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 9:56 PM 04/04/2008 - More work, the dullness of Spring and planned trips!

If you've ever heard of Quickbooks 2008 then you'll know why it's taken me so long to write another diary entry - very very busy at work. A big program, lots of changes, hence lots and lots of support needed. It was so incredibly busy, but it has slowed down to almost a stand still right now - I can wait up to 1/2hr without a call. I have managed to get my FAQ webpage up to date that I have been working on since I got the job which is great. I have been neglecting my site though which I feel bad about! I think it's the fact that I have such a long commute time (on average around 3hrs travelling every week day) that makes me so exhausted when I get home that I don't have the drive to work on the site. I really love it though, I think it's awesome, but I don't want to let it go stale.

At work next week we have a potluck. I had never heard this phrase before I moved to Canada in the Uk, though I may have just not happened to have come across it's use by accident. It means everyone pitching in and bringing food for a team lunch. The theme is finger food and I want to bring some chicken curry vol au vonts... I don't know if they have them frozen here though so that I can cook them and fill with homemade curry. We shall see.

It's almost the end of March and it's still just dull and muddy outside with small patches of snow and ice. In England apparently it's quite flowery and colourful. We have a trip planned to visit my family (finally after 2yrs!) in May. A.J. and I are going with my parents to Scotland for a week then we're spending the second week in Shrewsbury and England/Wales in general. I am looking forward to it a lot. I think it's great also that I make enough money at work to support both myself and A.J. and we can still afford to visit family in England.

I volunteered to help with the e-assist at work which means answering chats and emails from Quickbooks users. It's pretty neat - I don't like being on the phones but I do like solving problems and helping people. With a chat or an email it's a lot more laid back and I have more time to get a solid answer to their issue. I have developed my skills at work a lot since I first got the job. I have improved in finding the route cause to a customer's issue and am now quite confident in my abilities. You really do have to be "in the field" to get good at this job, training is a tiny part to it.

A.J. has been doing great at College still. Two of his best friends however have dropped out. This symester he is in a class full of quiet nerds apparently so it's even more frustrating for him not having friends that he can actually talk to and have fun with.

It's tax season in canada (and at work of course because I'm working for makers of accounting and tax software). I am curious what the tax situation is like in other countries. I never got to do anything concerning taxes in the UK because the time that I was working there I was in full-time education and hence never paid a penny in income tax etc. I get a refund from the government this year because I've only been working a few months in the year which is nice to have before our visit to England! I don't understand why taxes can't be simple though where the tax is taken from your pay and that's it, I can't stand it when a process is made way more difficult than it needs to be.