Betty & Patrick

Last Saturday I was among the privileged to witness the marriage of Betty and Patrick. They were married at the same church we married at 14 years ago. It brought back many memories, including the fact that I met my wife at that very same church playing volleyball. If I just look among my circle of friends, I can easily identify seven other couples that either met or started dating during their volleyball days. Yep, volleyball is like a bar hangout for single Christians. My favorite pick up line was, "Would you like to bump with me?"

Anyway, back to Betty.

I've known Betty since high school. In 1986 I helped her negotiate a great deal on her first new car at the SF Autocenter – a Mazda 323 just like the one I had myself. Ever since then, I've NEVER stepped foot inside a car salesman's office again! (Thank you Craigslist!) And considering Betty's been a subscriber to my blog from the very start, I can honestly say that even after 24 years, I'm still helping her save money! Hey, what are friends for??

For those of you fortunate enough to know Betty as long as I have, you'll agree that this wedding was a bit sweeter and happier than your typical wedding. I for one, am overjoyed for her and I look forward to knowing Patrick better (I hear he's a Mac user so I already like him).

This is the first wedding I've attended since my Scott Robert training. As much as I wanted to go nuts with the D300s, I resisted. With all the other photographers firing away, I didn't want to add to the constant annoyance of rapid-fire shutter clicks everywhere during the ceremony. Plus, I think it's rude to get out of your seat to shoot if you weren't asked prior to do so. But let's say if my child was up there with the wedding party, well then I may not be able to control myself… (Mmmkay, C & B?)

So with Betty's permission, I would like to share these memories with you. Congratulations Betty and Patrick!

The pastor (and all the non-asian people) were from Ohio.

Does Hung seem a little TOO happy in this pic?

Steve asked me, "Where do you find all those great deals??"
The money I help them save will put their daughters through college.

I haven't seen Rita and Elaine in over 15 years. Both are married. They sorta still recognize me.

Well fed and rested.They brought their kids so they had plenty of leftover food on their table.

Kandace is happy because she drank four bowls of sharkfin soup.

Jerry tried to sneak off to the bathroom so he wouldn't have to speak.
Unfortunately he came back too soon and still got stuck with the microphone.

A little blurry – exactly how I remember Anna. It's been 30 years since I last teased, um saw her.
She refused to believe it's really me. I had to assure her I'm the real deal!

Kidvantage: 7 for the price of 1

This morning on the way to a memorial service, with 30 minutes to kill, I decided to swing by Sears in Downtown Oakland. I found plenty of metered parking, even one with 19 minutes left! I looked in my wallet and only had 15¢, which bought me another THREE minutes! So with 22 minutes, I ran into Sears for another Kidvantage exchange.

It's been a while since I blogged about Kidvantage, skipping the last two exchanges. So if you count those exchanges, we've exchanged Dustin's size 2 Skechers SIX times! That means we've gotten 7 pairs for the price of one! If you do the math, at $35-40/pair, we've gotten over $200 worth of additional shoes with the initial $30 purchase. And that's not even counting the many times we exchange for Colby, plus all the pants too! Today I exchanged Dustin's size 3 and Colby's size 12. We seem to do an exchange every 3-4 months.

So a little bit of news, the Kidvantage program is changing a little. Last time when Chrissy exchanged the jeans, she was told that now they require a receipt – she didn't have one. But they know the policy is new so they exchanged it anyway. Perhaps she'll need one next time. We save all our receipts.

Today's exchange went quickly without a hitch, and I was back at the car with 7 minutes left on the meter. To expedite the transaction, find the replacement shoe that's the same size and sale price as the one you are returning. It doesn't even have to be the same brand. And having a receipt will eliminate the use of the Jedi mind trick.

As repeated on my previous post, I know some of you still refuse to shop at Sears. You continue to buy your kid shoes at Footlocker, Kohls, JCPenny, etc., totally ignoring my valuable advice and unnecessarily spending all your hard-earned money... Well that's ok. I truly admire your deep pockets and tremendous spending power. I always say, if I myself can't be rich, the next best thing is to have rich friends!

But a warning to you parents, if your kids refuse the shoes at Sears because they don't like the "style" or what not, and make you spend more elsewhere for a better "style", then your kids are slowly developing an attitude that can easily lead to being high-maintenance as a grown-up. Our kids wear what we buy them and that's that. And when they get older, I'll warn them to stay far away from high-maintenance people – that is, unless they want to be broke the rest of their lives.

When I got home with the new shoes, my boys were thrilled! My mom, fully aware of all our Kidvantage savings said (in Chinese), "Isn't America great?"

From their website (http://www.mysears.com/kidvantage/details.html):
There’s no limit to the savings you can earn with KidVantage Club!

