...hmmmm

I taught jr high for over 20 years...
& have lived on this planet for over 60...

but I still don't get what prompts someone...
to leave "inappropriate" comments on a stranger's blog...
[my PDA translated it...]

I guess some people are just...

...anti spam zone

I never considered my blog an art form...
though I may have had a few moments here & there...
and have enjoyed the dialog with readers through the comments...

I seem to have entered a period of little or no comments...
which happens and doesn't bother me...
but lately, there's been a disturbing trend of spam comments...
wanting me to buy something... or at the least, buy into something...

so my answer is to delete the spam comments...



perhaps I may have something to say again someday...
worth leaving a real comment...

as for you spammers...
please keep your get rich schemes...
and get out of debt scams...
to yourself...

..."your call is very important to us..."

I knew that I HAD to accomplish some paperwork today...

after all, my annual county mandated flood insurance payment...
[$388...ouch...] was due tomorrow...
I needed to pay the last little bit...
[$6.97 that my previous insurance wouldn't pay...]
for the ER x-rays from my finger dislocation last December...

as well as a "follow-up" call in the ever continuing saga...
of my attempt to retrieve the last of my TSA funds...
[money needed NOW...since I haven't gotten work yet...]

I started first with what should have been a quick call...
["you received the fax yesterday ? so everything is now OK...
& the check is in the mail ?"]



to my TSA company...in MO...

"no... there's no fax yet...
no...there's nothing we can do until they contact us...
with the clearance to send you your $$$..."

so I called "them"...
[they're in Kansas... ironic, huh ?...]



after pressing "1" for English [don't get me started..]
I was treated to a very twangy recitation...

"welcome to our customer service line...
your call is VERY important to us...
however, all of our customer service representatives...
are currently helping other customers at this time...
as we are experiencing a heavier than normal traffic flow...

if you wish to stay on the line...
you will be helped in the order you have called...
if you wish to leave a message, press "1"...

after a couple of seconds of hopeful silence...
the Muzak began...
[why is it ALWAYS a whiny saxophone ?]
interrupted by a friendly man or cheerful lady...
reiterating just HOW important my call was to them...
and thanking me for my "patience"...

after 37 seconds of "music[?]"...
the loop began again with the twangy lady's message...
she lasted about 12 seconds...
then 25 seconds of music[?]/soothing talker...

then the loop began again...

FOR 47 MINUTES & 38 SECONDS...

[I'm not guessing..I kept checking the elapsed time on my phone...]

when the mind-numbing sameness was broken by "ringing"...
I held my breath...praying that I hadn't been disconnected...
& that I would NOT hear...

"...if you want to make a call...hang-up & dial again..."

thankfully, it was a nice guy with a twangy Kansas accent...

he listened to my travails...
and spent time first researching my question...
then crafting a letter to be faxed to my annuity company...
that should release my $$$...

he also agreed to fax me a copy & we said good-bye...

I then called my annuity company...
[more menu choices... why don't they let you "press x" for "bite me" ?]

they, of course, had NOT received the fax yet...
& since I couldn't recite it from memory...
[my copy was to go to the church...]
the customer service rep. was a bit loath to say...
that the check would be on it's way soon...

so I have to call back tomorrow...
[where have I heard THAT before ?...
oh yeah... HERE... from THEM...yesterday...]

they should have the fax by then...
then I just have to hope that it's what the annuity company needs...
to release my money in a timely manner...
it's NOT a good sign that when I got here[the church...]
there was NO fax waiting for me...sigh...

I also managed to call & renew my FEMA flood insurance...
[I had to call to use a credit card...]
then I called my insurance agent to get her working...
on some quotes for less expensive car/home owners policies...

I also RSVP-ed a wedding...
[I'm playing a different one earlier that same day...]
rescheduled my haircut for August 13, when I will hopefully have $...
mailed some letters on the way down to the church...
and then scheduled several bills to be paid online...
later this month, just before they're due...

then wrote several blog posts & published same...
since stupid Blogger doesn't publish my "scheduled" posts anymore...

all in all... a fairly productive day...
& since I was smart and CLOSED the bathroom door when I left...
Mz Sneaky Pie won't have created any MORE paperwork for me...

now I just have to hope that I"ll have good news tomorrow...
when I call my annuity company, AGAIN...

