lutheran worship hymnal

 when i got off the bus in the evening i saw a book near the bus stop. at first i wondered if it was a bible, but i took a closer look and it was a hymnal. it said 'Lutheran worship' on the spine, and looking inside it appears some pages were partially burned. how it got there, i don't know. i moved it to a nearby little free library. i just hate seeing things go to waste. i made it to work a little early as i didn't have to wait long between getting off the first bus and getting on the second. i decided to go to the convenience store in the building where i work and got a bottle of Dunkin donuts coffee, as well as a Smucker's un-crustable. it was a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich. and i bought a postcard along with another Jeff Foxworthy redneck greeting card, this one had a pretty good pun on it. just after midday the tech arrived, after i put on the ticket to call me on my cell phone as i hear it better than the laptop connected phone. on the first attempt it looks like they called the laptop and left no voicemail. i reported how the printer rebooted something like five times in the morning. we did send more check files to it and near as i can tell the remote updates, which is what those reboots were, helped. although no one told us in advance that those would be done, so i sent plenty of files to the other printer, as nothing would print on it until it is done rebooting. some of it what was discovered, as expected, was trial and error, what works and what doesn't. for one thing, i guess we still have to send overflow pages, of there are any, to the same printer as the checks. didn't know if were getting that capability again but it looks like we won't. the tech did say some things we are dealing with are internal ones with the bank, specifically what the server will allow. when the boss left on the afternoon, there was mention of a refrigerator being delivered at his home. 

printer skipped checks

 i was asked by my boss about the check printer that arrived late last week, i said the first file i tried printing on it had skipped checks. there were supposed to be over seventy checks, but it didn't print twelve of them. on another file, it also hesitated and printed all of them, but out of order and spit out a blank page before each check. i was told to call in a ticket, except i don't like using that app that much. once i was caught up with other things, especially running checks through the inserter machine, i made the call. i made sure to move up my lunch, not knowing how long it would take. it said it would take three minutes to be connected with an agent but i waited for an hour, but at least i did get a ticket created. while waiting i stayed active and created most of the overnight labels i needed to do. in the evening i went to perform, another small lineup though. at the outset i was one of four performers, eventually it became seven. one of those who decided to perform later on was the lady i hug and is known for having the Kermit doll. i did stories about the bank, rerouting to work, a toy from the grocery store, the play, the festival, and the photo event. 

fujifilm event

 i was double booked for the day, but the second event will stand out. first was the Czech and Slovak festival close to downtown St. Paul. i got a free can of grape slice, hadn't seen this brand of soft drink in a while. i also got what looked like bratwurst as well as a muffin. and i signed up for a dinner that will be held at the same venue a month from now. i really enjoyed the Fujifilm event, held at the walker art museum in Minneapolis. i had put the email invite aside but didn't delete it on Thursday, then registered a day later. i said i don't get invited to invites like this too often. it was due to being on their mailing list after buying a fuji camera from a best buy more than four years ago. when i tried to do a 'check and clean' i was told my camera was not eligible as it is an obsolete model, no longer sold. i did take plenty of pictures while there on this camera and tried some of those on display as well. and there were the souvenirs. one was a polaroid-type photo, two separate images. one of me, the other of the nearby skyline. a metal cup i drank out of, a 'dirty soda bar', i chose a drink with a cherry in it, a non-alcoholic mixed drink. and the purple ticket i was given upon arrival was good for swag, i chose a keychain that was a roll of film and decided it will become another Christmas tree ornament. i did watch some of the pro football game on TV when i got home, chiefs won big over the ravens. the Sunday night game ended in a tie, packers pla6ing the cowboys, i was watching it and fell asleep and it had just ended when i woke up. then i did the dishes. 

shaving legs, eating peas

 no, not me. i went to a play in the evening in Minneapolis, called 'please!' and the actress in it was seen shaving her legs and eating peas. a weird story, but compelling on some level. i think it was due to the call with a friend, who was at a club and called her to encourage her to come to the club. and the response was 'i can control this environment when i am at home'. i can relate, especially when i was young. the diorama of the Ferris wheel on a table was good, the most realistic of what was on the table. the opening act was a story about a man who wanted a reason to live, and the wish was granted, a love interest but she was dying. then he goes back to who granted the wish and asked why. it was all done in about an hour, i didn't do much after getting home from the show. i did plenty of chores and errand running before it. there was going to the post office, four orders were picked up. i printed some tickets at the copy store, one was for an event that will be this weekend. and i got a sandwich at Jersey Mike's. i got another super sandwich, cold cuts, but i have been asked before about the grilled sandwiches. i got a closer look at the menu and said there was just one that didn't have onions or hot sauce. i also went to the nearby target and bought four items. two were boxes of cereal, now i have all three monster cereals as i got franken berry. the other was pumpkin spice frosted flakes. i also got two Charlie Brown items, one was another set of four patches, the other was some Halloween candy. i got groceries at Aldi before i went to the play. 

