WHEN THERE ARE PROBLEMS FROM EVERYWHERE TIME IS USED UP AND WASTED -

 Sorry to post so late – we had one of those weeks which seem to be coming more often these days.  

We went Friday a week ago to buy buy vitamins at Costco.  While there we spoke with the assistant manager of the tire department about buying new tires for our RV and having them put on same.  He said that they were no longer working on RVs (despite their website saying they do) and husband explained that it was a not a large RV, but a Chevy van converted to same.  We had to bring it into for him to look at and did so on Monday – sounds simple, right?  To back our RV out I have to stand in the middle of the 4 lane major road on which we live with a walkie talkie.  When the roadway is clear I yell for husband to back out and run to the curb.  He pulls over the curb after backing in so I can get in, which has to be done quickly as the RV/van is wider than the parking lane and vehicles are coming almost constantly.  Biggest problems are weight and the fact that it cannot be raised up on one of those platform lifts due to 4 water tanks and a generator attached underneath.  It is also taller than normal vans, but that was not anticipated to a problem as they were set up for taller vans.  He took some photos, and said he would call us.  If they could do it we would need to bring it in at 6:30 am on Sunday so they could work on it in the empty parking lot before the store opened – Huh?  This was like telling a normal person they would have to bring it at 1 am or so – we are not morning people to begin with and over the past year have been staying up later and waking up later – but if only way to get this done, we will have figure it out.  The tires had to be changed using jacks to lift the RV and it would take longer than normal.

Tuesday he called us and said it could be done – we had to come in and order the tires which we did (in our car of course, not the RV.  The tires were to come in on Friday and on Sunday morning they would put them on.  (So as of this point – we have made 3 trips to the next county about the tires – ½ hour drive each way, allow ½ hour to back out of driveway, etc each time.)  

Friday we received the call that tires were ready  - but instead of being reminded about 6:30 am on Sunday we were asked “3pm or 4pm appointment today?”  I explained what we had been told and reply was “We never do that – all work has to be done in our work area”.  I picked 3 pm and we scrambled to get dressed, eat lunch and get out in time to be there for 3 pm – fully anticipating being told to come back on Sunday at 6:30 am.  It was suppose to rain Friday night – but as we arrived at the store the rain started.  The parking spaces set aside for the tire center were filled and we cannot just pull the RV into any parking space as it is LONG.  We managed to find a usable space along a side aisle (front end could be drive off the pavement to fit) and parked there.  The assistant manager was there – no explanation of the change in when the work was being done.  We left the keys and went into the Costco store to use up 2 hours as they had said 2 to 2 and a half hours.  We  v e r y  s l o w l y w a l k e d around inside the store – separate trips for each side of each aisle – and then started over.  At 2 hours we went to the tire department to check and leave my cell phone number in case of problem and when the work was done as they had our home number.  At 3 and a half hours total time we went back again and the work was done – we don't know how long we were meandering in the store as they never called us to let us know it was finished.  (We kept expecting security to ask why we were in the store for that long a time without buying anything – the seating area for their snack bar was gone due to Covid -19 rules.)  But at least we have new tires and that is done with.

Overlapping this – husband does some work online and his pay is paid to a checking account at Credit Union “A” in his name and we then write a check from same to our regular checking account.  He was paid the beginning of the month but the payment was rejected by “A” as account inactive.  I called and straightened this out – he was paid and we took the money by check in January – so it is has been used recently and well within a year.  He then setup the account on the payer and again it was not able to pay him as the account was inactive.  I spoke to a manager and was told the craziest story I have heard in decades of being an accountant – they only count deposits made by the account holder towards activity – we could write a hundred checks a month and have 100 credits to the account – but it would become inactive without us making a deposit.  Not only was the checking account inactive – his entire membership and all of our accounts were inactive – strangely an electronic form we had to come in and fill out which could not be mailed to us (per an employee we spoke to before him - with no concept of people not going out to Covid) no longer seemed to be needed.  I then checked on the accounts in my name – also inactive, again despite transactions in January in and out – but no deposit.  He fixed those accounts also.  THEN – I realized I have the accounts for my embroidery club there – deposit was made to checking last May – but nothing since, and nothing deposited to the savings account where a deposit had to be made to keep the account active in years – which makes me wonder why this problem did arise with same years earlier.  He reactivated these accounts also.  

This is on top of a variety of other problems which have arisen with “A” since it changed its name (including no more live tellers for those needed deposits).   Husband was furious and this was the end.  We put on our masks and drove a location of Credit Union “B” where he also accounts – but not a checking account.  We opened a checking account there.  We have now set up everything which used to be sent for credit to the checking accounts at  “A” to be sent to the account we opened at “B”.  We will now have to check and make sure two transfers were made to that account.  

