Dublin Dr Pepper

Any of ya'll who know me very well know that I'm a Pepper, to the core. Dr Pepper is the only soda I've ever drunk with any regularity. In a pinch Mr. Pibb, or most generic versions of Dr Pepper will do, but when the server says to me, after I've ordered my Dr Pepper "Is Pepsi ok?", the response they'll get is "hell no, Pepsi's not OK, if I wanted a Pepsi, I would have ordered one. I'll have tea or water instead." I started ingesting Dr Pepper in utero, because during her pregnancy, coffee made my mother sick, so she, being the good TX woman she is, drank Dr Pepper for her caffeine. (After all, this was, you know, before caffeine was bad for us, particularly for developing babies). When I was a little girl, and we lived in Kansas, we would periodically go down to Marshall to visit my grandmother. Her Dr Pepper was HEAVENLY. What I didn't know then, was that the taste difference was partially because she bought the liter bottles (glass ones), instead of cans, and partially due to water differences at such at the plant that bottled hers vs. the plant that canned what we could get a the commissary. Even when we moved back to TX, ours tasted different than hers, though once she moved to a neighborhood near ours, I figured out that by then most of the difference in taste was the glass/can differences.
Once HFCS became the standard rather than sugar for the majority of the Dr Pepper bottlers, I never really thought about the difference anymore, until I was an adult and happened upon some of the cane sugar version. Since I lived in the Dallas & Tarrant county areas, I didn't often come across any of the cane sugar, or Dublin version, because I never traveled into the 6 county area that had always been the Dublin plant's territory. Do I prefer the cane sugar version? Yep, who wouldn't prefer a more natural version. For awhile, I took the longer (timewise) route to visit my bestie because it took me through Granbury and Stephenville, both within the territory, and I could pick up some of the good stuff, albeit at a bit of a premium price (not a LOT more, but it was a bit more expensive). Eventually, I started seeing the 6-packs of 8 oz bottles in some of the small, independent farmer's & specialty markets. When I inquired, I was informed that they drove to Dublin specifically to purchase it, something like once a month or so. By 2007, I was seeing it in major retailers, such as WalMart and Central Market, in TARRANT COUNTY. I also got it out of fountains at several chain restaurants in both DALLAS & TARRANT counties. Did this make me happy? Sure it did, I LOVE that version of Dr Pepper. Did some part of me wonder what was up, since I'd read various places about their restricted territory? Of course. Did that stop me from buying it when I saw it? Nope, if I had the money, I picked some up.
I don't remember when I first heard rumblings of Dr Pepper Snapple Group starting to discuss with the Dublin plant their marketing and labeling, but to the best of my recollection, it's been going on for well over a year, maybe two. When the lawsuit was filed in June 2011, it came as no surprise to me. I don't see it as a corporate greed thing, I see it as enforcing a contract. I recall blips on the news and such about DPSG asking, then telling the Dublin plant to only use "approved" logos. Dublin elected to continue to add "Dublin" to their labeling, rendering it "unapproved". Did they try to get it approved? I have no idea, and now it really doesn't matter. The Dublin plant agreed to a franchise agreement, which spelled out where they could sell the product, and how they could package/label it. They made the decision to knowingly violate the terms of the contract, not just once, but repeatedly. I know of no other franchised products that are allowed to use unapproved, location specific logos or packaging. Every DQ, Burger King, KFC, Whataburger, McDonalds, they all use standard logos and packaging. When I was at the Flagship Whataburger in Corpus Christi a couple of years back, their packaging was exactly like every other Whataburger I've ever been into. Did they place too much faith in the "We are the oldest continually operating plant, so we can make our own rules" idea? Did they think that when push came to shove DPSG would just back down? I don't know, I'm not a party to the inner workings of either organization, nor do I wish to be. What I do know is that as much as I LOVE the cane sugar version, and I'm sorry that it came to this, I can't help but think that the Dublin plant shot themselves in the foot, when they refused to abide by the terms to which they had agreed.
I've gotten several requests to sign at least one petition, there may be a couple circulating, I don't know for sure, and join in a boycott of Dr Pepper Snapple Group products. I've elected not to do so for a couple of reasons. Number one, the time for the petition/boycott was last summer, when the suit was first filed, to show support for the plant and the way it was doing things BEFORE it lost it's Dr Pepper production. As many of us as there are that love the cane sugar version, the reality is that very few of us actually live within the territory that the Dublin plant was authorized to sell in, and therefore the majority of us haven't been drinking it exclusively anyway, and the reality is that even if everyone who signs the petition never buys another Dr Pepper again, it really won't make that much difference to DPSG, their territory is too widespread, and product lines are too diverse. Number two, I don't think that the Dublin plant is the innocent little guy in all of this. They failed to meet the terms of their agreements with DPSG, and in the end, it cost them their franchise. I'm sympathetic to the 14 people who were "laid off", but I question whether or not that was really necessary, and whether that can actually be laid at the feet of DPSG. Could Dublin Bottle Works not use them in another capacity? Ok, they can't bottle Dr Pepper, but they can bottle several other things, why not ramp up production of those, and save the 14 jobs?
I'm sorry that it came to this point, and I'm sure the residents of Dublin are heartbroken and disappointed, but I really think that it could have been avoided if the plant had stuck to its end of the bargain to start with.

