On my own, again.

I sort of let the cat out of the bag a few weeks ago when I mentioned I'd be working all the hours at the store myself next year.

I checked with Pat whether it was all right to talk about it, and he agreed. He's staying with me through Christmas, I hope, but I wouldn't begrudge him a good job.

For one thing, I wanted anyone out there who was looking for a good employee to know in advance that one was available.

I'd originally planned to cut employee hours at the end of last year; and since Pat wanted full employment, that meant letting him go, and replacing him with someone who wanted to work just one or two days a week.

But then, the summer before last, I got the bee in my bonnet and decided I wanted to open a second store. Rather than lose Pat at such a crucial time, I offered him another raise, and more or less promised him I would have a job for him through the following summer.

I didn't follow through with the second store, but felt obligated to Pat, and the store was able to service his wages.

What it meant was a lot of time off for me, since Pat is the only employee I've ever had who resisted the enticement of "going home early."

Anyway, it became clear this summer that I couldn't continue to keep Pat and not start eating into my 'break-even' margins more than was comfortable. Letting him go saves me 4000.00 a month in sales, which is more than I actually need to compensate for, but it wouldn't hurt to pocket the difference.

So I told him a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving that I wouldn't have any work after the first of the year.

I was risking 'short-termitis', but felt that Pat identified enough with the store that he would continue to care; and I didn't want to tell him a week before Christmas that he wouldn't have a job.

I'd be keeping him still if I could.

He's been one of my favorite employees; and seemed to get my sense of humor. Honest and reliable. I highly recommend him to anyone out there who is looking for a good hire.

Pegasus is comfortably a one man operation, and I kind of look forward to being in total charge again. Like I said, I only took so much time off because it didn't make sense often to have two of us there, and Pat didn't want his hours cut. Ergo, I took off, knowing that I'd better enjoy it while I can.

After a few months, I'll probably start training someone to watch the store on Sundays, and maybe Mondays, or something.

Because I'm not sure I want to work everyday for 7 years like I did pre-2000.

So you'll know where to find me.