Stay Strong

                                                                                  

 I'm sitting here now on a Thursday Morn waiting for my Sick Grandchild to call me for early pickup from her Job.  She'd said she has less trouble if she goes in Sick and is sent Home, than Calling in Sick, which, they get Writeups for if they have too many Called In Sick Days.  And since she has chronic Health Issues, that she's had since Birth, she has more Sick Days than the Garden Variety Kiddo her Age.  It is what it just is and she Hopes they Love her Work Ethic and Production enuf to retain her in spite of how often she gets Sick?   I mean, they SEE how frail she is and they know me and like me a lot there.  I'm not being hyperbolic, they all act like I'm THEIR Gramma!  *Smiles*   All of Management is Young and Stellar, they encouraged me to have her apply for the Job even tho' I told them in advance she has Special Needs and Fragile Health.

She's not contagious, and she makes that clear to them, she wouldn't deliberately go in Sickly if she thought she'd infect people with an illness that was a contagion.  What she has is Chronic Ailments she just always has and it's fairly regular, she was Born with them, and she missed a lot of School too due to it.  That was also problematic and led to an extended stay to get Graduation Credits, along with her Special Ed and IEP requirements they had to comply with at every School.   Even when a Child has a serious Illness, something Chronic or no Cure for, they aren't very Understanding in the Educational Systems or Employment.  Which is Why Sickly People become The Marginalized of Society with few, if any, accommodations that Work.  And receiving Disability is difficult to qualify for at all anymore no matter how bad off you are.   My Schizophrenic Grandson is really Bad Off and is still Appealing being Denied Social Security Disability and even a McDonalds won't hire him!

So, at Home, once The Young Prince returns, we've got Four out of Six Family Members who really are unemployable and can't Work due to their Age or Health and/or Mental complications.   And the Two who are Working Full time have Disabilities that are significant, but they do the very best Work they can in spite of their limitations.  That's all I can ask of them and if Employers can't see their Value beyond their Disabilities, since both are exceptional Workers and an Asset to any Employer, then, it's the Employer's Loss.  The Son's Employer found that out during the Two Weeks they'd Laid him Off and then had to Beg to get him to come back and on his Terms.   They would have literally had to hire Five Guys to do the level of Production he was doing by himself and the experience he has in the doing of it is absent there.  They got rid of most of the Top Tier of Seasoned People so they could cut Salary outlay and hire Newbies at entry level Salary.  You get what you pay for tho'.

Most people with Highly Functional Autism are very Smart, Learn easily, and are very Laser Focused.  Plus, The Son also has Adult ADHD, so he works circles around most people and can't stand to be Still, so he'll FIND Work to do once he's done all his.  They used to make him drop a UA just becoz he was so hyper they thought he must be ON something, and when it would come back Clean, he'd explain how being Hyperactive just is.  His Mind spins and works Fast, he works at a brisk Pace, and with the addition of Autism, he becomes Fixated on whatever he's doing and totally Dialed into it in an almost Obsessive way.  He Learns so Quickly and Loves Routine so much, that repetition doesn't bother him, he thrives on it.  And on Learning new Jobs, he'll Learn how to do them ALL... every Position... if they wanna Train him on it. 

Princess T has the Barrier of Learning slowly, but once she's got it, she's efficient, accurate and meticulous about her Work, not many folks can Outwork her.   Her Management have told me that they've kept her on some Positions longer becoz she's so good at it that the Supervisor of that area doesn't wanna lose her to another area.   When she's Racking Product she can Turn about Four to Six Racks for every One Rack any of her Co-Workers is able to do.  She's very Proud of that fact, but sometimes gets annoyed that everyone else seems so Slow.   I told her to slow her Pace down, so the expectations won't increase too much from Management and she won't Burn Out.  At the DA's Office I could do over 60 Files a Day, some Days I would.  If I felt restless at going slower and backlog and under-staffing was always ridiculous there.

 But, most people there were only capable of doing 30-35, so I slowed my Roll on Purpose.  You didn't get paid more for out producing everyone else, they didn't Pay Bonuses for Production or Accuracy like the Census did.  There I crashed their System a few times by being too fast, but, the Bonuses and incentives were Financially hugely rewarding for doing so.  *Winks*   But, at the DA's Office it was a super relaxed Pace for me and didn't make anyone else look bad or increase Management's expectations to being unrealistic.  Coz if you did 60, they'd still ask for more, mebbe 70, and if you were already getting the top Performance Review Possible, Why would I do even more?  Words ain't never fed my Family, so Praise is meaningless, show your Appreciation in my Paychecks.  *Smiles*  I'll give 100%, but 110% isn't necessary... unless it comes with a Big Check.

