Eventually... Someone Gets To Me...

I'll admit it. I can be oversensitive to perceived slights at times. In general, I'm wound kind of tightly.

In the course of running the store, I can still be sensitive to things, but those things typically do not bug me as much as they once did. Call it maturity... call it desensitizing... call it whatever. In general, I am not quite as prickly as I was in my youth.

There are some individuals who continuously rub me the wrong way, and after some time away, one of them reentered my life. It has been maybe four encounters since their return, and already I have wanted to choke the living s**t out of them on at least two occasions. There are extenuating circumstances behind my behaviour, but for the sake of mutual friends, I've tried to keep it civil.

For some time, I have tried to figure out what has caused my dislike of this person. They have never truly done me any harm personally that I am aware of. There has been an air of condescension and dismissal on their part during various discussions, but no real harm, thus no foul. I can be a stubborn, pig-headed b*****d at times, so it karmically evens out.

As things are going currently, I see this playing out in one of two ways...

One... I suck it up and learn to live with it as ninety percent of the behavior happens in the store in front of others... ...or... Two... I erupt with a mega crap-ton of emotional bile and risk alienating some very good (mutual) friends (and perhaps a random customer or twelve), but it would be done and things could begin to heal instead of festering within me like they are currently...

-- GopherDave

GO! GO! GO! GO! Relax...

Skribl and I got to the store early this morning and started putting it together. We were joined in time by HiSign, which was good, because receiving 145 items, even if you pre-entered the barcode numbers, is time consuming. Anyway, we got it done and the new Citadel rack set up only to discover that the street date for these things may not be until tomorrow. Sigh... There is a phone call into the GW rep about it, but I have not heard anything yet. Looking at the invoice they sent me, there's nothing that indicates either way. Considering that GW is now having us print our own invoices now ("paperless invoicing" they call it), it makes me wonder just which inmate is running their asylum sometimes... Easier and cheaper for them... not for me... Again, sigh...

On other notes, still cogitating some thing in my head in terms of related business enterprises. I've to find and talk to some folks who do something similar to what we are wanting to do and pick their brains. This upcoming week sounds like a fine time to do so. Looking at the seminar schedule for the trade show I'm going to, there doesn't currently seem to be a lot I'm terribly interested in. That makes more time for networking and picking brains. Perhaps if I go up with an actual agenda, I might get more done.

For now, I've got stuff to do and direct. Party on, folks...

-- GopherDave

Making Things Happen...

It's looking like a late night at the store. There are a number of codes to enter into the POS system for the new GW paints (which STILL haven't shown up yet), and it'll be easier to get them "pre-entered" as I found out that the Army Painter Warpaints line will be here tomorrow as well. Goody. The GW situation is not helped by the fact that all 145 paints are named with odd, setting-specific colors. It's not enough to call a paint "Yellow", but instead, it must be called something like "Flash Gitz Yellow". Yay!

As the physical restructuring of the store is winding down, my thoughts are wandering to improving the infrastructure a bit, and I am also mentally twonking on a separate (but related) enterprise that improve cash flow as well. Nothing is set in stone (until it is), but I think I have an idea that will make a few people in the world VERY happy. All they have to be is patient...

Well, GW paints won't enter themselves into the system (dammit)... Gotta go...

-- GopherDave

Wow... Just In One Week? Huh...

I was looking at the calendar earlier today, and two things popped out at me.

1) I hadn't paid store rent for the month yet (oops, done).
2) I leave in a week to go to a trade show for two and a half days. Is it really the middle of April, already?

Putting the store together slowly, though HiSign got a *HUGE* part of the stock rearranging done tonight. We are waiting for some bookcases to arrive so we can finish the shift. Once that's done, I can finally focus on the next step in my plan for Armored Gopher World Domination. I just want things in my immediate world settled for a bit so I can take a breath. Trouble is, it seems that steps and changes are happening at an ever-increasing pace. More than my brain can keep up with comfortably. I'm not in shutdown mode yet, but I am heading there.

Shutdown mode for me is odd, depending on the circumstances that got me there. More often than not, I'm still there physically, but nothing anyone says sinks in and I just go through the physical motions in an effort not to curl up in a ball. If things turn too extreme, I shutdown physically, or I physically pull myself away from the situation, block off the bulk of the world outside my own brain (friends and family included), and pull inward trying to let my thoughts catch up with my current situations.

As much as I have to be "on" during my upcoming trip, I am hoping that I can get some "ponder" time so I can play catch up... Otherwise, my brain thinks thoughts like this...

"Would it be criminal to want to remake the song "Rollin' (the Ballad of Big & Rich)" with a death metal grind? I say this only because I can hear how it could be done and sound good to those who like that in-your-face grind-and-growl..."

Yeah... not heading to a good place here...

peace... GopherDave

Busy Is As Busy Does...

Got off to a late start due to having pick up Skribl from school. Allergies are kicking his backside this season and nothing we give him outside of Benadryl (which makes him drowsy) seems to do anything to slow it all down.

Once we got to the store, we pulled the shipment from the main distributor that had already arrived. While we were playing with that, the new paint rack arrived from Games Workshop (as well as an order from them). I shoved the rack parts in a corner, and played with more shipments. We're still waiting on shelves, brackets, and hooks to show up, but that could be any time.

I also just got a call from a Muscular Dystrophy charity telling me that someone had nominated me to be "locked up" for an hour on May 1st. I have no problems doing that except that May 1st is a Tuesday, and I am typically the only one at the store during the time they wish to "incarcerate" me. I'd like to do it, but I have to make some arrangements...

Beyond that, not much is going on. Until later...

-- GopherDave

Catching Up...

Yesterday was a "non-starter, comic-book guy" day for me. I woke up and my spine was everything but straight. Yes, I was in pain. A fair chunk of it. Now, before folks go off asking what's wrong, it's simple. I have three bulging discs in my lower back. Nothing has ruptured yet, and from what I've been told as long as I am nice to my back, I should be good to go. However, due to the condition of the spine, every now and then it announces that it hates me. Yesterday was one of those days, hence, no sweater vest/necktie combination. I was in too much pain to put in that much effort to get ready. Today, it's all better.
'Twas another "day off" today. Went in... placed a few orders... had lunch with the Loquacious one... went back and placed a few more orders... Talked over a few things with HiSign and BigBank... and then left. Tonight's agenda is still up in the air, though.

Loq and I might travel to another store about 30-35 east of here and see what's up with them. We know the guys who run it and are on friendly terms with them. They recently moved out of their old spot and upgraded to a shiny, new place of business. Loq and I have been promising to come over and say "hello" for a bit now, and tonight might be the night.

Depending on time issues, and if they are even open, we might hit another store about an hour south of us. The owners have been in asking questions about how to run a store, and we've been giving information out freely. It's kind of nice when folks ask you for advice, especially when you yourself do not feel like you know what you are doing. That's me though, even if I espouse confidence on the outside, I NEVER feel like I know what I am doing, even when it's something I've been doing well for YEARS. It's just how I'm wired...

Tomorrow looks to be a big day. One shipment is due to arrive from our main distributor. The new paint rack for Games Workshop arrives tomorrow, but the paints themselves are not showing up until Wednesday or Thursday. We also have a chunk of new shelving, brackets, and hooks showing up. The physical revamp of the sales floor is almost complete. There are a few more items to get, and then we should be good. Once thatis set up, it's time to revamp the office/storage area. HiSign wants to turn it into an office for me to go hide and do managerial type stuff. I'm not entirely certain that can happen, but I'm willing to let him try.

Anyhoo... things aren't going to do themselves, so I'd best get to it.

-- GopherDave