It just took me a minute, several dozen attempts, and a change of browsers in order to get into Blogger so I could blog here on WAF.  It's not the first time; it's the second time, the first being either two days or three days before this.

I wonder if I should change my password, but I'm too lazy to try and remember another one.  But since I was given one of those weird, squishy, wavy words as another level of authentication, I don't know if I want to go through this shit again.  I could be entering my password wrong, but damn, this has never happened before. ...

Getting Busier

So I thought that I would be busy today (today being Sunday), but after going to work, I could relax.  Well, I would be doing other things after the Vikings game.  For one thing, there is a block party going on, and I thought I would skip dinner at the stadium to eat there.  And for another, I haven't been to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition) in a while, and I usually stop by and relax there after working Vikes games.  So, yeah, I'll be busy doing fun stuff.

But then I met an old friend at our game-viewing party.  And even though I think the alcohol probably prompted her to say it, she invited me to a trivia event at a craft brewery this (Sunday) evening, around the time I would hit the strip bar.  But … assuming that the trivia won't last long, I could skip dinner at Oooohssssssss-Baaaaanhk (or eat just a little bit), walk all the way to my car, drop off my stuff, hang out at the block party and nibble/chow down on more food, then use the light rail to get to the site of trivia night.  Finally, after that's all done, then I can go to the nudie club, a lot later than I would go there on Vikings nights.  That's a daunting list.  I'm exhausted just looking at what I wrote for my day after I wake up.

But you know what?  I think it'll be fun, and therefore it'll be worth it.

Yeah, I'm Just Working Overtime Whenever

So with the crush of people leaving jobs at work (and news flash: Two more people are leaving, including my immediate supervisor), I have been asked to do overtime.  And since this rash of, uh, leavings has gone on everywhere, we have been asked to fill in, well, everywhere.  That has incentivized me to work more because I could make more money, obviously.  But now that I think about it, I'm not sure I'm going about it the right way.

I stayed an extra half-hour Sunday, and I stayed an extra half-hour just last night (Friday) when I was filling in second shift.  Both were in filing, which, compared to all the other compartments, I believe can weather people leaving better than the others.  However, as in my main department of data entry, they have asked all of us who work there (both on a regular basis and on an as-needed basis, which I am) to chip in.  So I did.

Now, I'm not sure if I should have, you know, asked my boss if I could stay an extra half-hour beforehand.  He did give a general offer, and I took it.  However, I re-read what he specifically said, and he specifically said to do overtime during the workweek, and specifically-specifically Thursday evening and/or Friday morning.  Friday night doesn't qualify for the latter.  And late Sunday afternoon fails both conditions.  But I worked them, and I am going to, uh, feel entitled to the pay I get for working both half-hours.

So, instead of going to my boss and just talking about the matter, I'm just going to assume that it was OK to work OT when I really wasn't supposed to work OT.  Hey, maybe he won't notice.  Or maybe he doesn't care when I work overtime because he needs all the people he can get doing the work that's backing up.  But it would be just me to, you know, just … work whenever.  Hope I can get away with it.

I wanted to spend my morning at Caffetto leisurely going through the Internet.  But before yesterday evening My Fucking Mother once again nagged on me about her fucking miles, and I am scared as shit that it's now too late to get them.  So I tossed and turned before going to sleep, and I decided that I had to go to the library in the morning, just in case I needed to scan something.

Welp, here I am at the library, and best as I can tell, I didn't need to scan anything.  This isn't wasted time, but I've spent 90 minutes trying to straighten out just why in the fuck My Fucking Father has miles for some flights but My Fucking Mother doesn't.  I think I know why, but frankly, I want to get the hell out of here because I want to 1) stuff my face with fast food; 2) get a shave, and 3) get to work in time, where I'll probably be dead tired because I was at the library when in the morning when I really didn't want to be.

But hey, at least I got a workstation at the library with the soft, good headphones!

