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Wordless Wednesday: Salt Lake City Library and County Building

Nicole Bullock — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:41:06 +0000

Ignite Salt Lake Tonight!

Nicole Bullock — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:17:39 +0000

Tonight’s the night! Ignite Salt Lake 7! I will be speaking at Ignite with 15 other people, just as passionate as I am. My topic is “Enjoy Your Time At The Airport, Whether or Not Your Junk is Touched.”

Event: Ignite Salt Lake

Place: Thanksgiving Point Show Barn, Lehi, UT

Time: Socializing 6:30. Presentations start around 7pm. Intermission will include “Ignite Karaoke.” I’m speaking in the second half.

Price: FREE!

Ages: It’s an all-ages venue, however humor tends to be PG-13 at this event

The Moving Truck Came! Our Stuff is Here!

Nicole Bullock — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:55:00 +0000

For the first time in 7 months, we have a full house.

Despite all the lies and disappointments, I have to admit that I was really excited when the moving truck pulled up in front of our house at 8:00 am Tuesday. Sure, it was a month later than we’d originally anticipated, but it did come. After 7 months, I’m pretty sure my heart did grow fonder.

When we moved out of our Atlanta condo in June, our stuff went into a very cramped 10X10 storage unit. We had to wait a few months for shipment (because we’ve been so tight on money) Our stuff was picked up 6 weeks ago, and finally made it to Spanish Fork yesterday. For a little perspective, our belongings took up the majority of space from the ramp to the end of the truck. Somewhere around 10 feet, and only about 25% of the truck. What a joke. We ended up having to pay $2900 instead of $1820.

Putting the house back together has been a bit of a pain (actually a lot of a pain in my back). Taylor’s first order of business was setting up the TV and entertainment components. I went for the boxes, bags, and crates of clothes. We only had a few hours to unpack before he had to leave for the airport, but we got a lot accomplished in those hours.
We did have some casualties with a few of our items. The above frame is from a large fancy mirror that broke, and we also lost the framing elements of one of my favorite Japanese prints. My saddest loss? The beheading of several of my Willow Tree statues. We’re going to attempt a claim on our broken items, but I’m not holding my breath.

As much as I have hated living out of boxes and suitcases the past two years, I have to admit that I really love having ALL my belongings in the same state; my linens, my dishes, my movies, my tech items, and my clothes! That hasn’t happened since 2003. Other than a short anxiety attack, the unloading process was pretty standard.

Now to find help Unpacking.

Another Moving Fiasco: Part 4

Nicole Bullock — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:46:00 +0000

Today is moving delivery day. Or it was supposed to be.

Earlier this month, we decided to have the movers bring our stuff, despite the contract issues and having no idea how we’d pay the balance. I asked how quickly it could get there…Rob said cross-country transit usually takes 3-5 days (which to me is reasonable.) I told him we’d have the money on payday (Jan 16th), and he said they’d plan on delivering it the week of the 18th.

I talked to Rob last Monday, the 18th. He said our stuff would be there by Thursday, Friday at the latest. He promised to call by Thursday to give our firm delivery time. I called back and talked to a receptionist about acceptable forms of payment. She said certified bank check was fine, but they took credit cards and money orders as well. My dad agreed to lend us the money, found a bank branch open on the MLK holiday, and got the certified check ready for us.

Thursday came and went. Delivery didn’t happen. No call from Rob.

I called Friday morning. Rob said he’d get in touch with the dispatcher and call me back within 30 minutes. He didn’t call me back. After a few more calls near closing time, the receptionist finally let me talk to him. Rob called the truck driver. The truck was in Texas, would be dropping a shipment in Colorado on Sunday, and would deliver our stuff in Utah “first thing Monday morning.”

Sunday night around 9:00 PM, the driver Alex called us. He said that he would be delivering between 11 am and 2 pm, and to have payment in postal money order ready. (HUH?) I told him that the moving company advised us that certified check was acceptable…he said that I’d have to take it up with the moving company.

I called Moving 1 right when they opened this morning. Rob discussed methods of payment, and he said that Moving 1 has NEVER accepted a certified bank check for delivery. I advised that I called last week to verify, and was given incorrect information. Rob said, “If the driver gets to your house, and you try to pay in certified check, he’ll just turn around and drive away.” I looked at our contract, and sure enough…only acceptable payment on delivery was postal money order.

At that point it was 7 am, and we had about 4 hours to figure out payment before the delivery window. My dad (who is wheelchair-bound, btw) was preparing to leave on a business trip. We explained the situation, and we knew the only way we could fix the payment was to have him physically come to the bank to cash the check. Taylor drove up from Spanish Fork, and my dad drove down from Lehi, and they met at a Provo branch to cash the check. Taylor took the cash to the post office, got the money orders, and hurried back home to be there for the movers at 11.

