I had to file an extension for our taxes. Why? The primary reason was that we couldn't afford to buy the software to do our taxes (work and home combined, $80- for TurboTax), but the secondary reason was that I hadn't received my 1099 from the company I've done work for the last two years.
Last year, I didn't get one at all. I added it as "income for which I did not receive a 1099", and I had to guesstimate the amount. This year? My 1099 was sent out--put in the mail--on April 11. I am not kidding. According to a friend who has been self-employed for years, 1099's are due at the end of February.
Uh, yeah.
I'm really torn about working for this company. I've learned an awful lot; they are nice people; I've met a lot of terrific writers; I have learned how to, and loved, working at home on my own schedule; but...they are really lousy businesspeople. Really lousy.
One of the owners does so much "free" work (yeah, she doesn't charge) that I can't believe she made any money last year. I even got roped into proofreading a manuscript this week because the author is in her 80s. This is my second time around with the manuscript. I put in a lot of hours for it and never got reimbursed. Of course, I agreed to it, but who turns down an 80-something-year-old lady who is publishing her memoirs? But I can't tell you how many hours I've worked and didn't get paid for this and other gigs.
I think it's time--sometime this year--to branch out on my own. I may or may not be successful, but working for this company--not the people, the company--makes me very frustrated.
My husband has a job interview, well, he's been selected for the process, he'll be notified when interviews start at a later date. When he mentioned the location, I got very excited. It's a place I like very much but have never lived before. It's a place I could see myself living for a long time. I got so excited I looked on Craigslist and home rental prices are extremely affordable and reasonable. We've even talked about moving there even if he doesn't get the job. I'm totally on board with that. We'll see how it shakes out.
In the meantime, I hope to get our taxes done this month. I doubt we'll have a refund, and will probably owe. *ouch* Except for last year, we've owed them every year since 2007, so what the hell. Also, if we do move, there is an organization that I've been interested in working for for a long time. So, we'll see. *fingerscrossed*
***
As an aside, I read an article about Asperger's people in the workplace. The guy writing it had a son with Asperger's. He'd promised to help his son build a snowman. He said as soon as he was done with what he was doing, he would come help him. A short time later, the son came into his office, panicked, because the snowman was melting. Turns out, he had built it in his bedroom because it was too cold to be outside. It made sense to him.
I SO totally get this. This is what my husband does. I asked him to retrieve a couple cases of Coke Zero out of the car once. I couldn't find it. I looked and looked and finally gave up (he was gone somewhere). I finally found them. In front of the fireplace. Just...odd. They make these weird or extreme jumps in logic, which, can be looked at as being extremely logical. Too cold to play in the snow outside? Bring the snow to your room. Logically it makes sense. Literally, it does not because now you've got snow, wet, and mud in your house, which, if not taken care of, especially with carpet, can turn into mold, then you've got a really bad problem.
Regardless, I find it very difficult to communicate with Aspergians.
