"Believe and all things are possible!"

I have a little mirror magnet over my desk with this inscription on it. I've had it for years and it is kind of my credo for life. But recently, maybe it's part of the aging process, I begin to doubt it a bit. How can you not if you look around this crazy world we live in?

I love my job, I just hate my boss, he's more than just impossible to deal with. He's spent the past two years hunting for my head, and frankly at this point he can have it! My strength in managing is pulling together a crew, getting the most out of them, and making them proud of what they do,...and I'm damn good at it. My philosophy of business is one of fairness all the way around, for the company, the employees, and the customers. I believe if you put those things together you have optimized your potential for success for everyone. If you "market" deceptively, play "games" with pricing, and the other aspects of business the company is shoooting itself in the foot,...eventually. I further believe people make mistakes, it's all part of life's learning process, but only if you learn, adapt and work to overcome, not simply put your head in the sand and pretend it isn't happening.

Recently I expanded my horizons and after many weeks of work and study, not to mention getting licienced by the State, I began a new career, part time at first and hopefully full time within a year, managing Community Associations. Lesson number one learned, some people have more money than sense, and flat just won't listen. I severed my relationship with one group after a scant two months as there were so many obvious problems, so much back door politiking, and so much just plain tunnel vision the task became not just impossible to manage, but staggering on the brink of some "creative accounting" just to keep it afloat!

As I remarked to a friend the other day , it's a real shame common sense and wisdom, not to mention self respect and concern for all mankind don't seem to develop during your working years, but only after you begin to stop and smell the roses. There is life beyond the almighty dollar, there is life beyond the next rung on the career ladder, and most importantly a person can become very rested and sleep all night if they respect social justice.

Enough of today's comments, time to get back in the "rut" for another day.

Retail Maddness,...it's here!

Well it's that time of year again, the "Holiday Season". It used to be the "Christmas Season", but now it's the politically correct "Holiday Season" instead. Another one of the "GONZO" items that used to be.

Ok so you're not of the "Christmas" belief, that's alright, then just ignore it, count it as a "freebie" day off, or to quote my grand daughter,..""Whatev'", but let the rest of us enjoy OUR Christmas season!

I work for a retailer and we've been setting up for Christmas since the 1st of October. All the decorations and stockings, and red and green "Holiday" signs are firmly in place. I willl make the rash presumption that the lower than usual sales this year and the consumer confidence and spending patterns are the major reason we went from summer to Christmas (there! I said it the old way, so I'm not the real "PC" dude!)

Some "expert" or "analyst" figures we will subliminally "trap them" into thinking Christmas is even closer than they think and they'll begin buying Christmas presents and allow the poor merchants to recover some of thier losses thus far in 2005!

But is it realistic? I may have to walk the walk and talk the talk, but it ain't even close to Christmas yet, so why start buying now? I'll miss the hustle bustle of the last minute "rush", one of the real signs of Christmas. And more importantly are there really any "deals" out there or are we looking at the same retail bag of tricks, you know "Buy 1 get 6 free", "25% off your second item" and all that other stuff.

And then there is "Black Friday". First of all it has nothing to do with race. Historically that is the period when the old merchants would actually begin to make a profit for the year, or go from the use of red ink, for losses, to "black" ink for profits. So if the term "Black Friday" ofends you then go seee your shrink!

But they come in hoardes. It's the closest thing I can imagine as an analogy of the landings on the beaches of Normandy in '44. Never mind logic, never mond reason, but the "one upsmanship" of retailers. One across from me opens at 4:30 a.m.! And there are people lined up for the "early bird specials"or the limited essential "give a way" to drag you into the store, because after all you're not getting up at three thirty to run down for one pair of slacks, or a polo shirt, so you'll stay and "shop til you drop".

The real "commando's" would put Wilma Rudolpf to shame the way they race fromn store to store like the devil himself was breathing down thier neck. They open the door, instantly make contact with a clerk and then it's "You got early bird specials?" And "where are they?" And "when do they go off sale?" They think for about three seconds, make a decision and either snag something and run for the cash register, or wiithout so much as a "thank's" close the door and run to the next store for a repeat performance. These clowns will hit dozens of stores practically before the sun comes up, and spend the rest of the day gloating over the "deals" they found.

They park on the highway, in the street, in employee parking areas, it's crazy,...but they drop a bunch of money.

Well time to headoff and do more "prep" work for the madness.

Since when does it make sense to be that "fanatical"?

What happened to common sense?

I guess I'm useing this as a form of "therapy", since I don't reallly think anything's wrong with me,...BUT we got a whole world that has gone over the edge!
When you don't have anything wrong with you, you know, you're childhood was not one of abuse, alcoholic parents, sooooo poor you couldn't afford clothes, or any other number of "victimization profiles", and you are now a "grown up" American, but confused as hell about where you "fit in", read this blog regularly.
We'll explore things like, "Why isn't my life my fault?" or not, and "Everything is so unfair?", definately not, and the mother of all wrong thinking, "Why doesn't someone like the government help me?".
I'll pen my first "rant tomorrow for your reading enjoyment, but be sure and comment to me. Why, because I think there's a lot more of us out there and that's a good thing.