ZOË BOUTIQUE

2012-03-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

A note to shoplifters, actually, a couple of notes.

1. You're low.
2. When you steal, it's literally like taking money from my purse, taking part of my wages. I have to pay for what you stole. I work my ass off. Fuck you.
3. 99% of the time I have a feeling you are going to steal before you do it. You are more obvious than you could possibly imagine.
4. If I don't catch you doing it, because I'm with a customer (because that's what you're waiting for) or you sneak something into the fitting room (because I'm with a customer) I know the second you leave when I check the cameras.
5. I always file a police report and pictures are always emailed to a network of merchants on 4th Avenue, University Blvd. and second hand shops.
6. We even have a calling tree, like a bunch of soccer moms, so if you rip off one person, and show up in someone else's store, that person will happily & quietly notify the police of your location.
7. Just because you have walked out and not gotten caught doesn't mean we don't know. On more than one occasion the police have followed up and shown up at someones house, or called them at work.

If none of that matters to you, know that anyone who owns a small, or big business for that matter, works their ass off. How would you like it if, for no reason at all, part of your paycheck, allowance, student loan, or however it is you support yourself was taken from you at random. You'd be fucking pissed. And no, insurance doesn't cover it. Like all insurance, there is a deductible.

For the most part, we are pretty lucky, and we don't have too many shoplifters. Our customers are pretty awesome. But it's funny how one little incident here and there can send me over the edge.

The Castrator

2012-03-02T00:19:00.001-08:00

Monday was a bit slow at the shop, which was good in that it gave me some time to catch up on paper work. The only notable incident was when one of the girls from Pop Cycle (love their shop) called to give me the heads up about the same shoplifter they told me about the previous week. Only the shoplifter wasn't shoplifting, this time she had a knife was was yelling that she was going to start castrating men.

I got up and locked the door while I was still on the phone getting the low down on the castrator (she was last seen heading my way). I was given her description, and then told there was a guy with her too. What is it with guys and crazy chicks? A girl can be crazy as fuck, Literally yelling that she is going to start castrating men, and there will be some guy who just can't wait to be in a relationship with her. Sleeping with the chick isn't enough, they actually want to date her. Is it the female equivalent of wanting to date a "bad boy"?

She never made it to the shop and I was able to close without incident. The rest of the week has been crazy busy and long days. I'm still up at 1 in the morning finishing orders...but so many great things to choose from I can't make up my mind!! Or maybe I'm just overtired and having a hard time making decisions...

Party on a Stick

2012-02-28T22:26:00.003-08:00

One of my girlfriends had an Oscars party tonight and the theme was "food on a stick." Not sure how this is related to the Oscars, but it was an excuse for everyone to get together to eat, drink and cook. Only two of us actually watched any of the Oscars.

Today (Sunday) was my only full day off so I was very much looking forward to it.
After googling "food on a stick" James and I decided fruits and veggies would be good and relatively easy. Good and easy yes, but time consuming we hadn't counted on.
For the fruit skewers we used: mango, kiwi, strawberry, pineapple and apples. For the veggies: snap peas, cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced carrots (I used a peeler to get the slices thin enough). My favorite ones though, were cantaloupe with marinated mozzarella balls. The mozzarella balls came pre-marinated in an oil dressing and the combo of the two together was amazing.

One of our other friends made Corn Dogs. Hot dogs battered and deep fried. Fuck, those things were delicious. I had never had one before, I had no idea...I don't know why I resisted them for so long (maybe because it's a hot dog deep fried in oil). At any rate, all of the food (I'll spare you the list of everything prepared) was awesome and it was a much needed relaxing night with friends.

Dudes in a Van

2012-02-28T22:16:00.004-08:00

Last week Erin and I were hanging out in the shop & Sasha stopped in to drop off some art when this beauty pulled up. Two guys got out of the front and then the side door slid open and 3 more guys got out of the back. How 5 full grown men got out of an Astro Van that was stuffed from floor to ceiling with furnitiure and beer I have no idea. We thought maybe they were in a band as they definitely had a bandy-hipster sort of thing going on, but none of the objects in the van seemed indicitive of musicians. "Maybe they ran away from home." I mused. "But they kind of look like they're in a band." "Yeah, except for that one guy, maybe he's a roadie." Sasha was talking about the shorter, littler guy (I know, more pictures would have been helpful, use your imagination). "No, he's a drummer, look, he has drummer arms." said Erin rather earnestly. "Maybe they're some of the occupiers...they've got a whole row of tents on Stone."

