Does anyone else find it weird that I enjoy creating people with imaginary lives and taxes inside of my work’s program?
I mean I get genuine enjoyment out of creating these people and their own jobs and how much they paid and what kind of property they own. How many Kids (or deductions they’ll get. What kind of donations they did through out the year. It’s like playing the game of Life® with taxes.
Is that weird?
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
A FastTax Employee Rant....
You’ve probably all heard the saying “Kids say the Darndest things”….
How about Customers say the darndest things? Because really…
I had a guy say to me (exact quote) "I'm working on my return, and it asked me to save a couple times, but I didn't because I wasn't concerned about my computer crashing. But then I installed the state and it restarted the program, where’s my data I entered?"
I’ve also had a guy ask me if underscore was one word or two, with that a co-worker just recently had a customer spell out the word underscore.
Another co-worker actually had a customer shout (and we do mean shout,) “YOU’RE A LIVE PERSON!” when he answered the phone.
And one time, though it was rare, I had a guy that I can assume was from India (at one point in time) based on the accent, actually say to me “thank god you’re in the united states.”
Furthermore, I just wish that customers would allow me to talk and not give me a novel answer. When I ask "Did you install the product onto your computer," a simple yes would suffice….
I don't need to know the computer's life story, nor do I need to know how you got into your car, drove to the store, picked up milk and FastTax and put it on your computer before you had dinner with your wife and her seven brothers and the neighbor down the street. Just saying yes, would have satisfied me.
And not to knock on accents but its Cal-e-forn-ya not Collie-forn-ya.
"Welcome to FastTax Land. We have Adventure land where you can take a cruise thru the jungle of red tape and tax laws as you fill out your tax form. There's Fantasyland where you can imagin what your tax refund should be. Tomorrow land where you can see IRS agents hardly working to screw-up next years tax laws. And finally there's Frontier land for those past tax returns you have not filed. Don't forget our popular rides of Pirates of the IRS, the Haunted Tax Return and the ever popular it’s a Small Refund."
How about Customers say the darndest things? Because really…
I had a guy say to me (exact quote) "I'm working on my return, and it asked me to save a couple times, but I didn't because I wasn't concerned about my computer crashing. But then I installed the state and it restarted the program, where’s my data I entered?"
I’ve also had a guy ask me if underscore was one word or two, with that a co-worker just recently had a customer spell out the word underscore.
Another co-worker actually had a customer shout (and we do mean shout,) “YOU’RE A LIVE PERSON!” when he answered the phone.
And one time, though it was rare, I had a guy that I can assume was from India (at one point in time) based on the accent, actually say to me “thank god you’re in the united states.”
Furthermore, I just wish that customers would allow me to talk and not give me a novel answer. When I ask "Did you install the product onto your computer," a simple yes would suffice….
I don't need to know the computer's life story, nor do I need to know how you got into your car, drove to the store, picked up milk and FastTax and put it on your computer before you had dinner with your wife and her seven brothers and the neighbor down the street. Just saying yes, would have satisfied me.
And not to knock on accents but its Cal-e-forn-ya not Collie-forn-ya.
"Welcome to FastTax Land. We have Adventure land where you can take a cruise thru the jungle of red tape and tax laws as you fill out your tax form. There's Fantasyland where you can imagin what your tax refund should be. Tomorrow land where you can see IRS agents hardly working to screw-up next years tax laws. And finally there's Frontier land for those past tax returns you have not filed. Don't forget our popular rides of Pirates of the IRS, the Haunted Tax Return and the ever popular it’s a Small Refund."
I never wanted to be THIS kind of Vagabond
Reason number 453 on why my life is quazi-depressing at times.
The good news is I found a place and I'm moving in with my friend Taryna.
The only problem is that the place is not ready until the 15th of February, and I however have to be out on the 1st so I guess what I will do is rent a motel type place for two weeks and just keep all my stuff in there, which wouldn’t be so bad. Just seems like a rather gloomy approach.
