Ah yes, the ol’ Using My Blog As An Accountability Tool. Let’s do this.
1. MAKE THE PHONE CALL: One of our utilities recently changed how they process payments. The first month of the switchover, our payment got “stuck” – we could see it on the utility website as “processing” but it never came out of our bank account. I called and called but there was a learning curve: if I pressed the menu buttons for the things it sounded like I needed, I would get stuck in an automated system where I couldn’t get out. When I finally figured out how to get to customer service, the wait times were ridiculous. But I finally got through, and the person I spoke to said lots of people had been having the same issue and she could take a payment over the phone. Well. Part of the new payment system they adopted meant that they are now charging a fee for payments via credit card. I do not want to pay a credit card fee. We’d already decided to go the check route for this utility and I asked if we could pay by check and she said sure. I also asked what would happen to the “processing” payment; it would be erased once our check arrived. And we would not be charged a late fee, right? Since this was their fault, and everyone in their system was having the same problem? Of course. No late fee. I got off the phone, sent in the check, washed my hands of the situation.
You and I both already know that this is not the end of it. Our “processing” fee was released, so we now have a credit with the utility. Fine. But since the original fee was via credit card, they also charged us the new fee for using a credit card. AND they charged us a late fee. ARGH. So now I have to call and complain and see if they can refund us the (very minimal, I realize; it’s the principle of the thing) extra charges and figure out whether they will apply the credit to our upcoming bill. I do not want to make this call and have been not wanting to make this call for well over a week. Maybe two weeks. I am going to make the call today. I AM.
2. Walking Write Up: This is me posting about my daily walks as part of Elisabeth’s CBWC. I have been walking, daily (or nearly enough), and trying to get photographic evidence of said walks. It’s a gorgeous time to be outside, with lots of green grass and blooming flowers right beside fallen leaves and trees that are glowing with autumn colors. The other day, my husband – who dislikes walks – initiated a walk! We drove to a new-to-us hiking trail and walked through the woods and it was lovely. One day, I walked on the treadmill. But that counts and sometimes the treadmill is the best option. Please ignore my weird arm, which appears twice in the photos below.
3. Find a New Eye Doctor: I haven’t complained about my eyes lately; I guess I’ve had enough other complaints to fill up the complaining portion of my blog duties. But I guess I’ll mention the issue here so that when I eventually lose an eye to whatever is going on, I can pinpoint where it started.
I’ve been having a very odd reaction in my eyes for a couple of months now. They will – seemingly out of nowhere – get all burny and itchy and red and goopy. It’s gross and also uncomfortable. One morning it was so bad, I couldn’t drive. I had to take my kid to school several hours late because I was busy lying on my bed with a cold compress on my eyes, trying to calm them down enough that I could see. Fortunately, the reactions haven’t been quite so severe, but sometimes it does look like I have a raging case of pink eye. (It’s not pink eye.) But I cannot get in to see MY eye doctor to save my life. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I enjoy the continuity of care that comes with having one doctor for multiple years. So it’s time to find a new eye doctor. I am going to look, today.
4. Laundry: I have had a clean basket of laundry in my bedroom since Saturday, and three piles of to-be-washed clothing on my bathroom floor since Tuesday. Today’s the day the piles become clean, folded, put away laundry.
5. Make Dinner: I have not, as promised, “shopped my freezer” this week. I think Monday night I made pumpkin curry with things on hand (though nothing frozen) and then the rest of the week I have made nothing. We’ve been subsisting on leftover chili (me) and takeout matzoh ball soup (my husband). Last night my dinner consisted of cheese and crackers, almonds and dried cranberries, sliced cucumbers and bell peppers and broccoli florets dipped in ranch dressing. Only Carla has been eating things from the freezer, as she is on a salmon kick and I buy salmon filets by the bag from Costco. I have also been to the grocery store TWICE since I posted about not wanting to go to the store, and bought four pork tenderloins (there was a BOGO situation) to add to the already bursting meat drawer in my freezer. So tonight I am going to make barbecue pork in the crockpot. Plot twist: my husband says our usual recipe is too wet, so I guess I need to find a recipe for barbecue pork that is not too “wet.”
