Serving and Eating a Brazilian Dinner

Last Saturday evening (8 October) found me at the Cardinal Rigali Center (http://archstl.org/cardinal-rigali-center) in St. Louis. This venue hosted the annual Taste of Brazil Dinner presented by the Viva Brasil Association in St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home). I was among the volunteers at this event, helping serve a full course dinner to a sell-out crowd. (Many of the attendees came to the dining hall from a Portuguese language Mass celebrated at the Center's St. Vincent de Paul Chapel.) After helping serve for the first hour, I was relieved to enjoy eating the dinner, which included a green mango salad, chicken stroganoff with rice and shoestring potatoes, and pork chops with creamy pumpkin. It was all very tasty, and everyone I chatted with had a good time. Brazilian music was played over the public address system, and a large screen showed a presentation on Viva Brasil STL and some Brazilian travel videos. I was very happy to have helped out at this event, and seeing some of my friends there.

Early the next morning, I was at the Lou Fusz Soccer Complex in Maryland Heights, officating in the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Fall Festival youth tournament. These were my first games since last spring and I was concerned about how well I would do. Fortunately, all three games (under 13 and 14 boys) went well, including refereeing the first match of the set.

After my games, I got lunch at Which Wich (https://www.whichwich.com/#!/), a sandwich shop, in Des Peres. I had a reuben with chips, soda, and a cookie. A very nice lunch.

Back to work Monday morning (10 October), I did my part keeping things rolling at our branch. We also started using wash cloths for wiping down interior surfaces and glass, in place of the paper towels we've been using for many months. The reusable cloths are working out very well so far, proving to be more effective than paper towels in efficiently cleaning the interiors.

Late Tuesday afternoon, I was dispatched to our Kirkwood branch to help them out, as they were otherwise down to two people. After I reported in there, my colleague Leah--who had previously worked with me at Ellisville--chatted briefly with me before leaving for an appointment. I got some vehicles cleaned and dropped off some customers. Things worked out very well and the assistant manager, Abby, thanked me for helping out.

After work Wednesday night, I was at St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/) for the final session of Portuguese Language: Beginning I. Sandra, who taught this class on Saturdays, filled in for Priscila, who was moving out of town with her husband. We did some more exercises on basic verbs and their proper use. This morning, I signed up to take the Beginning II class, which starts next week, also at Meramec. I have gotten much from studying Portuguese, and look forward to continuing this class.

Relaxed at home today, doing laundry and watching TV. As I write this, I am watching the St. Louis Blues (https://www.nhl.com/blues/) play their home opener against the Minnesota Wild. This season is the Blues' 50th, so they had some special ceremony before the tame started.

Later.

Serving and Eating a Brazilian Dinner

Last Saturday evening (8 October) found me at the Cardinal Rigali Center (http://archstl.org/cardinal-rigali-center) in St. Louis. This venue hosted the annual Taste of Brazil Dinner presented by the Viva Brasil Association in St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home). I was among the volunteers at this event, helping serve a full course dinner to a sell-out crowd. (Many of the attendees came to the dining hall from a Portuguese language Mass celebrated at the Center's St. Vincent de Paul Chapel.) After helping serve for the first hour, I was relieved to enjoy eating the dinner, which included a green mango salad, chicken stroganoff with rice and shoestring potatoes, and pork chops with creamy pumpkin. It was all very tasty, and everyone I chatted with had a good time. Brazilian music was played over the public address system, and a large screen showed a presentation on Viva Brasil STL and some Brazilian travel videos. I was very happy to have helped out at this event, and seeing some of my friends there.

Early the next morning, I was at the Lou Fusz Soccer Complex in Maryland Heights, officating in the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Fall Festival youth tournament. These were my first games since last spring and I was concerned about how well I would do. Fortunately, all three games (under 13 and 14 boys) went well, including refereeing the first match of the set.

After my games, I got lunch at Which Wich (https://www.whichwich.com/#!/), a sandwich shop, in Des Peres. I had a reuben with chips, soda, and a cookie. A very nice lunch.

Back to work Monday morning (10 October), I did my part keeping things rolling at our branch. We also started using wash cloths for wiping down interior surfaces and glass, in place of the paper towels we've been using for many months. The reusable cloths are working out very well so far, proving to be more effective than paper towels in efficiently cleaning the interiors.