Expenses Without Receipts

Starting from Thursday, September 5:

• Not being to fall asleep right after a shower because my long hair hadn't dried had frustrated me to the point where I finally went to Great Clips to shave it all off.  Still haven't figured out exactly how much I should tip, but with tip it was (and I have a receipt, but in case I lose that): $19.
• Back to Monday, aka Labor Day, where I spent the afternoon going to the Minnesota State Fair one last time.  I love it so much I even paid full-price for a ticket at the stand there, something I didn't plan doing.  This was my fifth day there, and frankly, I could have gone a sixth because I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do.  Through almost three hours I ate my way down the bucket list -- fried pickles, Duck Drummies at Giggles, the Sno-Cone Waffle Sundae (the New Food Of The Fair for 2019 but in a very divided plurality, mind you) and Dessa's Night Drive ice cream at the Hamline Church Dining Hall, and finally a second helping of the sweet Berry-Go-Round sour at the Rathskeller and a lavender lemonade at the Farmers Union.  With tip for the sour I spent a whopping (but not sorry): $59.75.
• My fourth time at this year's Fair was Friday, August 30.  Got more new food I wanted to eat: the shrimp-and-grits fritters at Funky Grits and Red Hot Sausage from Tejas.  To drink I had a couple drinks I've had before and wanted again.  I think I have had the Mini-Donut beer from the Ball Park Cafe.  I know I Have had the Pina Colada from Manny's Tortas.  With tip for the beer I spent a total of: $30.50.
• To Thursday the 29th, where I went to Hooters because I really wanted to use that month's calendar coupon.  Got mozzarella sticks for free for purchasing an Angry Orchard and boneless wings.  I wanted a small beer, but the hot bartender gave me a big one.  Don't want to be swindled into an upcharge, no thank you.  With tip: $21.25.
• I also went to Hooters because ******e texted me out of the blue to say she was having a party close to the Mall Of America.  Now, I haven't seen her in a couple years.  Heard from a guy ******e probably serviced that she had a boyfriend.  Why then, out of the blue, did she invite me to a party?  Beats me, but she's a master cock-sucker, so even though it was a school night, I went down there.  Unfortunately, she got weird on me.  She let me fuck her for the first time ever, but she was very reluctant to suck my dick, and when I put my penis inside her vagina, she refused to kiss me.  She used to be so affectionate.  I only had time to see ******e, even though there were two other girls there, so payment to ******e plus cover equals: $170.

Good through September 5.

Not The Goddamn Miles Again ...

So I'm having dinner when Mother, as is her wont, asks me a question in her accusatory, nagging tone: "Did you get all my miles yet?"  And so we're harkening back to getting all those miles for trips my parents took pretty much last year on a bunch of partner airlines that I had to go back and forth with for a ton of bullshit.  And it was last night where, out of the blue, Mother thought she would revisit the subject.  I never felt I was fully done with the miles; honestly, there were follow-up requests for me to get more proof from those partner airlines, and I never followed through on them.

However, after showing my frustration with Mother fucking digging up old bones, she got onto the Internet and showed me what she was talking about.  There were miles for flights Father got that, for some reason, Mother did not get.  But there was something more disturbing.  Mother had boarding passes for, like, a dozen flights on their across-the-Pacific journey they took over the turn of the year.  I dutifully requested mileage for every one.  I received replies basically saying, "We got it, you will get your miles shortly," for some, but not all, of the flight segments.  And then, when I saw first Father's and then Mother's online mileage statements, there were the flights they took, but without any miles.  Now, I ran into a similar situation when I went to Hong Kong; even though I flew on partner airlines, apparently the code of ticket and seat I bought did not make me eligible for getting partner miles on them.  I suspect that's the case here; but if so, why didn't customer service get back to us saying that miles could not be accrued on those flights?

I really wasn't looking all that closely at my parents' statements because 1) I was bored and 2) I needed to log into my fantasy football leagues; drafts for both were last night, although I thank Buddha they did not overlap.  But seeing as I don't know which ones Father got miles for but Mother did not, and which ones neither got miles for, and that there were a dozen flights they took on this sojourn, I basically have to start from square one and see what I requested on my parents' behalf, for which flights the airline asked for information, and for which flights they eventually gave miles to, and whether it was for one or both parents.  That's a pain-in-the-ass to track back, and it's so confusing that I'm fucking tired thinking about it.  So I'm just going to take the L on this bad, harried day and hopefully I'll have a calmer soul and cleaner mind tomorrow so I can deal with this.

