11 March 2010

About last night



Before I begin, a correction: In my last blog entry, I mentioned visiting Tom Doll's house last Saturday. Actually, it was the previous Saturday, 27 February. I apologize for the error.
Moving forward, I am at home now awaiting word on a possible temp assignment I was first given word on Tuesday night. I do want to get outside today, as it's nice and sunny.
Late yesterday afternoon, I met up with some fellow supporters in downtown St. Louis in advance of President Barack Obama's visit to a fund-raising dinner. We gathered on the sidewalks near the hotel hosting the dinner, holding signs and chanting our support for health care reform. There was a good amount of Obama supporters on hand, along with some opponents on the opposite corner. We were there for about 2 hours and I felt good about standing up for what's right.
I'm looking forward to a happy hour tomorrow night, and some soccer refereeing this weekend. Take care.
Later.

10 March 2010

Roaring in like a lion...

Last week, I finished editing on a couple of articles for a new magazine coming out. I was asked to go back to the original articles, as the editor said they had more room for these articles than was first thought. I did so, though incorporating the facts checked on the previous edit. Hope to hear feedback on that job soon.
Saturday afternoon, I went to the Lake St. Louis home of Tom Doll, aviation historian and author. It was my first time to his place, which is like a mini-archive of aviation history (especially US Naval Aviation). He hosted a meeting of a group of aviation history enthusiasts, several of whom I know from my IPMS activities. This was my first time at the meeting, but it won't be the last. The group is starting to gel and we hope for bigger things ahead.
Had a busy stretch of soccer refereeing last weekend: four games within 18 hours. I had two under 18 boys' league matches Sat. night, including a rather busy middle in one game. I sent a player off for striking an opponent, and issued several other cautions. Both teams were a handful to keep in line, but the game ended well. The next morning, I ran lines on two Development Academy matches (under 16 boys, then under 18 boys). There was that added pressure of the competition level, but we got though them fine. At least I could chill out at home and watch the Academy Awards. I didn't have a dog in that show, but was fascinated by who would win Oscars. I did add to my home DVD collection with two I bought at a store yesterday (The Blues Brothers, from 1980, and 1992's Malcolm X), using a gift card Rick and Melissa sent me for my birthday last month.
Back to last weekend, I borrowed Mom's car for getting to and from my games, because my Saturn was in the shop. After being unable to get my emissions inspection situation fixed at the Firestone place, I took it to a Chevy dealer that was a Saturn authorized repair center. They had to replace some engine sensors that had gone bad, and the repair came out to around $500. (Ouch!) However, the car did pass inspection, so I got my Saturn back home and renewed the registration online, all on Monday.
I almost forgot: Last week I got my federal and state income taxes done. My Dad helped out using the computer program TurboTax. I got the tax returns filed electronically, and can look to a bit of a refund in the coming weeks.
Later.