Mid-March Madness

Mon 12 Mar
Last weekend at Block was even worse than the weekend earlier. I had one client for $28, which is really poor for fourteen and a half hours. Of course, the weekend was shortened because of the Schrubbish of earlier daylight savings time. Now, I must arise in the dark, which I hated in October. It reminded me of the harebrained move to daylight savings time on Sunday, 6 January 1974! There just isn't daylight to save!
It is time to ease into the preparation for after tax season. Right now a lull, like the one last year in mid-March, gives me pause. There are only five weeks left, and the weather hints that spring is settling in. I still have snow scenes in the front window. The Easter material comes up soon, preferably after Saint Patrick's Day.

Thu 15 Mar Cavë ïdës Mariï, Caesar.
I thought about the nonsense over reading while on the toilet, and it occured to me that the lasck of progress there parallels the lack of progress in the rest of my life. I placed Adam Morgan on my website for astronomy as a reminder. The obervatory at WBPSU must have seen him!
I brought out Andy Fuel's "Wealth without a Job", and the end of tax season is almost in view as winter melts into spring. Ultimately I hope to have enough leads to pursue by this time in April.
Planning for succes begins with the purpose of life. Well, I have no inherited purpose; I have no purpose.

Fri 16 Mar
We're having a boderline storm in the region with snow in Allentown and sleet here. I am hoping Franklin Mills closes early tonight.
Well, it's one month until the end of the tax season. I finally had a client at 7 PM last nigth, which balanced out last night and Wednesday night.. It's time to plan the afterseason.

It's turning from sleet to snow outside, while I await news that Franklin Mills is closing early tonight. I've yet to have such an event this tax season.

Sat 17 Mar
The icestorm really fouled up today. We left my brother home with the dog because I could not shovel the frozen slop. Despite the sun's being out over twelve hours today, much of it remains frozen and in the way.

Thu 22 March
The frozen slop is taking a long time to melt. Despite continual days above melting, the stuff persists.
What slao persists is a certain "senior" member of Block, who's into bullying. There were four of us there until 9:30. I asked to leave, and she protested. So instead of leaving, the three of us stayed. I am asking management about this nonsense. The receptionist had me I may go.
Meanwhile, the move toward the offseason continues to drag. Sometime next week, I'm going to start making appointments. There may be a delay if we can't find the list of doctors.

The slop persiosts in warm weather with leakiy roofs and piles of frozen slop. I finally arose at 5:30. only to find the overnight maintainance on the computer didn't work. I used the Macavee uninstaller with little result.
My dream from yesterday morning occurred in a geography book in sixth grade. The past few days have had my reflecting on 1974 and 1975, because I intend to construct some of the goals I had considered then.

Of course, the various goals remain ignored. so I must redefine them. It's like rediscovering old songs by finding their lyrics on the internet.

Sat 24 Mar
Yecch! I knew I shouldn't have come to Block tonight. It looks as if I'll just waste three and a half hours here. I'd rather be home. I don't even (no more entry)

Tue 27 Mar
Yesterday will be the last time the earliest Easter I've witnessed came on that date. 1967, 1978,, and 1989 all had Easter on that date, and I remember each of them. From "The Man Called Fintstone" in 1967, through "Shadow Dancing" with Andy Gibb, to seeing Joe Paterno's trip some twenty meters ahead in 1989, each Easter had its individuality.
Last night I finished most of the remained left of the calendar for April. I should finish it tonight. It took nearly three mohts to draw it. It's been a long tax season.

March the Lion, 2007

Fri 2 Mar
The pace at both jobs slackened this week, so I took today off at Bodek. I received three payments today, which boosted me toward $5000.
I checked on Wachovia's website, which revealed that they don't invest in real estate. I also reached Primerica to finish the last of the corrections for withdrawing monthly premiums from the new account.

Sat 3 Mar
Before I came to Block at 5 PM -- and didn't have enough time to do everything at home the past two days -- the hanging clients resolved the issue and one of my holds may not come back because she took back her W-2's.
I spent some time in the basement with old books barely read and heavily paid. What should I throw out?

Sun 4 Mar
As winter fades int spring, the tax season slackens. I don't look forward to the end of the season, for there is more than enough work outdoors, not to mention the first summer with the extention.
This weekend seems to continue the downward trend since February began. Each weekend is even more worthless than the previous one. I might as well have stayed home both Friday and Saturday evenings. I certainly would not want to do this job all year long. I'd rather be home.
Since 3 PM, it's been quite dead in here. Unfortunately, we're not closing at 5 PM like last Sunday. There are five Sundays left, three this month.

Wed 7 Mar
It was brutally cold yesterday, reminiscent of Willkes-Barre or State College: -10º and windy. This morning it was snowing and still -10º. More snow has followed, but it is not enough to close Franklin Mills. Here I stand about forty days until the end of tax season. Then all the delayed decisions come to roost, taking out the spring.