second printer arrived

 it was a long time coming, but we have a second check printer again. i was on the email threads where earlier in the week the seller claimed that it was delivered to another floor, but no one had signed for it. this made no sense when this is expensive equipment and i have to sign for many things that arrive, including returned overnight packages. i found out that the dude who had called me in the morning was only doing the installation and not the delivery. the caller spoke of being at the bank's branch across the river in Hudson, Wisconsin, working on equipment there. it was all dependent on the unit being delivered, and it was in the afternoon. i was called in advance on my cellphone and i am thankful i told them to call me there as i can hear it better than the laptop-connected phone. i moved up going to lunch as i wanted to be ready to help when the courier arrived. it was a rare time riding in the freight elevator, and there was a wait as i saw some construction workers with hard hats on when it finally arrived on my floor. the tech doing the installation called about twelve minutes after the unit arrived. in an earlier call we spoke about names in pop culture, in his case it was the 'bullfrog song'. we did get the printer set up, but there was some waiting on his end to get the configuration done. by then there were no live checks to print as i wanted to get them all out the door same day and i needed to get the regular mail tubs to the mailroom. i decided to choose a small file that was already printed as the test print, just under twenty checks. it printed just fine for me, although it was hard to find the printer on the network at first. then we found out it was due to the name being a generic one, 'laser-jet'. i trust that it will be changed to being nearly the same name as the one we already had except for the last digit. in the evening i went to get groceries at the Hy-Vee in Eagan. it was a small order, seven items, and one of them was a Homer Simpson figurine. 

pilot cosplay

 the boss suggested that we sign up for a dial-in class for development week, it was the one about copilot, the A.I. tool. i noticed that the moderators were trying too hard though, as i saw them dressed up like airplane pilots while doing the demo. much like other dial-ins, i was still getting work done during that time. and it was very necessary to do so when i still get visitors to the shop, in this case it was the mailroom dropping off things such as the mail tubs. there was also the box of Canadian check stock that was ordered over a month ago. i said that is likely what it was, although i did speak of a disgraced academic who was name-checked in a favorite movie of mine, 'good will hunting'. i also heard from vacation replacement, as an email was printed in the shop by mistake. i did say i heard the whirring and wondered what it was about. i know this has happened before, not a big deal. i don't know what it is about this day of the week, but by then i am ready for a beer when i have the evening meal. was it due to the shoes i recently bought that are hurting my feet? this time, quite likely. i did drink a can of Coors with the evening meal, so now there are three beers waiting. 

retirement cake

 no, not for me. there were two events around midday where i was willing to leave the shop. the first was puppy day, my second time at that event, in the other tower of the building. it was nice to see people who recognized me and we spoke some about performing, but i can't think of the young lady's name at the table. she did speak of going to De LaSalle, though. it was after i said i was a big Charlie Brown fan and had found many of those statues, and i was told there is one at that school. now it means finding out how to get there and get a picture of it. i had found over a hundred of those but i had run out of ideas a while back. i did hold one of the dogs while there, much like before. then it was on to the floor where i had some of the cake for a retirement party, and i had some Coca-Cola as well as all of the drinks were in two-liter bottles. i like knowing that there are bank employees who leave due to retirement, it sure beats all of the layoffs i had witnessed at previous jobs. a colleague in I.T. asked about my commute, knowing i take the blue line. something about how it took him over an hour to get to work. when i spoke of taking two buses, and one of them was an express bus between the downtowns, the dude said that sounded like a good idea, having spoken of living in Woodbury before. 

reroute, day one

 this was the first day of having to reroute to get to work as the blue line is unavailable. i tried a route suggested in a brochure but it essentially led to some doubling back, so i took a different route home. the morning bus i think was the first time i took one of those lines named after a letter. i am not too interested in taking the buses replacing the blue line when i know it takes longer to turn left into the stations. thankful that it is just two weeks of having to line up alternate plans as it no doubt takes longer to take two buses than it does to take one train. at work, the toner cartridge arrived, after in the morning i was telling my boss about how much justifying i have to do each time i order one. there was a dial-in meeting, theme was a career panel as it is development week at the bank. i listened to it some but still got some work done during that time as i wanted to get overnight labels created. heard my boss say something how 'that call wasn't too important' or something like that. in the evening it was nice to get to a meetup event at a micro-brewery, although this wasn't the typical venue for me as i had been there before for performing. no surprise, when i tried the door to the showroom it was locked. i enjoyed chatting with a dude about music, he mentioned of going to Chicago for concerts, one of them was the cure. i did say i attended plenty of concerts when i was a suburbanite. 

