead projector as i recall, saying 'we hope all of your days in Texas are good ones'. she was planning on moving out of state after retiring. i know this is what other retirees do, as my parents all moved after reaching retirement. my colleague said she likes work but knew it was time for the next chapter in her life. as expected, i had time for only one visit to that floor as i am busy in the check shop all of the time. but i felt like i made it count. the backlog went down on the checks, a little over two thousand that were carried over to the next day. i sent out three regular mail tubs. i was also asked about a returned overnight envelope. i said i didn't have it just yet, but later in the day it was delivered to me by the mailroom. no surprise, it was beyond my control. the check was sent to an 'access point' and stayed there for two weeks, and it was returned to me as no one picked it up during that window of opportunity. it led me to 'returning it to the business line' which i have done many times before, another overnight label to create. during my walks i found 82 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when 'mee-maw' meets Amy and Sheldon finally stands up for Amy. it was followed by the one where Howard's mom is in the hospital, the one i have named as my favorite episode from this series. i think it is due to Bernadette saying 'me?' when Howard's mom wants to see her first, and she gets assertive with Howard. 

unexpected airline miles

 we had a luncheon for the colleague who is retiring, postponed from last week. we walked to a place in the skyway that i hadn't been to before, afro deli, although I've heard of it. when i got home i checked my hotmail account and found out i got airline miles from what i ordered, a pita or gyro with fries. guess this place is part of the dining for miles program. since the boss likes to go to lunch early, it was earlier than when i typically go to lunch. and it was a longer lunch than what i normally take, i am used to thirty minutes and this was more like ninety. the Fargo files were late, available to print right before i needed to leave. and it was a high-volume day as well. i sent out as much as i could, but nearly four thousand checks were left over. the smaller file went out in full but none of the larger file did. i had to chip away at it, a thousand here and there, to get it all printed by the end of the day. there is always the opportunity to get caught up the next day. even though this was a colleague that i didn't know that well, it was still a good idea to be there, i told myself. vacation replacement did not attend, was told due to back problems. during my walks i found 26 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon went on an apology tour in order to get invited on a party bus with the friends. it was followed by the one where bernadette was a double agent on a double date, although it led to a lie about who penny was dating, auto-correct said 'astronaut' instead of 'architect'. 

we have bandaids

 at work i was asked by vacation replacement if we had band aids in the shop. i said we did, made sure to move them over from the former site. some were used when returned checks were dropped off. i had them in a drawer and put them out on the counter. the backlog went down on the stubs from payroll, as i knocked it down to just the single pages. most of them had overflow pages, bumping it up to two or even three pages in one envelope. near the end of the day i noticed one check file was approved, i printed it but not enough time to send out same day. it was the Canadian file, and i don't know if it shows up as a 'red line' on the dashboard if not printed in the same day so no big deal to print it. the volume was just under fifty checks; this made the decision easier to make. the Fargo check volume was small, the two files combined was under a thousand. in the evening i went to perform. i did stories about a couch, going to the car show, the karaoke cruise, and my day off for the bank holiday. i stayed longer than typical after the show ended, chatting with the older dude who would often play a guitar and perform a song about the jetsons. although that song wasn't done this time. during my walks i found 77 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Sheldon and raj discovered an asteroid. it was followed by the one where amy has a smoking monkey and kisses sheldon, then threw up. she tells hom to play dirty, related to leonard dating priya. 

santa fe trail movie

 there wasn't much on the docket for the day, and this was fine with me as it was still warm outside. around midday, after having the second half of the sandwich, i put in a DVD movie. it was a recent purchase from goodwill, 'Santa Fe trail'. chose this one as it includes Ronald Reagan, and Errol Flynn. those two were in a love triangle, Reagan as George Custer and Flynn as Jeb Stuart. this was more about abolitionist john brown and how he met his end. these recent graduates of west point were then assigned to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, and this led to the encounters with john brown and his followers. not the first Reagan movie i own, also have the one called 'winning team', as it is about baseball. i know, shocking. there are likely more to be found on disc as this is the actor that became president. after this was done i turned on the college world series. the game was already on progress but it was still early. there had already been an ejection by then, actually two, both were coaches for coastal carolina. LSU trailed early, but went on to win the game and the series. in the early evening i went out for a walk and noticed the dodge was gone, so i guess my friend picked it up and got it home. i said i noticed this, in a text message i sent. shortly after the walk was done i went to a meetup event, it was at a micro-brewery, black stack in st. paul. i had done an event there before. saw the dude in a cowboy hat, who i still think of as 'austin', where he once lived. i joined a trivia game and it meant reading cards, often saying 'who am i?' when i got home i did the dishes. during my walks i found 50 cents. 

