deja vu all over again

The Tragedy at the Mall is not over, folks. In fact, it’s worse than ever. A  chain of puppy outlets will be opening in the former Unlucky Puppy space at Marketplace Mall. This operation has stores in LaSalle-Peru, Rockford, Sterling, and some in suburban Chicago.

So now Champaign has not one, but two retailers selling puppy mill pets. (If you’re wondering why this is a bad thing, here’s some information from the Humane Society of the United States.)

The best news about UnLucky Puppy moving is that it is now located where people can picket it. A protest, organized by UI students, will take place this Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon across the street from UnLucky Puppy, by Hays Recreation Center. After 12:30, the protest will move to the corner of Wright and Green on campus, by the Alma Mater statue.

You can still write to the folks at Marketplace and express your disgust with their new tenant. However, with its parent company in bankruptcy, I’m guessing they could care less. Better yet, write a letter to the editor of the News-Gazette and educate the public why this should not be tolerated in our community.

stop the presses

A few days ago, Mr. lbotp came home from a Custard Cup run with big, big news. STOP THE PRESSES news.

There’s a sign there, he said, about a drive-thru coming soon.

DRIVE-THRU? Did someone say there is going to be a DRIVE-THRU at Custard Cup? Hide the children. I mean really, are they trying to kill me?

I called over to Jarling’s to dig up some more info. “It’s going to be very exciting,” the man on the phone said. They plan to open the drive-thru in the next month, after they repave the parking lot and do some other maintenance work.

O. M. G.

I was definitely a latecomer to the cult of Custard Cup. When I first moved here, I tried it and dismissed it out of hand. Here was the problem: I ordered the wrong thing. The first thing I tried was the chocolate flavor, because I am and always will be a chocolate person. But really, the chocolate custard by itself is no big whoop.

The cold fudge, on the other hand, is a VERY BIG WHOOP to my taste buds. And while I don’t recall the exact confluence of events that turned me on to the vanilla cold fudge sundae, I’ve been hooked ever since.

Add Custard Cup to the list of parent-friendly businesses (ie drive-thru accessible) in C-U.

Holy Snowstorm!

switching gears

A few weeks ago, I made one of my periodic visits to my favorite aesthetician (a very fancy word for someone who tortures you in the name of vanity) at a downtown Champaign salon.

I have been a client of this woman — we’ll call her V — for many years, probably most of my married life and a good majority of the time I have lived here. I have tried others, but no one is as good as she is, at least for me. Our match was serendipitous; I was just randomly assigned to her one time when I needed a particular service.

At the end of my recent torture session visit, V handed me a card and in a quiet voice told me that she was moving. Again.

This will be V’s third different location — from Southwest Champaign, to downtown Champaign, and now to downtown Urbana — since I became her client. And since I know a good thing when I have it, I have dutifully followed, and continue to do so.

As someone who is in the process of starting up my own gig, I am excited that V has the opportunity to go into business for herself. But selfishly, I have had reasons for liking her other locations. The first one was not too far from my house. The second, convenient for when I wanted to lunch before or after a visit, or run errands. I guess being forced to go to Art Mart or Heel to Toe isn’t be such a terrible sentence.

I wish V all the best in her new venture. And I will celebrate her move by treating myself to a facial.

september to remember

A few days ago I was feeling all melancholy. Partly it was due to the reality that summer is almost over; that’s an annual occurrence. But this year we were caught up in back-to-school mania, and when that excitement subsided, I needed something to look forward to.

As it turns out, September is a very busy month full of fun. Here’s what’s on my September wish list:

1) The Arthur Cheese Festival, the Arcola Broom Corn Festival and the National Sweetcorn Festival. Yum.

2) The candy parade, also known as the Labor Day parade, is this Monday at 10 a.m. The children of Champaign and Urbana were disappointed when rain washed out the annual Fourth of July parade this summer. But they don’t allow candy throwing there anyway. Bring bags with you; hope you like those tootsie rolls.

3) The free Dan Zanes dance party in the Krannert lobby at noon on September 11.

4) Later that day will be the first C-U Pecha Kucha Night, 8 p.m. at the Canopy Club, Urbana. According to its promoters “Pecha Kucha Night is an international phenomenon that brings creatives together for an evening of quick-fire, “show and tell”-type presentations, networking, and fun.” I already have the sitter lined up.

5) The next C-U Tweetup. This one will be at Boltini Lounge on Thursday, September 24.

6) The Fur Ball, September 25. I really hope to make it this year to the Champaign County Humane Society’s annual dinner.

What’s on your list?