Today is April 15. Normally that signals a rant about the atrocious state of our tax code from this corner of the internet.

Typically I tell you how the aforementioned code perpetually erodes my sanity and chips away at my soul.  How it causes me to question why I continue with my business.  How it stokes my desire to live the life of a hermit deep in the woods, where trees get to be trees instead of paper spewed from the mouth of a three-headed bureaucratic monster.

When you own a small business it’s always tax season, yet April 15 still holds special significance. But you know what?  While today is April 15, it’s also Sunday.

Not a single NP-5, LS-1, 1040-ES, PA40-ESR, W-2, K-1, W-3, 1099, 1096, 1065, RCT-101, PA-65, UC-2A, UC-2, ET-1, WTE-3, WT-1, 940, 1040, 941, PA-40, PGH-40, RK-1, I-9, W-9, W-4, NRK-1, PA-65M, or 1125A is due.

In celebration, I present you with a list of my favorite things thus far discovered in 2012.  If only these were the mandatory parts of my life instead of tax compliance!

~ Stephen Potter.  This lesser known British humorist is seriously hilarious.  Seriously.  Find a copy of “The Complete Upmanship” and be very amused.
~Denise Minger and her blog, rawfoodsos.com.  Denise composes among the most thorough, well-researched, friendly, and funny writing about nutrition you can ever hope to read, no matter your dietary habits.
~Meatpaper. “We like metaphors more than marinating tips. We are your journal of meat culture.”  That, my friends, is all you need to know.
~Fun.  I learned about this band thanks to an episode of Glee.  I only wish I was hip(ster) enough to say otherwise.  Fun, indeed.
~The New York Rangers winning. A rarity in the world of sports.  Let me have my moment, Pens fans.  My Rangers roots run deep.  Surely a Stanley Cup for the second time in over 70 years is not too much to ask.
~Correct running form.  I read the book “Born to Run” and it all made sense.  And I don’t even like running.  Are you aware that some people out there are capable of winning a foot-race with a horse??
~JAPADOG.  Merges the culture of two of my favorite countries (Canada and Japan) with one of my favorite foods.  Now with a location on St. Mark’s Place in New York’s East Village.  If the beef was grass-fed I’d quit right now.

Before Run!

Lately I’ve been pondering my deepest personal values. Here’s what I’ve got:

1) I value not working for someone else.
2) I value not having to wear shoes.
3) I value the absence of meetings, red tape, and bureaucracy.

Thankfully, Franktuary has some additional ideals. That’s why I recently participated in a 5K run, with Franktuary as my sponsor. Called “Rock and Run for Africa,” the purpose of this jaunt was to help a New Jersey church fund its effort to provide clean and safe drinking water to people in Africa who currently lack that resource. In keeping with my distaste for shoes I chose to participate in a pair of Vibram FiveFingers (pictured above). You can read more about the event here.

More than 1,000 runners participated, and the experience for this “runner” was simultaneously miserable and wonderful. It was awesome to be a small part of a big event supporting such a worthy cause. For that reason, Franktuary is thrilled to have been involved.

On the other hand, distance running is clearly a terrible idea. The term “fun run” is one of the great misnomers of our time. The so called “runner’s high” is pure fiction. Bicycles and inline skates exist for a reason. If you want to use your feet unaided, enjoy a hike!

Let’s face it folks, the only reasons a person should ever consider running a long distance are as follows:

1) For a worthy cause.
2) For his life, literally.
3) To train for a sport that might actually be a good time.
4) To remind himself that, yes indeed, running is a bad idea.

Clocking in at a shade under 10 minutes per mile, one thing is certain. This “runner” looks a lot faster than he is!

After Run!