ride after car show

 i went to the classic car show at the state fairgrounds, arriving just before midday. i had been there before, but the last time was many years ago. i made it through the gate before the retired postal worker did, found this out after sending a text. i got food shortly after arrival, getting chicken strips and fries. found my meetup friend over by the hangar building, chatting with the owner of a Hudson car. actually, it was a couple, and the wife asked if we were related. i said it was 'the cool uncle i never had'. it was a warm day, and we got drinks after that, at a nearby stand. i got a can of Kona beer. before i made it over there i recall seeing a young lady walking around in a short skirt and tights, carrying her high heels. she must have been warm with that outfit on. no surprise how there was plenty of neat cars to see there. i saw a jeep made by ford, i had only heard of the ones made by Willys. and i saw another Edsel station wagon, a pink car called 'Pepto', and a handful of VW beetles. i got a ride in my friend's 1955 dodge after the show, and we chatted for a while when i was being dropped off. guess it had been idling for too long as it overheated. i felt obligated to stay there for a while, but he called his roommate and got picked up but had to leave behind the car. two people saw it and said 'nice car' upon seeing it. after this was done i went inside and went to the bathroom, then went to get a sandwich at Jersey Mike's. since it was a big basket of food that i had eaten at the fairgrounds, i ate just half of the sandwich there and took the other half home with me. before i made it to the car show i picked up two orders at the post office, then went to get groceries at Aldi. i took the bus to the fairgrounds. i didn't do much after getting back from the sandwich shop, tried to watch some baseball on fox but fell asleep. but it didn't bother me that much when it was Mets vs. Phillies, a matchup of minimal interest to me. during my walks i found 95 cents. 

karaoke cruise

 in the evening i went on a karaoke cruise, getting on at Harriet Island in St. Paul. it was sponsored by a radio station, owned by the same company that sponsored the one i went on nearly two years ago. i enjoyed this one more, as i liked singing karaoke on it. i did two songs, Eminem's 'without me' and then Kelly Clarkson's 'breakaway'. this was a big boat, i did the songs on opposite ends. i had a burger, it was buffet style and part of the ticket package. there was plenty of water available and i had some, but i also got a can of Modelo beer. at the end of the night i had the second of two paper Pepsi cups with me along with the empty beer can as the bartender said there was no recycle bin on the boat. i got the 'how right i was' feeling while waiting to sing song number two. i am always out doing something when this happens. i saw a few people i knew, one of them was newsboy hat. i called out to her when i was waiting in line to sign a waiver and get on the boat but she didn't hear me. another was the friend of a fellow comic, the Little Canada native. a deejay recognized me and was a friend of this comic, this helped with her spotting me. after singing two songs i had the urge to get outside and enjoy the warm weather. when we were nearly back at the dock i loved seeing the skyline lit up and this was one of my pictures from the night. i also sent four text messages, heard from three of them. my niece said she hasn't done karaoke. cul-de-sac spoke of watching a baseball game on TV and a perfect game was being thrown apparently. when we passed a boat that was up from St. Louis, it prompted me to send a text to my friends who live there. i was asked if anyone got me singing on video, i said probably not. when i got back to my car at the end of the night, i just kept driving until i found something i recognized. this happened when i got to Lilydale, where i got on to 35E and then got home. when i got off work i wasn't there for long as i wanted to be on time for the cruise. i snacked a little and watched parts of two reruns. 'Young Sheldon' was about Sheldon and his mom getting back from Germany. 'Big Bang Theory' was about Sheldon being with Amy on her birthday and Wil Wheaton got his ticket to 'Star Wars'. then it was a quick stop at the speedway gas station where i got some banana strawberry milk, cheese, and the paper. at work i got caught up on sending checks through the machine, sending out three regular mail tubs at the end of the day. there is still a backlog on payroll statements, as i had started off with over six hundred pages. i found out most of them are two or three pages though, and i think i sent out close to half of them. there were thirty-five overnight envelopes put in the box. during my walks i found 1 dollar 14 cents. 

