Friday, July 16, 2010

Friday-2:30pm

After picture.
The IdeaOne installation went just fine. But the man told me that their box isn't wireless, so I need a router for my laptop. He hooked IdeaOne up to the desk computer.
The phone jack was behind my curio cabinet. I moved everything off the top of it and Karma's "toybox" cat bed while he went to reconnect my landline. He hadn't realized I had a landline and had disconnected it downstairs before he came up. Just goes to show you how very, very few people even have landlines anymore!
Anyways, IdeaOne runs their lines right with the phone jacks. He opened up the phone jack, hooked up their line, and I was good to go. And it doesn't interfere with my landline phone at all. Nice!
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I emailed Dagan that I needed a router, went to go turn off the McLap--and it was still online? I was all confused. But then--I am easily confused, as you know--hehe! Took me a little while to figure out that CableOne is still plugged into the same old modem (tall skinny one in the top picture) and that is what is powering the McLap--duh! So I have the desk computer being run by IdeaOne and the McLap being run by CableOne. Good thing I hadn't called to disconnect CableOne yet. ;)
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Anyways, when Dagan finally gets the other part and all the cables and the router and whatever else I need--I'll finally get switched over to the new system for the McLap and the TV.
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Dagan left an empty box here when they were over. Karma showed no interest in it whatsoever until...
...I laid it in the hallway in the dark last night. :)
I do know a little about her mind--ROFL!
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Was interrupted yesterday. Was going to tell you about the storm that went through and kept me up till dawn. On the 5pm news there were still people without power. Interviewed folks who said they had never seen such a lightning show before. It really did light up the sky and often kept it lit for quite a while because the strikes we so close together--like machine gun fire in the movies. I know I have never seen lightning like that, myself.
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Trees split and some burst into flames--fell on buildings, cars, and even a fire truck! Transformers exploded. There were hurricane level straight-line winds, too--75 mph--that flattened and even defoliated entire crop fields. Flash floods. One weather spotter had 3 inches of rain in 30 minutes. And south of Bismarck there damage from grapefruit size hail--4.25 inches across!! I never knew hail could even be that big! It was quite a storm. Things have calmed down and repairs are being made. Been a wild, sticky summer so far.
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I sent a bag of fourteen (www.bookcrossing.com) books with Caroline on Tuesday, too. She is going to put them on the free table at her work for me. I spent some time yesterday updating that info on my bookcrossing site.
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Woke up yesterday to a new lady on the phone representing my Merit Care bill...wanting me to tell her all my expenses so they can determine what I can pay...and threatening me with collections if I don't cooperate. I told her I have been making payments every month and that I had checked into it and that it is illegal for them to take money out of my disability check. She did respond and say she wasn't talking about my check--so they do know they can't take money from my check. [But then why do they keep saying they are going to get a collection agency after me? I think my cousin Tom is right--just to scare me into agreeing to pay more money.] So I told her I've lost everything due to my health--I rent, I don't own a car, boat, property, or even a burial account. She kept trying to ask me about how much my bills were, so I told her a half truth--that I had company coming and couldn't talk to her (well the IdeaOne person was coming). She gave me her number and extension so I could call her back after my company left, she said. Well, I wrote it down, but I never called her back. *sigh*
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I started making payments to Pearle Vision last month after my glasses and glaucoma exam went thru medicare and medicare didn't pay about $160.00 worth of the two bills. (And why don't they combine bills for separate visits? duh!) And this month the bills had "final notice" in big red letters on them. So I wrote them a note and sent off a payment again this month. At least one of the two bills they can mark paid now.
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And my school loans got turned over to another company. This is the third one now , I think? And they are already being more aggressive. Now they can actually take money out of my disability check (they changed that back around 2005). And apparently there is a five year limit on being too poor to pay them back. I passed that milestone long ago. So--wonder how long it will be before they decide to start taking money from me every month? I found the formula online a while back and they can take up to around $130 of my $778 a month. Whew!
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Anyways, that's an update on the bill collectors. :) Enough said on that. I'll survive. I have already earned a PhD in penny pinching, dollar stretching, making do, and going without--ROFL!! Don't worry. Hey--I'll be paying about half what I was for Internet and TV soon. ;) You certainly don't have to wonder why I am soooo grateful to be in this low income building--despite the pee in the elevator, vandalism, and pulling of the fire alarm (or lighting fires, now, too). I just don't understand people who sh*t where they sleep, as the old saying goes.
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I am blessed to be here where I am helped with rent. That the county has given me Caroline to clean. That I was allowed to pick out my Karma to come live with me. That Dagan and Leah love me and live close by and help me out--and keep me online!! And even that we have a dentist for the poor people in town to go to on Monday--no matter how scared I am of dentists--hehe! Just writing this brought tears to my eyes. I am so very blessed. Truly and deeply blessed.
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Sending out much love today!! :):)
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"If we are bold, love strikes away the chains of fear from our souls."
Maya Angelou

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just reading it brought tears to my eyes, I am so glad that you feel blessed through that, it just shows how good of a person you are and Im so glad that you have Dagan and Leah there too!

