Yeah, we're building a race of frog-people. It's a good time

Xander ,'Selfless'


Natter 74: Ready or Not  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, butt kicking, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


-t - Apr 10, 2016 8:20:51 am PDT #19360 of 30003
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

That's excellent, Jesse. IME, cheesecake will puff up while cooking and then shrink back down when chilled, your pan is probably Just Right.


Zenkitty - Apr 10, 2016 8:24:27 am PDT #19361 of 30003
Every now and then, I think I might actually be a little odd.

I'm sorry, Consuela.

Congratulations on the house, Jess!

Waiting to board the flight home. Conference went well. Boss is so pleased with how I handled Difficult EIC she let me have the next two days off with no argument. I'm glad because I'm seriously tired.

But I got to see EpicTangent! Twice! Mini F2F FTW! Good company over good food, there's nothing better.


Jesse - Apr 10, 2016 8:31:07 am PDT #19362 of 30003
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

Plus now you have cheescake, so that's better than good

True that! And -t is correct, it now looks totally perfect!

Yays all the way around, Zen!

Self-care is a good thing, Consuela.


Pix - Apr 10, 2016 9:06:55 am PDT #19363 of 30003
The status is NOT quo.

I'm very sorry, Consuela. Thinking about you.


-t - Apr 10, 2016 9:26:49 am PDT #19364 of 30003
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

Very good, Zen! Enjoy your time off!

OK, I"m off to taste local wines, only a half hour or so late...I don't think it will be a crucial loss out of the four hours I have allotted.


Steph L. - Apr 10, 2016 11:22:18 am PDT #19365 of 30003
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine

I'm filing my taxes, which are still not terribly difficult as a freelancer...except for the part where I didn't save a copy of my city tax return for 2014, so I'm unsure about the amount of estimated taxes I paid for 2015 (because when you do your city return, you pay any taxes due PLUS the estimated amount for the 1st quarter of the current year, so I don't know what amount I paid for the estimated 1st Q 2015 city taxes). At this point, it's time to just guess and if they want to come after me for less than $100 (possibly less than $50), they're welcome to and I will happily pay it.

Well, maybe not "happily", because man, the police response time for anything less than a shooting is horrendous, at least in my neighborhood. (I have no idea what it is in other neighborhoods.)

A neighbor had a drunk guy on her lawn yelling that he was going to break in, and the police took close to AN HOUR to respond even when -- I am not making this up -- the woman told the 911 dispatcher that she has a gun and would shoot the man if he entered her home. So I'm a little less enthused about paying taxes to the city when the police my taxes pay for ain't give a damn about my safety. (But I know my city taxes pay for other stuff, like the rec center I work out at, which runs programs for kids and whatnot, and I'm all in favor of that.)

Anyway, taxes, woo.


sarameg - Apr 10, 2016 1:27:07 pm PDT #19366 of 30003

Can you look at bank statements from last year to get the amount? I do that a lot....


Steph L. - Apr 10, 2016 1:34:39 pm PDT #19367 of 30003
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine

This is how it shook out: 2014's taxes were the first year I had to file with the city, and I hadn't realized I needed to pay estimated quarterly taxes. So when I filed last year, I had to pay a lump sum for all of 2014, and then 1st Q estimated 2015, all together on one check. Because I kept poor records, I only know that I paid the city $XXX (I have that in my check register), but I don't know how much was for 1st Q 2015.

So in the process of doing my 2015 taxes, I needed to enter how much I paid in estimated taxes. I have cancelled checks for Q2, Q3, and Q4 -- but because Q1 was folded in with the 2014 lump sum, I don't know how much of $XXX was the estimated Q1 payment. Does that make sense?

I ended up looking at my 2014 income, calculating the taxes off that, and subtracting the taxes from $XXX, and assuming the leftover amount was my Q1 payment. That's as close as I'm gonna get.

Needless to say, I made extra-sure I saved a PDF of this year's return.


Burrell - Apr 10, 2016 1:43:08 pm PDT #19368 of 30003
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!

If your overindulgence is contained to TJs, that's completely cromulent. Or maybe I'm so given to grocery store overindulgence that I'm no help in this regard.

So this weekend has been all about nursing Franny through her epic science homework this weekend, which included a test on DNA and genetics on Friday, a poster on nutrigenomics ALSO due Friday, and for tomorrow a 4-page paper on nutrigenomics and her DNA unit packet all ready to turn in. Crazy! That's like more homework than I had in all of 9th grade science.

Reward for getting through all of that is I am helping her redo the color in her hair since the blue and purple didn't really take. Life with a tween, y'all!


Kat - Apr 10, 2016 2:05:25 pm PDT #19369 of 30003
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo

Jessica, what an adorable house! Congrats!