So, naturally, since I committed myself to Working Friday Nights again to sub in for my ailing Friend Richard, I woke up with such a Headache I had to go back to Bed after dropping Princess T off to Work. I then slept 'til freakin' NOON!!! Missed Breakfast entirely and woke up as The Son tells me he's now making Hotdogs and Chili Cheese Fries for Lunch... so that will be my first Meal of the Day! Breakfast of Champions, No?! *LOL* He too had Napped, since he has Fridays Off Work now, so he said he only woke up slightly before me and decided to go Grocery Shopping becoz it was his Payday Today. It would have been mine but Staff messed up when they told me I had a Check, I didn't, I slightly Owed the Mall the amount they told me the Check was for... dammit! It wasn't much, but... still... it was disappointing after being told on the Phone I didn't Owe.
I really thought I'd Owe this last Pay Period, with Four consecutive Days out of Fourteen of NO Sales. Which had never, ever happened before, in all the Years since the Mall had Opened! Seriously, Monday thru Thursday of the First Week of our Two Week Pay Period, I didn't Sell a damned Thing, not even anything ridiculously Cheap or a Sure Thing!!! Usually even on a flatlined Sales Day you'll Sell something. But, all the other Vendors I talked to also Owed, so nobody was Selling much even with Mother's Day Weekend closing out the Pay Period. The only Vendors killing it are the Pokemon Sellers, it was yet another Pokemon Friday, just about ALL Sale were Pokemon related!!! And they were spending serious Money on that stuff! Anyone actually Selling Vintage or Antique Merch in an Antique Mall, is struggling.
Margins in Resale are tight, so you don't have a whole lot of wiggle room to profit from it. Rents aren't Cheap either, coupled with Commission to the Mall and the Fees and Costs if someone doesn't use Cash. Then you always get Customers who want to make Offers and not pay full price, deciding whether to accept, counter or decline can vary greatly, depending on the item and how you're doing with Sales overall. When I'm easily Selling things at full Ask I'm not as inclined to take Offers on Product I know someone will pay what I'm asking for it. My prices are already reasonable on everything, I structure it that way so that my Customers know they're already getting a good Deal on what they Buy from me. The Pokemon Vendors don't have to Discount or Haggle coz their Buyer will Pay whatever they're Asking!!!
I'm never looking for that End Of The Rainbow Buyer so I price my Merch to Sell, yet even that isn't cutting it these days. But, I don't mind a good Negotiation either. In fact, if a Customer offers something reasonable and Fair I usually will work with them, especially if they're Buying a lot from me and are my Regulars. All my Industry Friends know I already will give them that 1st Cousin Deal on anything they Buy from me, coz they have spent a lot of Money over the Years Buying what I have to Sell to them... or can be convinced to. *Winks* I don't mind that they're making Money too, let's all make Money and give each other High Fives on successfully Negotiating what everyone is Happy with the results of. There's reciprocity to operating like that, I rarely am charged full price when I Buy from Industry Friends.
And I have been generously Gifted with incredible items over the Years that Industry Friends have surprised me with as Friendship Gifts. And likewise I have done the same, Givers always Gain, ALWAYS, it's part of the Laws Of Reciprocity activated. As you can see I Photographed the Hell out of a New Vendor's Spot in the Warehouse Section. Just Love their Display showcasing their Product, the Old Flatbed VW Bug is Awesome and they have the Flatbed of it set up with Mannequins wearing their Fashions and Accessories. Too Cute and a great Summertime Vibe. We always Joke that Arizona has lots of Beach and no Ocean. *Winks* The Company has an INSTAGRAM Page if you want to see more. I like promoting and supporting Small Local Businesses, so was happy to see a new one I wasn't familiar with and has now joined the Event's Team for the Summer.
I thought their Custom Cookies were Cute that they had on their Social Media Page. They didn't have any at the Event. I'm impressed with how far Cookies have come Artistically in the way of Decorating them. How Cute is the VW Bus Cookie that matches their Main Display VW? And they found a Vintage Dr. Pepper Cooler in the same awesome Patina and Colors!!! Do you know this bit of Soft Drink Trivia, Dr. Pepper is Older than Coca-Cola? Dr. Pepper's been around since 1885 and Coca-Cola since 1886... Pepsi since 1893... 7-Up since 1929. Vernor's Ginger Ale since 1866 is the Oldest in America, my Mom Loved Vernor's... it's good when you've got Stomach problems. It's the longest continuously Sold Soft Drink in the U.S..
