Tax Return ... No Way!

DS kindly takes care of my tax return filing every year. Today, she gave me my result by saying, "You don't like this." Uh-oh, I have to pay tax, instead of receiving tax return. Nervously, I opened the envelop. I was totally astonished at the amount of money (tax) that I have to pay. $681 for IRS and $226 for the state?! OMG. I understand that this is because of my translation work, but $900 account for almost 15% of what I earned from that translation work. What happened to my meager wages in teaching?! I paid tax from that work, which I expected I would get some tax return. Ahhh, this tax thing is driving me crazy!

First Offense Afterward ...

I committed my first traffic violation a week ago, which costs me $300 on the citation. In order to avoid this outrageous amount of fine, I called the municipal court yesterday for a reduction in my traffic violation. The lady who answered my phone said she could reduce it to $175. I was like, "Still $175?!" And she suggested to me to actually appear in the court. The judge may give me a further reduction, she said.

Hoping a further reduction, I went to the court this morning. At the window, I was told that my fine is $175. I came to the court to ask for a further reduction! So, I was sent to the court. There were several offenders before me, including speeding, cell phone charge, driving with a suspended license, driving a car without insurance, etc. etc. Each offender took 30 seconds or so to be judged. That's really fast.

My turn came. I approached the judge. The judge read my violation and asked me if I'm guilty. I don't think driving without lights is a crime, but I couldn't help but say guilty. I wondered if there's any better word instead of "guilty." After I acknowledged my guilt, the judge asked me an explanation. I explained that I was just out of a gas station that was brightly lit. And the judge concluded my case by saying, "Your fine is $175. Can you pay today?" Damn, I'm cursed with $175. Compared with the fine of $300, $175 is much better. And I had a court experience, which was interesting, but of course expensive.

Tatsu san Tonight

Man, will you make PowerPoint for me, instead of playing with my PC??? This guy is so funny.

Reading?!

No, this guy is just sitting in front of me while I'm reading. He is not simply sitting there, but watching for an opportunity to come closer to me. No distraction, buddy, while I'm reading.

No Wonder

No wonder. I understand why it was really cold last night. I was using a heating pad, but it was not warm enough, though usually it heats up close to hot. It is snowing now, heavily. Snowing is better than raining because snow makes the scenery bright and white at least.

American Cat

Look at this tummy. This guy (and his brother) has a tummy almost touching the ground when he walks. American ...

Birthday Bash Continues

MT threw a birthday party for me! Thanks, MT!

She is a very thoughtful person who knows how to treat people. She is really good at taking people in by treating people good. In this sense, well, in many senses, she is political. I think I have learned a lot from her.

Thai Cooking

J and D, my next-door neighbors, well, actually JH's next-door neighbors because I'm just sitting the house here, invited me to their house for a dinner. The other day, J came to my door and told me that he just came back from Thailand. He is very much into Thai cooking (he actually took cooking lessons with professional chefs in Thailand), and he cooks Thai food whenever he gets opportunities. So, he has found a new taster, me, which is good for me, woo-hoo!

As J told me, I went to their house around 6:30. J was in the kitchen, and D was gone to the nearby fitness club for yoga. J welcomed me in and gave me an apron. Apron?! J said, "How can you help me?" Alright, I like that!

So, we cooked together. Well, I basically chopped stuff, and J did important stuff. It was a good opportunity for me to experience how to cook Thai food. I thought Thai cooking is hard because it uses a lot of spices and ingredients unfamiliar to me, but in reality, it was not, or at least it didn't look difficult today. Eventually, D came home, and she volunteered to set the table. She expected the food was ready, but we were apparently behind schedule. Too much talking.

Tonight's menu was dumplings, grapefruit salad, soup, and stuffed crabs. All dishes were great, though J was not perfectly satisfied. According to him, crabs were not as good as he expected. He thought he should have used smaller crab shells. I see ...

