Helping Bring Brazil to St. Louis

Last Friday morning (26 August)--as usual on payday Fridays--I bought some doughnuts for my colleagues at the car rental branch. They appreciate my gesture, helping brighten their mornings. Work went well and we were kept busy late in the day.

Late Saturday morning, I headed to Tower Grove Park (http://www.towergrovepark.org/) for the International Institute's Festival of Nations (http://www.festivalofnationsstl.org/), an annual multicultural festival. I browsed among the various craft, information, and food booths, before getting lunch from the Brazilian food booth from Brasilia Restaurant. I chose Vatapa de Frango, a grilled chicken breast in a cashew nut gravy, served with rice and collard greens. Additionally, I had a vanilla flan desert and drank mango juice. Very tasty. I also chatted with my friend Dayna O'Brien, who was volunteering at the St. Louis Sister Cities booth.

After lunch, I made my way to the Viva Brasil Association in St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home) information booth at the Festival. I spent about two hours in the booth, talking with visitors about our group and Brazil in general. It was great helping out the group, and others in the group--including Mauricio Gobbo, his wife Susan, and Sandra Schulte--were very happy that I helped them out. Priscila Borba, my instructor in the Portuguese course I'm taking, also stopped by the booth.

After my volunteer shift, I headed back home to get ready for Saint Louis FC's (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) match against San Antonio FC. After taking the Pub2Park shuttle bus from Smugala's Pizza Pub in Sunset Hills (http://smugalas.com/smugalassunsethills), I walked over to the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate for a while before walking into Marshall Wireless Stadium. Unfortunately, two first-half goals for the visitors were the difference as San Antonio FC won 2-nil, dimming Saint Louis FC's post-season hopes.

I spent Sunday morning (28 August) editing some articles for the Fall 2016 issue of Naturally Autistic magazine (http://www.naturallyautistic.com/). I also edited a few items late last week. Then, I headed back to the Festival of Nations, where I hung out with the Viva Brasil booth and chatted with others from the group who were staffing the booth, and with visitors. We had many visitors at the booth that weekend, which was great. I then reported for a volunteer shift helping staff one of the Festival's drinks booths. I was originally to help out at the beer tasting booth on the west end of the Festival grounds, but it had just ran out of beer and was closing up early. I was then reassigned to a drinks booth in the eastern end of the grounds. I helped with beverage sales for the last hour before the festival closed, then helped to tear down the booth. It was great to help out this Festival for the third year.

Back to work Monday, it was a rather busy first part of the week at the branch. I edited a couple more pieces for Naturally Autistic magazine after work on Monday. I flexed out Tuesday afternoon (30 August), as I am working this Saturday morning. Early Tuesday night, I drove to Three Kings Public House in Des Peres (http://threekingspub.com/) for a Happy Hour with my branch colleagues. Hannah, our former branch colleague now at the Brentwood branch, also came and we enjoyed appetizers and beers while talking about this and that. I was able to take some leftover appetizers home with me.

After work Wednesday, I was off to St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/) for the second night of Portuguese Language: Beginning I. Instructor Priscila Borba led us in more instruction on the language, including how to use the proper prepositions and correct pronunciations. The class is coming along very nicely.

My off day today started with getting blood withdrawn at a lab for routine tests my doctor ordered for me, followed by breakfast at St. Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html). Late today, I got a call from Weiss Toyota telling me they had the replacement part for the recalled airbag on my Corolla, and we scheduled a service appointment on Thursday of next week. It will be free of charge, due to this being a recall.

Back to work tomorrow and Saturday morning, then I can enjoy the Labor Day Weekend.

Later.

Road Trip to KC

After working at the rental branch Saturday morning (20 August), I drove to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/) at West County Center (http://www.shopwestcountycenter.com/) in Town and Country. There, I had lunch in the cafe (redeeming a coupon for a free iced tea) and bought two magazines.

