Sunday, February 11, 2007

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades


I rarely struggle with perfectionism. Ask anybody. I am a firm believer that close enough is very often close enough. I like phrases like "let's play it by ear" and "good enough for government work" and "-ish." I also like the phrase "I'm so thirsty, I could drink a horse!" but that's unrelated.*

I'm glad that I've started on the loosey goosey end of the pendulum swing because my profession tends to make people a little more...how you say...anal.

Accountants aren't allowed to have broad, sweeping ideas, laden with potentiality. We are the realists because we are the ones who have to pick up the pieces when the party's over. We live not in the future but in the past and make statements like "things would be a lot easier for you next time if you saved your receipts," and "I really need to get the detail of your retained earnings account by function." Ugh.

But it's good for me as a non-detail person to be trained in the pennies and nickels of life, because sometimes the devil is in there.

And I really don't like the devil.
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*Thanks Gilda Radner

1 comment:

Katrina said...

"-Ish" is also one of my favorites, especially when applied to time. I like some wiggle room in my day, and my life.

Glad you're learning to mind the details, though--if I ever have enough money to actually need an accountant, I'll give you a call!