tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21370430387506221942024-02-08T12:39:36.008-08:00BigSpill's WorldThe life and times of a husband, father, and entrepreneur. I'm a man of many things, but a lack of things to say isn't one of them. I'm trying to build a successful business, create other opportunities and love my family with all of my heart. It can be a chaotic balance, but I love it.William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-70374944831999861752009-08-24T18:19:00.001-07:002009-08-24T18:19:17.957-07:00I'm looking at Phil Ivey right now.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/im-looking-at-phil-ivey-right-now">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-17357508881287458162009-08-23T21:07:00.001-07:002009-08-23T21:07:20.704-07:00I think I just ate more crab and lobster in one sitting then i've eaten in my entire life. I'm looking for wheel chair service to get me out of here.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/i-think-i-just-ate-more-crab-and-lobster-in-o">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-55329363319709969182009-08-23T19:52:00.001-07:002009-08-23T19:52:22.181-07:00at the Rio getting ready to hit the mother of all seafood buffets. I may be a lobster when I leave
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/at-the-rio-getting-ready-to-hit-the-mother-of">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-15440808181945240322009-08-21T09:19:00.001-07:002009-08-21T09:19:31.952-07:00I've got a new nephew! Conor Oliver Slater joined us yesterday, woo hoo!
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/ive-got-a-new-nephew-conor-oliver-slater-join">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-45040047599965502442009-08-13T22:02:00.001-07:002009-08-13T22:02:47.200-07:00sorry Mariners, the Yankees dominate! 11-1
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/sorry-mariners-the-yankees-dominate-11-1">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-328903981208758222009-08-07T21:46:00.001-07:002009-08-07T21:46:25.793-07:00what a great Yankees win!
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/what-a-great-yankees-win">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-36607251410643518902009-07-28T09:16:00.000-07:002009-07-28T11:36:17.331-07:00Life is goodWow, where to start. Well, I guess I'll go back a few weeks to Harvest Days. What an experience, I learned a ton and had a pretty good time in the process. I'm new to this food game, so I look at each event as an opportunity to learn something that will make me better in the future. Harvest Days was 2 months of school packed into 3 days. It started on Thursday with the packing. What a zoo, I've packed for single day events, but 3 days is a different animal. I wanted to be in Battle Ground by 7 o'clock and hopefully begin cooking by no later then 9. Yeah right, we finally rolled in about 9, but the staff at Harvest Days was struggling to find a place that would fit me and keep the fire marshal happy. After about an hour of deliberation, I agreed not to use any propane and they placed me smack dab in the middle of the food court/concert venue. I thought this was great, but I would find out later that it would have one MAJOR drawback. <br /><br />Now the unpacking started, which was a boatload of fun, I have to thank my wonderful wife Kim for working so hard and getting me incredibly organized. I don't know what I'd do without her. By the time I got the bbq and everything squared away, it was 12:30 and the meat wasn't on yet. Not good. I fired the 'Q up and introduced the pork butts and briskets to their new home. Now it was the bbq's turn to give me fits. I couldn't stabilize the heat where I wanted it, so I had a decision to make: high heat faster cooking or low heat more smoke. I chose the safe route with low heat. Sleep was calling my name, as it was 2 am, so I hit the rack and got up just after 6 to check on everything. Things were not looking good, the temp had dropped to far and the meat wasn't really cooking. Wow, not where I wanted to be with 4 hours until I needed to be ready to serve to the masses who would certainly be swarming us. <br /><br />I worked the temps, up and down, up and down, trying to get some kind of sale-worthy product, the meat just wasn't having it. This was my first big lesson. People are not ready to run to the food booths at the local fair at 10 am on Friday to eat. Heck, at this particular fair, they weren't ready for my bbq until 4:45. This caused me to learn lesson 2, overstaffing your booth costs you money, especially when you aren't selling anything. I sold 3 bottles of water and 1 bag of chips until 4:45, not something I saw coming. Luckily, after it cooled down, people