General Malaise, Outrage And An Event To Balance It Out

 So, I went in to Work as the fill-in Friday Night and like Wednesday Night, the whole damned regular Shift hadn't shown up!   So, I was the only one there and they had to scramble to fill in Two of the other Three empty positions!!!   And... it was super busy, so we were swamped and couldn't keep pace with even the Locked Cases, let alone provide any Customer Service on the Sales Floor for Booths and Showrooms!   We had around 600 thru the Door and mostly Young Shoppers spending a lot on Pokemon and Disney Merch, the Vendors Specializing in that were killin' it!!!   I guess Word got out that we have some new Pokemon Vendors and boy are they Loyal and Money is no object for what they want of it!!!

Some of the 1-5 p.m. Help had to stay over until the last Minute fill-ins arrived, they were literally being solicited to Work AFTER 5:00 p.m., they just couldn't fill the slots!   I'd said that since I'm still recovering from my Stroke, if nobody showed up and they couldn't cover the Shift, I was going Home too.  No way could I handle it all on my own, as it was Customers were having to patiently wait for Customer Service, even after they got all of us Substitutes they could scrape together to show up!!!   People buying from Booths and Showrooms were on their own that Night, no coverage to assist them at all, we were on Last Call for most Locked Case requests to be opened!!!  I was having to keep a Cheat List of which had already gone to Last Call and wouldn't sound off again and were still waiting!

The Lines at the Register were there past 9:00 p.m. and we had to stay a bit after to return Locked Case Go Backs that had piled up on the Go Back Cart at the last Minutes!!!  You can't leave Locked Case items out overnight without the added Security those Vendors are paying for to be locked back up and protected.   Customers were very patient and nice all Night long tho', the Young Shoppers were great and understanding about how busy it was.   Teens and Young Adults have more patience and consideration about waiting their turn than the Older Customers actually.  Some even humorous commented that for our Ages {all working that Night were Old Ladies}, we were moving damned fast!  *LOL how Sweet and Flattering was that?!*  One Teen told me his Gramma couldn't move as fast as me!  *LMAO*

Anyway, the Shift went by fast due to how busy it was and I kept pace enuf to fill 4 Sheets of Work.  By the time I got Home The Man was already Sleeping and the Kids said he'd been no trouble and didn't seem to feel worse, but, about the same, it wasn't a good day for him at all.  But, he wouldn't eat for them and stayed in Bed almost all the time, so I did check on him before I went to Bed.  I watched a Bert Kreisher Comedy Special before I went to Bed.  I watched a bit of the Bad News that now they want to completely dismantle and do away with our Social Security, just like they did with the Department of Education.  They said none of us collecting Social Security would miss it, and who they put in Charge said the only complaints will be from fraudulent recipients!  Is that so!?! 

  Just goes to show how out of Touch and clueless they are about those Receiving Benefits we Earned and paid for and the Department they are now running and trying to ruin completely!!!  Yes, they want to Steal that 3 plus Trillion of our Money for themselves actually and once it's gone, it's fucking Forever Gone folks!!!   No getting it back and all the Younger Generations better then be prepared to Support their Grandparents and Retired Parents!!!   Oh wait, they can't even support themselves in this Economy and most are living back Home with their Aged Parents and Grandparents who are Collecting SSI and Pensions... so... we'll ALL be fucked and destitute then, won't we?!  Expect to whiz right past a Recession into a 1929 style Depression my Friends!  It's Hoover bad Policies and a Stock Market Crash all over again, only worse and way more intentionally Sinister!!!

While Hoover had a "Hand's Off" approach, this Regime has a "Hand's On and Demolition" approach for contributing to Economic Collapse and total dysfunction of the Federal Government.   He'll do to our Country what he's done to all his Businesses, render them Bankrupted and failed.   And the Ketamine King is now finding it difficult to run his own Businesses and is hemorrhaging Money due to poor decisions, so do you really think he'll make good ones for you and I?   Tesla Stock fell 40% in only 6 Weeks, and we all know what happened to Twitter going "X" and that failure, does that seem like good Business he's on a trajectory for even with his own Major Investments and Money?  

