Peroni Beer

   I had Thanksgiving dinner in the early afternoon at a Buca Di Beppo restaurant about a mile from my home, so I walked to the place. I drank Peroni beer with the meal, an Italian beer I haven't had too often. Some might be surprised to hear how I spent the holiday, but I don't mind being a lone wolf at all. I have been one for a while. And as I said to the bartender at the comedy club a day earlier, it just didn't seem like proper etiquette to try to invite myself anywhere so I saw nothing wrong with largely keeping my plans to myself. Another thing I said about it was that some might hear about it later and said I would have invited you, but it would be much easier to say this after the fact. The server was trying to upsell a few things to me, but all I ordered besides the traditional Thanksgiving meal was some garlic bread. There was 12 pieces, I ate 3 there. I liked knowing there was an individual meal available, as the next size after this was 'Serves three'. Near the end she said to me how it looks like I could have eaten even more, and I said I am almost full and haven't seen the pumpkin pie yet. I am thankful I made a reservation, as the place was hopping when I got there. I haven't eaten at this restaurant chain too often before, I can recall one time before and that is when I was in a relationship. I do tend to eat at sit-down restaurants more when dating, otherwise I like to keep it simple and go to a sandwich shop or fast food place.
   I had some chips while I was watching the lead-off football game, Bears-Lions. I left for the restaurant near the end of the first half, the Bears were leading but they were way behind when I got back. I fell asleep so I missed the ending of the game. At first I had a hard time finding the next game, Eagles-Cowboys, I think due to the tuning on my TV being a little suspect. So I watched two editions of the game show 'Jeopardy'. After this I found the second game. Before the first game began I watched some DVDs appropriate for the season, the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special and then the movie 'Planes Trains and Automobiles'. I like road movies a lot. I didn't watch much of the third game, Seahawks-49ers, as I wanted to do other things like watch two episodes of 'Big Bang Theory'. The syndicated rerun was when Raj worked for Sheldon. The primetime episode also appeared to be a rerun. It had a Thanksgiving theme, it was when Penny invited Zach over to get annulment papers signed. After this I took a walk around the neighborhood. I had a big meal at midday so I was fine with not eating much in the evening. I had some more of the garlic bread I brought home from the restaurant, and I drank some orange juice as well. Not much to pick up on this walk, since there is plenty of snow on the ground. One of the things I did pick up was a quarter, from the series one state quarters. It was the Florida edition. When I got back I listened to one of two Lucinda Williams CDs I bought recently at Cheapo to get primed for the concert at First Avenue in Minneapolis, it is in two days. It was 'Car wheels on a gravel road', the older of two CDs I have. 'Concrete and barbed wire' sounded familiar to me for some reason.

Acorn Treats

    I went to the comedy club tonight and the headliner had acorn treats. They were really sweet. It included a Nutter Butter as well as butterscotch. I had just two of them, there was a Ziploc bag full of these treats. It was Conga line comic, feature was Auto correct. Rut-roh was MC, and a guest set from Laundry. Auto correct did ones about get a life alert, taking 17 years to complete a college degree, doesn't like babies, Jack Daniel's, Ladies Nights, taking an acting class, and a life coach.  Conga Line did ones about not being a paper boy, a chocolate turkey party favor, Williston, ND, Salma Hayek, Kenny G, skip rocks, fair weather fan, get a garage, Subway, a German exchange student, dog walking, clown car at dog park, and a seeing eye person.
    I liked finding more versions of the song 'Dyer maker' on Youtube. I already knew about Lady Gaga's- as Stefani Germanotta. Others were by Sheryl Crow, 311, and Cidade Negra. It is hard to top Led Zeppelin's, especially the vigorous drumming in it. But Sheryl did have a nice touch, using an accordion.
   I met a man while waiting for the bus tonight who was wearing an Atlanta 1996 Olympic coat. He liked to talk sports but often would hesitate when he talked.    

