Winter Wonderland of Confusion

    So, I had to go to Walmart last week, because sometimes, you just have to go there. Anyway, while walking through the parking lot, I noticed a Jeep with a Christmas wreath attached to the spare tire.  It had dusty pink ornaments and a Santa cap on top.  What could be a better car accessory than small glass balls that can fly off at 60 mph? I'm sure that they won't cause any damage.

    As I got closer, I realized that the Santa cap was actually on the skull of a skeleton being the wreath. The skull had big old alien eye sockets, while the hand was holding a large ornament with a straw attached, as if it was drinking from it. I guess they didn't, or couldn't, take the skeleton down from Halloween, so they just repurposed it. That is what happens with all of those people who put up the giant ten and fifteen foot skeletons in their yards and want to get more mileage from their money. Yet, think of the message this Jeep owner is sending. "Sorry kids, but Santa died last year from drinking and driving. Don't worry though. He will still be delivering your gifts this year, only as an undead minion."

    The confusion of holidays continued into Walmart. I was walking down an aisle in the seasonal section. One side was Halloween candy on clearance, and the other side was being stocked with Christmas candy.  Now, aside from some differences in shape and flavor, most of the candy is exactly the same for the two holidays. The only difference is in the packaging. Black, orange, and purple for Halloween, and red, white, and green for Christmas. Tell that to a kid, though. "I want new candy!" "But we have candy at home, dear." "That candy's old!" "It is from Halloween, just last week." "I want Christmas candy, not that old yucky stuff!" "You were stuffing your face with it just this morning." "I WANT NEW CANDY!" "I don't know why I even married you, sometimes."

    Don't get me wrong. I love Christmas. It's the one time of year that I can walk through the toy department without thinking people will look at me and think I'm a creep. It's more "Oh, look. He's shopping for Christmas presents for his kids." (As I can pass for someone ten to fifteen years younger, at least from a distance. Doubt anyone would say grandchildren, like some people I know.) Instead of, "See how that pathetic man is just wandering about, looking for the nostalgia and lost innocence." At least I'm not actually buying the toys, just looking at them for the nostalgia and lost innocence. I just don't want people thinking that.

    And in all of this holiday confusion, Thanksgiving gets lost. Sure, there is the occasional giant turkey inflatable, but there really isn't much in the way for Thanksgiving decorations. I saw one turkey that had silverware and a bib that said "Let's eat!" on it. Way to promote cannibalism, dude. No, for Thanksgiving, all of the focus is on the food. Maybe some special dinnerware or centerpieces, but that's it. Stores already have their food specials out.  For instance, there are the gallon jugs of cooking oil, for those who want to deep fry their turkeys, or burn their house down. Or both. Walmart also had bags of croutons for sale in the bakery. You have to make sure you have your already stale bread three weeks ahead of schedule for your stuffing. Or dressing.  Or whatever else it can be called.  Choose one word for it already.

    There are also all the new limited-edition food products coming out. For instance, Coke has a new 'Holiday Creamy Vanilla" flavor for Christmas, that is somehow different from their regular vanilla flavor. Now, I hate Coke. Always have. I'm a Dr Pepper fan, ever since I was a kid. Yes, I was the weird kid back then. I still am, and proud of it. However, my mom loves Vanilla Coke, so I can a few bottles to try. Strangely enough, I didn't puke when I tasted it. I instantly could taste the vanilla, but that was about it. I didn't detect any holiday-type extra flavoring. No warming spices. No mint of any kind. No pine needles being shoved down my throat. I also didn't taste anything creamy either. Of course, the label said there wasn't any dairy included, so what type of cream did they mean? For there are a lot of types of cream I don't want near my mouth.

    My mom didn't like it at first, which is typical. If I even barely like something new or different, she won't like it, and vice versa. She slightly turned around after trying some super ice cold, but we will see what happens with a second bottle. Maybe she will end up more confused about the holidays.

    That's all for tonight. Catch me back here next week.

    

Eat in, Eat out, I'm Driving

    In an average month, I eat out about two or three times.  Normally, I wouldn't do it more than that due to a mix of health and money concerns.  However, for October, I had to eat out five times, and it was almost six times. You can add in an additional time at the end of September if you like to up that total.  Still, that was too much for me, but it had to be done.

