2025, Health, Uncategorized, work

Adjustments

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For the past two months I have been inundated with the question “How are you enjoying your retirement?” I usually smile and say that it is nice, but, if truth be told, I would tell people that it hasn’t been the greatest experience.

To begin with, my body has let me know it is unhappy with me by having increased aches, pains, sciatica, a week long low grade fever, and a nasty bout of diverticulitis. I seem to be over most of those ailments now.

I also have been beset by corporate stupidity that has left me exhausted and anxious. I don’t know why these things seem more exhausting and overwhelming than they used to. For example, for years we have dealt with a computer virus protection company we previously utilized that keeps thinking we still want their services, and keep trying to charge an expired credit card to renew our account. I was getting several emails a week saying “Hmm, your card was declined”. Monday it seemed that they had somehow managed to actually get the card to work, so I spent an hour on the phone with their customer service explaining repeatedly we didn’t want their products, we didn’t need their products, and to please leave us alone. The customer service person kept insisting we really needed their products. After repeatedly telling her we wanted this all finished, she finally relented. I think I finally got it taken care of. It was exhausting. Of course yesterday I got an email asking to rate my experience with customer service. Arrrgh!

In January I heard from our auto insurance company that the insurance for our 2011 van was being transferred to a subsidiary company for the same but less expensive coverage, and that I would receive all the particulars in a couple of weeks. Yesterday it dawned on me that I hadn’t received any such information, and the coverage for the van expired tomorrow. Our long term agent retired, and it seemed that the new agent lived in Watford City, about 70 miles away. We finally figured out that she had moved her office to Dickinson, contacted her, and she printed off our new proof of coverage. That took a whole morning to accomplish. They had just forgot to send me the renewal cards. Arrrgh!

Retirement has been an adjustment for mind, body, and spirit. I thought the months leading up to my retirement were stressful. I just hope I can tolerate the change now that it has begun.

What corporate stupidity have you encountered lately? What are some big adjustments you have had to make?

26 thoughts on “Adjustments”

  1. Yesterday afternoon, the MLB.TV channel went down. It was Opening Day! I had paid my yearly subscription weeks ago. The first game up was Milwaukee/ New York Yankees. 3:05 first pitch.I got the “warming up” blue circling ball at 2:50.
    Nothing.
    Maybe the pre-game ceremonies are taking longer than expected.
    3:05
    Nothing.
    Click over to Baltimore at Toronto 3:45.
    Caught their player introductions and national anthems. The stadium announcer went into a lengthy plea for decorum clearly meant to head off booing the Star Spangled Banner. The audience sound was very obviously cut but was full again with the singing of O’ Canada.
    Back to Yankees.
    Nothing.
    Back to Toronto.
    Nothing.
    Is it me?
    Restart computer twice, three times.!!
    Nothing.
    About 6:00, I learned from another platform that the system had been overwhelmed and was being restored. Probably the biggest day in a baseball season and you’re not ready?! There’s sure to be a class action lawsuit and this is my testimony.

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  2. I’m sorry that the Corporate Stupidity, esp., has kept you from fully enjoying your down time. This sentence made me laugh out loud, though: “Of course yesterday I got an email asking to rate my experience with customer service.” Did you do the survey?? : )

    Won’t do the details, but I’m wrangling with the MyChart entities and have been wonky since we changed our email address. I hate spending time on this sh**. And now my iPad seems to be giving up the ghost – is losing power very quickly – and needs replacing. Luckily I have my tech guru to help me set up the new one, once I bite the bullet and buy it.

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      1. The $90 should help replace the Social Security that is now in question. Right?

        Renee, I am sorry to hear you had such a rough month. I always find March challenging in so many ways. The weather changes a lot which gets my allergies going, and now in my old age, weather changes mess with my joints. Hang in there. Retirement is a big deal when our lives have been ruled by work for so long.

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        1. Yes, Renee, I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough start to retirement too. I couldn’t believe all the time I had when I first retired and I didn’t know how to behave properly, which is part of the reason I went back to work on call for three years. That helped with the transition. It IS a transition. Your whole mind and body are used to a certain schedule, which was suddenly removed. That’s the perfect time for every ache, pain, and illness to make itself known. It will get better.