If an Employee is Adding Value then I expect they should share in whatever Reward that has for the Employer, Share the Wealth, otherwise, you are Courting Mediocrity, or worse, nobody Working for you even Cares.  I can always tell how a Company is treating their People by the Work Ethic I see, or lack thereof, and the Turnover.  And Word of Mouth spreads quickly about which Employers mistreat their People and have a Bad Reputation... and most of the Mega Employers who make the most Money are the absolute Worst Offenders.  There should be no reason why any Multi-Billion Dollar earning Company has any Employee on Public Assistance or Medicaid coz they're not earning a livable Wage and cannot afford Health Insurance.

But the List is ample of which Companies are the worst Offenders and it's all of Public Record.   Wal-Mart always tops the list for the most Employees on Food Stamps, Medicaid and other Federal Assistance Programs.   McDonald's is another, coming in 2nd of the Top Four Offenders.  Roughly half of the Frontline Workers at Amazon experience Food Insecurities and covering Rent.   And Musk is the biggest actual "Welfare Queen" in History and the most Parasitic to the American Taxpayer.  Which is why it's so Richly Ironic for him to be pretending and being put in charge of allegedly preventing Federal Employees getting "Rich" at the Taxpayers expense, when he's enriching himself the most at your expense Daily, to the tune of Eight Million Taxpayer Bucks every 24 Hours... you do the Math.  How long would an Average Federal Worker/Public Servant take to do a Job that costs you Eight Million Bucks in their whole fucking Lifetime, let alone in a 24 Hour Period... I'll wait...

The Average Public Servant in my State doesn't even earn a triple digit Salary.  There are 32 States where an Average Federal Worker earns barely just over $100,000 Annually.   And most Hourly Wages are just slightly higher than the Private Sector of most lower paying Civilian Jobs.  No Average Federal Worker is Living Large or ripping off the American Taxpayers, you don't become a Civil Servant for the Money.  Same as those that work in the DA's Office, nobody is there for the Money, becoz the Money to be made is in Defense, not Prosecution, of Criminals.  So the Firing of all these Prosecutors is simply Revenge, and to give advantages to the Criminally inclined like this Administration is, it has nothing to do with saving Taxpayer Money at all.  We could save the Taxpayers about 81 Billion Bucks by cancelling Space X Contracts, coz we don't NEED to go to Mars... and we don't Need to be Subsidizing Tesla.

LATER:  We're Back... we went to SWEET SALVAGE first, and then looked around MERCHANT SQUARE ANTIQUE MALL and HIGHLAND YARD VINTAGE .  We had Breakfast at "Snooze" and then later on we went Canning and doing Environmental Cleanup to round out the Day.   The Man had his plain Cowboy Hat he owned Customized by Brittany at the Event, it looks Fantastic.  It has a Porcupine Quill, a Bullet, Batik Cloth Hatband and a Metal "R" Charm.  I just got a couple of Canning Jars from my Friend Big Kenny and a 1960's Vintage Lighter with a Metal Marijuana Leaf on the front.  *LOL*  I also bought that Paper Arts Alarm Clock with the Fairie and Mushrooms Diorama inside of it.  I ran out of Memory Card Space so had to finish Photographing everything with my Cellphone Camera.

This was Gus, he's 5 Months Old and it was his first visit to the Event, his Humans were in front of us in Line and had moved here from Cali recently.  Gus was a big hit with everyone and he knew it.  *Smiles*  Our Oldest Daughter and Two of our Adult Granddaughters back East have English Bulldogs, great temperament, good with Kids, but have quite a few Health issues as a Breed, kind of like Pit Bulls do.  My Brother called me immediately from Cali when he saw me post this Pix on my FB Wall thinking we'd gotten him.  *LOL*  He said if we had, he wanted to come kidnap him.  *Smiles*  I'm just not a Dog Person tho' I like them and they like me, I prefer Cats.  A Dog is like having a Child and requires just that much Love, Care and Attention... I just don't have it in me anymore for a High Maintenance Living Thing.  Cats are very Independent and not Needy, so long as Food and Water is left down and a clean Litterbox, they're Golden.  I can Handle that.  *LOL*

