It was definitely within reach today, but I didn’t quite get to the end of the Big Project. First I found a huge error in one of the early spreadsheets, and that took me about two hours to identify and correct. Then I spent another two hours chasing down a single penny. That’s not huge, unless it’s the one thing keeping you from finishing.

It was an elusive penny, too. Every time I thought I’d found it in one column on one spreadsheet, it would pop up in another column on another spreadsheet. By the time I had everything in balance (down to the last penny), it was dark and cold and I had a stiff neck. As an added bonus, I’d also found another minor discrepancy which I had neither the time nor the energy to take care of. So: One more day.

After I finally gave up, I sat with ice on my neck for a while. It’s several hours later now, and I can still barely move my head from side to side, or reach behind my back (not that I have much of a reason to, except to put a sweatshirt on). It would be nice to think I’ll wake up tomorrow morning pain free, so that I can finally put the Big Project to rest, but I have my doubts. Nevertheless, I’ll have to finish it no matter how I feel.

Thursday is one of two days each week that I set aside to pay company bills. If I don’t force myself to make time for this task, I might miss something, and that would be bad. This being the last Thursday in the shortest month of the year, I had to write even more checks than usual, which took up a good part of my day before I could even get started on my spreadsheets. The first of the month, when so many bills come due, comes a lot earlier when the month has only 28 days. Sometimes I forget, and have to face the consequences. It’s a good thing there’s only one February in a year.