Not long after I posted yesterday, I got a phone call from the SSA. Apparently, getting assistance from a congresscritter worked. In about fifteen minutes, we completed the process for me to retire.
This has been a process that has dragged out since September (actually, I think August but…). Because I am also filing for disability (getting hit by lightning sucketh mightily), I could not fill out the form online. For some reason, SSA disables functionality for a variety of reasons, including current/prior claims, even though they are doing pretty much nothing here in the office. In fact, my call was from the Birmingham office, not the Indianapolis office.
The hoops now jumped through, the next step is for the retirement to be filed (their end), me to be notified by mail, and hopefully no other steps crop up. Which means that with luck, and clicking my heels together three times while chanting there’s no place like home, by the end of February I will actually be retired and get my retirement pay.
I should be celebrating, but frankly I’m just tired. This has been a major time suck, frustration, and stress inducement. SSA has told the congresscritter that it is done, so it really should be done. Thing is, at this point, I’ll believe it when I see it. The letter confirming things is a step. I really won’t believe it until the first deposit hits the bank. Even then, I will probably be waiting for a shoe to drop given the experience.
I hope you all have a great weekend. May next week see a little more normality in terms of the blog and writing.
Well, we are being warned of another winter storm, and this time I think we may get it based on my joints lighting up like a Christmas tree. Last time, the joints and body said not so much. This time, saying the opposite. Hope the body is wrong, to be honest, but not counting on it.
Yesterday, I walked a mile or so to go to a nearby Mexican grocery to pick up some hot sauce and a special type of chicharrones that is my keto/paleo version of pop corn. Good walk, if weather was better would love to do more. I was going to walk to the Aldi, which would be several miles there and back, but turns out the landlord is going to be going later so will go with him. As much as I need the exercise, I was NOT looking forward to some of the areas on that walk.
Meantime, other than a better means of emergency heating, I’m about as set as I can be. Will pick up a few things at Aldi in addition to essentials.
Still working car issues. I have a plan, and am moving out on it as best I can. I have a backup plan of sorts. Working on a GOTH plan as I can. A lot depends on donations, funding, and related. Some depends on finding better options. What will be, will be. Just have to have faith that that which is right will be.
Really had hoped to get back to some serious writing today, but the body has different plans. I didn’t sleep well last night because of the joint and other issues. To be honest, I hurt pretty badly right now. Hate being a WLB, but even with lots of Ranger candy, it’s sorta bad.
More soon, I hope.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
I hope. Spending time this morning talking with my mechanic, chasing down the apparent unicorn that is good-transmission-work-at-reasonable-price, and doing other things towards eventually getting my car repaired. Would love to find a good “new” used vehicle, but prices are still ridiculous. More soon. If you are in Indy and know both a good transmission specialist and a tow truck that is reasonable, please do let me know. Thanks.
Been debating about mentioning this, but think I need to. I said something the other day about the car acting not-funny. Turns out, the not-funny is the transmission, and Thursday I made it home even as a master warning message popped up. It has fluid according to the dipstick, but something is going very wrong there. Which greatly complicates life given lack of funds and the fact that my regular mechanic is a fair distance away. I think I can get it down there, but it is not guaranteed.
So, doing a lot of thinking as I don’t have a spare or an alternative right now. I also don’t have the funds. The right thing will happen, and if anyone knows someone who does transmission work here in Indy, is good, and reasonable, do let me know. Meantime, prayers are appreciated.
Probably not going to get much written here, on the novel (which continues to unfold in my dreams), or anywhere else. Instead, I have to check some things on the car (which is doing not-funny), and drive down to a doctor’s office to try and get a copy of some records. Having to go in person as I’ve been unable to get this done by phone or by their web site/portal.
I’ve also sought the assistance of one of my senators in regards the ongoing saga of trying to retire early. I have some paperwork I need to do and scan before heading out to the doctor’s office. Only hoping this moves faster than the SSA.
While I’m out, I’m hoping to pick up some supplements I’m out of thanks to your generosity. Actually going to hold back on groceries if needed to get that done. While I am not sure how much good a couple of the supplements really do, the current mix has gotten me some truly excellent results in terms of blood work, so I am cautious about changing things up.
Yes, it’s Friday the 13th. I prefer the Japanese take on it and am hoping for a day of good fortune. Meantime, plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes. 🙂
Hope to do a follow-up post to the Texas shooting story tomorrow. May have to call it an Eastwood post as it needs to cover the good, the bad, and the ugly.
There was something else, but since I didn’t make a list for this post, well… If I remember it later, will add it in.
Meantime, be safe and have a great day!
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
I’ve been gathering medical records for various filings, and they are interesting. They can sometimes reveal things the docs didn’t tell you about, and sometimes they show other things.
Some I got this week informed me that I was struck by lightning while sitting on my horse.
Actually, I wish I had a horse. Not a pony, I’m not asking for a pony. Now, if an older horse who is calm (and shares a similar view on life) were to come into my life, that would be great. I loved horseback riding, and want to do more when and as I can.
As best I can tell, the mixup may come from voice-to-text operations, as the initial notes correctly show I was on the porch, and it looks like house somehow ended up horse. For me, I’m now waiting to see who, if anyone, notices it as things progress.
I had planned to get a lot of things done yesterday, but that was before I remembered it was a holiday for many. So, things got shifted to the right. I’m jumping through some hoops, trying to get records, juggle prescriptions, and see if I have enough funds to go to the grocery store here soon. Here’s hoping more people remember to switch their phone systems back off holiday mode here soon…
I hope that all of you had a Blessed and wonderful Christmas! Mine was good, though I eagerly await a return to the 50s after the storm. Thankfully, we did not get hit as bad as predicted though it has been cold and icy.
