In the late nineties, my friend C.A. used to imitate Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's favorite expression, "terrible job." His impression of the Doggy was so poor, I must say, that I really didn't even know that he was imitating anyone when he'd refer to someone's poor play in, say, a Nerf football game, as a "terrible job." (I also must not have been listening to Mike & the Mad Dog much at that time.)

Anyway, it took years before the saying caught on with me, but by mid-2001, anyone who knew me knew what I meant when I'd say "TJ," or the even less time-consuming "teej."

And by last year, I had a friend who'd started a band called "Terrible Job."

I don't know if TJ has peaked yet. But I definitely still say it a lot, and Mad Dog himself is still using it fairly regularly.

When I started doing this blog, I decided to not use the phrase too often. I figured it would confuse people who don't know Mad Dog, and would just be another ripped-off sports phrase to people who do. But I can't hold back any longer. You may have noticed it's been seeping into my writing lately, and now I'm just gonna bring it out in the open. I apologize to myself for hiding who I really am: A "TJ" sayer.

Terrible job, me. TJ Maxx. TJ freakin' Cinnamon's.