16 November 2012

Three Nights at the Movies, and Old Newsboys day

I was out at the Soccer Park in Fenton this past weekend on game assignments. Saturday late afternoon to early evening (10 Nov.), I had under 14 boys matches. They generally went well, although the first match--my middle--did keep me occupied, with four yellow cards handed out. Otherwise, things went well. The next day, I worked four 8v8 matches, which went well as far as the teams went. Not so much with the weather; It poured rain during my last match, and I was soaked to the skin. Fortunately, being on artificial turf was a plus in getting this game in, as was they fact this last game had 25-minute halves. (The three previous ones had 30-minute halves.)

After getting home and drying out from my games, I was at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema for the St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF). I was a volunteer at SLIFF and helped as an usher and source of information to patrons. After passing out ballots to attendees, I got to watch one of the features playing that night, "Teddy Bear," a drama from Denmark. Really interesting film; I was impressed. (For more info on SLIFF and its presenting organization, Cinema St. Louis, visit www.cinemastlouis.org.)

Tuesday morning (13 Nov.) found me at the weekly GO! Network workshop in downtown St. Louis. The program on setting goals for your life and career was quite interesting. The next morning, I was at a job readiness training session at MERS Goodwill in south St. Louis County, getting advice (much of which I have heard before) on interviewing. I was back there today talking with a recruiter who mentioned some part time jobs I could apply for now. That night, I was at the Hi-Pointe Theatre in Richmond Heights, Missouri for a SLIFF screening. It was the premier of a documentary, "Envisioning Home," about two long-time public housing advocates in St. Louis. A real interesting film, shedding light on something I did not know much about. (I used a coupon for a complementary admission that I received for my volunteer shift Sunday night.)

Yesterday morning (15 Nov.) found me at the corner of Lemay Ferry Road and Victory drive in Mehlville for Old Newsboys Day. It's an annual fundraiser for St. Louis area children's charities, in which donations are taken for a special edition of the Suburban Journals newspaper. I and Randy Johnston manned the corner for about 3 1/2 hours and sold some papers, while doing our part for a worthy cause.

After I got home, I took in a two-hour webinar on improving your LinkedIn profile to increase your chances of getting hired. There was some interesting info in this program, but I passed on the high priced (nearly $800) customized service the webinar host was offering. That night, I was at the Moolah Theatre & Lounge in midtown St. Louis with others in the Midtown Mingles for Singles 40 and Over Meetup. We saw "Skyfall," the latest James Bond movie, and I loved it. I'm a big Bond movie fan and this latest film is one of the best in the 50-year-old series.

Tonight, I'm back at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema for another SLIFF volunteer shift. This will make it four movies seen this week--a record for me for sure!

Later.