Beating Burnout ~ For Packrats Only

 

I actually did some work in The RV Garage Mahal last Night around Sundown, it was so pleasant that the temps in there were ideal.  I'm feeling a bit guilty that I've neglected helping The Daughter with the Project, becoz I should have.  Having some burnout with it all has plagued me tho' and she knows it so has told me not to push myself to do it if I'm not in the right Head Space to.  She's probably right, you're not that effective if you're in the wrong Head Space to do anything.  Beating Burnout is a challenge tho'.  I was most effective at tackling it during Pandemic Lockdown, go figure!  Being a captive audience actually was beneficial to me not escaping or avoiding what I needed to do and didn't want to be doing.  So, I faced the Gauntlet.  *Smiles*

Sometimes, if I can be doing anything else besides tackling it, I do something else otherwise.  *Le Sigh*   And I really do need to make decisions in there about stuff, she's doing all the work and organization, but leaves the decision making up to me, coz it's my stuff.  I haven't really even done an Editing & Purging or Downsizing Blog Post in a long time.  I'm sure there are some Dear Readers also struggling with this task, I know I'm not the Lone Ranger.  When picking Princess T up from Work I bought a Book in their Book section called for packrats only and deals with how to clean up, clean out and dejunk your life forever.  Well, that's a mighty big claim, that last piece... but... whatever... for Two Bucks, I'll bite.   *LOL*

I'm not an avid Reader, most of my Book Hoard is Visual.  I have a multitude of Cookbooks and just becoz they have great Visuals doesn't mean I Cook.  So, having a Self Help Book for Downsizing and Decluttering is no guarantee it will be any more effective either.  *Winks*  But, what intrigued me about it was the Author delved into the barriers people like me face when dealing with their Packrat tendencies.  So, I felt, it could be Helpful?  Believe it or not the Show HOARDERS was very Helpful to me at times.  Even tho' I couldn't relate to the type of Hoarding most of the profiled Subjects were doing, the Therapists and Organizers comments did help me too.

One time on the Show they did have a Collector who had The Good Stuff, but, Too Much of it.  That was the only Subject I definitely could relate to, becoz it's not as if Hoarders like us can't throw out actual Trash and what is worthless, we easily can and do.  I can go thru even Wardrobe and everyday household Objects and Purge them ruthlessly, efficiently and quite often, keeping only what I wear, fits or need.   But when you've Collected The Good Stuff with actual Value, it's not like you're gonna just throw it away or Donate it in bulk, that would be foolishness.  If you had Too Much Money, would you just throw it away or Donate the majority of it, or know how much is Just Enough and not Too Much?  I think not.  So, The Good Stuff Hoards is like that dilemma.

I do Donate what other folks could use and isn't throw away items, so I do make a lot of Donations during this Project.   And anything not worth Donating or is Trash is quickly thrown out.  But when it comes to the Valuables, I'm trying to Purge those by Profiting off the Sale of them mostly and that too is a Process.  It is Labor intensive and why I have Rental Space in an Antique Mall.  Where I'll be Working Tonight to fill in for someone actually, so I have the whole Back Seat of my Truck filled with Inventory to bring in that I spent most of Tuesday pricing.  I'm bringing in some higher dollar Collectible Antiques this time.  Those of a genre that rarely gets Stolen, since, Theft has been problematic and I'm tired of being ripped off, especially of expensive Merch.   But I don't like the Violation of being Victimized at all, period.

It's annoying enuf when inexpensive Smalls get Shoplifted, but when any expensive Merch goes missing and probably walked off unpaid for, I'm fuming.  We do what we can in the way of Loss Prevention, but, you can only do so much.  A determined Thief will always find a way.   And it annoys me all the more to know some other fellow Vendors are Stealing from the rest of us.   That one Bitch, Vendor #46, who got caught Red Handed Stealing from me, I wonder how many other Stores she Shoplifts from and how much of her Inventory is Hot and she's Stolen?   She Rents a LOT of Space at the Antique Mall, so they haven't banned her or bounced her, and they should.  But, she probably Rents more Space than anyone else right now, so I know they won't.  She has good Quality Merch, so when she Shoplifts it's not the Cheap stuff either.

My Hope has always been that if she's a true Klepto or Professional Shoplifter, one day she'll be doing Time for the Crimes.  I heard she's a Retired School Librarian and I wouldn't want someone like her around my impressionable Children, since, she can't be Trusted and is a shameless Thief.   She's also a huge MAGA Devotee and Sells most of the MAGA Merch at our Mall, so why does that also not Surprise me that she'd be drawn to openly Support other Career Criminals who rip Honest People off?   Birds of a Feather.   I keep my Eyes on her all the time and put her on blast constantly, here and in Real Life.  I wouldn't even be Surprised if it was her that has Stolen something like the NAVY Jersey, she's that brazen about ripping off other Vendors and doing it more than once to the same Vendors.  Like I said, it's known she's Stolen from me Twice now that I KNOW of for certain.  So, she's put herself in my Crosshairs.