started to get hungry and we salvaged an alright night. I could see that my sales projections were a bit lofty though. <br /><br />I got a little bit of sleep Friday night, actually about 5 hours I think and was right back ready to go about 7:30 Saturday morning. We had a decent day Saturday, although there was a major lull in the mid afternoon when it got a little warm. Saturday, some of the guys came out to visit, including my old boss Kris and my father-in-law Ron. It was nice to have them around to break things up and they all enjoyed the concerts. Oh yes, the concerts. I was about 50 yards from the stage where they had a performances throughout the day. Lets just say that by the end of the 3 days, I was ready for a little silence. <br /><br />Sunday was actually a better then expected day, I slept in till somewhere around 7, made my stops at the store and ha everything pretty well in order by the time Curt got there. We had a nice little day, with a steady stream of customers. 4:30 came around and it was time to pack it all up and call it a weekend. By the time I got everything home, dealt with a trailer hitch issue and got things unpacked it was 9:30. I was absolutely beat.<br /><br />Overall we did alright for the event, but because of my lofty expectations, I ordered to many supplies and had to much staff on hand which severely cut into the cash flow. Those are the biggest things I took from this, inventory control and payroll. <br /><br />Monday morning I got up and started returning everything I had rented so that I could get on the road to the beach. The family was already down there, they left Saturday morning. I finally arrived shortly after 2 and was ready for a couple of days relaxing, including a trip on the ocean to do some fishing on Tuesday. <br /><br />Greg and I wanted to be up by 4 and on the road no later then 4:20 Tuesday morning, but I was so excited that I woke up at 3 and never went back to sleep. We had a great time on the boat, I caught probably 10-12 fish, 5 keepers and lost a few right next to the boat. I may have caught the most on the boat, but a lady standing right next to Greg caught 2 big kings, they weighed 24 and 26 pounds dressed out (no guts). It was a great day on the ocean, until we turned for home, at which point I got sicker then a dog. Oh man, I looked terrible Greg said, a fact he reminded me of many times.<br /><br />I did the concert at Crown Park on Wednesday, which was once again a great learning experience. I had a few hurdles to jump through, but all in all we had an okay event. I just did burgers, dogs and for some reason I decided to have chicken legs. Bad idea, they took to long to cook and I just didn't need them. I've got to stop over thinking these things and always remember KISS (keep it simple, stupid). The best thing to come from this event was the fact that I was able to pack in 20 minutes, set up in about 20 minutes and then break down in about 20 minutes. Getting these processes streamlined is vital, because of the amount of headache it saves me<br /><br />I got right back up Thursday morning to head back to the beach, where I was able to really just chill out and enjoy everything and everyone. <br /><br />Saturday morning I headed out early to go to Corvallis for my Uncle Bob's 80th birthday party. I had a great time there, it was really nice to see my Dad's side of the family. I hadn't seen them in a couple of years and would really like to get closer with them. Even though the trip was long, I absolutely love driving through the Willamette Valley. It's so picturesque, like a postcard the entire way.<br /><br />Now it's back to the grind, tomorrow we'll be at the concert again, then this weekend we're at the Beaverton Relay For Life. Have fun!William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-84422165901517014992009-07-26T17:46:00.001-07:002009-07-26T17:46:00.240-07:00Pete's Wicked is awesome.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/petes-wicked-is-awesome">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-313283616541187152009-07-26T17:45:00.001-07:002009-07-26T17:45:03.870-07:00Pete's Wicked Ale is awesome.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/petes-wicked-ale-is-awesome">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-35064640112962829662009-07-21T03:43:00.001-07:002009-07-21T03:43:54.790-07:00It's time to go fishing! Here fishy fishy!
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/its-time-to-go-fishing-here-fishy-fishy">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-88162369947207919542009-07-12T22:35:00.001-07:002009-07-12T22:35:01.934-07:00great surprise party for my wonderful Mom's birthday tonight. I love you Mom, you're the greatest Mom ever!
