Of Cabbages and Kings

It has been a really really long time since I posted anything. I was kind of waiting for "something" to happen.  Lots of things have happened.

The old fridge decided it would freeze the veggies constantly and just as constantly heat up the freezer portion so that ice and food in general was impossible.  I have a wonderful aunt. I call her Auntie Max.  She used to struggle with bills and such but has been quite fortunate in recent years.  She out of the blue, offered to write me a check for the cost of a basic refrigerator (after me posting things about looking for used ones) with the stipulation that I buy a brand new one. I cried a bit, because I was so happy to be offered something so unexpectedly.  Then I took her up on her offer. 

So, thanks to her and some finagling with the salesman by Jon, we have a brand new GE fridge that works great and feels much more roomy than that old side by side.  Because it wasn't offered in black, and because the idea of a giant white box sitting in my kitchen didn't really appeal to me, I invested in some chalkboard paint, so the front of the fridge can now be used as a giant message board. Awesome!  Chalkboard paint is one of the most brilliant inventions ever.  I even bought some sidewalk chalk that can be wiped off with just water.  Also awesome--no dusty eraser!  And it was cheap, which is always good when you are on a budget.
                                                          
                                                               BEFORE & AFTER

I have been working the past two Sundays at the Howell store.  The place is a mess. But I get to gossip with Nannette and the Dread Pirate Roberts and the day goes fast plus I get to keep all my hours.  So, its fine. I have not seen the heinous manager and don't expect to since I am told he rarely, if ever, works Sundays.  Also I work with the Graham Cracker's younger brother and he is just as hard a worker as she is so that makes me smile.  He also has her mannerisms packed into a very blonde package instead of her very brunette one.

I do miss having my two days off in a row.  I seem to accomplish more and feel more rested.  And maybe the in laws' yard will need a mow soon.  I need to work off $20 and I'd like to earn $20 more at some point. I haven't mowed my yard in a month.  Theirs I haven't mowed in two weeks.

The New Hudson store has a new receiver. We have always derogatorily referred to her as The Princess.  It's for a good reason. She took this job on TOP of her current duties with no raise. What an idiot.  But, she isn't doing her work and is pawning it off onto others and the Spurminator, of course, is enabling her to do so.  You want the job, you do the work. End of story.  I have so far squirmed out of several things that were her job because I didn't agree to take the job of receiver. It's a rough job.  I have worked with some of the best receivers in the business.  I respected and HELPED them of my own choosing.  I do not and never will respect The Princess.

The Princess and Spur Girl crossed paths two days ago.  The Princess was putting pallets in Spur Girl's way.  An altercation ensued. Spur Girl has the temper of an old stick of dynamite and the mouth of a truck driver.  So she called The Princess out on her laziness, threw some mini skids, and The Princess responded with general mouthiness about doing the work of three people (an absolute lie) which exacerbated the situation.  The Princess is a manager.  Managers can not behave that way.  No matter what names she's called or language is used.  She is supposed to be professional and grown up and handle it that way. Did not happen.  All people who witnessed this altercation were asked to write a statement for Human Resources.  One refused. And the rest were good sheep.  Too bad I wasn't a witness.  I would have written a statement saying that the Princess added fuel to the fire and that if she'd been doing her job properly the last three weeks this never would have happened.  In a fair world, both parties would get a write up. In the TSC world, I'm sure it will only be Spur Girl.

Took both dogs to the mobile vet in the Wasteland today. $125 for 3 months Heartguard for both dogs (I will have to buy more but am not currently made of money), two heart worm tests, two three year rabies shots, and two toe nail trims.  It's one hell of a bargain.  Doggles, of course was a complete baby about the blood draw and the nail clipping.  He made awful little piggy squeal noises the whole time and the other people there with dogs just laughed at him and said he was a pretty dog.  Emma, was quite surprisingly well behaved an unafraid of the other people and dogs.  I was quite surprised.  She even made friends with a pretty little cocker spaniel and wanted to play!  Generally, I have to watch her because she is so terrified she gets a little snippy.

Then both dogs had a bath because I keep finding random fleas despite having the animals on flea treatments.  I swear these city fleas are becoming immune.  And sprayed the carpet with Wisdom TC which is supposed to be the shit (I did this last week as well) but apparently the larvae are nearly impossible to kill so you have to wait until they hatch.  Good thing about Wisdom, it doesn't leave an odor or stain.

I went to obtain new dog licenses because in June they are $10 a piece instead of the usual $30...so its worth the deadline. I found that the dog license lady is now obsolete and they have combined this service with the water department at the water department building. Might have been nice to tell your residents?