    The reason goes back many years. When I started weightlifting in the mid-90s, I began to eat more to fuel my workouts. I made sure to eat every two to four hours. This meant that I started eating breakfast every day.  Until then, I only ate breakfast a few times a week, mostly on weekends. Ever since I was a kid, I had problems eating very early in the day. I just didn't feel like eating that early, say before nine. I really couldn't. When I opened my store, I could barely start eating breakfast around eight.  Even now, my breakfast on the days I go to work are a little lighter than they used to be. On those days when I have to be somewhere even earlier, say for appointments or all day shopping trips, I usually just end up having a small protein shake or a small pastry.  My stomach just can't tolerate anything heavier than that early in the day.

    This past October, I had multiple such events. In September, at my regular dental cleaning, a cavity was discovered. Only my second in the last twenty-five years, but the second in under five. I had to schedule a second appointment for early October. I also had to take my mother to the dentist to have multiple fillings over two visits. Oh, she also had an annual doctor's visit. Then there were a few trips to find out what's been making an unusual sound in my car. Some of those got combined with the preceding ones. (At least they finally think they figured out what's wrong. Just waiting for a piece to arrive to see if it can be fixed.) There was also the delayed shopping trip to make up. 

    Anyway, this meant I ate out five times.  Four were takeout, one eat in. Four were fast food restaurants, although I had a takeout order from the one not fast food place. Not too much variety in what I ate, but here they are in order. Dairy Queen, Coal Run:  Surprisingly great chicken tenders. Very crispy. The ranch was a tad sour, but still workable. Hoebert's Pizzeria, P-burg:  Regular Stromboli order. Nothing great, but not horrible. It just needs one little change to take it over the top. Burger King, Huntington Mall, dine in: Standard Whopper and rings. Tried a jalapeño popper. Not too spicy, but not my thing. Got the Halloween crown, but couldn't recognize one of the characters. Long John Silver's, Pikeville:  Regular chicken plank meal ruined when I found blood in the last plank. First time I can remember this happening in a long while. At least I got a wide range of condiments. Wendy's, Pikeville:  Burger too small. Way too many fries. They finally fixed the fountain, so I was able to get my cherry-vanilla Dr Pepper again.  Best part of the meal. It was also the most expensive of the fast food places.

    It has already been suggested that I won't be eating out on the day of the next appointment. However, since that might be on my mother's birthday, she has bee thinking about changing her mind. This is in preparation for the big pre-holiday shopping trip to Lexington, where we usually eat out from three different places in one day, not counting any stops for coffee and a restroom break.  This year, I might not have take out for dinner, even if it will be easier and faster, but plans just keep changing. 

Whose Shopping Center Is It Anyway?

    Well, it is all but official, even without a public release. Pikeville Medical Center has bought the Town and Country shopping center where my bookstore, Booknotes, is located.  However, they will not be the ones involved in day-to-day management. This will go to the utility firm UMG. UMG also handled other duties in Pikeville. So far, everything is supposed to stay the same, but I am still weary. The biggest change is that the Super Dollar Food Center will be closing around the first of the year, as well as the fun center next to it. The employees will get new roles in local Food City markets.  No new replacement stores are forecast, as there really isn't that much new space in the Pikeville/Coal Run area.

    Supposedly, all leases will hold, and new tenants are being looked for the vacant spaces. Already, some beautification and cleaning projects have happened. The outsides of each unit are going to be painted different colors, although the tenants don't have a say about which colors get chosen. I hear there will be a lot of orange and black to reflect the colors of UPike. On the plus side, the rent is technically going down.  However, there will now be a monthly maintenance fee, instead of the yearly one we originally had. This means the monthly total will actually go up a little bit. 

    No one can confirm what the former grocery store will be used for. The main rumor is that it will be a daycare center. Some have speculated that it will be a new warehouse. One thought suggests that the center will become home to a new children's hospital, replacing the two floors it currently resides in on the main campus. A secondary building behind the center is already being torn down, for some reason.  I didn't even think it was unoccupied.

