Got a text out of the blue. They saw my profile on Indeed and think I could work for WSC construction. 28 an hour.
Said I was a senior female and can’t build things.
Its a work from home!
I dont have a computer.
Company supplies you.
From the text number 19856536112.
I said no thanks.
Xfinity and their effing audix. The damn thing hung up on my 5 times in the space of 90 minutes before I could get a live person on. Evidently they don’t like the old “free TV” modems the FCC forced them to offer back in the day so their newest upgrades are giving them error codes.
There is a electric bullet that clears the code, but they rather you hand the older modem in and sell you one which they can charge you monthly for.
I was supposed to be visiting my beloved this weekend. I was bringing a few food items. I had already bought a bottle of Mannishewitz and a box of potato kugel mix which she had taken to her place. The plan was for me to come over Saturday before dinner. We would have seder, the ritual Passover meal, at her place. On Sunday we were going to see the anime film Vampire Hunter D in a theater. We bought tickets a while ago. Then we would go back to her place to get my stuff and to get the Passover foods she had prepared for me. She would drive me home. She might or might not have been able to take a few boxes of low value collectables and books to Goodwill for me. Then, we would have a virtual seder online Sunday night.
Her son, who almost never calls or visits, called to say he would be visiting this weekend. Her son hates me. Now, everything is up in the air. We cannot have the seder at my place due to her germophobia. I have no idea what we are going to do about the special showing of Vampire Hunter D. This sucks.
Update-
I will now be at her place only long enough for the seder Saturday night. I will have to take public transportation home. Normally, that is not an issue. This time, I will be transporting at the very least- a small kugel, and a chicken. I have a ‘granny cart’. The weight and bulkiness are not an issue. Preventing anything from leaking is a big issue.
Depending on her son’s plans and when he is leaving on Sunday, we may be able to see Vampire Hunter D.
NOTE- If her son was a loving, caring and good son I would not have a problem with this. He is not. He lives in NYC. His mom (my beloved) and grandmother live in New Jersey. He works in cybersecurity for an IT firm and makes around one hundred thousand a year. It would not be a hardship for him to visit. He never does. It would be easy for him to call. He never does. The one time he was in the area for her birthday, he was horrible. She had a favorite French restaurant in Philly. It closed. So she found another French restaurant and asked him if that was okay. He said yes. When the check came, he (again he makes six figures a year) said ‘What? You expected me to treat you after you picked this expenisve place?’ Later, when she was done crying, she tried to explain to him why she was hurt. He didn’t understand.
I have only met him once. He was wildly disapproving of me since he found out his mom and I were first dating. He insisted on meeting me. It was finally arranged. We had dinner at her place. I shaved and wore clothes that seemed nicer than usual, but not so nice that I obviously dressed up. I was quiet and reserved. As you may have guessed, this is very unusual for me. Afterwards, my beloved asked why I hadn’t talked more. I explained that I felt he was asking questions ony to get information to use as ammunition against me. She said that was ridiculous. After she talked to him on the phone, he confirmed that is exactly what he had been doing.
In the last few messages (we chat on Facebook Messenger throughout the work day) my beloved said that it looks like he has broken up with the girlfriend he has been living with. That fits. He does not want to even the slighest thing for his mother or his grandmother. But when he needs something, he comes running.
Woo hoo!
And I just found out that all my spinal problems have a copay of bupkis.
That’s doctor visits, X-rays, MRI, a ton of Physical Therapy, and as many chiropractic visits as I need! Maybe even surgery, but I’m betting on being able to avoid that.
Medicare rocks, and I’m getting as much care (diagnosis, imagery and treatment) as I can now… just in case some whack job with a chainsaw decides to cut benefits.
Yeah, when I had Medicare and Medicaid my copay was either zero or a very low amount. Now that I wokr fulltime, I am no longer eligible for Medicaid. A payment of $182 a month is taken out of my Social Security survivor’s benefit each month to pay for Medicare B. I did try to fix this last year. Due to the horrible depression I had that year, I never completed the process. Afte a lot of phone calls, e-mails and consultations it turns out that I don’t need A and B any longer. I need to print out a form and take that form to a Social Security office and turn it in along with my Medicare card. I will no longer have Medicare benefits. But, I haven’t actually used that card in a long time. I will have $182 more coming in each month.
Last year my dentist was dropped from the network of my dental insurance. So I deferred a cleaning I had scheduled for December until I could change dental insurance during the end-of-year open season. I very carefully checked the provider lists of several insurance options to be sure that my dentist was part of their network before choosing one.
I rescheduled my cleaning for Feb 28 and gave my dentist my new insurance information. They did not charge me anything at the time of the appointment, which gave me the impression that they believed they were part of the new company’s network.
So this week I got a bill from the dentist showing that they had not been fully paid by the insurance company and billing me for the unpaid balance. I called the insurance company to find out why, as stated in their coverage listing, the full cost of my cleaning was not covered. According to the agent it was because my dentist was not part of their network, so only 80% was covered. I protested that the provider listing I had checked last year showed my dentist as “in network”. The agent said she would resubmit the claim, but wasn’t hopeful. I tried to call the dentist, but they were closed for renovations today, and I’ll need to call back on Monday.
Agree! Between Medicare and my Federal retirement health insurance (BCBS) the only medical expenses I’ve had for the past seven years has been my prescriptions.
