This week I made my way back to Vicksburg, MS for a transition week in between project rounds with my AmeriCorps program. The last week in Fairmont was pleasant, lots of celebration and cramming of a few final tax returns. We had a nice celebration dinner at a Japanese restaurant with the people at Tygart Valley United Way. I had a wonderful salmon hibachi dinner, and we celebrated with a toast right afterwards. Our debrief presentation went well, my final number for the dollars saved was $193,688 for myself, and $641,645 for the whole team! I'm very proud of the team that made it happen, and I'm glad to have served the communities of West Virginia that would've spent thousands of dollars on paid tax preparation services otherwise.
After a project like this, my view on taxes has been changed completely. Before VITA, I thought paid services were the only way to go. Having my father sit at the kitchen table for weeks trying to do his own business taxes for previous years shooed me away from even trying to do them by hand and send them in. Now that I've done 2 months of them for other people, I am confident in my ability to handle a variety of personal situations. Nobody that does taxes for themselves alone should ever have to pay for a service like that. Being able to educate others about taxes was incredibly fulfilling.
I will continue to do VITA for many years to come, and I encourage others with the willingness to learn to consider donating your time to a local VITA program. Everything is taught in a session, you are free to ask questions and have as many references as you like. I highly recommend as it is an easy way to learn a valuable skill and support your community!
After our team finished up our last day of work, we spent our evening scrambling to clean and pack up our housing. We attempted to eat the last of our food, do our laundry, and shove everything into our cross-country van. We left early Thursday morning for Chattanooga, TN stopping at New River Gorge National Park along the way. I've been there a few times, but it's always nice to see again.
We got into Chattanooga a little late, but there was still time for dinner. We unpacked at our hotel, and drove to a nearby BBQ spot, Sugar's Ribs. I was pleasantly surprised, I got the catfish tacos and they had a large variety of hot sauces and BBQ sauce. After I finished dinner, I walked outside to find that the owners of the restaurant were goat herders. 6 or 7 goats were outside in a little enclosure, and there was lettuce to feed them with. The little baby goat was my favorite.
Getting onto the AmeriCorps Vicksburg campus, I reconnected with old friends, said goodbye to old teammates, said hello to new ones, the whole thing. The weekend I felt a little under the weather, but I still went out a few times to spend (my) tax return money on lunch with people and whatever the hell else there is to do in Vicksburg (nothing).
Because of the amount of traveling and celebrating I did this past week, I didn't have much time to explore and culinary endeavors. I did however make an excellent burger with some quality ingredients. I used Jacob's expensive market beef along with some expensive swiss cheese, bacon, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and a horseradish sauce on a brioche bun. It was greasy, but excellent. As things should be.
Thank you for your patience with me during my busy days, as I would do the same for you. I wish this week had a more coherent schedule, and you knew when things were happening. Just know I love you always, and I have you in my mind in every uncertainty. ♡
Ok bye bye until next week, I should have more to write then. ☺
No comments:
Post a Comment