Entries tagged with marissa

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I'm way too grouchy today.

I lost $900 today because my family STILL won't double check things.

When I first got covid, I was REALLY sick, and they knew it. My brain wasn't functioning right (still isn't but it's better than it was) and I wasn't double checking out-of-state orders for the shop personally for a couple weeks.

It had been a few months since they sent something out that was obviously paid for with a stolen credit card so I was like okay I'm gonna just step back and take care of myself and let them do their thing. It's a slow time of year anyway in the tattoo industry.

more whining under the cut

( Read more... )

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i did the thing!!

I think I may have burned myself out over the last couple weeks.

I knew the changeover to the new system would wear me out but damn I can barely breathe! But I’m so proud!!

Marissa helped with some of the stuff but most of this was me. Charlie and Marissa set up the hardware in the shop after I got it all working together here at the house.

new stuff

new point of sale system with completely new hardware and software (five different stations/sale points when before we only had 2
new inventory program
new purchase order program
new credit card processing company with SEVEN readers
new website theme/design
3 new manufacturers who let me become distributor for their stuff
2 new manufacturers who are letting me do drop-ship sales
350 new products we carry complete with at least 3 pics each, marketing materials, and descriptions that I had to program myself in our POS/online store
2 new warehouse locations (1 is our tattoo shop suite and I’m only using that suite address so I can program the online store to force shipping when people buy the drop-ship stuff compared to our shop where they can ship OR pick up in-store. The other warehouse is in Maryland and isn’t really mine but a business associate is letting me use his warehouse as a shipping portal as long as he gets a small cut)
a new app for Android and iOS that locals can use for more convenient in-store pickup and anybody else can use for regular orders

I decided to do it a couple weeks ago because usually our slow time of the year is July-September, but for some reason the business never slowed down.

Thought for sure the way the economy is that we’d have a REALLY slow time this year but it’s like people don’t give a shit? I dunno. It’s weird.

But the new stuff is all up and running and I’ve just gotta do minor tweaking and get back to ordering more supplies.

I did an order from my biggest manufacturer 3 weeks ago - an order from him usually lasts us 2 months - but we’re so busy that I just sent in a new order yesterday 😲

Everybody loves the changes to the system and ordering and all that!

And so for we’re loving it because we’ve never had systems that sync with each other and now EVERYTHING is run by the same main system so everything is synced and so easy for all four of us to access anytime we want on any device we want!

I’m so proud of how well the shop is doing!

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you don't like the boxes?!

I just figured out why we’ve been having so many problems with Priority Mail and Express Mail shipping through USPS.

My stupid stupid STUPID family THREW OUT all my Priority and Express Mail boxes, envelopes, and stickers, and they’ve been using the plain boxes we buy ourselves (the ones we should only be using for ground shipping) and plain labels.

It’s because they didn’t LIKE using USPS’ boxes! And because they didn’t LIKE picking them up from the post office!

So for THREE FUCKING YEARS now I’ve been dealing with lost, damaged, and super late issues with my customers and a lot of it could’ve been avoided had I just known that my family changed something and didn’t tell me.

The shipping room at the shop used to be fully stocked with all sorts of USPS and UPS boxes, bags, envelopes, and labels.

Did my family think I just liked the pretty colors?!

And when I told them that you can order FREE supplies from USPS and UPS and it’s shipped right to you, they were like 😲

I know USPS has a lot of issues and if the USPS employees would’ve just fucking answered me when I kept calling in to ask what’s wrong, it would’ve saved a lot of hassle, but seriously!?

Current Mood: relieved
Current Music: Pendulum - Pearl Jam

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Saturday Story Time #2

As mentioned in my Previous Post, I’m finally feeling better and can laugh at the epic shit-show my family has been putting on for the last few months.

Last you guys read, I was desperately trying to sell the shop.

I opened the shop with a 5-year plan (make it successful and sell at 5 years) and it’s now going on 12 years, interrupted by the pan/demic -- I was in the middle of selling it in February 2020 but that deal was dropped in the middle of March for some reason 😝

2020 and 2021 were spent making the shop work without me being there - doing everything from home. 2022 was spent putting a ton of time into getting everything in the books all shiny and ready to sell again.

In the meantime, for the last 3 years, Charlie and Marissa have been harassing me every chance they get, saying how the shop is holding them back, why haven’t I sold yet, they have things to do, and being snippy with me, blaming me for the heavy quarantine me, my mom, and my dad have been under even though it was a mutual decision between us 3 because of my mom’s cancer & immune system + my dad’s heart issues.