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  3. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    Does “Corporate” include our Federal Government. If it does then I can go on for days! Meanwhile, we have one medical entity that sends me texts about paying Lou’s copay, with the instructions that I am to use the code on the bill…which they have not sent. And there is no identification about anything, so I cannot really problem-solve. I know what procedure it was, but they are missing many steps between procedure and payment. I will bet after several months the bill will be turned over to a bill collector, but they have made it impossible to pay the darn bill. Eye Roll.

    Meanwhile, I finally landed at Urgent Care on Tuesday because my “cold” or whatever got worse and worse. I am now on medications and I hope I am on the mend. This is getting very old.

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  4. I was at a meeting this morning regarding long range transportation plans by the county and state. Another meeting in April will focus on “Road Safety for all”. One gentleman asked if the emphasis was on ‘road safety’ or ‘for all’? Because if it was ‘for all’ he knew it would devolve into bicycles and he wasn’t going to waste time on another meeting about bicycles.
    I thought to myself ‘devolve’. I don’t use that word enough.

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    1. Once it devolves to bicycles who is to stop it from devolving further to boneshakers and penny farthings? Next you know, people will be walking. Forewarned is forearmed.

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  5. Renee, I’m so sorry that the first couple of months of your retirement hasn’t gone to plan. In 2020 I got furloughed and it was this furlough that actually made my first weeks of retirement quite smooth – I had 10 months of practice, during covid no less. During that 10 months I got over my anger at corporate America and my company in particular. In hindsight it was a gift. And of course now I am the poster child for being retired.

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  7. I retired officially on October 1st, 2018. I had left a country, a language, an identity, and a profession. It took me two years to realize that I was better off, and some time after that to work on building relationships in my original country and language, with a different identity and no profession. I just say that I’m better off and you will be too. It will take time, you will need help (especially with the kinds of things that you described in your post), but it will get better. And, if it doesn’t, even then, you’ll be OK.

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  9. I still haven’t gotten a Real ID. I was stymied by the requirements. First, you had to have a Social Security card. Fine, I have one of those. The problem is, decades ago I laminated it. Turns out, they don’t accept a laminated card as real. Then I found out that my birth certificate isn’t real. It is actually a Hospital Record of Live Birth, which is not an official government document. I am still dealing with those issues. Before long, you’ll have to present proof of citizenship in order to be allowed to vote. Also, you’ll have to be verified by id.me if you want to talk with someone at Social Security, or else you’ll have to go to a physical office. And the physical offices are being shut down now.

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    1. i am dealing with social security now and have a guy who is wonderful at their physical office. they shit down my medicare in the midst of my broken leg and are screwing up the process of fixing it. they put me off for a couple months because the physical office was closed because of a burst pipe and all stuff was handeled remotely. in addition to my medicare being screwed up my social security checks were to start before february but are still being processed. and the phone people are so inept its laughable. it must be hard to be an undereducated customer service person who has bad notes from the last one. and now theyre firing them all because its an unneccessary expense and will be part of the master plan to reduce the trump budget.
      my retirement may sneak in to my life some day but i dont see it happening soon
      i go round and round on a regular basis and its a constant ugly scene. i bet it will evolve into my ai personna interacting into theor ai personna.

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  10. A day late…

    I just canceled my Paramount+ subscription. It took me an HOUR. Finally, I realized I had to go into my Settings on my phone, then subscriptions, then Paramount, then cancel. As soon as I did that, it worked.

    Yesterday I bought a new car. I’m still not sure I made the right decision, but it’s done. After the transaction was done, I drove home. I tried to call my insurance agent, who has an office in town, but no answer. So I got in my new car and drove to his office. The door sign said they are open until 5, but no one was there. So I tried calling again. No answer. So I gave up and went home. I tried calling again, and this time I left a voice mail. He called me back about an hour later, after office hours. It’s a whole new age, you know? He said I should text him for more immediate service. There used to be two people working in that office at all times and I never had to wait or make multiple calls. They used to take care of me in about 5 minutes. Humph.

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