A Weekend with Julie: Dinner, Concert, World Cup Final

Yesterday afternoon (17 December), I drove to Julie's house in Florissant. We then headed to south St. Louis for dinner with Julie's son Dave and Dave's wife Barbe. Originally, we were to have dined at Menya Rui, a Ramen restaurant; however, we arrived to find a long line to get in. We then decided to have dinner at Noodles & Company in Hampton Village Shopping Center. We had a wonderful dinner with conversation.

After dinner, Julie and I said goodbye to Dave and Barbe before we headed to the 560 Music Center in University City. This venue hosted On This Shining Night, a concert of Holiday season music performed by BandTogether, a volunteer music organization in Metro St. Louis of LGBT+ performers. After a pre-show performance by BandTogether's Colorguard in the Pillsbury Theater, we walked to the Auditorium for the concert. Selections ranged from Ukrainian Bell Carol, to Dreidel Dance, to music from the movie Home Alone and the TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas, to Auld Lang Syne.

It was a most enjoyable concert witnessed by a large crowd in the Auditorium. After the show, I briefly said hello and thanks to one of BandTogether's tuba players, Harald Boerstler, who I know from volunteering at Circus Flora. I introduced Julie to Harald before we left the 560 Music Center to head back to Julie's house.

This morning, we had breakfast at home before watching the FIFA World Cup Final on TV. Julie found the match on Peacock, with Spanish language commentary, but we had no problem following the action between Argentina and France. 

We witnessed a match for the ages, as Argentina took a 2-0 lead, the France scored twice to level the match and send it to Extra Time. The teams traded goals in Extra Time, which ended drawn at 3 each. Argentina prevailed in the Penalty Shoot Out, 4-2, to win its third World Championship--the first for Lionel Messi, who scored twice in the match and had one of the shootout goals. France's Kylian Mbappe had a hat trick--only the second in a World Cup Final--and had a shootout goal. What a match. Julie was disappointed; she pulled for France. I was happy that Argentina won.

After the match, we printed off some photos that were taken of us two weeks before. These pictures were taken at Zenhorse, an equine therapy facility in Marthasville, Missouri run by my friend Kit Maxwell. She invited Julie and I for photos with Santa Claus (played by Kit's husband) and Mrs. Clause (Kit). Michelle Huelsman of Unbridled Focus did a great job taking the pictures that day. Julie and I each got two pictures printed off for our Christmas albums. (I had brought photo paper and printer ink Julie requested to her house yesterday afternoon.)

Julie and I stopped by a Starbucks for lunch before driving to South County Center. We met with Dave and Barbe, who brought their young daughter to the Santa photo booth. They invited Julie and I to join in the photo, and we did. I then dropped Julie back off at her home, with plans to meet again this coming weekend for Christmas, before going home.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

Noodles & Company: Noodles & Company | Classic Favorites with A Goodness Guarantee

560 Music Center: Welcome to the 560 Music Center | 560 Music Center | Washington University in St. Louis (wustl.edu)

BandTogether: BandTogether | St. Louis' LGBT+ Band and Colorguard since 1997 (bandtogetherstl.com)

FIFA World Cup: FIFA+

Zenhorse: Home | Zenhorse

Unbridled Focus: Unbridled Focus (mypixieset.com)

South County Center: South County Center | St. Louis MO (shopsouthcountycenter.com)

 

Cold Night and Cold Day for Soccer

Last Wednesday (16 November), I drove to downtown St. Louis. After parking at the Schlafly Tap Room, I walked to Lou Fusz Plaza at CITYPARK, the home ground for St. Louis CITY SC.

I picked up my replica CITY home jersey, which I had preordered two days before, then walked to the street in front of the Schlafly Tap Room. The supporter groups--St. Louligans, St. Louis City Punks, The Thieves, Fleur de Noise, No Nap City Ultras, and STL Santos--were holding a tailgate party. I had a beer from Schlafly (Park Lager) and hung out with them. I also made donations--via the St. Louligans raffle and donation box--to Heat Up St. Louis, which helps low-income residents with their heating bills.

One hour before the 7:00 pm kickoff, we marched from the Schlafly Tap Room into CITYPARK. I carried Ghana's flag into the stadium; other marchers carried other flags and banners. After entering CITYPARK, we made our way to the Supporter Section in the North End and took in the scene.

In CITYPARK's inaugural match, St. Louis CITY 2--the club's developmental team--played German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen. CITY 2 looks well in playing Bayer 04, but the German team proved too much and they ran out 3-0 winners. Still, being able to see such a match in this new stadium and with a full house mattered more than the scoreline. All this despite the freezing weather.

After the match, I walked back to my car and drove home. The next night, I modeled my replica CITY jersey. I think it looks great.

