9-volt battery

 this morning i bought a 9-volt battery from the corner store, along with a roll of toilet paper. the smoke alarm was keeping me up overnight as the battery was weak. when i got back from this shopping trip i turned on the TV as the gold medal game in the Olympic hockey tournament was happening, the men's division. the American team beat Canada 2-1 in overtime. team USA scored the first goal in the first period, Canada tied it in the second, and no goals in the third. the winning goal was early in overtime. it was annoying when the announcers said 'Canada was taking over the game' when they never led. this was said after the tying goal. with a low scoring game, one must give credit to the goalies for stopping shots. this was the final day of the winter Olympic games from Italy. once again, much like two years ago, i didn't watch all that much. if it was on at the bar on a night when i was performing, then i might watch some of it there. this was the only day when i watched it at home. since i was up early to watch the game, i was tired and i fell asleep for about two hours just before midday. then i had the urge to go out and about. i went to Eagan and had lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken. then i printed two pages at the copy store and went to the Barnes and Noble. i found the special magazine i was looking for, the 'year in review' by time magazine. i got another stamp on my loyalty account there. i watched a 'best of' show that NBC had in the afternoon, much of it profiled American athletes. then it was time to attend a meetup event, my first for this month. it was officially held at a 'spirits place', as that is where i got my nametag from the event coordinator. but i prefer beer and went to the nearby micro-brewery. while there i got a box of girl scout cookies. i like peanut butter, and there are two kinds in this category, i got the one in the orange box. i had pizza at home for the evening meal. i didn't do much in the evening, besides the dishes. 

ramen and spam

 in the evening i did one thing that i don't do that often, cook on the stove top. because i like using my microwave oven a lot. i recently bought ramen noodles and spam and needed to see how well it works. i used two pans as i fried the spam, it meant flipping the patties a lot. i did this while the ramen noodles were boiling. i hadn't tried ramen since before college, when i went to visit my big brother. i think the word i am looking for is 'bland' as to why i didn't have them again for a while. when i was googling ramen in the 'Japan store' before buying it i found out a good meat to go with it is pork shoulder, which is spam. this did give it plenty of flavor. one notable thing was the smoke alarm going off, but i waved the smoke away when this happened. i was nearly finished by then. there are three more ramen packets to use. it might have been a little much to boil two packets as i had to slow down when the plate was nearly empty as i was feeling full. there was plenty to do for the day. just before midday i went to the post office and i picked up an e-bay order, it was the 'America 250' flag that i had ordered. this was larger than the 'desk flag' that i had expected but i didn't mind. i had lunch at home as i had an egg roll and potato chips left. over. it would normally have been eaten on Friday but i went to a fish fry that night. then it was on to Eden Prairie for the annual meeting of the credit union that i am a member of. the keynote speaker had lost a leg due to cancer as a youngster but has traveled the world as an athlete, including the Paralympics. i liked what was said about getting ready for the surgery, refusing the wheelchair, wanting to walk there by himself. after the evening meal i went to Aldi for groceries. then i watched a DVD, it was 'breakfast at tiffany's'. i hear that it is part of a 'flashback cinema' series and good thing i checked what discs i already have. i hadn't seen it in a while. first time was in college, after the song of the same name was popular. i liked the neighbor the most, who took care of her. when i first saw it i said 'that's the old man from A-team', George Peppard. holly, played by Audrey Hepburn, wasn't as likeable as she was a 'hot-mess' and living a lie. trying to be a socialite, wanting to forget that she grew up unsophisticated in the south. a reminder of it was when her estranged husband shows up. 

