The celebration continues......

With Harrison's birthday being the day before a popular Utah state holiday, the partying can take a few days to complete. I was close to dubbing this past week the "Week of Harrison", although there was no eating of whole blocks of cheese and very little decompressing (for some of us).

Friday was capped off with a party for Harrison's friends.




Some musical chairs:


Fabulous prizes:


Shaan put a lot of work into planning this party so that everyone would have a good time. She really needed a better assistant but my rates are low so she went with me anyway. The good times rolled into Saturday with a small party for those family members who were in town.

The birthday boy:


Zac (Yes, ladies, he's single and gainfully employed!) and Grandma Bartschi:



"What, you can't blow out the candles??" Ha, haaaaaaaaa!!! Diabolical!!





Thanks to everyone for sharing in Harrison's special day(s)!

Baseball and fireworks

Grandpa Back was able to pick up tickets for the Salt Lake Bees game on the 24th. The Bees won, the fireworks were great and everyone had a good time (especially the proprietors of the Snowie stands whose profit margins have to be in excess of 5,000%).



Cool Shad:


Adorable Shad:


Cool Harrison:


Adorable (if slightly out of focus) Harrison:

Happy Birthday Harrison!!

The post is late but we celebrated Harrison's birthday on the correct date, July 23rd. Here is the card we gave him that morning before school:



A larger image of the card is here if you'd like to get a better look.

He got to spend some time with Dad on a surprise outing to McDonald's for lunch and bowling afterwards. Dad won the first game but Harrison scored a dramatic come-from-behind win in the second game with a strike on the final frame. I forgot the camera so there aren't any pictures but the competition was intense.

After all the fun he wanted to catch the last part of school. This wasn't a surprise as he likes being with his friends and all the things that go on in his class.

We all went to Training Table for dinner as a family to end the celebrations for that day. We can't believe how quickly he and Shad are growing up.

'The List' : Origins and future

Like many of you, dear readers, I am just so sick of receiving poor service from anyone that I have to pay. It's been that way for a long time but it's now starting to drive me crazy. I must now be officially 'old' and you will soon hear me saying things like, "Kids these days..." and "I remember when _________". Your patience during this time of transition is very much appreciated.

So, for a number of years I've gradually been blacklisting businesses whenever I felt I received poor service and adding them to a 'list'. Unfortunately, the extent of my efforts to document these real and/or perceived slights consisted pretty much of me telling Shaan, "Well, looks like (fill in offending business name here) is getting added to my/our list" as we'd drive out of the parking lot.

Obviously, trying to rely on my occassionally keen memory to recall all the details of these occurences was the one glaring weakness of an otherwise fabulous idea. The lack of consistent documentation made it difficult to enforce these mini-boycotts as well. The circumstances of my previous post got me so bent out of shape that I was finally moved to action in terms of preserving these interactions.

Finally, a friend told me that I should put the list on our blog. It could be cathartic and maybe it might (big hint) motivate me to provide more timely updates. This was such a fabulous idea, and I was so distraught that I hadn't thought of it myself, that I considered taking full credit for it, but for a variety of reasons, I won't (Thanks, Masha!).

So, you'll find 'The List' on the sidebar above the blog archive. I'm going to try to keep it to more recent things that I can document in order to be fair, but if I can remember the details well enough, a poor experience from the distant past may show up.

Feel free to refer to it often as a public service as a thanks for your readership.

Under Construction

Adding a new feature and will be uploading new items shortly (by Tuesday, hopefully).

BOOOOO!!! to Jiffy Lube

Prologue:

Pretty much ever since I've been responsible to maintain a vehicle, I've taken them to Jiffy Lube to get routine service. I recently went to Jiffy Lube to get my car inspection and registration taken care of and had an especially lousy experience. I've had minor problems with Jiffy Lube before and always brushed them off. The whole sordid tale is below for those who wish to read on but for those who don't, I would strongly urge you to patronize ANY establishment other than Jiffy Lube. I ended up at the Grease Monkey on Parrish Lane in Centerville and got right in and out and I'll be going there in the future.

As a typical, law abiding citizen, I took in my car in to take care of the testing needed to renew our car's registration which was set to expire at the end of May. As my father before me, I usually try to take care of these kind of things first thing in the morning so it doesn't take as long. Due to the variety of activities we had been engaged in over the course of the month, I ended up putting the ordeal off until the last Saturday of the month which happened to also be the 31st.

As I've done for awhile now, I headed over to the Jiffy Lube on 5th South in Bountiful. I needed an oil change and they have the on-site renewal where you can register without having to wait for the stickers to come in the mail from the state. For the benefit of non-Utah resident readers, at this point, I'll briefly comment on how ridiculous these tests are. The emissions tests are of limited value and the 'safety' check is an absolute joke. About all it's good for is to keep windshield repair and wiper blade-selling establishments in business. I won't comment on Utah's other registration requirements (which include a yearly tax on your vehicle) other than to throw out the word 'exorbitant'.

