The "What's on your mind?" Thread -2017

[margd]

You did all that in just two hours?  I'm impressed! The nacho bin warmer is actually sparkling.  

I don't blame you for being annoyed.   Those are pretty basic cleaning jobs.  It's not like you're asking for anything unusual when you expect staff to pick up items that have fallen on the floor.  

Your parents are lucky to have you looking after the restaurant the way you do.  And I hope you get to rest today.  

 

[LTS3]

 
Did my taxes today on line with TurboTax, there wa no charge to do my federal or state taxes, yeah! maybe because I have been doing my taxes with them for the last 3 years.

I do my taxes with Turbotax, too. I just mailed in the returns earlier this week. I don't like or trust someone doing my taxes for me even so called professionals. My parents have been going to a local HR Block place for years (most likely referred there by someone) and insist on using this one lady who doesn't know what she's doing

When I was in college, I had a work-study job. The lady told my dad to give her my W2 form so I could get a refund that way. What she ended up doing was claiming my income as my dad's own income

It wasn't much, a few hundred dollars maybe but still. She also said my dad couldn't claim an educational credit for me and my younger brother even though we were both in college at the same time and met the qualifications. I don't think my parents have an HSA account for health expenses but the lady makes them bring in all their prescription receipts and puts that on the tax form as a deduction or something weird. The same lady screwed my older brother up one year on his taxes, saying he couldn't claim any expense related to job hunting and rent.

 

[tallyollyopia]

At least they did clean up this mess before leaving

013017 008.JPG

• segelkatt
• Feb 8, 2017

you can see the film that is on the right-side window which is half open, from dirt and calcium in the water from when the building was washed and they hit the windows too

013017 009.JPG

• segelkatt
• Feb 8, 2017

I cleaned the window as well as I could but on the left window on the left part I could not reach and it's still not clean, at least I can see through it

I still have not been able to pry that right side window out of its track, I think the track is distorted, possible due to earthquakes. What's a person to do?

This was one of the first things I noticed when I first came to this country: how do you clean the windows on the outside when you live above the first floor? I was used to French windows that opened to the inside so you could clean both sides even if you lived in a hi-rise. I read of someone in NYC saying that the windows in his place had not been cleaned since the building was built about 75 years ago, that he could barely see through them and there was no way to get to the outside of the window, it was a crank type that opened to the outside. Whoever dreamt up windows like that? When you live in a rental you can't change them, otherwise those windows of mine would come off and I would put in what I call "proper windows".

So much for my rant.

Okay, Grandma used to live in an apartment complex with windows like that, and here's how she  cleaned the outside of the windows: first she went to a hardware store and picked up a small, handheld squeegee (like what you find in the buckets at gas stations) and a mop bucket. She filled the mop bucket with soapy water and used the squeegee to clean the outside of the glass. It wasn't perfect  mind you; there was always a strip near the edge of the window she just couldn't bend to reach, but it did help a lot. (When I visited as a small child we'd sing songs and turn cleaning into play. I miss having music when I clean. 

20170208_200843.jpg

• raina21
• Feb 9, 2017

The other thing that irked me about the nacho bin was that when I pulled it out to clean the glass on the back/outside. There was a HUGE pile of chips laying behind it. Sometimes people are careless when they pour the chips into the bin and a few fall behind it. But you're supposed to pull the bin out and clean under/behind it! Clearly that hadn't been done in months!

The other thing I did was give the bathroom sinks a good scrub with bleach water, lyme away and steel wool because the sinks have had some pretty bad lyme and hard water buildup (which, isn't the employee's fault, that happens pretty fast here. Our area has EXTREMELY hard water!). But that took about half an hour to do both the sink in the men's room and the one in the women's.

After I clened all the tables, I also pulled the booths out from up against the wall in order to clean the walls and discovered that that wasn't being done regularly either! So any food that the customers would spill on the wall or in the gap between the table/booth and the wall (mostly taco sauce or nacho cheese) would just get stuck to the wall and dry there. So I then spent several more minutes scrubbing dried drips of sauce and nacho cheese off of the wall and booths.