All of this took so much time this past week that I only was able to check email twice during the week.  What this proves is that no matter how well organized one is – the disorganization and stupidity of others can take up too much of one's time and make one disorganized.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK (OR THE HALF WEEK LEFT) -

Keep good track of your finances and always expect the unexpected to happen.

BUSY WEEK, BUT NOT MUCH ACCOMPLISHED!

 A busy week, but not much accomplished.  

For example -

I have mentioned that we have a very small RV (a Chevy van converted to same).  When one has an RV one must deal with the toilet waste from when one has used the toilet during their trip.  In this type and brand of RV it is a different system than in most RVs which use gravity to empty the tanks as the tanks are too low to the ground for gravity to work well.  In this RV a pump is used with a macerator to grind up any (ahem) solids being pumped out. There is a hose in a small compartment at the bottom of the driver's side of the RV located immediately behind that side door.  When emptying the tanks the hose is pulled out the hose end is put into the tank in the ground where the tank contents will end up and then a valve is opened before the macerater/pump is started.  

Since we first got this RV we have not been able to turn the valve.  The original hose which came with the RV was very stiff and hard to put in and out and took up almost the entire section where it is stored.  As a result we were able to leave the valve open as we would make sure that the end of the hose was pointing up so nothing left in the hose could pour out into the compartment (ick).  This worked very well for the first 8 years we had the RV.  In 2019 we had to have the macerator replaced as it stopped working.  While this was being done we asked them to replace the hose with one which was easier to maneuver.  What we did not take into account is that the end of the RV would not longer be able to kept pointing upward.  Husband managed to close the valve at the end of the hose and we have not traveled since due to other work needed on the RV, winters, and Covid-19.  

Husband is now thinking ahead to traveling again (drooling with happiness at the thought of traveling on our short trips again).  He realized something has to be done to be able to close the end of the hose.  Any replacement valve we can find intended for this purpose will not fit into the small opening of the section the hose is kept in – what to do?  Husband spent a good part of 2 afternoons measuring the hoses and the connections. His idea is to replace the valve with a piece of pipe which can have a cap screwed onto it.  He made a list of what we need and checked at a chain home supply store that they carry all of the needed parts and same was in stock at the store close to us.  

We went there this afternoon to buy the pieces.  This store's section of plastic plumbing fittings was a mess.  Bins were empty and items were mixed into the wrong bins.  There is another store of this same chain in the community to the south of us and we headed there.  We were eventually able to find everything he says we need.  We were in the department for such a long time I am guessing that employees thought we were moving in.  Hopefully all of this will work when we put it together.  

This shopping event took almost the entire afternoon – I did not even get to check email today.  

Lest you think we are going to work on this project tomorrow, tonight after dinner we drove the RV to our car mechanic (4 blocks away) as it needs its state inspection – fingers crossed that all goes well.  This will, hopefully be done tomorrow.  

I figured that tomorrow I will catch up – ha, ha!  Tomorrow we are going food shopping, just a fill in trip not one of our marathon “there is a pandemic and we don't want to walk out of the house again for as long as possible” trips of the past year, but a fill in trip.  When I am finished with this post I will update and check the shopping list I have been updating in an Excel spreadsheet (piece of paper on fridge, list items as we run out and then copy to spreadsheet to print out – much easier to write when not written by hand and list is in order of aisles (more or less) at supermarket.  Sooo, there goes tomorrow also!  

On the financial side of life, I have spent the past week chasing down a direct deposit to our bank account which was suppose to be made by a company which handles same for the company through which husband does online counseling.  Deposit was 4 days late – with me telephoning their computer each evening to check – when husband received an email that the deposit was not made as the account does not exist.  HUH?  We have had this account for decades and they have made the deposits to it since they took over handling same for the company through which he does the counseling.  Granted we are not talking big money here – about US$100 -  but still…   I telephoned the company which handles the payments and spoke with a woman there – we each kept getting silence or voices were too low to hear.  At one point she had to call me back as the connection was so bad.  Finally we were each able to provide information to the other – and husband had to confirm he was him and I could talk to her.  We emailed a copy of the last bank statement (with other account info blacked out) and are waiting to hear back.  I checked the bank again tonight – just in case – still no deposit to the account!  This took up most of yesterday afternoon!  Deposit is now a week late.

That's 3 afternoons gone this week and then add tomorrow – and that is 4.  