 When he helps destroy the Federal Government and it ceases to exist, just how does he expect to keep and get Paid by all those Government Contracts he enriches himself with, do you suppose?   They would become Void and Unenforceable.  And when the 99% have no Money, they pay no Taxes and nothing gets funded for anyone anymore to run a Country.   Abolishing Social Security is looming quickly and that's just about all my Retirement Income since I had to forfeit 60% of my County Pension to retire 4 Years early to do Unpaid Full Time Caregiving for an ailing Spouse and finish Raising Two Special Needs Grandkids who couldn't be placed or accepted in any Child Care Facility either.  So, I'd be totally screwed.   When the Banks folded or were taken over, any Pensions there were wiped out during the Financial Crisis.  And as Stock Markets Crash, any Stock or IRA is fucked too for income to Retire on.

People will make runs on their Banks and collapse that whole System, so, expect some melee when things go completely Sideways and the Public Panics.   The 1% are likely to have the 99% now desperate turn on their Asses since they caused all of this with their insatiable Greed and Corruption.  Things are gonna start getting Real very fast my Friends!  Bernie and AOC are doing their Against Oligarchy Tour and it's Arizona Rally in Tempe had about 15,000 in attendance and Denver had over 30,000!!!  Whoa, it's not even an Election Year and folks are riled up plenty and that's good, I Hope it escalates to where this Regime gets fucking Scared, and they should be, coz we'll be coming for THEM next!  When you go against your Citizens expect a Rebellion of epic proportions to erupt eventually.  When they feel they have nothing left to lose, they'll be dangerous adversaries and thirsty for the Blood of who gave them nothing to lose. 

The Doom & Gloom is not hyperbole, this shit is Real and every American better wake the fuck up fast and get involved, is all I have to say, or they won't have a functional Country left!!!  The Country is already in dire straits in just Two Months, the Wrecking Ball is obliterating Life as we know it and if all you want left is Rubble, that's all you'll get.  And don't Imagine a Rebuild will be Cheap or Fast.  Anyway, I get too Wound Up talking about this for very long without coming Unhinged, so, Moving On... let's get back to some Fluff of Life shall we for some Escapism?  *Winks*   I Photographed some of the Antique Glassware I'd brought into the Showroom, since, well, I was there, wasn't I, working my Ass off well into what's already supposed to be my actual Retirement.  

 And the prospect of going back into the Grind Full Time, should all our Pensions be taken and robbed of them, might not even be possible or probable given Age and Health for me.  It is out of the Question for The Man, he's as Unemployable as the Schizophrenic Daughter and Grandson are, all Three need Caregivers or would be candidates for permanent Institutionalization.   And The Son, due to his Autism, gets into Under My Skin Mode when talking anything Political or dire due to Government. Mostly becoz he does not really Care, or appears not to, he won't Vote, ever, and thinks any Side is Oppressive to folks like us, and, he could be Right, so that's not even the Argument.  But, he doesn't take this all as Seriously as he should and would rather come Home from a long day at Work and drink too much, which then is when we have our disagreements.  Anyone Drunk or High is a Trigger big time to me.  It loosens his Tongue to where I wanna rip it right out of his Head and then he realizes, oh shit, I've Triggered Mom with what's spilling out of my Autistic Drunken Mouth with no Filter!   

  

 His Solution was to hand me a $100 Bill... I kid you not... and say he'd of given me $200 if he had it, and that clearly I was too Emotional about the Income of his Dad and I being threatened, so, this is the best I can do to Help right now Mom!  I can't Change this fucked up Government, Sorry!!!   *Insert Resting Bitch Face, but Yeah, I took the Money, Winks and LOL, I'm Mad & Crazy, not Stupid!  Smiles*  And he went to Bed with his Buzz and will be up at 3:00 a.m. to go to Work and he is on Mandatory Overtime, so he's mostly too Tired and discouraged about his own Life to get into Fights or Arguments about anything.  And I know he's Scared, coz if we lose all our Earned Income, everyone in the Household is fucked, that's just the Reality of it for all Three Generations here.  Coz they're all back Home coz none of them can afford to even Support themselves in this shit Economy and with their levels of Disabilities, let alone Support us Vulnerable Adults too!

I finally downloaded my Event Pixs I'd taken, I just have been too Emotionally Raw to benefit from distractions all that much.  I'm too Aware to be Ignorantly pretending everything is gonna be alright, it's not, that's clear.  It's not for everyone actually, the House of Cards is falling too fast.  And the Pretenders that all is actually well and swell, are either totally Checked Out, totally Ignorant on Purpose, or totally on Board the Crazy Train and still drinking the fucking Kool-Aid!  And, I just can't... really, anytime one of them opens their Mouths now and says something Stupid, I want to lay Hands on them and it takes every ounce of restraint in me not to.   So, I mostly stick with my Tribe of folks who will be part of the Resistance and are still Tethered to Reality and how grim it is.   I don't know how many are strategizing on what to do in the worst case scenario, but we should be.

