Jack's Weekend part I

As most of the people who read this blog know, I go home to Sioux Falls nearly every weekend to work at my beloved Hy-Vee. I'm going to start posting funny events and situations from The 'Vee. This past weekend was pretty normal - lots of lottery tickets, photo processing and stamps. I never understood how people can come in and buy twenty dollars worth of lottery tickets twice a week every week on the dot. It's not like they're bad people, some of the "regulars" who buy lottery tickets are my favorite customers. But when you see them drop that much money and win at most three to four dollars you kind of feel bad selling tickets to them. Oh well, lots of them have told me that if they win a big jackpot, they'll share the wealth (fringe benefit of working with lottery tickets). Probably my favorite part of customer service is either working the postal counter or processing photos. I like doing postal because you get to meet some cool people as well - for example, there is a guy who used to (I haven't seen him in awhile since I work mostly days now) come in and mail off sports cards; baseball, basketball etc... and you get to chat with him a little while you get his packages all ready to go. I really like to see when a parent or friend or spouse of someone in the armed forces comes in to send off a care package, the joy that they get from sending it and the joy that the person will get at the other end - it's kind of cool to be a part of that. Wow, that was pretty sappy. I better find some cool hunting stories to talk about on the next post or something. Oh and photos - I just like doing that because I'm a huge nerd and a gadget freak. And processing photos is a very methodical thing... I like that too. I'm a dork; what can I say?

To end, I ask the question:
Why can't there be more news articles like this?

Happy Birthday SDSU...

Much has happened since my last post which was close to the beginning of the semester. January has come and gone, and along with it memories and good times (which were had by all). Those who read regularly know that I said in the begininning of this blog, that I wouldn't update on a regular basis and as a man who is "not gonna lie," I had to hold true to myself.
Today was the official 125th anniversary of South Dakota State University and a spectacular (if not almost too flamboyant) gala was held in the Student Union to celebrate the occasion. Notable guests included Jim Woster, President Peggy Gordon Miller, and others. Pretty much the only reason I went was to watch and listen to SDSU Jazz Band I, which was to say the least, pretty darn good. Also, a new flavor of SDSU ice cream was unveiled, "Campanile Crunch," and it was... interesting to say the least. It consisted of a vanilla ice cream base with assorted crunchy items, (sounds pretty normal so far) such as corn, sunflower seeds, peanuts, wheat, and cashews. Anyway, music stuff has actually been going pretty well, I've discovered that the more I practice, the happier I am, and consequently the happier Dr. Crawley is when I go in for my sax lessons; who'da thunk? Speaking of sax, I will be quitting the tasty, yet deadly metal mouthpiece for a Berg Larsen hard rubber piece. Delicious. Finally, I went with some members of both jazz bands to the Dakota Jazz club in Minneapolis, MN (link here) to see the Charles Mingus Big Band. In short, it pretty much ruled. Despite my naive attitude towards semi-formal food, dinner went ok. I ordered what I assumed would be some type of beef stir fry, but turned out to be four tiny appetizers for about $9.00 after 18% gratuity (yeah). All in all, some great music, good food, and a rememberable time. To close, I quote the great Conan O'Brien: "Stay cool my babies."

Fricking Freezing Friday and

Please be aware that I know that you know that I know that you're aware that the title of this post sucks - a lot. But it truly describes the mood and temperature here in wonderful Brookings, SD. With the current air temp at -6 degrees farenheit and a windchill of -22, our planned movie night sounds like a a good idea now more than ever. This "movie" night involves the "Fearsome Foursome" (which I just titled btw) Me, BigB, Amy, and our special Sioux Falls friend, Jamie Englund. After just finishing a delecious albeit pornographically expensive supper of Papa Johns pizza and breadsticks, we are going to head to Wally World to get some snacky crap and then commence with teh cinema. (lollersauce, roflcopter, etc.) I am really excited for this weekend though - I get to go to Minneapolis, MN to see the Charles Mingus Big Band. Dr. Crawley and the math professor who plays bass 'bone in Jazz I are each driving a van full of students. Good times.
Well, it's about time I wrap this up as we begin our cinematic adventure...