Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Brad & Kim and Lauren & Kenny. Sorry I'm a few days late. I hope you all had a romantic time....not all together of course. I love you all!

I Survived The Process

If you've seen my comments on facebook, then you know I have finally succeeded in securing Medicade for my Mom. What an interesting process! After all of my phone calls ended in more confusing information or no information at all I decided to take matters into my own hands and show up at the office of Family and Social Services. I chose to go to a rural office instead of the one in downtown Fort Wayne. I had been told by more than one person that the rural office would be less busy. In front of me in the parking lot was an elderly couple. They were hunting for parking spot. I assumed they were going to the Social Services office too. I figured I could totally out run them and get ahead of them in line. I parked really quickly and went around to the passenger side to retrieve all of my paperwork. In my haste things fell out of the car and papers started flying around. I quickly gathered the fallen items, grabbed my purse and briefcase and took off for the door. Even with my little mishap at the car I was still way ahead of them. I turned around to see where they were and saw them walking into the grocery store. I laughed a little to myself and then hoped that I didn't screw up my good Karma by being so selfish. There was only one other person in the waiting room when I walked in, and she was working on a computer. A lady came out right away when the door buzzer sounded.
I informed her that I needed to talk to someone about my Mom's case. She looked at me kind of puzzled, like this was an unusual occurrence. She says: "did someone tell you to come here?" I say: "yes, my psychic." No, I didn't really say that but I thought it was a weird question. Then she tells me that there is a phone on the desk here that is a direct line to the 1-800# for the office in Indy. Really???? I didn't just drive 20 miles so that I could use your phone. I remained calm and tried to explain my problem the best I could while standing in the middle of the waiting room. The issues I have are not things that I can explain in a sentence or two. I rattled off the entire story. Then I heard it.....the voice coming from behind the screen asking me questions. Actually the voice from behind the screen was asking the worker to ask me questions ( like I couldn't hear her). I decided to bypass the worker standing in front of me and just talk to the screen. The screen seemed to have more authority. The screen asked me if I had any paperwork with me. I asked her which volume she wanted. The worker took my paperwork to the voice behind the screen. I could hear whispers behind the screen and a lot of computer work, while I sat in the lobby cleaning out my purse and writing my grocery list. Finally the screen invited me in. She was smaller than I thought she would be, kind of like the wizard of OZ. She didn't look at me much and I could tell that it was best I didn't try to talk to her, just answer her questions as she asked them. Things were not working out for her and she had to go ask someone else behind another screen what to do. When she finally came back, she and the other screen had everything figured out. She fixed the mistakes that other workers had made and says: "Ok, she's approved starting with July." What????? That's it?????? Done???? I went in there expecting to get some answers to my questions, but that was it. I was ecstatic to find out that this process was finally done. Wellllll....I'm 99.9% sure it's done. I have her Medicaid card number, but I don't have the actual card in my hot little hands yet.

Although this process was long and frustrating, my experience with the workers I encountered was not that bad. Everyone I talked to was nice (even though they gave me wrong information). Maybe they were nice to me because I was nice to them and appreciative of their help. I'm sure their job is not that pleasant. A lady came into the lobby while I was behind the screen and I heard her entire sob story. I could tell by her voice she was frustrated and about at the end of her rope. They must hear stuff like that all day long. No wonder they don't want to deal with anyone in person. That lady was calm, but I'm sure they get more than their fair share of hot heads. I actually thought while I was sitting there that I hoped no one came in with a gun and started shooting the place up.

Anyone out there need any help with this kind of thing, let me know. I can at least tell you what not to do.

Now Where Is That....?

I think I have mentioned before that I can be a little obsessive. I'm better than I used to be, but none the less my anal retentiveness shows up occasionally. My issue is with not having all of the pieces or parts that go with a particular item. For example: my drill. I better have the drill, bits, and batteries. If I am missing one little drill bit it drives me crazy.

