Round 2 for CITY SC: 2024 Season Opener

Late yesterday afternoon (24 February), I picked up Julie at her place and drove us to a reserved parking lot in downtown St. Louis. We then walked about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) to the Schlafly Tap Room for the St. Louligans pre-match party. St. Louis CITY SC was opening its second Major League Soccer season by hosting Real Salt Lake.

(CITY SC actually played its first match the previous Tuesday night, hosting Houston Dynamo in the first leg of the First Round CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament. CITY won 2-1 and the second leg will be in Houston this Tuesday night.)

Julie and I made our way down Louligan Street (21st Street north of Olive) and bought dinner from the Cluck Oink Moo Sliders food truck. I had two pork slides with french fries and they were very tasty. I then bought a Pale Ale from a Schlafly beer tent and Schlaffle tickets from the St. Louligans tent. Julie bought Schlaffle tickets and a t-shirt from the St. Louligans. We were having fun.

Just over an hour before kickoff, Julie and I joined with other supporters to sing and dance for a few minutes on Louligan Street before beginning the march into CITYPARK. It was rather cold and a big windy last night, but we were not going to let that stop us from showing our devotion to CITY SC. 

After entering CITYPARK, we went to look for a standing place in the Supporter Section in the stadium's North End. However, we found it a fruitless search; it seemed every standing place in the section was occupied. We ended up in the area behind some seats in the northwest breezeway facing the pitch. Not the greatest experience, but it worked out for Julie and I.

After a scoreless first half, Real Salt Lake tallied in the 74th minute. Undaunted, CITY SC fought back and leveled it on Sam Adeniran's goal in the 79th minute. That's how the match ended, a 1-1 draw. I'm sure we would have preferred a CITY win on the season opener, but it still was good in that we got a point in MLS play.

After the match, Julie and I walked back to my car. Our legs were tired from all the standing, but we got to my car in the lot safe and sound. I then drove Julie home after yet another great date. 

CITY SC returns home this Saturday to host New York City FC. It should be fun.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Schlafly Tap Room: Tap Room Brewpub - Schlafly Beer

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

Major League Soccer: MLSsoccer.com - The Official Site of Major League Soccer

Cluck Oink Moo Sliders: (4) Facebook

CITYPARK: CITYPARK | St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

IPMS Gateway February 2024 Meeting

Right after work this past Tuesday (20 February), I headed to Affton Elks Lodge #2635 for this month's Gateway Chapter IPMS meeting. I helped set up some items for the meeting, including flyers for upcoming shows, and prepared to assume my Treasurer's duties taking down the meeting minutes.

I also entered two models in this month's Modeler of the Year (MOY) Contest, the first of four this year. Per custom, the February Contest is all Out of the Box (OOB); that is, no modifications to the kits. Kit instructions were required to be included with each entry. The night before, I just finished two Airfix 1:72 scale armor kits that were packaged together: the Bren Gun Carrier and the 6pdr Anti-Tank Gun. Both kits should have been easy to do, but each had fit issues that made them harder than I bargained for. Nevertheless, I had two kits to enter and to earn MOY points.

I had some pretty tough competition in Armor this night and I did not place. Still, it was good to pick up two points per entry: one each for entering and one for the month's Special Category (OOB). There were 21 total contest entries this night from nine members. That sounds like a good start for the year.

This meeting also had the usual announcements of upcoming events and Show & Tell, where members bring in their latest projects (complete and in progress) and other items of interest.

Our featured program was a demo by Jim Triola on detailing and finishing aircraft bombs. He demonstrated his techniques, which include: assembling bomb halves using tube glue; painting bomb tail fins a darker shade than the bomb bodies; adding jewelry wire to the bombs for arming wires; and weathering bombs using oil paint in a dot filter process. It was quite an informative demo from Jim.

The next IPMS/Gateway meeting is Tuesday, 19 March at 7:00 PM at the Affton Elks Lodge.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Affton Elks Lodge #2635: Lodge #2635 Welcome (elks.org)

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

Airfix: Plastic Model Kits | Hornby Hobbies USA

The Week with Julie: Valentine's Day at the Zoo; CITY Season Kickoff at the Armory

Valentine's Day this year fell on a Wednesday (14 February)--my off day from work. Julie took that day off from her work and together we went to the Saint Louis Zoo. Before we left her apartment, I gave her a fresh long stem rose and a large, heart-shaped collection of artificial red roses in a lollipop configuration. Julie loved both items.