After some hipster chicks came over and started smoking cigarettes with them we decided on "band". Sure, we could have just gone outside and asked, and yes, they may have noticed me walk up to window of the store to take pictures, but it was more fun to sit inside and speculate. Our bios of the band guys (from Chandler, we decided) were probably way more interesting than their tour through the lower half of the United States.

Objects of note in the van: Open 12 pack of PBR. 1/2 eaten burrito. A dog. The beer was visible when they opened the side door of the van. As for the burrito, the drummer disappeared into the back of the van for about 30 seconds and came back with a half eaten burrito. The dog got out of the van after it had been parked for about 20 minutes. I swear that van must have a portal to Narnia. And what kind of dog stays in an automobile after it's been parked for 20 minutes? Was he high? Sleeping? Eating the other half of the burrito? Trapped amongst the debris? Lucky for us, we didn't ask any questions and band van is selling out shows across the country.

Peep Show Prep

2012-02-20T11:49:00.000-08:00

It's 11:00 and I'm finally home, face washed, teeth brushed and in bed on a friday night. I had to hang the art today for tomorrow night's opening but it was busy at the shop, so not much was accomplished until later in the day...at which point I realized I really should have arranged for someone to help me. There were a lot of small pieces which makes hanging more difficult. Figuring out how they're going to look grouped together, where the group should go, should they be staggered or lined up perfectly- all of these things are so much easier with another person to tell you whether things are straight, crooked or need to go higher or lower.
By about 6:30 I was in full on procrastination mode doing everything but hanging the pictures when Ricky prank called and asked if we carried men's g-strings. He and Erin had been drinking off the previous night's hangover and said they'd be down right away to help. Ricky made a grand entrance, performing his best catwalk strut, and tore off his jacket and threw it to the ground. Dead pan he asked, "How did you like my entree?" "Entrance?" I questioned. "Well, yeah." he replied as if that was what he had said in the first place.
A bottle of champagne was opened, Erin and I each having a glass and Ricky finishing the rest. Having Ricky and Erin together after a few cocktails is non-stop banter; it's a name calling, dancing, yelling, singing, laughing three ring circus with two people.
Despite being at the Mad Hatter's tea party, everything was hung by 8:00 and I was sooo relieved. I have to go back in the morning to hang all of the tags for the art, but the hard part is done.
I met Mary at Pizzeria Vivace for dinner and a much needed glass of wine, having worked 23 hours in the last two days. When I'm too tired too cook & want good food and a chill atmosphere the pizzeria is the best, and always a perfect end to a busy day.

Art & Fashion

2012-02-16T23:01:00.000-08:00

Natalie sporting one of Andrea Peterson's adorable bags in LA (Not sure what's going on with the shades, but that's why we love her). Andrea is one of the savviest artists I know. Not only is her work beautiful, she is constantly coming up with clever ways to make her art work accessible to everyone. Most recently she's been doing make-up bags/clutches with images from her art work. One of our best sellers at the shop is Mona Lila I've been selling prints of the piece for over a year so I was stoked when the make-up bags came in (and so were my customers!) The original is an amazing 4'x5' painting. The bags come in two different sizes and have a zip closure at the top. The smaller size is PERFECT for make-up and the bigger ones are great for day or night & fit cell phone, keys, id a little cash & make-up essentials.
To see more of Andrea's work check out her websiste www.artistandrea.com

Know it All

2012-01-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

Because of the upcomping construction on Fourth Avenue, all of the merchants have been alloted 70 hours of free business consulting to be paid for by the city. I am taking advantag of this and met with my consultants yesterday for the second time. It turns out I don't know everything.

Still waiting for artwork from the artist whose work will be featured on the postcard for February. I was supposed to have it from him Saturday. Tick-tock.

My Glamorous Life

2012-01-30T23:22:00.000-08:00

Once, I was talking to a friend on the phone & told him I had to let him go because I had work to do. He replied, "Oh, sure...what do you have to do? I mean, no offense, but a monkey could really do your job. It's pretty easy right?" I hung up on him and didn't speak to him for a week.