J is a chatty person who can't stop talking once he starts talking about Thai food. Because D seemed sleepy, I tried to excuse myself, but I couldn't because J never stopped talking! Funny. So, it took another 30 minutes to  stand up, another 10 minutes to reach the front door and another 10 minutes to actually leave. Hilarious! Oh, it was a fun night!

Cool Gift

DS kindly offered me a birthday dinner tonight, but instead, I asked her to use her kitchen and cook dinner for her family. Living alone and cooking for myself all the time are not fun. I want to cook for many.

So, I went to her house in the evening to cook. C was there, sitting the kids. C was like, "Are you going to cook on your own birthday?!" Hahaha, I'm a weirdo.

I made Vermont Pork Chops, Sauteed Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts, Chile Cheese Egg Casserole, and Smoke Salmon Maki Rolls. As I expected, kids didn't eat veggies, but the boy loved pork and the girl loved my sushi as usual. I would say it was a success. Well done.

After dinner, they gave me gifts. They didn't have to because I'm always bugging them. I'm the person who has to show gratitude. 

As a family gift, they gave me a bottle of nice tequila. Whoa, yummy. And the boy gave me this $2 bill, which is fantastic. The other day, he happened to me show me his $2 bill, and I got excited because I hadn't seen a $2 bill before. The boy remembered it, and he thought a $2 bill would be a great gift. He is right. It is a great gift for a little nerdy me. Thanks, everyone!

First Offense

Damn, for the first time, I was pulled over by the police tonight! After dinner with DS and MB, I realized that my van was running out of gas. I drove to the gas station located in a shopping mall. Because it is in the brightly-lit parking lot, I forgot to turn the lights on when I left the gas station. Unfortunately, usually fortunately, the street is also well lit, bright enough to see the street without car lights. So, I kept driving without lights on. I saw a police car on the other side of the street. The next moment, I saw the police car right behind me. Then, I realized that the lights were not on. I turned them on and kept driving. The police car was still behind me. I thought it's weird. With no sirens, the police car was just following me. So, I kept driving. A few minutes later, the police car put the siren on. Without knowing what to do, I pulled over anyway.

An officer approached me. He asked me for my driver's license, insurance and registration. He asked if the address on my driver's license is the current one. I had to explain about my current floating life to make him understood why I'm using my friend's office address. And I had to explain why I'm driving my friend's car because the insurance and registration are under my friend's name.

With that information, he went back to his police car to check out who I am. It took a while. While I was waiting, I called GM, my police friend, to ask what is happening to me. He just laughed hard, listening to my story. What a friend, GM! But he said it's not going to be a bid deal. I hung up the phone when the officer came back.

The police officer seemingly found I'm clear. He said he pulled me over because he thought I'm a drunk driver. It's understandable because I kept driving for a while even though the police car was right behind me. But I didn't hear sirens. Why should I pull over?! Then, he said, "You saw my lights." Yeah, I saw your lights, and I just thought you were driving the same direction that I was going, man. My excuse didn't make any difference. He wrote a ticket and told me that I could appear in court. What, court?! He also told me that there were a few options instead of appearing in court. Those options are printed in the back of the  ticket. But I couldn't read them because they are fine letters and it was dark.

After I came home, I called GM again to ask about what I have to do. He said that I may appear in court to request a reduction in the fine. Fine?! I didn't know the police officer charged me fine. GM said, "OK, look at the ticket, close to the bottom, there should be the fine." I closely looked at my ticket. And I was astonished at the amount of fine. It's $300! Ridiculous! I just forgot to turn the lights on. The police charged me $300 for driving without lights?! Ridiculous! GM kept telling me that I can reduce the fine or waive if I appear in court or do other option. According to GM, the court usually reduces the fine, especially in my case, this is my first offense so that the court should be pretty easy on me. GM suggested to me to call the court to request a reduction. I will definitely do. I can't afford to pay $300 for driving without lights on.

Now, calming down at home, I feel I'm lucky. How much would the police charge me if they catch me drunk driving?! It must be an outrageous fine.

I'm celebrating my first offense with wine at home.

