Did you watch the President give his last State of the Union speech? I did. I thought he was relaxed and presented well. I have the most fun watching to see if one side or the other claps or doesn’t clap when presented the opportunity.
Here are a few things the Democrat side didn’t clap for…
- Making tax relief permanent and not increasing taxes.
- Limiting the number of earmarks in bills.
- Trusting patients and doctors together to make medical decisions, not the government.
- Children grades 4 & 8 achieving the highest math scores in U.S. history.
- African American and Hispanic kids achieving all time high test scores.
- Allowing poor children the opportunity to go to private schools through government grants.
- Free trade agreements with Columbia, Peru and South Korea which would help create new jobs in the US and improve our economy.
- The idea that democracy leads to a better life.
- Helping displaced workers learn new skills to find new jobs.
- The expansion of medical research without the need to destroy human life.
- Empowering judges to uphold the constitution.
- Not delaying decisions by providing up or down votes for judicial nominees.
- Working to defeat al-Qaeda.
- Not allowing ground gained in the war on terror to be lost.
- The Iraqi people taking control of their own future.
- Maintaining the security of our country through intelligence gathering techniques.
Interesting list huh?
I got my W-2 forms in the mail yesterday. It used to be that I would wait until the last minute to file my federal and state returns. If you’re taxes are fairly easy to prepare and you’ve never used the online tax preparation program at www.hrblock.com, I’d recommend it. I was able to complete my taxes in around an hour or so… and nearly had a heart attack in the process.
In box 12a of my W-2, there was a fairly sizable number listed. I entered the dollar amount from box 12 in the appropriate field and read the code as being A (which I now know to be the code that designates the money as uncollected Social Security or RRTA tax on tips.) When I was done filling in all the fields, the program calculated that I owed over $2500 in federal taxes! I’m not one to swear a whole lot, but after not having breathed for a couple of minutes while staring blankly at my monitor wondering why I owed so much, I have to admit a couple of expletives parted from my lips.
Rational thinking finally took over and I went back through the form. Box 12a had a little letter ‘D’ to the left of it. This particular code means the dollar amount is a non-taxable elective salary deferral to a 401(k). Non-taxable is the operative part of the description. So, instead of owing $2500, I am getting around $350 back.
Next year I’ll be taking a closer look at line 12.
Hi to all who venture in here!
It’s been a while since I posted but it doesn’t actually feel like it has been that long. Time has been flying by! I can’t believe it is almost February already. There have been a lot of changes in my life and finding time to keep up with the website has been tough.
Fairly recently, I moved to a new company. I was working for a software developer with offices downtown. In early December, a friend whom I used to work with at that company told me there was an opening where she worked for a major luxury coach manufacturer. On a whim I decided to apply for the job. I sent them my resume on a Tuesday morning. A couple of hours went by and my friend asked me if I would come in for an interview. I told her that any day would be fine, except for that day since I was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt (the software developing company was a very casual environment).
She said that her bosses were very interested in meeting with me and they didn’t care that I was in jeans and a sweatshirt, they wanted to meet with me that day. So, I show up to interview feeling like a total scrub. The dress code at the coach manufacturer is business casual. The interview ended up going well. A day or two later they offered me the job!
I’ve been working there for around 5 weeks now and love it. It is nice to still be around technology (I’m working in their IS department), but working for a company with a different focus. It seems like every computer-focused company I’ve worked for has had layoffs or folded or… whatever. For the first time in many years I feel my employment status is relatively stable.
No one likes excuses, but the new job is one reason I haven’t been around here much. At my old job, I could browse the internet, post on the blog, etc. But those days are over. The coach company’s rules are quite a bit different and I don’t have as much freedom on the net – but I’ll take a good 401k and benefits package over that any day.
When I’m not at work, I’m generally at home playing my new guitar or trying to get my business off the ground…
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