TigerCon, SLIFF, and Scott Kelly in Town

Last Friday morning (3 November), per usual, I stopped by Krispy Kreme (http://krispykreme.com/) to buy some doughnuts for my colleagues on the way to work. The day went well at work and all hands were able to get our vehicles cleaned and positioned on the lot before calling it a day.

My IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) colleague Bill Wagner came by my house the next morning to pick me up, then drove to Hazelwood to pick up our mate Nick Elliot before before heading to Columbia, Missouri. We--and others from the club--were there for TigerCon, the annual scale model contest presented by IPMS/Central Missouri Scale Modelers (CMSM) (http://www.cmsm-ipms.org/). After a pretty good drive, we three arrived at Hickman High School, the show venue, and checked in our contest models. (I had four entries.) We touched base with others there, including our fellow club members, admired the models in the contest room, and shopped among the vendors. I bought one aircraft kit and two tools from vendors there.

I also helped to judge automotive entries in the contest, which went rather well. IPMS/CMSM said this was the most number of attendees and contest entries for TigerCon, which was in its 7th year. I did not win for any of my entries, but a few of my club mates won awards. I also won an aircraft kit in the raffle. Overall, a nice day in Columbia for us. We got back to town early that night.

Sunday morning (5 November) found me at Kolping Fields in south St. Louis County, officiating youth soccer matches. I refereed the first match and ran lines on the other two. They went well, and the warm and humid weather for this time of year meant I wore my short sleeve uniform shirt.

That night, I was at .ZACK (http://www.kranzbergartsfoundation.org/zack/) for my first volunteer assignment at this year's St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) (http://www.cinemastlouis.org/about-festival). I scanned tickets for attendees before they entered the theater to watch the documentary feature "Working in Protest." (My friend Kim Althage was among those who attended the screening.) Myself and the other volunteer were in the lobby during the screening, and right afterward took fan ballots and demographic surveys from the attendees. The ballots were counted and the venue captain then reported the results to SLIFF organizers. It was a pleasant night to be out at the movies.

Back to work on Monday morning, and we had one very busy morning with many customers coming in to pick up or drop off vehicles. I was sure kept on my toes. We got through the day just fine, though.

After work on Tuesday, I went to St. Louis University High School (SLUH) (http://www.sluh.org/) in west St. Louis. I attended a talk by former astronaut Scott Kelly (http://www.scottkelly.com/), who spent 340 days aboard the International Space Station in 2015-16. The event was presented by Left Bank Books (http://www.left-bank.com/), and my ticket to the event included a signed copy of Kelly's book, "Endurance." Ramanath Cowsik, James S. McDonnell Professor of Space Sciences at Washington University of St. Louis, interviewed Kelly about how he became an astronaut and his experiences in space. Then, Kelly took a few questions from the audience. It was a most interesting talk--informative throughout, with a bit of wit. I am very much looking forward to reading "Endurance."

Work yesterday was well--after a calm late morning and early afternoon, we had a most busy late afternoon. We still got it done, though, exceeding customer expectations.

Off work today, I spent time helping Mom out in trimming some shrubbery, doing my laundry, and starting work on this month's issue of IPMS/Gateway's newsletter, The Arch Scaler News. (I'm now editing this publication.) This afternoon, I headed to the Plaza Frontenac Cinema (https://www.landmarktheatres.com/st-louis/plaza-frontenac-cinema) to watch a SLIFF film. Going in free thanks to the voucher I received for Sunday's volunteer shift, I saw the Belgian/French comedy "Lost in Paris," which I and the audience found very funny. Tonight, I'm at the Tivoli Theatre (https://www.landmarktheatres.com/st-louis/tivoli-theatre) for a SLIFF volunteer shift. Hope to see you there!

I also have SLIFF volunteer shifts Saturday at the Missouri History Museum (10:30 am to 3 pm) and at Webster University's Moore Auditorium (6:45 to 10:30 pm), and Sunday at Washington University's Brown Hall (7 to 10 pm). Maybe I'll see you there.

Later.