Warm, Then Snowy

Last Thursday night (18 February), I attended the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (MOAHS) (http://moavhist.org/) meeting at Creve Coeur Airport (http://www.crevecoeurairport.com/). The featured speaker was Paul Segura of Boeing, who spoke about the company's 100th anniversary this year, which included info on the founders of Boeing's Legacy Companies (Boeing, Douglas, North American, and McDonnell). He also spoke about the 50th anniversary this month of the aircraft crash at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport that killed the Gemini IX prime crew. A fascinating program. (Boeing's 100th anniversary website is: http://www.boeing.com/boeing100/.) I also gave an update to the MOAHS president and vice president on the journal, Middle Marker, which I'm editing and should come out in a couple of weeks.

Work has been going great of late. Our branch has been doing a great job exceeding customer expectations, as reflected in our high customer satisfaction score. We were going to have a happy hour after work yesterday to celebrate this feat, but weather postponed it until next week. Speaking of weather, it got very nice on Saturday (20 February), reaching 70 degrees F (21 degrees C).

Sunday, my mom assisted me in straightened out my scale modeling workbench area, removing trash and reorganizing tools and supplies. I also was able to find a missing part on my ship model and finished the cruiser Prinz Eugen, which I then placed in my display case.

Back at work on Monday morning (22 February), the work week started off strong. The weather was another story, as we got some wet snow--up to 3 inches (7.6 cm) in Ellisville--early yesterday morning. It was a rough commute (about 45 minutes in my case, instead of the standard 30 minutes), but I got there safely and so did my colleagues. We got the snow cleaned off the cars and the sidewalk in front of our branch. Although a few reservations were cancelled, we got our customers taken care of and things proceeded well. The drive home was better, in that much of the snow melted off the roads, thanks to warmer weather that afternoon.

The night before (23 February), I grabbed some dinner at Jack in the Box (http://www.jackinthebox.com/) in Mehlville before driving to Bill Wagner's house in Oakville for the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) business meeting. It went well and we planned our March general and business meetings.

Today, I took my Corolla to Firestone Complete Auto Care (http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/) in Mehlville. There, the car's transmission fluid was changed, and a heat shield on the under body was bolted back into place. (It was jolted out of place a week ago.) So far, the car's running well. I also had coffee and cake at Starbucks (http://www.starbucks.com/), did my laundry, and worked some more on Middle Marker.

Later.

Party Time with Colleagues; February Begins

We at the rental branch had a good day of work last Friday (29 January). I welcomed our latest employee, Leah, who looks like she'll be another great asset to our branch. The next night, many of my colleagues gathered at Budweiser Brew House at Ballpark Village (http://www.stlballparkvillage.com/) in downtown St. Louis for a company party. It was a very nice social get together, with complementary finger foods and drinks along with socializing with colleagues and their significant others (where applicable). It was nice meeting with colleagues from our branch and others, including from former Ellisville colleagues now elsewhere. I had a very nice time there.

The only snag occurred when getting out of the parking lot, when I had to cover the remaining $1 in parking charges. (We got a voucher for three hours of free parking, and I left just past three hours from arriving.) First one charge card, then my debit card was used, but neither could be read by the machine at the exit, despite the parking attendant's best efforts. Finally, another charge card I had did the trick and I was able to depart for home.

Spent some time over the weekend working on a couple of model kits, which I hope to have done by the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) meeting on 16 February. Both models should be entered in the Out of the Box Contest that night. (That means no modifications to the kit parts.) Tuesday night (2 February), I hosted the IPMS/Gateway business meeting meeting, which was pushed back by one week due to the general meeting being rescheduled for the previous Tuesday. Those in attendance planned the February meetings and discussed some other club business. It went very well.

Work this past week has been good as February got underway. The weather had been unseasonably warm early in the week, with high temperatures nearing 60 degrees F (16 degrees C), but chilling below freezing from midweek. it will be chilly early tomorrow, but warming up as the day progresses.

This morning, I got my car's license plates renewed for two more years, after showing required papers and making payment at the license bureau in Oakville. I also got my laundry done, took care of a few financial matters, and fixed a support for my bed. I can rest easier now.

Later.