some places start discounting the chocolate today. varies wildly from store to store.

Which means now I have emails from students to reply to.

Is this a yay? And congrats you rockstar, you.

Milton/Red Swingline Stapler

Classic!

Pls send pass it first time ~ma.

On its way.

Hm. Perhaps I should crack open that Cherries 'n Chili chocolate today. I did, however, go a little nuts with the food at the game night last night, so might not actually deserve it.

I am not going to be searching out discount chocolate over the next couple of days, because when we were at Whole Foods last week, we managed to hit the day there were chocolate demos ALL OVER THE STORE. Every aisle, two to three different chocolate manufacturers, handing out samples. We came home with a LOT of chocolate on that shopping trip.

But I do want to go to a T.J.Maxx in the next few days, so I can scope out their discounted Valentine's goodies. More Betsey Johnson tights, I hope!

Long rant ahoy. Feel free to avert your eyes.

In addition to being a fabricated holiday, it appears to be complaints from me day.

I just wrote to the owner of the grooming shop I have been dead loyal to for as long as Bartleby has been with me. 9 years.

This morning, I celebrated the gloriously mild weather by walking over to get the little guy's nails done. The new kid in the shop snapped a table collar on Bartleby and literally dragged him across the floor, never pausing his conversation with a workmate and never once looking at my dog. Halfway across the shop, I gently put my hand on the lead and asked if I could put Bartleby on the table myself. At no point did I do what I wanted to do which was to say, "Dude, choke my dog one more second and I'm going to punch you in the neck."

The kid shot me the dirtiest look imaginable and stomped over to the table to wait for me to lift the little guy up. Once that occurred, he clamped the collar down so hard that Bartleby winced. When I asked him to loosen it, he refused to even look at me and then pulled Bartleby's leg out at an odd angle and began grinding his nails.

I put my hand on his and, unbelievably gently said, "Please acknowledge that I am speaking to you. Loosen the collar and I promise, I will hold my dog steady." He complied, but refused to look at me.

In the end, he only stopped being a creep to me when it became obvious that everyone in the shop knew and liked me. That should not be the criteria for decent customer service and an innocent creature does not deserve to be mishandled because some kid doesn't like being told to clean his room. Seriously, that was the look he gave me.

I get that they are running a business and don't need to pander to a neurotic pet person. I take responsibility for my foibles and do not inflict them on others. In fact, personally and professionally, I have referred at least a hundred people to that shop over the last 9 years.

Now, I'm not indicting the entire business for one guy's behavior...and I might be overreacting, but I did send a strongly worded email to the owner. She's notoriously prickly herself, but hey, she needs to know what the mice get up to when she isn't around.

You can dis me all you like. Hurt my dog and you won't like the results!

He sounds like an ass, Bonny. Good for you for reporting him!

dear god, bonny. That's completely unacceptable and would be enough to make me look for a new groomer, nine years of good service or no.

Bonny, I'm glad you reported him! I would have used MUCH harsher language in telling him off.

Bonny, good on you for telling the owner. He does NOT sound like anyone who should be working around animals. You are not overreacting. I shudder to think what he might do to animals when the owners are not around.

Our Oz hates anyone touching his nails and feet, adding that trauma to it would ensure a complete meltdown next time it was attempted. Kid was an asshat.

(Little Pico apparently will stick her paws out to have them fondled or nails trimmed or whatever you might choose to do because she's fairly sure that whatever it is it will be awesome).

Also, for people not on FB- Pico and Oz [link]

Bonny, remember the other day when I said I bookmark a lot of your posts? This is why.