Put it back in the box

Ugh.  Today was difficult.

It started off with Ron in a very bad mood and freaking out over finances.  We had our worst month, ever.  He is worried about foreclosure; feeling very burdened.

I told him, get it out.  Set yourself a period of time, 5-10 minutes, worry about it.  Then put the worries into a mental box and put them on a shelf.  You can't function at that level of worry for very long.

I could tell he heard me, but he wasn't receiving it.  We went off to the warehouse.

Now, some backstory before I finish this: some time ago the Blind Vendor program ordered us to attend a conference in Austin, or lose our business.  Ron and I were not happy.

Like he says "I don't like the element of force".  So, today one of our consultants came out.  She is supposed to provide business advice and support as needed.

She is not online "I get enough of the computer at work".  So, I can be frank.

She showed up, very perky.  Ron was, like I said, in a dark mood.  "What's wrong with him?" she whispered as he headed off to do something.

"Well, Jane" [not her real name] I answered in the same perky voice "He's worried about losing the house!"  What?  "Yes, sales are that bad."  I desired to ask, sarcastically, what advice and support she had to offer.  I did not.

She gaped at me.  "Really?"  Yes, sales are that bad.  She then conducted her review.  All machines, except snacks, were 100% full.  Snacks were about 50% full.  She wrote it up as "All machines empty" and boy am I kicking myself, but I signed it.

It's the old case of blame the victim.  Sales are bad, blame the vendor.  Pretty chicken-feed, if you ask me.  But, we have experienced this before.

Oh, the things I could write.  Let's just say as we struggled to run the vending and a full-time deli, we had major financial losses from the deli.  We begged and begged for help, we got critical "reviews" and finger-pointing in response.  Ron began reformatting the monthly report, showing the deli consistently lost over a thousand dollars a month in revenue.  Eventually, they closed it, praise God.  Not only that, the state program adopted Ron's new form, as he recovered from his accident.

We did quite well on "just" the vending.  Until the election.  According to Ron, we have lost about 75% of our income (and it was low-income to begin with) at 2008 levels.

The economy sucks - no one is putting money in the vending machine.  They also did a big buyout - early retirement, and we lost about 25% of our regulars.  On top of that, I now hear they are offering another buyout, which will result in even worse sales.

News is bad, kids.

Not only that, during our "review", Jane told us the state will no longer refund our repair expenses.  We have to pay for all repairs ourselves, and they will deduct it from our "monthly fee due" - 5% of our net profit, sent in every month.

"So," I asked Jane "You want us to spend our inventory money on repairs, and still keep the machines stocked?"  She got very defensive.

She changed the subject.  "So, how about that big event in Austin, are you coming?"  I gave her the look.  "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"What do you mean, Heather?"  Austin clearly told us we would lose our location, if we didn't go.  "Won't it be fun?"  No, I don't like drinking parties (on the schedule for Saturday night).

"Oh, Heather, it will still be fun".  Jane, I told her.  You have a gun to our heads.  We will go, but don't expect us to smile.  I assume they think the drinking and dancing after the "training' will soften us up and make us happy we attended.

I mean, can you imagine anything, ANYTHING, worse than Ron at a drinking party?  I shudder to think of the consequences.  Not to mention, it has been my experience that blind men are the biggest bunch of perverts in the world.  No way am I dancing with other men.  No way Ron will dance, and I doubt I'd like the music.

Can you tell I'm just in a bad mood?  Ugh.

After she left, Ron said "Let it out".

I started with "Real easy for her, making $50K a year, vacation, and benefits... Tell you how to run YOUR business.....smile and have fun at our mandatory party!" I watched the clock and wound down after about 7 minutes, then I told Ron "OK, I'm putting it back in the box".  He laughed.

Political crap like this really makes me think about going to work for a grocery store.  We'd probably make more money!

It was very nice to come home to the cats and take a nap.