Today I'm Sleepless in St Paul - It's Zombie Time!

I'm stressed and I'm exhausted today. I couldn't fall asleep last night. I tossed and turned until 2:00 am or so, then gave up and played games on my phone for an hour. I reset my alarm to 5:00 am instead of the 4:00 am I had previously set, and finally managed to get a bit over two hours of sleep. Yuk! I'm certainly not firing on all cylinders today, and I have a lot to do. 

I'm just a LITTLE stressed out right now. I'll manage, because 
there really isn't any alternative. I have other things I can do 
today as well as driving around looking at spaces for rent, 
but that's VERY high on my chore list for the day. 

My goal today is to look at other possible spaces for our Going Out of Business sale. I know there are some vacant storefronts in Rosedale Center as well as in the surrounding area. I'll gather up contact information, check things online, and make appointments for viewing if I can. This whole "shutting down the business" thing has me totally tied up in knots. 

There are a ton of regulations surrounding business 
liquidation sales. Mostly put into place to help assure 
the consumer, they are multiple barrier for the shop owner. 

I want to call the guy I want to hire to conduct our sale next week. I don't know if our schedule will work into his schedule. I'll make adjustments in my schedule if necessary, to meet his timeframe. I'm not willing to take a chance with anyone else, and I know he'll be successful if I can find the right place to rent. But a conversation is essential. 

Since the mall I was hoping would allow a short-term lease 
for our liquidation sale won't rent any space because they 
want to tear the mall down and rebuild, I need to look at
renting another property. There simply isn't enough space 
at my storefront to conduct a successful business liquidation 
sale at all. 

So, I'll be a bit of a zombie today, but at least it's a "day off", so I don't have to be at the head of my game. Chickie and I are on the same page on this tactic - we know we don't have sufficient space at the shop to run a major sale of any kind. Getting space and lining things up to move into it with sufficient timeframes to get everything into place is Steps One and Two. It's a rather frightening task that simply has to be accomplished. 

I'm used to short sleep - I usually get about six hours which 
is too little for a lot of people. But when I'm working on less 
than three hours, like today, I'm not really functioning at top 
levels at all - LOL. 

So, as I shuffle my way through the day, I'll be doing this and that, going here and there, and hopefully, I'll get a better night's sleep tonight because I'll have accomplished something today. That's the hope - LOL. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

Looking For a Space Might Be More Challenging Than I'd Hoped

Yesterday was just as busy as I thought it would be, with a few twists and turns in there just to make my life more interesting. *sigh* My car appointment went well - I dropped Minnion off and they had a new CX-5 waiting for me to drive off in - no charge. I liked it once I figured out how to work the CRT sound system and got it set to a general radio station that I could live with for a few hours. (I chose Minnesota Public Radio's Classical station - that's me in a nutshell - heavy metal in general, but a grounding in classical that I turn to as an 'always welcome' sound). I headed off to find my warehouse. 

I generally listen to Sirius XM's "Turbo" station in my car and 
on my phone. That's hard rock and it gets me moving on the 
treadmill and in general. But ... I couldn't access Sirius on 
the rental (without a lot of bother), so I went with an old 
favorite - public radio's classical music station. That's me in a 
nutshell - classical/hard rock. LOL

After getting lost in the warehouse district and using Google to get back to where I needed to be (which was actually REALLY easy to find *sigh*, I met with Mike. I explained what I was looking for, and that I had 48 metal shelving units alone that would need space, not counting any of my merchandise or standard displays. He said he didn't have anything large enough, but we walked to vies his largest unit - 2600 square feet. Yup. Not nearly large enough for my needs. He then passed along a card of a guy in Minneapolis who might be able to help. 

WareSpace was perfect in many ways, just not large 
enough. Their largest unit is 2500 square feet and I need 
more than that. They took a complex, completely revamped 
it, and made a lot of individual units for start-up businesses 
in it. It's a great concept and in many ways it worked 
for us, but not in size. *sigh* Back to hunting for that 
perfect space. 

My car was finished, so I drove the rental back and switched out a newly spark-plugged and fluid filled Minnion, happily waiting for me. She's purring now - LOL. On my way back home I decided to drop by Har Mar Mall. It's a mall that's actually in between work and my home. It was one of the first (if not the actual first) enclosed mall built in the state of Minnesota. But it's mostly vacant now. The larger tenants have moved to other locations in the area, and Marshall's is moving to their new space in our general area within a week or so. So there's LOTS of vacant space in the mall - perfect for a short-term lease and perfect situation for people in and out of our sale. 