*SIGH*

...stupid Blogger

is anyone else out there...
having problems with scheduled posts NOT posting ?

This has been going on for a couple of weeks now...

I write several posts to be published at a future time...
put the desired publish date/time in the post...
hit "publish"...am told that it's "scheduled"...

and it never publishes....

stupid Blogger...

I've learned to deal with l-o-n-g image uploads...
having to put a group of images "backwards"...
so that they'll print,"in order"...

but the "scheduling of posts"... worked...

for a long time...
now, not at all..

since I have to travel to get online...
the scheduling allowed me to keep some sort of presence...
on a sort of regular basis...

and now...

I apologize for the rant...
but it really annoys me...

I guess this means that my posts will come in bunches...

stupid Blogger...

...out of sorts[!?!]

if only we could all be like Macky cat...
get "on top of time"...
and stay there...


[this is one of his favorite perches...cats...go figure...]

I spent much of yesterday...
lost in the shadowy valley...
of financial chaos...

I've down-loaded statements to figure out my debt...
my dwindling assets and it seems, what's left of my sanity...

my Quicken software...
with which I've done online banking since 1996...
has stopped allowing me access...
since Oct. 15, 2008... it will not open...

I have re-loaded, used different browsers...
but something has "corrupted" the files...
and now that I really need ALL my records...
to do the taxes, they are not available...

I did not plan for this...
I have a Mac...it NEVER freezes or crashes...
and except for this glitch, is working fine...
but nothing I've done...
re-installed Quicken, contacted Intuit & Apple...
numerous times, I might add...with NO response...
nothing... seems to work...

so I'm "sorting"...

making copies of checking & savings account statements...
[ie "killing trees"...]
to try & categorize my various earning streams...

Quicken lets me tag deposits & payments...
as to tax impact, etc and prepares me charts & lists...
when I can open it...
and since it "opened on demand"...for 12 years...
I had no reason to think it would crash...
but it has & I'm stuck...

stuck...

trying to track all the money I had to take from my TSA...
my church checks, the music gigs I did...
all neatly identified in Quicken...
and totally inaccessible...

amongst all this chaos, is the attempt, by me...
to put my financial house in order...
by organizing and inventorying the debris field...
[also, neatly locked in Quicken...]

and since I have discontinued "paper" statements...
whenever possible, I'm now killing more trees...
going from website to website...
downloading the latest statements...

which I, as of this moment...
can't even put into the RTN software...
because the Excell spread sheets I downloaded...
had to be translated into Appleworks...
and are cranky & really hard to work with...
[you can't see what you're typing until you click enter...
& some fields are not accessible at all...]

did I mention that I can't even get it...
to print-out more than page 1 ?
so filling-in the blanks is not an option...
but I've signed-up, paid $ & have to do this...

obviously, the Excell spreadsheets would work better..
on their native PC...but...I don't use PC...
don't have one...don't have access to one...
am very inept on them & absolutely HATE using them...

I just seem to be going in circles & treading water...

there must be a dozen things God wants me to learn...
and I must be dumber than a sack of doorknobs...
'cause I'm at a loss as to what they/it are/is...
and why it's taking me so long to learn it...

but I know that things happen best...
in His time & His way...

the fact that I hate "this"...the uncertainty...
the clutter...all the sorting...and the facing of the bottom line...
is a pretty good indication that I have to do this...
I just wish I was a better "student"...

'cause I've had enough already...and there's NO end...
in sight...anywhere I can see...that is...

one good thing did come of this digging today, though...

BRMS, which manages health care for retired teachers...
until they get to 65 & go on Medicare...
is the company that I have to send the monthly "pay-up"...
which is the difference between what my district will pay...
for my health care...and what it costs...
from whichever company we're with...

I've always gone with the least expensive HMO...
[Kaiser is NOT a viable choice for me...]
and am now back with Blue Shield again...
they're great, but expensive...

