Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Today I found 6 cents . . . all pennies. One of the pennies was a 1919S Wheat Penny.

The first penny was found on the floor of a business that I was working at this afternoon. The remaining five cents were found in the coin return slot of a change counting machine at Randalls, a local grocery store.

One of the change return slot pennies was a 1919S Wheat penny. It was in excellent condition. Sadly, I already had that penny in my penny collection, but it makes an excellent addition to my race totals.

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October Monthly Report:

This month I found 243 pennies, 5 nickels, 25 dimes, and 13 quarters. Change was found in two states, Texas and Indiana.

Monthly Total: $8.43
Change Cycle Days: 1
Dollar Days: 3
Monthly High: $2.54 (October 23rd)
Monthly Low: 1 cent (Multiple Times)
Daily Average: 27.193ish cents

Totals for the day: 6 cents
Race Totals: $619.99

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Today I found 24 cents . . . 2 dimes & 4 pennies.

For the second day in a row all of my change was found at a no-name car wash in the Houston, TX vicinity.

Totals for the day: 24 cents
Race Totals: $619.93

Monday, October 29, 2007

Today I found 3 cents . . . all pennies.

All change was found at a no-name car wash in the Houston, TX vicinity.

Totals for the day: 3 cents
Race Totals: $619.69

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Today I found 18 cents . . . 1dime and 8 pennies.

All the day’s change was found at Sonic. Becca and I stopped there for some dinner just before the first pitch of the World Series.

Totals for the day: 18 cents
Race Totals: $619.66

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Today I found $1.12 . . . 1 nickel, 4 quarters, and 7 pennies.

Right after the Red Sox opened it up in the third or fourth inning I figured it was a good time to finally make the post office trip that I had been putting off. On the way to the post office I stopped at the car wash next door and found 62 cents (one nickel, two quarters, and seven pennies).

It was at the post office that I recorded my final find of the day, 50 cents (two quarters). Both quarters were in the coin return slot of a stamp machine.

Totals for the day: $1.12
Race Totals: $619.48

Friday, October 26, 2007

Today I found 37 cents . . . 1 nickel and 32 pennies.

Every piece of change was found at a car wash next to Becca’s apartment complex. I stopped there this evening, on my way home from watching a really bad high school football game.

Totals for the day: 37 cents
Race Totals: $618.36

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Today I found 11 cents . . . all pennies.

All change was found at JR’s Car Wash, the car wash next to my apartment complex. I had found the initial 10 cents and was pulling out when the shimmer of another coin caught my eye. I stopped and exited my car, retrieving the final penny of the day.

Totals for the day: 11 cents
Race Totals: $617.99

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Today I found $1.00 . . . 5 dimes and 50 pennies. One of the pennies was a badly beaten up 1940 Wheat Penny.

As I drove back from Huntsville, TX this afternoon my cell phone rang and it was none other than my race partner Bailey. I told him that I was just then driving past his old neighborhood and was considering hitting one of his old car washes. With Bailey’s blessing, a blessing that he clearly regretted as I gave him the play-by-play account of all the coins that I was finding, I checked the car wash.

At said car wash I found 75 cents (four dimes & 35 pennies). Some of the change was by bays of vacuum cleaners, but the vast majority was near the exit (perhaps people had tossed pennies from their car as they drove off).

After my evening trip to the bank and post office I stopped at Sonic for some dinner. While waiting I scoured the parking lot and patio areas and found 25 cents (one dime & 15 pennies). Most of the change was in the parking lot, but about six of the pennies were in the patio area.

Totals for the day: $1.00
Race Totals: $617.88

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Today I found $2.54 . . . 2 nickels, 8 dimes, 5 quarters, and 39 pennies (The First Class Change Cycle).

A single penny was found at a BBQ joint in Huntsville, TX this afternoon. It was on the ground as I walked into the restaurant.

This evening I did my usual rounds of trips to the bank and post office and I stopped off at the car wash next to the post office. There I found $2.40 (two nickels, seven dimes, five quarters, and 35 pennies). The majority of the change was sitting in a pile by one of the vacuum cleaners, but some of the change was scattered about on the ground.

The final finds of the day were recorded at a local Mexican meat market that I frequent for some of the best tacos I have ever had. I found a penny in the parking lot and another 12 cents (one dime & two pennies) on the ground by the main cash register.

Totals for the day: $2.54
Race Totals: $616.88

Monday, October 22, 2007

Today I found 27 cents . . . 2 dimes and 7 pennies.

