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"I tried to quit three times today." - Me
"That's it?!" -Sarah (co-worker)

Thursday, 12-28-23: Last bootleg update of the year? Most likely.
I think this will be my final crappy update of the year because I work a lot over the next three days. I have the Celtics game on, and they are playing the lowly 2-28 Detroit Pistons. The Celtics are having a great season and are in first place with the best record in the NBA, and the Pistons have lost a record 27 games in a row. OMG! You'd think the Celtics would totally dominate, but it's tied 108-108 with 4.6 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Going to overtime! Wow, how in the hell does this happen?! The Celtics were losing bigtime at halftime so I'm glad they came back. It would actually be funny if the Celtics lost at home to the worst team in the NBA.

Was 2023 a good year? I don't know, but I don't think so. It was definitely better than the worst year of my entire life, 2022 (or was 2021 the worst? The last two have been terrible. What a bunch of crap!) However, it was still not really good. I did get more exercise this year than I did the last two, but this month hasn't been good as far as exercise. The gym downstairs flooded earlier this month so bye bye a few days dealing with that. This week I haven't felt great. Not sick, but just feeling like I'm fighting off a cold or flu or friggin' COVID. Who knows? We ran out of COVID tests and WalMart was sold out. I decided I don't even care if it is the ' rona.

Okay this is some bullshit and makes me sad for society. I just got some "Amber alert" on my cellphone including obnoxious sound-effects that made me think the world was ending. Then it came on the TV so now I can't watch the Celtics. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Some chick in Saco got kidnapped, and that sucks. A lot. However, that's 2.5 friggin' hours away and NOT MY PROBLEM. I'm at home on the couch, a place I don't get to be often enough anymore, so BRING BACK THE BASKETBALL GAME GODS DAMN IT! WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP!

^WTF is that shit?! It doesn't even say who, where, or when. Maine is a pretty big area, geographially speaking, this is a useless pile of crap on my TV. The cellphone did say Saco, someone with NY plates, but that's too far south for my worthless ass to care about. Plus if someone with NY plates hijacked a kid do you really think they're heading this far north? It's possbile, but if so I'm sure they're staying on I-95 and scooting right through our area.

Okay I got the Celtics back. 123-117 Celtics with 31 seconds left. I think they'll win, but holy crap what a game. Not over yet, but about to be. I don't get to watch too many Celtics games because of my work schedule. Plus I'd rather watch the NFL. However, the Patriots are 4-11 so they're a joke. What a bunch of crap! The NFL has a 17-game season now instead of the 16 it's been for most of my life. I think they changed it to 17 a couple years ago, but I'm not really sure.

I expect this weekend at the restaurant to be fairly busy. It needs to be busy or else we gots problems. January won't be as busy so these next few days will be our chance to bank a few extra precious... precious bucks to pay bills next month. Sales are up a lot year-over-year, but that's not good enough if we are still barely scraping by. This has to happen in 2024 or else I'm out like a fat kid in dodge ball:

WE NEED TO MAKE MONEY.

That last sentence is not debatable. For the last three years all we've done is spend money, LOTS of money, so it's time to start making it back. If sales increase at the restaurant we'll be in great shape, but if they don't we have to sell or close and I'll go get a job somewhere and lick my financial wounds for... ever? Probably literally until I die. I put so much into that place that I can't work enough hours as a w-2 employee to ever recoup it. However, that's what life is so oh well. At least if we go broke in 2024 I'm only 48 and have a couple decades left to earn some of it back. Not like I was rich anyway.

The restaurant is really increasing as far as sales. We'll be up around $100,000 year-over-year. That's AMAZING. Too bad it doesn't lead to profit at all. What a bunch of crap! Another increase like that in 2024 will put us in a good spot because we have learned how to better-manage expenses.

I'm hoping 2024 will be my last full tax seaon if the restaurant can continue to grow. I'd like to haul on 80-90% of my clients and just do the reataurant, but we'll see. I won't know if I can do that or not for at least 6 months. I'll be working a lot this winter, and I'm hoping that pays off for the rest of the year and beyond. I can't even imagine a life where I "only" work 40 hours a week. It's been forever since I actually had a work-life balance. What a bunch of crap!

