They are resurfacing the Roads in our Mini Farms Community, which, is a good thing, but, they've been blocking off both entrance/exits with Road Closed Signs, trapping Residents from coming in or going out for Hours at a time while they do the Work!!! Well, our Neighbors are as Militant as me and just run over the Signs or move the Barricades to get back in or get out. Since, you can't deny people access to their Homes for Hours and Days on end. Plus, people are buying necessities or going to and from Work and Appointments. I had Ice-Cream in one instance, where there were no Closures when I went Grocery Shopping, and everything Closed when I was coming back! The Worker said they'd Re-Open after 3:00 P.M. and this was at 1:00 P.M.! I wasn't driving around for Two Hours with Frozen stuff that would have thawed and melted!
We told him we had Groceries that would thaw and melt and couldn't wait that long. So, The Man got out, moved the Barricade over, and we drove thru. It wasn't like the Guy could stop us. *Winks* Our Next Door Neighbor TJ was coming Home from his Oncology Appointment and did the same right behind us. *LOL* We do like how nice the Roads now are, but, we don't have lots of options for access here, so it's not practical how they wanted to do the Work and try to trap everyone in or from coming in. You can't drive around for Hours... or be trapped for Days... while they finish this protracted Project! Lucky for us they did our Road first, so ours is Done now. They're just working in the interior of our Community now. But still are Closing the only Two Access/Exit Points! Princess T was almost late to Work becoz of it. She Smiled coyly at the Two Young Hispanic Male Workers and they Voluntarily ushered us thru. *LOL and Whew!*
The Roads that are Done look really nice and ride smoothly, so, I'm glad that the City spent the funds for this Project, our Roads were probably original from the 1960's? At least that proves to me that we're not a County Island that won't receive funding from the City we're in. Some of the really Old Communities were County way back when they were built. And some remained County Islands when the City grew up around them. Ours definitely was a County Community back in the 60's when it was built, no City limits anywhere near it back then, just Raw Desert and Agricultural Fields for Miles. I remember when the Main Road that runs in front of our Property, and parallel to our Access Road directly in front of our Property, was a Two Lane Dirt Road in the early 1970's. All that used to be out here for Miles was our Mini Farm Community and the Big Catholic Cemetery across the Street.
Anyway, we did some Environmental Cleanup, since it stayed under 100 Degrees all Day and was a bit chilly earlier in the Morning. We got a good haul of Aluminum Cans and for Lunch had a Coupon for "Ono Hawaiian BBQ" to get a Free Meal with the purchase of a Meal. When I got Home I made up the Halloween Treat Bags that we'll be handing out to the Trick-Or-Treaters. Very few Dollar Stores had any Halloween Merch left in Stock, but I found some of the mini Halloween Treat Bags with Four different Cute Graphics. So, that's done now. And since our Dollar General has never re-opened after their AC Issues, I had to drive to another one in the Old Neighborhood of the Villa McManse to stock up on our Septic System Treatment Products. Not many Communities are still on Septic in the City, so it's hard to find the Product we must use Monthly. Only a few Stores even carry it.
So, that was a relief to find some and I bought Five Months worth of it and now know where I can Source it. When we drove by the Old Villa McManse they had MAGA Signs on the Front Lawn. *Ugh!* Surprising, since the Investor who bought it was from Cali and that's not exactly MAGA Country. There were a bunch of Cars in the extension of the Driveway they enlarged by yanking out most of the lovely Landscaping and Paving it. So it's clearly still being used as an Air B&B Party House... either that or several Families now live there? They had everything they didn't yank out or kill off, trimmed up within an inch of their poor lives. The Date Palm only had Three Fronds left sticking straight up in the Air and only One Desert Willow Tree is still Alive. The largest one they chopped down. They removed about 80% of the Mature Plants in front... including all of the clustered Mini Palms, Bougainvillea, Yucca and Agave.
