Money, money, money!

Well, not that much money. I got my federal tax refund, so I actually spent a few minuted thinking nice thoughts about the government. But only a few. I've been putting off my state(s) and local forms, but I suppose I really should do them. This year I used TurboTax, which was extremely helpful, but I sort of missed the fun of the sharpened pencils and using my little calculator, and reading those eye-crossing columns of tax numbers in that little book the government mails you. The one that includes two copies of the 1040 form (so you can screw one up), and also is always printed such that all the ink sticks to your hands but not the paper it was intended to cling to. If I were the conspiracy sort, I'd develop some theory about that, but personally I don't think the government or anyone who works for it is involved in any secret conspiracies. I know plenty of federal employees, and they're mostly very nice people, but none of them seem organized enough for sneaky plots. Besides, they're generally very busy, what with the donut meetings, lunches, and all the time they spend making coffee, drinking coffee, and walking to and from the bathroom as a result of coffee. It certainly is a hectic life, manning the faceless bureaucracy, pushing cookies, as we used to say in the Building (the Pentagon, for all you non-beltway types). Notably, in spite of my years of experience as a tax-wasting bureaucrat, I can't actually spell bureaucracy. (I don't mean to impugn you other tax-wasters. You're probably wasting our taxes for a good cause. I mostly wasted taxes without producing anything of value to society. But I had a nice phone voice, nice enough that I occasionally was asked to record answering machine messages for other offices. I'm somewhat proud of that obscure achievement.)

Speaking of bureaucrats, the husband has just accepted a job offer and will soon be among their ranks. Fear not, he'll only be at the state level.