Our 11 am to 2 pm window passed. No movers. We called the Moving company – they had no clue. We called the truck driver – no answer. As we were stewing over what to do next, the truck driver called. He said that his truck broke down “een esalta laka seety.” (in Salt Lake City) If he could get the truck fixed, he’d be there by 6 pm. If not, he’d come “first thing in the morning Tuesday.”

At 6:15, the driver called. He can’t come to “The Espanish Fork” tonight. He will come at 8 am tomorrow. We shall see.

At this point…I’m at a loss for words.

***

As for the dispute with the BBB, the moving company representative did respond to my complaint. It was written by Donna, the claims adjuster, poor grammar and all:

“First we would like to apologize for the inconvenience the customer may have sufferred during her move. However, we do not increase any shipment size or cost unless the customer has more items. Which means that even if we were mistaking in the estimation of shipment size, but the items list were the same, we would not have charged her more. We find it a little rude that the customer is only listing the increase in charges but not listing any of the adjustments that Rob the “rude” manager has authorized.

“Rob has authorized a charge for 750 at the same rate initially quoted to the customer which resulted in a discount of $378.00 discount. The customer shipment size was estimated by other companies the same 560 cu.ft. just like we have because of the list of items the customer provided. She also sent us copies of estimates she received which were for more than 500 cubic feet only. so to say we were the only ones is just wrong.

Furthermore, if the customer wasn’t just looking for bottom line price when comparing quotes she would have been able to pay more attention to details. We are very sorry the customer is not completely happy but trust our above explanation sheds some light over the REAL move details.”

I am composing my rebuttal as we speak…

It is true that when I sent my complaint to the BBB, Moving 1 had made no price concessions other than giving us “free” storage (while we came up with the the extra $$$ they overcharged us). After the complaint was submitted, I finally made some headway with Rob (see THIS post). I’m not sure what Donna was talking about when she mentioned the other estimates I submitted for comparison. (the ones submitted were for a 2 bedroom apartment, and for 760 cubic feet…nothing lower than the 560 CF we got from Moving 1.) The quote I am primarily concerned about is the one they “matched” from Bravo Movers…the 760 CF quote for $1820. The quote that would have saved us much of this hassle, had we dropped Moving 1 when we had the chance.

I am now working with a company called www.moverescue.com. Not sure if anything can be done at this point, but I’m not giving up yet.

Healthcare Rant: When Quality Care Goes Wrong

Nicole Bullock — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:23:00 +0000

As I’ve been dealing with many difficult health issues this past year, the U.S. healthcare reform debate has fallen below the Nicole radar. It surprises me that I’ve avoided it, as my career is in healthcare administration. I know it’s an important time in my field, but seven months of unemployment have kept me out of the trenches. Despite a very concerted effort, I have not been able to find work in my field. Although I have skills that would be portable to many other fields, I don’t want to give up what I love. I believe that quality care should be available to all people, regardless of their ability to pay. While it’s true that many healthcare organizations offer charitable care to the needy, it seems like many people in need fall through the cracks.

I am currently insured through my husband’s employer on a plan with Cigna. The plan provides excellent benefits at a low cost for in-network providers. I am extremely lucky to have $5-10 copays, and very reasonable coinsurance. Unfortunately, the Cigna network has been fairly limited in both the Atlanta and Wasatch Front areas. In Atlanta, I couldn’t use Emory facilities in network (while working for Emory, and promoting their Campaign Emory fundraising). In Utah, 90% of Intermountain Healthcare facilities are out-of-network for Cigna. This is frustrating to me, as I’m a previous 4.5-year employee of Intermountain. I believe in their Mission, Vision, and Values, and want to support them with my healthcare dollar.

My previous positions with Intermountain were as an assistant to a medical director at LDS Hospital, and as a Patient Service Rep in Accounts Receivable Management. I have also worked for City of Hope Cancer Center, Prime Healthcare Services, and University of Michigan Medical Center. I have experience in customer service, billing, coding, transcription, Joint Commission an AOA accreditation, physician credentialing, training, research, and have processed countless financial assistance applications. I have participated in executive-level hospital management meetings. Although I am not an expert by any means, I can confidently say that I am qualified to have an educated opinion on what works in healthcare, and when healthcare goes wrong.