The Better Angels Movie

     I saw the movie 'Better Angels' at the Lagoon in Minneapolis in the afternoon. I had hoped to have lunch at an Applebee's but knew I didn't make it there in time to wait for food to be ordered and prepared. So I just continued on to a Popeye's chicken near the movie theater. This movie was about Abraham Lincoln as a youngster in Indiana. Not much is written about his time there, more is written about his life later on in Illinois. I was familiar with many of the themes in it, like during this time his mom died and his dad remarried. I liked how it was filmed in black and white. It was tough to see his character being whipped with a stick from a tree, even if it was mostly just hearing it. But I know this was common as discipline for a while. The scenery was good, like showing the cornfields when they were working in them, as well as the school he attended. It started out with an image from the Lincoln memorial in Washington, DC, and some of the story was told by a narrator, Lincoln's cousin.
   Before leaving for the movie I watched one at home, 'Rachel Papers'. James Spader is in it. I recalled ads for this one on Cinemax, so I had wanted to see it for years. And I watched my copy of  the Charlie Brown special about Halloween, 'Great Pumpkin'. And of course in the evening I went to the comedy club.
    At the comedy club tonight, D.C. did ones about being 9 months sober, AA meetings, it's not just on me, a drug test cup, and rating nausea. Mason City did ones about taekwondo, a cookie jar,  Chihuahua life skills, sea shells in Jamaica, James Brown music, and a dirty text message. Perkins did ones about a zombie apocalypse, Steve Buscemi, a woman wearing the same sweater, a Dallas Buyer's Club body, and meeting her cat. Ex-TSA did ones about Buffalo, NY, Fat Albert, what TSA means, and Big Mac. The nurses aide did ones about dating advice, doing laundry, and riding the bus. Morton Salt did one about teaching Korean. A comic with family from Greece did ones about a conman pun, and an expensive tow.  The MC was somebody I had seen perform when I visited St. Louis before. The big dog did ones about Christian Mingle, car salesmen, seeing a dead body, and taking things for granted. The Breck graduate did one about Las Vegas. Netflix did ones about being a circus lawyer, Beyoncé not available, dried up eggs, could be welding, ice cream for breakfast, girl's girl, Jane Goodall, Sesame Street, and awkward at potluck.  

The Announcement

     I went to the comedy club tonight and one of the comics announced the grand jury decision from suburban St. Louis at the end of his set, the D.C. native. When I was driving home from the club I listened to Christmas music as one radio station is exclusively playing it for the season. I did get an email about helping with my employer's holiday party, but I am unable to attend the informational meeting as I am out of the office on Tuesday. So I will have to find out how much I am able to help when I return to the office.
    At the comedy club tonight, there was an MC in training. He did ones about it just felt right, studio apartment, sausage fest, and a dick-pic text. The opera singer did ones about being a bartender, music school, sex-education delay, and a cat swallowing a condom. Mr. Pibb did ones about a pet named Hooch, and a tap on the shoulder. D.C. did ones about being 9 months sober, rating nausea, 7-up all over you, and the Japan embassy. Laundry did ones about having 4 kids, and his wife saying she would squat it out. Pottery barn did ones about nursing a beer, he's engaged, different people, Bible without deodorant, and private eye, see a doctor! Fever did one about a hot tub at a hotel. 'Extra murder' did ones about elementary school in Kentucky, the fireplace show, don't open the box, and it's a globe. Maryland did ones about Columbus Day and a pilgrim, a date with a trannie, ordering on Amazon, and yoga pants. University accountant did ones about a candy dish lady, White Castle, Subway Jared pants, and her husband's navel. A visitor from Florida did ones about going bankrupt, and a waffle maker at the hotel. School bouncer did ones about purple at a funeral, a vest on clearance, single sex, and a pie at 1:30am. Perkins did ones about a text from his lady, Catcher in the Rye, her cat, and seeing 'Hunger Games'. Worthington did ones about his dad's retirement hobbies, organic socks, guy with a barbed wire tattoo, and emotional torment from a raccoon. Tetris did ones about like my sweater, boat names, breakup songs, and a vagrant in California. Bathtub did ones about a gladiator fan, white water rafting, gourmet pizza, stolen babies, a lava lamp, a pug in a baby carriage, a serial killer, and cinnamon rolls on turkey day.  

Stolen Dance Song, Milky Chance

    Recently I heard a song on the radio that I think is catchy. It is 'Stolen Dance' by Milky Chance. 'We don't talk about it, do the boogie all night long' were the memorable lyrics. Sometimes I am in the mood for this kind of song, it is folksy.
   It was a busy day for errand running for a while. I did dishes in the morning, and in the afternoon I went to do laundry. I was asked if I worked there, because I was cleaning out the lint traps. No, I know the dryers work better when these are cleaned out. My third stop was to the library to print things. I made it there just minutes before closing, but it was enough time to accomplish what I set out to do.  Somebody spotted my Iowa Hawkeyes coat at closing time and we spoke for a while, though we were from different parts of the state and different generations so we did not know the same people. She spoke of the Davenport area a lot. I tried to keep up with all of the subjects being discussed, one of them was how she is divorced and her son had died of cancer. Eventually the employees turned out the lights on us and I said to her it was a sign they wanted us to leave. She also spoke of Little Falls, as a history major I said I had been there before as the Lindbergh home and Camp Ripley is there. And of course Ripley has a museum.  
   I had hoped to get to a movie in the evening, after 'The Simpsons', but it was not to be. It is an art movie at the Lagoon in Minneapolis, so there are limited show times available. I can move it back to Tuesday, I have this day off. I called my dad in the evening while watching a football game, Cowboys-Giants. I said we need to end the call as I was getting beeped for a low battery, we had been on the line for just over an hour by then.   