Charlie and Marissa treated me so bad that at one point my mom wrote a letter to them explaining the situation and that we were just being careful of the pan/demic because otherwise she MIGHT DIE.

And she also mentioned that I was actually still doing A LOT of the shop work, just from home - she said it tactfully and in a way that didn’t sound like “she does way more work than you so shut up.”

They took it well and started treating me A LOT better after that which made me bitter about the whole thing, because I told them all those things but apparently schizophrenic me didn’t say it the exact right way for the normal people to understand/care about it. (you guys talk in feelings?!)

But at least after the letter they were letting me adjust how they worked and they stopped getting bad reviews for the shop once they started behaving 😡

I’ve been talking with tons of different people in the tattoo industry, working out the sale, and got to the point where I was in serious talks and ready to take the next step.

I’ve been working so hard on all of it for so long that I was beginning to get burnout. Knew it was coming and that I was dangerously close to a psychotic episode, and I knew I had to sell quick and seriously relax.

Mom said we should have a meeting with Charlie and Marissa to make sure we were on the same page so things with the sale went smoothly, and so we all met at our house, mom and I in masks but Charlie and Marissa refusing (aren’t they so loving and wonderful?).

As we’re talking, Charlie kinda chuckles and says that he and Marissa were recently talking and they decided that maybe we shouldn’t sell because the shop pays all our combined bills.

Which they already knew. They’ve known for years.

They’re in real estate and sell about 2 houses a year normally and it pays for their vacations and hobbies, but their bills are paid by me.

They could’ve done more real estate in their spare time (they only work a 30-hour week for me at the shop) but didn’t because the real estate market has drastically changed due to the pan/demic and big real estate businesses that came in and have made it nearly impossible for independent real estate agents to get any work. (A real estate agent friend of my dad’s can’t get any work at all and is now driving an ice cream truck)

So I hid my shock when Charlie and Marissa said they didn’t want to sell the shop, and I let them continue talking.

Turns out they’ve been all pissy about everything because they just didn’t really want to work at the shop but when faced with the possibility that they’d have to support themselves through real estate, they had a record scratch moment.

Throughout the rest of the meeting I didn’t let them know anything was getting to me. We just talked about where we go from here and that because of business/industry changes, they’re going to have to take on more responsibility.

They agreed and even suggested more things they could do I wasn’t even planning on dumping on them.

In the end, I’m still kinda thrown by it, but I’m to the point where I can laugh about it.

The shop does make good money, and it’s still growing year over year, but I REALLY REALLY wanted to go into a completely different field -- one I’ve been dreaming of for years and already have people/businesses ready to pay me lots of money for including benefits. Way more $ than I make after splitting profits at the shop with my family!

But selling the shop would financially devastate the rest of my family and they’d have to get their asses in gear real quick or lose everything.

For now, I’m seeing how this goes.

I’m giving them more and more responsibility, taking more time for myself, and the shop is doing REALLY well. Even Kaylan (family friend who is paid to run social media for us) is stepping up her game and our advertising is awesome!

I’m going to keep shifting more and more onto Charlie and Marissa until I get to the point where I have a comfortable amount of time every day to work, write, game, cook, clean, and enjoy my fucking life.

So far it’s going well, and I’m hopeful that it’ll keep getting better.

I’m already to the point where I’ve started gaming again and I’ve got some stories in my head raging to get written. I also feel as though I could travel if I wanted to, and I’m ready to jump back into social media/fandom.

Now that my head is clearing up, things are SO MUCH EASIER LIKE YOU HAVE NO IDEA and the creative part of my brain is waking up again after a long time of nothing 🥰

The bitterness will hopefully fade, and in the meantime our bills get paid.

Current Mood: relieved
Current Music: Mygic Zone - Volbeat

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Saturday Story Time #1

I haven’t posted about ~~anything~~ my family in a while bc my brain had a bit of a meltdown -- partially bc of microdosing daily for 5 months (on the advice of ppl who said it would treat my schiz) but also bc my family pulled 3 epic shit-shows that threw me.

Now that I’m feeling better myself, I’m seeing the complete ridiculousness of what happened and I can laugh about it.