Sort of gives me that “homeless” feel. Which granted, I more or less am after the 1st? I just never thought I would see myself in this position. This is the type of position my mother would be in, not me.
The good news is I found a place and I'm moving in with my friend Taryna.
The only problem is that the place is not ready until the 15th of February, and I however have to be out on the 1st so I guess what I will do is rent a motel type place for two weeks and just keep all my stuff in there, which wouldn’t be so bad. Just seems like a rather gloomy approach.
Sort of gives me that “homeless” feel. Which granted, I more or less am after the 1st? I just never thought I would see myself in this position. This is the type of position my mother would be in, not me.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Move me round the sun...
So, I’d like to say I have something intelligent to talk about like the Dali Lama, perhaps the whole bush vs. the world controversy… However I don’t.
I really have nothing special to say hence the lack of updates, lack of posts.
There’s been a lot of drama going on in my life and to avoid what I usually do, which is get pissed type up some huge blog about how much I hate people and blah blah blah I’ve just avoided writing entirely to avoid feelings being hurt and following my normal route.
Because I’m improving myself, I’m growing as a person and learning to think before I act, what a concept eh? (Hey I said I was learning, I didn’t say it was an overnight success!)
So drama aside, I have some rather interesting news that seems sort of skeptical, but if all things work well I will be doing part-time work as a Photographer for a local photography company here in town that does events, little league, graduations and other things.
This to me is a good step in the right direction. I want to be a photographer and while I don’t want to actually do in town photography type stuff (Prom/Wedding/Senior Portraiture) I think this will help me attain my goal of becoming a free lance photographer for magazines in the entertainment business.
I really have nothing special to say hence the lack of updates, lack of posts.
There’s been a lot of drama going on in my life and to avoid what I usually do, which is get pissed type up some huge blog about how much I hate people and blah blah blah I’ve just avoided writing entirely to avoid feelings being hurt and following my normal route.
Because I’m improving myself, I’m growing as a person and learning to think before I act, what a concept eh? (Hey I said I was learning, I didn’t say it was an overnight success!)
So drama aside, I have some rather interesting news that seems sort of skeptical, but if all things work well I will be doing part-time work as a Photographer for a local photography company here in town that does events, little league, graduations and other things.
This to me is a good step in the right direction. I want to be a photographer and while I don’t want to actually do in town photography type stuff (Prom/Wedding/Senior Portraiture) I think this will help me attain my goal of becoming a free lance photographer for magazines in the entertainment business.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Breathe No More....
So…Lets just say in the near future my “friends” list will be getting shorter.
In other news, I have a scheduled photo shoot on Saturday, so I’m hoping I can produce some really good photos from that. More on the fashion end.
I’ve got two female models and a male model as well as a “make up” artist. So I’m pretty psyched about it.
It’s going to be the one thing that allows me to distress myself somewhat. I’m having a tough time with life right now.
In other news, I have a scheduled photo shoot on Saturday, so I’m hoping I can produce some really good photos from that. More on the fashion end.
I’ve got two female models and a male model as well as a “make up” artist. So I’m pretty psyched about it.
It’s going to be the one thing that allows me to distress myself somewhat. I’m having a tough time with life right now.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Population Control.
I’ve discovered the reason why health insurance in the United States cost so freaking much. And why we (Americans) spend so much a year to stay healthy.
It’s very simple, Population control. People, who cannot afford to have health insurance or to stay healthy, die.
I have a bad tooth infection that’s run into my jaw/mouth and now it’s taking over my ear. Mutiny I tell you. I have the game of Risk going on inside of my face, which by the way is only on the left side of my face and as Jessica said, soon I’m going to have puss coming out my eye… But only on the left side… It’s like some one finally got hold of Russia… (Eddie fan’s will get that one)
I’ve taken “Pain Away” (combination of Acetaminophen, Aspirin and caffeine), “Non- Aspirin” an Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen from our Company First Aid Kit, to get rid of the pain, which FYI, isn’t working. I think by the end of this week my liver is going to flip me off and leave my body and I will have some kind of bodily malfunction and die.