I happen to have a Pix of The Thief, she's the busted looking dour and sour one on the Left, the other Two Ladies are Friends of mine, sadly the one in the Middle passed away last Year.  They are exceptional people and it shows in their Radiant countenances.  Miss Five Finger Discount's shows what and who she is in her countenance, no Words needed.   And yeah, I'll put that Bitch on Blast on Social Media becoz she's a Thief and I've confronted her about it publicly anyway.  In fact, the last expensive thing she got caught red handed Stealing from me she had to bring back or I would have pressed charges if she hadn't.  And I confronted her in front of the Manager until she confessed to what she'd done.  I said she had the choice of bringing it back, catching charges, or, we could settle it in the Parking Lot.  She chose to bring the Mannequin she Stole from me back.  The KISS Collectible she Stole from us we couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt, but The Grandson and I identified it and told Management she'd taken it and switched Tags to one of hers.   But, she Sold it quickly or took it out of Inventory when she knew we could Prove it.

Anyway, the challenge will be to find adequate Space to put all this new Merch, since, I've maxed out my available Space pretty well now.  I do Sell quite a lot of Smalls every Pay Period.  But, they don't clear out and free up a lot of Space even if you Sell an abundance of them.  I did discover that if I put an oversized Squishmallow on Top of our Locked Case, it Sells right away.  So, I'm replacing one Today that got Sold from up there recently.  Princess T had Purged a lot of her Collection and some of them take up a lot of Space, but, are a Quick Turn, the Kids Love and Collect them.  The problem I'm having now, her Mother gets attached to what her Daughter is getting rid of, so, it rarely ends up in the Antique Mall For Sale... dammit!  It's all now Hoarded over in the Art Studio Space and in the 5th Wheel now!  Yeah, the Apples didn't fall far from The Tree... me... *Le Sigh*

I was talking to The Niece last Night and she doesn't know when The Young Prince expects her to go get him and bring him back to Arizona.  He hasn't had much contact with her and he should be giving her some timeline by now.   I've sent him a PM telling him she said he hasn't had much contact with her and she needs a timeline to be able to afford her Bus Fares.  I plan to reimburse her for that too, so both she and I need to know somewhat in advance when that expense and outlay is expected?   I've still got to do my Taxes, but my Social Security and County Pensions are being more delayed every Month that this Regime has been in Office!  So, I'm always nervous whether I'll get them at all, and even when I do, I have no idea when, it's never on time anymore.  I have to check Online Daily now to see when I get actually Paid and then can pay Bills that I use my Income for!  It's nerve racking and I know the Ketamine King is fucking with our Earned Income now.

He Imagines the Money we Paid into Social Security and our Pensions is some kind of Ponzi Scheme.  Which makes me aware he doesn't even know what a Ponzi Scheme actually even is!   Among other things he's totally ignorant and clueless about, but is being put in charge of.  For someone allegedly so brilliant and a Genius, and the wealthiest Man in the World, I'm pretty astounded at how much he doesn't know and is completely ignorant or uneducated about!   That's Curious indeed and leaves me with way more Questions than Answers.   Most of what DOGE has been transparent about and reported, has been erroneous, grossly exaggerated or downright Lies so far.  And, they haven't been transparent about most of what they're doing, it's all concealed and nobody knows.  So, if there's that many errors in the small amount they're disclosing, how bad is it what they're fucking up and not revealing or required to have disclosure of?  Things we Need to know.

I don't like Secrets and Mysteries when someone I don't know or Trust has access to my Money and is messing with it.  That's the Security of my Family and what we've Earned thru our Hard Work.   So I don't want some entitled acting arrogant insatiably greedy Billionaire presuming to make decisions about what isn't his and is ours.  Don't mess with my Money and put my Family at Risk or in jeopardy, or you'll be my sworn Enemy.   And I think most decent, hard working and Honest Americans feel strongly that way.  I don't think anyone is adequately representing us right now so we better be looking out for ourselves and having our own Backs and each others.   Sadly, Americans are so divided right now and so much divisiveness has been sown by Bad Actors on purpose, to keep us opposed and not united, that we've made ourselves more vulnerable and easier to exploit and manipulate.  Divide and Conquer.

Tomorrow is one of my favorite Events, the Theme this Month will be "You're Home", which, is a brand new Theme they've never had before, so don't know what genre of Merch will dominate?   So, I scoped out the Social Media Sneak Peeks.   The only Object I really liked is Below and something too big so I wouldn't be a Player, I don't Buy big Furniture anymore, no place for it.   But, it's definitely something I'd of bought when I did have the Room and would have use for it, and it's Black... so... you know.  *Winks*   This Weekend is also the kickoff of another Event at another Venue with the Theme of "Garden, Pails & Fairy Tales".  I didn't see anything on Social Media I'd need or buy, but it's got so much Spring Eye Candy going on that I'll probably attend both Events anyway to just be Inspired and do something that has Positive Energy for the kickoff of the Season of renewal and rebirth.

