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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Sunday, July 09, 2006 Whine, bitch, moan . . . I think I'm finally getting burned out in this job. I'm tired of hearing, "Are you inspecting all the stores in town, or just mine?" I'm really tired of being screeched at by store owners who don't think I should be taking pictures of certain things. I used to provide all kinds of explanation about the inspection interval, or why I had to take pictures of the gas pumps, the alcohol and the hot food, as well as the grocery items. No more. I just say, "No, I'm not going to all the stores, and I don't know why I was sent to yours." Or, "I'm sorry, but I do have to take pictures of these items." I'm not rude, but I'm not as extensively helpful as I used to be. I'm just tired.And every time I think I've seen it all, something new crops up. The latest is the customer who demands to know why I'm there. My personal opinion is that customers ought to keep their noses out of the store owners' business, especially when it comes to conversations with representatives of the government. But lately, I've had several encounters with customers who either demanded to know what I was doing there, or ordered the store owner not to sign the consent form until the customer had read it. Excuse me? You want to make decisions in this store? You buy it and run it then. Leave the store owner alone--he or she has enough hassle as it is without you butting in. But of course I can't say that.The heat and the hours away from home while weeds and critters overtake my garden probably has something to do with my feeling, but I do have some sense that things are about to change. I enjoy the work itself. It's easy, it has allowed me to see parts of Virginia and West Virginia that I would never have visited otherwise, and I've met some wonderful people. But the peripheral hassles are beginning to get to me, and my profit margin has gone down drastically. Gas, of course, has always been my largest expense, but now there is the domestic help I have to provide for Clarence when I'm gone. She is extremely reasonable, but seven days away from home starts to add up.And as anyone who travels for a living knows, there are all those problems that ordinary people take care of on a daily basis that have to be handled on the one or two days one manages to be home. I have a long and growing list: deposit my contract check, run to the vet's office for flea stuff for the dog and cat, do the grocery shopping for the coming week so Patricia, my helper, will have something to cook for Clarence, check to make sure he has enough insulin and make a note to call the drug store and have them deliver more. Pick all the ripe cherry tomatoes and spray "Liquid Fence" on the beans before the deer eat them all. Buy a new toner cartridge for the printer. Wash all my dirty clothes and pray the weather stays nice so they will dry by tonight. The satellite internet has gotten extremely slow during the morning, which tells me there is a storm brewing somewhere. Speaking of the satellite internet, I have to call the provider and demand to know why the bloody hell they charged my credit card twice this month. Etc.On the other hand, I've sure done a lot less housework lately, and a lot less personal care of Clarence. Patricia doesn't seem to mind anything he asks her to do, and has taken it on herself to vacuum, do his laundry and mop the kitchen--things I never asked her to do. I can't describe how wonderful it is to come home and find the house clean, Clarence in a good mood, food and water in the pets' dishes and no ants on the counters eating the crumbs that Clarence leaves when he fixes things.So maybe I'll hold out a while longer. posted by Liz @ 7:16 AM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
I think I'm finally getting burned out in this job. I'm tired of hearing, "Are you inspecting all the stores in town, or just mine?" I'm really tired of being screeched at by store owners who don't think I should be taking pictures of certain things. I used to provide all kinds of explanation about the inspection interval, or why I had to take pictures of the gas pumps, the alcohol and the hot food, as well as the grocery items. No more. I just say, "No, I'm not going to all the stores, and I don't know why I was sent to yours." Or, "I'm sorry, but I do have to take pictures of these items." I'm not rude, but I'm not as extensively helpful as I used to be. I'm just tired.And every time I think I've seen it all, something new crops up. The latest is the customer who demands to know why I'm there. My personal opinion is that customers ought to keep their noses out of the store owners' business, especially when it comes to conversations with representatives of the government. But lately, I've had several encounters with customers who either demanded to know what I was doing there, or ordered the store owner not to sign the consent form until the customer had read it. Excuse me? You want to make decisions in this store? You buy it and run it then. Leave the store owner alone--he or she has enough hassle as it is without you butting in. But of course I can't say that.The heat and the hours away from home while weeds and critters overtake my garden probably has something to do with my feeling, but I do have some sense that things are about to change. I enjoy the work itself. It's easy, it has allowed me to see parts of Virginia and West Virginia that I would never have visited otherwise, and I've met some wonderful people. But the peripheral hassles are beginning to get to me, and my profit margin has gone down drastically. Gas, of course, has always been my largest expense, but now there is the domestic help I have to provide for Clarence when I'm gone. She is extremely reasonable, but seven days away from home starts to add up.And as anyone who travels for a living knows, there are all those problems that ordinary people take care of on a daily basis that have to be handled on the one or two days one manages to be home. I have a long and growing list: deposit my contract check, run to the vet's office for flea stuff for the dog and cat, do the grocery shopping for the coming week so Patricia, my helper, will have something to cook for Clarence, check to make sure he has enough insulin and make a note to call the drug store and have them deliver more. Pick all the ripe cherry tomatoes and spray "Liquid Fence" on the beans before the deer eat them all. Buy a new toner cartridge for the printer. Wash all my dirty clothes and pray the weather stays nice so they will dry by tonight. The satellite internet has gotten extremely slow during the morning, which tells me there is a storm brewing somewhere. Speaking of the satellite internet, I have to call the provider and demand to know why the bloody hell they charged my credit card twice this month. Etc.On the other hand, I've sure done a lot less housework lately, and a lot less personal care of Clarence. Patricia doesn't seem to mind anything he asks her to do, and has taken it on herself to vacuum, do his laundry and mop the kitchen--things I never asked her to do. I can't describe how wonderful it is to come home and find the house clean, Clarence in a good mood, food and water in the pets' dishes and no ants on the counters eating the crumbs that Clarence leaves when he fixes things.So maybe I'll hold out a while longer.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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