So, yeah, I've attended Events and tried to Lose myself a bit for Sanity's Sake, and really, I'm surprised my Blood Pressure is still as low as it's always been, coz it should be fucking high!   When I tackle our Taxes next Week I'm sure I'll feel all the more resentful against our Government and how they're fucking over the average Americans more each time.   It's not as if our Tax Dollars will go towards improving America anymore, or funding what the People Need, that's for damned sure.  After all, Taxes apparently are only for us Little People, the Peons of America... coz the obscenely Rich ain't paying any.   I started to Wonder, what if every Average American just said Enough, we're not paying either until those Fuckers do?  Would they think they could lock us ALL up?  Just a Thought of how Interesting that would play out?  If the IRS is claiming they can't go after one Billionaire coz it's too Costly, what about having to go after EVERYONE else all at once?  Humnnn...

Well, that's if there's anyone left with a Job there either, since, well, the whole Chainsaw Dumpster Fire that DOGE has going on.  Wait, wait... I know, I said I was going towards the Fluff, not the Fantasy... sorry.  *Winks*   Enjoy the pretty pictures if you can't Deal with my Outrage, coz, it's boiling over and Lava Hot now and I don't Care who or what it takes out along it's Path really.  This is Why The Son was throwing Benjamins at me, to Calm me the fuck down some.  *Bwahahaha*   And Below is THE DESK... that one I told you about that I was relieved someone already bought within 5 Minutes of Opening the Doors, coz I really would have wanted to get it and would have busted an already busted Budget to!!!  I have no idea what it had Cost, but it was the most Awesome Ideal Vision of a Desk for this Corner of our Room that I Blog at.   Right now I'm set up on a Card Table that has about the same dimensions... but I really Need a small Proper Antique Desk... LIKE THIS ONE!!!  *Winks* 

So, I did Photograph the Hell out of it since it was the most Lust Worthy Piece at the Event that I've seen in a very long time.  So, Green with Envy that someone Scored MY Dream Desk, I had to at least come away with Pixs of it.  I'll Google Lens this now forever until I can see how many Exist?   I do know the Book with a similar one is a Book I've had for a long time and they had laying Open on said Desk to show the similarities of Style and Design.   Well, Dammit, these ones that Get Away are the stuff you never forget Losing Out on.  Whoever bought it picked it up right away and I'd actually arrived about 3rd in Line but left and went for Breakfast, and why I missed out on getting thru the Doors early enuf for First Pickin's.  *Le Sigh*   But, also, I didn't have a Budget for major Purchases anyway, so, if this was expensive, it was probably better it said SOLD and I wasn't Tempted and then lament I couldn't afford it.

 

The Style of this Desk and it's Wood reminded me so much of my Beloved Historic Home I Sold that it made me even a bit Emotional.   And I like the one they had at the Event even more than the one they had profiled in the Book.   Tho' I'd of gladly had either one or anything remotely similar now to replace this Card Table setup.  *LOL*  I Sold my Antique Desk when we had the Big Move to here.  It was a French Antique Desk and Fabulous, but heavy and large so I didn't wanna have to Store it or move it and Hope to find Space for it where ever we ended up.  At the McManse and the Historic Home it had fit just fine, here it would not have, so it's just as well I Sold it to my Friend in the Business.  It helped pay for The Move, so, I actually Sold a LOT of my bigger Antique Furniture to fund an expensive Self Move and relieve myself of the large objects to have to move around.  You have to Hire Help for the oversized stuff to be moved around.

If you think Princess T had trouble finding a Modern Contemporary Desk to suit her Vision of what she wanted, that's nothing compared to Sourcing an Antique one like this.   If I hadn't seen one with my own Eyes I would have thought Impossible, but, clearly, not Impossible.  It appears to be an Antique Watchmaker's Cabinet Desk, I used to work in the Watch Repair Department in my Teens of an Upscale Jeweler and the Watchmaker's Desks looked very much like this, but, I've never seen any For Sale before.   I'll be scouring Online to see what's out there on the regular now tho', but, so far the price point is not in my Wheelhouse or Budget, so perhaps the one at the Event wouldn't have been either, I dunno?   Alas, it will now remain one of the Ones That Got Away and I'll never get over.  *Sigh*   But, I did Score some Smalls well within Budget, so, que sera sera.

