taxes are taxing...

leave it to me ~ the most artistically-minded to-do lister on the planet. somehow, i have managed to make the act of doing my taxes an emotional experience.

my taxes are so involved and confusing that it takes days for me to just prepare my tax information before my accountant takes over. i wish i could just bring him the infamous shoe box full of receipts and let him go to town. but it doesn't work that way when you're self-employed. and you don't get the maximum deductions either, which i need desperately.

so, i'm going through my calender/bible for the year of 2009, adding up mileage and logging trips. and it's hard for me to sail through this process because it seems that every page contains a different memory of this last year. was it really just last february that i went to the grammy's? i can't believe it. i have to laugh at the few feeble attempts at dating, all miserable disasters. and wow, did i lunch with girlfriends! i had so much more time and so much more money. both are not true, really, but i squandered away both in an absolute need to please myself. man, there are so many gigs that i totally forgot about. i can't believe all the miles i drove. drive! thank God my civic gets 40 on the highway, baby.

i even realized, when looking at the month of may, that my boyfriend and i have been celebrating the anniversary of our first date on the wrong day all year! how in the world did i do that? on the 9th, not the 5th. geez. i can never get mad at someone for forgetting my birthday or valentine's day, when i'm the worst offender.

so, this trip down memory lane will hopefully end in massive deductions and fewer tears on friday, when i hand over my entire year to my accountant, and he tells me i owe thousands.

in summary: i've learned that every year i freak about taxes, every year i manage to pay them, and 2009 was definitely a year of tremendous loss and gain. and i don't just mean money.