New Addition to The Family

Yesterday we welcomed our newest addition to the Banner Place Crew....Max William!! Everyone is healthy and doing well. Soon we will get into the groove and I look forward to the future.

The Waiting Game

This week has been completely useless at work....partly because I am tired of all the Bull Shit but mainly because we are at the end of the road of pregnancy and are expecting the new little one to arrive in the coming days. Up until this point I have been very relaxed about everything but now have turned the page to complete anxiety. You tend to forget about the hospital stay, complete loss of control over everything and hoping that everything turns out well for both Mom and child. Those are all thoughts that are coming back to me now....there always is a feeling of uncertainty. I would like fast forward to the moment we close our door to the house and we are a group of four. 

Another Big Year

2012 is almost ½ way over and it seems that it just started.  This is another record breaking year for our household. This month we will add another name to the roster at our house….it really fits our philosophy 100%. Adapt to change and get things get into a standard routine. Once everyone gets moving along at a good pace and finally gets comfortable….give the  screws a few cranks to keep everyone on their toes.

 Sam has really taken the edge off things…..meaning that he has worn us both down to not making such a big deal about everything. When I found out we were going to have our second child I was not as taken back by the idea. Don’t get me wrong….both were planed but Sam had much more of an impact. Even though I knew the ultimate outcome….I still felt surprised.... almost shocked by the news. It might possibly be because you can never fully prepare for being a parent. Fast forward almost 3 years and the news that we would start this all over again with a second kid  didn’t really phase me much. Yea, there were things we had to do to prepare but I was not scared about the idea. In fact it for me was quite the opposite reaction….Excitement!  Is this normal?  Sometimes I think I am short-changing the new child by feeling this way…. who knows.



Sam's "Cheese" smile.



I found myself talking at a conference table last week about having kids to a woman roughly my age during a break from a bout of legal bits for work. She didn’t have kids and was on the fence about the whole issue. My answers to the questions she was asking would have surprised myself just a short time ago. In a nut shell….I fell that being a parent is without doubt the best, most rewarding thing I will ever experience in my life.  It also helps to have a 100% dedicated spouse who without a doubt is the glue that holds us all together.  Without her steering the ship….I don’t know where we would end up.

Here we go again….it’s going to be a fun ride.  

Do you ever think that sometimes things just seem to get away from you? That is my life for the past few months. Time has taken off at a fever pace and I can’t seem to catch up. Since my last posting in January (Wow) a ton of things have transpired.  We finally have finished our basement….almost ….to get some much needed living space and sanity for everyone in our tiny house. It’s going to be real nice after it’s all over…..lots of money and time.  The quality is great because I didn’t do any of it and we hired a professional (Thanks Mike for all your help!). I am so much better at things mechanically than visualizing something and building it. I have a new found appreciation and respect for those people who have the skills to do what a true craftsman can accomplish. I did paint and put the tile down in the bathroom. For me that’s a big deal…..and now feel I should host my own show on DIY network. It turned out good I think.

Work for some reason has been extra frustrating. I don’t know if it is because I am busier than ever or it people all around me are losing their shit. Everyone I deal with lately is having some sort of issues with delivery, quotes, staffing and a general I don’t give a damn attitude. The last few months have been the worst. Everyone at our office is absolutely done with this little time period of frustration. Is it that hard to call someone back? How about paying me? Sick of it. That’s the main reason I am finding the time to do this post….I am done with idiots.

Also since my last post we have purchased and RV! Something that I was/am excited about especially after finding out that we are having another boy next month. It was something that I always wanted to do as a kid and now it makes so much since as I am now a parent.  Even if it gets used only a few times a year…that means it takes us out of the regular weekend modes and forces us to interact. Its going to be great in the coming years.

I have also become a Nascar Fan since my last post…..something I never thought I would ever….ever….ever say. I got in a pool at work and started paying attention to what was going on and now as a RV owner it gave me the prefect reason to get a 6 other drunks together to actually see a race and camp at the track. That is exactly what we did in April at Kansas and we have officially become fans. Going back in October and can’t wait.  This is a topic that deserves its own post in the future.

Since this blog was intended to be about BBQ…..I would like to at least add a bit on this topic to this post. Because of many factors….up until recently I have not been able to do much Q’in. We use the Kettle all the time for dinners. Steaks, chops and veggies are a regular fare off this grill. Please take a note of the word “Grill”….While I use the grill almost as much as we use the oven it’s not BBQ.

Here are some photos of the grill in action.

By my Definition BBQ is only when you have the combination of long cook times, hardwood and temperatures of 250F or lower. Now that we have cleared that little issue….last weekend for Ali’s B-day she requested Ribs. I pulled the Smoker out of the Garage and gave it a dusting and fired it up. Typically when I cook I like to be regimented in the process….stick to strict timelines and techniques. I always….always…always use fresh un frozen meats and at minimum try to maintain the temp in the smoker within 5-10 degrees. This cook was a bit different because I completely went against the grain. We used two spare rib slabs that had been in the freezer since March….. Set the vents to what I thought was alright. Threw an umbrella over the cooker and sat down and had a drink or two or three. I did make my own rub…It turned out pretty good and is a variation of the famous Memphis rub found at Charlie Virgo’s. Instead of keeping a running time sheet vs temp I just took a few looks at the meat and it looked good….foiled it….added some beer and threw them back on. Then when I was getting hungry took them off and sauced them. A quick bit of heat from the “Grill” and on the table they went. Guess what? By far one of the best tasting ribs I have ever done.  Don’t know why other than I have done it enough to know what looks good by sight. I kept a rough account for the time but didn’t let it rule things. In the end it was what BBQ should be. The whole experience was laid back and relaxing and the result was excellent.

