Wow, I can't believe how much time has passed since my last entry. It seems that this time of year is always frustrating and tiring.

February being such a short month, you'd expect it to bo over quickly and without much fanfare. However, I feel as if January was a long time ago and that March will never be here in time. Granted, I had a great Valentine's and got a much desired roof basket for the Jeep, complete with spare tire mount. It was relaxing to assemble and mount to the Jeep. It was also fun to drill a big hole in the bus so that I could mount the power port that I purchased back in December. Woohoo, one step closer to completion of the bus project. Now if it would just warm up so that I could finish the interior electrical and cabinets.

Sales at the biz for the past three weeks have been absolutely dismal. Far worse that I have seen in previous years. As such, I have spent copious amounts of time reviewing costs, looking at past trends, etc. all in hopes of finding a solution to the slower than usual sales. I don't think it is just us though as when talking to both the Hardware store owner and the Auto Parts/Repair shop they both mentioned that sales were virtually nonexistent. Sales reps both in the pet industry and hardware industry have mentioned that their sales are way off the mark for this time of year. Yet, no one seems to know why and I certainly haven't heard them asking why in the media. Bush and company would like everyone to believe that everything is just hunky dory. I am telling you, though, when people slow down their purchasing of things for pets, you know there is trouble brewing. Most people will spend their last dime on their pets before they would spend it on themselves.

I am so sick of hearing about new laws that some idiot thinks we "need" to have. Locally, it is "megan's law." This is the one about requiring seat belt use in SUV's and Pickups here in Indiana. In a press conference the other day a teary eyed father steps to the podium and explains how his daughter always wore her seat belt when in a car, but didn't wear one in a truck because she assumed they must be much safer since seat belt use wasn't required and that had they been required by law that she would be alive today. I feel for his loss and agree that what happened was a terrible tragedy, but "oh geez." Life isn't sanitary, life isn't perfect. Terrible, horrible things will always happen and loss of life is inevitable. Sure, it sucks when it is someone close to you, but that doesn't mean we need to jump in and try to sterilize life on this planet.

Perhaps if Megan had put down the Playstation or the TV remote and bothered to pay attention in elementary school science class she would have realized that with a higher center of gravity that of course a truck/SUV is MORE likely to roll over than a car. If her parents had taken the time to explain to her that any two thousand plus pounds of rapidly moving steel and plastic is a dangerious thing if not handled properly and not adequately respected, then she might have worn her seat belt and be alive today. I mean, c'mon, how many times has the media done a report about the high roll over risks associated with SUV's and pickups? Instead, her parents want to memorialize her death by creating a new law to force the seat belt use in pickups and SUVs. Yeah, I am sure that Megan would love to be remembered for a moment of bad judgement than for all the wonderful things she probably did on Earth.

It would be like me being dumb enough to stick my hand into a blender that is running at full speed then having them make a law that all blenders must be equipped with an emergency shut off if the lid is opened. Oh yeah, I don't want MY name attached to that, but we could wipe out BD (blender dismemberments)in our life time!

Ok, so today I find out that my sister is basically screwing up her life and certainly her college existence and wants me to come to the rescue. Time to play big brother and try to turn her around before she gets into real trouble. I think that she just needs a good swift kick in the ass. However, it certainly reassures me that I DO NOT want to ever have children of my own. ;-)



I don't know whether to laugh or cry!
We just received a call from a customer that says he purchased one of our products in 2002, never opened it and would like to return it. WHAT...2002...REALLY...You mean like OVER TWO YEARS AGO? Yep. Then when he is told that we cannot accept a return that is that old as our policies do and always have stated that we have a 30 day return policy on unopened or unused merchandise, he states "yeah, God forbid a company ever make a cash refund."

WHAT THE FUCK? We're talking about something he bought over thirty MONTHS ago much less thirty days ago. Don't get shitty with us because you're a dumbass.

Then he wants to know if he can exchange it for two other smaller products. I think about this one for a minute and decide, sure...if he is willing to ship the original back at HIS expense and it is in good condition, I will give him a credit of the 2002 price he paid and he can apply this towards the 2005 price of the two items that he would like.

Oh, I can barely wait for tomorrow...ROADTRIP! Time to get out of here for a couple of days.