*Big DumpTruck*

I'm still upset about the Whalom Park thing. Bastards. Man, I wish I'd had the money, I would have bought the park. I had some great ideas for it, and even shared them with Allison Bowen, who was trying to get some people together to buy it. So sad. I actually drove by it this morning, and saw that another of the rides is gone. I don't know how fast or slow this stuff is going to happen. Poor Mookie. No more local rides for him. I'm glad we got a picture or two of him on rides there; there are some in my mother's album of ME on a rocketship ride, and also on a ride that I think was something like little horses pulling the cart you sat in. If I can find it, maybe I'll scan it in.

Oh, and to top it off, I also went to Learning Express because my mother just told me yesterday that the one in town is closing up. So we went there this morning and there was basically empty. I mean, nothing much worth buying. Well, there was one thing and it made it all worthwhile for me, but all the Thomas stuff was gone, and I was wondering if they just shipped it off to the other stores instead of selling it for 50% off. Apparently the sale has only been going on for 2 weeks, so to have almost nothing left seemed odd to me. I'm sure they moved a lot of the more sellable stuff to Acton or the Solomon Pond Mall.

I am devistated. The crummy owners of Whalom park apparently had something against the person trying to SAVE the park, and sold it to a developer. I am so upset I can't even talk about it. BASTARDS! Whalom Park owners enter into purchase and sale agreement

I see FOXNews.com has completely ignored MY blog when they discuss celeb weblogs. Sure, I'm no Mariah Carey, but then again, who is?

Well, some day.

After giving it a lot of thought, I have come to the conclusion that a single serving of raisin toast should be three pieces, at least one of them with peanut butter on it.

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?

I woke up this morning with some bug up my butt to creating some materials to mail out to local businesses who may need documentation services. I think I'll create the mailer and then try to figure out who to send it to. I went to Staples this morning and bought some business card paper, and some fancier paper to use for my mailing (with matching envelopes).

I have to figure out if I am actually freelancing, or if I am creating a small documentation business. I suppose I should be asking my accountant this question instead of yammering about it here.

Good Stuff: $5.99 all-you-can-eat lunch buffet at the Border Grill with my sister and cousin, where we laughed over frozen drinks for 2.5 hours

Bad Stuff: Every inch of me (coat included) reeks of Mexican Restaurant. Blech.

Sometimes you have a hobby, and other times you have a HOBBY. This gal has a thing for Bananas. I found out about her site because she linked to a 1997 Dump issue where I talked about eating a Dole banana. Yes, that thorough.

Awwwwwww poopie. Look, I'm suddenly painfully aware that all the links on the left-hand side aren't links at all. That would be all my fault.

On the other hand, I can't fix it right now, because the backup copy of the "good" files is located on another computer, so I can't get the actual links right now. Would you believe me if I told you I'll get that fixed before the end of the day tomorrow? That's mighty wonderful of you. No, really.

Dang. Why do the archives blow up every time I try to edit this thing? Testing. Hope the background isn't blue anymore.

This is me, pulling out my hair.

Okay, I changed the basic look of the blog a little bit. I do not have a complaint box, if that's what you're looking for.

Oops! Did I forget to write today? I'm sorry. The days are all starting to blend together. The big activity of the day was going to Staples to buy a surge surpressor. Ya. That's how cool it is to be me.

I also looked at the office furniture. They have some computer desks that are exactly the size I'm looking for. The thing is, I use a laptop, so I don't need a keyboard drawer, and they all seem to have them. I wouldn't buy one unless I knew that I didn't have to install it. Well, plenty of time for that. I could use a client or two first. Anyone need some freelance documentation or editing done? I'd be more than happy to give you an excellent price.

Niiiiiiice day today. And not just because it's my birthday *cough* *cough*. I think it's going to be nice again tomorrow too. I have work to do most of the day (training stuff, etc.) but I plan to get out for at least a short walk. I love warm. I wore just a sweater today...felt like it was going into April, not February.

It's going to be 50 degrees today! WAHOOOO! You won't be seeing much of me online today. I'm going to go catch some sunshine.

