Addendum To: Missing: My Hawaiian Shirt

Update: Found it!  It was hidden underneath the pile of clothes next to me in my bedroom.  Knew I would find it!

So now I hope I've woken up early enough to get gasoline, buy lottery tickets, and get to work on time.  Wish me luck!

Gas Follies

You know, I was going to blog post this morning after blog posting at 1 this morning, but then I thought it was too early and I could do it in the evening, and not we're well into the evening.  But I want to put in a second blog post because I was in the house all day, so why wouldn't I blog post twice?  But I want to have eight hours between blog posts, so if I do this now, I won't be able to blog post again till the middle of the night, and I don't want to stay up to do my daily blog post for tomorrow.

I'm blog posting now.

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So my real point of this blog post.  I have signed up for this gas station application, and as a reward for signing up, I can fill up my tank for 25 cents off for my first five fill-ups (although I have to use them all 90 days after I sign up).  Obviously I need to use this seeing as gas is more than four bucks per gallon right now.  But I want to maximize each fill-up.  This discount is good for up to 25 gallons, I think, and my tank gets only ten, so I'm already not maximizing my discount that way.  But I don't want to just fill up when I'm only half-empty.  So this has become a game whereby I bring down my gas tank as much as possible so that I make as much of my discount as I can.

That has meant that I am driving my car to the point where I have no bars on my gas meter.  I know I shouldn't freak out when I see both that and the orange low gas indicator, but I feel like if I dance with the devil one too many times, it's going to get me.  So it got that low when I was driving last/Saturday night.  (It seems I'm going through gas a lot faster than I'm used to; maybe I'll blog post about that some other time.)  I knew I didn't want to drive anywhere today/Sunday, and also that I will be seeing ******a at My Favorite Stripclub (Cover Edition) Tuesday, so I know I will need gas then, so I wanted to thread the needle and gas up after work tomorrow/Monday.  But I needed to last till then, so I went to a gas station to put in just a tad, just a sip, that would be enough for me not to get a heart attack from running out of gas as I drove to and from work tomorrow/Monday.

I thought two bucks was enough.  That's half a gallon, but that should get me at least 15 miles, which should be more than enough.  However, I also was expecting to see one bar pop up on my dashboard.  It didn't, and that freaks me the hell out.

So even though I should hold my piss, the plan is to go to the gas station in the morning, before work.  I might as well use the time to get lottery tickets for Father, too, and shoot, I'll get coffee for myself as well.  This is all assuming I will want to get out of the house with enough time so that I can do all this and not be late for work, but that might be a tall order.

Maybe I'm just freaking myself out over running out of gas.  Or, I'm going to stall out tomorrow.

Spit On My Scarf

I was going to the the MNUFC Match yesterday/Saturday afternoon.  I still love autumn, but the colder weather is stuffing up my nose, and so I am spitting up more often.  I know it's a bad-looking habit, but I still spit on the ground, and I really had to spit because my nose was all stuffed up.

I found a sewer grate (I try and aim my spit through the grates; I usually fail) and was about to spit.  I still love autumn, but I notice that it often gets windy this season.  So I spit onto the grate just as the wind picks up and picks up one end of the scarf I was wearing, and goddammit, I spit onto my scarf.  First time I've ever done that.

I tried dabbing it with tissues and towels, but I now have to clean it to get my spit out, ick.  And that means I need to figure out if I can machine-wash the scarf.  If not, I'll have to learn how to hand-wash these things.  I want to start cleaning my ballcaps, so I'm glad that I just bought a stain brush and a mesh bag for laundry in case that's the only way I should clean my scarf.  Right now, I feel an intense urge to wash that thing to get the spit out of it, but I wonder if that urge will dissipate after those items are delivered.  Regardless -- fucking itck, spit on my scarf. ...  Shit, why didn't I hold the ends of my scarf down to make sure I don't spit onto it?!

Would You Go To A Concert For Just One Song?

Have I talked about going to concerts to see an artist or band only because I want to hear that one song I like from him/her/them?  I'm doing it tonight/Saturday night for Digable Planets, whose "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" remains one of the most distinctive rap hits ever.  But like many artists/bands I'm framing in this argument, that's the only song I like.  In fact, with Digable Planets, it's the only song I know.