you all will see

 i went to perform in the evening and another performer spoke of having CDs in the back on top of the piano. the disc says, 'you all will see', as i recall this was the performer's stage name. i picked up a business card as well. i did stories about seeing a movie, having lunch after it, the bank, junk mail, and a visit to the outlet mall. it was a short lineup, i am getting used to this by now. i don't mind too much as i just want stage time, and it means getting out a little earlier. at work i was called by Hewlett Packard on my laptop about the toner cartridge order, i said i still needed it. hard to understand why i have to jump through so many hoops to get something so important to my work. around midday i went to the main floor as a check for the foundation was picked up. i asked to see a badge as it was somebody that was unfamiliar to me. i said i haven't had to order their envelopes in a while since their check volume is low. there were plenty of checks left over at the end of the day, from a special project as well as the Fargo file. i will run those through the next morning, about five thousand in all. i stayed late to see that the overnight volume was caught up, it was just over fifty labels created. i was there late enough that i heard the janitorial crew using a vacuum cleaner in the hall, and i am usually not there that late. 

hamilton movie

 mid-morning, i went to Eagan to see the play 'Hamilton'. this was likely the first time i had seen a movie with an actual intermission. there was an hourglass on the screen counting down from ten minutes, and i used the time well. i had a bathroom break, then got some popcorn, and i had more than two minutes to spare. as i recall it said the filmed version of this play was with the original cast from ten years ago. there was an intro that spoke of the famous people who showed up to watch it. i had seen this play seven years ago in Des Moines, Iowa, but didn't recall too much from it. i think this was due to the dialogue mostly being rapping, so it moved fast. i know i was paying much closer attention this time, and i liked the storyline being a biography about a historical figure. when it was done it was lunchtime, and i drove to the Ikea near Mall of America and had the Swedish meatball meal. i brought my 'orange card' with me and it got me a discount as it is during the 40th anniversary sale. i got some rainbow cake as well. when i got home i watched a decent amount of two football games, bears beat the cowboys, and the chiefs beat the giants. the latter was the Sunday night game. 

book of quotes by pink

 i went to target and bought five items there. two were boxes of cereal, promoting the shows known as 'Wednesday', and 'wicked'. and i got some toilet bowl cleaner, as well as a Halloween-themed Charlie Brown stamper in the section near the front door. the fifth item was a book of quotes by pink, the musician. it is called 'the little guide to pink' and says it is 'unofficial and unauthorized'. i had seen this performer in concert and have plenty of her CDs as well so it seemed worthwhile to get it. these quotes are from interviews. as i recall, it was on an 'end cap' and it was a nice find when walking through the books and music section. i saw some Charlie Brown-cooking equipment but passed on all three offerings. there was a popcorn maker, a small crockpot, and some waffle irons, but i already have a waffle iron and don't use it much. i sent a text to a meetup friend when i saw these, since she likes her air fryer. i said i needed to get lunch and went to the nearby Hardee's, i hadn't been to one in a while. before target i went to the post office, two orders picked up, then it was to the capitol grounds to drop off recycle. in the evening i got groceries at Aldi and eventually was inspired to write about music after watching some YouTube videos. what i have learned is that inspiration happens, do not ignore it. 

american eagle outfitters

 i figured out how to save the updates and changes to the written procedure, it was to one drive. since it is an excel document, i was able to find it under the excel spreadsheets i use and forward a copy to the team lead at the end of the day. i wanted to stay ahead on my normal duties, so it meant i kept pushing it back during my workday. i did hear from the branch i had called by instant message, the contact wanted to know why i had sent those two checks to him. i said i would add him to the email thread, and eventually i heard from the branch manager. it said we would take care of it, and that works for me. in the evening i made it to Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries, part of the order was two boxes of cereal. at first i was thinking i wasn't going to get any monster cereals this time, as i didn't see any until i made it to the checkout lanes. then i saw two boxes of boo berry and claimed one. the other box i bought was generic Rice Krispies. why pay more if you don't have to? I've bought generic or store brand versions of products many times before.  since i bought a box of Count Chocula a week earlier, there is just one more to get in that category, franken berry. i haven't tried target yet so there is another option on finding these Halloween cereals. before i made it to the grocery store i went to the outlet mall in the same town, first time there. i knew there was a location for American Eagle Outfitters in this mall. i had googled where to find Charlie Brown themed boxer shorts and this was one of the hits. there were four locations listed in the metro area for this chain. i ended up buying two pairs, and i liked how the sales rep was willing to take time with me to find what i wanted. i would like to think there will be more items in this category that fit other seasons. the two i bought were the great pumpkin theme, and i would like to think there will be some with a Christmas theme as well. i signed up for their loyalty or rewards program, and i guess there is a birthday offer. 