deviled eggs, 6-pack

 in the evening i went to the Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries and i found a six-pack of deviled eggs and bought it. i am used to seeing them at potlucks. i will have two per day until they are gone. it was one of eight items in this order. and i made a visit to Walgreen in the morning, but it was a smaller order. there were two checks that i knew i needed to hold for pick-up but i had to contact customer service to find out who it was for. usually, the name is there. i will keep them in an envelope as the colleague spoke of wanting to pick them up next week. late in the day i emailed the mailroom boss as i needed more interoffice envelopes. i like knowing that i don't have to ask for them that much. i am sent plenty when i ask for them. there were questions about overnights from the Cincinnati file. with one of them i had to explain that there was just one UPS pick-up per day, and one check just missed this pick-up, and it was picked up the next day. when i first checked the tracking number it said it was on the way and then i checked a little later and it was delivered. odd how the others on the email thread claimed they couldn't find this information when entering the same tracking number that i had. another was by i.m. in the afternoon. once i found out the payee, i said i had the check and the overnight label so had what i needed. i said it would go to the box later on and would likely be picked up same day. there was a dial-in meeting about the ticket opened due to the check printer stopping and starting over on high-volume files. one thing suggested was to 'cut the file in half'. i have tried this before and when the volume is high again i can try it. there was also a request to intercept a check from a fraud file but i didn't get the request in time so it still went out regular mail. had to be honest about how i need it as early as possible. 

steelcore shovel

 i have a steel core shovel for the snow, thankful to have it even though i don't have to use it all that much. i used it this morning to dig out my car and then i was on my way to the park and ride to get to work. i liked how it didn't take all that long, under ten minutes. it helps that it has a scoop that is two feet wide, and it is a sturdy handle as well. i think all of my colleagues decided to work from home due to the weather. it was why i was asked to go to another floor and pick up the reject fax. then of course i take it back to the shop and scan and forward it to a shared box. i overnighted a check when i saw this request on it, even though it was from a file where i don't get that many kinds of requests. i was asked by i.m. if it was overnighted, and i said it was. then i gave out the tracking number. i said it is easier to send the tracking when it is available when i am emailed. also increases the odds that it will be pulled and overnighted. on another overnight, the manager that sings karaoke was notified about a check going to a fort in Maryland. looks like it was delivered in the morning, earlier in the day than expected. i knew it must have been a big deal when a senior leader was copied on the email thread. i drank the bottle of pilsner urquell with the evening meal so now there are three beers waiting. 

cashier check reporting

 i was asked by the Cincinnati business line for some cashier check reporting. i knew there were plenty of sub-files on this one, as it is the one where i am sent the overnight labels along with the checks. i found out there were ten sub-files with checks in the past year. one of them had over two hundred checks in it, and i sent that reporting first as spreadsheet, gleaned from the dashboard. i wanted to confirm that this was the kind of information that was being requested, and it was. when i found this out, i sent the other nine spreadsheets. some of them had very little activity. around midday i went to the puppy event in another part of the building. as usual i saw a friend from the comedy circuit, who is part of the animal rescue organization. there were five puppies, i am told all from the same litter. i did end up holding one of them but noticed its head kept moving around, seemed restless. then i was advised to put the dog in the playpen with the others. it was a 90-minute time allotment and i arrived during the final 30 minutes. i wanted to see that i was caught up on my normal duties before i went there. vacation replacement arrived near the end of the day to pick up a check. i was asked if i was printing anything. and at the time i wasn't. this was due to wanting to print a check, or it may have been to re-print it. not sure what for, possibly for the refund check file. 

special olympics signup

 recently i had been seeing ads about being a special Olympics volunteer and created a profile but haven't signed up for any shifts. then at my employer, there was an email about signing up through them. i let the team lead know my interest in it and it sounds like using volunteer hours is possible. i hadn't done anything like this just yet at my current employer as my normal duties are important to me. i had done some volunteering through former employers but i didn't enjoy enough of the outings. i haven't met that many people since starting at the bank, and hopefully i can meet some more due to an 'extracurricular' activity like this one. i was sent some FedEx envelopes, in person. it was six and i am told this should last for a while. at this rate, when it has been once a month, hopefully that continues to be true. the mailroom sent a refund check later than most of the others so i let vacation replacement know about it. 