We close at 9 and I was there until 11 cleaning. I did so much scrubbing that my hands are raw from the steel wool!

I brought all of this and more up to my parents when I got home tonight and they are going to be having a manager's meeting to adress it this weekend. Which is good because I do care about what customers think about the cleanliness of the place. And I don't want other people's laziness to make my family and our restaurant look bad!

I hate it when that happens. If it makes you feel any better, it happens at my work too. (We don't have a nacho chip machine, but there are other things that are supposed to be cleaned every day  that only get cleaned if I'm there to do it.) Still, you should rest well knowing you did a good job, and  that it will be addressed.

 
You did all that in just two hours?  I'm impressed! The nacho bin warmer is actually sparkling.  

I don't blame you for being annoyed.   Those are pretty basic cleaning jobs.  It's not like you're asking for anything unusual when you expect staff to pick up items that have fallen on the floor.  

Your parents are lucky to have you looking after the restaurant the way you do.  And I hope you get to rest today.  

 
I do my taxes with Turbotax, too. I just mailed in the returns earlier this week. I don't like or trust someone doing my taxes for me even so called professionals. My parents have been going to a local HR Block place for years (most likely referred there by someone) and insist on using this one lady who doesn't know what she's doing

When I was in college, I had a work-study job. The lady told my dad to give her my W2 form so I could get a refund that way. What she ended up doing was claiming my income as my dad's own income

It wasn't much, a few hundred dollars maybe but still. She also said my dad couldn't claim an educational credit for me and my younger brother even though we were both in college at the same time and met the qualifications. I don't think my parents have an HSA account for health expenses but the lady makes them bring in all their prescription receipts and puts that on the tax form as a deduction or something weird. The same lady screwed my older brother up one year on his taxes, saying he couldn't claim any expense related to job hunting and rent.

I'm getting AWM to help me with my taxes next week. I picked up a 10-40 EZ form the other day, but I haven't had time to fill it out yet.

Work sucked last night. Not going into details, but eagerly awaiting my food (which is cooking). Sometimes I wish I could just come home and have someone else make it for me, the way I've made food for other people, but I don't want to complain about it because SD's rehabilitation is really getting on everyone's  nerves.

Oh, AWM had me in stitches when I got home this morning. Last night after I went to work she got a frantic call from LS up in Washington (which is three hours behind us). As part of a class assignment, she had to cook something Spanish. She decided to make soup because (in her words) "what could go wrong?" Well, she was stirring her thick soup (no idea what kind--AWM didn't ask so I don't know) when her wooden spoon broke and some splinters from it fell into the soup. Well, she didn't have time to make another batch, so she slapped it into her carry thing and then drove off to school. About halfway to class she called AWM to ask if the splinters were going to put the lives of her fellow students in danger. AWM's response? "Not if they cooked long enough; it's just more fiber." 

 

[tallyollyopia]

Okay, remember me complaining about the woman at the hospital who finally  gave me a number to call? Yeah, it's the number of a private citizen. As in, no  connection to the hospital except county (and maybe visitations). So. The hospital won't  work with me trying to keep the debt from going to the collection agency (where it will accrue interest), the hospital won't set up a payment plan with me (the lowest they'll accept is eighty dollars a month--I can't afford that! I can barely  afford half  that!), and I can't contact the collection agency (because no one will give me their number). I applied for financial aid with my bill--and it's still winding through the system. What am I supposed to do? 

 

[muffy]

 
I do my taxes with Turbotax, too. I just mailed in the returns earlier this week. I don't like or trust someone doing my taxes for me even so called professionals. My parents have been going to a local HR Block place for years (most likely referred there by someone) and insist on using this one lady who doesn't know what she's doing

When I was in college, I had a work-study job. The lady told my dad to give her my W2 form so I could get a refund that way. What she ended up doing was claiming my income as my dad's own income

It wasn't much, a few hundred dollars maybe but still. She also said my dad couldn't claim an educational credit for me and my younger brother even though we were both in college at the same time and met the qualifications. I don't think my parents have an HSA account for health expenses but the lady makes them bring in all their prescription receipts and puts that on the tax form as a deduction or something weird. The same lady screwed my older brother up one year on his taxes, saying he couldn't claim any expense related to job hunting and rent.

