Expenses Without Receipts

Christ -- more than a month -- again!!!  Starting from Tuesday, November 17:

• Had hot cereal at work: $1.60.
• Still hungry, so I had hot soup at work: $1.92.
• Didn't know how much good food I would eat at *a***'s party that evening.  I wanted to get dances from the three girls there but only got them from two because one of them upcharged me for the extras I got, even though she didn't specifically say she would.  And the other one said I was going to give her $140 instead of $40 -- and that was my ATF!  I hate it when strippers and I don't agree on money.  I should have written down contracts before I got down with both of them.  Sheesh.  Plus a huge cover because I will need *a*** later: $140.
• To Tuesday the 17th, where I got cereal at work: $1.60.
• And then I got soup at work because I didn't anticipate eating dinner.  That's OK; I should be watching what I eat, anyway: $1.92.  (ETA on 11:14 a.m. on Wednesday the 18th that I just noticed that put in these two EWRs twice and have struck them through.)
• Saturday, November 12 was The Day Of Volleyball ... And Eating.  I charged my trips on the light rail, and on the high school v-ball tournament ticket.  But from the time I light-railed it back to the Minneapolis side, I think I used money.  I used it for the Golden Gopher-Penn St. volleyball match.  Scalped ticket, hot dog, medium Coke (all that public transportation made me thirsty!) and program comes out to a total that I will never exceed for any volleyball regular season game: $40.75.
• Caffetto has been exceedingly busy lately.  The past two times I wanted to veg out there I couldn't because virtually every seat was taken.  While I was looking for a spot that evening I found, going up and down the stairs, a penny and a dime.  I couldn't have coffee there, but at least I made money there!  An Infusion of: 11 cents.
• Friday the 13th: Started my morning getting hot cereal at work.  This is the middle of a month where I am compelled to buy hot cereal because the cafeteria has a deal where, if you buy nine cups of cereal in November, the 10th one is free.  It's good, but once I decided to buy it the first time, I am now making myself buy eight more cups so I can get that free cup, which I will get on November 30.  Total: $1.60.
• Got sprung from work early.  Great!  My alma mater had a game Friday night.  Also, this place called Blaze, one of those wood-fired fast pizza places, was opening a restaurant close to the U., and they were giving away free pizza to celebrate their grand opening.  Because of that, I was determined to go home after eating at Blaze, where I had to wait for just about an hour in line to get that free pizza, instead of eating and then heading downtown.  I was willing to buy a Coke, but the cashier also gave me that for free.  But I had to at least leave a tip, so I decided to give a buck for the pizza and a buck for the Coke.  Total: $2.
• After the game I decided to go to My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place even though I ate at the bar watching the game (let alone eating a heavily-loaded pizza at Blaze, all in a space of six hours).  I had to watch coverage of the Paris terror attacks.  But I only got a milkshake.  With tip, which I rounded up because I had no quarters: $4.
• Take it back to Wednesday, Veteran's/Singles Day.  For breakfast, cereal at work: $1.60.
• Then I went to get coffee, which is free but comes out of these thermoses.  And as often is the case, they ran out of coffee.  I push down on the handle and there's coffee but then there's this "Pwaaa-shhhhhh-gurgle-gurgle!" and it just spits out the last of the coffee -- and a lot of those goddamn coffee grounds.  Oh, great -- I don't have coffee and I need to make coffee.  So I have to get the bag and the filter to make the coffee.  Except that there are no bags in the drawer.  Luckily someone was just passing by and asked what I needed.  She knew where the box of coffee bags was ... but that meant I had to wait until she got and opened the box so I could grab a bag and make the coffee.  At this point I was so pissed that I had to go through all this bullshit that I was determined to get coffee.  I wasn't going to wait for the coffee to be brewed.  So I went downstairs to buy coffee even though I was making coffee, for free, upstairs.  I was so depressed/angry that I completely didn't notice my co-worker stood behind me in line and said good morning to me.  God, I hated that morning.  That coffee cost: $1.92.
• On Tuesday, November 10 I got pizza for lunch at work: $3.10.
• That evening, after a long drive home, I went to the movies and saw Bridge of Spies on the recommendation of a fellow alumni club member.  I didn't know Steven Spielberg directed this movie.  This is a grown-up, stately, reasoned prestige movie that I admire a lot, even though I can't say there's a whole lot of emotions that it stirred in me.  Tom Hanks plays the Everyman and hits it out of the park like he's Miguel Sano.  Ticket, popcorn and pop (with tax now added, complicating this EWR from now on): $10.44.
• Monday the 9th: Cereal -- all of this hot cereal, by the way -- at work: 1.60.