Yet is it worth it, under those circumstances, to pay $60 for a ticket -- just to hear that one song you love played live?  Obviously, since I bought the ticket, the answer, at least for right now, is yes.  Because I have said no to other artists because the price was too high -- Steve Lacy ("Playground," which, according to Setlist.fm, he's not playing in his shows) recently, and Cowboy Junkies (their legendary cover of "Sweet Jane," although "Common Disaster" is also a very good song of theirs) last year I think.  I can justify sixty bucks for one song, and who knows, maybe this is a way to get into their other songs, too.

So I'm going.  My college football team's first bye Week, and I am spending the evening going out instead of staying in and watching sports.  Oh, well.

Black Used Toothpaste, Ick

I was having trouble finding something quick to blog post about, and then I remembered I wanted to talk about something that happened to me last week.

Last week I brushed my teeth.  Admittedly, it had been some time since the last time I brushed my teeth up to that point.  When I spat out the toothpaste, it was, I kid you not, black.  Maybe not pitch black, but it was noticeably dark, man, so dark that I stared at spent toothpaste more than you usually would.  Then and there, I resolved to brush my teeth more.

And then I broke that promise to myself because I don't think I've brushed my teeth with any more frequency than I did before.

I brushed my teeth just now.  However, what I spat out wasn't anywhere close be being black, thank God.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#0: Vikings (Last Week: -1).  Another impressive defensive and special teams outing Sunday to defeat the Saints in New Orleans ... and this time, there is enough offensive firepower -- mostly thanks to the arm and legs of Kyler Murray and the continued rugged running by Aaron Jones, Sr. -- to make me believe there can be balance with this team.  And they remain undefeated at 5-0, so I think they've earned the right to be above negative numbers.

There are two other undefeated clubs, The Bastard Dallas Texans (who did not play last weekend and so they're 4-0) and San Francisco.  The 49ers and Vikings are slated to play in Week 11.  It's a Sunday Night Football Game.  And it'll be played in Mexico City.  If they can remain undefeated till then, damn, watch out.  In the meantime, they're enjoying their bye Week; they'll host The Bastard Baltimore Colts on the 25th.

#-1: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -5).  Road victories are always good, and this team got a pair over middling Rutgers Friday evening and Ohio St. Sunday afternoon.  However, they dropped a Set to the Scarlet Knights.  Gopher clubs in the past would've made this two sweeps.  An armchair bracketologist has the U. pegged as a seven-Seed for the NCAAs.

Back-to-back home Games against Michigan and Maryland tomorrow/Friday and Saturday night.

#-2: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -2).  Swept their East/West Showcase over the weekend -- 4-0 over Maine Friday, 4-2 over in-conference school Bemidji St. Sunday afternoon.  Still, isn't it weird that the Head Coach demands that he has his nickname listed in his bio -- and that his nickname is "Boom?"  Well, "Boom" now gets a chance to test his mettle.  Ohio St., currently the top-ranked team in the nation, comes to town for a pair of contests tomorrow/Friday night and Saturday afternon.

#-3: Wild (Last Week: -4).  Lost at Tampa Bay, had strong Wins at Florida and home vs. (Las) Vegas, then had a Game at The Bastard Atlanta Thrashers get away from them to a 5-2 score.  I don't have anything else to say about this club beyond that.  The Week is calming down, relatively, with three contests: Home to St. Louis and Columbus, then at Edmonton.

#-4: United FC (Re-Entry!).  I've already told you a way a losing squad can lose my patience is by blowing a lead.  Well, another way to lose my patience (soccer squads only) is to allow Goals when they're down to ten men.

They did the former Saturday night vs. Houston.  They gave up the first Goal in the 18th Minute, but Kelvin Yeboah tied it up in the 48th, then Marcus Caldeira (he's a keeper, and the only Loons player to break through this Year) got them ahead in the 78th ... only for them to cough up two Points in the 92nd fucking Minute.  They still haven't won a league Match at home since May 2.  Then, last/Wednesday night, they were tied at 1 at Colorado when the Rapids' Sayed Abu Farchi, with the help of VAR, was red-carded for slapping Michael Boxall across the face.  (Boxall provoked Farchi into doing it by flipping him over as the two of them were at the sideline fighting for a ball.  Boxy's a dick, but he's our dick ... at least for the rest of the season.)  Conditions were good for MNUFC to get a go-ahead Goal, right?  Nope; the Backline allowed Colorado to score in the 74th to take a 2-1 lead.  But then, ten minutes later, the Match was tied at 2-all.  Note that I didn't say Minnesota United scored.  Instead, the Rapids potted an Own Goal ten Minutes later when Colorado's Loic Williams tried to clear a shot from Yeboah when Yeboah was at the End Line and Williams was in front of his own net; the ball may have had some spin, but Williams muffed it, and the english from the ball scooted it past the Goal Line.  Soccer is a dumb Game, and even though MNUFC did nothing from the Red Card on, they get a Point.

