the one where I talk about The Bull Stop
Yep.
The Bull Stop is still kicking! And a bit of the "shiny-new" has indeed worn off. But we love her still the same, and I must admit, I dang proud of the job we did putting this little gem together. Yes, it may have taken longer than any of us expected, but it's here now and doing well. Thank you, Lord. So I thought I would devote a blog post to this place and update a few of you on what my "wednesdays" have been like.
We have a manager, Rick, that runs the place and works the majority of the hours. Thank you, Lord! If you remember, since July 2011, I had been working the video store full time, so closing down to remodel during my "wedding season" was a blessing, yes indeed. And then reopening, with a full time manager, helped take the pressure off me to work 2 full time jobs AND take care of my crazy family. It's not like you can rid of them, you know. It's still a job, yes, but because of a few decisions on our part, it's an easier job.
So, Rick works the majority of the hours and to keep everything on budget, I go in one day a week to give him a day off. The TABC regulates our hours. M-Sat 10am - 9PM. That's it. No more, no less. So me working Wednesdays, gives Rick 2 days off a week. Not too bad. And, although my dogs are barking at the end of those 11 hours, let me tell you, I'm not young, I get a lot done. So, it's a good thing.
Basically, during my one 11 hour day, I do "movie stuff" and catch up on Slaton gossip with the regulars and get my fix of diet cokes. YUM. This is basically the only place I drink them anymore. Yes, Lord, I'm trying hard to give up that one last mortal sin. Movie stuff means I rent them, watch them, track them, order them, process them, program computers with them.
Yes, we are one of those rare beasts that still rent movies out. I just couldn't bare to not have access to movies in my life. I LOVE them. And yes, the 8 weeks we were closed for remodeling, I signed up with Netflix AND even did a round of rentals from Redbox. Devin accused me of "sleeping with the enemy". But he's not an avid movie watcher/addict like me, so how could I expect him to understand? I should have just hid it from him. I didn't even try. They were laying out on the bar in the kitchen. Waiting to be returned. I'm awful really, but now that we are open, it's HEAVEN again. MOVIES! Here's some that are on my list.
I saw the trailer at the theatre and thought, "Wow! Cool movie!" And then, when Kristen Stewart admitted to sleeping with the director of this movie, it amped my interest. After all, she basically screwed herself out of Robert Pattison, HELLO! So, what's this guy all about that tweaked her fantasy sex life enough to get her to give up Rob? I'll watch and let you know if I learn any thing. Bonus points for Chris Hemsworth being in this one. E Y E C A N D Y for sure!
This one looks adorably emotional and full of everything I love in movies. Make me cry and make me laugh and I think you are a winner! Both in movies and in guys. Well, my guy anyway. I adore Michelle Pfeiffer, and even though it's a supporting role, I'll still watch and fall in love with Chris Pine, I'm sure.
Not sure on this one. It's not high on my list of "Explosive and Action-Packed" movies. Mainly because I'm not crazy about anyone in it, except Liam Neeson. LOVE HIM since Excalibur. Go ahead, look that one up and watch. GREAT MOVIE! But I needed something to bring home for Devin as well, and the special effects look good on this one. And we do have a Presidential Debate tonight, no?
I'm not a BIG Tim Burton fan, however, I am a BIG JOHNNY DEPP fan! So, this is a must. It streetdated Tuesday. I'll let you know how it goes. The trailer on this one looked AWESOME! And the tag line? (If you can believe tag lines) Wickedly Funny!
Peace Love and Misunderstanding
This one looks promising. Something I'd like. And if I can get over the plastic surgery face of Jane Fonda on my big screen, it should be OK. Denny from Grey's Anatomy is the hunk-of-a-man, (BONUS) with Chase Crawford being the hunk-of-a-boy. It's not rated very high, so I'm not expecting much, therefore I may be pleasantly surprised.
With the movies being my main part of my job at the Bull Stop, I'm responsible for tracking them computer wise, hunting them down when folks don't bring them back, and putting them up for sale. We have lots of titles at great deals, so if you are looking to add to your home movie collection, you should definitely come see us. We only rent New Releases now, so after a 30 day rental period, we put extra copies up for sale. We have a GREAT collection of titles!
I did a ton of prep work to get the Bull Stop open! One of my favorite things about this place compared to Take One Video is our POS software. We went with Shop Keep which is an iPad based software. LOVE IT! It helps tremendously when keeping track of things and the Back Office part of this puppy is awesome for doing jobs off site. (I swear I think Devin logs in almost every hour.) Here's a quick screen shot for you guys. I feel so ultra cool when I'm punching things on the iPad. Woo hoo! Welcome to the world of technology store owners! But before my head expands too big, I quickly realize that we still have our movie inventory on our old Windows based computer. BOOM. Head deflated.
sigh
You can't win them all. Someday, someday, I will be 100% Apple! (shaking fist in the air!)
We still have lots of open space here at The Bull Stop. Most of it vertical. I love how we raised the ceiling of this joint! Looks so cool and gives the place a modern feel with the lighting. We are thinking of putting a flat screen TV above the movie section so we can show games while males shop for their beverages. I'm told that can increase sales. I'm wondering if I should search Craig's List and add a row of theatre seats? No? If not for the sports freaks, how about slow times here for me? Pop a movie in and enjoy my morning. NO?
Oh, must talk about my favorite work time snacks. Just look at those bad boys below! Have you tried these yet? I'm convinced they are the BEST things on earth. Convinced. So bad. So bad, but once a week, these are MINE. I scarf them down and immediately feel bloated. I don't care. For some reason, I convince myself I deserve them. Sort of the same way I deserve the chocolate in the next photo. LOL
Diet cokes and magazines are still a big favorite. Although, I don't have much time to read down here. That's a good thing. We are busy. We need to be busy. As I'm typing this, a notice on our shared family calendar just arrived. Spring Tuition is due Jan. 4th. Yes. I frequently refer to The Bull Stop as Kalyn's college fund. Busy is good. Busy is a must for college survival.
We don't have very many movie posters anymore. We used to get TONS of those each week for free. In the last few years of the video store business, they started charging for them. With the new layout of this place, there's not a lot of space for them, so I didn't keep my subscription going. Instead, we maybe get one or two a month from the movie studios. Anyone recognize this little gem of eye candy on this poster? He can stay in the window for a while. I don't mind. Not one bit.
So, that's my Wednesday!
If you are in Slaton, come see me! I'll share some popcorn with you. And maybe buy you a soda? We still make a mean Cherry Limeade!
Love does,
Kristin