This afternoon, I was at World Wide Technology Soccer Park to referee matches on the last day of the SLYSA Fall Season. My crew worked three matches on Field 1 under freezing conditions. After running line on an under-15 girls match, I was in the middle for another under-15 girls match. That was a thriller, with the teams trading the lead, and the final goal in a 3-2 result coming 7 minutes before full time. Then, I ran line on an under-13 boys match. All three matches today went well with no controversy.

I caught the first half of the Qatar vs. Ecuador match that opened the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The tournament continues tomorrow with three matches, including USA vs. Wales. I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN! U-S-A!

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

CITYPARK: CITYPARK | St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

Schlafly Tap Room: Tap Room Brewpub - Schlafly Beer

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)

St. Louis City Punks: SLCP Home (slcitypunks.com)

The Thieves: Home | Up the Thieves! (stlouligans.com)

Fleur de Noise: Fleur De Noise

No Nap City Ultras: NO NAP CITY ULTRAS

STL Santos: (4) STL Santos | St. Louis MO | Facebook

Heat Up St. Louis: Heat Up St. Louis – Give the Gift of Warmth (heatupstlouis.org)

St. Louis CITY 2: STL CITY 2 | St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH | bayer04.de

Bundesliga: Bundesliga | official website

SLYSA: Home - St Louis Youth Soccer (slysa.org)

FIFA World Cup: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™

 

  

World Cup Final and SlamFest

Last Sunday morning (15 July), I headed to the Amsterdam Tavern (http://amsterdamtavern.com/) in south St. Louis for a watch party for the FIFA World Cup (https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/) Final in Moscow between France and Croatia. I was joined by many soccer fans in the beer garden at the tavern's rear. Morganford was closed in front of the tavern to allow a temporary enclosure and a large screen TV to be set up for fans.

I had a couple of beers while enjoying the rather thrilling match, which France won by 4 goals to 2. There were quite a few Croatia supporters in the house, and some for France. Everyone was in good spirits.

While at the Amsterdam Tavern, I signed up for SoccerHive (https://soccerhive.com/), a new social network for soccer fans. Check it out and friend me there; I'm rsdstl07.

After the match, I went next door to the Dam (https://thedamstl.com/) for lunch. I had one of their cheeseburgers with a side of Belgian fries and a bottle of root beer. Most satisfying!

It was back to work the next morning. The week went quite well at the rental branch, if a bit slow at times. I did make a couple of trips to the service center near the Airport to get recall issues on a few of our vehicles fixed. Tuesday morning (17 July), I met Annie, our new management trainee at Ellisville. (Jacob recently transferred to our Airport location.)

After work on Tuesday, it was off to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's meeting of IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/) (https://plus.google.com/109625362829756697296). This meeting featured our annual SlamFest, in which we had two hours to build and finish a model kit. I was one of eight members who did so; in my case, a 1:72 scale Il-10. The completed models were judges by members who voted on the best entries. The top three vote getting models earned their builders hobby shop gift certificates. I didn't win, but it was fun.

Off to cheer on Saint Louis FC tonight against Orange County. Big match.

Later.

High Heat, Soccer Drama, and Aviation Stories

This past week was a hot one--literally. Temperatures were in the low 90s F (at least 32 degrees C). Yesterday, it hit 96 degrees F (36 degrees C), with the heat index (temperature and humidity) hitting 102 degrees F (39 degrees C). Not easy trying to clean cars in that weather. Fortunately, I had plenty of thirst quencher and breaks inside the air conditioned office to help me carry on, and I did not feel any real bad effects. Also, it wasn't all that crazy busy at the branch, which made things easier as well.

I followed Tuesday's FIFA World Cup (https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/) semifinal on my smart phone while at work. France defeated Belgium 1-0 in that match. I was off work the next day (11 July), so I saw the thrilling semifinal between England and Croatia, won 2-1 in extra time by the Croats. Belgium and England play for third place today, which I am watching at home. I plan to be at a watch party tomorrow morning for the final between France and Croatia. While I would like to see Croatia win, I think France will win, as they seem to be the better overall side. We'll see. It's sure been fun so far.

Before Wednesday's match, I finished editing the July issue of The Arch Scaler News for IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/) (https://plus.google.com/109625362829756697296). I printed and mailed out the few copies going to members without email, and later sent the rest of the members their newsletters via email.

After work on Thursday, I headed to Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/) for the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) meeting. This event featured an Aviation Open Mic, in which attendees had the opportunity to tell their aviation-related stories. I mentioned one from an air show I attended in 1980 and seeing a Vulcan bomber up close. It was a nice evening hearing some very interesting stories.

I am off to an Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) area party in Kirkwood this afternoon, and the Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) match tonight. I will be careful in this heat!

Later.

High Heat and the 4th of July

From the end of June to yesterday (7 July), I spent much of my free time inside, watching the FIFA World Cup (https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/). I was pulling for Brazil (https://www.cbf.com.br/), and was disappointed when they lost in the quarterfinals. It should be fun with the semifinalists set now: France vs. Belgium on Tuesday, England vs. Croatia on Wednesday.

