Back To The Nuthouse

 

Yup, it's Monday morning after a long holiday weekend.  As you can probably guess, I wanted to go to work today about as much as I wanted to have my teeth pulled without nonvaccine.  That being said, I am a trooper and a dedicated employee, so I pulled my sorry carcass out of bed and did my duty!

My holiday was really low-key and nice.  I went to a friend's home for Thanksgiving; we ate too much while we watched football and yelled at the television.  Since new quarantine rules are in effect around here, I was not able to do my yearly Thanksgiving Eve bar crawl, which if I were being honest, allowed me to feel much more rested and refreshed when I woke up on Thanksgiving morning.  It was a bummer not seeing friends on Thanksgiving Eve, but I'm sure many out of towners didn't even travel this holiday, so I'll see you all next year (fingers crossed).

I FaceTimed with my parents on Thanksgiving morning.  My Mom and Dad were celebrating the holiday at their house and had purchased a small turkey breast for dinner.  They actually seemed happy to just be spending the day together and having a low-key holiday.  I think this pandemic has shown us that sometimes less is more.  Their FaceTime skills are much improved (click here for recap) and Dad had pants on when he was speaking with me (click here for recap) - so, clearly it was a good day!  I did get to see their "famous" Christmas tree that they were so excited to tell me about last week (click here for recap).  I cannot tell a lie; it really is perfect and looks great they way they decorated it.  It makes me happy that they can still get excited over things like a new tree and it give me hope for when I am old!

I enjoyed my Friday off by doing a bit of online shopping and television watching with the Furry Boys.  Just because I am a Grinch this year, doesn't mean I will not take advantage of well-priced holiday items.  I purchased a new IPad and a new Kindle to replace the older models I currently own.  Both items have already been delivered and yes, I am already using them!  Merry Christmas to me!  I finished watching Ted Lasso and would highly recommend it.  It is a feel-good show that isn't all about soccer.

When I arrived at work today, The Boss was already there (my Monday keeps getting better and better).  He had the tree lights on and Christmas music playing throughout the building.  This crazy man is REALLY into the holidays this year!  I have to admit, the tree looks nice and makes the office seem a bit cheerier.  Who knows, maybe my Grinch heart is beginning to melt a bit.  I could do without the constant holiday music, but I have noise cancelling headphones that come in handy here, so I don't have to listen if I don't want.

There were no signs of a Yogi visit over the holiday (click here for recap); maybe he traveled to a relatives for the holiday or maybe it's hibernation time.  I think The Boss was a bit disappointed that he didn't visit, but at the same time he says he doesn't want Yogi around (what do they say about protesting too much).

It was pretty quiet today.  I think everyone is still recuperating from eating too much all weekend.  The warehouse is almost caught up with all the work orders, so they did some year-end cleaning to pass the time.  I began my year-end pack up of accounting files and work orders and started to get ready for 2021.  I cannot believe it will be December tomorrow!

Enjoy your day Nutties...until next time!

PS - In case you were wondering, Mike did bring in some religious holiday ornaments to add to the tree.  Now we have a couple of crosses, a baby in a manger and some wise men.  I feel better already!

The Tree Trimming Went As Well As You Would Expect

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Today is the day before Thanksgiving; I hope you are all ready to wear your stretch pants, watch football and eat waaayy too much tomorrow.  We have a shortened day at The Nuthouse today - we are closing early to begin our Turkey Day festivities.  That being said, The Boss decided that in order to leave early we need to first decorate the Christmas tree that he brought in from his home yesterday morning (click here for recap).  As you might remember, I am a bit of a Grinch this year and I can comfortably say today's group tree trimming did little to help make that any better.

This morning started off with the arrival to The Nuthouse.  I decided to bring donuts for everyone, so we could begin the overeating process for the long weekend.  When we arrived, the pile of decorations The Boss deposited in the middle of the floor yesterday were still there waiting for us.  As the Grinch of the group, I felt the pile of decorations was mocking me, but everyone else seemed to be excited about the tree trimming.  I think it may have been the extra sugar from the donuts, but I could be wrong.