    We are still thinking about moving the store if we can find a new place.  As I mentioned above, there aren't many good places left to find, as the hospital and university have grabbed up most of the better spots.  Those that are left are a little too close to the river to our liking. Prestonsburg is still a possibility, if we can find a spot that still has traffic. For instance, the center where Readmore was is still for rent, as are many other units in that center. Even the Super Dollar there isn't getting much business, from what I can tell.

    Anyway, we are hoping to hold an anniversary/open house event next month, and we have started to place the book orders for it. Hopefully, we will be able to do it without too many problems, but with everything going on, who knows what to expect.

This Is Halloween, Nope It's Christmas

    This past weekend, I went on my annual late-summer shopping trip. Yes, it now mid-autumn. I had to delay the trip due to issues that may or may not be happening with my car. No one seems to know exactly what the problems might be. I am not completely sure if there even is a problem.  Anyway, it was a fairly average trip. I had two separate deer sightings, one of which was a young buck who scrambled up a near vertical hillside upon seeing my car. A card and collectibles show was going on.  There was nothing I wanted to see, and the crowds surrounding the tables were packed. The "up" escalator at one store was broken, so I had to climb it to the second floor, only to find that there was nothing there I particularly was looking for. (The "down" escalator was working fine. Still got more of a workout than I was planning on.) I did buy a few things.  Not as much as other trips, but enough to warrant the ride. I also got to see some new decorated houses I hadn't seen yet. On the way back home, I got to see a house that had already put up some Christmas decorations. Now, it was fairly far away from the road, so I can't be positive about what I saw, but the large green wreaths with red bows and a two-dimensional set of white/silver bells with a red ribbon scream Christmas to me. A second house had an inflatable Grinch and some sort of light green small tree beside of it.

    This was the earliest I think I ever saw someone put up fresh Christmas decorations. Sure, some keep some things up year-round, but these houses were new. Some places are still just now putting things out for Halloween.  I mean, the main reason why I make a late-summer shopping trip in the first place is to get the best selection of decorations and treats for Halloween. By having to go a month late, most of the stuff had sold out. The scant decorations left were on clearance. While there were still plenty of bags of candy for trick-or-treating, almost every other type of treat was gone. Meanwhile, the Christmas decorations were in out in full, and the first of the holiday foods were out. Even locally, 'Little Debbie" holiday snack cakes were already out. The main thrust of Christmas treats probably won't be on shelves until after Halloween, but a few are out early. 

    I guess stores bought some of their stuff early due to tariff confusion, but this seems slightly ridiculous. It's not like I even looking for new Halloween decorations. Most of the stuff I use at my store are old and/or free, like a new orange spiderweb basket someone gave the store as part of a promotion. (We got a few treats in the basket as well.) We don't even hand out candy anymore, not since the pandemic. I was already a germaphobe of sorts. I couldn't handle having to wash my hands any more frequently than I did every few batches of treaters. I just want all the preparations for one holiday to be over with before starting to prepare for the next one. 

    

A Lifetime's Passed Me By

    There is still a lot of conflicting information about the sale of the shopping center where my store is located. Apparently, there is some sort of NDA involved, so no one is getting the full news about how the local hospital is buying out the center, and no one is supposed to say much. Fortunately, I started all of this before that came out, so I think I'm good. There are reports that the grocery store will close by the end of the year. That businesses will be given anywhere from three to six months to move. That some units, like the church, will get to stay.  That rents could go up to force people out. There is even a rumor that some will fight this out in court. Mostly, it is all rumor. I've been trying to look for a place to move to, just to hedge my bets, but nothing seems too great yet. And you want to know what the worst thing about all of this is?

    I never wanted to open a store in the first place.

    It all started in community college. I had to idea that I would go into journalism to support a writing career until that took off. However, there were so many other ideas that I wanted to look into at college, so I wanted to keep my options open. I had everything planned out. Until, my option on off-campus housing fell. I wasn't comfortable to live in a dorm with strangers, and I had lost contact with anyone I knew who might have been going there. I was forced to drop out and apply at the last second to another school.  That school didn't have any sort of journalism/communications program (until the year after I graduated), and the only other option they had was English. I couldn't even take any creative writing classes, as they only had one that corresponded to one I had already taken. The school didn't really have any of the other options that I wanted to explore either. I was miserable.

