The weather was rather chilly as February ended and March began last weekend. Last Sunday night (2 March), we got a bit of ice and then snow. Fortunately, the commute to work the next morning wasn't too bad, although it was rather unpleasant being out in the below freezing weather, as I was that morning getting cars warmed up and ice removed from windows.
After work Tuesday (4 March), I drove to Mark Twain Hobby Center in St. Charles for the IPMS/St. Louis meeting. Two others made it to the meeting, which showed that third time was the charm. (I was the only one to show up for January, and last month's meeting was cancelled due to bad weather.) We had a nice little get together and agreed this new venue will work out for us.
Today on my off day, I applied for a job in corporate communications here in St. Louis, and saw my dentist. The exam showed no cavities, but that one tooth will need to be removed due to root damage.
Work has been going well of late. Tuesday, two colleagues and I drove to our sister branch in Washington, Missouri to pick up some vehicles--the longest such trip I've done since starting work at the car rental branch. Late yesterday, we got an influx of vehicles returned by renters.
Later.
06 March 2014
27 February 2014
A Winner at Trivia
Last Thursday night (20 Feb.) saw me at Creve Coeur Airport for the monthly Missouri Aviation Historical Society meeting. We had former Air Force, Lockheed, and TWA pilot George Andre speaking this month about his extensive flying career, which I found most interesting.
The next night, right after work, I was at Andre's in Oakville for the Mehlville-Oakville Alumni Association (MOAA) trivia night, which benefitted the MOAA's scholarship program and operations. I was at a table with eight other players, of whom only two I knew: Paul Trelford and his wife Laura, both fellow Mehlville 1982 grads and neighbors. We were one of 30 table playing the game and we finished the night on top, winning the night with a score of 92 out of a possible 100 correct. The ten sets of questions covered: Presidential Trivia; Best Picture Oscar winners; Flags of the World (with visual clues); Las Vegas; Twin Trivia (answers were about various twins); Famous First Lines of novels; Actors and The Characters They Played in movies; TV Show Theme Songs (audio clues); Directional Trivia (answers had at least one direction of the compass); and, Late Night Trivia (late night TV shows). We at our table each won our $25 entry fee back as a prize for the top score on the night. It was fun and I was very happy to help out.
Sunday afternoon (23 Feb.) marked my first refereeing assignments since last fall, due to my bout with tendonitis. I refereed four youth futsal games at the C4 Complex at Creve Coeur Racquet Club, and this was the final match day of the season. I had an under 12 boys game, an under 12 girls game, and two under 13 boys games. The first two were blowouts, but the other two were reasonably close. I was worried about being rusty in my refereeing, but the games went well and I was happy, if a bit sore in my right heel.
Work has been going well, with plenty to do. At least the weather hasn't been too bad this week, although the start of next week doesn't seem so hospitable.
I hosted the IPMS/Gateway business meeting on Tuesday night (25 Feb.), in which the club's board planned the March general meeting and discussed some club business. Everyone there seemed to have enjoyed my hospitality.
Last night after work, I made sure I did not forget my brother Rick's birthday, by sending him an amazon.com gift card and calling him up. The gift card was in response to the one he sent me for my birthday earlier this month.
Later.
The next night, right after work, I was at Andre's in Oakville for the Mehlville-Oakville Alumni Association (MOAA) trivia night, which benefitted the MOAA's scholarship program and operations. I was at a table with eight other players, of whom only two I knew: Paul Trelford and his wife Laura, both fellow Mehlville 1982 grads and neighbors. We were one of 30 table playing the game and we finished the night on top, winning the night with a score of 92 out of a possible 100 correct. The ten sets of questions covered: Presidential Trivia; Best Picture Oscar winners; Flags of the World (with visual clues); Las Vegas; Twin Trivia (answers were about various twins); Famous First Lines of novels; Actors and The Characters They Played in movies; TV Show Theme Songs (audio clues); Directional Trivia (answers had at least one direction of the compass); and, Late Night Trivia (late night TV shows). We at our table each won our $25 entry fee back as a prize for the top score on the night. It was fun and I was very happy to help out.
Sunday afternoon (23 Feb.) marked my first refereeing assignments since last fall, due to my bout with tendonitis. I refereed four youth futsal games at the C4 Complex at Creve Coeur Racquet Club, and this was the final match day of the season. I had an under 12 boys game, an under 12 girls game, and two under 13 boys games. The first two were blowouts, but the other two were reasonably close. I was worried about being rusty in my refereeing, but the games went well and I was happy, if a bit sore in my right heel.