My ongoing obsession with missing pieces has spilled over into the toy area. I have a playroom set up for the grand kids. It's stocked with all kinds of toys with lots of pieces. My biggest obsession is with the 6 coins from a cash register. When I am putting toys away, there better be 6 gray plastic coins in the cash drawer or I am immediately stressed. I know it's dumb and irrational but I can't help it. If any are missing, I know they have to be in the house so I look for them until I find them. One time 3 coins were missing. I knew that Julian and Nicholas were the last ones to play with it so I called Bryan to see if they took them home with them. Sick I know! Sicker yet, I found out that Bryan hid them from me. I didn't care as long as I got them back. I have gone so far as to remove the coins from the cash register drawer before the kids played with it so they wouldn't loose them. I need help!

I currently have all of the coins, however; I am missing a blue ball from the popper, a stuffed kitty from the vet hospital and 1 piece of the 162 piece Lincoln Log set (I know because I counted them). If you have them or know where they are, please return them (no questions asked). My sanity is at stake here!

Do You Know The Shepawitz?

It was a busy weekend. The Shepawitz came to visit. "Who are the Shepawitz?" you ask. The Shepawitz aka the triplets. Nicholas still has a hard time with his "T's". Very funny and cute. Nicholas says Addy is his girlfriend. We're not sure how that will pan out. Technically she could be his girlfriend since they are not "blood" related, but both Julie and I think that we will try and discourage that relationship. Auntie Lorrie was here too! We had a good time just chillin. Our big outing for the weekend was going to Target. We all watched more than our share of Dora The Explorer. I'm a bad Nanu because when they asked for more Dora I told them she went on vacation. I didn't care what other cartoon we watched as long as it wasn't Dora. Again we were limited in our TV choices because guess what??????? Our Dish DVR wasn't working. We are now on DVR receiver #4. When the guys came out today they actually did some work outside on the lines which I think has been the problem the entire time. He supposedly upgraded our DVR with a different model. He said the one we had was a piece of junk. How reassuring. So far it's working. I'm a little bit happier too because I called and got a month's credit on my bill. I figured that was the least they could do.

Everything is quiet here now. I'm not sure what to do with myself. Julie is on the road back home. I hope the kids are cooperating for her. They were a little out of sorts when they left. I know how they feel though. It's always hard to travel and be away from your own bed.

I'm looking forward to going to Zumba, my pj's, a few glasses of wine and relaxing in front of the TV. The only thing that will be missing is the Shepawitz all sitting on my lap!

What The Heck Is That Noise?

Imagine fingernails across a chalkboard, a spoon scraping the sides of a Styrofoam cup, and grinding teeth. Not pleasant sounds; downright annoying. Now imagine the subtle squeak of a rocking chair; back and forth, back and forth.....squeek..squeek...squeek..squeek. Even though it is a "noise", it's rhythmic nature could lull you to sleep. Think about a mother rocking her baby, or your Grandmother rocking on the front porch of the 'ol homestead.

Now....put the squeaking noise together with an annoying circumstance and you get a little old lady grinding her teeth and making a noise that sounds like a squeaky rocking chair (wood rubbing against wood).

Bryan and I were visiting Mom yesterday. It was dinnertime so we took her to the dining room. The meal hadn't been served yet so Bryan and I sat at the table with her for awhile. We began hearing the above stated noise. A constant and rhythmic squeak. "What is that noise Bryan?" "I don't know!" "It's coming from that lady over there." "No way, it sounds like it's coming from the table behind her." "No Mom, look! the noise comes every time she moves her jaw." "There is no way that noise is coming out of a human mouth." "Watch her!" "I see, but I can't believe she can make that loud of a noise with such little movement of her jaw. It still sounds like it's coming from behind her. She must be a ventriloquist and she's throwing her voice." Bryan was pretty sure she was her grinding her teeth. I was still not convinced. I'd never heard anything like that before. All doubts were erased when one of the residents asked an aide about the noise. The aide confirmed that it was indeed her teeth. Amazing! Bryan figured that she's probably done it for so long that she has worn her teeth down to smooth nubs that could easily glide across each other producing that specific tone. Squeaking is ok coming from an old rocking chair, but not from an old lady.

I asked Mom if that noise was annoying to her? She says: "what noise?"

I'm Not Asking For Too Much...Am I?

