Category: Rantings

Venting, bitching, and like that

On My Naughty List: Santa

~ JodiLea

I am fed up with that jolly fat man!

In the past few years I’ve written him letters, asking nicely for very little.  He knows I’ve been good (as I always am), and yet nothing from my list shows up under the tree. It used to, along with one or two wonderful surprises. Not anymore. He left me a 6-pack of underwear.

My stocking had two spatulas in it.  I wish I was kidding.  Is he trying to tell me something, or are spatulas the “new coal”?  Did I offend him somehow?  What went wrong?

Bottom line – I miss being spoiled and I HATE being taken for granted.  I feel like whining, hollering cuss words and stomping my foot. I managed to control my self in front of my granddaughters, but my eyes were swimming in tears for a bit.  I didn’t realize how much I wanted this new “toy”, until I didn’t get it. My disappointment lingers, but I adjusted to reality rather quickly in spite of that 30-minute tantrum watch. I still had a day of  fun with my family.

That’s what the Christmas Spirit is really about anyway. Love and Family.  The “toys” are only perks. 😉

~ A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ~

For Santa’s Naughty List: Companies That Outsource

~ JodiLea

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. ♥

Today’s Addition To Santa’s Naughty List: The Cable Company

~ JodiLea

!SNOWMAN

Each December, I notice a shortage of Christmas movies available on Cable’s “On Demand” feature. Today was the last straw – I wanted to watch a Christmas movie while I worked on Christmas gifts. Snowflakes were floating down and decorating the trees outside.

A perfect day to get comfy and watch one of the classics. The regular TV channels offered movies I’ve never heard of, and same goes for the actors. Our Premium Channel had one: Scrooged. Both of us love that movie, so I selected it. That was when I discovered the Cable Co. wanted $3.99 for the privilege of watching an old (1988) movie.

I could have watched Scrooged in July for free. (“Free” being a relative term, used loosely in this post). In August I could have watched “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” – also an old (1989) movie.  Who the Hell watches Christmas movies in the summer?  Maybe all the people who got gypped last Christmas.

If that  annoys you, then the selections that are available will piss you off.

  • “Born on the 4th of July“
  • “The Exorcist”  [also II and III ]
  • “Halloween“

But all is not lost. There are really good Christmas movies disguised as regular movies. If you have not seen these, you should check them out!  (The “**” means not appropriate for children)

  • “Trapped in Paradise”
  • “The Ref”
  • “Home Alone” [I and II]
  • “Bad Santa”  **
  • “The Family Stone”
  • “Love Actually”
  • “While You Were Sleeping”
  • “Ben Hur”
  • “Die Hard” [I and II]
  • “The Holiday”
  • “Lethal Weapon“

So, I ended up watching The Ref this afternoon.  And all was good.  🙂

!SNOWMAN