No Taxation Without Representation

We all know the famous saying from our American History classes. "No taxation without representation!" It is one of the grievances that the American colonists had with Great Britain in the mid-1700s regarding their rights, freedoms, and liberties as Brits; but most importantly, as human beings. After that, there was a Declaration of Independence, a Revolutionary War, an Articles of Confederation, and a Constitution + a Bill of Rights and the rest is history. Now, we have representation and we pay taxes; not only to our municipalities but also to our states and the federal government.

I have never paid much attention to where my taxes dollars were going. I simply knew that the government took money out of my checks and then I got some of it back at the end of the year. It is actually a pretty sweet deal in my opinion. It is almost like an inconspicuous savings account that really comes in handy when you need it. As an "adult," out of college and on my own, I have started to wonder more about my tax dollars. I have started asking myself questions like: What are they being spent on? Am I in favor of what they are being spent on? Am I electing representatives I can trust with my tax dollars?

As a college student, my equivalent was worrying about how my Student Activities Fee and Tuition money were being spent. That is all so trivial now. Taxes are the real deal. However, in college, I knew the people I was electing to the Student Senate personally, I attended the Student Senate meetings weekly, and I always made my opinion perfectly clear whether they liked it or not. I was hated for it sometimes but they wouldn't have named me an Honorary Senator if they hated me that much. I digress.

Living in the DC area has caused me to think much more about my tax dollars which I otherwise forget about. After the controversy surrounding the potential government shutdown, I definitely started paying more attention to my tax dollars. It was interesting to see what the Republicans wanted to cut from the budget versus what the Democrats wanted to cut from the budget as well as what each party wanted to preserve. Politics are funny. Everyone is full of it. You just need to decide whether or not you agree with what a candidate is full of when voting. Again, I digress.

This post is about Tax Day which is now long gone as we move forward into the Spring. Did you file your taxes? I hope so because the deadline was April 18th and we all know the IRS is no joke. Danielle and I made sure we filed our taxes on time. It was the first time either of us had to file our taxes on our own without the help of our family. My grandmother used to take my W-2s and all that stuff to her tax guy and he would file my taxes. Danielle's grandfather used to do her taxes. So, this was new for the both of us. We tried to cut some corners financially and go to a little tax place that was not H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt. It was owned and operated by some Ethiopian men in this old office building in Alexandria. I was a little sketched out by the location but they say "don't judge a book by it's cover," right?

I was kind of paranoid throughout the whole session with the tax guy. I felt bad because I was like right over his shoulder and breathing down his neck while he filled out all these forms. However, it's a good thing I did because there were definitely a couple of typos I caught. Of course, I had him fix them; and with each typo, I because more and more intense about being over his shoulder. I think I was being a little creepy. Oh well, I didn't want him to mess up my taxes. If he did mess up on those forms, the IRS is going to come after me and I would NOT want that. That kind of stuff makes me a little nervous.

The best part is that he started with Danielle's forms and I was the one making sure he was on his A-game. Danielle thought I was being overbearing but like I said, the IRS is no joke. By the time he got to my forms, he knew better. There was only like one or two typos in my forms that I caught and made him correct. There were a few points where he was ready to move on to the next form and I would catch something I had questions about just as he clicked to the next screen and I made him go back so that he could address my question and I could get my piece of mind.

I definitely do not feel bad anymore after typing all of this out. I am glad I was on this Ethiopian tax guy like a hawk. If there is some discrepancy in my taxes and the IRS contacts me, I will definitely dedicate a post to that and I WILL be contacting my Ethiopian tax guy. As for now, everything is copacetic. Danielle and I got our tax returns and we spent it wisely. I have a few tips for you regarding filing your taxes. Follow these tips and you are sure to be less stressed out and nervous about the whole process.

1. Be proactive
• You do NOT want to wait until the last minute to file your taxes. The longer you wait, the more backed up places that file taxes will get. When you file early, you do not have to be burdened with a high volume of people trying to get an appointment or meet with a tax professional before you. Like my favorite U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said, "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."
2. Do your research
• You should do some research to determine the best option for you when filing your taxes. The goal of your research should to be, first, to determine if you can handle doing it yourself via TurboTax or one of those free and/or online tax preparation systems OR if you would feel more comfortable having a tax professional take care of you and your taxes. From there, you could always go to an H&R block or a Jackson Hewitt. I chose a small business to help me out. In those cases, you need to research the business and find reviews online to ensure their capability and reliability. Everyone, nowadays, loves to blog and post reviews about their experiences with people, places, and things. Thus, you are bound to find a review about a business somewhere online. Google helped me with that.
3. Be prepared
• You should be sure to gather everything you are going to need to file your taxes. In my case, I only needed my W-2s and a valid Driver's License. It can be more complicated for some people. How? I am not sure because my life and finances have not gotten to that point yet. You should do some research about this also or you could ask your tax professional and/or even the IRS prior to meeting with them to file your taxes. You should definitely ask what you are going to need to bring with you.
4. Spend wisely
• You should have a plan for your tax refund. What are you going to do with it? Are you going to spend it on something right away? Are you going to save it? It is your money, thus, it is up to you. I spent mine on plane tickets, a new computer, and I paid off the rest of my bursar bill at my University. Now, the University will actually send me my final transcript and my diploma. Yeah, even though I have earned it, I still have not gotten it. They were holding it hostage and I just paid the ransom.

