Before you feel too sorry for me . . .

This is the view from my desk.

 

The Sky is Falling

It's that time of year when getting through Tax Season seems impossible. There's no way all the tax returns will get done. Science proves there are only so many hours in a day. Math dictates there are not enough hours to complete all the returns. Ergo, impossible. Somehow, it always comes together. Defying all logic, science, and reason. 

This fails to comfort me. Every year we get to this point. Every year, I can point to last year's success. Still, I don't believe it.

It's hard not to crumble, impossible to not feel the stress. Pushing back the edges of what feels like insanity. It's like running a marathon. Everyone knows it's crazy, yet people do it, pushing beyond.... It's a test of endurance. Of sheer willpower.

But why? Why would anyone choose to do this? (Why would anyone choose to run a marathon?)

Sadly, I have no answer. Sad, because I have three weeks to go and still go forward. I feel a strong loyalty to my teammates and I can't let them down. I can see the finish line and I know I'll get there even if I have to drag myself over that line. I know there's a martini and a dinner reservation waiting for me when it's over. (I know Hubby is tired of taking care of me and wants me to cook for him.)

Luckily, there's an upside. A recent study shows that staying indoors decreases the risk of head injury from falling spacecraft debris. It's not likely I'll be outside much (if at all) for the next three weeks so I should be pretty safe.

xkcd.com - h/t Grump

Do they make helmets for that? (Would they be deductible?)

I'm still here. Barely.

Today is the first day in almost a month I didn't get up and go straight to work. If you're paying attention, you'll note today is Saturday but weekends mean nothing during Tax Season. One day streams to the next without delimiters. Nothing to signal rest, refresh, restock, reset.

I needed a break and decided to sleep in.

My bladder, however, had different ideas and woke me at sunrise. I am not sad about this because the sunrises here can be beautiful. I dressed, poured coffee, and went outside. And then, I did a Sudoku puzzle. I haven't done a puzzle in weeks and it felt like a dirty secret. 

March 22 was National Goof-Off Day, of which I was informed only after the day had passed. I figure I'm owed a makeup day. While today probably isn't it, I figure I deserved an hour to myself.

The puzzle solved, the sun risen, and the hour expired, it's time to get back to work. My only exercise will be to fetch the newspaper from the driveway sometime later this morning. Hubby will have to remind me to eat and bathe, and I will have my head down for another three weeks and three days.

I just thought I'd take a moment to let you know I'm still here. Barely.

(And to my friends in the industry, Hang in there!)

Up to 100% reliable.

 

Can I apply this to, say, my taxes? I'll pay up to 100% of what I owe!

This makes me think of our cloud server which is up to 100% reliable. Which is to say, totally not 100% reliable. Actually, there's an inverse relationship between reliability and an impending tax deadline. Doesn't matter what the deadline is, the cloud will fail just days before. This leaves workers - accountants, in this case - reaching for the closest bottle. (I had the foresight to stock up on the extra large bottles from Costco.)

There's about five and half weeks left of tax season. I figure there will be at least one more down day between now and then.

At least.

Nothing to see here.