Y2/D339...Got a lot done for my Day Off
Feb. 18th, 2022 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatI'm getting used to the pandemic. It's sad but true. I'm used to grabbing a mask and putting it on whenever I leave my apartment, whether I require one or not.
For example? I got up at 5:40 am this morning, to get down to the laundry room by 6 AM. I made it - 6 AM on the dot. No one was down there, no one in the halls, not anywhere. Yet, I wore a mask. It took me a few minutes in the laundry room to realize, I was by myself and this was silly. I did get validated for wearing one later, while waiting for my clothes to get out of the dryer - when an old Asian woman (who didn't speak much if any English) - if I were to guess, I'd say Chinese - showed up without a mask. She looked annoyed when she saw me, then somewhat relieved when she realized I had one, even though she did not. (I don't know what she was expecting, I'd gotten my stuff in the dryer's first, she had hers in the washer - she had to know that she was going to run into me, or the odds were in favor of it.)
That's why I wear it -- I don't know which stranger I'll run into. And considering I got a cold in December from my own mother - it pays to be careful. But it is becoming almost automatic now. I have masks hanging off doornobs - the foyer closet, the bathroom door, the closet next to the bedroom. There's masks in the bedroom, and in the foyer closet and in my bag (the one that goes with me to work - the other one not so much). At work - I've a huge collection in the drawers - white cloth masks (that are kind of useless, courtesy of nutty work place. Gabe calls them kiddie masks, since they don't fit her face. I've not tried them. KN95 individually wrapped mask provided by Stores (only one of those). Blue surgical masks. A very thin cloth mask with the crazy agency logo on it. New York logo mask. These are marketing masks that are equally useless. Might as well wear a bandana or nothing at all.
Yes, the quality of the mask matters - they've figured out that if you wear anything less than a KN95, KF94 or N95 mask, or at the very least Cloth, with filter layer inside, you are at risk. (Note 50% of New Yorkers are wearing the wrong masks.) Oh, in case you were wondering? The K stands for Korea. The K masks are the ones that fit the Asian/Korean standards for masks. While the N's are US. That's the only difference. (I can't remember where I read that though - it was sometime last year, during the summer, when I was debating which masks to invest in.)
Co-worker: the masks don't work - I got it anyhow.
Me: With that mask, small wonder.
Co-worker: it should be my personal choice whether or not to wear a mask.
It's amazing how few people understand what it means to be in a pandemic, and that the only way out is to make personal choices that put personal health and safety of the community and others above themselves. Selfish asshole syndrome only works if you live far away from other people.
Outside of doing laundry, which included the dreaded linens, I got that work email sent out. [ I may start sending it out [laundry not the email - it already went out] - not sure if it's really that much more expensive. And the anxiety level is about the same. Except I worry about getting it back, so there's that. I would give just about anything for a washer and dryer. That's a luxury in this city. And one I cannot afford. No, I can't have it in my apartment - too risky. (The inability to afford one - has to do with the fact that you have to have an apartment that is equipped to handle a washer and dryer - and this one isn't. I can't handle a dishwasher (another luxury). Although being one person - I hardly need a dishwasher. (I got off track...sorry..where was I? Ah, outside of doing laundry...)
I sent out the email. Logged into crazy workplace. Asked for sample email to send to the person, who is allocated by the agency, to send the email notifying all the people that the amendment is available. I told this story to mother..
Mother: My lord, that's bureaucratic.
Me: I know, right? Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term. It gave Gabe a headache just listening to it. BYT called it retarded. And yes, I know that politically incorrect, but alas accurate (the word means backward in thinking) and English language words mean more than one thing....
Mother: I agree with you.
Me: See, this is why folks in the US are terrified of the government running everything. The government sucks at running things, it can barely run itself.
It's also why I don't believe in government conspiracy theories - we're not that smart. Anyone who actually works in government agency knows this.
Anyhow, after receiving numerous undeliverable emails from this effort by crazy agency - I'm considering sending out my own separate email to the proposers who attended the meeting I held a week ago, and informing them that the addendum is a) available, b) the due date is March 11 at 2PM, and
c) the presentation is not being made available but there's a revised scope of work with photos from the presentation incorporated within it, along with Schedule R1, and d) I can't help them with retrieving the addendum - so good luck with that.
This would be so much easier if I could just send them the materials myself. I don't understand why I can't. They have yet to supply a reason that makes logical sense to me. Government agencies. Sigh.
