Friday ramble and TGIF

As my profile states, I am an oil & gas accountant. More specifically, my background is in crude oil supply and refining. So, I understand the logistics, and I am not surprised by the gasoline prices. As a matter of fact, it might be my understanding that makes me shake my head at the gravity of the Katrina situation as the refineries continue to stay offline.

However, as with other Americans, that doesn't mean that I don't wince when I have to fill up my gas tank. You see, I have a 45 mile one-way commute into the the city to work. My husband works out in the field and has to use his personal vehicle to go on calls. I have a car with a 15 gallon tank that gets approximately 24 mpg on regular. B's vehicle has a 37.5 gallon tank that gets about 18 mpg hwy on regular. So you can just imagine our gasoline bill right now. Granted, B does get reimbursed for his driving, but mind you, this is at the $0.40/mile rate set by the IRS at last year's gas prices.

So, B & I have been discussing the effect of the prices (as I am sure every couple is). If prices get much higher, I might approach my supervisor when she gets back into the office next week about work four 10 hour days as opposed to five 8 hour days. I would check into commuting in with someone from my town, but I also have M with me in the mornings and I drop him off at my mom's for the day. So, commuting is out of the question unless someone is open to his being with us. B & I also discussed how it would be interesting to see whether the tax code is adjusted for the huge spike in prices and just how much more the reimbursement rate will be for mileage for him. Quite frankly, $0.40/mile isn't cutting it.

Also, am I the only one that has felt like this is longest week I've had in a long time? It just seems like it will never end. The feeling really has nothing to do with the crisis blasted on the TV (although seeing the devestation and chaos does contribute). It's just been one of those weeks. Between closing, reports, auditors, training (which GIT has actually been here all week and trained surprisingly well (well better than I had hoped for)), I'm just so glad it's Friday.

It will be nice to just sit at home this weekend and not have to worry about working and auditors and closing and gasoline and all the other stuff. B & I talked about taking M to the Kiddie Park possibly this weekend, as it is the last weekend of the season. Other than that, we also talked about renting a movie or two and just vegging. I'll probably study a little bit this weekend as well.

Yes, you read that right, I will probably be studying a little bit this weekend as well. I know I finally finished with schooling, but I've been seriously thinking about going back and getting my CPA to allow for more working arenas. However, since I have been out of "accounting" school for over 5 years now (there is a difference between going to school in your major and getting an MBA), I thought I would ease back into things. So, I signed up for a tax class through H&R Block to kind of get the ball rolling. So I start classes the 17th. The good thing is that if I pass this class with an 80% or above, I basically have a job during tax season (even PT if I chose). My hope is to do well and get hired and use that money to pay off some bills. And then, next fall I can look at starting to work on my CPA. It's a good idea in theory; hopefully by putting it in writing, I will follow through. So, I will start perusing my textbooks this weekend to prepare for the classes. Sounds fun, huh? (And if you are one of my sorority sisters and you are reading this, I very well might need my head examined because didn't I tell you I was done with school after we finished our MBAs?)

Well, work calls, so I'd better get back to it. Have a safe weekend and God Bless!