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| message board December 2014
The last hurrah. No more breaks of any useful relaxation for about five more months after today and tomorrow. Yeah. Posted at 6:43 AM
What I could do with a handful of miracles ... Posted at 6:42 AM
Tired and headachy and missing Ken so, so much ... Posted at 5:59 AM
Still tired, and tomorrow I'm back to work ... : ( It only ever gets worse, doesn't it? Posted at 6:34 AM
I'm tired. The longest set of days off I've had in a year and I'm tired. Figures, right? Posted at 7:22 AM
It's Boxing Day. Who do you plan to punch out? Posted at 7:22 AM
Merry fucking Christmas. Posted at 7:54 AM
Up early to see the cable guy with my transitional attempt to save money now that my 1-year introductory offer has run out. Yea! I get to pay more money AND wait for the cable guy to come screw around with things on a rare day off! The fun never ends ... Posted at 6:56 AM
Yesterday was a crazy day at work with lots of little bits and pieces-parts of things getting done but nothing finished. Today will be more of the same with it unlikely anything will yet be finished ... and then we go away for five days ... Posted at 7:41 AM
Well, that was the weekend that wasn't. It's like I has no real time away from work; at least that's how fast it felt as though it passed by. ... and I didn't get remotely enough sleep ... Ugh! Back to work ... Posted at 6:34 AM
I took STeve with me to Elyria yesterday to get a part replaced in my car (that had come in). We stopped in Sandusky for a filling and delicious lunch at Olive Garden, and then just a simple trip back to Toledo. I continued to have the migraine I've had all week - better today than some of those days and worse than a couple of them - but we had a decent day, talking throughout the drive there and back and the meals. Since we work together and since things are crazy and stressful at work, we talk a lot about things when we're off duty as well, despite often wanting to talk about anything else. We talked about work as usual, but we talked about a great many other things as well. The rest of the day I was very lethargic, having had way too much pasta and salad and having been up since five AM, having slept not nearly enough the previous night. Today I've had some rest, but more will help. Laundry is up first on my To-Do list, but most of the rest of the day will be (hopefully) just relaxing, reading, and watching some anime - nothing big). Posted at 6:53 AM
I've known it all along yet still chafed at the concept, but honestly: Why try? If it's not some other person then it's the universe itself that conspires to fuck you over, so why try at all? Just say, "Fuck it," and do as little as possible or walk away because you will always get screwed. Posted at 6:48 AM
Training goes from lecture to hands-on starting tomorrow, and possibly by end-of-day tomorrow even to self-paced hands-on (I can only hope). Next week I'll need to answer questions and supervise but I can work on other things while the tax preparers work on doing example taxes. Hopefully that will free up time for all of the other things I need to do. Posted at 6:40 AM
Oh goody! Co-workers talking about you (and everyone else) behind your (and their) back. I thought I'd left this childish, destructive, asinine behavior behind twenty-eight years ago. How much bullshit must keep getting added onto the pile? Posted at 6:44 AM
The training went well today, and the work I did afterward was even better - getting the billing manager within the tax program to work, work as STeve and I wanted it to, customizing it, and getting it set up across all of the tax programs for each year. It's a Christmas miracle. Posted at 6:42 AM
Carol, who was supposed to be doing the majority of the training this week, was still out yesterday with the flu but she had seen the doctor, gotten antibiotics, and was exhausted but expecting to come in today. Hopefully that's the case. The next section is one she has spent much more time preparing to teach than me, and while today's training went surprisingly well, even I myself need the training from Carol on the next section. We'll see how it plays out today, and depending on how Carol feels we may see her or me training the remainder of things during the rest of the week. I got the Billing Manager working on all but two of the last dozen tax years and should have those running tomorrow which will make it so all billing follows the pricing policy without error but also without any real effort. That will be a nice addition this year. Still tons more to do, but things do progress ... Posted at 7:01 AM
The weekend was far too short, and now I have a week of intense training for the tax preparers that Carol is supposed to largely lead, but she came down with the flu last week. I sure hope she's there because while I can cover most areas, Carol would likely cover them better, and in some cases I simply won't be able to cover the topic at all well compared to Carol, specifically in regards to capitalization and depreciation. I'll know soon whether she'll be with me or not. Posted at 6:39 AM
I drove to Elyria with Steve yesterday, got my car serviced, talked, ran a couple errands, had a great Chinese buffet for a late lunch/early dinner with Steve, watched some funny YouTube stuff with Steve, then drove him home and came back to wind down at the apartment. Today is all about rest. Tomorrow was a nice change but tiring. I need these days of semi-laziness to counterbalance the week, so hopefully today will help somewhat. Posted at 5:57 AM