I originally chose "option D"...
which was about $125 p/mo & had all sorts of deductibles...
but they have a quality network...
and don't "nickle & dime" you about needed care...

then I was informed that the district "wasn't sure"...
about who our choices would be...
the cost or options available...
so they danced around, reset deadlines...
re-did enrollment...
and then did it all over again...

when the dust finally cleared...
I had Blue Shield... at a buy-up of $175 p/mo...
at least $50 more per month than I expected...
so since I hadn't been getting my monthly statement...
from the folks at BRMS, I didn't know...
just how much of the $ I'd sent them in June was left ...

and it's a good thing that I contacted them...

the nice young man[NOT in a 3rd world country..]
that I had to wait through 4 muzac tunes to talk to...
told me that their records showed a statement...
going out to me every month...[which I'm NOT receiving...]

and my balance is now $37.35...
so I have to send them more $ soon...
so as not to lose my health insurance...

he's going to send me a 2008 statement for my taxes...
he's checking on why I'm not getting the statements...
and making sure I get a bill, of course...
[he took my phone number...just in case...]

I'm glad to know this before the insurance lapses...
but $175 p/mo more is the last thing I need...
unfortunately, I also saw today what I would have had to pay...
without the insurance for my finger...

I would still have a crooked, throbbing finger...

I know there's a path...
I keep being told to trust & move ahead...

thank you God, for providing my needs...
and leading me through this mess...

...is that spring in the air ?

ah spring... ah-CHOO...
been doing that all day...
at least today's headache is a bit less nasty...
than the one from yesterday...
but today's is making me dizzy too...
which means it's in my ears...

but there's something else in the air around here...
and it's WAY more insidious than mere nose tickling pollen...

the temperate weather, sunshine...
and the untimely onslaught of daylight savings time...
have combined to open doors...and windows...
and the privacy of colder days is gone on a sunbeam...

I arrived home, turned off my car...
and then I heard...something...

I knew that it was supposed to be music...
but as far as I was concerned, it wasn't making it...
this...from a former jr high instrumental music teacher...
who has been in a room with as many as 150+ jr high "musicians"...
all warming-up at once...

but this wasn't a fledgling saxophonist...
exploring the altissimo register...
a would-be trombonist practicing glissandi...
or an erstwhile percussionist perfecting a paradiddle...

this was noise... pure & simple...
sounds without purpose...
pure experimentation like a 3 year old pounding on a piano...

it was a...banjo...

and not the skillfully executed "pickin's"...
of a Deliverance-esque line...
flowing in & out & around in a game of tag with itself...
this was "strumming"...rhythmic disruption of the strings...
in a very "ukulele" type fashion....

no skillful, artful chording either...

just fingers up & down, back & forth over the strings...

somewhere between "the big finish" on a ukulele solo...
and the frantic, climactic strumming of a flamenco guitar...
nothing even vaguely musical...
just noise...

I located the "noise", across and down the street...

it's a rental, and they're fairly new...

I hope it's just a phase...or that they learn quickly...

I was just enjoying the recent departure...
of the rock band 2 doors up the street...
that rehearsed in their garage until after midnight...
with the doors open & NO sound proofing...

and then there's the 3 brothers that live across the street...
who take turns cranking up their car stereos...
when they're working out side...
and have also "adopted" an old upright piano...
that's horribly out of tune...
a fact that doesn't seem to stop them from playing it...

so now that spring is here...
I'm not sure...
am I allergic to the blooming flora ?
or the blooming, inconsiderate, non-musical neighbors ?

...vicodin, vicodin, that's our cry.............. V-I-C-O-D-I-N !

I finally gave in...
after nearly 20 hours of unrelenting, burning, nauseating pain...
I stepped over to the dark side...