Cleaned Mike the Fish's tank yesterday. Did the "replace 1/2" the water thing, and I used a sponge on the sides of the tank. Oh, and also bought a small pump, just to filter the water some. I know he doesn't need it for breathing, because he's a betta, but I just want to keep the water clearer. I also found some betta food that said to only give them a few grains at a feeding, so I'm limiting him to 3 at a time. Course this morning he didn't eat much. I have to turn the pump off to feed him cause the betta food just sort of swirls all around on the top and he won't eat it. It's so fun being a pet owner.

Spent the morning looking at computer desks with my parents. Of course, they are looking in places that hadn't occurred to me. Like the odd lots store. And Walmart.

I know what I want. I want an oak secretary with some slots and drawers, that I can fold up when I'm done and the computer will be out of site. But what are the odds one of those will be at Walmart?

The good news is that after many months of fruitless searching, I found my Ecco dishwashing sponge thingies at the odd lot store (which is named something slightly different, can't remember what) so I bought every single one they had on the hooks. I need to bring two down to my friend's house, cause she can't find them either, and I think she's talking about the exact same ones. The cashier must have thought I was insane. I am, but that's not important.

I'm off to the odd lot store to look for office furniture. My mother insists they have some decent stuff there, and because I'm just getting started on working for myself, I am not in a position to buy a full room of Ethan Allen furniture.

My dad asked my opinion on two different laptop computers. I know some things, but I'm not an expert in these brands. My work was writing the documentation for NEC laptops, and my old company used to test and certify them. I could give him a heads up on an NEC, but they are the pricey ones. My dad doesn't need that.

So if you are familiar with either the HP Pavillion Notebook (HP ZT1170) or the Toshiba Satellite Series (TOS 1805s274) can you drop me a line before next week? Info that would be helpful is "AAAH!! SATAN'S LAPTOP! AHHHHH!"

Dear Hockey Dad: Hope you get 20 years! Love, Jody

I cannot for one minute complain about yesterday's weather. I was loving every minute of it. According to one web site, it got up to about 48 degrees. I know I was driving around with the sunroof open. You just need days like that in the middle of the winter.

Today seems gray again. No sun yet, and it's 7:30. According the my Yahoo weather, it's going to be 42. Well, I can deal with that.

Had lunch with the ex-coworkers today. *sniff*. It was nice seeing everyone, but very odd too. We met at the restaurant at the Nashoba Valley ski area. I sometimes wish I knew how to ski, but watching them, even on this little bitty "mountain" I can't even imagine being brave enough. I have an unbelievable fear of wiping out. And pain. And of spending $52 for a lift ticket in the middle of the week.

Who can AFFORD to ski? And sheesh, there were a ton of little kids. Who will all need cash from mom and dad for skis, boots, clothes, and lift tickets.

How could I almost forget to mention? I washed the floor yesterday!

Is there anything better than a new Spongebob Squarepants episode? What you say? TWO new episodes? Yeppers, it was a good Monday. The episodes were pretty decent, but the feed from Nick wasn't the greatest. The quality was questionable. Are they all like that, or did I just notice it because I was paying close attention?

Doodlebob! But someone needs to tell me who this "Mr. Lawrence" person is. He played the artist in the 2nd episode. And he sometimes gets a writing and/or producing credit, I think. I need to look this up.

Hey, person who runs the site
unproductivity | spider marine, thanks so much for writing about me in your blog. I'm not going to let THE MAN get me down!

p.s. Dang it, I sent out a Dump update and the link to this page was screwy. I want more visitors; breaking the link is the wrong way to do it.

Anyone who checked out my webcam so far today saw me, then snow for a while, then Mike the Fish for a while. I took a few stills off the webcam.

and

Okay, I'm going to move the webcam in a few minutes to see if I can get Mike the Fish captured. This will involve moving my laptop and the power cords and phone line. Hmmm. Maybe I should have waited to mention anything. Aww, what the heck. Only one person has been to visit so far today anyway.

Oh, and in other geneology news, thanks to some of my mother's relatives I can now trace back my Rocheleau and Caron forebears back to the 1600's! One guy may have even been born in the 1500's! His son was born in 1636, and we don't have a birth year for the father. This is SO COOL.

Woo hoo! I have webcam again! I don't know how often it will be running, but hey, it's up. That's all that matters, right?

Maybe I'll be able to take a picture of Mike the Fish with it. I'll try tomorrow.

GO PATS GO PATS GO PATS!