pineapple tidbits, sloppy joes

 it was another day off as this was a bank holiday. for the evening meal it was 'odds and ends'. i ate the second and final frozen meal i had recently found at a bus stop, it was a sloppy joe and corn meal. i also opened up a can of pineapple tidbits. it was one of five items i had claimed out of a box next to a dumpster. all of it was perfectly good, unexpired and unopened food containers. it was two cans of chicken, two cans of pineapple, and a jar of peanut butter i had claimed. this was the final one i was using. a good fallback plan for me on a day off is to head to Mall of America. i had lunch there at the A and W. i had a burger there but got an idea to eat a fish sandwich on a later visit as 'fish fry season' is starting soon. there was an electronic ad about it when i was ordering. then i had a scoop of ice cream at great American cookies as i wanted some airline miles. the other two stops were at a toy store where i found two Charlie Brown items, a charm and a yo-yo. then i got a 5-pack of ramen noodles at the 'Japan store', Ebisu, as snoopy is on the package. there were two museum logos on it as well, one of them is of the snoopy museum in Tokyo. after leaving the mall i got some drain opener at a Walgreen. then i watched 'jeopardy' when i got home, and the final jeopardy clue was about John Knox, the religious reformer. i went to perform in the evening, and did stories about the bank, the day off, seeing a movie, and going to a donut shop. i was pleased that the wild guitar player decided to play a Lewis Capaldi song as i had requested it last week. there was another performer who talked to me after my set, was wearing an outfit that said 'supreme' referring to the shoe brand and spoke of performing in Las Vegas soon. i was annoyed when another performer asked for an opinion about their set and then later pranked me. it is a reminder of why i often leave shortly after the show is over as things like this can happen during the after-show part. 

wild river movie

 in the afternoon i watched a movie on DVD, it was 'wild river'. it was a recent purchase, part of a 'double feature'. it was about the TVA during the great depression, so of course this was of interest to me as a history major. i recall one history book saying the Tennessee valley authority 'made running rivers walk'. the movie did start with footage of this river flooding. it was about a government agent who must evacuate a small town to make way for a dam, but one resident refused to leave. then the agent falls in love with the granddaughter. i did not recognize any of the actors in it but i liked the story. notable was the old lady telling her story of why she refused to leave, and this was a scene where we see the cemetery on this island. for lunch i went to the mall in Roseville and ate at Tio's tacos. it was a way that i mark the anniversary of me moving to the twin cities for work many years ago, as it was on a Valentine's Day weekend. i had four small tacos and some fries and a bottle of Jarritos soda. then i went to have a blizzard treat at dairy queen. and i bought a small pack of baseball cards from a vending machine. i was pleased that one of them was of Yadier Molina. after i finished watching the movie, i had the urge to get moving again. i went to get some discounted Valentine's candy at Hy-Vee in Eagan. one was a big bag of Hershey's kisses, and another was gummies. both had Charlie Brown characters on the package. in the evening i liked watching two 'Simpsons' episodes. there were some postings on Facebook about this being episode number 800. one i understood was inspired by this year's america-250 celebration as it was about ben franklin and the setting was Philadelphia. this led to some jokes about the 'rocky' movie franchise as well. the other was about Milhouse's dad and crackers, notable as REM frontman Michael Stipe guest stars and the song 'i am superman' is played. 

blue moon movie

 in the late afternoon i went to see the movie 'blue moon' in Columbia heights, first time at this venue, called 'the heights'. this was one of just two screenings scheduled for this Oscar-nominated movie that was on my list. i had seen some other movies with Ethan Hawke, as well as Margaret Qualley. Ethan's character sure does talk a lot in it. this explains why his role was nominated, but no best picture nomination. it depends on who he was talking to. when talking to most people, seemed funny when reminiscing about his career. but with his ex-partner, seemed sad and bitter. but this fits with what i would expect when it is about 'Rodgers and Hart' becoming 'Rodgers and Hammerstein'. it was about the party at a bar after the premiere of 'Oklahoma!', a play i had seen performed by a local community theater. would it surprise me if the movie wasn't entirely factual? no. because one line in it was 'it would become so popular that high schools would perform it'. this is what happened, but was it really said right after the premiere? another one that meant something to me, as a performer, was the line how 'the crowd laughed at the wrong thing'. as a performer i know it is a good idea to know who your crowd is and try to perform something they will like. being edgy and satirical can work, but sometimes nostalgic, light-hearted, and feel-good works. it was time to have the evening meal by the time the movie was done, and i went to the nearby taco bell. one table over from me, there were two teenage boys who had showed up after i did and were arguing. it was added motivation to finish eating and leave in a timely fashion. in the morning i went to the post office, but there were no orders to pick up. for lunch i went to Jersey Mike's. my visit to Aldi for groceries was moved up to the afternoon due to when i attended the movie. i liked finding an Aldi truck on this visit, it will go next to other toy cars i have bought. 