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/great-surprise-party-for-my-wonderful-moms-bi">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-11695538526497852122009-07-10T21:53:00.001-07:002009-07-10T21:53:55.315-07:00not much better then a backyard fire. Enjoying it with Kim and the boys.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/not-much-better-then-a-backyard-fire-enjoying">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-57197270850156545652009-07-10T20:07:00.001-07:002009-07-10T20:07:10.404-07:00I know i'm allergic to it, but pizza off the BBQ is to damn good.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/i-know-im-allergic-to-it-but-pizza-off-the-bb">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-56826741999275069182009-07-08T09:51:00.001-07:002009-07-08T09:51:46.760-07:00Derek just walked up the steps carrying a dead rat, not a mouse, a large rat. Absolutely disgusting. Yuk.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/derek-just-walked-up-the-steps-carrying-a-dea">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-40909388637767600122009-07-04T21:44:00.001-07:002009-07-04T21:44:53.147-07:00had another great day on the river, now it's time to blow stuff up
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/had-another-great-day-on-the-river-now-its-ti">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-66405455706380532842009-07-03T17:50:00.001-07:002009-07-03T17:50:05.138-07:00river time is time well spent.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/river-time-is-time-well-spent">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-84755551276724706902009-07-03T11:43:00.001-07:002009-07-03T11:43:55.870-07:00getting ready to hit the river and float. Love it.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/getting-ready-to-hit-the-river-and-float-love">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-28625886107782303912009-06-29T08:08:00.000-07:002009-06-29T10:18:08.767-07:00Living The DreamWell, where do I start? Things have been unbelievably busy for me as of late. Last weekend I competed in the Oregon BBQ Championship at the Tigard Balloon Festival. What a kick in the pants. We had to be down there by 10 am on Saturday, so of course I got there early at 9:55. It was kind of like your first day at a new school, most everyone was already there, they all know each other, and they're looking right at you like "who is this guy". Right off the bat, I backed up traffic as I had to unhook the BBQ to park it. I got the BBQ parked, and parked the Ex so that the guys who were coming in could get to their spots. I looked around at the other teams who already had their spots all set up, a lot of guys came in on Friday, and figured out I'm going to look pretty ragtag. These guys have bottles of sauce and rubs all set up in a pyramid, huge banners complete with logos, multiple canopies, stereos, trailers and tables galore. I've got one 6' table and two wobbly card tables, one borrowed canopy, and a decent, but small, banner (thanks to <a href="http://www.columbialitho.com/">Colombia Litho</a>). I reminded myself that these guys and gals have been doing this for awhile, and if I do well, someday I can have a sweet set up like them.<br /><br />From there on out, things went pretty smoothly, save for a little issue with the generator. People came up and introduced themselves and many offered all kinds of tips and tricks. Kim and the boys hung out and helped me until about 4 or 5 and then I was on my own. It was actually pretty easy from there on out because I had already put on my heavy meats (pork shoulder and brisket). My chicken was in it's marinade and the ribs didn't need any tending until the morning so my main job was making sure the generator didn't run out of gas. The rest of the evening I mingled with the other participants, listened to the radio and checked out the carnival. I felt kind of weird walking around the carnival by myself, so that was a very short trip. As the evening progressed, I realized that it was getting quite cool and because I didn't remember a coat, i was in turn going to be cold. To make matters even better, the rain we had earlier in the day had soaked my bag which contained the extra clothes I did remember to bring, so I couldn't put an extra shirt on. I managed to shiver my way through the evening until it was time to call it a night at 2. I had to stay up so that I could make sure the generator didn't run out of gas, which in turn would cause the BBQ to quit running. That would be very bad. So I hop in the back of the Expedition where I've got a nice air mattress all blown up and a very warm and inviting sleeping bag laid out. I maneuver around and finally get myself into the sleeping bag of warmth I had been looking forward to, only to find it's my son Brandon's. This means it's not 31 year old large man size, it's 10 year old skinny kid size, BIG difference. I hunker down as much as possible and try to get some sleep. At 4, I wake up and need to use the restroom, so I head over there and open the door to feel a joyous thing. Heat. I actually stay in the bathroom a few extra minutes to defrost. I've never been happier to be in a public restroom at 4 am. <br /><br />After the eventful and cold evening, I woke up about 6 to the beautiful hum of the little power plant that could. The BBQ was chugging smoke and I was ready for competition day. I went to check on the meat, and found any BBQ'ers worst nightmare. My pork was like a basketball, hard and firm. I was not a happy camper, but I had to pull it together if I had any chance of winning as I was only 5 hours from pork turn in. I played with the temperature over the next few hours to try and get the meat somewhat ready and about an hour before turn in, I noticed one of the shoulders was actually looking good. By that time, Kim and the boys came over and had gotten the lettuce needed for the all important turn-in box. I pulled the shoulder off that was ready and let it rest for awhile before it was time to pull it and turn it in. I was so happy when it pulled clean and was as tender as can be, it was such a relief.