Okay. As blog as my witness, I am going to accomplish these things today.
Good luck with the to-do list. That call sounds like the kind of thing I would put off, too. So annoying.
It took me about 15 minutes to find the phone number and then I got one of those automated choices to have them call me back. We’ll see how it goes!
Too wet…hmm…I wonder if you took it out of the crock and then threw it in the broiler (this is what I do for carnitas), then it would crisp up but still be tender and flavorful?
Oooohhh yes, good idea! I do that with carnitas too and it’s delicious.
You can do this! Get your money back, make an eye appointment, fold the laundry, and then go treat yourself to some ice cream. That is the way I convince myself to do things.
YES. TREATS.
I also went to a new eye doctor this year, and it turns out I like her better than the previous one, so fingers crossed that will happen for you too!
Grrrrrr phone. One thing that stresses me about my new job is that I have to make way more phone calls than I have in previous roles. For whatever reason the vendors that we work with are more reachable by phone than by email…which means they aren’t reachable so I have to chase them.
On the plus side, your walks are gorgeous! The Hubs and I used to do the occasional hike but once we got a dog then walking became a regular thing for us. It’s a really fun thing for us to do together, and a good chance to talk about stuff that we can’t talk about when the kids are around.
Hey if you didn’t shop the freezer this week then you can shop it next week! Or the week after that! Yay freezers!
I feel like I should check back in at the end of the day. Ya know, just to keep you on track…
😉
Charging you a late fee for THEIR GLITCH?! A documented glitch; that would make me furious enough to actually make a phone call.
As for the rest, I’m confident that you will pull it all off with ease.
All the automated phone systems and waiting is why we detest the phone.
I’ve put off a regular eye doctor appointment for a YEAR. And I have terrible dry eye. I have no idea why I’m being such a slug about this. It’s been on the top of my To Do list for…well, a year. What is my problem?
Laundry. Sigh. I’m looking at a basket right now that still needs to be folded and put away from yesterday. I consider it a Victory that it was brought up from the basement on the same day I did it.
You know we’ll all be wanting an update on your progress! That phone call sounds SO annoying (I hope you got that taken care of and don’t have to think about it again!) And, what is going on with your eyes? Could you be allergic to something?
Laundry sounds like the easiest one. You don’t have to leave your house or talk to anyone! You can do it!
Oh gosh. The utility mishap is terribly frustrating. Why is everything so hard sometimes? We got a mysterious bill for a doctor visit that Taco had and I called to ask about it and waited and waited and waited and then I must have hit the max wait time so it made me leave a message. But that over a week ago and no one has called me back. The bill is $200 so I don’t really want to pay it because it’s also considered out of pocket? I guess it’s because it’s a hospital-based clinic but this has never happened before. Gah. I should call again and yet I don’t want to at all.
Wow, that eye thing sounds really strange and upsetting.
Good luck on the to-do list! You can do it!
Go for it! The phone call would unnerve me, of course, but you can do it. I like your eating out the freezer idea, I’d do that if left to my own devices, but another person in this house lives for a full freezer.
While I was reading this, I hopped up and raced upstairs to swap the laundry loads. Phew. Now that the girls wear uniforms, I do whatever I can to clean them and tank them from the dryer before they wrinkle. So, thanks for the reminder.
What on earth is happening to your eyes? My left eye wept for most of my run yesterday am and I was panicked that I was coming down with pink eye, but nope. Must’ve just been reacting to the weather.
I have a story about how many trips to the grocery store we took this weekend. It will make your head spin. Pure silliness.
That late fee- well, that sort of thing boils my blood. Good luck.
I have two phone calls I need to make: I got a new FSA card in the mail and I think I messed up my PIN because my PIN wasn’t accepted when I tried to pay for a prescription. This was weeks ago and I still haven’t figured it out, ahhh. I also need to call FEMA because they rejected my assistance request (hoping to get my VRBO reservation covered by FEMA assistance), argh. We can do this!!
I totally support a blog as an accountability buddy. I had a similar idea to be honest.
Good luck crossing it all off and getting the issue with the utility company fixed. what a nuisance….