Last weekend my father-in-law and I installed a new ceiling fan in a bedroom. We ran into a few issues but nothing major until we went to screw in the lightbulbs. One of the sockets was broken so we were unable to screw in the lightbulb. I read through the warranty document and it said that the manufacture would send out replacement parts at no cost if there was something wrong. I called the 800 number and explained my situation to the woman on the other end of the phone. Her response was "We don't send out new sockets or electrical parts. Go back to Menard's and exchange it." I asked her why her about the part of the warranty that said they would send out new parts. "We do that if it's not an electric part. If it's any wiring you have to take it back." I was skeptical that Menard's would be able to help. When we arrived at Menard's, I thought my customer service luck turned around. I walked up to the service desk and the woman told me to go over to the fans and the salesman would be able to help me. Once we located the fan model we had at home, he opened up the box and dug out the light fixture. While he was digging through the box, he apologized for the trouble we had.  Once we got all the pieces he apologized again and told us to have a good night. I was amazed by how easy this was.  Unfortunately the night of custmer service was downhill from there.

Our next stop was at the new Target store in Maple Grove. We went there just to check out the new store. It had just opened on Tuesday so it was amazing to see how neat and uncluttered the store seemed.  We did end up getting a sweater for Mr. A and some other random items. We only has a couple items so we hit up the express lane. The cashier looked at me and said, "I can't help you." I gave her a quizzical and she just repeated "I can't help you." It wasn't like she was uncapable, she was in the middle of finishing up a transaction.  I said "Okay?" and headed further down the row of lanes to find someone who was able to help.

The next stop was Gamestop. I wanted to take advantage of a deal they were running for trading in games for Guitar Hero III. This should have been a 5 minute deal, but took around 30 minutes for clerk to finish the transaction.  She asked me my phone number no less than 4 times during the ordeal. Finally she asked me to write down my number so I wouldn't have to ask me every time she needed it. During the first 10 minutes, she was entering my info in their new computer system. She and another worker spent a good portion of that 10 minutes discussing the horrible new system and how much they hate it.  The last 20 minutes was the clerk trying to figure out why some bonus credit wasn't being allowed. She kept repeating that if she can't get it to work that she would have to do it manually. In the end, she called another store and found out that she couldn't use all of the bonus credits in one transaction. She was apologetic, but still frustrating that it took that long for a 5 minute transaction. Hopefully I'll be able to get in and out when I pick it up.

Since we had done a bunch of running, it was getting late and we still needed dinner. BW's carry-out was what we decided on. I called them up and tried to place a simple order of 8 boneless wings and their dynamic trio. The 8 boneless wings was not an issue, but the trio was hard. When I ordered the trio I heard dead silence. She placed me on hold for a minute. When she got back on the line her response was "All we can find is the Naked Tender so do you want that?"  I had given up at that point and just ordered the tenders with one sauce.

So that was my evening of bad service. After the first two stops I was annoyed with the lack of service, but by the time I had finished with BW's it was just comical.

Last week I had interviewed for a job and had not heard anything back. This morning my manager pulled me aside because she had some news for me. She told me that I had been promoted in my current role. This was good news but I was still waiting to hear back about the interview. I got my answer later in the day. Unfortunately, it was a no.

In the end, I have a new washer being delivered tomorrow, a new computer by the end of the month, and a little extra coin in my pocket.

I guess it's not technically free money since I did pay premiums, but unexpected money that I won't complain about. I wish the oil companies would do this.

With the proceeds of the sales, we decided to get a new digital camera. Our old camera was a hand me down from my dad and it worked fine. The problem that we were running into was that we don't have steady hands so many of the pictures came out blurry. In addition, there was a 1 second delay between when you pressed the button and the camera actually took the picture. With the little guy on the move, it was almost impossible to get the picture we want. Instead of doing my usually internet research for weeks and weeks, I went with the recommendation of my brother. He recently bought a new Canon camera. (As did one of his friends) I was planning on getting the same camera as him, but when I did a little more research I found out that it didn't have the image stabilization feature. I looked around and found a different Canon model that had pretty much the same specs but with the image stabilization. Unfortunately this feature came at an additional cost.

I wanted the camera in a matter of days since we wanted to take the new camera to Vegas so buying online was not an option. I searched to see what local B&M stores had in stock. This included Circuit City, Office Max, Office Depot, and Best Buy. I was surprised to see that Best Buy had the camera I wanted for $50 less than anywhere else. When I saw this I assumed that it was closeout and that local stores would not have it in stock. When I checked the stock online it said that one store nearby had it, so I headed over there one night. I arrived at the store and they had one on display but the was was $50 more than what BestBuy.com listed. I was a little worried because I had read a couple articles online about problems getting the B&M stores to match the .com prices. I asked the sales person if they had any in stock and about the .com price being $50 cheaper. He looked it up and they did have it in stock. In regards to the online price he said that they would match the online price. The first system he looked in still showed the in store price of $349. He then said that he'll need a minute or two to connect to "real internet" site to check the price. Less than a minute later I'm checking out with the lower price.

The camera is awesome. I am very pleased with it and how easy it is to use. I've had to ask Michelle a couple times how to work it and she always laughs at that. Something else that amazes me is how quick it is compared to the other digital cameras I've used. This camera is ready to use less than one second after turning it on. My old camera took around 4 or 5 seconds to be read to take the first picture. Plus there is no lag between pushing the button and taking the picture. The only delay is with the auto focus, but this is with any digital or film camera. We'll continue posting pictures of the little guy on his photo site, so check out the link in the upper right of the main page.

