wolfsbride

You know you take taxicabs a lot when the cab drivers squabble over who gets you as their fare; the dispatchers know you well enough to tell you jokes you actually find funny and you're the topic of conversation at company parties.

I spent all day plugging numbers into a tax return. Why do you ask? Because I needed to see how different incomes affected the numerous tax credits and benefits this particular family is getting. Why does this burn my buns you ask? Well, let me tell you!

It all started this morning. I had decided yesterday that I would take a day off. That was a mistake. Never decide anything. Something always comes along to ruin any decision you make :)

Anyway, first thing this morning I got a call from the wife of a family I do tax for. She'd been reassessed by CRA and now will have to pay them back 600.00. Apparently, she gave me one T5 slip when she actually had two. So her income increased and her tax refund became less than they paid out. So she has to pay back the difference.

SO! First reason my buns burnt. I am not a mind reader. If, at tax time I ask you to send me all your slips and you send me one T slip and then subsequently I ask you several MORE times are you SURE this is all the stuff you have and you tell me yes it is, I am then NO LONGER RESPONSIBLE for any errors the government finds later.

Two, this family stands to collect 17,000 to 18,000 in tax credits and benefits between the two of them. This burns my buns because THEY ARE WEALTHY! Omg. Their house is huge; they have two rental properties in Canada and a house in England! They pay out 20,000 to a nanny for Cricket's sake. Yet, they are able to get these benefits and credits because on PAPER they are living below the poverty line.

This is all legal as the bulk of their wealth comes from real estates sales that they have already paid taxes on. However, this just seems very very wrong. Those benefits were intended for legitimately low income people and families, not people who work the system. There should be some way of preventing this. It's kinda disgusting.

It's especially disgusting because just this year the government started a new thing where if you're collecting CPP but still working, your employer has to deduct CPP from you. It used to be that if you were getting CPP, your employer didn't have to take CPP off your salary. But I guess with all these PEOPLE robbing the system the money is drying up.

This is the problem. NO ONE wants to pay income tax. I understand that. I don't want to pay income tax either. However, the REALITY is, income tax is how the government pays for all the nice things that we like to enjoy. The SENSIBLE thing to do would be to TAX THOSE THAT CAN AFFORD IT HEAVILY AND THOSE THAT CAN'T LIGHTLY. But we know how well THAT'S going to go over.

Also, wealthy people have lots more ways of avoiding taxes than poor people do. The person making 20,000 a year isn't going to be able to have the same savings, or RRSPs or Donations power as the person making 220,000 or a 1,220,000.

So yes! When she called me all... Wah. Wah. I have to pay this 600.00 back, wah! We need to start looking at ways to make sure we're getting all the credits we can, I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle her.

Omg! The year is one month gone already. Whoa.

Hm. Time to take stock. All things considered, things are going so so. On the one hand, physically mother is doing well. On the other hand, emotionally, I think she's bored and perhaps a bit depressed even. But she never wants to do anything or go anywhere and she can't do games or anything that requires mental cohesion, so until she gets over that I don't want to go out thing, she's out of luck.

Financially, I'm still trying to get something that will let me deal with the bank. I need to poke the specialist again. I think it's getting past the receptionist that's the problem. Some of those girls are like Nazis or something. You'd think THEY were paying the doctor they way they refuse to pass on messages. I may have to actually MAKE an appointment to see him just to ask my two stupid questions.

On the food front dinner is still hit and miss. I think I either need to confiscate her tea or find some way of getting the timing better. She's filling up on tea I think. Also, you know how grown up kids have a rude awakening when they hear themselves say something to their kids that their parents always said to them and they swore they'd never say to their kids? Today I said to my mom, no candy before dinner. I mean it's another thing for her to fill up on. I think I'm going to have to not give it to her when I buy it because she'll just eat the whole thing and not even think about eating regular food. And yeah, we had that conversation too, while standing in the kitchen.

In the meantime, I've decided I'm going to stop trying so hard. I've been reading a bit about Taoism and working with things instead of against them. So I'm going to try to work on the things I can actually do something about and let the rest go. I was making us both miserable the other way. We'll see how it goes.

My Alzheimers class has been helpful, not in a practical way since most of the stuff I've figured out on my own, but in the way of listening to where other people are at. Most of the people in my class are stilling working through the denial to acceptance stage. I've been really fortunate that my life attitude seems to be okay, we have a problem. Let's deal with it and get on with life. I've never seen the point of being all wah wah woe is me why me. I don't know. Maybe that attitude just attracts more problems to me. Sometimes it sure seems like it. But that's my attitude and I think I'll keep it.