• One of my new ATFs, *****e*, texted me and said she's working at My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division).  To placate her -- and to make sure I continue to smooth the path towards greater favors later on -- I went even though I really didn't want to, just so I could get a dance from her.  With tips and coffee: $30.75.
• Sunday, November 8 ... a long day at work that bled into the finals of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association championship bout that evening in St. Paul, which I chronicled here.  Beer plus tip: $8.
• And then I put in my annual sojourn to Mickey's Diner.  It was here before me, and by Buddha it'll be here after I'm gone.  Plus tip: $13.57.
• On Friday the 6th I found a penny, probably on the staircase.  An Infusion of: 1 cent.
• And I had hot cereal at work: $1.60.
• Tuesday Thursday, November 5 -- While at work I got texted by my friend, inviting me out to a burger downtown.  It's the place where I wanted to eat with him way back in December.  Then I promised that I would have that burger with him in the spring.  Then the spring became summer, then fall, and now, well, November.  But at least my friend didn't forget, and he surprised me with this invitation.  I'm lucky that he found a fortuitous time for me to finally make good on my promise.  And by the way, the burger (and fries) were good.  So were the cocktail and coffee.  We split the bill and I spent: $40.
• On Wednesday the 4th I bought my first bowl of hot cereal at work: $1.60.
• Oh yeah ... this was the last day I could drive my new car.  My parents told me to cut off the insurance on the car and to use my parents' minivan for the next half-year.  So right now I/we have three cars in our driveway, two of them idled due to removal of insurance.  Anyway, I thought I should get my car cleaned before I stash it.  Believe it or not, since I got it in May, I have not had the car washed, inside or out, once.  It was time, especially if I wasn't even going to open it for half a year.  Also, the experts say I should get an oil change before I store it.  That caused me a lot of angst trying to find the time and the right locations to get my car cleaned on the inside and reach my oil change appointment in time.  (The dealership I went to washed the car after changing the oil, but they weren't going to touch the inside of it, so I had to go to both places, even though the outside of my car wound up getting washed twice, and it doesn't matter anymore, because I haven't put the car cover it on it yet and it's been raining the past two days.  But I digress.)  I found this place on the way to the dealership called Dave's Car Wash.  I really liked the slow (although if I had all the time in the world I would have called it "meticulous") way the three guys slowly wiped all parts of my car dry.  Charged the wash, and the tip was: $2.
• To Tuesday the 3rd, where I had pizza at work for lunch: $3.10.
• I then chilled at MOA, and I got a cupcake at Cupcake to bide my time.  Plus tip: $3.25.
• This may have been the day where I traffic prevented me from going home before I went to the movie theater to watch Steve Jobs.  Anyway, I still don't know how to feel about it.  It's written by Aaron Sorkin, and do you know about the cliche where Sorkin-written film are just people talking and walking down halls?  Well, that's the entire movie.  It's noticeably cleaved into three distinct acts, each of them in the hours before Jobs is launching his new product, and each ends before he begins speaking.  A series of people in his life drop by to talk and to air grievances, and nearly all of them see Jobs in all three product launches/acts, kind of like Ichabod Crane in A Christmas Carol.  I don't know if that was a good strategy because it felt like I was watching The West Wing three times.  Ticket, popcorn, pop: $10.44
• Let's take it back to Halloween ... after watching the game I went to the Mall of America because I was going to My Favorite Stripclub (Cover Edition).  But it was a long day and I needed to keep myself going, so I got a coffee at Caribou, I think at the Megamall.  With tip: $2.25.
• At My Favorite Stripclub (Cover Version) the Cup O'Noodles got my free cover.  Completely!  That saved me at least ten bucks!  Spent some of my savings on a Deshutes Black Butte Porter, which, for a hoppier beer, was pretty good.  Since my ATF there wasn't around, I got a pair of dances from three women: Sky, Madalynn and Nikita.  A reasonable damage to my wallet: $84.
• To Friday, October 30.  These were the days when people were just bringing food into work just because.  This time there was an ice cream fundraiser.  Well, I had to get ice cream!  And it only cost me: $2.
• That evening I thought I was going to have a night alone, but my friend mass-texted everyone about a spare ticket to a downtown Minneapolis pub crawl that his friend had to back out of.  I bit.  It was nice, real nice, even though we probably were the two uncoolest people in each of the three bars I went to.  The drinks were free, however, thanks to my buddy.  I got the tips this time around; he said he'd get me back next time.  Cool.  Tips: $9.
• Thursday the 29th ... needed coffee at work, eschewed the free one on my floor and opted to buy Starbucks at the cafeteria: $1.92.
• That night was a house party.  Got one dance from each of the four ladies working it, including one I didn't think would be caught dead in that place.  There was another girl there, and my God, she pisses me off so much that I do not ever want to see her ever again.  With cover: $90.