I didn't even buy my tax software yet. That's the latest I've ever gone without buying it. If I bought it back in the spring it would have been about $300 cheaper, and the price ticks up as the year rolls on. It would have been nice to buy it all those months ago for a lower price, but I wans't even sure if I'd be doing taxes this upcoming season. I really wasn't 100% sure until... a few days ago. What a bunch of crap!

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Thursday, 12-21-23: Power back on, damage aftermath, amazing news story for the win.
We got totally butt-fucked by a HUGE rain and wind-storm on Monday. Bangor officially recorded a 71MPH wind gust, and it was nasty all day Monday from moning until after dark. Trees down, power poles snapped (seriously), roof shingles and siding blown off, and signs gone. Just plain gone. Here is our shopping plaza sign:

^That giant gap should show our restaurant sign as well as other stores in the plaza, but not anymore. What a bunch of crap! Amazingly enough Kat was able to grab our sign and bring it into the restaurant where it sits right now as I write this bootleg update that almost no one will ever read.

The power was off from Monday around midday through yesterday at 2000. I figured it was about 56 consecutive hours without power not only at the restaurant but also here at the house. It SUCKED. A lot. We lost roughly $3000-4000 in product at the restaraunt because we don't have a generator and the fridges and freezers couldn't hold to temp that long. It was hard to sleep here at the house once it got cold because I had to keep a fire going. However, we were sort-of lucky because we hit 61 degrees Monday, 48 or so Tuesday, and in the 30s yesterday. Not bad for this time of year. Our house did get cold by Tuesday night, but the fireplace balied us out from total frigid conditions. Today was only in the 20s with a lot of wind, and tonight we drop down to about 12 so I do feel for those who still don't have power. A lot of people are still in the dark right now. A LOT.

On Tuesday my aweseome wife and the kids leveled-up. A lot. They decided to start cooking off all the food we had on-hand that was about to expire. We had two choices: cook it off and give it away or throw it away. Thankfully we have natural gas at the restaurant, and that was still on as well as the water (and hot water!) so we had options. One of them posted on our Failbook page that we were giving away free food, and OMG I've never seen anything like it. From about 1330-1630 we were BUSY. I bet we fed close to 150 people, maybe even 200, and we had to stop when we ran out of food, daylight, and flashlight battery-power. It was epic, and as a surprise bonus we got a TON of praise on social media. The news crews came, and they came again yesterday. Here is the story from WABI about us:

https://www.wabi.tv/2023/12/20/brewer-restaurant-cooks-gives-away-remaining-food-prevent-waste/

There is a GREAT video that basically doubles as an ad for us, and Kat nails it in the interview. Totally amazing how cool she is on camera, on the mic, and on the radio. Here is the verbiage because one day it won't exist online anymore:

BREWER, Maine (WABI) - In addition to homes and businesses, some restaurants have been without power since Monday’s storm.

Without working freezers and refrigerators to keep food fresh, many are losing inventory to spoilage.

But, one Brewer hot spot decided to do something different with their food supplies.

“We came in and our walk ins were at 40 degrees. Once it hits 42, there’s no saving the food. We can’t save it, so we’d have to throw it,” said Kathleen Markwith, Mad Kat owner.

After the folks at Mad Kat and Company shared a post on Facebook that they were giving away food, the word started to spread.

“The best ones were there were people with children, small children, elderly people that had nowhere to go. Well, there was a couple that that they got released from the hospital and they had nowhere to go. It was cold. They had no food. So, we gave them food and we kept them here and try to keep them as warm as we could,” said Markwith.

It brought together folks from all over for more than a bite to eat.

“People that never met each other would just sit down with each other and just started talking. We thought people would come in grab some food and leave. No, they actually pulled up a chair and they just started talking with each other,” said Markwith.

And the gesture made an impression on her children, who happened the kitchen staff, too.

“I took a small video and posted and put it on Facebook and they’re just happy. They did something good, and I saw that. I saw how that made them feel. And we just kept giving it until we had no more daylight and our batteries on our flashlights ran out and we had to call,” said Markwith.

