A visit to the pulmonologist, followed by a co-op board meeting

 

There were two things on my docket for today, and both required that I present myself as Mario.  This was just as well, as it rained in the morning, making trousers a more practical garment for the day.  

But first....

When I last visited my now former pulmonologist, I knew that this would be my last visit with him due to his coming retirement at year end.  Everything went well, and I made sure to schedule my follow-up with another pulmonologist in the same medical group that day.  Today was that follow-up.

The first thing I did was to transfer my ID and money into Mario's wallet, and got dressed to present as Mario.  Around 1 pm, I drove to the doctor's office and checked in.  Within 5 minutes, I was brought into the back, and an assistant took my vitals - everything was OK.  Then the doctor came in, saying that the CPAP machine reported my daily use, and the machine was effective in helping me sleep properly.

My next step was back home to rest, as I was feeling tired.  After a rest, I opened up the co-op board meeting.  Unfortunately, the co-op president was caught in traffic, and I had to fill in the gap for an hour or so.  Eventually, our president joined in, and we got down to business.  Our new member was welcomed, and he looks like he will become a valuable member.

Once done with my business for the day, I called RQS.  She was much more energetic than usual, noting that she had a much worse time with the weather than I did - she got soaked on the way for her medical visit (or, at least, her shoes did).  But she was able to resolve a problem with her transit card.  That was good news.  And on that note, I'll end this post....  

How does one deal with a company which has bad customer service?

 

 

 

Someone I know lost her mom during Covid.  She now has a problem caused by a business who, after 2 attempts to get the problem resolved, still can't get things right.  In fact, the firm's representative suggested that my friend break the law to get it resolved.  AARGH!!!!

 

But first....

 

The problem started when my friend's mom overpaid the premiums on an insurance policy.  This would not normally be a problem, as eventually the over payment would be refunded to the customer.  However, the customer died during the pandemic.  Sometime late last year, the insurance company sent a notice to the wrong address for this woman, and the woman's granddaughter passed the notice on to my friend along with a refund check addressed to my friend's mother. My friend now had a dilemma.  The estate was closed out several years ago.  There was no bank account in which the check could be deposited and funds passed through to the woman's heirs.  How should she proceed to get this money? 

 

My friend's first task was to find out exactly who to contact in the insurance company.  This was the first layer of the problem.  Many companies issue checks from an entity holding a different corporate name than the entity with which one did business.  (Think of private label credit cards - a credit card issued with the Exxon, Sunoco, Shell or other fuel companies might send its refund checks with a Citibank payer name on the check.) In my friend's case, this was harder than it should have been for her.

 

The next layer of the problem was that the customer service number wasn't geared for payee problems.  It was geared for collection problems - their focus was on collecting money from people who were late on their payments, not on those that the company paid money to.  Yet, through perseverance, my friend was able to reach someone in customer service.  She explained the situation to someone in a foreign call center, and was told to submit proof of her mother's death and proof that she was the executor of the estate - which she did. 

 

Several weeks later, my friend received a check.  When my friend looked at the check, it was made out to be paid to her mother.  She called the company back and got someone who could barely speak English and was likely to be making things up on the fly to keep my friend happy.  My friend explained the problem, and the woman at the other side of the line told my friend - pretend you are your mom and cash the check.  The customer center suggested that my friend commit a crime to get the money that should be paid to her.  This was a ludicrous suggestion, and my friend insisted that the problem be fixed properly by issuing a check with my friend's name on it.  The call center lady "agreed" and said that a new check would be sent out shortly.

 

Another few weeks went by, and my friend received a second check.  And again, the check was issued to her mom.  So again, my friend made a call to the company and reached another person.  Again, the foreign call center suggested that she cash the check, and she refused.  This time, she led the call center fellow through the situation and got him to state who the check would be made out to (my friend's name).  This time, my friend thought the problem would be resolved and forgot about it for a while.

 

Still, another few weeks went by.  When my friend returned home after a long weekend, she found another check in her mailbox.  Opening up the envelope, she again found a check - again with her mom's name. Now, my friend became royally pissed off.  What should she do now?

 

I suggested that she talk to a lawyer (she has one in her family) as well as contact Elliot Advocacy.  Another friend suggested that she go to her bank and ask what to do.  Hopefully, she will get an answer she needs and finally get this problem resolved once and for all....   

 

 

 

 

 

  

Food for thought

 

The above picture of me was taken at Washington, DC's Kennedy Center.  It seems such a long while ago that I felt safe in visiting DC as Marian, and I don't plan on visiting there until the present regime is gone. But I'm wondering whether it is still safe t stay in "Civilized" areas of this country anymore, now that the Orange Snowflake is calling out the National Guard to suppress anti ICE ("La Migra") protests in Los Angeles, CA.

