Okay, forget what I said about our seasonal slow-down being not happening.

It's happening now.

Should only last for this week, tho' - our trailer traffic for the month of February is nearly 300 units and most of it will be patio furniture. Why patio furniture? Because for some reason people keep buying it...

HBC goes with what sells...last year.

Don't know if we'll have a repeat of previous years' sales. I do know that HBC introduced a number of new product lines and we seem to be seeing a lot of returns from the stores of these items. I really hope my employers aren't being foolish.

For example: electric bicycles.

We bought these (I presume) as gasoline prices were heading into the 1.00$ per litre range. By the time they arrived, gas was at 1.50$ per litre and it looked like a WIZARD time to be selling cheap, enviro-concious electric bicycles.

At the onset of winter...

Priced at about 700$ each, they were put on sale for the MOONLITE MADNESS!!! event...and didn't sell.

Now we've brought all the unsold units back into the warehouse and stored them, presumably so we can again attempt to sell them later. I'm thinking a summertime sales event next time; how does that sound?

Massage chairs, popcorn wagons, hotdog stands, dollar store trinkets, plush winter olympic mascots - all new product items HBC must have got a really good deal on...but does not appear to have made a profit from. Those are just the few I can remember.

On the upside, our "25/24" program to expedite the re-stock of perishable and everyday-use household products seems to be a resounding success. The new pick module we're having installed is dedicated to increasing the efficiency of shipping these "priority" items.

Speaking of work: let's talk about my commute.

Somebody lit the Patullo Bridge on fire. The bridge will be closed for at least the next four weeks.

This has made it necessary to roll my usual morning commute clock backward about thirty minutes. I must now leave at least 20 minutes earlier in the morning to match my typical arrival time, and I now arrive at least 10 minutes later coming home.

At least no-one is being stupid and causing major traffic accidents...so far.

The ideal solution would be to ride my bike to work. But I cannot; for that would leave my carpool in the lurch. I am amazed that so many people depend on me and my junker to get them to and from work. Share the blessing.