I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

Okay, this post is about my adventures with Social Security.

Here's the scoreboard of the pile of letters from the above:

1. I am entitled to SSI (supplimental income) payments of $66.50, starting in Feburary (which said payment was supposed to begin in March)...and also telling me that I am entitled to Social Security Disability payments of 761 dollars per month, beginning in March (which I never got due to a computer glitch that said my account was suspended--even tho' it wasn't)

2. I was not entitled to SSI payments for March, and they want their money back--NOW.

(Followig this letter, I went to try and pay back said payment, and they refused to take it, saying that I was indeed entitled to payments in March.)

3. Antoher letter, saying that I was entitled to SSI payments in January, to the tune of $258.

4. Another letter, once again stating that I was NOT entitled to SSI payments in March, and that they would take it from my April (May) SSD payment.

5. A letter stating that my SSD payments (the one's that were supposed to start in March) would FINALLY begin in April (arriving in May), and have been reduced to $731 dollars.

6. A letter stating that I would be entitled, beginning in May OR June, to $13 dollars in SSI payments per month.

7. A letter stating (that, as usual, came 4 days after I got the cheque), that I was entitled to SSD payments from Jan. to April of 2007, to the tune of $2,197.50--which is REALLY confusing, because I did, in fact, get SSD payments last year, for Jan. to March....what's with that?

No explainations, of course. God forbid that Bush's ultra neo-conservative government should actually have to explain themselves!

Are we dizzy yet???

I would love to change my citizenship to another country, but is there any democratic nation left, with ANY semblance of sanity???

Woke up this morning, thinking it was Friday...how weird is that?

Anyway, short work day, today. Not enough work for me, so I'm done at 1pm instead of the usual 3pm.

It was boiling this morning! No, really. At half-past 9 am, it was already 71 F (21 C)! It's supposed to go to 75 or more (25 C) by this afternoon. Believe it or not though, there's still a few patches of snow around. Under the shadowed corner of the big Presbyterian church down the way from me, and on the slopes of West Mountain Ski Area in West Glens Falls, there's still bits of the white stuff lying about.

But, the kids are fishing in the city's Crandall Pond, and going at batting practice in Crandall Park, the motorcycles are spaltting down Glen Street, and cyclists are out in droves.

But, alas, by tomorrow, it will once again be more seasonal, with rain coming in, and temps ten to fifteen degrees cooler.

I'm off tonight, while the weather's agreeable, to downtown Glens Falls for a free celtic concert at the old restored Park Theatre. It'll be nice (I hope) to get out and actually do something NOT related to a chore or errand.

So, yesterday, I went to the local health center. Three months and they still can't assign a proper doctor to me--doctor's shortage. The rich get doctors, America's poor get PA's...aka: "doctor juniors." Although, sometimes, these Physican's Assistants can be more thorough and caring than the doctor's themselves.

I also am working on getting affordable health insurance. Right now, I have to shell out a minimum of $20 per visit--or more (tack on to that,approximately an additional $8 for round-trip cab fare) and often, pay full or half-price for my meds...that's $20 to $100 plus, for prescriptions. On my low income, that's a hefty chunk of change. Actually, $20 was about half my weekly food budget, until recently.

So, time for the good news (at least, I hope it's good news, and stays good news, and doesn't eventually translate into more bad news, later on..and, if any of that makes sense, then you've been hanging around me too much, and you too, probably need some serious therapy, ha-ha).

So, I get more food stamps--at least for the moment.

And, according to my apartment building's manager, with the payment of last month's and this month's rent this past week, I just narrowly avoided an eviction notice--they had it ready to mail out to me....essentially, I very, very literally escaped homelessness (or, as I call it, "my worst nightmare") this week, by the proverbial skin of my teeth.

And, the Social Security is (I think) finally straightened out--the next post will address that little bother.

Also, if things keep up in this light, I should have internet service at home again, sometime by July or August...maybe sooner, maybe later. Depends on how long it takes me to save up the cash, and also depends, of course, the lack of any serious disasters or crises' that will suck the funds away again.

Moving on,

Wow! I'm hearing a ton of good things about the Dr Who Series 4...that's nice. It's a fantastic show, and I harbour good thoughts about everyone conncected with it.(Despite the DW/DT captions/jokes.)

Wrote page 8 this morning, of my latest Dr Who story, played with the cats...well, Flame is becoming quite the character. Yesterday--my day off, when I'd planned to sleep in an extra hour, she had me up at 7 flippin' am in the mornign. She tried licking my face (this is the cat that likes to drink from the loo, btw--yech!!!) All I did was groan and roll over, trying to go back to sleep. That didn't work, so she planted a paw firmly on my forehead, and pulled my earplug (that I wear due to the hyperactive teens upstairs, bouncing off the walls all night) out of my ear, and began licking my earlobe. Arrgghhh! I love my cats, truly I do, but there are times... On top of that, Flame disappeared for two hours last night....and, being a bad cat mum, I didn't notice. Seems she'd slipped into my bedroom closet while I was hanging up the clean shirts, after my return from the laundromat yesterday, and I simply never noticed. So, when I realized I'd not seen her for a couple of hours, and went 'round the apartment calling her. I heard a thump and a tiny, pathetic "meow" from the closet--and there was Flame, stuck on top of the clothing rod...poor wee thing. Was she ever glad to see me! She climbing into my lap and just lay there purring, staring lovingly up into my face. Pets are so wonderful--who else on the planet is so easily forgiving???