I then drove to Amsterdam Tavern (http://amsterdamtavern.com/) in south St. Louis, where I joined others in watching the Olympic men's soccer (football) gold medal match between Brazil and Germany. I and others were happy when Brazil won the match on penalty kicks (5-4 in the shootout, after 1-1 draw after extra time). Very happy for Brazil, after a very entertaining match at the Maracana.

After the match, I drove to Stone Spiral Coffee and Curios (http://www.stonespiralcoffee.com/) in Maplewood for the StL Tea Club Meetup (https://www.meetup.com/StL-Tea-Club-Meetup/events/233317713/). I joined four others there to sample some fine teas from East Asia and to have some fine conversation.

Late Sunday morning, I drove to Hotshots Sports Bar & Grill in Fenton (http://www.hotshotsnet.com/locations/stlouisarea/fenton.aspx) for lunch before boarding the chartered bus with others from the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/). After stopping in St. Peters to pick up a few others, we headed for Kansas City, Kansas to cheer on Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) in its match against Swope Park Rangers. After our bus arrived at Children's Mercy Park, the St. Louligans marched into the stadium, where we had a section to ourselves. The match in the stadium--which holds 20,000--was sparsely attended. Saint Louis FC took a 1-nil lead in the 80th minute, but Swope Park leveled it two minutes from time. It was a fine match, but we would prefer a win at this point. We then got on the bus for home, arriving back at Hotshots abound 1:20 am. It was my first such road trip, and I hope it was not my last.

I took Monday (22 August) off from work, to get some nice down time. Back to work Tuesday, things went well. We also said goodbye to Hannah, who is now assistant manager of our Brentwood branch. I promised her I would bring her and her colleagues doughnuts soon after Hannah settles in at her new post. After work, I came home to host the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) business meeting. Besides discussing club business (including our contest next month), we talked of the shocking news that CRM Hobbies in south St. Louis closed for good last Saturday. Owner Chris Merseal sold his inventory and will just order items for us and sell through his ebay site.

After work yesterday, I drove to St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/) for my first session of Portuguese Language: Beginning I. It is an eight-week course, for two hours on Wednesday nights. There are about 12 of us in the course, with Priscila--a native of Brazil--as our instructor. She comes courtesy of Viva Brasil St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home). We spent the first session getting acquainted, starting to learn the pronunciation of the Portuguese, and starting to learn a few words. It should be great, and I'm looking forward to it.

Speaking of Viva Brasil St. Louis, I have volunteered to staff their information booth this Saturday from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at the International Institute's Festival of Nations (http://www.festivalofnationsstl.org/) an annual multicultural festival in St. Louis' Tower Grove Park. I hope to see you there!

Later.

A Downer Match; A Pleasant Stroll

Some hours after working at the car rental branch last Saturday (13 August), I drove to Smugala's Pizza Pub in Sunset Hills (http://smugalas.com/smugalassunsethills) for a beer at the bar before catching the Pub2Park bus. The bus took me and other fans to World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton for the Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) match against Sacramento Republic FC. I hung out at the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate in the parking lot, then marched with them into the stadium. There wasn't much to cheer about, though, as Sacramento scored four goals in the first 16 minutes of the match en route to a 4-3 win. Disappointing for sure.

I spent some time Sunday getting word out to the local online events calendars about the IPMS/Gateway show (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/invite2016.html) coming up on 10 September. These include listings on stltoday.com (http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/calendar/#/details/IPMS-Gateway-Model-Contest-and-Swap-Meet/2687902/2016-09-10T09) and timesnewspapers.com (http://www.timesnewspapers.com/calendar-82812.114137-Gateway-Chapter-IPMS-Model-Contest-and-Swap-Meet.html). Additionally, I posted a press release on the show on stltoday.com (http://interact.stltoday.com/pr/non-profits/PR081416112526958). Hopefully, these and other promotion efforts will pay off in good attendance at the show.

