The Argentina sandwich shop is, I fear, no more. The counters and coolers were relocated to the back of the store almost two months ago but are still vacant. I was a regular; it was a quiet spot. Not like Starbuck’s or the Panera with the noisy laptop crowd always talking big real estate deals on their cellphones.
Speaking of real estate, you know how I’ve prayed for a real meltdown before the government could bail out the speculators at taxpayer’s expense. The feds are finally negotiating some protection for sub-prime borrowers who “may not be able to meet their payments if interest rates rise”. However, it is the people, not the loans, that are sub-prime. I requote the genius who said, “Tinker with the Law of Supply and Demand and soon the Invisible Hand is nowhere to be seen.” Economics 101. I believe the government is already too late. Too many millions of middle-class laborers have egotistically behaved for decades like they could collectively borrow their way to wealth. Now it is payback time. Of course, the lenders will have to jack up other interest rates to make up the shortfall, so good luck to all you zeroes with credit cards and car payments. Let’s see how your “good” credit score helps you then. It is fun watching sub-prime people pay for a loaf of bread by Visa.
When I said I would never return to the doggie wig place, of course I meant except for money. I was there all day and evening. This time, I am training staff, not doing the clerical work myself. My Theory Y methods bear almost immediate fruit because of the year-long setup time. It is quite easy to bring a $12 per hour clerk up to speed. The problem was that before, I was always expected to do the keyboarding instead of teach it to others. Organizationally, things are a year behind schedule.
The new people now gain a sense of purpose right away. They aren’t sitting around the first week aimlessly trying to absorb an unfamiliar system. Now they relish when things go wrong, because they can attack the solution systematically. They also stick around longer because they now know they are gaining valuable start-to-finish experience. Most jobs [intentionally] don't give you that any more. No sense training the competition.
ADDENDUM
To make a point, although the majority of records were not kept properly since I left, it was possible to reconstruct those records from the excellent databases I left behind. Bow to the left, bow to the right. Upper management is still very paper-minded but the big picture is becoming too obvious to deny. Serious problems still exist. The momentum is carrying everything along. At a higher price than I was charging before.
For all the jokes I’ve made about doggie wigs, my humor at least contains a spark of intellect. Not so always, for somebody today ordered a Mullet dog wig. That’s the haircut the Runt had for a while. Even if I hated my dog, I would not make him wear a Mullet. Mind you, if my dog was only as smart as the Runt, I would not let him loose in public without supervision. The gang says somebody is yanking his chain. I’ll bike into the shop tomorrow and see what the fuss is about.
Wallace reports that nothing has happened in the Pacific Northwest and that is why he has not written. It is more likely he is chasing women--or shying away from the chance of losing a second crib game to an amateur like me. We played 34 games and I won once. I am Ozymandias!
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