Why Malden, MA sucks – Parts #76457 and #76458

Malden has a NOISE ORDINANCE?  Sheesh, you coulda knocked me over with a feather, because I have seen NO indication of this.

Yet, according to FOX-25′s investigative reporter Mike Beaudet, such an ordinance exists…but it only seems to apply to sirens on police cars and other emergency vehicles.  Read story and watch video here.

If they are so concerned about noise, WHY do the cops not show up when I call them over things like asshole neighbors who blast their stereos at 3AM, or when the local chapter of the FFA™ (Future Felons of America) congregate on my front porch late at night, making all sorts of racket?  In all of the years I have lived here, the cops only showed up ONCE over a noise complaint, to break up a very loud party across the street.

Emergency vehicle sirens are annoying, especially in the middle of the night, but they are a NECESSARY noise.  I can live with that.

But because we are stuck with a rich asshole of a mayor who is out of touch with reality, as well as a police department that bears a strong resemblance to the Keystone Kops, at least one woman has been seriously injured, thanks to a cop car accident.  You can see it in the video on the FOX-25 site.  And to add insult to injury, SHE was tickets for not yielding to a police car.
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I’ve been ranting for months about Malden’s obnoxious garbage tax. They claim that is was instituted in order to get people to recycle more. But all it has done is cause problems. Garbage is piling up all over the place around here, especially at the House of Skeeve, this apartment building behind us that was recently purchased and rented out after a few years of being blissfully empty. Apparently, the slumlord that bought the place not only didn’t tell the new tenants not to park in our parking space, but he never informed them about the garbage rules, as well.

Anyhoo, that’s not what I’m complaining about here. Over on MaldenTax.com, they posted this video about what they are doing in Everett, a neighboring town. There, they not only have NO garbage bag tax, but they are actually PAYING residents to recycle!

Just further proof that Mayor Richard Howard is a rich asshole who is out of touch with the working class people who live here. We know that Malden gets paid for all of the recycling that is picked up at our curbs, all of that stuff has to go somewhere, and it is indeed paid for by those who will actually reuse it. But now they are double-dipping…using the garbage tax as an excuse to get people to recycle, all the while collecting that money, as well as what they get for all of the glass and cardboard and stuff that we recycle.

Malden, stop lying to us and call it what it is…a TAX.  You insist that it is NOT a tax, but it is.  A tax that needs to be repealed ASAP!

I can’t wait until we can finally afford to buy a house and move out of this cesspool!

Money-saving deals

With the economy being what it is, everybody is looking for ways to save money.  Here are some programs and discounts that I know of or have personally taken advantage of…

Restaurants

• Wild Rover Pub, Manchester, NH – They have a customer loyalty card, ask your server of bartender for it.  Depending on how much you spend, they stamp your card at each visit.  When it is fully stamped, exchange it for a new card and eight bucks off your next tab.
• Bob’s Clam Hut, Kittery, ME – Same idea as the Wild Rover^^^.
• Margarita’s (locations in MA, CT, NH and ME) – Sign up online for their Circle of Friends eClub and get all kinds of specials and discounts.  Also, they will mail you a $10 off card for your birthday, which can be used anytime during your birthday month.
• 99 Restaurant & Pub (locations all over New England and beyond) – Sign up for their eClub to receive discounts, including a FREE dessert for your birthday.
• Piccadilly Pub (locations throughout Massachusetts) – sign up for their email list and get discount coupons (only they haven’t sent me anything in eons, however, the link for subscribing to the list is still on their site).
• Halfway Cafe (several locations in Massachusetts) – Sign up for their email list to learn of discounts and specials, including Kids Eat Free nights.
• TGI Friday’s (national chain with many New England locations) – Sign up for the Give Me More Stripes program, and earn one stripe for every dollar spent.  Earn 100 Stripes and get an $8.00 off coupon emailed to you.  In addition, you will get coupons for free desserts, appetizer, discount entrees, and more.  As a member, you will also receive notification of “double-Stripes” nights.  In the past, we’ve been able to earn double Stripes on Inauguration Day, Mardi Gras, and St. Patrick’s Day.  Go on tese nights and earn more Stripes faster.

