A nervous few days

Been awaiting a couple of contract jobs I am up for of late. One is to edit and proofread books for a consulting firm -- a telecommuting position. The other is a temporary proofreading job in St. Louis. Would be happy with either or both jobs.
Friday, I went to a pub to watch the Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Cape Town. I had draw sheets in which to add the countries' names in at the appropriate locations. That included the USA in Group C, with England, Algeria, and Slovenia. I think the Americans got a good draw, opening with England, then two teams that are beatable. Should be fun in South Africa next June and July.
Last weekend I refereed my first futsal games of the new season. They went well -- better than I expected, as I felt a few first weekend jitters, but not a hassle. I have some more futsal the next two weekends. Haven't had any outdoor winter league games yet, but as there won't be many such games (due to considerably fewer teams this season), I many not have much to do outdoors until spring.
Later.

Welcoming the relatives recently

Last month, two of my brothers were in town for a few days each, on separate visits. Brian and his daughter Rowan were here early in the month, and it was my first time in person with my 3-year-old niece. Rowan and I got along great. She's a wonderful girl. We all had some nice time together.
Last week, Rick drove up from Austin with wife Melissa and 4-year-old adopted son Alex. They spent Thanksgiving with my parents and I and we all had a good time together. Melissa also reviewed my resume and made a few helpful suggestions, and gave me a short course on InDesign software, which she uses in her editing work.
I have a couple of games to referee tomorrow night, which wrap up the fall season and whose end was extended due to many rainouts this fall (especially in October). Then it's on to the winter outdoor boys season and the futsal season, both of which start this weekend.
Speaking of soccer, last weekend I saw the film "The Damned United" at a cinema here. I really enjoyed it and highly recommended it to my friends and colleagues.
Starting to get ready for Christmas. Yesterday I helped put up lights on the exterior of the house. The weather was pleasant yesterday, but not to today.
Also yesterday, I helped my mates at IPMS St. Louis set up a model display in the lobby display cases of the Thornhill Branch, St. Louis County Library, our meeting site. We have about 70 models in the two cases, which makes for a very nice display. We also put up flyers about our group in the cases. The display will run until early January.
Later.

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

It's been raining a lot in St. Louis these past two days. Not the greatest of mood setters. One bit of sunshine, though came here Sunday morning, when my brother Brian and his daughter Rowan arrived from New York on a visit with my parents and I. This is the first time I have seen my niece in person, and she's a real good little girl. They'll head back to New York on Thursday, but we'll have some time together in the meantime.
Last week saw some soccer games I refereed last weekend, and some college volleyball Thursday night. After attending a networking event in west St. Louis, I drove to Washington University to see the host Bears play Webster University in the first round of the NCAA Division III women's volleyball tournament. Wash. U. beat Webster 3 sets to 1 to advance, but it was sure nice to see the Gorloks in post-season play. It was not something I could see when I was Webster's sports information coordinator 20 years ago.
I have IPMS Gateway meeting tonight, and tomorrow night is the futsal referee recertification clinic.
Later.

Got through the weekend

The weekend came and went fine, under the circumstances. All that rain we had through Friday played havoc with the tournament I was scheduled to referee in. I ended up with just four, shortened (25-minute half) games Sat. night, plus three league games Sunday afternoon. These were played on artificial surfaces, needless to say. They all went through with no real hitches. Obviously, there was no time for any Halloween activities for me. Mom did keep some treats by the door and there were a few kids who came by our house early Saturday night.
I'm at a fund raiser for Jean Carnahan's 2010 US Senate seat bit tonight, and run the IPMS St. Louis meeting tomorrow night. Info on the latter at http://www.ipms-stlouis.org/
Later.

A cold rain keeps falling

It's been raining a lot here in St. Louis this month, and the past few days have been no exception. Before the rain lets up tomorrow night, we may have around 3 inches of rain in this latest surge. Wet! Not having much fun at home now. Feel real draggy. I hope I can pick it up by this weekend, when I'm refereeing in a girls' tournament.
Speaking of refereeing, I worked a few games this past week. That included the middle on a under-17 girls' match Sunday afternoon. It was OK -- not real interesting, and no real hassles -- and I passed the maintenance assessment given of my work then. No major faults found by the assessor, just a few minor things to work on. I'm almost done with registration for 2010. Just have to take and pass the written test, which I can do online. Plan to do that later today.
Friday night was special at Mehlville High. The football game at home vs. St. Louis U. High was the benefit for Operation Ozzy. The school and its alumni were paying tribute to Mehlville's Number 1 fan, Tim (Ozzy) Osborn, who had fallen on hard times in recent years (unemployed and homeless). Thanks to a group of Mehlville High alumni on Facebook, we were able to track Osborn down (a classmate of mine, a St. Louis Police officer, found Osborn on the street), get him a place to live and some part time work, and set up a trust fund for him. I was so happy and proud to be a part of this effort. I remember Ozzy well from my student days, when he cheered on the Panthers from his seat.
That's it for now. Rain, rain, go away!

Quiet before it gets busy

Nothing much happening for me of late. Haven't been called in yet for temp jobs, and haven't heard back on a job I applied for late last week. I got in some soccer refereeing last Sunday, my first games in over a month. They went well and bode well for me this week. I have two game tomorrow night (MRL), one Saturday morning (MRL), and two Sunday (SLYSA), with a maintenance assessment being done on one of those Sunday games.
I mowed the lawns (front and back) earlier today. The front lawn mowing included leaves that had fallen off a tree in the middle of the yard. My parents greatly appreciated that I could help them out like this.
IPMS Gateway meeting tonight at Calvary Presbyterian. I have to open the fellowship hall and get it ready, then close it down. No problem, though, as it's not a huge job. I just like to pride myself on getting it done well.
Later.

Staying out of the rain

We had quite a bit of rain much of Thursday and into Friday morning. My soccer games this morning were called off due to wet grounds. Hopefully, tomorrow afternoon's games come off.
Speaking of soccer, I passed my referee fitness test last Sunday morning. Several of my colleagues also did the three-part test: 12-minute run around a 400-meter track; 200-meter dash; and, 50-meter dash. I was glad to have passed, as I had only really trained for this in the previous week, due to my recent temp work assignment. Glad to get this out of the way.
No word yet on any temp jobs, or any job openings. I did pick up a book I ordered, "Asperger Syndrome Employment Workbook," which should help me fine tune my job search strategy into the kind of work I would be highly suited for doing. I'll go over this in the coming week. Anybody out there with any thoughts and ideas is welcome to contact me here.
Just got a new combination DVD recorder/VCR, to replace by 4 year old device. After some fits and starts, it's hooked up to my TV. It runs DVDs and video tapes great, but I still need to figure out how to record programs off TV.
That's it for now. Talk to you later.