I forgot to give a Mook food update. He still only eats the same basic items, but last night I took him to the Weathervane, and he ate the fish nuggets, which he likes as long as you refer to them as chicken. I think I'm safe with this because I just point to it for the waitress so she knows what I'm doing, but as soon as he can read the word "fish" I'm in trouble.

Oh, and I also got him to eat about 1/4 of a pear because I didn't have any apples, and I convinced him it was a lot like an apple. Yes, I'm devious. But he liked it. And it made me feel good that he ate something different, especially the fish.

Is there anything better than a haircut to make you feel like a new person? Well, ya, there probably is, but that's all I have right now.

This afternoon, when I gave Mike the Fish his Betta food, I could hear him crunch one of them. Sounded like a cat chewing on a Little Friskie.

Freaked me out, man. I mean, he's a FISH. In WATER.

The house across the street from ours is for sale. I think maybe they just put the sign up yesterday, because I don't remember seeing it. It's a great house...very well-kept. I don't know the owners that week. I met the wife when the development was going in, so I think it's funny that I know what color carpeting she has in her living room (we all had like 5 colors to choose from. She has the green. The house beside us has the horrid fuscia, or at least it did when it was the model home.

I see the husband outside, doing hard work, but I haven't seen the wife in a while.

Anyway, so now I have to fear who will end up across the street. I just don't want psychos, you know? Then I'd have to buy a guard dog. My guard fish won't cut it.

Ahhh, Friday. Wait, why is Friday special now? Oh well, I'll enjoy it anyway. I did so much work on job hunting and my other tasks that I'm not going to feel guilty for enjoying my day today.

Crap. I'm trying to get the QuickCam set up here at home. I was going to point it out the window at the snow, or at Mike the Fish, or maybe, just maybe, me. Once in a while, anyway, seeing as I'm not on a LAN connection to the web any more. In fact, I'm on a 28.8 connection that barely gets that.

Anyway, my Logitech Quickcam doesn't want to play. And I don't know if they even make this one anymore. CRAP. I thought I knew where the installation CD is, but what if I left it at my old job last week when I packed up? I'm going to be sooooo sad.

Just saw a report that jobless claims fell last week. Heh. Not at my local office. And not near the Ford Plant.

I've spent ALL day online job hunting. Well, setting stuff up. I guess now I just sit back and wait for the jobs to roll in, eh?

It's been snowing all morning but stopped just about 30 minutes ago. I hope that was it. I haven't been paying attention to the weather, so it took me by surprise to see snow. I'd say we got about an inch.

Mike the Fish's water is cloudy. THe book says that happens in the first 7-10 days. It's only been five days, though. Should I change the water? Some of it? I'm so glad he's here to keep me company. He's been very helpful with making editing suggestions for my resume. Which, by the way, I'm not going to post on the website. I know some people do that but I just can't do it. That's TOO personal.

Wow, it's sunny out! I hadn't realized how much I was missing the sun, but it's really be DAYS since it's been out. That has really cheered me up. I was playing out side with my son earlier, and it just felt good to be outside. That's one thing about working in an office...unless you smoke and sit near a window, you might as well be working 100 feet underground.

Day Two:

Okay, I'm on day two. Yesterday I had a whole bunch of things I needed to do, paperwork-wise, and that filled the day (pretty much). I also read some of the help-wanteds and found one job I'll send a resume in for.

Today, I don't have a whole list of things to do. I have to go to the grocery store, but that doesn't count. I guess today will be update-the-resume day, and I'll get it posted at Monster and Hotjobs. I need to read the Unemployment Rules booklet to see what qualifies as searching for a job. You have to keep a log. Does just looking count, or do you have to actually send in a resume and/or interview?

I've decided that the two things I miss the most about work are the T1 access to the Internet and the really really fast printers. I need to update my resume and print it out in case there are companies out there that don't happen to take emailed resumes, and I'm already having trouble with my printer.

This is not a good thing.

The party was a HUGE success. The kids all had a BLAST, but I think the adults had even more fun. My sister can't stop talking about how great it was. THAT, my friends, is a good kid's party.

And our friend Kim gave Michael an Undersea Encounter fish tank, and a gift card to the pet store. So now we own a fish named "Mike". He's a Betta, so he's alone in there. He does like to attack is own reflection, which makes him pretty amusing to watch.

