The Big DumpTruck

You people (and you know who you are) who crab and moan about Manny and say they should trade him? Pthbthbthbth. I love Manny. At least once a game, I say it out loud. I love Manny. Manny being Manny doesn't bother me, either. I don't see what the big frigging deal is, and was actually shocked when they booed him the other night.

Good for Manny, winning the game for us today. All the people ranting about Manny can kiss my butt. Twice. Jim Rice was dead-on in his post-game comments - you can't trade Manny unless you get someone just as good or better than him. Manny is a good player, and that's that. So what if he does "Manny" stuff. What's the problem? Jealous that you aren't him? Cause I'll just bet all those people who've been ranting on the phones this week have been or done worse at their own jobs. Boston fans had better get a grip. And the Sports Radio guys should take a Valium.

Also, I dropped a bunch of money at Filene's today, and darn it, I'm happy. Here's another "pthbthbthb" to Federated for the impending wipe-out of a great chain.

I just wanted to weigh in. Not that it makes a difference. But according to a news story, Filenes is history, to be sucked up and chewed out into Macy's mush.

I don't shop at Macy's. I shop at Filenes. Period. And you say "Customers have told us they want the fashion and affordable luxury they find in Macy's stores," Federated said in a statement." Ya, and? How was the question worded to those customers? Did you ask "Tell us, do you want the fashion and affordable luxury you find in Macy's, or do you want me to squeeze lemon juice in your eyes?"

Sounds to me like you asked people you found wandering around in the aisles at Macy's. Can you show me evidence that you walked into a Filenes store and asked those shoppers which they prefer? I'd be very very shocked if they said they preferred Macy's. If they did, why are they shopping at Filenes? I believe you asked three people who had never set foot in a Filenes. If they had, they'd have known that Filenes is very affordable, actually. If I can afford to shop there, anyone can.

Darn it, that means the local store is going to dump all the stuff I like for the Macy's stuff that doesn't fit or looks all frumpy. Thanks so much Federated. If you'd kept Filenes, at least you'd be getting some of my money. But if you replace it with Macy's, I'll just find somewhere else to spend my money.

We took Phantom to puppy training class last night, and when we got home at 7, the power was out. I could have been out for a minute, or 60 minutes, given that we weren't home. It didn't come back on until almost midnight.

So now I'm wondering if the food in the fridge and freezer are okay. The fridge was opened very briefly once, at about 8pm. The freezer wasn't touched.

I'm not in the mood to replace everything in there again. Actually, maybe tossing everything in the freezer would be a blessing. There's a lot of stuff in there that I should throw, and just don't have the heart to. If I had to toss everything, there would actually be room in the freezer for stuff that we actually *want* to have in there. I really should make a point to go through it the night before trash day this week. I'll put that on the old "to do" list.

For the record, Junior was about to lose his mind from the power being out. He was very unhappy because he'd had his evening planned in his head, and the whole thing was impossible. He kept asking for things, and we'd say "we don't have power". I don't think he had ever thought to think about how 98% of the things we have in our house run off electricity. When he found out I couldn't boil water to make him some pasta, he asked me to microwave something. Dude, no power is no power.

I hope we didn't miss anything good on TV last night. Was Mythbusters a new episode?

Sorry if I'm a little absent. I'm very focussed on finishing my project - I only have until Friday. And I officially started to freak a bit about leaving here. I have a 4 week contract starting monday at a different company, but after that, who knows.

I guess I need to put a little more effort into the job hunt and less on the site. So bear with me, 'kay?

No, I'm not talking about the weather. I'm talking about the warm fuzzy feeling I got last night and again this morning as I was driving past the new Target to go home and I thought "So, Jody, do you need anything at Target? Cause if you do, it's right there and you can just go in and buy it right now!" Woo!

See, we traditionally drive up to Nashua to the Target at the Pheasant Lane Mall. I'd go to the one behind the Solomon Pond Mall, but after work, I'm usually racing home to pick up Junior. But this one...I can pick up Junior and take him with me! How bleeping awesome is that? You have no idea. Ever since Bradlees (and then Caldor) closed, there hasn't been a retail store that I would consider "close." Walmart, which I don't like anyway, is just too far. I'm a homebody. Once I get home after work, I like to stay there. So if there are errands to be done, they MUST be done on my way home. Do you see the need this store is filling for me?