Sometimes I think the problem our society has - is it spends far too much time worrying about what other people think, and looking for approval. Also far too much attention on their image or how everything is perceived.
I bloody don't care. Not certain I ever have to be honest. Which granted probably explains a lot about me, doesn't it?
***
Outside of the above - I also took a walk, got more groceries - because what's the point of a walk without groceries, right? It was cold and windy, yet I sweated. Gotta love menopause, either that or I was wearing too many layers.
The walk required a mask most of the time - because there were more folks walking about than anticipated. Lots of kids. Lots of kids and folks without masks - chatting, one guy was kind of wheezing (?), and what not.
So I could only take it off in the areas I was alone.
Came home. Unloaded groceries. Wales called when I was in the store; I asked if I could call her back, she said sure, since I was standing in the middle of the store - busy hunting tea. And unlike some people - I cannot shop and talk on the phone at the same time. A and I discussed tea the other day - and I realized I had to stock up on some more black tea - I love black tea. Also adore green tea. White tea, not so much. It tastes like water - and I fail to see the point of it. Most tea has a delicate taste - so it depends on the White Tea. The best tea (despite what the UK thinks) comes from India and China. Although there's some good Carribbean blends. My friends from the Carribbean islands, such as my co-worker, AA, grew up drinking tea not coffee.
Then sat down and did my taxes.
It took four hours. Maybe five. Let's see, I started at 3pm and ended at 7pm. So that's...four hours. With a bathroom break, and a mild interruption by mother.
I finished the taxes - and e-filed them. I use Turbo Tax - Premiere. And usually it's great - imports stuff and everything. Except this year, it was buggy. It did not import the previous year's return and that was painful in more ways than one. As I result I had to hunt it down and do a lot of adding of things manually.
What I should have done was the chatty online version and not the download. But I had pre-paid for the download. Also, took me a while to locate my records for it - which is why it took a while. That, and my taxes are getting increasingly complicated as I get older. At some point - I may have to employ a tax accountant. I've always done my own. I'm the only one in my family who does their own taxes - everybody else has an accountant. Many of my co-workers do their own taxes as well. We all work in financial analysis and legal, it makes sense we'd do it ourselves. Plus there's things like turbo tax.
The e-file was free this year. Also NY State requires E-File, and it's a federal and state law that the filing be free. Tax preparers aren't permitted to charge you for it any longer - they used to charge about $20-30.
There are a lot of changes to the forms, by the way. Possibly why they couldn't import the previous form. Added a COVID section to it - which was not there in 2021, and changed how various sections were explained. This means our crazy government decided to fiddle with the tax code again.
I took Income Tax Law in law school - I actually did very well in it. I'm fairly good at figuring out forms, a good thing, considering how many I have to deal with in my job.
***
It's late. Time for bed.
Here's a picture.
For example? I got up at 5:40 am this morning, to get down to the laundry room by 6 AM. I made it - 6 AM on the dot. No one was down there, no one in the halls, not anywhere. Yet, I wore a mask. It took me a few minutes in the laundry room to realize, I was by myself and this was silly. I did get validated for wearing one later, while waiting for my clothes to get out of the dryer - when an old Asian woman (who didn't speak much if any English) - if I were to guess, I'd say Chinese - showed up without a mask. She looked annoyed when she saw me, then somewhat relieved when she realized I had one, even though she did not. (I don't know what she was expecting, I'd gotten my stuff in the dryer's first, she had hers in the washer - she had to know that she was going to run into me, or the odds were in favor of it.)
That's why I wear it -- I don't know which stranger I'll run into. And considering I got a cold in December from my own mother - it pays to be careful. But it is becoming almost automatic now. I have masks hanging off doornobs - the foyer closet, the bathroom door, the closet next to the bedroom. There's masks in the bedroom, and in the foyer closet and in my bag (the one that goes with me to work - the other one not so much). At work - I've a huge collection in the drawers - white cloth masks (that are kind of useless, courtesy of nutty work place. Gabe calls them kiddie masks, since they don't fit her face. I've not tried them. KN95 individually wrapped mask provided by Stores (only one of those). Blue surgical masks. A very thin cloth mask with the crazy agency logo on it. New York logo mask. These are marketing masks that are equally useless. Might as well wear a bandana or nothing at all.
Yes, the quality of the mask matters - they've figured out that if you wear anything less than a KN95, KF94 or N95 mask, or at the very least Cloth, with filter layer inside, you are at risk. (Note 50% of New Yorkers are wearing the wrong masks.) Oh, in case you were wondering? The K stands for Korea. The K masks are the ones that fit the Asian/Korean standards for masks. While the N's are US. That's the only difference. (I can't remember where I read that though - it was sometime last year, during the summer, when I was debating which masks to invest in.)
