business cards misdirected

 i had to say i was not in the mailroom, or in that office, when i was sent an email about misdirected business cards. i did see that some colleagues in the mailroom were copied on the response, though. i think some of the confusion arises from my email signature says i am a mail clerk. but i prefer to say that i am a check printer on my income tax returns. the boss was in the shop and noticed some things stacked up near one wall. this was not just empty copy paper boxes, but also two laser jet toner cartridges. i had to say that we were sent those even though i had already told them that we can't use them for check printing. then i was advised to call in a ticket, in this case send an instant message to the help desk. a ticket was open and i am hopeful that we get the correct toner cartridge soon enough. not yet a sense of urgency, when a spare one is ready to go if needed, but hard to predict when i need to swap it out. machines still sometimes send some weird messages. before lunchtime, i noticed how the screen went blank on the inserter machine when i was running checks through. it kept running for a little bit, then stopped. but i am not too worried just yet when rebooting it seemed to correct it. i try not to call techs unless i can't figure it out on my own. 

email thread forwarded

 not too much was notable about work for the day. but i still sometimes get some weird scenarios, ones that i didn't think were possible. case in point. one colleague, from suburban Milwaukee if i am not mistaken, sent an image of a check that i had overnighted and wanted to know what it was for. i had sent checks to that office before, but to other people. i knew that file, the business line is based in Hopkins. the best thing to do in this case was to forward the email thread to show the tracking numbers. then this colleague has others to contact if there are any more questions to be answered. i find it odd that the colleague wasn't copied on the original thread. some mention of the names on the check might not be correct, but of course i just print checks, i don't approve them. 

on again, off again dial-in

 there was a dial-in meeting in the afternoon with the boss, it was with the office in Marshall. but it was on again, off again. the colleague in Marshall was hard to find, and the boss rescheduled for the next day, same time. but once our colleague was found, we did the dial-in. something about another meeting ran long as i recall. there was two payroll checks set aside, different recipient names on them. but i am used to just one person picking all of them up and that is fine with me. i was asked why a check to be overnighted from the Cincinnati file was not picked up yet. if it is like most others, it was due to arriving late in the day, after the listed pick-up time on the box. there was also an inquiry on an earlier overnighted check saying the business name of the recipient was not correct. i send it to wherever i am told to send it to, and that means going by the name on the check or whatever name is on the shipping label. especially if the label was forwarded to me. 

red letter date

 i went performing in the evening and i realized it was a red-letter date for me. some notable anniversaries were happening. things like graduation, then leaving my native state a few years later. other stories told were about the weekend in Iowa to visit family, singing at a karaoke bar, and the bank. at work, there was notable things as well. a pull and shred request on the fraud file arrived, but had to tell them it was late, unable to help them. there were tax checks to be set aside. the mailroom sent me a blue company envelope; another refund check was inside. 

aim found at dollar tree

 i began the day in Ankeny, Iowa, at my hotel, the days inn. i like how there isn't much to do on the final day in town. there is have breakfast, check out of the hotel, and get on the road. it is nice having a continental breakfast at the hotel, one less meal to find each day. i have this in mind when i choose hotels to stay at. i am thankful i didn't hit the road right after breakfast, though. the CBS morning news had a segment about actor-comedian martin short. i mainly knew him as the third of the 'three amigos', not as well-known as the other two. when i made it back to the twin cities in the mid-afternoon, i dropped off some things at home. then i went to Robbinsdale and first stopped at the dollar tree. a previous visit for a meetup event led me to finding out there was aim toothpaste there, it can be hard to find. i bought a tube of it there. then i went to the McDonald's and had some ice cream. i also went to the Aldi near me for groceries. i decided to use the rental car as long as i could and then returned it just minutes before it was due, in the evening. notable from the drive home was the music, as usual. i like having it on when i am in the car. there was a movie song, 'Flashdance, what a feeling'. i liked the line 'take your passion, make it happen'. i often speak of passion, it was absent from my life for a while, then i found it in performing. others i heard were 'angel' by shaggy, and 'memories' by maroon 5. both of those still work for me. 

greenbelt park, clive

 in the afternoon was the graduation party i was invited to, at greenbelt park in Clive. it was my cousin's daughter that was the guest of honor, and the first time i had seen my cousin in eight years. i also saw my two siblings, and my dad, as well. the siblings arrived after i did. my brother spoke some of his line of work, at FedEx, and it sounded familiar since i overnight checks at the bank but with a different courier. the graduate was at Des Moines Christian, a small school i knew very little about, but plans to study biochemistry at drake university, also in Des Moines. in the mid-morning i started the drive from my hotel, after watching the local news, to the cracker barrel in Clive. i found the two items i was looking for, it was a patriotic snoopy towel, and an america-250 shirt. then i saw my niece at the dairy queen in Waukee. i did have some ice cream there near the end of the visit. it was the first time seeing the second daughter, who is not quite a year old just yet. the first daughter seemed to enjoy the three gifts i brought her. she fell and hurt her elbow, but i think she will be all right. my niece said i would be tagged in photos on Facebook from this visit. it was midday by then and i spoke of wanting to eat at a maid-rite sandwich shop, loose meat sandwiches, they don't have that in the twin cities. i found one at merle hay mall, although it was tough to see how half of the storefronts in the food court were empty. i know the mall has lost some anchor stores, the opening of Jordan Creek mall didn't help. but i know this one is doing better than two others in the area. Southridge is now a mall in name only, and valley west sank into bankruptcy and might get demolished. after my cousin's event, i did a quick tour of my hometown of newton. i got a pic of Emerson Hough school, then had a meat loaf meal at the Hy-Vee. in the evening i was back at my hotel for a little bit, and there was an interview with the president on one channel. then i had the urge to get moving again and went to sing at a karaoke bar near a mall. i sang 'the door' by teddy swims, it resonates with me as i know what it is like to say that i have had enough. and it sounds like my niece did too and based on what she said about her mom then i don't blame her at all for doing so. 

where is the c?

 i hit the road after work and my stop along the way was at a 'Maverik' gas station. but where is the c? i correctly guessed this used to be the 'Kum and Go' gas station and convenience store. this was just south of the state line as i was headed to see family for the weekend. no surprise how i made it to my destination late, just after midnight. after checking into the hotel, i realized that the refrigerator was rattling too much and was keeping me up so i unplugged it. i wanted to see that some loose ends were tied up before leaving town, and after i had picked up the rental car. this was why i didn't leave as early as i had hoped. i also needed to pack my bag and wrap the box that included the three gifts in it. at work there was two notable things. one was a dial-in meeting, it was a 'global' one for our department as some offices are in other nations. this was mid-morning, then i did my customary visit to Walgreen. i picked up three greeting cards while there, and it took a little longer than typical as i wanted to see that i got the right cards for all three recipients. the shared box mentioned an address change for one of our business lines, taking effect next month. it is based in San Diego. i said it looks like something that needs to be forwarded on, so i.t. and my boss were copied on the response.