When I'm not out doing monkey things like banking, book keeping, going to the post office, the supply store, mopping, dusting re-merchandising or creating a website BEFORE I have to actually open the shop at 11:00 am, I like to go to the gym. On these days I go to a 9:00 boxing class which ends at 10:00 giving me 1 hour to come home, shower, get ready for work & have breakfast. Friday was like this.

I made it to the shop at 11:00 and customers were there shortly after. Around 1:00 I ordered lunch from the cafe next door. One of the girls brought the food over for me a bit later because I'd been busy & hadn't had a chance to pick it up.

Around 1:45 I had a little break so I locked up the shop & ran next door to pay. Normally I put a note on the door saying I'll be right back but I was in such a hurry I forgot. When I got back, there was a slip on the door from UPS saying I'd missed a delivery. "FUUUCKKK" Yes, I yelled this & jumped around stamping my feet.  A girl who happened to be standing there taking pictures of the mural Rocky had started the night before said, "You just missed him." I stood there thinking, "Of all the times not to leave a note." "Which way did he go?" I asked, and she pointed towards the parking lot where my driver normally parks. Like a junkie scrambling to meet his dealer I unlocked the store, tore a check from the check book, locked back up (left a note on the door, really?) and started out in a light jog.

I could NOT miss this package as we were having a late night shopping event Friday night & without it there wouldn't be enough inventory. As I approached the lot & the beautiful brown UPS truck was nowhere to be found my heart sank. I couldn't disappoint my customers. And then, like a dog that's been waiting at home all day for the sound of his master's car to return from work, I heard the engine of the UPS truck start up. (Yes, I can differentiate the sound of the UPS truck from all other trucks). He was close.

I started sprinting down the avenue just in time to see him drive away. I ran to my car on the other side of the intersection & then had to wait for 100, or maybe it was just 8 or 9, cars to pass before I could cross back over in my car in hot pursuit of the UPS truck.

I caught up to him at his next delivery where he started laughing when he saw me. "I would have brought it back by." he said.  My driver is awesome. Actually all UPS drivers we've ever had are great. Their company must treat them well. The turn over is low & the customer service is excellent. They're friendly, considerate and after a couple years they feel like family - not close family, but like your favorite cousin on the east coast or something.

The rest of the day was really busy. I spent the afternoon unpacking & pricing, Rock started on the mural & James & his son were there to help out (getting ladders, bringing paints up to the rooftop, having me print out random pictures of rib cages as reference for the mural).

The boys left at 6 to get food, I left at 7 to run to the supermarket pick up food for the event & make it back to the shop by 8:00 for the 8:00-midnight shopping event.   Rock was back on the roof by 8:30. Around 11:30 he packed up his paints & he & James left.  After a successful evening Ivy & I cleaned up & closed up shop a little after midnight. Just another day in the life of a monkey.

2012-01-30T14:59:00.000-08:00

Day 3 mural progress.

Rock Martinez mural in progress

2012-01-27T00:04:00.001-08:00

2012-01-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

Rock Martinez stopped by last night around 6:00 to talk about plans for the mural that he's painting on the side of the building this weekend (and drink champagne). He's moving to San Francisco soon & I'm anxious to have it finished. We have a late night sale tomorrow night (8pm-midnight), so he'll be painting live during the event.
We also talked about the upcoming opening on February 18th. I hadn't asked him to be a part of this opening figuring he'd busy the next few weeks with his upcoming move.
"It's called Peep Show" I told him.
"You mean, like naked girls?"
"Yeah."
"I wanna do it! I'm great at naked. Naked's my thing."
"Are you sure, I mean not about the naked, but will you have enough time?"
"Yeah, I'm totally in."
To be fair, it's not like he's constantly painting full scale nudes. He's a great muralist & can paint anything & everything and is constantly hired to paint anything & everything. But when it's up to him, it's nudes, semi-nudes, mermaid nudes, octopus nudes, etc.

We killed the bottle of champagne & I remembered my friend Anna was having a clothing swap at her place. Rocky was waiting for one of his friends to pick him up & since I was closing up the shop I brought him to the clothing swap. Yeah, I brought a dude to a clothing swap. I think guys would actually like clothing swaps, I mean, if it were guys clothing. But I can't imagine a bunch of dudes organizing that sort of event. They have a hard enough deciding what to do for their own birthdays.