Work has been going well, with plenty to do. At least the weather hasn't been too bad this week, although the start of next week doesn't seem so hospitable.
I hosted the IPMS/Gateway business meeting on Tuesday night (25 Feb.), in which the club's board planned the March general meeting and discussed some club business. Everyone there seemed to have enjoyed my hospitality.
Last night after work, I made sure I did not forget my brother Rick's birthday, by sending him an amazon.com gift card and calling him up. The gift card was in response to the one he sent me for my birthday earlier this month.
Later.
20 February 2014
Chill, Then Warmer Weather
Last Friday (14 Feb.) was Valentine's Day. However, not having a Valentine close by made it hard to really be up for that part of the day. Fortunately for me, work at the car rental branch kept me busy and focused. I also worked last Saturday morning. We got a bit of freezing rain before work last Monday, so I sprinkled some rock salt over the pavement. The weather warmed up a bit that day, and has really gotten warmer as this week has progressed. High temperatures reached 60 degrees F (16 degrees C) yesterday. This was most welcome.
Right after work last Tuesday (18 February), I headed to Calvary Presbyterian Church in Mehlville for the IPMS/Gateway meeting. We had our first contest towards Modeler of the Year, the Out of the Box contest, which I helped judge. (I had no contest entries this month.) Good turnout of models in the contest (about 30), and we had two first-time visitors.
Taking care of some personal business today on my off day from work. I'm attending the Missouri Aviation Historical Society's meeting tonight, and a trivia night tomorrow. I'll let you know about these events in my next post.
Later.
Right after work last Tuesday (18 February), I headed to Calvary Presbyterian Church in Mehlville for the IPMS/Gateway meeting. We had our first contest towards Modeler of the Year, the Out of the Box contest, which I helped judge. (I had no contest entries this month.) Good turnout of models in the contest (about 30), and we had two first-time visitors.
Taking care of some personal business today on my off day from work. I'm attending the Missouri Aviation Historical Society's meeting tonight, and a trivia night tomorrow. I'll let you know about these events in my next post.
Later.
13 February 2014
Reaching the Big 5-0
Last Friday (7 Feb.) was my 50th birthday. Mom & Dad had a card for me when I was at the breakfast table that morning. My co-workers served up a large decorated cookie. At home after work, I opened a package from my brother Doug and his wife Helen. It had a flight jacket from the California ScienCenter in Los Angeles, showcasing the Space Shuttle Endeavour that's on display there. It is a very nice jacket and I love it. My brothers Rick and Brian each sent me an amazon.com gift certificate, which I should have no problem using. (I ordered two documentary series DVDs, which arrived today, and still have some value left on those gift certificates.)
The next night, my parents threw a birthday dinner for me at O'Charley's in Mehlville. Five of my friends joined us for a nice dinner, especially nice as I had not seen some of these guests for some months. We all enjoyed each other's company.
Sunday (9 Feb.), I was at a house in south St. Louis for a seminar conducted via Skype on overcoming shyness. There were several other women there and it was a rather interesting session which lasted about 2 1/2 hours. I learned a few tips for overcoming shyness, and perhaps they may help.
Work this past week has been going well. We're all looking forward to the weather improving in the coming days, after another slight snow burst tomorrow.
Later.
The next night, my parents threw a birthday dinner for me at O'Charley's in Mehlville. Five of my friends joined us for a nice dinner, especially nice as I had not seen some of these guests for some months. We all enjoyed each other's company.
Sunday (9 Feb.), I was at a house in south St. Louis for a seminar conducted via Skype on overcoming shyness. There were several other women there and it was a rather interesting session which lasted about 2 1/2 hours. I learned a few tips for overcoming shyness, and perhaps they may help.
Work this past week has been going well. We're all looking forward to the weather improving in the coming days, after another slight snow burst tomorrow.
Later.
06 February 2014
Birthday Eve 2014
I had quite an interesting and fun filled weekend last weekend. After work last Friday night (31 Jan.), I headed to Dave & Buster's in Maryland Heights for a dinner with the Autism Asperger's Meetup Group. It was a nice dinner for the six of us who were there, with some nice conversation, and I stayed around to play some arcade games there. The next day, I had some nice time in Maplewood. First, sitting in my car, I called in my co-hosting gig on "Writer's Block," the monthly online show by Naturally Autistic ANCA Radio that I do. Host Tim Pylypiuk and I discussed the state of the written word today and folklore, and I talked about being an editor. A nice hour and available for download now at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/autistic-people-/2014/02/01/writers-block-10am-pstradio-drama-11am-pst-the-wishing-wizard.