reverse engineer it

i did see some movement on the ticket with the printer stopping and starting over. i saw some instant messages from a tech. eventually it was said he'd try to 'reverse engineer' it. i had to say that most of the checks i print each day are in this system, some are PDF but not a lot. if i needed to be out of it for the tech to get it handled, then it would have to be after-hours. none of my business if it meant the tech is working on it when i have a day off such as the upcoming bank holiday. a toner cartridge arrived for the primary check printer, proving it is still on auto-ship. thankful i don't have to call for that one. i sent plenty of check samples to the boss in a folder that others can use, twenty-five in all. it covers even the checks that i don't have to print much. in some cases, i had to go back a month or two to find one due to 'lack of frequency'. i spoke of promotions for the local baseball team, the twins, to the manager that likes karaoke. there are two in particular that interest me, special theme tickets to order, but those games are not until august. i like a theme ticket, don't have to be first in line that get that kind of giveaway. there was an email request to reroute a check from a Cincinnati file to someone in the same town as me. of course, it meant that it was an overnight request. and there was a dial-in meeting about nearly two hundred tax checks going to a lawyer office in Chicago. i don't get those kinds of files too often, where i have to put it in a box. once completed, i sent it to the mailroom as i knew it wouldn't fit in the UPS drop box. it didn't say 'picked up' right away though. after i got home i checked the tracking number and it finally did, more than an hour after i had left the office for the day. we had to have I.T. on the call to change one thing on the checks, which was rake off an email that is normally listed. the customer service number was left on, though. then once it was re-printed, i let all know so I.T. could switch it back. in the evening i did the customary visit to the Hy-Vee in Eagan for groceries. but before that i stopped at a nearby Dunkin donuts, inspired by the recent super bowl commercial. i got coffee with the donut, and since it was less than an hour before close, i was given three donuts but ordered just one.  

how to find special handling

 there was a quick dial-in meeting with the boss. it was to show how to find special handling in some of the files that i print. i said i do not go through each check in a high-volume file such as the Fargo files. i go by if it is marked as 'overnight' and even more rare, when i am sent an email asking me to pull a check. in these two files and some others, i change the tab to 'comment zip code' and all of those go to the top. makes no difference if it is inter-office, foreign, or overnight. some of those with comments i leave alone, because some don't fall into any of those three categories. later on, i was asked to pull a check from the larger Fargo file and shred it, do not send it out. the maintenance kit arrived for the primary check printer, i was called by the tech on the laptop phone about when to expect the tech on the main floor. i said it was already swapped out, just needed a spare. the rollers were still swapped out by the tech, and the kit i swapped out was hauled away. tech wasn't there for long, didn't need to be. i also had to call for help with the inserter machine. it was stuck on a 'hot product error' on both hoppers, couldn't get much moved through. i was still a day behind on the Fargo files, so i still had some checks that i needed to get out the door. after more than twenty minutes on the call, we got it figured out. one button i don't use much was used, run one check through but do not seal it, and this was enough to clear the error. then it was humming along again. 

incident opened, two calls

i found another case of why i call it the 'not much help desk'. i called in another ticket, this time it was for the printer stopping and starting over. then just as i was about to get the ticket or 'incident' number, the help desk hung up on me and i had to call again and start all over again. who knows when i might see any action on it such as if a tech has to show up. the toner cartridge for the small printer arrived, in the morning. the techs who ordered it wanted to close the case once it was ordered, i said 'on the way' doesn't mean as much to me as 'delivered'. once i was notified that it was signed for in the mailroom on the same floor as me, i went to pick it up. doesn't take long to handle it, just slide one out and slide the other in. when i arrived for work i noticed our tax specialist had sent an instant message overnight, at a time when some are watching the late local news. the question was if there were any tax checks, i said there weren't. still odd to me when i hear from this dude at times. 

duplicated checks, two files

 we are still getting the problem of the check printer stopping and starting over on high-volume days for two Fargo files. it happened with both, but i caught it with the smaller one earlier. the larger one started over about midway through and it meant about two thousand duplicated checks were printed. i have to take good notes when this happens, seeing that the duplicated ones are set aside and do not go out. then of course, seeing where it stopped over and knowing where i need to hit re-print. it meant more than four thousand checks did not go out same day. i am used to some days where there is a backlog, but usually it is not this much. but i am a big believer in seeing that it is done right, even if it takes more time. the boss had sent us a schedule by email. in the next week or so there are days off, as well as days when working remote in California. there was a request from the boss for check samples, i think due to the expected change of signature to be implemented soon. i am aware that not all checks that i print have a customer service number attached to it, though. some do have a letter under the check; others just have itemization. 