James swung by and picked him up after about 20 minutes. Probably a good thing, boys don't need to know too much about the secret world of girls (nor do I think they really want to). I walked away with 2 sweet tops & some shorty shorts. I think a clothing swap in the shop would be fun...maybe.

Clothing Swap

2012-01-26T15:30:00.001-08:00

Walking Bear

2012-01-24T23:05:00.000-08:00

Today a NativeAmerican man, probably in his 50’s came into the store and asked if he couldhave the poster on the window. It was from our last art opening, and since theshow is still hanging, the poster will stay up for a while.

“Can I have thatposter in the window?”

“Uh, no, I’msorry it’s for the show that’s hanging right now...and then we take it down,but it’s the last one and we save them.” I was stumbling over my words a bit& having a hard time saying no to him.

He smiled,“That’s ok, you can just say no.” I could tell he was sincere and I felt bad,and then I realized we still had one postcard with the same image left on thecounter. I picked it up and held it out to him, “But you can have this.” Ismiled, proud of myself that I found something to offer him, like I suddenlyneeded his approval. He thanked me and then told me he wanted it because of thefox on the front. He asked my name and introduced himself, “Walking Bear” hesaid with a nod. “May you have a wonderful journey Lissa.” And then he left.

Now, if a whitedude had come in, introduced himself and told me to have a wonderful journey Iwould have been like, whatever you freaky little hippy. But when Walking Beartells you to have a wonderful journey, you actually think about it, I meanreally, I think I need to go on a journey, or make the journey I’m on a bitmore interesting.

Painting byAndrea Peterson http://www.artistandrea.com

Amen

2012-01-24T23:01:00.000-08:00

A weekor two ago I was taking out the garbage and this guy passed me on the sidewalk.He slowed down and crossed himself as he went by, and continued on in a sidestepping motion with his head turned so he could keep his eye on me. I don’tknow if he thought I was hot or the devil.

And Suddenly A Month Has Passed

2012-01-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

Our holidayseason was awesome & I couldn’t be happier :) The knot in my back isofficially gone thanks to great sales and an amazing massage therapist. Ireally do love Christmas & New Years at the shop. Most of the customers arein a good mood and even those who come in stressed out leave with a few morepeople crossed off their list and thank me profusely for helping them do so.

A lot of peoplecame in this season that hadn’t been in before because they wanted to supportlocal businesses because of the Shop Local movement (thank you AmericanExpress). There were also new people who came in because of write ups in someof the gift guides. We have great make-up bags from Andrea Peterson thatwere/are pretty much the perfect gift for any gal that were featured in one ofthe write ups. I seriously can’t keep them in stock.

Lastly, we have apretty peaceful atmosphere compared to what’s going on at the malls (I actuallyleft a store crying this year. True story.) There are never too many people inhere at one time, so everyone gets great service.

So here we are atthe beginning of January, always a bit slower after the rush of the holidays.Today started like this:

No one for anhour and a half. Then a man came in, mid 50’s, nice enough guy but my crossdresser alert button went off. I have absolutely no problem with cross-dressingmen. I actually have a good customer who is a cross dresser. What I do have aproblem with is when they come in and pretend they’re here to do something elseas they slowly make their way to the mini-skirts & dresses…touching them everso slightly as they talk to me.

“I’ve never beenin here before. Nice shop. So, what’s your concept?”

What? What’s myfucking concept? It’s a taco shop and we’re all out of tacos. What the fuckdoes it look like? I replied, “It’s a women’s boutique.”

“Well, yes, butwhat kind of clothes are they?” Keep in mind, the man is in the store, 10 feetaway from me and appears to have two functioning eyeballs. (By this time he’snear the mini-skirts)

“Well, clothesfor women”

“I mean are theyvintage, is it high end? Does someone make all the clothes?”

Again, if he tookjust a few minutes to look it would become quickly apparent that, no, it’s notvintage and, judging from the labels which tell the country of origin that, no,they are not made here by the fastest sewer in the West. Maybe I’m expectingtoo much of people, but this sort of thing bothers me. Is it really sodifficult to take a few seconds to look at the item. Or maybe what reallybothers me is that I know the guy is making up BS conversation and wasting mytime.