I didn't think I wanted any pets, but so far, this fish is really interesting. I'm actually glad to have him around! Maybe I can do a takeoff on Elmo's World and I'll be Elmo and Mike can be Dorothy, even though Mike is not a goldfish.

Gotta go pick up the Batman cake for the bowling party today. My son can claim he's a big boy at 4, but today he was putting on his pants and he hadn't put on any underwear.

Or maybe he did it on purpose.

I'm feeling better. I mean, not great. I loved that job. I loved my boss, I loved my coworkers, I loved what I was doing. I am just so ANGRY that I can't go back there on Monday. Not angry in a shoot-em-up way, but angry in a "you stupid idiots didn't put any effort into our department, and you probably don't even care that I'm gone" kind of way.

I can't even ever imagine finding something as perfect as that was. A 15 minute commute, flexible schedule, and the best boss ever. I mean, I guess it really was too good to be true.

Well, if any of you were thinking of calling me at work to ask me how my day is going, I wouldn't.

9 other people and I don't work there any more.

Anybody need a to hire a tech writer?

I find it interesting that the official color of the universe is pale green. Because green makes sense - we used to say the moon was made of green cheese, right? But not the shade of green they've picked. Oh well, if it's that color, it's that color. I assume VW is going to make it a shade for next year's Bugs.

Please visit this website and consider buying a whale to help Save Whalom Park.

Did you ever just wake up and think "Boy, I really need a vacation"? Well that's me right now. First, just to escape winter. It's been darned cold around here (although it might hit 50 tomorrow!).

Second, my last "real" vacation was in September. The holidays don't count because they are so busy. Sure, you're away from work for days and days, but in my case, every day was accounted for. Which is stinky, actually.

Oh well, it's not going to happen any time soon unless I sign up to listen to someone pitch a time share.

Tivo-related thoughts:

Why is it currently suggesting every Robert Downey Jr. movie ever made?
I haven't recorded anything of his on this machine. And thank GodI don't set it to auto record things. I would have ended up with this masterpiece:

"Bank Shot (1974) George C. Scott, Joanna Cassidy and SORRELL BOOKE plan
to rob bank (sic), literally." [My emphasis]

What kind of description is that? How do you figuratively rob a bank?
And George C. Scott and Sorrell "Boss Hogg" Booke? Cripes, I'm getting
the hives just thinking about it.

My new personal goal is to have my blog listed in the "most recently updated blogs" list when they start some sort of system maintenance that means NO blogs can be updated. Cause I'll bet I'd get a TON of new hits that day.

I do feel bad that Dave Thomas of Wendy's died. (I'd also feel bad if Dave Thomas of SCTV died. But he didn't. Not today.)

I think we've all heard the stories about what a hard-ass he was, and all the other things people say about successful business people. But the TV commercial Dave was really cool I liked him. I liked the fact that on bloopers shows they showed how he couldn't remember his name, never mind any of his lines. It must have been hell to get him to complete a commercial.

But I loved them. He looked very huggable, and that's a good thing. So goodbye Dave. Maybe I'll swing by and get one of those Frosty thingies tonight. I know you would have wanted it that way.

Big Hit Birthday Presents:

Home Depot Toy Tools (And the piece of wood grandpa loaned us)
Trouble board game. Actually, this is good because it's fun for the adults too
Thomas the Tank Engine computer game. Oh my GOSH does he love this. It comes with train controls that you put over the keyboard...he's having a ball!

We woke up to about 3 inches of heavy, sticky snow this morning. And it's kind of warm out so I fear it's not going to be good snow for sliding or playing. The official DumpTruck shoveller said it was horrible nasty stuff.

I'm just happy it wasn't freezing rain. Eeek.

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Mookie
Happy Birthday to you!

All the waitresses at Mookie's favorite restaurant (Family Cafe in Fitchburg, where we go for pancakes every Sunday morning) sang to him and they gave him a little bowl of ice cream because they couldn't think of what else to give him, basically because he doesn't EAT anything.

We gave him Trouble, Hi-Ho Cherry-o, and a Thomas the Tank Engine computer game. We played trouble with him and my mom, and he won! I think that's only fair.