And of coarse I'll be Pathological Picture Taking for plenty of Blog Fodder while at any Event I'm covering.   I have missed some others that had Opening Day earlier in the Month, while we were going thru our Personal Crisis and had to prioritize all of that.   Now that things have settled down I can do some Recreational stuff now that Uplifts and Buoys the Spirit.   And don't we all need Uplifting and some Spirit Buoying right about now?  *Winks*   I have been doing some more Self Care and plan to increase it, since, I feel the results of making it a priority.  There's a lot going on and it depletes us, draining us of our Energy, especially Positive Energies.  I think otherwise people can despair and get seriously depressed if they aren't balancing their Head Space when it's off kilter.

I sent the documentation and Complaint off to the AG's Office Today, we'll see what their Investigation turns up about that Lender's practices which are highly suspect?   It's bothersome to me that Predatory Lending isn't shut down entirely by the Government as a Criminal Activity and Enterprise.  Anyway, it's done now and we'll see what happens, if anything?   Even if all that happens is they re-apply my first Payment on that Loan correctly, it will have to be enough.   I went in to the Antique Mall earlier, when I went to make the Copies to send to the AG, becoz I realized I couldn't leave for Work early, due to having to pick The Granddaughter up from Work by 3:30-4:00 p.m., I have to be in Work by 5:00 p.m., so I wouldn't have had Time to do what I needed to otherwise before my Shift.  

As it was it took me an Hour to put everything into Inventory in both the Showroom and the Locked Case and tidy everything else up.  I'd had pretty Strong Sales for the first few Days of this Pay Period and it was very busy for a Wednesday Morning too.  I'd Sold a lot of Shirts, but, still no Word from Management on Investigating the missing NAVY Jersey.  I'd asked them to review Security Tapes of the Camera that is covering the Entrance to my Showroom.   They've not responded to my formal inquiry to review Security Footage from around the Date it was missing to know who came in and out or if any of them had the Shirt visible leaving the Showroom?  I know they scrub the Security Tapes and Tape over them, so my concern is they'll delay until they can say the Tapes are scrubbed?  That's happened before even when Thieves are caught on Tape doing their dirty deeds.  

I had about $300 missing once of Inventory and caught the Thieves on Tape, I asked Management for a Copy of Stills identifying the Shoplifters so I could press Charges.  They never supplied my Stills and scrubbed the Evidence, which really pissed me off since they'd caught a Crime in progress on the Tapes and it was good Footage of the Faces of the Thieves too, which would have been Helpful when filing a Police Report.  Anyway, I suspect strongly that if the footage showed another Vendor they don't want high Drama about being caught Stealing, like it did that time my Mannequin was Stolen, so we knew which Vendor it was responsible, it would be handy to scrub the Evidence.   Coz if it was that same Vendor, for sure I'd be pressing Charges this time and testifying that she's done it before, but brought the Stolen Merch back when we had Evidence... so, I was urged by Management then to forgive the offense, and I did.  I regret that I did actually.

Anyway, if Stolen Objects are returned voluntarily by who Stole them, I'm not sure they'd suffer any consequences anyway?   It happens so seldom, I would think, so the Courts are backlogged with Thieves who never voluntarily returned what they Stole.   I got that Stolen Merch back and though upset about it, it was recovered so I didn't suffer an actual Loss that time.   But, I knew it was her 2nd time Targeting us and no telling how many more Vendors she's ripped off or skimmed from the Mall in other ways?   I've heard that some Vendors have been known to do their "Shopping" in the Lost And Found, Claiming items that were never theirs, but, they said were.  There's not a way to verify that on an item that ends up in Lost And Found really, so nobody disputes it.   But, I've heard other Vendors say certain Vendors are Claiming a lot from Lost And Found often, so it's highly Suspect... and probably is.

I've heard that the Mall just throws it away if it's not Claimed anyway within a certain amount of time... and, in the Past they were known to give it to certain Vendors if not Claimed.   I always felt it should be Donated to a Charity if not Claimed, which would be a more responsible way to Deal with it.  Anyway, not my Policies, so, whatever...   I recently looked in the Lost And Found Closet to see if the NAVY Jersey or all those Action Hero Comic Books and their Lucite Display happened to be in there?  They weren't, but a Small of mine was in there that I hadn't even realized was MIA, so I was able to recover that and put it back into Inventory.   I try to check the Lost And Found quarterly, most of the time nothing of mine has been in there, but every so often there is.  If I'm not sure something is mine I won't Claim it.

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Blessings, Love and Light from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian