Sunday, April 27, 2008

Exhaustion

You know how those "celebrities" are always being hospitalized for "exhaustion?"

(And I use those two terms very loosely, btw.)

Not that I (one of The Uninsured) wish to be hospitalized, but you know, a day off would be nice! Or, at the least, a full night's sleep.

I'm having a hard time even typing this, because I've gotten about 10 hours sleep in the last two days and my hands are shaking!

Yesterday, I woke up at 2:45 a.m. and it took me over two hours to get back to sleep. When I finally did, it was nearly 10 before I woke back up. You'd think that would be enough to cure this problem, but I think the sleep deprivation is becoming cumulative.

After I did wake up, we went over to my mom's house and - oh my gracious, I can't believe this still - we drove to Oxford (45 minutes away) and bought two kiosks.

Oh, yes we did. The kind you see in the mall, with the wheels on the bottom and the canopies on top. Literally that kind, because they came from a mall that's shutting down for renovations.

And I'll say it again - oh, yes we did.

They're for the catering company, because it looks as if Peasnap's will officially be taking over operations of the auction kitchen come July.

(Previously, the auction bought all the food and gave us a set amount every week to provide labor, and Jason gave them everything out of the cash register. Now, it'll be all on us - buying the food, setting the prices, and making payroll.)

And let me just say - I'm pretty terrified at the prospect.

Even though in the last three days I've twice heard the "be anxious for nothing" scripture, still, I'm the only one in this family-run business with a non-auction paycheck, and I don't like uncertainty!

So now, we (the catering company, I mean) are the proud owners of two mall kiosks. The fun part will be figuring out how to get them back up here, and where to store them once we get them.

(I can't remember whose idea it was to buy the things, but I'd be willing to bet it was my mother. This is a lady who has paid for a storage room for the past two years to basically store yard sale stuff. It just sounds like something she'd do.)

They're destined for the auction bay, where we'll use them to sell hot dogs to the dealers so they won't have to leave the lanes to eat. There used to be an actual concession stand in the bay, but one of the former managers took it out, for reasons apparently known only to him.

Maybe this whole auction thing will work out better - there is a chance that Jason could open the cafeteria on non-sale days and increase food sales somewhat. With gas pushing $3.50 a gallon, though, it would have to be pretty substantial to warrant the 20 mile trip in my estimation.

And now, gentle readers, my stomach is growling. I've had my two cups of coffee, and now I have to figure out what to eat for breakfast since I'm out of my old standby nonfat yogurt with berries.

Because the day has just begun, and already I'm exhausted.

5 comments:

Heather {Desperately Seeking Sanity} said...

go get some sleep... :D

Anonymous said...

Keep on keeping on.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you found my blog! I think of you all the time have often wondered how you were!

Wendster said...

From one uninsured to another uninsured ... Lol!

I think I missed something, but I read way back and don't know what I missed. What's this kitchen thing? It's something you are doing volunteer wise? It's your hubby's new job? I'm feeling a little lost ... help please!

And as for the kiosks ... wow! You are brave, but I have seen kiosks do very good business! Thoughts: at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, there's a very enjoyable man with a hot dog vending cart that is there at like 6 am every morning and there all day, and he has people buying hot dogs from the moment it opens! Just think of all of those people standing in line waiting to go in and out. He is actually not on their actual property ... just right out front .. and he seems to do good business. Maybe your hubby could run it from a place like that each day of the week?
And street fairs come to mind. MAN there are TONS of people at street fairs! You just call the city and sign up for a spot. Food vendors might need some kind of license, but you probably have one already. The location you have right now sounds super as well, but it's weekends only, right? Street fairs out here are on week nights.

And for Pete's sake, get some sleep! Not having time for sleep is like not having time to put gas in your car. ... you just gotta take the time for it. Because YOU are important.

Melissa said...

Wendy - my husband and my mom own a catering company, and they run the cafeteria at an auto auction one to two days a week (on days when they're running a sale.)

Up until now, the auction paid for the food and paid a fee to the catering company, and Jason and mom used the fee to pay themselves and the others who helped them. Any money they took in at the register was given back to the auction.

The auction has decided they want out of the food business altogether, so come July we'll be responsible for the whole kit-and-kaboodle - buying the food and providing for labor costs from the cafeteria profits.

The kiosk is pretty heavy, so once we get it to the auction bay, it probably won't be moving far - but those are great ideas!