Expenses Without Receipt

Starting from Sunday, January 7:

• I am getting low on money -- I should blog about that soon -- so I think I am going to try and charge anything I need and want and just pay with it with the money I should be getting once I get back to work.  But you can't charge when you go to a woman for sex.  On Friday, January 5, it was straight cash homey.  ****e was great.  I should write about this too, because I've never been treated this way before.  Total: $120.
• I went to the Lana Del Rey concert that evening.  Why?  I'm not a total fan, like I am for U2.  But I love some of the songs I've heard, and I was bewitched by her performance of her first hit, "Video Games," on Letterman (even though the clip I embedded in this blog post apparently has been taken down).  I've since dug "Summertime Sadness" (although it was that more famous dance remix from this Cedric Gervais dude) and really fell in love with, well, "Love," the first single from her latest album, Lust For Life.  Finally, Minneapolis' Target Center was the first stop for her L.A. To The Moon Tour, the first tour where she's headlining at arenas.  The novelty convinced me to go.  And -- uh, I don't have much to compare it against, but it was, uh, fine ... I think?  I did like the fact that I could walk up to the box office and pay cash for a ticket without any stupid damn convenience fees.  It was weird to get a concert ticket and 50 cents back.  Cost of admission: $39.50.
• Thursday, January 4 ... ate the prime rib from home just in time to get to the Nomad Pub.  Not too long ago, when I was unemployed, I would go there on Monday afternoons and watch the EPL game on at that time.  But I've been told they aren't open weekday afternoons anymore ... unless Tottenham Hotspur are on.  I don't remember how or when they became a Spurs pub.  Anyway, it just so happens that Tottenham had matches on both Tuesday and Thursday.  What a coincidence!  Better to watch matches at a bar than exercise, amirite?  Anyway, I should clarify myself: I got there just in time to find a parking spot for free, go to Chipotle, eat my carnitas burrito, then head to the Nomad to see the start of the match.  Bought chips too, and I bought a Surly Furious (which was on Happy Hour) to wash those chips down.  With tip: $6.
• On Wednesday the 3rd I went to arguably The Best Laundromat In The Twin Cities, which I detailed here.  It wasn't bad, although the clothes didn't dry like I thought they would.  I am satisfied, even though I can see how washing and drying your clothes at a place like this can really set you back.  I added three quarters to make sure my coloreds would be dry, so even though there was a dollar off washing machines, I still had to spend: $8.75.
• To prepare for my interview the next day, I went to the library to print out a resume and my list of references, which set me back only: 20 cents.
• I then went to Moler to get a shave.  Can't do it at home; all those minutes I need to run the water would flood the basement.  But I appreciate the guy was extremely meticulous shaving me.  He was dressed nice, too, maybe a little too nice.  Oh, well.  Total with tip: $9.
• I finally wound my evening going to Caribou.  The coffee company sent me a special e-mail saying that Perks Members can try out this thing called a Candy Bar Mocha before every other peon in the world.  That makes me feel special, so I had to do it before it's released to the public the next day.  I just didn't have time to drink it in the morning.  So I made sure I drank it before 5 o'clock, which I have read is the time my circadian rhythms naturally kick in endorphines, thereby making my consumption of consumption redundant.  I liked it, even though it was sweet as hell.  What I didn't know is that the Candy Bar Mocha was, in fact, complimentary, at least according to the barista.  I thought it was exclusive, but I still had to pay for it.  That I didn't have to pay for this small mocha ... man, that's a good thing.  I still tipped, however: $1.
• Tuesday the 2nd: Saw Coco.  I liked the twist in the middle, but I got the feeling this movie wasn't as sophisticated as other Pixar movies.  The titular character is the great-grandmother, and it's to Pixar's credit that every earned crease on her face looks vividly real.  I wasn't as moved from this movie as other people, but the scene where Miguel started singing to Coco in order to get her to remember her father, and where Coco finally fought through the fog of her memory to sing back to him, was touching.  Anyway, I watched enough movies to get a $5 voucher that I used for this movie.  That meant the ticket was free, so a small popcorn and pop came out to just: $4.30.
• Coco ended just in time for me to go the Nomad.  This time I got a Surly Hell to wash down my Chipotle chicken tacos.  Unfortunately I was, like, 37 seconds late to the start of the match.  I knew what to do for Thursday.  With tip the beer cost me: $6.
• I then went to Up-Down, a video arcade for grown-ups who grew up going to video arcades when they were kids.  I know of at least two similar adult arcades that went belly-up, one downtown and another called Rusty Quarters.  With their failures, I thought the arcade was no longer a viable concept.  But on this Tuesday night, the place was packed.  Maybe these guys know what the secret to success is.  I was there to say goodbye to a friend who I had only seen once, when we were extras for this online commercial.  He's going to Missouri to see his girlfriend, then hightailing it to Los Angeles to become a movie star.  I wish him well.  He was so generous with his quarters/tokens that I only spent one of my own.  With beer, pizza and tips for both the total came out to: $14.
• Let's bring it all the way back to last year, specifically Saturday, December 30, 2017, where I spent my morning watching the EPL at The Local.  With tip: $14.
• Went to the University of Minnesota men's hockey game that evening, even though it was dead cold.  Hey, when I bought a ticket for this game at the State Fair, it was warm.  Hot dog, small Coke and program, and because warming up was a good time to try it, I went to the Jax Cafe stand and, after seeing that they ran out of their wild rice soup, I had their prime rib chili, too.  With the tip for the chili the total cost for the game was: $18.50.
• Somewhere along the Mariucci concourse I found a dime.  An Infusion of: 10 cents.
• Went to Glam Doll afterwards.  With tip: $8.23.
• On Friday the 29th I went to our alumni club's watering hole.  Misery loves company, as they say, and although the game was quite miserable, there was a lot of company for the game that I really enjoyed.  Since it was our last party for the season, I tipped generously.  Total: $20.
• To Boxing Day, where I wanted to see The Disaster Artist in the evening but saw that there was a huge line -- guessing it was for either The Last Jedi or for Jumanji 2.  When I got to the front of the line I actually bought a ticket for the late show and decided to go home.  I don't know if the movie is as good as other people say it was.  I can't get over the fact that the movie this movie is based on, The Room ... well, it sucks.  Sure, you can say this is a testament to the stick-to-itiveness of making a movie.  But when the audience at the end was laughing, they were laughing at Tommy Wiseau, not with him.  Well, I got a medium pop for the price of a small.  With popcorn and the ticket it cost me: $9.67.
• Saturday the 23rd: Went to Glam Doll.  Plus tip: $10.29.

Good through January 7.