Really, it’s all population control.
It’s very simple, Population control. People, who cannot afford to have health insurance or to stay healthy, die.
I have a bad tooth infection that’s run into my jaw/mouth and now it’s taking over my ear. Mutiny I tell you. I have the game of Risk going on inside of my face, which by the way is only on the left side of my face and as Jessica said, soon I’m going to have puss coming out my eye… But only on the left side… It’s like some one finally got hold of Russia… (Eddie fan’s will get that one)
I’ve taken “Pain Away” (combination of Acetaminophen, Aspirin and caffeine), “Non- Aspirin” an Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen from our Company First Aid Kit, to get rid of the pain, which FYI, isn’t working. I think by the end of this week my liver is going to flip me off and leave my body and I will have some kind of bodily malfunction and die.
Really, it’s all population control.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Its now... or... um.. Never?
I filled out the FASFA so that I can see if I can get loans and grants to go to school…. The plan is to be able to leave intuit in April, and go to school for may-august, then re-apply at intuit and work again, but also take courses and hopefully get them to work around school schedule….Don’t see why that wouldn’t work?
My goal is to stop being the reject without a college degree...
My goal is to stop being the reject without a college degree...
Monday, January 08, 2007
Martial Art of Bull Shitting.
There is one thing high school did for me… wait, it was more what a class did for me.
I spent 3.3 years on the Palantir Staff (High School Newspaper Staff) and having done that I will say it did a few things for me. Number One, It kept me highly trained in the art of bull shitting.
Each day for a two week period we would have little staff meetings or debriefing when each editor would stand up and go over the list of stories asking writers how they were doing on their assignments and if they were having any difficulties. And each meeting would go as so
Editor: How is your story coming?
Writer: “It’s almost done; I have one more interview, nothing big, just some last minute verification” Meanwhile that writer would be thinking “I have no idea, I haven’t even got a word on a page..:: gasp:: I’ve forgotten how to write!”
And then we had a 3 nights a week “work night” or what I refer to as Punishment for not getting your shit done. In these work nights, there was often a similar briefing on where locations, occasional inanimate object, becoming animate as someone hurled it toward their offender, the occasional cursing and death threats. Blenderizations (trademark Jess and Jennie) and Pizza, which brings me to the second thing I learned in Palantir, you CAN in fact O.D on Pizza and its probably best to skip your last period and hit up taco bell before coming in, as you have a grueling 3-4 hours of hell a head of you… …And the third thing I learned, advertisements serve as good leverage to getting free pizza.
It was these beloved work nights that the following conversation might occur for a writer:
Editor: Where is your story? It’s not on the computer?
Writer: "Story is done, I'm putting it on the computer today." :: Actual thoughts:: "Christ, I have to find 4 friends to get fake quotes from so I don't look like a total moron.....Now where did I put my cell phone? :searches pockets: Crap. Where did I put my pen? :: as pen sits neatly in hair used as a hair fastening device:: Does anyone have a crayon? Marker? How about electrical tape and scissors? I'll strategically cut out words and put them on...:: looks around finds envelope:: THIS!"
And thus, I learned the “Martial Art of Bull Shitting.” To be used later in life… trust me.
I spent 3.3 years on the Palantir Staff (High School Newspaper Staff) and having done that I will say it did a few things for me. Number One, It kept me highly trained in the art of bull shitting.
Each day for a two week period we would have little staff meetings or debriefing when each editor would stand up and go over the list of stories asking writers how they were doing on their assignments and if they were having any difficulties. And each meeting would go as so
Editor: How is your story coming?
Writer: “It’s almost done; I have one more interview, nothing big, just some last minute verification” Meanwhile that writer would be thinking “I have no idea, I haven’t even got a word on a page..:: gasp:: I’ve forgotten how to write!”
