As owner by association to the spouse’s business – I still have to worry about what is going on in the store – and our financial situation and dealing with customers as well as suppliers. Although I tell people that it’s all about PB – it’s not true as we all know it – my ears and eyes are always open and when I am at the store – I play both the good guy and the bad – while PB plays the boss. If you’ve ever run a business – you will know that there is more than meet the eyes – those that think that we are sleeping on money – must be crazy. I wished we had a friend or a business lawyer – like the raleigh business lawyers who handles all aspect of dispute and negotiation for businesses. But in a small town like ours – PB don’t think that there is one that specializes in doing just that. And even though we are a small business – it is always good to have someone who knows all about dealing with irate customers – or what we can do at our store and not do. There are so many little things that I would like to ask our business lawyer if we had one – and since we don’t have one – we are always worrying if we can do certain things or if the cops came for somethings that were sold to us – that were reported stolen – what are our rights as store owners. So yes! being an owner by association – is not as easy as some of you might think – I still worry a lot about the ins and outs of the store.
12 Yrs In Business
Definitely not an easy feat – but I have to say PB did a pretty good job – from the start – till when we had a tough time some 4 years ago – and now bringing the business back where it should be and even better than I had anticipated. Being in business for this long also means constantly upgrading – and the money that we made – always goes back into the store somehow. Besides the paying of bills – and stocking up inventory – and buying what is necessary to live on – we rarely splurge on ourselves. This year we are looking at getting a barcode scanner for the store – because it would be a lot easier if we were to hire on part-timers. We don’t have to specially train them how to punch in the codes and look out for the price difference – all they need to do is to scan the products and once scanned – the cash would balance and we won’t have to worry about missing money.
We are also constantly looking for ways to make things a lot easier on us – the initial part to put everything into the system using the scanner may be a bit tedious but in the long run – it would be a lot easier – we don’t need to hire a very skill person to man the counter for us – even a monkey can do it – like the sales person said. And yes – as we look forward to celebrating our 12 yrs in business at the end of the month – I hope this year PB would give out some free gifts like pens or memo pads – to our regular customers. What do you think? should we have cakes and coffee too? or get the local radio to come celebrate with us.
Sometimes I Wonder
Sometimes I wonder why do I even try? the harder I try – the harder the smack seems to be. Seriously, I should just give up on some people and stop trying to do the right thing. So from now on – I’m just gonna take good care of myself and my own – as for the rest – the hell with it!
Beatles Octopus’s Garden
I grew up with parents who are not very arty farty – nor are they very hipped. When it comes to the Beatles and lyrics of songs – my mom was just not into it – and my dad “the shit face” well – he was never around right – so you can’t expect to learn anything from him. Now with Chloe – it’s a different story altogether – because she has got a dad – who loves music – although he wouldn’t sing to her – and she picks up all the good stuff from him. Like this song – Octopus’s Garden – Chloe who is 7.5 yrs old – would sing this song to me – and the yellow submarine. I who is 46 yrs old is learning so much from this little girl who brings me so much joy. So I’m inclined to believe – that what your children are – us as parents have direct impact on them. So yes! you want your kids to be this and that – make sure you check yourself – are you also this and that? I don’t believe in pushing my kid – but strongly believe in nurturing them with love and encouragement.
The Western Men & The Chinese Men With Electronics
I wanted to think of a title that won’t offend my Chinese friends – but there isn’t really a good way to put it – without upsetting some. But this only applies to those who are not technically inclined because the Chinese men that I’ve met – are not very technically inclined – well – except for the engineers I used to work with. But truth be told the Western engineers are by far more handy and knowledgeable when it comes to anything electronic. And I can prove it because PB is such a person – ask him about wires, cable or even digital video cables, he is able to tell you exactly what they are for and how to use it. But if I were to ask a chinese friend – I seriously doubt they are so good with it. Some of the chinese male friends I had known all my life – don’t even know how to tune a VCR to record what is on tv *slap forehead* so can you blame me for wanting to marry a chinese? well – of course, there is more to knowing about cables to choose from a Chinese to a Westerner – but that’s for another post and another day.
Raising A Kid Well
When Chloe was born – the minute I held her in my arms – I was very happy but at the same time overwhelmed with fear and responsibility as to how I am going to be able to raise her up well. Not only in terms of feeding her and clothing her but also with her education and making sure she grows up to be a responsible adult, well-behaved – you know the works – like any good citizen of society. My fear derived from seeing so many teenage pregnancy in this town – and also so many problematic teenagers. I fear I may not bring her up well – I fear she may grow out of hand – I also fear for my own health – what if I am not around to help raise her with PB. You see – after arriving in Canada – I realized that my health is not what it used to be and since PB was the only bread winner in this household, therefore I was very worried – what ifs???? So I did what any responsible woman and mother would do and took out my life insurance calculator and got some good advice from my insurance agent and did the right thing with my term life insurance. You never know what life may bring you eh – and in the event when something does happened I want to be prepared because I want my kid to be raised up well. I want an option for PB to leave work and to look after Chloe properly – i hope that day may never come – I hope to watch my princess grow up – and go into college and get married and have kids – but you never know right? What about you? how do you raise your kid up well?
School Is Done For 2010/2011
So school is finally over – and Chloe is ready for her summer fun – summer camp that is – this year – she did very well in school and we are very proud of her. She had 5 As and 5Bs – and her reading improved tremendously. We felt that the teachers for last year and this year played a very important part in her improving so much. Thank God for good teachers and not crazy and inexperienced ones like her first teacher.
Mother’s Day 2011
This is a back-dated post – I was surprised i didn’t write anything about this year’s Mother’s day – but like most Mother’s day – it’s mostly about Grammie and not me. But I did make PB pay for the carnations – that I had chose because I had gone out to get some carnations for Chloe’s teachers and her school staff.
And Chloe made me this crispy rice thingie – that I didn’t really eat – because they were too sweet for a diabetic – but I really appreciated it. This was made with her after school program.
And another lovely card made in school for me – so cute – it even has a picture of her in the front of this rose card.
And a lovely song and picture of mummy and Chloe – awfully cute.
Health Exams
Last year – I had gone to see my new family doctor because my old family doctor decided to abandon us – and move to a more vibrant town. But thank God – he is gone – because my new family doctor is way better – very encouraging and never once did she talk down to me – like the old one. But since I am new to her practice and not a spring chicken no more with so many health issues – she insisted that I have a full body check up – which included a ecg because I had high blood pressure – according to my old doctor. But truth be told – my blood pressure only go up when I’m talking about the town I am living in – other than that – I’m pretty calm. But she insisted an ECGs are not uncommon to me – because my mom used to do those – since she worked in the hospital. But I do like my new doctor and her office – because her clinic is pretty high tech – with all the savvy equipment and everything recorded using a notebook and not paper – so that they can pull out a file – without having to pull out paper folders. So my health exam will be up soon – and again I know i will have to do another ECG test – but this time – I’m more prepared since I’ve already done it once – and I’m not so panicky now. So wish me luck – while I await my ECG.
Making Father’s Day Breakfast
So it is Father’s day today – and for breakfast – Chloe helped to make breakkie for her daddy. Chloe said she was going to make her daddy a sandwich for breakfast since it was Father’s day.
She spread the butter but not the cheese whiz – because she said it was yukky ! hahahah!! then we put in some ham for PB and i cut the sandwich into half and got PB some chocolate milk. That was our gift to PB for Father’s day – hopefully, chloe will continue to make breakfast for her daddy as she grows older.