That Point, and the Point they got against Houston, don't fucking matter; they're still next-to-last in the West and are now five Points behind for ninth place.  And they host St. Louis Saturday afternoon.  I couldn't attend the Game against the Dynamo, thank Buddha, but this weekend I have no other plans (well, I could go to a stripper party, but I'll pass), so I'm using the money I've spent and going to this one, and considering how St. Louis City is scoring and winning seemingly at will right now (until last/Wednesday night's scoreless draw at home versus Vancouver in a showdown between The Western Conference's two-best teams, St. Louis had netted at least three Goals in their previous five tilts), this could get very, very ugly very, very quickly.

#-5: Gopher football (Last Week: 0).  They're not at the bottom of this Week's WMNSS (I had trouble deciding, so I feel back on one Game vs. two), but the most disappointing Loss I've seen in a while has to belong to the U. gridironers losing at moribund Purdue.  The Boilermakers suck, and yet this was an ass-kicking by the tune of 41-13.  They had so much goodwill and momentum after winning at Washington and making the most of Michigan's miscues in reclaiming The Little Brown Jug.  I really thought P. J. Fleck had a program where they wouldn't lose to teams clearly beneath them.  Guess not.  And to completely no-show is just inexplicable.  Is this club's motivation dependent on the opponent?  If so, is hosting Iowa for Floyd Of Rosedale next Saturday (coincidentally, both the Vikings and the Gopher football team have the same bye Week in 2026) going to get their attention?

#-6: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -3).  Granted, the XI faced a pair of Top 10 squads this past screening Week, so the damage may not be as bad as I think it is.  Still, they got waxed at second-ranked Michigan St. 4-0 last Thursday and dominated by then-sixth-ranked Ohio St. at Robbie 2-0 Sunday afternoon.  They may still be in the tournament conversation, but it didn't help that they got shut out last Week, so getting right at Wisconsin Sunday afternoon would not be a bad thing.

One Downside To The Fall: Being Late For Work

The leaves are starting to turn around town, and it's gorgeous, obviously.  All the yellows, browns and reds dot the landscape wherever I walk or drive.  Add that yesterday/Tuesday was almost totally a cloudy day and was just above 60, and that is how I want to the weather to be every day for the rest of my days.

I subscribe to Racket, the online Twin Cities alternative created by four writers formerly of City Pages.  A couple weeks ago, as part of their "Friday Open Thread" prompt, they asked readers to rank the seasons.  I think it's unanimous that we all said autumn's #1.  It dawned on me, though, that whenever I've seen a rank of seasons (and I think I've seen more than one would estimate), that rank is published around the fall, meaning that the beautiful colors prompt a ranking of the seasons.  I'm fairly certain of that "coincidence."

For all the pros of the fall, I have noticed an annual drawback -- almost without fail, traffic going to work is so bad compared to the summer that I am routinely late for work.  We lay back in the summertime, but once we get past Labor Day it feels as though the entire state starts to get serious again, so everybody's going to work, and at the same time.  Add to it that the Sun is casting its oppressive rays on east-bound traffic around the time I go to work, and it's a massive challenge to get to work on-time.  I have been tardy a few times the past couple weeks and flat-out late a couple times in that same period.  That includes yesterday/Tuesday morning.  It doesn't help that the cold weather disincentivizes me to bolt out of bed and begin getting dressed.  But yesterday there was a huge car crash that happened right in front of me.  The two-lane I was on is busy that time of day, of course, so it took me several minutes before I found a gap in the traffic so I could get around what I found out was a three-car accident.

This should prompt an adjustment to me getting out of the house.  But like I said, it feels so much better to stay in bed.  Yep, the turndown in temperature is conducive to staying in my pajamas and underneath my sheets.  So, not only does that make it harder for me to get to work on-time, it makes me more likely not to care that I'm not at work on-time.