Late Tuesday afternoon, I was dispatched to our Kirkwood branch to help them out, as they were otherwise down to two people. After I reported in there, my colleague Leah--who had previously worked with me at Ellisville--chatted briefly with me before leaving for an appointment. I got some vehicles cleaned and dropped off some customers. Things worked out very well and the assistant manager, Abby, thanked me for helping out.

After work Wednesday night, I was at St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/) for the final session of Portuguese Language: Beginning I. Sandra, who taught this class on Saturdays, filled in for Priscila, who was moving out of town with her husband. We did some more exercises on basic verbs and their proper use. This morning, I signed up to take the Beginning II class, which starts next week, also at Meramec. I have gotten much from studying Portuguese, and look forward to continuing this class.

Relaxed at home today, doing laundry and watching TV. As I write this, I am watching the St. Louis Blues (https://www.nhl.com/blues/) play their home opener against the Minnesota Wild. This season is the Blues' 50th, so they had some special ceremony before the tame started.

Later.

Fall Not Going Away Quietly

It was warm this past week, as October got going. We had temperatures as high as 85 degrees F (29 degrees C). It looks like it will cool down this weekend. This will be most welcome.

After flexing out of work Tuesday afternoon (4 October), I came home to relax and get some stuff done. The next night, I was at St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/) for the next to last session of Portuguese Language: Beginning I. We had a nice session, which was the last one for our instructor from the Viva Brasil Association of St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home), Priscila, who was leaving St. Louis to go with her husband to another city with his job. Another instructor will lead our last session this Wednesday night. I wish Priscila and her family all the best, and thank her for her instructional work.

My off day Thursday (6 October) saw me go to the Enterprise branch in Ballwin with some doughnuts for my colleagues there. They greatly appreciated my gesture. I also got some pressing personal business taken care of that day, which I am proud of having done.

It was a busy Friday at the branch, after I brought some doughnuts for my mates there. We were a bit short handed, but we got our business done and even stayed for a while after closing time to make sure all our vehicles were clean for the next day.

This morning was a good one at work--so good, in fact, that I was free to leave work 15 minutes early. We were that caught up on car prepping by that time. That was quite a change from the many cars to be cleaned two hours before.

Off to dinner tonight in Shrewsbury. More on that in my next post.

Later.

Enjoying Churrasco and Working Hard

The end of last week at work was busy, but good. I spent much of that weekend resting up at home. It was mostly to catch up on some needed rest. I did get my hair cut Sunday morning (25 September) at Great Clips (http://www.greatclips.com/) in Mehlville. The stylist did the usual good job cutting six weeks' worth of hair.

Sunday night, I joined with others from the Ethnic Restaurant Fans Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/Ethnic-Restaurant-Fans) for dinner at Brasilia Bar & Restaurant (http://www.brasiliastl.com/) in south St. Louis. About 16 of us took in a delicious churrasco dinner buffet. Servers brought to our table skewers of various meats, which we could take a slice for one's plate. It was my first time trying churrasco, and I don't think it would be my last. A good time was had by our group.

Back to work on Monday morning, and plenty of work for sure. Things have been going well at our branch, I am happy to say. It did get crowded on our lot at times, with a lot of vehicles and little space to park them. We did our best, though, and kept our customers happy.

Tuesday night (27 September), I was at Bill Wagner's house in Oakville for the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) business meeting. We discussed club business and planned our October general and business meetings.

I was back at Portuguese class after work Wednesday night at St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/). Priscila, our instructor from Viva Brasil Association of St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home), guided us through a review of possessive pronouns, more verbs, and future tense. This was week six,with two more to go in this course.

I took it easy on my off day Thursday (29 September), mostly resting at home and dying my hair. Good thing: Friday was a busy one at work.

At home today. Enjoying the weekend.

Later.

"Mein Fuehrer! I can walk!"

A week ago tonight (15 September), I took in two events in one night. First, I made a brief appearance at the International Institute of St. Louis (https://www.iistl.org/) campus in south St. Louis. (This was the former St. Elizabeth Academy campus.) It was a party for volunteers who worked the Institute's Festival of Nations the previous month. I munched on a buffet and chatted briefly with some other volunteers from the Festival.

After a brief stay there, I headed to Creve Coeur Airport (http://www.crevecoeurairport.com/) for this month's Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) meeting. This meeting featured a speaker talking about the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) C-17 Globemaster III, which made its first flight 25 years ago. (The aircraft were assembled in Long Beach, California, with some components made in St. Louis; hence, the Missouri connection.) It was quite a fine program and I learned quite a bit about the C-17 that I never knew before.

