Celebrating 43 @ CBC - Taxes and a Spill

Happy 54th Jodie

I woke near 530am as though I needed to ready for work, but after a few seconds passed I was pleasantly reminded that it was Saturday, and that felt terrific. I happily rolled over and fell back asleep for a couple more hours.  Come 745a I woke for good and quietly brushed my teeth then slipped out of the bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen where I promptly started a fresh pot of coffee.

While the coffee brewed I checked in on work. Nothing pressing needing my immediate attention. That was nice.  I spent the next couple hours bouncing between work and pleasure all while enjoying coffee in my PJs. I didn’t hear a peep from Mindy until after my run.  I’m thinking she slept until almost 1030am. She had plans to do lunch with her bff Teri N.

I left for my run just ahead of 10am dressed once again in full winter garb. It was 36 degrees and cloudy. And since it was Saturday, I ran the abbreviated 3 mile track. Somewhere near the halfway point a big black dog that looks something like a giant poodle came charging after me barking aggressively. The same dog has done this more than once prior.  I stopped to protect myself ready to go for the throat at a moment's notice if necessary. The owner, a tall older gentleman, called to the dog just as he has past. As I restarted my run she tore after me again until he called out to her a 2^nd time. Now a half block away, the mini-crisis was averted.

I finished my run near 1030am and quickly leashed up Eiknarf who was up and eager to get out for her own morning walk. She took care of business after an unusually long walk. As we neared our return to the house, I saw that same dog that came after me earlier out on a walk with its master. The master waved as if to flag me down but I just kept walking up to the drive and into the house with Eiknarf.

I stood at the door as they passed. The gentleman motioned once again for my attention. I obliged and opened the front door. He asked if we could do a training session of sorts. Said his dog never does that to any other. I agreed though leaving Eiknarf behind. I already had my running shoes off buy still in my hands. I met them both at the foot of the driveway. His dog, Morgan, immediately hid behind him while Terry, the master, suggested we try and bond. I did my best to humor him and called to his dog by name. She seemed to want to trust me but just couldn’t get herself to fully commit. At one point he suggested I not move so suddenly. Honestly, I was beginning to bore of the exercise and really wanted to head back inside and enjoy more coffee.

The owner, Terry, went on to say that he thinks I may have scared his dog one time past, and that’s why she’s so leery of me. The time he’s speaking of I seem to recall.  I was running past their house and drive just as she was coming from behind their parked car. I was startled and so was she. She expressed her fear by chasing after me viciously. As I’ve learned, always turn towards the dog and stop. Never keep running. Anyway, we tried making friends for a few minutes, me more willing than she. I even sat on the driveway thinking that might help calm his pea-brained canine. I introduced myself by name as did he, then begged off inside.

Mindy was up and at her laptop. I shared the interaction with her while I slipped out of my sweaty fleece and wicking shirt. I poured some coffee then returned to my PC where one again I balanced my time between work and pleasure. Work remained calm from a reactive stand point, which was very nice, but one can never get too comfortable given that at any moment something can go awry.

Mindy left for lunch with Teri some time near 11am. Said they’d be meeting at Bob Evan’s somewhere in Worthington. She expected to be gone for the better part of the afternoon.  Since I was on-call, I didn’t make plans to go anywhere. Instead, as long as it remained quiet on the work front, I planned to get started on our 2011 tax return. As much as I hate thinking about doing taxes, I was parked at my PC, so I figured I might as well take advantage of the time.

I spent a solid two hours doing the taxes via Turbo Tax, the same software I’ve used for the past 3 or 4 years with relative ease. This year’s return, however, would be a bit more complicated with my late summer New York work assignment and all. I knew going in that I’d have to file two state returns, one for Ohio and one for New York. Further complicating matters was the fact that I changed roles mid-year. And while both with the same company, I ended up with two W2s for what seemed like silly reasons (too hard to explain).