I hate getting the tests done because when your car's 'getting up there' in car years, there's this palpable sense of dread while you're waiting for the tech to come back. You're waiting for he/she to tell you that you'll have to drop X thousands of dollars in order to pass. It's as dramatic as any waiting room scene on 'Grey's Anatomy' (or I assume it is since I don't really watch Grey's Anatomy). It's definitely less witty and condescending than 'House', though. Medical-drama comparisons aside, however, the tech again delivered the good news that our car had passed but there was some minor bad news as well.

Apparently, I wasn't the only person to wait until the last day to register their vehicle because the tech informed me that their registration renewal system had just crashed and someone was going to need to come out to get it up and running. I asked the tech if he could print off the testing certificates and if I'd need to have the tests redone. He said to come back anytime after the system was back up, they could print them off and I wouldn't need to go through the whole ordeal again (this will become important later).

Since I can understand that systems issues happen, I had other errands to run so I'd be back around anyway and, from what he explained, it wouldn't require a lot of extra time, I told them it wouldn't be a problem and I'd be back later. I was pretty easygoing about the whole thing. I checked in a couple hours later (system still down) and finally one more time early that evening (system back up).

When I got there the last time, the tech that had taken care of my car that morning wasn't around so I explained my situation. I was told that I could get my tags printed up in "about 10 minutes". After 20 minutes of Tetris playing on my cell phone in the waiting room, I went back out to find out what the deal was and it was downhill from there. I was told that not only would I have to wait awhile longer since there was another car in the bay in the middle of being tested (BTW, this car had come in after I arrived for my 3rd visit that day), but that my car would have to be tested AGAIN. I was told that this was because I had "taken off" before the paperwork was printed (even though I had been told it couldn't be done but could easily be printed later). Again, for those not familiar with this pointless ritual, running both tests takes around 30 minutes on average.

This sent me into Testy Consumer Mode. I don't usually suffer from TCM that often but it's about as close as I get to becoming a radiation exposure-induced green monster. Up to this point, this bout of TCM was still pretty tame and I was trying to be pleasant about the whole thing. I explained that since I initially arrived first thing in the morning, I was really first in line so my car should be given priority. The tech must have felt that I was trying to lure him into a maze of circular logic with this astute argument because I got the "talk to my manager" brush off.

I found the manager out back and again explained the situation, how their system had caused the whole problem and that I would like to get it taken care of immediately. To his credit, he was courteous and appeared empathetic but there wasn't anything that could be done to get me on my way and Jiffy Lube wasn't going to do anything to make up for the fact that they had now made me waste two or three times as much of my day as this whole thing should have required.

At this point, I was fed up and asked for my money back for the testing so I could take it somewhere else. While the manager processed the refund, he explained that the $5 discount I received for my total bill would have to be removed. I was given $5 off for the maintenance services I received since I had them add on a couple other things (which I could have done myself) but apparently, the tech who wrote up my bill attached the discount to the testing services instead. This is why sloth is one of the seven deadly sins: It makes you pay more for car repairs than you really should.

I confirmed with the manager that for all the trouble I had gone through with Jiffy Lube that day, my final reward was to remove my service discount. When he said there wasn't anything he could do about that, I knew I would never be returning to a Jiffy Lube ever again.

Hanging out with Zac

On the way to Rachel's house for an Easter dinner, the boys were so excited to hang out with their Uncle Zac on the drive down to Sandy. They literally asked him questions non-stop, especially about his new job as a police officer. Zac explained to them what he does and Shad decided to put it into context when he said, "So, you're like the hall monitor of the streets". It was cute. The picture is kind of dark, but if you look you can tell how much they love being with Zac.

Disneyland

We made the trek down to Anaheim the second week of February for the kids' first trip to the Magic Kingdom.

On the way to CA, we stayed in Mesquite, NV. We hadn't been there before so we weren't too familiar with the area. Hopefully, the hotel would have a 20 story sign next to the freeway.....

Mesquite is pretty much what you'd get if you took Vegas and removed the high rollers, the mob, the money and CSI. The result is a glorified truck-stop with golf. It's kind of depressing.


We made it through the front gate:


Looking into the sun was too much for Harrison to take. Behind us, Walt is showing Mickey where the first churro cart will go from which Walt will turn reheated pastry, sugar and cinnamon into gold.