running on empty movie

 there were plenty of things planned for the day off due to the bank holiday. one of these was to watch a DVD movie, a recent purchase from amazon. it was 'running on empty'. a writer friend in Houston posted about it on Facebook and it sounded good enough to me. i liked it but the ending left me stunned and a little sad. i liked some of the songs in it, including James Taylor's 'fire and rain'. also liked how the main character, played by River Phoenix, stood up to his dad when confronted with hypocrisy. Judd Hirsch played the dad. when reading about the storyline, i liked knowing it was about a talented musician, in this case a piano player, and this was enough for me to order the movie. i watched it in the morning, and it was just after midday when it was done. it was time to get on the road to Lakeville as i wanted to have lunch at the cracker barrel. i was told they had just passed the peak lunch crowd, and i liked how there was no wait for a table. i got blackened chicken and hash browns, and for dessert i asked for the peach cobbler in a to-go cup. i got a box of snoopy bandages in the retail store section. on the drive back home i stopped in Eagan and dropped off a donation bag at goodwill, mostly small towels. then i went inside and bought four DVD movies. one of them i watched in the evening, it was about the civil war battle at Shiloh, the story was told by reenactors. i found out Lew Wallace, who later wrote 'Ben-Hur', commanded soldiers in this battle for the union. then i got groceries at the Hy-Vee, moved it up one day as i was already booked at an event on my typical grocery night. in the morning i took recycle to the capitol and got a look at the memorial to the slain lawmaker on the steps. there was a man with a 'portable cross' there as well. then it was on to the copy store, printed four pages, including game ticket receipts. i made a brief stop at a furniture store, went in as the door was open. the employee said they weren't open yet, i picked up a business card and left. after i got back i got some ice cream at the McDonald's, then watched 'jeopardy'. final jeopardy clue was about national parks; answer was Carlsbad caverns. during my walks i found 62 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Sheldon and Amy got back together, after Sheldon figured out the song stuck in his head was a Beach Boys song. it was followed by the one where penny kicked a bully in the groin and said, 'give Sheldon his stuff back'. 

luncheon replacement, jimmy john's

i was expecting to be attending a luncheon honoring a colleague that is retiring, but found out it was postponed, moved back a week. this was likely due to finding out that the boss was ill. i didn't bring a can of soup in my lunch bag for that reason. i decided that a sandwich at Jimmy John's would be the replacement. i read plenty of the signs on the wall while inside that establishment. the backlog went down on the Fargo checks; it is now under a thousand. vacation replacement brought me some returned checks, and some were returned to the business line in an inter-office envelope. i got busy and the others will have to wait, i was trying to confirm where to send them. i liked how the overnight volume stayed low, it was just twenty envelopes that went to the box at the end of the day. two checks were picked up just before the end of the day, guess that department wanted them picked up right away when the next day is a bank holiday. i have been trading emails with a ticket sales rep this week from the local baseball team. i was asked when i would be attending again and i said it would be next week. it seems odd that i am being approached by a ticket sales rep when my order history says i do attend games, but it is already mid-season so even partial season ticket packages would be a hard sell right now. guess i have dealt with this before with other teams, and when those others are out of state i had to say i only make an annual visit. during my walks i found 47 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Elon Musk was a guest star in a thanksgiving episode. it was followed by the one where penny crashes Leonard and Priya's date in a restaurant. 

wild mind ales

 in the evening i went to a meetup event, at wild mind ales in south Minneapolis. i still like doing these micro-brewery events a lot. there weren't a lot of options on getting beer in a 16-ounce glass, this is why i chose the bock beer. i liked chatting with a couple that is originally from Nashville, the man had the name of a university president, and the woman had a name like a tree. some of the subjects covered included Sergeant York, and a New York town with literary fame changing its name. after the event i went to a speedway gas station near me and got some popcorn, Perrier, and a pb and j sandwich. i ate the popcorn right away and will have the other two items at a later date. at work there was a development one on one with the boss in the morning. i was advised to add to my profile as hiring managers look at it when i apply for a role. i said i had applied for a role months ago but wasn't interviewed. much like other days when the boss was in the shop, it was just for part of the day, leaving early due to a package slated to be delivered at his home. it was a high-volume day on check printing and i kept getting the 'hot product' error from the inserter machine so there were plenty of checks left over, more than two thousand. i will run them through the next morning. during my walks i found 52 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Amy went on a date and her friends spied on it. Sheldon turned away a lady because she was late. it was followed by the one where Sheldon went to raj and Priya's party because his new friends 'were having fun wrong'. 

