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I was left high and dry. I was so scared I wouldn't be able to do it. Why would I put myself in such a sticky situation? To understand what I’m talking about, let’s move back in time. I was sitting on my desk working on someone’s tax return when a posh client came in and stated that he had an appointment to file his taxes here in our office. My colleague, Sam, greeted him, asked him to have a seat, and to wait for his turn. While Sam went over the client’s information, he realized that none of the three tax professionals, including me, are able to provide the service needed. Sam and the other employees wanted to get away from doing his tax return. Since no one was willing to provide help, I had the guts to assist this client. I went through all his documents. I really goofed up when I accepted it. What was I thinking? He had such a complicated tax return that I had to deal with so many documents such as W2, 1099, mortgages, investment, retirement, and interest income documents. I started working on this task on a wing and a prayer. The situation was getting really bad. I bit my tongue and kept my pants on just to make him feel like I was capable of doing it. I excused myself for a moment, and I went to cool down and call a friend of mine, an expert in taxes, to find out the answers I needed for this case. In the nick of time, she replied with immediate help. I went back to my desk and continued working. I asked him some follow-up questions so I can proceed. I was able to file it and I handed back all the documents to the client successfully.

Here I am, in the evening, laying down on my bed, my hands are under my head, and my eyes are closed. All I can think about was my next game in Mans, France. My head was in the clouds. I’ve been dreaming about this day since I was 6 years old. I've always wanted to be an auto racer and participate in the FIA World Championship (Formula one). Out of nowhere, I received a text message from my team member that my game has been canceled until further notice. I flipped out (or freaked out). What a bummer! He was such a buzzkill. I didn’t get what was going on. What was happening? I didn’t believe him. It was such a bitter pill to swallow. I tried to get along with him just to catch on to what he was trying to tell me. For one moment, I thought what was reported to him was hearsay just because some of my competitors want to knock me down.  Who knows? When did we ever hear of a total lockdown across Europe? And because of what? A virus? After all the hardship I’ve been through this year, the FIA Championship being called off was the last straw. It was a once in a blue moon event. This really sucked!

No pain, no gain

If you’ve felt like your life is going down in flames

And your life is starting to look really lame

If you’ve been caught between a rock and a hard place

And you’re going on a wild goose chase

Don’t worry, it’s all a blessing in disguise

Just keep looking forward to the new sunrise

If they say you’re going to lose

Don’t blow a cool or a fuse

If they say your idea is a bust

Don’t get bent, but say success is a must

If they say you’re going to quit

Don’t give up, get up and ace it

You can try and find out

How to knock them all out

By getting ahead

And ignoring what they said

Let them shout in the back

And show them clearly

What they thought you lack.

Abby: Hey Wafa, why are you down in the mouth?

Wafa: I feel like I’m up the creek without a paddle and I’m so nervous I can feel my heart in my mouth!

Abby: Oh wow! Why? What’s going on?

Wafa: I thought that I did great on my midterm exam, but it turns out that it was a flash in the pan!

Abby: OMG! Why is this happening to you?

Wafa: It’s really my bad! I skived off school twice last week.

Abby: So, what are you going to do right now?

Wafa: I don’t know! Maybe I must nix on all my plans and hit the books so I could pass my final exam!

Abby: Absolutely, and maybe you can ask your peeps to help you out!

Wafa: Oh yeah that’s a great idea. I should ask if we can get together and meet up this weekend!

Abby: But be careful you don’t have plenty of time so try not to back off at the last minute.

Wafa: You’re right! I must use my noggin this time.

Abby: and remember you should always get in on your assignments and school projects beforehand so you won't end up all miserable like you are now.

Wafa: I will! Thanks, Abby, for everything.

Do you have a colleague who’s a nosy busybody that always gets you in trouble with your boss? Have you ever felt like a black sheep at work? Have you ever experienced a hard time trying to explain your ideas but no one has a clue what you’re saying? Moreover, do you have a colleague that takes advantage of you and always brown noses the boss? And what makes things even worse is that the boss is a slave driver and loves to order around. On top of that, the COVID-19 lockdown thing is really hard to swallow. Suddenly, all hell has broken loose. Now, all that you’re thinking about is what you can do to vent your frustration. All you want to do is back out, pack up, and leave everything behind. You just want to sit with one of your close friends and start screaming until you’re blue in the face. They’ll probably try to get through to you by asking you to calm down and take a deep breath. I would say that they’ll recommend that you own up to your feelings and try to deal with them so you could eventually become a top banana one day.

Since the hit of COVID-19, I got used to staying at home and I started feeling like a homebody who would never leave her crib. That’s why I decided to start a new project which is launching this podcast. It seems scary, right? Do you think it will take blood, sweat, and tears to complete this project? I hope it won’t. To be honest, I feel like a cat on a hot tin roof because I have a lot on my plate right now. I have my full-time job, I need to take care of my partner, clean my house, and eventually create content for every episode. But, hey don’t worry I’ll break the ice and I’ll muddle through by narrowing down my task load so I can get on with this work. However, the best part is that I am not a luddite. I love technology and I get my jollies from doing this. And I know that everything will be hunky-dory. Also, not to blow my own trumpet, but I think I will do a great job and I hope not to mess things up here and I won’t let you down.