SEDUCTION OF LIFE

REMEMBER TO CANCEL YOUR CREDIT CARDS BEFORE YOU DIE

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:37:34 GMT

Remember to cancel your credit cards before you die

This is so priceless, and so, so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today.

A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00 when she died, but now somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank.

Here is the exchange:

Family Member: 'I am calling to tell you she died back in January.'

Citibank : 'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member : 'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections.'

Citibank : 'Since it is two months past due, it already has been.'

Family Member : 'So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?'

Citibank : 'Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!'

Family Member : 'Do you think God will be mad at her?'

Citibank: 'Excuse me?'

Family Member : 'Did you just get what I was telling you - the part about her being dead?'

Citibank : 'Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor.'

Supervisor gets on the phone:

Family Member : 'I'm calling to tell you, she died back in January with a $0 balance.'

Citibank : 'The account was never closed and late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member : 'You mean you want to collect from her estate?'

Citibank : (Stammer) 'Are you her lawyer?'

Family Member : 'No, I'm her great nephew.' (Lawyer info was given)

Citibank: 'Could you fax us a certificate of death?'

Family Member 'Sure.' (Fax number was given )

After they get the fax:

Citibank : 'Our system just isn't set up for death. I don't know what more I can do to help.'

Family Member : 'Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. She won't care.'

Citibank: 'Well, the late fees and charges do still apply.' (What is wrong with these people?!?)

Family Member : 'Would you like her new billing address?'

Citibank : 'That might help.'

Family Member : ' Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69.'

Citibank : 'Sir, that's a cemetery!'

Family Member : 'What do you do with dead people on your planet???

GOPHER HOLE

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:20:16 GMT

Just when you think it is safe to stick your head out of the gopher hole, here comes a dang lawnmower………………(think about it, you will get it).

I was fortunate enough to get an appointment with the free clinic I go to for today, Thursday. I made the appointment a couple of weeks ago and was able to get off work early enough today to make the appointment. Of course, I have needed to go anyway, since I am diabetic and hypertensive, but I have also been having a few problems with my health of late. I won’t go into my problems, but once I got to the clinic, I realized that I wasn’t as bad off as I thought I was.

I was early for my appointment, as usual, since I don’t like being late for anything. There were only a handful of people in the waiting area, and it was nice and cool and quiet. As soon as the volunteer doctors arrived, they started calling people back. One lady had gone back as soon as the head nurse came in and hadn’t come back yet. When she did come out of the room, she sat down in the waiting area, opened her cell phone, made a call and said “Honey, I am still at the doctor’s office. I am going to have to start taking the ________ (some medication I didn’t know) again. I am no longer in remission. Ok, I love you too.” I don’t know if she meant cancer, but whatever it is that she had has returned, and it appeared to devastate her. She started tearing up and a woman across from her said “I’m so sorry. My heart goes out to you.” Then she got up and gave the crying woman a hug. (I have a story to tell about the woman who hugged her that I will tell a little later in this entry.)

The woman sat and cried a little then went outside and walked around by herself. I said a prayer for her and her family. I felt it was the best thing I could do at that moment.

I cannot imagine what that moment must have been like for her. I am sure she has already been through hell and back, and just gets the news she has to take another trip to hell. If anyone out there in j-land would like to say a prayer for an anonymous woman in the state of Georgia who may or may not be a Christian, please do so. I believe in the power of prayer, and in miracles. Thank you.

Now, about the woman who hugged this woman who was crying. She came into the clinic after I did and was a little loud when she spoke to the nurse at the reception desk. She came over and sat down and I spoke to her, making a short comment about something she had said, and we laughed together. She got up again and went to the desk and asked the nurse something else and kept bothering her with something the nurse had already said she couldn’t help her with, that she should talk to the doctor about it when she went back.