All the change was found at a no-name car wash in Baytown, TX. I was down there this afternoon for work and stopped at a car wash that I had spotted on my way into town. A terrible cold front is blasting through the area right now (temps are expected to drop into the 50’s, so I’ll be heading inside for the rest of the day).

Totals for the day: 27 cents
Race Totals: $614.34

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Today I found 1 cent . . . a penny.

Yet another lone penny was found in the parking lot of my apartment complex this afternoon. I found it as I got out of my car after a delicious Sunday brunch with Becca.

Totals for the day: 1 cent
Race Totals: $614.07

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Today I found 1 cent . . . a penny.

It was found in the parking lot of my apartment complex. I was walking back from checking my mail when I found the beat up penny sitting in the parking lot. Beat up or not it has been added to augment my race totals.

Totals for the day: 1 cent
Race Totals: $614.06

Friday, October 19, 2007

Today I found 3 cents . . . all pennies.

The three cents found today were all gotten at a no-name car wash. I stopped there on the way home from having dinner with a former (now retired) co-worker.

Totals for the day: 3 cents
Race Totals: $614.05

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Today I found 26 cents . . . 2 dimes & 6 pennies.

The first two pennies of the day came at a Shell gas station. One was inside by the front counter and the second was in the parking lot. I was glad that I had stopped there this morning to fill up, because when I came home in the evening the price of gas had gone up four cents.

The remaining 24 cents (two dimes & four pennies) were found in and around a change counting machine at Kroger, a local grocery store. Several pennies were on the ground in front of the machine and the remaining change was under the machine.

Totals for the day: 26 cents
Race Totals: $614.02

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Today I found 17 cents . . . 1 dime & 7 pennies.

All the change, save one penny, was found at JR’s Car Wash, the car wash next to my apartment complex. The lone penny was found on the floor of a Chevron gas station, a gas station that I stopped at on the way to work to pick up a drink.

Totals for the day: 17 cents
Race Totals: $613.76

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Today I found 1 cent . . . a penny.

It was in the parking lot of my office.

Totals for the day: 1 cent
Race Totals: $613.59

Monday, October 15, 2007

Today I found 63 cents . . . 1 dime, 2 quarters, and 3 pennies.

All change was found at the car wash next to the post office. I was happy to find any change since some torrential rains hit the area today and there was quite a bit of isolated flooding.

Since I’m now back from Spanish Immersion class I have once again found the time to start searching boxes of pennies and nickels for coins that I need to complete my coin books. No great finds today, but I did get a major assist from my local bank. When I went in this afternoon one of the tellers gave me nine steel pennies and 16 silver quarters! She said that an older lady had deposited them about a week ago and they saved them for me.

Totals for the day: 63 cents
Race Totals: $613.58

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Today I found 14 cents . . . all pennies.

All change was found at JR’s Car Wash, the car wash next to the post office.

In some exciting autograph news I attended a Senior PGA Tour event this afternoon. In addition to getting about 30 golfers signatures I racked up on some other pro athletes. There was a celebrity event going on at the same time and I managed to get Rollie Fingers, Jeff Bagwell, Roger Clemens, Clyde Drexler, and Dan Jansen. Good times!

Totals for the day: 14 cents
Race Totals: $612.95

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Today I found 31 cents . . . 1 nickel, 1 dime, and 16 pennies.

The first penny of the day was found on the ground at Wal-Mart, in the plant section of the store. The next 20 cents (one dime & 10 pennies) were found at the car wash next to the post office. My final find of the day was 10 cents (one nickel & five pennies) that were found at the post office. Of the 10 cents nine were found in the coin return slot of a stamp machine while a lone penny was found on the floor by a trashcan.

Totals for the day: 31 cents
Race Totals: $612.81

Friday, October 12, 2007

Today I found 26 cents . . . 1 quarter and 1 penny. Change was found in two states, Indiana and Texas.

It was the last day of class and I thought it was never going to end. Class went from 7am to 12 noon and then we ate lunch, had our little graduation ceremony, and headed to the airport. I had been doing a good job of trying to avoid counting the days till the end, but on the last day it was hard to avoid counting the hours.

At the airport my 10 days of suffering was rewarded with a quarter that I found under an X-Ray machine at the TSA Checkpoint. Back in Houston I found a penny in the parking lot of my apartment complex.