I know, it probably makes lots of economical sense, but I was annoyed that I had to drive somewhere else in the 90+ degree day when I just wanted to go home and do laundry and get all my chores done so I can relax.  Also, I had to listen to some man pleading with them to not shut off his water because he had been out of town for months and months and didn't realize his pipes had burst over the winter and had been paying down the balance a bit at a time, couldn't they work with him?  You know, the usual.

The lady looked very relieved that all I wanted was dog licenses.

And that's the past three weeks.

I fought the Law

Tomorrow is my first day back at the Howell store in over a year. Should be interesting considering I only know three people who work there now.  Everyone else quit or relocated due to an asshole manager.  But, since it was a beneficial situation for all parties concerned, I got my way.  It's good to pick battles based on knowledge of the probable outcome. I'm all for it.  I get to keep my hours up around 40 per week and NOT use well-earned vacation hours to pay my bills.  The Spurminator (my store manager) gets to cut 10 hours per week from his payroll.  And Birdman (the asshole manager) gets an already well trained and seasoned veteran to help run his store since all his people walked out.

I've been singing this little ditty all week..."I fought the Nazis and I won! I fought the Nazis and I won!" To the tune of  "I Fought the Law"

The family of the man that died next door rented a huge dumpster to clean out anything that didn't sell at the estate sale or that no one could possibly want.  This is cool by me. Under the cover of darkness I got rid of a broken chair, a pallet, and a falling apart table that have all been sitting outside from varying periods of one to three years.  Yes, yes, illegal dumping and all that rot.

If  Redford doesn't want people illegally dumping couches and mattresses in alleys and along freeways, maybe the cost of bulk pickup should be less than $100 for one item and $50 after that. Ridiculous. So we usually leave things in our backyard until one of us breaks out the sawzall and chops them up into pieces to go with the normal trash pickup.  We did that to a sleeper sofa. That was a bitch. 

Tonight was the fourth of July. Did you know? Me either.  Apparently Redford does fireworks the first week of June instead because they think people won't attend on July 4 due to larger fireworks shows in the area.  And people think to attend fireworks in June?  I certainly had no idea until Emma started going bonkers from hearing all the explosions.  Why waste all that money if that's the case? Save it for fixing the roads or plowing in the winter.

Last weekend was also Memorial Day. Bet you didn't know that, either.  Beech Daly from Six Mile to Five Mile was cordoned off by police so Redford could have a Memorial Day parade a week after the actual Memorial Day. Why? Same reason. They are afraid no one would attend being out of town or attending other parades.  Ridiculous. Also, makes driving from my house to anywhere pretty much out of the question. They were even blocking off side streets in some areas.

I am going refrigerator shopping on Monday!!!! (Yes, exclamation points. I have no idea how long its even been since I bought something brand new.)  I was planning on finding a decent used fridge but, my Auntie Max stepped in and sent us a check. It's enough to cover a basic fridge.  And she stipulated that we buy a new one, so we shall! Then we shall scrap old gigantaur that freezes the veggies but won't make ice. Damn thing.

Corporate Pigs

The corporate Nazis that rose to power by being, well, Nazis apparently told Wall Street that TSC was going to make "X" numbers vs. operating costs and, guess what, greatly over estimated "X".  So full time employees are all being dropped down to minimum hours (meaning 30 hours per week)  and are being told to use paid sick and vacation leave to cover the shortfall in their paycheck for a month.  I earned every vacation hour by dealing with corporate and customer bullshit over the past five years...and I greatly resent any corporate entity telling me that either I use those hours to cover the $400 gap in my income over the next month, or deal with my checks being $200 short for two pay periods.

Why can't the CEO, Regional Managers, and District Managers, and Managers nationwide cover the shortfall?  I don't even know what any of them earn. I'm sure it equates to a hell of a lot more than $9 an hour.  I happen to know the bonus for Store Managers making the numbers for their stores is enough to buy a brand  new Ford Focus outright.  Must be nice.  Wonder what sorts of bonuses District Managers earn? Or Regional Managers?  Buy a house outright?

Yes, let's just shit on the people who are barely making ends meet once again.  Full time team members who are the backbone of the stores...oh, and precious part timers who fill all the gaps in the schedule and whose hours are never guaranteed.  I wonder if any of them will even get to work this month.

So, while complaining to a pal at a store where I used to work, I asked if she's like to "borrow" me one day a week just so I don't have to use my vacation hours. She put it to her manager.  He's agreeable, but no one knows if this is even possible.  (There are only 9 people on their payroll because all their part timers quit again...and its a six million dollar a year store--compared to my current store which is a three million dollar a year store.)  We are now different districts, and the one day of work would have to come out of Howell's budget.  

Being known as a competent and hard worker may come in handy.

We shall see.