Downy Pudding

So I was doing laundry this past weekend and when I went to pour Downy liquid fabric softener into my Downy ball, it had clumped together and came out in thick lumps, like pudding. Obviously something was wrong, I tried shaking it and tried pouring again, but didn’t seem do to anything. I was thinking about adding water to dilute it, but after reading the back, it said to never to dilute it with water.

Not knowing what happened or how to fix this (I still had about ~25% of the bottle left), I shot Downy customer support a email. Meanwhile, I opened a new bottle I had picked up from Costco.

Today I got an email reply:

Thanks for contacting Downy.

Our goal is to produce high quality Downy products that consistently delight our consumers and I’m sorry this wasn’t your experience, as it was thick. When storing the Downy April Fresh it can become thick or lumpy when exposed to extreme temperatures (either hot or cold). If it was frozen, it will appear much thicker (gel-like) and won’t return to normal consistency on its own. Best suggestion for storing the product is to store it at room temperature – in a cool, dry place and use it within one year. Please be assured I’m sharing your comments with the rest of our team.

Since your satisfaction means a great deal to us, I’m sending a replacement coupon by postal mail. You should receive my letter within the next 2-3 weeks.

Thanks again for writing.

Jimmy
Downy Team

Thinking back, the last time I did laundry before seeing this was probably mid December, right before I left for vacation. I did leave my thermostat at 50F, but maybe it got really cold? It probably has also been over a year since I started using that bottle of Downy liquid fabric softener. Living alone and doing laundry every 3 weeks means detergents lasts for quite a long time. Maybe Downy has an expiration date.

Anyway, it’s awesome they’re sending me a replacement coupon.

No, I did not try to eat Downy Pudding, but I did check to see if it was flammable. Unfortunately not. Would’ve been fun. ;p

Decrease of Negative Percentage

It’s been awhile since I had an official blog post and I’ve been meaning to blog about my new Zune HD and my new contacts and maybe even purchases I made on Black Friday, but life’s been busy.

Also I hurt my shoulder from lifting weights, which puts a dud in doing any arm related exercises (meaning no push ups, no pull ups, etc.) Though after several physical therapy sessions, I have to say my shoulder’s doing much better. Well, it doesn’t hurt anymore when I turn my head.

I’ll end this blog post with a letter I received from Allied Waste Services (my garbage collection service):

Dear Residential Customer,

Effective January 1, 2010, the rates for recycling, yard debris, and garbage collection services will decrease approximately -1.85% to -2.07% depending on your level of garbage service. A typical residential customer will pay $17.28 per month for 32 gallon toter service in 2010, a decrease of -1.98% over the current rate of $17.63. This decrease covers normal inflationary operating costs experienced in the provision of service. Inflation in the Seattle Metropolitan area was -0.7% between June 2008 and June 2009.

[…]

I believe I’m on the 20 gallon toter service where I’m paying ~$14.xx / month. Anyway, I think their letter template was never tested with a decrease in pricing as you’ll notice they say decrease of a negative percentage throughout the letter. In fact, what they really mean is a decrease of a positive percentage OR an increase of a negative percentage. Decrease of a negative percentage like a double negative, just negates the change.

Weird Dream…

Had the weirdest dream last night and can’t believe I still remember this bit.

I believe I was back in LA, hanging out with Darryl and friends. I forget what happened before, but we ended up going to get dessert at some place called Chocolate Pink and I thought to myself, “Oooh, they have one in LA too!” After going in, I was a bit disappointed as it was nothing like Chocolate Pink in Atlanta, Georgia. I now forget what it reminded me of, but it was definitely a different style of dessert shop. Anyway, we sat there, chilled, hung out, drank boba, and tried samples. Before leaving, I decided to pick up something for my mom.

Upon leaving, we find that Darryl’s car had been broken into (window shattered). The next part isn’t quite logical as it turns out my wallet and phone had fallen out of my pocket in his car, and the thief that broke in must’ve saw it. Doesn’t quite explain how I paid my bill at the dessert shop.

Anyway, a bunch of stuff runs through my head. Feeling bad I caused Darryl’s car to be broken into; having to cancel my credit cards; trying to remember how much cash I had in my wallet; remember that I have a emergency $100 bill stuck in there somewhere; having to call Microsoft notifying I lost my smart card; etc.

I don’t quite remember what happened afterwards, but when I woke up, I went to make sure my wallet was still there. I wonder what to make of this dream…

Speaking of dessert, you’ve got to try out the ice cream at Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream if you’re ever in Seattle. The night we went, we actually waited in line for about 40 minutes or so, but it was super yummy. I presume the Capital Hill location would be larger and faster.