Monday, June 29, 2009

slow move to new office.....

So last post I mentioned that I would be using a "virtual office" through my tax software company's servers. Well, on Friday I started the migration. I finished all my work, backed up all the files for all the different accounting products to a separate directory and separate folders on my hard drive, and was ready to go.

Spoke with tech support Friday afternoon to get a few questions answered, and only saw a clear road ahead of me. After speaking with support, I moved all the Excel and Word files over to their "new home". Because I will now be using Office 2007, while I currently use Office 2003, I stayed in Excel and Word for a little while and played around. All was fine. I then wrapped up for the day, and figured I will move all the accounting files on Saturday.

So, around noontime on Saturday, I started moving the accounting files. Depreciation went smooth. Tax Programs for 2007 & 2008 (I could go back to 1999 if I want to, but probably don't need that far back) went flawlessly. Business accounting clients also without a hitch. Things were looking good.

Then came largest product, which is my "File Cabinet" program. This is the program where I have every piece of information (Which is tax returns and workpapers for personal income tax clients and for business clients it consists of tax returns, workpapers, payroll tax returns, and ledgers) for every client I have worked on since 1999.

This is 836 different client drawers and almost 16GB of information. I knew it would take some time, but I did not expect that almost 38 hours after I started, only 501 of the 836 drawers would be moved. Yikes! Good thing I hardwired the laptop and didn't try to do this wireless. It should be completed sometime tomorrow afternoon (I shut it down when Morgan is on the air). When it is done, it will be nice to move forward and not worry about client data and making backups.

Cassie came back from Camp Kanata last Saturday morning. She had a blast, like she always does, and looks forward to returning next year. The camp sent home almost 80 out of the 250 kids at the camp because of 100+ degree fevers. While they were concerned about Swine Flu, I would guess this was just a normal bug that made its way around the campgrounds. Cass feels fine, but did have a little bit of congestion Sunday morning and today. We'll keep an eye on her, as she goes off to camp up in Virginia through the church on Wednesday, as we will keep her home if a fever does arise.

That's it for now. I have a progress bar to watch. :-)

Until the next time.....

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

virtual office.....

I could not have been any lazier today. I really need to stop this, and get a little organized, as July is a "payroll report" month, and I will be working on 22 clients, plus one brand new one. After going for my walk, I washed the motorcycle, then decided to ride it for about a hour to "dry it". Really?

Then after that, I did take care of a couple of office emails, then it was over to the Harley dealership for a scheduled maintenance, which included an oil change, etc. Those last a couple of hours, so I just stayed at their tables in the dealership, grabbed some old coffee, read the today's paper and updated Facebook from my phone. I did behave and only glanced at the new bikes.

If I ever complain about my work life between May 1 and December 31, you have the right to call me out and slap me. :-)

I do need to get caught up, so I can start working in my new office. I'm not going anywhere, but I am changing the way I handle my clients and their data. My software company started an experimental program last year, where instead of purchasing the software I need, they "rent" my their entire software suite, and also include the latest MS Office as part of the package.

So for me, because I am by myself (you pay per user), I will save a couple thousand dollars over my normal yearly fees, have access to programs that were not "dollar wise" for me to purchase, and get the latest MS Office product. And even better, this is all done through their servers, so all my data will now be on their secured servers. No more backups (except for my pictures & iTunes), no more worrying about computer crashes, no headaches at all. As long as I have internet, and my password, all my data is always available to me.

Now, I'm not big on change, so it took me almost 6 weeks to tell them "yes", but I did it last week, so there is no turning back. I just need to get together with them on uploading all my data from the laptop to them, then I am ready to go. I am hoping to do this later tomorrow or Friday, so I can upload the information over the weekend.

I have never worked on a network before, so it has been a little bit of an adjustment while I have been playing around in the "empty office". I know most of you are used to that type of office environment, but for someone who has worked by themselves, this is a whole new area for me.

That's about it for now. Supposed to be gaming tonight with the other members of the GeezerGamers Community Podcast. We are now listed and available for download on iTunes. Search for GeezerGamer Community.

Until the next time.....

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

kick start this blogging again.....

OK, going to back into some posting here on my blog. I figure if I can keep posting on Facebook, I can post here also about the different things going on in my life.

I have caught up on most of the other blogs that I link to here. I apologize for not following and commenting during my "non writing" time. I should have been better about following all of you, even if I didn't want to write myself. Sorry.

The news for today is that Morgan has sent in an application for the Food Network show, "Next Food Network Star". She decided to try this last week, and has been working on the application ever since. For those that know Morgan, she is a morning show host and loves to cook (including a small catering business that has done work with our churches), so this will be a nice combination of talents / skills / likes for her.

For me, this has been the laziest of after tax season times. Not that my work hasn't been getting done, because it has, but I have no real "extras" to tackle, so it has allowed me to me lazy, and I'm just not used to it. Instead of getting up at 5:30, I have been rolling out of bed around 7am or 7:30am. I'm not used to that, but I have kind of liked it. Otherwise, I have been reading a bit, riding the motorcycle whenever I can, and just spending lazy time.

Cassie is off at camp (through YMCA) this week. She will be gone until Saturday, then home for three days, then she is off to a camp through church up in West Virginia. So, she will be home enough to wash her camping clothes, pack them, and then it is away again. She loves it, and we are glad she likes these times away. After that, she will be home for about 5 weeks until school starts again.

Well, there is a catch up for you. I promise to be better. :-)

Until the next time.....