6 codeine/Tylenol within a 3 hour span, couldn't touch it...
ice packs[OK, frozen peas... and a real ice pack...]
had the effect of increasing the pain, especially when removed...

as many as 6 Excedrin Back & Body, plus a couple of extra strength Excedrin...
only a slight dulling at first...then no real comfort...

same with 6 Advil... NO effect to speak of...
I only used 4 Advil at a time...
with my amputation...

needless to say, I haven't slept more than 30/40 minutes at a time...
since my finger "woke up" around 10:30 PM last night...

so at 4:15 PM...still having heard nothing back from the doctor's office...
[I had called at 9:15 AM]
on the encouragement of Unkle Phil...
I tried again...this time reaching a nicer person...

so now, I sit here, choking down some food...
[this pain has chased away all my interest in eating...]
so that as soon as my system is clear of the Advil...
I can take some vicodin...



oh...and R is coming tomorrow at 10 AM...
to install the shower door & window...
if all goes well, I may have my first shower tomorrow evening...

all that & pain relief too...

God is good... all the time...

...madder than a wet cat

I was supposed to see the orthopod today...
for a "follow-up" visit...



this...was my dislocated finger the day it was dislocated...
[12/28/08]



here's the same finger today...[01/21/09]



it is crooked...



very sore, especially after I accidentally bumped it today...
[I saw flashing colors, stars and fireworks...
then the throbbing started...]

now, it aches & throbs beyond my available pain medication...



it will NOT bend beyond this point without help...
the top joint doesn't bend at all...

oh...and it was like this... when I saw him, the first time...

three weeks ago...

my own doctor was great...
gave me a referral to the best orthopod group in Mudville...

but the one who saw me, really couldn't have cared less...

so today, when I showed up after a frantic hour...
of transporting cats home from the vet's...
for my appointment, my car running on fumes...
I didn't want to be told...

"since your insurance provider has changed...
we need a referral from the new company...
or you are responsible for the cost of the visit..."


at that point...I'd had way more than "enough"...
so after confirming with the smirking med assistant...
that I could be seen today, but it'd probably cost me, big time...

I basically said, "thanks, but NO thanks"...
and let her know that I hadn't been too happy with the care before...
and that I wasn't going to pay for the "privilege"...
of being ignored & talked down to, again...

so I came home...wet from the rain...
and mad enough to bite the head off a nail...

I called my doctor's office...and got a very nice human being...
[make no mistake, this is a large health care foundation...
with lots of drs, labs & services...& can be totally impersonal...]

this person let me vent...
sympathised with me about the stupid "need" for another referral...
wrote a note for my doctor advising him of my concerns...
especially about the lack of improvement for my finger...
advised me that he wasn't "in" today...
but she would leave him a message...

and was, in general...a "human being"...

when I hung-up...I wasn't mad anymore...

my finger is still swollen, very sore and won't move much...

but my kitties are home...Molly comes home tomorrow...

and the bathroom floor is almost done...
[with a bit of hex tile left over...]

...crime & punishment

I think I'm finally "over" what ever had it's claws into me...
I'm "officially" taking things easy...
but a "lost" week of NOT taking care of business...
has left me with a LOT of stuff to do...

I have to call tomorrow to reschedule the haircut...
that I just completely slept through on Friday...

and pay the couple of bills I still get in the mail...
I can PAY on-line...but I still receive paper statements...

and then... there are the "love notes"...

WAMU informed me that as of October 15, 2008...
they are "closing my credit card account"...
[and in the same letter...
urged me to use it before that date...
no wonder they needed a bail-out...]

I actually have 2 WAMU credit cards...
neither of which I've used for a long time...
both of which have had a zero balance for over a year...

ironically...I attempted to close both of these accounts...
and was told to jump through so many hoops...I gave up...
so as far as I'm concerned...this can't happen soon enough...
and here's the best part... ready ?

today...I got the monthly envelope from WAMU...
containing the "checks to access my credit account"...
the one they're closing for "inactivity"...
and...guess who bought WAMU...?
Chase... the holder of my 2nd...

is it Karma ? or just the universe getting even... ?

HA !