blank pages deleted

 in the system i use to print checks, sometimes there is an 'extra blank page' sent along with the file. i had let them pile up for a little while, as i could still print things, but it meant 'print selected' instead of 'print all'. late last week there was a duplicated file and i imported it but said i didn't want to print it and let I.T. know it was there. thankful that those are now deleted. it is just two files that seem to generate the 'extra blank pages', we see them usually just once a week, so it hasn't been a big deal to me. in the PDF files there was a dozen checks to be overnighted in the i-pay file at midday, but none in the second file near the end of the day. i liked how i had most of the overnight labels created before having to run the inserter machine again, as it meant i could leave a little earlier. it meant going straight through on creating them after getting back from lunch. vacation replacement was not in the shop, email in the morning said working from home due to translating for his mom. in the evening i went to perform, there was a thin lineup of performers. the lady with the Muppet closed out the show. i did two bank stories, one of them was about attending the lynx game. others were about Facebook singles sites, a busy weeknight, and calling my dad. during my walks i found 51 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Leonard was interviewed for a documentary by the son of Leonard Nimoy. it was followed by the one where Amy met Priya. at first, she wanted to be catty about her but found her to be delightful, but Amy still decided to comfort penny about it.

washing pillows, blankets

 when i went to do laundry i decided to do more than just the typical clothes washing. i had found a Charlie Brown blanket and said if i was going to do a separate wash for it, then make it count. i got out other blankets that hadn't been washed in a while, and pillows, and this became the third wash i did. actually, the first, i loaded that washer before the other two. i had seven items in there, three of which were pillows, but the machine wouldn't start, figured it was 'too full'. i moved two of the blankets to the other loads, and then it started just fine. as usual, after laundry was done i found an item to be thrown out, seeing holes in a pair of socks. there wasn't too much else to do for the rest of the day, i had the laundry done around midday. i called my dad in the evening as it was dad's day, and his upcoming birthday. i still might send a card as well. i liked more sharing about the times spent in Minnesota with the national guard unit, at first it was asking about the 'skeeters' which is done fairly often. in this case it was saying that three of the five summer camps were at Camp Ripley, but the other two weren't there because it was full. and those other two bases weren't near as full, in Wisconsin and Michigan. i said it is still a very active base as it has been on the news about exchange programs with military outfits from Europe. during my walks i found 85 cents. 

lynx game, in skybox

 just before midday i made it to downtown Minneapolis to see the Minnesota Lynx basketball game at the target center. i was offered a ticket to see it in my employer's skybox. there still were problems with being kicked off of the app but i was advised to go to a line where a man with a computer found my listing and issued me a ticket. as expected, there was plenty of free food and drink when i made it to the skybox. i had two cans of beer, a Coors light and a blue moon. i had plenty of popcorn and some peanuts, along with a cold cut sandwich, as well as hot food- chicken strips, and a hot dog. can't forget the goodies, i had a brownie and a big cookie. this was never much of a contest. i knew the lynx were good, playing the team from los angeles, but it was a lopsided score fairly early. the lynx were doubling the score at halftime and went on to win, 101-78. i recognized a few people from work there, and spoke with the lady that places the supply orders for me. there was a moment of silence before the game began, in memory of a politician who had been shot. i rode the light rail home after the game and the news was on when i got home, more about the manhunt for the assassin. in the evening i watched part of the baseball game on fox, after getting groceries at aldi. it was red sox-yankees again, this time from boston, red sox won a close one. i placed an order for a twins game outing through my alumni chapter, event will be in august. during my walks i found 75 cents. 