The Event was really good and the line to get in got long, but the line at the Registers wasn't.  So, I don't know how much people were actually buying, definitely not as much as usual.  Typically the lines at the Registers get really long.  I was there for an Hour and checkout was immediate, no waits, that almost never happens.  So when I went to the 2nd Event and then the Antique Mall near it, I noticed the same thing.  That doesn't portend well, it means Sales are Softer everywhere... well, expect for the Pokemon Card Sellers with a multitude of spending Buyers, their Sales are freaking off the Charts right now.  But you're not gonna see Pokemon at these Events, this is Decor and even less Vintage than usual, in the Heyday of Selling Vintage, Antiques and Salvage items you saw much more.  

At the Chazzas I'm seeing more Donations of Antiques lately.  Even at SAVERS where the Granddaughter Works, there were some Yesterday when I went to pick her up.  I bought a 1930's Hall Nesting Mixing Bowl set that had the matching Ramekins, Custard Cups and Pie/Casserole Dish too and a matching Salt Shaker {no Pepper tho'}.  I bought it all coz I Scored the entire Set so Cheap that my Margins will be great.  It has a Mary Dunbar Autumn Leaf Pattern I've seen before and even owned before and Sold easily.  The Nesting Mixing Bowl Set is complete and Sells Online for about $145.  The Pie/Casserole Dish for about $30.  The Ramekins for $89 and the Custard Cups for about $25.  The Orphaned Salt Shaker I could get $15 for, someone might be individually compiling or fleshing out a Set they have, so Orphaned pieces do Sell well, someone needs one.  *Smiles*  I also Scored a couple of Wedgwood Vases on the Cheap.  And an Asian Girl Vintage Planter.

My Fav Score at the Event was my little Metal Retablo I bought from my Friend Michelle and she did me a huge Favor by removing it from an Altar she had For Sale with it in it.   Bless her, I didn't need or want the Altar, too big and too expensive.   She was okay with removing it and Selling it to me separately for a good price well within Budget, so Color me Happy!   It was Sweet of her to do that for me, she didn't have to, but I always ask... since... you never know.  I knew she could Sell the Wooden Altar easily with anything else Religious in it to replace the Retablo.  It hadn't come with the Retablo, she's installed it... and how it looked before we cannibalized it is below.  *Smiles*   See, I didn't even realize the Retablo was attached coz the back of that Altar looked exactly like the Wall it was up against so I thought the Retablo was just hanging on the Wall and the Altar had an open back to it!  It was up high so I asked her to get the Retablo down for me I wanted to Buy it.

Then I felt bad coz it's then I realized, oh shit, that Altar has a back and the Retablo is part of it so she's got the whole thing for Sale together... dammit.  I apologized and said I had only wanted the Retablo and didn't realize it wasn't just hanging on that back Wall.  That's when we negotiated, well, how badly does the Retablo really need to remain with said Altar?  And what would you be willing to Sell if for separately, coz, I'd be a Buyer.   We reached a mutually agreeable price and whalla, it's my fav Purchase of the whole day and was a good price for something I do Seriously Collect.  I never Sell Off my Retablos and any reasonably priced ones I usually pick up for my Collection and get Jazzed about Scoring.   They aren't something you're gonna find an abundance of, even here in the Southwest.  They are popular in Europe and in Mexico tho' and that's where they typically come from.

I didn't even realize how out of sorts I've been even when I'm somewhere enjoyable until I downloaded my Images and realized how few Pixs I took of any of the Events really.  Compared to my usual Pathological Picture Taking, this was not a real enthusiastic attempt, clearly.  And I apologize for that, we need Eye Candy these days and I just didn't rally to Deliver.   Sorry.   It's not that there wasn't any to Deliver to ya, I just didn't Photograph much of it and I couldn't even tell you Why?   My Melancholy has run quite deep and I think is hovering between a Depression and just general Malaise coupled with Outrage.   I've needed Events to Balance it all out.   Or my Mood Regulation would be in the shitter my Friends, I'd be Bipolar as fuck, for sure.  *LOL and Le Sigh*   The Manic and Depressive Rollercoaster would be Wheels Off the fucking Rails right now and I dip down into the Valleys and try to get to the top of that Hill slowly, only to go back Down again like Greased Lightening!!!