Mudville PD is charging me $72 because my alarm went off...
[the bedroom door was "opened" by guess who...while I was out...]
since then...I've been very careful to check the bedroom door...
before I set the alarm...

my dental insurance is NOT paying what I thought they would...
they consider the reconstruction of my front teeth...
to be "cosmetic" because resin was used...
and so...I owe another $350...
[I'll owe $750 for the upcoming crown...]



and then... there's the speed trap ticket I got last month...
$287... if I go to traffic school, it's $40 more...
and whatever that costs...[turned out to be $28...]
but traffic school is better than "points"...
and higher insurance rates...



once...years ago [probably 10...]
I got a speeding ticket within months of a fender-bender...
I got the warning letter from DMV...
and the "Traffic School" offer...

I couldn't go to court, where I would have probably won...
so I investigated "on-line traffic school"
and one Christmas vacation day... spent about 6 hours on-line...
and got the ticket dismissed...

so when I got the ticket... a couple of days ago...
when I was too sick to deal with it...
I put it in my computer desk to deal with today...

going to the issuing county's website...
I found that I could pay the fine online...
as well as sign-up for and complete traffic school...
after paying my fine/t.s.fee...
I was shown a list of schools...
and after a bit of investigation...
chose "gotaticket.com...



it only cost $28 dollars...
including sending me a copy of my completion certificate...
[the issuing county requires me to send it to them...]
so I've just spent about 5 hours...

reading...taking 5 quizzes...
[I missed 1 question 3 times...and 0 questions 2 times...]
and getting a 100% on my final test....[I'm SO proud...]
[good thing it wasn't algebra... ]

so now...I only have to wait for the Certified letter...
so I can send it in...and I'm done...
and well before the Dec. 9 deadline...

and now I need to go "mail" the other ex$pen$ive bills...

Piglet's been hiding under the bed...
and been really cranky...
perhaps she needs some more pain med...

and then...there's the rest of the mess...

sigh...

..."rat-faced interlopers"

awww... sooo cute...

I grew up on a ranch...
we mostly saw only dead possums...
killed crossing the road...

they were shy and kept their distance...
'cause farmers had dogs... and guns...
as well as cars & tractors...



the ones around us were nocturnal...
which also decreased their "visibility" to us...
we burned our trash...
and threw garbage scraps in the fields...
away from the house...



20 years ago, when I moved into my house...
I was told about the "roof rats"...
who came in on the utility lines...
I was "too far" from the water...
to get raccoons or skunks...

but I might see the occasional possum...



and over the first few years, I did...

since I put out cat food...
I wasn't surprised to attract possums...
omnivores that they are...
and there seemed to be "one"...
each year... I'd catch a glimpse at twilight...
of them scuttling around...
or I'd hear them climbing the tree by my bedroom...

and in the spring...
I'd find the bones...or what was left...
in the garage...or under a bush...
after the winter had "gotten them"...



so with that sad fate in mind...
I trapped the possum who was eating cat food...
about 15 years ago...
took him to a local "park"...
[nature preserve]
and released him into the oak trees...
where he would have lots of food & water...



he looked back at me, as if thanking me...
as he scuttled off into the brush...
my brother, the scientist...
went ballistic when he heard my story...
telling me how stupid I was for not killing it...



because they are not indigenous... [?]
and pests to boot...

they may not be indigenous to WA, where he lives now...
but they certainly are in central CA...
or at least this species is the next best thing...

in the years since then...
the possum population has exploded around here...

last fall, I opened a drawer in my built-in Hall storage...
and found a baby possum smiling back...
sort of like THIS picture...



the access cover, to the crawl space of my house...
was pried open by an opportunistic possum a few years ago...
and it was "game on"...

the back of the built-in drawers in my house are open to below...
as is the bathtub...
and old [80 years +] tubs have a shelf under them...
that has now been the "nursery" for several litters of possums...

they also crawl in between the brick façade...
and the backside of the lath & plaster walls...



this is a shot inside the old electrical service "box"...
the service was moved...
and the electrician promised ...
to close off the old meter opening...
which, of course, "he forgot to do"...
and the little possums discovered this cool route...
right away...

here you can see the old service box on the left...



and on the right...
the cat"accessibility ramp" from outside into my bedroom...
my "oldest cat", Miss Fluff is 17+...and needs some "help"...

that was it's intended purpose, anyway...

it has become the possum ramp...
allowing entrance into my bedroom...
[where cat food awaits...]
if I leave the window open past sunset...

the little ones know NO fear...
& will come in...get startled...
and fall off the bureau...
creating a major problem for me...
just to get them back OUT...

the bigger ones have attitude...
as well as a taste for the cat food...
that I haven't put outside for a year now...
so they will come in & clean out the dish...
if I leave the window open too late...