Although the lights went out, it seems that the light of new friends and an act of kindness made it all worth it.

“It’s overwhelming. It really is. I cried a lot yesterday. At first, I cried, because we lost a lot of a lot of money, and you know we’re still losing money because our eyes were closed. But then our motto is, ‘Where friends meet and become family.’ And that’s it. That literally is what we saw in my mind. We lost product but we didn’t lose anybody. So, that was the good thing,” said Markwith.

The afermath of that story as well as a channel 7 news story and social media is off the scale. Check out this email in our restaurant inbox from today:

Hey Mad Kat Family:
I was watching the local news here in Sacramebto, California. I saw that you lost electricity and started donating your meals for free. I realize you lost cost of food, business and awaiting to get everything restored.
I would like to donate some funds to your restaurant. Although I’m not sure if I will visiting your restaurant anytime soon since I’m nearly 3000 miles away but miles shouldn’t stop a person to donate. Please contact me when you can.

HOLY SHIT! NO FUCKIN' WAY! How did our story travel so far and so quickly?! Kat got Failbook (I still hate Facebook haha) messages from others in California, someone in NC, and lots of local folks. It's amazing, and it might save our little business that has really struggled since its inception over three years ago.

The amount of positive buzz in the community we have received is overwhelming. Plus the kids and some of the staff stepped up, huge. We lost so much, but we gained even more in the process. We're also very lucky this massive near-hurricane storm (93 MPH wind gust near the coast OMG) hit on a Monday when our inventory oh-hand was at its lowest. If this hit on a Friday we'd be closed forever, gone, fin, the end, too much of a loss to recover from, ever.

It could be worse. The Sandy River in Farmington flooded out most of their downtown. There are amazing images online of the McDonalds on the middle of what looks like a lake, and with the lights still on! I tried to Google it, but I failed because I suck. What a bunch of crap! A guy died somewhere in the state, I believe south of here, when a tree limb killed him instantly. All things considered we're lucky.

After the power came back on last night it was go-time for a bit. We went down to the bar to assess, and things looked pretty good. Same for our house. No storm damage other than no power and losing product. We lost stuff from the fridge at home, but not an obscene amount. The chest freezer downstairs still kept what little venison I have left frozen, too. Bonus! It was damn close to thawing, though. Maybe a few edges of some packages thawed, but I don't care I'll still eat it hehe.

We got such terrible sleep with no power. It actually got cold Tuesday night so I had to keep a fire going, and that kept me up a lot. We're fortunate to have the fireplace, but it's work, man. After 3 hours or so it needs to be re-tended, and after 4 hours the embers won't light new firewood without kindling, paper, etc. Katherine, Kat and I had fun Tuesday night in the living room by the fire playing trivia and doing a little drinking, but yesterday mostly sucked.

I don't know if we can recover financially from this latest loss, but I think we can. Maybe? Hopefully! It remains to be seen how business responds to the positive news and social media posts. We got lots of praise today when we opened at 1600, but we weren't crazy-busy. Lots of people still don't have power so I'm sure they are at home tending a fire, a generator, or just huddled up in blankets. We are really lucky we got the power back on when we did becuse not having it tonight at 12 degrees outside with wind would have been a bunch of crap.

I've never had so much food in the truck:

I had to drive over to the warehouse for a $2000 food pickup, and the staff worked HARD today getting the place ready so we can open. Kat's kids really killed it this week, and a few of our core staff also went above and beyond. Being closed for two days hurt, but they were the slowest two days of the week so that's a win. Hopefully we have a great 3 more days of sales before Christmas comes next Monday. We need it to make up for all the lost food...

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Monday, 12-18-23: Every fuckin' year now.
The power went out about 10 hours ago, it came back on for about a half-hour, and since then it's game over. I'd say over 8 consecutive hours without power, and the entire state is in a bad way right now. Huge storm plowed up the east coast with massive winds, warm air, and flooding rains. What a bunch of crap! It's been near 60 degrees most of the day so at least we won't freeze. Sadly the warm air means our food in the fridge and freezer not only at our house but also at the bar are going to rot away soon, if they haven't already.

