Week Six

I wish I knew how long this will last, I mean I know we all do, but I am thinking about when/if to isolate and it would be nice to know that if I chose to do so I'd have some idea of how long it would last.

Six weeks are done, the world is still pretty goddamn weird. It has been super busy at work, with record sales happening, I am getting lots of tips so I can't complain much, but our store is among the few making money right now. I think I mentioned this before but basically all the extra money we are making is going to pay the wages of the stores that aren't meeting their expenses, this is understandable but I think we are reaching a limit for how long that is going to work for.

I should have gotten paid on Friday via direct deposit as usual, but that didn't happen, the franchise owner told us that this was due to it taking an increased amount of time to input payroll because some other stores are moving to putting tips on the paychecks. So the info didn't get put in in time to hit the direct deposit deadline and when he asked for checks to be mailed USPS dropped the ball.

All of this sounds pretty shady to me but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until today when I got my check, it is lower than I expected it to be and I will be checking on that, but it is also hand written and signed by the owner. I've personally seen him cut these checks before and this did not come from a payroll company. What I think happened is he needed to find a way to delay paying out wages until after the weekend sales got into the accounts otherwise the checks might have started bouncing.

As long as my checks are accurate I guess it's whatever, I do know what it is like to have to stretch a budget for a business after all, but if this happens again I have some decisions to make.

Lots of talk about what happens when things "get back to normal" whatever that means, but we really do need to consider what normal will look like in the future, there isn't really a "back" to get to mostly, and I have to ask if that is really a bad thing, outside of the usual systemic changes I talk about the day to day stuff also could use some examination. This disease will be with us for some time, and it is only a matter of time before another one comes along, probably sooner than we'd like. So what exactly is the problem with making some of the rules we now live under the new normal? Would education suffer greatly from an emphasis on distance learning and small group instruction? Would remote work do anything but good for a vast number of industries? Would a cultural inclination to stay home more often be the worst thing in the world? If our foodservice industry de-emphasized dining room service and focused on expanded kitchens to support delivery and carry out service? Would it be so bad to wear masks in public as a matter of habit?

Some of this stuff requires societal changes, like financial assistance for businesses to change their modes of operation or support for parents to remain home with their children, but even if we didn't have the advantage of avoiding deadly diseases, none of the things I mentioned seem like bad ideas just... in general.

The idea that the people should exist for any other reason than to make people money is something that I know is a hard sell for many, but it's sorta gaining traction I think. Interestingly enough when people are dead they spend less than when they are quarantined so that is a point in our favor.

I guess despite everything I am feeling a little better this week.