Taxes do not have to be stressful. Be proactive, do your research, be prepared, and spend wisely. That's all you need to remember next year and every year when Tax Day creeps up on you. In the meantime, keep an eye on your elected officials. They are the people deciding how your tax dollars are spent. You may be apathetic to the democratic process or to politics in general but you should keep yourself informed. After all, some Americans do not have representation in Congress and still have to pay federal taxes. This is the case for the citizens of the District of Columbia. Their license plates read "Washington, D.C.; Taxation Without Representation."

I am glad I don't live in D.C.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.

Common Courtesy: Part 2

Just to recap my last post (considering that's what TV shows do when they have a new episode or when something that was "to be continued..." in now being continued) to get you up to speed: Bored, Jeopardy!, yelling, cops, neighbors hate us. Got it? Good.

So Wayne threw out the idea that our neighbor hates us and I couldn't help but to agree after he clearly called the cops on us. Now, in all fairness, I'm not 100% positive that our next door neighbor is the person who called the cops on us. For all I know, it could have been someone further down the hall. I ruled that option out in the beginning because they're down the hall. They couldn't hear me better than my next door neighbor. Could they? I don't know but it seems unlikely. I guess if I wanted to know that badly I could knock on their doors and ask them but then they'd think I was trying to come after them and kill them or something. After all, they called the cops on me to say that I was causing a domestic dispute. So who knows?

Anyway, Wayne's accusation made me think of the reasons why our neighbor must hate us. It made me think of the first day we moved into that apartment. Danielle and I were moving from our first apartment into our current apartment because Wayne was moving in with us and we needed a bigger apartment. We were moving from a one bedroom on one floor in the building to a two bedroom and a den on another floor in the building. Danielle and I were moving until late into the night so that we could be out of the old apartment by midnight to avoid having to pay for additional day in the old apartment. It was nearing midnight when Danielle and I were bringing in the last load of stuff. We were carrying in something heavy and we stopped outside of the apartment door to rest for a second.

Suddenly, our next door neighbor's door opened. He only poked his head out as his chain lock was preventing the door from opening all the way. He acted like he was in fear for his life. I was more scared than he was, that's for certain. This guy just abruptly opened his door and stared at us. I was like uuuuh hi! He asked if we needed any help. I don't know why he would ask that when he clearly was not going to come out and help us with anything. Maybe he was just being polite. But then, what would he have done if we said "yes, could you come grab this for us" or something like that? He would've come up with some excuse to bail I'm sure.

Danielle apologized and said we're just moving in and we're almost done. She said that she hoped we didn't wake him. He said we didn't wake him and he was just seeing if we needed help. I still am looking at this guy like "you're clearly just being nosey." So he bids us good night and tells us if we need anything to let him know. I cut him a little slack because, I thought, maybe he is being a good neighbor after all. But, again, who knows?

The next day (which was a Saturday morning), we needed pliers so I sent Danielle next door to ask our extremely helpful neighbor for a pair. It was almost noon I would say. Danielle said no one answered. I was thinking to myself, who the hell isn't home at noon on a Saturday morning? What could he possibly been out doing on a Saturday morning? Now, I realize that normal people try to be productive on the weekends because their week is usual consumed by a nine to five job. At the time, I totally added this to the tally of reasons that it was apparent that he hated us.

A part from that, I'm generally a loud person. Anyone who knows me could tell you that, I'm sure. I like to test my boundaries so I will scream and be loud in my apartment just to see how loud I can be without disturbing people in the surrounding apartments. In retrospect, this is a terrible idea haha. Whatever, what's done is done. Since we moved-in in February, I haven't received a single complaint about my volume. Thus, I figured I was good. I had tested my boundaries and I set my boundaries based on the lack of complaints. Well this Jeopardy! incident made me realize that I may have laid down the straw that broke the camel’s back. Oops.