    By the time I was supposed to graduate, I had no clue about what to do.  I thought about going onto graduate school, so I could postpone any future plans. However, I made that decision about a week before my December graduation with deadlines in late January. By that time, I had already cut ties with the school, making everything much harder. I never made any connections with anyone, not the staff or other students. I especially never connected with my advisor. Not only wasn't I informed about him until the start of my second semester there, I wasn't able to meet him until the end of my first year. He wasn't even in the English department. I couldn't get the application completed before the deadline. 

    I applied to various newspaper jobs, but I had soured on that idea, especially since I didn't have any of the experience needed. Ultimately, my mom forced me to take a job that a connection of hers suggested. I was totally untrained, unprepared, and uninterested in the position, but she forced me to take it. I quit after a month because my employer lied about having to go away for special training. At the start of my final week, I was informed about having to go for a week of special training, something I would not be able to do. So, I finished out the month on shaky ground. How my mother, someone whose job was literally finding the right jobs for people, thought this was going to work out is beyond me. 

    I tried to find other work, but considering how toxic that first place was, I didn't want to work in an office again. Unfortunately, those were the only positions my mother thought I was best for. After my severe panic attack in early 1996 over realizing how bad my life had become, I stopped trying to find work and barely left the house. My mom had had enough of that and forced to open a retail store with her help in 2000, and I never any experience with retail, besides shopping. Still, I got to choose what type of store, books and music. (The latter never getting off the ground.) She picked out the spot, after nixing the first one we picked out, because of the lower rent and ample parking. Both spots were at the same shopping center. 

    I was alone much of the day again, but I began working out of plan to turn my life around. I had narrowed things down to two possibilities. I was going to pick one just after the debut of the fifth "Harry Potter" book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The Tuesday before the book went on sale in June 2003, a flood took my home, and all my plans fell apart. I lost so much that day. In many aspects, I still haven't recovered. I was only able to replace a small fraction of all that I lost, too much. I still am living in a rented apartment, as I have never been able to find somewhere else to go. I've kept up the store, but ever since my mother retired, she has involved herself more with the store. Many of her ideas haven't worked, but I can't convince her otherwise to take more chances.

    If I have to close the store, I don't know what to do. While I don't like all aspects of it, there are so many things I do. I started graduate school, but I haven't taken a class in a few years. I came to the realization that I don't know what I would do with an MA in English if I don't go into teaching, which I will never do. I could almost teach at the collegiate level, but I would need a higher degree for that, one that I don't want. People try to peg me into some sort of intellectual, but I see myself as more of a creator type. That is what I enjoy doing.  I just don't know how to monetize my ideas. Dropping out of society for a few years has just put me so much behind others in my age group. 

    I have put off so many milestones in my life because I wanted to have at least some sort of way to make money before doing them. Now, I'm scared that I waited too long. At my age, I don't think I could start at the bottom in a new job, especially in this market. I needed to ask for better advice decades ago, but I either didn't ask the right people, ignored those who could have most helped me, or went along with the wrong people without asking if it was best for me. I feel like it is too late. It might not be, but it feels like it is. 

    All of this is bringing me down, so I'll stop writing for today. See me next week.

And You're Not Gonna Reach My Internet

    I know I was supposed to talk more about my store's anniversary, but something came up yesterday, so expect more on my store next week. 

    When I arrived home yesterday evening, I did my usual routine. I put away my stuff, turned on the television, and began to play a game on one of my phones. It was the one without a SIM card that I only use for games and storing a few pics and videos. However, when I started to play, I got a notification that there was no internet signal. That's when I noticed that the lights for the internet were not blinking on the modem. Now, I also get cable television and telephone service through the internet as well, but they weren't being affected. In fact, they were working perfectly. I could even use the landline to call someone to see if they had internet service. They did, although it had went off for a while earlier in the day. We also called the provider to see if they had any idea what was happening. All we got was a recorded message saying that there were outages in the area near us. We couldn't contact a living person at that time. 

    We tried to call later on that night. This time, we got a different message, but nothing more about any outages. I was getting suspicious about what was happening. Since we had the other services, we should have had internet as well. Now, I could've tried my iPhone, but I have almost no bars in at home.  It is a cellular dead zone. I tried unplugging the modem, for up to a minute, to see if that would reset anything on my end. Nothing happened, but the television was unaffected. I would later get onto my MacBook to see if there were any nearby wifi spots. Instead of the usual list of mostly letter and numbers,  there were a bunch of names listing wifi spots, some I recognized as neighbors.  This included one under the name of the account for my place.