Years ago a son of my co-worker was an accountant. He did my taxes for years and did a wonderful job. He told me never ever go to H & R Block or sears or anything like that because they do not know what they are doing. 

My sister has done my taxes with Turbotax for the last 3 years. They went up $10.00 last year. The first two years I believe it was $50.00. I wonder what it will be this year. They never gave me a free pass. Unfortunately I own big time  because I didn't have any taxes taken out of any of my pension checks. About $7,000.00.

 

[margd]

 
Years ago a son of my co-worker was an accountant. He did my taxes for years and did a wonderful job. He told me never ever go to H & R Block or sears or anything like that because they do not know what they are doing. 

My sister has done my taxes with Turbotax for the last 3 years. They went up $10.00 last year. The first two years I believe it was $50.00. I wonder what it will be this year. They never gave me a free pass. Unfortunately I own big time  because I didn't have any taxes taken out of any of my pension checks. About $7,000.00.

Have you called the IRS and worked out a payment plan with them?  They have a program where you can set up a payment plan based on your income and expenses and after a set number of years, it's considered paid in full, even if you haven't actually paid it off yet.   And see if you can get the penalties erased - sometimes they will do that.  

 

[DreamerRose]

@LTS3  - Medical expenses, including prescription drugs, are a valid deduction IF the total amount is over 7.5% of your income. You can include dental expenses too if you don't have dental insurance.

I use Turbotax, too, but the cost does go up. I've seen commercials for sites that offer free tax programs, but then you are doing your taxes on-line, which leaves you open to hacking.

 

[Alicia88]

 
Okay, Grandma used to live in an apartment complex with windows like that, and here's how she  cleaned the outside of the windows: first she went to a hardware store and picked up a small, handheld squeegee (like what you find in the buckets at gas stations) and a mop bucket. She filled the mop bucket with soapy water and used the squeegee to clean the outside of the glass. It wasn't perfect  mind you; there was always a strip near the edge of the window she just couldn't bend to reach, but it did help a lot. (When I visited as a small child we'd sing songs and turn cleaning into play. I miss having music when I clean. 

)

Don't get this wrong, because I'm happy for you and your sister, I really am. I still have to ask: what event triggered this? Because that makes all the difference in whether or not it will stick.

I hate it when that happens. If it makes you feel any better, it happens at my work too. (We don't have a nacho chip machine, but there are other things that are supposed to be cleaned every day  that only get cleaned if I'm there to do it.) Still, you should rest well knowing you did a good job, and  that it will be addressed.

I'm getting AWM to help me with my taxes next week. I picked up a 10-40 EZ form the other day, but I haven't had time to fill it out yet.

Work sucked last night. Not going into details, but eagerly awaiting my food (which is cooking). Sometimes I wish I could just come home and have someone else make it for me, the way I've made food for other people, but I don't want to complain about it because SD's rehabilitation is really getting on everyone's  nerves.

Oh, AWM had me in stitches when I got home this morning. Last night after I went to work she got a frantic call from LS up in Washington (which is three hours behind us). As part of a class assignment, she had to cook something Spanish. She decided to make soup because (in her words) "what could go wrong?" Well, she was stirring her thick soup (no idea what kind--AWM didn't ask so I don't know) when her wooden spoon broke and some splinters from it fell into the soup. Well, she didn't have time to make another batch, so she slapped it into her carry thing and then drove off to school. About halfway to class she called AWM to ask if the splinters were going to put the lives of her fellow students in danger. AWM's response? "Not if they cooked long enough; it's just more fiber." 

I'm not sure it was any particular event.  DD just said he was yelling and screaming all day and Mom decided they were leaving.  Mom is still pretending everything's fine.  She's sleeping at work tonight "because she has to work the morning shift after working evenings tonight" and DD is staying here again.  I'm still just playing dumb.