The woman came back and sat down and was talking about how wonderful these people were and how they had saved her life. Well, this is true. The concept is great. And yes, it costs mostly nothing to be seen by a doctor and/or get treatment. But sometimes the best-laid plans go awry. I have had numerous problems with the “non-medical” staff that has sometimes caused me medical problems. Remember when they didn’t order my meds and I was out for several weeks and having panic attacks? That was an error made by the staff that could have had some serious medical repercussions. When I mentioned how they often didn’t call you back when they say they will, or call you when you have meds waiting to be picked up, the woman went ballistic on me. I was trying to explain how, though it IS mostly a volunteer staff and there are different volunteers tending to your case on different days, and errors are made, any organization needs some strict guidelines that guarantee a modicum of responsibility and attention to detail. Especially when someone’s life or health depends on it. Even volunteers should be responsible and do things correctly, or they shouldn’t volunteer.

Anywho………..she said that these people were wonderful, and they couldn’t help errors being made and they were doing the best they could. I mentioned that in Canada they had organized medicine and it seemed to work (even though some Canadians may disagree) and this woman said “well then maybe you should move to Canada, if you don’t mind me saying that”. Then she said that she didn’t appreciate the way I was talking and was very uncomfortable having that conversation. I just got up and walked out of the room to the porch and sat down and prayed for my anger and for that woman’s attitude. When I came back in, another lady said she thought they called me when I went outside. I asked, and they said they hadn’t.

When I came back from seeing the nurse (you have to be triaged before seeing the doctor) the weird woman was talking loudly and kidding around with another woman who sat down beside her, and was hanging all over her and joking with her, asking her her name and shaking her hand. I more or less took it as a “floor show” just for me. I could see her in my peripheral vision sneaking peeks at me from time to time to see how I was reacting. I just ignored her and eventually a husband and wife sitting near me struck up a conversation about good ole southern home cooking and eventually the weirdo went back to be seen by the nurse. I was then called to see the doctor and didn’t have to face her again.

I went in with my concerns and this very attractive young African-American doctor sat down and patiently explained what I possibly had and what he was going to do to try to fix it. He wrote me orders for several blood tests and I have to go to the Health Dept. for a, um, well, um, pap smear. I hate doing that, lol. But it has been many many years since I have done so, and my best friend is the head nurse at the Health Dept., so maybe she can help me cope with it. The clinic doesn’t refer you and pay for Health Dept. visits anymore, so I have to come up with the money to get the pap done. The other lab work for my diabetes, cholesterol and other blood tests will be paid for by the clinic. If the pap smear comes back abnormal, then the clinic will refer me to a GYN for free.

Sooooooooooooooo, my friends, it appears the lawnmower has cut off my head………

As for the little white kitten, it hasn’t made an appearance with its sibling and mother, so I can only assume the worst. I feel badly still, but, as Sybil said, I didn’t have much of a choice.

I cannot believe I have had wifi service for the last 2 days. Of course, now that I have said that, it will die on me and I will not be able to put this entry into my journal….. I know, I am a pessimist, lol.

I would also like to let each of you know that I have been visiting journals and even commenting in some of them in older entries. Not sure if all alerts went out, but I have been lurking out there, reading your innermost secrets, lol. With all this mess with the landlord and working, I haven’t had much energy to comment after I read the entry.

I have also joined my local Freecycle.com and it fills my inbox with emails that I have to peruse and respond to or delete. When I went to bed last night I had 18 emails left. When I came home tonight and got online, I had 191. So that is a lot of reading in itself.

I will close this entry now, as I am not seeing the screen too well. Not sure if it is my sugar levels messing with my eyes, or I am just tired. Either way, GOOD NIGHT MY FRIENDS.