Why am I even doing this shit? I struggle to get things done in time at work, struggle to make us legally compliant, struggle to get things set up to run more smoothly and profitably - all with tremendous stress, frustration, and minimal me-time - and for all I do I get what? Bullshit is what I get. No appreciation; whining; expecting other things done that can (and have to) wait; expecting what I've done in a rush to be what I would have liked to have had ready but wasn't given the two months I needed to prepare; somehow expecting me to fix screw-ups other people have made with what I'm doing; and repeatedly making clear that the boss would rather the training have been shorter, faster, and over more quickly - even though she's insistent that everyone be thoroughly trained so that we won't have the same problems as last year. Why am I even trying when there is not only no satisfying her but no point in getting this tense and in pain. I don't need this shit. My job title is 'tax preparer', and while my job would be much more complicated and difficult without the changes and training I'm trying to work with Steve to get in place, I could do the job and get by, preparing a huge number of tax returns and letting the place burn around me. Why the hell should I care or make an effort when the response is like it is? There's no fucking justification; that's the bottom line. Posted at 6:47 AM
Four days of training down - and slightly ahead of schedule - but three people were out sick yesterday so I don't feel like I accomplished as much as I should have/needed to. Last day of the first week finishes today, and next week the deep training for the tax preparers goes into effect. Posted at 6:39 AM
Blood, blood everywhere, and not a drop to drink ... oh ... wait a minute ... that's not the right quote. Anyhow, I'm doing lots of bleeding again. This week has been bad all week since Sunday, but yesterday was horrible, gushing blood before I left for work and gushing blood after lunch. Can today possibly be as fun? I can only imagine. If I'm going to bleed so much, why can't I just die? Posted at 7: 03 AM
Another tiring day of training everyone, and while this day went smoother than expected, it wasn't all I had wanted. Still, we're on track for the overall timing, and we've laid all the ground work. Now to the more challenging parts ... Posted at 6:28 AM
Yesterday's training went well except for a couple people not showing up and some whining and griping from the one tax preparer other than me who is returning from last year. He seems to think he can call the shots after being gone for eight months and tell us what to do and how to do it, despite the hours and months of work we've put into things - and of course (in the fashion of people like this) his remarks are based upon assumptions and quick judgments without any chance for us to have explained why something was done the way it was (all of which is explained as part of the training program). Today will be different and I'm not sure how smoothly it will go because I'm really winging it since I didn't have time to make a more detailed plan, and of course I worry that the same idiocy from yesterday may reign once again. We'll see. My patience only goes so far. Posted at 6:56 AM
Back to work, today as the trainer for the entire staff, old and new. I haven't done actual training in years, and despite having a training program roughed out - and even having decent training handouts - I still didn't have time to do the kind of proper, detailed training manual I had planned for (and hope to have), so I'll be winging it all week. Fortunately the training is just 9 AM - 1 PM Monday to Friday because that will be stressful enough. After the training it's a good thing we'll be back to being open until 6 PM because I'll have to update the books, accounting for payments and purchases, then do the payroll for the last period, then set up all of the dozen new people on the payroll system ... then I can get back to doing more work on the training materials that we'll be using next week, and a bunch of other stuff that needs to get done beyond all of those things, all during the afternoon hours. Fun times. Posted at 6:34 AM
Weekends are going to seem even shorter now, and then - in no time - there won't be any weekends at all. Will I be able to stand it this year? Posted at 6:49 AM
A short weekend away from work and then back - and with the added bonus of now being the trainer for the whole staff! Yea me. Woo. Posted at 6:29 AM
Now I can't even get out of work by 6 PM. This stinks. Posted at 6:34 AM
Late nights at work. More gets done, but there's still sooooo much to do. Fun times continue. Posted at 7:13 AM
Back to working 'til (or past) 6 PM again as of last night. That will last until mid-January when we go to twelve-hour days seven days a week for the whole tax season. The extra hours now will be welcome, but I can't help miss my decompression time in the late afternoons. Oh well. It's not like I ever expect things to work out perfectly. Posted at 6:45 AM
Let's hope today isn't as screwed up as yesterday. I have too much shit that needs to be done for the same kind of looping wastes of time I had throughout the day yesterday. Posted at 5:52 AM
Back to the grind. Have I really ever disliked working - or at least my job - this much ever? I honestly don't believe I have. And yet here I am ... Posted at 6:33 AM
Journal, by Paul Cales, © December 2014
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December 31, 2014