I've been thinking, since the cops came knocking at my door after being called to a potential domestic dispute, that I have neglected my responsibilities as a neighbor and a member of a community. This brought me back to my Resident Assistant (RA) days in college. As a RA, I had to establish a foundation of respect and common ground for my living area in order to produce a welcoming and fun community. If I had a resident who was being too loud all the time, I would have laid the smack down on them and it would not have been pretty. However, I would have confronted the annoying resident like an adult and explain to them that they were being disruptive and they need to be courtesy and conscious of their neighbors and fellow community members. After all, it's their responsibility to have self-control and consider the welfare of their peers when doing things that impact them in some way, shape or form.

That's why I was annoyed with the fact that the cops were called. We clearly weren't having a domestic dispute, at least not in the sense it was made out to be. I just expected my neighbor to confront me like an adult and let me know they have a problem with my noise level. That's all. I feel disrespected. However, I bet whoever called the cops felt disrespected by my lack of concern for their welfare. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel bad at all but I do understand the issue from all sides. I definitely am going to be more conscious of my neighbors and do what the cops said, "keep it down."

Based on this experience, I must share the rules of common courtesy with you. If you follow these simple tips, you are sure to establish and maintain a copacetic relationship with your neighbors. The tips are as follows:

1. Don't be a stranger
• If you want to establish a relationship with your neighbor(s), introduce yourself to them. After all, you will be living right next to them and most likely run into them from time to time.
2. Courtesy Hours
• This is something I picked up from my time as a RA. Courtesy Hours were established to compliment Quiet Hours (a period of time during which you need to be quiet, typically 11pm-7am on school nights, and 1am-9am on the weekends). Courtesy Hours enforce the act of respecting your neighbors through consideration of their right to live comfortably. For example, regardless of the time of day, don't play your music so loudly that it is vibrating your neighbor's walls and they can hear it clear as day because maybe they work the night shift and sleep during the late morning and early afternoon.
3. Hold yourself accountable
• As an adult, you should be mature enough and know yourself well-enough to understand when you are doing something that could be bothering other people and know the difference between right and wrong. Own up to your faults and make a conscious effort to improve upon those faults. If confronted by a neighbor don't take the defensive automatically. Keep an open mind and try to put yourself in your neighbor's shoes.
4. Hold your neighbors accountable
• As much as it may be challenging to hold people to the same standards you hold yourself to, you always want to treat people the way they want to be treated. If you would prefer your neighbors to confront you with an issue rather than calling the cops, you should provide them with the same common courtesy in return.
5. Respect your community
• Regardless of each resident's personal preferences, you need to contribute what you expect to get from your community. If you want a peaceful, fun, and interactive community, be peaceful, fun, and interactive. Just make sure to respect those who may not want the same thing out the community. Not everyone will want to be bothered by their neighbors and could not care less about meeting their neighbors or developing any type of relationship with their neighbors. Also, don't disrespect the community with liter, graffiti, or any other annoyances. No one wants to live in a dump. Dispose of your trash appropriately, clean up after yourself in common areas, and don't disrupt other people's private areas (please keep your minds out of the gutter).

Some of those tips may seem like redundant reiterations of each other but they are important enough to address individually and equally. Remember these tips when joining a new community and in the community you already live in. Life is so much easier when things are easygoing.

Remember to fulfill your responsibilities as a neighbor and a member of a community and you'll be sure to avoid a run in with the law.

Lesson learned.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.

Common Courtesy: Part 1

As I have eluded to in my previous blog posts, living on your own can be tough. When considering the toughness of an experience like this, a person is reminded to factor in finances and responsibilities. A lot of those responsibilities include money (as always), cleaning up after yourself, laundry, taking out the trash, and handy work around the apartment/house (which ever you may live in). One under publicized responsibility is your responsibility to your neighbors and your community. Yes, I have a story for this, hence the blog post.

Last week, I was spending a quiet night at home in my high rise apartment with Wayne and Danielle. Bored, Wayne suggested we play Jeopardy! on Wii. I LOVE JEOPARDY! I could play Jeopardy! all day every day. I love general knowledge trivia and I don't mean to brag but I'm very good at it. For years, I have dominated my opponents in Jeopardy! for Playstation. However, the game became very outdated and it was time for an update. I bought Danielle a Wii for Christmas and Wayne bought me Jeopardy! for Christmas and now, we're up-to-date.