Leaving the real world (and any concept of what things cost in the real world) behind:


Shad keeping it real w/ Mr. Toad:


Probably one of the most enjoyable things for everyone was the Jedi Training Academy. At one of the pavillions, Jedi would come out, pick kids from the crowd and teach them an attack combination with a training lightsaber. It turns out to be an important exercise when some surprise guests arrive:


The kids then get a chance to fight against Darth Vader or Darth Maul. Shad fought against Darth Maul the first day but we had split up and didn't get many good pictures, though. Later in the week Shad and Harrison both got picked for the training:

I love this one w/ Harrison. He looks so little next to Darth Vader:


Here they are bringin' the pain to Darth Vader:



The boys liked meeting the different characters and getting their autographs:




Harrison w/ Ariel. She offered to give him a kiss but he wasn't too sure about that:









We all survived Splash Mountain:


After two trips down Grizzly River run we were soaked. It also happened to be the one day where the weather was cold and windy. Instead of buying the $10 ponchos at the shop next door, we toughed it out:


Harrison found the stash from the churro sales:


Feats of strength in Toontown:




Saying goodbye on our way out of town:



It was a really fun trip for everyone. Hopefully we'll be able to get back soon.

"Aaaaaaaaaand, we're back!"

So, it's obviously been quite a while and we've probably lost what few loyal readers we had. The marketing department is working on a reacquisition campaign for Q2 that we're really excited about. There's no campaign slogan yet but it'll have a "when you're at the office/home, check this out instead of doing your work" feel too it.

Since the first part of February we've been going almost non-stop so the lack of updates hasn't been total neglect. Our trip to Disneyland was "off the chain" as the kids say (not our kids, but 'kids'). Pics and a recap are forthcoming. For real. I swear. I've endured too much harassment about not updating this blog to NOT put them up.

We finally got an offer for our house (YAY!!!!) and had to move everything out (BOOOO!!!!!) before the sale closed a couple weeks ago. We had moved what we thought was most of the stuff out last fall when we first put the house up but as we got into the 'final' move it seemed like more stuff would appear for everything we put in storage/donated/took to the dump. The whole thing was starting to make Sisyphus' problem look like a minor annoyance. With some very much appreciated help, we (well, mostly Shaan) were able to get everything out and cleaned up. We were really glad to have that finalized and off our minds.

Sprinkled in these periods were some work trips to Dallas for me which slowed the progress at home. Shaan got to come with on one of the short trips so that was good for both of us. The boys have still been doing their karate, Shad's started Cub Scouts and been working on his piano lessons and soccer's started back up also. Shaan's been putting her usual long hours and extra dedication into teaching the students in her class. It's extra time consuming since she moved 'up' to 1st grad this year, but she's doing a great job.

The new house has come along quite a bit. It's all pretty much been inside, though and we haven't gotten a lot of pictures of it. It looks like it'll be done by May so it'll be great to have that completed.

Finally, this post is coming to you live from Bangalore, India. I've been here for a couple weeks for work (with 'only' three more to go!!!). Flying over in first class was pretty much the sweetest thing ever but the joyride was definitely over when we got off the plane. I forgot the cable for the camera and haven't found a way to upload the pics from the camera yet so I'll post about the trip after I get back. The people are very friendly and especially at work they've been great to work with. I'll just mention this from a commercial that's running for an electrical equipment company over here. The tagline on their ad is: "Wires that don't catch fire". As solid a selling point as I've ever heard. Maybe I'll hire their ad company for the reader reacquisition campaign!

Getting closer...

Recently, there was another unexpected sudden development: Shaan and the kids drove by to look at the house the other day and most of the siding was already finished! Fortunately, the roof is also finished under all that snow. I had to adjust the brightness on this photo so the siding and roof are a bit darker than what this shows, but not much:

Everything is coming together now. We're still making small changes but trying to keep them to a minimum. I think that every time I talk to the electrician it ends up costing me $500. The cabinets have been ordered and we took an expensive trip to the appliance store Saturday. Insulation is going in now and it won't be long before we start doing some of the finish work inside.

It's happening a little faster than we expected which would be good except it just happens to be a busy time for me at work. Between our vacation to Disneyland next week and me going back and forth to TX and over to India for work, I'll only be home a week or two until the end of April.

On a related note, anyone with experience in (or ownership of equipment to facilitate) any of these tasks : laying tile, carpet installation, hardwood floor installation and/or finishing or interior painting - and who's been thinking, "Is there any way I could exchange labor in these skills for pizza and/or sub sandwiches and a variety of bottled waters, Gatorade and assorted carbonated beverages?", your opportunity has arrived!!! Sign up in the 'Comments' section!! =)

The beginning of the end...

... of the exterior work on the house.

The windows and (most of) the doors are in and the roof is nearly ready to be shingled. This photo is from January 12th.

Shad's Big Day!

Having turned eight years old in December, Shad had the opportunity to be baptized this month and we've all shared in his excitement. With me having been out of town for work up until the night before and everything else going on, the day was pretty hectic, but we got through it with everyone's help.

This is Shad with his proud parents:

Important note: I was much more enthusiastic about the event than this picture seems to indicate. I don't know what the deal was/is with this picture.

Shad was a little nervous leading up to it and being the center of attention. He was pretty surprised at how warm the water was in the font and he let everyone know.

After numerous food-related delays, we got to have lunch with those who came to support Shad:

All of us were very grateful that so many were able to come and share the day with Shad.