Easter Eve 2016

This past week saw some nice weather and chilly weather, all within the space of 24 hours. I guess Spring was having second thoughts about getting going.

Work at the branch has been good, with plenty of business due to some schools on spring break and people traveling ahead of Easter. I flexed out early on Tuesday (22 March), as I worked this morning.

Tuesday night found me at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's meeting--one week later than usual due to the previous week's presidential primary election--of IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/). We had a nice turnout for the meeting, considering the date change, with the Model of the Month "Beauty Contest" and a presentation on scratch-building drag race cars. I brought in my now completed model of the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen for display.

After a full day of work on Wednesday (23 March), I headed to the Schlafly Tap Room (http://schlafly.com/tap-room/) for a Meet the Team event with Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index). I picked up my 2016 season ticket member scarf and had a Schlafly beer. I also briefly chatted with a few Saint Louis FC players and head coach Dale Schilly, wishing them all the best in the season, which begins tonight on the road.

My off day Thursday was spent in part with proofreading some website copy for a friend--the copy was for one of her clients. I got it done, noting a few items (mostly capitalization issues) for my friend to look over. That afternoon, I did my 2015 federal and state income taxes, using Turbo Tax software (https://turbotax.intuit.com/).

Last night, I was at the Saint Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html) in Brentwood, for a Meet and Greet of the STL Movie Buffs Meetup group (http://www.meetup.com/stl-movie-buffs/). I joined two others in the group for a chat about movies have seen or want to see.

At home now after work, but will be going tonight to International Tap Room in Soulard (http://www.internationaltaphouse.com/#!locations/c5ob), to join the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) at a watch party for Saint Louis FC's season opening match away to Real Monarchs SLC. Home with my mother for Easter tomorrow.

Later.

Primary (Election) Matter, and Cheering from the Berm

This past week has been well. Work at the car rental branch has been going well. Plenty of business for us and that's great all around. Morale seems to be very good at the branch.

Before work this past Tuesday (15 March), I drove to Andre's Banquet and Catering (http://www.andresbanquet.com/andres_southlocation.html) in Oakville to cast my vote in the Missouri Presidential Primary. There were about 20 people ahead of me just after 6 am, when polls opened, but it all went rather quickly, as the only issue was the race for President of the United States. I cast my ballot for Bernie Sanders (https://go.berniesanders.com/page/content/splash) in the Democratic race; however, he narrowly lost to Hillary Clinton in Missouri, and that was only called for her the following Friday. Due to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) being one of the other polling places, the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) meeting scheduled for that night was postponed to this Tuesday (22 March).

During this past week, I completed editing work on the Spring issue of Naturally Autistic Magazine, published by Naturally Autistic ANCA (http://www.naturallyautistic.com/). This issue will come out in a few weeks, and I am looking forward to it.

Thursday night (17 March), after a corned beef and cabbage dinner at home with mom for St. Patrick's Day, I went to Creve Coeur Airport (http://www.crevecoeurairport.com/) for this month's meeting of the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (http://moavhist.org/). The meeting celebrated the 60th anniversary of the McDonnell F3H Demon's initial squadron deployment, with a presentation on the Demon's (often troubled) development and operational service. Quite a nice presentation, I thought. Also, I recently stepped down as editor of the Society's Journal, Middle Marker, due to time constraints on my part. I will still be contributing to the journal, though.

After work the next night, I traveled to Restituo Coffee Shop (http://restituo-stl.com/index.html) in St. Louis' Shaw neighborhood for the first gathering of the STL Tea Club Meetup (http://www.meetup.com/StL-Tea-Club-Meetup/). Six of us got together to discuss our group and what we want it to be. It was very nice, and I look forward to our next meetup next month.

Yesterday afternoon (19 March), I journeyed to Ralph Korte Stadium on the SIU-Edwardsville campus for a friendly match between SIU-E (http://www.siuecougars.com/sports/m-soccer/index) and Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index). I joined with a bunch from the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) in cheering on Saint Louis FC from atop a berm across the field from the grandstand. The match ended in a scoreless draw, but we had fun. Saint Louis FC's season starts on the road this Saturday. Can't wait.

After a fluctuating week of weather, in which the temperature hit 80 degrees F (26.7 degrees C) on Friday, Spring arrived today with light snow this morning and a late afternoon temperature of 35 degrees F (1.7 degrees C). Oh well, that's St. Louis weather for you.

Later.