Went to family Turkey Day yesterday, my first day out of the house since my fall. Somehow, I accidentally set off my car alarm and couldn’t figure out how to get it to stop, One of my neighbors helped, and I was finally on my way. Even though I didn’t drive the entire way, just bouncing around in the car was uncomfortable. But I had a great time once we were there.
This incident reminded me of last Thanksgiving, when I locked myself and my keys out of the house while I was leaving and had to pay $250 to a locksmith for 3 minutes work.
My now-deceased aunt told me when my grandmother had a stillbirth, she wrapped up the baby and late at night, dug up part of a freshly-dug grave and laid him to rest — because she didn’t have money for an undertaker. She said the baby was buried in the cemetery next to my house. I mean, who know? You know how these family stories go. But I know about poverty.
Catholics honor All Saints’ Day with family gatherings and cemetery visits across Polandapnews.com/article/all-…
I get as tired of writing these posts as you get of reading them.
I waited two years to finally get an insurance settlement from that time my car was totaled in 2023. The claims adjuster finally settled, but my lawyer did not do himself proud and went into the settlement conference having seemingly forgotten the facts of the case. First he said I couldn’t have gotten hurt that badly “because your airbags went off” (Fun fact: I was hit from the side, my car didn’t have side airbags), he said there was no egregious negligence on the part of the guy who hit me (“His kid was yelling at him over the phone for being late picking him up from soccer practice when he ran the light,” I said, frustrated. The lawyer said he couldn’t prove it, the cop didn’t put it in the report. “He TOLD ME,” I said. Plus, he could subpoena his phone records. ) And so on. I give up. These PI lawyers work on an assembly line and don’t seem very motivated.
So not an impressive amount of money, but I was counting on some anyway because groceries are so high, electricity is going way up and I want to pay off my credit cards. The interest is killing me! Plus, I really, really want to move out of this tiny place and away from these rodents that are still everywhere. While I was living here, rents more than doubled elsewhere.
But guess what? The lawyer is not allowed to release the money until Medicare sends a letter verifying that none of the medical expenses related to the accident were paid by them. From what I understand, it can take months, and with a shutdown, who knows?
In the meantime, a bunch of weird and scary diseases and medical conditions are popping up. (I won’t bore you with the details just yet.) You might say I’m pretty fucking stressed.
On top of all this, I’m looking for a part-time job I can handle despite chronic fatigue in hopes of keeping my head above water.
Things I’ve learned while trying to rent an apartment:
If the rent at first seems reasonable, get ready. They going to pile parking fees, water and sewer fees on top of that, and instead of giving you a storage bin in the basement, they will rent you a storage unit with metal doors. Only $59.95!
And if your income is even $10 short of their standard, they want a co-signer — or two years’ rent locked into a dedicated account. They also require renters’ insurance — which, as I learned earlier this year, only covers your possessions, not damage to the apartment. That is only covered by the owner’s insurance.
Which tells me they’re forcing you to buy insurance so they can collect a commission.
If you have money to burn, you may shrug at these things. I don’t.
Five years! Moving means I will really miss Allison, my breast cancer surgeon. As you might guess, I was not the easiest patient. I argued about things most patients probably don’t argue about (like whether a treatment could actually effective when so many patients admit to secretly dropping it because the side effects were so bad). They recommended chemo and radiation, and after digging deep, I said, “Nah, don’t think so.” Allison never batted an eye.
The guys from the appliance store were just here to install my NEW AC unit and take away the old one. Thanks to those who donated, since it’s going up to 97 today.
By the way, it was more expensive than it had to be because they charge extra for carrying it to the second floor, installing it, and carrying the old one away.
(P.S.: Despite my attempts to keep birds from nesting in the back by using tons of chicken wire to keep them out, they managed to nest in the wire and got bird shit all over. Learn from me!
I just finished getting my third cavity filled at my local dentist’s office, who I just love but who won’t take credit cards. So when her daughter (also a dentist) asked me today about getting a crown, I said nope, can’t afford it. (I never understood why so many people get dentures, but the older I get, the more obvious it is).
Just for curiosity’s sake, I asked what it cost now. The price she quoted was double what I paid the last time I got a crown, after my mother died in 2009, and I used most of the small sum she left me on playing catch-up with my teeth. Back then, I think it was a few thousand. Jesus.) Let’s not forget that Hillary Clinton’s insistence on her plan covering dental was why so many monied interests hated her. Because dentistry is a fucking license to print money.
If I ever have a sum to spare, I’ll head to Costa Rica and get it done there instead.
Sigh. I also probably have Sjogren’s syndrome, yet ANOTHER autoimmune syndrome to add to the bunch, although the preliminary tests were ambiguous. Waiting for more tests. Also have burning mouth syndrome, which is even more fun. The roof of my palate is peeling all the time, and my tongue looks burned — probably because almost anything I eat hurts my mouth. I mean, you wouldn’t believe.
I assume this stuff is all part of long Covid, but who knows?
I spent Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning in the emergency room. I was having severe pain in my lower abdomen, and since one of my brothers had a burst appendix and the resulting infection kept him in the hospital for a month, I tend to err on the side of caution with this stuff.
Talked with a nice ER nurse. She and her husband stopped watching the news because they’re so angry over the treatment of Biden, who she called “one of the best presidents ever.” She recently discovered The Guardian, which she and her husband really like.
When the CAT scan came back, it was diagnosed as diverticulitis. Which means all that stuff they tell you now about how there’s no connection with what you eat is bullshit. Because I had popcorn this week. I was so tired when they finally discharged me, I went back to bed and actually forgot to go vote! Fortunately, the changes and people I would have voted for won handily.
Also, I’m still trying to figure out why so many of my posts aren’t publishing. I apologize, I’m working on it.
I had to take a detour on my way to PT yesterday, and on the way I spotted a diner I’d never seen. I love diners, so I made a mental not to check it out on my way home.
Even though it was noon, it was empty, which surprised me. After all, there’s a big DoD facility nearby. I thought, “They couldn’t have laid off that many of them already, could they?”
Anyway, I ordered iced tea, grilled Swiss cheese on rye with tomato and a cup of soup. When it arrived, I saw the waitress had forgotten the rye but oh well. I also ordered some pudding for dessert.
“Seventeen dollars for a grilled cheese?” I said to cashier when he rung me up.