Aerial Views done recently of the area showed they'd also cut down the Trio of Citrus Tree Topiaries in the Back Yard and removed everything else growing back there except the Trio of Palm Trees in the Corner. It's Sad to see it in the condition it now is. At least Mr. Avila, who bought our Beloved Historic Home, is taking much better Care of it, so it isn't Sad to see it and he's done a lot of Positive Improvements to the Property since he's Owned it. I know that once you Sell a Property you shouldn't Care, but, I still do. Both of those Homes were Beloved Properties, but, the Communities around them became undesirable. They've crammed a lot more Residential Properties in and around the Villa McManse's Community, plus now some Warehouses, so, super Glad we moved. They still have built very little infrastructure to sustain such Urban Sprawl, so the same problems that existed when we lived there, haven't been Solved or Addressed.
We stopped by the Antique Mall to bring in Merch and tidy our Showroom and it really needed it badly. It actually looked Vandalized, so, either Feral Children or just Adults intent on wonton wrecking of a Space, had been in there and run amok and trashed it. It took me 45 Minutes to put everything back in Order. I hadn't had any Sales at all the Day before, and I highly suspect it was due to the condition of the Room. The Floor was littered with Merchandise strewn all over. It's not like a Shopper will go in and clean up a Space so they can get in there to look around. So much had been just thrown on the Floor and just intentionally put where it shouldn't be, that it was obviously not done by anyone actually Shopping. Now that I have a Room near the Front of the Mall, I haven't had that problem so much as when we were way in the Back, so, it was unexpected Midweek to see it end up like that.
Yes, it's frustrating and I Wish those on Shift would walk the Mall more and deter bad behavior or Shoplifting. If there are no Eyes evident on the Sales Floor, that's when shit happens. Both the Salaried Staff and the Key Dealers have been really lax about doing Work when they're not busy and could/should be finding something productive to do. Most of them are glued to their Phones or Socializing with one another and goofing off, very unprofessional and shows they just don't Care. It's part of Why I won't/don't Work a lot of Shifts, since, it's an irritant to me when someone has a piss poor Work Ethic. Or, when they're just not addressing problematic people who come in and cause loss prevention issues or act the fool while they're there. They can see if they're causing damage or let their Feral Kids run Wild and trash the place or let them play with stuff they're not Buying.
Anyway, I got everything tidied up and I will be Working on Friday Night so can ensure it looks good for the Weekend, when it will be busiest. Sales are mediocre this Pay Period, so, I really need to Kill It for the last Two Days of the Pay Period to ensure I get a decent Check on Payday. I'm Selling a lot of inexpensive Smalls, but only a few of the bigger Ticket items lately. And I also found out that another Dear Friend who Owned a great Brick and Mortar Shop, "Grungy Galz", has had to Close it. When I went to her Business FB Page the last entry was February and apparently they're only doing Instagram now. They had the Cutest Vintage Shop and especially during the Holidays it was always such a Treat to Shop there. She had the best Vignettes and Merch, plus, she Specialized in Custom Paints for DIYers. Sad that yet another great Indie Shop has Closed. Many good Memories of their Shop, they'll be Missed. We're Losing some of the best places.
Small Businesses are really struggling, even if they're doing everything Right and have a very Unique Niche that is filling the Void in Retail or the Food/Restaurant Industry. When another one bites the dust I'm just Saddened and disappointed that they couldn't thrive, when, they should have. So many are now gone and nothing is replacing them that equals them, so, all that's left are the good Memories of it all when it was prosperous and thriving. This is Why I feel quite Lucky that I've lasted at our Antique Mall for so long, many haven't, and so I must be doing something Right? Granted, there is a big difference when someone is needing to make a Living at it and can't.