So feel free to laugh too bc I’ve always believed it’s the reason I’m as sane as I am - if I didn’t laugh at the horrible shit, I’d be curled up in a ball in the corner mumbling and rocking.

🎁 You’re welcome!
Long post. Strap on in 😏

I’m going to start with Andre (Asshole Cousin’s 16-year-old son) and I’m only gonna do 1 story per post or it would be a really long post.

If you’ll remember, last I posted about Andre was that he put a gvn in his mouth saying he was suic1dal and CPS was called, but I’m not doing a cut or warnings because it was all gaslighting and manipulation anyway.

That’s what my family is known for, right?

Andre wasn’t actually suic1dal and only did it to get a rise out of his parents knowing CPS would be called AGAIN on them causing trouble. A game. No bullets in the gvn and no intention at all.

We didn’t know that yet, so a few weeks later when Andre called us and said he was in fear for his life from his dad, had already packed and run away from home, we did some kind of Power Rangers call to action shit and all four of us (me, mom, Charlie, Marissa) ended up doing some seriously illegal shit for this kid, not telling anybody else in the family what we were doing so they wouldn’t be implicated.

We took away and shut down all his electronics so his parents couldn’t track him (they had tracking apps bc they saw his bullshit) and got him to a cabin in the woods with plenty of food, and we wiped our own histories, left electronics at home, used old non-smart vehicles so we couldn’t be tracked.

After five days of the four of us doing all sorts of shit to make sure he could get emancipated, getting burner phones and supplies, etc. and keeping ourselves off the radar bc the police were involved and visiting our houses to check for the kid, I sat down and talked with Andre at the cabin. Just the 2 of us.

Four-hour round trip and at the time we were still in completely quarantine bc of my mom’s cancer + not knowing what I now know about Covid.

Okay, so if you didn’t know, for some reason people just tell me things. Secrets. Things they don’t tell anyone else. Pretty much everything comes out of people around me. Not sure why but I use it for good 🫡

And that’s why the 4 of us decided I should be the one to have a talk with Andre. Get everything out of him, see where he wanted to go from here, and then we’d do what needed doing.

The kid immediately starts trying to manipulate me.

Didn’t work but I usually let people think it works so they keep talking and I get more info out of them.

Turns out he loves poking, teasing, and mocking his parents. Finding ways to get around punishments and then shoving his cleverness in their faces.

He doesn’t really want to get emancipated, get a job, get his license to drive, change his life, or put any effort into anything whatsoever.

In fact, he couldn’t wait to call his friends, wanted me to buy him a bunch of games & new PC, get him a burner phone with “at least 1 terabyte of data a month” and a new wardrobe, etc.

He told me all about how he left this tableau in his room for his parents to find that “released truth bombs that would shake shit up and I wish I could see them when they find it.” Like seriously dude?

I was confused as hell because this didn’t sound like a kid who was terrified of being killed by his dad, and in fact the more I talked with him, the more he opened up.

He wanted me to regularly drive him down to his parents’ neighborhood so he could go up to their Ring doorbell and taunt them. He wanted to live at Charlie’s house, and for Charlie to drive him to and from school every day even though they’re across town.

He wanted everybody to take care of him and clean up after him. And the cabin was already a wreck.

He played all four of us. And given the fact that his parents are into games too and would love nothing more than to take us all to court and ruin us, this freaked us the fuck out.

He also was pissed we didn’t do more for him. “Why did papa (grandpa) get me this shitty junk food? It’s not healthy. Next time you come up, bring healthy food.” And more shit like that.

Last straw for me was that he actually didn’t even wanna leave home. He enjoyed playing games too much and actually liked spending time with his mom, dad, and sister. “Running away” was just a lil vacation for him and a fun game to play on his parents in between finding ways to fuck up any of their punishments for bad behavior.

I left him there and came back home, so dazed that I don’t even remember the 2-hour drive home. I laid it all out for the other 3 involved.

Marissa (Charlie’s wife) was sobbing hysterically because she’s terrified of shit like this, and for several weeks after that I made myself physically sick about it too. Charlie and my mom don’t give a shit about doing things that could land them in prison, but Marissa and I want no part of that.

It was all worth it when we thought we were saving an at-risk kid, but once we knew it was all a fucking game, it wasn’t worth it at all.

Charlie immediately drove back up there, packed him up, cleaned the cabin, and drove him down to his old neighborhood and told him to turn himself in to the police.