Which is why I’ve taken a few days off. The weather has done a job on my joints, and there was one morning I just went from bed into the shower for about 20 minutes to get the arms working. Getting my cookware from the top shelf of the cabinet has been interesting a couple of mornings.
Still no word from the SSA, which sadly doesn’t surprise me. Going to wait and see, really not expecting anything this week. The complaint I filed with the Indiana Attorney General about PayPal refusing to close my account got the attention of some people at PayPal. They swear there really is a technical issue, they are working on it, please be patient: I just want the account closed, now.
More soon, and if you are a Russian businessman or woman, don’t go near the windows.
I’m not optimistic for parts of 2023, but I also hope and pray that it is a good year (on some levels at least) for us all!
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
Cheerfully stolen from Twitter
As I noted earlier this week, we have a severe winter storm approaching. It is accompanied by several sides of hype (bomb, cyclone, historic) but if it doesn’t fizzle it is going to be an interesting few days. As in we are supposed to go today from near 40 to -8 in just a few hours.
The reason I think there is any chance of a fizzle is because of our dear mayor, Boss Hogsbreath (aka Photo-op Joe), who apparently has called it historic. Given his accuracy and track record with such pronouncements, there should now be a line in Vegas for betting that it turns into a bad rainstorm.
Meantime, I’m as prepared as I can be. I admit, if more money suddenly appeared in my account, or someone called the Total Wine and More up on the north side of Indianapolis and arranged a gift certificate, I would go out so long as I could be home by about noon. Really don’t see it getting bad before about 1500, but driving and traffic are both already atrocious and getting worse. Besides, want to see if I can talk the landlord into letting me salt the entire driveway after the rain stops so as to prevent icing.
Fantasy aside, my plans for the day include cooking my Christmas entree in case we do have power issues, and maybe doing some almond flour shortbread. Entree is a play off some rabbit I had in France years back, which was amazing. It was flattened and wrapped around a minced mushroom concoction that was absolutely delicious. No rabbit, so going to flatten some chicken and do the same thing with some truffled mushroom mix I found. Put it in a pan, crust with pesto, and put in a bit of a very nice pinot grigio, and bake. The pinot grigio is one I found for about $5 at Aldi. Same one as Thanksgiving, and remember: if you would not drink a wine, you don’t want to cook with it. Going to serve it over mash, know I should have a green of some type, but just couldn’t come up with anything I really wanted. Going to have a proper English Christmas pudding for desert. Not sure it qualifies as a figgy pudding, but it should be tasty. No, not on the diet, but don’t care.
Which reminds me, there was no posting yesterday as I went and did my shopping early. I really expect it to be horrible today, and it was not fun yesterday. Had to hit more stores than planned even on my reduced list given some of the things that were not in stock. Oddly, hardest thing to get was some star anise, which I only found at my (least favorite) Indian grocery. I went early, thank goodness, as it was picking up quite a bit after noon. By the time I hit my FI/broke point, I was probably twitching like Inspector Clouseau’s boss in the movies. Don’t like crowds at the best of times (esp. after Iraq), and rude crowds are not a delight. Things were getting rude there towards the end.
Did I get everything I wanted or needed? No, but I got enough to get by for several days at need. I have coffee, and thanks to a very kind person I have some Sambuca to go in that coffee on Christmas morning (or tomorrow morning if the power goes out overnight). The last bottle of red wine in the cellar is earmarked for mulling at some point this weekend. BTW, you want a fruity red to mull, not a dry red. Easy to do: 1T whole clove, 2 star anise, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2-4 oz brandy, orange peel, and about 1T of raw honey (to taste). DO NOT BOIL! Heat gently until steaming and don’t let it get past that point.
If I haven’t said it before, do take advantage of various store frequent customer programs. The one for The Fresh Market has been really good at lowering my bill with both discounts and various certificates. Next time I buy coffee, going to get it for almost half off. Yes, they can get a lot of info from you, but you can set limits. Also, rules can say what they want, but there is no law requiring information to be accurate or precise. I usually decline to answer a number of (so-called optional) questions and if not allowed to decline, well, if some store thinks I am really a 101-year-old lesbian who makes $500,000 a year, well, that’s their problem.
Depending on how energetic I feel, I may go ahead and put up some aluminum foil in strategic locations. My room has a decorative fireplace (really hope no one ever tried to use it because even before it was closed off it would have killed everyone in the house) that I’m lining so the multiple pillar candles in the holder in it can really get some light out. Otherwise, not much to do to prepare.
Have told the housemate that if he does go into work tonight (good odds they may close anyway), that I will loan him one of my assault rucks provided he puts blankets, extra clothing, food, and water in it as his drive is interesting. Not sure going into work would be bad, but thinking getting home tomorrow morning could be more than a little interesting. Have warned him about sweating in severe cold.
Speaking of which, would there be any interest in a post on cold-weather emergencies and survival? Just some high points, because provided you are dressed properly, you can work in some dangerously low temperatures. Been there, done that, -45 wind chills and all. Really do need to share the story of some friends who had to open the freezer up so things in it would stay frozen, and close the refrigerator periodically to keep the contents from freezing.
Sorry for the ramble, but I didn’t plot things out this morning. Just decided to wing it. If you are in the path of this storm, be prepared. If not, be glad. Be safe and take care of yourselves and those you love as we approach Christmas. May the stress and worst of the season avoid you, and you avoid it.
