I've got to develop the habit of typing every week, if I'm going to sell fragments of The Great American Novel and put myself into the position of setting my own hours instead of doing the boring "working for someone else at someone else's fixed schedule" routine that I'm currently experiencing.
Speaking of which, the $3-a-week-group-snack plan has died a relieved death, but the $5-a-month-party-pool is still on. While I'm not wild about having to celebrate several people's birthday and the random holiday while I'm trying to get some work done, I'd feel guilty if the department supervisor felt the need to foot the bill just to "make us happy." This is literally the lesser of two evils, so I'll "join in" until this proves to be unworkable as well. At least I'm setting a trend by being prepared to respond to any requests for aging reports on the vendors that I haven't completely caught up with regarding payment of shipments. That's a step forward and a possible foundation for "being noticed by management." Getting a call from a former vendor contact who's now their Executive Vice President is a potential invitation for considering "moving on," although it takes at least an hour each way to get there and there's no guarantee that the pay will justify the possibility. I'll wait until he meets with the manager of the division before I plan my next move.
Tax season is on the horizon, so it's time for...tax classes! The three that I'm currently taking are "Everybody's Return," a combination tax laws refresher and tax update before the Official Tax Update Seminar, "Disposition of Business Assets," the sequel to "Disposition of Assets for Individuals" course that I took a couple of years ago when it was last offered, which goes over the tax consequences of selling a business along with the property and personal possessions of same as opposed to selling a home and individual possessions, stocks, bonds & heirlooms as was covered in the first course, and "Corporations" as in C-Corps, S-Corps, Partnerships, LLCs and LLPs, which makes it a sequel of sorts to the "Sole Proprietorships" course that I took over three years ago. What's so frustrating about taking these courses is that there's a slight pressure on Corporate's part to take and pass the tests that are offered at their respective conclusions. While I can understand the significance of the fact that it'll be only a matter of time before the IRS will make Certification of Tax Professionals mandatory and, of course, the more tests that you pass, the higher your status as a preparer and the more money you'll make before the end of the season. Just what I need, more external pressure to improve my lot in life. The bills, the lack of personal time, and the loneliness is doing enough of that without any further incentives, thank you very much!
The movie scene looks pretty grim along with the non-cable non-satellite TV options. Another pet project that will have to sit in the backburner is to expand my DVD library for video dry spells like this. Until then, I'll invite the possibility of being pleasantly surprised at a movie that either received too much hype or not enough. One such movie that I've seen last week was "The Skeleton Key." It's one of those films where if you haven't seen it, people would feel guilty about talking about it for fear that it'll "ruin the experience." I'll just say that it was one of those obscure plots that make perfect sense when you've "solved the mystery." There's a reason for Gena Rollins' eccentric performance, the non-sequitor conversations she has with her legal representative (can't remember the actor's name), and for the character's husband, played with equal eccentric brilliance by John Hurt, having a hoodoo-induced(?) muteness. Kate Hudson is obviously a much-better actress than her mother, "Laugh-In's" Goldie Hawn, and is making major strides in escaping the two traps that "Mom" couldn't avoid: "the stereotypical leading lady who stumbles into a strange and 'charming' romance" and "the pretty girl caught up in one outrageous situation after another and lives happily ever after with the man of her dreams." While she obviously "cut her teeth" playing those roles, I would never have thought that she could successfully pull off a "suspense heroine" part immediately afterwards, let alone help make the twist ending in this film transcend the "Night Gallery"-type gag that this could have been if the wrong actress played it, and then only for laughs. As for the twist ending itself, I'll say this with a spoiler warning attached to it:
**********************You have been warned**********************
It was a bold move on the part of the screenwriter to not only have the "haunted couple" win, but to add a racial slant to it by having Mrs.Ghost wishing that she could occupy the body of a black woman for a change, while Mr. Ghost makes the equally-controversial statement that no black woman would have stayed long enough to make herself available for a "body switch." I have a feeling that there's more than one legacy involved in that sentiment.
****************You have just left The Warning Zone*****************
I'm looking forward to seeing "A History of Violence" for different reasons than some of the ladies who drooled after looking at Viggo Mortensen in the three LOTR movies. This film was based on a comic book series that had a similar pacing and somber mood that was present in another violence-themed comic book: "Road To Perdition." Perhaps when the movie-going audience find out that there are more to comics than "guys in tights beating the crap out of each other," the medium will get a better appraisal than it has gotten in the not-too-distant past. At least I'll get to hunt down another article that says "Comics aren't kids stuff any more!" written by a well-intentioned know-nothing who hasn't read anything in four colors or black & white with word baloons other than Superman, Batman and Spiderman when his non-elective Algebra professor wasn't looking! We'll see if this lives up to the hype that it's getting from the NYC, LA and those two "Chicago" film critics on syndicated TV.
It's getting kinda late, so I'll see you out and get some shuteye before I brace myself for doing some tax homework tomorrow.
Take care and drive safely.
Goodnight.