OWN IT

OK, it's been a month or so since I last posted, and while there's been some fun stuff in the interim, which I'll write a little more about later, I've mostly been working and getting my system adjusted to the routine of working 5 days a week, and sandwiching some fun in between.
I LOVE my job. Most of the people I work with are great, and the drama seems to stay to a minimum, which is always good. There are new opportunities on the horizon for me, having proven some of my abilities from very early on. Things are still a little up in the air, as policies are established and enacted, and there's been a bit of a power tussle going on, but I'm staying out of it, doing my work, and keeping my nose clean.
I've recently met someone, with whom I have regular contact, who we will call WB (WhineBag). WB is quite possibly the nuttiest individual I have ever met! OCD from HELL, persnickety, morbidly obese, and a religious zealot to boot. The first time I met WB, something happened (I don't remember what) that caused me to think (and say) "oh my God". I heard a prissy little voice say "Please don't take the name of MY Lord in vain!" (OMG garners the same response) *note to self: just don't say things around WB that are not TO WB* WB's OCD tendencies are, as I understand it, minimized by medication… I totally cannot even begin to imagine how bad they would be without it. Her grocery lists are computer documents, arranged in the order of the arrangement of the stores. Don't ask me why I needed to know that all of her clothing matches EVERY DAY, including her undergarments (because her mother made her wear matching undergarments when she was a child), but apparently, she believes that I do need this information. WB has had weight loss surgery, which had to be modified due to an issue with her band (because she had to lift weight above her post-surgery limit several years after her surgery, since her "ex- left all of his shit at the house when he left" and she had to help friends move it), so she has gained back all of the weight she lost. Her arm hurts all the time "because the desk is too high". She has breathing problems, "only at work because there's probably black mold in the walls". She didn't get home one night until 9:30 because when she left work (around 5:30) & went to WalMart, her mom was sitting there waiting on her (and had been since 4:30) to start the grocery shopping.
One of these days I'm going to point out to her that she needs to OWN her issues:

1. Oh My God is NOT a swear word. Since you are not in my brain, you need to stop assuming what I mean by OMG, which, more often than not is Oh My GOODNESS!
2. You are nearly 40, and your mother is still dressing you??? Unless that's the case (and THAT is a whole other rant), YOU are the one who is insisting that you match your underwear, and frankly, the rest of the world does not even give a damn!
3. I have heard the weight loss story 3 times now, and the next time I hear it, I think I'm going to interrupt you and point out that YOU are the one who chose to revert to your old eating habits, instead of continuing the plan you were on with the band filled. Your obesity is on YOU, NOT YOUR EX.
4. Sure the desk is taller than is ideal for you, however YOU have the power to get a smaller mouse that fits your hand better, and since it's wireless, YOU can choose where you place it, perhaps on your drawer on a daily basis, instead of just once a week when someone gets tired of your whining and tells you to do it.
5. There may be black mold in the walls, despite NO EVIDENCE, but your breathing troubles are more likely related to YOUR OBESITY… you huff & puff walking 10 feet from your car to the door, therefore your assertion that you breathe fine until you've been in the office for a little while is an invalid argument.
6. Over 3 hours shopping in Walmart? Seriously? That is RIDICULOUS, ESPECIALLY with your handydandy OCD shopping list arranged to correspond with the layout of the store! YOU allow your mother to take advantage of you if you let her keep you in the store for that long on a work night.

I am not perfect, and God knows that I haven't always owned my mistakes and issues, but you know what, I DO OWN THEM. I made poor choices, especially in the last 2 years or so, which have landed me where I am today.
I blew my inheritance. EVERY PENNY, with the exception of my LASIK & paying off my student loans a couple of years ago. I have NOTHING to show for it. I DID IT. Nobody else. It's all on me. I SUCK at managing my own $. I always have, but I'm working on it, one week at a time.
I got cocky in a job. Oh, not outwardly cocky. Maybe complacent is a better word. It never occurred to me that my performance was a problem, I thought I was keeping up pretty well, but, apparently, such is a problem of 2 different offices, with poor communication. In the end, I've wound up in what is really a better situation, and emotionally a healthier environment for me.
I'm a fat ass. Yeah, technically, I am morbidly obese, but I don't look perpetually pregnant, and I can walk a pretty good distance and a reasonable pace without huffing and puffing. I ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN. Sure, I am of the whole "clean your plate because there are starving children in Africa" generation, but it has been a good many years since I was required by my mother to clean my plate. The bottom line is that there are a LOT of foods that I am just not willing to give up eating in order to change my size. Again, it's all on me.
I am a packrat. I keep EVERYTHING… I learned this habit from my mother, who also kept everything. I KNOW that I don't have to keep everything, and I know that I should figure out how to keep my private space more organized and less cluttered. I'm working on it, though not very hard, because there are other things, generally more fun, that I would rather be doing. Yeah, I could go on and on about how because when we were small, we had a housekeeper who came in several times a week, I didn't have to learn to clean. I could point out the fact that I have been told more than once by one of my great-aunts, "Honey, your mama never learned to clean properly, so she couldn't have taught you." (both of my grandparents taught school while my mother was growing up, and thus afforded a housekeeper to keep the major cleaning done, as well as some of the cooking). The bottom line is that I am more than 40 years old, and I do know how to clean, however I CHOOSE not to do much heavy cleaning, and only the light cleaning that I HAVE to.
Sure, I bitch & complain a bit, but I truly try to not WHINE, and I try not to bitch day in and day out about the same damned thing, OVER AND OVER AND OVER! Nor do I bitch about unchanging things I HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE!
That's the end of my rant for today, time to get a few things done for work…