catcher was a spy movie

i saw the movie 'catcher was a spy' in oakdale this afternoon. paul rudd played the lead role, moe berg. I recognized another actor in it and the credits said it was jeff daniels, playing his boss. seeing it was delayed for a while. two weeks ago I didn't make it in time for the start, and last week I was out of town. but I am thankful I saw it, as it had two big interests of mine: baseball and history. although there weren't many baseball scenes in it. I had heard about moe berg before, in reference to being part of a baseball tour in japan before the war since he did some filming in japan. I am the type that likes to stay for the closing credits, to see where movies get filmed. looks like much of it was filmed in the Czech republic, also some mention of Vienna, Austria.
   I got a lot done today. before the movie I went to an ice cream social at the keys café in woodbury, free cake and ice cream. also got a DVD at a nearby store, 'the program', which will replace another VHS tape. after the movie I went to the grocery store, and watched some baseball on TV, Fox, red sox and royals. but only for an inning and a half, as I had more to do.
   it meant going to get stage time at two different shows. both were open-mics, the first I hadn't been to in a while but I knew there were some extra shows this weekend. I got 3 minutes, and two people I knew were running the show. one of them was from Wisconsin, the other I did a fringe show with. the second was a once-a-month show, and this month it was a potluck and I brought a vegetable tray to get a few more minutes of stage time. I popped over to the cub foods in Roseville after the first show to get it. I liked the chicken served at the second show. although I was tired near the end, I managed to last through the show but didn't stay long after it was done. I knew I was lucid enough, as I was able to recognize an edit piaf song as I was driving home, that was playing on my car radio.

get the smaller basket

I was at a Walgreen picking up a few things this afternoon after being at the library for a while. I saw a basket but said I didn't like it, too big for my needs. then I saw the smaller basket nearby, and decided to get that one instead. I applied for more jobs online and signed up for some websites that inform people about freelance writing jobs. my friend in Houston gave me those recommendations, and when I followed up on them I said one of them asked for a photo and to create my own profile.
   in the evening I went to the comedy club and did a guest set. I had opened for this comic last year as well, it gave me the confidence to ask again. I didn't know the MC or middle performers, but they had some jokes I liked. one did a 'feet hurt' joke, the other about walleye. I didn't know the man who had a camera with a big lens but we spoke after the show. he was sitting near me in the back before I went to perform. a woman who was likely a club employee said she missed my set, but encouraged me to ask for more stage time at this venue. I told the headliner it was the least I could do to tell my best jokes, I was given 5 minutes. it included ones about taco bell, and burlesque.

unplugged pac-man game

i went to a karaoke bar to perform tonight and another patron noticed the same thing that I did- the pac-man game where I often sit in the back was unplugged. he wanted to play it, I said ask an employee about it. I said I was waiting for my turn to sing, and it took a little while for the second song. I sang 'every rose has its thorn' by poison, and 'iko iko' by the belle stars. I had heard the former on the radio on the way to the venue, and the latter I had heard while watching the movie 'rain man' on TV, a favorite movie of mine. before then I stayed to watch a comedy show and inquired about stage time in the near future.
   this morning I had a meeting with a temp agency, and hopefully I will have some offers to review soon. I also went to the library and applied for more jobs. and I spent some time typing up a letter to a friend that lives in st. louis. I said I would send one after visiting my native state, iowa, and I did that over the weekend of course. in addition, the postcard I sent to myself arrived. the rest of the day's mail was junk.

2006 world series DVD

over the weekend I found a DVD about the 2006 world series at a gas station. since the st. louis cardinals won it I said I wanted it. since it is the 4th of july holiday I knew I had more time today to watch it. I did so in the evening. this was the year where the cardinals just barely made the playoffs, winning the division despite losing a lot down the stretch. they beat Detroit 4 games to 1 in the series. this was the year that started with me going to spring training in florida, since the cardinals and twins train there. I haven't been to spring training since, but at least I have been there once. since this was over a decade ago, I had to be reminded of the player movements since then. Fernando Rodney was a pitcher for Detroit then, and is now with the Minnesota twins. the cardinals don't have that many players left from that team, aside from Molina and wainwright. I also liked some of the bonus features on it, such as 'this week in baseball' from 1991, as it had the two managers in that segment- jim Leyland and tony larussa. another was the final out from the 1982 world series. yet another was actor billy bob thornton, the narrator, talking cardinals baseball. he is from Arkansas, and that is part of the region where many are cardinal fans.
   I stayed in for a while as it was raining, and did some writing in the afternoon. I ventured out in the late afternoon, after checking the weather report to find out when there was a break from the rain. I went to an event at a park in Roseville, I had been there before on the 4th of july. I looked around for about 30 minutes, bought an ice cream sandwich, and left. there was a street preacher in the parking lot near the entrance, I have learned to ignore them. I said to somebody as I was leaving how I see religious zealots at these kinds of events all the time, such as when I go to the jesse james festival in  northfield. I went home and had dinner, and shortly after I finished watching the video, I ventured out in hopes of finding stage time. I got a look at the venue's parking lot and said 'this looks problematic' and there was a man with a flag, meaning there was a parking fee for the nearby event, the fireworks show near downtown Minneapolis. so I said 'i need to get out' and I left. as usual, one doesn't need to try very hard to see fireworks on this holiday. while I was driving around I saw plenty of them off in the distance. there were some people with their blinkers on, near an exit on 35W, which told me they might be just watching the fireworks from their cars. so it was all right with me on how the evening unfolded, there are worse ways for a loner to occupy the evening.