The best thing about the trip was just getting away from the daily routine and being able to sit and hang out with Michelle. We went to the Cirque du Soleil show O at the Bellagio. Everything that I heard about the show was true. The show last an hour and a half but it seemed like it was only ten minutes. I think there was a storyline but I didn't get it. It was amazing what these people were doing. The show was a mix of acrobatics and diving. We liked it so much we wet out the next day to see if the day of ticket sellers had tickets available to any of the other Cirque shows. Unfortunately it was Memorial day and many of the shows were dark.

Vegas seemed very different from the last time we were there. We went for spring break four or five years ago. Previously there were tons of people handing out fliers of various adult clubs, but this time around you were hassled by people trying to get you to go on a tour of timeshare properties owned by the casinos. In return for going on the tour you were offered tickets, dinner vouchers, t-shirts, or a combination of the above. The easiest way to have them quit talking to you is to say you are leaving today. Once they hear this they move on to the next person.

I didn't remember Vegas tourists being so annoying last time. We ran into a couple different types of tourists. There are the wanders and the walls. Each were almost impossible to get around.

The wanders were usually made of up small number of people. The difficulty with getting around the wanderers was that the would anticipate your path around them. As you made your move one of the group would a move to block you. This would be repeated another two or three times as you continued to try to manage your way around them.

The walls were the other distinct group. Unlike the wanderers, the walls were made up of large number of people. The mode of attack of the walls is to move quickly to the center of traffic and then abruptly stop. They are extremely hazardous around restaurant and casino entrances. The shear numbers that made up the walls made getting past them difficult. A significant detour is needed to pass them.

These tourists and the losing at the casinos didn't make me want to return to Vegas anytime soon. I think the perfect Vegas trip would be a three day trip and a show.

I can't wait to get back and see Aves. It seems like I haven't seem him forever. I kept being reminded of him during the trip. A kid throwing a toy out of a stroller, a crying baby when the mom tells them no, etc. I won't be able to see him tonight because we are getting in at 10 pm. We will see him when he gets up at 6 tomorrow morning. I'm so excited to see his smiles, pick him up, and hug him.

Our first stop was at Lowes. With my trusty print out we walked the aisles of washers. There were Samsung and Fridaire, both that weren't listed in my report. I was looking for a Whirlpool that was one of the picks, but it appeared Lowed didn't have it. When we walked down the clearance aisle I saw that they had a couple Whirlpool machines. I take a look at the sign and compare numbers and see that this was the pick I was looking for. It was $200 off retail which I thought was decent. I wasn't expecting to get a great deal. We weren't intending to buy, but we started talking with saleswoman in the appliance area. I asked about how many they had in stock and how delivery work. As she was looking up the stock, she mentioned that since this item was on clearance and they weren't going to get anymore in-stock they are taking 40% off the clearance price. This brought the $1300 washing machine down to $650. At this price, we couldn't pass this up. We were able to get the washer, pedestal, delivery, warranty extension, and tax all for less than that clearance price. We passed on the dryer because it was replaced a few years ago by the previous owner.

The washer got delivered on Tuesday afternoon and I have been washing since. I do agree that the pedestal is a need for the front loading machines. The thing spins super fast and the clothes come out damp at worst. It takes less than 40 minutes in the dryer. It used to take over an hour.

This is why I'm old. I am like a little kid with a new toy, but the new toy is a washing machine.

I now understand how people say that time flies when you have kids. Aves is going to be a year old in just over one month. It seems like just yesterday Michelle and I were walking down to the nursery to check on the little guy under the UV lights and worrying about him eating. We got so excited when he drank half an ounce. Now he drinks that much in just one gulp.

Something he has taken a liking to lately is screaming at the top of his lungs when we put him down to bed at night. When I say screaming, I mean the screaming until he's red in the face with tears streaming. Michelle said that it is emotionally draining listening to him scream but I never felt that drain until last night. Most nights Michelle does the bedtime routine, but last night I did it. I took the little man back to his room and gave him his nuk. I read him a couple books and I felt him slowly reclining in my arms. I forgot what it was like to hold a baby that wasn't always squirming in your arms trying to get down. It is great holding him and knowing that he is content laying on you. He was on the verge of falling asleep so I thought I should get him in his crib. As I was standing up, Avery started screaming at the top of his lungs (still with the nuk in his mouth, he's that talented). He knew where the next stop was. I wish I could continue holding him and comfort him. But I knew I couldn't do that because we would end up doing it every night. So I placed him in his crib, turned on his mobile and covered him in a blanket. I felt like a horrible parent leaving him screaming and crying in his crib.

On the flip side of that, Avery has started being vocal. He watches Michelle or me leave the room. He will then start yelling as if he is saying "Hey, where you going?" Then he'll start crawling in the direction that you left. If you wait in the room you'll hear him army crawling his way towards you. When he finally catches up with you, he'll flash a huge smile and then reach up to you. Once you pick him up he'll jam his head into your shoulder. The best thing is when he does his head jam and then wraps his arms around your neck to give you a hug. You can't help but wrap your arms around him and never want to let go.

So to be proactive in my search I've done something I usually hate. I setup little info sessions with people around the company. Hopefuly this will give me an idea if I need to showcase myself in my department or leave and see what else the company has to offer.