Average Jane Writes Checks

It’s only 7:15 a.m., but so far today is all about spending money. And not in a good way.

First I wrote out the two humongous checks to the feds and the state for our income taxes. I followed that with a check to pay off my speeding ticket. I’m late again with the payment to the water softener company, so those phone calls should begin arriving tomorrow.

I have some other bills to pay, but since I pay most of them online they don’t seem as wrenchingly expensive as the ones that go out in the mail as checks. Online bill paying feels more hypothetical somehow, like the story problems in elementary school math class. “Jane has 650 apples and she owes 100 apples each to 7 different creditors. How many apples must she scramble to come up with before her creditors stop by the house with baseball bats in their hands?”

Obviously, today is going to be errand-o-rama. I need to stop by the post office to mail our tax forms because they’re in big, thick envelopes of uncertain weight. After that, I have a jam-packed work schedule that promises to extend well into the evening, thanks to an appointment at 6:00 p.m. that’s a good 20-25 minutes from my house.

Another of my friends had a baby last week and I’ve promised her a dish of baked ziti. I’ll probably gather the ingredients tonight, make it in the morning, and drop it by on my way to work. I’m definitely either going in late or leaving early or both on Friday, since I have at least three hours of work appointments scheduled for Saturday and Sunday combined.

By the way, I’ve added several more blogs to the “Other Blogs I Like” list. Enjoy!