broken change counter

i wanted to turn in change at my typical branch, but the change counter was broken there. so I searched online and found another one, even called in advance to confirm it. I turned in a small amount, just under three dollars. but I wanted something to do today. I also went to a Walgreen and ordered some prints of photos. I hadn't done this since late august, after visiting the state fair. already got some likes on facebook when I posted some of them. besides the disc and photos, I also got some discounted candy. two pieces of reese's peanut butter, and a cookie that looked like a Christmas tree. although I liked the reese's way more. I will see how much of it is left by the end of the week, and I might get more of it. I also took a look around at a mall and got a postcard.
  plans are to go to a bar and sing some karaoke tonight, since it is a big deal to be performing on new year's eve when one is a performer. it will likely be a different venue compared to last year though. I did 3 songs, not many singers when I first arrived. it was 'enter sandman' by metallica, 'champagne supernova' by oasis, and 'folsom prison' by johnny cash. since the venue was serving champagne at midnight, it seemed like a good idea. one song performed reminded me of a joke by bathtub comic. since the lady was trying to sing the one about a Barbie doll, let's go party. but she spent just as much time laughing as she did actually trying to sing.

documenting consumption

every so often, I document consumption of some food items. I keep things like empty potato chip bags and candy bar wrappers in a refrigerator compartment and then write it down and then put them in the trash. according to the card I wrote on, as I saw writing on the other side, that this is the first time I had done it since august. no surprise how there were plenty of potato chip bags that were old dutch, as I like the 99-cent bags from super-America, now known as speedway. another common thing I saw was reese's peanut butter. I place the banana peels in there as well, so they don't stink in the trash can inside. I prefer to minimize the time spent there, so the peels went in the bag with the other items tonight, then outside shortly after that.
   as usual, I didn't do much today. I watched some of the pro football games, and went to the dollar store to get some bars of soap. it was the only thing I needed at this time. naturally as a Chicago bears fan I watched more of their game with the Vikings, but that was later on, starting after 3pm. the bears won 24-10 and will play the eagles next weekend. I did plenty of cleanup as well, such as running a vacuum on the rugs under my easy chair. there is plenty of sand to sweep up this time of year. I am fine with giving my car the day off every so often if I didn't have anywhere that I needed to go.

dollar stores, variety stores

I saw an online article today that said there was a 'backlash' against dollar stores. it went in-depth about the industry. the three best-known brands are: dollar tree, family dollar, and dollar general. those three have the most stores nation-wide, and the first two are owned by the same company. I had to check what their presence is in the twin cities. no surprise how I found the fewest stores for dollar general, don't know if I have been to one. I know I have been to the other two, and family dollar the most since it is the closest for me. I get a can of spaghetti and meatballs there every week. other items I sometimes get, when needed, include dish soap and toilet paper. it is closer for me than going to a Walgreen. some of the things mentioned in the article, in terms of the 'business model' or 'concept' I am familiar with. this includes how the stores are small and sometimes cramped, and a limited number of employees, who often perform various duties. I don't mind, as I know what I want and just want to get in and out. sometimes I have found some good CDs and DVDs there, but of course they are anything but new. one article said it can be a good place for finding books or novels, and I think it is the same thing with them as well- anything but new. there was mention of how these kinds of stores do well in low-income neighborhoods, especially after a grocery store has closed. and how the number of stores in this category have greatly increased during times of economic recession, while other stores aren't doing as well such as big-box department stores. much like any other kind of store, some things I would get there and some things I wouldn't. it is all about what each store has and what needs I have to fill. I have said it at times in online surveys I do for airline miles: just have what I need at prices I can afford. a Wikipedia article spoke of 'variety stores' in other parts of the world, of course they can be known by other names depending on the local currency. in great Britain they are called 'pound shops'. at one point they were known as 'five and dime', and Woolworth was well-known in that category. also no surprise how the store brand tends to be cheaper than a name brand, this is true at most stores. even though they have some food and grocery type items, I do not go there for my main weekly order as they don't have everything. I see boxes of cereal there, besides canned goods. and plenty of snack food as well. I have bought peanut butter crackers there.
    I am still in the Christmas spirit even though we are a few days past it. I watched two more DVDs this afternoon after I went to the grocery store. It was 'Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer' and 'the grinch'. probably was too busy performing on the nights they aired on TV. I also went on a search for egg nog. thankful I found some at the second store I went to, but after Christmas I know full well it won't be around much longer. a quart a week is fine with me during its season.
   I went to the Minnesota gophers hockey game tonight, my annual visit. I saw two former co-workers during the second intermission. the gophers lost to ferris state 3-2. gophers scored first, about 5 minutes into the game. then it was tied when ferris state scored with about 7 minutes left in the second, but the gophers went ahead again about 2 minutes later. it was tied again early in the 3rd, and ferris state went ahead with about 8 minutes left in the 3rd. there was a figure skater entertaining us during the first intermission. after the game I went home and watched part of the news, then I went to do some karaoke. I sang 'leaving on a jet plane' by peter paul and mary. 

covered wagon illusion

I checked my post office box today and one order was there. it was the one of the 'world's largest covered wagon' at a phillips 66 gas station in Nebraska. but getting a closer look at it, I see an illusion. where the store looks like a covered wagon, with the big wheels as well. I still like having it, though. and I placed four more orders on e-bay. two of them were postcards of entertainer bob hope. I also applied for more jobs on indeed. I turned my phone on early today, as opposed to waiting until the afternoon the previous day. I fielded three calls, the first was in reference to the 'phone tag' of the previous day. so now I have a phone interview set up for next week. one wanted donations, I turned them down. and the third said they had a job for me, but it was out of my driving range and I tend to be wary of companies that call me after saying they saw my resume on a site. I prefer emails over calls as I want to get a visual. 