Our "Chief Executive"  believes that universal cruelty in oppressing his enemies, and that a disregard for law and order to feather the nests of him and his friends is OK.  He has no respect for women, people of color, as well as the LGBTIQ community.  He is a narcissist who has decided to imitate his authoritarian friends by holding a military parade in our nation's capital on his birthday.  

In a previous entry, I mentioned that the Catholic Church may be sending a message that it is time to send a message that people like the Snowflake are evil and must be resisted. But how?  As much as my heart wants to see violence used against the violent, this might not be the right approach when dealing with the Snowflake, as he will likely use even more violence against us.  So, what can be used against him?  Malicious compliance may be the best answer.  Bureaucracies exist for good reason. In addition to administrating public services provided by the government, they serve to subconsciously remember "lessons learned" from prior systemic failures, and help prevent them from happening again.  As the church provides for spiritual welfare, government bureaucracies provide for economic and social welfare.  Without some of the protections provided by today's governments' social programs, we would have likely seen our republic fall during the great depression of the 1930's.  Sadly, we are in a position where our nation will soon need to choose one of two paths to preserve a social order: (1) Authoritarianism, where a dominant group oppresses all others to maintain its power, or (2) Democratic Socialism, where the social leadership uses its economic power to deal with the needs of the less powerful, reducing the chance for a revolution like France had in the 1700's.

In short, our society has a simple choice: (1) Use violence to maintain an increasingly corrupt social and economic order, or (2) Use economic power to deal with the needs of the underprivileged to maintain the stability of society.  Citizens can help make it easier for our leaders to make the right choice by making our voices heard, and getting in the way of people who would choose wrongly. Demand accountability whenever possible.  Attend public forums.  Scream and shout, as squeaky wheels get the most grease. 

Years ago, Gandhi used non-violent methods to make it untenable for the United Kingdom to remain in India.  It is unlikely that America will ever develop something like the "Great Internet Firewall of China" to prevent Americans (and the world) from having access to the truth, and not just what the Snowflake wants us to hear.  We must use this tool as a weapon against authoritarianism while we can....

I decided to spend another day in NYC

 

Do you think I really need to take this class?  Probably not.  Yet, there are some things about building sites using WordPress that may be of use to me.  Specifically, I want to leave something NOT connected to Google's blogger for my co-op's long term use. Given that this is a free class, I don't expect too much from it.  But it will be an opportunity for me to visit NYC, take the class, have a light dinner, and then see a (Off ?) Broadway play at half price.

The first question I have is: Do I attend as Mario or as Marian?  Given that I will likely be one of many people here, I will likely blend into the woodwork either way.  Since it will likely be in the low 80's, I will likely go as Marian and wear a summery dress to be comfortable in the expected weather for the day of the class.  After this, I have to determine which play to see.  This is the harder question for me to answer, as I don't want to spend a lot of money right now. So far, I lean towards seeing "Operation Mincemeat", 

Todaytix.com describes Operation Mincemeat as follows:

How did a dead body, a fake love letter, and — of all people — Ian Fleming turn the tide of World War II? Winner of the 2024 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and the most acclaimed West End show ever with 77 five-star reviews (and now four Tony Award nominations), Operation Mincemeat tells the chaotic true story you couldn’t make up if you tried. It’s 1943, the Allies are losing, and there’s only one thing left to do: risk it all on a stolen corpse. Singin’ in the Rain meets Strangers on a Train in this fast-paced, hilarious musical retelling of a twisted secret mission. 

Yes, this story is derived from a real life story which has been made into a movie.  I figure that it may be a fitting thing to see given that this play, like my last, is inspired by a gruesome reality.

Big question: How do I fit in a bite to eat between the time the class ends and the time the play begins?

A return to Savor

This is one side of Savor in Mahopac, NY.  There is a restaurant on the other side of the building that RQS and I went to over the weekend - and we'd both want to go back there soon.

But first....

As usual, I have yet to make a major dent in the clutter in my apartment before RQS arrived for the weekend.  So, before she arrived, I started to fold/store the laundry I had in the baskets from yesterday, then hang up much of the clothes hanging on my closet's  sliding  door guides. Even so, the apartment remained in its usual state of disorganization when I went to pick RQS up at the station.

It's a matter of fact, that I will usually be wearing a nice dress when I pick RQS up at the station.  Today, I was wearing a short, sleeveless, denim dress, as I was expecting warm and humid weather outside - and I was right.  One of the first things that RQS mentioned was that it was warmer than expected.  I responded, noting that it was 90° outside. Then, she realized why she was feeling warm, as 4 pm is often the warmest part of the day in summer weather.