Right after the show, I joined others from the Food Lovers STL Meetup for the first annual Maplewood Sweet Tooth Tour. We visited nine establishments--specialty cafes, food and drink stores, and a coffeehouse--getting samples from each place and checking in at each place on my tour ticket. It was really nice, we hit such places at Kakeo Chocolate, Foundation Grounds coffeehouse, Great Harvest Bread Co., Strange Donuts, and Pie Oh My! After the tour, I joined with four others for lunch at The Crow's Nest in Maplewood. Sunday (2 Feb.) was a quiet day at home.
We got more snow early this past week. That Sunday, after seeing the weather forecast, I made the decision to cancel Tuesday's IPMS/St. Louis meeting. Work has been good, although being outside in the freezing weather and getting snow and ice off the vehicles is no picnic. I said goodbye to one colleague who's transferring to the location at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
On my off day today, I got the license plates on my Corolla renewed for two years, got my laundry done, my checkbook balanced, and rested up. Back to work tomorrow.
Oh yes, tomorrow. My birthday. The Big 5-0, if you can believe that. (Sometimes, I don't believe I'm that old.) Should be fun.
Later.
Right after the show, I joined others from the Food Lovers STL Meetup for the first annual Maplewood Sweet Tooth Tour. We visited nine establishments--specialty cafes, food and drink stores, and a coffeehouse--getting samples from each place and checking in at each place on my tour ticket. It was really nice, we hit such places at Kakeo Chocolate, Foundation Grounds coffeehouse, Great Harvest Bread Co., Strange Donuts, and Pie Oh My! After the tour, I joined with four others for lunch at The Crow's Nest in Maplewood. Sunday (2 Feb.) was a quiet day at home.
We got more snow early this past week. That Sunday, after seeing the weather forecast, I made the decision to cancel Tuesday's IPMS/St. Louis meeting. Work has been good, although being outside in the freezing weather and getting snow and ice off the vehicles is no picnic. I said goodbye to one colleague who's transferring to the location at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
On my off day today, I got the license plates on my Corolla renewed for two years, got my laundry done, my checkbook balanced, and rested up. Back to work tomorrow.
Oh yes, tomorrow. My birthday. The Big 5-0, if you can believe that. (Sometimes, I don't believe I'm that old.) Should be fun.
Later.
30 January 2014
Busy Nights After Work
After working Monday (27 Jan.) at the car rental branch and a stop for dinner along the way, I attended the monthly soccer referee in-service clinic at Grand Glaze Branch, St. Louis County Library. The clinic this month had a video presentation on match situations and how to correctly deal with them. Some food for thought.
The next night, I went from work to CRM Hobbies in south St. Louis for the IPMS/Gateway business meeting, hosted by CRM Hobbies owner and IPMS/Gateway President Chris Merseal. We planned the February meeting and discussed some club business.
Work has been fine this week. Monday morning found me working out our branch in Ballwin, about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of my home branch in Ellisville. It was temporary duty that morning, as the vehicle service agent normally working there was away. I almost found myself going to another branch Tuesday morning to cover for a sick VSA, but my branch called back soon after I set forth to say I was not needed there and to return to the Ellisville branch.
On my day off today, I got my taxes done (signed, sealed, and e-delivered), and also cleaned my car and my laundry. Plus, I got some flyers run off and distributed promoting the IPMS/Gateway contest on 6 Sept. in Sunset Hills, Mo. More info at http://ipms-gateway.com.
I'm co-hosting Writer's Block, the monthly online radio show, this Saturday (1 Feb.) at Noon, Central Time (1800 GMT). Check it out here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/autistic-people-. The show will be archived for download soon after it airs. Hope you can listen in.
Later.
The next night, I went from work to CRM Hobbies in south St. Louis for the IPMS/Gateway business meeting, hosted by CRM Hobbies owner and IPMS/Gateway President Chris Merseal. We planned the February meeting and discussed some club business.
Work has been fine this week. Monday morning found me working out our branch in Ballwin, about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of my home branch in Ellisville. It was temporary duty that morning, as the vehicle service agent normally working there was away. I almost found myself going to another branch Tuesday morning to cover for a sick VSA, but my branch called back soon after I set forth to say I was not needed there and to return to the Ellisville branch.