I Love, Love, Love this Piece but it's $1,600 and would require more Space than I have left anywhere that would hold it.  So, out of my League financially and space-wise I'd have to get rid of something to move it into the RV Garage Mahal.  But, it is one of those Statement Pieces to Die For and be a permanent Keeper Piece, for sure... and... it's Originally Black... so, a Bonus for my Aesthetic!  *Swoon and Lusting*  I'm Surprised it didn't Sell immediately.  If Money were no object I'd buy it and figure out a Space.  *LOL*   But, I was Happy with my Two inexpensive Vintage Mason Jars with Zinc N Milkglass Lids, one has a Date of late 1800's on the Glass in Raised Numbers... the other is way larger, probably the largest size made.   Big Kenny had them priced so low I HAD to Buy them.  *LOL and Winks*

At the other Event a Fav Vendor had a bunch of these Antique Chocolate Molds for Easter, they were all Rusty so she had them priced quite low since they'd just be Shelf Sitters.  But, I prefer them Rusty, so that wouldn't have been a deterrent.  No Budget to buy some, tho' I already have some of these Antique Chocolate Easter Molds, these were different than the ones I own already.   She had some Rare ones I'd never seen, that had Lambs.  You often see the Rabbits and the Eggs, can't say I'd seen the little Lambs before.  I didn't Photograph the Lambs tho'.  Mebbe next Month I'll have the Budget to buy one from her, I'd probably still choose the Rabbit Trio.  They make great Easter Vignettes.

It was Fun to see all the Easter and Spring Vignettes, I'm ready for it already.  One of my Vendor Friends asked me if it was too soon, and I said I didn't think so at all.  If you wait too close to a Holiday you've missed the Retail Opportunity for most Shoppers.   Below is The Man's newly Customized Cowboy Hat.   I'd bought the Hat for him a long time ago but since he's Collecting Brittany's Customized Cowboy Hats and we Love them, and he gets to choose how he wants them Customized, I Paid her to Consult with him and Pimp it Out with a Custom Vibe.  I Love how it turned out and it looks so good on him.  He's a Hat Person and looks really good in Hats, especially Western Hats.   He's ridden Horses even for the Mounted Police in Pittsburgh, done Bareback Bronco Riding and he's even ridden a Bull, just the One time with the Bull, he said that shit is too Crazy!  *LOL*

I couldn't afford to Buy him a whole New Custom Hat, so Brittany made it affordable for me to Customize this one he already had, as my Birthday Pressy to him.  He's Delighted coz he always liked this Hat anyway, and now he likes it all the more, as do I, now it's OOAK and he Designed it himself and chose the Embellishments she did to it.  He has such Fun working with Brittany to Design these Hats he's been Collecting that she makes for him.  And she says he's her Good Luck Charm since every time he's there with her, Business picks way up and other Customers start Buying her Merch or Ordering their own Custom Hats when they see her right there making his while he waits and Consults with her.

The Bullet in the back...

The "R" Charm on one side...

The Porcupine Quill on the other side, and the lovely Fabric and Rawhide Hat Band around it.

Brittany also Customizes Baseball Caps and has various pre-made Customized ones but you can also Design your own.

She had some pre-made Cowboy Custom Hats too, this one was Cute... I'd wear something like this with a nice Outfit that compliments it.  And I'm not even a Hat Person.

I'll be covering both Events more once I download all my Old School Camera's Images I took before the Memory Card got full.  It was such a good Day and we Visited with Good Friends, ate some Good Food, and it was 80 Degrees, Sunny and Breezy, so just Glorious Outside and perfect to be out and about in.   We didn't get Home until 5:30 and had picked Princess T up at about 9:00 a.m., her Boss just sent her Home earlier than she expected, he didn't want to see her trying to stick it out until Lunchtime, clearly she was suffering and in tears.   She's spent the rest of the Day in Bed, it was just a Bad Day for her and they happen, if she Rests sufficiently, she's usually okay by the next Day.

This was my Lavender and Herbal Lemonade at Breakfast, it was tart and very pretty.   If you like a tart drink you'd enjoy it, but it will make you pucker some.  *LOL*

And the obligatory Food Porn of my Brunch.  *Winks*  You're Welcome. I brought the Hashbrown Home coz it's just too much Food for me in one sitting even tho' we'd had a very late Breakfast so I was Hungry.  It was one of those Days where I'm very Hungry, but once I start eating, no matter how delicious it is, I'm instantly full before I eat hardly any of it.  And, I should have remembered I could substitute Fresh Fruit instead of the Carb of a Hashbrown, but, I forgot to.

