I shouldda bought a car
With my bank stock, that is. The bank stock that I used to have, that is. Because today, I *finally* managed to get over to the safe deposit box, dredge out those worthless scraps of paper, and send them off. My bank stock was once worth enough to buy myself a new vee-hickle or maybe two. And once, in a fit of rage over being forced to drive a 9-year-old POC seemingly forever, I threatened to sell my stock (yes, *my* stock) and buy a new Honda. One that I could drive to Yooperland without the fear of having to hang out on the side of the I75 SUV Speedway holding a chewed up serpentine belt. Or standing in a pool of power steering fluid. Or oil. Or whatever. Alas. I was pooh-poohed by the resident new car pooh-pooher. And I backed down into my little puddle of I-don’t-bring-home-the-bacon misery.
But you know? I *should* have bought a car. Or better yet, I should’ve cashed the dern things in and put the money under a mattress. But I am lazy. And truthfully, I don’t really pay any serious attention to the stock market. For the most part, the only time I ever thought about my stock was at tax time. So, out of sheer inertia, I held on to the blasted things well into the bank meltdown. Some arrogant executive vice president is cruising somewhere in the Caribbean, wining and dining off the billion dollar bonus he was paid for throwing my money down the toilet.
I don’t really care about the stock. It’s gone. C’est la vie. I wasn’t living off of it. I work for a living. But. Grrrr. Coincidentally, today is also tax day at the Landfill. I *hate* tax day at the Landfill. People and pooh-poohers wander around the house asking me where I’ve hidden pieces of paper that the banks don’t bother to send out any more. Pacing and hoovering and rattling and fidgeting behaviors go on that drive me right smack up the wall. I used to do the Landfill taxes once upon a time. Maybe I should yank them back next year. I’m good at stuff like that and I actually enjoy doing it. I don’t know exactly when the responsibility shifted. Sometime during a whole series of chaotic years of driving kids all over hellangone, I guess. Maybe it was just that after doing the books and taxes for a whole bunch of non-profit organizations, I didn’t have the energy to do all that at home too. Take back the taxes, KW.
And then. Serendipity struck. The UU and The Beautiful Gay and her beautiful sister just happened to be around town, so we walked over to Knight’s and met up with them in the middle of the afternoon. And, even though the sun wasn’t over the yardarm yet, I had whine and the company was wonderful. Thanks fer dragging me outta my spider-hole, you guys!
March 7th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
KW – same thing happened with the stock that the kids & I *used* to have. It, too, sank into oblivion (I didn’t get it to our Advisor early enough to get it cashed out *before* it went kaflooey). Oh, well. Same thing happened with my old EDS stock. At least I got *something* back from that one when I sent in those “worthless pieces of paper”….can’t say much for the other, either!
All we can do at this point is to “watch the circus”, because we know all too well that we alone cannot change the current course of events. All I hope is – like you – that the dimbulbs that LOST us/this country/world this $$ eventually pay for their greedy negligence. Many times over.
I grateful we have jobs – today – and that our companies are doing “ok” – today – and that we have the strength of Family and Friends. Don’t know what I’d do without y’all!! Love you!
March 7th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Interesting parallels here. It is R Tax day (that is R as in Rey). Fed down, MT ongoing, and CA yet to start. Carl used to do our taxes, for years. He had worked for H&R Block for a while, and it was natural. But I am the detailer, so eventually it migrated over to me. [A Tax day was a few weeks ago, although she/I got a CANADA Tax form and she will have to figure out what to do with that.] C&J Tax Day started a while ago, got put on hold waiting for some info to arrive, and should be back on track soon (maybe tomorrow). And I am refusing to look at bottom lines that will tell me how much longer I will be working.
March 7th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Definitely good to have WHINE after dealing with taxes. I hate them too–also used to do my own, but then the husband got his own business. (way beyond me and costs lots of money for all those forms) I’ve lost about half the value of my stocks and my retirement. I guess I’ll be teaching in a walker!!