Anyway, so, I ALMOST broken even, just not quite... which Sucked coz I did Sell over 50 Smalls and Worked a Shift... but, like I said, Overhead is not inexpensive so you really do need Strong Sales to make Money. None of us is there to lose Money and honestly this past Pay Period I'd of done better at a Yard Sale with everything priced at a Dollar! *Le Sigh* This Pay Period started out Stronger for Week No. One of it, which ends Saturday {Today in Real Time}, so I only Hope Week No. Two of it remains steady enuf that I can make up what I Owed and clear a decent Check out of this Pay Period? We'll see... Economists are saying that by June everyone in America will definitely be Feeling the effects of the Tariffs War. So, it might panic folks to panic Buy or scare them enuf they won't spend anything... either way it's not good and will create more Economic stress and negatively impact the Market with Supply and Demand Issues and Consequences.
When I got to Work I saw I would be Working with Tina and Judith, Two long time Vendors who are Older Women. Tina is a good Worker and now she and I get along, we didn't used to tho'. I once had a huge confrontation with her about Key Dealer Carts, and after that she now stays in her own Lane with me and we get along very well. *Smiles* Let me explain, they don't have enuf Key Dealer Carts that we use when on Shift, which is a Management faux pas, they should have enuf. So, once during a Sale I was a Fill-In Key Dealer working a 4-8 p.m., which meant I got on Shift before the 5-9 Regulars showed up. So, I got a Cart when my Friend Ken, who had Worked a Noon-4, was leaving and gave me his. So, I'd been there a full Hour Working and it was Mad busy. Tina came in at 5:00, walked up to me, said she always gets Ken's Cart, and held onto the front of my Cart like a fucking Lunatic! Then literally yanking it out of my Hands and saying she was taking it coz Substitutes don't get a Cart!!! *WTF!?* Oh Hell No she didn't just do that in front of God and everyone!!! So, now we had a "Situation". But, I restrained myself from the Knee Jerk Reaction to Go Mental on her Ass. *Bwahaha*
Instead of making a Scene with her, I just Calmly told her she'd now be pulling my Shift AND hers now then, coz I don't Work if I don't have the appropriate Supplies at my disposal. I was still on the Clock and all the Locked Cases were going to Last Call, but I went Upstairs and just drank Coffee with my Friend Gordon, looking over the Railing at everyone below now scurrying around, including Tina, without adequate coverage now! *LOL* Well, Steven, the Manager, sees me up there, and he knows me well, I'm one of his best Workers and no Slacker, no brag, just Fact, so he knows something is very Wrong. Other Vendors tell him I'd had a confrontation with Tina and she'd caused a Scene about Carts and then forcibly taken mine, I'd remained Calm about it, but quit Working! {Still on the Clock now, so they're Paying me to drink Coffee basically, LOL}. Steven comes up and asks what the Problem is, and I Calmly tell him SHE is and he better Deal with that or we'll have us a major Situation if she pulls that shit again with me, ever. *Winks*
By then Jackson had come Upstairs too in a Panic, I like Jackson as a Friend, but as a Worker he's a Slacker and he was shitting Kittens having to Work so hard without my coverage down there. *Winks* So, he asks what he could do and so does Steven. I say, well, either someone better pull a Cart out of their Ass for me, OR... just send me Home if they don't wanna Pay me to just drink Coffee and watch the Cluster Fuck Tina had Created with her Cart Nonsense? Their Choice, I didn't give a Fuck. *Bwahahaha* They pulled a Cart out of their Asses, don't know how or who they commandeered it from, I didn't Care, Problem Solved and Tina never tried anything like that with me again. We now apparently have an Understanding and a Truce. In fact, when my Mannequin got Stolen by that Vendor another Time after that, it was Tina who backed me up to Trace who did it and verify where it had been taken to. So, she and I have no Beef anymore with each other, and like I said, she's usually a decent person and always a good Worker.
