January has zipped on by. Actually at times it seemed slow because we were inside alot with the snow and cold, but the last week just flew by. In January there are always alot of tasks to do at the Round Up and this year was no exception. Getting W-2 information out and doing the yearly Workers Compensation Audit are January tasks that I am happy happen only once per year. This year there was added paperwork fun because federal fica payroll taxes were lowered - which is good news for net paychecks, but which required the dreaded ciphering. If you have ever worked with payroll you know the fun vocabulary which includes, FUI, SUI, FICA, and FUTA. And you know that since the beginning of time, you could go to a local bank to make 941 deposits, but beginning this year you can only do this electronically. Which required setting up, enrolling and activating routing numbers and passwords and other fun computer tasks interspersed with calls to the IRS for help. That part of January moved very, very, slowly.
David IV had a much more interesting January. Wofford has a great January Interim. All kinds of interesting classes are offered and students take one in depth class for 4 credit hours. Many classes include travel, but with football workouts, David has not been free to travel in January until this year. So he was excited and we were happy for him to have the opportunity. When I asked what his travel options were he said, "Rio, Hawaii or Martinque." That sounded like heaven compared to FUI, SUI or FUTA. I thought he might choose Rio, but after some thought, he chose the Martinque/Guadeloupe Interim. So 20 college kids with two professors spent 2 weeks learning about geography, flora, fauna, economics and culture of the French/Creole islands. They hiked through rivers, visited rum factories, tasted tropical fruits that I have never heard of and ate really interesting seafood on the beach. Really interesting seafood included all kinds of fish - and Octopus. David texted from the last leg of the trip that he sure would like some Homemade Chicken Pie. When we picked David and a couple of other weary travelers up at the airport they were pretty happy to know that they would be having Homemade Chicken Pie for dinner. (recipe on October 18, 2010 post) They told us a little about the trip and then David said, "I'm so tired and so hungry. I just want to eat and go to sleep, but I kept a good daily journal and you can read all about the trip." He did keep a truly interesting journal and I was happy he wanted to share it with us. I had reminded him before he left that Grandpa's advice is, "Live frugally at home, but when you travel see and do everything you can." Judging from the journal I am happy to report that he didn't seem to miss many opportunities.
Jay and GWU have been on an AWAY swing in Virginia. The team is still struggling to get in synch, but with all of the challenges the experience is still a good one. Second semester has started and Jay reported that his classes and his professors are interesting. We were proud that with all of the workouts, games and extensive travel, Jay had great first semester grades. We're looking forward to more home ballgames next week and to continued improvement as everyone adjusts to the challenges that come with new teams and with college level sports.
I'm also looking forward to the Oscars. I hope to see more of the movies, but I have seen True Grit and The King's Speech. I thought both were good and I found it interesting that both were about personal determination, facing challenges, overcoming obstacles and the various relationships that develop along the way. I love all Westerns because I love the American themes of rugged individualism, equality, independence and self-reliance. I also love history and politics and was captivated by WWII era British politics and by the very not American theme of a monarchy. These movies were set in two different political and social systems, but the characters in both showed that a successful life in any system requires True Grit.
It might take some grit to get through the rest of Winter and into Springtime, but it's always a boost when the seed catalogs start coming in the mail. One catalog came yesterday and then while I walking around outside, I noticed buds on the camellias and on the tulip tree. It's still a while before they'll bloom, but seeing the buds put a little spring in my step. And in my heart.
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