Case in point: My daughter Rosie has been sick for a few weeks with kidney problems. My otherwise lively child has been mopey and lethargic, and complains of pain daily. On Christmas night, Rosie was very sick and begged me to take her to the hospital. We left our family holiday party an drove to the IHC Provo Instacare (which is in-network with Cigna). I advised the Instacare registrar that I had submitted a financial assistance application to the Lake Park and Creek Plaza billing offices a few weeks prior, and was unable to pay a copay. The Instacare flat out refused to see her without a copay…so I ran out to the car, grabbed a Christmas card, and paid her copay with the Christmas cash I got from my grandma. And what happened then? They took her blood, scanned over the results, and told us to go across the parking lot to the Utah Valley Regional Center Emergency Room immediately (which we later found out was out-of-network).

The ER registrar was a little nicer, especially when I brought along the copy of my recently-completed financial assistance application. We sat in the ER waiting room for over an hour, and spent a few more hours in the ER room 9 (which had a broken recliner, and no other chair available). After 4 hours, they said her urinalysis showed that she had inflammatory cystitis. If the Instacare would have taken 5 extra minutes to take her urine, she could have gotten on antibiotics and saved us a 4-hour ER visit and copay.

When we arrived at Instacare, it was a few minutes before they were closing at 9 pm. They happily took us back to the room, but pushed us back out the door in 5 minutes.My question is: “If they were going to send her to the ER, why did they take my gift money to pay a copay for a “visit” that didn’t really end up being a VISIT?” Luckily these visits happened before the end of the year, because we’d already met our deductible. Had this happened a week later, we would have been slammed with deductible fees.

A few days later, Rosie had another ER visit. Her symptoms had worsened, she had a high fever, and I drove her back to the UVRMC ER (still not knowing it was out-of-network). The doctor wasn’t sure why she was in so much pain and guessed that she had kidney stones or appendicitis. He ordered an abdominal CT scan to see if the problem was GI or urinary. After 3 more hours of sitting on room 9′s broken recliner, we found out that her scan was fine. Rosie got a pain pill, some “orange pee” pills, and a stronger antibiotic. Since then, we’ve been following up with a non-IHC pediatric urologist and she’s doing much better.

I was going to just sweep this experience under the carpet, but then earlier this week I received several IHC financial assistance rejection letters. Besides the recent hospital visits, I had some outstanding bills from all of my sleep apnea visits. Apparently we are slightly over the National Income Poverty Guidelines (remember my husband is a struggling regional airline pilot?) Despite our unmanageable debt from student loans and my 7 months of unemployment, we do not qualify. When I called the billing offices to get more information, I was told that our income was slightly too high, and our balances were not high enough for them to make an exception. Gee thanks.

I know I’m not the only person to have an experience like this. After going through it personally, it has really lit my fire to get back into a position where I can help avoid situations like this. I’m going to keep working on my medical coding certification, which I’ve been working on from home to keep myself busy while looking for work. It’s time to make my voice heard. I’ve been in both hospital management, and also at the receiving end of a “charity” denial. I hereby recommit my effort to apply for all the positions I am qualified for. I need to be a part of my field again.

Yet Another Moving Fiasco

Nicole Bullock — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:33:00 +0000

The storage unit in Decatur, GA that has held our earthly possessions since June

When Rosie and I headed out to Utah in June, all we brought with us was what fit into my Camry. We packed pretty creatively, so we haven’t been totally barren. Unfortunately, most of the clothes we brought with us were capris, tees, sandals, and light jackets. Now that it’s Winter, fleece jackets just don’t cut it! We’ve found some amazing finds online and at thrift stores. We’ve received calls from neighbors and family members when they were getting rid of something we might be able to use. But after 6 months of shelling out $100 bucks per month to Public Storage, we knew we had to get our stuff out to Utah sooner rather than later.

Over the past few months, I’ve gotten about 20 different price quotes from traditional moving companies, freight companies, cube storage/shipping, U-Pack, U-Haul, etc. We had chosen a broker called Moving 1 (who we did ultimately use this week) and we told them we weren’t sure when it would happen because we didn’t have the funds to pay yet. Once we got a quote lower than Moving 1′s quote, we asked them to match it. They DID match the total, but not the rate per cubic foot. We had reserved 800 cu ft (10x10x8 storage unit) but they way they scammed us was to only give us 560 cu ft for the $1820. When we used 720 cu ft, we got slammed with a higher price for that “extra” 190 cu ft.

