This and That

So January is over, the first month of 2010. I hate the month of January. Always have, always will. Okay, I guess I don't hate all of January, Just the last 30 days of it. January 1st is usally fun with everybody still feeling a little of the holiday spirit (unless they're feeling like a brick fell on their head from the previous night...I've felt like that a couple times), but after that it's all downhill.

Why do I hate January? It's winter in Chicago. It's dark when I wake up to go to work, it's dark when I'm getting home from work. Everybody is back from vacation, traffic is a crap shoot. And if the weather is bad, that just makes the commutes that much uglier. Speaking of weather, and Chicago, and January, chances are it's not going to be very pleasant outside. Snow, ice or frigid temperatures are common place. People are tired of it. They're cranky because of it.

Professionally it's a challenging month because there are a lot of questions about benefits, deductions from paychecks, whether their time-off accruals are right. Then it's always a guess to see who will be the first to ask "when do we get our W-2 forms?

Thankfully W-2 forms were issued a couple weeks ago and everybody was happy, including me. I filed and already received my refund (no I didn't go and get one of those rapid refunds that take a chunk of your refund as a service fee), I filed online and apparently my taxes are so simple they didn't take much checking. Having endured such a blah month, I bought myself a new iPod. I've now got the iPod Touch and yes, I get aps! Mind you, I don't have a constant internet connection, it only works if it finds an hotspot or an unsecured internet signal. Regardless, it's pretty and I like it. I also bought new cookware. I too is pretty and I like it. While I would have loved the All-Clad, I ended up getting Cuisinart. It may not be top of the line but it's better than the old Farberware I had with the handles that were about to fall off. The problem is, it's so pretty, I'm afraid to actually use it.

Every year, I try to do something responsible with my tax return. This year, I will buy new tires for my car with the remainder of it. I've been talking about new tires for the car since last summer but kept putting it off. I have a very slow leak in one, so I don't think I can put it off much longer.

January is over, thankfully. The Groundhog saw his shadow today so it looks like we've got another 6 weeks of winter. Duh. I mean, the groundhog is cute and all, but did anybody really expect, if he didn't see his shadow, that tomorrow we'd be sitting outside in shorts? Me either.

Valentine's day is in a couple weeks. I couldn't care less about it. Bitter, you say? Yes, but I have been for years. Bite my ass, Cupid!

Anyway, that's my story. What's new with you?