charlie brown sheets

 i saw a rip in a bedsheet and decided to go online and see options on where to get a replacement. it led to me searching for Charlie Brown sheets, found out these are available at kohl's. in the evening on the way to get groceries at the Hy-Vee in Eagan, i stopped at kohl's first and got a set. the cashier laughed a little about it but i said i am a big fan and these are for me. odd how not all characters are on the pattern but i see Schroeder shown twice, once playing the piano and the other time standing up just like the other characters are doing. instructions say to wash before use so i will be doing so this weekend. at Hy-Vee i bought not only just food but also toilet bowl cleaner. and i wrote it down about using some of the gift cards i have and this meant taking the envelope with me. there were three cards in it and i used one, there is just under two dollars left on the one i used. at work there was a spike in volume on the Fargo checks, wasn't expecting more than six thousand at the end of the week. two thousand were left over and will be run through on Monday. there was a spike in volume on the overnights as well, forty-four. i found it was not a moment too soon on the toner cartridge arriving this week as before midday i had to swap it out, just one day after it had arrived. and this was not even three weeks after vacation replacement did, on my day off for a dental appointment. i finally had half of the little godfather's pizza for the evening meal, after skipping a day when i had some pizza i found as leftovers in the breakroom. this meant a smaller grocery order tonight all around, just nine items bought. during my walks i found 24 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when Mrs. Latham, a big contributor to the university, sleeps with Leonard and penny said 'good morning, slut' when Leonard gets home. 

resume in dog years

 there was a message in my Hotmail account about my resume with career builder, saying it was 'seven in dog years'. meaning it was a year old. surprised to hear this as i figured it would be older as i have been with the bank for five years. i saved it as a reminder to go to the site and see if i can make it 'inactive' like i did on other sites. despite this, sometimes i still get offers, especially from LinkedIn. although the offers aren't appealing at all, such as being a franchise owner, so i ignore them. at work the toner cartridge arrived. in other issues, there was a delay on getting overnight labels created and printed as there were problems with the UPS site. i sent an email to our internal team and got a quick response, saying they were working on it. i got back in before the end of the day and thankful the volume was low enough that it didn't take too long to get caught up. fox-plus didn't have the news on in the evening, as i recall it was soccer instead. i switched over to a rerun channel and watched 'rockford files', where rockford ends up in the hospital while investigating a lady who had faked her death. during my walks i found 75 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard and raj formed a band and played 'thor and dr. jones'. it was followed by the one where sheldon gets an acting lesson from penny to help with being an instructor. 

panic in needle park movie

 there were two events to attend after work, the second was a screening at the Trylon during 'bleak week'. the movie was called 'panic in needle park'. wanted to see that one as i knew Al Pacino was in it. there was an introduction to the organization 'sponsoring' the series, a lady from Los Angeles spoke for a few minutes before the movie began. she spoke of some notable attendees to this film festival in her city apparently, not just Pacino but also Gus Van Sant- the 'good will hunting' director. the movie was about heroin addicts in New York City. if anything was bleak or depressing about it, then this would be all of the fighting and arguing related to the drugs. along with what is done to get the drug money, such as stealing and prostitution. in one scene i said 'idiot' when a john had trouble lighting a match when trying to light a cigarette. the first event was a member or friend gathering at the loft, the writer organization i belong to. i liked the snack food they have before the event, this time it included popcorn. i was one of the readers at the open-mic, and much like before i did some poetry i had recently written. it was an ode to performing. after the event i ended up chatting with a lady that liked my performance, who had the same name as a famous musician that had performed with Miley Cyrus. it started inside and continued at her bus stop, as i was on the way to the nearby Bobby and Steve's as i wanted to get some more food. i bought a hot dog and a little Godfather's pizza. i ate the hot dog there and took the pizza with me on the light rail and will have it for the evening meal in the next few days. at work there was a team huddle that was scheduled at the last minute, held in the morning. it started off with talk about tokens, then i found out it didn't affect my work. the overnight volume went down a little, to twenty-six. when checking the tracking number on the toner cartridge i found out it is still on the way, so not arriving as early as the rep had told us. during my walks i found 36 cents. after the movie i checked email and looks like there is an alumni outing at a Twins baseball game this summer, in august. 

kicked off the app

the ticket arrived for an upcoming sporting event but after doing the app installation on my phone i was getting kicked off the app for a while. i had to keep trying and i got in, doing the further setup. then i gave the email address it was under, so the ticket can be sent to me by the admin assistant at work. the boss was in the shop for part of the day, then i was found in the breakroom at lunchtime and was told of his leaving to work from home and an appointment. i got the boss involved on a ticket i had opened for a toner cartridge for the check printer, but it was still a struggle when calling the help desk. near the end of the day i got an instant message saying the toner had been shipped and the fed-ex tracking number. it was a high-volume day on check printing, a little over a thousand were left over and can be run through the next day. and a high-volume day for overnights as well, as the mortgage file arrived, i did forty labels. more than half of them went out same day. during my walks i found 50 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when the friends were working on an app, Sheldon tried to sabotage their work and helped penny with an app about finding shoes. 