He told Andre that if he ever said anything about what really happened, we wouldn’t be there for him when he turned 18. That should hopefully work.

I grew up with his mother (Asshole Cousin). She’s plays games with everybody, and bc she was younger than me, most people believed her over me (my mom saw through her shit, which was awesome).

AC’s mom actually hated me and tried to keep me away from AC bc she thought I was a bad influence. Like lady seriously? She’s 7 years younger and had WAY more under her belt by the time we were both teenagers. I’m not into illegal shit but AC loves pushing boundaries and doing whatever she can get away with.

Anyway, I didn’t realize that Andre was pretty much a mini-AC. My mom saw it coming, and I saw some of AC’s traits in Andre, but I had no idea it was THAT bad since we’ve been in quarantine for 3 years and I didn’t have contact with him.

He’s been lying to us, the school, the police, and CPS for years, and we’ve been worried about him for years.

All for nothing. No wonder CPS never followed through on any of the complaints -- they saw through his shit.

Stupidest part is Charlie and Marissa still don’t get it. They think he was just a kid acting out, and they only listened to half of what I said about him. But that kid opened up to me and it felt like I was talking to his mom.

I’m not playing that game again. The PTSD I’ve got is thanks to AC and my dad, so no.

It’s a relief to no longer worry about the kid, but damn this shit-show has been insane, and since Charlie doesn’t see through Andre’s shit yet, when he turns 18 Charlie’s gonna offer to have the kid move up here with him, and it’s gonna be AC in his house all over again.

Charlie didn’t see AC’s shit until just a few years ago after A LOT of damage had been done. Always blamed it on AC’s husband, who plays games too, but he’s not the ringleader.

It’s been several months since Andre pulled this shit, and now that my brain is doing better, I’m not freaking out over this anymore.

I can laugh at the insanity and wonder what my life would be like if all these assholes were even half as insane as they are.

I also have to wonder if maybe I wouldn’t have even gotten involved if I hadn’t been microdosing but I guess that’s more to laugh about bc why not.

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Real life has REALLY been hitting hard and getting in the way of writing and doing fun fandom stuff for a couple months now 😭

There’s good things happening too -- it’s not all bad, but damn, I just wanna write and forget about real life, ya know?!

* new A/C units were painfully expensive but our A/C works better than it has since we moved in and our electric bill is 1/3 less than it used to be!

* the new back door on the house was more expensive than I thought it would be and while replacing it they busted the OTHER door opposite so I had to replace BOTH back doors but they’re SO PRETTY

* my truck battery went out and I’ve had to coordinate friends/family picking things up for me (stuff at drive-thrus like meds) instead of doing it myself but Charlie replaced the battery yesterday (more money) and my truck is working great!

* big local ISP/cable company raised prices AGAIN so I said okay I’m done and have been switching my house, Charlie’s house, and the shop from Cox to other services -- it was A LOT of work, I’m only halfway done, but it’s saving TONS of money a month and we’re getting more channels and better service than before

* Verizon decided to up their prices AND start charging fees if you don’t replace your phone EVERY YEAR and with their service getting worse and worse I decided to switch us -- I haven’t started yet and it’s going to be a HUGE ORDEAL but it’ll be cheaper and hopefully my phone will actually work

* i think our roof might be leaking but i don’t even want to think about this one right now even though that’s a really bad thing to ignore

* both my aunt carol (mom’s sister) and my dad recently fell again -- not enough damage to require ER but it was enough to convince them to finally use walkers as it’s like fall #5 for both of them so that’s a relief

* I usually try to spread inventory re-orders out at the shop but about twice a year they all come due at the same time so I’ve been scrambling to order from NINE manufacturers and it’s so many things 😩 -- I’ve still got 3 places to go but good news is the shop is busy which means we’re making money

Aunt Carol hit her face when she went down, and the bridge of her nose swelled up so much we’ve been calling her a Bajoran (she’s a big Star Trek fan) and it makes her laugh so hard it hurts which is fun 😂

I need a nap, but I’m having trouble sleeping lately, and with all the home stuff going on, I haven’t been able to do my gum/my reset in almost 3 weeks, so my head stuff is flaring a bit.

I miss doing fandom things and gaming and writing 💜

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(no subject)

It’s probably not normal for a psych doc and a patient to have a close relationship, but being able to vent to each other and amuse each other with stupid work/family crap until we’re both laughing so hard we’re crying is therapy for us both.

