Tax prep and April collsions

Ciao tutti, buona sera,

Yes it's true. I have finally begun my tax prep. My appointment with my accountant, who is actually an angel, is Friday. There's no getting away from it and no point in procrastinating any longer. Once again, I am behind the 8 ball, not all that unusual for me. After all, when I was in Europe last year I did take really good spending notes on little notebook paper sheets. That certainly made things a lot easier today.

The actual, really wonderful thing (I mean that) about this exercise for me, is that made my past year all flash before my eyes, and 2007 was really a stellar year for me. Starting with French guy, that made for a different household and social life, so there were more grocery receipts and In N Out receipts than ever before. There were more restaurant receipts, those for M&Ms at Costco, and those for shopping in general, come to think of it. 

Then there were the 9 weeks in France and Italy last year that, mmmmmmmm, I did not mind sorting receipts for. I can remember every detail...every espresso, every pane chocolat, every baguette, olive, glass of wine, family meal, every pasta, pizza, hair appointment, every train, every plane, every delay, every flirtation, every time I realized I may never in fact master my second language but was willing to risk it, everything I wore - when, why, and how, all the really good conversations, everything. One word: Yum. So yes, sorting through all of that again was not so bad.

At the moment I am watching the Dodgers' second season game, first pitched by the sort-of-clean-shaven Derek Lowe, and now two runs have just been charged to him even though he is not longer pitching. I am sure he hates when that happens.

Yesterday was Opening Day at Dodger Stadium and this is usually a religious holiday for me. However, since I was in San Diego last week, just a few things were waiting for me upon my return, so Monday was not scheduled as any sort of holiday this week. I did watch the game. Wonderful. A win. A fabulous day at the stadium, I wish I'd been there.

Today, Roma lost to Manchester United in their 1/4-final Champions League match. Ugh. I do not like this. It was predicted to be the Cristiano Ronaldo show (ManU), so that made it easier on the eye at least...he scored the first goal, then swapped jerseys at the end. That made watching just so much easier. Roma scored nothing. So they will have a difficult time staying in this competition. Maybe Barcelona will hang in there. I won't even watch if the Final is two British teams (4 are currently in the running. Ugh). But maybe if ManU  gets in there, just because it would seem the right thing, for me, SportsBites radio host, to watch, maybe I will.

This is said to be the month where the biggest variety of sports happens, so I am dedicating my show to "April Collisions" on Thursday. I am thrilled to have scored Tracy Nieporent of the Myriad Restaurant Group in NY (Tribeca Grill, Nobu, etc) as my guest. It will be fascinating (for him too, I hope) to chat up which foods and innovative menus could conceivably be matched with how American baseball and soccer start up (apertivo, antipasti); the likes of golf, bowling, Olympic qualifying rounds settle in (entrees, main courses); hockey and Euro soccer start to wind down as college basketball and curling (who knew?) make their exit (desserts). I was seeking someone who knew sports as well as food. Since I am so lucky, I was connected to Tracy within an hour of sending out my SOS. I love my job. 

Alright, the Dodgers-Giants game is tied at 2-2, I am really hungry all of a sudden because I've hardly eaten all day, so I will leave you alone now. Finally, I hear you saying.

Thanks for reading all that.