Perspective

I had a rough morning yesterday. The Utah Tax Commission made a mistake when it entered the information from my tax return into their computers and they said I owe $251 (which I don't). Anyway, I had to call them and deal with a very curt woman I not-so-affectionately refer to as "Ms. Crabby-Pants."

I think she was angry at the person who had submitted my information, but she seemed to be taking it out on me. They also lost some of the info. I had sent them, so their profile on me was incomplete.

Anyway, "Ms. Crabby-Pants" brusquely told me to just re-fax my tax returns, W-2s, and 1099s. I wanted to say, "Look, lady, I know dealing with people's tax issues so close to Tax Day is probably no picnic, but it's only 8:00 in the morning. Your day has just begun. If you can't foster a cheerier attitude, find another line of work. I'm only trying to help you rectify an error that was your office's fault, not mine."

Anyway, then I had to re-fax all that stuff, and I had to pay $13 to do it. Since I had already paid to file my taxes in the first place, that didn't make me too happy.

Then my mom has lost one of her prescriptions, so I had to try and get that refilled. I still don't know yet whether it has been.

And then I was going to catch TRAX to go to work, but found that my work-provided TRAX pass, which is supposed to be activated, is not. I tried calling several people through work to help me, but no one seemed to be able to, so I ended up driving to work, which annoyed me because gas is so expensive, and if I've got a free TRAX pass, I should use that instead to both save money and help the environment. Until it's activated, though, I can't. I don't want to risk being ticketed.

So then I got to my first day of rehearsal in a less-than-stellar mood and was annoyed that I was making a bad impression on those in the company that didn't already know me.

And on top of that, I was missing Jonah. So after rehearsal I gave him a call to tell him about my crappy morning. He listened and sympathized. Then he told me what was going on with him and he told me that the parents of one of his coworkers were killed in an automobile accident on Saturday. Suddenly all my petty problems seemed so trivial and I felt like a heel. It was nice to get that perspective because it made me feel grateful for what I have and helped me foster a better attitude.

Jonah also mentioned that Trooper, the cat I have emotionally scarred by leaving, peed on some curtains Jonah has been working on for the past two days. He's making them for a friend of his. Jonah, who's pretty even-tempered, was livid. He thinks he caught it in time, but if it stains or smells, he'll have to start over.

And I thought I had problems.