“Some of ouraccessories are made locally & occasionally clothing, but not much of it.It would take quite a while to produce this much clothing by hand. What is ityou’re looking for?”

“Oh, gifts, I’malways looking for gifts” he said examining the dresses. No, they’re not goingto fit you I thought quietly to myself.

The next womanwho came in felt $40 was a little steep for handmade sterling silver earringswith semi-precious stones. “Maybe $20, but $40 is a bit much” she said with a$5 latte in hand.

The rest of theday was nice, friendly customers. A couple I’m friends with stopped in for somegardening tips. It’s January, but we’re in Arizona which means we can plantlettuce, spinach, pansies & tons of other flowers & veggies.

Our new denimline is selling like crazy & I sold one of the sweet, black sequinedjackets today. HOLLER!!

Ho Ho Ho

2012-01-24T22:57:00.000-08:00

I told myself Iwould blog every day. It’s not as easy as you think. We had a late nightshopping & champagne sale on Friday. This is the first time we’ve held anevent in the shop & I didn’t have a drop of alcohol. True story. (Not toworry, I invited everyone to the shop the next night to drink the left overchampagne).

I worked 13hours. 11-7, went home to eat, came back at 8:00 for the sale. There werealready girls waiting outside the shop when I got back. It was cold &rainy. One of them had on a red and green striped onesie/long johns get up withrain boots- so frickin cute! I want one for myself. I love the late nightevents. Everyone is there to have fun, they’re laid back & everything is onsale so everyone is excited.

We had Christmascookies out & champagne for the 21 + over crowd. One of my friends came tohelp out with the event in case it got too busy (and it’s always nice to havecompany). There was a steady flow of people all night, but never too many atonce. We really got to visit with everyone & give them our undividedattention. These are my favorite kinds of nights.

Of course,nothing is perfect. One woman came in & when I rang up her sweater, whichcame to $34 dollars even with the discount & tax, she immediately said,“That’s wrong. That’s not right.” (She’s been palling around with one of myregulars and I feel like she’s still a little skeptical of me.) Gritting myteeth and putting on my happy face I said, “No, it’s right.” (Prior to this she& her friend were plowing through the cookies, and she kept blowing hernose in a disintegrating tissue, and touching more cookies. I know she was onlytouching the cookies she was taking, but still, gross)

“No, that’s notright” she said again. Shit! You busted me. The cash register is fucking riggedand you figured it the fuck out! All these years I’ve been ripping people offand you’ve caught me!” What the fucking fuck. I calmly grabbed the calculatorand did the math for her. “Oh, I guess the tax adds up.” She wasn’t sorry orembarrassed & didn’t apologize.

There are timeswhen I’m checking out of a store, typically Target or Safeway, and I see mytotal and think TO MYSELF, “Shit, did I really spend that much?” Then,privately, I look at my receipt to see if I did and, as always, the receipt iscorrect. Think before you speak.

Untitled

2012-01-24T22:53:00.001-08:00

I want to paint again.

The Truth

2012-01-24T22:52:00.000-08:00

Last week (Thursday)a customer bought about 10 items. There were two tops she was debating and shelet me know she’d probably bring one back. She wanted to try them on withthings in her closet, get her friends’ opinions etc.

On Friday I wason Facebook, she’s a friend of the shop, and pictures of her in the top showedup in the newsfeed. At least 7 or 8 photos at her house and out at a club Ihave been to before. So, I figured she would be returning the other top.

On Monday shecame into the shop with one of her friends and had the top I’d figured shewould return AND the top she wore out Thursday night. Whenever I am in asituation like this I immediately wonder, “Maybe I’m mistaken, she’s not reallyreturning it is she?” It’s extra difficult when the customer is lying to yourface.

“Neither of themreally worked out, so I’m going to return them both”

I hesitated,holding the garment in my hands & then looked up at her, “Didn’t you wearthis out?” I asked. She looked at me puzzled, “Uh, no”. “Oh, that’s weirdbecause pictures of you came up in the news feed for the shop and you werewearing this shirt…I mean, I’m pretty sure it was you, I mean, it looked a lotlike you.” ”Well it wasn’t me.” “Huh, I wonder who it was, it’s weird how muchyou looked alike. She had dark hair like you and was wearing the top, sostrange.” “That IS weird, I wonder who it was.” she replied sincerely. Keep inmind I only had 6 of this specific top and had only sold 3 so far. It is acropped top with gold beads all over the front, very distinct.