The other Worker last Night was my Friend Judith, good Friend, don't like Working with her tho'. Judith can be very temperamental, she used to be a Bank Executive too and often thinks she can delegate to everyone she's Working with as if she's still a high power Executive and your Supervisor. *LOL* In actuality, she's now not in Charge of anyone. But, you'd think she was, she can get very Bossy and condescending at times with Co-Workers, so, isn't very Popular. And, if she's at the Greeter Desk and it's her Turn there, even when things get Crazy, she won't ask Paid Staff to sit while she comes and helps Open Cases, which you're supposed to do. So, I don't much like Working with Judith even tho' she's a good Friend of mine... and I can get snarky with her when she's becoming a Liability or being Difficult.
That Night was Mad busy, we should have had at least one more Key Dealer to have appropriate Coverage, and Judith was being temperamental and a Liability at times. Judith is in her 70's, doesn't look it, but sometimes Acts it, so, Diplomacy doesn't Work with her... you have to get Snarky with her to let her know she's irritating you. And she knows I'm not Shy about expressing myself with anyone, Friend or Foe. *Winks* So I did throw her some Shade coz we got way behind in Serving People waiting for Cases to be Open, Tina and I were sweating Bullets trying to get caught up. Customers were being Nice about it, at least, having to wait too long. But, Judith was entrenched at the Greeter Desk, ignoring how far behind we were. She didn't wanna give up any of her 40 Minutes of Greeter Desk time and felt Paid Staff should get a Key and Help on the Floor. *Eye Roll, they're not allowed to with current Policy, they can just fill in for us as Greeter when it gets too hectic.*
So, I got Snarky and asked if she wasn't gonna get up to Help us and have someone cover the Greeter Desk, could she at least be Writing Down all the Last Call Cases so we could keep track of which Customers had waited the longest? You can't do that while you're giving a Customer you're assisting your full Attention at a Case you've already Opened. And Customers can actually deliberately linger longer at a Case when they know other people are waiting, it is annoying, but, folks can be selfish, inconsiderate as Hell and Weird like that. Other than that glitch, everything was swell. *LMAO*
Crazy Ed came in to Work his Spaces and needed Three of his Cases Opened. He'd had to wait 'til Last Call by the time I got to him. He saw I was there filling in for Richard and who I was On Shift with, and said, "I'm Surprised you agreed to come in and Work with certain People...", and grinned. Crazy Ed and I get along fabulously, he does not Like Judith. And coz we're both Crazy in a similar way, he KNOWS how I react and what the Score was that Night. *LOL* So, it was rather like an Inside Joke between he and I. *Winks*
So, I told him I'd learned that our Friend Richard had just gotten a Liver Transplant AND Open Heart Surgery, so I'd only agreed to Cover all his Friday Night Shifts when Steven asked, coz Richard is my Friend and in a bad way right now. Richard had asked if perhaps I'd cover for him as his Health dictated and I wanted to Honor that. I was shocked to learn what he'd had done all at once and Crazy Ed agreed it had shocked him too. Especially that Richard was even a candidate for an Organ Transplant, given his Age {67}, Condition overall, and poor Lifestyle Habits and Choices that caused the Health Issues he's having.
A lot of what Richard is dealing with are a result of not Managing his Disease {Diabetes} or his overall Health, by misbehaving all the time and doing exactly what his Docs told him he shouldn't. I do Hope all this now will Change that and he'll do better? I've chided Richard for YEARS about misbehaving and eating a whole damned Medium Size Pizza when he's an Insulin dependent Diabetic! I told him it would cause Organ shutdown eventually... and it did! I was Born with a faulty Pancreas which has never worked well my entire Life, and got worse after a Hysterectomy and weight gain from that Surgery. Organs are in short supply, which is why the Medical Community is now considering Animal Pharming for Organs from Pigs.
I know there's not enuf Human Organs to Transplant and so those on Transplant Lists are assessed quite stringently with strict criteria. I don't know if Richard had just been on a Liver Transplant List for Years, in order to get one, we were just very Surprised at his Age and level of Fragility and Viability, that he was considered. Glad for him, but Surprised and do Hope he doesn't negate getting a New Liver by abusing this one too doing what he's NOT supposed to do? I really Hope he behaves now, given this 2nd chance?
