some random information

here is the latest page i made with my Red Velvet Art kit .
rachel and emma are doing a great job with these kits!
if you are not a scrapper, but you sew, check out their may project kit!
CUTE CUTE
CUTIE CUTE-ERSON!
(the word CUTE starts to look funny after awhile)

i have never used kits before
it is challenging
but i really like the gratification that comes
from challenging yourself to use
products you might never choose or put together!
love it!
(it doesn't hurt that rachel is the sweetest thing!
so fun to buy something from someone you like!)

well, i cleaned out my dresser drawers today
just like i have written on my list.
"organize drawers"
done.

but leave it to me to clean them out
sort them out
refold and reorganize them
and leave all of the rubble
(you know the clothes that need to be
given away or put in the basement or just
hung up in the closet)
in a huge pile on the bed.

don't worry herb, it will be taken care of
before you come home.

i am procrastinating
can you tell?
two other things i am avoiding:
i have to call my insurance company
and i need to write client notes
i just don't like either of those things
and apparently it has gotten so bad that my
dresser drawers are now organized and purged
of things that don't fit.

when you start putting things off things you don't
want to do by doing other
things that you have been putting off,
you know you are having "a moment".

i took herb on his "may date" this weekend
(we alternate taking a turn each month to plan a fun date)
after saturday, i am proud to state that
i think i qualify for "most mediocre wife ever"!

why?
well, the date itself ROCKED
breakfast at his favorite place
touring the city in the mini cooper
looking at cool architechture and new lofts
coffee and newspaper
a flee market
and the best . . .
we went to watch a "dance dance revolution tournament"
at the library
(this left a lot to desire, but it was a funny idea
the fact that it was hosted by the library should have tipped me off.
but like the marching band at my high school, our public library system
is one of those things that should be nerdy but is actually pretty cool!)

now, the fact that i am a bonehead sometimes
coupled with the fact that i was not necissarly herb's favorite PERSON
on the planet during out date
(in fact maybe at the bottom of his list at the time)
takes the "awesome factor"
down a few notches
but when you mix it all together,
i figure it qualifies me as:

Most Mediocre Wife Ever

i'll take it.
live and learn
live and learn
and don't be a bonehead to you
sweet husband.
try.
try hard.

other news:
i had my hair colored dark a few weeks ago
i am not sure if this picture is pretty and dramatic
or just sort of creepy,
bordering on "psycho-killer".
you decide.

i love love love it (the hair)!

and we bought this cute new flower pot yesterday

it makes me happy with the marigolds in it
we buy marigolds every year
as a sort of informal, unspoken tribute to herb's mom
(she passed away several years ago)
i like having them right there next to the front door.

here is a picture of my sweet birthday soul sister, aly
my cousin's little girl
we share a birthday
the thing about aly is that she REFUSES to have her picture taken
at christmas, the only half-way decent picture i could get of her
had her finger up her nose
on purpose.

it was only after i asked her to help me take a picture of her dog lucy
that she would show me her face
i think she forgot i wasn't taking picture of the dog anymore.
so funny!


TONIGHT is my april date from herb
(sometimes we get a little behind)
if the weather holds,
we are going to the botanical gardens
and either way, dinner.
sound fun!

and i got my first ever order of Hambly products
this afternoon
if you don't scrapbook, this means nothing
if you DO, then you know i am a little bit excited
to try out these fun papers and overlays!
YES!

okay, i need to go be productive.
really.

i mean it this time.

Disgruntled Rant

In the midst of being sick, I have somehow perserved my ability to think (at least somewhat) clearly and continue to maintain my ability to organize and keep track of information. As I wade through a sea of paperwork and out-of-network bills from multiple doctors and labortories, I feel empathy for those who face this daily, for years, and do not have the stamina or support to make sense of these papers. I feel sick to my stomach as I imagine 90 year old women trying to make sense of the Explanation of Benefits for her husband's healthcare. I could vomit if I think too long about her on the phone with a customer service agent, trying to understand why she has not seen any correspondance regarding her claim that she sent in four months ago.

Here I am, day three (or maybe four) or trying to track down payments from my insurance company for treatments, doctors visits, and medications. I just got taken off of hold and spoke to the woman I will endearingly refer to as Agent B. She was checking with Karen, Agent A, who I spoke with for over 30 minutes last week. I was simply calling to follow up on the re-submittion of SEVEN claims that somehow failed to be keyed into her system when I mailed them in last December.

Okay, Agent B just got back to me.
Apparently Karen had no idea what she was talking about.
And now I am on hold again.

I have now been on the phone for 29 minutes with Anthem. The claims I discussed with Karen last week . . . the claims she said where not keyed into her system . . . but that she found the "hard copies" of . . . the claims she said she would re-send to be reviewed for out-of-network reimbursement . . . those claims, apparently do not exist anymore.
They actually were never sent in.
Imagine that.

Isn't that amazing!
Claims that existed last week . . . that were held in the hands of a disgruntled custormer service agent named Karen, just last week, actually do not exist anymore.
I had no idea they were able to back into time and erase the existance of a material object.
Wow.
They should be using their powers for a lot more than filing insurance claims.

So, now I wait to speak to "a supervisor". I look forward to this conversation.

I have now been on hold for 4 minutes, anticipating our conversation.

I read an article a few years ago in Real Simple Magazine about what really goes on behind the scenes in customer service departments.

The reaility is that while Agent B was "checking with Karen" about my paperwork (that is capable of breaking the time-space continuim), she might have more likely been taking a coffee break. And this "supervisor" I am about to speak to . . . most likely the woman that Agent B is currently shooting the breeze with over a cup of instant coffee grains and some room temp water.

The moral of the story in the Real Simple article was this: be as sweet as honey when you speak to a customer service representative.
Because your destinay lies in their hands.

After 12 minutes, I was informed that after a long, heart-felt conversation with "the supervisor" they found the claims and guess what - even the notes in my computerized file documenting that the claims HAD in fact been sent in to be processed. Amazing! Just moments ago, she read to me straight from the same file stating that the claims had not been sent in and that the case was closed.

Great.
Settled.
The claims have been sent in and are existing in a sort of paperwork purgatory for the next 30 days (does that mean 22 for me, since I am positive Karen sent them in promptly 8 days ago when we spoke!?) and that is the reason she could not track them down in her system.

Now I need to speak to somebody about my perscription reimbrusements.
No problem.

I have been transfered to Perscription Claims.
Guess who answered the phone?
Client advocacy.
Turns out Perscription Claims does not actually have a phone number that receives calls.
Nope.
She will now transfer me back to the original team who is helping me with my medical claims.
Okay.

Now I have been on hold for five minutes anticipating the reconnection with Karen and Agent B.

Guess what?
I get to give ALL of my information all over again.
This time to Agent C.
She asks for the dates of each and every medication I am inquiring about.
I list the first one.
And then I apologize in advance for my crankiness.
I really had been as sweet as honey. . .
up until this most recent transfer
and please excuse me because I have now been on the phone with your company for 50 minutes and nothing has really been resolved yet.

Silence.

I continue on, listing each perscription.

Turns out the perscription reimbursement check was distrubuted to me months ago.
Yes, I vaugely remember a check in the amount of $41 and some odd cents.
I apologize, Agent C, for wasting your time.
That was my mistake.
I must have somehow, in all of this paperwork, managed to get a little confused.

55 minutes and 46 seconds of my life.
And then we are finished.
There is silence on the other end.
None of the scripted: "thank you for choosing anthem. is there anything else I can do to help you today? have a great day!"
nope.
I thanked Agent C and wished her a great day.

All I heard from her, "You too."

Gee, thanks.