I am glad this shit-show storm hit on a Monday, but I'm sad because it canceled our company Christmas party and it's another step backwards for our business. Every time we do well something comes up to try to knock the train off the tracks. We've been having a GREAT month of sales, but the longer the power stays off the more product we'll have to throw away. We did sell a TON of food over a very busy weekend so at least inventory is down, but I'd still guess if we lose it all there goes a few thousand dollars of precious... precious money that we don't really have to blow on lost product. Insurance deductible is $2000 so using that won't do any good.

I tried to bivouac early, but I couldn't sleep. What a bunch of crap! It's not even really late, only 2200, taps taps lights out in a former life aboard the USS Carl Vinson. I'm frustrated because I failed. I should have invested in some kind of generator for the house and for the restaurant back when we actually had money. Every fucking year we get a HUGE storm with incredible winds, and that's what kills off the power. Today's storm was actually worse that expected. I saw Bangor had a 68MPH wind gust, and the forecast max was 55-60. In my experience in this area 60+ winds = game over. There's a tree fallen into a house around the corner, a big fir, and a power-pole is down across our street not far away in the other direction. Earlier Kat was showing me photos from her cellphone of damaged houses, flooding, more poles down in down, etc. Earlier this eveing there were over 410k outages statewide so I guess that means almost everyone.

If the power isn't restored by mid-morning tomorrow there's no way we can even open. We have a delivery scheduled for food, but we can't receive it with fridges and freezers down. Oh well, that's a problem for 10 hours from now, give or take. Thankfully if we can't open it's just a Tuesday, our worst day of the week as far as sales. If it lasts into Wednesday we'd really be screwed. Thankfully the forecast is great for the rest of the week so crews can start putting the power grid back together.

I hope our own house isn't damaged. Who knows, roof shingles could have blown off and/or siding. I did clean out the gutters before I lost to Gavin at racquetball yesterday morning and I think that work on the gutters kept the pouring rain diverted enough so the cellar didn't flood this time. Two storms of 3" of rain a week apart must be some kind of record. There were 6 flood alerts posted earlier for various rivers around the area. OMG WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! Our street started to flood, but a city crew came and cleared the storm drain before it could turn into a lake.

I'm just shocked that every single year we get a storm like this. Some are colder like the one we got last year that almost ended our restaurant. That one started off warm, very wet, and very windy. A tree came down at the end our our road so bye bye power for 20 hours. Sadly the lights went out at about 1530, just before what was going to be a busy Friday night. We had to cancel a private party in the event room, it was Dec 23, and it was all-bad. Then that evening the temps crashed hard so we had to bivouac in the living room with the fireplace going all night because it was so cold.

All I wanna know is why? Why the fuck do I even live here? The cons really outweigh the pros most of the time. I swear to the gods who do not really exits if I had Interweb right now I'd start looking for a better place to live.

Things were looking up over the last week, too. Sales were great at the restaurant, and we had our second-best week, ever. I had to work A LOT, but I was able to get Saturday evening/night off to go visit Phil for their Christmas party. Even better, both Gav and Walter were able to come so that was really special. We're all friends, but getting together all at once is incredibly rare and might not happen again for a long time, if ever.

I'm trying not to be negavite. Who knows, maybe power will come back on tonight or first thing tomorrow? We really don't even need the restaurant open until Wednesday or Thursday anyway. We have big events this coming weekend so I'm sure we'll be good-to-go by then.

I haven't even done any Christmas shopping yet. What a bunch of crap! I'm probably only buying for one person and I wrote down some ideas for what she wants, but I keep forgetting to actually make it happen. Most of what she'd like needs to be ordered so I'm really screwed. I was going to order some things today, but I can't WHEN THE FUCKING POWER GOES OUT ALL DAY.

My life really does suck. The end.

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Wednesday, 12-13-23: Stupid flooded basement.
It was really friggin' cold last week, and then it warmed up just in time for a huge rainstorm to roll in Sunday night into Monday morning. According to official reports we got around 3" of rain in a 16-hour span of time. We've had worse than that in the past, but not in a long time and not when the gutters are filled with snow, ice, and probably leaves as well since I suck at yard maintenance these days.

