Prepping Rental Cars, Touring A-B, and Cheering On STLFC

I spent last Saturday morning and afternoon (24 March) at home, relaxing and gathering information for a scale model I will soon work on for an upcoming contest.

That night, I went to Kirkwood Station Brewing Company (http://www.kirkwoodstationbrewing.com/) to join with other St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) in watching the telecast of Saint Louis FC's (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) match at San Antonio FC. We had beer and appetizers while watching the contest on several TV screens. Despite taking an early lead, Saint Louis FC conceded two goals to lose 2-1. Still, it was nice to spend this time with fellow soccer supporters.

Home on Sunday, I did begin painting a 1:48 scale model kit of an RF-80A Shooting Star. It's to be done for the contest at the May IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/) meeting, which has the special category of "Crazy Eights." That is, any subject with an eight (8) in its name or designation.

Back to work Monday morning (26 March) at the rental branch, we had our usual busy morning. The week at work went well, though not as busy in stretches of the week. This may be due to the wet weather much of this past week, and perhaps to some schools on Spring Break this week.

After work on Tuesday, I headed to EdgeWild Bistro & Tap (http://www.edgewildbistro.com/ew-home.html) in Creve Coeur, where the IPMS/Gateway business meeting was held. This was a most productive meeting, in which several important matters in the club were discussed and decisions made. I and others in attendance took advantage of EdgeWild's $5 Burger Tuesdays for our dinner, and mine was most tasty. I definitely can recommend this place.

Off on Thursday (29 March), I did my laundry and started work on the Editing Portfolio on PowerPoint. I plan to do some more of that tomorrow, in getting that closer to completion.

Today was very interesting for the places I went to within an eight-hour span. First, I was at the Anheuser-Busch (AB) (http://www.anheuser-busch.com/) Brewery in south St. Louis. This was a tour of the Beer Museum (http://www.budweisertours.com/) with the St. Louis Historic Sites Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/St-L-Historic-Sites-Meetup/), which has more sites and privileges than the standard brewery tour that I have taken a few times in my life. There were 23 of us in our group taking the tour. (Others from our Meetup group went on a early afternoon Beer Museum tour.) Tom, our tour guide, took us around the brewery, with stops at the Clydesdale Stable, the Brew House, the Courtyard, and the old office, which contained displays on A-B's history. We each got a small glass and enjoyed a sample of Budweiser, and received a replica token of the style used around 1880 by A-B to give to customers for a free sample of Budweiser or Michelob at a tavern selling these beers.

At tour's end, back at the Tour Center, we redeemed another token Tom gave us for a free beer and then we had lunch in the Biergarten. It was very nice and I got to better know several others in our group while we waited for our lunch orders. I had a wonderful time with this group and taking this tour, which I highly recommend.

After dashing back home for a quick change in outfit, I headed to World Wide Technology Soccer Park for Saint Louis FC's home opening against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Joining with the St. Louligans in the tailgate, I marched with them into Toyota Stadium for the match. Saint Louis FC scored in the 4th minute and made it stand for a 1-0 win. There was quite a good crowd today, despite the overcast skies and a bit of rain before the match.

Relaxing at home now. Tomorrow is Easter for myself and other Western Rite Christians. (Eastern Rite Christians celebrate this holiday one week from tomorrow.)

Later.

Somehow, Spring Has Arrived

Home on Sunday (18 March), I went to service at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/). Afterward, I headed home, stopping by St. Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html) in Mehlville for a coffee and pastry. I then relaxed at home the rest of the day and night.

Back at the rental branch early the next day, we had our usual busy Monday morning. However, everything went well. Same for the next day.

Right after work Tuesday night (20 March), it was off to Calvary for this month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/) meeting. I helped get the Fellowship Hall set up for the meeting, and took down notes as Secretary. Afterward, I helped to get the hall cleaned up and locked up for the night. It was a good meeting, with our Model of the Month "Beauty Contest" and a slide show by Gary Chambers of aircraft, military and civilian vehicles, and watercraft he photographed during a visit to Moscow last summer. Very interesting.

Spring arrived late on Wednesday morning, but you would not have known it from the chilly weather. High temperatures this week were in the range from 40 to 50 degrees F (4 to 10 degrees C). Hopefully, that will improve in the coming week or two.

Off work yesterday, I used the time to do a bit of shopping (for body wash and for printer paper), and doing my laundry at home. I also checked on a couple of matters regarding IPMS/Gateway's newsletter, The Arch Scaler News, which I edit. Otherwise, I chilled out at home.

Thursday night, my mother and I went to the Kirkwood Public Library (https://kirkwoodpubliclibrary.org/) for the launch of a new book. "Slaying in South St. Louis," by Vicki Berger Erwin and her son Bryan Erwin, tells the story of a 1963 stabbing murder of a housewife by a juvenile delinquent and how he escaped justice due to legal technicalities. My brother Rick edited this book, which is published by The History Press (https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Navigation/Series/THPSeries). Mom and I really found the talk most fascinating and she let the co-authors know about Rick's work. Vicki Berger Erwin told us that Rick was really good to work with as an editor. The co-authors signed my mom's copy, and I bought a copy for myself. This event was coordinated by Main Street Books (http://www.mainstreetbooks.net/).

Back to work this morning, I stopped by Krispy Kreme (http://krispykreme.com/) to get some doughnuts for my colleagues. The day was rather busy, but went well. That morning, the cargo pants I was wearing developed a rip. I was able to make emergency repairs using electrical tape, but went to Target (https://www.target.com/) during my lunch break to buy a pair of cargo pants. I changed into them just before going back on duty, and they worked out well.

Later.

