7 posts tagged “daily hassles”

Just got the good news that we actually got our German 2006 taxes refunded.  You may recall that about a year ago they grabbed a not insignificant amount of money from my German bank account for back taxes for 2005 and 2006.  Well, I did the 2005 taxes quickly, but that only resulted in a minimal refund.  Then life took over, most notably all the stuff with Better Half's brother's illness, and I didn't get around to filing the 2006 taxes.  I also half-expected that we would not get money back anyway, so I was not very motivated to get it done.  But Better Half insisted we try.  Well, over the winter break we finally powered through them and sent it in.  And, today, lo and behold we got the notice back that we were getting a full refund, including the interest they had charged.  Then I checked my account online and the money was there!  If I never have to deal with the German Finanzamt (IRS), I'll be a happy man.  I'm transferring that money asap and closing out that account.

They go round and round, round and round, round and round.  Kinda like life.  Yesterday we headed up to the mtns for a half-day of skiing.  It was my first time in 15 years and Little One's first time ever.  Better Half, who really wants LO to learn how to ski, did not ski on account of not feeling well enough, but she did come along for the ride.  Getting out of the house was typically stressful, but once we got the skis and made it to the slopes, things were nice.  Little One got a private lesson and I was able to get in some nice runs while BH hung out by the fireplace at the lodge.  Mind you, this is a pretty bare bones place to ski (for the record, we were at Mt. Waterman), but it did the trick.  LO seemed to enjoy herself and made some progress.  I did suprisingly well and even chose to ski the black diamond path down to the base of the hill rather than take the lift; that run was not fun, as it turns out, but I didn't wipe out either.

On the ride home, LO fell asleep.  Which meant she couldn't sleep last night.  And, she complained about some pains in her ankle and shin.  So, it was a pretty rough night, getting up multiple times in order to console her.  The half-day skiing really turned into more like a 18 hour odyssey.

Then, this morning I get ready to go to work.  The Schmaz comes to watch LO.  Hadn't driven my car for a few days, so I was not real sure where I had parked it.  Looked around and around and around in the all the usual spots.  No car.  In the place where I thought I parked it on New Years Day after coming back from Bloomingdale's in Beverly Hills (another story), there has been construction on the street and I notice today there are cones with no-parking signs on them.  So, I call the number to find out if it had been impounded.  No record of it at any of the garages.  Then I call the cops and they also run a search for it based on plate number and VIN.  Nothing.  Time to bike to work, which I don't mind doing, obviously, but it would be nice if it weren't for this reason.  I have since reported the car stolen with the cops.  Unfortunately, we only have liability insurance on it, so if it's really gone and never recovered, it's gone and we are SOL.  Round and round, round and round.  Not to mention, I have no interest in going car shopping.

US and CA taxes are printing now as I type.  First time I've had a chance to blog in weeks.  Still not finished with the German tax fiasco -- it does not look pretty.  Indeed, they've already actually taken the money from my account, so  now it's a matter of trying to convince them to return some. 

Today the Chair of the Business and Economics Department asked me if I'd like to teach some classes for her next year.  Flattered you should ask.  Now somebody go tell the President that there are two faculty members requesting my services, but his policy of not allowing staff to make a f/t position out of p/t teaching and p/t staff work makes it impossible for me to accept these offers.  Ludicrous.

Planning for LO's bday party.  Theme is ancient Egypt.  Going to throw it at the same place my 40th was.  Decorate the room with pyramids and palm trees made out of cardboard, maybe do a treasure hunt through a pyramid, ordered a couple of craft projects, downloaded hieroglyphics fonts for the invites, looking still for related stickers for goodie bags, thinking about playing pin the tail on the camel, musical chairs to Steve Martin's "King Tut".  Anybody else got some ideas or know a good place to get supplies?  Michaels was a complete wash.

Just shoot me now.  We'll call it a mercy killing and everyone will understand.

I've spent all day trying to get a handle on these German taxes.  I can't find all the records we need.  I've found the forms, but not all of them have instructions.  Where instructions are present, they often are indecipherable.  Looking at previous years filings only helps to a certain extent.  It's a nightmare, plain and simple.

I've actually just located a German style TurboTax for the 2005 tax year available as a download, so I've paid my euros and I'm hoping to some supernatural being that this damn program makes sense.  Channel all of your positive energy to the bitstream doing battle against the evil bureaucrats in Berlin/Cologne.

I have tempted fate and tried to avoid the latter.  Didn't work.  Got a letter from my bank in Germany saying close to 3500 euros was being seized by the Finanzamt (German IRS).  Strange to hear from the bank and not directly from the Finanzamt.  Couldn't email them to find out what was going on (they only accept email if you first print out a document and take it to them in person to verify you are who you say you are.  Good security, but not exactly practical....), so I waited until late at night to call.  Turns out we didn't file our 2005 or 2006 taxes, so they estimated what we owe and seized my assets. As for why I didn't hear from them first before the seizure, they said they had twice written us courtesy of the address at the Parental Units, but the letters were returned undeliverable.  That's odd, cuz we get plenty of other post from Germany there.  So, now I'm stuck trying to do back taxes for those two years in Germany (there's no way we owe that much -- we've always gotten a refund in the past), plus US taxes for 2005, 2006, and 2007!!  Oh joy.

Can I just say that having to plug up holes in kitchen cabinetry with steel wool is not fun?  In fact, one reason people rent is so that don't have to do that sort of stuff.  Unfortunately, our landlord has not caught on to this insight.  Anyway, it's time to get aggressive about the mouse problem we've been having. Steel wool is going in every nook and cranny I can find, sheet metal to cover the gaping hole in one of the cabinets, and I'm gonna set tons of traps - TONS!! You hear me, mice?  Your days are numbered, vermin!

The semester officially starts tomorrow.  I am not ready.  (serious understatement)

New projects at work.  Haven't even come close to finishing my other projects (most notably revising existing finding aids (aka pathfinders) and writing new ones), and now we are on to a whole new mega-project: re-designing the website.  I'm in charge of running some focus groups to figure out what students/faculty want (end of Feb.), followed by usability testing of our prototype redesign in early May.  Looking forward to digging into this stuff, and it dovetails well with a class I'm taking on web usability.  Also feeling sort of overwhelmed by everything I've got to do.

I'm at work and my mind is wandering.  Too many things to do and feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all.  My niece (wife's brother's daughter) visiting from Oslo got in a car accident last week while driving my car.  Didn't think to call me.  Nobody hurt, thankfully, and no apparent mechanical damage, but, what a hassle.  She's trying to deal with it without going through insurance, and the other party seems to be amenable.  But I need it in writing, just in case.

Meanwhile, I send my parents' their passports to Canada which they forgot.  Express Mail.  Turns out, it never left CA.  Now the PO is not even sure where they are.  AARGGH!  All b/c I did not fill in a customs form.  Guy in the mailroom did not tell me I needed to do that.

Trying to arrange interviews with some librarians for an assignment. Everyone has been amenable and kind, just the scheduling is tough, working FT and all (and having a car have to go in the shop for body work after the accident).  Gonna interview someone at Harbor College, than San Pedro PL (I hope), and, most interestingly, the librarian at KUSC, a local classical radio station.  Very curious about the latter.

In good news, the College has agreed to pay $1000 worth of my tuition for next semester.  That's about half of what it'll cost.  Not a bad perk at all.  Makes the measly hourly pay a little more digestable.