If it weren't for the fact that I'm trying to deal with the VA and Medicaid for my Mom, this TV thing might drive me to the loony bin. The TV quit working last night, but it works today. Problem is I don't want to watch TV during the day. I reserve my days for staying on hold with the VA and Medicaid offices. I was on hold yesterday for a total of 67 minutes. I put the phone on speaker and carried it around with me from room to room while I waited for someone to answer. When they finally did answer it's was like starting all over from the beginning because everyone tells me something different. It's not necessarily that they give me wrong information, it's that they don't give me complete information. Every time I call it's like getting another piece of the puzzle. This is one of those 1000 piece puzzles with all blue sky. I'm at a stand still right now because Medicaid can't figure out if my Mom is eligible until the VA reduces her award and the VA won't reduce her award until she is approved for Medicaid. Really?????? How does this happen? I thought this only happened on TV to other people. But then again, how would I know that, my TV doesn't work. Mom's application for Medicaid should go through like diarrhea through a colon (sorry, being in the medical field that's the only analogy I could think of). My Mom has zero assets, zero savings and limited income from Social Security and the VA. It's a no brainer; however, somehow the government has figured out how to make it complicated.

If anyone reading this is close to having to apply for Medicaid for a loved one, my advice is to start ASAP. It takes time to sort through the bull shit. After all of this work I have put in, I may end up having to hire an attorney that specializes in Medicaid. That concept pisses me off.

I have to admit that I don't know much about the government run health care proposal. Short of reading the actual bill, I don't really listen to the arguments of Republicans or Democrats. I consider politicians to be a bunch of narcissistic individuals that want to promote their own agenda no matter how many lies they tell. I can't however, help but worry that if the health care system gets in the hands of the government it will be run like Medicaid and the VA system. We'll have to hire lawyers for our medical claims. I should have pushed for my kids to go to law school; at least they would have job security.

I'm happy, healthy and I have a great family. I don't want to be greedy, I just really want to be able to watch TV and know that my Mom is taken care of. That's all!

Zumba; It's Growing On Me

I went to my 4th Zumba class tonight. After the first class I wasn't really sure I wanted to try it again; however, subsequent classes have been much better. I think I'm getting the hang of it. It gets easier with each class. Even Queen L was dancing in my shadow. I was droppin it like it's hot all over the dance floor, shakin my money maker, flyin my freak flag, gettin my grove on, cuttin a rug, etc............... Be watching for me on Dance Fever...oh wait, that went off of the air in the 80's. What about Soul Train?




Update: TV not working again. yeah! :p

Again With The TV

I hate to keep beating a dead horse, but this horse is starting to stink. The DVR receiver went out on the TV AGAIN! I did all the requisite calling and trouble shooting over the phone. Dish wanted to send me a new receiver. I say "really? What are the odds that two receivers are bad?" My friend in India didn't understand the American terminology about odds, so I had to rephrase. He says: "We could send a technician out." "YES, PLEASE!" How exciting, a real person was coming to hopefully take care of the problem.

Orlando showed up at my door as scheduled. I explained the problem as efficiently as possible since all of the details are mind boggling. He replaced the receiver again (this is #3 in case you lost count). He surmised the problem was due to the fact that the initial installer hooked the satelite line through the surge protector which apparently is a no no. While he did a few more repairs and we waited for things to download, we had a nice chat. We discussed the bull shit that you have to go through to get to Dish customer service and the fact that the operators are located in India and/or the Phillipines. He said the operators have a standard script they read from. That's why when you ask a question their response usually doesn't fit the question. They can't deviate off script because in all reality they don't know shit.

Orlando and I became buddies. He left me the local phone number for any future repairs as well as his own cell number. He also showed me how to use some of the cool features. Then the best of all.....he spotted my old rabbit ears antenna and says: "You want me to show you something cool that I can do with them?" My first thought was that I hoped it didn't require him to use any of his body parts or mine.
When I was confident he was talking about doing something with them on the TV, I said: "sure!" He hooked up the antenna to the receiver and programed in the local digital channels. They now show up on the guide and the cool thing is that when the satelite goes out because of weather I can switch to the digital local channels and still get a picture. Orlando is my new TV guardian angel.

Everything is working at this moment in time. Whether it stays that way is up to the TV gods.

PS: If anyone has to call Dish Network for service, tell Raymond in India I said "Hi!" Tell him I won't be talking to him anymore because I got a new guy.