the_rck | (no subject)

I got part of the Aetna hoop jumping done yesterday. I’m not sure if I can do the rest today or not. Waiting until Monday isn’t a great option because they have to mail me something and then I have to fill it out and mail it back. I realized, after making an unnecessary phone call, that I had mixed up what the Medicare refusal of payment was for. Unfortunately, that means that I might actually be on the hook for $5500. I think that the only problem is that the company didn’t bill Aetna before asking Medicare to pay, but I’m not sure.

Scott and I started listening to a new to us podcast last night and got through three episodes.

I need to shower and to watch a library DVD that’s due tomorrow. Cordelia has an essay to write that I’ve promised to proofread and provide moral support for. I should make banana bread or throw out the bananas. I’d like to take down the Christmas tree, but Scott and Cordelia are decidedly unenthusiastic.

Scott plans to do the grocery shopping today. I haven’t finished the list yet, though. I’m trying to think of food that I can put on there that will take little to no effort for me eat. I’m going to be pretty exhausted for the foreseeable future, and that makes me have problems with simple food preparation like opening a package and microwaving something. Almonds and dried fruit are good options, but they’re horribly expensive, and it’s hard to convince Scott that they’re worth the money. They also have the advantage that I can eat them when Cordelia is wanting my attention and not wanting me to get up and go to the kitchen.

Cordelia and her friend did go downtown yesterday and managed to get themselves back, too, with only one call to ask me what bus they needed and where to catch it. Cordelia hasn’t quite got the idea that, generally speaking, one can get the bus home on the opposite side of the street from the stop where one got off the bus coming into town. I have to check to see if the bus company’s app is working now because something of the sort could be useful for Cordelia. The last time I checked, they’d withdrawn the app and had a new version 'under development.'

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I'm probably going to have a lot of calls to make to both Aetna and the Obamacare folks in the next few weeks/months, given that my income is fluctuating (I got a second job! But, hours at main job have dropped, as is typical for the start of the year! But, I'll probably get a raise next month! But,) and I might have employer-based health insurance starting in April/May.

Plus, Obamacare's days are numbered, so who knows what's going to happen in the coming months.

I miss library DVDs. Another reason to get a console soon. I actually have some books due today, but the city as a whole is absolutely choked with snow that, as of yet, hasn't stopped falling. I'll have to drop everything off on Tuesday and pay off whatever fines I have to.

Bananas freeze pretty well by themselves, if you're not feeling like actually making banana bread right now - I discovered this, and it saved me a lot of energy. And bananas. I usually just throw them straight into smoothies but they'd be fine in bread or muffins when you do feel up to baking.

*Hugs*

Good for you for starting the process.

Insurance bureaucracy and hoop jumping both suck. Sympathy.

Does your library allow renewals online or over the phone? Ours does both.

I tend to forget to freeze my bananas.

Smoothies are not my thing, generally, because of the effort involved in making them and in cleaning up after making them.

The bus tracker app on the bus company's website is indeed working -- I've been using it often, to help my teens figure out where their bus is. :)

It is full of annoying quirks, though. But at least it works.

Edited 2017-01-08 19:25 (UTC)

The website lists six downloadable apps, none of them endorsed by the bus company. Only one of those seems to be from the Apple store (Cordelia has an iPhone). None of them, as far as I can tell, actually track buses in real time.

Hm. I mis-spoke. It's the bus tracker app on their website that I've been using:

http://www.theride.org/Schedules-Maps-and-Tools/Live-Maps

Hrm, what kind of almonds (unsalted? dry roasted?) and dry fruit can you eat? :D

As far as almonds go, I prefer roasted to raw and unsalted to salted. I can eat salted almonds and not mind particularly, but I don't think the salt adds anything. Raw almonds just don't taste very good to me.

As far as dry fruit, I really, really like dates. Apricots can be okay if I can get past the smell. Raisins are okay, but they're so small and sticky that I lose patience. I don't think we've tried anything else recently.

Oh, I know-- Dried cherries and cranberries are okay but much better on salads or otherwise mixed into something else.

Great!