Kidvantage wear-out guarantee
You want the kids’ clothes and shoes you buy to last—especially in today’s economy. That’s why KidVantage Club members get this great guarantee: if the kids’ clothes or shoes you buy at Sears wear out before they’re outgrown, we’ll replace them for free. You’ll get an identical item, whenever possible, or a similar item of equal value in the same size. Please note that you must present your receipt to replace worn-out national brand clothing and shoes.

• The KidVantage® program is not available for purchases made at sears.com. The KidVantage program is only offered through our Sears’ retail stores. Simply provide your phone number to the Sales Associate at the time of purchase.
• KidVantage Club applies to children’s clothes, sizes infant to 20, and children’s shoes, girls’ to size 4, boys’ to size 6, sold by Sears’ retail stores in the U.S.
• Kids’ Lands’ End® merchandise, Great Price Items and clearance merchandise count toward your $100 total and the Wear-Out guarantee. The program does NOT include infant furniture, accessories, electronics and toys.
• After you spend $100 in qualifying purchases, look for your coupon printed on your receipt. The 15% off sales receipt coupon may not be applied toward the purchase of Kids’ Lands’ End® merchandise, Great Price Items or clearance merchandise. The 15% off sales receipt coupon expires 6 months after the date of issue.
• Wear-out guarantee excludes stain-damaged clothing. Your receipt may be required at the time of exchange.
• Sears reserves the right to modify the benefits and incentives or cancel the KidVantage Club at any time.
• All brands are not available at all stores.

What others are saying about Kidvantage:
http://www.viewpoints.com/Sears-Kidvantage-Membership-Club-Childrens-clothing-reviews

Related Links:
1st exchange
2nd exchange
3rd exchange
4th exchange

Talk to Facebook friends for FREE on Vonage

I just found another reason to LOVE my iPhone! Vonage Facebook App!!

Everyone that has an iPhone/Android and Facebook MUST ABSOLUTELY install this app! Especially people like me.

Why I like:

• I'm on prepaid, so using my phone via Vonage does not cost me minutes
• My home got no cell phone coverage, but wifi always on
• I like almost all my 200 Facebook friends and don't ever mind them calling me 
• You don't have to give out your real phone number
• Works with most countries, so no roaming charges
• It's FREE

Props to Will for alerting me to this and being my first Vonage friend. Talking to Will was surprisingly clear on wifi (voice over IP). I looking forward to seeing (and hearing) the rest of you on my Friends list!


Link: NewsFactor Network | Vonage Offers Free Mobile Calls for Facebook Friends

Vonage is getting into the mobile-apps game with a social-media twist, combining two of the tech industry's hottest trends with a new service for Facebook. The Vonage Mobile application lets users make free mobile calls to Facebook friends who also have the app. 

Vonage customers can download the mobile app from the iTunes Store, Android Market, or the Vonage Facebook fan page. The software is free. Then users enter their Facebook ID and password. This only has to be done once.

The software automatically loads the user's Facebook contacts and groups them according to who can be called for free -- that is, those who have also downloaded the Vonage Mobile application for Facebook -- and which friends are available for instant messaging on Facebook.

Finally, the user can touch a friend's name from the Call Free list to make a free call. When the user places a call, the friend's profile picture and status update display on the screen. The phone will ring for incoming Vonage calls from Facebook friends, even if the app is closed.

The app also invites the user's friends who don't have the app to download it on the Vonage Facebook fan page. The service works over Wi-Fi as well as 3G and 4G networks in most countries and essentially eliminates traditional dialing.

Birthday meals

Another good thing about your birthday is the free meals. Above is my Rooty Tooty Fresh N' Fruity meal at IHOP. When you sign up for the Pancake Revolution you'll get a free birthday meal. This sure beats fighting to get that free Denny's Grand Slam with a million other people early in the morning. I just went to my local IHOP within a two-week window of my birthday and got my free meal. And for the month of August, kids 12 and under eat for free every day, 4-10 p.m.

And speaking of Denny's, I just found out that they also offer a free birthday Grand Slam. I'm signing up for Denny's Rewards here. And just like IHOP, kids also eat free at Denny's from 4-10 p.m.

Every year I also go to Red Robin to get my free overpriced burger. Their $10 burgers come with endless fries, and the $4.45 kid meals come with endless chocolate milk or lemonade. You don't necessarily have to order the hamburger, so I opted for a Teriyaki Chicken burger. It was so good that I went to a second Red Robin for a second free meal two days later! But at my second visit, I wanted what my friend had at my first visit, the Ensenada Chicken platter. Since my coupon was only good for a burger, I ordered a burger for my friend, and my friend ordered the chicken platter for me! Plus I get to mooch off their endless fries! Also at the second visit, I got a free hot fudge ice cream sundae! (I'm guessing this depends on your waiter). Sign up for their E-Club here.

And don't forget about the dessert. You can sign up yourself, spouse, kids, parents, etc. for birthday clubs for both Cold Stone Creamery and Baskin Robbins.

Happy birthday and happy eating!