Listen, I had Mental Health Issues before all this Political Insanity and it's just Triggering me all the fucking time now.   I can't remember a single Presidency in the Past that has ever done that to or for me, honestly, not even Nixon, didn't matter which side of the Aisle got in before this Orange Disaster!!!  And at least Nixon bowed out coz he knew he was a corrupt Motherfucker and nobody stood with or behind him once they realized it and said Corruption was revealed to the American Public.   But as a Collective now our Moral Compass seems broken for half the Population who Votes.  They actually want the worst in a Leader and support it openly.  I don't know what they expected they would get?  But, I am damned sure they're getting what they asked for, even if they're Panicking now and throwing up a bit in their Mouths for what they've realized they've done.  

Some of them... some are Sold Out Rabid Cult Members and will go down willingly with their sinking Ship like the Waco, Manson's Followers, Heaven's Gate and Jim Jones Cultists had to and did.   Those who devoutly follow the Infamous of History usually end up perishing along with their Bad Choice.   And keeping our Heads above Water while their Choices are Sinking the Country is getting harder too and likely to get worse.  I'm not particularly great at treading Water for a long time now, too Old too Tired too Fed Up.   Worked too hard and too long for what we have to just forfeit it to some spoiled Billionaire Trust Fund Babies who never really had it hard and have no Mercy towards those that have.  They got Rich in a Capitalist Democracy, yet, they're intent on destroying it because they assume it will give them everything, all of it, and they don't Care if anyone else has any left out of them distributing the Spoils as they see fit.  They Plan to Loot the Nation and so far we're docile as a Collective and laying down to be letting them just do it.

Except for Old Bernie Sanders I don't see any of the Old Guard even putting up any Resistance in fact.  So perhaps they ALL Need to Go now?  At least Old Bernie has some Fight in him and Stands for what he Believes in and Speaks Up boldly, he's got a Set.  I can see why the Young People Love Bernie, they see Bernie will go down swinging.  I don't see enuf Mobilization and Cajones at the top echelons to give me any Hope they've even got a Strategy to take down this Regime and eliminate it completely, they appear Weak.   They have the opportunity to and they're wasting it playing Niceties, or just Wringing their Hands, when that is not what it's gonna take to bring down these Devils.   The only good Fascist is a Dead one actually.  I don't mince Words about that Fact.  Trust and Believe they'd eliminate you without any qualms.  Don't underestimate how Dangerous all of this really is my Friends.

Don't meekly go along becoz you're just Hoping if you let it Play Out, mebbe things won't be so bad or you'll get used to whatever it is they have in store for you?  Behavior tolerated is behavior accepted.  If you'd be inclined to stay with an abusive Partner that might escalate to eventually Kill you, and shine you on with Lies and Promises that they Care about you, then you might be Okay with all of this, I'm not.  And you shouldn't be either, none of it is Okay.  None of it will be Okay.  Until we get rid of these MAGAt Extremists there's gonna be further deterioration so long as they're left in charge of anything.  They aren't Conservatives, they've never acted like nor spoken like a Conservative.  But, they have aligned with Religious Extremists who'd like nothing better than to have a Theocracy in their Image... not God's Image or Design, coz there is nothing Godly about Religious Extremists whatsoever either, they're as Dangerous as any Devil straight from Hell.

So, the Balancing Act of evening out my general Malaise and Outrage with Eye Candy and Events has been up and down quite a bit.  And my Platform on my little slice of the Interweb will be imbalanced as well as I navigate the treacherous Waters of what we've all been tossed into involuntarily.  America is having her Titanic Moment and whose at the Helm right now is steering it right for and into the Iceberg and we can only Hope that after Impact, there will be any Survivors of this Shipwreck?   I'm not particularly even Guardedly Optimistic since, has anyone even seen any Lifeboats?  I didn't think so...  And the Women, Children, Disabled and Old Folks are being Sacrificed first, so it's a Ship totally without any Honor or Goodness about it.   It's more like a Pirate Ship actually, ready to plunder and pillage, filled with Rapists and the totally Immoral... they should just replace the American Flag with the Jolly Roger, it would be more appropriate and the World would recognize it for what it truly is.

*******

Try to keep afloat... dawn... the bohemian