The thing about January is that no matter how much of December you spend preparing, you’re still not ready when it gets here. Somebody invented the calendar just to have a reason to vex a poor working stiff like me. If we didn’t have months or years to count up, the powers that be couldn’t pass any laws to make new tax rates go into effect on January 1. And I wouldn’t have spent the holiday working.

If I’m going to spend the holiday working, I’d better get something done. And I did! Although the cost was fairly high, a stiff neck and sore back from sitting at the computer all afternoon. But I managed to import the new state and federal withholding tables, so that I can do the first payroll of the year next week. And by “import” (which sounds like a few key clicks and shazam, it’s done), I mean that I typed in all the formulas and numbers by hand. That’s what happens when you work for Luddite Construction, whose motto is, “If there isn’t a hard way, we won’t even bother.”

Still, I don’t mind. I mean that, no matter how unlikely it seems that I could. I get lost in the numbers and formulas, and my mind goes to The Zone. I get into a rhythm and forget about everything. I don’t feel the pain (until I stop). I don’t even notice that it’s getting dark, until the phone rings and I look up. It’s too pitch black to find the phone, much less answer it before it stops ringing. If I can slide so easily into The Zone, while at the same time getting massive amounts of work done, I’m satisfied with the way the day has gone.

This attitude, handed down by the Boss, of doing everything the hard way has its drawbacks, as my back and neck will testify tonight, but I only have to do this once a year, and now it’s done. So why complain? I mean, I have no problem complaining, but why complain about this, when there are so many more serious and/or interesting things to complain about? Changing this changes one day a year. Changing something else might make every day a brighter day. That’s how I look at it, and why I don’t complain (even if that seems to be what I’m doing).

One thing I can’t complain about is the way the year started for me. I’m not talking about last night at midnight, which was pretty much the same as every other midnight of last year. I’m talking about meeting Suzanne (with Aiden and Kylie trailing along) for coffee this morning. I can’t say we got much chance to talk, at least not in a real adult conversation, but it was a good way to say hello to the new year.