• On Wednesday, October 28 the floor was offering homemade soup for lunch.  Well, I had to get soup!  Like the ice cream, the soup cost: $2.
• To Sunday the 25th, where I finally decided to go out and watch a concert.  And it was a group I've seen before: A Silent Film, whose "You Will Leave A Mark" I fell in love with when I first heard it on satellite radio.  I thought I saved myself some money by paying the day of show at the box office, but, well, I got misled.  With Stag beer and tip: $22.
• Saturday the 24th ... this was the anniversary of My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division), and they were holding a raffle to celebrate.  Because it's My Home Away From Home -- and to prove that I spend money there, despite what that harridan says -- I bought several raffle tickets as well as a Coors Light which was on sale.  With tips: $26.
• I got a call that afternoon that I won the one prize I wanted: A $200 gift card.  Won't need to pay money for gasoline for a long time, thank Buddha!  I went back that evening to collect it, but the prize was locked away and the guy who had the key already left.  Oh, well.  I stayed to to tip and get a lapper from Sasha.  With a Sprite: $24.75.
• On Friday the 23rd I had to go to the library to print out this Groupon for a massage I bought.  I hope I don't forget that I have it.  Printout cost: 10 cents.
• That evening I went to the University of Minnesota men's hockey game.  I skipped them last season after attending several games the season before, including one against each of the five opponents comprising the Big Ten hockey conference, which was in its first year two years ago, so I went for the novelty.  On this particular evening I went because they played Northeastern, and I always prefer to see non-conference teams that rarely come up to these parts.  And hey, the team won their first game of the season then.  Scalped ticket, hot dog, Coke and program came out to: $25.25.
• Afterwards I cooled my jets at My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Version) for coffee and tips.  At this point I'm resigned to give a dollar tip for my coffee, which is a total goddamn ripoff.  Total: $8.75.
• And after that I went to My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place.  They advertise in the local shopper a coupon for any pasta dish for $7.50.  Used it for the first time this evening for the fettucine alfredo, the most expensive of the pasta dishes available and thus the one that would save me the most money.  With Coke and tip it totals: $11.75.
• Wednesday, October 21 I didn't plan on going on after work.  But I learned that it was Back To The Future Day.  In Back To The Future II Marty McFly and Doc Brown took the DeLorean to future -- namely October 21, 2015.  And a theater very close to me was having a special screening of it, as well as the other two films of the trilogy.  Those other two weren't based in October 21, 2015, and I didn't have time to watch the other two, but I went out to watch BTTFII.  And the girl who gave me my ticket said there was only one left, so I got the last one.  That means I made the right decision to go.  This EWR only applies for the ticket because I charged the popcorn and pop: $6.20.
• Tuesday the 20th.  At work there was a bake sale -- pay as much as you can for as many homemade treats as you want!  Tossed in: $5.
• On Monday, October 19 I had lunch at work.  This wasn't at the cafeteria, however.  Someone on the same floor as the cafeteria set up an indoor grill where they cooked hot dogs.  Guess they were raising money for something, I don't know.  I got that hot dog, along with a bag of chips, a can of Coke, and a cookie, and it cost me: $5.
• That evening I went to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition) because, I think, *****e* wanted me to come for a dance.  I did to appease her.  With tips and coffee: $31.75.
• I think I was similarly summoned to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division) by *a*** the night before, Sunday the 18th.  These ladies are going to break me.  With tips and coffee the total comes out the same: $31.75.
• Thursday the 15th was my first day working at this place.  To keep me going in the afternoon I went to get coffee: $2.24.
• Tuesday, October 13.  Had Caribou in the morning, possibly because I had to go somewhere or something.  Mocha and tip: $5.36.
• That afternoon I caught Sicario at the local theater.  I'm not as high on it as others.  For one thing I want to think it's realistic, but when I researched it later many parts of the story depend on events that are fictional and unrealistic.  Also, Emily Blunt is being lauded for her role as an agent caught up in shadowy events related to the drug war in Mexico, but her character is mostly reactive and, in fact, a pawn for all the other (male) players.  How can I root for a protagonist who doesn't control the action?  This was the last time this movie chain did not apply tax to its sales, so the ticket, popcorn and pop came out to, one last time: $9.75.
• I knew there was a potential I could get this job, so I wanted to take a trip down to My Favorite Stripclub (Cover Divison) just in case I do and am too tired (between work, my duties with the alumni club and working Vikings games) to do it with a daytime job.  (I didn't think about Halloween at the time because I didn't know what time the game would be.  Turns out the game was in the afternoon and therefore I had time to, turns out, also go down there then because I wasn't going to get bugged by little kids asking "Trick Or Treat!").  Anyway, I had a Cup O'Noodles that got me in for free on a Tuesday.  Also, my ATF was there.  First time I saw her in over a year.  Got a dozen from her.  With stage tips and beer, I think (I put a note on this when I drafted this EWR and beer wasn't listed, but I had to, because you can't just sit and tip at this place without having something to drink) and my total came to: $161.