Har Mar Mall, a strip mall located between the shop and my 
home, is basically a dead mall for interior shops now. Those 
stores with a strong exterior entrance - Michaels Arts and 
Crafts, Barnes & Nobel, Burlington Coat Factory, and some 
smaller restaurants, are doing great. They have regular 
business. But they don't have their back doors unlocked 
to access the larger Mall. It seems the Mall itself is mostly 
used by walkers these days, and there's nothing much 
sadder than a place that had been lively and active declining 
into old people walking their laps. 

Unfortunately, speaking with the property manager on-site, the mall isn't accepting any tenants at all right now - long or short term (I'd be looking at about 8 weeks for the rental contract). They're trying to get all of the permits in line to begin demolishing the mall next year. The City is fighting them on the grounds of a "historic" site, but I suspect the mall will win and will knock it down and rebuild something they think will work better in that space. That will cause Barnes & Nobel to have to move or close for a few months, which will make me very sad. But ... back to me (because of course, it's all about me - LOL), that doesn't solve my very real dilemma of finding approximately 4400 square feet of usable space in which to hold my clearance sale. I'll have to continue my hunt. 

I'm not counting anything out at this point in the process, 
but I do need to get something lined up in a reasonable 
period of time. It's too early to bounce this off DH just 
yet. He's stressed about cash flow and inventory. 

I did speak with the other guy - the Minneapolis property guy - who might be able to help. I'm hoping that might work through. I'd love to stay in my general area, but I also don't want to do anything farther south because we have a large problem with homeless and addicted people a bit south of our store's location and I don't need to be running a "Store Closing" sale in that environment. It's a pickle, to be sure. But at least I've started looking. Positive thoughts, as always, would be appreciated. I'm sure everything will fall into place, but I don't really need any additional anxiety in my life - LOL. So, I'm off to swim away some of this angst. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Going To Be a VERY Busy "Day Off"

I'm running a little bit ahead of schedule today, having awakened at 2:30 am instead of my normal 3:00 am for swimming days. So I took advantage of that little extra time to be a bit less rushed with my morning meditation, and it also gave me time to get the first load of laundry going before writing this and wrapping things up. It's a swimming day today, so I leave for the gym in 40 minutes. It's also a trash day, so the bin needs to be put at the curbside. 

It's not easy to stick to any plan when life wants 
to challenge you. However, sometimes you really 
have to dig in your heels and slow things down 
enough to actually come up with a concrete plan. 
I hope I'm doing that with this warehouse exploration. 

I've got an early morning appointment at my car dealership for a semi-annual checkover, but I'm leaving Minnion there today and taking advantage of one of their no charge loaner vehicles. If they don't have one set aside for me, I'm totally screwed because I have an 11:00 am appointment to view a warehouse space that I might rent for my going out of business sale period. To sell down to nothing isn't easy, and that's what I want/need to do. For that I need space, and my little sales floor simply won't be enough. I'm looking into renting a warehouse space for the sale period - approximately 8 weeks of time. The logistics of all of this will be frightening, but I'm going to have to make it work. 

I've been looking at warehouse spaces to rent, because we 
simply don't have the footprint necessary for a true Going 
Out of Business sale in our current location. These people are 
close, they have security, heat, etc in every space and every 
space has its' own loading dock. They may meet every criteria 
I'm looking for to be in for 2-3 months while we clear everything 
out to the bare walls. 

Of course I also have other errands to do today like grocery shopping and some cooking, but that will take place this afternoon after I retrieve Minnion from her automobile physical - LOL. It's just going to be one of those days. DH was upset at me because I didn't dive in and help him string beads for sale last night, but I just needed to sit and veg out for a while. He simply didn't understand that I needed an hour or so to just relax. Oh well, one more misunderstanding in a long encyclopedia of misunderstandings. 

I have a million things on my mind, a single day off, and 
two appointments that I must keep. I think I need my swim 
just to work off some stress. LOL 

So, I'm going to wrap this up, take some of my frustration out in the pool this morning, and hopefully have a day where everything actually clicks into place for me. It's a hope, right? LOL Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Stress - It's my Middle Name These Days

It's a swimming day today, which is a happy thing for everything except my hands which are still reacting poorly to the chlorine in the pool. Still, in the larger scheme of things, that's minor, and I just apply my Calendula cream several times a day to keep things a bit more under control. Truthfully, there's nothing much worse than having your skin as your enemy. Mine has been my enemy for my entire life, and it's battle after battle, changing areas of attack, but never a true lasting peace. LOL. The skin is the largest organ of the human body and when your skin doesn't like you, it can be life-altering. 