The end result, as is obvious from my header of this bootleg update that almost no one will ever read, is water in the cellar. A lot of water. More than we've ever had down there in almost 10 years. The back part by the bathroom had about 2", and it was wet throughout including the gym area. What a bunch of crap!

Thankfully I have a little water pump so I got the water out within an hour or two (including corners and misc areas with the shop vacuum), but it took a lot longer to go through things that got wet. Some boxes, a mattress, gym equipment, etc. It was a giant time-suck, and even today, 3 days later, I spent precious... precious time dealing with it. What a bunch of crap!

Sadly the floor had to come up, and I couldn't get my swell on Monday or Tuesday. I lifted weights today, but I'm sure the air down there wasn't too great to breathe. Smells a lot like mildew still. I do have the dehumidifier on so it's not really humid, but the air is just gross and stale. What a bunch of crap!

I'm not done dealing with it, but at least the gym is back together. Thankfully Monday and Tuesday are my two easiest days dealing with the restaurant so I had extra time for cleaning and rearranging. We did need to clean the cellar so this forces my loser-ass to do so, but I really didn't want to screw with it this time of year when I have reading to do for tax season and a lot of holiday parties in the event room at work.

^Sopping wet under most of the gym floor so it all had to come up. I'm not taking chances that could happen again so I'll do a floor epoxy down there so moisture doesn't hold under any flooring. I don't have to do that right away, but I need to get on it and hopefully later this month I'll have enough time to make it happen. I don't think it will be very costly, but right now time is a valuable resource that I seem to lack more often than not. What a bunch of crap!

I'm about to scoot down to work to get ready for my Wednesday evening shift. I'd normally start around 1500, but I'm going about an hour early to get ready for a company holiday party tonight. We have that party today, two parties tomorrow, a dance Friday, two birthdays Saturday, and a family Christmas party later Sunday after the usual country jam. That's 8 events in the banquet room in the span of only 5 days. OMG! No complaints because I expect us to have good sales this week, and we need it so we can afford what we expect to be an expensive January. January will always be expensive for us because it's the middle of winter so heat and electric are higher than most other months. We also have some license renewals and sales usually drop quite a bit in January. They pick back up in Feb, and March/April have historically been great for us as far as sales.

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Thursday, 12-07-23: I hate my shitty life. Who is to blame? (Need a mirror now.)
I hate my shitty life. What a bunch of crap! Have I ever used my bootleg stupid catch phrase so early in an update that almost on one will ever read? All I wanna know is why? Why did I let things turn into an epic failer? What the hell went wrong?

the answer is really simple and a little embarassing. However, I'm not really embarassed because that's how life goes. You make some good decision, you make some bad ones, you life, you die, the end. The influence of alcohol will greatly help me write my negative thoughts to almost no one, ever. Things suck. A lot. The answer to the question above is almost rhetorical because I know what went wrong. I did. I had all the talent in the world and could have done a lot, but I fucked it all up and now I'm stuck in a life that I hate 80% of the time. What a bunch of crap!

The biggest reason why I fail is the stupid fuckin' restaurant. Let's dig out the fail-trophy ASAP:

Last night things went badly, and I swear to the gods who do not exist I almost shut the place down. It was packed when I almost pulled the trigger on that nuclear decision, too. We sucked! I sucked. It all sucked. What a bunch of crap! I cannot possibly use that bootleg expression enough on this update. It started well enough when a lot of customers came in to start, but then we fell apart. I had a bartender abandon her post for way too long, servers were overwhelmed, the kitchen made mistakes, I made mistakes, and I hate myself. I just want to get into the walk-in freezer with a bottle of booze and freeze, but I'm not ready to do that yet because I'm too nice. I don't want to fuck people over, and a frozen 48-year old guy whose fake Interweb name is Rambo will fuck people over. My wife, my parents, etc. Maybe when my parents check out I can check out, but until then it's just not fair to them. It's not fair to my wife either, but she has kids and a grandkid so she'd be okay eventually. Maybe? Hopefully!