apathy and ignorance

 i went to perform in the evening and there is often a 'stupid joke' read between acts. this time the poet took a turn on reading those during the second half of the show, and i liked the one about ignorance and apathy. matter of fact, it was read shortly after i had finished my set. i did stories about the bank, seeing a movie, and 'the haves and have-nots' at lunchtime. early in the show there was a performer that i wasn't too familiar with, telling a story about his father who had committed suicide. i saw plenty of familiar faces performing, including the poet, university accountant, the wild guitar player, and the fancy comic. at work the overnight volume was low, just fifteen. this was aided by there being just one from an account closure file where i overnight anything over ten thousand. two checks were carried over to the next day, one was in the second i-pay and the send-to address section was cut off. team lead in customer service had asked about that one but had just left for the day, and i will wait for a response. another was to be overnighted, but we are unable to overnight to a P.O. box. i ask customer service for a physical address when this happens, although usually i am told to send it regular mail. other notables about the day included seeing the movie 'my cousin Vinny' in the bar area at the performance venue, and selecting a book from a little free library, it was Shel Silverstein's 'falling up'. i had found another book while walking and this was essentially a swap. during my walks i found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Leonard returns from his Las Vegas wedding to penny and spends the evening with Sheldon, after Amy tells Sheldon 'We are broken up'. it was followed by the one where Howard and raj try to decide who is the sidekick with a wrestling match. 

moose lodge memories

 i looked at the class page on Facebook for the first time in a while. there is plenty of news about my hometown there. one of those postings was about the fire that destroyed the moose lodge in April. now i am surprised that no one spoke of it when i was back for a family gathering that month in Iowa. i think both of my parents were members of that lodge and my stepdad's friend was a bartender there. for this reason, i did spend some time there. one time it was for a family picture when i was in junior high, as i recall the photographer spoke of what my braces would look like in the picture. first time i did a New Year's Eve party after reaching legal age was there. according to the postings found on the lodge's page there are plans to rebuild. the lodge is at the edge of town. i didn't mind having very little to do for the day, it meant giving my car the day off as i had nowhere i needed to be. i decided to get caught up on a few things such as greeting cards bought in recent months were put into photo albums. and i ran the paper shredder as there was enough junk mail to shred to fill a plastic grocery bag. i watched some TV as well as two football games were on, the united football league. it is playoff time. Michigan beat Birmingham and D.C. beat St. Louis, the road teams won both games. decent crowd in St. Louis, but it appeared to be sparse in Birmingham. the future of this league still looks cloudy when the game attendance and TV ratings are low. there are even rumors of moving two teams with low attendance. during my walks i found 7 cents. 

jane austen movie

 in the early afternoon i went to see a movie, 'Jane Austen wrecked my life', at St. Anthony main in Minneapolis. it was a French movie, but plenty of it was still in English. this one i liked a lot, based on how often i was laughing. this included a gesture to the main character's friend, being mocked by her sister, and a man from the writer retreat saying, 'i speak French'. there was also when he acknowledged what i was thinking, that she was whistling the French national anthem, 'Marseillaise'. i also liked what was said about writing, about 'finding your ruins' as i know this about writing as well. a scene from the bookstore she works at also reminds me of the times i have been to poetry readings. i got some popcorn at the movie. before that i had some ice cream at a dairy queen, the blizzard of the month, strawberry cheesecake. there is a summer flavor that is promoting the 'superman' movie that is starting next month, but i figure i still have some time to try that one if the movie hasn't premiered yet. wondering if the 'big bang theory' reruns i watch will be promoting it as well, with a 'word of the day', as they have promoted comic book movies before. then i had lunch at a nearby burger king. i saw a man sleeping near the entrance, and when i was eating at a booth a woman arrived and asked for food. i pointed out where it can be ordered, she said she had no money. a reminder of 'the haves and have-nots', something i notice more often in big cities. in the morning i went to the post office, one order was picked up. after the movie i noticed a walkway that is normally closed had a gate open, so i took a walk on it. i guess that it is open only during the warmer months. this was next to an Xcel Energy facility and gave a great view of the falls. at first it felt like the falls was spitting out water, but i think it was light rain. then i made tracks back to my car. when i got home i laid down for a little while, then went to get groceries at Aldi. then i went to have a sandwich at Jersey Mike's. when i got home a baseball game was on fox, but not the one i was expecting, padres-brewers. Red Sox-Yankees was on, and i barely watched it but the red sox won. during my walks i found 2 dollars 38 cents. 