<br /><br />Next up was brisket. It was terrible, absolutely terrible. I wrapped up the brisket in aluminum foil to let it soak in the baste I made for it. I removed it from the BBQ only to find a hole had ripped in the bottom and all of the juice ran out. The meat I turned in, which was part of the "flat", was dry and in my opinion, inedible. The "point" part of the brisket was absolutely wonderful, with juices running like the Salmon of Capistrano. I gave away the entire brisket to the "taste hounds" that were walking around in about 10 minutes. I knew I was going to get destroyed by the judges, but I definitely learned something.<br /><br />My ribs were alright, but I messed up and used spare instead of baby backs. Big screw up, I hadn't cooked spareribs in probably two years, and it showed. The ribs didn't pull off the bone like they should, but the flavor was still good. I'll do much better next time I think, as I know baby backs are where I need to be.<br /><br />The chicken was another learning experience for me. I used bone in thighs, which is what most everyone else uses also, but where I screwed up was using frozen thighs instead of fresh. I also found out that I need to "de-feather" the thighs, something I'd never heard of. Low and behold, not every feather is completely removed from the chicken and this is something the judges are sticklers about. I was very happy with the flavor of the meat, but I need to clean up the appearance in order to really be able to win anything.<br /><br />After all of the turn in mayhem, it was over, just like that. It was kind of like after you open up all of the Christmas presents, you've been building up to this moment for so long that you don't know what to do when it's passed. Well, I remembered quickly that it was now time to clean everything up and get ready for the awards.<br /><br />We walked over to the area where all of the awards presentation would be, and I thought the only division I've got any chance is pork. The give awards and money to the top 8 places, but with 26 competitors, I didn't know if I had any chance. Well, evidently I did, as I received 5th place in pork and I was only 2 points away from second place. I was very happy with the finish, and making the walk up to the presenter to get my ribbon made all of the work the past day and half worth it. It was a hell of a feeling, and something I want to do again.<br /><br />I didn't fare so well in the other categories, but I know that with what I learned and the comments I received from the judges, I'll be in a much better position to place in the future. I can't wait to do it again. I've also got to mention my Aunt Sara for sponsoring us in the event, THANK YOU SO MUCH!<br /><br />From here, we go to events. We've got a nice schedule coming together that will possibly kick off this weekend at the William Clark Park Fourth of July Celebration in Washougal, followed by Harvest Days in Battle Ground, Beaverton Relay For Life, the Concert In The Park series in Camas and some other events that are still up in the air. <br /><br />Life is going great, the other ventures I'm involved with are swimming along and the family is happy and healthy. I couldn't ask for anything more.William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-15632584966032850942009-06-27T22:57:00.001-07:002009-06-27T22:57:18.369-07:00we're having a fire in the backyard with Thad and Trisha and the boys. Good times had by all.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/were-having-a-fire-in-the-backyard-with-thad">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-92085313013968540072009-06-27T17:46:00.001-07:002009-06-27T17:46:51.061-07:00Just floated the Washougal River, I forgot how fun it is to do that.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/just-floated-the-washougal-river-i-forgot-how">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-87834758661267955172009-06-26T18:56:00.001-07:002009-06-26T18:56:50.809-07:00the tennis racket bug zapper could be one of the coolest inventions ever, hours of entertainment.
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/the-tennis-racket-bug-zapper-could-be-one-of">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-74280019789661317552009-06-21T17:19:00.001-07:002009-06-21T17:19:02.807-07:00Took 5th place in Pork, very happy with that. Learned a lot
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/took-5th-place-in-pork-very-happy-with-that-l">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-73615577860379102372009-06-20T14:25:00.001-07:002009-06-20T14:25:22.120-07:00This kind of feels like you're at the zoo, people are just walking around looking at you. Odd
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/this-kind-of-feels-like-youre-at-the-zoo-peop">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-12531905022062321352009-06-16T21:39:00.001-07:002009-06-16T21:39:41.909-07:00I'm in! My first foray into competition BBQ is a go. Woo Hoo!
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/im-in-my-first-foray-into-competition-bbq-is">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137043038750622194.post-48413003320955872532009-06-16T15:14:00.001-07:002009-06-16T15:14:21.353-07:00BBQ Association board member just emailed me asking me to compete cuz they need teams. What to do, what to do?
<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via SMS</a> from <a href="http://willslater.posterous.com/bbq-association-board-member-just-emailed-me">willslater's posterous</a> </p> William J. Slater Mortgage Brokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13414462930364351075noreply@blogger.com0