 
Okay, remember me complaining about the woman at the hospital who finally  gave me a number to call? Yeah, it's the number of a private citizen. As in, no  connection to the hospital except county (and maybe visitations). So. The hospital won't  work with me trying to keep the debt from going to the collection agency (where it will accrue interest), the hospital won't set up a payment plan with me (the lowest they'll accept is eighty dollars a month--I can't afford that! I can barely  afford half  that!), and I can't contact the collection agency (because no one will give me their number). I applied for financial aid with my bill--and it's still winding through the system. What am I supposed to do? 

Is there anyone else you can talk to at the hospital?  Can you go above some heads?

 

[segelkatt]

I have never earned enough money to be able to take any deductions but standard from my taxes and at one time for childcare so I have always done an EZ. Now we do it on-line and I have taxes taken out of my pension but not from SS so I always get a refund which is shrinking every year

.

Regarding cleaning those outsides of windows: I actually bought one of those gadgets that via big magnets will clean both sides but you have to be able to reach the outside to stick one of them there, they work pretty well which is how I got the right side clean but for a small strip. The problem is that I could not reach the left hand pane on the outside with the right side pane still in the frame. So I used a squeegee but the handle is not long enough to reach all the way across. If I could pry that right side pane out of its track there would be no problem but I have tried everything, it just does not clear the bottom track when I lift it up

Unfortunately hitting it will not do the trick!

I am going to contact Maintenance again today to find out when they are planning on finishing the job. The last rain did not cause another water intrusion so maybe the roof as been fixed after all, there is more rain forecast for this weekend, the hills are turning green again after years of brown and there is a nice snow pack on the  mountains.Today there is mostly sunshine although only in the low 60s, the air is wonderfully clean and crisp after all the rain we've had so far. No, we don't have thick smog anymore, that has been cleaned up since the 70s when California started having all the regulations to cut down on air pollution and made companies clean up their act, the rest of the states followed and now we have cars that get 30+ mpg vs 12-15 way back then, everybody wins. 

 

[LTS3]

 
My sister has done my taxes with Turbotax for the last 3 years. They went up $10.00 last year. The first two years I believe it was $50.00. I wonder what it will be this year. They never gave me a free pass. Unfortunately I own big time  because I didn't have any taxes taken out of any of my pension checks. About $7,000.00.

TurboxTax Deluxe is $59.99. Some web sites sell it for less if you choose the download option instead of the actual box and CD.

 
@LTS3  - Medical expenses, including prescription drugs, are a valid deduction IF the total amount is over 7.5% of your income. You can include dental expenses too if you don't have dental insurance.

A few prescriptions a year isn't more than 7.5% of my parents' income, even now that they're both retired. Mom has only ever paid like $10 for her prescriptions because her health insurance covered the rest. I don't know what the HR Block lady did on my parent's tax retruns but it was something so it appeared that my parents had much more medical expenses than they actually did. Honestly I have no idea if my parents' tax returns were ever done correctly at all by this supposedly professional lady.

 

[Willowy]

I'm told that the "tax preparers" at place like H&R Block basically just fill out Turbotax (well, their brand's version of it) for you :dk:. They don't actually know anything about tax law or anything like that. If you have complicated taxes, a tax attorney is your best bet.

I just use Turbotax online. I itemize. It was $40 last year, haven't done this year's yet so I don't know if the price went up.

 

[DreamerRose]

 
@LTS3  - Medical expenses, including prescription drugs, are a valid deduction IF the total amount is over 7.5% of your income. You can include dental expenses too if you don't have dental insurance.

  LTS3: A few prescriptions a year isn't more than 7.5% of my parents' income, even now that they're both retired. Mom has only ever paid like $10 for her prescriptions because her health insurance covered the rest. 

____________________________________________________________________

When I didn't have health insurance, my prescription drugs cost $400 per month, and that was at Costco. It was a big deduction for me. I'm on Medicare now and have an insurance policy, so I don't pay anything for the same drugs.