Sat 10 Mar
I arose at 4:30 AM, and everyone was up. I took my bath, and we went to PathMark around 7:30. A trip to Lou's put us home by 9 AM. I figured we lose an hour tonight, so getting up so early was no big deal.
I did some of my tasks, but I still had to waste four hours at Block. There were four of us there and only one client. I called twentyfour clients tonight (all from the "no answer" list) to go with the sixteen I had called last night. This weekend may prove to be even worse than last weekend. I will have only twelve and a half hours before I must return to Block, due to the spring forward.,

Latter February 2007

Tue 13 Feb
"DNA" recalls biology in high school. I am casting a critical eye on the class, thirtyfour years laster. I just wish I could read as fast as I used to back then.
Meanwhile, it's trying to snow today, which looks more like slop. I have pills to obtain before I get home in this weather. I just snoozed in the van for fifteen minutes I did not sleep well last night.

Wed 14 Feb
The snow last night turned into sleet and I had some time trying to get to work. I had to office to myself, so I slept on the floor during lunch.
Meanwhile, I had a boring review with an increase of 3.2%, barely keeping up with inflation. I would call it a cap, or a mediocre pay for a mediocre job in medocrity., I certainly will make too much for the saver's credit this year!

Ah! the memories of forty years ago today. It was a clash of mean grandmother and drunken teacher. The illustrious teacher told us the Firday before Valentine's Day that we were not exchanging valentines. Then she changed her mind on Monday. Subsequently, I endured my mother's complaints that evening and transferred that anger into the actual valentines. One of them, who really deserved it for teasing me, gave it back. Mean grandmother, instead of asking why it all happened, merely said she'd give it back as well.
Little did I know how close we were from leaving at that time. Perhaps it merely made the move more enjoyalbe, leaving only drunken teacher until June.

Thu 15 Feb
Last night the snow and the wind suggested an early closing. Nearly 7:30, after most preparers went home, I had my first client. I spent part of the morning trying to clear the ice on the front sidewalk in a windy -9º temperature. The sun shone throughout the day, but it was cold. When I came home, I found the icy covering still along the driveway, making it hazardous to walk. Tonight looks daed again.

Fri 16 Feb
Last night was a bust at Block. I had one "client" who simply wanter to figure out how to file. Single without dependents would have cause her to owe ~$120. I suppose had I done it, I wouldn't have been paid anyway!
I asked for Bureaucrats' Day off, so I'll have one day off before Easter during tax season. At the very least, I must clean up the msees from the changing of the accounts. I should make up a list.

Tue 20 Feb
My day off was not enough to clean up seven weeks of neglect. I had too much unknowns pop up like zits.
When I arrived at work, I found no one had taken out the mail. I hust had fallen by a nearby shop on the ice and whacked my left thigh and less my left elbow. I almost whacked my head on the wall. Then a set of paperwork had remained missing.

Fri 23 Feb
Tuesday and Wednesday seemed to gang up on me. I even expected Block to have a disaster await me on Wednesday night. Actually it was last night that I spent much time administratively and commissionless. My only client did not have a photo ID, so she may come back on Sunday. The halfway point of the tax season is today. I have a session tomorrow afternoon.

The workflow slowed, so I began to transfer the older paperwork from the mills. I also moved some catalogs toward simplifying the storage.

Sat 24 Feb
Despite the cold and the wind, the strength of the sun grows. Last night was such a bust that I went home an hour earlier. A coworker gave me four Science News, which I read when I could stay awake.

Mon 25 Feb
Block was a bust and depressing over the weekend. In all events, I went home early. After the two calles I received yesterday from moron and ego, I was only too happy to leave at five, two hours early. Therefore, this morning I spent time shoveling the slop before coming to the regular job. The good part is that much of the salt ran off the vehicle.
Back at Block, I found the session on Saturday enlightening. I called all the former clients in which no one had sttempted. I did not get chance to continue it yesterday. Our office had 853 noncontacted clients!

Tue 27 Feb
The moron and the ego still bother me two days later. The moron called me to fix the address on the return five weeks after I did it and eight weeks after she'd applied for an imal. The W-2 still had the address as well. To solve this silliness, I had to look for a telephone book for the number to call Harrisburg. Apparently she didn't have a book -- and is thirty, about two weeks older than Matthew Wayne Shepard would be now.
The other amusement was Scott Rodrigues, whose lentigenous face covers this issue of BusinessWeek. He'd be three months older than Matt.
The ego must have been angry at someone and took it out on me. She needed confirmation on all-states for New York (and our specialit is very thorough). She implied that I could tell her whether she owed taxes to Pennsylvania. Eventually the solution was simply to have the specialist call her the next day.
Her imperious mood contrasted with how I reacted when I called Shields back in early September 1987. I asked whether bankruptcy was the only option to end the hold on my registration. When I received the suggestion that I pay the defaulted leans, I didn't snoot, "I don't like your attitude. I want to talk to a supervisor."