Last Weekend: A New Computer, Soccer, and Beer

I finally pulled the trigger on a new laptop computer last weekend. A week before, I visited Micro Center (https://www.microcenter.com/) in Brentwood, where I browsed among its extensive selection of laptops. There was one particular model I was most interested in, an Aspire 5 from Acer (https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/home), which has greater capabilities than the older Acer Aspire I have had for the last eight years. During my lunch break on Friday (26 July), I went onto Micro Center's website and reserved an Aspire 5. It was waiting for me when I came to the store after work. After paying for the computer, I took it home and began to set it up. It is still a work in progress, but I really like this new laptop so far. Not only is it more capable than my old one (particularly in having twice the memory and a solid state hard drive), but also that it's slightly smaller and lighter. I will appreciate that when I have to lug it around.

I spent much of Saturday at home getting my files (documents and images especially) transferred from my old laptop to my new one, via my external hard drive.

That night, I was at World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/soccerpark) to cheer on Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) in USL Championship (https://www.uslsoccer.com/usl-championship) play against Bethlehem Steel FC. As usual, it began at the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate in the parking lot. They had a nachos buffet bar for dinner, which was good. I selected both pork rinds and nacho chips, which I topped with ground beef and sour cream. All washed down with Schlafly (http://www.schlafly.com/) Ale d'Or from the tailgate trailer tap.

We then marched into the stadium for the match. It was a good night for the home side, as Saint Louis FC won, 3-nil, their first win in league play in three months. Hopefully, this will be the start of a comeback effort for our club.

Yesterday (28 July) afternoon was spent in downtown Clayton. I met with others from Single in the City Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/STLSingleInTheCity/) for Beer Geek Fest at Craft Beer Cellar (https://clayton.craftbeercellar.com/), a tasting event with beers from 28 breweries around the country. We first met next door at The Posh Nosh Deli (http://www.poshnoshdeli.com/), where I had lunch: The Rebecca sandwich with chips and soda. Then, we began to sample away. It was most interesting to try out different beers from craft breweries located around the St. Louis area and from around the country. I had samples from 23 beers in about 2.5 hours there, all of which I logged onto the Untappd (https://untappd.com/) app on my smartphone. It was fun chatting with the others in the group while we talked about the beers we sampled or wanted to sample.

After spending time at the event, I walked to World News Ltd (https://newsstands.cmac.ws/world-news-ltd-clayton/1800/), where I bought two magazines, then walked to the nearby Starbucks (https://www.starbucks.com/) for an iced coffee while I read the magazines. After that, I walked to my car and drove home.

Later.

Party Times and a Job Interview

I joined with four others from the Single in the City Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/STLSingleInTheCity/) at Craft Beer Cellar in Clayton (https://craftbeercellar.com/) for the Beer Geek Fest last Sunday (29 July). This event was part of St. Louis Craft Beer Week (https://stlbeerweek.com/). I arrived early for this event, so I got lunch at The Posh Nosh (http://www.poshnoshdeli.com/) next door. The Claytonian sandwich I had--corned beef, pastrami, swiss cheese, creamy slaw, and homemade Russian dressing, all served warm on rye bread--was most satisfying.

At the Beer Geek Fest, approximately 30 breweries from around the Midwest were present with samples of their beers in and just in front of the store. I took full advantage of it, sampling 28 beers in about three hours. Yes, I felt a bit woozy from that, but I was otherwise fine. I kept track of the beers I sampled using the Untappd (https://untappd.com/) app on my phone.

Then, I walked west to the Barnes & Noble (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/) in Ladue to browse, and to enjoy a pastry and iced coffee drink in the Cafe. Recovered after that stop, I walked back east to the garage where I parked my car, about one block from Craft Beer Cellar, and drove home after a wonderful afternoon.

It was a rather busy, but good week at work this past week. This included my last week working with our intern, Lucas, who leaves us next week to head back to college. I will be gone on vacation most of next week, so I said my goodbye to him yesterday. Despite the return of high heat late this past week, we did our part to exceed customer expectations.

After work Tuesday night (31 August), I changed into a suit and drove to The Caramel Room at Bissinger's (https://www.caramelroom.com/) just north of downtown St. Louis. Group 01 of Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html), which includes the St. Louis Metropolitan area, held a fiscal New Year's Eve party there. It was an occasion to celebrate our group's success in the past fiscal year, and to aim for more success in the fiscal year that began on 1 August. I saw a few colleagues there, enjoyed a couple of beers, and walked around the complex. There was a countdown to 9:00 pm, complete with champagne toasts. A very nice time at this venue, which is connected to Bissinger's chocolate factory.

Off work Wednesday, I helped my mom and the handyman who was working to have our washer and dryer set up next to her bedroom. I helped to move the appliances up from the basement, where they have always been.

That night, I was at the Kathryn Linnemann Branch of the St. Charles City-County Library (http://www.youranswerplace.org/home) for this month's Mark Twain Model Club meeting. It was my first time at this venue; the club previously met at Mark Twain Hobby Center (https://www.hobby1.com/), but had outgrown the meeting room there. I brought in a ship model I was working on, and had flyers for next month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) Invitational contest and swap meet on 8 September. A demo on adding carpeting to model car interiors was delivered, and was quite interesting.