Interesting day, weather-wise. When I first got up there was sunshine...which was rapidly replaced by thick black clouds that threatened to dump something on us. But it didn't. Mookie and I went a played in the back yard a little, then we went to the bakery to pick out a cake for his party next weekend. He settled on 4 different designs. We ended up with Batman. That's m' boy!

I hate when my day starts off crappy. In the old days I'd go shopping to make myself better, but since we started weaning ourselves off credit cards, that's become a bad way to make myself feel better.

So instead, I eat cheese.

Why is it that pizza places feel they don't need to listen to you when you order a pizza? We always order one with light cheese. Always. But tonight it was just grossly cheese-covered. I'm so annoyed, because I was really looking forward to it. If I wanted to eat a big ball of mozzerella, I'd buy it at the store like that.

But I'd rather have a hunk of havarti.

Hey, I'm doing the old family history thing. My aunt gave me an envelope full of stuff that some guy had mailed my grandmother on research on the Macaulay family. Turns out I come from good Scottish stock, I have Highlander forebears!

Donald Macaulay, b. 1798 in N. Uist Hebrides Islands, Scotland and his wife Christena Ferguson, b. 1803 in N.
Uist, immegrated to Cape Breton, specifically Port Morien (previously known as "Cow Bay") in 1832. Their daughter Christene was born in Scotland. In Canada, she married Archie MacDonald (whose father had the worst name ever...Donald MacDonald) and their son Hector is my great-grandfather. This is my paternal grandmother's family.

I need to do the research on Hector's wife Ellen McKay (Mackay?), who actually came straight to the US from Scotland. I want to get more information on who she came with, and why. Too bad I probably won't be able to find out how and where she and Hector met. One of their children is still living (my aunt Irene) but Ellen died 4 days after giving birth to her, so I just don't know that she'll have any information on her mother's family.

And that's what I did last night! Wrote out a summary from like 100 pages of stuff about Donald Macaulay's decendants. Unfortunately, there was more stuff about their other children, because the person who did the research was related to one of their sons.

I've already got astute readers trying to help me narrow down the list I posted yesterday. I'll go back and edit the entries to reflect what people have told me.

I commented to a co-worker that I should designate one day a week as Chinese Food Day and head south for lunch. Eventually, I should find it, right?

I was poking around on the web looking for references to King Garden, THE best chinese restaurant ever, which closed about six months ago. I still cry myself to sleep. If it matters at all, when a local chef was interviewed a few years ago in the also defunct Worcester Phoenix, he said it was his favorite place to eat out. SEE? It wasn't just me.

So I know the owner just had trouble with the landlords up here, and that he made a silly business decision about his hours, but I heard he has a location in either Westboro or Marlboro. I need to find out where it is (it's probably just a hole in the wall take-out place, but I'll eat in my car.) It's a quest. I must weep at the owner's feet and beg him to come back to the Leominster/Fitchburg area.

Okay, so some research shows me it might be one of THESE places:
In Marlborough:
BEIJING GARDEN, 89 Broad St,
CHEZ SIAM RESTAURANT, 280 E Main St,
ESCARGOT RESTAURANT, 231 Main St,
GOLDEN UNICORN RESTAURANT INC, 735 Boston Post Rd E,
HUNAN DELIGHT, 200 Boston Post Rd, Sharon thinks it's probably not this place
MEE KING RESTAURANT, 46 Main St,
THAI COCONUT RESTAURANT, 50 Cotting Ave,
or in Westborough,
CHENG-DU RESTAURANT, 157 Turnpike Rd, It's not this place, but this is my favorite spot AFTER King Garden. I guess that moves it up to first place, huh?
HONOLULU RESTAURANT, 160 Turnpike Rd, I agree with a reader that it's not this place.
JADE GARDEN RESTAURANT, 84 Turnpike Rd,
MANDARIN WESTBORO INC, 57 E Main St, Probably not this one either
ROSE LEE'S CHINESE CUISINE, 196 Turnpike Rd,
THAI POCHANA RESTAURANT, 21 South St,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's 2002. We're already into the third year that doesn't start with 19 (since I was born, duh), and I'm floored by that. How can we be in 2002? I don't even remember much of 2001...I mean, I know I was there and did things, but cripes, that was fast. I would like the years to slow down a little. It doesn't help that my son turns 4 in less than a week. I really want to freeze time.