A Trip to Kansas City and Soccer on TV at the Bar

Early last Saturday (10 March), I was on the road to Kansas City. I arrived in mid-morning at the First Church of the Nazarene, venue of KC CON, a model contest co-sponsored by IPMS/Great Plains (http://ipmsgreatplains.org/) and KC AMPS (http://kcamps.org/). I brought four models to enter in the contest. Neither won an award; the competition in their respective categories was too strong. I did help judge the automotive entries, and my team had some real good entries to look over.

I had better luck in the raffles, run by both clubs. I won two kits and a pin vise. I also shopped around the vendor room, buying one kit. Additionally, I brought flyers for the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) show in September and picked up flyers for upcoming shows in the region.

After the show, I drove to Q39 (https://q39kc.com/) in Overland Park, Kansas for dinner with my friend and former Enterprise Rent-A-Car (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) colleague Meggie Snipes (nee Goeke) and her husband, Cody. We got caught up on things and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at this barbecue restaurant. I had the Certified Angus Beef brisket, with slaw and beans on the side, and it was delicious. I also shared in an appetizer of spiced onion straws. The three of us had a great evening, and we promised to keep in touch. Then, I began the trip home, arriving late that night.

It was a good thing I came home when I did, because we got a bit of snow the next morning. Approximately 2 inches (5 cm) of snow fell Sunday morning; however, because the ground was warm, the snow soon melted. At least having some mid-March snow was different.

It was back to work Monday morning (12 March), and it was busy as usual, but the day went well. That night, when I came home from work, I found my Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) season ticket package. It had my ticket booklet, parking ticket booklet, coupon for refreshments at an upcoming match, and my 2018 season ticket member scarf.

The work week went well, and my off day Thursday (15 March) was nice. I finished up the March edition of the IPMS/Gateway newsletter, The Arch Scaler News, and sent it out on Thursday afternoon. Our next meeting is this Tuesday night at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/).

After a fairly busy Friday at the rental branch, it was off to Kirkwood Station Brewing Company (http://www.kirkwoodstationbrewing.com/), where I joined the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) in watching Saint Louis FC's season opening match at Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. I enjoyed a dinner of The Engineer burger, with a side of pub chips, all washed down with Ale Fleur One. We saw the match on the TV screens around the bar, and cheered our team on. After giving up a goal well into the 2nd half, Saint Louis equalized off a corner kick and earned a 1-1 draw. We would have preferred a win, but a draw on the road wasn't bad.

I met two of the team's management team--Chief Executive Officer Jim Kavanaugh and Chief Financial Officer Tom Strunk--at the watch party, where they mingled with the crowd. I also picked up the 2018 St. Louiligans scarf I had ordered. All in all, a good night.

Today is St. Patrick's Day. I had thought about going to one of the parades in St. Louis today, but decided I was too tired and not in a great mood, so I just stayed home and watched TV.

Erin go Bragh!

Later

More Soccer and Work

Late Sunday morning (4 March), I was back at World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/soccerpark) for Saint Louis FC's (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) second pre-season match of the weekend against FC Denver. I joined the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) in a tailgate before we marched into Toyota Stadium for the match. Just like the previous day's match, Saint Louis FC had much more class than their opponents, running out 5-0 winners this day. FC Denver's goalkeeper did his best to keep his side in the match with his saves, but it was too much for him and his teammates in the end.

Before the match, I chipped into the St. Louligans' raffle for an FC Denver warm-up jersey. I didn't win, but the visitors sure did: St. Louligans' tailgate raffles and donations yielded $1000 for FC Denver's Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (https://www.ussoccer.com/lamar-hunt-us-open-cup) campaign this season.

Back to work Monday morning at the branch, and it was a busy one as usual. We all pitched in and got the job done well.

Right after work, I drove to Hollywood Casino (http://www.hollywoodcasinostlouis.com/) in Maryland Heights for Saint Louis FC's Meet the Team event at 99 Hops House. I joined with other season ticket holders and with corporate sponsors to meet the 2018 squad. They payers and coaches were introduced to the crowd, the 2018 uniforms were modeled by some players, and the crowd was addressed by a few players, head coach Anthony Pulis, and assistant coach Tim Leonard. There was complimentary beer and food for the crowd, and the new home jersey was available for sale. I had to guy one, and did. It's a hunter green color, darker than the kelly green shirt used in the previous two seasons. I do like it a lot and will be proud to wear it to matches.

By the way, Saint Louis FC plays its final pre-season match this Saturday in Evansville, Indiana against defending USL (https://www.uslsoccer.com/) Cup Champion Louisville City FC. Oh, Louisville, we hate you!

After another full day of work on Tuesday (6 March), I drove to Mark Twain Hobby Center (https://www.hobby1.com) in St. Charles for this month's Mark Twain Model Club (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1908352139489409/) meeting. I plugged IPMS/Gateway's (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) contest in September, and then took in a very nice demo on car model finishing. I won an aircraft kit in the raffle held after the demo.

Yesterday at work alternated between busy and quiet, ending in an extended session getting some dropped vehicles to bring back to the branch and cleaning them up so they would be ready for the next morning. Earlier that day, I picked up a customer in Wildwood and we struck up quite a conversation on the drive to the branch. This woman had been an editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and was now doing some other work. I mentioned my background and she was very interested in my story. Just after arriving at the branch, I gave this woman my networking card, in case she ran into anyone who could help in my job search. I added to the card the site for this blog; she mentioned that she wanted to check it out.

On my off day today, I did my laundry and got my contest entries ready for this Saturday's KC CON (http://www.ipmsgreatplains.org/KCCon2018.aspx) show in Kansas City. I will enter four of my models in this contest, and I typed out the registration forms from the show's website, to save time when I get to the show. I also had some IPMS/Gateway show flyers run off to take with me to KC CON. I also got the car washed and bought a couple of items for my model workbench.

Later.