Where's My Self-Esteem?

Everyone who I talked with said it's a good opportunity and it's worth accepting it. How many people did I talk with? Many. Mm ... Now, I'm very anxious about the content of work. Do they really think I can do that work?! First of all, does the company really think I'm eligible for the job position?! I just wonder why the company offered me the position ...

Sleepy

Damn, the 3-hour difference is killing me. I don't want to acknowledge, but my body is getting less tolerant to time difference.

I had to wake up early this morning to take an interview. A HR person came to pick me up at 8:30, which is 5:30 in my town, ugh. And the interview started at 9:30. Too early to my brain. Luckily, the interview was pretty casual. I met two managers, who looked nice and friendly. They didn't ask me difficult questions, nice.

After the interview, on the way back to the hotel, the HR person gave me a little tour in the facility and in town. Again, the town doesn't look bad. I think I can live in this town.

Now, I'm waiting for my flight back to my town at the airport. I'm soooooooo sleepy. The flights back are way longer than the flights yesterday. It's going to be a long day, sigh.

Wow, That's Fast

Wow, I've already got an offer from the company! I just took the interview this morning, and they said they would let me know the result early next week. But they seem to have changed their mind. Waiting for my flight at the airport, I checked my email and found their email. Wow, I got a job ... The question now is whether I will accept it, mm ...

Flat and Brown

When did I fly last time? It was only 5 hours flights in total, but I'm exhausted. Probably, driving unfamiliar streets from the airport and the hotel is another reason that I'm tired. 

This town looks OK, not as bad as I imagined. AS, M and others scared the crap out of me about this state before I came here. They are teasers. But thanks to them, I feel better about here. Funny. The town is very different from where I'm living. It is flat and brown here, but it is green and mountainous (in a sense) there. But not bad ...

Z and her husband drove down to see me. Sweet people. I wish this is my vacation, not job interview, ayayayay.

 

Whaaaaaat?!

Good news and bad news. It's great that I got a phone call from the company. They are going to have me for an interview before I give my answer to my school (if I teach next term). Bad news is that they have scheduled the interview Friday morning! They booked flights, which I have to fly very early tomorrow morning. This is so soon and fast, ugh!

Stared ...

I'm stared. This guy is sitting just in front of me, on my notepad, staring ... I don't understand why he prefers to sitting on my notepad though there's plenty of space on the table. Cat, what a mysterious creature ...

Uh-Oh

I'm in trouble now. My school asked me if I was going to teach next term. They want my answer as soon as possible because student registration will start in a couple of weeks. Then, I realized that I hadn't heard from the company about the final interview. Mm ... the worst scenario would be that I turn down the offer from my school and I fail the final interview or the company wouldn't have me for an interview at all. Then, I will make vacuum in my resume. No, no, I don't want that. Adjuncting is nothing but still better than completely unemployed. So, I want it until I get a better job opportunity. Sounds selfish? But I need security. I emailed the company if they would have me for an interview, hoping they reply to my email in a timely manner.

Satori?!

I suddenly realized that I may like teaching, but I definitely hate dealing with lying students. That's why I have felt that teaching is not my thing. Dealing with lying students (basically this type of students is dumb, and therefore, it's obvious that they are lying) breaks my mind. I have about 100 students this term, and I believe 90 students are honest and sweet. But 10 students devastates my mentality, and they become a collective image of all my students. I have to convince myself that they are exceptions to be sane. Sigh.

I like standing and speaking in front of people. I feel good when I make them laugh and go like "Ohhhh!" But after class, if I find emails from lying students, my feeling is just ruined. I may be too naive to be a teacher. Because I don't want to be sick out of teaching, I prefer to getting a job out of education.

Japanese Stuff

Ho ho ho ho ho, YO's package of Japanese stuff came this morning! I'm going to make sukiyaki with konjac. Oh, I should ask GM to come over when I cook hijiki seaweed.

Musing

One of the boys often muses about ... I don't know. Sitting by the window, looking out the window, this guy spends some time of the day.