Danielle decided that she didn't want to play so she sat and watched. Luckily, the game provides a third player because I like to play a full game of Jeopardy! Odds are she didn't want to play because Wayne and I are extremely competitive and can get a little heated and rowdy when playing games together. Again, hence this blog post. Wayne and I played one game. I pretty much dominated the whole game, as usual. Then, during Final Jeopardy!, my remote control must have been sabotaged.

During Final Jeopardy!, you have to use the direction pad to answer the question. If you think the answer is on the left, you press the left arrow; if you think the answer is on the right, you press the right arrow, so on and so forth. I knew the answer and I was 100% certain of that. Thus, I pressed the corresponding button and awaited the results. It turns out, the game thought I pressed another directional button because it said I picked a different answer than the one I actually picked. I got the answer wrong and I was mad. I definitely yelled at the Wii, the Wii Remote, the game, Alex Trebek, Wayne, and Danielle. However, I wagered the perfect amount of money to keep me ahead of my opponents in the event that I got the answer wrong and I still won the game. It was a close call.

Wayne and I geared up to play another game. I was, again, dominating this game. Wayne fell into the red and couldn't dig himself out in time for Final Jeopardy! so he didn't get to participate. It was just me and the computer player Gary in the end. The category was something to do with U.S. States a.k.a. one of my fortés. I set up my wager again in such a way to protect myself in the event that I got the answer wrong. For this question, I was not sure about the answer. In fact, I was completely unsure. I took a shot in the dark and unfortunately, I was wrong. I let out a very loud "NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Of course, Gary the computer player got it right. I was like "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Wayne, of course, rubbed it in. I'm not sure where he found room to talk because he didn't even make it to Final Jeopardy! However, like I said, I made my wager in such a way that I was sure to win; and I won. I was still devastated that I got the Final Jeopardy! answer wrong. Wayne, being the annoying older brother that he is, continued to tease me and even poke me...yes, poke me. We're five.

I, continuing to be loud and yelling, demanded Wayne to stop. I even kept yelling about how I totally should have known the answer to that question. Wayne said I should relax because I still won. The way I saw it was, I still didn't get the answer right. That kind of stuff messes with your stats. Yes, the game saves all your stats. I don't keep track of them myself...that would be a bit obsessive.

Now, I haven't mentioned the time but it plays a key role in all of this. It was almost 11pm in the middle of the work week. All of the sudden, about 5-10 minutes after our game was over, our door bell rang. We had no clue of who could have been at the door. The only way to find out was to look through the peep hole and see who was there. I could see that it was a man in uniform. I figured it was the maintenance people because we had submitting a maintenance request earlier in the day but I was unsure why the maintenance people would be ringing our door bell at such an unusual time.

I opened the door and was greeted by two police officers from the Fairfax County Police Department. One of the officers stated that they had received a complaint from someone who said they could hear yelling and it sounded like a woman was being attacked. I couldn't help but to laugh; neither could Wayne and Danielle. He asked if he and his partner could come in and look around. I said sure because I had nothing to hide. The two officers entered our apartment and asked what we were doing. Wayne told them we were playing a game. The officer asked what game we were playing and Danielle answered, while laughing, "Jeopardy!"

The officer was clearly judging us. He was like "oh...ok." He looked at his partner and his partner looked at him. Then he looked at us and said "well ok, just try to keep it down please." We all said ok and sent the officers on their way. We all erupted in laughter after the front door closed. It was way too hilarious of an occurrence. It became clear to us that our next door neighbor must have called the cops on us because we were being too loud.  Wayne said, "our neighbor hates us." I can't help but to think that he is right. Sure, we were, slash I was, being very loud that night but there is a lot of evidence to prove that our neighbor hates us.

Check out my next post "Common Courtesy: Part 2" for the reason why I think my neighbor hates us and for some tips to help you fulfill your responsibility as a neighbor and a member of a community.

Until then, keep it down people.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.

Who says Spring Break is only for College Students?

 
 http://www.mtv.com/shows/spring_break/2011/series.jhtml

Daytona Beach. West Palm Beach. South Padre Island. Cancun. Cabo San Lucas. Miami Beach. College students save up for months to experience what they see as a rite of passage: Spring Break. When you think Spring Break, you think sun, beach, bikinis, wet t-shirt contests, alcohol, and MTV. The term "Spring Breaker" is used to distinguish these college students from the local residents of the places they visit. Sure I may be through with college and living in "the real world" but I just experienced my first official Spring Break last month. Yes, I know I have a real job and bills and other responsibilities but I couldn't pass up a reunion with great friends that I haven't seen in a while.

