Mostly about Utah
That dame sir, is my wife. Actually when this photograph was taken she wasn’t my wife. Twenty-eight years ago, when I took this picture with my rickety old camera, I was traveling with Jill and her parents and her sister and husband. We were married a few weeks later. It has been a happy twenty-eight years made even happier by the arrival of five children.
This is part two of a ten part series chronicling Jake’s Mission. It is told mostly in his own words using excerpts from his letters and photographs sent home.
Mexico is a blast. There is a ton of people to teach and they are a very faithful people. The mission president has told us to always invite people to be baptized in the first lesson, and most of them accept! If they don’t during the first lesson then usually the second. 
We don’t have to hold back on any commitments because the people are clear-cut—they either accept all of our message or none of it. My first baptism here was going to be a woman who has a terrible fear of water (when she was baptized before she got infections in her ears), and the bishop managed to do it, but her whole body might not have been under water. We’ll figure it out. Not much else is going on. My companion is a Native Mexican from another part of the country and is an excellent missionary.
Things are great in Mexico. The weather is perfect. Everyone thinks I am absolutely crazy walking around in short sleeves. When it is 70 degrees they bring out their heavy coats and grumble about the cold. We had a baptism that my companion said se cayò de los cielos
or fell from the sky
. After teaching someone two lessons, he said that he didn’t want to be baptized. A week later he came to church and said I want to be baptized right now
. We were happy to oblige and had the service right after church.
The Sunday school lessons are about the same here. The only difference is I can’t understand what they are always saying. The stories are the same and the application is the same. It just takes a bit of getting used to. I still have to get a manual, so I can follow along for the new year, but our study time is limited so we try and make it the most effective that we can (because of this it makes sense that we can only study the mission library and the Ensign). The chapels here are quite a bit different in construction, but they are all similar in and of themselves. It seems like they have a set for the United States, a set for Mexico, and possibly more. Being a missionary is really neat. Whenever I get the chance to tell your conversion story. I always think of the blessing that it is to be able to serve a mission. I guess you could really say that having four sons that have served/will serve counts as your mission.
This article will give readers new to Rewards Checking some idea of how it works. Be aware though that the interest rates are out of date.
Ever since my own internet bank dropped their interest rate from 5.2% to 2.5% I have been looking for a better place to park my spare cash. I saw a lot of banks advertising rewards checking at rates between 4% and 6%. I identified a few at 6% that were out of state. Several had very clunky Internet sign up procedures such that I was unable to sign up online. For example, at one bank my browser would crash. At another bank I was diverted to a PDF form with no instructions on what to do with it. Yet another bank had nowhere to start the sign up process.
Eventually I tried Coulee Bank that was offering 6.01% APY with their rewards checking account. They require 10 check card transactions a month, use of e-statements, and require 1 automatic payment a month, called an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transaction. Coulee Bank pays 6.01% on the first $25,000 and 1.01% on anything above that.
For me, Coulee Bank was out of state. The application process was straight-forward except I failed the online identity check. A friend joining the same bank also failed his identity check. I think they have a bug in their program because I’m sure I’m really me at the moment. I was invited to call the branch in Wisconsin and answered the identity questions correctly. Incidentally, the staff were very friendly and helpful, plus there was a bonus — I could understand what they said. Next a paper was sent in the mail for me to sign and return. A thoughtful touch was the stamp placed on the return envelope. Once that was done I received instructions via email to open the online account.
After a few days I received my checking card, complete with a picture of a steamboat. A really nice feature was a user name I could choose rather than have to remember the account number. The web account features were reasonable. There was no count of qualifying transactions but my monthly transaction count ended on the last day of the month making it easy to remember.
To transfer more money to my account I sent a message in the internal email of the account giving the routing number, account number, and amount. The first month you do not have to meet the requirements to obtain the 6.01%. Even so, I met the ACH requirement by having $50 a pay period (fortnightly) transfered from my pay.
The 10 credit transactions are easy to meet because every workday I eat out for lunch. Some rewards checking accounts can require as many as 15 transactions and also mandate at least one account access a month. Coulee Bank rewards checking is still free and pays a standard 0.30% APY if you don’t meet the requirements during the month.
A feature that I don’t use is the $20 to $25 a month reimbursal of ATM fees provided you met the transaction requirements. I don’t expect the 6.01% rate will last for long. Some other banks that started at 6.01% have dropped their rates to 5%. Just yesterday I received an email from Coulee Bank that said in part:
Rewards Checking has been an amazing success due to its incredible rate, ease-of-use, and environmentally friendly attributes. Due to rising costs to deliver this product however, it has been decided to limit the number of Rewards Checking accounts to one per Customer/Social Security Number.
I am going to have difficulty funding one account so this will not affect me. The rate I am earning is 24 times the amount I receive from my local credit union checking and even the standard 0.3% beats their 0.25%.