Plus, it's open at 8:00am. That means I could conceivably stop before work. Holy cow! It's like they read my mind.

Okay, enough about Target. I know some people are furious that it's there, and that the traffic will get worse and worse. I will be somewhat impacted by the traffic where I live too, I know it. But if we're all lucky, 75% of the people going there will use the route 2 exits that are RIGHT next to the shopping plaza, instead of the already-busy backroads, and that will make it all okay!

What, it needs a review? C'mon, it's Target!

If you haven't gone to the new one today, make sure you go to the pharmacy. If you go to the pharmacist, they have a gift bag worth at least $20...

P.s. Traffic on Harvard street didn't seem horrendous...

I'm wearing a very festive shirt today. Very flowery. It's not a Hawaiian shirt per-se, but it's leaning that way. I put it on because I felt like wearing something summary. It is summer, you know.

Another million degree day. I'm looking forward to the weekend, they say it's going to settle back down to more normal temperatures. I like normal. Normal is good.

Yesterday, Junior's summer camp was supposed to go to Crow Hill at Leominster State Forest, but at the last minute it was changed to Hopkinton State Park. In today's Telegram, I saw why: they closed the beach at Crow Hill after weekly testing showed elevated levels of enterococci.

I don't know what enterococci look like, but I imagine they have are the bullies of the bacteria world, throwing their weight around, closing swimming holes. Actually, they said it's bacteria from animal and human waste. Animal waste, sure, you can't stop a bear from crapping in the woods, right? And the danged horrid disgusting geese are shit-machines. But human waste? Oh, reading on, "sometimes people rinse children off in the swimming water as they change a diaper, which can cause a problem. " A problem? You are rinsing your poo-assed babies in the water that people around you are swimming in? Hello, McFly, do you not see the problem?

What kind of person does this? I mean seriously, did you ever see how much water little kids accident's ingest when they are swimming? The only thing I can think of is that karma will get these people and some day their precious cargo will get dysentery from some other reject mom rinsing her kid's poopy butt in the same small patch of water. Idiots.

I forgot to take my phone with me to work today. I HATE when I do that. Moreso because it isn't just my phone, it's my Sidekick, with all my mail, etc. Grrrrrrrrrrrr

So now this day feels like a Monday, even though it isn't.

It's stinky also because the phone downloads mail from the address that I use when sending out resumes, and I'm just not going to have the opportunity to check it the way I would on the Sidekick. So ya, I think I deserve a donut or something to make this day a little better, don't you?

Looks like I'll need to clean out the old cubicle, as my contract is up on the 29th and I will be spending August working for another company. Hopefully we can track down something else for me to do here after that, but who knows. It stinks being a contractor around contract renewal time.

That being said, any of you loyal readers have HR connections at Bose? I know at least one of you used to work there, but I don't if you are still in touch with anyone there.

So someone remind me to take a larger-sized bag to work with me the next few days, so I can pack up my meager belongings. The Ice Cream Truck collection is coming home, baby!

It's gross out. I feel like I'm trying to breath underwater. I suspect this is not a good day to go for a quick jog, y'knowwhatImean? And tomorrow (hell, the rest of the week) isn't supposed to be any better.

I forgot to write up my Canobie Lake Park summary yesterday, but in my defense, I spent pretty much the whole day out and about with my sister's family. The majority of our time was spent browsing at the Waltham store The Construction Site. If you have never been here, do not go unless you have a wallet full of green. I could have literally spent thousands of dollars yesterday (I got off relatively cheaply, but I now have a short list of things to go back and get when I have more cheese money). The cool think is that a lot of the toys have samples out for the kids to play with, so you can really see which ones are holding their attention.

Anyway, Canobie review:
I continue to be amazed at what a great little park this is. Unfortunately, Saturday, we had three things working against us. 1, it was Saturday. 2, it was hot and humid out, and 3, there were some massive company outings going on, so a ton of people were there for free that day. The parking lot was full. As in, I think we got spots in the very last row that had available spots. I heard someone on the radio say they were going to have to move cones and just have people patrol the perimeter. It's possible that they actually closed the lot about 10 minutes after we got there. I can tell you that in all the years I've gone up there, I have NEVER seen the lot that full. We parked in an area I didn't even know existed.