 

[DreamerRose]

I'm told that the "tax preparers" at place like H&R Block basically just fill out Turbotax (well, their brand's version of it) for you

. They don't actually know anything about tax law or anything like that. If you have complicated taxes, a tax attorney is your best bet.

I just use Turbotax online. I itemize. It was $40 last year, haven't done this year's yet so I don't know if the price went up.

That's true. I had H&R Block do my Dad's taxes once, and that's exactly what they did, but I believe it was their own program, similar to, but not the same as, TurboTax. 

 

[Margret]

 

I'm told that the "tax preparers" at place like H&R Block basically just fill out Turbotax (well, their brand's version of it) for you

. They don't actually know anything about tax law or anything like that. If you have complicated taxes, a tax attorney is your best bet.

I just use Turbotax online. I itemize. It was $40 last year, haven't done this year's yet so I don't know if the price went up.

That's true. I had H&R Block do my Dad's taxes once, and that's exactly what they did, but I believe it was their own program, similar to, but not the same as, TurboTax. 

Yes and no.  If you need an expert, your best bet is not, actually, a tax attorney.  Unless you have major problems, the attorney won't really do your tax return, his office help will, but you'll be charged as if it's the attorney doing it.  A better bet is to find an enrolled agent who can fit you in.  And the sooner the better -- tax season is heating up quickly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrolled_agent

How to find an enrolled agent (from a quick Google search):

 The easiest and fastest way to locate an enrolled agent in your area is to visit www.naea.org. The "Find an EA" function located at the top of the home page will allow you to search instantly by locality or specialty. You can also call 800-424-4339, the EA referral service.

What is an Enrolled Agent (EA)? | NAEA

www.naea.org/taxpayers/what-enrolled-agent

Margret

 

[Margret]

We went to see Hidden Figures on Tuesday.  Excellent movie, I can't recommend it highly enough.  (Not really a spoiler -- John Glenn got down safely.

)

Before we went, I went to Target and bought a couple of hand towels on the cheap, then folded one in half, sewed around the edges, and added dried rice to make a big heating pad.  It took a half gallon to fill it properly -- takes 4 minutes in the microwave!  (Fortunately, we had a big bag of dried rice already, and Roger is fully in favor of using it this way.)  I wrapped it up so it wouldn't lose too much heat on the way to the theater, then kept it on my lap through the movie.  Much more comfortable this time.

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

The one on the right is the one we would be living in.  It looks like a duplex.

Yep, duplex, and a very pretty looking one, too.  You'll be getting the one on the right?  I can tell you one thing, you will have neighbors who care about appearances and keeping up with things.  Their landscaping is lovely, and bodes well if you like a nice place to live!  I'm pretty sure, if you take it, that they would be prone to liking someone who spruced up the other side just a bit.

 
That's awesome!!!

My mom left!  DD messaged me and said he's been yelling and screaming all day and mom told her to get ready cuz they were leaving as soon as his son showed up and he was distracted.  And they left.

I don't know why she's leaving instead of just calling the cops and having him thrown out -  it's HER place after all - but this is a start.  She's never left him before.  There were times when we were kids and things got really bad when she would get us out of bed, bundle us in the car, and run to the cop's house.  But then the next day she dropped the charges.  I don't know - maybe I'm being a fool for feeling hopeful, but I am a little bit.  Pray she ends it for good!!!

Crossing my fingers for all of you@

 
Okay, remember me complaining about the woman at the hospital who finally  gave me a number to call? Yeah, it's the number of a private citizen. As in, no  connection to the hospital except county (and maybe visitations). So. The hospital won't  work with me trying to keep the debt from going to the collection agency (where it will accrue interest), the hospital won't set up a payment plan with me (the lowest they'll accept is eighty dollars a month--I can't afford that! I can barely  afford half  that!), and I can't contact the collection agency (because no one will give me their number). I applied for financial aid with my bill--and it's still winding through the system. What am I supposed to do? 