Once we finished our donut snacks, The Boss decided it was time to begin the tree trimming.  This is when the fun really began (insert sarcasm here)!  The Boss decided that first we should take everything out of the bags and boxes and review the materials we had.  More than one employee mentioned that maybe we should set up the tree first because we would need the extra room and then access the remainder of the decorations.  The Boss wasn't having it - he wanted all materials out of the bags and strewn across the floor. I swear, it's like working with a five-year-old child.

So, the tree assembly began and it went as smoothly as any other process in The Nuthouse.  We had people who wanted to be in charge (The Boss, Drew and Mike), people who just went with the crowd (Rachael, Alex and Wayne) and those who didn't care and just wanted to leave early (Adam and I).  Once the tree was up, then the lights had to be strung and the next world defining question was asked....do we start at the bottom or at the top?  I swear, this discussion lasted fifteen fricken minutes!  Finally, those insane individuals (who will remain nameless) that were arguing finally gave up and did what The Boss wanted.  I so wanted to scream..."WHO CARES WHERE LIGHTS START, STRING THOSE F*CKERS SO WE CAN GO HOME!"

Next were the ornaments, two of which Wayne dropped and broke...oh, Wayne - you never fail to disappoint!  By 3 PM the tree was finished and it actually looked nice considering the motley crew that put it together.  By 3:30 PM I was out the door to begin my long Turkey Day weekend!  I guess I am proud to say that I survived The Nuthouse tree trimming event!

Enjoy your holiday Nutties and don't eat too much!  See you next week!

PS - I almost forgot - Mike made sure to comment that since Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ, he would bring in some religious ornaments on Monday to add to the tree since we currently didn't have any.  Thank goodness for Mike (insert sarcasm here)!

And, My Rant From Last Week Continues...

 

As some of you might remember, I had a bit of a "breakdown" last week discussing how Christmas movies, decorations, commercials, etc. are being shown earlier this year than in previous seasons (click here for recap).  In case you are wondering, I am still annoyed by the whole thing and after speaking with my parents and coming into the office today, I can see my annoyance will be continuing for a while longer.

My morning started out a bit earlier than usual - my Mom decided that she needed to speak with me prior to work.  As I have mentioned before, my parents live a couple of time zones away, so she needed to get up pretty early in the morning to catch me before work.  When my phone rang this morning, I initially was worried when I saw who was calling.  I picked up the phone and immediately asked what was wrong. My Mom quickly reassured me everything was fine, but she just wanted to tell me about the new Christmas tree they purchased.  

Are you kidding me!  She got up at the ass crack of dawn and called me to tell me about their new tree??? Clearly, they have been sucked into the vortex of celebrating early this year.  They have swallowed the blue and red pill and are 100% on board. My Mom discussed this fricken tree for over 15 minutes...where they found it, how they picked it out, the decorations they bought for it.  By the time she was finished, my head was spinning.  I told her I was happy that she was so pleased with her new tree and reminded her that I had to get ready for work.  No, I didn't mention that Thanksgiving hadn't even been celebrated yet! I promised to phone Thanksgiving to catch up on everything else (not tree related) going on with her and my Dad.

As I drove into work, I still was having a difficult time wrapping my head around her excitement about this damn tree.  Maybe I am just a big Grinch this year, but I am not looking forward to the holiday at all.  I arrived at work and The Boss was busy unpacking bags from his car.  I stopped and offered some assistance and he quickly accepted.  As he was handing me a couple of the bags, I saw what was in them and I almost vomited on his shoes....Christmas decorations!!!  OH, MY FRICKEN GOD, he is planning on decorating The Nuthouse! 

As he and I carried in the holiday supplies, he couldn't contain his excitement about decorating for our first holiday in The Nuthouse.  His family had purchased a new artificial tree and since there was nothing wrong with the one they were replacing, he thought it would be perfect to set up here.  What is wrong with me?  Why can't I get this excited about Christmas this year?  Clearly, I need help!

