So I've decided to split this in two, simply because there was so much going on! Apologies for not writing a day-to-day series of updates on this exciting trade show, the hotel I stayed at didn't have free Wi-fi. Still, I made a ton of memories at my first Intergroom!
Xavier went on vacation as well. I dropped him off at the kennel Thursday, just after 7 A.M. He wasn't too eager to wake up until I told him he was going for a ride. Even then, he was just too tired to jump and scream like he usually does. I love how he walks into the kennel like he owns the place, haha!
I stopped to see my aunt, went to get a coffee, and by the time all was said and done, I was on the road at 9, on my way to Philadelphia to pick up Dianne. I will never get tired of driving through Pennsylvania's rolling hills. One of these trips, I'll need to have someone along to take pictures - simply passing by all that natural beauty is a waste! Even the unnatural wind farms, which have grown in number since my last traverse through the state, are a sight to behold. And who doesn't like driving though tunnels?
Soon I arrived in Philadelphia. I never knew the city was so beautiful! There were tons of old neighborhoods everywhere, the yards of large houses filled with trees and colorful plants. The really fun part was getting to meet little Etta, Dianne's White Schnauzer puppy. Now there was a bundle of puppy joy if ever there was one! Combine cute, smart, and bouncy, and you have Etta.
Dianne finished packing, and off we went to New Jersey! On the way there, we talked about a lot of things, including how she needs to learn snap-on combs and how we've both been progressing in our craft. The trip was relatively quick, only an hour and a half from her house. We passed several--and quite varied--areas of NJ, including an industrial area. Now I know what they mean when they say it sometimes smells funny!
Our room was waiting for us. We checked in, put our suitcases away, and went straight down to the Italian restaurant. Talk about tasty! I had a delicious chicken francais, followed by a decadent piece of real tiramisu. We agreed that as good as the dinner was, it was merely a precursor of what was to come the next day: Friday, the opening of Intergroom! Neither one of us could sleep!
We woke up several times during the course of the night before the time finally came to get out of bed and ready for the show! We got to the Expo Center just minutes after the trade show doors opened, and were greeted by none other than Frankie Brown! I wonder if he got the crowd all riled up like he did at Groom Expo? Haha!
Upon walking through the doors, neither one of us knew what to do next. Rows of vendors lined the floor, and a competition was already underway in the center of it all. We checked out a couple of booths before our first class. I got to say hi to Jorge at Forever Stainless Steel. I asked him why he wasn't speaking, as he said he was going to. His response? "I have been, jus' so busy with my salon, so I was' jus' lazy an' didn' put anythin' together!" Good ol' Jorge, haha!
Our first class was about snap-on combs. Overall the presentation was good, although I disagreed when the speaker said you couldn't use them with a Clipper Vac. They actually don't cut much shorter when you use it, the Clipper Vac just makes the hair stand up, therefore saving you some time since you won't need to back brush as much. Other than that, there was some excellent information in that seminar, such as which breeds look better when done with the combs.
In between classes, Dianne lost her wallet. We retraced our steps and one of the vendors pointed us in the direction of the judge's pit. None other than Judge Joey was walking around inside! We walked up on the stage to get his attention. I said hi; he looked at Dianne and said that her wallet was at the front desk. Awesome! There were some goodie bags that caught Dianne's eye, and this is what happened next:
Dianne: Hey what are these? Can we have one?
Joey: Eh, I think they're for the competition. I'd let you have one, but I dunno...
Dianne: What's in 'em?
Joey: (digging through a bag) Looks like a Le Pooch brush, and some whitener (handing her the little jar)
Dianne: Hmm, whitener... what's the best whitener?
Joey: Um... (reaching for the jar)
Dianne: You can have it back when you tell me what the best one is!! (Playing hardball, anyone? Haha!)
Joey: (laughing) Honestly, the best one, they took off the market a few years ago. Why, I dunno. None of the rest really wow me.
Dianne: (still holding the jar) Is there anything else I can do to whiten coats? (handing it back)
Joey: Use product stabilizer before you use your whitener, it'll get all the shit out of the coat!
Dianne: I tried that, but it didn't work!
Joey: Then you didn't do it right!
Yup, Joey's still Joey, haha!
The Clipper Art class was alright. Nothing really surprised us, but there were some helpful hints given. Apparently, the best way to work on a Poodle is to imagine a giraffe. Makes sense, as both are long and leggy. That one ran two class periods. The first one was full to capacity, but only about half the people showed up for part two.
Shopping on day one was really light for me; all I bought was a smock and two pairs of pants. Dianne, on the other hand, bought a Kool-dry and one of the competition tables from Edemco! How exciting! We decided to head back to the hotel. On the way out, we stopped by the front desk to see if there were any tickets left to get into Joey and Doc Halligan's new talk show pilot taping. Sure enough, there were. Even better, they were free! The night just got better!