My Friend Cyndie had Created some Lovely Necklaces for Spring, this is just a Trio of the ones I liked Best.   I did look thru my recently departed Friend Terry's Tags and Cards, but didn't see the one I was looking for.  Nobody realized I didn't know she had passed away last Month and only just found out a few Days ago.  But, to be Fair, I haven't talked to many People to know about it.

I have a Vase like this one, didn't know they could command such a high price since I Scored mine at a Chazza.   I really like the Style and they're almost always Black and have the same kind of reflective Sand Like Beads on the Floral Parts that you'd see on reflective Street Signs.  It's called Retroreflective Sheeting and I don't know if these Pottery Pieces actually uses the same stuff, but it's what it reminds me of.  The Style is from 1920-1930 Era and was Tiffin Black Satin Pottery with Coralene Flowers with tiny Glass Bead Granules added to their Paint Technique.  I like Quirky Art Pottery and Vases in particular that are unusual.  They're not that easy to Resell, Pottery in general isn't, or Quality China, or Crystal and Glassware, unless something is Mid-Century Modern, it's not worth getting to try to Resell it.   Some Vendors still are heavy in their Inventory of it and I think they'll get stuck sitting on it a long time.

I haven't been Pricing too much Fresh Merch coz I really don't have the room for it in the Showroom or the Locked Case right now or Selling enuf Volume to rotate Inventory out to make more room.  Sales have increased in just a few genres of Merch, like Rubber Art Stamps and small Collectible Toys, but other than that, most Sales are still stagnant and real quality isn't being sought by Shoppers right now.  I have been trying to sort thru what I have and divide it into what needs to be Donated, to get it gone quickly, and what will be Sold, and get it Crated and put into The She Shed out of the way until I need it and have room for it at the Antique Mall.  I haven't felt sufficiently motivated to spend a lot of time at the Mall, the times I've been there it has been busier than expected, but not a lot of Merch actually being Sold.  Seems folks need something to do as a distraction, but, aren't necessarily Buying.  I've done it myself, so, I'm not Judging.  I'd guess Escapism is at an all time high lately.

Part of my Need lately for Escapism is due to NOT talking much about the horror going on in DC, becoz a lot of people really just can't stand to face or hear any of it.  They're like the 3 Monkeys of Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil... as if that prevents Evil.  And I cannot bely the Fact enough that just becoz someone is highly Intelligent does not necessarily mean they can't be foolish due to lack of Wisdom and Experience.  The whole blow everything up just becoz we can and see IF we can put the smithereens back together lacks any Wisdom or Experience whatsoever.  Dismantling anything that you cannot put back together serves no actual Purpose but destruction of whatever it is or was and now is no more.  Now things are just broken and useless.  And Oooops is not gonna cut it when you break an entire Nation and render it now useless and good to nobody.

Reckless Genius with no Restraint or Guardrails is as Dangerous as any Fool.  I don't Care how high an IQ someone possesses if they lack Maturity and Wisdom, that only Experience and living longer will ever give them the benefit of.   You know how someone very Young always assumes they already Know Everything, so you can't tell them Anything?   I'm Guessing the Boy Geniuses being cut loose into our most sensitive National Security information are still like Kids being given access to too much Candy and Toys.  Everything is gonna be like a Sugar High to them and get broken beyond repair if no Responsible Adult is in the Room to be the Voice of Wisdom, Restraint and Experience. 

  When I look at fElon jumping up and down with excitement in a Shirt that is too Small, showing his Belly that reveals he might not even have restraint at the Table or the discipline to spend time at the Gym... all his Money and Arrogance doesn't hide obvious challenges he has and flaws.  I see a spoiled Man Child.  Someone likely prone to Tantrums when he doesn't get his own way.   And, even Age can't fix that for some folks who've remained so spoiled they've always gotten their own way, just look at the Orange Man Child's Behaviors.  He still lacks sufficient Restraint in spite of damned near 80 Years that should have provided him with a modicum of it.   When he's just broken things and Bankrupted them, someone always bailed him out. 

 Like a Parent of a Prodigal Son who never got Right or Changed for the better, and remained a Loser.  An insecure and vengeful one, who cannot accept Losing, so lashing out constantly while craving attention and constant Ego boosting feedback to sustain him.  He managed to always get the Con Right and Perfected, coz that Fraud is what always managed to Work from one Scam to the other.  And together, what I Observe is, its a combo of a Player trying to Play a Player.  An Old Con trying to Play a Boy Genius with unlimited Financial Resources he can tap into and try to exploit for his Gain.   And an Autistic Boy Genius trying to Play an Old Con at his own Game, and sneak in the Back Door coz he can't come in the Front Door to the Presidency due to being Born in South Africa.