And I Pray he does really well in his Recovery, tho', it's likely to be a prolonged one having so much done all at once. I don't know if he'll come back to Work Shifts or not actually? So, I might be doing Friday Nights for a while or even asked if I'll do them permanently, don't know yet? CHLT usually takes about Six Months Recovery time and he'll be Hospitalized for at least Three Weeks. He had his Liver-Heart Surgery Yesterday apparently and has spent days in the Hospital beforehand. He'd looked dreadful last time I'd seen him at Work and I really thought he was Dying. The distended Belly with extreme Weight Loss made me think his Liver was crapping out now, and probably his Kidneys weren't doing so well either, I didn't know about his Heart Issues. But, once Diabetes isn't managed, it pretty much can crap out all your Organs and cause you to lose Limbs, have Strokes, Heart Attacks and risk a Fatality or some catastrophic event you won't bounce back from.
It's tricky to Manage Diabetes even if and when you're behaving, and doing everything Right. Richard certainly wasn't even trying to behave tho', for Years, and it caught up to him. Having to Manage the Disease myself I have compassion for how difficult it can be and no sure thing even if you do all you're supposed to. There are times I slip with my regimen and eat some things I shouldn't, but you can't do it chronically and must be Mindful of Diet, Exercise, taking your Meds consistently and having them changed when they're no longer as effective, managing your Weight, monitoring your A1C and Daily Readings... it is a LOT. The Man doesn't behave, and he's an Insulin Dependent Diabetic too. So I think with some Guys they get Stubborn and Rebellious about acceptance of what is necessary and what they can no longer do, that they might still wanna do, but shouldn't. I have to Manage most of The Man's Care, coz he just won't. I suspect Richard's Wife has a similar challenge?
But, you really cannot force someone to behave and do what they should when they're Grown. There has to be a certain level of compliance, accountability, assuming of responsibility and self-care too, or it's just too much of a Battle to expect someone else to do it FOR you. I Battle with The Man all of the time and due to his TBI and onset of Dementia, it's a delicate Dance to get him to comply with what his Docs tell me is necessary for him to have his best Outcome and not get progressively worse. Which, doesn't just affect him, it affects and impacts us all, so, I don't Play and really come down on him when he's misbehaving and being obstinate about his Care and not doing what he's supposed to. I cannot have his Caregiving become more Extreme than it already is or I simply won't be able to Keep him at Home. And we cannot afford Long Term Care for him EVEN IF we could find Placement, which, we couldn't before, so I doubt we could now either?!
So I tell him that if I end up having the possibility of a Future of living under a Bridge in a Homeless situation in my Golden Years, becoz of his misbehavior of his Health and him not taking it Seriously, then I'm going Down for Homicide so I'll at least have Three Hots and a Cot on Death Row. *Winks* He's not sure I'm Joking or Serious, so he behaves whenever we get to that conversation level. *LOL* Of coarse I'm bluffing, but, he's never quite sure that I am if I have nothing left to Lose, you know? *Bwahahahahaha* Plus, I want for him to have his best possible Outcome health wise in his Golden Years, he's got so much going on and Docs can't do any more for him and have said so to us. So, whatever I Dream Up to improve his Quality of Life is all he's got at this point and I try to keep him Piping along and enjoying whatever Life he has left in him. And for myself too, it's all you can do at some point when the decline just happens regardless.
As you can see it wasn't just the Event at SWEET SALVAGE that I went to, I also visited my favorite Oddities Shop CURIOUS NATURE which now is relocated just down the Street from the Event in a much larger Building than before. I didn't Buy anything this day, but there's always a lot of Weird and Wonderful Merch there to behold. I used to Buy their Mystery Boxes but they've gone way up in Price so that wasn't an Option this time. They always hold a good array of Quality items, but if I don't know what I'm getting for sure, I am reluctant to pay a Premium Price and risk not diggin' whatever is in the assortment I paid so much for. They have Two choice of Mystery Boxes, a relatively Mid-Price One and the Gold Ribbon Box which is very high priced and contains Primo contents of their choosing tho'. The last couple of Mystery Boxes I did Buy from there I was pleased with what I Scored and felt it was worth the Cost... and it's like receiving a Christmas or Birthday Pressy where you don't know what you're getting.
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I Hope you enjoyed coming along vicariously... Dawn... The Bohemian