That being said, the new water park-like area is a welcome addition. Lots of slides, water cannons, climbing, etc. Bring your bathing suit (they have lockers and a bathroom/changing room). Around the perimeter are lounge chairs and places to buy food. It is inside the park, and included in the admission price. I'm guessing Junior could have spent a couple of hours there.

Also, they had another new ride, the Wipeout. For those Whalom fans, it's a Trabant. Except on steroids. I volunteered to go on it because I always enjoyed the trabant. And this is cool, each little section holds two people facing two people, so when three of us went on, we were facing each other. And then, here is the difference...it's fast. It felt like maybe twice as fast. And I got stuck in the backwards position and I have never felt so dizzy. Mr. Dump said it was making him sick to watch the ride and try to spot us, that's how fast this thing spins after it comes down. And the funny thing is that for the backwards person, even after you are level, you still feel like you're spinning at an angle.

The kids LOVED it. I declined to go back on, I was just happy that I regained my balance fairly quickly. This should be a popular ride once people figure it out.

Oh my dear God, the parking lot is FULL. STAY home!

Did Amazon guarantee Harry Potter delivery by 10am, or just some time on the 16th? Cause it's not here yet and it's 11am and I'm just a bit ticked off about that. I mean, not enough to make a few phone calls, but I can say the book has been in Leominster since YESTERDAY and yet, it's not here at the house. Not cool. Not cool at all.

Wait, didn't the weather report say sunny today? My step-daughter convinced us to take them all up to Canobie Lake Park today, but it looks kind of icky out.

I know I told you guys we should have a BDT Summer Outing up there, but Mr. Dump would freak if he knew I invited all of you to meet up with us at the park. If you (Christine, I know you wanted to go) just happened to be at the park this afternoon and we ran into each other, well, wouldn't that me a great coincidence? If you were already planning to go there today anyway *cough* just drop a comment on this post and I'll get it in email. Woo!

Here are some thoughts for you, to help you transition into the weekend.

• If you are going to eat a whole package of pumpkin seeds (aka "salty fiber bombs") you just need to be prepared for the eventual, how shall we say it..."outcome". Remember the old SNL commercial for colon blow? 'Nuff said.
• When you have a burial at sea for a beloved pet, and your seven year old says "I want to flush" seriously consider how he's gonna feel after he's done it and realized he's the one who actually made it go down the drain. Junior was sad about Mike the Fish's demise, but he sobbed a bit after he physically flushed him. Sure, he wanted to do it, asked if he could, but I don't think it occurred to us how we'd feel as we watched Mike the Fish whoosh away.
• I'm a big believer in being straightforward with Junior, so he's aware of some things that I don't feel like trying to explain away. Thus, he's now got a good understanding of what's going to happen to Phantom when he gets neutered. And he made the appropriate guy noises at the news. (Of course, a short while later he asked "When is Phantom getting his tonsils removed?" "Not his tonsils, honey, his testicles." [insert moaning noise here]
• Speaking of Phantom, he has mastered understanding his name, responding to the "come" and "sit" commands, and will actually sit patiently for 10 or more seconds. Thank you, clicker training! This weekend I'm going to try to train him to draw me a bubble bath.
• Man, now I'm craving more pumpkin seeds. You see what you do to me?

From a link on Chuck's site.

Apparently the guy who used to play Cooter on the original Dukes of Hazzard is telling people to not go see the new movie. Now granted, Ben Jones used to be a Georgia congressman, for whatever that's worth. But in the grand scheme of things, do I really need or want this guy, who know makes his living selling Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia, telling me what movies I should or shouldn't see? Plus, this is the Dukes of Hazzard...what the hell? It's about two guys who spent time in jail, have no jobs, are always on the run from the local police, who live with their hot cousin and their moonshiner uncle. When did THAT kind of disfunction define "family-friendly entertainment"? It's not like the show is in the pantheon of all-time bestest most wonderfullest TV shows. Sure, I watched it, but I was lusting after the Duke boys in their tight, package-enhancing jeans. And the guys lusted after Daisy in her, wait for it, Daisy Dukes. That's right, those slutty barely-there shorts are known around the world as Daisy Dukes. Wholesome?! What color is the sky in your family-friendly world?

Cooter, my friend, you're a moron. You have a Dukes' store. Why not cash in on the movie in addition to the television show?

