Stuck in place

You may eventually figure out that I am realllllllly bored: 3 posts in a week.

I have even turned off the television as it was just an irritant. I have all these streaming services available to me and I just can't get interested in anything. I spend more time seeing what is on each service than I do watching anything. The only thing I watch with any regularity is Rizzoli and Isles. And that's mostly because I have seen the entire series before. Also, Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander are both very attractive women. But I can't watch more than one, or on the rare occasion, two episodes at a a time.

The weather has been mixed this weekend. Nice on Friday and Saturday, some rain, Sunday was rainy to start but cleared up and then an arctic cold front decided to remind us that we have no control over the weather.

 

I subscribed to a Home Depot Group on Facebook. About all I am seeing is how the employees (called associates) are being run ragged by customers who are assholes, by the temporary(we hope) curbside pickup process, government mandated limits on number of customers allowed in stores, other employees calling out for personal reasons, managers who have no clue, and all the social distancing requirements heaped upon us. Our store has not been too bad, at least while I am there. I have conversations with customers. I have done door duty and found most folks understand the new procedures. I have helped pull orders and load things onto pickups and into cars. I have helped bring in shopping carts because our lot loaders are busy pulling orders and loading. I have been in six different departments in a four hour shift (I am a part-timer). I have used our electric ladders to downstock depleted merchandise. The store management team is right in there alongside us doing the same stuff. People are doing things we had no real procedures for and are inventing on the fly.

I have read that some state governments are having us shut down flooring, paint and garden as non-essential services. Hardware, electrical, plumbing, lumber, appliances and building materials are necessities to keep houses together.

I read that some states are mandating the use of masks for employees and customers alike. When that happens, I go claustrophobic and stay home during open hours, and just stay for the restock portion of my shift. I have spoken with several medical professionals who shop at our store and they ALL agreed that the cloth masks do no good. I'll just go wash my hands.

It has been in the media that Home Depot is looking out for the folks on the floor. Overtime is available and will be paid at double rate instead of time and a half, personal days off are greatly increased for this year, a small weekly bonus will be included in our paychecks, extra money is being sent to the stores for snacks and food for the employees, gift cards for local restaurants are being given out, and even though we are closing early, at 6pm, we are scheduled to stay for our regular schedule until 10 to do the clean up and down stocking so we don't have to do it with customers in the aisles.

Since we are one of the few store open during this thing, we have been super busy. Also since a lot of folks are quarantined out of their offices and businesses, they have time to work on those tasks that have been piling up. I am not allowed to say what our sales plan is, but I know we are beating weekly goals by Saturday afternoons, at least for the last three weeks.

I had the weekend scheduled off and told the managers they could call me in if they needed me. Apparently, they didn't need me. So I did laundry. Even washed the dogs bedding. Now I have to go sort out the clothes and put them away and make up the bed.

Right now, I don't know if I am hungry or bored or tired. A possible combination of all three is the most likely answer.







These are my grandsons. 5 years old and 17 months. They are best buddies. I miss them.