Totals for the day: 26 cents
Race Totals: $612.50

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Today I found 1 cent . . . a penny.

The lone penny was found in the dining room of the hotel. It was on the floor by the salad bar.

Totals for the day: 1 cent
Race Totals: $612.24

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Today I found 2 cents . . . both pennies.

For the second day in a row I actually got to leave the hotel. Even with the mile walk it is well worth it, as I have been spending 13 hours a day in class. Going into this class I was hoping to come out with a decent proficiency level in Spanish. Now I’m only hoping to survive the last few days without going insane from the fact that I’m totally lost. It doesn’t help that all instruction is given in Spanish, and it is difficult for me to grasp complex conjugation concepts when they are not explained in English.

Anyhow, the two pennies were found on the floor of a Shell gas station. I had walked there to get a drink and a bag of chips. Both were available at the hotel, but I decided to take any excuse I could to get away for a few minutes.

Totals for the day: 2 cents
Race Totals: $612.23

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Today I found 11 cents . . . 1 dime and 1 penny.

After obtaining permission from the Spanish instructors I headed to the grocery store in town to pick up a few supplies. While walking along the side of the road I found a penny (only one person in the class has a car, so if I want to get anywhere it involves a mile walk). The dime was found at the grocery store. It was sitting on the ground at a checkout line.

Totals for the day: 11 cents
Race Totals: $612.21

Monday, October 8, 2007

Today I found 1 cent . . . a penny.

It was found on the ground in under a vending machine on the third floor of the hotel. To be honest the penny might have been there yesterday, but I hadn’t looked. With change so tight I’m certainly not going out of my way to find every piece of change at this hotel in one day for fear that I might not find some the next day.

Totals for the day: 1 cent
Race Totals: $612.10

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Today I found 1 cent . . . a penny.

It was found on the ground in front of a vending machine on the third floor of the hotel.

Totals for the day: 1 cent
Race Totals: $612.09

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Today I found 2 cents . . . both pennies.

Both pennies were found by some vending machines on the first floor of my hotel. The first penny was on the ground directly by the vending machine and the second penny was in the corner of the room that contained the vending machines (as well as a water fountain and some newspaper boxes).

Totals for the day: 2 cents
Race Totals: $612.08

Friday, October 5, 2007

Today I found 26 cents . . . 1 quarter & 1 penny.

The quarter was the first find of the day. It was found under a couch that was located in the main lobby of my hotel. The penny was found a few hours later. It was under a vending machine.

Totals for the day: 26 cents
Race Totals: $612.06

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Today I found 1 cent . . . a penny.

It was found under a vending machine that was located on the second floor of my hotel. Thankfully there are quite a few vending machines at this hotel, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find change over the next week.

Totals for the day: 1 cent
Race Totals: $611.80

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Today I found 3 cents . . . all pennies.

It was the first full day of Spanish class and it was a long one. For the next nine days I’ll be in class from 7am to 8pm learning Spanish. It is a language I have always wanted to learn, and since my office is paying for the class I figured it was worth the time and effort.

After the first few days we are going to be speaking only in Spanish and won’t be permitted to leave the hotel where the class is held without permission. I took advantage of the fact that we were permitted to leave today and took the half mile walk to the closest store / restaurants in the area. While at the grocery store (a store that I can’t remember the name of ) I found three cents. All were pennies and all were under a change counting machine.

Totals for the day: 3 cents
Race Totals: $611.79

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Today I found 8 cents . . . all pennies. Change was found in two states, Texas and Indiana.

My flight to Indianapolis left Houston this morning around 11am. At the airport in Houston I found seven cents (all pennies). The majority of the change was found by the TSA Checkpoint, while several stray pennies were found in the food court.

Once I landed in Indianapolis I found a lone penny while walking from the arrival gate to the baggage claim area. I also won a dollar from a co-worker (we had a $1 bet as to whose bag would come out first). Of course the dollar will not count toward the daily totals.

Totals for the day: 8 cents
Race Totals: $611.76

Monday, October 1, 2007

Today I found 12 cents . . . 1 dime & 2 pennies.

Tomorrow I am heading to Indianapolis, Indiana for a 10 day Spanish class. Figuring that I am not going to have a lot of time off in the next week I took the day off. In addition to packing I made a trip to the post office, where I found 11 cents (one dime & one penny) in the coin return slot of a stamp machine. I also found a penny in the parking lot of the post office.

Totals for the day: 12 cents
Race Totals: $611.68