That Time of Year

It's been a funny old week really... but it is that time of year.

Although, I have to say, Easter seems to be a little different than usual.  Perhaps it's because it's a bit later than other years?  Who knows.

Anyway... as to why it's different.  Well, it's just so... busy.

It's really strange.  Not that it's busy but because the roads a re quieter like they always are during the holiday periods but I can't actually work out who's off work.

I called Teresa Jackson from www.icomplete.com earlier and asked tentatively whether she was working.  She sounded generally surprised.  'Of course!  Why wouldn't I be?'

Well, because it's Good Friday sprung to mind but I kept stum.

I subbed at a BNI meeting this morning and the room was packed... there were a few people on holiday but they'd all managed to get substitutes and business was passed.

And then it dawned on me.  I really do think the recovery is taking proper hold.  People seem to be doing business more and more and confidence is returning.  It's even manifested itself to us in the TaxAssist business here in Corstorphine.

January is usually our busiest month in terms of work completed, new customers signed and cash generated.  In 2014, January was as ballistic as it always is... perhaps even more so.  But what's really extraordinary is that March has been just as busy as January; at least in terms of new customers who have joined us.

It's brilliant.

Long may it continue is what I say, but I have a hint of nervousness about it, too.  Me saying it's the long awaited recovery is simply that... Me saying it.  I have no proof of what I'm saying, just a feeling.

What if it's something else?

I don't think it is, but what if it is?

As you can see, my self doubt has reached a crescendo so I need your help.

Can you see the recovery happening?  Is business on the up or is it just because the sun is shining and it's a bit warmer that I'm looking at the world with rose tinted glasses?

Answers on a post card from the beach would be good.

Some Days

Do you ever find some days... well, trying?

You know the sort of day I'm talking about: nothing seems to go right, everything seems to go wrong and you end up doing nothing that you expected and your production is much lower than you hoped for (or indeed, needed).

As you can probably tell, I had one of those days the other day.

First of all, it was raining and as the woofer still needs to, errr, do his thing it was off up Corstorphine Hill for me... I got wet.  The same thing happened at lunch time, although this time I did have the rather large TaxAssist umbrella with me.

In the meantime, though, back in the office, at about 10.15 there went up a shout: there's a leak!

A river would have been more accurate.  And the be fair to the builder, he was out like a shot to find out what was what.  Of course it couldn't be fixed there and then but he did come back the next day to sort things out for us... still, quite a lot of water did come in, soaking carpet and doggy blanket.

The shout at 10.15 was followed by a shout at 10.16... I can't read attachments on my emails.

OMG so some investigatory work revealed that our email system had gone tits up and was quarantining all attachments cos it thought they were dodgy.

The only way to get them back was for IT Support to do some jiggery pokery and send all the attachments to me for onward distribution.  There were 1,029 of them!

Next shout came at 10.27:  My email's not working at all.

Oh, bloody hell... ring IT Support yourself.  Here, I have to say, we have a confession.  We were blaming IT Support for our emails not coming through correctly.  Actually, it turned out that we'd out a rule on our system that diverted emails with a certain word in them to a different folder!

Sorry!

By the time I'd worked through that little lot it was 6.30pm and time to start the day's work, so that's what I did before walking home, where my very patient parents were waiting because they're up from Darn Sarth to visit for the week.

Hmmm... I'm sure they're having a wonderful time.

But this blog is going to end in a different way than I intended.

I'm in McDonalds, Oldbury, near Birmingham writing this.

I'd eaten my double sausage and egg McMuffin and had a cup of latte already (well, I am on a health kick) and was just thinking that I needed to move on because I was being a bit cheeky sitting here for an hour.

But the guy who had been walking about, cleaning tables and emptying bins just brought me a second cup of latte, without asking and for free!

So you see, none of the crap that happened the day before matters... everything will be all right in the end.

And if it isn't alright, it isn't the end.