Snow and Cold in Town

Last Tuesday night (1 February), it started to sleet here in Metro St. Louis. It was followed the next day by slight snow fall at first. By early Thursday morning (3 February), it got heavier. Snowfall here got to around 6 inches (0.15 m), while temperatures went down to 10 degrees F (-12 degrees C). 

I was able to shovel snow off half of the driveway, but my manager advised me not to drive to work on Thursday with the rough road conditions. Thus, I stayed home that day. This gave me time to work on finishing a ship model for this month's IPMS/Gateway meeting.

Friday morning, I made it to work, where I helped my colleagues to dig our vehicles out of the snow. Business was understandably light, but things went well.

Yesterday, I finished clearing snow off our driveway and the walkway in front of our house. After those chores, I stayed inside, watching the NHL All Star Game on TV and working some more on my ship model.

This morning, the roads were good as I drove to Olympia Athletics & Events Centre in St. Charles to referee SLYSA futsal games. Today was the last day of the 2021-22 season. I worked four girls matches as scheduled, but then stayed to do a boys game that I didn't know was added to my schedule until that morning. Fortunately, all the matches went well.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Enterprise Rent-a-Car: Rental Cars at Low, Affordable Rates | Enterprise Rent-A-Car

IPMS/Gateway: IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)

National Hockey League:Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com

Olympia Athletics & Events Centre: Olympia Athletics Events

St. Louis Youth Soccer Association: Home - St Louis Youth Soccer (slysa.org)

 

New Year 2022

The New Year of 2022 began at last weekend, with the stroke of Midnight on Friday 31 December/Saturday 1 January. It was all low key for my mom and I. Work ended early for me, and after making a shopping trip, came home for dinner. I was actually in bed when Midnight came, so I just slept through the beginning of 2022.

I was home all day yesterday, watching various programs on TV. They included the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California (which I had attended in person in 1992), and some documentaries on various channels. I also set up my account on IPMS/USA's new online membership and event system, which went online that morning. It should make it much easier for everyone to sign up for society membership and national convention registration.

That night, mom and I watched the Discover NHL Winter Classic, in which the St. Louis Blues played the Minnesota Wild in Minneapolis. It was a cold night for an outdoor hockey game, the temperatures ranging from -5 Fahrenheit (-21 Celsius) at face off to -10 Fahrenheit (-23 Celsius) at the end. and wind chills reaching -20 Fahrenheit (-29 Celsius). Mom and I were happy, as the Blues won the game 6-4.

Home again today, with freezing conditions outside. Started work on this month's The Arch Scaler News for IPMS/Gateway. I am trying some new ideas for the newsletter, especially moving the club officer's directory from the back to the second page and adding pictures of these officers. The club meets next on 18 January, with the annual Swap & Sell and Kit Auction.

Back to work in the morning. Should have plenty to keep me occupied.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

Tournament of Roses: Tournament of Roses

IPMS/USA: IPMS/USA Home Page | By Modelers... For Modelers (ipmsusa.org)

Discover: Rewards Credit Card - Cash Back Credit Card | Discover

NHL: Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com

St. Louis Blues: Official St. Louis Blues Website | NHL.com

Minnesota Wild: Official Minnesota Wild Website | NHL.com

IPMS/Gateway: IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)

St. Louis vs Tampa Bay Sports Doubleheader

Yesterday (23 March) began for me at Toyota Stadium of World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/SOCCERPARK) in Fenton. I went to the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate in the parking lot, where I enjoyed a bratwurst with sauerkraut washed down with beer.

We marched into the stadium for the USL Championship (https://www.uslsoccer.com/usl-championship) match between Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) and Tampa Bay Rowdies. Saint Louis scored in the 26th minute to take the lead; however, Tampa Bay equalized from the penalty spot in 50 minutes later. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, and the two teams stood atop the Eastern Conference table. (Tampa Bay is ahead on goal difference.) It was disappointing to settle for a draw when we had a win in our grasp; however, having 7 of a possible 9 points after the first three matches of the season is good going.

After the match, I came home to rest, then headed for the Enterprise Center (http://www.enterprisecenter.com/) in downtown St. Louis for a NHL (https://www.nhl.com/) game between the St. Louis Blues (https://www.nhl.com/blues) and the Tampa Bay Lightning. My brothers bought me a ticket for Christmas, and I finally got around to redeeming it this month. After shopping in a souvenir store and getting a soda from a food stand, I made my way to my seat in a corner of the lower deck.

It was quite a game, with the Blues taking a 3-0 lead in the first period, scoring these goals in a 1 minute 15 second span against a team that had the NHL's best record. Tampa Bay came back with two goals early in the second period, then the Blues got one back in mid-period to lead 4-2 after two periods. The Lightning scored late in the third period to make it 4-3, but an apparent tying goal late in the game was waived off after the Blues challenged the call, citing a Tampa Bay player being offside before the goal was scored. Thus, the Blues held on to win the game, 4-3. They are now close to clinching a playoff spot with seven games to go over the next two weeks.

I was one very happy man among many when I walked out of the Enterprise Center after the game. I think my brothers did me very good with their Christmas gift for me.

Later.