Her work is more insane than her family but only by a tiny bit.
My family is more insane than my work but only by a tiny bit.

PDoc actually hurt her throat laughing so hard after I told her about Dominic and the stupid shit he’s been pulling on me for months now with the cell phone service and how he cost me $2000 and himself $800 and screwed up our accounts and IS STILL DOING IT.

Charlie finally called me this morning because he was like okay I’m stepping in with the cell phone thing because Marissa is done and it sounds like you’re done.

Hopefully now that I’ve explained everything to him Charlie will be able to get it worked out.

Let him deal with
1) Dominic/Marissa’s Son = unmedicated ADHD
2) Lilly/Dominic’s wife = an alcoholic
3) Meagan/Marissa’s daughter = alcoholic living in the house with Dominic and Lilly

I’ll deal with suggesting my dad put ketchup on his nipples and try to stop him from buying the next crackpot thing he found that “cures” ringworm (it’s essential oils, some of which he’s allergic to, for only $49.95 per tube!).

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texting

mom: is it the poe-full by f a it convention

me: can ya tell mom had a seizure? 🤣

charlie: OH!!! i was wondering!

marissa: i thought i was the one having a seizure! 😨

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(no subject)

My aunt carol (70 years old) who worked as a phlebotomist for years and as a medical transcriptionist for years told me over the phone yesterday that she was all excited Andre got his first Covid-19 vaccine that day because she was finally able to spend the day with him without a mask

and I’m like only his FIRST shot?! and he JUST got it?!

like you do know he has to have both of the shots and even then he’s gotta wait a couple weeks for HIM to be safe

but YOU’RE still not safe because YOU’RE not vaccinated?!

She was like yeah but he had the shot!

My mom overheard us and she said “does getting a flu shot help the guy next to you who didn’t get a flu shot?”

Aunt Carol was quiet for the longest time.

I said something about true herd immunity vs ONE person in your life who got ONE dose of a 2-dose vaccine for something when only about 60% of the US population is fully vaccinated for it and she was like

oh yeah that was stupid of me

The worst part is everyone else living in the house AND in Andre’s house thought the same thing.

And then they wonder why I refuse to let them in my house and why I’m still wearing a mask and staying away from people.

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cousin update: meagan

All my cousins suck. I keep thinking one of them might be redeemable, but they prove me wrong constantly.

Meagan (Marissa’s daughter and Charlie’s step-daughter) is an alcoholic who constantly gets herself into stupid shit.

Every boyfriend she’s ever had, and she’s had a lot, is pretty much the same guy.

Here’s how the relationship goes:

meet a guy who works/goes where you do
party with the guy whether he’s your boss, workmate, or whatever he’s doing in life
quickly move in with the guy either in his place or get a place together
decide you don’t want to party anymore and he shouldn’t either
play sick twisted mind games with him constantly until you drive him crazy or send him deeper into alcohol or drug addiction
continue being so ridiculous to everyone around you that you lose your job and the cops are called out to your place on a regular basis to get you to shut the fuck up and stop harassing the neighbors and their pets and stop passing out on their lawns or banging on their doors and windows screaming to be let in thinking it’s your place
suddenly freak out and cry to everyone who will listen that he’s “beating the crap out of me HELP!!” even though you never bruises (she bruises VERY easily) and your boyfriends are usually the ones with the bruises -- (her ex-husband had cuts on him and a split lip one time but he wouldn’t say why)
insist everyone drop everything and come rescue you immediately
stay with whoever “rescued” you, taking advantage of them, playing sick twisted mind games with everyone in the house, letting your dog shit and piss all over their house while you treat everyone like shit and fall back into alcoholism so badly that you throw up all over the house, pass out in random spots in the house, piss yourself regularly, and never clean up after yourself or your dog
if anyone complains, pull out your self-diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and use it as permission to treat people however you want
continue this until you get a new job
clean up enough and work hard enough for your employers to begin really liking you for a few weeks or even months
meet a guy who works/goes where you do

It’s the same exact thing every time. The only difference is where the guy lives.