I'd like to request a brief moment of silence for the passing of a little guy who lasted WAY longer than I thought he would have. Earlier tonight, when I went to feed him, I realized that Mike the Fish is no longer among the living.

So while we know he is happier in that great bubbling castle in the deep blue sea, we have to remember that he certainly did enjoy being part of the family. Goodbye Mike the Fish. We had 3.5 years to enjoy you.

On my morning commute today, I was briefly driving behind a guy who had a sticker on his car that proclaimed his official membership in the Donald Duck Fan Club.

Well isn't that nice!

I'm not against fan clubs. I've been in one or two in my life. If there was a fan club for say, me, well, I would be all for that. I'd love to see you put stickers on your car to tell the world you are a member of my fan club. But remember, if you put it out there, it says something about you. For the Jody Fan Club, well, that would show how fantastically cool you are. Because, well, that's a gimme. But to see a guy driving a car with a Donald Duck Fan Club sticker...I just don't know if that's giving the world the right message.

Other fan club stickers I would probably avoid putting on the car:

- Fan of the Garden Gnome Club
- Liberace Fan Club
- Saved By the Bell Fanatics
- Osama bin Ladin Homies
- Underoo Fun Fan
- Republican Party Member

Am I forgetting any?

Aw crap, took me until today to figure out my RSS feed was being posted to the wrong subdirectory. I apologize to anyone who reads this via the feeds. Or has added the feed to their Yahoo page. It said I hadn't updated in 3 days, but that's not true. *sigh*

I know I shouldn't be talking vacation when I have less than three weeks left on my contract and not a peep from anyone about extending it, etc. (yet?) but a million moons ago we put a deposit down on a house on Cape Cod for a week in August, and now I just want to BE THERE. Is this week too perfect for the Cape? 80s 80s 80s. My coworker, coincidentally, had also rented the SAME HOUSE and was there last week, and her description of it made me drool. Job or not, the house is paid for for the week, and that is where I will be.

Jergens update: I think I may have been getting a touch of a "healthy glow" but you know what? I just CANNOT put this stuff on my face. The smell, no matter how faint or pleasant, was giving me one of my patented, smell-induced sinus headaches. So no go on facial tan. (I can say that my face didn't have a bad reaction to the stuff, if that helps. I'm going to give it a shot on my legs, though. I'm considering only putting it on one so I can see the difference. But do I want my legs two different colors?

Dog update: He successfully ripped open the neck of his rabbit-dog (as seen in the little video clip I provided), so his "Baby" has been, how shall we say, laid to rest. Maybe when he gets over his puppy need to chew everything in site I can get him a replacement Baby. But for now, it's a huge waste of money.

p.s. Any of you dog people have a training program you found successful? He seems pretty easy to train, except for that whole Alpha dog "largest of the litter" thing where he tries to boss us around. He's more successful with some of us than with others.

I am not a sun person. I mean, yes, I prefer a sunny day to a rainy one, but I don't like to sit in the sun and bake like so many Corn Flakes-encrusted chicken breasts. Or insert your favorite colorful baking simile here.

I was in Walmart yesterday (ya, so shoot me, the Target isn't open for business yet) and stumbled upon a display of Jergens ® Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer. If you haven't yet heard of this product, you've had your head in the sand. This is THE hot moisturizer right now, and it sells at regular Jergens lotion prices. The kicker? After about a week of using it, you'll appear more tan. And apparently it's a very natural looking tan.

I don't claim to have any idea how it works, but I read about it in magazines, and how stores had completely run out and people were selling the stuff on eBay, of all things. So I've had half an eye open whenever I was in CVS, and sure enough, they were always out. So I bought it yesterday, and I'll let you know how it works for me. I do want to note that unlike the other Jergens lotion that I was pushing here months ago, this one DOES have a scent to it. And remember, it doesn't have any sunblock in it at all. Just use it like any other moisurizer, don't slather it on. So that makes me a bit unhappy, but then again, if I can get a natural looking tan while living my preferred cave-dwelling lifestyle, it's a good thing.

Funny thing about the new hosting company! Their setup is different than the old one, and anyone who tried to go to http://www.bigdumptruck.com/ or http://www.bigdumptruck.com/index.htm instead of index.php got a placeholder screen. I had no idea until Mr. Dump tried to get to the site this morning. Apologies!

