For Santa’s Naughty List: Companies That Outsource

Santa

We (hubby and I) are so disgusted now with the company we retired from this summer.  I suspect that a lot of companies are doing the same thing. It still doesn’t make it right.

As a retiree, I no longer can use the company’s benefits office. Retiree benefits are outsourced to a large conglomerate somewhere in Illinois. They are the middle-man for your retiree medical plan. Retirees pay company, and they pay the bill to the carriers for you. Sounds great, doesn’t it?  Until you find out that the premiums they have taken out of your checking account are not going to your medical carrier.

In October hubby retired and signed up for his retiree benefits. November 1st, his first medical premium payment was paid and he signed up for auto-payment from our checking account. No problems with that. They were taking our money right on schedule. Because of his first payment crossing in the mail with the auto-payment set up, he was billed for Nov & Dec coverage at the same time, so now we had made 3 payments.

I contacted the outsource company about hubby’s over-payment. I also was going to complain about hubby not receiving his medical card with his patient number yet. Sigh.  I am told to contact the medical provider directly to ask about the card. I did so and found out that hubby did not have any coverage with them at all. WTF??

That was Monday. Now it’s Thursday and hubby is waiting for a phone call from the medical insurance and the outsourced folks. Someone seriously dropped the ball here, and neither side wants to admit it.  Meanwhile, hubby has not had any medical coverage for two and a half months!

I want to know what the Hell the outsource company did with the money?

This kind of crap makes me want to go pirate!  ARRRRR!!!

Thanks for listening, I feel better now.

Silly Post Monday: Frogs

This is the kind of frog I like:

Big Frog On Couch

Because,

  • Hubert the Frog  is not slimy.
  • He is quiet and doesn’t croak all night.
  • He seems happy.
  • He doesn’t jump, so the Calaveras County Frog Jumping Contest in May is out, but I can get over that.
  • He does not need to eat, so I don’t have to keep bugs in the house.
  • No eat – no froggy-doo
  • He does not exhibit destructive behavior when we leave him alone.

We know something goes on when we leave, but  we can’t prove it.

However, lately we suspect that Hubert Frog is really Hillary Frog, or having a party. Even worse, Hubert invited over a couple of buddies to watch Monday Night Football.

More Frogs

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Frog Pattern provided by Lion’s Brand Yarn.

Sing Yourself Into the Christmas Spirit

!SNOWMAN

Hubby and I had tickets had tickets to see the Columbus Community College Chorus with Orchestra perform on Friday night.  Since we had to go to the big city (Sonora) for the concert, we decided to make a day out of it and finish up Christmas shopping,  have a nice dinner, then relax and enjoy some music.

The Choir performed classic pieces, traditional Christmas carols, and a surprise. They, and their orchestra, were beyond awesome.

After the first set in the program, the conductor, John Carter, turned to face the audience and told us  “Now it’s your turn.” Say What?  As he directed, we sang. The choir members left the stage to take a break during this time. Either that, or we were really awful.

Do all Christmas concerts have sing-a-longs? This was my first, so I had no idea what to expect.  The music was the popular traditional carols, everyone over 5-years old knows, like Deck the Halls, Silent Night, etc. I have not sung with a conductor before. It really helps everyone stay in tempo and we didn’t sound bad. I think.

Hubby sat next to me on my right side. I love when he sings! His sexy baritone voice – well – none of your business – that’s what. Ahem..  The man seated next to me on the left, had a wonderful alto voice that he was very proud of.  He sang so LOUD,  I could not hear myself sing.  I had to be off-key most of the time. There’s always something going on around me.

Despite the little annoyances, we had a fun time, met some nice people, and we got to sing in public with an orchestra and conductor!  My Christmas Spirit got a needed boost.

You may have noticed that this blog is more Christmas-y  now. I changed the lay-out for the holidays. I don’t know about my loyal readers, but I was getting BORED with the scrapbook look.

Who knows what insanity will look like in January…  😉