In all, they charged us $3.75 per CF, and $5.75 for the extra CF (when all other CF quotes were between $2.15-$3.00 per CF.) Also, they charged us $530 for packing materials which consisted of 12 boxes and packaging tape, and a “dish packing fee” to put our bagged pots and pans into a box. When the truck was all packed, they movers said that the price was now $3200, not the “binding estimate” of $1800. We then found out was binding for weight…no matter how much it weighed, it would cost the same…but we’d have to pay extra for added volume. While at the storage unit as the movers packed, we tossed out dressers, mattresses, garbage bags full of linens and clothes, etc to make take down the amount of space used. We were supposed to pay half in cash at pick up, and half on delivery. We only had $1100 available to pay, so we have to wire them another $700 before they will ship it out to Utah. Our treasures will sit in a warehouse in Arkansas until we have paid half of the balance. Then we have to figure out the other half upon delivery. Hopefully we’ll get some cash for Christmas.

I have already submitted several comparable quotes I had obtained from various other companies to the manager at Moving 1 (and the “going rate” per CF obviously is nowhere near as expensive as Moving 1). I’ve also spoken with the manager of the dispatching trucking company to request an itemized bill for packaging materials, and will get rates from other movers to see how much our crew overcharged us. If the trucking company doesn’t help resolve this fiasco, we can go to small claims court over it. If we win, we’ll only have to pay about $200 out of what we recover. I am willing to fight, because I have no other choice.

With all of our interstate moves over the last 5 years, we’ve had varying luck with companies. We had something similar happen to us when we moved from California to Michigan, and luckily my in-laws bailed us out. Our Utah to California move was spot on with ABF U-Pack, and I wish we’d gone with them again. Our Michigan to Georgia move was fairly close to the estimate, but the movers took so long to move it out that we talked them into hiring a crew to unpack the truck for us for free. I’ll post an update on what happens with the GA to UT move as soon as we have any answers.

Merry Christmas, right?

Twelve Utah Christmases

Nicole Bullock — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:11:00 +0000

On my first Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree

On my second Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
Two years on a mission
And the Smart family on my TV

On my third Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
Three Degrees of Glory
Two years in Australia
And a First Amendment controver-sy

On my fourth Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
4-A high school roundball
Three Sunday meetings
Two years in Korea
And that business with the SLOC

On my fifth Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
FIVE-QUART ICE CREAMS
Four firing squads
Three scrapbooks
Two years in Peru
And a movie that’s G or PG

On my sixth Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
Six kids and counting
FIVE YEARS OF DROUGHT
Four quilting bees
Three meth labs
Two years in Japan
And a reservoir that’s almost emp-ty

On my seventh Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
Seven singing Osmonds
Six kids and counting
FIVE TOM GREEN WIVES
Forbidden love
Three spudnuts
Two years in Brazil
And a single poli-tickle par-ty

On my eighth Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
Eight cups of Postum
Seven kids and counting
Six beehive hairdos
FIVE MONTHS OF SNOW
Forty private clubs (for members)
Three-two beer
Two years in Taiwan
And a salty lake that’s really stink-y

On my ninth Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
Nine percent minorities
Eight kids and counting
Seventies in Conference
Sixteen to start dating
FIVE FEET OF SLUSH (Oh my heck!)
Forgeries for sale
Three-piece suits
Two years in Ukraine
And a fiancée in Happy Vall-ey

On my tenth Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
Ten bucks for parking
Nine kids and counting
Eight missing off-ramps
Seven guns per person
Six famous golfers
UTAH BY FIVE
Fourteen ski resorts
Three fault lines
Two years in Detroit
And a minivan or SUV (or both, plus a station wagon)

On my eleventh Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
Eleven Mormon temples
Ten kids and counting
Nine NuSkin neighbors
Ate at Chuck-a-Rama
Theven thpecial thpiritth
Six Jell-o salads
FIVE ORRIN TERMS (Oh my Hatch!)
Forecast is cold
Three Eubanks (three?)
Two years in Tibet
And an uncompleted Lega-cy (Highway)

On my twelfth Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me
Twelve-year-old deacons
Eleven kids and counting
Ten percent tithing
Nine zillion seagulls
Ate a bunch of crickets
Seven Peaks in Provo
Six hours to Vegas
FIVE PRO SPORTS TEAMS (if you count indoor football)
Four standard works
Three Nephites
Tooele sucks!
And a Tabernacle Choir CD !!!!!

(This truly is my 12th Christmas in Utah, by the way)
Mad props to spaff.com for this “peculiar” parody

Quest for the Peach Milkshake

Nicole Bullock — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:22:00 +0000

(peaches are one of my favorite fruits, by the way)

Before I left Atlanta, Chick-Fil-A started offering peach milkshakes. I got one and was in love. I’ve wanted one ever since.