My skin hates me. It has hated me throughout my life, 
and I'm resigned to a never ending series of battles 
and small victories. I'll take them when I can get them. 

But at least I had a good night's sleep and a good morning meditation to start my day out. Now to get to the swimming pool, and then we'll see what the latest catastrophe is at the shop - LOL. I have to take the deposit to the bank - that's a bit of a trip, but we're not in winter (yet), so although it is a drive, it's not a drive that I hate. In the winter, there's one hill that is total "YUK" when it's icy outside. 

Deerwood Bank is a small regional bank that has 
branches throughout the state. It inherited our account 
from our previous bank when they purchased the 
assets. Our previous bank was VERY convenient, but 
there's a giant Loon statue in that corner now - that 
part of the City has changed a great deal over 30 years. 

So after my swimming, my breakfast, and the bank, I can dive into the day at work. DH will be busy with whatever he's working on right now, and I can get back to the inventory. Tomorrow will be quite busy - dropping my car off for a checkup in the morning and grabbing a courtesy loaner, then a late morning appointment to tour a warehouse complex that has warehouses for rent. I'm thinking doing this might be the better solution for our final "Going Out of Business" sale event. I also need to set up a phone call with Travis regarding that sale event. I need to get onto his calendar and I have a few questions to ask him as well. 

I'm hoping to hire this guy - Travis Walker, to hold our 
liquidation sale for us. He's top in the business, doesn't 
do a "dog and pony" show style of sale, and has satisfied 
customers throughout the nation. He's been doing this for 
a long time, and I'm hoping our schedule will work for him 
(and for us, for that matter). 

What happened to Cheryl and her handling our end of business event sale? Well, although I liked Cheryl quite a bit, I couldn't tolerate her partner. Once he came into the picture, neither DH nor I were happy. So I dropped her quickly. She can go after other accounts, and I'll go back to the one that I felt good about from Day 1. Travis isn't inexpensive, but I think we'll have better results with him than with anyone else, if I can just get things lined up. I'll probably have to call on the family to help - we'll have to physically move EVERYTHING in the store over to the warehouse over a three-day span or so. That will be logistics hell, but once everything is over there and the shelving is up, it should be fairly simple - some long days but fairly simple. The ball will already be rolling, we'll just be following it down the hillside. 

Nothing much better than swimming my stress away. Today 
is a swimming pool day, so I'm looking forward to the 
water and the exercise. 

So, I'm off to the pool. Time to swim off some of this stress. I think I've got the treadmill virtual reality program back up and running again ... I guess I'll find out on Friday. LOL Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Tired and a Bit Stressed - Nothing Unusual There at All - LOL

Happy Monday to all of you. I didn't get a good night's sleep - too many thoughts of the logistics of closing the shop clogged my brain, and I awakened earlier than my 4:00 am alarm. So I had a nice meditation session to get grounded, followed by 45 minutes on the treadmill. Now I'm writing this, and then I'll get moving. I'll be tired tonight, but that's not a bad thing. 

The fact that I'm tired probably won't really 
hit me until late this afternoon. My brain just 
won't stop whirling around the various 
things I need to get accomplished this week. 

I've always been someone who operates on minimal sleep. That "eight hours" of sleep is a rarity for me, and usually leaves me feeling sluggish. I'm more a 5-6 hours of sleep person, and I function quite well on that. I think I got about four hours last night, however, so I'll probably be dragging by tonight. 

The only item that rings true for me on the list of 
Common Reasons is the third one - stress and 
anxiety. That's not uncommon for me, but it's being 
amplified right now and will be in high gear until 
after we get the store completely shut down. 

We spent an enjoyable evening last night watching Public TV, ending with "Maigret" - a new series for us, set in Paris. I've been enjoying the character and the plot arcs quite a bit, so this one is a winner for me. Our public TV station has had some interference with their signals lately, however. Little buzzes and skips in the program. Nothing major, a minor annoyance, but I find it interesting that I'm only getting this on Public TV, not on any of the other stations or networks we watch. Hmmmm ..... 

We've been enjoying "Maigret" on PBS. It's a new series for 
us, a detective series on Masterpiece. I think there are four 
episodes in the first showing, and we've seen the first two 
so far. Good cast, and it's set in Paris, which is also fun. 