So I totally understand why most Small Business ventures also have to Work Full Time at a Financially Secure Job/Career or have a decent Pension if they're Retired and doing it as a sideline. And it is hard to juggle it all. The Friend whose Shop just Closed used to do Events and Shows, so, I've Messaged her to ask if she plans to be elsewhere so I can find her at the next Chapter of her Business? I do Hope she'll be involved in the Industry in some other way, even tho' the Brick & Mortar Shop folded. She used to be at "Sweet Salvage" Years ago and she's done "Junk In The Trunk" Shows too. Some Industry Friends who had to close their Shops, combined Resources with other Industry folks to do Vintage Markets once a Month now. You do what works for right now. Rents are so high and Staffing is so difficult, that a Brick & Mortar Shop is expensive to run.
And even some Antique Mall Vendors have had to scale down the amount of Rental Space they have. Some of the best ones have downsized considerably in recent times. It shows me that profit margins are really tight in this Economy, Rents have skyrocketed, and no matter how fabulous your Inventory, overhead is killing a lot of Vendors. Even some of the Events that are still going strong, have told me their Profits are not what they used to be, not even close. It is worrisome when only the Billionaire Companies are doing well and squeezing out the Small Businesses entirely. While also exploiting their work force and price gouging the Consumers, becoz they know they just can. While also getting all the benefits and subsidies, even tho' they don't need to be subsidized when they're having record profits and are just being insatiably greedy.
I am using improvisation and adaptation to try to subsidize a Fixed Income as best I can, but, it is challenging. This Month I've felt the Squeeze more than usual and it's not comfortable and does create a level of Anxiety that I'd prefer not to have to deal with. Maintaining a Quality of Life is important to me, not just Existing and being content with Existence Living. I don't want to just be barely making Ends Meet and I work hard to ensure my Family has the Quality of Life I aspire to give us. I like a good Challenge, but lately it's as if the Middle Class, Low Income and the Retired are being pressed above measure and beyond strength. The Son and Princess T come Home from Work lately and say that Upper Management seems really Stressed Out, so, that trickles down to who they are Supervising. Both have Bosses they actually Like and Respect, but notice a difference. Princess T said she heard rumors her Boss is going thru a Divorce. The Son said his Boss is being pressured by the Owners a lot now.
Princess T was Two Minutes Late one Day being able to Clock back in after her Lunch, and her Boss made a Big Deal out of it. He's usually a pleasant Guy and since she's New she got Anxious that she'd get Written Up, since, he was quite terse and it wasn't intentional that she was slightly Late, she had to stand in Line behind others Clocking In, nothing she can do about that really. She had to wait her turn and said she needed my advice about it. I told her not to cut it so Fine, if they're suddenly being sticklers about a Minute or Two, come back a little earlier. The problem of coarse is they aren't allowed to Clock back In more than 5 Minutes Early either, and they have a lot of Employees, so, it's not really a reasonable expectation to hold everyone to. The Son addressed his Issue of being Written Up for just being a few Minutes Late ONE time in all the Years he's been there, by showing up way early now and just hanging out and being visible.
He's to the point that he Wishes they would Fire him or Lay his Off, so he'd just collect Unemployment and seek other Work if they're gonna be suddenly difficult to Work for. He refuses to Quit tho' and since he's at the top of his Pay Scale, I highly Suspect Upper Management is trying to make things uncomfortable for Staff with Seniority and a higher Pay Rate, so they can Hire entry level People for much less per Hour and no Earned Benefits yet. The Company that bought the Factory he Works for is always cutting corners and being cheapskates. Compared to the Original Owner who had Employees who'd Worked for him for Decades and had an excellent Reputation in the Industry of Custom Cabinetry becoz Quality and being Exceptional, with the Best and most Qualified and Experienced Staff, was his Priority.
I know neither one of them wants to be Unemployed, but, I can understand their Anxiety about Management Issues that are showing up and they have no Control over and fewer Options should things not work out. It's a good thing both of them still live here at Home so they have the Security of that should the Job Situation become untenable. I think for Princess T they really Like her Work and she's a good Worker, so I don't think she has to worry about losing her Job. The Son is an exceptional and experienced Worker, but, if the Owners are trying to Purge all the best Paid Employees and replace them with Cheap Labor, it doesn't matter how exceptional and dedicated you are if the Company is Cheaping Out.
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