One Step Forward; Two Steps Back

If the rest of the month continues the way it has begun, I'm gonna be in big trouble.

First, the knee specialist pushed my appointment back a week, so I'm still limping around and in constant pain! I'm irritated, but have no option, so have to wait it out. I'm taking the vicodin so I can work, but that simply masks the pain: when the pills wear off, it's still there.

Next, I applied for the MediCare stuff, mostly online, which was mucho convenient; however, it also became redundant! I provided both my street and my mailing address, assuming, as one may be prone to do, that mail would then be sent to my mailing address. Oh, no: I'm getting packets at the street and in my box! And, as if that were not enough to tax my patience, I'm getting duplicates!! This last week, I ended up with 3 copies each of 2 different packets -- and believe me when I say they are packets, not just letters.

One prescription plan packet had a little plastic card with my name on it and a warm, welcoming letter all about my new prescription plan, while the other 2 packets simply had a John Doe plastic card. All I had to do, the adhesive strip across the plastic membership card with my name on it told me, is call and verify enrollment. When I did that, I ended up re-enrolling another 2 times! I tried, I really tried to tell the three different people with whom I spoke in the course of this experience that I had ALREADY enrolled: I was simply calling to verify that enrollment and activate the membership card, the one with my name on it, not the two cards with John Doe on them.

No way. No person by my name or birth date in the computer data base, so we went all the way through it again, and then when I transferred to the prescription service number, we did it a third time. I dread finding out that I'm going to be getting 3 enrollment cards and 3 bills each month.

Then, my census form arrived in the mail two days after the postcard that told me I was going to receive my census form the next week. I filled it out the day I received it and mailed it the next day. Two days later, I received ANOTHER complete census form with instructions that told me if I had already completed a census form to ignore it, but if I had lost mine or not received it, fill this in and mail it out because ... "our records indicate that we have not received your census in the mail." Really? I guess the US Gov't has higher expectations for the US Postal Service than we citizens who actually use the service. We KNOW it's impossible to send something and have it arrive anywhere the next day, much less have the receiving agency open the envelope and process it the same day it's received.

What a total waste of time, money and resources. And now, those pesky census people are showing up in neighborhoods to ascertain why people haven't returned the form. I thought citizens had until April 30 to return the forms, so why are census workers already out checking? Must be stimulus money we're spending to artifically pump up the unemployment statistics.

And, since it's Spring in the Desert, a special time of the year when I open all the doors and windows to let nature into my humble abode, I bought the screen panel that fits on a spring rod inside the casing so I can take it down at the end of the open door season. Installed it to keep the flies out and allow the dogs to come in, but it seems to be working the opposite from my plan: the flies are coming in, but the dogs won't go out. Whatever.

I also bought those ugly sticky hanging fly catcher rolls to put by each open window and door as my house is abuzz with dozens of flies. Sure enough, the word went out to the fly community: come on down, boys! Snack time! This lady has that really good-tasting sticky fly stuff all over her house! Nah, you won't stick to it: we know how to make that not happen.

And, because I'm getting the new-to-me couch tomorrow, I bought one of Woolite's new shampoo sticks designed especially for high traffic areas and area rugs, exactly what I needed to clean. Well, I'm pretty good at following directions, and I even saw the commercial yesterday, so I was confident I could work this tool. Not. I assembled it, inserted the sample bottle of rug shampoo, and slowly drew the dark blue bristles toward me to spread the shampoo. Nothing until the last inch of the pull, and then a really scanty spattering of white foam. Removed the can of shampoo, shook it again, put it back in until it clicked, turned the lever to the spray icon, and did it again -- with the same results.

After literally a dozen tries at this process, I said to hell with it, opened the new can of spray on shampoo, sprayed the area rug, used the tool to work it into the fibers, and did just fine. Pretty expensive to get the stick to spray the shampoo onto the carpet if it won't do that, but the bristles on the brush did a great job of spreading the foam and picking up the dog hair. Probably could have used a push broom with stiff bristles and not paid for the fancy-schmantzy applicator, but I warned you that this is how my world is tilting this month!

Finally, I bought an array of colorful tees to wear until school is out and a package of iron-on appliques to pretty them up a bit. Because I bought the bargain bag of appliques, 40 pieces I thought might match a couple of the tees, I now have a bag of appliques that don't go with any of the tees!

Some days, it just doesn't pay to live in Lizaland.