I have to say, Live with Joey Villani and Doc Halligan was a lot different than what I was expecting. Sure, there were segments where they talked with us as well as pet care professionals, but then there was the shock factor - asking people on the streets what their pets think about sex, and how Doc Halligan learned to give artificial insemination to horses in vet school! I actually want to see the show get picked up, as it has a little bit of, well, everything! The pilot will be finished in May. I can't wait to see the finished project, as there were several video clips we didn't get to see.
Dianne decided to punk out (her words, not mine!) of the party that followed the taping. Now it was just me and a bunch of people I didn't know; I was hoping to see someone from Hershey there. Jorge already said he couldn't come because he had to go take care of his Pom, Tito. "He iss probably crossin' his legs, waitin' for me!"
While waiting for the room to re-open, another loner came up to me and asked if I was there by myself. We got to talking; turns out, her name was Capri, and she's new on scene, like I was in Hershey in 2008. As we stood around and nibbled little cocktails offered by roaming servers, we covered topics that included but weren't limited to mobile businesses, products, and even a little bit of ethology! Any time I get a chance to discuss it and share the valuable resources from authors like Patricia McConnell, you know I'm going to do it!
The room opened up; all but one corner was dark, with the DJ hiding in the shadows with his equipment. Party lights covered the floor and speakers blared music loud, yet no one was really dancing yet. Capri asked him to play some AC/DC, and the room came to life! We danced to You Shook Me All Night Long and Highway to Hell before the room went calm again. The DJ began playing country songs, and a few more people got up to dance. I'm more of a classic country gal myself, so I went to get a Kahlua and cream. We got back into some modern party songs, followed by a techno remix of Cottoneyed Joe. How could you not dance a jig to something like that? I started to do the Russian kick, and soon I was out of steam. Another Kahlua and cream, please!
The dancing continued between my group (three more people came and sat at our table), a couple, and the table next to us. One of the groomers was really grooving! I wanted something I could really bust out moves to, and then it hit me: go ask the DJ to play Say Hey! I could always try my hand at dancing like I did in the dream I had before Hershey. It might look funny, as I'd be doing it solo, but I didn't care; time to really cut loose and have some fun! Sure enough, the song came on and I leaped onto the floor. I'm quite sure it looked like a train wreck, but I still danced like I've never danced before. I broke a massive sweat, was completely out of breath, but man was that awesome! Haha! I went outside to get a bottle of water, and ran into Judge Joey and Doc Halligan, talking to some other people. When I came over, they looked at me funny; here's what happened:
Me: Hey, y'all missed it! I just danced my ass off in there!
Joey: Come on, you're good to do it some more!
Me: (eyes wide, shaking head) Nah, man, I'm exhausted! Oh, Doc Halligan, nice to finally meet you!
Doc: And who are you?
Me: Just call me J.C.!
Joey: Yup. She's an Xavier fan!
Me: Yup, all the way! (tapping my left side with my right hand) Hehe!
Joey: Did you post on my Facebook?
Me: I don't think so. Not yet, anyway.
Joey: Oh yeah, you're from the Animal Planet blog! This is J.C. DogHero!
Me: Yup! So how is Xavier anyway?
Joey: He's good. He's showing dogs this weekend, otherwise he would've been here.
Me: Aww! Seems like that's the way it goes, we're always so close to meeting!
Joey: Haha, don't worry, you'll get to meet him, he's just out and about a lot...
Me: Yep. Well, next time you see him, tell him I said hi and... aww, well, y'know! You know me, Joey!
Joey: Haha, you know I will! (turning to Doc) So, what are you so nervous about?
Doc: What about our reputations? Will they be hurt doing a show like this? They didn't really give us any guidelines, and I know this isn't what people are expecting.
Joey: Eh, I'm not worried.
Doc: Well, yeah, you have a face for TV! But what about me? I'm a doctor!
Others: We liked it because it was so different. I mean, it has that selling factor to it plus some good advice...
Me: A little bit of shock and awe...
Doc: Yeah, that's it! (turning to Joey) Oh, and thanks for telling me my ear thing was falling out!
Joey: Hey, I couldn't get a word in, not a word! I tried doing this (quickly gesturing to her ear), but you just weren't getting it!
Haha, it was like watching a snippet from Groomer Has It, the way those two have at each other! The conversation pretty much continued like that, then I went back to go dance. I was almost completely exhausted by that time, though. A few songs later, and the DJ closed the party with some Lady Gaga. It was raining and cold outside, which is probably what kept me alert enough to make it back to the room. I crawled in bed and hoped I wasn't completely debilitated the next morning... haha! Hard to believe that a third of the show was already gone. Two more days to go, baby!
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