There were two screwed up things in my PETsMART.com order. One, they sent me the wrong retractable leash. And then they sent me an extra pooper scooper thingy. He doesn't poop THAT much.

The customer service lady was very nice. I had her laughing about the leash. You see, I ordered a Flexi Comfort Grip Small. They sent me a Classic All Belt Large. That's right large. My little bundle of fluff weighs, oh, about 3 pounds or so. If that. This leash is means for dogs up to 150 pounds. "If my cockapoo ever gets to weigh 150 pounds, I suspect I'm doing something very very wrong." (He should, as an adult, weigh about 1/10 that amount.)

She told me if I wanted to take it to a retail location, I could swap it out for the one I actually paid for, so I'll probably do that tomorrow. As for the pooper scooper, she said I should donate it to a local shelter, because it would cost them more to get it back and for them to process the return than the thing is worth. So I'm going to do that. It's a neat little device, invented by a 10 year old boy who was in charge of cleaning up after his golden retriever. It uses regular grocery store shopping bags. I'm very impressed that a kid came up with this, got the patent, and they now sell them in retail stores.

Other than that, today is my annual physical. I'm so looking forward to it. *sigh*

Here are more pictures for those of you who have been bugging me.

I believe I'm back in business. Sorry if you stopped by last night and saw only older posts...that was the snapshot view. My password wasn't working so I couldn't log in and update the site at all. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, and now I think everything is back in working order. Do let me know if you spot anything funky. Comments especially...the paths are all changed and I may have missed one in the commenting setup files.

So, happy Friday, everyone! Looking forward to the floods? (Locals only)

(Okay, maybe I haven't posted 432 cute puppy stories. But I thought maybe it would be better to talk about a cute puppy than to freak about what happened in London. Happy Code Orange, everyone!)

Last night, after we gave Phantom a bath, I was sitting on the kitchen floor struggling to dry him with a towel (I ordered a chamois-type thing to help get him dry faster - can't wait until it gets here) and he was attacking/playing with the ends of the towel. I had Junior bring over Phantom's "Baby" this kind of rabbity-doggy looking stuffed toy that's literally as big as he is. He loves this thing, if love means trying to pull and chew its ears off.

So once distracted by Baby, I handed the towel to Junior to put in the hamper. Phantom saw all this, and when Junior came back out to the kitchen, Phantom shot him a dirty look, gave a little growl, and grabbed Baby and dragged him over to me, away from Junior, as if to say "I let you take the towel, but you can have Baby when you pry him from my cold dead teeth!"

I guess the lesson learned is "nobody puts baby in a corner". No wait, wrong lesson.

I don't think my stuff is done being moved yet, and when I looked at the staging site, it appears that some of the comments made after the snapshot was taking will be missing. Just wanted to give a heads up. I'm going to try to get a copy of the comment file on the current server right now, so maybe some of them can be recoved.

In other dog news, not a peep all night, until we got up when the alarm went off at 6. His whole doggy playyard was dry as a bone, no pee or poop. I took him right outside in the drizzle and he did both. Woo hoo!

Also, Junior picked out the name Phantom. He saw a picture of the little guy (the one on the photo page at the bottom) and said we should call him Phantom because "He looks like Danny Phantom." (A cartoon character). When I found out that his coloring is actually considered "phantom" by breeders, we stuck with the name. Even though my sister and brother-in-law were calling him Shadow (his mom's name, btw) and I've been caught calling him by Junior's name. Oopsie!

Phantom met his cousins yesterday, and a fun time was had by all. I'm pretty sure now he's spoiled for life, of course.

He still follows us EVERYWHERE which is just so cute until you don't want him to. I'm not used to having someone cry while I pee. Even Junior kept himself amused for the 45 seconds it takes me to go to the bathroom.

I have to say that what we're most proud of is the fact that he's been going potty outside consistently for the past day or so. The whole time at my sisters he didn't pee or poop in her house once. This is really cool. It's still a pain to have to take him outside every hour or so, but it's delightful to not be cleaning poo up off the kitchen floor.

My hosting company just notified me that I'm moving! That shouldn't mean anything to you, dear reader, but I may post something and then have it disappear if it was posted after they started the synchronization. I assume it will just repost the next time I update.

In the meantime, here's the news I was talking about. You'll understand if I don't have a lot of time to post in the next couple of days...

http://www.bigdumptruck.com/phantom/