Should go to bed now.  Maybe getting more sleep will get me up early in the morn.

Addendum To: No One Tells Me Anything

Oh yeah, I wasn't told that someone was going to drop by and plop a new tree in the front yard, either!  I talked to the Head of Forestry for my city (yes, my city has a Head of Forestry) because I was curious as to what kind of species this tree is.  I left a message when I called the city on Friday; I got a return voicemail at work yesterday/Monday, and I left a VM, and he called back.  Before he told me what tree he selected for our residence, he told me that we should've gotten a letter saying that a tree was going to be planted soon.  Nope, I didn't get a letter.  Now, I did get a letter earlier this year saying, albeit after the fact, that they removed the stump from the old tree that they removed around the holidays and that it was our responsibility to water the grass seeds they put in place of the stump (I didn't do that; I might blog post about why some other time).  But like I said, even though the markings of gas and water lines should have tipped me off, the city did not warn me ahead of time that they were planting a tree.

Yep, no one tells me anything.  That makes me scared that my parents will come home, again, and not tell me beforehand.

No One Tells Me Anything

I woke up on my own accord Friday morning anticipating the sprinkler guy to come.  Frankly, I couldn't begin my day off from work until he came over to winterize the system.  I was getting antsy, but I took the time in the morning to water the plants and work on stuff on my computer.  Then, as it got to the late morning, I figured I could give the tree that magically appeared in the front yard that morning some more water beyond what is encased in that plastic bag around the 8' tree.

It was a bit past 11:30, when I put the sprinkler system through its third cycle of watering that tree, that I suddenly heard the doorbell ring followed immediately by banging on the door.  It was the sprinkler guy.  Not of fan of how he announced he was here, but considering he was courteous yet fast, and that he recommended I trade in the old backflow plug for a new one made of brass, I can't complain.  I was on my way half past noon.

The only lingering issue I have is something I have asked the sprinkler company every year I call in and pay for the winterization.  I always ask that the driver call or text me ahead of time.  That way I, at the very least, will be awake for when he comes.  That courtesy isn't always given, and this dude didn't do it either, or else I wouldn't have had the sprinkler system on when he got here.

A bit later in the day I realized that fit a pattern.  The sprinkler guy didn't tell me he was coming before he did, like I asked.  The previous day, the inspector climbed on top of the house even though I told the roofer I was going to come home to open the side door for him.  And of course there's Mother, who told me that the inspector was coming less than one day before.  No one tells me anything, or at least won't tell me anything till the last minute, well past any time I could prepare for it.  And I fucking hate that.  I mean, what the hell is wrong with letting me prepare, goddammit?  (sigh)

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

There is an urban walking street festival series called Open Streets that has held a few events every year for the past several.  One street in one neighborhood is closed down -- no car traffic, just walkers only, and there are food trucks and music and local stores offering their wares.  I've been to these and they're great -- I get to walk while exploring a neighborhood I might not be familiar with.  But mostly due to conflicts, I haven't been to one in a couple years.

I only knew, or remembered, there is an Open Streets event today because someone skeeted it on Bluesky.  It's going on right now as I blog post this.  It's Hennepin Avenue, a place I've been to, though not lately.  And I want to go ... but.  First of all, I planned this to be a no-money day, and if I'm going to do Open Streets, I will buy something to eat.  Second of all, while I love South Minneapolis, I didn't plan on using my good car and drive down there.  Gas is more than four bucks a gallon!  (Thanks, you installed cheat.)  And finally, while I like it, I don't think I've gone to any Open Streets events in the fall because of football.  And the Vikings are playing right now, and they might be good.

So now the pros to going.  It's supposed to be a no-money day, but I did plan on going out -- tonight to the gym.  Is it that big of a leap to go out and enjoy myself?  Also, it's a hot day -- it's already 80 as I type this, and it'll reach the mid-80's before Open Streets ends.  It would make sense to be outside, right?

Well, I doubt I'm going, I'm afraid.  I have leftovers to eat, plus I should wash dishes and, if I have the energy, do the laundry.  I'll go out to work out -- maybe.  And Open Streets, by the way, ends at 5.  If I wanted to put in a solid day at Hennepin Ave., I probably should leave now.  Eh, I'll just watch football instead.

Sorry to answer my subject line.  I didn't think I would decide to stay when I started this blog post.  So I'm going to embed The Clash, OK?