Procrastination, Taxes, Satellite TV

pro·cras·ti·na·tion

the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time .

 

Well, that is exactly what I HAD done with regard to 1) completing and filing our 2010 tax return AND 2) deciding and purchasing the satellite system I wanted to get for the new 5er. I’m pleased to say both situations have been completed/resolved the past few days.

First, let’s talk taxes. Yes, I had been putting off doing the taxes for weeks…months. I guess I knew that 2010 being the year both of us officially retired and with the incomes decreased plus less deductions than past years, we’d take a beating and have to pay more taxes and not get a refund. Barbie had gathered all the documentation and forms and had them ready for me for weeks but…… So after going to Valrico for my make-up dental cleaning appointment Wednesday, I told her Thursday was tax day. So yesterday I loaded up the Turbo Tax once again on the laptop and dug in. Barbie had everything we needed so the PAIN was over in 2 hours and 15 minutes. The dull pain still lingers on a little because yes, we did have to pay more. But, bottomline, we e-filed, sent the return and the payment and it was received and accepted in less than 24 hours. Guess the Feds needed our money bad…but not enough to settle the budget woes. :-)~  I’m trying not to be too distraught! I’m not talking taxes any longer.

Moving on to satellite tv. We had a Winegard Roadtrip Minimax stationary antenna on the motorhome and we have used the DirecTV receiver from our bedroom at the stix-n-brix home for the past 2 years. The system worked wonderfully. You see, prior to getting the Minimax, we had to hand crank the dish up, then manually set the dish to find the satellite. That was tough AND frustrating at times. When we got the Minimax, we just added power and the rascal found the satellite within 3 minutes every time. On the new 5er I knew I wanted the automatic search again but I didn’t want to permanently mount any antenna to the roof. If you can’t get a clear line of site, you’re out of luck with a permanent roof mount. I’ve really been in no real hurry, can you say procrastination, since we have a great 60+ channel free cable system here at RCC and we have used it all winter. We did need to get the new system in place by the end of April when we head north though. So after tossing all the options around, we finally decided to get a Winegard Carryout Automatic Portable antenna.

 

Carryout with tripod ground mount

Carryout on a ladder mount

It is essentially the same unit as the Minimax we had. It automatically finds the satellite(s) by itself, but it is not mounted permanently on the roof. It can be set on the ground, on a picnic table, there is a ground mount and a latter mount. The portability is a great feature when you get parked around trees. Just move it so you have a view of the southern sky and you are in business. We do plan to add a ladder mount but since the unit weighs only 13.5 pounds, it is easy to move. And, the automatic satellite finder is awesome. So Wednesday, on our way back from Valrico, we stopped at the Camping World at Lazydays in Seffner, and got the Carryout. We also bought a new DVR receiver so we can tape and watch shows as well. Well, this evening after taking Kozmo to Hardees for her bacon and a burger dinner, oh yes her Mommy and Daddy grabbed a bite as well, I decided to test out the new temporary set-up. It took no time at all to set the Carryout on our firepit, connect the power cord and cable and VIOLA…we had DirecTV. Seriously, the only thing that took time was that for this test, I hooked up the old SD receiver we had used previously instead of the new SD dvr receiver. Well, since we hadn’t used the receiver since November, I had to call DirecTV to “reauthorize” it. Once I got off of hold after 10 minutes, it took all of 3 minutes to be receiving the signal. It’s a beautiful thing. So when we take the 5er to Suncoast RV in a little over a week we’ll have them add a ladder mount and we’re good-to-go.

So my friends, ‘til next time……..