It's That Time of Year

(Sung to the tune of 'The Christmas Waltz')

Tax time's such a pain
Im stuck here inside
Frying half my brain, set me free
Uncle Sam's on his way,
My accountant's grey
And my attorney sounds like a banshee.

~~~~~~~

The hardest part of preparing for taxes isn't the paperwork- its doing inventory, as I whined about last year.  Fortunately thats done early, but we have meetings most of the week.  So you wont see me on social networking sites until about a week after tax time.

Don't worry, orders still process, but Im personally in shorter supply than usual.

I'm listening to Sinatra; In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.  His music experienced a revival after his death in 1998, and I hope new generations discover it.

And now, a brief word from our sponsor.

5 worst and best ways to use a tax refund.

What you should and shouldn't do with your withholding.

And, I wish wiki would update this graphic for 2011.

• Do you receive a refund or pay in?  What's the worst thing about tax time for you?
• The tax law has grown from 11,400 words in 1913, to over 7 million words today.
• There are at least 480 different tax forms, each with many pages of instructions.  Even the easiest form, the 1040E has 33 pages in instructions, and all in fine print.
• The IRS sends out 8 billion pages of forms and instructions each year.  Laid end to end, they would stretch 28 times around the earth.
• Nearly 300,000 trees are cut down yearly to produce the paper for all the IRS forms and instructions. The total number of computers thrown out the window, or kicked with a frustrated foot is unknown.
• American taxpayers spend $200 billion and 5.4 billion hours working to comply with federal taxes each year, more than it takes to produce every car, truck and van in the United States.
• The IRS employs 114,000 people; that's twice as many as the CIA and five times more than the FBI.
• 60% of taxpayers must hire a professional to get through their own return.
• Taxes eat up nearly 40% of the average family's income; that's more than for food, clothing and shelter combined.

But its all good.  Make a cup of tea, put on Sinatra, and bake some cookies for your accountant.  See you in a week or so!  :D

I'm just curious today.  Of course we don't want women to be like men!  But sometimes I think it would be most helpful if women learned to communicate more like men.  How many times have you been baffled by the seeming hurt silence of a female, that grows longer and colder the more you don't realize its happening, only to be suddenly hit with a bout of tears because you were clueless that it was taking place?  I think we all have, in one form or another.

If you've read 'Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus', it tends to portray men as having overly fragile egos and women as being overly sensitive.  Maybe, maybe not.  But do these two conversations ring of any truth to you?

EXAMPLE A.  Man, speaking to his male friend at a barbecue.

1st guy.  "Dude, hey, you forgot to save me a beer from that specialty imported 6-pack you brought."

2nd guy.  "Ah shit, didn't know you wanted one.  Those guys sure polished them off quick."

1st guy. "Yeah, I said last night on the phone to save me one, dickhead.  You're not kidding, you only just walked in the door."

2nd guy. "Sorry about that, wasn't paying attention I guess.  I'll get you next time."

1st guy. "No biggie.  Did you get your new rims?"

EXAMPLE B.  Female, speaking to her female friend at a barbecue.

1st female. "Hey, did you see Leonora come in?"

2nd female.  "Yes, she got here about 10 minutes ago. Why?"

1st female. "Sigh. She knew I wanted to be on the garage sale committee.  I couldn't believe it when I found out the homeowner's association newsletter didn't have me listed.  I was so hurt, I can hardly talk about it."

2nd female.  "That's terrible!  Are you sure she knew, and just didn't forget or something?  She doesn't seem to be mean like that.  Maybe the printer just missed your name."

1st female.  'Oh, I'm sure.  We talked about it on the phone, and she knew how hard I worked last year on it.  I guess they don't want my help.'

2nd female.  'I don't think that can be it.  You did work hard.  There's got to be something.  Why don't  you ask her about it?

1st female. 'No, I can't.  Im too hurt by it.  Ill just avoid her."

You know Im right!  You know it!!!  Must we be like this ladies?  (Both gendered ladies and other?)  You know Im right, that this happens exactly like this.  I'm sure there are countless studies on why these different styles of communication occur, and that the 2nd, less clear form practiced by our sisters is due to their need to have their feelings validated, avoiding confrontation, whereas men are 'fixers' who transfer what they know how to do-- fixing -- to their interpersonal communications.  There, I fixed it, its over, says a man to himself, wondering dumbfounded why the women keeps talking about how hurt he made her feel long long after he corrected his mistake...

My difficulty with these different types of communication is that I, coming from a more male-oriented frame of reference throughout my life, communicate with, and prefer style 1.  Style 2 irritates me. Mostly because usually I'm female #3, who is perfectly aware she's being discussed but refuses to play the girly-game. This leaves me with very few close female friends, because...as I've said impatiently to more than one lady associate...'Do you want me to fix this, or do you just want me to listen to how you feel?."

My close friends, we speak in a male-bonding sort of way, as in:

Me.  'You didn't come over to give me a hand yesterday.  You promised.'

friend:  "Yeah, I got busy with a few things that came up.'

Me.  You're such a ho...Leave me hanging.  Just kidding, I hope it was nothing serious.'

friend:  'A HO!  Why you bitch!  No, not serious, but I couldn't get away.  I can tell you about it if you have time."

Me. "I don't have a lot, so give me a short version.  Or come over and tell me all about it.  If you don't get busy all of a sudden.'

friend:  'Fuck you, lol.'

========

There is a blissful, relaxed comfort being around someone you can be upfront and clear with.  So this is a big thanks, to my female, male and other assorted, friends who come through loud and clear.  <3

Seriously, is it tax time again?

Weren't we just doing this?  It seemed like we just had Christmas!

I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who is choosing to spend their refunds with us!

Friday's parade of XT kits, finished and ready for shipping Monday.

If you're getting an XT, be sure to check all packing materials inside your box!  These are HUGE 50 piece kits -- the items in the baskets do not fit into the kit case and will be inside a smaller carton.

Here's another parade, Seattle's Fremont Solstice Parade. The gallery link is of the naked painted cycling event. We have an awesome electrical following in Seattle, and many friends.  So even though we can't get out there to visit, we like to keep up with the goings on.