Back at work Thursday, I checked my company email during a break and found out that Enterprise Holdings, Inc. (https://www.enterpriseholdings.com/en/index.html) received my application for its Channel Marketing Specialist opening and wished to interview me for it. I contacted the Talent Acquisition (TA) person and we had a brief phone conversation before setting up a phone interview for the next day. She called me yesterday--I had arranged with my supervisors to have 20 minutes free for it--and we had a pleasant interview. I was asked some general questions to help the TA person sense what I could bring to this job. She told me that I had a great resume and great enthusiasm for the organization, but felt I was not a good match for this specific position. However, she told me I should have a place in the organization in some capacity and to persist with following the in-house job boards. I thanked her for her time and her candor, which I told her was nothing I had received from any other organization I had applied to in the past. I had let some of my colleagues know about this, and they said that although disappointed I would not get this job, they felt I would do better in future interviews from the experience.

Later.

Plenty of Alcohol and Soccer

A week ago this afternoon (30 July), I was at Sugar Creek Winery (http://www.sugarcreekwines.com/) in Defiance, Missouri. This was for a 30th birthday party for my friend and former Enterprise Rent-A-Car (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) colleague Sarah Dixon. She's now working for Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits (http://www.southernglazers.com/), a drinks wholesaler. I was very happy to see Sarah and to meet some of her party guests (Southern Glazer's colleagues, friends, relatives). It was a nice time and I sampled several wines from Sugar Creek. There was also snacks--cheese, crackers, salami, chips--to munch on. Sarah and I got caught up on things. It was a very nice time.

After coming home late that afternoon, I drove to Smugala's Pizza Pub (http://smugalas.com/smugalassunsethills) in Sunset Hills for a beer before catching the Pub2Park shuttle bus for Worldwide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton and that night's Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) match against OKC Energy FC. The match ended 0-0, although Saint Louis FC had some good chances to score. It was fun, cheering along with the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) and consuming another beer there.

Late the next morning (31 July), I drove to Craft Beer Cellar Clayton (http://clayton.craftbeercellar.com/) for a beer tasting party, part of St. Louis Craft Beer Week. I went to this event as part of the Single in the City Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/STLSingleInTheCity/), and there were about eight of us there. Many craft breweries from Metro St. Louis and elsewhere set up tables inside and in front of the shop and offered samples of their beers. About eight breweries would be present for a two-hour shift, then they would be replaced by others, so attendees could try out many beers. I sampled 20 beers during my time there--by far the most different beers I tasted in one place at one time. (Our group organizer, Britt, suggested downloading the Untapped app to my phone, which I did and used to track and rate the beers I tasted.) In between tasting sessions, I chatted with other group members gathered just outside Craft Beer Cellar, and also grabbed lunch at the neighboring Posh Nosh Delicatessen (http://poshnoshdeli.com/). (It was a Reuben and it was very good!)

Back to work Monday and business kept me plenty busy at the rental branch. Our assistant manager Cayla returned to work Monday after over a month due to a recent car accident. She was doing fine, though with one wrist still in a cast. Our new branch manager, Justin, reported in on Wednesday (3 August) and we all got used to him and his management style. It should work out very well, though. Yesterday marked our intern Collin's last day, as he is headed back to Saint Louis University for his senior year.

After work Wednesday, I dashed over to Worldwide Technology Soccer Park for Saint Louis FC's match against Swope Park Rangers. Heading from the parking lot, I was in a panic when I realized I had lost my ticket, which I had in my one pocket all day. I ended up getting a general reserve ticket, which was in the far corner from where I usually sit, but I did get to see the match. After giving up a first half goal due to a defensive lapse, Saint Louis FC leveled it from the penalty spot in the second half and the match ended up drawn at 1.

Off work Thursday, I interviewed with The Creative Group (https://www.roberthalf.com/st-louis/creative-marketing), a marketing and creative staffing agency in downtown St. Louis. A recruiter there found out more on my background and what I'm seeking and said she'd keep me posted on any job openings I would be suited for in that field. I wore coat and tie for that interview and for some time after that, to get me used to this professional attire. (I dress much more casually in my current work!) That afternoon, I delivered some IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) club and show flyers at CRM Hobbies (http://www.crmhobbies.com/), which had run out on these flyers.

After work yesterday, I drove home for dinner with mom and watching the Opening Ceremony for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (https://www.olympic.org/). It was quite a spectacle. Chatting the other day on WhatsApp with my friend Eliana Roversi in Cuiaba, Brazil, she wished we were in Rio taking in the games. I told Eliana I would love that.

Speaking of friends, I recently touched base with my friend from Saint Louis University, Alison Madden, who I knew from The University News (student newspaper) and from her being in Kappa Phi Beta sorority that held switches with my Delta Sigma Phi brothers. Alison's now living in the San Francisco Bay area of California, where she performs legal work. I am very happy for her and--judging from her photos on Facebook--she still looks great.

I help run the STL Aspies Meetup later today. More on that in my next post.

Later.