For once, this turned out to be the day I hoped it would be. I got to cross two major tasks off my January to-do list: the W-2s for both companies that I do payroll for. The greatest miracle of all is that all the numbers balanced on the first try, and I didn’t have to redo any of it, so it only took most of the day, not all of it. Part of the reason it was easier than last year is that we have fewer employees. The Company only had sixteen people on the payroll all year, and the Kennel only five.

In fact, I finished early enough that I could spend a good part of the afternoon reading — with the front door open and fresh air coming into my moldy house. It made my very bones feel a little less moldy, even.

So that’s done. I can’t really cross the job off the list until I mail all the forms out, but there’s no mail until Tuesday anyway, so I’ll be putting it off for a couple of days.

That’s not the only reason this was a better day than I expected. I also managed to accomplish another task that’s been weighing on my mind. I knew that I wouldn’t be going very far until I put gas in my car (and you know how traumatic that always is, mostly because the timing is never quite right). When I left for the post office this morning, I had no intention of going to the gas station as well, but on the way there a few things passed through my mind.

First, I don’t have to go anywhere Sunday, so getting gas tomorrow would be less than desirable. Monday is a holiday, so there’s no way to anticipate how much traffic there might be. Tuesday I want to spend as much time as possible at home watching the inauguration. And by Wednesday there will be a zillion other things to do, what with the short work week ahead. Plus, there wasn’t much traffic this morning, so I went ahead and filled the tank.

It’s kind of amazing how much of a relief it is already, not to have to think about doing it. And it frees the worrying part of my mind for something more substantial, for the whole weekend ahead. I couldn’t have planned it better if I’d planned it at all. Which I didn’t.

When I was coming in the front door after these errands, the phone company was in the middle of leaving a recorded message on my answering machines. They were telling me that the changes I ordered to my account had been put into effect. The thing is, I didn’t order any changes to my account. I know the Boss has been thinking about changing our long distance carrier, so I assume he pulled some strings and got it done.

I’d already given him the okay to do whatever he wants with my phone, since he pays the bill, as long as he made sure of two things: No messing with my DSL, and nothing that would get in the way of my Caller ID and Call Waiting ID. Everything else is fine with me, and so far everything is still working the same as before, so I’m satisfied. A little nervous, but when am I not?