I've been skulking about lately...
camera in hand...trying for a shot...



so far...this is the best I've gotten...
[the east end, of a west-bound possum headed down the ramp...]

when the demo starts next week...
and they get rousted out...
because the tub is going...
and there'll be mega noise...

I'm planning to seal off the crawl space access...
AND the old electric service box...

they can go back to the garage...
with their rattling in the walls at 3 AM...
the scuttling around under the tub...
the nesting in drawers...

never again do I want to have a cat...
stalking the bathroom wall...
[chasing spiders is one thing...
pawing at the wall, where scratching sounds can be heard...
from inside...is too much...]

to mis-quote Shakespeare, "out, damn possum..."

...you know the election is on the horizon when...

I need to put "premium" in my car...
and about a month ago...
I was paying $4.859 per gallon...

yesterday...
I noticed that it was only $ 4.499 per gallon...
I even saw regular for $3.999 per gal at one place today... !

since the news has been full of higher crude prices...
it took me a moment ...
then I realized why prices had started dropping a bit...

IT'S LATE JULY...THE ELECTION IS COMING...


[want to bet they'll be at this level...or lower, by November ?]

they did this for the LAST election too...
let the prices drop...
then after the election...BAM !
up they go...and blame it on "winter heating oil" needs...



I'm not sure that it would make any difference ...
WHO is in power at this point in our economic "free fall"
these are questions NO ONE has answers for...
and has anyone EVER been able to control greed...



which leads me to my new mantra...



I HATE politics... and ALL politicians...

am I going to vote ? ...yes...
for whom ? ...I have NO idea...

...more "fun" with Chevron

does anyone else find extremely disturbing ...
the fact that Chevron gives you 5 digit boxes...
to the left of the decimal point...
on their billing statement...
in which to write the total that you OWE them ?

post script to "ARGH" post...
I received THIS bill
a couple of days after doing battle...
and paying my bill online...
today... I finally got them to "register" my account...
AGAIN... for "easy online access"...

...ARGH !

I didn't get to sleep until sometime after 2 AM...
so when the phone rang at 8 AM...
it woke me up...

I looked at "caller ID"...
the same gasoline credit card company...
that had been calling...
using a "recorded" message...
about how I could lower my interest rates...

since I only use this card to get my car washed...
I had been ignoring their persistent urgings...
to "lower my interest rates"...
[I HAD listened to it... once... ]

this time however, someone with a strong accent...
informed me that "my account was in collection"...
and did I want to make a phone payment...
to "bring my account current" ?

I always pay the entire balance...
pay my bill online...
and hadn't received a bill from them...
for a while...

"she" informed me that I had LAST "made a payment" online...
in mid-March...
and I needed to make a payment...
NOW... of $ 30.00... !!!
[what ? ...did I buy a gallon of gas for my mower ?...]
or I was going to be in "big trouble"...
[anyway...that was her tone...
and it made my sleep deprived brain, angry...]

so I informed her that "I would take care of it on line"...
and hung up...

childish... ? yes...
immature in the extreme... ? to be sure...
satisfying... ? OH... SO MUCH SO...

still trying to wake up...
I dragged my groggy self to the computer...
went to my bookmarks...
found the company...
clicked on the link...

"PAGE NOT FOUND"

so I went to my search engine...
typed in the company...
got mixed results...
had to keep refining to find "online accounts"...

[mind you... I've had an "online account" with them FOR YEARS...
my credit card expires in 2011...]

