Something Clever

Last week, I wanted to blog something clever, or particularly witty, or just with a tone that would be interesting or entertaining.

I started writing, and it has turned into more than a blog's post worth of story. Like I needed some other story to work on!

Funny, the way things sometimes go, isn't it?

Advantage

Phoenix's beau's daughter was visiting us today. I had something to do at 1700, but they were sure they would be back in time. This was great, because it meant I could go with them to Great Falls.

Great Falls Park is a National Historic Site and a National Engineering Landmark. It is an area of the Potomac River, the border between Maryland and Virginia, riddled with rapids, rocks, and falls. The river was central to Native and early American trade, and the Patowmack Canal was built to navigate around the falls. The history of the canal is quite fascinating, but we only had time for the waters of the falls today.



Even though it was somewhat overcast, the warm weather was perfect for being outdoors. There are a few wooden overlooks on the VA side of the river and one area, marked as a kayak landing though I would not take my kayak down there, where you can climb down right to the water's edge (though there are many posted signs warning people to be careful of the water's edge).


The flow of water over the rocks was maybe slightly less than average. It's been a little dry (excepting last week's snowfall) and the river is down just a tad. Still, the water was rushing over jagged rocks and foaming and bubbling in pools below.


It looks like the river evens out just below the falls. I did see some kayakers round that last bend just as we arrived. I would never take my kayak here, I don't have the right kind. My roommate has a video of a couple kayakers going over the falls the last time they were here. I think I'd take the canal!

It was such a lovely day to be out, climbing on rocks and listening to the splash of the falls and the gurgle of rushing water. We hope to see the MD side next time, and maybe we'll be able to visit the canal and the ruins of Matildaville too.

How About That Weather

It's hard to believe that I was driving through the falling snow on Monday, and the denim shirt I chose to wear today is too much shirt for the weather. Crazy! I hope this nice weather holds up for the next couple weekends, though. I've got lots of outdoor things planned.

All Done

I am happy to say: I am all done with my taxes!

I figured out what I was doing wrong. Now, I'm certain everything is right. My dad will bring me a couple legal size envelopes (because I happened to not have any) and then I will put those suckers in the mail. They would already be in if I could e-file but, because of the two state thing, I can't. That's ok, federal is in, and the states will be in the mail today.

It feels great to be done!

Think Juice

Coffee, touch of hot chocolate mix, touch of sugar, rum.

Trust me.

Curious

I was having dinner with a friend this evening. The only snag with that is she gets off of work at 1730 and I get off at 1530. This gave me a good two hours to kill around the office. It was simple enough; we have a fitness room and I was able to spend a good hour on the elliptical machine.

While I was there, another coworker, with whom I am not acquainted, came in to use the facility. He warmed up for a little more than two minutes by going backwards very quickly on an elliptical, then did a bunch of seemingly random things with the weight machine and free weights. At one point, he positioned himself on the bench with some pretty large weights and attempted to (read: audibly struggled to) do some chest flies. He might have lifted the weights three times before dropping them with a loud thud and an exasperated sigh. Then he sat there for a few minutes and did it again.

I'm not sure how effective a work out that is. I don't think free weights are ever intended to be dropped on the floor like that. It makes me wonder if he was trying to impress the girl on the elliptical (who, mind you, was in her own little iPod world and only saw what was happening out of the corner of her eye because he was being so loud about it) or if he was simply moving to heavier weights sooner than he ought.

I must say it seemed like his routine lacked direction, or even routine for that matter. He looked like a pretty fit guy and like he should have known a thing or two about working out, but his behavior in the little gym did not match that. And the dropping of the weights was just one example! I don't think that's quite how work-outs are supposed to work. But, more power to the guy for the attempt.

Next Move

My parents bought a house. They lived there, raised two children there, watched them both move away, and live there still. That is what a house and a home should be. You buy it, and you stay put. That's the point.

That also means my only experience with moving has been when I helped friends, or to and from college dorms. All of which are not bit deals. With no experience, I planned last year's move very carefully. Monty said he had helped many people move and I was the most organized ever. That's quite nice.

The other thing about moving, that hadn't even crossed my mind to be something complicated, is taxes. I've worked in Virginia for the past near-six years, but I've lived in Maryland for most of five of them. Virginia has a special agreement with the surrounding states that residents who live elsewhere but work in VA don't have to pay VA taxes. This is why this was never an issue before.

Now that I've moved across state lines, I have to file taxes in two states. This wouldn't be so bad if I had a job in MD, moved to VA and then got a new job here. It's a bit more complicated because all of my income comes from VA. I'm still required to pay taxes in MD for those first five months that I lived there in 2008. Because all of my income comes from VA, I have to pay taxes on the entire year, not just the seven months that I was living here. That's mostly alright, because I get a credit for a portion of those taxes that were paid to MD. Thank goodness I have a program that does this math for me!