Ihadplanned a couple of trips to England and to Canada this coming year. Now I am afraid to leave the country.
Sorry to hear that but it’s understandable given the climate of fear.
It’s sad that our lives have been upended in this way.
Looks like local gambling operations have shut down.
( I wonder if that poster who liked to hit all of the elevator buttons was affected…? )
I’ve yet to see a dental insurance plan that makes sense cost wise.
The spouse just went on Medicare and was shopping dental insurance. He decided against it, the best plan monthly premium would’ve cost him about $1000 USD a year. That included two preventative exams and cleanings and anything else required copays some at least 50% and it did not cover everything no dentures or implants iirc. He’d have to pay upfront and wait on delta dental to reimburse him. The kicker was he had to be on this plan for a full year before his benefits kicked in.
He’ll pay out of pocket with the dentist he wants to see.
Good Luck!
Oh, and last year my dentist decided that they would start adding a 3% service charge for credit card payments. This did not apply to debit card payments, so when I had to pay to have a crown replaced last year I had to transfer enough money to my checking account to cover it. I normally only keep enough in my checking account to cover expected expenses. Plus, of course, this meant I no longer was getting credit toward my cashback bonus on my credit card.
My last PCP was very wise, knowledeable and had a fantastic bedside manner. So, I stayed with him for about twenty years. With insurance changes, I had a copay of about $30 per visit. They only accepted check or cash. I had done an emergency move due to toxic mold. I still haven’t found my checkbook. At that time, there were no Wells Fargo banks or surcharge free ATMs I could get to. I did not need cash for any other reason. So after each visit, I would walk a few blocks to the 7-11, take out cash for the copay and pay a surcharge. He was still very worth it- great doctor.
Update-
Her son is coming for the weekend. I will not be staying at her place. I will take public transportation there tomorrow night. She and I will conduct a seder. She will give me copies of forms that need to be mailed or faxed back rather than e-mailed. I will take the Mannishewitz, potato kugel, kosher for Passover cake, and the kosher for Passover chicken back home with me by public transportation.
The next day, if her son leaves as planned, I will take public transportation to her place. We will see Vampire Hunter D on the big screen. She will drive me home. Hopefully she will be able to take more boxes of stuff to Goodwill. As she has informed me that, as usual, she has to keep working that night I will do the second seder alone at my place.
I understand that most people do not find their jobs fun, or look forward to Monday morning. I understand her job is a lot more involved than mine. It requires a degree or two and lots of technical and business certifications. It pays a bit more than twice what my job pays. She has had almost no free time since she started this job. The corporate Dilbertesque culture is not a good fit for her. I really wish she could find a better job.
Around here 3% surcharge on CC purchases is rapidly becoming commonplace.
Restaurants and small retail are leading the charge. But I expect it’ll be nigh universal in 10 years… if the country holds together that long.
THERE IS A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL for…
We run estate sales. We are running two this weekend.
This is not about the annoying cheapskates. This is not about the thieves.
This about the people who just happen to start garage sales by our estate sales. It happens 75% of the time. Go in to a house, spend a week setting up, advertise, and we start we have 2 or more garage sale that pop up on the same days we are selling. They are taking advantage of our advertising and sucking the unsuspecting customers away.
OK, maybe one or two had planned to have garage sales and are there by coincidence. But most are just assholes.
Fuck them.
We’ve been having issues at work with roof leaks for the last couple of years. Management has been very casual about it - the building is aging, and these things happen. I found out during a meeting this week that they have actually identified the cause of these leaks - bullet holes, presumably from our neighbors across the road shooting their guns into the air. 
The shop where I go for vehicle maintenance and repairs has started doing this too. An oil change is no big deal, but I have to remember to transfer money for larger repairs. And I miss out on earning points, too.
Interesting. I know for a fact that some years ago any merchant charging extra for a CC purchase would be in violation of his merchant agreement and would have his right to accept that CC revoked. If this is no longer the case, it may or may not conform to the Wolfpup theory of EAGW, or Everything Always Getting Worse, also known as “The World Going to Hell in a Handbasket”.
On the bright side, it might encourage extortionate bankers to reduce merchant fees. As someone who at one time did IT consulting for the CC division of a bank, I can assure everyone that those fuckers are just rolling in money.
In the US there was some small bit of consumer protection legislation, or anti-trust, I forget which, passed back around 1990 (ah the nostalgia for a sensible government) that nullified by law those “no surcharge” rules in the card companies’ merchant agreements.
It took a very long time for merchants to break the then-longstanding habit of not surcharging. Now that the dam has developed some big cracks, I expect the valley-flooding deluge to begin soon as surging trumpflation squeezes retail margins hard. The day a big national retailer does it is the day the dam fails completely.
So EAGW is coming.
A decent fraction of gasoline stations, especially more independent ones, have long had two prices: one cash, one credit. Which amount to the same thing.
So which do I get a better deal on – cash, or my credit card with my CC-associated discount card? Wherein instead of paying cash, I present two different plastic cards.
Right now, at least here, the answer is that the latter is definitely the better deal, because the price is the same with cash or CC, so the discount card is really a discount. It’s a “reward” for funneling more money to that particular CC issuer rather than some other.
But of course things could change any time. What a world we live in!