calling the branch

i don't think i had called a branch since starting with the bank. i did so this afternoon as i wanted to confirm the address and a contact name. a UPS envelope had been returned, i was not aware that the business line wanted me to send it to a branch. it happened to be in Beverly Hills, and it did remind me of a song that mentions a bank in that town. i had seen an email asking me to correct the address, but i said it was not possible as it was being returned to me as undeliverable. i was told it had to have the bank's name on it to be delivered there, and something about a suite number needed. except the branch said there was no suite. when given a contact name i confirmed the name in the employee directory, although it wasn't the branch manager. I've noticed most of the time when sending to a branch, it is to the manager. not a big deal as long as it gets there. the other notable thing of the day was the team lead saying that updates to the team's written procedure were due soon. i reviewed the ten tabs with my name on it but didn't know for sure how to save the updates or changes to it. i did take notes though so i can still add them in before it is due. it even led to vacation replacement deciding to call me through the laptop as there were questions about his part of the written procedure. some of it was contact names for who to send returned checks to, except we don't get returned checks if a business line has their own envelope. in the evening i drank the can of Budweiser with the evening meal and got a can of blue moon at the liquor store near me so there still are four beers waiting. 

overnighted to ireland

 i do overnight checks to foreign lands from time to time, and as expected it is usually to Canada. this afternoon i had two going there, and one going to Ireland. it will be memorable as it said it was going to Letterkenny, same name as the intelligent comedy show i saw due to my college roommate. those two were placed in the box as i was leaving and the others a little earlier, and it looks like the pick-up from the box happened before i got those last two in. i play the percentages about which ones go in early, in case the pick-up is as early as listed on the box. in the morning there was a request to overnight the remaining checks going to Cincinnati. i said those wouldn't all fit in one envelope, though. i used two, and it meant fifty checks were in one envelope while fifty-three were in the other. in the evening i called an insurance company after i checked my postal mail. i asked them to take me off their mailing list as i wasn't in the market for an insurance company after switching a year ago, and i am happy there. it was also due to getting two items from the same company, one of them wasn't even addressed to me. i had seen it before and had just tossed both of them but figured i should call this time. when there was no return address given on the envelope, it was either calling or going onto their website. 

disregarded payroll email

 i saw an email in the morning that was from payroll, it said i hadn't submitted my timecard yet. then i heard from the tax specialist when checks were picked up and i found out that dude got the same one. when i got it i forwarded it to my boss. then the payroll dude said it was in error. later in the day it did say to disregard the earlier email. another one hundred checks slated to go to Cincinnati arrived, although not in the i-pay file. and i was fine with doing what i did the day before, wait a day to send them out. i think i had seen this kind of spike in checks before, but i think it is just on an annual basis. when i saw it before i got out a box to send them all at once as no envelopes would be big enough for that many checks. my boss was in the shop for the first half of the day and when i arrived there was a cookie waiting for me from the lady who places supply orders from me. i liked how i didn't have to go to another floor to get it as i know it can be time consuming. i called in a ticket for a toner cartridge for the check printer so hopefully it arrives soon. the payroll check was picked up, and i referred our rep from the foundation to the tax specialist when i was asked for a courier referral. 

crowd too loud

 i went to perform at an open mic in the evening and i did stories about the bank, attending a Saints baseball game, getting shoes, using a crayon, and seeing a movie. i was in the midst of telling a story about my check printing work and then some crowd members entered, but they were being too loud. i even said 'performer on stage'. eventually i didn't hear them, and a little later i went to the bar area and i saw these people. i was told they were asked to leave because they were being too loud. there was four of them, three of which were ladies, and mention of being adoptees that were from northern Wisconsin. it was a short lineup so by the time i went back into the showroom the show was over. and when i went back out to the bar area, those four were gone. i heard the show runner talk about a fellow performer, some mention of moving to Florida. this might explain why i hadn't seen the wild guitar player in a while. at work i saw just over two hundred checks in the second i-pay file near the end of the day. it meant most of them did not go out same day, at least the ones that were slated to be sent inter-office to Cincinnati. i wanted to see that i had the correct checks in the correct pile and it meant having another chance to look at all of them the next morning. there was also a payroll check that i printed and it is set aside, waiting to be picked up. although it looks like a surrogate will be picking it up at a later date. 