Co-worker: the masks don't work - I got it anyhow.
Me: With that mask, small wonder.
Co-worker: it should be my personal choice whether or not to wear a mask.
It's amazing how few people understand what it means to be in a pandemic, and that the only way out is to make personal choices that put personal health and safety of the community and others above themselves. Selfish asshole syndrome only works if you live far away from other people.
Outside of doing laundry, which included the dreaded linens, I got that work email sent out. [ I may start sending it out [laundry not the email - it already went out] - not sure if it's really that much more expensive. And the anxiety level is about the same. Except I worry about getting it back, so there's that. I would give just about anything for a washer and dryer. That's a luxury in this city. And one I cannot afford. No, I can't have it in my apartment - too risky. (The inability to afford one - has to do with the fact that you have to have an apartment that is equipped to handle a washer and dryer - and this one isn't. I can't handle a dishwasher (another luxury). Although being one person - I hardly need a dishwasher. (I got off track...sorry..where was I? Ah, outside of doing laundry...)
I sent out the email. Logged into crazy workplace. Asked for sample email to send to the person, who is allocated by the agency, to send the email notifying all the people that the amendment is available. I told this story to mother..
Mother: My lord, that's bureaucratic.
Me: I know, right? Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term. It gave Gabe a headache just listening to it. BYT called it retarded. And yes, I know that politically incorrect, but alas accurate (the word means backward in thinking) and English language words mean more than one thing....
Mother: I agree with you.
Me: See, this is why folks in the US are terrified of the government running everything. The government sucks at running things, it can barely run itself.
It's also why I don't believe in government conspiracy theories - we're not that smart. Anyone who actually works in government agency knows this.
Anyhow, after receiving numerous undeliverable emails from this effort by crazy agency - I'm considering sending out my own separate email to the proposers who attended the meeting I held a week ago, and informing them that the addendum is a) available, b) the due date is March 11 at 2PM, and
c) the presentation is not being made available but there's a revised scope of work with photos from the presentation incorporated within it, along with Schedule R1, and d) I can't help them with retrieving the addendum - so good luck with that.
This would be so much easier if I could just send them the materials myself. I don't understand why I can't. They have yet to supply a reason that makes logical sense to me. Government agencies. Sigh.
Sometimes I think the problem our society has - is it spends far too much time worrying about what other people think, and looking for approval. Also far too much attention on their image or how everything is perceived.
I bloody don't care. Not certain I ever have to be honest. Which granted probably explains a lot about me, doesn't it?
***
Outside of the above - I also took a walk, got more groceries - because what's the point of a walk without groceries, right? It was cold and windy, yet I sweated. Gotta love menopause, either that or I was wearing too many layers.
The walk required a mask most of the time - because there were more folks walking about than anticipated. Lots of kids. Lots of kids and folks without masks - chatting, one guy was kind of wheezing (?), and what not.
So I could only take it off in the areas I was alone.
Came home. Unloaded groceries. Wales called when I was in the store; I asked if I could call her back, she said sure, since I was standing in the middle of the store - busy hunting tea. And unlike some people - I cannot shop and talk on the phone at the same time. A and I discussed tea the other day - and I realized I had to stock up on some more black tea - I love black tea. Also adore green tea. White tea, not so much. It tastes like water - and I fail to see the point of it. Most tea has a delicate taste - so it depends on the White Tea. The best tea (despite what the UK thinks) comes from India and China. Although there's some good Carribbean blends. My friends from the Carribbean islands, such as my co-worker, AA, grew up drinking tea not coffee.
Then sat down and did my taxes.
It took four hours. Maybe five. Let's see, I started at 3pm and ended at 7pm. So that's...four hours. With a bathroom break, and a mild interruption by mother.
I finished the taxes - and e-filed them. I use Turbo Tax - Premiere. And usually it's great - imports stuff and everything. Except this year, it was buggy. It did not import the previous year's return and that was painful in more ways than one. As I result I had to hunt it down and do a lot of adding of things manually.
What I should have done was the chatty online version and not the download. But I had pre-paid for the download. Also, took me a while to locate my records for it - which is why it took a while. That, and my taxes are getting increasingly complicated as I get older. At some point - I may have to employ a tax accountant. I've always done my own. I'm the only one in my family who does their own taxes - everybody else has an accountant. Many of my co-workers do their own taxes as well. We all work in financial analysis and legal, it makes sense we'd do it ourselves. Plus there's things like turbo tax.