sweet hereafter movie

 tonight, i went to the Trylon cinema and saw the movie 'sweet hereafter'. it is part of 'bleak week' that this cinema is presenting. i chose this one as i had seen some other movies directed by Atom Egoyan, after hearing about him at an Armenian festival i have attended. it is about a school bus crash that kills most of the kids on board, and the story includes a girl reading 'pied piper' to some kids she babysits. the lawyer trying to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the families is dealing with a drug-addicted daughter that is often calling him collect. i read further about it on Wikipedia only after seeing it, waiting as i know there are spoilers everywhere. it is based on a book where the story takes place in upstate New York, but the movie takes place in Canada. and the book was inspired by an actual event, a bus crash in Texas. while there i picked up a pamphlet that tells us what is scheduled for this venue during the months of July, August, and September. i read it and two more movies of interest were found, but i don't buy tickets too far in advance. i have an advance ticket for another one in this 'bleak series' in a few days. at work this was a really nice catch-up day, after starting off with a donut as the building management company had them near the elevators in honor of 'national donut day'. four more tubs of checks were sent to the mailroom at the end of the day, and the backlog is down to just over one thousand checks to run through. i got one more online class completed as well, so all are done and over with. a ticket was opened to get a toner cartridge for the check printer sent, as all too often those aren't getting auto-shipped. when i went to get groceries at hy-vee in eagan in the evening, i stopped at their liquor store first and got a can of paulaner. i liked the one i had drank for the evening meal the previous day, a munich lager, so i got another one. there still are four beers waiting. during my walks i found 53 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when we see a season finale, 'we have to talk' was what many of the characters said. this included amy, to sheldon, essentially a break-up. it was followed by the one where sheldon fakes getting back together for penny's dad. 

caught up on printing

 at work, sometimes one must celebrate the small victories. in this case, it was getting caught up on check printing on the Fargo files. still a backlog, but it went down a little, to under five thousand. very little of nothing should be left over by the end of the next day. all about time management i guess, and it meant some things can wait. there is still one online class left to do, but of course i have until the end of the month for that one. there was the popcorn social just before midday, i like going there as usual. when i showed my badge to the security guard i said i liked seeing the larger-than-life popcorn box near the door, where the popcorn is white and yellow balloons. thankful i went back to eating the lunch i bring after a day of going to the convenience store on the main floor. i know i save money by bringing my lunch nearly every day. a colleague brought a refund check to overnight to St. Louis, when she arrived the team lead was there as well. like many other overnights, i sent the tracking number when it is available. there were forty overnights for the day, just over half of those went out early enough to be picked up same day. during my walks i found 37 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the moms of Sheldon, and Leonard, meet. and penny said 'oh my god' when Leonard hugs his mom. it was followed by when Amy goes to a slumber party and starts a pillow fight, while the dudes go to a screening of 'raiders of the lost ark'. 

box or cup of fries?

 tonight, i went to the St. Paul Saints baseball game, my fourth attended this season. saints beat Scranton, 7-5. normally i avoid weeknight games, but this one was a celebration of ten years at this venue, CHS field. it was a long day at work, and i was tired, but i said i am still going to the game. and i am thankful that i did, as it is hard to beat a night at the ballyard. i really didn't feel all that tired until late in the game, which had two delays related to injuries. one was a Scranton player fielding an infield hit and the ball hit him in the eye, Saints scored on this play to tie it 1-1. then it was the home plate umpire around the midway point of the game, and once it resumed there was just two umpires. i ate before i arrived at the stadium, stopping at a speedway gas station and getting a Slurpee drink and a slice of pizza. but when i was walking around the concourse at the game, i got a look at food offerings and got some fries. was it a box, or a cup? hard to say. but i liked having the fries and got some bottled water as well. i recall a video board from Twins games at the dome saying, 'walks will haunt' and this proved to be true in this game. as i recall, three of the runs scored by the saints were on a bases-loaded walk, including the two that put them ahead for good. i liked hearing the music there, even if it was just snippets. there was Weezer's 'island in the sun', as well as 'no sleep til Brooklyn' by the beastie boys. the latter was played multiple times; it was the walk-up song for a Saints player. i bought a Softee ball that i had seen at previous games this season, i knew i didn't have that kind yet. it does remind me of some i acquired from the seasoning-opening celebrations when i was working downtown, known as the 'world's largest game of catch'. oh, guess i should talk about work some more. there was a backlog of checks at the end of the day, more than five thousand. i sent out four tubs full of checks to the mailroom, normally the most i send is three per day. but i got two more Fargo files imported by the end of the day, and as expected the volume is lower so hopefully i will be caught up by the end of the week. all of the Jacksonville checks are printed, and a thousand went out. i saw that the ones printed first had the highest amounts. when i have to draw the line, much like before, it seems to be the easiest way to decide what goes out the door first. during my walks i found 76 cents. the 'big bang theory' rerun was when Howard took apart raj's helicopter and then it went berserk after it was put back together. 

