Kids really are perceptive creatures, I mean when you get down to it, when a kid says something that you think at the time is cute, it really is what you have been thinking all along.
Take for example this: while browsing the front page of The Age web site with my 6 year old cousin sitting next to me she hid her face in horror when I stopped at this picture of Wolfmother lead singer, Andrew Stockdale.
When I queried as to the reason why she was so shocked, apparently Stockdale looks a lot like a “not nice man” she saw in a dream… I mean the photo is pretty unflattering.
It got me wondering, how would she react if I showed her a picture of Pennywise from the Steven King flick IT. After a quick look on the ‘net I found this picture:
Well no reaction really, her dad introduced her to the world of horror movies last week beginning with IT.
I thought you’d be dying to hear about my week. No? Going to tell you about it anyway…
Like I mentioned this week was going to be a bit of a hash but I turns out it had it’s up and downs. On Wednesday I had to deal with the ATO in relation to a letter I received about not filing my taxes for certain years.
After being on hold for an hour and finally getting through to a human being, it turns out that the letter issued by H&R Block was in fact, incorrect.
I had got a TFN in 2001 and hadn’t used it until 2003 meaning I hadn’t filed any income paperwork for 2001 and 2002. Based on the requirements set out by the ATO, irregardless of whether you worked for that particular year you still have to file advice that you didn’t make any income (including Centrelink, Youth Allowance, etc). Since I’ve never received any benefit from our great Gov’ment, it’s a rather simple matter of filing two pieces of paper and a statutory declaration. The ATO lady was rather nice and the whole experience was very pleasant. She told me that she was expressing the papers required and an express envelope to send them back in. This was to avoid any potential penalties of fines.
This advice goes against H&R Block’s which for both years stated that no paper work was to be filed for both years. To prove the point I even have the info written down by the “Tax Accountant” who did my parents taxes in 2001 and 2002.
Being a bit flummoxed by the situation and wanting to show H&R Block the error of their ways, I decided to ring up their “head office” which is based in Brunswick.
Continue reading ‘The ATO’
It’s one of those things I hate more than anything else: working on a Sunday.
I’m working on a system that interfaces with a special version of Adobe Indesign (a desktop publishing program) called Adobe Indesign Server. Considering the program costs more than what I earn gross in a year, I can’t help but feel a bit worried that when we present the proof of concept tomorrow it’s going to fall apart into a massive heap.
Are there any people out there on the who have had previous experience with Indesign Server?
My mum was telling me that after 32 years she’s decided to change our private health fund from HBA to AHM. The reasons ranged from terrible customer service to the simple fact that she was having trouble getting her claims processed. Mum has had a few health scares over the last few years and a large portion of the monthly budget, at least up to a few months ago went just to HBA payments.
After ringing HBA to let them know about her intentions, they refused to do anything to increase the number of ‘allowed’ claims or put us onto a new rate, on the basis of her loyalty to HBA as a long standing customer. Personally I was a bit mystified by the whole situation; in the last 5 years i’ve only made one claim to HBA so why can’t my ‘unused’ claims be transferred to her name?
Anyway as the title states, corporations are no longer loyal to the customer. Why should my mum stay with HBA if a competitor will accommodate her needs, welcome her with open arms and charge a lower premium?