You know what group/band is incredibly overrated? Hall and Oates. They mostly SUCK. Private Eyes plays, and I had to rewind and fix what I wrote because I'm pretty fuckin' drunk and I spelled it wrong. They have one good song. ONE. It's called Out of Touch, and it's great. everything else they've ever done kinda sucks. I don't actively hate it, but it's not very good. The end.

I forget what I was complaing about. I should re-read what I wrote above, but I dont even care... whether or not I care. Things overall SUCK. What makes me happy anymore? Um, my wife is not on that list. I tried to haul on her, but she fights for me and I can't undsertand why. She can find someone better than me in no time. Hell, working at a bar you meet everyone in the fucking town. Is there anyone better than my wife for me? FUCK NO. That's why I'd be content with no one at all and my Nintendo/Super Nintendo. I don't tink I am sober enough to even spell things right. What a bunch of crap!

^Can I just play old video games until I die? I'm fine with a giant asteriod coming along with no Bruce Willis to handle that shit with a drill bit and a nuke. Sadly I'm not even good at the old video games, but I should play them more.

I discovered why I hate my life. Just kidding it's a long list. However, first and foremost (damn I keep having to rewind and re-spell this shit-show) is my financial failer with that gods damned restaurant. I was so good at money that I had a fucking coin collection when I was a kid. Who does that?! I didn't have Ninja Turtles or Transfomers like my brothers, but in my defense I did like them a lot. Both my brothers and the toys, derrr....

I think my best years are over so I'm more than fine with checking out. As soon as there is an alien attack or a giant asteriod or watever I'm fine with the easiest option: death. I've had a great life, and old peope make me sad so I don't want to be one. Am I old yet? At age 48 I don't think so, but it's coming soon. Where is my Morla from The Neverending Story meme?

^I was off by a lot. A LOT. What a buch of crao ! I was too drunk to find it hehehe. Man, I hate everything. I'm considering selling everything and moving away, but I'm not exactly there yet. I think in 2024 it'll happen because it's dangerous being in my shoes lately. I don't give a fuck. However, it's weird because I do care about some things.

I look at when I'm the happiest, and the answer shouldn't really be posted on here. Is it when I'm working at the restaurant? FUCK NO. That place sucks my hairy ass. I can't really handle working with all these 20-30yr old chicks, and sometimes it's the guys as well. When I was deer hunting last week (and failing hehehe) I was asking myself this question, and I had no answer despite my thinking on it for a bit:

"When were you the happiest in your life?"

I don't know, but I do know it's NOT now. I think I'd lean towards when Phil, Walt, and I lived over at Allen Rd and our rent split 3=-ways was around $250 each. OMG. I worked at FedEx 3-close, and I could play AOEII in the evening, wake up when I wanted, and work on being a slumlord before work at FedEx. Sometimes I'd get really drunk and hit on fat chicks, but not that often. My life was better then. However, it was not sustainable for a forever-life. I did some scumbag things, but overall I was not a scumag person, if that makes sense.

^I miss AOEII, playing with Gavin and friends online. I miss going to IWE with Doug and Tommy, I miss a lot of things. My life FUCKING SUCKS. I'm fixing it in 2024 gods damn it.

^From 2010. I still wear that green Goonies shirt from time to time! Fuck my shit-show life it's embarassing.

This isn't my home, and I don't have a home anymore. I have a house, but it doesn't feel like a home. I'm not native to this area so I should leave it, and I think I will next year. I said I was going to quit the restaurant last night, and I meant it. Things were a total shit-show. What a bunch of crap! There are really only a couple things keeping me in this area now. First is playing reacuetball and helping Gavin with his bootleg house that I talked him into buying. I still feel guilty about that one, and racquetball is fun. Second is the restaurant. I'd like for the place to make money to recoup at least some of the orignal investment of precious... precious time, money, and effort. Is that likely to happen? NOPE!

I can't write on this bootleg turd-site anymore because I'm getting tired. I think I'll watch some of the Patroits game that doesn't even matter becasuse they're 2-10. What a bub=nch of crap that is!