He deposited all of the supplies in the middle of the main floor and went to his office.  As the day progressed, the pile remained there untouched (big surprise).  When I asked if he wanted the decorations moved (so they were not in the way of EVERYONE), he indicated that we were going to be putting the decorations up tomorrow and then leave early to begin our Thanksgiving holiday (we are off on Friday).

I can get behind the leaving early tomorrow part, but a group tree decorating....I don't think so! I would rather birth a rhino!  Welcome to my hell!  Until tomorrow Nutties!

Week End Wrap Up From The Nuthouse

 

Well, it's Friday once again (yippee) and although the insanity at The Nuthouse was quiet this week (except for Yogi), I wanted to give you a week end wrap up before you go off to enjoy your two-day hibernation (get it?  hibernation..bear)

• Yogi did not come back that next night (click here for recap), but he did make an appearance the following evening.  No, he did not raid the dumpster again, but he was interested in our glass entry door.  I believe he may have visited a muddy area prior to stopping at The Nuthouse, because it looked like he rubbed his muddy body all over the glass door.  It was quite a vision when we came in this morning.
• The Boss said he would clean the entry door of the mud described above.  I should have known better than to say okay and just did it myself.  He announced he would clean it up and had to don rubber gloves and eye protection to spray some Windex on the glass door.  When I saw this ridiculous display, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to last until 5 PM (don't worry, I'm tough; I made it through the remainder of the day).
• It must be recruitment time at again the church that Mike and Wayne belong to (click here for recap).  They have been meeting at all times during the day and keep talking about what a big day Sunday will be.  Maybe they are going to sacrifice a goat or something...who knows.
• The Boss' injury is gone and no longer discussed or referenced.  No more ace bandages, crutches or limping on the wrong side of the body (he sometimes forgets where he is actually injured).  I am happy to say all employees survived his injury without killing him or inflicting an injury on themselves to get away.
• We have received a couple of small snowfalls here at The Nuthouse (nothing that would require plowing).  The Boss has now realized that he will have to find someone to plow our parking lot since we no longer rent space.  That has been a long and painful process.  It sounds like he has someone he considers a friend (I'm not sure if this person knows he is considered a "friend") that he is going to hire to take care of the plowing.  He was quite surprised that you couldn't just hire a plowing company to come when you called them, you actually had to contract with them to come once it snowed above a certain amount.  He thought this was ridiculous and only wants someone to come when he calls.  This doesn't have disaster written all over it!  I hope it is not going to be too snowy this season.  Stay tuned for updates as we get further into the winter season.
• The Boss has been talking about hiring another warehouse employee since business continues to improve.  I'm not sure what steps he has taken to begin this process, but if it's anything like his last hire (click here for recap) (click here for recap), I will know to be prepared for porn printed from the internet when I clean out his area.
• Our mascot Frack is still going strong and continues to bring joy and humor to our humble workspace.  Yes, The Boss is still obsessed with the two-gallon fish tank being too loud.  I think Frack is just staying alive to annoy him.  Gotta love that fish!

Enjoy your weekend Nutties and until next time!

Bear Picnic At The Nuthouse

 

When I arrived this morning and found quite a mess outside the building.  Someone or something had been rummaging through our dumpster and removed some of our garbage bags.  They then proceeded to take these bags across the parking lot to an area near our pond for their feast.  It looks like it might be a bear and it cracks me up that he stole the garbage and took it to a "scenic" spot to eat it.  You know what they say, restaurant ambiance is everything!

The Boss arrived and the garbage was still strewn across the yard (of course).  He came in the office, and as you can imagine, he was all about the mess and the possibility of a new visitor!  He wanted to know if anyone had seen what made the mess.  Although he has thought the wildlife was against him in the past (click here for recap), he seems to be impressed that a bear picked his humble area to steal his trash and enjoy a feast.  The Boss looked out his window a least a dozen times today - I think he was looking for the bear, but he says he was just checking to see if it was going to rain.

When we left this evening, we make sure the cover to the dumpster was completely closed and that all the trash from last evening was picked up.  Bets on when Yogi visits us again... interesting times at The Nuthouse continues!

