A Busy Work Week, Then Memorial Day Weekend

A great deal of work was done this past week at the rental branch. Plenty of customers renting for the Memorial Day Weekend, among other reasons, meant some over time for my colleagues and I. Despite that and the heat--temperatures topped 90 degrees F (32 degrees C)--we got it done.

Last Monday (21 May), I heard the great news that Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) secured naming rights to the St. Louis Blues (https://www.nhl.com/blues) home arena. Formerly the Scottrade Center, it is now the Enterprise Center ( http://www.enterprisecenter.com/) for at least the net 15 years. I am very happy about this--not just because I work at Enterprise, but also as a Blues fan. Doug Vaughn of KMOV was also happy about this story, as he offered in an opinion piece this past weekend: http://www.kmov.com/clip/14376436/doug-unplugged-enterprise-a-perfect-match-for-blues

Saturday (26 May) was a rest day for me, as I chilled out at home. Watched some programs on TV, including the annual Memorial Day Weekend marathon of war movies on TCM (http://www.tcm.com/). On streaming video, I saw Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) lose 3-0 away to Colorado Springs Switchbacks.

Yesterday, I spent much of the day at World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/SOCCERPARK) to referee matches in the Gateway Memorial Classic (https://slsgsoccer.demosphere-secure.com/tournaments/gateway-memorial-day-classic/). I had five matches, all middles, on under 8 and under 9 boys matches. These are seven-a-side matches on a small field, approximately one-quarter the size of the full size pitch. Also, I was the only match official on the game, which is a bit challenging in not having another two sets of eyes on the action, but generally things went well. The real challenge was the heat, with the heat index topping 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). I had to reapply sunscreen after every match and ended up using up the sunscreen I had, plus the water I brought. Fortunately, the referee room in the air conditioned cafe there had plenty of bottled water for my colleagues and I.

I got home to shower, eat supper, and rest. Watched TV and streaming video at home that night.

This morning, I drove to Spirit of St. Louis Airport (http://spiritairport.com/spiritairport/index.jsp) to see some vintage warbirds on display, courtesy of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) (https://commemorativeairforce.org/). Aircraft from the CAF's Missouri (http://cafmo.org/) and Heart of America (http://www.kcghostsquadron.org/) wings were present, and most were available for rides. I wasn't interested in rides (for one thing, it was too rich for my blood), but I enjoyed seeing the aircraft on the TAC Air (http://tacair.com/) ramp. They included a TBM-3 Avenger and an L-3E from the Missouri Wing, a Stearman PT-13 from the Heart of America Wing, and a T-6 Texan from Terre Haute, Indiana (https://www.facebook.com/Spanish-Lady-T-6-Flights-464962220369020/). It was fun to see these aircraft up close and to talk with some of the CAF people there for the weekend. The heat did make the ramp rather uncomfortable to stay on for long, though.

I then made my way to Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Town & Country for the annual St. Louis County Greek Fest (http://stlgreekfest.com/). There was a good crowd there as I browsed among the vendors there, listened to the music in the large tent, and got some lunch in the multi-purpose building. While waiting in line, I did a cup (3 ounces/85 ml) of ouzo, a Greek spirit. It was the first time I drank this and it has quite a kick. I sipped the ouzo while in line for my dinner, just finishing it when I placed my order: pastitsio and spanakopita, with lemonade. After enjoying the lunch, I went outside to have a baklava sundae before heading home. It was a fun time for me.

Now at home relaxing and getting ready for a busy day at work tomorrow.

Later.

Into December 2016

It was an afternoon at the movies last Sunday (27 November), when I went to the AMC Chesterfield 14 (https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/st-louis/amc-chesterfield-14). There, I joined with seven others from the STL Screeners Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/STLScreeners/) to see a presentation of the 1961 classic "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (http://www.fathomevents.com/#event/breakfast-at-tiffanys/more-info/details), presented by Turner Classic Movies (http://www.tcm.com/) and Fathom Events (http://fathomevents.com). This was the first time I saw this romantic comedy on a large screen with an audience, and it was a wonderful experience. After the movie, we gathered in the food court at Chesterfield Mall (http://www.chesterfield-mall.com/) for dinner and discussion. A good time was had by all.

Work at the rental branch this week went well, with returns from Thanksgiving holiday travelers early in the week, plus quite a few customers at the repair shops needing loaners.

After work Monday night (28 November), I was off to St. Louis Community College-Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/) for my annual futsal referee recertification clinic. We reviewed local league policies and concerns, and saw video clips of high level game situations. I had paid my registration fee and passed the test online, so I received my 2017 futsal referee patch at the clinic's end, along with the others (some 20 colleagues with me).

I was back at STLCC-Meramec two nights later for my Beginning Portuguese class, the first in two weeks (we were off the night before Thanksgiving). We reviewed more items to help us understand the language a bit more. Just two more sessions to go in this course.

Off work Thursday, I took care of my laundry at home. That night, I was at Big A's on the Riverfront (http://www.bigasontheriverfront.com/) in St. Charles for a Pre-Dating Speed Dating (http://www.pre-dating.com/) event. I and nine other single males, in our late 40s and 50s, each had six-minute dates with women in our age range. It was a chance to size each other up and see if each was a good fit to further pursue. I felt nervous going in, not having done this sort of dating in a long while, but it went well. However, none of the ten ladies I talked to expressed interest in me. Oh, well, maybe next time.

Last Friday being pay day, I stopped by Krispy Kreme (https://www.krispykreme.com/) in Fenton on the way to work and bought a dozen doughnuts for my colleagues. They appreciate the every other Friday gesture.

I drove to Clayton yesterday morning for this month's meeting of the Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC) (http://www.mpc-nfpw.org/cpsiteframepage.lasso?-token.lpuserref=113815.113118) at the St. Louis Artists' Guild (http://www.stlouisartistsguild.org/new/). Laura Peters, director of archives at The Muny (https://muny.org/), spoke about her efforts to pull together nearly 100 years of The Muny's history. She showed (via PowerPoint) photos of the Muny's Forest Park facilities over the years, actors of note who performed in Muny productions, and advertising in Muny show programs. A most interesting talk.

Then, I headed to the St. Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html) in Brentwood Square. I parked in the lot to co-host by phone this month's edition of "Writer's Block" (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/autistic-people-/2016/12/03/connected--writers-block-10am-pstradio-drama-the-princess-8-11am-pst), the online radio show about writing and storytelling from the autistic perspective. Host Tim Pylypiuk and I talked about Christmas Myths and Stories, touching on such classic tales as "A Christmas Carol" and "It's a Wonderful Life." I had printed off the show's script and several online articles mentioned in that script, and had that with me in the car as I contributed my part of the discussion. This show (paired with Radio Drama in the second hour) is now archived online, for streaming or downloading for podcast.

After the show, I had lunch at that St. Louis Bread Co., then shopped at a few places on my way home.

Later.