JUST SAY NO! (to walmart)

Yes, I am a Walmart hater. I will admit that the convenience (if you call it that) of everything in one place is nice, but I would be a happy man if I could never set foot in there again. It seems like there is ALWAYS an issue every time I'm there, especially when I drop my car off for an oil change. They have lost my keys, misplaced my ticket, been unable to ring the transaction until the next day, etc. The latest chapter was this Friday, when I dropped off the Jeep. My Jeep uses 5W-20 oil. Well, I was informed that in order to get 5W-20, I would have to go with the more expensive package. If I used 5W-30, I could get the cheaper package. Now, both oils are Pennzoil, sitting on Walmart's shelf next to each other in quart and 5-quart packages at an IDENTICAL price. So why am I paying more? The answer from the service manager - "that's our policy."

Then we went over to Red Robin, and belive it or not, for a second time in three visits, they didn't bring our appetizer before the food got there (Sharon and I ordered the nachos and a burger to be split, as we typically do). BUT, at least Red Robin understands the concept of "customer service" - without any asking by us, the manager comped our entire meal (they did this last time too)! We go there fairly often because we like the food and they tend to take good care of their customers. Maybe the Walmart brass should go over there and take a lesson.

Oh! And then I get to school Saturday morning to hook up the trailer for the band competition, and the wiring on the Jeep for the trailer harness shorts out and melts. Now, the band has to have the trailer to get all of their equipment there, so I drive to Lynchburg, illegally, with no lights (brake, signal, etc.) on the trailer. Luckily, I didn't get pulled. Kids, don't try this at home!

So there is my Monday morning rant. Ironically enough, the sermon at church Sunday was on not complaining. More on that later.

Dr. Jeep, anyone?

So, weird thing on the way home last night - as I was coming through downtown Christiansburg, the "check engine" light came on in the Commander (this normally wouldn't bother me as it has become a permanant fixture in my truck as well as my previous Jeep). What does bother me is that when I came around the corner onto route 11, it seemed as if the Jeep lost power; it wouldn't accellerate, and all of the gear markers (L, 2, 3, etc.) lit up. After a few seconds, it picked up again, but the light stayed on. This morning, the light was off, and it ran great.

A little nervewracking since I'll be towing the band trailer for a fairly substantial distance tomorrow with it. I guess I'll call the dealership today, as much as I really don't want to.

Maybe a Russian spy sponsored by a communist crime syndicate has been tampering with my vehicle. Or maybe I've just been reading too much James Bond lately.......

Happy hump day!

Whew.....I think this is going to be a long week! I started re-working the rope railing last night - I have to weave another line in at the bottom in order to keep the goats from getting through. It doesn't look as nice as it does without it, but it'll be ok. It's starting to get very frustrating at this point - the whole project is turning out to be much more expensive and labor intensive that I ever imagined.

The new TV season has me all messed up. Last year, our favorite two shows (Bones and House) came on right after each other on the same night, so it was only one night of TV watching per week. Now, they are on different nights, and they come on at 8, which is a pain as well (I wish they came on at 9). We have also started watching "Fringe," which we both think is really good (kind of a cross between Bones, CSI, and the X-Files).

Sharon has her first band competition this Saturday, and I know she is really worried about her colorguard. For many different reasons, short of a few individuals, they haven't pulled it together this year. She may just march a few of them this weekend. I get to take on my new role as trailer driver, since the family that pulled the trailer last year's daughter graduated, and I'm about the only one with a big enough vehicle. Besides, I also have to chauffer John :)

Yay for band competitions.

Ahoy!

No real reason for that title, just celebrating international talk like a pirate day a few days late. I did find where you could set your facebook language to "pirate," which is awesome, but it can be really difficult to read!

Sorry I haven't written in a while - we've been obnoxiously busy! So, let's see what you've missed...