The e-file was free this year. Also NY State requires E-File, and it's a federal and state law that the filing be free. Tax preparers aren't permitted to charge you for it any longer - they used to charge about $20-30.
There are a lot of changes to the forms, by the way. Possibly why they couldn't import the previous form. Added a COVID section to it - which was not there in 2021, and changed how various sections were explained. This means our crazy government decided to fiddle with the tax code again.
I took Income Tax Law in law school - I actually did very well in it. I'm fairly good at figuring out forms, a good thing, considering how many I have to deal with in my job.
***
It's late. Time for bed.
Here's a picture.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-19 12:58 pm (UTC)Yeah, both shopping and talking take plenty of my attention, I'm sure not attempting them simultaneously.
I guess we could lump Sri Lankan tea in among India - you're thinking that the UK's inordinately fond of tea from Eastern Africa and the like? Now I wonder if the same tea that's good for drinking is also best for making tea bread.
In terms of others' approval and validation - sure can feel like a weird stranger in society in thinking more independently instead! Too many people care so much about received norms that, frankly, don't really matter. It's great that you get to make your own life and talk plenty with your mother who kind of gets who you are.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-19 08:08 pm (UTC)Regarding the income tax forms this year? They've added a foreign tax credit, except they haven't done the form for it yet - so it's kind of pointless. I gave up and went with the induction instead, since it fouled up the forms. (Also it was minor). But if you paid foreign taxes - it's worth noting.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-20 12:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-20 03:28 pm (UTC)It was fine, lowered the tax rate - but the additional "tax credit" clause without a form to go with it - is a major bug in the system.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-20 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-21 04:14 pm (UTC)Not sure if I've had Sri Lankan tea - although probably, since we've a large Sri Lankan community in NYC.
NY requires E-Filing, and the Fed's require it if you use any online tax preparation service - apparently.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-21 05:03 pm (UTC)I'd just been thinking, with your figuring that, — I was wondering, what does the UK think? African was my best guess. (-:
Yeah, not much tea actually grown in Britain. There's some, e.g., near me in Tayside I had https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-26955938 and near where I went to high school there is https://tregothnan.co.uk/ but it's all small-scale stuff, like the vineyards.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-21 07:25 pm (UTC)Britain doesn't have the best climate for it.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-21 09:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-23 03:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-19 11:55 pm (UTC)Decided to get H&R Block this year which is supposed to import from your previous return with Turbo Tax. Doesn't. No recourse.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-20 03:26 pm (UTC)And I agree it increases in price each year. I had to get Premiere because I have investments, and it's an annoying software to use. (Was H&R Block cheaper? I know the Federal/State Governments now provide free online tax preparation - but not sure how helpful or useful it is.)
They all want you to do it off their web site now - so you pay once you complete it an file. As opposed to downloading the software. (Which has pluses and minuses. The plus side is that there's no longer a download, requiring an upgrade in operating systems. Also you can technically work on it anywhere. The downside is that it's via their website, and if the internet connection goes down - you could lose everything.) I've not done it off the website yet, but I'm guessing that's the future. They are going that route - because the Federal and State Governments now provide "online" tax preparation services for free apparently. No guidance, just the forms to fill out online.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-20 10:10 pm (UTC)I agree that doing it online is a risk but you can buy a downloadable version that will save locally. Since I print out and mail, that's the route I've always taken.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-20 06:02 am (UTC)And he always did a good job, and reasonably priced, but... just a few weeks back I received notice from him that he's retiring. Bummer number two is that he sold his business to a much larger local firm whose primary business appears to be catering to the investments crowd, and the tax work is largely a sideline. The flyer they enclosed along with my accountant's letter of retirement was sending up red flags all over the place for me.
I get why he did it, it is his retirement, and they probably gave him a good buck for his client list, but... I don't think it'll be good for tinier clients like myself. Been checking out possibilities for a new person, but... not many smaller operations out there now. It's almost all big outfits and of course the electronic ones.
~sigh~
no subject
Date: 2022-02-20 03:16 pm (UTC)There are good tax accountants out there - but most have gone online now. Mother had to put all her documents online and send them to her accountant. Worried about it going through. Then called them. They did make allowances for folks who can't do it that way though.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-20 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-20 10:14 pm (UTC)Absolutely! Style over content every time, whether it's physical appearance or politics.