Zoos and Museums

• Old Sturbridge Village Membership – A family or individual plus one membership to this Massachusetts living history museum costs $80 per year, and gets you free admission for a full year.  Considering that adult admission is $20, this pays for itself after two visits for me and Mike.  You can get discounts for bringing guests, as well, and discounts in the gift shops.  Also, your membership entitles you to reciprocal discounts at other living history museums, see the complete list here.
• Zoo New England – Purchase a family membership and not only get free admission for a year to both the Franklin Park and Stone Zoos, but to many other zoos as well, all over the U.S.  Note:  some zoos offer half-priced admission; the complete list is HERE.  It designates which ones are half price, the rest are free with the membership card.  Thanks to Drew of BenSpark.com for this one!

Sporting Events

• Futures at Fenway (August – Too expensive to attend a Red Sox game?  Well, what if I told you that you can enjoy a double-header at the legendary Fenway Park for as little as $5 per person?  The Futures at Fenway event is just what it says…you will see future Red Sox players from the Portland Sea Dogs and the Pawtucket Red Sox play at the big club’s park.  You will see the Sea Dogs take on the Bowie BaySox, and then the PawSox will play the Norfolk Tides.  Get tickets HERE.
• New Hampshire Fisher Cats Kids Club (Manchester, NH) – This is an incredible bargain if you have kid aged 4-12 who love baseball.  For just $15 per child, they can be members of the Kids Club, and get all sorts of cool benefits.  These include 10 undated bleacher tickets to games, a discount at the team store on Fisher Cats merchandise, free use on Sundays of the Bugaboo Creek Kids’ Area, and more.  For more info, or to sign up, go HERE.  Please note that parents and other family members not in the Kids Club will have to buy their own tickets, but bleacher seats for adults are just $6.00 each.  Not a bad deal at all!

Shopping

• Shaw’s Supermarkets (locations all over New England) – Sign up on their website to get access to internet coupons, many of which will save you even more money on items that are already on sale.  Also, save on ingredients for the Recipe of the Week, brought to you by Shaw’s and the fine folks at America’s Test Kitchen. These recipes are all fast and easy to prepare, and very tasty.  Pick up your FREE recipe cards every time you shop, and for just 99 cents, you can get a cute little binder to store them in,  for a very inexpensive cookbook!

That’s it for now, I will be posting more as I hear of them!

Help Wanted

Every year, Creating Keepsakes holds its scrapbooking conventions in cities all over the U.S.  They will once again be holding one up in Manchester, NH, at The Center of New Hampshire (Radisson Hotel).  The dates will be May 14-16.

They do not allow people to bring in strollers or even those wheely totes that scrappers use to hold their supplies.  I for one am grateful for this, because the event can get crowded, and people tend to use strollers and such as battering rams.  The idea is to keep it as pleasant a shopping experience as possible for all.

As always, there will be a tote/stroller check outside the door.  I received an email from CKC, asking for volunteers to man this thing….

At each CK Scrapbook Convention, we provide a tote and stroller check area where attendees can leave their items for an hour or the entire day. For CKC-Manchester, we are looking for a charitable women’s group that would be interested in manning the tote and stroller area. You can charge a nominal fee for this service.

If you are interested in providing this service or know a group that would be interested, please email ckcvolunteers@ckmedia.com with Manchester Tote and Stroller in the subject line. We will review the applicants and get back to the one selected.

I think this would be a great opportunity for any group who gets picked.  In addition to being allowed to collect a small fee for your charity, you can also use this increase awareness of your group.  They would probably let you put up a sign, hand out flyers, and such.  People are more likely to be willing to pay for such a service, if they knew that the money was going to charity.

I personally do not know of a group, but I’m posting this here just in case anyone reading this does.  Good luck!

Would YOU go?

Yesterday, the Foxy Lady strip club down in Providence, RI held a job fair.  They are looking to fill about 30 positions not only in Providence, but also in their other two locations in Massachusetts.  And it went very well, as you can see from the video report in the link.  Hundreds of people showed up to apply.

It didn’t say how many actually applied to be strippers, though.  A lot of the applicants were men who were looking to work as bouncers, bartenders, or even cleaning staff.

