I may not make it through the summer...

I'm in the shop...of course...as our night shifts have begun, so 5 nights a week I'm sitting here trying to figure out what to play with next. Tonight apparently, it's the computer. But I haven't been here 45 minutes and they are driving me crazy. The worst part is...I am not good any more at hiding what I'm thinking. Let me just say, if you walk in a store..look around. If it's a needlework shop, easily identifiable, look around to see if you can answer your own question. A woman just walked in the door, walked over to the counter and said, "Do you have counted cross stitch". She had to pass 3 racks filled with it to get to me, along with the models hanging all over God's Green Acre...and yet, still asked that question. I have always said there are no stupid questions...well no there aren't, but I have to also say there are just a lot of stupid people...and most of them find their way into my shop. I sat there a few minutes looking at her to see if she would like to reconsider the question. After a few seconds of staring at her I could see there was no one home so I said, "95% of what we sell is counted cross stitch." What I was thinking however, was "Look Bitch if you aren't smart enough to recognize it chances are good you won't be able to do it." But I refrained, perhaps I can continue working here after all. I've already had the family with the little kids who tried on glasses while the mother said, "Don't touch anything." Exactly what does that statement mean to people. I want to yell, "Get your friggin hands off the glasses," but as you well know, I'm just too much of a lady. I should be yelling at the parents who believe that saying that phrase is all they have to do. Oh, my God...I'm just too old to be dealing with customers....so if you come in please excuse my attitude and have patience with me. Pretend I'm your child. Frankly the week hasn't been that bad. This is our 3rd week of June Bugs...however, the 2nd of the really bad weeks, however, combined with the firemen's convention it really doesn't seem as bad this year. Of course I had at least 30 of them singing Karoke at the bus stop outside my window last night...it was a lovely serenade if it was noon, but at 11:00...it's time to shut the hell up, good Lord I look forward to October. But as I was saying, there are not as many people here as normal, so things are still slow enough I get to close early...last night 9:00 p.m. Oh, that reminds me...do you think it's rude if you ask what time we close, I say we close at 9:00 p.m., but then say, "But you are welcome to shop as late as you'd like because once you are in, you are in." Now she came in at 8:45. Her husband was thrilled that she wouldn't have long, and she shopped until 9:30 p.m. and came up to the counter with a $7 chart. Now, I meant what I said, once you are in you are in. But if I had been that woman, and could see I wasn't going to spend much, I would have come back the next day...not kept us here for 30 minutes after closing to purchase a chart. Of course I've had them keep me for an hour and purchase nothing, but I think it's rude. My time isn't worth much but I'd like to think that's it worth more than $7.00. But I'm just happy she left at 9:30...well somewhat happy...it would have been better if she left at 9:00. I still have the hacking cough...Sara, Vernon and Mary held an intervention today to get me to go to the doctors. I don't care how annoying it is to them, I'm not going! Greg told me he had the cough for 6 weeks after he was feeling all right...I'm going along with that. It has gotten better, but Lord I'll be glad when it's done. To add to my misery, OSHA finally sent me their report and my fine of $11,000...don't you love it. I've hired a safety consultant who deals with OSHA and accidents and he's going to the hearing with us. He looked at the report and even though he's been doing this for years and years, he said he didn't know where this guy came up with some of the stuff he cited...wouldn't you know! So off to Easton we'll be going to fight to get the fines reduced. I realize I deserve a fine for infractions, but honestly this is ridiculous. What I love is this...the freight elevator use to be inspected, but I never showed them the last inspection certificate when they were here, because frankly I just wasn't thinking (I know you are amazed I'd admit that.) I told them the freight elevator was grandfathered so the inspectors finally stopped coming. They kept acting like that wasn't possible. While our guy was here today and he was asking questions about the inspection and how long ago it was and we were throwing out dates. I then remembered we use to tape the certificates on the inside of the cabinet doors in the office and low and behold there was our last inspection certificate from 1990. Our man thinks that is a significant piece of information to take and is certain it will have a bearing on the fine. And folks, that's why if you visit my office (which I don't want anyone to do out of embarrassment), and it looks like a God awful mess (which it is), it looks that way because I keep all information...somewhere. I've got tax records going back to 1988 because IRS came after me once for tax records that went back 12 years and I was told I could throw them out aftere 10 and did and I ended up paying a fine and penalty. Well, no more buddy...I'll keep the paperwork forever, even if we can't move around it. I'm sick of paying IRS anything, let alone penalty & interest. You don't want to get me started on taxes. Our local children are out of school finally, this was the first day of no school for Michael and he slept in until 7:00 and by 8:30 he was bored. Yes, I have a feeling this is going to be a long summer. Solomon has pink eye so Mary has kept him home from school, but Sara asked if Brian could keep him at home so he didn't pass it along to Michael. Since we've been around him all weekend I just feel that he would have passed it on by now, but why take a chance. His stepsister, Anya, has been here for 2 weeks. I took her to Walmart to get her a doll and you wouldn't believe what we came home with. But after buying her what she wanted I said, "Now I have to pick up a couple of things for me" to which this 4 year old answered, "Maybe you could come back some other time because I want to go home." 4 years old people....she's as cute as she can be, but honestly..the world does not revolve around you Anya. But she's just too cute and too funny to get mad at. Gosh, it's 7:30 p.m. and it's like I'm the last living soul in town...no one is in the shop and haven't been for probably 15 minutes...I think I should close up shop and go home while the gettin' is good. The weather here sucks...all week it's been overcast and threating rain, but hasn't rain yet. And the temperature is hovering in the 60's. I'm usually thrilled when this happens during June Bug weeks, but I hate for the firemen to have this kind of weather. They deserve sunshine. O.K., now it's Thursday and I still haven't posted this blog. If I keep this up I'll have to try to get a book deal on it. So tonight I'm posting. I've had a strange kind of day. It was pouring when I woke up and the forecast was for rain all day (and yet once again they were wrong), so I loaded my portable DVD player in my bag along with some DVD's and my stitching and thought I'd have a grand ole day watching movies and stitching...and still be at work. Of course, the rain stopped, and while it was overcast, it wasn't bad out so people kept coming into the store. I thought I was having a rain day and ended up working a double shift..(I knew that was going to happen but I was hoping the rain would bring it down to one shift). Sara told the foreign worker that works Sea Trader that she didn't need to come in at 4 since we thought we were closing and then we got busy around 3 so she had to come over and 4 and now she's working the 4p.m. - whenever shift with me. I did get through 3 movies and am half way done on my Rose Sampler Pouch so I'm thrilled with what I got done, however, I've had more gum chopping adults in here than I care to count. What the hell is it with people who chomp gum. Are they deaf? Can they not hear themselves. One woman had master the talking while still chomping, popping bubbles and slurping all at the same time. One woman was with a group of 3 other women...were they deaf too? Am I the only one it bothers? God almighty...if you chew gum keep your damn mother shut, don't blow bubbles and for God's sake don't come near me. It's almost too much for me to handle...I've got a taser now you know...you might want to keep your distance. Sara just informed me it's started to rain...whoppee...we're out early...ahhh, yes, I love working...when it's 10-4....10-10 is a bitch. I've got to close but I'm going to spend the next few days getting the web site updated so you may or may not hear from me again tomorrow.