First, deep breath.  Now another.  And one more.  OK...the first thing to do is to continue making your regular payments to the hospital until you recieve written notice otherwise.  That shows good faith on your part, and could become invaluable down the road.  NEXT, find out the name of the hospital administrator.  Write to him, outlining in detail what you have done so far, up to an including the run-around.  Tell him that you have had NO luck in setting up a payment plan that you can actually afford, and how much you want to pay this bill without a third party involvement, as quickly as you can and still be able to live.  Send it to him, return reciept requested, and so that HE HIMSELF has to sign for it!  

Now, did you say that you are in South Caroilina?  Someone did, and I may be confused on that.  If that was you, I found this:  http://www.consumer.sc.gov/faqs/Pages/fairdebtcollection.aspx ​  It has some good information in it, such as they cannot garnish in most cases.  Take a look, you might find something that helps.

 

[tallyollyopia]

 
I'm not sure it was any particular event.  DD just said he was yelling and screaming all day and Mom decided they were leaving.  Mom is still pretending everything's fine.  She's sleeping at work tonight "because she has to work the morning shift after working evenings tonight" and DD is staying here again.  I'm still just playing dumb.

Is there anyone else you can talk to at the hospital?  Can you go above some heads?

Maybe. There's a guy in charge of the entire finance department, but he's harder to get a hold of than my college course adviser. (Hint: the other teachers called him "the gremlin" because he vanished so quickly after class. Oh, during classes he was in his assigned classroom teaching--and he was a good teacher, don't get me wrong--but for pesky little things like filling out paperwork to change majors--and hence, get another adviser--or signing off on the fact that yes, the student was  still part of the college and could create a schedule for the next semester--we had to be unlocked in the system by our adviser--the college actually assigned another "adviser" who could unlock students--and nothing else, which is why I have an associates in arts instead psychology.)

 
I have never earned enough money to be able to take any deductions but standard from my taxes and at one time for childcare so I have always done an EZ. Now we do it on-line and I have taxes taken out of my pension but not from SS so I always get a refund which is shrinking every year

.

Regarding cleaning those outsides of windows: I actually bought one of those gadgets that via big magnets will clean both sides but you have to be able to reach the outside to stick one of them there, they work pretty well which is how I got the right side clean but for a small strip. The problem is that I could not reach the left hand pane on the outside with the right side pane still in the frame. So I used a squeegee but the handle is not long enough to reach all the way across. If I could pry that right side pane out of its track there would be no problem but I have tried everything, it just does not clear the bottom track when I lift it up

Unfortunately hitting it will not do the trick!

I am going to contact Maintenance again today to find out when they are planning on finishing the job. The last rain did not cause another water intrusion so maybe the roof as been fixed after all, there is more rain forecast for this weekend, the hills are turning green again after years of brown and there is a nice snow pack on the  mountains.Today there is mostly sunshine although only in the low 60s, the air is wonderfully clean and crisp after all the rain we've had so far. No, we don't have thick smog anymore, that has been cleaned up since the 70s when California started having all the regulations to cut down on air pollution and made companies clean up their act, the rest of the states followed and now we have cars that get 30+ mpg vs 12-15 way back then, everybody wins. 

I'm a little concerned about our local environment. One of the natural gas companies got an official, public (it was even in the newspapers which, as I'm sure people have noticed, don't really report news  anymore) order to cease and desist on the frakking by order of the South Carolina's Environmental Pledge Office, or EPO. Anyway, we're still getting shakes, like we did when the frakking was going on, and the ambient temperature of one of the little towns around here (we've got mostly farming and horsing communities, so the county is more a group of small towns than a city surrounded by small towns) has risen five degrees in the last two years. (No, I'm serious; the temperature there is five degrees higher than it's supposed to be, and it's a really  small town--there's only one stoplight, one gas station, and no grocery store.)

 
We went to see Hidden Figures on Tuesday.  Excellent movie, I can't recommend it highly enough.  (Not really a spoiler -- John Glenn got down safely.

)

Before we went, I went to Target and bought a couple of hand towels on the cheap, then folded one in half, sewed around the edges, and added dried rice to make a big heating pad.  It took a half gallon to fill it properly -- takes 4 minutes in the microwave!  (Fortunately, we had a big bag of dried rice already, and Roger is fully in favor of using it this way.)  I wrapped it up so it wouldn't lose too much heat on the way to the theater, then kept it on my lap through the movie.  Much more comfortable this time.

