One Week Closer to Christmas

Work this past week has been very good. We are keeping things moving along with exceeding our customers' expectations. My manager presented my annual review on Friday (18 December), two days ahead of my three-year service anniversary. I am most happy to report that the report was all positive, with high marks all around. I really had nothing to add to that, but am most happy.

Tuesday night (15 December) after work, I was at the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) meeting at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) in Mehlville. After two years as the club's secretary, I was elected vice president for the coming year. It was also a great night in two other areas. One, I had the highest score in the annual recognition contest (22 of 25 correct). This contest consisted of photos of aircraft, cars, armor, ships, and miscellaneous subjects. Four of the five photos in each category was of the subject, with the last being the sprue of parts for the subject. We had multiple choice answers to choose from on the answer sheet.

The second great takeaway from the night was in winning one of 10 kits the club was giving away. Each member had one ticket and if it was draw, one could pick from any of the kits on the table. I chose the Revell 1:32 UH-1D Huey Gunship kit.

The next night, the old and new club officers gathered at Brad and Julie Vaughn's house in House Springs for the IPMS/Gateway business meeting. (It was moved up by six days due to Christmas this coming week.) We planned the January general and business meetings, planned the 2016 Modeler of the Year contest special categories, and handed off from the old board to new.

Off work Thursday (17 December), I got my hair cut at Great Clips (http://www.greatclips.com/) in Mehlville. The stylist did the usual splendid job on my hair. Then, it was off to the Enterprise branch in O'Fallon, Illinois where my former colleague from Ellisville Tommy is the manager. I gave him his Christmas card and some cookies for the staff. I then visited the Kirkwood branch to give its new manager Kelley her Christmas card.

I also activated my new phone, which arrived the day before. It's a Samsung Galaxy 6S (http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/all-products?filter=galaxy-s) from CREDO Mobile (http://www.credomobile.com/), a quantum leap over the LG Volt I was using from Virgin Mobile. After settling matters with Virgin, I got my phone activated and transferred my contacts and apps from the old phone to the new.

I went after work Friday night to Elmo's Love Lounge (http://www.elmoslovelounge.com/) in University City for Stress Free Fridays (https://twitter.com/stressfreefri), a networking happy hour meeting at various establishments in the St. Louis area. I brought two cans of food for donation to a food drive being held there. It was very nice seeing Mark Anthony Jones and the group again; due to my work, it's hard for me to get to these events after a long day of work.

Yesterday, I completed my Christmas shopping and mailed just about all remaining Christmas cards. Glad to get all that done. Last night, I went to the International Tap House (http://www.internationaltaphouse.com/) in St. Louis' Soulard neighborhood. The St. Louigans (http://stlouligans.com/) supporters group held its annual Christmas party. I had a nice time there, that included bringing some clothing for the group to donate to Peter and Paul Community Services. While there, I ran into my colleague Cayla, who was with others for dinner at a nearby restaurant and was waiting for her table to be ready. We chatted a bit before Cayla's party was called.

After a while at the International Tap House (including two beers), I had a slice of pizza and a soda at Epic Pizza & Subs (http://www.epicpizzaandsubs.com/) next door. I had the Toasted Ravioli pizza and it was most tasty.

I attended service at Calvary Presbyterian Church today, staying around for fellowship afterward. Then, I stopped by Best Buy Mobile (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/cell-phones-20151220) at South County Center (http://www.shopsouthcountycenter.com/), where I got a screen protector and a car charger for my new phone. The guy from Best Buy even applied the screen protector to my phone for no charge while I was there. Very good of him.

Later.

Running Off to the Circus (Flora); Witnessing Soccer

A week ago Thursday night (28 May), I was volunteering at the preview night of Circus Flora in midtown St. Louis' Grand Center. This was the night before the official opening night of this season's show, "One Summer on Second Street." I helped the patrons find their seats before the show, monitored people coming and going during the intermission, and helped the patrons leave after the show and collect discarded show programs. It is a very enjoyable show for children of all ages. We have acrobats, a clown, a trapeze act, a high wire act, trained cats, trained birds, and trained horses. "One Summer on Second Street" runs through 28 June under the Big Top. Check it out! For more information, including show times, tickets, and how to volunteer (the show can use some more volunteers), visit their website: http://circusflora.org/.

One week ago (31 May), I was at Columbia (Illinois) High School to referee youth soccer games--the final matches of the Spring season. I was scheduled to work three matches, but my schedule was changed late and I didn't get the word until that morning. So, I only worked two matches, but it all ended up for the good.

The hard work has continued at the car rental branch. We're still getting customers who are getting their cars repaired after the hail storm two months ago. (Yes, the repair shops have been that busy.) Plus, we're starting to get the summer vacation business. With two new people on staff with us this summer, we can more easily handle our customers. If you want or need to rent a car, please check us out at http://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/home.do.

I put in another volunteer shift with Circus Flora this past Thursday night. That was after taking care of some personal business at home on my off day from work. After work Friday, I stopped by Epic Sports Bar and Grill in Spanish Lake, Missouri for happy hour. It was Stress Free Fridays' 11th Anniversary Bash. I haven't been to many Stress Free Fridays events in recent months, due to my work schedule, but I did want to hang with them for a bit. It was fun, seeing these folks and getting in a few dances as well.

Yesterday, I witnessed some soccer online and on television. I followed Saint Louis FC's match at Pittsburgh Riverhounds via Twitter (@STL FC Gameday), and was happy when Saint Louis came from 1-nil down to get a 1-1 draw. They are back home this Saturday night against Harrisburg City Islanders. Hope to see you there! For more info, visit: http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index. I followed the last minutes of Saint Louis FC's match while watching the UEFA Champions League Final on television at O'B. Clark's in Brentwood, Missouri. I and other soccer fans--including members of St.Louis United FC--gathered there to watch Juventus play FC Barcelona in Berlin. I and others left happy as Barcelona won 3-1. You can find out more on O'B. Clark's here: http://obclark.com/. For more on St. Louis United FC, visit: http://stlunitedfc.net/.

Then, I came home and watched more soccer on television: The start of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. I'll be following that tournament for sure. Here's the tournament's website: http://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/. By the way, the USA opens play in the FIFA Women's World Cup tomorrow (Monday) night against Australia.

Later.