the cycle continues...

we have now entered what i like to think of as phase 2 of inventory in january.
phase 3 tends to be due to the fact that
a) it's the beginning of cough, cold and flu season;
b) we get sketchy, inconsistant, minimal sleep;
c) we spend our days handling a lot of merchandise that's already been handled by God alone knows how many people;
d) we then spend enclosed in vans with a bunch of people who have been doing the exact same thing, breathing their air almost exclusively;
e) we work hours that occasionally enable stress and/or exhaustion to take a firmer grip than we'd like.

the culmination of all of these factors is that one's immune system tends to scream about unfair work conditions, rant impotently for a while (which feels a little like a nervous breakdown, but that doesn't really happen until phase 4), and then pack a suitcase and spend the next month and a half in sunny acapulco.

so now we're all tired and we're all suffering from low-grade infections and sinus colds and a myriad of other ailments as we anticipate phase 3: the moment most of the new people, overwhelmed by starting in the busiest time of year possible, stressed from the amount of work and the lousy hours and their own complete incompetence (not all of them, just most), will take off, leaving us short-staffed and overwhelmed ourselves.

but that's still to be gleefully anticipated.

hooray for inventory in january.