A typical work day

I thought that today I'd do something different for my blog since this is my last weekday in the office for about two months. I thought I'd post random thoughts via bullets that go through my head during the day (without revealing any confidential client information). We'll see how this works!

• 8:31 - It's amazing to me how much cat hair and lint a clean pair of black slacks can accumulate. I should really get a lint roller for the office.
• 8:44 - Boy do I hate clearing up workpaper review notes. But I really need to get these done today.
• 8:55 - Is it time to go home yet?
• 9:20 - Aaargh! Do I use the gross number or the net number to get the right number for comparison purposes?
• 9:34 - I don't think I'm comparing apples to apples here, better go ask my manager.
• 9:42 - Well, I was right. My manager was confused as to the what the one set of numbers was. Now I have to call the client to get more detail on those numbers.
• 9:50 - Left a message at the client, we'll see if I get a call back from her today.
• 10:42 - OK, after talking to the client my manager and I feel we have a handle on our problem and we've devised a new, more correct way to compare the numbers. Hopefully this will get us close to where we want to be.
• 10:52 - Crap, just realized that I forgot to get some information for a client's 5500 (5500 is the form that employee benefit plans are required to file with the IRS and DOL). Thankfully the return isn't due until February 16, so we still have a bit of time
• 11:19 - Dammit, if I ask for something there's usually a good reason why. Please don't question me on it - I know what I'm doing.
• 11:31 - Ah good, the manager to the rescue! He'll get me the info that I need.
• 12:36 - Well, I finally got the number comparison done - what a pain in the ass. None of the numbers changed, we were just wanting an analytical review of the numbers so ensure they made sense. Well, off to lunch.
• 1:21 - Back to work.
• 1:48 - Time for a computer update. Today we will be updating Microsoft Outlook.
• 1:57 - Oh, I'm finally to page 2 of my review notes!
• 2:10 - After a quick e-mail, I'm back to my notes.
• 2:54 - Had to take a moment to deal with another client who has no idea what he's doing, so much so that we're going to have to qualify our audit opinion because we've basically done all of his work for him.
• 3:19 - Mail call, nothing for me today. Dammit, I just got white-out on my sweater.
• 3:50 - I'm FINALLY done with my review notes, or at least I hope I'm done with them.
• 4:13 - There's no feeling like getting a stack of files out of your office because you're done with them. Now I think I can move on to finishing my Detroit work.
• 4:31 - Sidetracked again, now maybe I can get my Detroit thing done.
• 5:02 - Still can't get done what I need to. A partner came to me with a question I didn't know the answer to about some financial statements, so I had to try and figure that out. Then I remembered I hadn't turned in my info for my medical flex spending plan that I really needed to get in today. Now that it's after 5pm, maybe I can get my other stuff done.
• 6:13 - After looking at the Detroit workpapers for about an hour I've made little progress. At times finding numbers is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I guess I'll just have to set it aside for now and work on it Saturday. Oh well.

Well folks, there you have it. An exciting day in the life of me. I think it's time to go home now, but I must first stop at the grocery store. Hope you all had a more exciting day than I did. Thanks for joining me on this special episode of "Just my two cents..." We'll see you next time.