In conclosuon, and pleae learn from this one, when you make terribly decisions earlier in life they will come bak to haunt you. Man I am too drunk to even rewin and fi my shitty spelling now What a bunch of crap! Oh hey, at least channel 928 still plass a lt ofgreat 80s unes. John Waite, Missing You. Great song and if you disagree with me then I ate ou . I;ll probably hate you anyway, but I'll hate ou a little more. Then eh.

I need something to cheer me up:

Fuck my fucking life. The end.

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Sunday, 12-03-23: Incoming snowstorm and work.
It's early afternoon, and I'm going to work soon. For the second consecutive Sunday our daytime bartender called out so Katherine covered the shift and I'll work the close in her place as MOD (manager on duty.) What a bunch of crap! Usually Sunday evenings aren't too busy, but sometimes we get a good pop for dinner. Today I think we'll close early because of this image:

^From weather.com. We're expecting 6-8" of wet snow, but most of that won't accumulate until tonight and first thing tomorrow morning. Nevertheless when it does start, even if it's 35 degrees and melting on the roads, people will stay in. No sense being open all the way until 2100 if there aren't customers. Who knows, maybe there will be enough to warrant staying open, but I doubt it.

I did the usual Sunday morning routine where I rolled my arse out of the rack around 1000, shovelled in some food, surfed the web a bit and did a little cleaning/dishes, and then played Gavin at noon for 1v1 racquetball. We've played every Sunday for a few weeks at noon, and we've had great games. I lost today both games, but they were long, close, great games. I don't care if I lose as long as it's a great workout and challenge along the way. Mike had been joining us earlier this fall (and as usual over the years), but he has a back injury that's still healing so he hasn't played in several weeks.

Now I have the Patriots vs. Chargers on, I ate a tuna sandwich, and as usual the Patriots are losing. Only down 3-0 in the second quarter, but the offense is nearly hopeless and the team is 2-9 on the season. What a bunch of crap! I'll turn it off soon and go to work; I don't even care... whether or not I care... about this game. I probably should root for the Patriots to lose out the season so they get a better draft pick and can build for the future. A new QB would be great because Mac Jones is terrible and his replacement, Bailey Zappe, has been terrible today as well. Epic failer.

I miss Tom Brady. He's retired now and probably making tens of millions a year doing broadcast work.

We had a great Friday/Saturday at work as far as sales, and today isn't too shabby. Too bad we were so slow earlier in the week or else we would have exceeded my goals for the week. The next few weeks will determine how viable we are moving into 2024, and we need to get it right or else we won't have a business anymore. Our payroll costs were way too high for most of October and especially last month, but this month we'll get it lower for two reasons. First, I'm taking a lot more shifts. Second, a couple people are leaving and we're not going to replace them. We're streamlining how certain things are done and combining some roles so we have less daytime labor waste. We need to shave $1000/week off labor (based on current sales and expected sales through January) so that's A LOT.

I called Dad before I got on this bootleg site to write some useless thoughts before work. He called me Friday to explain why his muzzle-loader didn't fire when I was hunting three days ago. I didn't care, I think it's funny, but he was pretty upset about it. A breach plug wasn't seated all the way, or something like that. I told him today my hunting season is done. Fin. It would be great to go again, especially if they get their expected 2" of snow on the ground, but I need to work a lot this coming week, I need to keep studying for tax season, and it's going to be COLD midweek. 24 degrees Tues or Wed with a low temp of 6 and 8 a couple of those nights. What a bunch of crap! I'm not going deer hunting when it's that cold.

Whatever snow we do get tonight into tomorrow will stick around for at least several days. I fired up the snowblower today just to make sure it works because it looks very likely I'll need to use it tomorrow for the first time of the season. Thankfully a Sunday night/Monday snowfall is a best-case for our business because we're closed Monday. Let all the bad weather fall on Mondays! Getting storms on Friday/Saturday evenings/nights really hurts business.

Alright turds, all two of you who read this bootleg pile of trash, I gotta scoot on down to work. Goonies never say die!