Frustrating Friday

I tried to get some things accomplished today and wasn't so successful.

My son had to be un-enrolled from one high school so that he can be enrolled in another one on the other side of town.  We actually live closer to the old one, but moved into town back in February and crossed the line into another district.  (We got a waiver to finish last year's term at the old school.)  Any rate -- in an era of wire transfers, emails, paying bills online, e-commerce, even fax machines and the good ole school system still requires you to come in person to conduct business.  And, they like leaving early on Fridays during the summer!  The lights were being turned off at 3:00 pm and I had to make my way through a dark office to get back to the main hallway from the guidance office.  Well, half of the task is done and I'll have to go to the new school on Monday to enroll my son.

My other un-accomplishment today was to go to the Unemployment Office and resolve the matter of benefits that haven't been paid for the last three months.  After seeing two different people and waiting in two different waiting rooms, I was finally told that I had to call Richmond to have it resolved.  I was finally given a sticky note with a "direct-line" 800 number to the appeals department, but when I came home and called the number, I was told I had to submit a letter requesting an appeal with my SS# and signature on it.

Oh, by the way...
Shopping for health insurance is almost as much fun as getting a root canal.

When I do business online, I want to be contacted by email.  I think that is only fair, don't you?  Well, when you are shopping for insurance quotes and you put your information into the "required" fields and submit it, you almost instantaneously begin to get a flurry of phone calls from all over the country from brokers trying to get you to buy their insurance package.  The commissions must be really something because these folks are like sharks around a chum bucket. 
I called my current health insurance provider (Optima) this week to ask how much my current policy would cost me without the COBRA benefits that expires in a few days.  I've been paying $130 per month for the last year since getting laid off.  Well, Shana informed me it would cost me $700 per month  and I almost had to laugh I was so shocked.  I've had this same HMO plan for 13 years and never knew it was such a "Cadillac" plan as I was to find out.  After some shopping around, I think that I can get something affordable that is enough for what I need.