In between all of this I am trying to track down an IRS refund due one of my clients,  and deal with renewals for our reenactment unit and my embroidery chapter.  I am now at the point where I am pleading with members to get their renewals in as both sets of renewals must be mailed by May 31 to the national offices.  In one case a member says she mailed her dues “weeks ago” (I only put out the notice to renew the beginning of May), but I don't have them.  I emailed her 2 days ago to find out if she mailed to my house (as they were told to do) or our PO Box (which means it should be forwarded, but often is not and we went 2 weeks ago, but not this past week).  She has not let me know where she mailed it.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Well, what has to be done gets done and everything else waits for it.  I am not a magician, if something has to wait, it wait.  Today is all I can deal with today!

Did you get Covid-19 shots yet?

WHEN EVERYTHING GOES ON AND DOWNHILL AT ONCE...

 OOPS!  Somehow I lost Wednesday - and Thursday - this week.   

I finally finished doing tax returns this week – except for a client who wanted an extension, so I finally had time to devote to my embroidery chapter and our reenactment unit.  

In normal times I would be working with the membership chair of my embroidery chapter on renewals as the national group for same has renewals due by May 31.  

Normally the reenactment unit has its membership renewal period at the start of the year as our national group wants its renewals and dues by March 1 and the unit renewals are done at the same time.   BUT this year – our chapter is rolling over dues from last year as the unit did almost nothing last year due to Covid-19, so that part is easy, but our national group pushed their renewal period back to now – also due in May – as they were redoing their membership records system.  So I have to get the members of both groups to renew at the same time.  I had emailed to members from my embroidery chapter an those members of our reenactment unit who belong to the national group (not all unit members belong to same) to renew.  I have received some renewals from each group and all week have been intending to send a second email to those who still have to renew in each group.  (Yes, personally my dues/our dues have already been paid to both groups.)  

Throw into this mix that week was the monthly Zoom for the embroidery chapter and a last minute Zoom board meeting was called for the reenactment unit.  I was so confused that I thought they were both the same day – embroidery in the morning and the board meeting at night.  I was working at my computer late in the day – long after the embroidery meeting – and suddenly realized that the meeting had already started.  I yelled to my husband to come up and sign in (he is also on the board) as I started my laptop (no camera or microphone on my desktop computer) to quickly sign into the meeting.  Husband yelled back that the board meeting was the next day- phew!!

Now add into this the embroidery chapter has its face to face meetings (when we used to have and will in the future) in a town park's community room.  The one we have been using is much too small to be able to social distance (January 2020 I did not go to the meeting as I had a cold and could not figure where I could sit and not pass along the cold.)  We have been in talks with the town to use a different meeting room for the rest of this year – if and when it is opens up – and we had to change our meeting date to do so.  A vote had been taken by the members as to which day to meet instead.  I suddenly realized the day before the meeting that we had not setup the meeting dates with the town.  I double checked with the chapter President and telephoned the town parks department – call went to voicemail.  I left a message.  Next day I was called back – we took too long, the room was already assigned.  I grabbed the alternative they still had – the same meeting room we had before on a different day – in the interim.  Chapter President said the room was too small even before Covid, and to call again.  

So I have been in a panic most of the week – a large IRS refund due to a client which has not come yet and does not show on IRS records, plus the 2 sets of renewals, plus the two meetings, plus the we lost the meeting room we wanted.  Little by little over the week things started to resolve – the client's refund is finally showing up on the IRS website, the board meeting for the reenactment unit went much better than I thought it would and the unit is not disbanding, and today I received a call from someone else at town parks, that we can have the room we were asking for on the days we wanted it.  (We are hoping that later this year we can meet in person.)  Breathe a big sigh of relief!

Now add into all of this – husband and I have been working on cleaning up in the garage.  Late last week I had been using my leg to measure how tall the small trash pails he uses to hold smaller pieces of wood are, as one broke and we needed to replace it, and I leaned forward to see how tall it was against my leg and smashed my head into the end of husband's lathe – OUCH!  As of now it still hurts if I touch it.  And on Tuesday my right thumb started to hurt.  I don't think it is computer or cell phone related as I tend to use my fingers much more than my thumbs on both.

All of this has been in my head and Wednesday slipped past me and then Thursday slipped past me.  Now I can get back to the renewals for both groups, hopefully my head and thumb will feel better and maybe tonight I will be able to sleep and remember what day it is!


THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Even when everything is hitting at once, try to deal with the various problems one at a time with the most urgent one first – and in today's pandemic world – try to remember which day it is – all day!