When I got to Spanish Fork, the Arctic Circle by the freeway had big banners for peach shakes. Upon each driveby, I was tempted. When I decided to finally indulge, Arctic Circle was out of peaches for the day. The next time we went back, Rosie begged me for slushes at Sonic across the street instead. A few days later I was in Sandy and decided to go to the location there….but it’s now a Walgreens. The day after that, I went to the one in Murray…but it’s now a Beto’s. Two days ago, I went back to the location in Spanish Fork…only to find out that they stopped serving peach two days prior.

This goes along with my other luck I’ve had in the dessert department in Utah.

I’d been following a bakery in Provo called the Sweet Tooth Fairy on Twitter, and have wanted to try their delicious looking cupcakes. When Taylor visited last week and we were in Provo, I talked him into getting a treat. We pulled up to their store, only to find they were closed on Mondays. Haven’t had a chance to go back yet.

I went to McDonalds to get a caramel sundae, only to find out they no longer have caramel sundaes available.

I went to 7-Eleven on Free Slurpee day, only to find that they were out of 7.11 oz cups and we’d have to pay for our slurpee. At least they had my favorite flavor – pina colada.

But all is not lost…I DID find a bakery I adore called Flour Girls and Dough Boys in American Fork. My new friend Angie and I met with our kids for dessert last week. I am hooked on their orange cupcake with pomegranate filling and buttercream icing. And their coconut oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Yum.

(I’ve seriously had food on the brain for the last month)

La Semaine Dernière

Nicole Bullock — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:39:00 +0000

Celebrating Mary’s 19th Birthday with Melina and Mary at Boondocks!

For the last 3+ years, I’ve lived outside of Utah. When I left, California immediately felt like my home…even though I spent 12 years in Utah and have regularly visited in that time. Michigan certainly didn’t feel like home, and I felt like I was still getting used to Georgia when I left (But who knows, I may be back there sooner than I know it) I’m still in denial about my parents no longer living in Murray, although I love their new home in Lehi. I never thought I’d be living in Utah County (no offense!), but here I am blogging from my new abode in Spanish Fark.

This week has been unlike any in recent memory. I rested. A lot. And it was much needed. And in between I had quite a bit of fun. The last month has been a whirlwind of change, effort, emotion, frustration, and difficult choices. Life as I knew it was either packed into my Camry or a 10′x10′ storage unit in Georgia. (My husband spent a grueling week finishing all the packing, cleaning, and moving of heavy furniture while I had a respite from my cares. Bless him.)

Some of this week’s highlights:

-My sister Mary turned 19. To celebrate, my brother Shawn treated me, Rosie, Mary, and her friend Melina to lunch at Olive Garden and a day pass to Boondocks. We had a blast playing arcade games, the XD theater, flight simulator, mini-golf, bumper boats, and go karts. Then on Sunday was the traditional Watson family birthday dinner…complete with the “memory circle” game.

-Rosie got to have a sleepover in Sandy with Lola (practically a cousin) for two nights. The first day I spent catching up with Jacob and Andi…next thing I knew it…it was midnight and I slept over too!

-I finally met Jenn from Texas (an online buddy I was introduced to through my husband) We’ve been talking for five years, and we got to bond over Cafe Rio pork barbacoa salads. Yum!

-The 4th of July was great fun! I went to the SLC Farmers Market at Pioneer Park with Jacob and Andi, followed by the Murray Park carnival. Next, Rosie and I met up with Esther for lunch at Rumbi Grill (another Utah restaurant I’ve missed) Then, I spent the evening as an honorary Bytheway (my best friend Emily’s last name)…a delicious dinner in Murray, followed by a big family gathering at Grandma By’s across the street from Sugarhouse Park for fireworks. I didn’t get back to Spanish Fork until after 1:00 am. Whew!

All in all, I drove over 400 miles between Spanish Fork, Lehi, SLC, Provo, American Fork, Draper, Murray, and all those other cities along I-15. That definitely won’t be the norm while I live here.There are still so many people I want to see, but it’s nice to not have to cram all my visiting on an extended weekend non-revving. This week I really need to get cracking on “responsible” things like actually UNPACKING all the bags that are sitting on the floor of the bedroom. And looking for jobs. And spending quality time with my dear Rosie.

Me, Rosie, and Esther on July 4th

OMG…I’ve gotta go to this…

Nicole Bullock — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:56:00 +0000

Would any of you Utah-ites go to this with me if I came out for this concert? I just read about it on Spencer‘s blog. I’m going to the NKOTB concert in March in South Carolina, and this is just right in line with my music tastes of the 1989 era. Now to find tickets to Tiffany and Amy Grant.

If I went, I could also fit in a trip to the Draper Temple open house.