Dodging Bullets

Oh Boy! I have been lucky this week.

Read about my car accident? Well, it was my first "not at fault" accident and did not get all the information I needed to file a claim. We were both running late for class and with all the people honking behind us, we agreed to discuss insurance later and just exchanged phone numbers.

Boy did I get yelled at from my family! I am too trusting they said. "There is no way she's going to call and give her insurance now!" Haunted by how I would come up with the money to fix my car, I waited anxiously for her to call me back. Luckily, she did. I received a call from her insurance today accepting liability.

Also today, I received an email from my sister who was told by a friend to look into the new Stimulus Package. We have been really pressed to find me good, affordable health insurance by April, when coverage ends, along with my mom's employment. Individual insurance is painstakingly expensive. And to continue our current insurance by COBRA would cost us $830/month!

Then I looked into the new Stimulus Package and read about the Subsidized Cobra Package. To get right to the happy ending, my mom qualified for the Subsidy and the government will pay for 65% of our COBRA, leaving us to pay only 35% - a very good deal when it means I can keep the same doctors, and have the confidence in knowing I have the same coverage. 35% turns out to be cheaper than individual insurance as well.

Phew. I am greatful to the power that's pulling me aside, enabling me to dodge these bullets.

Thank you Father.

Some People Are Jerks

To think this could’ve all been avoided if I just woke up on time…

Instead, there I was in the school parking lot, exchanging phone numbers with the girl who backed into my car

But this post is not about her. She turned out to be an honest person (greatly added to my luck and benefit), who was running late and admittedly neglected to look behind her when she tried to back up to grab a parking spot. No, this post is about the person behind me. The first person to witness two people trying to get through a minor, yet, still a traumatic experience. He pulls to our side, inching forward. He manages to get my attention and the first words that came out of his mouth were: Can you guys close your doors [so I can get by]?

“I’m sorry. The first thing that should’ve popped in to my head after being jerked forward from a frontal impact should’ve been to search for a tool to pry her car off mine, and then push it aside, just so you can get by – my unbelievably inconsiderate schoolmate. Jackass.”

Yeah, that’s what I should’ve said. Instead, I gave him a dirty look and walked slowly to shut my door.

Sadly, he was not the only one. Impatient drivers with cars too wide to squeeze through became infatuated with their honking mechanisms, and made it nearly impossible for us to think and discuss.

What happened to courtesy?

So is it Dairy or Isn’t It?

Although I am not Catholic, I’ve always appreciated the practice of Lent. So, for this Lent season, I have decided to give up dairy.

I became very confused when it was time to put cream in my coffee. I have the Coffeemate creamer that claims to be non-dairy. Just to be sure, I glanced over the ingredients and it has in it, a milk-derivative. If something is derived from milk, how can it be not milk? Then a friend brought up Splenda and how they advertise: “made from sugar, but it’s not sugar.” Now are you confused?

For the sake of my coffee, if it says non-dairy, I will take it.

Accounting and Snow Sports

I attended an accounting event last night where CPA firms have tables set up for students to introduce themselves, ask questions, and network. A representative from Singer Lewak put something in a different perspective for me when I claimed to be undecided between tax and audit. She said that tax has a shorter achievement curve compared to audit, meaning you'd feel a sense of accomplishment sooner compared to audit. It makes sense. You can work in audit for 3 years and have only done pieces of reports; but, in tax, you can finish full returns in a year. On the other side, once you know tax, that's it. In audit, you learn new things for years; it has variety. That's where I got the analogy between accounting and snow sports.

Tax is like snowboarding, and audit is like skiing. Tax/Snowboarding is frustrating to learn at first, but then it all clicks and you master it in 5 years. Audit/Skiing is a gradual process, you learn one technique, and then another that builds from the one before. It's an ongoing progression that can span a lifetime.

The question is, am I skier? Or a snowboarder?