sound of music movie

 in the afternoon i went to see the movie 'sound of music' in Eagan. i liked how i managed to make it through a three-hour movie without a bathroom break. i had one just before in and just after it. i don't think i had seen a movie this long before, let alone in theaters. a coworker kept telling me to see it and i am thankful i did and seeing it in theaters for its 60th anniversary was the best game plan. i laughed, i cried, it was a carefree movie for a while. then the intermission happened, and the nazi part was in the second half. good thing i stayed in my seat when i said 'intermission' on the screen as this interlude didn't last long. i had sang some of those songs in music class in elementary school. it was mentioned on 'big bang theory' twice. even the first episode of 'the nanny' reminded me of it, as a rich man hires a nanny and the hired help understood the kids better than the dad did. this included the dad having a hard time accepting that the eldest daughter was already dating. in the case of this movie, it was actually a governess instead of a nanny. actually, i called an audible on what screening i attended. i went to Jersey Mike's for lunch, and i knew i wasn't quite going to make it to a screening at another theater in time. seeing it in another town more than an hour later worked out just fine. i went home and watched some pro football before i left for the theater again. i think this was the first time i had been to that sandwich shop on a Sunday, and there were four football games on at the same time on their TV near the main door. i had just enough time before the movie to get to the nearby dairy queen and i got a pumpkin pie blizzard treat. 

napoleon cake

 i stayed active for much of the day. there was going to the post office, four orders were picked up including two CDs. i needed some things at JC Penney and went to the one in Roseville. I got a pair of socks with a Halloween theme and some shoes. while there i decided to use a small bench a little farther away to sit down and try on shoes, saying 'let him have some fun' noticing a little boy was on a bench next to his dad, and the dad was trying on shoes like i was. then it was on to the French alliance to see the art display. usually i get there before midday, when there isn't much of a crowd in the building. this time i heard 'bonjour' and was asked if i needed help, i said 'art gallery', stating what i was there for. the theme was black and white photos in Paris and mention of acupuncture as well. i had heard of some of these places but not all of them, and i found a black crayon in a kid's room so i could write some things down in the pamphlet about the exhibit. when i was done i returned the crayon to where i found it. then i make a quick stop at home to drop off what was acquired at the store and post office, and i was off to the Armenian festival at a church in St. Paul. i had been there before and the food is good there, this time i had the Napoleon cake after having the pork and rice pilaf meal. i also read the stories from families escaping the genocide, which were posted in the sanctuary. i went home again but wasn't there for long. i rested a little and then got groceries at the Aldi. then it was off to the stadium to see the St. Paul Saints baseball game. the Saints lost to Columbus, 9-3. it was fan appreciation night. it was my tenth game of the season, actually eleven as one night in June was a double-header. i had to choose a different food truck this time as the lineup can change. as usual, i chose one right away after the floodgates were opened as the lines get long really quick. i went to the fish and chips place and had the chips. when i got home i found out it was on the 'dining for miles' program, and it was nice to get some unexpected airline miles. there were some songs to keep people interested before the fireworks show, including a parody of an Oasis song. another was from the movie 'midnight cowboy'. during the fireworks there was the Sinatra song about baseball. 

thailand package

 there was another international package i had overnighted where i am called and emailed about it, this time going to Thailand. not much i could do besides notify the business line, in this case two shared email accounts were copied. it is up to them to supply more contact information to see that it gets delivered. matter of fact, i had to do the same for the one stuck in the Virgin Islands. it was nice getting caught up again on running checks through the machine at the end of the week. there was just over a thousand to do in the morning and i had two full mail tubs to send to the mailroom near the end of the day. i am finding out it works just fine to go on Friday morning to the Walgreen as i can get the paper there. i get it just once a week, and at times if i wait until i go to Hy-Vee in the evening it is already sold out. this way it counts towards my loyalty points total, and i know it doesn't at Hy-Vee. i did go get groceries in the evening, and it was the first time this season where i saw the 'monster cereals' so i bought a box of Count Chocula. this year it has a Muppets theme, honoring an anniversary at Jim Henson's studio, so we see Muppet versions of these cereal mascots. it was a small order, nine items. i found out i tend to have the same problem with listening to the Saints baseball game on the radio even in my car. the signal can be crowded out at times by the station next to it. good thing the game was also on local TV. the Saints beat Columbus, so their long losing streak ended. soon i will be attending another game in person though. 

