As I write what will be the last entry for 2009, I have been thinking back over the last year, and all that it has brought me. During this time I had (what I felt was) my most successful tax season, during which I not only kept a tight reign on work schedules and client budgets, but also managed to train for a marathon and spend time with friends and family. I discovered the joy of the Steampunk culture here in Washington as well as the stark beauty of Eastern Oregon, and I was finally able to buy a motorcycle that suits my riding style, one which I will probably own for the next five to 10 years. I managed to acquire my CPA license, and have started moving towards having a true career with depth and meaning. All considered, I am quite pleased with the direction my life is headed.
Several plans are in the process of being laid for next year, including a family reunion back east that I am hoping we are able to attend, but currently I am mostly focused on just surviving the upcoming busy season. I am anticipating working an additional 150 hours during the next four months as compared to last year, so in favor of maintaining my sanity I have bowed out of maintaining the extreme running routine that I did last year (which, admittedly, was not as optimal as it could have been- I had to run in the mornings, which left me extremely tired throughout work). This means that I will not be able to participate in the Tacoma Marathon next May, but I am expecting to begin training when tax season ends, so we shall see what happens by late summer.
I also had a most interesting experience after my last entry. I had settled down for my Sunday meditation, and during the middle of which I was struck by an answer to the Koan I have been struggling with. It began something like A mind can never be filled, and a cup may... I must admit, mere moments after I finished meditating it floated out of my head, much like a sweet dream in morning's light. I suppose I should just take this as a sign that I am not yet ready to fully receive this particular lesson.
Moments of such epiphany are not exactly usual for me during meditation. I am still very much a beginner, as I have little more to go off of than the diagrams and examples that were printed in my copy of "A First Zen Reader". I have been practicing meditation off an on for about two years now, though admittedly not as often as I should. Especially since I find the experience so freeing. Given the fact that when I was growing up I suffered from long bouts of insomnia because I simply could not stop thinking. I had initially thought when I began meditation practice that I would have a similar problem, and for the most part that has proved true. However, my chattering thoughts always quickly fade to a buzz in the back of my mind that I can easily put aside in order to think on...nothing at all. It is a decidedly unique experience.
Work this week has been a very unique experience as well. We have recently purchased four new computers for the office that are running Windows 7, 64 bit edition. Since I am still the go-to computer person in the office (despite my best effort to discourage this image), I have been assigned with setting them up with all of the software that we use in the complex field of accounting. Of course, this means working with and around a myriad of issues, most of which I just barely managed to solve by the end of today. A few still elude myself and my fellow computer colleague, but I am reasonably confident that any further issues we encounter will be minimal, at lease until the next version of our software is released.
I also discovered this week that the group Iron & Wine apparently had produced a cover of the Postal Service's song "Such Great Heights". It was apparently included on the single release, but since I never acquire this particular recording, it has escaped my attention until just recently. I was quite pleased when I first heard it playing.
Tomorrow should be a rather busy day, given we will be traveling from Tacoma all the way to Spokane, so it is time I seek out some sleep.
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