dented pudding cup

I finally got around to my weekly grocery store run, since there were no appointments today. I noticed I chose a pack of four pudding cups and one of them was 'dented'. not a big deal to me, and it was hard to notice at first when I prefer to get in and out quick. in many ways it is symbolic, where I know what it is like to be dented as well. and I am the type that will say 'it needs me' since I would expect most people to say they wouldn't want it when it is damaged goods.
   I made a lot of calls about jobs, but right before a holiday there wasn't much to be found. it meant sending an updated resume to a few agencies. one agency left a voicemail, same one I had an appointment with the previous day. it was the branch manager, saying they won't represent me. even though the reasons they gave weren't true, saying things like I was hostile at the interview they sent me on six months ago. and some of it was reported by somebody that no longer works for them. so I told them to take me off their email list, as the branch manager's name was on the email I got last week saying there were jobs available. it was why I had scheduled the appointment. you live, you learn. and I have no choice to move on. somebody will want me.
   I went to two performance venues tonight. I signed up for the wild card at the first but wasn't chosen. it was the first time I had been there since super bowl week, 5 months ago. during their contest I didn't want to go as I didn't make the cut and I need to go where there is stage time. I inquired further about stage time while there, so hopefully I will be performing there again soon. I performed at the second venue, near the end of the night. when I saw happy meal I said that he might not enjoy my set that much since I am unemployed again. I recall he said I was a lot calmer when I went back to work. there is an outdoor part of this venue where many comics like to sit, and going there to find people helped me with finding ideas for my set. somebody noticed my shoes, I said I bought them over the weekend and it prompted me to cover what I did over the weekend in iowa. so I am thankful for a little help here as I found enough ideas to avoid it being all about ranting on being out of work. I heard some comics wanting to a bit about the holiday, since it is a day before the 4th of july. so I told myself I can do this, as it reminded me of living in  suburban Chicago and somebody got it wrong about why we celebrate the holiday. sub teacher was on after me and I said hopefully he liked that one. he gave me a shout-out and said I didn't take a breath during my set. it is nice to hear the perspective of others.

more keystrokes wanted

I had two appointments today, the second was with a temp agency. I did some online tests there and met with somebody as well about what my career interests are. then when I get home I have a voicemail stating they want me to retake a data entry test. I guess they wanted more keystrokes. I did re-take it, but got fewer keystrokes and lower accuracy as well.
   the first appointment was to see my file at the test scoring place in woodbury. there was four of the five evaluations of the projects I had done. I looked through all of it, even the copies of my degree. none of it really surprised me much in terms of what a team lead or scoring director said about me. I am quiet and efficient with my work.
   due to these two appointments, it meant there was less time for other things such as the chores and errand running left over from the weekend. so grocery shopping has to wait. I made it to the st. paul saints baseball game in the evening, but the saints lost to fargo-moorhead 4-0. the saints had the bases loaded twice, but just couldn't score. there was food trucks and fireworks after the game, the last song during the fireworks was 'party in the USA' by miley cyrus. I walked around for the first four innings, not wanting to have too much exposure to the sun. I was ready to sit down by then.

completion of suspended game

I began the day at my hotel in Ankeny, iowa, and had continental breakfast. normally this would mean I did little else but get on the road back home. but there was unfinished business. I checked out of the hotel and then headed for my hometown of newton. I found a shoe store near the Hy-Vee and got shoes and socks. I knew mine from last night were no good until they dry out. I didn't stay in newton for long but still found maytag park and emerson hough school after turning in pop cans at the Hy-Vee and then getting a candy bar. I dropped a postcard to myself in the mail there as well.
   I saw the completion of the suspended iowa cubs game from the night before. Memphis won 13-2, then I left for home. according to what I found online, Memphis won the regularly scheduled game as well, 6-1. the news of the flash flooding in des moines was mentioned on WCCO when I got back, do it was a big deal. I spoke of it a little when I was returning the rental car. I will probably not rent from them again as I prefer a place that is at the airport and it is off-site.