City Views, Country Dreams

Good Friday Night from New York.

I cannot figure out how to begin this blog. Well, probably just begin it and the thing will take on a life of its own.

Last night, after returning from a long, totally engaging, profitable for the company (and maybe a bit for the staff as well, day, I as usual took my time to prepare a really supper, pour myself some red wine, sit down to relax. In my line of work I do not often sit for long.

Yesterday was the first day of our major summer sale. My shop is understaffed for reasons explained in prior blogs.

For probably 4 or 5 hours straight yesterday, I was like a racehorse with blinders on. I operated the sales register computer, with a colleague to my left folding items that customers wanted, and a colleague to my right doing the final packing in tissue paper and into the shopping bag bit.

This was without a bathroom break. Adrenalin ran. Customers were happy with bargains.

La. la. la.

Turns out that our shop had sales results yesterday way above what anyone expected. We "beat" other much bigger shops in our district. We were beaten by only one other shop.
"We" need more staff. Possibly beating the other more staffed shops will stand in the wayof our getting more staff.

But enough of the small talk. I am slurping down my pasta last night, and as I often do, listening via computer to a radio talk show from London. Cabbies are calling in, asking colleagues to try to go to Haymarket to help people to get away from that area. I was so impressed that this could be put out onto the air waves. It would never have been possible here in NYC.

Not long after, I cut my lights out and slept the deep sleep of the exhausted. It was not until this morning that I learned via cable tv what had been discovered in Haymarket. And then ... not long before I had to go to big-sale-day-two, I heard of another alarm in Park Lane.

All this in a way helps me to sort my priorities. I know that I am devoting way too many hours to my job. I have yet to figure out a way to enlighten the company to restructure the staffing of the shops. All the same, tonight I am safe. I have traveled to and from work via the subway, with the usual bums sleeping on a range of sleeping, tourists from midwest USA wondering if they are in the right car to get to the Statue of Liberty, Friday night lovebirds on their way to a night of ... could it be love, tired immigrant- and native-born workers looking tired on the way to work and on the way back, folks with their heads in tabloid newspapers, folks with their ears full of sound distribution units, folks consulting various forms of cell phones/blackberries, folks with little children (some in strollers) and all sorts of other folks.

This city is so full of energy brought daily by its inhabitants.

Today was another very busy day at the shop. We definitely will get our monthly bonus. Don't really bother with it, but know that some of my staff really do. Had a rather good actress, Blair Brown, in this evening. She is lovely, and low key.

I keep wondering where my energy is coming from. This morning when I awoke I felt so tired, and thought I saw great bags beneath my eyes, but as the day wore on, I totally forgot about that and just got on with it.

Tonight I feel glad to be living here in New York, but so very tired, and wondering how I might be able to reconfigure my weeks to get some time off. Still no good news from my assistant, the new mother.

We had rain last night (not like the rain that many of you all have suffered) but it cooled the air, and this evening is almost pleasant.

It is just possible that I may get a day off on Monday.

Please wish me luck! Or maybe just wait to see if I do take that day off!

Pleasant dreams.