I did the returnas the top did not appear damaged and the tag was still on it. Meanwhile sheshopped with her friend and they were trying on different things. Icouldn’t stop obsessing over the girl who looked just like her on fb wearingthe top, I couldn't let it go. I logged onto the store account, looked her up and low and behold wereall the photos of her. I was right. You should always trust your instinct.

Her friend was inthe fitting room and I quietly called her over so she could see what I saw. Shecame up to the counter and I turned the monitor towards her. ”Oh” that was allshe said. She just sat there staring at me with her mouth hanging open. I onone side of the counter, she on the other both of us looking at the screen.Calmly I said, “Don’t do that. It’s wrong, it’s like stealing. And now thatyou’ve done it once, I’ll never believe you if you try to return somethingagain. Just. Don’t. Do. It” And then she replied, “Well I didn’t wear it out, Ionly wore it around the apartment and took pictures in it.” Apparently her apartmenthas a bartender & a full bar. AND she has her own club photographer becausehis logo was on all the pictures in the “bar” setting of her appartment.

Lying &stealing are so very unbecoming. Admitting and appologizing can be hard, but it's so much more respectable than continuing to lie when you know you've been caught. But people rarely do in these situations, theystick to their lies and don't back down. Owning up to your mistakes is difficult, but feels better in the long run.

I think of lies I told my parents as a teenager. One time, a week or two after I had borrowed their car they found a can of beer under the front seat. I told them there must have been someone who didn't like me & wanted to get me in trouble that put it there when I had taken the car out. SERIOUSLY? I can't imagine what they thought when I told them that but they let it go. This is how I felt when the girl told me she hadn't worn the shirt out. Ugh..she thinks I'm dumb, like I thought my parents were when I was 16. I'm older now, and I know they know everything.

Here Comes the Vibrator

2012-01-24T22:33:00.000-08:00

Dr. X is a petite man, looks to be about 70 years old and dyes his hair jet black. We met briefly in his office where I explained my situation (the knot in my back & my massage therapist being out of town).  He said, "The good new is, we can fix you."   I had to do a blood test, pregnancy test & pee in a cup (on my hand). I don't know what this has to do with my back but I played along. I then went into the patient room and waited. He came in and had me lay face down on a chiropractic table that was low to the ground. He then said, "Here comes the vibrator" The vibrator is a noisy, vibrating hammer sort of thing that he ran all over my back.
After the vibrator he pushed on my back, yanked on my legs, lifted an arm, dropped it and blew on the back of my head. I kept an open mind because everyone swears by him.  He then put all of his weight onto my lower back, yanked my body one way & there was a crack. I've never been to a chiropracter but I imagine it's something like this (without someone randomly blowing on you). A few more twists and turns of the body and he had me flip over onto my back, pulled on my feet again and pushed on my shoulders and declared me "even." "Was I uneven?" I asked. "Yes, your right side was longer than the left."

Ok, so he's like a homeopathic chiropracter. I can deal. And everyone LOVES this guy.

He dropped a packet of sugar on my chest. It was pink, like one of the packets that's in a container of mixed sugars at Waffle House. You could tell he'd used it before too. The packet had that worn look that comes from over use in the sugar drop test. What the fuck dude, you just dropped a packet of sugar on me? Keeping an open mind I lay there very calmly, sort of. Then he told me to raise my right arm.  I was still lying on my back and my arm was now perpendicular to the table.  "Provide resistance as I push your arm forward." As he tried to push my arm back down to a resting position, I provided resistance and he just couldn't get the darned thing to move.

Next he placed a bottle of pills on my stomach and we did the "test" again. This time he had no problem pushing my arm down.  Apparently I needed whatever nutrients were in the pills, IN THE BOTTLE, ON MY STOMACH, that are for sale in his office. And what do I do? I stay there and wonder how much weirder this can get. Weirder, for sure.

