The cool at the end of that day
Here I am at the end of a tough week. Things started poorly when I sunburned myself to an amazing degree on Sunday 1 week ago. Then the new more comfortable shoes I bought for myself caused my heel to blister. Finally I had to fight with my wife’s company’s HR department. I am grateful to be at the of this week.
I bought a jigsaw puzzle on Saturday. Sunday, since the weather was terrific, I took the puzzle out onto the deck and enjoyed (worshipped) the sun. I had no idea that the sun would be quite so strong. About 3 pm my wife said to me, “You’re really turning red. Maybe you should cover up.” I had no idea. I looked in the mirror, put on lotion, put on a shirt and cap. It was too late. My head was so burned that I couldn’t even sleep until Wednesday night. To add insult to injury, I of course, had to go to work. So, by Thursday my skin was peeling so badly that I felt like the eczema poster child. Today it only itches.
I bought a new pair of work shoes on Saturday. I bought a pair of Rockports. They’re like wing-tip tennis shoes. I work downtown and do a fair amount of walking. Naturally, the Rockports caused a blister on my right heel about the size of a silver dollar. Man it hurt! On Thursday, when I began to peel, the fact that I was walking ‘funny’ to account for the blister, had caused me to twist or abuse my ankle to the point of a mild sprain. My ankle was swollen and bruised. Walking in ANY kind of shoe now hurts. In fact, I am soaking my ankle as I write this.
My wife and I decided to drop my wife’s health insurance through her job and cover her through my job. It’s much cheaper for us, and frankly, my plan is better. Here’s the rub. Providence says, “You can only make a change in health plans during a qualifying event, because health insurance is paid from pre-tax dollars. The IRS is very strict about this.” Can it be that the IRS has no fee structure in place to account for someone moving their pre-tax dollars? To be fair, adding my wife to my insurance plan is a qualifying event. We were told that we had only 30 days to make the change. We were out of time on Friday. So on Thursday, we provided Providence with proof, my insurance card and a letter stating that my coverage had started. Providence was adamant that since my wife’s name was not on the form, they would not “allow” her to stop paying into a plan we do not use. So, I had to fight with HR. To be truthful, it was a battle of wits and HR came with their usual set of intellect, in other words, unarmed. (As an aside, my wife and I saw the new Hitchhiker’s Guide movie last night, these people ARE the Vogons) When I began repeating “I would hate to have my wife quit,” they finally relented and decided that the proof they had was enough. What a bunch of talent free, intellectually unburdened, bunch of thimble brained bureaucrats.
I won one battle, re-learned a lesson (sunburn = bad), and am holding firm with a damaged ankle. I fought hard and well. I’m glad it’s over for this week. Nobody can get me until Monday. I’m just going to enjoy the cool at the end of the day. Maybe I’ll find some telemarketers to goof on. I have a new game I like to play. I’ll talk about that next week.
I bought a jigsaw puzzle on Saturday. Sunday, since the weather was terrific, I took the puzzle out onto the deck and enjoyed (worshipped) the sun. I had no idea that the sun would be quite so strong. About 3 pm my wife said to me, “You’re really turning red. Maybe you should cover up.” I had no idea. I looked in the mirror, put on lotion, put on a shirt and cap. It was too late. My head was so burned that I couldn’t even sleep until Wednesday night. To add insult to injury, I of course, had to go to work. So, by Thursday my skin was peeling so badly that I felt like the eczema poster child. Today it only itches.
I bought a new pair of work shoes on Saturday. I bought a pair of Rockports. They’re like wing-tip tennis shoes. I work downtown and do a fair amount of walking. Naturally, the Rockports caused a blister on my right heel about the size of a silver dollar. Man it hurt! On Thursday, when I began to peel, the fact that I was walking ‘funny’ to account for the blister, had caused me to twist or abuse my ankle to the point of a mild sprain. My ankle was swollen and bruised. Walking in ANY kind of shoe now hurts. In fact, I am soaking my ankle as I write this.
My wife and I decided to drop my wife’s health insurance through her job and cover her through my job. It’s much cheaper for us, and frankly, my plan is better. Here’s the rub. Providence says, “You can only make a change in health plans during a qualifying event, because health insurance is paid from pre-tax dollars. The IRS is very strict about this.” Can it be that the IRS has no fee structure in place to account for someone moving their pre-tax dollars? To be fair, adding my wife to my insurance plan is a qualifying event. We were told that we had only 30 days to make the change. We were out of time on Friday. So on Thursday, we provided Providence with proof, my insurance card and a letter stating that my coverage had started. Providence was adamant that since my wife’s name was not on the form, they would not “allow” her to stop paying into a plan we do not use. So, I had to fight with HR. To be truthful, it was a battle of wits and HR came with their usual set of intellect, in other words, unarmed. (As an aside, my wife and I saw the new Hitchhiker’s Guide movie last night, these people ARE the Vogons) When I began repeating “I would hate to have my wife quit,” they finally relented and decided that the proof they had was enough. What a bunch of talent free, intellectually unburdened, bunch of thimble brained bureaucrats.
I won one battle, re-learned a lesson (sunburn = bad), and am holding firm with a damaged ankle. I fought hard and well. I’m glad it’s over for this week. Nobody can get me until Monday. I’m just going to enjoy the cool at the end of the day. Maybe I’ll find some telemarketers to goof on. I have a new game I like to play. I’ll talk about that next week.
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