undetermined pizza

 there was plenty of goodies to be found in the breakroom, and i did partake of most of it. i ended up taking a late lunch and i saw three boxes of pizza there, although i am not sure what the meat was on it, possibly chicken. best to just say 'undetermined'. some were cut into squares; others were cut into triangles. and i think some had onions on it. i felt a little weird after eating the pizza and made two trips to the bathroom in the afternoon, one right before delivering the regular mail tubs to the breakroom. when i got home i did drink some Pepto-Bismol, to help out a little, before i had the evening meal. i also made a good haul on the goodies that were left on the counter when i went there for some water for my mid-morning snack. i claimed a muffin, as well as some yogurt. with the latter i saw the post it on the refrigerator that said, 'for anyone'. i also claimed what was in a cardboard box for the next few days. this included some small bags of popcorn and chips, peanut butter crackers, trail mix, and some little Reese's peanut butter cups. wouldn't surprise me at all if some of it had just expired, or would be soon, as this is often why so much snack food is left in breakrooms as whoever leaves it wants it to be eaten. 

quick door inspection

 it was a weird day for meetings and visitors. i let the tax specialist know in the morning about me having a team huddle during the time that those checks are normally picked up. except the dude wasn't in yet and didn't see my instant message. then my boss was called during the team huddle and i went to the other floor to hand them off. this was after my boss dismissed what i had said, even though i knew it was relevant, and it was confirmed to be. then when i got back to the shop, there was two visitors. one was from the mailroom, not a big deal. it was the customary delivery of the empty mail tubs. the other was the preventative maintenance visit, which didn't last long. the dude said he'd be there for just two minutes. and all it involved was inspecting the door, starting with me badging into it. the check stock arrived as well. i showed the check copies to my boss when requested in the afternoon and found out i have to submit just twenty-four of those. some were essentially the same business line, and we need to submit only once. i said i would do so the next morning when i have no check files to print. it means blotting out the payee names as well as the DDA account number for each one, but it won't take long. and then i send it to a folder called 'reporting' on a drive i use all of the time for moving the PDF checks to after they are printed. 

fanning the checks

 my boss does one day a week in the shop and when coming back from a meeting on another floor saw the 'hot product' error on the machine. i had to say that the checks were hot, not the machine itself. this was when i was advised to pull a fan over and see if this would help with cooling down the checks enough. i don't think that it did, though. i am used to running through as much as possible until just before i go to lunch and then switching over to creating overnight labels. then whatever Fargo checks are left over are run through the next morning, when i don't get that error at all as the checks have been sitting for quite a while by then. i know best how to do my job. there was also mention of needing check copy samples for each of the business lines that i handle. i did some by the end of the day, the ones that i see most often. still need to find out the deadline on getting those submitted, and where to submit them, of course. 

answer was jealousy

 as we all know, i have been riding the light rail to work at the bank for months now. i see all kinds of things on these rides. this morning i saw a transit cop ask if a rider was all right. the dude had his shoes off and pants down far enough that one could see his undies. the cop said the shoes needed to be put on and the pants pulled up. then there was a question about what happened to his face, and the answer was jealousy. i try to avoid interacting with other riders as all i care about is getting to work. in the evening there was a lady asking about what train that goes to the airport, and i boarded the same train as her. but then i kept quiet and left her alone for the duration of the ride. at work i did make it to another floor, where many of my colleagues are, to deliver a check. it was for paying off a corporate card, and i ended up saying 'not my first rodeo' about it. then i was able to hand off some returned checks to vacation replacement. i was tired for much of the day and fell asleep for nearly an hour after i got home and ate. then i went out to perform. i did stories about the oil change, a meetup event, visiting the speedway gas station, and the cinema. and i started off with answering a joke from a comic i wasn't familiar with, about fireworks at baseball games. i have answered jokes before when i know i am more knowledgeable than the comic who first tried to joke about it. there was a thin lineup, show didn't start on time for this reason. i know the Vikings were playing that night, this might have been given as the reason. i did watch some of this football game in the bar area when i wanted a break from the showroom. the Vikings were on the road, in Chicago, and beat the Bears. 

