The Meerkat Muse: 7th of May, 2025
It’s early May, is Spring still springing, and what has this meerkat been up to?! Read on…
Soldiering On
Work remains a slog. Typically, I go to lunch, and people show up, and this happens on occasions where I am lone-trading. It seems that now, all I have to do is think about lunch, and people show up.
The Six-Day Stint
To be honest, working six days in a row is hardly a massive pain for me. I’ve done it before, in fact I’ve done longer stints. The more unusual element of this is that four of those six days have officially been spent working on my own. I haven’t actually been alone, but my colleague (and friend) does not have a store role, so officially, I’m running the store by myself. It’s down to a quirk of circumstance, and all I can do is my best to cope.
My quest to move on remains firm. What I need is the right opportunity, and patience.
A Failure of Aggression
There are people out there who are committed into hounding me into not blogging. They dislike what I have to say, and are determined to misappropriate and misrepresent my writing. Unfortunately for these idiots, I will not be quiet. They will not stop me. They can cry about it, or they can leave me alone. One would think, given how upset they get, how emotional and angry they become, that the common-sense thing would be to stop reading my blog. Then again, who said these people possessed any common sense?!
It is fortunate for these trolls that they cannot face legal repercussions for their dishonesty. Some of their claims are not merely deceitful, but easily proven to be lies. In a different setting, they’d be looking at libel.
20 Times
Back on the 27th of April, Liverpool FC confirmed what had more or less been a foregone conclusion for months. A 5-1 win over Tottenham at Anfield assured the Reds of the Premier League title, their second title in five years, and their 20th overall. Liverpool are now level with old rivals Manchester United for league titles, and here’s hoping that this is merely the start. Arne Slot has come in, barely made any additions to the squad, but enhanced the existing players. With the right signings, how much stronger can Liverpool be next season? Still, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, instead, let’s savour the moment and enjoy the title!
Meerkat Dreams
It’s been a little while since I’ve spoken of my nocturnal adventures. They simply haven’t been of much interest lately, but the other night I had a dream that was certainly out of left field. I was in China, of all places, with my wife, and we were in a coastal city, looking for somewhere to eat, when we suddenly had to get to high ground, due to a tidal wave. The flooding was immense, dangerous, and scary, and I have a vivid memory of helping to rescue a little girl from the chaos. Once the initial shock and horror had faded, we were seeking shelter, but somewhere along the line, everyone became Simpsons characters.
One day, I will plug my dreams into a site or service that unravels them. Not this day, but sooner or later, it could be worth a look.
Unseasonably Sunny Skies
April ended with bright, blue skies, and this was quite lovely. May began with a burst of not only blue skies, but warmer temperatures than the 1st of May usually grants. This was not unwelcome, though something approaching 30C as we start May is rather odd. It would be more realistic to expect this sort of weather toward the end of June, and certainly in July and August. Will May continue to bring warm temperatures, or will be May be inconsistent, as it can sometimes be?
Then There Were Four
It has been roughly a year and a half since my store has had a full complement of staff. As May began, we welcomed a new member to the team, ending that particular situation. With four of us, there should – in theory – be no more lone-trading. There’s the faint possibility that during times of holiday and/or sickness, it could happen, but even then, it shouldn’t.
Of course, it remains to be seen how the newcomer establishes themselves.
Isolation
If I had to choose one word to sum up a recent dream, isolation would be perfect. In the dream, my employer opened up a secondary location, right around the corner from the existing store. I had to go work there, completely on my own. The feeling wasn’t one of desperation, but upon reflection, is the dream borne from recent experiences? I’ve done a lot of lone-trading, and that and some other stuff, I have felt a little isolated. Such is life when you work long hours, especially when you work them on your own. Still, with a team of four, that should, as mentioned earlier, be a thing of the past. Mind you, things up at the top of my employer’s hierarchy could be about to create a big of chaos.
Power Struggles
I am not privy to the details, not by any means, but up at the dizziest of heights, there has been something of a power struggle. Those who rule the roost with my employer have not been happy with one another. There are those who have been important to the business for a long time, and as such possess a lot of inertia. They are rather set in their ways, and it has been suggested that ideas go to their desk to die. Then there are those who came in to help guide and steer the company as it has grown.
Mind you, some of those who were brought in were brought in at the behest of shareholders. Shareholders bring investment, which is generally vital to the company’s growth. They wanted someone in place who would help make the best use of their capital. In essence, we had a somewhat old-school way of doing things, and a new form of doing things. I am led to believe there were some clashes, and a lot of resistance to change. That is now immaterial, as the old guard has reasserted control, and the newcomer is gone.
What does this mean for my employer? I do not know. All the plans, ideas and strategies for growth might now be thrown into a tailspin. All I do know is that this may well accelerate my plans to leave.
This feeling was only amplified by the loss of a big sale, owing in part to powers that be at head office dragging their heels over arranging a survey. In truth, the customer might have changed their minds anyway, but it sucks.
It doesn’t feel like a particularly substantial Muse this time around. Not a lot has truly happened. More exciting times lay ahead, but until then, all I can say is, take care all you good ‘kats!