• Saturday, October 10: Had a coffee at Caffetto, ostensibly to work on my receipts.  With tip: $2.50.
• That evening I went to the Minnesota United game.  I had blogged about ripping myself off.  I also got ripped off when I went to a food truck trackside and got a pastie.  The truck charged an extra convenience fee for payments made via credit card, but I didn't know that before I gave the guy my card.  I actually tweeted them the next day.  They said there was a sign saying such a fee will be assessed, but I made sure to snap a photo that I could send them without any fee being displayed whatsoever.  They said it must have blown away and they'll get it fixed from now on.  Good enough.  I paid cash for the tip for the pastie, as well as a Summit IPA and that scalped ticket.  Total: $22.
• Finished my night at My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition), which is close to the National Sports Center.  Onion rings, soup, tip: $8.
• To Friday the 9th: Had lunch at Quizno's.  Used a coupon, of course.  With tip: $8.49.
• Went to the U. of M.'s women's hockey home opener that evening, where they unfurled its latest championship banner.  And they routed ... St. Cloud St. afterward.  Oftentimes pregame ceremonies portend a loss for the home team.  Just a thought.  Anyway, I charged the hot dog and Coke, so I just paid money for the program: $1.
• After the win I went to Caffetto for hot chocolate.  Plus tip: $4.
• On Thursday the 8th I woke up and went to Caribou.  Plus cookie and tip: $6.
• I had received in change a series of consecutively-numbered, mint dollar bills.  I may have used one because I had to, but these were so new and so pristine that I don't have it in my heart to spend them.  So I keep them.  Right now they're on my nightstand in my bedroom, which was Grandmother's bedroom, which I'm not sleeping in because I prefer my sister's bedroom, which really is my bedroom.  They're just sitting there.  They're fine there, until I have to store them when my parents get back: $7 (?)
• I went downtown to interview with another job in case the one I have now fell through.  I charged enough money to my credit card, and I got out of my interview soon enough, that I still had time at the meter to dink around without leaving immediately and just wasting the money I spent to park there.  I first went to Hell's Kitchen to ask about the can of peanut butter they gave me, the one I have yet to use and am afraid has spoiled.  I then wanted to get a quick bite to eat, but the food trucks had gone by the time I got done.  However, I did not know that Bogart's Doughnuts opened up a small kiosk right in the middle of the ground floor of the IDS Center.  Who knows the next time I'll be there again, so I charged for some of their tasty donuts and paid money for the tip: $1.
• Wednesday, October 7 -- Went to St. Paul because I needed to clear up issues with my health insurance bills, which is managed by the state.  That meant more parking on the street.  Thankful I had the quarters for it: 75 cents.
• That afternoon I went to Fantastic Sam's to get my hair cut, ostensibly for the interview the next day.  With tip: $14.99.
• On Tuesday the 6th I booked two research studies at the U.  In the morning I went to one and got paid with an Infusion of: $10.
• And then later that day -- or was it later that morning? -- I did another study, and got paid with an Infusion of: $15.
• Saw Everest that day, or, er, night.  Didn't know if it was the movie version of Into Thin Air, the ground-breaking novel about a trek up to Mount Everest that turned into the largest one-day loss of life on the mountain ever.  Doing research after watching the film it turns out that it is based on a different novel about the doomed campaign.  It was on OK, if melodramatic, movie, but it kept it straight, and the novel was focused on the events on that tragic day.  And I swear there was not one single swear word uttered in the film.  You think there would be in a situation where you would die.  Ticket, popcorn, pop: $9.75.
• Went to Caffetto that evening for a slice of pumpkin pie, mocha and tip: $7.50.
• I made sure I got my stripclubbin' in.  On Monday the 5th I went downtown to see if I could get some action from the dancers that I hadn't seen in over a year.  I did not.  They weren't there.  In fact there was only one girl there, one whose name I don't remember right now because she screwed me over and promised me a job in the bed when she didn't deliver.  Poo.  Jordan was a tad better, but by then I was dead plum out of money.  Cover was ten bucks; so was the bottomless drink, so with a tip I was broke before I even sat down.  I might need to re-evaluate going here ... or at least find a free pass coupon.  Total: $152.
• And I took the bus to get there.  The visit was so bad that I left early enough for that same ticket to be good on my trip home: $1.75.

Once I again I vow to do this more frequently.  Good through November 17.