I flexed out of work Tuesday afternoon (16 August) and rested up at home before going to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for the IPMS/Gateway meeting (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/). We had a good turnout of models for the Beauty Contest, and a contest judging demo was held. There were four first-time visitors to the meeting, and I greeted each one with a complementary file stick.

Work has been going well this week. My colleague Hannah interviewed on Tuesday for the assistant manager position at the Brentwood branch. She found out on Thursday and will start there sometime next week. I am very happy for her. Hannah's a real go getter for the firm and a very nice person.

Off work Thursday (18 August), I saw a counselor and shopped at a newsstand, then came home to rest a bit and eat. That night, I was at the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) meeting at Creve Coeur Airport (http://www.crevecoeurairport.com/). That night's program looked back at the F-15 Eagle ASAT (Anti-Satellite Missile) program in the 1980s. I also plugged the IPMS/Gateway show next month.

After a pretty busy day at work today, I busy weekend awaits. More on that in my next post.

Later.

Meetup, Picnic, and Work

Last Saturday afternoon (6 August), I was at the St. Louis County Library Headquarters in Ladue (http://www.slcl.org/content/headquarters) for the STL Aspies Meetup (https://www.meetup.com/STL-Aspies/). I ran the meeting, in which the six attendees talked about themselves, how they are coping with having Asperger's Syndrome, and how they are moving forward. After this meetup, most of us headed to Saint Louis Bread Company (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html) at Plaza Frontenac for a snack and talk.

The next day found me at Greentree Park (http://www.kirkwoodmo.org/content/City-Departments/1830/greentree-park.aspx) in Kirkwood for a picnic thrown by Viva Brasil St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home) for those who volunteered at their Festa Junina in June. It was a pot luck supper, including some Brazilian cuisine, along with beer, soda, and water. I got to meet others in the organization, and I was presented with a thank you letter for my help at the Festa Junina. They were very pleased to hear I have a friend in Cuiaba, Brazil who has stirred my interest in Brazil, and that I will take a introductory Portuguese language course starting later this month at St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/mc/). Viva Brasil St. Louis provides the instructors for this and other Portuguese language classes offered by the college. This is a wonderful group and I look forward to working more with them at future events.

Back to work Monday (8 August) at the rental branch, and plenty to keep us busy. I flexed out Tuesday afternoon, as I will be working this Saturday morning. The weather is heating up some this week, with temperatures approaching 95 degrees F (35 degrees C) and heat indices topping 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Good thing the fans are up and running in the wash bay; they make it much more tolerable in there on hot days.

I've been following the Olympics from Rio (https://www.rio2016.com/en) and find myself not only cheering on the USA athletes and teams, but also those from Brazil. It might be quite tough on me when USA and Brazil teams meet up in these games. In that case, may the better teams win.

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.

Transitions at Work; Dinner with a Group

After a relaxing weekend at home, it was back to work for me this past Monday (25 July). It was warm and humid, though not as bad as it was the previous two weeks. Tuesday marked the last day for Liz as our branch manager, as she is taking over the branch at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Area employees gathered at Double D Karaoke (http://doubledstl.com) in Brentwood after work on Tuesday to celebrate. I could only stay briefly, as I had to drive down to Bill Wagner's house in Oakville for the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) business meeting. Liz appreciated my stopping by, though. The IPMS/Gateway board planned our August general and business meetings, and discussed other club business.

Wednesday (27 July), I started to contact some recruiters about help in finding career opportunities in marketing communications and publishing. Hope to get some action going soon in that area. Any assistance that you can give me in this regard is much appreciated.

Off work Thursday, I got my hair cut at Great Clips (http://www.greatclips.com/) in Tenholder Plaza in Mehlville. The stylist did such a good job getting about two months' growth of hair cut from my head. I bought some hair color on the way home and applied it myself, covering my gray hairs.

After a personal appointment, I shopped a bit at CRM Hobbies (http://www.crmhobbies.com/) in south St. Louis, buying two bottles of paint for models I'm working on now.