Arriving at the Zoo, we walked among several areas that we didn't get a chance to see the last time we were there this past November. We walked through the Herpetarium and the Primate Trails, then visited Big Cat Country. It was a pleasant day for a visit and some Zoo animals were outdoors for us to enjoy.

Next, Julie and I went to the Bird House and Bird Garden to see some some feathered creatures on display. 

We then walked over to see some gazelles before entering the Cypress Swamp in the 1904 Bird Cage.

After that, Julie and I entered a theater to see The Polar Express 4D Experience. It was an edited version of the movie The Polar Express, a movie based on a children's book set at Christmastime. We used the borrowed 4D glasses to fully enjoy the experience. It was very entertaining.

Julie and I then went through The Wild and Lakeside Crossing before leaving to return to her apartment. It was a fun way for us to spend Valentine's Day together.

Yesterday (17 February), we went to the Armory for St. Louis CITY SC's Season Kickoff event for season ticket holders. When Julie and I arrived, Fleur de Noise and STL Santos were leading the various chants during the matches. There were many fans in attendance at this event. Some played the games at the Armory--Julie and I tried cornhole--and others enjoyed refreshments from the bars and restaurant. CITY sold souvenirs, including the new Confluence Kit--a white away shirt with CITY Red trim. Some kids did a bit of training under the CITY Futures program. The various supporter groups had information and merchandise tables set up: St. Louligans, St. Louis City Punks, STL Santos, Fleur de Noise, No Goal Patrol, and No Nap City Ultras.

Early that afternoon, after a DJ played some music and two team officials spoke about the upcoming season, the players and head coach Bradley Carnell came on stage. Carnell thanked the supporters who came this day and said the team was ready to go into the new season starting this coming week. Several of the players, lead by goalkeeper and captain Roman Burki, also addressed the crowd.

After the speeches were made, Julie and I hung out at the Armory for a while before we returned to my car to leave. We had to wait about an hour to leave the parking lot, due to traffic congestion on the side street leading to the facility. Otherwise, it was a great time we had at this event. Julie and I are looking forward to CITY's new season, which starts with a CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Houton Dynamo Tuesday night and the Major League Soccer season opener Saturday night against Real Salt Lake. Both matches will be at CITYPARK. 

Two great dates this past week with my sweetheart Julie. 

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Saint Louis Zoo: Saint Louis Zoo | Saint Louis Zoo (stlzoo.org)

The Armory: Armory STL – The Biggest Bar In St. Louis

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

Fleur de Noise: Home - With Merch (fleurdenoise.com)

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)

STL Santos: Home | Home | STL Santos

St. Louis City Punks: Saint Louis City Punks

No Nap City Ultras: HOME (nonapcityultras.com)

No Goal Patrol: No Goal Patrol | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook | Linktree

CONCACAF Champions Cup: Concacaf Champions Cup

Major League Soccer: MLSsoccer.com - The Official Site of Major League Soccer

Eating Out to Benefit the Needy and Soccer Supporters

Yesterday morning (9 February), I stopped on my way to work at the Hardee's restaurant in Twin Oaks for a bit of breakfast. St. Louis area Hardee's locations were doing the annual "Rise & Shine" fundraiser for Heat Up St. Louis, a charity which helps needy households pay utility bills. I bought a sausage biscuit for $1, with Hardee's contributing all the sales to the charity. This was augmented by volunteers in the lobby collecting money in cans. 

In the late 1990s, I worked for the PR firm which had the Hardee's account in Metro St. Louis and helped out on the "Rise & Shine" campaign. Ever since, I have tried to support "Rise & Shine" with at least a sausage biscuit purchase.

I enjoyed the sausage biscuit during the drive to the Enterprise branch in Ballwin. It was a rather busy day for us, but we got through it just fine.

After work, I drove to Steve's Hot Dogs on South Grand in St. Louis for dinner. The restaurant was holding a dine in event yesterday with the St. Louligans to raise funds for the supporter group's tifo fund. (A tifo is a huge banner raised during a soccer match by a team's supporters.) The St. Louligans are gearing up for the 2024 St. Louis CITY SC season and are planning to do tifos for a few matches. This evening would help with raising funds to purchase tifo materials.

This was my first time at Steve's and I ordered one of their specialty hot dogs, the Geddy Lee (named for the Rush frontman). This was a smoked dog covered with buffalo fries, fried cheese curds, white gravy, and crumbled bacon. Essentially, it was poutine on a dog. I had a bag of sea salt and vinegar potato chips and a Sprite. This was most delicious.

