Coming Clean

I'm an accountant. I'm a CPA. I once worked 75 hours in under 4 days to meet a tax deadline (lack of planning on my part). I'm thirty-two years old. I am a fan of an occasional Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddle and Dr. Pepper in the morning. I also like donuts. And last but not least, I'm a fan of vampire books written for teenage girls.

Yes, it's true. I'm not ashamed. My mom sent my wife the vampire books last summer. At first, I hesitated because I'm not a big reader (unless it's the Internal Revenue Code), I was in tax season and these were books about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire. So how did it happen?

I'd like to blame it on my boss, my mom, my wife and every other woman who reported to my wife or her friends that they couldn't put these books down once they started.

While delayed for several hours in the airport with my boss, we proceeded to find the nearest book store. I came across the vampire books in the young adult section (at least it wasn't the romance section) and recognized them instantly. I told my boss of the recommendations from my mom and wife and he decided to buy. He was a fan (but he's also a fan of Gilmore Girls and Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Once back from the trip, I decided to try out the first vampire book. Well, 3 weeks and 1800 pages later I finished all 3 books in the series. The books were good. I found myself going through withdrawals in the weeks that followed. I also found myself getting more sleep (I was also out of tax season).

During a call last week with my brother Go-Go I decided to come clean and tell him about the teen vampire books. He laughed but I doubt he was surprised since at the time of the call, I was watching One Tree Hill (we also used to watch Dawson's Creek together during our UT days).

Brian Couch is alive...

Based on the overwhelming responses (2), I wanted to let everyone know that Brian Couch (the guy in the upper right-hand side of the Howies Unite picture) is alive (see comments from the Moreau's and Brent ("H") on the "Memories..." post). Everyone can rest easy and get on with life now. I'm glad that's resolved.

In addition to getting the word out about Couch, I also wanted to let everyone know that it is tax season. Yes, those documents you have received in the mail the past couple of weeks are, you guessed it, most likely, 1099s. And, since it's 1099 time, it means less sleep, less family and less fun. So, for any of you readers that have kids thinking about joining the elite group of tax accountants, you may want to have them talk to my wife first. Alright, back to taxes...

Perception is everything...

Do you ever wonder what your children think you actually do for a living?

While the other kids' parents are making something or working at work, I, apparently, am either playing golf or playing soccer. Life is good...

Memories...

This has nothing to do with 1099s, but more to do with my life before 1099s (I know, you're thinking there's no way life could have begun prior to 1099s).

When I think about returning to live in San Diego, this picture comes to mind. No, not the actual picture (as I can barely remember the random guy in the upper right-hand corner), but the fun I used to have hanging out with friends. The reality is, if I did move back to San Diego, it would not be how I remembered it. It would be burdened with a real job (as an accountant of course), traffic, conflicting schedules, parent responsibilities, etc., etc., etc. So... maybe it's best I leave this picture as one of those great memories and get used to surfing the Ohio River.

1099s...

When my wife and I talk about my job as "BA, the accountant", she likes to make sure we talk in the same language. I like to call it the real language of love, but it's really just the language of business... you know, 1099s, depreciating assets, ... those two words in particular are pretty much the only words she likes to use when talking shop with me. In fact, when she asks the question, "What did you do at work today?", she immediately follows with, "Did you work on 1099s?" And so, that's what I do... I work on 1099s. To be honest, although I have filled out many tax forms in my days as "BA, the accountant", I have yet to fill out a 1099.

At the moment, I really don't know what to do with this blog. We shall see. In the meantime, here's Wikipedia's explanation of the 1099... Enjoy...

Form 1099 is a form promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and is used in the United States income tax system to prepare and file an information return to report various types of income other than wages, salaries, and tips (for which Social Security Administration Form W-2 is used instead). The term information return is used in contrast to the term tax return although the latter term is sometimes used colloquially to describe both kinds of returns.