Until next time Nutties!

Today, I Will Rant!

 

I have been fairly quiet lately because even I think my mood is too poor to subject it to others.  I currently have some not so nice things going on in my personal life and it has put me in a foul mood (more foul than usual). So,  I decided to step away for a few days and not subject you, my loyal readers to my piss-poor disposition.  That being said, I am back and today I have a rant (sorry)!

I realize that 2020 has sucked big moose balls for everyone and their brother.  I know that we all (me included), just want this year to be over and done with.  I often ask myself, 2021 cannot be worse...can it?  I think I even mentioned recently that I would  be willing to add a couple more months of winter if we could just skip ahead to 2021 already.  That is saying A LOT because no one hates winter and cold weather more than I do.  But alas, those wishes cannot be granted and we must push through the remaining dumpster fire days of 2020.

Although, I wish for 2021 to arrive, at the same time I am disgusted at the early showing of Christmas and holiday crap on TV, radio and such.  I, along with everyone else. am accustomed to seeing holiday decorations in stores as soon as they take down the Halloween costumes and candy.  This occurs every year and although I do not agree, I am used to it (and no longer complain about it).  What I am not used to is along with the store displays, now we have holiday movies on numerous television stations, radio stations going all Christmas music, all the time and between those holiday television shows, holiday commercials!  All this shit began on November 1st....November 1st, people!  I remember it well; I was in my kitchen with the television on in the background and I thought I heard a Christmas song being played.  I actually thought I was hearing things and went in the living room to check it out.  Lo and behold, right there on the screen were a happy, perfect couple, dressed in Santa hats presenting each other with keys to the new cars they bought for each other.  Excuse me while I vomit!

Don't get me wrong, I looovvve the holidays!  I love to decorate the tree (sometimes just to watch Milo destroy it), I love to shop for my family and wrap gifts.  I love listening to Christmas music and Holly on Sirius XM is my jam for the month of December.... I repeat, not November 1st!  Can't we just enjoy Thanksgiving.  Isn't it enough time to start the holiday crap on Thanksgiving night?

I have to stop, because I am just making myself angry again.  Until next time Nutties - hopefully I will be in a better mood, but who knows!

Welcome to Another Monday In The Nuthouse!

 

Good day Nutties and welcome to another Monday!  This week is looking up because our offices will be closed on November 11 - Veterans Day.  As I have mentioned before, The Boss believes if the banks are closed, we are closed; so it looks like hump day will be a bit easier to face this week.

Let me bring you up to date on the goings on here at The Nuthouse.  The Boss continued to refrain from bothering (or should I say, annoying) the contractor, so we are now the proud owners of a door in the conference room.  As the days continue to get chillier, not having to exit the building and freeze our asses to gain access to the warehouse is a wonderful, wonderful thing.  You know what they say about the little things!

The Boss has stopped wearing his ace bandage and ditched his crutches.  He is still hobbling a bit, but I think he is doing much better - even if he is slow to admit it to himself.  Sometimes I think he doesn't get enough attention at home, so he tries to "recharge" his attention batteries here.  He barely mentioned the injury at all today (hallelujah) and at times I think he has forgotten about it entirely.

Business continues to progress at a great rate and we all appreciate how lucky we are to still be doing well with all that is going on in the country.  Our business overseas continues to expand and we are gaining a reputation as a company that can deliver materials when promised and at a fair price. There is a down side; as business improves, The Boss seems to become more nervous and wants to wield a tighter hold on everything going on around The Nuthouse.  Today, he questioned me about the office supply order I was placing.  He wasn't concerned that the order was too expensive, he was concerned that we should be ordering more stuff.  I also witnessed him in a deep discussion with the warehouse foreman concerning the best manner to fill orders....if this is what they consider growing pains, they are incredibly painful! I wouldn't be surprised if he starts his famous annoying trait of deciding how work orders are completed (click here for recap).  When he starts that craziness, it takes up at least three days of his time.