Margret

Target has something cheap?! Where do you live?

 (Here they have prices that rival my store's!)

 
Yep, duplex, and a very pretty looking one, too.  You'll be getting the one on the right?  I can tell you one thing, you will have neighbors who care about appearances and keeping up with things.  Their landscaping is lovely, and bodes well if you like a nice place to live!  I'm pretty sure, if you take it, that they would be prone to liking someone who spruced up the other side just a bit.

Crossing my fingers for all of you@

First, deep breath.  Now another.  And one more.  OK...the first thing to do is to continue making your regular payments to the hospital until you recieve written notice otherwise.  That shows good faith on your part, and could become invaluable down the road.  NEXT, find out the name of the hospital administrator.  Write to him, outlining in detail what you have done so far, up to an including the run-around.  Tell him that you have had NO luck in setting up a payment plan that you can actually afford, and how much you want to pay this bill without a third party involvement, as quickly as you can and still be able to live.  Send it to him, return reciept requested, and so that HE HIMSELF has to sign for it!  

Now, did you say that you are in South Caroilina?  Someone did, and I may be confused on that.  If that was you, I found this:  http://www.consumer.sc.gov/faqs/Pages/fairdebtcollection.aspx ​  It has some good information in it, such as they cannot garnish in most cases.  Take a look, you might find something that helps.

Yes, I did. I've got the website bookmarked so I can read it when I have more brainpower than I do now.

Now for a funny story about what happened at the store last night. See, our store has a new set of distributors who have decided to do the unprecedented--they're delivering during third shift. My  shift (and I'll be working it for the forseeable future since I'm the only one who knows how to check the truck and it's inventory in). Well, the truck comes tonight (technically really early Friday morning, but until third shift does End Of Day and resets the date in the computers, it's still considered Thursday). Since traffic in the store has been picking up and we've been selling a lot  more stuff, my manager (who taught me how to check the truck in) decided that I was going to need help, and scheduled me a person to help me unload, check in (FYI, I may not be supposed to train him in how to check the truck in, but I will, because the more people who know how the better). Well, she scheduled it for one o'clock Thursday morning to six am (actually, the schedule said six pm, but I'm pretty sure that's a typo since he's the same pay level as I am and double shifts aren't allowed at our paygrade). He showed up last night, promptly at one. I asked what he was doing there and he said that he was going to help me unload the truck. I pointed out he was a night early and that according to the computer, it was still Wednesday. He snapped, "I'm not getting on a register, I'm just unloading the truck!" (He was a little tired and cranky last night. Hopefully he'll be in a better mood tonight, since he was able to leave early.) Anyway, I lent him my cell phone (that I won't admit to customers I carry at work) so he could call our manager who informed him that yes, I was right. He looked so surprised. 

 

[NewYork1303]

I just did my taxes. I've always just done them myself using the form and the instructions. My experience was that turbo tax made things equally as complicated so what was the point of paying them when I can read instructions myself. I feel like what I am getting back really has gone down a huge amount. Not a big deal though as I am still coming out ahead. 

 

[kittybella134]

My 3 years old cat only eats his dry food after he scoops is out and put in in the water bowl. After he makes a horrible mess it's the water everyday

 

[margd]

My 3 years old cat only eats his dry food after he scoops is out and put in in the water bowl. After he makes a horrible mess it's the water everyday

I've heard of other cats doing that as well.   It's like they are part raccoon.  I'm not really sure why they do this but it would be interesting to hear some ideas.  

Welcome to TCS, btw!  

We'd love for you to introduce yourself and your cat in the New Cats on the Block forum. http://www.thecatsite.com/f/20/new-cats-on-the-block  Be sure to post pictures, if you have any.  

You might also consider posting a question about your cat's water bowl activity in the Cat Behavior Forum:  http://www.thecatsite.com/f/5/cat-behavior  Odds are that someone else here has a cat who does the same thing!