Sunday, February 17, 2008

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR...

First the good news. I live in Hawaii. It's warm.

That bad news?
Read on.


This is my Rolodex of foreign rights contracts. These are only slightly more complex than putting a human on the moon or designing a perpetual motion machine. Or maybe inventing hot fudge sundaes with only ten calories...
10:21 and 76 degrees.
Here's where a writer can get stymied. I'd really rather be writing but er uh the Tax Man cometh. Or is that the Ice Man? Hmmm.
I'll have to straighten out my theater references.
The day to day reality of business can get in the way of artistic creation.
I designed this handy dandy book o' receipts. It had places for each month's expenses.


January 2007. All papers and receipts went in the book immediately. Entered neatly. Totaled.
February 2007. After a few days delay. I gathered Februarys receipts up. Entered them a week later.
March 2007 I totaled February receipts and stuffed March's into my purse.
April 2007 I put March receipts from my purse to the nav station table. April receipts? Where the heck did I put April receipts?
May 2007 Found April receipts in forward cabin being used as cat beds.
June 2007 Life is good.
July 2007 No worries.
August 2007 What are all these papers doing on the nav table and in the forward cabin?
September 2007 What are all these papers doing in my purse, on the nav table and in the forward cabin?
October 2007 Somebody scared me by dressing up as an IRS auditor on Halloween. Hmmm. Maybe I should think about...nah...there's plenty of time.
November 2007 I love Turkey. What are all these receipts doing in my oven?
December 2007 I love Christmas. What are all these receipts doing under my tree?
January 2008. uh oh.
Find handy dandy Book O' Receipts that has lain dormant for nine months.
Find receipts in drawers, on tables, under tables, in purse.
Spend month of February sorting, filing, adding, printing, remembering.
INTERESTING FACT:
Do you know that charge receipts fade after only a few months?
So back to my work in progress.
Oh.
My receipts are now being carefully filed by Touloose.
Every cat needs a part time job.

28 comments:

Chris Eldin said...

Love Touloose!

LOL--Very funny post! DH has a similar system. Except every time he travels, he grabs up his receipt piles from all corners of the house and throws them in a file and says "If anything happens to me, you know what to do."
Yeah. Burn them.

:-)

Katie Alender said...

I hatehatehate sorting receipts! We lerned the hard way about fading receipts, so now when we have one, we write the store name, date, item, and amount in real ink. Talk about efficient!

Some people keep a separate credit card for writing-related expenses, bundle the receipts neatly in a "plastic bag", and then sort efficiently using the credit card statements.

We call those people nerds. Why do it that way when you can spend a whole weekend unfolding and uncrumpling receipts? It's like a treasure hunt!

Holly Kennedy said...

If I could throw something at you right now I would. Thanks for the reminder. Taxes. Receipts = hell on wheels for a week in my home office + a certain amount of swearing!

Sandra Cormier said...

Here I was, wondering what to do with my newly minted Family Day Holiday. Instead of doing laundry, I'll go on a receipt hunt safari!

Ah, the road to high adventure...

Travis Erwin said...

I need a cat like that.

Les said...

Love this post!!

Hey, I'll come live in warm Hawaii and file your receipts on a weekly basis! The cats really don't need both berths, now do they? ;)

Kimber Li said...

Ugh. I hate numbers.

ORION said...

I have my separate card for writing expenses - I just have to remember to use it LOL.
Sorry Holly but I am required to annoy you at least once a month...

Bookfool said...

That fading ink is a major problem. We were keeping receipts for home improvements and now we just have pieces of paper. If I could just figure out how to work the scanner . . .

Sustenance Scout said...

At least it all LOOKS organized! And color-coordinated, too. Surely you get points for all that. K.

Tyhitia Green said...

I don't think I'm gonna like the tax part. Tax attorneys are too expensive. Thanks for sharing this! :*)

Stephanie J. Blake said...

I'm totally stealing the idea of using a 12-pocket folder for receipts.

Beautiful photo!

Stephanie J. Blake said...

PS. Is Lottery coming out in paperback?

ORION said...

yep! Lottery comes out in trade paperback on June 3, 2008!!!

Trish Ryan said...

Thanks for the reminder...I need to get on that! (And I thought that filing everything in one file folder was organized...yikes!)

Mary said...

Despite 20 years in business, it’s the same last-minute scramble to find ‘lost’ receipts, and the same fear of facing my accountant. Year after year after year!!! Hopeless.

The Anti-Wife said...

Taxes - UGH!

Doreen Orion said...

I'm sure we all wish we could have such problems!

John Robison said...

I have that same trouble.

Woof!

My mate is actually pretty diligent about keeping our records, though. So I'm sort of lucky in that regard.

ORION said...

See John...THAT'S what I need... a wife...
I knew it!

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Receipts? What are receipts?

This would be why my husband does the accounting in the house - and I like it that way! I think I will continue to play dumb forever!

Kim Rossi Stagliano said...

I have no problem with receipts. After all, I write fiction.... ;)

I suck at organization. I could have a golden file cabinet filled with platinum files held gently in the hands of Chippendale's men and I'd still screw up everything.

K

Sustenance Scout said...

Probably because you'd be a tad distracted, Kim!

Lisa R said...

Love Touloose...hate the TAX MAN (or woman as the case may be). Wow, you sound like you use the same filing system I do!

Serenity said...

I just wanted to say thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. I always think it is so thoughtful when someone new participates, and your comment was great! I'm really glad to meet you (in the cyber way of course).

Wendy Roberts said...

If I mailed you a few shoe boxes filled with receipts could you have Touloose file 'em away in a a purdy lil ol' book o' receipts?

ORION said...

Um...Wendy...er Touloose is not actually working out all that well.
He's pretty fixated on increasing the budget for the muses and agitating for gourmet kitty food.
aloha serenity!
it's fun to get connected...

Bernita said...

Ooh, twelve pocket binder!
Shiny!

You did know that black and white cats are the most intelligent?