two tickets opened

 i don't enjoy having to contact the 'help desk' to open tickets at work, but it was time. i needed things for the machines that i use. there was the small printer, used for overnight labels, needing a toner cartridge. since not much is sent through it, thankful we don't need to order it much, first time since June. the other was a maintenance kit for the primary check printer. i have to treat it the same as toner, where we always want a spare one onsite. it actually didn't take as long as expected, based on past experiences, about twenty minutes. still a case of when it all arrives, but with the smaller printer i know i can print the labels on one of the check printers. when vacation replacement arrived to drop off some mail to go out at the end of the day, i spoke of it. in the evening i went to perform. i did stories about the bank, going to an art museum, a movie on super bowl Sunday, and a posting i saw on Facebook. 

a private life movie

 around midday i went to see a movie, 'a private life', in Edina, at the 50th and France theater. after i parked in the ramp next to the theater, i walked over to the holiday gas station, two blocks away, and picked up a sandwich and ate it before going into the movie. this was a French movie starring Jodie Foster. i know she is fluent in that language. as usual, i was able to follow along with the subtitles fairly well. it was a reminder of how it is loosely translated instead of literally translated. i saw this with the subtitles saying 'fine' when it was actually 'very good' or 'sorry' when it was 'excuse me'. i haven't seen that many movies starring Jodie, i know i saw 'silence of the lambs' but that was in the VHS era. it was a good story, and it was brilliant to have the talking heads song 'psycho killer' in this movie, for two reasons. Jodie was playing a psychiatrist, and some of the lyrics are French and of course Jodie trying to investigate the death of one of her patients, believing she was murdered. i do like me a good thriller, and it did follow what i am used to with thrillers. this includes someone searching for evidence, even though it was 'bending or breaking the law' to do so. one line i really liked was when her son answers the door and said 'you have the wrong floor, ma'am. my mother never apologizes'. sad but true for many, believe me i know. i didn't go home right away after the movie. i stopped in Eagan and picked up two more boxes of Chex cereal with Charlie Brown characters on the box. some stores are running low for that one, but not cub foods. i also got some cheese. then it was home. i was there hours before the super bowl began, and i researched what i did on previous super bowl Sundays for a Facebook posting. good game all around, liked seeing green day as the opening act. then lady gaga made an appearance in the halftime show. seahawks beat the patriots, 29-13. when following the flow of the game, no surprise really. Seattle's defense helped out a lot, with the turnover margin and points off turnovers. Seattle had a more experienced QB as well. the team with the best defense usually wins. four of the commercials were standouts. there was a Dunkin Donuts ad inspired by 'good will hunting'. there was lady gaga in a Pokémon ad. there was two PSAs with songs i was familiar with. one was Enya's 'only time'- about cancer screening- and the Phil Collins song 'against all odds' or 'take a look at me now' where toilets were singing it. 

an affair to remember movie

 in the evening i watched a movie on DVD, a recent purchase from amazon, 'an affair to remember'. i had seen it mentioned every so often, as a romance story with Cary Grant. it was even the inspiration for an episode of 'family ties' although i did not know at that time, i was too young. this was a 'double feature' and there is another disc in the case that i will want to watch soon. i liked the story for quite a while, it starts on a boat in Europe headed to America and Cary Grant's character is getting married soon. but then he meets someone on the boat. i liked it all the way up to when he's waiting to meet the lady at the empire state building, but the story wasn't much fun after that. i stayed active for much of the day. in the morning i went to the post office, one order was picked up. it was a book ordered after i had seen it on display at the historian convention in Chicago last month. then i went to a Walgreen and picked up some small items. by then it was time for lunch, and i went to Hardee's in the midway section of St. Paul. pleased that they had curly fries, had some with the mushroom and Swiss burger. i saw some Charlie Brown statues nearby, three in all. two of them i think i had seen before, but not the third. this was from the final series, snoopy on his doghouse. i got pictures of all three. i parked nearby and picked up some loose change on the sidewalk on the way there. one coin, a quarter, was frozen to the pavement so i used a key to free it. then i briefly went home and was gone again. this time it was to the Minneapolis art institute. i had heard a radio ad for the 'Great Gatsby' exhibit and i knew it was closing soon, next month. i had nothing booked for the day, so i said 'if not now, when?' i liked seeing much of the art on display, some of it by Wanda Gag, who i had heard of from visits to New Ulm. i bought some souvenirs at the end of my visit, including two stickers. one had snoopy on it, the other was Minnesota icons including Mary Tyler Moore. then there were five postcards. i saw a text message on my phone before entering the exhibit, offering discounted tickets to a speed dating event in the evening, but i didn't go. why? been there, done that. when i got home i had the evening meal, then went to get groceries at Aldi, then watched the movie. 

