Numbers

My life is just numbers. Numbers, numbers, always numbers. I spent all day balancing a construction report for a school project - spreadsheets everywhere. Color coded. Labeled with various symbols and colors to help me keep track of it all. After 4 days of working on it, I finally got it to balance - balance to what was previously reported, so at least I can now start on the next Phase. And I'm very, very close to being done. It felt great to move forward on that project 'cuz it's been looming over my head for a long time.

Tonight, I decided (don't know how, nor why) to project our 2007 tax bill - as if the 'all numbers, all the time' parts of my job aren't enough - and freaked myself out quite a bit. Because I have a job that pays more than my prior job, we will be hit with AMT this year. Ugh. J. assured me that he's heard they are very close to passing the bill that will 'fix' this issue for those of us in the AMT brackets. I sure hope so. It feels horrible to realize that a chunk of my 'raise' will be going to the IRS - not into our pocket. We'll have to considerably increase our withholding - something we did as soon as I started the new job - again just to stay even. I'm sure hoping the government folks work their magic and make AMT go away. Please....PLEASE.

We felt the 5.6 earthquake out here. A bit 'odd' since we rarely notice them - and it took a few minutes to realize what was happening. Chloe went a bit 'nuts' just before we felt it - and when I took her out earlier this evening, there was a big toad sitting in the middle of the patio - just out in the open, which he never does. He hangs out in the garden by the dining room - we see him fairly often. But he never 'shows himself' - until tonight. I'm convinced he, too, knew something was 'happening' in our earth's layers. B. was in the tub when it happened and the water started sloshing. He was really startled and kept thinking 'why is someone shaking the tub'? I don't think they were old enough to remember the few mild quakes we felt when we lived in Hayward. They both most definitely felt this one. It was pretty 'big' to be felt all the way out this way.

I got home this evening and went right out with Chloe for a quick walk. I need the exercise and she needs the distraction. I think she really misses Dani - the company. She won't even go in the 'big' kennel - she seems to prefer her smaller 'travel' kennel - which was her kennel when she was a baby and then one night, the two of them went into the same kennel at bed time and they never slept apart again. But Chloe doesn't seem to want to be in the big kennel without Dani and so she hangs out in her 'little house'. She sits patiently, waiting. I am committed to working with her a lot over the Christmas break to see if we can feel more confident she won't piddle everywhere. I'd really like for her to be 'out and about' as much as possible, but she earned the name 'piddle monster' and I won't risk our carpets. We tried a lot and she has frequent accidents. But we haven't tried recently and we haven't tried with only one dog in the house - so we'll give it another go over the winter break and see how it goes.

J. and the kids are going down to Tulare for the weekend. I'm planning a trip to Pleasanton to make a return at jjill - and possibly lunch with the Bug who returns to work tomorrow.

Van is back in the driveway and Honda paid for the $2600 in parts. So while we're not 'happy' to have had to replace the transmission already (it's only 4 years old), we're grateful they acknowledged the issue and picked up the tab for the parts. J. was enjoying the Pontiac G6 (V6 engine) - and it cracked me up how without his 'odometer' to tell him how many miles per gallon he's getting on his current tank, he definitely hit the gas a bit more firmly and frequently during his short tenure of driving a 'regular' car. Now he's back in his 'info-bot' car where he will make a game of hitting the gas as little as humanly possible. The planet thanks him. I thank him, too, though he drives like a little old lady. (and I love him...even if it takes us forever to get anywhere).