I'm Not At My Best Right Now

OK, so the following happened:

• I had faded dreams of actually registering for a class at the U. yesterday.  Did I research which class?  No.  I did go to the U. for first day of classes.  It has become a ritual of mine, seeing all the hot babes now half my age showing off their midriffs and going to the Student Union to get free food and stuff.  But did I register for a class?  No.  Yep -- another year of staying in place.
• Brought in my plastic bag from the car because it has my satellite radio in it.  I used the speaker a lot and it needs to be recharged, and I thought it'd be a good time to recharge it.  But when I looked into the bag, just now, it was totally empty.  Apparently I forgot it at work.  And now I am not totally certain that my radio, which I left on a desk to listen to Sunday, will still be there when I go into work this morning.  I swear I made a point to remember everything and, well, I didn't.
• Oh, and even though I shouldn't have, I was hungry, so just now I pounded through some chips.  OK, maybe more than some.  I need to wake up in five hours and I'll be going to sleep with processed food churning in my gut.

Yeah, I'm not at my best right now.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Twins (Last Week: -1).  The regular season isn't over yet, and I don't know if any lead is safe when it comes to a Twin Cities sports team.  But still, having a 5-1 screening week, while your main competitor, Cleveland, kept pace by sweeping host Detroit but then getting swept by host Tampa, thus opening up a 5 1/2-Game lead in the American League Central, is cause for some celebration.  Moreover, in the only loss of the week, which came on Saturday in Detroit (the Twins swept the White Sox in Chicago earlier in the week), the club set the record for my Home Runs by a team in a season.  The person to do it: Mitch Garver, in the top of the Ninth Inning.  The Twins broke the record set by the New York Yankees all the way back in 2018.  And people suspect that up to three other clubs will also surpass that mark by the time this year is over.  Yeah, HRs are no longer special.

The back half of the season is a gift because the Twins play so many contest against the three non-competitive teams in the A. L. Central.  This week will provide more formidable obstacles.  Tonight/Tuesday night they visit Boston for three.  Then over the weekend they come home to host, you guessed it, Cleveland.

#-2: United FC (Last Week: -4).  So I was going to the Brew Hall at Allianz Field because there was going to be a watch party for the U. S. Open Cup Final on Tuesday between our Loons and host Atlanta United, but there was no seat open, so I decided to walk on down to the Black Hart, which vows to always show a soccer match whenever there is one on the bar's cable or satellite system.  Of course they were going to show a match as important as the Open Cup Final -- and many people had the same idea, as it was almost as packed there as it was about half a mile away.  Still, it would have been nice to have sound for the whole game, not just the Second Half.  There are kinks to still be worked out there; for example, they could use TVs that synced up together.  And they could use better TVs.

Anyway, the 2-1 loss to the Five Stripes is further evidence that our most-hated rival is ATLUTD.  I won't call it a rivalry, though.  We don't have anybody else, at least for now.  (Chicago?  Colorado?  Kansas City is being shoved down our throats, but nah.)  What we do have is a team that was birthed into MLS at the same time, at which point the resources, and therefore outlook, of both teams shot in very different directions.  MNUFC has struggled, only finding its footing this year because of pre-determined spending limits; Arthur Blank decided to leave no expense expensed and has consistently fielded a great, Yankees-like team, which resulted in the MLS Cup last year.  Beyond that, remember that United FC's first-ever top-flight home Game resulted in a 6-1 beatdown by them, and you can see a path of ass-kicking that should be remembered the next time(s) the XI sees them.  As Dan Le Batard once said, a hammer and a nail don't have a rivalry.  But this is what we've got.

