An Unspooky Halloween; Down to the Wire

Last Friday (30 October), our rental branch had a low-key Halloween celebration. We wore costumes that one of us bought of superheroes. I drew Superman, which fits considering how much my car prep and driving efforts help our branch. It was nice and fun.

Home last weekend, I was busy painting a model kit, one of a set of US and Soviet strategic missiles from the 1980s. There are 20 missiles in all, plus the base. I had to make runs to area hobby shops to get paint for these items. The main painting was done with clear coats applied to prepare them for decals.

No trick or treaters came to our house Saturday night (31 October). There aren't very many young children in our subdivision now, compared to years ago. At least it was quiet outside, with no trouble.

After a busy Monday (2 November) at the rental branch, I was home to get a well-deserved rest. Early the next day, I fought fog to cast my vote in the Mehlville School District (http://www.mehlvilleschooldistrict.com/) tax increase referendum. I voted in favor, as did most voters: approximately 76 percent did so. I am very happy about that.

Late Tuesday afternoon, my boss at work told us our branch's customer satisfaction score achieved a new high, and invited me to join the rest of the staff at happy hour that night. I accepted, and we went to the nearby Buffalo Wild Wings in Ballwin (http://www.buffalowildwings.com/en/locations/Detail/3750) for drinks and finger foods. We were all in a great mood, and justifiably proud of our accomplishments.

I was back to the model on Wednesday night (4 November) after work, applying decals to the base and the missiles. I finished painting and assembly today. I will be taking that and three other models with me to the IPMS Butch O'Hare Chapter's contest this Saturday in Downers Grove, Illinois (a Chicago suburb). (http://www.butchoharemodelers.com/view-event.php?id=79) I'll be leaving for Chicago after work tomorrow night, stopping over in Springfield, Illinois for the night before heading to Chicago the next morning.

During that show Saturday, I'll take a break at Noon Central Time (10 am Pacific Time; 1800 GMT) to co-host Writer's Block. I hope you can tune in--live or to the archived program later. You can join in here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/autistic-people-.

I'll let you know more about the Chicago trip in my next post.

Later.

Looking Ahead to Independence Day 2015

Last Thursday night (25 June), I performed my final volunteer shift for this season of Circus Flora. We had a great crowd under the big top for this performance of "One Summer on Second Street." I helped some customers find their seats, moving one woman with a can find a seat closer to the floor, and helping another customer find his missing cell phone. It was all good and we had another superb performance. Circus Flora's season ended last Sunday night, but I'm already looking forward to volunteering next year. For more on the circus, including making donations to them, visit http://circusflora.org/.

Work has been going very well at the car rental branch in recent days. For me, that included working last Saturday morning (27 July), which went rather smoothly for a Saturday.

That night, I drove to Smugala's Pizza Pub in Sunset Hills, where I caught the Pub2Park shuttle bus to World Wide Technology Soccer Park for Saint Louis FC's match against New York Red Bulls II. There was a sold out crowd that night, but Saint Louis lost 4-1. However, I came away a winner of a cooler. My cell phone number was chosen at random early in the match and at halftime I claimed my prize. It's a very nice cooler, with the Saint Louis FC emblem on it, and I will be proud to bring beer or soda in it to some event. The club's on the road this week, but back home next Saturday; more information here: http://www.saintlouisfc.com.

I switched off with a colleague and am off today and working tomorrow, rather than the usual working Wednesday and off Thursday. After work last night, I took in the weekly staff meeting, then we went to the nearby Buffalo Wild Wings for happy hour. We had chicken wings and beer, with conversation, plus watching sporting events on the TVs there. That included the USA's 2-0 win over Germany in the FIFA Women's World Cup semifinal. The Stars and Stripes advanced to Sunday's final against the winner of tonight's England vs. Japan match. Looking forward to the final.

Before that, I'm looking forward to Independence Day this Saturday and to Fair Saint Louis in Forest Park late this week. My brother Brian will be drumming for Melissa Etheridge when she performs Friday night. I'll go see that show after work, and Brian told me by email today he may get me a VIP pass for Etheridge's show. He'll be in town until late Saturday night, so Mom and I can visit with him for a while before going on to the next tour stop. More on Fair Saint Louis here: http://www.fairsaintlouis.org/. Etheridge's official site is: http://www.melissaetheridge.com/.

Last weekend, I made my hotel reservations in Columbus, Ohio for the IPMS/USA National Convention later this month. So, all I need is to reserve a rental car, and I get an employee discount for that. Looking forward to this trip. More on the convention at: http://ipmsusa2015.com/.

Later.