  in the evening I did some karaoke. it was tough to decide at first, but eventually I went with 'soak up the sun' by Sheryl crow. it seemed like a good one on a cold night. kind of odd when I was at the bar, where somebody passed me a song binder but I told them I already had my song in and I get beer after that due to the wait there usually is to sing. but it is nice how I am recognized there, but it helps that I have become a regular, being there once a week. 

smile more

I did karaoke tonight, three songs. I spoke with a couple for a while at the bar and the lady said I should smile more. she also said I had really white teeth. I consider this to be another chapter of 'weird interactions with the general public'. I was about to leave when they arrived, had already done two songs but hadn't finished my beer yet. it started off with a joke that I responded to seriously. I ended up staying two more hours as I enjoyed talking to them fairly well. or maybe I should say to her, as she did most of the talking. at times I could tell her guy was getting bored as he kept putting his arm around her, trying to get her attention back. eventually it worked, as they were hugging and kissing by the time I did my third song. I found a comfort level of conversation with them, which can be hard to do when I am used to relying on having a 'R.B.F.' to get through life. she spoke of being diagnosed with cancer, also about visiting the Dominican republic. he spoke of being a truck driver. both had shoulder-length hair, hers was still blonde but his was gray. his hat was mostly black, but half of the bill was silver and looked like the pattern from a toolbox that is mounted to a pickup truck box. best way of describing it. and he was wearing a red santa shirt, which one could see at times despite wearing a jacket over it. oh, and he bought me a drink, the second beer that I drank tonight. at the end of the night she spoke of something that sounded vulgar, but must have been the name of a mixed drink. I said I've got to go, and I mostly drink beer anyway. this is more evidence of how karaoke bars look like a goldmine for comedy material as the people I meet there inspire many of the stories I end up telling. oh, another reminder of subjects I discussed with the lady. made sense when it is a karaoke bar and we talked about newer versions of songs, or 'covers'. the lady spoke of being from Wisconsin, and the man from Houston, texas. I got the ideas of what to sing just from the drive to the venue, parts of songs I heard on my car radio. it was 'no one is to blame' by howard jones, 'to be with you' by mr. big, and 'peaceful easy feeling' by the eagles. and to think, I figured it was going to be hard to top the story of who I first met tonight, a dude that wanted to brag about meeting someone that worked for prince. he admitted to being drunk, and he sang 'my way' by frank Sinatra. the same dude annoyed another patron at the bar, to the level of he having to tell the bartender about it. something about how he 'talked her ear off' she also came to sing, and did some adele songs.
    not much activity on the job front, aside from one voicemail on my phone. I responded to it, but it became 'phone tag'. it was an application that I had just filed a day earlier. I spent much of the day going through performing souvenirs and getting them into binders. first it meant seeing if I could 'shave' any sheet protectors, and I could-six in all. it meant some more doubling up in order to save the proper amount of space. so now I see some pages in a pile that will be shredded, as I decided to cut out from those pages what was most important to save. 

sears kitchen towels

I had some errand running to do on my list, including printing things at the library. this included a hockey ticket for the weekend. on my way home I stopped at the sears in st. paul near the capitol. I had made one previous stop there during the liquidation sale. this time I bought three items. it was two kitchen towels, and a pair of socks. I know well enough to get low-risk, low-cost items when it is 'all sales final'. there is not much merchandise left, so I would expect the store to close for good real soon, possibly at the end of the month. all told, the three items cost less than four dollars with all of the discounts. I got some photos as well, such as a sign saying 'what you see today, you may not see tomorrow'. it applies not just to a sale, but to life in general.
   I had lunch kind of late due to the visit to the sears store. I wanted to take a good look around. after I got home and ate, I went to a dollar store. before I went on my errand running, I applied for some more jobs, mostly ones saying 'apply on company site' from indeed. I considered going out to perform tonight, but I let the weather decide for me. there was plenty of snowfall in the evening, and the news said it was kind of slippery out there. so I was fine with staying in and watching some of the episodes from a DVD of the red skelton show. I still try to study the craft of comedy at times. it was in the back of my mind since my dad spoke of this performer in our call this week. I also went to a gas station and got some peanuts and an ice cream sandwich. It was a little slippery out there on foot, but thankfully I avoided falling. notable about what I bought was some of the ice cream was sticky and mashed. so it was hard for me to choose. so eventually I got an oreo sandwich on a stick.

mr. bodewell, growing pains

the rerun channels were doing plenty of Christmas episodes today, no surprise there. one of them I found was from 'growing pains'. I had seen the episode before, but it had been a while. it was about mr. bodewell, who threatened to kill himself by jumping down the seaver chimney while wearing his santa costume. I recalled the part about the meat and the Tupperware, and being on the roof, but not how it had ended. I don't know for sure why I got the least bit emotional while watching it. I watched more of 'yule log' as well, but I still shut it off at times if I had some other things to do.
    I posted on facebook how I would be doing my annual viewing of time-honored holiday shows on DVD. this included the charlie brown Christmas specials, as well as national lampoon's Christmas vacation. I got both of those completed before having lunch, which was pizza and beer. I know, not festive at all, but it still works for me. then it was on my way to a meetup event after eating. it was a walk at como zoo in st. paul, much like on thanksgiving. there seemed to be a larger crowd at this event compared to last month. I parked in the picnic area parking lot as there was a big crowd all around there. I had to think about and it made sense as to why. the weather was decent, and not much else was open. I got plenty of photos, including of a 'dear santa' note in the giraffe building, it was signed by the baby giraffe. the sloth was not available. I also performed in the evening, but it was a light crowd at the performance venue. when I arrived most people were outside, on a cigarette break.