Yep, Altoona, IA - hot times in the old town - Nope. It’s pretty dull. I’m working on some small problems which just take some time. Today I called Verizon (right there you know that I was sitting for a while waiting) and was on the phone for at least 1 1/2 hours, getting several things taken care of.
Firstly, there’s that rascally little $25.00 charge that hasn’t been removed from our account yet. Well, actually, it was all our fault. We traveled into Canada in June, knowing that we could not use the phone without some extra charges. However, we didn’t realize that those charges also applied to the web and we went online - to the tune of $53.00. Whoo-eee. Expensive goof. However, the pleasant young man at Verizon backdated a $25 charge for a global card which took care of the $53. Then he told us that he would give us a $25 credit - if we had learned our lesson. We agreed that we would call Verizon BEFORE we did any international travel in the future and he gave us the credit. Hmm, we never got it, even after we called Verizon in June. Today, we finally got it.
Then there’s the rascally little question about why my phone is disconnected. I never use my phone, it’s an old flip-top phone that I take with me when I’m not with Gary who has the smart phone. Like when I go grocery shopping and call to ask him if he wants one or two pkgs of spice drops. (What a dumb question - I might as well buy 3.) Verizon charges $30 per month for this type of phone or $360 per year. Last Sept, I bought a $100 pre-paid plan which gave me one year’s worth of calling. I only had to pay $.99 per day that I used the phone. I ‘heard’ that the $100 could last forever and I would never have to pay again until I had used all 40 minutes allowed under the card. Silly me. My prepaid plan ended this September. Shucks. Now, however I’ve signed up for a $5.00 per month prepaid plan and every call is just $.25 a minute. Now this phone is not $360 per year, not $100 per year but $60 per year. Someday we’ll have to decide if it’s worth even $60.
Then I asked the question with no answer: is it possible to get a paper copy of our $5.00 per month plan. I wanted it e-mailed to me so that I could have the contract in writing. Always a good idea to have a contract in writing. I told them that I had checked on line and couldn’t find it. No, the young man on the phone told me: it isn’t there. He then continued by telling me that one customer had gone online to Google and found it there. You’re probably telling me that I’m kidding, right? No - I am not kidding. Nothing in writing. ‘But I can tell you the details,’ he told me. Later I checked in an actual retail store and, nope, they have nothing in writing either.
I had two other small questions but, and after 1 1/2 hours I was done.
Next was the call to LLBean about 2 ‘waterproof’ rain coats we had bought in 2005 for our trip to England. In the ensuing 9 years, we’ve hardly worn them since who in their right mind goes out in the rain? However, being out of our right minds this spring and summer we hiked a lot in the rain in Oregon and Washington. We learned that our raincoats might be water ‘resistant’ but they were far from ‘waterproof’. Obviously, we need something stronger and have ordered that from Bean. Then I had a brilliant idea and decided to call Beans to see if we had bought ‘water resistant’ or ‘water proof.’ Hmmm. LLBean still calls them waterproof so they told me to send them back for a full refund.
Things are going well. Phone calls and results. I wish everything was that easy.
We used to have a paper shredder but, when we moved into the RV and became full-timers, we tossed it because it had also seen much better days. (Lucky, Gary doesn’t do that with me.) Thus, now, when we get personal mail with account numbers on it, I get to be a human paper shredder. I tear off the sections with the personal information, get out the scissors, open up the drawer with the recycling and trash bins and start cutting away. Small, narrow cuts alternating between the the trash bin and recycling bin. I’m thinking that someone would have to work really hard to piece it all together to make anything meaning full out of it all. BUT - no matter how much I shred I can’t prevent hackers from entering those websites where my personal information is stored. Like banks, and stores on line. That seems to be the weak point. Why would someone look in our trash and recycling when all they have to do is hack into our bank and steal not just our information but the information of millions of others in just one fell swoop. Sounds to me like a much more efficient way to steal personal information.
We changed our domicile to South Dakota last year and, of course, had to change our address with all our friends, the companies we deal with, our doctors - well, everyone we have an account with. I had a list of these and a folder with all the changes and all the envelopes that came to us with the tell-tale yellow forwarding sticker from the post office to please tell people our new address. I was just getting ready to deep-six that folder when our mailing service told us that it was changing its address - which means that I have to go through the process all over again. So, it got out that folder, tossed the info in it and printed off a new list. Oh, cripes.
Hernia Exam
I was able to get a hernia exam within two days of my medical exam. Pretty fast. I wanted the same doctor that Gary had several years ago since he did such a good job with Gary’s hernia. Interesting, both of us have had 2 hernias - 4 between the two of us. Name any other couple that had had as many. What’s the story? Why have we had so many?
I was telling Gary how much ‘fun’ it is being examined by 2 male doctors (one my doctor and the other an intern) who are poking and prodding at my hernia. Gary retaliated with his story of his annual prostate exam. First, any time there is a male patient and a female doctor, there needs to be a second female in the room. Now, this is a clean family-type blog and I’m not going to go into great description of this but there was something about leaning over to moon the Dr. and nurse and a glove. There is absolutely no modesty in a doctor’s office.
And with that story, I’ll put in another picture of a sunset here in Altoona.
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