He takes out a little beeping device with different colored lights, like in Ghostbusters, when they're looking for ghosts in the library, or in the ball room, you know the thing. And he starts waving it around my body. "How's your back?" he asks. I have to admit, it feels a little better, a little looser, but the knot is still there. I tell him this (I'm sitting up now) and he pulls a mini hammer out of a drawer. It was like the thing they use to check your reflexes, except this one seems to be spring loaded. He thumps it around on my back a bit and then starts sticking magnets on me. Really tiny ones kept in place by was looks like mini circular band aids. I was instructed to leave these on until they fell off.

"Do you have any questions?" What can you really ask after something like that? "No." I responded. "I know you probably think this is all a little strange, and you're probably here because a friend told you to come here (true), but if you come back a couple more times we'll have you all fixed up." He then handed me a prescription for three different nutrients (which can be taken in pill form and purchased from his office) for a total of around $100, on top of the $100 first time visit fee. I don't know how this is going to fix the knot, but I thank him and leave.

I paid for my visit and bought one bottle of nutrients which i took for 2 days until I read the insturctions which said I had to take 6 pills three times a day for the first week. F that. The band aids stayed on for about 3 days, the knot didn't go away and I didn't go back.

Ah-choo!

2012-01-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

Sales were goodagain today and the knot is still there but a little less painful. Now I onlynotice it if i move my arm the wrong way, or if I sneeze. Sneezing is makes the knot explode. I’m going to the doctor on Monday.

Everyone thatcame in today was nice. It’s so nice to have a nice customer day. Not having todeal with other peoples’ bullshit is a breath of fresh air. Usually someone hassomething to bitch about, or asks one of the top 25 most asked questions, orunloads some crazy personal shit on me. Not today, or the last 2 days as a matterof fact. I will sleep well tonight.

The Knot

2012-01-24T20:36:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I have a knot in my back. It can be triggered by stress, or just lifting something a little too heavy. About a month ago we had to flip these giant tires in my boxing class. I knew better but did it anyway. Immediately I knew I hurt myself but thought nothing of it (I’m always injuring myself).

Here I am a monthlater with the most painful “knot” in the world. A week and a half ago I couldbarely lift my arm. I’ve had two deep tissue massages, which have loosened upmy back more than ever, but there is still this spot, sort of under my shoulderblade, and it’s in constant pain. Like I’ve been stabbed.

I have also beenExtremely stressed this past month. After a good summer, which is unheard of,and an exceptional first half of October, things seem to have come to ascreeching halt. Ok, so it’s only been a week, and I know it will pick upagain, but sometimes I feel like I’m at the black-jack table.

Today, sales wereawesome and towards the end of the day, the knot was a little less painful.Apparently money makes the knot go away.

sigh

2012-01-24T20:27:00.001-08:00

I should have started doing this 12 years ago, when I started working at the shop. Actually, I’ve kept a journal on and off for years. My computer was stolen 2 years ago & nothing was backed up. Lesson learned.

It was slowtoday. 4 people came in to the shop. When people tell me they want to opentheir own stores I think they are insane. I should use these days to dopaperwork & work on the website. Instead I do the opposite. It’s hard tostay motivated when it’s slow…but the second it gets busy I can conquer theuniverse.

I did work on thewebsiste a bit, but not enough. We’re getting about 100 hits a week, give ortake a few. I’m exhausted.

Most common things people say/ask (and some freaky stuff too)

2012-01-24T20:23:00.001-08:00

“Doyou make all of the clothes in here?” ”Did you do all the art?” “What kind ofstore is this?” “Are you afraid to work by yourself?” “Do people steal fromyou?” “Is it ever busy in here?” “Wow, you’re still in business?!” “Do you loveyour job?” “You have the best job in the world!” “Where do you get all yourstuff from?” “Why don’t you carry mens’ clothes?” “This is so expensive.” “Icould make this myself.” “I just saw this for cheaper somewhere else.” “I brokeup with my boyfriend, I was so tired of him spitting on me while he was yellingat me, I waited all that time for him to get out of jail and then he startsbeating me and yelling at me.” “I don’t want to put my purse behind thecounter, my gun is in it” “Why did you name the store Zoe?” “Do you know whatthe name of your store means?” “My daughter is named Zoe” “We named our dogZoe” “My name is Zoe” “I make purses and sell them on Etsy” “Have you heard ofEtsy?” “Do you have children?” “Do you want children?” “Do you have aboyfriend?” “Are you married?” “Do you want to be married?” “Why don’t you havechildren?” “How old are you?” “I want to have my own store”