manual entry

 there was a meeting to help bring the Fargo check files current. the I.T. people said it meant doing a manual entry on their end to force the file out a little earlier. i still did what was there, printing just under a thousand checks dated the previous day. i saw to it that the file created from the manual entry still was imported by the end of the day, total was seven thousand checks across those two files. this is a trick that i was taught before in order to avoid the problem we had been having. except the day there was no file, i couldn't even do that much as i had left for the day by the time it was ready. another card file, the one from jacksonville, had a spike in volume. the normal daily volume is about a dozen, this time it was three thousand. i printed half of them by the end of the day. both of the big supply orders arrived, envelopes and then check stock. one envelope box was missing, but the courier said the box was found and was dumped in the mailroom. this was at the end of the day, and i went to pick it up right away although the lady wasn't thrilled with me. thankful i didn't have to sign for it though. during my walks i found 1 dollar 37 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when raj and leonard tried to do an alien message on their own but relented and called in sheldon and howard. it was followed by the one where priya visits and gets involved with leonard. 

dashboard unavailable

 at work the dashboard i use to know what checks are ready to print was unavailable for much of the day. i found out this meant many of the business lines were unable to send checks to print for a while. but i was anything but idle during this time, as i had some big files to keep me busy. there was over a thousand pages from the ach-pdf file as it had rent payments for the first of the month. and i had the two Fargo files, nearly three thousand checks to print and send through the machine. the dashboard was back in the afternoon, and most of the business lines had checks to print by then and i had enough time to print and send out same day, but just barely. i think just two files did not send checks, both are known for having some overnights to pull out. the fraud file wanted me to pull out and overnight five checks, usually it is just one. this led to the overnight volume still being over twenty for the day. there was also an email thread about the Fargo files arriving a day behind, it has been this way for three weeks now. it was odd that the business line claims to be unaware of this. wondering if involving I.T. will lead to that file being caught up again. i had to keep saying that we print them when we get them. in spite of it all, i found the time to complete one of the online classes due at the end of the month. there are three to do, and i like how they often don't take long to do. when printing a page about an event to attend in July, i found out there are two churches with the same name- albeit in different towns- having festivals on consecutive weekends. once i discovered this i added one of them to the list of activities for the summer. i had been to the other one before. we all know how i like festivals- plenty of food, drink, and music. during my walks i found 53 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when Sheldon and Amy built a fort out of blankets, while Leonard and penny were on a Wil Wheaton podcast. it was followed by the one where Sheldon and Amy talk to her mom on skype after a physics version of 'screwed' is used. 

mae west play

 in the afternoon i went to see a play about actress Mae West in northeast Minneapolis. it was in a former Westinghouse building where i had seen some shows before. the play was kind of long, more than two hours, but had an intermission as well. i had read a little about the trial that this play depicts, about obscenity in her play called 'sex' in the 1920s from Garrison Keillor's 'writers almanac'. i liked learning something from the play, how this standard for plays stayed on the books for nearly forty years. also liked how some of the famous people of the time- newspaperman Bill Hearst and New York's governor Al Smith- were part of the story. an announcement was made after the play had ended, saying there was an opening weekend reception and there was cheese and crackers so i had some of those. i went home, but only briefly, after that. i had a snack and then it was on to perform at an open mic. the show runner spoke of having just driven back from Chicago so he did a set in the early in the show and then left shortly after that due to being tired. i had seen the fill-in emcee before. i did some bank stories as well as riding the light rail stories. i didn't do much after getting home from performing. around midday i watched part of a united football league game, Arlington at San Antonio, this is the closing weekend of the regular season. i left for the play at the end of the third quarter. during my walks i found 1 dollar 11 cents.