jack links steak bites

 in the morning i went to Walgreen for my weekly visit. since i had picked up some heart-healthy snacks near the security turnstiles, my order was slightly different. some of the refrigerated aisles are still locked up, and i don't feel like waiting for someone to unlock it. i found some jack links steak bites near the cashier, and the newspaper rack, so i got a pack of that snack. i think there is something similar to it in the vending machine at work. it tasted fine, listed as just a hundred calories. pack said it was made my Frito-Lay, which must explain why it was near the cookies i usually get. there were some visitors, i know this can happen even on a Friday when the building is nearly deserted. the order of check stock arrived, and the janitor was in before that but as usual wasn't there for long. matter of fact, i left to get the snacks near the turnstiles as on my way in they still getting set up. and i got the reject fax to scan from another floor. when i got back from doing both of those, the janitor was gone. there were more check copy samples to send. one file was from the boss, a 'zip file' where i noticed a senior leader was copied on it. this was six checks. i was asked to print some more from a 'test check file' as well, a different system than where i print 'live checks'. i printed seven from there, but noticed the signature said 'void-void' instead of an actual person's signature. and i was asked to send a copy from a file i get just once a week, guess it had some formatting changes as well. in the evening i went to get groceries at Hy-Vee in Eagan, first stop was their liquor store. i got a can of bell's so now there are five beers waiting. then it was on to the grocery part, a larger order than in recent weeks, twelve items. when i got home i watched a rerun of 'Boston blue'. i am aware that all-new episodes will return later this month. 

deflated popcorn balloons

 at work the building management company had their popcorn event. i would pass by the venue in the skyway and for a while i would notice that the larger-than-life popcorn box had deflated balloons on top, white and yellow, meant to 'simulate' popcorn. i noticed when i went to this event that the balloons were replaced with re-inflated ones. as usual, i didn't stay long, had too much to do. it was long enough to eat the popcorn, so just a few minutes. i let our tax specialist know there was two checks for courier pick-up for the next morning. one was from the ad-hoc file, the other was going to be sent inter-office by vacation replacement. i noticed the latter would have been barely enough to by a snack out of the vending machine in my neighborhood. matter of fact, in the evening i did just that, getting some potato chips. the Fargo check file was held up as i was waiting for a 'green light' on sending out checks after the business line wanted to see samples. there was some kind of formatting change. i did get one green light so i sent out the smaller file, the other i decided could wait until the next morning. it meant just over a thousand checks were left over. then late in the day i did hear 'i am happy' about the samples, as the first wanted to get a second approval. the colleague who places the supply orders for me was asking questions through our instant message system. it was about picking up a check from the i-pay file late in the day. i said i am thankful i don't get that many visitors at that time of day as i am busy on finishing up getting the regular mail checks into tubs and to the mailroom. i know i am not going to be 'chatty' at that time of day for that reason. i said it is still a matter of if the check in question would even be approved to print. then i was told 'not needed but thank you for answering my questions'. huh? the team lead asked for a check from an early PDF file to be pulled, then it was picked up upon arrival in the check shop that same morning. the boss was in the shop and talked with the team lead for a while. i drank a can of bell's IPA with the evening meal and got a can of icehouse from the nearby liquor store so there still are four beers waiting. 