Since both of us were hungry, I asked RQS if she wanted to try the restaurant I went to at a recent meetup. So, I drover to Mahopac, and pulled into the last parking spot in front of the restaurant.  Walking in, I was greeted by the same waitress who served our meetup group, and she remembered me from earlier in the week.  We were seated inside, and told that we should be done by 6 pm, as a large party was expected then.  This was not going to be a problem for us, as it was only 4:30 pm, and I knew we'd be out before 5:30 pm.  Once we sat down, I looked for the menu items I had on my last visit - and I was not disappointed.  RQS chose a half-size portion of her pasta dish, and still had leftovers to bring home.

It was a nice start to a weekend....

 

What do you do when you've bought way too many clothes?

 

I love how I looked when this picture was taken years ago.  It was a period where I was exploring my feminine side, as well as making many clothing mistakes which enabled people to "clock" me.  Now, I have developed a reasonable self-confidence, but have an overflowing closet to show for it.

Going through my closets tends to be a disruptive experience.  Tossing things I never wear into donation bags isn't the problem.  Instead, it'd the feeling that I might just wear these garments again (or for the first time) in the future.  There are dresses in my closet that I haven't worn yet thanks to Universal Standard's mystery boxes, as well as dresses in the closet which no longer excite me.  So, pruning my closet is the only logical thing I can do.

A similar thing has to be done with my undies and my bras.  The difference is that whatever I no longer want to wear has to go into the trash bin.  Yet, this isn't as hard as it could be.  Whenever I find something on the verge of wearing out, I toss it.  Given that I've been buying a better grade of undies than I originally bought in the stores, my old drawer of "unmentionables" is getting a refreshment as well.

Years ago, I complained that my late wife was a clothes horse.  Well, the only difference between us in this area is that I can afford to keep myself in a refreshed wardrobe at will....   

A trip to Daryl's House with Vicki

 

Daryl Hall (of Hall and Oates) owns a music venue in Pawling, NY that was once occupied by the Towne Crier Cafe (now in Beacon, NY).  Tonight, one of Vicki's favorite performers, Martin Sexton, performed there, and we went up for dinner and a show.

- - - - - -

My day started with me starting to write an entry for my cruise related blog.  Although experienced travelers would have packing for a cruise down to a science, inexperienced travelers might need guidance.  This entry is meant to give those people some of the guidance they need.  While writing this entry, I decided to catch up on laundry, and put 3 loads through the washer and dryer.  By the time the laundry was done, I turned off the computer, brought the laundry upstairs, and then proceeded to get ready to meet Vicki at her place.

Given how warm it was today, I decided to wear the dress above.  I figured that the less I wore, the less oppressive this weather would be for me.  Even this would make me feel like I was wearing too much due to the heat and humidity outside.  But I digress.  Leaving my apartment at 4:45 pm, I knew that I'd make it to Vicki's place by 5:00 pm.  Yet, Vicki was expecting me to be a little late, and we didn't start our journey to Pawling for another 10 minutes.

Now, driving to Pawling during rush hour is rarely a pleasant drive.  If one takes the most commonly used routes from Vicki's house, one would drive to Route 684, then follow Route 22 North to Pawling.  One problem - traffic along this stretch of road moves very slow during rush hour.  So, Vicki consulted Google for directions (I feel that she depends on Google too much for my taste), and it took us through back roads to get near Pawling.  Given how remote this area is, I would not consider returning via this road at night.

On our way there, we discussed many things - with Vicki trying to take control of the conversation when I was discussing will making.  I didn't need any advice on how to make a will.  Instead, I simply needed to figure out what I want to have done with my assets when I pass away.  I wasn't venting. All I was doing was to state where my mind was at, and she went into problem solving mode.  Thankfully, I have her as a friend and not as a spouse. 

We reached Pawling at 6:00 pm, and were seated 1 table away from the stage.  I ordered the fried calamari appetizer and a huge pork chop for dinner - and I'd order both again the next time we are there.  Dinner was over for us around 7:00 pm, and we killed an hour before Martin Sexton came on stage.  Both of us enjoyed his performance of Beatle songs (his latest album covered the entire Abbey Road album), and I found it interesting that Vicki enjoyed some Beatle music.  (Long story here, which I'm not in the mood to cover now.)  After a break, he performed a set of his own music, and the show was over by 10:00 pm.

For our return, Vicki knew that the easiest way home was the most direct way home.  I was home by 11:00 pm and ready to call it a night.