After a busy Friday at the rental branch, I relaxed at home. (Miranda, who recently moved to our Airport location, came by to help up late on Friday, which was most appreciated.) Back the next morning (17 September), I worked at the branch that morning before coming home to catch up on some rest. That night started at Smugala's Pizza Pub in Sunset Hills (http://smugalas.com/smugalassunsethills), where I caught the Pub2Park bus to Worldwide Technology Soccer Park. After hanging with the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) in their tailgate, I marched with them into Marshall Wireless Stadium for Saint Louis FC's (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) final home match of the season, against Louisville City FC. Despite a sell-out crowd, Saint Louis FC could not hold its early 1-0 lead and lost 5-1. (A sending off of a Saint Louis FC player soon after the goal for a vicious foul didn't help.) Still, it's been a fine season with some good memories, and I will look forward to 2017.

Sunday night, I joined with four others from the STL Screeners Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/STLScreeners/) at the AMC Chesterfield 14 (https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/st-louis/amc-chesterfield-14). We came to a screening of one of my all-time favorite movies, "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/). This was a national revival screening from Turner Classic Movies (http://www.tcm.com/) and Fathom Events (http://fathomevents.com/). This was the first time I saw Stanley Kubrick's 1964 satire on a big screen; all the previous viewings were on television or home video. It was a blast, and the rest of our group really enjoyed it. I only wished more people were in the theater that night; we just had a few others in the theater.

Work has been good this week. A bit warm heading into the end of Summer and the start of Autumn today, with temperatures hitting 90 degrees F (32 degrees C). Next week is shaping up to be cooler, though.

Right after work Tuesday (20 September), it was off to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for the IPMS/Gateway meeting (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/). We had a recap of our Invitational earlier this month, and our quarterly model contest towards Modeler of the Year. I did not have any contest entries this month, which left me free to help judge the contest. We had 50 contest entries, including 20 in the Worn Out special category--a great turnout.

The next night, I was back at St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/) for the beginning Portuguese class, which went into more verbs, possessive pronouns, and present progressive verbs. This was the fifth session of eight, and our instructor Priscila gave us some homework to do for our next session this Wednesday.

This morning, my off day at work, I bought some doughnuts from Krispy Kreme (http://krispykreme.com/) and dropped off a dozen each at the Manchester and Kirkwood Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) branches for my colleagues there. They very much appreciated the gesture. I'll do the same for my mates in Ellisville tomorrow morning.

Later.

A Scale Model Show and Brasil Day

Last Saturday (10 Sept.), I was up early and bound for the Holiday Inn St. Louis Southwest--Route 66 (http://www.hiroute66.com/) in Sunset Hills for the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) Invitational scale model contest and vendor swap meet. We had about 150 attendees, 50 contestants, and nearly 200 contest entries. These figures were lower than last year, but we hosted a regional a year ago, so there would be higher figures for a regional than an invitational. I worked the main entrance, helping taken admission money and asking where they heard of our show. I also entered three of my models and helped judge two aircraft categories I was not entered in. Although the contest numbers were lower than last year, nevertheless the quality of contest entries was high. One of my entries--a 1:144 scale USA/USSR strategic missile set--took second place in Armor--Missiles and Railguns. (To be fair, there were only two entries in that category. Still, I am happy with this award, the second it picked up this year.) We'll be back on 9 Sept. 2017 for our next Invitational. Save the date!

After helping tear down the show, I headed to Strauss Park in midtown St. Louis' Grand Center for the annual Brasil Day St. Louis (http://www.brasildaystl.com/) street festival. It is held the Saturday closest to Brazilian Independence Day (7 Sept.). I got a nice dinner from the booth of Dona Flor STL, a Brazilian food catering company (http://www.donaflorstl.com/). I also tried my had with dancing to samba music. It was not easy, but I gave it my best shot. It was a fun time.

The next day, after church, I was at Deer Creek Park in Maplewood (http://www.cityofmaplewood.com/index.aspx?NID=79) for the IPMS/Gateway picnic. Many of us members and our significant others enjoyed a barbecue lunch--burgers and bratwurst--cooked by Chris Merseal, with attendees bringing side dishes. (I brought in some chips and dip.) We had a fine time eating and socializing, and the weather was very nice.

Work this week has been good. Plenty of customers, and things have been going well for our branch. This past Monday morning (12 Sept.) was very busy for us, even for a Monday. We got through it in good order.

