Saturday, Apr. 08, 2023 - 8:34 am.
I'm gonna be brief as I have a whole "me" day ahead. Andrew is out of town visiting his parents. He was kind enough to plan his trip for himself and let me know I was welcome to come, and also welcome to stay. Life has been hectic and I'd appreciate having time to sit down and do my own thing, so I chose to stay. He knew I would.
I haven't mentioned this a lot, but Helen is coming to visit next week, and she'll stay until the 30th. I suppose I should be nervous because she's my ex and on paper we remain as friends with benefits*, and she and Andrew will meet (they're both asking what the other needs that they can get for them, they're both very kind). But I'm more concerned about being a good hostess AND having time to myself. Never not putting myself first, huh?
*I'm not sure if I'd engage in those, err, activities with her anymore. I mean, I've raised this doubt before and I still end up in bed with her, but I don't want the emotional responsibility that comes with that anymore. I'm excited that she's coming and I like her a lot as a friend, but that's about it. I do feel like flirting and I get horny from time to time, but I refrain from letting her know because that entails other interactions that I'm no longer interested in.
Other than that, yeah, I'm excited to have her over! I think I haven't planned her visit as much as I should, but our biggest trip out of town is almost sorted. Helen, Andrew and me (never thought I'd type that sentence) will stay in a town on the edge of a lake with a view to a volcano, and from there we'll hit thermal springs and stuff. It should be fun.
She's arriving next Saturday on a morning flight.
To wrap this up, I'm currently having trouble with my taxes. No one gives you a manual when you arrive to this country, so a lot of basic citizenship-adjacent tasks remain just foreign to me. Earlier this year I ended up paying painful amounts of money due to fines for not paying taxes on time last year, because I did not even know I had to pay them. In hindsight: duh, but honestly, it wasn't something that I knew.
Now I have to pay even more taxes, when I was actually supposed to get a reimbursement. It's a ridiculous amount that I have to pay, and I don't understand why or how because I already paid off everything else. It's hard to get around the revenue service website, mostly because I'm not familiar with the language, so I don't know what I have to do, or ask, how or to whom. Most online paperwork is automatic so I'd been getting the impression that everything was taken care of.
Ah, well. You don't want to hear these grievances. I don't either. A friend of Andrew might come and help me this week.
Anything else? Well, the sign language course is going great. I haven't thought much about my family this week as I've been focused on more immediate issues, but I think they're doing well. Nephew #3 is learning to drive, damn.
So much for being brief.