Since Adrian Heath apparently went all-in on winning Tuesday night's Game, it felt as though the cupboard would be totally bare when the squad returned to MLS play Sunday night against the Los Angeles Football Club.  A road game against the best team in the league by a mile, who hasn't lost at home yet, five nights after getting exhausted losing a nail-biter in the most important Game in the franchise's history?  I was praying they wouldn't get laughed out of Banc Of California Stadium.  But they weren't.  Mason Toye saw to that, scoring from an acute angle and then chipping in a howitzer from deep in the First Half, and the defense parked the bus in the Second Half, contributing to a 2-0 and three Points no one thought they were going to get.  The race in the Western Conference is going to be a wild one; essentially stealing Points, and getting them to third place for the moment, is a skin that will help them ensure a playoff spot, if not a playoff game at home.

The team hosts a friendly against Liga MX's Pachuca Saturday.  (Bought a ticket not realizing I have a college football game to organize later that night; I'll skip out after Halftime.)  But everybody's on an international break, so no entry for next week.

#-3: Lynx (Last Week: -2).  They've looked this good before, only to face tougher opponents on the road and lose resoundingly.  And it should be noted that they've won their last four Games while playing all of them in Target Center.  Nevertheless, the Lynx did beat Chicago and Indiana, both by eight-Point margins.  And they now sit in sixth place overall, thereby granting them a home playoff Game in the First Round (presuming the WNBA still has the bowling "stepladder" playoff format they introduced not too long ago).  This is a completely different team, so the realistic question is how good this club can be with its new composition.

Sunday's victory over the Fever was the Lynx's last at Target.  They finish the regular season at Phoenix and Los Angeles -- which, if form holds, means they'll finish the year on a two-Game losing streak.

#-4: Gopher volleyball (Re-Entry!).  Look, I'm gonna tell y'all right now: I will not be rational when it comes to evaluating this program's screening weeks, at least for the time being.  I have rooted for this team ever seen I came back from college, and while they have knocked on the door, they have never won an NCAA championship.  Last year was their chance; they were the overall #2 seed in the field, and the Final Four was being held at Target Center.  But they didn't win.  They didn't even reach the title game.  They didn't even make it to the Final Four.  In fact, they didn't even reach the Regional Final held at Maturi Pavilion.  They crashed out of the Sweet Sixteen -- and in four sets at that!  I was pissed off then and I am just as pissed off now, so no, I will give no quarter to these players … well, until they win it all, or until I no longer am furious.

But that is not this week.  And by the way, this team opened the season with two neutral site Games as part of the B1G/ACC Challenge.  They swept North Carolina, but then got swept by Florida St.  Now how in the fuck are you the preseason #3 ranked team in the polls and not only lose but get swept?!  How fucking unacceptable.

This week they play a pair of Games.  They are at Texas Wednesday.  They then host Florida Saturday night.

#-5: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -3).  And as much as I want to excoriate the volleyballers, I cannot ignore the fact that the college soccer team has yet to win yet this year.  This past week they were in a tournament in Oxford, Miss., and they tied Arkansas at 1 Thursday but lost 3-2 to host Ole Miss on a Golden Goal in the 109th Minute.  Is it possible that this team is just not good?  On Thursday they finally open up the home portion of their regular season versus Marquette, but Sunday they boomerang back out on the road to visit Virginia.

So I woke up, around 10:30, to the sound of my parents coming in, stomping their feet up the stairs and clanging every pot and pan in the kitchen.  I don't know what the hell they're clamoring about this Labor Day, but it was more than enough to wake me up.  I don't understand the tone of what they're doing, but frankly, I am intimidated by what they're doing and, to be more specific, what they would see if I left my bedroom and once I leave the house to go to the State Fair one last time.

To hell with it.  Let's see what happens.

Sooooooooooooooooooo Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiired

Late game start, got home a bit past 1:30, stayed up on the Internet till 2 … and I'm up now because I have to get to work (filling in for someone who left) at 7.  Plus there's overtime, and since I don't think I want to see my asshole brother unless I absolutely have to (he and his family are coming over for dinner), I might stay at work an extra half-hour and come home at 4:30.  Hopefully it won't be excruciating, and I hope it'll be over at some point in the evening, because I know I will hit the bed, dead tired, at some point soon after eating.

And to think I'll do this all over again next Saturday/Sunday, with the complication that I don't know when I'll need to report for the Vikings game, and thus don't know when I'll need to wake up next Sunday morning.  Ugh.