Traffic for 2003 November

So Susie got a free $25 to Red Lobster and so we went there for dinner. I ate Shrimp and Lobster Scampi and it was delicious. Susie, however, who is anti-seafood, had nachos. It's like my dad always says "It takes all kinds...." I keep telling her that she shouldn't be allowed to complain when our future children won't eat anything because she won't either. But her plan is to only cook things she will eat so the kids will never be the wiser....Now I am on to my own mother's schemes it seems....

I guess that's the perks of being the mommy. Anyway, for anyone missing the winter season, you can trade places with me for awhile. How long until graduation again?

John loves Susie, in case you were all wondering......

Well, if you thought the US tax code is hard, try International Tax. Between repatriation, expatriation, and reverse repatriation, I am going crazy. Tax havens, transfer pricing, loophole after endless loophole....I'll be glad when this research competition is over next week and all put behind me.

In other news, did you know that Dr. Pepper isn't a cola? It's a "blend of fruit flavors and spices." Anywho, I never drink the stuff but apparently it's a true story...

I got a new office at work today. But I am currently "hoteling" my office because we are short two computers in our department and I don't have a phone yet. The upside is, no irate Scout den mother can get a hold of me to complain about her $15. Well, onward and upward....

PS--For Rachel's benefit, I guess I should explain that this whole time, its been John speaking and NOT Susie.

So I am finally moved into my new office at work. It's a lot quieter than before, and I still don't have a new phone. All the excitement comes when people walk by and say "Oh, John, what are you doing here?" I normally respond that I do work here....

I don't have a view unless I turn around, but oh well. One more week to x-Tax!

So last night I woke up with quite a fright because Susie was talking about papers? Apparently she was sleep-talking, something she has never done before. It really startled me, but I tried to have fun with it by asking her questions until she woke up.

But it doesn't end there. She then proceeded to sleepwalk into the vanity so she could FLOSS. I'm telling you, I started to wonder what had happended to my Susie at this point.

These last two nights I have been at school until 9:00 at night. The next two days look no less promising for a reprieve. At least I knew it was coming and know it won't happen again (at least not this semester). Is it Friday yet?

This just in from tax class: the nuances of divorce court are messy enough just from a tax standpoint I wouldn't even dream of going there. Front loading alimony, gross income recapture, for AGI deductions, what a mess.

But just in case you were wondering, if any part of alimony looks like a child support payment, smells like a child support payment, and acts like a child support payment, the IRS will indeed declare it a child support payment. All beware!

And the x-Tax winners are....not my group. We did however score second, something I didn't think possible. We still get the same prize money as first place and similar bragging rights, but no trip to regionals, no chance at the 10-fold nationals prize money, and no trip to Washington DC.

I didn't do it for the winning factor anyway. I did it for networking purposes (and to get out of the mini-case). It was totally fun though!! It was just wierd because all week I was thinking to myself "Self, we are going to get second place." But you can't tell people that. Anyway, we did though. Maybe I should submit that story to the Friend or the Ensign..........(kidding by the way)!

So Tuesday I was minding my own business and checking emails on my laptop when I noticed a strange one from "Paypal.com." Normally I delete this stuff right away but for some odd reason I felt compelled to open it. Of course, it infected my computer with a virus not yet known to my Norton Antivirus system. It couldn't clean it or quarantine it. Luckily, after rebooting my computer only once I realized it was a .exe file, meaning that it would spread to more and more of my computer each time I rebooted. So from there on out I always put my computer on standby instead of shutdown to minimize the dilemma. Currently, it had infected 131 of my files.

So anyway my mom's nerdy e-mail friend came to the rescue. He sent me to a site, www.symantec.com, which helped me get rid of the malicious virus forever. Apparently this virus attatches to your computer and steals information, then wreaks havoc on your computer. Fortunately for me, I own nothing worth stealing! I still feel used, however. But I am glad it's over.

I sent a rather rude message to paypal.com, informing them that someone inside or outside of their company was sending out virus email spam messages, and that doing such was a federal offense punishable by fines and/or jail time. Although I am sure they are already aware of all such implications, it just felt good to vent at such a time. But peace has been restored (for now)....

Normally the mail run is less than stellar: It encompasses bills, junk mail, bills, junk mail, and bills.

However, today we received a rather pleasant surprise: A POSTCARD FROM SUMANA!! It was very thoughtful and witty. I laughed. Too bad it was just a postcard--it doesn't have a return address. I think someone has too much free time on her hands with Leonard in Arkansas!!

Well we made it to Mission Viejo and spent Wed and Th there. Thanksgiving Day was spent at Disneyland. The weather was very coopretative, being mildly warm all day and only mildly cold at night. I forget how in California it gets lighter earlier and darker earlier than in Utah. It was like 4:45 and the sun was setting in Disneyland. We are still disappointed at Fantasmic!, but thouroughly enjoyed the remake of the Haunted House for Christmas.

Plus my nephews were fun. Tyler turns 2 on Sunday and enjoyed leading me by the hand all over the house. Susie spent most of her time avoiding Chad & Justin's new pet crabs......

But now we are in Bakersfield waiting for Frances and Rachel, cleaning Susie's room, and catching up on homework, etc. We're excited to have them for 2 days now, even though it is noticeably colder here in b-town.