    And it was close enough to be in the house with me.

    I immediately thought that the provider had somehow installed a new modem for us outside when the put in new lines, or something to that effect. I had seen workers practically everywhere lately installing new equipment. As an experiment, I tried to join the wifi using the old password.  Didn't work. We were going to call one last time before going to bed, but we put it off too long to do so.  I went to bed without being able to go online. Well, for a few minutes. I remembered a shortly thereafter that I forgot to clear the online history, like a normally do every other day or so. I went back to my computer, still without internet, and cleared the history. 

    This morning, the internet was still out, but we still had cable and phone. We waited to eight to call some more people to see if they had any problems. They didn't. So, we phoned the provider again and reached a real person. While I started to get ready for work, someone else stayed on the line. The provider gave them a runaround, moving from servicing to billing to help.  I had to put some clothes back on multiple times to rush back to the phone to help out. (Yes, I was partially naked at times. Try not to picture that.  Unless you really, really want to.  No judging.)  Finally, after almost an hour, we came to a solution.

    When the provider switched over to the new lines, the old modem was renamed after the account and not the device any more. My devices no longer recognized the old modem under the new name, so they couldn't connect with it. We had to come up with a new password for the modem. After typing it in to join the network, everything worked perfectly.  My MacBook and phones connected easily. Of course, I was now an hour behind schedule, and I would open the store a half hour late. At least we didn't have to pay more for a new box or try to schedule an appointment for a worker to com in to install something. I also found out that the modem will work even when not all the lights are on. I just hope that the internet is still working when I get home tonight.

Twenty-Five Years and Stop Counting

    First, the good news.  Next week marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of my store, Booknotes.  Bad news.  It might be the last anniversary the store ever has, at least in its current location. It has all but been confirmed that Pikeville Medical Center has bought out the shopping center where my store is located.  No public announcement has been made, but enough people in the know have been saying things, including some board members.  The sale is still being finalized, it seems, but no one on either side is allowed to say much yet.

    There is much conjecture about why the hospital wants the center.  At first, it was believed that they wanted the space where the Super Dollar Food Center is as a day care center for the staff and patients. That was quickly shot down, as the hospital tried that once before, and it did not go so well.  Another prevailing thought is that it is going to be used as the new warehouse center for the hospital, as the current one is fairly far away from the main campus. If they go this route, they might be taking over the unit of the fun zone next door to the discount food store.

    As to the rest of the shopping center, no one knows. Most of the units, including mine, are being rented on a month-to-month basis. The majority of the tenants here are service oriented, including some that also have a retail side.  The remainder of the tenants have multi-year leases, including the fun zone above who may have renewed their lease while negotiations were going on. There is also a church in the center. (It took over a unit vacated by a dialysis clinic. This center has had an unusual history.) I have no idea about their agreement.  However, the hospital has had some court cases involving churches in the past, mostly about where the property of one encloses in on that of another. 

    The hospital might want the rest of the center to become some sort of off-site medical center. They already have an emergency care center away from the main campus, but who knows what else they could put here. Possibilities include a scrub store, but any such idea is pure rumor.  The only current tenant who would be safe would be the dental office, as they already have connections with the hospital. Considering that the shopping center already has multiple empty units, some going back well over a year, the hospital wouldn't need to buy the entire center to achieve some of these goals.

    Supposedly, the hospital has to give notice about major changes to the current tenants, such as if they want us to leave. I don't have a good guess about the amount of time that could be given, but it seems to range from one to three months, and possibly up to six months. Regardless, I have already been looking for a new location. Because of the flood from earlier this year, there really isn't anything available around Pikeville.  Prestonsburg might be an option, but finding somewhere within my price range for rent and lots of parking (a major sticking point for my mother) isn't easy. Other tenants are looking for new places as well, but the Food Center appears to be going out of business permanently. There doesn't appear to be any place it could move to.

    Things are developing quite rapidly, so I hope to have more information next week.