I hope this little narrative has been of interest to you.
26 Dec 2008 Recently the rewards checking rate dropped to 5% at Coulee Bank.
28 Mar 2009 See Bank Rewards Checking for banks still offering 5% 4% on their rewards checking.
2 Jul 2009 Coulee dropped their rate to 4%.
2010 Coulee’s rate has dropped below 4%.
7 Apr 2012 Changed have to having in the paragraph beginning “After a few days…”
This is part one of a ten part series chronicling Jake’s Mission. It is told mostly in his own words using excerpts from his letters and photographs sent home.
Jake is an Eagle Scout and an active member of his church since birth. He stands up for what he believes in and is also compassionate to those that are in need. He is a peacemaker and is someone you want to be around because he never looks for a fight and is helpful. He played in the school band and dabbled a little at the piano. He won three state championship events in track for Davis High School. He had a stress fracture on the day of the races and took off his support boot to run. In his 300 meter hurdles he seems to get a slow start and catches the third hurdle badly.
One of Jake’s qualifying heats is a great video, as he makes up ground in this 4 x 400 meter relay. Davis are in dark brown vests and yellow shorts, the first three runners are all Jakes, my Jake running the third leg. Davis had to place first, second, or third to qualify, and Carl makes it happen even though he is not a Jake.
View Jake’s 110 meter hurdles and an exciting 4 x 400 meter race. Jake runs the first leg but watch for a runner to fall and also the close finish. The cute commentary, “O man they are all on your tail”, is Jake’s mother, who also filmed Jake’s races.
Jake is serving in the Mexico Mexico City North Mission. He has a presidential scholarship at the University of Utah and completed a year in Computer Engineering before leaving for the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in August 2006. He worked to save the entire $9,600 needed for his mission, and also purchased with his own money the necessary attire. Here are a few excerpts from correspondence to our family, in his own words.
Today Daniel was ordained an elder. This was done by those with priesthood authority to lay their hands on his head and receive this ordinance. Present and pictured in the photograph are (left to right, top to bottom) Derek, Paul, Steven, Brian, Sarah, Jill, Rick (Rickety), and Daniel. Brian is a Stake High Counselor and a dear friend who was present as the Stake representative. I was voice for the ordinance. To have the authority to perform this act of laying on of hands, male members of the Church must receive this authority by the laying on of hands from a priesthood holder who has the proper authority. This has been passed down in the Church from the Apostles Peter, James and John, who received their authority from Christ. These Apostles then visited Joseph Smith as angelic messengers and gave him the proper priesthood authority. From Joseph Smith the priesthood has been passed down in an unbroken line from Christ. Having the authority of the priesthood is different from having the power to use that priesthood:
All of us who hold the priesthood have the authority to act for the Lord, but the effectiveness of our authority—or if you please, the power that comes through that authority—depends on the pattern of our lives; it depends on our righteousness (H. Burke Peterson, “Priesthood—Authority and Power,” Ensign, May 1976, 32).
Daniel has now transitioned from the Aaronic priesthood to the Melchizedek priesthood as he continues his preparation for his mission to Mongolia. The only sad thing in all of this is that there are now no Aaronic priesthood in the house to boss around.
It is time for the 4th July parades to begin. Today at 9am found Jill, Sarah, and I at West Bountiful.
Kent and Susan had saved seats for us. From left to right in the photograph below are Rick (me), Kent, Jill, Sarah, Shauna, Mark, Connie, and Susan. Shauna had brought candy just in case we didn’t like the parade offerings. There was also water but it wasn’t needed as I think we had the coolest spot on the parade route.
The National Guard carried the flag followed by Mayor James Behunin on a horse. Val Verda Stake, where Jill and I used to live, had a pioneer themed float. There were the usual bands, fire engines, and old cars. There were even Star Wars characters entertaining the crowd. With fifty entries the parade was over in less than an hour which is about the right amount of time for me.
Once in a great while it is Serf Day, where I get to go serfing. No, I don’t get to go to the beach — serf as in vassal. Serfing is done with your wife where for a whole day you do whatever she asks. A wife can also be a serf for a day to her husband unless she feels that she already is.
Serfing works best with independent types who normally can’t be told what to do. If you jump at every whim of your wife then you are already in serfdom and there is no hope for you. Lately it has been difficult to get me to do anything so I am an excellent candidate.
If you are going to do a Serf Day then obviously common sense applies. For example, don’t invoke a Serf Day as you leave for a 12-hour shift at work. Stay in the vicinity so your lady can readily give you assignments. Not that she will need much help in thinking of things for you to do. These ground rules, loosely applied, may help:
Walking with my lady.
- The lady is not told it is a Serf Day.
- Hinting can be listened to but there is no obligation to act.
- For direct requests in the form of a question you are toast, just be a pleasant peasant.