And then we had a 3 nights a week “work night” or what I refer to as Punishment for not getting your shit done. In these work nights, there was often a similar briefing on where locations, occasional inanimate object, becoming animate as someone hurled it toward their offender, the occasional cursing and death threats. Blenderizations (trademark Jess and Jennie) and Pizza, which brings me to the second thing I learned in Palantir, you CAN in fact O.D on Pizza and its probably best to skip your last period and hit up taco bell before coming in, as you have a grueling 3-4 hours of hell a head of you… …And the third thing I learned, advertisements serve as good leverage to getting free pizza.
It was these beloved work nights that the following conversation might occur for a writer:
Editor: Where is your story? It’s not on the computer?
Writer: "Story is done, I'm putting it on the computer today." :: Actual thoughts:: "Christ, I have to find 4 friends to get fake quotes from so I don't look like a total moron.....Now where did I put my cell phone? :searches pockets: Crap. Where did I put my pen? :: as pen sits neatly in hair used as a hair fastening device:: Does anyone have a crayon? Marker? How about electrical tape and scissors? I'll strategically cut out words and put them on...:: looks around finds envelope:: THIS!"
And thus, I learned the “Martial Art of Bull Shitting.” To be used later in life… trust me.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Say My Name, Please
It’s something strange when people actually use a persons name in a conversation for more than just addressing them at the beginning. Such as “Is Jessica there?” Rarely do people have conversations where intermittently they will speak the person’s name.
I have only known one person to do this and when he does, for some reason it sends shocks down the frame of my body.
It draws my mind to attention and it makes me smile inside. To hear or read my name written would be the vanity and the joy that it brings from the person that does this.
It’s a strange feeling that I get, and I wouldn’t say it’s all narcissistic of me (and no that isn’t a disease…. Or is it?) I imagine that if other people did it there would be the same reaction, but think about it. How often do people use your name in conversation? And Just thinking about it makes me realize the personalization that it gives.
I have only known one person to do this and when he does, for some reason it sends shocks down the frame of my body.
It draws my mind to attention and it makes me smile inside. To hear or read my name written would be the vanity and the joy that it brings from the person that does this.
It’s a strange feeling that I get, and I wouldn’t say it’s all narcissistic of me (and no that isn’t a disease…. Or is it?) I imagine that if other people did it there would be the same reaction, but think about it. How often do people use your name in conversation? And Just thinking about it makes me realize the personalization that it gives.
I havnt anything to say
But I will say one thing...
Having cried myself to sleep last night and had twisting and tormenting nightmares, not to mention the numbing cold that caused my feet to ache...
And then today, the funeral, the sadness, the pain that I felt from this loss.
To the arguments with the roommates.
I forfiet.
How can I feel so broken, so lost, and yet still breathe and move each day? How do I even find the strength to move?
Fear.
I've developed a paranoia.
Forfeit.
Having cried myself to sleep last night and had twisting and tormenting nightmares, not to mention the numbing cold that caused my feet to ache...
And then today, the funeral, the sadness, the pain that I felt from this loss.
To the arguments with the roommates.
I forfiet.
How can I feel so broken, so lost, and yet still breathe and move each day? How do I even find the strength to move?
Fear.
I've developed a paranoia.
Forfeit.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Some advice, okay? Just don't point your fuckin' finger at crazy people!
I had a horrifying and appalling dream twice within a week, and each time it left me feeling gross, so gross I immediately had to take a shower… supporting the fact that I feel I might be insane and that there is something terribly wrong with me that alone I will not be able to escape.
She didn’t know it, but when she made the comment “you’re straight jacket crazy” and I made the defense, that straightjacket crazy meant that you were unknowingly doing things… Or as she put it “Straight jacket crazy is when you think you’re god.” But I had to I think to myself that she could be right, and that I am severely unhinged.
I guess, really, all in all I feel like I’m at a point in my life where I can’t even break down if I wanted/needed to... Like the more I think, and the more I read, the more I realize how much "help" I need, and I can’t even get it because I can’t stop working for fear of jail because of the situation I am.
In all reality I need a “vacation,” because I am more or less running off of fumes.