My meal was interrupted by a college who wanted us St. Louligans outside the front door for a group picture. I joined in with the group and the picture was taken. I haven't seen it yet, but it should appear on the group's social media in due course.

I really enjoyed myself at Steve's and highly recommend this place to anyone. Steve's also has a booth at CITYPARK for the CITY SC matches.

After dinner, I walked up South Grand to Hot Box Cookies. There, I bought three cookies: one each of gooey butter, cookies 'n creme, and oatmeal raisin. They were all freshly baked and still warm in the bags they were put into. I walked to my car to drive home, eating the gooey butter one in the car and enjoying the other two after I got home that night.

It was a good feeling to help two different causes with my morning and evening meals. I was so glad to do my bit for both Heat Up St. Louis and the St. Louligans yesterday.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

Hardee's:  Hardee's (hardees.com)

Heat Up St. Louis: Heat Up St. Louis – Give the Gift of Warmth (heatupstlouis.org)

Enterprise Rent-a-Car: Car Rental with Great Rates & Service | Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Steve's Hot Dogs: Steve's Hot Dogs - Home of the Official Hot Dog of St. Louis - St. Louis (steveshotdogsstl.com)

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com) 

Hot Box Cookies: HotBoxCookies

South Grand Community Improvement District: South Grand Community Improvement District

Weekend: Saturday Night with Julie; Sunday Mostly at Home

Yesterday morning (3 February), after a rather busy week at work, I was taking care of some personal matters. This included forwarding mail for Mom and Rick, as well as grocery shopping.

Home that afternoon was mostly chilling out before Julie came by late that afternoon to pick me up to take me to dinner. She wanted to get the start on my birthday celebration (my big day is this Wednesday). We started the night with dinner at Bartolino's South in Green Park. Julie and I enjoyed a nice dinner at the fine Italian restaurant--I had the manicotti--along with some wonderful conversation.

After dinner, Julie drove us to the Plaza Frontenac Cinema to see the new movie Origin. This drama was inspired by Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor plays Wilkerson in the movie, which tells how Wilkerson tied the subjugation of African Americans, Jews in Nazi Germany, and Dalits in India to common hierarchy structures. This movie sure gives you plenty of think about Both Julie and I thought this movie was very well done.

After the movie, Julie took me back home and I thanked her for the wonderful evening. We will meet up again in a few days to celebrate Valentine's Day together.

I was mostly in the house today, but I did go out this afternoon to run a few errands. It was also a chance to drive Mom's car for awhile. It needed air in all four tires, which I took care of using a self-service air pump at a Mobil station. The car's battery needs charging, but otherwise it ran well. After adding air to the tires, I drove to Dollar Tree in Oakville to buy some plastic forks for my work lunches and a set of combs for myself. I then went to the nearby Schnucks to browse for a while.

After that bit of shopping, I treated myself to a drink at Honey Bee Tea, a boba tea place in Oakville. It was my first time in this place. I ordered a jasmine milk tea, which I drank in the place. It was a nice way to treat myself after all I was doing this weekend.

This weekend, I also did a bit more work on the 1:200 scale Saturn V model, which I hope to have done later this month for the IPMS Gateway Chapter meeting's first 2024 Modeler of the Year Contest. This contest is Out of the Box (no modifications or additions to the kit parts). I have had a bit of difficulties with this kit, but I should have it ready in time for the contest two weeks from this Tuesday night.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

Bartolino's South: Bartolinos South – Fine Italian Dining in South County (bartolinosrestaurants.com)

Plaza Frontenac Cinema: Theatres - Landmark Plaza Frontenac Cinema - Landmark Theatres

Origin: Origin (2023) - IMDb

Mobil: Welcome to Mobil™

Dollar Tree: Glass Vases, Party Supplies, Cleaning & More | DollarTree.com

Honey Bee Tea: Boba Tea Coffee Smoothies - Honey Bee Tea (honeybt.com)

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

Ice and Fog This Week

Early Monday morning (22 January), I woke up to find the street, driveway, and walkway covered in ice. This was from an overnight ice storm that hit the Metropolitan St. Louis area. I gingerly walked on the driveway early that morning and I had to be careful not to slip on the ice-coated concrete. Seeing that the subdivision street which goes up towards Forder Road and would be a hard drive up in my vehicle with the ice on the road, I told my supervisor I had to wait to leave the house for my safety. He understood this and asked me to stay safe. Thus, I did not leave home around 6:15 AM as usual.

