a.k.a. Life

I don't have anything specific that I wanted to write this week. I think it is because I've gotten to the point that when it is the weekend, I check out of all things school. I don't have any dates that I can write about, I don't go to any parties; the weekends are for family at this point in my life. During the week my schedule, and my wife's schedule consist of what one of us can get done while the other watches the baby. I didn't think that this type of a routine would be so difficult--that is until I lived it. I wish that things could be different. I wish that, instead of my wife being done with her master's, that I could be the one done with at least my bachelor's and she could still be in school.

I think the hardest thing about all of these "wants" and "wishes" is that everything had to be the way it is now, or else I would have been in a completely different place, or stage, in my life. I can wish all I want for things to be different, but what I really need to do is just accept, and appreciate more, the way things are. If my wife weren't finished with her master's, she probably would have been younger. If she were younger, she wouldn't have been working at BYU for as long as she has, thus allowing me not only the opportunity to study here, but also to get a free education like I am. While I was in high school, my school district had several programs at each high school, and one school that was a vocational school. I was able to get college credit while I participated in one of the programs, and had I not gained those 30 credits hours in high school, and enrolled in a plumbing apprenticeship program here in UT after my mission, I would not of met the requirements needed to transfer and apply to BYU, let alone be accepted--even with my wife being a full-time staff.

I could go on and on about how the puzzle pieces have come together and how doors were opened when we, or I, thought that nothing could be done. It is amazing to me how much we are cared for and watched over by the Lord, even on some of the smallest, and simplest matters in life. I know I don't show or communicate enough gratitude as I could, and that is something I plan to work on. It's crazy to think how much we get wrapped up in trivial things, a.k.a. life, and how easy it is to take things for granted.

The Lord has had His hand in my life throughout many aspects as I look back. The greatest time of all is finding and marrying my wife. If either of us had not of served our missions--she to Paris, France, and me to Campinas, Brazil--we never would have met and obviously would not be married today. I knew before I went I my mission that I would learn throughout my time in Brazil why I had to meet the particular people that I did in each of my areas, and that I had a responsibility to meet specifically them. I always thought it was for the few people that I was privileged to be an instrument in their conversion, but it was more than that.

My wife was working here at BYU and I was living and working up in Salt Lake City after my mission, and even though we only lived 40 mins apart, we never would have met each other if it weren't for a member in the last area of my mission, named Joyce, who randomly found my wife's email address on her mission website. Joyce was trying to learn English and French, and she wanted to write someone who would be willing to help her. After several months of emailing between Joyce and my wife, and also between Joyce and I, I emailed my wife because Joyce thought we would be good friends.We found out that we lived so close, and two months after the first email, we met and three weeks and a day after that first date, we were engaged. There was no other way that my wife and I could have found each other except by this member thousands and thousands of miles away on the other side of the world.

The Lord does know us; He does care about us, and He does want us to be happy. Everyone has received blessings from Him, and I hope that we can all remember His hand in our lives and show/tell Him how grateful we are for those blessings and guidance. I know I need to.

Something Fun

I've been ranting and raving a lot in my posts, so I've decided to post something a little more fun and "cute" as my wife would say. We have a one-year-old son; actually, he's 13-months old now--big difference I know. I've decided to post some pictures of him. I'll admit, I am partial. I think he's the cutest baby ever.

I'm Converted

I'm converted to the fact that the more correct and professional you write the better off you are. I know I've done nothing but harp on the management that my wife and I deal with, but it's true! I email him a nice, professional, error-free(as far as I can see) email, and he emails back some incoherent three- or four-sentence email that is vague, shows lack of thought, and diminishes his credibility as a professional.

The things we've been learning in class are important! With the experience I've had this semester alone, no one can convince me otherwise that knowing how to communicate and write in a concise, clear, and professional way is invaluable.

Do you prefer pizza, or Wendy's?

This last week I had the opportunity--and the class assignment--to by someone lunch. Our air conditioner went our last week and this week on Monday, a guy was there--after much headache with the complex management--to replace our condenser(the part of the a/c that's outside). So, in appreciation for him coming on a rainy day, I bought him lunch. He was very appreciative, but I got a large pizza and an order of cheese bread, and I think he only had two pieces of pizza. I can't say it was a great experience, but I was good for us to show our appreciation in another way besides words.

Another Attempt To Use Grammar In My Communications

My wife and I are the on-site managers for the complex in which we live. For the most part, this job has been perfectly fine with only a few hiccups in the process. However, this week we had a rather severe issue come up with our own apartment, and we were met with and unsavory result in our experience with management and getting the issue resolved. The following is an unedited email/letter voicing our concerns with how the situation was handled by our "supervisor." I will admit that I did not write every word in this letter; however, I did write the majority of it and passed it on to my editor, a.k.a. my wife, before the final edition was published.....er...emailed.