I need to be locked up in a little tiny room and observed because the things going on in my head are not right. I’m an emotional wreck, and I feel that one day I’m going to snap and then people will be able to call me crazy, and have it be true, because I will be sitting in a room, carving words into my arms and screaming uncontrollably for no reason.
I’m afraid of this.
So I hide my true self with smiles, and the visage that I’m strong, trying to fake strong might not necessarily be a bad thing, because they say, “fake it till you make it.” So if I fake it long enough I could be strong, or maybe I’d just be a pathological liar.
This isn’t your average “oh I stole money, I feel awful,” or “oh, I never graduated high school, I’m a fucking loser” type feeling to me. It’s a lot deeper, more emotional scars, haunting me. It’s that has happened to me, every little detail that I have never told anyone.
I cannot accept these things alone, I don’t have the power to accept them and move on, nor do I have the strength. These things that make me feel bad, feel gross, feel stupid, feel useless/worthless, lifeless; things I've never truly faced for fear of judgment.
My only driving factor at this point is fear. Fear keeps me running… and it wakes me up on a cold night, sweat dripping down my face; uncontrollably shaking. I feel like I’m in a capsizing submarine, and that I’m going to be sucked under by the fears that I have. Fear is my salvation and my executioner….
She didn’t know it, but when she made the comment “you’re straight jacket crazy” and I made the defense, that straightjacket crazy meant that you were unknowingly doing things… Or as she put it “Straight jacket crazy is when you think you’re god.” But I had to I think to myself that she could be right, and that I am severely unhinged.
I guess, really, all in all I feel like I’m at a point in my life where I can’t even break down if I wanted/needed to... Like the more I think, and the more I read, the more I realize how much "help" I need, and I can’t even get it because I can’t stop working for fear of jail because of the situation I am.
In all reality I need a “vacation,” because I am more or less running off of fumes.
I need to be locked up in a little tiny room and observed because the things going on in my head are not right. I’m an emotional wreck, and I feel that one day I’m going to snap and then people will be able to call me crazy, and have it be true, because I will be sitting in a room, carving words into my arms and screaming uncontrollably for no reason.
I’m afraid of this.
So I hide my true self with smiles, and the visage that I’m strong, trying to fake strong might not necessarily be a bad thing, because they say, “fake it till you make it.” So if I fake it long enough I could be strong, or maybe I’d just be a pathological liar.
This isn’t your average “oh I stole money, I feel awful,” or “oh, I never graduated high school, I’m a fucking loser” type feeling to me. It’s a lot deeper, more emotional scars, haunting me. It’s that has happened to me, every little detail that I have never told anyone.
I cannot accept these things alone, I don’t have the power to accept them and move on, nor do I have the strength. These things that make me feel bad, feel gross, feel stupid, feel useless/worthless, lifeless; things I've never truly faced for fear of judgment.
My only driving factor at this point is fear. Fear keeps me running… and it wakes me up on a cold night, sweat dripping down my face; uncontrollably shaking. I feel like I’m in a capsizing submarine, and that I’m going to be sucked under by the fears that I have. Fear is my salvation and my executioner….
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
So here’s to a year of becoming a book worm again!
So, when it comes to people and how I interact with them I’m generally the first person to say exactly what I feel. If I don’t like you I will not hesitate to tell you, if I like you, you will know. If I have a problem with you, I will probably stop talking to you…but all in all, I will tell you what the problem is.
I find this completely ironic considering the type of person I am. I take what people think about me to heart, even people I don’t even know. And for what reason do I have to be torn by people who mean very little to me if they are unknown? Perhaps it’s my desire to be liked, which I can pretty much say that psychologically speaking comes from the years of mental abuse I received from family members. This isn’t to say that my family is horrible; it’s to say that I have been condition to think that I am more or less worthless.
