19 December 2012

A Great Christmas Gift Arriving Early

I received great news last Monday (17 Dec.) about a job. More on that later.

Last Friday morning (14 Dec.), I was at Gravois Bluffs Shopping Center in Fenton with my fellow IPMS/Gateway member, Tom Bogacki. We presented our $400 check to the US Marine Corps Reserve for their Toys for Tots campaign in Metro St. Louis. Our club has raised funds to donate to Toys for Tots annually since 1990, and I know the Marines really appreciated our efforts. I got word out on our donation to IPMS/USA and to local media, although our happy news was overshadowed by the tragedy in Connecticut that same morning.

I was refereeing soccer and futsal the next day, starting with running lines on two National Premier League (NPL) girls' matches at the Soccer Park that afternoon. It went rather well, with no incidents for our crew to deal with. That night, I was at Creve Coeur Racquet Club for four youth futsal matches. The next afternoon found me at GameTime in St. Peters for four more futsal matches.

Late Monday afternoon, I received a phone call from the auto rental firm I had interviewed with six days before (Tue., 11 Dec.). They called to offer me the customer service job, as a part-time vehicle service agent. Basically, I'd be cleaning up, topping up and preparing rental vehicles for their next customers. I accepted right away, and the human resource person told me to report for orientation Thursday morning (20 Dec.). I'm really looking forward to getting started with this job, and we'll see what happens from there.

I was in a very good mood that night when I was at the Eastern Missouri Soccer Referee Association (EMSRA) party at d. Dooley's 026 Grill in Fenton. A bunch of us referees were there, and we had a fun time socializing, eating and drinking.

Early next morning, I took my Corolla to the dealership for an oil change and service check. The technician recommended some other service--some of more higher priority--and I went with some now and others will wait for early next year. After I got home, I finished up my Christmas shopping for the family. That night, IPMS/Gateway held its monthly meeting at Calvary Presbyterian Church. We had elections for next year's officers--I was re-elected vice president--and we had our annual model kit recognition contest, which I scored very well at.

This morning, I attended the Job Readiness Training meeting at MERS-Goodwill. It was my last one, since I found work, but I was able to provide inspiration for my fellow job seekers. This afternoon, I began in earnest getting out my Christmas newsletter (which I send in lieu of Christmas cards) to family and friends. I was mailing out those that could only be sent by U.S. Mail today; the rest of the list can be handled via e-mail.

Later.