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Tell me when I can come out from under the desk, okay?

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  • Tell me when I can come out from under the desk, okay?

    My parents own a small business... and I think it's going to hell.

    The owners:

    It went very well at first, but there have been some lasting problems that are getting worse--partially due to one of the co-owners, my Uncle, being sick with Diverticulitis... for months.

    My uncle is a good man, but he poisons the air with his grumpitutde when he is ill. And since he refuses to go to the doctor, when he gets ill, he gets very ill.

    For a long time.

    My uncle is very resistant to change, and has sometimes had adult-temper-tantrums when change happens. Like when I changed all of the misc barcodes to something that makes sense, instead of like, gas being 04-02, launch being 05-05, ice 03-03 bai 04-02, 07-01 or whatever, depending on the bait, they became "02ga" or "02la" or in the case of bait, "02wx36."

    To please him, I even had the old codes link into the new ones, so he could type the old ones.

    He absolutely wrecked the system trying to change everything back.

    My father, on the other hand... he's a very moral man, but I've come to think of him as a manchild. I want to disown him, as childish as it sounds.

    This is largely for personal reasons, but the link above will show you what he's like. I used to LIVE with this man.

    Now I just work for him.

    My immediate coworkers:


    When I showed up on the scene, I was apparently the first sign of competent desk help. My cousins had been working there for a while, but they had a very long list of things they refused to do, including come in any time before noon.

    When I arrived, my uncle had gone down with Diverticulitis for the first time, and had to take three days off. Those were my first three days.

    They had been moved from Colorado when their father (my uncle) bought the business with my father, and I would never stop hearing about how much Michigan sucks and Colorado makes unicorns fly.

    The boy and I both got into video games, but he would rather play them than interact with people, so unless we've both played a game, there's really nothing to talk about.

    The girl and I both became Buddhist around the same time, which is nice, but she takes it a lot more seriously than I do. She supported Peta's 'free the whales' lawsuit.

    We've tried to make a schedule several times, but they won't stick to it. I think we're in attempt 500 to make a schedule.

    If they showed up, I'd have to leave, even though I adhered to a schedule, and now, even though the boy and I are the same age, I have bills to pay and he doesn't.

    The boy was actually fired, but then I guess everyone decided to ignore that.

    The Mechanics

    First, a recognition of the fallen:

    We have lost three mechanics for various reasons. One quit, because he was on the verge of getting fired for just general incompetence. Another one actually got fired for it. The last mechanic was the previous owner of the business, and had a list of things he wouldn't do that changed depending on the day. He was a mechanic last and a fireman first, which we respected, but meant we could never get a specific schedule out of him.

    Now, we have three that remain.

    S, M, and K.

    S has MS, so we give him Sunday off, and Monday he gets extra leeway in what he wants to do that day. S is also an alcoholic, which I guess is getting worse. I only found this out when I commented how happy he was that day, and my father was like "He's drunk off his ass. He does this once a month, but lately he's been doing it two times a month."

    S is a very nice man, and usually extremely reliable, which is why I think my father puts up with him.

    He usually shows up at 5AM and leaves by 3PM.

    M is an asshole. There's no other way to put it. He's neroutic, anxious, and has no sense of manners or tact.

    Example: I saw him walking along the road, and I stopped to ask him if he wanted a ride back to the marina.

    His response? "I'm just going back to the marina. Why would I want a ride?"

    Fine.

    There was also the time, just today, that he demanded we call a customer because the customer wasn't EARLY for his appointment.

    M has little mechanical skill, but is used for the easy stuff that was easy to teach him.

    K is only seven years older than me. Also an alcoholic (from what we can tell. He often shows up at our house drunk. Usually with half-decent, if bizarre, reasons like he was working after-hours, and somebody gave him money for the launch) He is homophobic--didn't tell him I'm a lesbian so--and a bit racist.

    K lied about having his GED to get here, but proved to be so skilled my father let him stay on even after he fessed up. K is very excited about his job, easy to keep happy, and usually fixes our cars up for us for particularly cheap too.

    Even after the homophobic remark, I find little vitriol to offer when it comes to K.

    All of this stuff seems to be piling up, and the foundation is cracking.

    I'm getting the hell out of here.

    Anybody hiring a Buddhist writer/artist with graphic design knowledge, computer knowledge (intermediate) and a great phone voice? (NOT LIKE THAT)
    Last edited by Cooper; 06-25-2013, 08:21 PM.
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