Oh yeah. It's my B-day, Happy B-day to me!!!
So, after I took care of a family emergency last month, (you may or may not remember the post about my pending WSM purchase), I had WSM dollars. Woo-Hoo! I ran down to a little place called "Bay's Hardware" in Seal Beach, Ca., & purchased my 22.5 Weber Mountain Smoker. I had called around & no one had any in stock. Well, the first four places I called anyway. So I get this nice lady on the phone & she is like, "Yes, we have two of them. One on display & one still in the box." I of course I want the brand spanking new one in the box so I told her to put it on hold for me. I go to the store after a quick shower, make the purchase & this young kid comes out from the back with this "HUGE" box on a dolley. I am thinking, crap, I need a small pickup truck for this thing. He wheels it out to the street where I am parked & we try the back seat as the trunk was entirely out of the question. No joy. The front seat was not an option so I open the box & put the top & bottom pieces on the back seat. It is full. The middle compartment is in the front. It is full. Everything else went into the trunk. This thing is "HUGE". Okay, I get home, unload the car, make a chicken sandwich from some smoked grilled chicken I did earlier in the week, (you saw the qview), & take a quick nap. Then off to work. 8 hours go by. I can't wait to get home at 12:15 AM PST. Finally, at home & wifey is awake & giving B-day wishes & gifts.
Finally, time to put my behemoth together. Break out the manual, start checking parts &
What The????? I am missing the heat shield. No way. The heat shield??
Are you kidding me?
The heat shield is the critical component to putting this thing together. Okay, let's be honest, without it, you will burn concrete. But hey, I just dropped 4 big ones on this thing. I want my heat shield. It is now 3:00 AM & being angry, mad, upset or dis-appointed is just a waste of energy. So I go back upstairs with my long face & wifey is like, "What's wrong?"
I tell her & she makes the sad long look go away. (Again?? I am not a machine!!
But it is all good.
) (Wifey's. What would we do without them?) I figure, Weber is on CST so I need to call at 5:00 PST to reach someone. I am compelled to wait up as it is my B-day & I want my WSM up & running tonight. I call Weber, promptly at 5 & talk to the nicest customer service rep I have had the pleasure to speak to in some time. After a fifteen minute conversation, which included registering my product, the deal is done. I will go back to the hardware store, aquire the heat shield on their display model & Weber will send the replacement to the store. Works for me. So, time for bed. Two hours into a dream I won't go into on this forum, the phone rings. It is relatives with B-day wishes & songs. (They are so funny.) I can't get back to sleep now. The hardware place opens when???? Did I get the time? Aw crap. I take a shower & call them. The arraignment I made with Weber is okay with them. Hmph. It better be. Okay, drive to Seal Beach, again, get the part, quick grocery shopping for items wifey is going to make my German Chocolate Cake with, plus side dishes for dinner, come home. Neighbor wants to make breakfast & chat. Fine. It's my B-day. We have grilled cheese sandwiches & chat. I keep looking at my watch. Finally come home & get online to post. Phew. Can you say, "Dragging my butt?" Okay, I woke up at what time again?? Oh yeah, 3 PM, Thursday afternoon to go to work. Geez, where has the time gone. Okay, time to put this thing together, take a nap, wake up, take pictures & then put something on & smoke it. Happy B-day to me!!!