Im glad the hookup went fine for you and I loved the pic of Karma in the box that is just cute :o)

The storm you had sounds very scary, I would have been freaking out big time.

I hope you have a good weekend!!

Jenifleur-de-lis said...

Hi Rita,

Hang in there. I know everything will work out for you! *Hug*

Jennifer

AliceKay said...

Aww...I had tears in my eyes by the time I reached the end of this post, too. You are truly blessed with what's most important in this life.

Those were some pretty bad storms that went thru that area. I saw on the news about the straight line winds that hit, and they can be almost as bad as tornado force winds. I wouldn't want to be sitting thru it. (i'd be hiding out someplace)

I hope the people from Merit Care stop pestering you soon. You've been making regular payments, so I would think that should be enough for them. I don't blame you for not calling her back. I wouldn't have either.

My cats loved to lay in boxes too. Didn't matter where the boxes were...they would find them.

Deanna said...

Don't you wish you could just crawl into a box like Karma does sometimes? Hang in there hun. You are a survivor! Glad you stil have the internet up and running.

Rita said...

Lynn--I didn't mean to make anybody cry. :) Life is not easy sometimes--just the way it goes. Dagan and Leah are my greatest joy--that's for sure! I wasn't scared of the storm--just curious, I guess. I love storms! When I was a kid I loved to be standing outside in a thunderstorm. I know--not enough sense to come out of the rain--hehe! And this one was magnificent! Awe inspiring! But I knew it would be dangerous for some folks. Things always seem to have two sides, don't they? ;)

Jennifer--Thanks, Jennifer! Oh--you know it always does. ;)

AliceKay--I am truly blessed with what is most important in life. That's exactly right! I have an abundance of what is most important. :):) I opened the blinds and watched the storm--and went out on the porch to feel the electricity in the air. It was beautiful and shivery. Nature has such power over us. Shows us how small we really are once in a while--hehe!

Deanna--On occasion crawling under the covers and having nice dreams--that would be my escape of choice--ROFL!! But--yes! I am definitely a survivor. And it is really just stating the facts of my life and not so much a complaint, as such. Remember those T-shirts: Sh*t Happens! Sometimes you're knee deep in it--ROFL!! But you have to just keep walking. Things like money and health--those are "outside" things to me. Easier to handle than the "inside" troubles. My insides are pretty durn good these past years, so I'm fine. And my little apartment is my sanctuary--my safe place. Life is good. Now--if I can just get my mouth to stop throbbing Monday--ROFL!!

Serena Lewis said...

Rita...it's good that you can count your blessings but I only wish they would leave you alone and be content to see that you are at least paying. It surely can't be good for your health. Tell that lady that YOU know what you can afford each month and she has no right telling you otherwise. I'm praying that something positive comes your way because you surely do deserve a break.

Glad to hear you're all hooked up with IdeaOne now.

Storms are powerful and magnificent and we get a lot of damaging summer storms here too. I always worry and pray the storms will give us a wide berth. Poor Cody is terrified of storms and he gets so distressed and pants away like crazy. I feel so bad for him as no amount of molly-coddling will get his mind off the storm.

Rebag said...

Hi Rita,

Just catching up in the blogs today.....

The weather has not been in an of our favors has it?! We certainly have had our fair share of the storms as well...and today youngest wants to go Sonshine festival over in Willmar and they are under tornado watch UGH go figure~

I love your photos of Karma...cats are so much fun! I am glad you have her they make awesome companions~

I am sorry to hear about the bill collections.... Just keep doing what you can and when you can...

I was not aware that places could take your disability check....so sad...Keep your head up..Faith endures all!!

Reba~

Toriz said...

*Hugs*

Rita said...

Serena--I think eventually the medical folks will see that I have to other money and they can't bully me into paying more than I am. But the school loans--that's the federal government--and they can take part of my check if they so decide. My heath declined while I was in college, so I didn't know I wasn't going to be able to finish. Life is what happens while we are busy making plans--hehe! Oh--Karma doesn't like thunder, either. But she is WAY more scared of the fire alarm. The thunder is outside. The alarm comes into her home and is WAY louder--hehe!

Reba--hi! Glad to see you back!! Yes--we have tornado watch again this weekend. They said this is the fourth weekend in a row. What a summer!

The school loans are the only ones who CAN take money from a disability or SS check because it is the federal govt school loans. They can also take out money for child support or alimony. But others--like these medical bills--they can't legally do that. So they just try to shake me down, as they say--hehe!

Tori--Thanks! Hugs back, lady!! :)

Intense Guy said...

Wow.. that was some exciting weather you had! I bet Karma got in the box and was telling you to ship her UPS someplace where the weather is always nice and cat grass grows really tall...

The financial woes are a strain - I hope you continue to keep up the good fight!!

Rita said...

Iggy--haha! Altho, in Karma's fantasy she'd want the entire apartment moved so she didn't have to go outside--ROFLMAO!!

It always works out in the end. ;)