All but two of the guys lived with their mother -- they didn’t pay their mothers anything or help out in any way and most of them had suspended licenses for drug/alcohol related issues and insisted their mothers drive them anywhere they wanted to go
Two of the guys slept IN THE SAME BED as their mothers
One of those mothers pinned a sheet to the ceiling and draped it down the middle of the bed so Meagan and her son could have privacy and there was no door on the bathroom that was in the same room with the bed -- Meagan said they didn’t fuck in the bed, but they did in the shower because it was more private
One guy lived on the open porch of his mom’s house (Meagan lived with him for about 4 months on the porch)
All of the guys have severe drug and/or alcohol addiction

So Charlie is on his way to Colorado (where she was sent to go to rehab) right now to pick Meagan up after she called last night claiming the guy she met in rehab (great place to meet amiright?) had “gone crazy” and was “beating the shit out of me.”

Charlie has a temper, a short fuse, and no filter since his brain injury, and he’s driving up there alone so that Marissa can take care of customers at the shop.

I have a feeling Charlie is going to end up arrested for a confrontation between himself and the rehab guy because ALL of Meagan’s boyfriends have been cocky little fuckers, and twice now the only reason Charlie wasn’t arrested for getting into confrontations with her boyfriends was because when the cops came Charlie was like yeah I screwed up here’s exactly what I did and why and he’s charming so they let him off with a warning.

Now he’ll be up there without Marissa, me, or Madelyn to keep him from doing stupid shit.

Oh and Meagan has been banned from living in Charlie’s house, my house, and all my other cousins’ houses except Dominic, her brother. Stupid guy offered to let her live with him while she gets back on her feet.

His wife of only a few months doesn’t really know Meagan, and now I’m worried this is going to end his marriage because yeah Meagan is that much of a mindfucker.

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don't wanna be an adult anymore

Taking care of adult things is way harder than I thought it would be when I was a kid. I couldn’t wait to make all the decisions. Stupid kid 🤣

I’m trying to rearrange our family cell plan and devices.

We have so many people on the plan that we have a main account and a side account under the same name. It’s a pain, but now that they have plans that allow for more people, I wanted to get switched over.

more whining below the cut ( Read more... )

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(no subject)

I have a chat feature on my shop’s online store. It’s great for helping customers and answering their questions -- it’s linked to an app on my phone so I can talk with customers 24/7.

A guy messaged me this morning to ask if he could pick up his stuff at 10:30am on Wednesday even though we open at 11am. He was really nice about it!

I said I’d make arrangements for it and I texted Charlie and Marissa. Marissa was like sure we’re in there by 10:15am cleaning and prepping anyway, but Charlie went off on this rant about how we have to have our own lives and we can’t cater to customers’ every whim

and it’s like dude. We’re in the service/retail industry. And we’re running our own business without help from anyone else.

It sucks but YES you do have to cater to every customer. That’s why our shop is getting all the customers and every other tattoo supply shop in the metro area is losing customers.

Is it THAT hard to open the door to a customer and hand him his stuff at 10:30am when you’re already there cleaning and prepping to open? The customer is ordering today, so they don’t even have to let him inside on Wednesday if they don’t want to.

Besides that, when I used to go into the shop every day, I was there from 10am to 8:30pm because our hours were 11am-8pm (there’s a lot of morning cleaning involved -- even before the pan/demic).

The hours are now 11am-5pm and Charlie complains ALL the time about how long he has to work there. Funny given that one of the reasons he thought the shop was a great idea in the first place was that we were open longer than other places -- artists constantly complained they couldn’t buy supplies after 5pm anywhere.

When we first opened years ago the hours were 9am-10pm Tuesday-Saturday and 11am-5pm Sunday and Monday.

He should be glad I’m not insisting they go back to those hours 🤣

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social media misman

I've got a social media manager named Kayin. She's a friend of the family living in Uncle Charlie's house. I agreed to "hiring" Kaylinas a social media manager in return for room and board at their house.

I knew from the beginning it was a bad idea (because she's definitely a product of her parents dad=manipulative bastard and mom=manipulative drama queen who starts shit, and both leave behind devastation), but it was either watch her live there for free or have some help with the social media stuff.

I don't have time to do the stuff I already should be doing, and social media always loses out when I prioritize what I need to do.

Granted, Kaylin is really nice to people who ask questions online and she gives them contact info for my artists when people want a tattoo.

She presented herself as a social media manager. Her deal sounded good. Like she knew what she was talking about.

I'm not social media illiterate, but I'm also not that good at it. I don't know the algorithms. I'm not super social so backlinks don't really happen for me other than the manufacturers I distribute for. Etc.

She's been doing this for almost 2 years now and it actually seems like she's hurting more than she's helping.

