Went home last night basking in the glow that I feel when I've completed a big report, checked all the numbers, everything balances, boss is satisfied, too.

It's always a good feeling to be at the top of one's form, completing a task that demands concentration and skill, successfully. The satisfied feeling lasted all of 4 hours.

Just before I went to bed I checked my work email. Big mistake.

Changes. Deletions. How on earth am I going to juggle things around to achieve balance again? In my dreams I was driving, city to valley and back again, looking for an address that didn't exist.

One good thing: I was able to complete the initial draft before the adjustments came in, so that I have a stable base from which to work. In previous years the changes have been called for before I'd even settled the basic information, and that's always a nightmare, trying to adjust to a moving target.

Clearing the detritus from yesterday's intense labor off my desk, waiting for the next set of alterations. Wonder what's going to happen when we run out of heavy contracts?

Not my problem. I put the report showing only 6 left on my boss's desk, along with a dollar bill. I told him I was passing the buck.

I've always wanted to do that.