KC BBQ

Got to make a trip to KC last week for work and sample some BBQ in the very home of BBQ (Depends on who you ask) Normally I am by myself, but I had people in for a meeting the following day so we went out for some food. This is the second time I have been to this particular location in Overland Park KS and my expectations were set a bit high…..

Jack Stack’s BBQ…..a more upscale kind of place with a triple fold menu of varying tastes. I had the opportunity to hit the original location in Lenexa KS a few years ago and was blown away by the flavor and quality….This time not so much. I tried a few things….the burnt ends. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. Defiantly a mass produced kind of feel to it. I often wonder why some places don’t adopt the mentality of “When it’s gone, your too late” and just put a good product out for people to fight over. Also had a slab of the Baby Backs…..again felt mass produced. Missed a lot of the Smokey flavor I am used to and the sauce was so so.  The best thing on my plate that night was the Coleslaw.

Mr. Stack…you have let me down.

Yea We Do That!

The life of an Industrial Sales Rep has its ups and downs. To try and attempt to explain what it is that I do for a living to someone is rather cumbersome. Most of the time I either use “Sales” or “Engineering” to describe my craft.....that usually ends the discussion as most people can identify with those terms rather than “Authorized Manufactures Representative** for Thermal Oxidizers, Flare Gas Recovery, Electrostatic Preceptors and other oddly named industrial Equipment”. 

Outside of the bothersome explanation of what it is I do day to day....Truth is I love my Job.....and not most people really mean that when they say it. A big part of it is who I work with and the other smaller part is the structure or lack of structure that makes up the life of a Rep. 

Part of this post is because I am sitting in my office with my mind wondering. With the New Year comes new challenges and goals….concern of where the next order will come from or if I did everything I could do to save the one we lost.  Last year I installed a white board in my office to keep me motivated and aware of all the things I have going on…..I figured that it would be useful for drawing funny things to show people in the building but  honestly use it as intended and update it every Monday (or as close as possible).

One thing is for sure…..there are perks to being in my situation. Unlimited vacation, come and go as I please, no real start time, long lunches, make my own schedule and lots of cardinals games. That’s the thing that others around me see as my job….what they don’t know is all the nervousness and anxiety you have to go through to get to that point and even then nothing is guaranteed.  



**Manufacturer's representative or rep, manufacturer's broker and manufacturer's agent are all terms used to describe independent sales agents who work on commission. You don't pay them a salary, just a percentage of what they sell. Manufacturer's reps offer a practical, cost-effective alternative to a direct sales force for many growing companies. There are more than half a million reps in North America, most selling to targeted markets in select geographic regions. Reps know their markets well because they call on local buyers regularly and have established sound working relationships with them.
Using manufacturer's reps can provide you with many of the benefits of having a satellite office in the location--including knowledge of local markets and rapid access to large accounts--without your incurring large fixed costs. With reps, sales costs are always a fixed percentage of sales. The downside is that reps typically handle many different products. Some may be complementary to yours; others may compete. A typical manufacturer's rep earns a 5-percent commission on sales, although that amount varies widely depending on the product, market and sales volume

It’s been quite a while since I have had the time to update this blog and it’s a shame. Even though not many people read it, it is still something that I enjoy doing…..Why I have no idea. Some quick updates since my last post. Winter is here, summer is long gone. Vacation at the beach seems like years ago, Thanksgiving is over and done with and soon I will be perched upon a ladder hanging Christmas lights on our porch. How time does indeed fly.

In terms of cooking and the updates involving what I thought was going to be my introduction into the world of competitive BBQ….it fizzled out. This really should not come as a surprise. The people that asked for help dropped the ball by not following up with their end of the deal. If you are curious (I am sure you are not) I am talking about the New Town General Assembly office….seems that they could screw up a cup of water these days.

Work has been pretty busy also since the last post. The life of a 100% commissioned sales person is always rocky but for the most part it’s a pretty good living. Spending time at power plants and refineries discussing particulate levels, Steam, Fans and expansion joints are not most people’s idea of a fun job but  I must say…. it fits me well.  

The end of the year is always a crazy time for our company….most of our Solid customers scramble at the end of the year to spend money to maintain their budget for the following year. This means a lot of rush orders and invoicing before the product has even shipped. I am not saying this is a bad thing, just makes for a lot of work in the weeks after Thanksgiving. Speaking of the end of the year….December also means PowerGen….a large conference and trade show tailored to companies and people who deal in the power industry. It’s a good place to see a good number of my principals (groups I sell for) and possibly pick up a new line or two to supplement our existing products. It also helps that every other year it’s held in Las Vegas.  This year we are hitting it hard with a few extra days as a sort of Christmas Party for the company….it pays to fly under the radar sometimes.

On the home front….We just returned from Houston to see Ali’s parents. Great weather and I will say I do enjoy Houston in the winter months.  It’s also good to take a break from everything and do something different for a bit. Grandpa and I took Sam to Kemah for the day to procure “frimps” and ride the train with the scary tunnel.  The weather was also warm enough to swim every day we were there….again can’t beat the south Texas in the winter.

Since my last post we have made a few modifications to the backyard. We expanded our patio to help with the usable space. I really didn’t think that it would make much of a difference but having a solid surface for Sam to ride his bike in the confines of the fenced in yard is much better than in the alley or in the street. It also will give us room to spread out next summer when we have people over. It also gives my grill a home vs. rolling it around when I wanted to use it.

Some other things over the last few months that are new…..Cadillac Jack went into retirement after three short years of ownership and I purchased a new Ram truck. The endless sets of tires, a failed clutch and all the rattles and squeaks associated with a high performance car just were not making good sense anymore. Doing what I do for a living, it probably was not the best car to make sales calls in either. I don’t smile as much driving it but it fits my job a little better than the Caddy.