Initially, that seemed little more than just a minor inconvenience until Turbo Tax alerted me that I overpaid FICA taxes (too much withheld) and wouldn’t be able to formally e-file my return until the matter was resolved.  Long story short, I sent an email to payroll and even contacted an online Turbo Tax agent for more direction. He said I could simply claim the amount over paid on line ‘69’ of form 1040. The only problem with that was in Turbo Tax you don’t actually fill out the 1040 form. Instead, the program does. And when I reviewed the form after completing all the entries, it left that line blank with no apparent means of correction.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I absolutely hate to leave something like that dangling out there. I want to charge hard and get it done, but I just couldn’t. I’d have to leave it sit until hearing back from payroll.

Mindy was home sometime between 3 and 4pm I’m guessing. By then I had taken the time to shower and dress in leisure clothes. I was more than a little frustrated with the tax problem. The overall numbers looked even better than expected, but again the delay in finishing frustrated me to no end. Mindy was talking to me while I was tried one last time to find my own solution in the Turbo Tax software. She wasn’t pleased when I stopped her in her tracks asking that she not question me right then. I couldn’t focus.

I finally relented near 4pm coming to grips with the fact that our taxes wouldn’t be finalized and filed until Monday at the soonest, and maybe even longer.

Lucky for me, work remained fairly calm except for an simple issue or two. I did some proactive stuff though, just to help stay on top of things. Mindy and I made plans to go out to dinner at CBC to celebrate her birthday. Figured we’d leave around 6-630pm.

At some point Mindy shared some somewhat disturbing news she’d received from Chrissy after calling and quizzing her about the 'drama' that prevented them from making it to the Barley’s birthday gathering. Some of it was the prior week’s bachelor party events and some regarding our son Jacob and their daughter Lillian. It wasn’t anything huge, but certainly worthy of us digging deeper. 

We readied and left for CBC around 6pm, both of us a little concerned that the place might be splitting at the seams given that this was Arnold Classic weekend, which usually packs the local downtown restaurants.

I let Mindy off at the door while I went to park. There were still a handful of spots available. Inside, the bar area was packed in pretty tight, presumably with couples/parties waiting for tables. Mindy and I stood for longer than we typically do waiting for some stools to free. We also had to wait a while for drinks but they eventually came.  Mindy went with wine while I went with beer – a Bodhi. 

Two stools eventually came free and we snatched them up. We each enjoyed two beers/wines before ordering any food. As we often do, we opted to share a dinner entrée and side salad, settling on the steak, mashed taters and lobster special. This time I asked to have it cooked medium rare since they tend to overcook their steaks to my eye.

The meal was mouth wateringly delicious. Perfect! I ordered a third Bodhi. Well, actually, Jamie brought it without me even asking. I later learned that we ran the keg dry. She always takes care of me. Mindy stayed with wine, and I am pretty sure that she had a third glass. Sitting at the other corner of the bar all alone was a familiar looking face. It was Mary Ann of Mary Ann and Dennis, a couple we met in CBC as far back as winter 2006. We hadn’t seen the two of them for a couple years, however.

It was her, and she eventually came over to sit with us. She shared that Dennis was visiting his brothers down in Florida but that they still come in often as well as frequenting Barley’s, but mostly on Saturday’s, which would explain why we never see them.  She was drinking a regular IPA and complained about them being out of the Bodhi.  Now I really felt indebted to Jamie since she brought me one just a few minutes prior.

As we talked, Mindy somehow spilled her 3^rd glass of wine on the girl sitting next to her. I could tell by her body language, that she wasn’t too pleased with Mindy. J  We chatted with her and her party for a little bit, mostly about skiing. I drank ice water for the next 30-40 minutes before we paid our tab and headed for home. And by the time we left, I had next to no buzz.

At home, Mindy was quick to head to bed. I was still hungry after eating only half an entrée. I reheated and ate a leftover cheese burger while also checking in on work. Things remained quiet. Off to bed before midnight.