all through the night movie

 in the evening i went to the Trylon and saw another classic movie, 'all through the night', starring Humphrey Bogart. the supporting cast included Jackie Gleason, and Phil Silvers. i liked finding another movie about World War Two when it was a current event. in both cases, the story or setting takes place just before the United States entered it. i laughed a lot at the deadpan humor in this one. Bogart was really good as usual. i am trying to figure out when my next visit will be, although it might not be for a movie as there is a poster sale in October. that month is shaping up to be a busy one, so it may be just as well. a film festival at another venue interests me, as well as Halloween- themed events at places like the Saints baseball stadium. i did laundry in the morning and finished up just before midday. then i went to speedway again and got another Slurpee, but this time it was in a plastic Green Day-themed cup. it was a larger volume cup than the disposable one from the previous day, it meant i drank half of it before i got home and then the other half was my drink for the evening meal, a small pizza. when i first saw it i was about to leave the store but got a picture of it to remind me. i am a big believer 'get while the getting is good', even though there were plenty of these collectible cups still available. it was on my mind and didn't want to forget to pick one up, so it was no big deal to go there on consecutive days. i also got two snack items. there was some ice cream on a stick, and a pack of Reese's peanut butter- combined with Oreos. according to what i had found online, this promotion was announced months ago but i hadn't seen it before. this is likely due to me usually getting bottled juices in the refrigerated aisle. it was opening weekend for pro football, but i didn't watch any games. guess it was due to the teams i wanted to see weren't playing that day. 

two fist bumps

 as usual, the weekends are about chores and errand running. this included getting an oil change for my car. i went to a new place, sort of. first visit to a Tires Plus location in more than a decade. there were two techs but i liked the second one more. the first was trying to joke around, and when it comes to my car i am not interested in jokes. it is the way that i get around. i liked the second tech better. i got two fist bumps from this dude, who said my car could run forever. also asked me if i had pets, and i do not. and if i was planning on watching the football game on Monday night. notable was seeing a crew boarding up a plate glass window which had a hole in it, boarded up on both sides. i made it there before midday, and my visit to the post office was moved up for this reason. three items were picked up, one of those was postcards from brawler. there was four, and one appeared to be from Paris. another was from Madrid, which made sense as the dude now lives in Spain. after i was done at the shop i picked up a quick lunch from the speedway gas station near me, actually it was a breakfast sandwich under the heat lamps. then i went home and watched the second half of the Iowa football game at Iowa state. Iowa lost a close one. in the evening i went to a meetup event at a micro-brewery in Brooklyn Park. a friend of mine was there, our first visit in a while. she was willing to speak a little about getting sued for a snowboarding incident but i didn't ask about it, figuring it still might be a sore subject. i parked at the adjacent steakburger place, Freddy's, and ate there. once i was done i went to the brewery. 

frames at michaels

 in the evening i made my first stop at the Michaels in Eagan, instead of Hy-Vee for groceries. i wanted a frame for a poster and when i went online this was one of the results. i wanted a 14 by 20 frame, couldn't find one so i chose a 16 by 20. some were more expensive than others, i just needed a basic one. when i got home i put the poster from the Charlie Brown movie of ten years ago in it, which was in a frame that was too big for it. then a St. Paul Saints poster that was acquired in August was put in the larger frame. now i have two framed Saints baseball posters, although i have four total. the other two are still in cardboard tubes so still well preserved. the framed ones are more about the team, and the tubed ones are of individual players and i am the type that roots for teams when it is a team game. then i went to Hy-Vee, and ten items were in my grocery order this week. i got the paper when i went to Walgreen in the morning to get some tea and cookies. i was busy at work all day, but i didn't mind. i wanted to get caught up by the end of the day and i did. it helped that the volume of the Fargo checks dropped, finally. the checks i printed today was a lower total than the backlog, which was over two thousand and run through before the newer ones. this was another day of deciding to get the returned checks caught up, over fifty were sent in interoffice envelopes to the corresponding business line. as usual, it was just in time to get some more. the check stock and envelope volume is getting low; order was placed two days ago. i was copied on an email thread about our office address, saying it needed to be updated. wondering if this is causing the delay. 

virgin islands package

 once again i couldn't hear my phone, but this time the one connected to my laptop, when i had the inserter machine running. i saw it was UPS, calling about a package going to the Virgin Islands. i tried to call the number given but it was the wrong one, something about medic alerts. i went online and found the correct number for UPS. it was a waste of time as i was on hold for a while and kept getting transferred, and what i was trying to tell them was to just 'return to sender'. i know this will happen after enough inactivity on the package anyway. i didn't like how the call center rep tried to hide behind 'this is our procedure' and i said i had done call center work before and it was getting ridiculous. when i was asked how to contact me, by email or phone, when i didn't want to be transferred again, i just hung up. as it was taking way too long for something that seemed simple enough to me. also notable about the day was being asked to send a package through fed-ex, except i don't use that courier. i didn't have any of their envelopes and didn't know where the closest box was. a colleague who was working from home was asking for help about it and wanted to email me what was to be overnighted. when i confirmed i had none of those kinds of envelopes i was told that the colleague would handle it next week when in the office. fine with me. i drank a can of surly with the evening meal so now four beers are waiting. 

