www.rkklop.blogspot.com

I'm making a change.  After reading my sister's blog and an extended family blog on blogspot, I've created my own blog there.  A nice thing about it is that anyone can comment there instead of having to have a xanga account.

www.rkklop.blogspot.com

Yesterday afternoon I did my taxes.  Despite my ACT world of work wheel in high school saying I should consider accounting as a college major, I am not a numbers person.  My taxes should not be hard.  I'm single with a few deductions, but I went through every emotion possible in the hour or so I worked on it. 

What are they asking for?
Do I need something in this box?
What does that mean?
What do you mean I get only $30 back?  Why did I change my exemptions at work?
Wait, I forgot to add in the mortgage interest!!!  (Written on the form in one box, but not transferred to to the totals column.)
Oh good, now it makes sense to have changed the exemptions.
Hmmm, can I spend a little of the money on something fun or should I be responsible with absolutely every penny?

Now don't get me started on how confusing the Michigan forms are!

Here's one last picture of the Connection Zone at my work.  I always think the snow on the slanted glass wall is pretty cool.

You really can't tell from the picture but on the far right of the picture on this side of the plants is a pool of water.   It has a nice rock bottom and is only a couple of inches deep.  There are a couple of fountains that run in it during the day because the sound of the water is soothing.  I have always wanted to bring in a fishing pole and sit there with the  line thrown into the water.  A couple of months ago the concierge put a rubber ducky in the pool.  In the spring we are going to the dollar store to buy several small rubber duckies to line up in the water behind the big one.

This is my gift of the day following my Mary Kay facial party.  It's pretty interesting that the bands turn around to be bronze or black.  And most importantly, there is a pink second hand.

This was in a blog:

A friend with whom I used to work gave succinct advice about voting: Vote your conscience in the primary; then hold your nose and vote for the least objectionable choice in the general election. Makes sense.

My comment in return:

I understand why someone says this, But I'm not sure I agree. Let's say Candidate A is most closely aligned with my political thinking but seen as being extremist in some way. Candidate B is pretty close to what I believe and has more popular support than A. Candidate C is much further the opposite direction of what I believe. I think it would be better to vote for B in the primary so that I don't have to "hold my nose" in the general election. By casting the vote for A, I am helping C get the nomination.

The best analogy I could think of is that I like Beautiful perfume, I don't care for the smell of spicy perfumes, and I definitely can't stand the smell of outhouses. Taking a whiff of Beautiful isn't going to outdo the smell of the outhouse. I'd rather smell the spicy perfume continuously.

Now you know why I don't teach government anymore.

What Really Happened at the State of the Union?