No matter what you think of such an establishment, the fact remains that there is good money to be made there.  One of the owners was quoted as saying that his was a “quasi-recession-proof” business.  He did, however, have to lower prices in order to get people coming in again, and it worked.

A lot of people would not touch a strip club with a 39 1/2 foot pole, but when times are tough, many re-think this.  When there’s not enough money coming in, a job is a job, the money is still green, and it still buys food and pays the bills.  That’s what the owners of the Foxy Lady were banking on by having this job fair, and it worked.

So, would YOU consider a job at a place like this?  MyFoxBoston had a poll on their site to find out what people thought.  As you can see from this screenshot, nearly half the respondents said they would.

As for these jobs being immoral, that’s an individual choice.  As long as it’s all consenting adults, and the women don’t mind taking their clothes off in front of all those guys, who are they hurting?  If you don’t like it, don’t go in there, that’s all!

In my opinion, there are many jobs that are skeevier than being a stripper.  One of them is working at a collection agency, and harassing and threatening people on the phone to pay bills with money that they do not have.  This type of harassment is very illegal, but they do it anyway.

Would I have gone to that job fair, assuming that I needed a job AND had the looks for it (which I don’t…too heavy, too old, etc.)?  Probably not.  I personally would feel very uncomfortable in such an environment.  Even if I were just working as a waitress or bartender, guys would look at me as if I were a piece of meat, and not a person.  That’s why they go to places like the Foxy Lady.  This may not bother some women, but it would bother me, and that’s a good reason for me not to do it.  I’d much rather take a job at a place like a San Diego hotel, even if it’s in housekeeping.

So…if you needed a job, and a strip club local to you held a job fair, would YOU go?

Super 8 Motel – Sturbridge, MA

So we stayed at this place over the weekend, when we went out there to go to the St. Patrick’s Day festivities at Old Sturbridge Village.  I was afraid that it would be as awful as the Motel 6 in town, as it is owned by someone with the same family name as said Motel 6.

We were very pleasantly surprised.  For a place that is at the same price point as Motel 6, it looks like it should be much more expensive.  Sure, we got an AARP rate, but still.

We requested a non-smoking king bed room.  We got a non-smoking room as requested, and were pleased that they have a rule about charging $250 to a guest’s credit card, for a cleaning fee, if it is found that they smoked in a non-smoking room.

The room was very nice and clean, and it had a sliding glass door with a little balcony, which would be nice for when the weather is warmer than it is now.  The picture above is the view from said balcony.  It’s pretty now, but imagine it in the spring when the green leaves are starting to come out, or in the fall, when the foliage is at peak?

Check-in was very professional, the guy who owns this place had the good sense to hire desk clerks who speak English.  At the Motel 6, they had Indian members of the family who did not speak English very well.  Nothing against Indian people, but if you are going to be in the hospitality business in the United States, the people who deal with the customers need to speak English, well enough for the American customers to understand.

The free WiFi didn’t work, but that could hve been for one of two reasons.  One could be that we were put in a room at the other end from the office, and perhaps too far away from the router.  But I am not sure if that was the case, because although I got the signal, I still could not connect to the internet.  This is the exact same problem I’ve been having at home when trying to connect this same laptop (Mike’s work-issued one) to our home DSL connection.  So I think it’s something in that laptop that I cannot fix.

The room came equipped with a small refrigerator and microwave, both of which looked new.  There was also a coffee maker with a small selection of coffee and tea, but when I tried to make a cup of coffee, it didn’t work.  However, at the time I wanted coffee, they had some available in the office area, along with a free continental breakfast.

There was also a hair dryer, and iron, and even an ironing board.

But everything else worked as it should have…the bathroom was small, but nice, and they provided more toiletries than expected at a place of this price point.  The bathroom vanity was nice, I don’t know if it was an undermount sink, but it worked and looked nice. The lighting and electrical worked, unlike at the Motel 6.  Even the toilet paper was better than I’ve used in more expensive places.

Sadly, our trip was ruined because Mike got sick.  You can read all of the sordid details HERE.  But the next time we want to stay in Sturbridge for a weekend, we would definitely stay at the Super 8 again!