29 November 2012

Thanksgiving 2012 with Family, and Futsal Starts Soon

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday with family (more on that later), I didn't post last week. So, here's my best try to catch up.

Friday the 16th, I worked the St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) at Plaza Frontenac Cinema. I helped staff the volunteer desk, and watched a French language Canadian film, "Sense of Humor," a dark comedy involving two touring comedians and a serial killer. Rather enjoyable, actually. SLIFF ended the following Sunday night (18 Nov.) with a party at the Contemporary Art Museum in midtown St. Louis. Rather interesting event, as the awards were announced. You can get a wrap up of SLIFF at www.cinemastlouis.org.

That weekend (17-18 Nov.), I refereed youth soccer--the last weekend of the fall outdoor season. The games were at the Scott Gallagher Complex that Saturday and the Soccer Park that Sunday. No problems with these contests. After the Sunday games, I headed right away to Robert R. Hermann Stadium for SLU's NCAA tournament second round match with Fairleigh Dickinson. Unfortunately, SLU lost 2-1 in extra time to end their season. It was a fine year overall, although disappointing in how it ended.

Back-to-back Monday nights (19 and 26 Nov.) found me at referee clinics. The first of these was the in-service outdoor clinic, where we went over the Laws of the Game changes for this season and other points of emphasis. I also got my 2013 referee patch, having proved I paid my registration fee and passed the written and fitness tests. The second one was the futsal recertification clinic, which also went over the Law changes and points of emphasis. Having passed the test and paid my registration, I also got my new futsal patch. The new season starts this Saturday, and I have three games.

My brother Rick came to town for Thanksgiving, with his wife Melissa and son Alex. We all had a fine time together, with a nice turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day. That night, we drove through the Winter Wonderland light display at Tilles County Park. I enjoyed that.

IPMS/Gateway had its general meeting on 20 Nov., and we had a very nice turnout of people and contest models. I helped judge the model contest.

Last night, I was at Frontenac Grill for a happy hour with a meetup group, Midtown Mingles for Singles 40 and Over. There were about 12 of us there and I had a fine time socializing with them.

Head's Up: This Monday night, 3 Dec., I will be interviewed on Naturally Autistic Radio. The program, Digivations, airs at 5 pm Pacific Time (7 pm Central Time; 0100 GMT Tue.). You can get more info at www.naturallyautistic.com/radio-show.

Later.