Odds and ends

Today I don't have a subject. I haven't put any forethought into what I should write.  I guess this will truly be off-the-cuff.


Yesterday I was thinking about this blog, and I discovered something about myself.  When I started writing it was for my own benefit and I didn't really care if anyone read it.  Then I started to get some positive feedback from a few family members and I started feeling pretty good about myself and the blog.  I still didn't get too cocky because neither Bud nor my best friend Ann had read a single word I had written.  I thought if I wasn't interesting to the people who know me best, maybe I was pretty moronic to everyone.  But that has changed now.  Bud, at least, has read some of what I have written and after a third degree interrogation (I swear it was like pulling teeth), he admitted he likes it.  And I've discovered I do want people to read and be entertained by my musings.  But, I don't get much feedback and I think that is bothering me some.  Odd, because there is a blog I follow daily that is written by an acquaintance who just happens to be one of the owners of the family-owned company where Bud works (her brother is the president and her husband is something like vice president of production or some such thing).   She is pretty off the wall and I've always "gotten" her sense of humor.  I read her blog (it's titled "All Fooked Up") every day, but seldom do I comment.  So, if I'm not willing to comment on her blog, why would I think people should comment on mine?  I can't answer that, but I do!  So, if you are reading this, comment once in awhile, please.


I finally got the North Carolina Employment Security Commission to call me back yesterday.  It was an unusual conversation, during which the woman basically said they have no idea what they are doing and haven't been able to figure it out yet, so just ignore everything they have sent me so far and wait until they send me something else.  Okay, got that!  I just hope I'm not gonna end up being penalized for not doing anything, once they decide what it is I'm supposed to have done.


We own a few shares of Bank of America stock, and by a few I mean well under a hundred shares.  A few weeks ago we received a notification from the Securities Exchange Commission that we might be eligible for compensation in their class action suit against BoA.  I have no clue what any of this is about, but Bud gave me the paperwork and asked me to fill it out since I have nothing better to do than sit around on my butt all day (that's the truth -- depressing, but the truth).   Well, of course, the paperwork couldn't be completed without some amount of research on our part, so I put it aside "until later".  Every day I would look at that notice from the SEC and tell myself I would definitely look up the information "tomorrow".  Of course there is a deadline on when the claim can be filed, and that is sometime in November, so I knew I was safe procrastinating for awhile yet.  Unbelievably, I actually did the research yesterday and will be putting the whole mess in the mail today -- a good three weeks before the deadline.  Little things make me so happy sometimes.  :)


Bud has taken over the responsibility for contacting our insurance agent to find out where the check is.  I'm not sure what possessed him to do this, but I am grateful because that is one less telephone call I have to make.  I also don't have to admit (again) that I have no idea what our agent's name is.  However, the agent is probably gonna wish I had been the one who called.  Bud tends to be a little more strident than I.  I always go with sarcasm; he goes for the throat.  I still haven't managed to contact my tax accountant, but I'm nothing if not persistent, so he'll get tired of my messages sooner or later and call back. 


I left a message for our friend Joe.  You know the old warning about not lending money to a friend?  I think this is sorta like that.  I feel as if Joe is avoiding me because I asked him to look at my computer and he hasn't been able to fix it yet.  I wish I had never asked.  His friendship is more important than the computer.  I don't want him to avoid me or my calls because of that dumb hard drive.  I know he is busy; he has a full-time job and a wife and family.  I just don't want him to feel obligated to me because of that stupid computer.


I think I got some good news this morning.  When I went online to check our bank balance (which I do every day because I hate surprises having to do with insufficient funds) I discovered a not insignificant amount of money had been deposited in our account overnight by the Social Security Administration.  I'm not going to do anything with the money until I am absolutely sure why it was deposited, but I believe it means they have approved my application for disability.  I fail to see how I could be considered anything other than disabled since I cannot drive, cannot walk straight, and pray to the porcelain god regularly because of my dizziness.  But, I have known others who had serious health problems and were not able to collect disability.  I had also been told everyone is rejected on the first application and it is necessary to get a lawyer to finally get your claim approved.  So, I'll wait until I get something in writing, but it definitely looks as if I might have been approved the first time around.  That would be such a relief.  I really feel as if I am not contributing much to this marriage right now.


I am finishing up the final few unread paperbacks I have in the house.  Bud has promised as soon as I have read the last one, he will take all the boxes somewhere.  I assume he means Goodwill, but at this point I'm not really sure I care.  Once they are all gone, it is strictly eBook for me.  I made an amazing discovery (as usual a day late and a dollar short) about my eBook.  The charger that came with it is a USB connection that plugs into a computer to recharge the battery.   The last time we went to Baltimore, I didn't bring any paperback books, just my eReader.   But I did not bring the charger connection cord, and I forgot to recharge the book before we left town.  So, of course I ran the battery completely down on the way to Baltimore and had nothing to read while there or on the way back.  This was definitely not good because reading in the car is one way for me to keep from being carsick -- sleeping is the other.  Thankfully, I am able to sleep at will most of the time, so I was able to avoid unscheduled stops to hurl.  However, I have recently discovered that Bud's cell phone charger has exactly the same connection as my eReader and I can use his cord to power my eReader.  Just wish I had noticed that on the way to Baltimore last time.


And that folks, is the way it is on Tuesday morning.  I sure hope I get some inspiration between now and Wednesday morning.