Way Better Sweet Potato Chips

     Tonight I was back at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis for a volunteer party. There was plenty of pizza, 25 boxes in all. Some was vegan, and some was meat. I had 2 slices of pepperoni. There also was plenty of little bags of chips, sweet potato, made by Way Better snacks. I decided to claim 3 bags of these and will try to eat them soon. I claimed one bag after my shift of scaring people at the Haunted Basement 3 weeks ago. It took a while, but I finally saw my contribution to the slide show, 15 photos from the event. I was told there were about two thousand in the slide show. Mine were at the absolute end, and when it got to the one of the grocery cart full of chips it just stopped. There was a keg of Summit Beer, and I had a cup of it.
  The day started early with a visit to McDonald's for an Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwich. Then I got on the bus to work as overtime was being offered. I arrived shortly after 9:30am and left to get the bus again just after 2pm. I accomplished what I wanted to, logging out 3 pages of sold accounts for the special project after pulling the documents. The total number of documents was comparable to what I logged out for Monday, our highest volume day. The boss ordered pizza, and around 1pm it arrived. I had 3 slices, pepperoni and sausage. It was from Pizza Luce, the kind from the Soap Factory party I am not sure but it was some other place. After I got home I checked the paper and found out the Iowa-Wisconsin football game was on local TV, on ABC. So I started watching it when it was tied 3-3 near the end of the 1st quarter. It was 16-3 Wisconsin at halftime and they went on to win 26-24.  I wanted to get some errand running done before going to the Soap Factory, so early in the 4th quarter I went to the grocery store and missed 2 touchdowns even though I was away for just a short time.  

Rain King, Counting Crows

    Tonight I heard 'Rain King' by Counting Crows when I was driving home from the comedy club. I have the CD it is on, 'August and everything after'. I like the lyrics about 'Been here before and I deserve a little more'. In a Youtube video it does show various images of rain. I do like rain songs for some reason, like 'Live Forever' by Oasis which mentions the morning rain. I think Avril Lavigne and Maroon 5 also have some rain songs. And then there is 'Here comes the rain again', by the Eurythmics. At midday I liked hearing 'Rearview Mirror' by Pearl Jam while eating a sandwich at Erbert Gerbert. Also at Erbert Gerbert, I proved by going to another location that there is a problem with their loyalty program. I liked going to the skyway location, staying inside. But the visits weren't registering when my card was run. So I went to another location nearby and this one was fine. So it is either faulty equipment or an incompetent employee at the other one.
   When I got off the bus this evening I probably annoyed a few people when I decided to pick up some loose change near the door. It was a dime and a penny. Eventually the driver asked if I had got it, and I had. On the way to the comedy club I had some trouble with a gas pump at Super-America. I would run my loyalty card and Visa card and then it would say 'See cashier' after entering my zip code. After I went inside about it I had somebody accompany me on the third attempt, and then it went through no problem so I said the machine had made a liar out of me.
   At the comedy club tonight, Mr. Pibb did ones about a fat nerd gets ripped, back tattoo. stating the facts, and quarterly budget meeting. Red-faced comic did ones about trying to quit drinking, 'I turned out fine, a cycle' and new vegetarians. Software developer did ones about 'it's me, not the bear', along with picnic basket and unicycle. Fantasia did ones about playing dead for 3 days, locked keys in car, and lock picking school. A young comic did one about a can opener. Worthington did ones about Taylor Swift's '1989', bar purgatory, human barbed wire tattoo, emotional torment from a raccoon, dead birds on video camera, and his dad's retirement hobbies- knives and alcohol. A comic I haven't seen in a while did one about journalism school, one of my Facebook pictures from the comedy marathon is of him. The bartender did ones about quitting drinking, and 'taco-cat'. Long straw did ones about Baja Men songs and an Amber Alert at Barnes and Noble. Perkins did ones about a text from his lady, Catcher in the Rye, Tuskegee experiments, meeting her cat, and his dad- scarecrow from Batman.