I braved the heat on a week ago yesterday (30 June) to cheer on Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. After enjoying a nice dinner at the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate, I marched into Toyota Stadium for the match. It ended as a scoreless draw.

Work has gone well, with the Independence Day holiday (4 July) falling on a Wednesday this year. It was rather busy early in the week with rentals before the holiday.

I was glad we were closed for the holiday, as it was very hot. Temperatures hit 100 degrees F (38 degrees C), with the heat index reaching 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). I stayed at home rather than go to any Fourth of July celebrations.

Work the next day (5 July) was--mercifully--fairly slow, as the high heat continued. We got through the day just fine. Same for Friday, which was a bit cooler.

This weekend, I mostly spent it at home, watching yesterday's World Cup quarterfinals on TV, and starting work on this month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/) (https://plus.google.com/109625362829756697296) newsletter, which I want to get out this week.


Later

Phone Issues, Scale Modelling, and Apollo 11

After a busy day at work Monday (18 June), I arrived home to find my replacement phone, which had been sent by my insurance firm. (My phone, which I got two months ago, developed a problem in its power receptacle, which prevented me from charging up the phone that way.) I powered up the phone and got my files and apps transferred to the new phone Wednesday morning; however, the SIM card I transferred from my old phone would not work on the new one, so I could not use it for phone calls, texting, and using apps (except the camera). My service provided did send me a replacement SIM card, which arrived yesterday. So far, things are working well with the phone.

After work Tuesday, it was off to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's meeting of IPMS/Gateway (https://plus.google.com/109625362829756697296) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/). We began our annual membership renewal cycle, had a demo by Marion Morris on two lines of model paints, we began having Member Spotlight questionnaires distributed and filled out, and we had our Model of the Month "Beauty Contest." It worked out well.

Off work Wednesday, I went to the Saint Louis Science Center (https://www.slsc.org/), where I visited their special exhibit, "Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission." This was from the Smithsonian (https://www.si.edu/) and looked at humanity's first landing on the Moon in July of 1969. The exhibit--which runs here until 3 September--includes the Apollo 11 command module Columbia, items used by the astronauts who made the tip, and a look at St. Louis' role in this journey. Being the spaceflight buff that I am, I really enjoyed this exhibit. It brought back good memories for me; I was five years old when Apollo 11 happened. I highly recommend this exhibit.

At home today, I mowed the back and front lawns, and watched on TV the FIFA World Cup (https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/). This included the rather thrilling at the end match between Germany and Sweden.

Tomorrow, I'm doing two volunteer stints, back to back. First, I'll be joining other Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) colleagues in marching in downtown St. Louis' PrideFest Parade (https://pridestl.org/). Then, I head to the Kirkwood Community Center (http://www.kirkwoodmo.org/content/City-Departments/1856/community-center.aspx) to help out at Festa Junina, a Brazilian folk festival organized by Viva Brasil STL (https://www.vivabrasilstl.org/). Hope to see you at either or both of those events.

Later.

Witnessing Soccer in St. Louis and Russia

A week ago yesterday (9 June), I went to Althoff Catholic High School (http://www.althoffcatholic.org/) to watch Fire and Ice SC (http://www.fireandicesc.com/) play its home opener against Des Moines Menace. Fire and Ice--the defending Women's Premier Soccer League (https://www.wpslsoccer.com/)--ran out 3-0 winners. It was my first time at Althoff for anything, but I was able to find the place easily.

Four nights later, I was back at Althoff to see Fire and Ice play crosstown rivals St. Louis Lions Women's Team (http://www.stllionswpsl.com/). This match ended in a scoreless draw. I and several others from the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) were on hand to show support for these two local teams.

Last Thursday (14 June) marked the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia (https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/). I am able to follow the matches on Fox television (https://www.fox.com/) and on the FIFA app.

Yesterday afternooon, I went to a housewarming party in Wentzville, at the new home of two friends from work, Alex Breuer and Tessie Wietbrock. It was a very nice time there, seeing the house and chatting with Alex, Tessie, and other friends of theirs--including a few Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) colleagues.

I could not stay at this party much, as I had to head to World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/SOCCERPARK) for the United Soccer League (https://www.uslsoccer.com/) match between Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) and Real Monarchs SLC. After enjoying dinner at the St. Louligans tailgate, I marched with other St. Louligans into Toyota Stadium for the match. Despite a strong effort by the home side, Real Monarchs--the USL Western Conference leaders--ran out 1-0 winners. This match was played with the heat index just above 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Fortunately, I kept myself well hydrated that day.

Today, I went to Brasilia Restaurant (https://www.brasiliastl.com/) in south St. Louis for lunch and a watch party for Brazil's World Cup match against Switzerland. Quite a few others were there with me as we saw the match on TV. Over feijoada, I saw Brazil take an early lead, only to give up a goal early in the second half and settle for a 1-1 draw. Not the result Brazil and its supporters wanted.

Later