- If your opinion is asked, answer to the advantage of your lady (remember, you are the serf).
- There is no obligation to agree to future events.
- Cheerfully serve your lady.
Serfdom today began with a request by Lady Jill, “Will you go for a walk with me?” I only walk with her occasionally but today I said, “Sure.” At 6:30am we walked for a short time before my lady headed back before the sun came all the way up. Walking back she said, “Will you help me in the garden?” I said, “Sure.”
Micro tubing with bug plug
My lady is growing a garden this year and she added some micro tubing to run to each plant off the sprinkler system. She wanted to add some more tubing so I started work without vassalating. It wasn’t hard duty. We ran out of 1/8 inch tubing so Jill purchased some 1/4 inch as there was no 1/8 inch left at the store. My last task in the garden was to lay two paving stones in the dirt by the gate.
Other M’Lady Labors
I think it is safe to post this now. It is 11pm. and I have until midnight before this Serf Day ends and I doubt her ladyship will read it before then. Lady Jill said that because I was helping her she had enjoyed her day. I enjoyed the day with her too. I ended up with plenty of time to myself when she stepped out to the garage sale and to take Daniel to apply for his passport. I will have a great Sunday and won’t have to put on my peasant hat until work on Monday.
In the garden with my lady
I read on the KSL website yesterday that the state of Utah may switch to some kind of compressed work week. On the KSL comment boards, a viewer wrote, “I thought state workers already worked only 4 days a week.” Draper and West Valley City have already implemented four-day work weeks. My daughter-in-law already works a four-day week as does my son.
When FrontRunner began service my wife (who works part-time) began riding the train by driving to Farmington to catch it. Her cost in June is $3 one-way. In Salt Lake City there is a company shuttle to take her and other employees to the work site. Because hiring is strong there are plans for employees to share cubicles and telecommute half the week each.
One of my co-workers last year bought a Natural Gas Vehicle, a Honda Civic. He qualified for the Utah tax credit ($3,000) but not the Federal ($4,000). It costs the equivalent of 63 cents (soon to rise to 85 cents) a gallon to fill. He showed several of us the car. There was a connection where the gas is, um, connected. He says it takes about the same amount of time to fill as a gasoline car. Most of the trunk is taken up by the Natural Gas tank but there is still some space left to stow items. Of course, there are not many filling stations on a long trip so he won’t be going very far out of town anyway. Otherwise the Civic was much like any other car on the outside. Another co-worker just ordered a Toyota Prius.
Many people are adjusting to rising gas (the petroleum kind) prices. So long as prices rise relatively slowly, or at least not in big jumps overnight (I’m talking dollar increases) then a majority of us can explore alternatives like public transport, alternative fuels, telecommuting, emigrating to Saudi Arabia, and compressed work weeks.
So if oil has to go up in price, please Raise it Slow. I don’t want to get out my rickety old bike just yet.
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This is part ten of a ten part series chronicling Paul’s Mission. It is told mostly in his own words using excerpts from his letters and photographs sent home.
I think they upped the mail box capacity I have 15 Megs free now. Before you were sending the pictures with Picasa I think but they were too small. If you go into the menu under tools options email you can change what size it sends them. Try 800 or 1024 pixels. I sent you a package in the mail. It has a bike in it. Transfers are in two weeks and it looks like they are going to move me somewhere. I’m in Oakland right now. I got an Easter Medical form was that the package?
[I’d like] that Australian licorice and some beef jerky. Feel free to open up the bike and put it together if you’ld like. It cost $13 to ship it home. We have some special account that makes everything really cheap to ship. There is one more week after this one in the transfer. We don’t have anyone scheduled as of now. Jovanic, a 20 year old from Mexico, is doing really well except he smokes so it looks like it might take a little more time. He lives with his member uncle who went to church for the first time in 13 years the other day. I don’t know where I’ll go. There are only two areas left that I haven’t been to, Hayward and Livermore. So it will be back to an old area or one of those two. It should be good.
I called them and they said we would have 100% coverage for the visit. The doctor just gave me some samples that supposedly aren’t very effective to see if it would work. There is a prescription that works well but it costs $150 and the insurance coverage is spotty so he thought we would try the samples first.
In a previous post I showed how to make cheese and pickled onion sandwiches. Today I tell a story of a fishstick feast last week that almost ran aground. It began with a bag of Trident Seafoods Ultimate Fish Sticks made with whole fillets of wild Alaskan pollock — just makes your mouth water, does it not? As is my custom, I took four of these frozen fishsticks and began micro-waving them for 3 minutes exactly. I was looking forward to my tasty meal and watched the micro-waves gently warm my morsels. With 1 minute and 40 seconds left, I had time for a last minute errand to the other room. After I left for just a moment, Andrew pushed the add one minute button to the recipe.
