We still have two weeks left in January, I think, so I’m pretty pleased with myself for working on the W-2s today. It’s not even close enough to the deadline that I’m in a panicky mood. But of course, these are forms that go to individual human beings, not the faceless government bureaucracy, so there’s that element to get me going.

Well, they do go to the faceless place, but that part isn’t due until the end of February. Unless they’ve changed the rules this year, which is entirely possible, in which case I have no idea, nor any desire to check it out. Until the deadline, of course, if such there be.

I have a new coffee maker, as anyone on the notify list already knows. (Well, anyone on the list who actually reads my meandering notifies, that is.) So I made two pots of coffee today, regular first thing this morning and decaf at noon when I got back from my errands. That’s a lot of (a) caffeine, and (2) battery acid, or whatever it is in coffee that sometimes feels like battery acid.

I know, I know. I was making resolutions earlier this month, and giving up coffee would have been a wise one to make. I guess I’m just not that wise. I’m weak like that; there are vices I can give up, and mini-vices I don’t even bother testing myself on.

I’ll tell you one thing, though. When I was driving to the store after drinking a whole ten-cup pot of regular coffee, I was really, really alert. Even a leaf floating past my windshield caught my immediate and focused attention. I’m a good driver even under bad conditions, so when I’m that attentive, I could probably pilot a stealth jet. And land it on a dime. (Or one of those shiny new nickels that you can see from outer space.)

It’s been a day of schizoid weather. Sometimes the sky has looked perfectly blue, as a sky should look. Every so often, though, it turns perfectly gray, and I even got caught in a couple of brief showers while I was driving. I’m glad they didn’t last long enough to soak me, since I’d grabbed a jacket that wasn’t waterproof when I left the house. I have a lot of rainy weather gear, but none that I’m completely comfortable in.

So I tend to live in the hope that I don’t get caught out in the rain. Today, for some reason, that’s mostly how it worked out. Maybe that means something in the big cosmic picture, but I doubt it. In fact, I’m sure it means nothing other than one good day, but I’ll take it. One good day at a time, for as long as it lasts, and then probably a bad day, but with the hope that a new streak of good days is just around the bend.

Naturally, I didn’t finish the W-2s today. I got to a point where I was satisfied that I’d done more than I expected, patted myself on the back, and took a coffee break. My new coffee maker shuts off automatically after two hours, so I have to be sure to get all my breaks in during that time frame. It’s either that, or make another pot. Which isn’t a bad idea, come to think of it.