OK, so this one is a little off-topic, but I thought it would be a good tip for those of you who are like me and don’t like trolling for parking spaces at Vancouver Mall (aka Westfield Shopping Town) in Vancouver, WA.

Here’s what I do: First, I buy my tires at the Sears service center there. (I know, it’s a high price to pay for a parking spot unless you need new tires.) Once I have tires from Sears, every time I go to the mall, I park in the Sears service center lot, which is on the South side of the mall on the Southeast side of Sears, go into the service center and ask to have my tires rotated and then stroll into the mall. When I’m done, my tires are rotated, a friendly Sears associate greets me with my keys and I have a parking spot that is steps away from the entrance to the food court. I didn’t say it was particularly convenient, but it does fall under multi-tasking, right? And try to get your tires rotated by the valet at a fancy restaurant in Portland.