On my day off today, I got my taxes done (signed, sealed, and e-delivered), and also cleaned my car and my laundry. Plus, I got some flyers run off and distributed promoting the IPMS/Gateway contest on 6 Sept. in Sunset Hills, Mo. More info at http://ipms-gateway.com.
I'm co-hosting Writer's Block, the monthly online radio show, this Saturday (1 Feb.) at Noon, Central Time (1800 GMT). Check it out here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/autistic-people-. The show will be archived for download soon after it airs. Hope you can listen in.
Later.
26 January 2014
Chowing Down, and Somewhat Off Line
A week ago Thursday night (16 January), I joined with about 12 others at Bailey's Range, a restaurant in downtown St. Louis, for a St. Louis Food Lovers Meetup. Bailey's Range features beef, chicken, pork, bison, and vegetable burgers, along with locally-sourced foods and natural ice cream. I had a great meal there, enjoying a smoked beef burger. This was my first Meetup with this group, and they really made me feel right at home.
Worked hard at the car rental branch that Friday and that Saturday morning, and relaxed at home that weekend. After work on Monday (20 January), I went to join the Monday Indie Movie Club Meetup in Frontenac. Meeting with our party at Panera Bread Co. in Plaza Frontenac, our group of about 20 then walked to the nearby Plaza Frontenac Cinema to catch the Italian film "La Grande Bellezza" (The Great Beauty), which recently won a Golden Globe Award (Best Foreign Film) and is an Oscar Nominee in that category. It's a comedy-drama about a journalist in Rome who's been enjoying the night life there until his 65th birthday and a shock from his past makes him take stock of his life. A rather interesting film, beautifully photographed. Our group generally liked this film. It was my first Meetup with this group, too.
The cold, snowy and icy weather of early this past week (including considerable winds) caused IPMS/Gateway to postpone its meeting by one night, to this past Wednesday (22 January). We had our annual Swap & Sell, where members could sell or trade their model kits and supplies, plus our annual Kit Auction, which raised money for the club's picnic this September. We had a good turnout for our meeting, including three first-time attendees (all of whom joined our club that night), and a reporter from the South County Times, who's doing a story about our club. That should run in this week's issue.
Thursday morning, on my day off work, my computer acted up, so I took it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. The technician said it looked like it had a lot of viruses and would have to take it in to correct that. He thought I would be without my computer until early this week; however, they called yesterday afternoon and it was ready. I have it back now and it's running fine. In the meantime, I used my smartphone and my parent's computer to access messages and websites.
Later this afternoon, I'm off to yet another Meetup, this time in Richmond Heights. I'll fill you in on that in my next post.
Later.
Worked hard at the car rental branch that Friday and that Saturday morning, and relaxed at home that weekend. After work on Monday (20 January), I went to join the Monday Indie Movie Club Meetup in Frontenac. Meeting with our party at Panera Bread Co. in Plaza Frontenac, our group of about 20 then walked to the nearby Plaza Frontenac Cinema to catch the Italian film "La Grande Bellezza" (The Great Beauty), which recently won a Golden Globe Award (Best Foreign Film) and is an Oscar Nominee in that category. It's a comedy-drama about a journalist in Rome who's been enjoying the night life there until his 65th birthday and a shock from his past makes him take stock of his life. A rather interesting film, beautifully photographed. Our group generally liked this film. It was my first Meetup with this group, too.
The cold, snowy and icy weather of early this past week (including considerable winds) caused IPMS/Gateway to postpone its meeting by one night, to this past Wednesday (22 January). We had our annual Swap & Sell, where members could sell or trade their model kits and supplies, plus our annual Kit Auction, which raised money for the club's picnic this September. We had a good turnout for our meeting, including three first-time attendees (all of whom joined our club that night), and a reporter from the South County Times, who's doing a story about our club. That should run in this week's issue.
Thursday morning, on my day off work, my computer acted up, so I took it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. The technician said it looked like it had a lot of viruses and would have to take it in to correct that. He thought I would be without my computer until early this week; however, they called yesterday afternoon and it was ready. I have it back now and it's running fine. In the meantime, I used my smartphone and my parent's computer to access messages and websites.
Later this afternoon, I'm off to yet another Meetup, this time in Richmond Heights. I'll fill you in on that in my next post.
Later.
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