Three of my best friends (all of which are still in school (2 undergrad, 1 grad)) all had Spring Break during the same week. At the end of December, we were all talking about when we would see each other again and someone threw out the idea of Spring Break. I was very intrigued by the idea because I had never been on a legitimate Spring Break trip. I had spent three of my Spring Breaks back in my hometown of New Bedford, MA. Don’t' get me wrong, I love my hometown but it is definitely NOT a Spring Break kind of city. I spent my last Spring Break with Danielle in Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. (where I currently live) visiting Wayne and Aayla and looking for apartments for Danielle and me to live in after graduation.

All in all, I've never had the "fun in the sun," "party hardy," "road trip," "once in a life time" Spring Break experience. This year, I changed that. After our brief brainstorming in December, we put our heads together via e-mail, Twitter, text messaging, and cell phone conversations to plan a Spring Break rendezvous. My friend Brian is a graduate student at Texas A&M University pursuing his Master's Degree in Student Affair Administration and Higher Education (check out his blog at BrianFLeDuc.com). The life of a grad student is not easy; needless to say, he definitely needed a Spring Break. Because he lives in Texas, Danielle and I along with our friends Lauren (Brian's girlfriend) and Caitie decided it would be a great idea to visit Brian for Spring Break.

                            
                                              Caitie, Lauren, and Danielle

Danielle and I used some vacation time to get the week off from work. The four of us flew into Houston's George H. W. Bush Intercontinental Airport where Brian picked us up. We drove to Galveston, TX where we had rented a condo right on the Gulf of Mexico for the week. The weather was amazing and there was plenty to do and experience while on Galveston Island. Between the delicious seafood, beautiful palm trees (the first time I've ever see a palm tree in person, by the way), the historical landmarks, great weather, and easy access to the beach and a pool, we had an amazing and affordable Spring Break. Not to mention, the best company a guy could ask for.

   

                                                  Brian and me #winning duh!

Here are some more pictures from my first Spring Break trip to Galveston, Texas

  
    View From Our Condo

         

Beach on Seawall Blvd.

                                                        

                                                                   Mardi Gras Arch

Regardless of your enrollment status, you too can have a Spring Break if you want. It's just that, in the real world, people tend to refer to it as "vacation." Here are some quick tips for planning a fun, relaxing, and affordable Spring Break/Vacation:

1. PLAN PLAN PLAN!
• I cannot stress this enough. Nobody enjoys loose travel plans, especially when you only have a short time period to work with. Make sure you sit down, Skype, web conference, etc. with your friends to map out a game plan so that everyone is on the same page and you can PLAN accordingly. This game plan should include the following:
• Attendance (who coming with?)
• Budget (money money money mooonay MONEY)
• Time Frame (when are you going on your trip?)
• Travel Arrangements (flights, cars)
• Lodging (hotel, condo, resort)
• Food (groceries, restaurants)
• Miscellaneous expenses (entertainment, souvenirs, etc.)
2. SAVE SAVE SAVE!
• Everybody knows that money makes the world go 'round. Annoying, I know, but it's a fact of life. Thus, make sure you are saving money based on the game plan you set with your friends. In fact, you want to make sure a Spring Break/Vacation is even feasible for you and your wallet before you start planning anything. Obviously, you need to factor in your income and monthly bills. Personally, it's not worth it to sacrifice my credit and risk eviction for a Spring Break/Vacation. Also factor in hotel/lodging, travel, food, and miscellaneous expenses when determining whether or not you can afford a Spring Break/Vacation. 
3. Take Care of Business
• Make sure you are not planning a Spring Break/Vacation during a busy time for you. Odds are if you are really busy at work, your bosses and supervisors will not approve time off or vacation for you. Make sure you ask for time off in advance. Also, don't leave all your work for someone else to do. My company asks for us to identify a backup to help out with the tasks we are leaving behind while we are away. Make your backup's life easier by leaving as little for them to do as possible because they are not only taking care of your business, they still have their job to do. Tie up any and all loose ends before leaving for Spring Break/Vacation.
4. Pack Appropriately
• Look up the weather forecasts for the place you will be visiting for the time period you will be there. You should always pack appropriately so that you are comfortable while on Spring Break/Vacation. Odds are you'll be going to a place with a warmer climate. Thus, pack your bathing suit, sun screen, sunglasses, shorts, short sleeved shirts, and sandals.
5. Have fun!
• What's the point of going on Spring Break/Vacation if you're not going to enjoy it? Make sure you are with great people who you know you will have a great time with. Take advantage of what the area has to offer.

I sure there are plenty of other things that people need to take into consideration when going on Spring Break/Vacation but these are the things I needed to keep in mind and do when planning my Spring Break/Vacation in order to have a great time.

I'm glad there's a first time for everything...well almost everything.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.