04/15/2024: Taxing Tasks
Mondays are my favorites. After the chaos of the weekend, they bring the calm of the routine. I look forward to the time when the kids go off to school and I finally get to do my own mundane Monday tasks. Today, April 15th, is no ordinary Monday, however, and is here to tax us with tasks not so routine, and certainly anything but calming.
Every year, as I scramble my way through turbo tax, I tell myself that I won't procrastinate filing taxes next year. I have been hustling the husband for his papers since January. By mid-February, my tasks list changed dramatically and taxes got completely ignored.
We were cleaning up after the Sunday afternoon Telugu classes when a fellow teacher casually asked me if we had filed the taxes yet. That finally lit the necessary fire under me and I parked myself in front of the computer for the rest of the evening. Husband's papers were not the rate limiting step, he pretty much had them all ready. *I* was the culprit!
Intel never sent me a W2, for me in my infinite wisdom switched to paperless delivery way back when. The trouble was- I didn't work for them anymore, which meant I couldn't access workday webpage meant for internal use. After a whole lot of researching, and calling and finding no answer, I understood that there was nothing I could do but to wait until HR folks returned my calls Monday morning.
It was a whole another story with Qorvo. As I had been out on medical leave, it'd been two months since I touched the intranet. By now, I could not even login to my work laptop, let alone retrieve W2s. Again, I had no option but to wait till Monday when IT guys could fix my laptop access.
No W2s, no taxes! Just as I was about to go to bed, I got a reminder email from the paralegal about notarizing our Will and Trust, first thing next morning.
Suddenly paranoid about what else I might be forgetting, I opened 'my chart', and sure enough there was an appointment in the afternoon with the hospital pre-op team, also on Monday!
I kept tossing and turning all night, thinking about the Monday that has turned from mundane to massive in the blink of an eye.
The good thing about such days is- one really wouldn't have time to think much. There would be a bizarre robotic approach to doing things. And that's exactly how my Monday went. As soon as kids went out the door, I went to Qorvo for the first time in exactly two months, and handed the laptop to the IT guy for restoring access. While that was in progress, I met up the husband at the lawyer's office and took care of the notarizing. It had been in the works for over a year now, and we were relieved as a family to have finally completed this important and necessary task. I returned to Qorvo to collect the laptop that now lets me login. I then made some long calls to Intel HR and finally gained access to Intel W2s. With all the paperwork now accessible, I sat back down at my desk in the company of Turbo tax. I confess- I secretly enjoy doing taxes. In grad school, I used to help many of the first year grad students with their 1040NR-EZ. I briefly considered doing that for a living back then, but filed it away as a possible retirement hobby. In a couple of hours, I pushed the blue button to 'file', and breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, the hospital team gave me a call and went over the preparation needed for surgery. Cleaning my scalp with a medicated soap for five days prior to the procedure was the only surprise, and the rest of the instructions seemed fairly standard. I was quite relieved to find the ultrasound method of IV fluids inked all over my chart, and I don't have to deal with the additional anxiety of those merciless random pokes anymore!
On my way out of work, I ran into my peer trainer. He was one of the few people at work that I shared the news of my medical condition with. For weeks last year, he had held my hand like a big brother and helped me get integrated into the new work place. He told me about how he lost his father last month and had to go to Bangladesh for the rituals. He reminisced the bond he shared with his parents. He wondered how his mom would handle life without her partner of 70years. He wished me well with my upcoming surgery- the sincerity and concern with which he spoke moved me to tears. And then he said something very wise, that things always have a way of working out.
I couldn't agree with him more. Every task that was taxing me from the night before was now done and dusted! I resumed my walking today, and almost back up to my normal energy levels. I am at 63 walking miles with exactly two weeks to go until the surgery. It is time to update that task list and keep marching forward! They may seem taxing at first, but in the end, they will all work out!
Timeline:
- April 16th: (10am) Pre-op appointment with Dr. Gore
- April 17th: (9:30am) PT for knee
- April 18th: (3pm) Visit to Boys and Girls Youth Association for volunteering
- April 18th: (4-6pm) Taara's Talent show, Dress Rehearsal
- April 19th: (11-5) Raaga’s photoshoot
- April 22nd: (3:15pm) Taara's conference with Ms. Rosenberger
- April 25th: (6-8pm) Taara's Talent show
- April 27th: (2pm) Portland Manabadi Children's festival
- April 29th: Surgery
- May 13th: Post-surgery appointment with Dr. Gore
- June 8th: Parents arrive
- June 20th: Recovery complete!
- July 14th: Raaga’s Rangapravesam!
Comments
Post a Comment