Mental Health Thread #10-Fall is Coming

Ours aren't out yet, but we've gotten lots of calls for them. We also have gotten a great many calls looking for the W-2s. I wish I had a quarter for every time I've said, "This is Benefits. Payroll sends out the W-2s". Since when are taxes a benefit?

 

The due dates were extended right? I sure hope I read that right because I don't even know how to begin. I guess we're going to be hand typing them because our payroll processor has informed us that they will not be producing them for us.

 

You read it right. The due dates were extended.

 

Hi namesake! I lurk every day, but don't have much to add. I'm at a 99 person company with not much turnover or turmoil; I had exactly zero changes during open enrollment But don't get me started on how the watching the government make the ACA this bureaucratic nightmare has practically turned me into a Libertarian.

 

It would help if the IRS instructions were in English and not governmentese. I don't know how anyone with a large EE population can even attempt to handle this. I've been watching webinars on it for a year and still don't think I did it right. However, the good news is there will be no penalties for filing errors this year, as long as you show good faith effort and submit on time.

 

Trust me, ACA is causing mega headaches around here. We are back open today after being closed since 1 PM on Friday. We really should have stayed closed at least one more day. Roads suck. Sidewalks are non-existent. Parking sucks. Most everything is in the area including businesses are still closed. This was officially a record breaking storm for this area. I got 32 inches. The Mid-Atlantic is just not able to handle that kind of snow. My Northern friends are probably laughing at us, but the "Winter from Hell" aside, we rarely get even 6 inches at once.

 

We're not laughing. (Well, maybe we're chuckling a little behind our hands). We know you guys aren't prepared for that kind of snow; you don't get it often enough to need the equipment and you're not as accustomed to driving on the stuff as we get. But we also know that come hurricane season, when we're the ones who aren't used to it, we're just as likely to be on the receiving end of the chuckles, so we try to be polite.

 

We suck at hurricanes as well. Mostly, by the time they reach us it just means a rainy day or two. When the Sandys and Isabelles strike, we are at a loss. The Eastern Shore is only mildly better able to handle it than where I am.

 

So my schedule today is wall to wall meetings, as I sit here inhaling lunch before running off to the next, and I get two "urgent" messages from employees. One had questions about a staff member who may need to take FMLA a year from now, and the other asked if they already have access to something, if they have to complete the form requesting access. What I was supposed to do with a form requesting access to something they already have is beyond me. So it is going to be that kind of a day.

 

Well, in the Texas hill country, we've hit 82 warm, sunny degrees.

I've enjoyed the past two, three days, and its only going to get better from here.

That said, Miss Betty, is it time for (dare I say it, YES I will) a Spring, '16 version? LOL

I loooove, spring.

Flowers blooming, everything's green, lots of calfing out on the ranch, baseball is back, presidential primaries will lead us into summer, Easter and spring break, wonderful time of birth, rebirth, and awakening.

Happy REAL Lincoln's Birthday, Valentine's Day, President's Day, Daisy Gatson Bates Day,Susan B. Anthony's Birthday, and REAL Washington's Birthday.

Happy St. David's Day (March 1st) and Happy Super Presidential Primary Day (March 1st, too).

Finally, but most importantly, Happy Texas Independence Day (March 2nd).

 

Brrrrr. 28, too cold.
BUT, at least you're not gonna get what the east coast is expecting, single digits and that awful arctic air from our neighbor from the north.

 

It's been in the low 50's here lately. Crocuses are popping up all over the place, flowering trees are budding, and we're gaining minutes of daylight every day. I'm just hoping we don't get any last-minute winter weather in the next month because right now every fiber of my being is screaming "Yay, Spring!" and it would be such a disappointment to have to deal with ice and snow after having virtually none all winter!

 

Tomorrow we are warned to expect near record breaking cold and wind chills in the 30-below range. Later in the week we can expect temps in the 40's. Welcome to New England. If you don't like the weather, wait a minute.