I DON'T LIKE JANUARY
Mon., February 8, 10:33 AM
A few weeks ago, I was having trouble writing a post. I pictured my brain as a misfiring engine, going off in all directions but never actually catching. I was so grateful for those people who always post every day. (I’m always grateful to them.) And then my computer broke.
Long story told short: in the process of removing a virus — or maybe it was already the problem — I lost the ability to log in. I knew my hard drive was intact, but I couldn’t access it. I need it now. All of my financial records are on that hard drive. I could get online using a borrowed computer, but I could not necessarily remember the URLs for my favorites or the correct passwords. I absolutely hate the touch-mouse! Beggars can’t be choosers, but I don’t have to like it.
My son came yesterday to try and fix everything. It used to be his computer, after all, and he brought his new computer so he could find references… But the passwords for this machine had long been forgotten, and it took a long time just to get in. He left the virus scanners running and told me what to do when they finished. The scanners did not find any problems, and I rebooted successfully. The computer even opened my internet connection, which is a strong connection. Unfortunately, my browsers can’t detect the connection.
The whole mess got me thinking to how many crappy things happen in January. It is not the “let-down after the holidays.” After all, I am not the kind of person who goes hyper over the holidays. But I keep remembering some pretty bad Januarys. Consider these.
Some twenty-odd years ago, my mother died on January second. “She gave us New Year’s Day,” said my sister. Oh, there was no doubt she planned it, but I figured that she wanted to be sure that her executor would have plenty of time to settle her estate. She loved playing the money market.
A year after that, mid-January found me in the hospital for surgery. I was the whole accounting department for our company at the time, and I found myself on the phone a lot. I specifically remember writing a list of actions so I could instruct someone how to do the payroll.
I certainly was happy when, later in the year, the company took on CPA Charlie. He could be a PIA sometimes — well, he was an accountant, after all — but he knew a lot and certainly eased my burden. But in January he was in the hospital for surgery, phoning his assistant on how to do payroll. And the January after that, another key employee was in the hospital… Different people, different illnesses, different surgeries. But the same time of the year.
A couple of years before I started writing, I had another problem. I couldn’t date it without a journal, but I can now access my medical history. My arm was very sore, and it was eventually traced to overreaching and causing a small spur to injure the ligament. It took about a year to heal completely, but it was worst in… January 2000. Last month I did it again, trying to get something off a high shelf. I can only hope it will heal faster now that I’m not working.
I am most thankful that January is over.
