"Grr," She Muttered While Contemplating Taking a Nap

I am mad at my work at the moment.

I was so on top of things this year. We had that snow day back in early February, which I celebrated in part by doing my taxes. It was not a week later that we had an email from HR stating that they made an error on the W-2s and would need to issue new ones. Which means I have to refile.

Although it works out in my favor (I actually also left out a charitable donation from my original forms as well, so I figured what the heck, I'll add that correction too), it does mean I have to file a correction by mail. And the last time I did that (back when I moved to CO and made a mistake while trying to file for two states' taxes in the same year that I purchased a home), I got audited. Not man-in-a-suit-at-my-door audited, no. But still an unpleasant notice to receive.

And so, as a part of my spring breaking, I refiled my taxes and dwelt (for just a little bit) on my bitterness towards the HR department at my school.

Speaking of anxiety-producing emails, I received one from the people hosting that summer program in London. This is the second piece of communication I've had from them, the first being a letter stating they received my application. Both missives produced high levels of anticipation when I saw them, despite knowing that it was far too early for grant notification.

This email states (in part - I'm editing enormously for length):

We send this group letter to tell you about the schedule for notifying applicants for our Summer 2012 NEH Seminar on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.... There have been 146 applications for the 16 places in the seminar.... The three members of the selection committee have been reviewing the applications assiduously.... As you can imagine, a high number of the applications are splendid, and it is obvious even before our discussion that choosing among many dozens of impressive applications will be difficult....

...and so on.  I had been wondering just how many applications would be received for such a thing - it's a trip to London, after all, and it's the Canturbury Tales, and it's open to all US K-12 teachers (including homeschoolers).  But it's also an expensive trip (they state openly that the stipend will not cover all the costs), it's a month away from home, it's the Canturbury Tales....  While 146 is actually  less than I imagined (I was picturing more around 300), somehow knowing the exact number makes me feel so much less likely to be awarded a spot.

In contrast I haven't heard a single word from the other NEH seminar I applied to.  But the two programs were so different in tone and approach, that really doesn't surprise me too much.

I'm glad I've got a trip soon to help keep my mind off of this.  I'm looking forward to everything Jason and I have planned for this weekend.  I'm also looking forward to how I get to spend Friday while Jason's at work - there's the new Renoir exhibit at the Frick, the Union Square Farmer's Market, breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien, browsing the Drama Bookstore for speech scripts and class plays for next year... You see?  Plenty of distractions to be had!

Speaking of distractions, I had enough plans to make me stick around town for the first half of Spring Break since, well, ever.  In between getting over my cold and watching Mad Men (not the new episode - I just started watching the series this weekend), the schedule of events were as follows:

- Thursday night was the Season 2 finale of Sherlock at Rachel's.
- Friday night was the symphony.
- Saturday I met a friend, Lisa, for lunch at Blue Sky Cafe and a matinee of The Artist (she had not seen).
- Sunday I taught Relief Society.
- Monday I went to Trivia (3rd place - my contributions were mainly in the British Monarchy category and the Hello Kitty category):

And today, as noted, I refiled my taxes. I also had all kinds of repairs done on my car and did some shopping/crafting for a certain mother's upcoming birthday. Wink, wink.