donuts, super bowl party

 there was a super bowl party in the morning on another floor. i saw that i was caught up on my normal duties before i went there. i wasn't there for long, i ate a donut and was there for just a few minutes. the karaoke-loving manager was there as well and left about the same time as me, also having work to do. some had football jerseys on, but less than half. i said i don't have that many, but i do have plenty of baseball jerseys. the boss asked me to send an empty Fargo envelope by inter-office mail to an office on the other side of the metro area, an odd request to say the least. the manager from the Kansas City business line asked me about checks i had overnighted to Las Vegas late last week. i said that checks going to the same address are lumped together, to help save with the costs of overnighting. it was eleven checks in all, with various payee names on them. this was why there was the question, as the expected list when sending the tracking numbers was short. in the evening i did a little more than just watch 'big bang theory' reruns, and the news, as i found 'the Muppet show' when i was changing channels. Sabrina Carpenter was the main guest star, at least i have heard of her. the show was all right, but i noticed at times when the puppeteers weren't hiding their sticks that are used to control the puppets. 

printer stops, starts over

 a curious thing happened at work and i reported it when i noticed it. a check printer was printing a big Fargo file and for some reason it stopped before finishing and then started over. i knew to expect just under three thousand checks for this file, and when it said 'feed printer' after printing that many i knew something was wrong. i check the dashboard and this gives me the first and last check number in the file, this helps with when i investigate. found out there was over three hundred checks that i needed to re-print. thankful i caught it when i did as this held down how many 'duplicated' checks were printed. it was decidedly less than when this same thing happened more than two weeks ago. fewer to send to the shred bin then. there was a dial-in meeting that started mid-morning, and it was an all-colleague town hall meeting. some of the issues presented to the executive were typical, such as asking about layoffs as well as 'return to office'. i am used to working in the office every day of the week, same as branch employees, so working from home, the latter issue, does not apply to me. the month's envelope order arrived, just as the boss was asking about the printer. a check was picked up by the payroll manager for one of his reports. i don't care too much who picks up a check. i went to another floor to drop off checks, mailroom sent those to me, and they were ones i can't handle. one of them was a refund check. the newer colleague took ownership of them, i knew the team lead would be out of the office for the day. 

cat people movie

 in the evening i went to see the movie 'cat people' at the Trylon. i was interested in this one as i knew john heard is in it. i liked how it took place at the zoo in New Orleans, a city i have visited but i didn't make it to their zoo. since the movie was from 1982 i did notice some things that make it look dated now. there was an image of a now-defunct eastern airlines plane at the airport, along with a public payphone as well as a rotary dial phone in someone's home. and there were cigarette ads on billboards. it was a good story. i know i had seen a movie about a werewolf before, this would be the closest comparison. this would be the third Paul Schrader-directed movie i have seen there, the others being 'blue collar' and 'hardcore'. after getting home from the movie i ordered a ticket for another movie at this venue, a month away. at work i was asked to pull a check from the PDF file, and i did. then later on i was asked to send it out, but it was late in the day by then so it would have to go out the next day. not sure why there was a 'flip-flop' on this request. i was asked about fed-ex envelopes, i said i don't have that many but could use some more. so far i have used four, an average of one a month. one was used today, thankfully it is still 'few and far between' as we mostly use UPS for overnighting checks. i let the branch manager from my former worksite know that a check was on the way, likely for notary fees. and i sent a scan of returned checks to an office in suburban St. Louis, after seeing an email earlier about not seeing any for a while when i just send them regular mail. 

melania movie

 sometimes i have two-movie weekends, this was one of them. i went to see the documentary, 'Melania', about the first lady, this morning in Eagan. i figured there would be a slightly smaller crowd that early, even on the opening weekend. there was a decent crowd at this screening, and as usual i sat near the front of the auditorium. as a history major, i knew this would be a movie that i should see. and i like how Melania does honor those before her, as there is mention of some other first ladies. as expected, when her name is the movie title, it is mostly about her. sometimes a mention of her husband, and son. no doubt that one doesn't see things like what was shown too often, such as inside trump tower, showing campaign signs. there were no posters on display at this theater about this doc, likely because it was a doc. that genre usually doesn't bring big crowds to see it. thankful i saw it. nice thing about seeing it this early in the day was driving home to have lunch after it was done. i did some shredding of junk mail in the afternoon and then performed in the evening. i did stories about the bank, coffee and donuts, a meetup event, and attending the winter carnival. then i called my dad later on, a long call as usual.