Someone asked me why what people who I don’t know who said something about me would matter, and this was the reason I could come up with. Deductive reasoning said this is where it stems. In fact, I would have to say that my general feeling of self worth comes from the fact that I have been conditioned to feel the way I have. In side I like to think that I am better than the standards that have been set for me by others, and this of course is also in direct correlation to the standards I have for myself, perhaps why I am my own worst critic. Again this could also be in correlation to the artist inside of me striving for perfection, setting standards and goals that sometimes are not attainable.
And then I think that if I were to set a goal that was attainable that it would completely set me in a spiral backwards, perhaps I thrive on the negativity I have. That without it I would not know how to exist?
This brings me to something I have been thinking about for quite sometime which is the expected New Years Resolution.
I started thinking about this about 3 weeks before the end of the year. I didn’t want to do a resolution that I wasn’t able to keep. I didn’t want to have a cliché resolution like “I want to lose weight” because it’s only a matter of time before that resolution would fail, like they almost always do.
So I thought hard about what I love to do, and what I don’t love. And I came to the conclusion that my resolution was to be something different. I resolved to read more books and to learn more about things I don’t understand. I Love reading, so reading more would only be a good thing and learning about things I do not understand would help me with what I don't love. I do not like being clueless, I like to be able to carry on conversations about things and actually have knowledge about what I'm talking about.
Simple. Attainable. Perfect.
The connection it has between how I am in desperate need to be liked is because I know some of why I react the way I do, but not entirely, so If I study more and stop and think more about cause an effect within me, perhaps I will gain more knowledge so that in future events I will be able to make smart decisions and less decisions based on my emotions. It also coincides because reading will only help me gain more knowledge no matter what type of reading it is. There is always something to learn. It doesn’t hurt that the type of books/reading I am drawn to generally falls under the psychology category and that I am drawn to human interest type books.
So here’s to a year of becoming a book worm again!
I find this completely ironic considering the type of person I am. I take what people think about me to heart, even people I don’t even know. And for what reason do I have to be torn by people who mean very little to me if they are unknown? Perhaps it’s my desire to be liked, which I can pretty much say that psychologically speaking comes from the years of mental abuse I received from family members. This isn’t to say that my family is horrible; it’s to say that I have been condition to think that I am more or less worthless.
Someone asked me why what people who I don’t know who said something about me would matter, and this was the reason I could come up with. Deductive reasoning said this is where it stems. In fact, I would have to say that my general feeling of self worth comes from the fact that I have been conditioned to feel the way I have. In side I like to think that I am better than the standards that have been set for me by others, and this of course is also in direct correlation to the standards I have for myself, perhaps why I am my own worst critic. Again this could also be in correlation to the artist inside of me striving for perfection, setting standards and goals that sometimes are not attainable.
And then I think that if I were to set a goal that was attainable that it would completely set me in a spiral backwards, perhaps I thrive on the negativity I have. That without it I would not know how to exist?
This brings me to something I have been thinking about for quite sometime which is the expected New Years Resolution.
I started thinking about this about 3 weeks before the end of the year. I didn’t want to do a resolution that I wasn’t able to keep. I didn’t want to have a cliché resolution like “I want to lose weight” because it’s only a matter of time before that resolution would fail, like they almost always do.
So I thought hard about what I love to do, and what I don’t love. And I came to the conclusion that my resolution was to be something different. I resolved to read more books and to learn more about things I don’t understand. I Love reading, so reading more would only be a good thing and learning about things I do not understand would help me with what I don't love. I do not like being clueless, I like to be able to carry on conversations about things and actually have knowledge about what I'm talking about.
Simple. Attainable. Perfect.
The connection it has between how I am in desperate need to be liked is because I know some of why I react the way I do, but not entirely, so If I study more and stop and think more about cause an effect within me, perhaps I will gain more knowledge so that in future events I will be able to make smart decisions and less decisions based on my emotions. It also coincides because reading will only help me gain more knowledge no matter what type of reading it is. There is always something to learn. It doesn’t hurt that the type of books/reading I am drawn to generally falls under the psychology category and that I am drawn to human interest type books.
So here’s to a year of becoming a book worm again!
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