So, anyway, my brain is a bit muzzy today and I hope I won't have to come up with any major conversations or ideas. I'd like to float through today to the best of my ability - LOL. I hope your Monday goes smoothly and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Saturday and I Need a Weekend

I had a good run this morning, even without my virtual scenery. I've been using the same system that I use in the pool - listening to my latest audio book. It works well. I'm watching the clock a bit more often on the treadmill than I do in the pool, but that's because it's right in front of me - hard to miss - LOL. I got my 45 minutes in, and that's what's important. I'm sure I'll have my virtual scenery back within the next week, but I might continue to listen to the book rather than my Sirius XM station. Hard to say ... I don't always think clearly when I'm exercising at 5:00 am. 

Sometimes it's best to not be thinking with great 
clarity when hitting the treadmill after my morning 
meditation - LOL. 

DH has been in a foul mood for the past few days, and that's been problematic, since I wanted to discuss some things with him and he closes his ears to me when he's in this type of mood. But I'll keep myself primed to discuss when the time seems optimal. No telling when that will be, but it (hopefully) will be soon. 

Sometimes we all can get into a foul mood. I'm not an 
exception to this either, but right now, it's DH's turn. 

The garden is starting to wind down. I got a great crop of beans from my pole bean plants, and they're still bearing and will until a hard freeze. I'm still getting some herbs from my plants, and some of the peppers are still bearing. But the tomatoes have given up for the season now, and it's apparent that our crisp mornings are slowing the growth of the plants, in general. Autumn is here, and even though we won't be losing leaves until late October into November, the colors that she is showing this year are spectacular. I do adore autumn colors. 

We're not at peak color yet in the Twin Cities, but the 
North Shore, along Lake Superior is glowing. So beautiful! 

I'm calling this short and done today. I have too much on my mind to spend much time writing my blog today. I hope all of you, my friends both near and far, have a wonderful weekend and I plan to be back at the keyboard on Monday morning. Slava Ukraini. 

The Scoop On My Name Change For the Curious

Since many people were asking, here's the name story. I stopped using my given first name when I entered Junior High (Middle School in some districts). I was in a new school in a new part of the city and nobody knew me at all. My home room teacher asked each of us what we wanted to be called, and I gave my middle name. I wanted a new me for a new start in a new school. 

I attended Merril Middle School in Denver, Colorado. It was 
a brand new start for me in a new area of town where I knew 
no-one, and nobody knew me. It was a chance to reinvent 
myself, make new friends, and grow into myself. 

Over time I grew to prefer my middle name and got everyone to use it - some family members took a bit longer than others, but eventually everyone shifted over. I got my driver's license under the new name, but my passport had to be under my original name because it was a government paper. Then I got married. 

Then I got married, and the judge (because getting married by 
a judge was a LOT easier than getting married by a priest or 
a rabbi) ... well, he insisted that my first name had to be part 
of my signature because it was a legal document. The damned 
signature took up more than half of the space! Something 
had to be done. 

Suddenly I was faced with four names - my preferred first name, the first name that I never used, and my two last names, which I decided to hyphenate into a single long last name. Leaving out the name I never used (or used as a middle name under duress), I was looking at a LOT of the alphabet. I figured my name was unique enough with the hyphenated last name. Now I needed to convince the government. 

For several times I went to one of the offices of 
Social Security and waited in line for their doors to 
open so that I could actually speak to an agent. Finally, 
I was able to speak to someone who actually understood 
and was able to get my name changed in their records 
to reflect my married name without the added first name. 

After several long weeks of speaking to people at Social Security, they finally moved it through their system and my payments and account are under my name without the middle name I don't use. But I can't update my driver's license without showing proof of name that I don't have, and I can't update my passport because of the same issues. Identity has become much stricter in the decades past, and that's a good thing in many respects. However, going through this name change will strike the original first name from my name forever. I don't have a problem with that. DH does, but it's not his name. 

My driver's license is coming up for renewal, and they 
won't let me renew without all of the paperwork that I 
don't have. Getting my name legally changes will allow 
me to get my real id driver's license as well as a new 
passport. It also will make a lot of documents that I've 
signed in the past legal - such as our old mortgage 
documents, etc. It needs to be done and the sooner, the better. 

So, that's the story, in synopsis format - LOL. Of course there are many things that were issued under my legal name that won't actually be accurate any more - my BA and MA degrees, for instance. I'll live with it. I rather doubt, at this time in my life, I'll be needing my BA or MA diplomas for any reason. I just want to be able to get my driver's license renewed and a passport. That's why I'm getting the name change done.