Happy New Year everybody! Another tax season is around the corner and this one’s sure to be a humdinger.
I’m a bit of a weird duck because I so enjoy what I do for a living. That in and of itself isn’t a rarity, the world is surely full of folks who like their professions. But I tend to carry it to the extreme.
Working doubles as my hobby. I have no interest in watching courts and fields of overpaid egos running back and forth. I couldn’t care less who plays who for what.
I’ve written before that in four years at UNC-Chapel Hill I didn’t see a single, solitary basketball game. It isn’t that I lacked school “spirit” but our team played in Woollen Gymnasium which was nicknamed the “Tin Can” for good reason. Holy echo, it was like sitting in a culvert.
And let’s be clear. Even way back then sports was a money thing. Players were recruited coast to coast. It isn’t as if I’d see a bunch of local boys shoot baskets or catch footballs.
Anyway, I just never developed an active voyeur gene. I loved to play ball but got little vicarious pleasures from watching others do it. So this weird duck has no problem spending a World Series or Super Bowl game at my desk.
I’ll see bar patrons screaming at televisions and high-fiving but don’t get it. No amount of posturing and yelling will change one iota of final scores that find their way onto newspaper headlines. So the weird duck ingredient in me typically chooses work over what “normal” folks prefer.
Stating the obvious, the approaching New Year begins my favorite season. I look forward to every new year but 2013 will probably be particularly good for people like me.
As most probably know, I was vehemently opposed to the re-election of President Obama. Well those hopes went down in flames. Oh well, life goes on and some good is to be found.
Reverse engineering the old southern postulate that “Every chicken has feathers” we accountants will glean some chicken from the electoral feather blizzard. I suspect our services will be in even higher demand as families try to dodge and weave their way through the next four years of “Forward.”
I’m more than ready for 2013. I like the rush, having more than I can do. I like juggling appointments to fit inside the days. I like pressure yet don’t get stressed. You can call it “Zen” or maybe insanity but know that the man writing this is one happy guy.
I can’t begin to understand why life has perched me on top of such an amazing tripod of good health, wonderful family and fulfilling profession. But it has and I’m very thankful and plan to enjoy it while I’m here.
It’s cliché to wish everybody a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year yet those words exactly represent my sincerest wishes. See you next year.
Otis Gardner’s column appears here weekly. He can be reached at ogardner@embarqmail.com.