Oct. 1, 2010.

Suzette,

I am writing you to express my concern with the way our recent air conditioner issue was handled by Kasey. As you know, we had problems with our air conditioner at the beginning of summer. Our first problem was resolved with Kasey's assistance in a timely manner. Our most recent problem, however, was handled very inefficiently and has caused us great frustration.

Emily and I each contacted Kasey on Tuesday before the close of the business day to inform him that our AC wasn't working. I gave him specific information about the problem and my opinion on possible solutions. He told us that he would make a call and have someone there on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Emily and I stopped by the office to encourage Kasey in person to get someone out as soon as possible to fix the AC. He assured us that someone would come that day or the next. That evening before the close of the business day we emailed Kasey again since no one had come, and he told us that a man named David would come on Thursday. (Please keep in mind that each day we expected that someone would really come; thus, we arranged our schedules to ensure that Emily or I would be home at all times.) When no one came on Thursday, we contacted Kasey again via email. He said that no one had time to come until Friday at noon and that "a company" would also be cleaning the duct work when they came. When I asked him which company we should expect, he told me he didn't remember their name. That is when we called you to ensure that someone would indeed come on Friday. The reason why I am frustrated with the way this maintenance issue was handled is because, from my perspective, Kasey told us that our issue was being addressed but it obviously wasn’t. Even if he had known on Tuesday that he couldn’t get someone out here until Friday and he had been honest and forthcoming about it with us, then at least we would have known and would not have had to hope each day that someone would come and would not have had to follow up with him each day about whether or not someone was coming. His lack of professionalism and honesty in this matter is disconcerting, especially since it means that we had to inquire about this issue every day and finally had to call you in order to get something done even though we know that we are supposed to work with him for such issues; so we now feel that we always have to call you if we want something done (i.e. our checks, the bicycle racks, the trees, and now our air conditioner). What was Kasey doing all of the days prior when he assured us each day that he had already called someone about this issue—did he really feel that he needed to lie to us about this instead of telling us that he hadn’t really called anyone or needed to discuss the matter with you first? I understand that we are not the only tenants who need help and that Kasey is very busy, but why did he mislead us for several days about people coming instead of telling us the truth?

I think that part of the reason that Kasey did nothing is perhaps because he thought, "it's just an air conditioner--it's not a big deal not to have it working for several days when it's now October, right?" Well, if it were just Emily and me that would be true. (We lived in another apartment that didn't even have AC and made it through an entire summer and Emily was very pregnant at the time!) The reason we are so adamant about getting the air conditioning fixed now is because we have a 1-year-old son that has a severe skin condition called eczema. We have worked hard over many months to control his problem. We have found that when he is exposed to extreme fluctuating temperatures/summer heat for prolonged periods of time, he breaks out with a rash that covers practically his whole body. This is our concern--our son--a helpless, nursing baby. This is why having an air conditioner to regulate the temperature in our home is so vital to us. To live in a place where we pay to have air conditioning and then not to have it function properly for almost a week when it's 85 degrees outside and approaching temperatures similar to that in our apartment during the day and 85-90 degrees inside our apartment at night is unlivable for our son.

While I do appreciate your efforts in our behalf, it is aggravating to learn only today, three days after we made the original maintenance request that nothing can be done until Monday(almost a week since we first contacted Kasey). Changing out a condenser is a 2-4 hour job, and if Leo or someone else had been notified to come sooner than today, we would not have to go through the weekend in the 3rd floor oven we currently call our home.

I know from experience that when a compressor goes bad, the best thing, and often the cheapest thing to do, is to replace the entire condenser. However, just so you are aware, if the issue of the white dust that is rapidly plugging our filters is not addressed also (which will not be solved by what Leo plans to do on Monday) it will continue to put strain on the AC and furnace which will undoubtedly result in additional, necessary repairs and purchase of equipment or parts in the near future. I hope that this issue will not also be ignored or delayed even though our air conditioner will (we hope) technically be fixed as of Monday.

I am appreciative that something has finally been done and we are truly grateful to you for your help with this matter. Indeed, we have asked Kasey for help many times over the last few days and we have not meant to be pests, but rather hoped to help him by reminding him of our needed assistance and keeping him informed that no one had come in case he really had called someone and needed to know that they didn’t show up, as the manager. If our efforts to get assistance are in vain and we are told that we can’t call companies ourselves for help with such things, what are we to do but be frustrated and forced to call others besides Kasey for help?

As the on-site managers, we like to tell potential renters that the management responds in a timely manner to all maintenance requests. I'd love to be able to say that again soon.

Thank you for your consideration of the thoughts I have shared and your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,

Andy Belnap