STILL KICKING

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:18:51 GMT

not sure if i will be allowed to enter this, due to not having a strong wifi signal. i haven't even HAD a wifi signal for the last couple of weeks. well, since my last entry.

i am saddened by what i might have done recently. my wild kitty, gray, had 2 kittens, 1 black with a couple of white spots and one that looked a lot like her, a gray point siamese, but fluffier. they got under my car one day last week and when i tried to get them out, the momma and black kitten moved out from under the car. the off white 1 was up in the motor mount, sitting there staring up at me. i had to go to work so had to do something to try to get the little critter out, so i broke off a leafy bush branch and stuck it down in the motor and swished it around. no good. so i did what i didn't want to do. i started the car and raced the motor. still no sight of the little brat. then, i figured there was nothing else i could do, so i started slowly backing out. as i reached the end of the drive and backed out into the street, i noticed the kitten laying flat on the gravel driveway. i just knew i had flattened it with my tire. i pulled the car up the curb and got out and went to check on it. i didn't run, but raised it's little head. it's left leg was a bit askew, but didn't appear to be broken. i lifted the kitten up by the scruff of the neck and took it to the bushes and put it down. i went to work, narrowly making it on time.

when i got home, the kitten wasn't in the spot where i left it, but i didn't see gray or the black one either. the next day i saw gray out in the side yard, nursing the black kitten. the other 1 was nowhere to be seen. i am afraid i DID hurt the baby and it either died or is laying somewhere not able to walk. i have looked around the garage where i usually see them, and there is no evidence of a live or dead kitten. i just hope it is only slightly hurt and will mend. i am 54 and still cannot stand the thought of losing a little one.

well, i was off 4 days and went back to work today and am tired. and i have to work tomorrow and thursday, so i will close here. hopefully i will be able to send this to my journal. hope everyone is well and happy.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HUMANITY?

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 04:58:36 GMT

just a brief entry tonight about my visit from my landlord yesterday.

i had set up an appointment with him for august 7 to come over and do an apartment inspection. he has been trying to do one since the first of june, but he never seems to be able to find the time to get over here.

i had told him i would be available until 4 pm. i had an appointment in another town about 30 minutes away at 5 pm. i sit here all day waiting on him, and he drags his butt in at 3:30 pm.

let me preface this next paragraph with a little note. i have been purchasing furniture and other items of decor from work since i started working there. i have more or less placed all the items in piles around the house, due to the fact i haven't been able to get my big furniture out of storage and into the house. it appears cluttered, but not nasty or dirty. there is also a leak in the guest bedroom ceiling that prevents me from putting anything on that side of the room, thus, i am limited as to where i can put items.

immediately he said it was extremely cluttered and he didn't know how i was able to get around in there. he inspected the leak and didn't seem too eager to see about getting it fixed. he then inspected the kitchen, saying it looked clean. he walked into the bedroom and was once again "appalled" by the amount of "stuff" in there. he never even went into the den or bathroom area. (and he never spotted my fat cat).

while he was in the kitchen, he noticed a box of baked doritoes chips and sunchips. it is a very large box and is full of snack size bags of chips. i get them at the food pantry in cases and eat them until we cannot stand them anymore. then i take the rest to work with me for all the folks there to eat. he asked me why i had such a large box of chips there. i told him what i just stated above and asked if he wanted any, and he immediately stated "NO!". he didn't seem very concerned about the box at that time. he told me he was going to return in a month to check the status of the "piles of stuff" around the house.

today, when i got home from work, there was a note on my stair post addressed to me. i won't go into it all, but he was saying he would return on the 28th to recheck the apartment. then he said "in no way would i have allowed these articles, i.e., materials, food, filled bags and boxes, and other items stored in my home." SO I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO EAT???!!!! he has stepped over the line as far as i am concerned. and i fully intend on telling him so. i am very thankful to the food pantry for giving us food when we fall short each month on being able to buy groceries outright. but now i am being told that i cannot have bulk items in my house??!! i thought we lived in a land of democracy, not dictatorship. i have to handle this properly or i will end up paying a stiff price. but i do not intend to let him run over me like this.

once again i come to you with complaints. sorry, but i have to vent.

hope everyone else is doing well out there in j-land.

i am boycotting the olympics by not watching them. my reasons are strictly personal, and i still hope the americans win much gold. i just won't be watching them do so. i don't agree with china's policies on many things, as well as how 6000 homes were destroyed to build the "bird's nest". i also feel the quality of air there is not conducive for any type of sports.

i am currently trying to eradicate the 1000 emails i have amassed, so better return to my chore.