Even though she's only 30 years old, she has an old soul. Unfortunately, she doesn't realize it and thinks she's young and cool and cute. She's also manipulative-flirty and thinks it's cute.

So when she makes advertisements, it always looks similar and it always looks like something you'd see in a fashion catalog from the 60s.

She has no clue what's popular right now even though she's into fashion.

It's really sad that I know what's in fashion right now and she doesn't considering absolutely no interest in fashion and never have. I have 2 pairs of black jeans and 15 of the exact same black shirt that (before the pan/demic) I wore to the shop every day.

She also isn't good at tailoring her advertisements to her audience. We're advertising to artists, specifically tattoo artists, and everything she does is a 16-year-old girl living in the 60s.

It's boring with bland earthy tones. It's not exciting. It's not in line with any tattoo styles, of which there are TONS to choose from.

It's to the point where when my mom and I look at her advertisements, we're actually annoyed by them.

I KNOW tattoo artists. They have certain styles, and they don't like cute and/or fake. Kaylin is so fake and tries way too hard to be cute when she's not.

But if I fire her, Charlie won't start charging her rent, so I'm kinda stuck.

I also don't know if I'm expecting too much of her. I've never used a professional social media manager, but I've watched them work on projects I've been involved with online over the years including comic-con advertising.

The amount that Charlie isn't getting on rent would get us 60 advertisements a month created by people who know how to use graphic design programs and know how to use hashtags and link to products. None of which Kaylin seems to get even though I've shown her how to do it multiple times.

I also bought a subscription to Hoosuite so she could schedule posts. I gave her a lit of what times it's best to post adverts on each social media app. But she can't even figure Hootsuite out and when she does schedule posts, she does it for 10am across all social media.

I had her watch the instructional videos Hootsuite put out, but she still doesn't get it.

No one else in my family can use graphic design programs, none of us are artistic, and I'm the only one who has any useful knowledge of social media. Marissa has some, but it's just because she posts pics of her dinner on Insta and FB.

Any time I post an advertisement, I get tons of interaction (not as much as I could be getting if I was good at this), but the most Kaylin gets is maybe 2-10 views, no likes, no shares, no comments. And after 2 years of doing this, she has gotten exactly ONE click from Google posts to our store. ONE.

But I don't have time! I don't have time for a personal life or even enough time to do everything else for the shop that needs to be done.

I know the social media aspect is hurting the shop, but I feel stuck. If I could clone myself or Kaylin could step up, that might be another story.

*WHINE*

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(no subject)

I need some perspective here, if you don’t mind.

I’m schizophrenic. I know you’re all shocked! But my idea of a reasonable amount of effort is rarely what reasonable really is.

For example, it was only a few years ago that I learned what delegating responsibility really was because I see shitty workers on TV and figured people are too lazy or unskilled or have a bad attitude so “delegating” meant asking someone once to do something and if they don’t do it or don’t continue doing it or do it poorly, I just take the job back without saying anything because I want it done right. I now know what delegating is and how to do it.

So here’s what I need perspective on from someone outside my family because my family is full of overachievers who go too hard.

Walking the dog: If/when a non-schizophrenic, non-overachiever takes their dog for a walk (this includes other neurodivergents because from what I’ve seen y’all may not be “normal” by a non-neurodivergent’s standards, but in this particular area you’re closer to “normal” than I am) is 3-5 miles normal?

I promise I’m not trying to brag (if it’s too much) and I’m also not going to beat myself up (if it’s too little). I can back off or work my way up.

I use what other people view as normal to gauge what level I should go at not in an “I’m better than you” or “I suck and you’re so much better than me” way but really as a guide. I’ve done it all my life and it works well.

The reason I ask is there are 3 other people in the neighborhood who walk their dogs around the same time I do. All 3 of them walk around 1 block. Probably 1/4 mile? Maybe less? Is that because they’re putting in minimal effort just to say they walked their dog or is that normal?

Roo is a terrier and she has tons of energy, so she’s thrilled to go as long as I’m able, but I also don’t want to do damage to my body. I’m not a small person, I’m not athletic, but I have a lot of stamina and things just don’t seem difficult -- I always see people pushing themselves on TV just to walk a mile or 2 unless they’re athletic so I know I’m a little off on that.

I can’t ask my family because Marissa run-hikes a mountain every morning 10 miles and Charlie relieves stress by fast walking until he wears himself out and can sleep after an episode anywhere from 2-10 miles.