I finally find the RIGHT LINK...
try to log-on...
and it prompts me to "register"...
if I haven't used the site since 3/30/08...

since I paid my last bill online, on 3/15/08...
I have to register...

after scrambling to get my card...
[get dressed... clean up 3 "Rob surprises" in front of door...
throw "Rob mess" in the trash can, which I move to the curb...
go to my car... start to sweat... it's hot already...
find my purse... come back in... sit down ...]
I begin the "process"...

as I attempt to "register"...
the company website is NOT co-operating ...
the "safari keychain login prompt" reappears CONSTANTLY...
[so much for their "secure login"]
and finally tells me...
"we can't access your information at this time...
please try again later..."

so I wait...about 10 seconds...
and "try again"...

now... they are telling me ...
that my username and password are already "assigned"...
[yes, you morons...to ME...]

so I try my OTHER email address...
AND GET THE SAME PROMPT...!

so I try to sign-on...
using the names "already assigned"...
and get the prompt...
"username NOT recognized or inactive"...

I try the "other" username...
same response...

now, convinced that this #$*(^% site is "out to get me"...

I go to the "contact us" page...

finding the ubiquitous "800" number...
[REALLY hoping ....
that I don't have to talk to that same person...
that I hung up on...]



a perky automated voice prompts me to make "choices...
[I HATE perky...]

after choosing... 1 [English]... 1 [consumer]... 2[other]...
and entering my account number and last 4 digits of my SS#...
"ms perky automated voice" announces...
"I'm sorry... I can not help you at this time...
please stay on the line and your call will be transfered..."

I hear the phone ring... then silence...

until....

"if you would like to make a call...please hang up and dial again..."

THEY DROPPED ME !



with steam coming out of my ears...

[that has nothing to do with the current heat storm...
they expect 111/112 today & tomorrow...]

I go back to the "contact us" page...
find "online account help"...
and dial...
becoming evermore suspicious ...
that this is the SAME number I JUST called...

same perky automated voice answers [grrr]...
impatiently... I wait through the commercial...
[about how online access is SO easy...
and wouldn't I much rather do that instead ?]

then I enter.. 1... 1... 2... account #... SS#...
[it's hard to enter numbers with your fingers crossed...
but mine are as I wait for the "hand off"...]
it rings... THIS TIME... it works...
[that's 5 minutes I'll never see again...]

now a slightly-less perky automated voice...
[I like this one already...]
"guides me" through the menu...
1... 1... 2... 5... account #... SS#...

ms "slpav" informs me that a minimum balance of ...
"thirty dollars and zero cents" is due by July, 30th, 2008"
a "check by phone" is available ...
for the one-time fee of "ten dollars and zero cents"...

if I wish to proceed with blah, blah, blah... "press one now"...

this same format is followed as "she" informs me of the total balance...
[two hundred five dollars and twenty-eight cents]
then she says... "if you wish to make the minimum payment
of thirty dollars and zero cents... press one now"...
[I wait...]
"if you wish to pay the entire balance of....
blah, blah, blah... press two now..."
[I press 2....]

she then explains, again... about the fee...
"of ten dollars and zero cents" and askes me to confirm my agreement...
[I press 1...]

she THEN goes through the WHOLE total PLUS the fee thing...
and asks me to confirm that...
[I press 1]

then "she" explains where I can find my bank routing number...
[wow... really ? so THAT'S what that is...]
and I have to enter it, followed by the # key...
this is repeated for my checking account number...
also followed by the # key...
[they have ALL this info already...in my online account...
if they would have only let me access it...]

finally after reiterating the entire transaction we have just done...
word for word... number by number...
fee by fee... plus the grand total of...
two hundred fifteen dollars and twenty-eight cents...
including the ten dollar and zero cents fee...
for the one time payment from my checking account...
AND requiring me to "press one now..."
she starts to list all my options...

I've had MORE than enough... thank you very much...
so I hang up...
realizing that I've just finished doing ...
what the "phone lady" wanted me to do...
well over an hour ago...

and I STILL don't have my online account "registered"...
if my mail delivery wasn't so "suspect"...
I'd tell them...