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:58:20 GMT

He came in from work, tired, frustrated, and, in a huff, he tossed it down. In his haste to gain nourishment from supper, he trod over it, leaving marks upon it. Upon his retiring for the evening, it lay there, alone, forgotten. The cold air of morning brought it back to mind. It was needed once again. The day wore on, and once again, it took the back seat. When he needed comfort, he drew it to him for warmth. But once the TV came on, it was again cast aside, not needed, nor wanted.

Was this an old jacket or coat belonging to this man? Or a warm, thick shirt?

No. Can you guess what is so often cast aside until needed once again?

A FRIEND.

(hug someone close to you today)

(a short-short by Regina)

GARFIELD'S STANCE ON THE OIL CRISIS

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:14:32 GMT

Garfield On The Oil Crisis

A lot of folks can't understand how we came

to have an oil shortage here in our country.

~~~

Well, there's a very simple answer.

~~~

Nobody bothered to check the oil.

~~~

We just didn't know we were getting low.

~~~

The reason for that is purely geographical.

~~~

Our OIL is located in

~~~

ALASKA

~~~

California

~~~

Coastal Florida

~~~

Coastal Louisiana

~~~

Kansas

~~~

Oklahoma

~~~

Pennsylvania

and

Texas

~~~

Our

DIPSTICKS

are located in

Washington , DC!!!

Any Questions???

NO? Didn't think So.

BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 06:07:45 GMT

a volunteer at work sent me this link..........i had to share. i realize a lot of my readers are from other countries, but it still makes a tear come to your eye to see such patriotism.

the singers in the following video are children and teens......and they are all from a public school. the pictures that the producer has added to the video are truly inspirational as well. so turn up your speakers and be prepared to stand and pay homage to both your country, and your Lord.

enjoy...........

www.greatdanepromilitary.com/Battle%20Hymn/HTMLex.htm

WHY ARE PEOPLE SO CRUEL?

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 04:46:06 GMT

i know you are all probably tired of my complaining about work. but it never ceases to amaze me how people can proclaim to be Christian and say and do the things they do. i am a sinner like everyone else. but i would never say something to anyone, a friend or enemy, that was of a personal nature and would hurt them.

today was one of those days at work. of course, saturdays are tough for us anyway, but today the employees made it even tougher.

one of my favorite community service worker women was there today. she is good at her work and takes her "job" seriously. she came in and immediately started fussing about how all the clothes were in the wrong place. i told her we had had 2 new girls working yesterday and they didn't really know what they were doing.

i went to the back looking for one of my co-workers when i noticed that this aforementioned woman was almost in tears and was muttering to herself. i asked her if she was talking to me and she turned to me and started to tell me what had just happened and burst into tears. i hugged her and told her to come back to the break room and sit down with me and tell me what happened.

i am going to call this community service woman "R". "R" has a tic........sorta like people with turrets syndrome have. she jerks her head back and does her mouth funny like she is going to suck a lemon or something sour. i never asked her why she does this, mainly because it isn't any of my business. lots of people have tics, but it is their personality that i look for. i found out today that "R" also has seizures, so that explains the tics. today, the co-worker who said i fell out of my chair because i was so big, demanded from "R" why she did that silly thing with face and jerked around so much. of course, it hurt "R's" feelings and she just said it was something she couldn't help. but she went back over to her clothes rack and started hanging clothes again, quietly crying inside. i don't know the extent of what was said, but i am assuming it was also the manner in which it was said. this co-worker, who claims to be a devout Christian, has a way of asking things in such a manner that it makes you feel belittled.

after i got "R" to sit down and cry and get herself calmed back down and let her talk it out, she felt much better.

