Meat Monkey, I know where you coming from, at one time I took off for three months because women had wore me out, and by that I mean at one time I had to deal with up  80 to 100 women a day in one market, some times 4 or 5 at a time hollaring at me. it got to the point I was afraid I was going to blow on one of them if I heard one more dumb ass question.

But I use to do a lot of horse riding or training barrel horses so that help to take off a lot of my stress of the market.

i drink alotta redbull..lol..........sometimes ill work 3 weeks straight when i feel a like im gonna murder someone ill take a couple days off and just relax........drink a few beers ..............i walk my dogs every night in the woods that helps me unwind

yeah thats another thing i do. I come to this site every night after work..sometimes I unload my day on here. thank god for this site nowhere else would i beable to unload to people who really understand what its like to be meatcutters. Leon you are a savior for coming up with the meat cutters club.

i watch the tigers everynight as well.

A couple of weeks ago I took over a new store for Leon helped me get my head straight and re focus. i suggest talking with Leon also.

I've found out what works for me. When at work, I only take one break in the morning at 10 o'clock for 30 minutes with all of the crew and we don't talk about work. We talk about anything but that. I get out of the store for lunch, sit in my car and have 'me' time. I listen to the radio or some good music, eat, and take a mini-nap. When I get back in, I rub my eyes, get back to work and I have a ton of energy to finish out the day. When I punch the clock to go home, that's it. Work is done and I focus on things 'I' want to do. I don't think about work at all other than setting my alarm clock to wake up when I need to. I try to do a little something active then a little bit of vegging out, like watching TV or a movie.

I drink a lot for a casual drinker, but I always maintain. I enjoy my drinks and my time. I never slam down brews to get drunk. I enjoy every drop while I enjoy my time...I never think about work when I'm at home. I enjoy my home life. I keep work and personal life separate no matter what. Mix the two and it only creates problems. I'll also use personal time when I'm feeling extra stressed. Keeping mentally relaxed is definitely the answer for me--the body follows the mind. But when I'm at work, it's all about doing what it takes to call it a day.

i know a few cutters who liked to take all their breaks in their car..but it wasn't nap time it was weed time.

Believe me I'm wacky enough without the weed.

Knew a guy that cut himself, went home and stitched himself up, then came back because he didn't want to take  the manadory drug test that comes with a accident report.

Meat Monkey wrote:

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After this past weekend, now seems the appropriate time to ask: how you stay healthy and energized?

Myself, I try and get outdoors on my day offf. Hiking, fishing, biking seems to revitalize me better than anything. My downfall is diet. When I have a long stretch I fiind myself eating a lot of junk on the go (and drinking too much in the evening!).

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 My main thing for fun is playing tennis. I'm not that good. 3.5-4.0 NTRP, but it's all relative. Find people at your own level and have competitive matches.

There is nothing wrong with marijuana unless you smoke too much. Just like any other drug. In moderation it can help people in tremendous ways. I was on medication for anxiety about 10 years ago. I took it for 6 months, started to feel better and haven't been on it since. I can say it really helped me when I needed it but I feel pretty normal everyday now. Alot of people don't think we work in a high stress environment but those people have never done it. Ask them to deal with 4 dozen middle aged women, everyday, asking "what does grass-fed mean?" or "How do I cook a chuck roast or a chicken" when you've got a ton of production to complete. Cooking ain't rocket surgery. It doesn't sound that stressful, but do it everyday for years and it will wear on you.

It is a little stressful. Here's this weeks example:

There are around 1700 coupons for a free pound of ground round printed. Some customers take advantage of this by telling the cashier 'they didn't get theirs.' So they give them another one. Here's how my week went:

Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).
Customer: Where's the free item?
Me: Right here (in front of you).

All day long, every day. I literally cannot walk out to the counter without someone asking me. Hint one: it's in the 8 foot burger section. Hint 2: It's not with the chicken. Hint 3: the one pound package clearly labeled "ground round." Damn people, are you stupid? And then half of them have the nerve to ask why it's not exactly one pound. ...because you get one pound free, not a one pound package free. Time for a beer!

alot of meat cutters got that shoulder problem even me its not too bad for me right now but it worse in the winter. i know alot of cutters who can't even work anymore because of the shoulder thing

Luckily, I don't have much pain, other than my back. Our tables are too low and I'm 6'1". I have to be careful when throwing a truck or pulling in a pallet not to aggravate my upper back. It can hurt for a week or two if I do. I'm kind of glad we use the boneless saw here. I take a lot of pride in cutting by hand--looks better, better shelf life, etc., but it puts a hurtin' on your shoulders and hands after a while. I've got about another 30 years of this, so I've got to preserve myself. It was a big wake-up call when an old manager of mine had to have both rotator cups repaired. I mix a little hand cutting with most production being on the saw. Pain is a body's way of saying 'stop it, dang it!'

As if the questions weren't enough, when I arrived today at 6am the blasted counters were on their way out. So instead of an easy day, I had to pull them all. Luckily, I was able to salvage most everything and I had my old school wrapper to help (she's awesome, even if she does talk to herself all day). Damn I love my meat wrappers! It's only when you don't have one do you realize life in the market truly sucks.