My psych doc gave me a weird look when I said how much I walk, but she wouldn’t say why.

Entry tags:

aita

Granted I shouldn’t have texted them while they were off, so this is partly my fault. I forget that people need to be handled and you can’t just give them info when they’re not ready to receive it.

The shop is closed today. We’ve been advertising for 2 weeks we’d be closed today and it’s been on the red bar at the top of the website since last night.

But at noon I got an angry customer who was sitting in the parking lot wondering why we weren’t there and who started texting me on the website’s chat system.

I said I was sorry and that we did advertise the closure but that some people missed it and would you like me to cancel your order and refund and here let me give you a $15 off coupon for your next order.

She’s still pissed but I did my best. Several other customers are pissed too but I managed to calm them down.

I texted Charlie and Marissa about how next time we close the shop for a day, we should notify everyone who did a pickup order and hasn’t picked it up yet that we’re going to be closed. Just an email to notify them so they don’t drive all the way to the shop to find us closed if they missed the closure notifications.

The reason the shop is closed is Marissa’s half-sister is getting married today.

Someone with tact would probably wait until they were home to text, but we always text whenever we’re thinking about something so we don’t forget. I figured if they were that busy they’d ignore the text and check when they got home. We do the same thing in the middle of the night – knowing if the person is asleep they’ll answer us when they get up. No big deal right?

Apparently I should’ve waited. Or never said anything at all?

Charlie sent me a several page-long rant and has texted several times since yelling about how we should be able to have our own lives and why do we have to give discounts for something we warned about and Marissa is texting about why do we have to do this and like…

I don’t get it?

What’s so horrible about trying to manage customers. Customers are unreasonable and pissy, but people like dependability in a store. Charlie and Marissa would be pissed if they did a pickup order at Walmart and went there only to find out it was closed and they missed the memo about it being closed for the day.

Why am I the asshole?

Am I the asshole?

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red-headed sailor moon

Marissa (my uncle’s wife) has a Sailor Moon outfit.

But she has no clue it’s a Sailor Moon outfit.

Marissa just likes wearing really over-the-top cute outfits.

She has long red hair that she does all pretty and curly when she wears the Sailor Moon outfit.

And even though a lot of customers who come into the shop KNOW it’s a Sailor Moon outfit given the looks on their faces, they just smile and say she looks cute today and turn to me and grin or wink.

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please stay away

Meagan is in Colorado at an addiction treatment center for 30, possibly hopefully 90 days.

She’s caused so many problems with her alcoholism in the household and family that we’re all hoping she stays away, at least until she’s got herself together. She’s gotten in legal trouble recently too.

Marissa (her mom) has been telling her how cool Colorado is, and so has Kaylin (she used to live there).

Meagan said they’ve offered her a job there in Colorado and she’s saying how nice it is in the area.

PLEASE STAY. Make a new life. Deal with your own shit and quit dumping it all on us.

Of course I could say that about all my cousins, but one at a time here :P

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all my cousins suck

But the one doing the most damage right now is Meagan. That’s Marissa’s daughter, Charlie’s step-daughter.

She’s an alcoholic.

Marissa just watched her little sister drink herself to death a few months ago, and now she’s watching her 20-something-year-old daughter do the same thing.

Meagan moved out of Charlie/Marissa’s house again a few months back, got an apartment, and got her own insurance car.

In 8 the weeks she was “on her own” this time, she managed to get the police called on her 3 times over fights with the downstairs neighbor (who just wants to live peacefully without a drunk asshole physically and verbally assaulting her, screaming and banging on doors in the middle of the night, and passing out on the front lawn), almost lose her job 5 times, and get put on a 72-hour hold 3 times.

That’s before Thursday.

cut for length

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more family antics part 2

Ready for more?

Okay so some backstory on this is that my psych doc is actually the psych doc/medical care provider for MY ENTIRE FAMILY.

And for some reason she really likes us and me in particular and wants to be BFFs and even though she realizes I’m not the type to do the good friend thing, she still enjoys texting and calling. She talks openly about the rest of my family, but my family knows and doesn’t care. Have I mentioned my family is weird?

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Entry tags:

more family antics?

My family continues to be JUST the slightly okayish side of horrible.

Dominic got married yesterday. My mom and I watched the live stream through Instagram, which was totally awesome because we didn’t think we’d get to see it at all.

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