I waited until about 10:30 for road conditions to be good enough to try to go into work. The roads and driveway were still icy, but I was able to carefully leave my house and head to work using low gear on my car. After about 30 minutes, I was able to arrive at work with no problems. 

Monday mornings are usually the busiest at Enterprise, due mostly to people getting into their loaner cars while their vehicles were in the repair shops. However, this morning was different due to the ice. It was slow when I got there and there was not so much business as many customers postponed their service appointments. It got a bit warmer in the afternoon, allowing me to get vehicles cleaned up and spotted on the branch parking lot.

Yesterday was much better with the ice melted away and work went well. It was fairly busy much of that day.

Off work today, I woke up to fog that covered the metro area this morning. It would be here all day and night, with the fog continuing tomorrow.

I did venture out mid-morning in the fog, driving carefully to St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church in Ellisville. The mother of my college friend, Cindy (Pollvogt) Hensley, had died late last week and the church hosted a visitation before the funeral. I came to pay my respected to Cindy's mom and to Cindy herself, who I have not seen in person for some years now. She was most happy to see me come and I told her I really felt I had to be there for her. Cindy told me she is holding up well under the circumstances. A few of our mutual friends from college were also there, and it was great seeing them, and Cindy introduced me to her son, who told me he was happy to meet me and glad I could come to this visitation.

After the visitation, I ran some errands. This included shopping for socks and ice melting crystals at Target in Town and Country, a car wash and fuel stop at Mobil On the Run in Ballwin, purchasing lacquer thinner for my scale modeling workbench at Lowe's in Ballwin, and lunch at Popeye's in Oakville. I was back home early this afternoon to finally take down the Christmas decorations and to do my laundry. Back to work tomorrow morning.

Later.

Websites of Entiries Mentioned in This Post:

Enterprise Rent-A-Car: Car Rental with Great Rates & Service | Enterprise Rent-A-Car

St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church: Saint Clare of Assisi | Ellisville, MO

Target: Target : Expect More. Pay Less.

On the Run: On the Run - Your Neighborhood Convenience store

Lowe's: Lowe’s Home Improvement (lowes.com)

Popeye's: Popeyes

Two Weekends: Soccer, Sickness, and Cold

One week ago yesterday (6 January), I was at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton for the annual Winter Classic. This is a soccer match pitting the St. Louligans against the American Outlaws St. Louis. I suited up for the St. Louligans and came ready to play. I also came with six cans of food that were donated to the St. Louis Area Foodback, which was receiving donations from both supporter groups.

There was a dusting of snow on the ground to greet us that day. Fortunately, the pitch we were playing on has artificial turf; still, we had to deal with some snow during warmups and early on the match. We came to play.

(Photo by Sarah Robertson.)

The match was the usual 45-minute halves with free substitutions. I played two shifts in each half at defender. During the match, I had two touches of the ball. I don't think Tim Parker has anything to fear from me!

"Sports drinks" were provided to the participants from 2nd Shift Brewing and Urban Chestnut Brewing Company. They were much appreciated.

In the final five minute of the match, the rules were tweaked to have several balls on the pitch at the same time. It all added to the silliness of this event.

At full time, the score was (I believe) St. Louligans 4 American Outlaws STL 3. The real winner was the St. Louis Area Foodbank for the food and cash donated to help the food insecure in our area at this time.

I got home to get warmed up and relaxed the rest of the day. That evening, I wasn't feeling so well. Sunday morning, I was down with stomach flu, and it was resting up for the day and night.

The next morning, I was well enough to go into work, though I was a bit slower than usual. My supervisors understood and all worked out well at the branch. However, I was down with diarrhea on Wednesday (10 January). If it's not one thing, it's another. I was able to go to work the next day and got the job done.

I ran a few errands yesterday (13 January) that included finding out I will need to replace the catalytic converter on my Corolla so I can pass the emissions inspection due next month. Ugh.

Today was too cold to be out, with a low of -7 degrees F (-22 C) and a high of only 2 F (-17 C). Wind chills were even lower. This cold spell is here through this Tuesday.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

World Wide Technology Soccer Park: St. Louis Scott Gallagher — Club Soccer in Saint Louis (slsgsoccer.com)

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)

American Outlaws--St. Louis:  (7) Facebook

St. Louis Area Foodbank: St. Louis Area Foodbank – Member of Feeding America (stlfoodbank.org)

2nd Shift Brewing: 2nd Shift Brewing

Urban Chestnut Brewing Company: Urban Chestnut Brewing Company