Monday, February 01, 2010

It's Like the Party Neva Ends

Here are some clothes pins in your face.

Well, kids. Consider my taxes officially D-O-N-E. Hurray! I went to H and R Block and had them do them for me for the first time. I usually just do them myself on-line, but with the 1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit thingy, I wanted to make sure I did it right. So, we amended last year's return to get that back a little sooner. The other way to do it, would be to file my taxes for this year on-line, get that return and then amend that return. You can't do the home buyer thing on-line, because I guess people were trying to cheat and now they're watching things more closely. It was pretty pricey paying them to do it, but it was so much faster and easier and if anything goes wrong, they're accountable. Sounds worth the extra bank to me.

If all goes well, I should get my return back by the middle of the month. Which is good, because I'll realistically need to buy a fridge and a hot water heater sooner rather than later. My fridge is making the most interesting noises and my heater is 18 years old. The inspector guy said his died right at 18 years. Those are two things I'd like to be proactive with. I'm sure it would be great fun to wake up to cold, cold showers and a mess of water on my laundry room floor, or realize that a week's worth of groceries has been sitting in a warm box for a day...Or not

I know I like to talk about aging, because I guess I'm in the middle of that process, and it's fascinating to me. There are so many great things about it, as far as I'm concerned. Sure there's the physical downturns I've been taking since my twenties, but those are really balanced out by how much happier and more self-possessed I feel. Don't get me wrong, I've still got a mess of demons chasing me, we're just better acquainted now and I'm learning how to deal with them. I really believe that if you are willing to look at yourself and figure out what bothers you about yourself (not what bothers other people. Fuck them. They don't have to live in your head all day) and work on fixing it, aging isn't half as scary.

That having been said, I realized today how different I've become about certain things as I've gotten older. Back in the day, I would just procrastinate and do my taxes on the last day and have them hanging over my head for months. Now, I've realized that I don't like that feeling of dread at having to do something. It's not that I don't ever procrastinate, but I rarely let it get to the point of stress and drama in my head like I used to. Now, just 51,206 other things that annoy me about myself left to work on in my life...

12 comments:

rel said...

Churlita,
Procrastination and I have become fast friends over the years and we're begining to like as well as understand each other. We frequently follow your fuck 'em philosophy. :)
rel

Tara said...

I finally got my W2 in the mail the other day, and now I can get the whole thing done now! I'm going to invest my refund into the "Tara needs a new car" fund.

Pamela said...

Good for you on many counts.

Poptart said...

Is that your very own clothesline? I love it! Thanks for the tax inspiration. I would love to get mine done this weekend. I usually do them online too, through one of the free services for people who are poor, but I am worried that the 3% raise this year put me over the poverty line finally...we'll see! Congrats on getting yours done!

SkylersDad said...

Those hot water heaters are best replaced before they rust out and leave 50 plus gallons spewing onto the floor.

trust me on this...

dmarks said...

Pretty good super-imposition. Looking at the photo, I figured it was some tree that broke during a tornado last summer, and someone had repaired it with a couple of giant clothespins.


"procrastination is my curse
it brings me so much sorrow
course i can quit most any time
in fact i will tomorrow."

laura b. said...

Your get up and go on the taxes is inspiring. I love a good procrastination, but as you say, no point in it when it isn't fun anymore.

I like your attitude! Bet you don't hear that a lot. haha! I kid.

Mrs. Hairy Woman said...

I'm not one for putting things off.. I would rather get it out of the way and have it dealt with.. But there are times I really don't feel like doing it.. (whatever it is)..it's always good to take a look at yourself and see whre you are in your life.. we perceive ourselves differently as we get older.. and I believe that if you feel that way (old) then you begin to portay that outwards.. yes I say Fuck"em too! ha ha

j-dub said...

when I left my hot water heater, it was 25 and still kickin'. And by kickin' I mean it had a clanking sound.

In spite of that, like everyone else said: so much nicer to replace it before it gets incontinent. Plus, you'll save energy costs! Apparently, old ones lose efficiency pretty badly.

MrManuel said...

We just scheduled an appointment with our tax guy for Saturday morning. If all goes well, we COULD end up getting a spa!!

Churlita said...

Rel, Good for you. You only have to worry about the things that bother you about yourself. You and procrastination should always be friends.

Tara, That sounds great. I'd love a new car, but that will have to wait for a while.

Pamela, Thanks.

Poptart, That is mine. I have a small yard and it takes up a lot of it, so I'm not sure if I'll keep it up and running after a while.

Skyler's, That's what I was thinking too. I have to check a few things out, but I'm hoping for the beginning of March to get a new one.

DMarks, I love that quote.

LauraB., Ha ha. You're right. I don't get that a lot.

Mrs., That is so true. I like my self-perception so much better in my 40's than when I was in my 20's.

JWilliam, That's what I've heard. I could save a lot of money in the long with both of those appliances replaced.

MrManuel, That would be great. I'm so jealous.

Jeff Green said...

Churlita, make sure you do it right due to the first time home buyer tax credit? Interesting.