Have You Heard of UMPQUA Bank? Good Luck Dinah and Elaine!

I am sorry to admit that last month was the first time I heard of UMPQUA bank. My oldest daughter, Dinah, had been offered a position she can not refused at UMPQUA Bank in Portland, Oregon. This will be her first time to relocate from California to Oregon. She is very excited since this is a Promotion. The company has offered her a good salary, bonus sign up and help in her relocation expenses as well as a prestigious title of Assistant Vice President. Your Mom and I wish you luck and success in your new position. Elaine is relocating with her. The following three photos were taken during their visit last week. The other photos were taken during the Farewell Party for Dinah by Friends and Relatives in Concord.

The following are some information from Wikipedia about UMPQUA bank.

Umpqua Holdings Corporation, d.b.a. Umpqua Bank, is a financial holding company based in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Headquarters are in the Umpqua Bank Plaza, formerly the headquarters of Benj. Franklin Savings and Loan. The firm has three principal operating subsidiaries: Umpqua Bank (the Bank), Umpqua Investments (formerly Strand, Atkinson, Williams and York (Investments)), and Pivotus Ventures.

The company’s main operating segments are personal banking and lending, business banking and lending, and wealth management. The bank serves consumers and businesses in the community. As of 2015, Umpqua Bank had $24 billion in assets and $18 billion in deposits and was ranked among the largest 60 banks in the nation. Its parent company, Umpqua Holdings, is publicly traded. As of 2016, Umpqua Bank was the largest Oregon-based bank, and had 350 branches in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Idaho.

Today is moving day for Dinah and Elaine. Have a Safe Relocation to Portland, Oregon!

Not Dependable Service from Clarke and Rush

Two Years ago I purchased a new Carrier Furnace 80% Boost from Clark and Rush for total cost of $4439 including installation. I Have a 10 year warranty for manufacturer parts.

Last week at the middle of the Ten Day Heat Wave here in Northern California, our Air conditioner failed. The AC is humming outside- but no cool air is coming ( appeared the blower is defective). I immediately called my installer Clark and Rush. They answered they are fully booked for three weeks and do not answer emergency calls even from customers. I was so upset, I started calling 10 other cooling and heating service companies in The Sacramento area. Of the ten I called only one( Jaguar) had an opening within the next couple of days. The rest are booked for weeks ahead. While waiting for the service from Jaguar, Macrine and I stayed at the Mall in the afternoon when the temperature outside were over 100 and inside the house was 90. One night we stayed at my daughters house in Mid town Sacramento.

Jaguar diagnosed that the problem was indeed the blower and to replace it will cost $1536. The technician suggested to call our local Carrier Dealers and verify that the part is available locally and if not it has to be ordered from the manufacturer, since we still have the warranty on the parts. The diagnosis cost us $79.

There are several Carrier Furnace Dealers in our Area. The problem is not the part but the time availability for service. Most of the Cooling companies are fully booked. Luckily, I was able to talk to a Carrier Dealer, Comfort Master. I was told the blower is not available locally. It has to be ordered from the manufacturer and a service charge of $65 for a 2-day delivery window is required.

Since Comfort Master did not diagnosed the problem, they are hesitant to order it ahead and wants their own technician to diagnose it for an additional cost of $99. The earliest they can re diagnose the problem is two days from this writing date. I was told it would be the first week of July when we will have central air conditioning again. I hope the weather will cooperate in the next 10 days.

In the meantime, the heat wave is gone. High temperature during the next couple of days are in the low 90's. We have a Wall AC unit in our bedroom, so we can sleep, but the afternoon from 3 to 7PM, the whole house is hot, even though we have electric fans in the Kitchen and Family room, we still have to go to the Mall to cool off.

Lesson Learned: Not all Cooling Service Companies are Dependable, in spite of their Claim of superior Client Service.

Pinoy Love Songs with Tourist Spots in the Background

Do you love Kundiman and some Pinoy love songs? Here's one of my favorite video.

Arthritis of the Knee and Me

About 6 months ago, I was diagnosed with arthritis of the knee based on the X'ray taken of my left knee. My physician prescribed an anti-inflammatory/analgesic-Naprosin. Relatives and friends recommended I take Turmeric Capsults -a dietary supplement. The pain ranged from 3-4 to a tolerable 1-2 from a Pain scale of 1 to 10. My experience showed that turmeric helps but the pain is not completely gone and often times I am still limping and my activities are limited. I have a hard time bending, so my gardening activities are limited also. Here's some information about knee arthritis from the Internet.

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more of your joints. Pain, swelling, and stiffness are the primary symptoms of arthritis. Any joint in the body may be affected by the disease, but it is particularly common in the knee. Knee arthritis can make it hard to do many everyday activities, such as walking or climbing stairs. It is a major cause of lost work time and a serious disability for many people.

The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, but there are more than 100 different forms. In 2012, more than 51 million people reported that they had been diagnosed with some form of arthritis, according to the National Health Interview Survey. While arthritis is mainly an adult disease, some forms affect children.

Although there is no cure for arthritis, there are many treatment options available to help manage pain and keep people staying active.

For more details read the following:

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00212

If you know of any dietary supplement good for arthritis besides turmeric, please let me know!