The biggest barrier for Boy Genius is that nobody Likes him and being Autistic, he fails to connect Socially with most People either.  That disconnect will hinder him considerably, so he Needs the Old Charismatic Con for the Popularity Vote.   Yes, DonOld has many Haters too and many Enemies, he knows this.  He's never tried to Target his Long Con towards his detractors, he tries to intimidate and threaten them into submission or eliminate them completely, we are his biggest barrier.   But he Strokes and Praises the ones that just Like or Worship him or are Like him themselves, knowing they are his Saving Grace and his easiest Marks.  Most who are just Like him will willingly become his version of a Gestapo in the Quest for Power, Favor and to exact Cruelty.  The Worshippers will do his bidding too, but are more expendable, tho' they fail to recognize it and don't know it yet.

I keep Assessing his Inner Circle for what a Con would Use them for?  If they're Useful and remain so, they'll stay a while.  If not, they'll be quickly discarded and disgraced.  Each is of coarse running their own Game, so it's rather like some utterly Mad Game of Chess being Played, different People representing the various Game Pieces.   I must say tho' that the Strategies of the Players have done their Homework and exploited their Window of Opportunity remarkably well.  The fact so many Americans just failed to see it coming is nothing short of remarkable.  The fact far too many still are so deep in Denial or a Let's Wait And See Mode is even more remarkable.   What ARE you Waiting for and WHAT DO you still Need to SEE?

 The Resistance so far is weak as fuck overall Nationally IMO.   We're seemingly going down like a Nation of Punk Bitches and who'd of thunk America would have no Balls or Backbone in a Fight?  Just Wow.  We should be Scrappier than that as a Collective!!!   Of coarse Unity and being the UNITED States of America withered up and fucking Died in 2016 it seems and we never got back on the same Page since, did we?  United we Stand, Divided we Fall, couldn't be truer right now.  We have Fallen from Within and most great Societies did actually, History pretty much reveals that, and if you don't Learn from History it will repeat itself.   Boy are we ever in Repeat Mode right about now my Friends.  And while Rome is Burning most of our Leaders are fucking Fiddling and being irresponsible and trivial in the midst of an Emergency.

It was Breezy, Sunny and in the high Seventies Today so we went for a long drive and to our Friend Nan's Antique Mall in the Northeast Valley.  I didn't Buy anything but I took some Pixs with my Cellphone.  It was just nice to be out and about on a Glorious Day and in the Fresh Air while the Temperatures are idyllic.   We'd dropped something off for The Son at his Work while way out there.   He was coming Home early anyway so would get back Home before us, since, they were getting off at 9:00 a.m..   Fridays are always a short day at Work for him and they get Paid too, so it gives him time to cash his Check and give us some Money.   He's trying to help out as much as he can for maintaining the household and the expenses.

When we got back Home we opened up all the Doors for Fresh Air to stream in, at these Temps you don't need the Heat or the Air Conditioning on.   We'd picked up Wild Bird Seed at a Tack N Feed Store while we were out and about too, you can buy it in bulk there cheaply.  They were completely Sold Out of Chickens, I guess everyone is getting Chickens to Raise so they can afford to still have and eat Eggs?  *LOL*  We can have any kind of Livestock or Horses here at the Mini Farms with no restrictions.   I'm not quite to the place yet where I wanna Raise Chickens but I did pick up a Chicken Raising Book recently at "Bookman's" Used Bookstore to satiate my Curiosity about Raising them.  *Winks*

I have to pick up my Check at Work too, it's not a big one but it's still a Check.  *LOL*  I haven't even bothered to see how I'm doing this Pay Period, sometimes it's just better not to know and fret over it if it's not good.  Every place we have gone lately their Sales are way down too so I don't feel like The Lone Ranger or that I'm doing anything Wrong or could do much else to improve Trade being Stimulated really.  The Economy is what it just is and the American People right now, overall, are not feeling particularly Secure or Optimistic at all.   I try to muster some Guarded Optimism, I've Survived Hard Times before and know that we're Survivalists at our Cores in this Family.   We're much better off than so many folks, so I still feel very fortunate and Blessed.

*******

Stay Strong my Friends... Dawn... The Bohemian