later this afternoon 2 of our volunteers who are married, brought hot dogs and hot dog chili sauce, homemade, for everyone to eat. the young girl who relieves me when i go on break came up and asked me if i wanted to go and eat with the group and she would relieve me. i told her it was really a little early for me to go to lunch, so for her to go and eat and just not clock out and take a 20 minute break and when she finished eating she could come back up and relieve me, and not take her lunch hour right then. she agreed. well 30 minutes later she hadn't returned. i asked the aforementioned co-worker, who i will call Mag, where the girl was and she proclaimed she was taking her lunch. i told her that she wasn't supposed to take a lunch, just go and eat and come back to relieve me. Mag didn't like that comment and said not to question her, that the girl had gone on her lunch break. about that time i was placing a thin glass floating candle bowl over-filled with pebbles, sand, crystals and marbles, into a customer's bag when the bowl snapped and broke off in my hand, piercing the palm of my right hand with a shard of glass. when it started to hurt, the pain was horrible. then the blood started and it wouldn't stop. i looked up at Mag and told her i had to go to the back, i had cut myself on a broken bowl. SHE DIDN'T BELIEVE ME!!!! she must have thought i was using it as an excuse to get to take my lunch break. she came over and said SHOW IT TO HER!! of course, i had wiped it clean of blood and when she glanced at it, there was no blood surfacing yet, and it didn't look that bad, but it WAS deep. i went to the back and told the young girl i had to get myself cleaned up and needed her up front to cover for me.

"R" helped clean up the broken glass and then came to the back to see how i was. i got one of the volunteers to help me tape a bandage on my hand to keep it from bleeding and from getting dirty. then "R" and i ate lunch together.

later in the day my hand started throbbing and i noticed the bandage was slipping off. i told "R" to watch the front while i went to get someone to come to the register while i rebandaged my hand. it was then that Mag made a comment to me that really set me off. she laughed and said something like "if you had REALLY been hurt bad, we would have had to rush you to the hospital. that is one big bandage for such a small nick." i told her i didn't appreciate her belittling my injury and that i knew how deep it was and how serious it was and it wasn't up to her to declare if i were in pain or injured or not. she showed me a little nick on her hand and said what i showed her was no more than what happened to her hand and all i needed to do was put a Band-Aid on it. grrrrrrrrrrr. i told her a Band-Aid wouldn't stick without putting surgical tape over it. so i rebandaged my hand and it felt much better.

i just don't understand why people feel they have to do things like that. i have to admit, i am definitely a wuss when it comes to pain, but it is MY pain, MY injury and i have the right to react how i want to. i mean i could have told them i was leaving and going to the clinic that we go to for emergencies and made the store pay for stitches, but i didn't do that.

anywho, when i got home i removed the bandage, redoctored the wound and discovered there was still a small sliver of glass in the wound. that was why it hurt so badly and wouldn't stop bleeding. it is much better now, and i have it taped over so that it will heal.

i am not sure how well the video i put in my last entry will show up, so i am going to try to include a picture of gray showing how emaciated she has gotten. i have been putting out food but don't know if gray has been eating it or some of the other wild bunch.

yesterday during work i was able to get 2 of the community service guys to take my loveseat and dining table to my house and up my steps and into my apartment. they aren't where i want them placed, but at least they are IN MY APARTMENT. now they cannot complain at work about MY stuff clogging up the entry way.

i am going to try to add the pic or pics of gray now. keep your fingers crossed, lol.

i had to enclude this link. if you are a georgia redneck, you will truly enjoy this. if you are NOT a georgia redneck, you will not understand it, but you will still enjoy it, lol.

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/main.asp?SectionID=6&SubSectionID=84&ArticleID=16944

and while we are speaking of rednecks................

i don't think this entry even needs a kittycaption, lol.

THIS IS THE KITTY VIDEO I PROMISED

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:19:42 GMT

HOPEFULLY A VIDEO

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:21:42 GMT

Most of you that have been with me for a while know that I have wild outdoor kitties that I try to feed and water. It was much easier when I had the 2 cases of hot dogs in my freezer. But now that things are harder to come by to feed them, there are numerous others, mostly babies of the “babies” that I helped raise over the last couple of years.

