Thursday, May 20, 2010

We interrupt this program...

Today I had to do my quarterly BAS which was actually due last month, but I totally, completely forgot about it. At times it can be hard trying to live in two places and keep track of everything, especially boring things like bills.
But the kind of nice thing about going through a mountain of dockets and credit card statements and recording expenses is that I get another opportunity to remember all the great things that I've done over the past three months and to recall how lucky I am... including how many books I've bought (am slightly addicted to The Book Depository) that I still haven't read.

Even so, doing anything with numbers always makes me a tad nervous. I think it's a hangover from primary school and mental arithmetic. So I'm always relieved when this task is done. Afterwards, I walked up to the PO (a couple of blocks) and dropped my completed BAS into the box before I collected the mail... and then...

I suddenly remembered that I'd posted the WRONG BIT of the BAS form.

When I explained my dilemma, a very pleasant PO worker kindly fetched a key and unlocked the big red letter box and retracted my envelope. I guess she agreed to do this because I'd only just put it in and I knew exactly which box and could describe the envelope etc, etc.

But as always, such a dilemma is grist for the mill for a writer. In stories, PO workers don't need to be so obliging, so of course I started thinking about a story in which something is mailed by mistake and of course the damage can't be fixed by a friendly worker or a simple phone call.

Then again .. maybe if I wasn't so dreamy, always thinking about stories, the ATO would be pleased.

1 comment:

2paw said...

These days there are very few letters. I like to write letters but I am lazy. I have written one to Lorelai Gilmore's breeder and I just need to add a CD of photos for him!!!
I think that we need dreamers: far too may ATO types about I fear.