Christmas 2018

Christmas this past week went well. After a shortened day at work on Monday (24 December), I went with mom to a Christmas Eve service at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/). This was a joint service with Affton Presbyterian Church (http://afftonpc.org/), which is co-located with Calvary. The service was pleasant, including seeing my friend Lisa Crain with her parents, sister and sister's family. Lisa and I chatted for a bit before the service.

After the service, Mom and I came back home, where she asked me to open one of my presents. It had come earlier that day from the delivery truck. It was a camera I had ordered just over a week before from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/). This is a Canon (https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog) PowerShot SX530 HS, a digital point and shoot camera with 50x zoom lens. This came with a host of accessories, including: carry case; two batteries and charger; two memory cards; lens cleaning kit; mini tripod; carry strap; and view screen protector. I charged the battery up overnight, so I could use it the next morning.

The next morning, after a small breakfast, Mom and I opened our presents in the living room. I must have been very good this year, as I received several presents. They included: two calendars; two DVDs and a few books from my brother Rick (I sent him a book in exchange); and a few other things.

Mom greatly appreciated the bedroom slippers and restaurant gift cards I gave her for Christmas. We spent the day relaxing around the house. I also did some test shots around the house with my new camera.

Normally off work on Wednesdays, I worked this past Wednesday (26 December). It was a fairly quiet day for the most part. The rest of this week went well at the branch. Late Friday afternoon, I filled in at the Ballwin branch as they lacked a car prep that day. My services there were most appreciated.

Yesterday, after helping Mom pick up leaves from the back yard, I went to the Church of the Immacolata (http://www.immacolata.org/) in Richmond Heights to catch the last day of the 10th annual Mary McDermott 3rd Grade Basketball Tournament (https://www.glennon.org/mary-mcdermott-basketball/). This was a tournament for boys and girls Catholic Youth Council (http://www.cycstl.net/) teams. Proceeds from admissions, concessions, and a silent auction of sports memorabilia will go to SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation. This event is a memorial to Mary McDermott, an Immacolata parish member and athlete who died for a heart ailment in 2008. She was the daughter of my friend Bill McDermott, a graphic designer and soccer commentator. It was a pleasure for me to watch some of the action and to support this effort in at least a small way.

Back to work until mid-afternoon tomorrow, then time to celebrate New Year's Eve. This past year was good, and I am hoping for better in 2019.

Later.

Celebrating with Scale Modelers and Coworkers

Tuesday night (18 December), right after work, I headed for Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) meeting. This meeting began with a Christmas dinner, featuring food catered by Bandana's Bar-B-Q (https://www.bandanasbbq.com/), with drinks, sides and desserts brought by the club's executive board (e-board).

Then, we had elections for the club's Bob Stroup Award for member service (which will be presented at next month's meeting) and for next year's e-board. Yours truly was unopposed as secretary, and was reelected by acclamation. There will be a business meeting on 4 January 2019.

IPMS/Gateway also had a recognition contest, in which Marion Morris showed movie quotes and we had to guess the movie it was in from four choices. I did pretty good, missing only six of the 25 questions. Finally, we had our annual big raffle of kits. A good time.

Off work the next day, but I was out and about. This began by visiting several Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) locations--including two of Enterprise Car Sales (https://www.enterprisecarsales.com/)--where several former colleagues from Ellisville work. I delivered their Holiday newsletters, and brought them cookies to share with their colleagues. All of them I spoke to greatly appreciated the gesture.

I came home after a bit of Christmas shopping, then went to Circle 7 Ranch (http://circle7ranch.com/) in Des Peres for a Happy Hour of Enterprise Rent-A-Car's Ellisville and Ballwin branches. We had a good time in a private room in the restaurant, enjoying appetizers and drinks along with each other's company. A nice way to celebrate our successes in 2018 and looking ahead to more in 2019.

Back at work on Thursday (20 December), I had my annual review. Today marks my 6th anniversary with Enterprise. The assistant manager at Ellisville talked me through the review. Spoiler alert: I met requirements. Just a few minor things to work on improving, but overall good to great marks for my work this past year. After signing off on the review, the manager and assistant manager presented me with an Enterprise pullover. It looks and fits great, and will be greatly appreciated when the weather turns cold.

Yesterday was Ugly Christmas Sweater Day at work. I wore mine, as did my colleagues. (Most of the time, it was under my jacket.) We posed for a photo by the area staff, who took it to include on their Instagram page (@ehi_stl).

Off to finish Christmas preparations this weekend. Later.

Variety of Early December Activities

After a long Monday at work (3 December), I went to Firehouse Bar & Grill (https://www.firehousebarandgrillstl.com/) in Mehlville for the annual soccer referee party. I chatted a bit with some colleagues, but otherwise I was not in much mood to talk. It was nice, though.

The following Saturday afternoon (8 December) found me at Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/) for the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) Christmas party. It was a nice time, enjoying a catered lunch and chatting with other members.

That night, I came to the The Post Sports Bar & Grill (https://thepostsportsbar.com/?fbclid=IwAR1gOULXTJdOANvT4YaRqgx4EnXuohhBt5W_1mUa2wSJsDxN1XIbvCmL0N0) in Fenton. This was for a watch party for that night's MLS Cup match being played in Atlanta. Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) put on this watch party, with the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) there in force and #MLS4THELOU (https://mls4thelou.com/) also present. I munched on toasted ravioli and chicken wings while watching Atlanta United FC defeat Portland Timbers 2-0 on the TV screens. It was a fun evening.

I was up early the next morning (9 December) to get to Forest Park (https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/parks/parks/Forest-Park.cfm) by 5:45 am. There, I was serving as a volunteer at the Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k/5k runs (https://www.hotchocolate15k.com/), which benefitted the Make-A-Wish Foundation (http://wish.org/). I joined with some other volunteers at the finish line, before the race to set up the finishers' medals for presentation and the cups of sports drink to offer to the runners. We were all ready when the first runners set off at 7:30 am, despite the sub-freezing weather. (I handled up, yet my toes and fingertips froze.) The first runner for the 5k run came to the finish about 20 minutes later, and I was offering up sports drink to them as they passed by.

The first finishers from the 15k run came about one hour after the start, and its was a steady stream of finishers that came past my fellow volunteers and I. The last finisher came across the finish line some three hours after the run began, and I helped to tear down the tables where the refreshments were placed. After that, I came to the volunteer tent to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and a fondue of molten chocolate with mini pretzels, marshmallows, and other treats. It's quite a nice treat for helping out. I also got a nice cold weather running shirt as a thanks for volunteering.

This past week, besides work, I put together this month's issue of The Arch Scaler News, the newsletter of IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home). Wednesday (12 December), after visiting some colleagues to drop off Christmas greetings and treats, I made a follow-up visit with my doctor. Generally, I am well, though I could lose a bit of weight.

After work last night (14 December), I went to a house in midtown St. Louis for the final Stress Free Fridays party. The organizers had decided to end the program after 14.5 years, and it was a nice last hurrah. I chatted with others I had not need in many months--due to my work schedule, I had not been able to attend these events--and had a pleasant time.

Later.