I didn't go to my third class as that was the week of snow and I didn't feel like going out in the wet slush and breaking a leg, so I asked the lecturer to put aside a packet for me which he did! So you get two for the post of one

Below is a list of what he talked about and my thoughts.

1. Changes in Behaviour - So this basically covered the way changes in the brain create changes in behaviour and the types of behavioural changes that occur. He noted that behavioural changes are one of the first things that OTHER people notice about the person with Alzheimers. Memory loss is one if the first things people WITH Alzheimers notice in themselves. Unfortunately, because the majority of people with Alzheimers are older, they tend to attribute the memory loss to aging and so they miss out on a possibly early diagnosis. It was good to know that there is a reason mom is behaving the way she is.

2. Behaviour is an attempt to Communicate - Unfortunately its up to the caregiver to figure out what that communication is. I think I've talked about this before where my mom won't ask for food but she'll do things that indicate to me she wants something to eat. It's like trying to learn a weird sort of short hand.

3. Managing Behaviour - So this part talked about ways to try to modify the behaviours some what. Like making sure the environment isn't upsetting, asking questions to figure out what's causing the behaviour, etc.

1. Feelings - Omg. Let's just spend the two hours crying shall we. :)

2. Burnout - Warning signs and How to Avoid it.

3. Dealing with Stress - Same as above.

4. Loss and Grief - This was the most interesting part of the four as it talked about how even though no one has died, both the care giver and the caree has lost things and it's actually beneficial to go through the grieving as though you have had that physical loss because in a way, the person you knew has died.

Class 3 had lots of good information. I'm glad I thought to ask for a packet. Class 4 was .... hard. Listening to everyone's emotions. Didn't help that he started out with an emotional video as well. People were sobbing.

There seems to be a new thing in games these days. A thing where instead of clearing a room, a tower, a dungeon, a whatever and that's the end of it, they keep sending you back and sending you back and SENDING YOU BACK!!! I HATE THAT.

I'm sorry but in REALITY - if adventuring can be based in reality - if I'm in dungeon, you can bet your sweet patchooti I will acquire every single thing of use in the room THE FIRST TIME AROUND! ALSO! If I'm being chased by a homicidal maniac, I am not going to not escape through the window just because I don't have the SUGGESTED proper tool for the damn job. I will BREAK the window with a WRENCH if I don't have a HAMMER, OMG!

The other thing I've noticed and hate in these games is the mousing. If you don't click on something JUST SO, the game refuses to recognize that you've touched the object. So you end up spending five minutes trying to find the exact angle at which the click with register.

If I find the person who's brilliant ideas started this I will stuff him in a room from which he can only endlessly escape.

I should have known better than to be all positive and upbeat. That's just asking for trouble.

I went to buy some basic groceries and non food items and my credit card declined. Fortunately, I had enough in my two savings account to cover the cost. But that was the money that was going to go toward rent. I have no idea why it declined as I'm not over my limit and I'm making more than the monthly minimum payment.

So now I have to figure out what to do about rent etc as I don't have any money coming in until the second week of February. And I have to find out what's happening with my card.

Also, I will have to call the specialist and see if I can hurry him along in writing the letter that the notary wants.

Somebody just shoot me please.

Still working working working. I was hoping to finish today but it looks like it will be in the morning. I think I'm going to work straight through and go to bed when I've finished the year end review as well. I only have a little bit of petty cash to post and then I can start going over everything and making adjustments.

Fortunately! I used my mother's credit card so it's not like I'm out anything.

The key ringers came in the mail today. I put them on mom's keys. Guess how long they stayed on there.

So that's it. I'm not dealing with this any more. I wrote up a thing that says she is not to ask me for help looking for her keys the next time she loses them and made her put her name on it.

Maybe it's harsh, but she wants to be independent and pretend like she doesn't have a problem, then have at it.

IF I should come across her keys on my way to something else, great. If not, she's out of luck.

I give up.

I'm on a roll here it seems. I'm hoping she swings back the other way before she loses the pounds she gained earlier. Will try and get her into the doctor hopefully this week now that the weather is supposed to be non snowy and we'll see where we're at weight wise.

I'm still holding steady at 266, which considering I've not been exercising or eating particularly well was surprising.

I am considering cutting back my mother's snacks. I think that's part of the problem with the not eating dinner thing. At least I got breakfast and lunch into her.