doing a lot of damage control
I haven’t been around the last few days, and this would be why.
One of my distributors (the one I’m getting ALL my cartridges from) decided they were going to go out of business. That’s only 5 weeks after we called them, spoke to the owner on the phone for 45 minutes, and he reassured us he wasn’t going out of business and not to worry. Suddenly they’re gone and all the stuff I ordered isn’t coming and I’m scrambling trying to find a replacement product for something ALL my customers liked.
Cartridges are what the tattoo industry as a whole is switching to instead of needle/tube combos. So all my big-name customers and… well, pretty much everybody except for the scratchers (people who tattoo out of their homes and have little to no skills) have switched over to cartridges. I was already running low on supplies (including the cartridges) and was waiting for a shipment that’s never going to come. They also got me an AWESOME price on cleaning supplies, ink, and other stuff.
Any company I go to in finding a replacement for the cartridges is going to want me to plunk down anywhere from
$5000-$25,000 just to get started with them. If I don’t do it, I’m going
to go out of business myself.
Money is VERY tight right now because we had to put a new roof on one of the rentals my uncle owns (do you have any idea how much a new roof costs?!). He owns several houses, and renting them out is how he used to make his living, but for the last few years the houses cost more to maintain (mortgage + repairs) than he gets in rent checks, but he fights me on selling them off. He’s not a slumlord. In fact, his tenants love him because he lets them send in payments late, fixes their stuff IMMEDIATELY even in the middle of the night, and just gives them stuff because he’s an idiot. Like we’re made of money or something.
My uncle got sued and lost on a case where this guy who illegally represented himself as licensed and bonded (he wasn’t) ruined my uncle’s back yard and the city is actually getting involved. In order for the back yard to get fixed enough that the city gets off our backs, it’ll be at least $11,000 and probably more. As it is now, it keeps flooding and backing up into the loading dock area of a Frys grocery store behind him. The judge sided with the unlicensed asshole because technically the guy did the work, and the judge doesn’t care that the work was done AFTER we told him to stop because we realized how much he was fucking up the yard, but the guy waited until my uncle was gone for the day and broke into the backyard, finished up, and sent us the bill.
It’s been slow at the shop recently for some reason, and that always freaks me out because I worry there’s a rumor being spread about us or our customers have decided ordering online is easier or whatever. That means I have less income at the moment. November isn’t usually a slow month. Oh, and of course the guys have to freak out about it too, so I’m dealing with their drama queen stuff and trying to keep them calm and productive.
Andre is continuing his issues at school with not doing work or doing it and not turning it in. School started how long ago? And he was already failing this grade as of three weeks ago. To get him back on track, my mom is spending several hours a day working with him, which is exhausting her and causing more seizure issues. And of course Andre is fighting her every step of the way.
My dad’s sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, and to get better treatment, she needs to move. She wanted to move anyway, but this just makes it urgent. So my dad is going to drive to where she lives, pack her up, and move her and her daughter. My dad is 74 years old, has busted legs and heart issues, and he also brings money into the house, which means not only is he going to wear himself out helping a woman who has never done a damn thing for him or even bothered to ever call to ask how he’s doing even when he had his accident a few years ago, he’s also not going to be making any money during the move time. There’s a good chance she won’t even be grateful he’s doing it and she’ll belittle him and harass him the whole time.
Last but not least, my dog’s dead. Still. And all three of us (me, mom, dad) are
STILL having a hard time with this and we’re fighting the urge to run
out and get a new dog. I didn’t think we’d have a really hard time with
this, but damn all three of us are depressed over it!
I know people are waiting for the changes and announcements and such for @spncoldesthits, and I *will* get around to it. It’s just going to take a little time. Sorry guys!