Well, that gives you a peek into Monday at The Nuthouse; don't be jealous that all this insanity is only for me and our other Nuthouse employees! Until next time...

I Was So Happy The Election Commercials Were Over...Now This!

 

Let me start by saying I realize and appreciate how fortunate we are as Americans to have the right and opportunity to have our voices heard in the voting process.  That being said, I was so sick of election commercials that by the end of this election cycle I thought I was going to scream if I were subjected to them one more day.  

First, we would have the republican stating all the bad things the democrat did/was going to do if elected.  That commercial would end, then immediately we would hear from the democrat saying the same negative things about the republican candidate - and that was only the Presidential candidates!  Once we had the presidential commercials covered, then the ads would move to the "local" races and the same thing would occur again.  It was like a crappier version of Groundhog Day (you know, that classic movie with Bill Murray).  I would change the station three times and each time I would encounter election ads.  I was so looking forward to November 3rd so the insanity would stop and my forms of media would return to "normal".  November 3rd has now passed and you know what they say...be careful what you wish for.

My television, radio and internet are finally free of election commercials, but now we entered into a different ring of hell; we don't know who won our biggest race - President.  I thought the election ads were insane, but I have a feeling the insanity is just beginning.  Here come the court cases, recounts and more hate being spewed.  Is there an over/under on when we are expecting to have a winner announced?  I swear, I am so done with 2020.  Can we just start 2021 right now?  I would be willing to give up Thanksgiving, Christmas and even extend the winter months - just let this shitty year end already.  I really don't know how much more I can take.  Serenity Now, Serenity Now (it's not working!)

Okay, rant over - see you tomorrow with actual Observations From The Nuthouse!

It's Monday and We Changed The Clocks!

 

Welcome to another Monday Nutties!  Not only is today Monday, but on Saturday evening we had to turn the clocks back one hour.  Now we have the luxury of not only waking up, but also driving home in the dark... I really love fall on the east coast (insert sarcasm here)!  As you might know, my weekend started off with one doozy of a hangover (click here for recap).  As I entitled the blog post - I'm not as young as I used to be and recovery does not come easy as it once did.  Most of my Saturday was spent watching Netflix and napping with my two furry footed boys.  On Sunday, I felt more human than Saturday and decided that football and a big pot of chili was the plan for the day.  I really accomplished very little the past two days!

As you can imagine, I was not looking forward to my arrival this morning to The Nuthouse.  Although, it was my own fault, it didn't really feel like my weekend was long enough.  It also felt like I had not been away long enough to have built up my callous to The Boss.  Now, let me explain - I consider weekends important aspects of my continued good mental health from working here.  Two days away from The Nuthouse allows me to build up some distance between sanity and insanity.  I like to call it my callous; each weekend, the callous grows a bit and makes it a little easier to deal with the insanity when I come back on Monday. You know, the insanity isn't so close to the nerve, so it is a little easier to deal with?  I don't know...it's what gets me through the craziness.

The Boss continues to attempt movement without his crutches.  If I am being honest, he is getting a bit better at maneuvering around the facility.  He wore the ace bandage today, but I really don't think he will have it for too much longer.  I have noticed he is staying clear of the warehouse, which is actually a smart thing considering he is still not too sure footed these days.  The contractor was also here today to finish framing in the new door that was cut last week.  Again, The Boss stayed away, so work was accomplished.  The framing is done and the door was hung; now we just need hardware and we should be good to go.

By the time 4 PM rolled around, I was more than ready to call it a day.  I asked The Boss if he would mind if I ducked out a bit early since I had an errand to run before close of business.  Of course, he didn't mind, and I was free as a bird by 4:05 PM and on my way back home.  My plan for the evening consists of eating the chili that I have left over, watching Monday night football and changing the battery in my smoke detector.  Now, some of you may remember the fiasco with my smoke detector (click here for recap), after that nightmare, I made a pact with myself to change the battery every time we adjust the clock.  The last thing I need to hear is that damn thing beeping again in the middle of the night.

So, remember Nutties - change your smoke detector batteries and don't forget tomorrow is election day - get out there and vote!