You wanna know the answer to “What month is Pisces?” Man, that’s easy. It’s right there, you know? But the reason I even had to look it up and then document the whole stupid process is where the real story starts. It’s about how simple things get absolutely trashed by bad instructions and people who can’t use a calendar. I lived this mess, and that’s why I remember it.
I was on this ridiculous contract a few months back. Not even proper development, just pure data scrubbing. The gig was pitched to me as “three days of easy spreadsheet cleaning,” a total walk in the park. Sounded like quick cash, perfect for covering that unexpected bill for the new truck tires. I signed the paper and the nightmare began.
The Start of the Mess: The Zodiac Field
They gave me this giant sheet. Thousands of rows. Names, addresses, account numbers, and then this one column, labeled “ZODIAC_SIGN.” It was supposed to be filled with, you know, the twelve signs. Simple, right? Except I opened the file and saw “Taurus” spelled six different ways, “Gemini” mixed up with “Genie,” and then a huge chunk of rows where people had just typed things like “My birthday is May 5th” or worse, “Not Applicable.”
My job suddenly wasn’t cleaning data; it was being a human astrologer for thousands of strangers who couldn’t remember their birth month. I contacted the project manager, a guy I’ll call Phil. Phil just shrugged. “Just fix it,” he said. “Use Google. That’s why we hired you.” Yeah, thanks, Phil.
Diving into the Hell of Date Ranges
I realized I couldn’t trust the data at all. I had to create a canonical list. This is where the simple question in the title became my torture. I opened up my browser and started slamming keys. I didn’t use a fancy API or a pre-built tool; I just searched for the dates like a civilian because that’s all Phil paid for.
My entire day became an exercise in verifying things everyone should already know. I started with Taurus because that chunk of data was just a total disaster. I wrote down the range on a sticky note. I then moved through the calendar, going sign by sign, manually comparing the birthdate column (which was thankfully mostly correct) against the garbage in the Zodiac column. When I hit the Pisces data, it was pure chaos.
People born in March were listed as Aries. People born in February were listed as Aquarius. It was a joke. I had to confirm the Pisces range multiple times just to be sure, because I just couldn’t believe people were that messed up. I looked at the dates, confirmed the simple truth, and then spent the next eight hours correcting the sheet, row by painful row, changing Aries back to Pisces and vice-versa.
The Real Story: Why I Remember Pisces Dates
The dates themselves? Simple. Pisces starts around February 19th and runs until March 20th. Taurus is roughly April 20th to May 20th. That’s the easy part. But the reason I remember those exact dates—especially the Pisces ones—is because of what happened with Phil and that project.
It was supposed to be three days of work. Because of the absolute state of that spreadsheet, it stretched into eight miserable days. I had to cancel a weekend trip. I missed a dentist appointment. I pushed back another gig, just to deal with Phil’s mess.
When I finally submitted the clean file, I expected the check for the full eight days. Phil, the sneaky jerk, called me up. “Hey, great job. But remember, the contract was for three days,” he said. I argued with him. I showed him the timestamps of the work I did. I pointed out the massive discrepancy he put me through. He just played dumb. He said, “The job was simple. You took too long. We are paying you for three days.”
I was furious. I tried everything—email chains, calls, threats. Nothing worked. I got stiffed for five days of work. Five days of my life, spent checking on simple things like what month is Pisces just because someone was too lazy to set up a damn dropdown menu.
So, when you ask me about Pisces, I don’t just recall the constellation or some fluffy personality trait. I remember the exact date range because that range is forever tied to the week I learned a painful lesson about trusting cheap contract managers and how people’s inability to handle basic data can cost you hundreds of bucks. The answer is simple, yeah, but the cost of getting that simple answer? That was complicated and expensive.
- The practice was slogging through a poorly designed database field.
- I verified every single sign against common public knowledge.
- I delivered a clean sheet.
- I got ripped off.
- The final, simple answer is now permanently burned into my brain, next to a vivid memory of Phil’s stupid face.
So, yes. Pisces: Feb 19 – Mar 20. Simple. Don’t overthink it. But check your contracts.