What I'm finding, though, is that the program is telling me my VA tax return is a substantial amount, almost as much as I will get from my federal return (that has that nice student loan interest deducted). This just seems like way too much money. I've looked at the numbers that I plugged into the program, I compared them with all my records, and I did the math myself. I'm pretty convinced that it's right. And don't get me wrong; I would love to be getting a tax return of this amount. It would really really help me out. I've been looking for insight on this particular situation online. Many people talk about the filing in two states thing, however nothing notes my specific situation as an example (living in one state and working in another then moving to the working state) so the information I'm finding doesn't exactly apply to me.

LDS says she's pretty good at these things and has offered to look over my forms and double-check my math. It should help to have another pair of eyes on it. The real issue that I'm running into it not the amount of the expected return, but that each state uses their own forms, therefore their own terminology, and that makes me uncertain that I actually plugged in the right numbers.

I suppose if taxes were easy, no one would fret about it!

The next time I need to move across state lines (which I'm hoping is never just because of how complicated it can get), I'm going to do it on New Year's Day. That way, this won't be an issue again!

Tony Was Freakin' Awesome

A week ago, the community of Shadow Grove learned that one of their own left this world. It was sudden and unexpected and the physical cause is still unknown. In that week, there was grief and sorrow for his wife and 9-month old daughters. There was also celebration. We celebrated his life, the lives he made, the lives he touched. Even those who did not know him well knew a special light had left us.

I got sick and was unable to go to the Calling on Friday. I could, however, make it to the funeral on Saturday. This took place at his family's Methodist church. It was, by far, the most forward-thinking Christian church I have ever been to. The pastor asked the ministers of Shadow Grove to participate in the service, read a poem that was written for Tony, and chose a closing hymn that would specifically sing to our path, to Tony's path. When the pastor announced the Shadow Grove ministers, the person sitting in front of me leaned over to his wife and whispered, "they didn't go to this church?" That was amusing to me. The funeral was beautiful.

Yesterday, we had our own remembrance gathering at the Grove House. Tony was known as the Grill King. If you couldn't find him, he would be at the grill, preparing meat the way it should be prepared. He also enjoyed a good bonfire, and was coordinating that and much of the meals for our upcoming Beltane festival. Our memorial involved the two things that we knew he was passionate about: a raging bonfire and a feast he would have been proud of.

It was the most people I've yet seen at the Grove. Through tears, smiles, and laughter, we said our farewells, and burned letters in the fire. This was a special fire as well. It contained parts of a wooden trebuchet that had flung its last pumpkin into the trees this past Samhain. Tony had helped build that. We think he'll be around for the building of the new trebuchet. After the ritual, it was back to the house for an amazing feast while people shared stories and memories.

I think everyone would be honored to be remembered this way. It was not without sorrow, but it was also filled with happy memories and sharing them with friends and kin.

Have a blessed journey, dear one.

Perspective

The snow came down. It came down so vigorously that it covered the windows just as soon as you cleared them off.

By the time I truly realized just how stupid it was to try to get to work, it was easier to just keep going than to turn around. I was only eighteen minutes late.

I drove slowly. I kept as far behind the car in front of me as I could and still see it. I couldn't see behind me for most of the drive. I slid into the bank on the side of the road once. At my last oil change, I was told that the front tires on my front-wheel drive Saturn would only just pass inspection (if I were to get an inspection) and that they would need to be replaced. The mechanic even said "all bets are off if it snows." Still, I went to work. Slowly, carefully, and got here in one piece.

I'm listening to one of my coworkers complaining about her drive. She was in a four-wheel drive SUV and was complaining about some poor soul in a little front-wheel drive car like mine going twenty mph down the road (twenty?! I don't think I went more than ten or fifteen at any given part of my drive!). At one point in her story, she just exclaimed, "I have four-wheel drive, just get out of my way! You shouldn't be out there if you can't drive in it!" In part, she's right. If you don't trust your skills at the wheel or your vehicle, you really shouldn't be out in this mess. The other side of that coin is that many SUV owners think their vehicles give them supernatural powers in bad weather.

While I think I understand my coworker's frustration, I think she didn't understand the situation of the person in front of her. That lady could have bad tires, like I do, but work in a job that required her to be there despite the weather, like I do. Honestly, do you think someone who does not own a snow-ready vehicle would be out in this mess if they didn't feel they had to be? Only patience really serves in this weather.

One More Farewell

A beautiful life has left this world.

Today, we said farewell.

We feasted in his honor and told stories in his memory.

And promised his wife that his girls will know the beautiful, dedicated person he was.