John's birthday party was a success! We definitely went all out, and we had a great turnout! The little man was definitely showered with gifts; Santa may as well just skip our house this Christmas (just kidding). Sharon and I tried some new recipes for the party; the chicken bites and meatballs were especially big hits! We had so much food out, and I forgot to even put out my spinach and artichoke dip (a party staple). Thanks to everyone for making John's day special (even though he was tired and had to take a nap half-way through the party).

The railing was a big hit too, though it has stretched a bit and is now too loose. As a result, the goats are back on the deck. This type of rope will stretch a bit, but will shrink in the long run. I did buy more rope so that I can put another line along the bottom - hopefully I can get that done this week, and I will post pictures! I haven't worked on it since the day before John's party - I was so tired of working!

The garden is done for - I'm not planting anything else this year. The goats are on clean-up duty; I think I'll try to take all the fencing down around it this week, and then they can really go wild.

Fall TV has started up, and Sharon and I are back to our favorite shows: Bones, House, Kitchen Nightmares (for me), Heroes (for Sharon), and Chuck (next week). I know that sounds like a lot, but we tend not to watch much TV throughout the year, with the exception of American Idol.

We went to our friend's house for a little while Saturday for their housewarming - what a neat little place. Lots of that "older house uniqueness" and very charming! Yesterday, we took off on a kinda sorta whim to Charlotte for some shopping - didn't find too much, really. It was John's first trip in his new forward-facing carseat, and I think it will take him some adjustment. He seems to really like seeing everything, but it's harder for him to get comfortable for sleeping in.

I'll write again when I'm feeling conversational :)

September 11

I remember often hearing my parent's generation talking about remembering exactly where they were or what they were doing when Kennedy was assassinated. I find myself in exactly the same situation with the September 11th tragedy - perhaps the largest tragedy of my generation.

I was in my 3rd year of college, and, as was my typical routine, I was sitting at my studio desk working before classes began. It was a Tuesday, I believe - I had the most boring class in the world called "Parameters in Design" beginning at 9:30, so I would usually get to studio by 7:30 or 8 and work until class. Well, it must have been a few minutes before 9 when a kid ran over to my desk asking if I had my radio on - he had heard that one of the World Trade Center towers was "on fire." I think my batteries were dead, so I went over to the computer room and began to follow the events. My friend Tricia soon showed up, I filled her in as much as possible, and we walked over to the lecture hall for class, where our other friend Matt came in around 9:30.

The hall was partially filled, and CNN was being played continuously on the large screen at the front. For the next 3-4 hours, hundreds of us sat there in silence to receive news of more planes falling, the buildings tumbling, and the tragic after-effects. I remember my professor standing up around 10 and stating that he felt his lecture had no relevance in light of the events, and that they would continue to play CNN for as long as we desired to stay and watch. It was well after noon before we decided to leave - it was too much for some to continue to watch.

I can't remember what we did that afternoon, though I'm pretty sure it was time spent between close friends just being close friends. I will never forget the details of that morning and what happened, and I hope you don't either.

Busy busy busy

I hadn't blogged in a while and felt I should, but I'm super busy, so here's the abbreviated version...

-I just can't get that excited about VT football this year. Maybe it's because I've been so busy, and not all the games have been televised.

-John's birthday party is this Sunday, and we've been working like madmen to get ready. I worked ALL weekend from sun-up to past sun-down, and I even took off Monday with John and worked all day. Got the yard mowed and whacked and most of the siding washed. Started wrapping the rope for the railing (am mostly done), but ran out and had to order another 600'. Oh, and the goats can get through it right now, so I'm going to have to re-do it with a tighter spacing. I'll be finishing it and power washing this Saturday.

-Garden is about done for the year. The goats are getting into it, and I don't even care. I think I'll just let them go at it.

-Work is super busy, and today I found out that the next contractor I will be working with (who notoriously hates architects) has been "investigating" me and has gotten great reports on me from many people - exciting.

That's all for now. Talk later.

Blah.

Buffett's over.

Mini-vacations are over.

Summer's over.

Football season is back, but VT lost.

I'm back at work.

Yay.