Sunday 4/10/2011

I feel like with working out, some semblance of a normal life might actually be returning.

I want to go back to the mountains.

I have never had a connection with life such as I have always had with going off the trail, heading in whatever direction into a thick patch of trees and hiking on. Up until the time I got divorced, I can say that I took numerous excursions to the mountains - with friends or without. If without, with a dog or dogs.

I lost all of my camping equipment in that fire and I haven't replaced any of it.

I've got to start getting out of this big city and get out into the wilderness again. I'm going to have to get a small tent, a camp stove, a large cooler, at least one canteen and some other camping gear. It's hard to imagine the stuff I lost in that fire in terms of camping equipment. I had all kinds of stuff. Just for the tent alone? I had a 12 man tent, a 10 man tent, an 8 man tent and a couple of 2 man tents. I had air mattresses, several sleeping bags, battery operated lamps, all of it. I had 3 camp stoves, one of them white gas the other 2 were propane gas. Propane and gas lanterns. It's a long list.

It's hard to believe, looking back, that I have gotten so far away from that life I used to know and love. The greatest connection, though, up there in that wilderness, standing on the top of a huge mountain range that I had just spent half a day getting up to the top of - was always my connection with God. This isn't something, for me, that can be exchanged for something else. I spent my life camping - my first camping trip, according to my mother, was in her womb. I believe it, too, there are pictures that show her pregnant, sitting next to a tent on a grassy field next to some trees.

I don't really have the money to go out and buy all this stuff - some of the stuff you really have to have if you are going somewhere where there is nothing but trees and nature. So, maybe a day trip. Leave early, 2 hour drive, 6 hours of hiking, return home. Meaning, my son will have to give up my newer car for any such expedition, cause there is no way I am driving that old thing out of town. That old car is good for in-town and in-town only. I mean, maybe it would make it up there and back without a hitch, who knows, not worth finding out the hard way if it breaks down.

I want to do at least a day trip soon. I will take my Catahoula with me - no way I'm taking 400 pounds of dogs on the first trip - she is very agile, has endless energy and will love it. Actually, I want to go next weekend. I could even go tomorrow, but that would interfere with my son's getting to school unless I were to get up at the same time he's going to school, take him to school and then head on out. Umm, I'll have to think about that. I don't really care if it interferes with his using my car - as long as I get him to school he is only out of it one day.

I don't want to go off into tangents on this one, I'm done with this entry.

Saturday 4/9/2011

So, yesterday I paid for the service and am waiting for them to review it and then print out the 2007 tax form and send it in. On Monday, I will head down to the fire department administration building to pick up the copy of the fire report. This "proves" that my house burned down. I have pics as well of the extensive damage to the structure. Send it to the IRS and wait for - all H.... to break loose, I am sure. I do not like the IRS, I do not like the way they treat people and I most certainly do not like the one-sided advantage that they have over taxpayers.

It's the federal government, how are you going to win against them if you have a valid argument but don't have unlimited resources as they do to take you to court and win whatever judgment they want if it goes that far? Why can I go back only 3 years to claim taxes but they can go back - at least 7? Why does a taxpayer have to pay penalties and interest but the IRS does not?

What I DID do was spend the extra $50 to have that company represent me if there is, indeed, an audit. Money well spent, I will say, for the peace of mind of having some kind of help against the IRS if the help is needed. That extra $50 also gets a tax person to look over the return and make sure that it's good to go. Allegedly they have a 24 hour turn around time. I saw on the news the other day that the IRS is extending the deadline to the 18th because of some "local" holiday. Well whatever, I hope I don't even need that extra time.

Umm, timed out on this one yesterday, just posting it as is.

ben