That night, I was at Yemanja Brasil Restorante (http://www.brazildining.com/) in south St. Louis' Benton Park neighborhood for dinner with the Ethnic Restaurant Fans Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/Ethnic-Restaurant-Fans/). Approximately 12 of us attended, and it was my third visit to this restaurant. Yemanja is one of my favorite restaurants in St. Louis and the experience did not disappoint. After an appetizer of Empanadas de Bife and a cup of soup, I did into the main course: Xin Xim de Galinha, a spicy chicken dish. Dessert was Pudim de Coco, mainly bread pudding, all washed down with a Caipirinha cocktail and water. A great time was had by all at this dinner, and I highly recommend both Yemanja and Ethnic Restaurant Fans.

Today at work, an electrician came by in the morning to install two oscillating fans in the wash bay. When the fans were up and running, they blew plenty of cool air inside the bay, which made conditions much more tolerable. It was challenging at times to get vehicles parked on our crowded lot, but things got taken care of in good order. By the way, a new manager reports to our branch next week.

Relaxing at home now, but an interesting weekend awaits. More on that in my next post.

Later.

The Heat is (Still) On

This past week saw a heat wave hit the St. Louis area. Daytime highs reached at least 95 degrees F (35 degrees C), with heat indices getting up towards 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). It's not fun to be outside or in the wash bay at work, so I stayed inside the air conditioned lobby as much as possible, drinking as much water or thirst quencher as I can. Fortunately, I am fine, though tired at the end of the work day.

I flexed out Tuesday afternoon (19 July), and came home to chill out (literally). That night, I helped run the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) meeting at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/). We had a good turnout for our beauty contest, plus a nice demo on attaching windshields and other clear parts to models. All of us attending stayed cool inside Calvary's Fellowship Hall.

After taking care of some personal affairs on my off day Thursday (21 July), I drove to Creve Coeur Airport (http://www.crevecoeurairport.com/) for this month's meeting of the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/). This meeting featured a tribute to former McDonnell Aircraft lead test pilot Bob Little, including the debut of two new documentaries on him. One was about Little's life and career, which included service in the US Army Air Forces during World War II, and the McDonnell aircraft he piloted on its first flights (F2H Banshee, F3H Demon, F-101 Voodoo, and F4H [later F-4] Phantom II). The documentary climaxed with Little's meeting last May with Col. Ronald "Elvis" King, the last USAF F-4 pilot at the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show and STEM Expo. A second video screened for us was an extended version of the interview with Little and King. The Bob Little documentary began airing today on HEC-TV (http://www.hectv.org/watch/hec-tv-live/legendary-wwii-and-test-pilot-bob-little/24325/).

Jacqui Poor, the Society's vice president, produced the Little program for HEC-TV, and she was helping screen the program for our meeting. Because of that, I was asked to man the membership table in her place, and I made sure attendees signed in and also accepted some membership forms (both new and renewal memberships), plus directing members to their name tags on the nearby table. We had a very good turnout at the meeting, despite the heat outside. (Due to that heat, the Society asked Little--who's in his early 90s--to stay home; we'll have him at a later meeting.)

Yesterday, my high school and church friend Susan Shrum appeared on KHOU TV's program "Good Day Houston." She has lived in Houston for some years now and helps run a casual dining restaurant there, Happy Fatz (http://happyfatz.com/). Today is National Hot Dog Day and Susan and her colleague Rebecca Hernandez Sanders showed off their hot dogs and desserts to the host. The segment video is here: http://www.khou.com/entertainment/television/programs/great-day-houston/celebrate-national-hot-dog-today-07222016/279768573

I worked at the rental branch this morning. It was a busy one, but we got our customers taken care of with our usual dispatch. Our manager Liz will be leaving after this Tuesday, as she has been promoted to manager our Cape Girardeau branch. Best wishes to you, Liz, and thank you for your service at Ellisville.

Chilling out at home, then brazing the heat to attend tonight's Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) match against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. More on that in my next post.

Later.