end task function

 i was trying to go too fast near the end of my workday when i was trying to get a check copy for a colleague. it was from the PDF file and sometimes all i can do is a screen snip. when i realized i was going to print all eight checks in the file i tried to stop it and print just the one i wanted. then the screen froze, or i usually say 'got stuck'. i sent an instant message to an IT rep who said use control alt delete, then task manager, then 'end task' and this got me un-stuck. now i will try to learn a lesson from this experience so this doesn't happen again anytime soon. also notable about the day was getting the spare maintenance kit from the tech who was working on the check printer last week. i was running the inserter machine and it can get loud so i didn't hear the phone ringing but i picked it up from the security desk on the main floor. some mention of needing to go to Mankato so couldn't stay for long. i said i wasn't going to complete the survey until i had this item, and at the end of my workday i stayed a few extra minutes to complete it. this was also a day where i finally got started on the online classes due at the end of the month. i did one in the morning, doesn't take long but i still just do one per day. in the evening i went to the liquor store and got two cans of beer. it was a Michelob and a surly, so now five are waiting. 

alternate hotmail login

 i check email in my Hotmail account in the evening and it said i was unable to log in through the laptop. hard to understand why this happens at all but it has a few times in the past month or so. this meant viewing it on my phone, although this is not preferred as i like the larger screen and keyboard on the laptop. as usual, most of it is not too important. the surveys i do for airline miles mean the most to me, although i did not do one due to the issues i was having. although i have logged on to their website directly before. most of the time i go to surveys through the daily email. at work it was the first time in nearly a week that i had printed any of the ACH-PDF statements. getting checks out was more important when we were having printer issues. it meant sending out four tubs of regular mail as the ACH was well over a thousand pages. also printed the stubs for payroll, four days' worth, although those didn't go out just yet. the boss kept asking about the printer, i said it was running just fine after the tech visited. i saw how i was assigned more online classes, due at the end of November. i have some due at the end of this month, i will want to get started on those real soon. i usually do one a day until they are done as it just takes a few minutes to complete. there is still a backlog on checks to run through the machine, but it is manageable. it is the larger Fargo file. running it through the next morning still works fine. the Twins baseball game against the White Sox was on Fox-9. i watched some of it after the news on Fox-plus but fell asleep and missed the ending but i knew the Twins were way behind. 

voting on comics

 in the evening i went to a comedy show in the basement of a bar in northeast Minneapolis. i was interested in attending after having seen a text message from brawler, who was in town. this is who was performing when the votes were being counted at the end of the show. i was given a ballot but did not turn it in, as i wanted it for a note page. it was my first time at this venue in more than five years. i was introduced to the booker, who was wearing a 'cow onesie', and now i have stage time there in a month from now. i recognized two other performers at this show, one of them i call a 'ball of energy', and that was the night's winner, and the prize was a burger king hat. the other is now a mailman and spoke of getting bailed out of jail once by a stripper. the latter said i was 'the real deal'. i found out that brawler now lives in Spain, after being in the Carolinas for a while. this was another move for his wife's job, a physician. there was some mention of sending postcards to me and gave out my PO box address. even though it was a day off for a bank holiday, Labor Day, it was still an active one for me. i was at the state fair in the morning and afternoon and was able to get most things crossed off my list. i think it was the first time that i went on the final day of the fair. i did make it to an animal barn, for cattle, and chatted with a young man there. i learned there is a French cattle breed called 'Limousin', the name almost looks like the kind of car. there was one final day deal i liked getting, it was at the fan zone building, where i went to see the St. Paul Saints display. i got a picture frame and a long sleeve shirt, both were half off. it looks like the shirt was once going for way more than this but had been marked down apparently even before the fair. i am still doing 'one for one' on shirts and this will replace the long sleeve Chicago Bears shirt. i knew the cuffs were getting ratty on it. i made a return visit to the milk booth, as i didn't have milk for breakfast, which was another Egg McMuffin and orange juice at McDonald's. and it was nice to make it back to the giant slide as well, i got a better Lt. Dan from 'Forrest Gump' scream this time. and a big reason for the second visit this year, the fine arts building, i did see some paintings i liked. there was one about hot dish, along with ones depicting ice cream, and a pencil sharpener. i finished the walking tour map and my prize at the historic society was a magnet. i sang at the karaoke stage, 'bad reputation' by Joan Jett, after hearing it the day before when i was performing. and i had lunch at the Hamline church dining hall. it was meatloaf and mashed potatoes, for dessert some blueberry pie. after choosing some other dessert options first, i said i wanted the pie even more. i left the fairgrounds shortly after i had sang, it was mid-afternoon by then, and i made it home on the bus in time to watch 'jeopardy'.