Flexed out Tuesday afternoon (13 Sept.), and came home to prepare for a happy hour that night at the Signature Room in Overland. It was put on by Sex Positive St. Louis (http://sexstl.com/; https://www.meetup.com/Sex-Positive-St-Louis/). I stayed a bit after talking with two women there, but neither had any chemistry with me.

Back to Portuguese class last night after work, at St. Louis Community College--Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/). We are now halfway through the class, and things are going well.

Off to a pair of events tonight: a party for Festival of Nations volunteers, and the Missouri Aviation Historical Society's meeting. More on those in my next post.

Later.

Labor Day Weekend with Japanese and Greeks

The end of last week went well for me at work on Friday (2 September) and Saturday morning. After work on Saturday, I came home to rest. I just chilled out at home that day and night.

The next day (4 September) found me at the Missouri Botanical Garden (http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/) for their 40th annual Japanese Festival. It was quite a few years since I last attended this event, but I am glad I went--even if alone. After a sushi lunch from Drunken Fish (http://www.drunkenfish.com/home), I began walking the Garden's grounds. I browsed among the various vendors--clothing, food, bonsai plants, and other Japanese items--and took in the Japanese Garden, Seiwa-en (garden of pure, clear harmony and peace). I also took in a performance of Japanese drum-based music performed by St. Louis Osuwa Taiko. I did buy from a vendor a Japanese headband of the kind used by kamikaze (divine wind) suicide pilots in World War II. I thought it looked nice on my head.

Work was closed on Monday (5 September) for the Labor Day holiday, and I spent part of it at the 99th annual Greek Festival held at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (http://www.sngoc.org/) in St. Louis' Central West End. I grabbed lunch--an authentic gyro sandwich and a spanakopita (filo dough filled with spinach and cheese)--before watching some Greek folk dancing performed on the stage by the young people of the church. I also browsed among the souvenir stands before leaving the festival. Another nice time, albeit alone.

Back to work on Tuesday, which felt like Monday. It was one very busy morning at our branch, with all the returns from the holiday weekend. However, we got through all that fine.

After work that day, I drove to Mark Twain Hobby Center (https://www.hobby1.com/) in St. Charles. The scale modeling group formerly known as IPMS/St. Louis was meeting, and I found out that it was renamed the Mark Twain Hobby Club. There was a nice crowd there--about 15 people--and I presented an update about tomorrow's IPMS/Gateway contest (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/invite2016.html) in Sunset Hills. We had a show and tell of current projects and recently completed models (I brought in three models in progress), plus a demo on using Bare Metal Foil as trim on models. I have to hand it to Chris Morosko and Brett Avants for restarting this club, and I plan to stay with it.

It was appropriate that, after work Wednesday (7 September), I was at my Portuguese class at St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/) on Brazilian Independence Day. Priscila, our instructor from Viva Brasil Association of St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home), acknowledged that holiday before going into that night's lesson.

Yesterday was a busy off day from work for me. I started by getting a dozen doughnuts from Krispy Kreme (https://www.krispykreme.com/), which I then took to the Enterprise branch in Brentwood. I was honoring a promise made to Hannah, when she left Ellisville to become Brentwood's assistant manager, that I would bring some doughnuts to her branch. Alex, the manager (who I also worked with when he was at Ellisville), and Hannah greatly appreciated my gesture and were very happy to see me.

After a short stay, I then headed to Weiss Toyota (http://www.weisstoyota.com/) in south St. Louis County, where I had the front passenger airbag inflator replaced per a major recall of such items. This was free of charge to me. The service advisor then said I should get the front brake pads replaced, the brake fluid exchanged, and the windshield wiper blades replaced. I told him to do it, and it was done. It cost me about $370 for the job, but it would have been $42 more if not for a coupon they happened to have that week on brake pad replacement.

This morning, I stopped by Krispy Kreme to buy a dozen doughnuts for my colleagues in Ellisville before going into work. It was a soggy morning--much rain since the night before--and work was fairly show until late this afternoon, when it got very busy. We got it all done, though. As usual, the doughnuts were much appreciated by the Ellisville staff, which included Kory, back to us after several months at the Airport location. (Miranda just started work at the Airport a few days ago, transferring from Ellisville.)

Now to relax before a big day tomorrow--the IPMS/Gateway contest, then Brasil Day in midtown St. Louis (http://www.brasildaystl.com/). More on those events, plus Sunday's IPMS/Gateway picnic, in my next post.

Later.