One of those kitties that has been most faithful is Gray. She is the one who looks like a Siamese, only her tips are gray instead of brown. She used to be really silky and beautiful. She has been coming around more often lately, and is so emaciated. I have shot a short video that I am going to try to add to this entry. I forgot that my voice would show up on the computer version, so please forgive my stupid voice if the video goes through. Gray is still an elegant lady, but just so very thin. I told one of the ladies I work with about her, and even showed her the video on my camera, and she said she would buy her a bag of cat food. How sweet is that? She doesn’t even have a cat. Not sure she even likes them other than they are God’s creatures.

I haven’t had any more of the panic attacks,so hopefully I will get my meds soon and I won’t have to worry about that anymore. I was off on Saturday and Sunday, worked Monday, off Tuesday, and worked today (Wednesday) and there were no episodes with the customers or even the co-workers. Oh, well, there was one thing. I went out to sit with the community service workers while I was on my break, and the chair I was sitting in was already broken, but I didn’t know it. It was an office chair, and when I leaned back, it fell to the right and almost threw me out of it. I had one of the guys grab my hand to steady me so that I could get up. A little while later, the very same lady who offered to buy the cat food was sitting out there in the same chair, and I told her to be careful, it would throw her out. She made a comment that really hurt my feelings and I felt it was rude and uncalled for. She said the reason I fell out of the chair was because I was so big. I am an ample woman, but one of the community service workers, Neshia, who weighs 90 lbs. soaking wet, ALSO fell out of the chair. So……………….

The same lady made a comment once about my relationship with Michael. I was showing her his picture and she said “Why on earth is HE with YOU?!” I guess skinny people don’t realize how badly they hurt those of us that are more on the hefty side. I must admit, she is the perfect size. But even if she weren’t, I would never say anything nasty like that to her or about her. I just don’t understand people. Especially when they profess to be Christians.

The young cashier that is actually the “head” cashier had a taste of what I go through today and she didn’t like it. She and I get along really well, mostly because we have a more honest relationship. If we have something to say to each other, we do so, getting it out in the open and over with. In fact she often says she hates working when I am not there. Anywho……….today, the afore mentioned co-worker who offered to buy the cat food had told her she would buy her lunch today since the younger girl had given her some money for lunch earlier in the week. I was at lunch myself and returned to find EVERYONE except the young cashier out under the tree eating their lunch. I knew she couldn’t go to lunch until I returned, so when I went back up there to relieve her, she was mad as a hatter. She was fussing and cussing under her breath. I asked what was wrong and she was so mad, she couldn’t even get the words out. Evidently the “nice” lady was going to buy lunch for herself and 2 others. So there should have been 3 subway sandwiches, 3 bags of chips, and 3 drinks. There were 3 employees sitting out under the tree at the picnic table and all 3 were eating and drinking subway items. So the young girl thought that the “nice” lady had given her lunch to one of the other co-workers. I told her not to go out there cussing and accusing, just go tell her that I was back from lunch and she was ready for her sandwich, chips and drink. She went out there and was told that the only thing that the other lady took that was hers was her drink. The young girl was still angry because she didn’t have anything to drink. She found some drinks in the Director’s mini fridge, so she was ok. But she was still angry the rest of the afternoon about the way they treated her. I told her that was the way they did me all the time, but I was sorry it happened to her as well.

I am going to try to add my video and save this entry while I have Internet access. I am off tomorrow, so am glad I have access tonight so I can catch up on reading emails, answering them, reading journals and commenting in them.

I may be back to add another entry later if I can. If there is nothing after this sentence, the video wouldn’t take.