I woke up early, and my nose started running. It was running and running. Don’t know why. I eventually fell back to sleep and we both got out of bed at around 11:00am. We showered, dressed, ate NUTRISYSTEM breakfasts and left to run errands. It was really warm out today – probably around 80 degrees at the warmest point.
The first thing we did was go to the post office, so I could pick up our mail, which they were holding the whole time we were gone. It actually worked out – no mail delivered and everything we expected to find was in there!
The only disappointment was that Eric was supposed to get some medical information from the clinic in NY where we got full physicals once a year. When I was interviewed by AETNA for our benefits, I was honest about Eric’s occasional high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Although he was never prescribed medication for either, they wanted his readings for 3 years. I don’t know why the clinic in NY was willing to give him his blood pressure over the phone, but said they had to mail his lipid panel results. So, we were expecting them to be in the mail and they weren’t.
I called up to find out what the story was and the woman said she remembered Eric, but that she had spoken to her supervisor and they said they needed a check before they could mail the report. I asked her if she called Eric to tell him that and she said, “No, my supervisor said I didn’t have to.” Did you ever? I was so furious I just hung up. Eric called AETNA and told them, but they said that since so much time had passed we would have to do the application process ALL OVER AGAIN.
I told Eric I would rather just buy the COBRA medical benefits from his union, even though they cost twice as much, because we wouldn’t have to deal with any of these questions and probing and their benefits are much better anyway. He finally agreed. I'm not lazy, but I'm not going through all that TWICE when they might turn us down anyway!
So, tomorrow I have to call the union and see exactly what we have to do, but I'm pretty sure it's just filling out the form they sent and mailing it in with a check. We’ll probably be set within a week.
When we got back from the post office we sat together at the table and went through all the mail. It was mostly junk, but there were some magazines, catalogs, a “Save The Date” from my niece, Jessica, who is getting married in November, and a few checks (wheee!).
After that, Eric went to work on the RV and I started 3 loads of laundry. Then, I walked across the street to CITIBANK to deposit the checks we had received. Unfortunately, the bank was closed, because they were ROBBED THIS MORNING!
So, I drove to the CITIBANK in Pacific Beach, and also stopped at the used bookstore to get two more books, so I’d have something to read at work! I told the teller at the CITIBANK that my branch was robbed and it was really scary and she assured me that it “hardly ever happens.” Yeah, that makes me feel MUCH better – especially since we live RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET!
The books I bought at the used bookstore are THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger, and THE SAMURAI’S GARDEN by Gail Tsukiyama. If anyone’s read either of these and has a review – let me have it!
When I got back I put all the clothes into the dryer for a few minutes and then brought most of it back up to the apartment where we hung it all up on clothes lines all around the apartment. The only stuff I let dry all the way are Eric’s socks and underwear and towels. Everything else gets dried for a few minutes, to steam the wrinkles out, and then gets hung on the line. It really works great and I don’t have to iron!
By the time we finished hanging up the laundry I was sweating a lot. It gets really hot in our apartment. We had the bedroom and bathroom windows open and the front door, too, with the ceiling fan in the dining room going, but it still gets very stuffy. What are we going to do in July when it’s hot all day and all night?
Eric left to wash the car. It was SO filthy from sitting on the street for 2 weeks. I mean, really filthy with pollen and dust and dirt from being on a street that has tons of traffic all day. I always tell him he’s crazy to wash the car so often, but the truth is – you couldn’t even tell what color it was, it was so dirty!
I was going to go food shopping, but by the time he came back from washing the car it was after 5:00pm and he had a headache. I knew he would want to help me with all the packages, and I figured I could just wait until tomorrow to do the food shopping, so neither of us would have to go back out.
I cleaned and organized the apartment a bit, but it’s still a little disorganized, because we haven’t put everything away yet from our trip.
I caught up on more of my TV from the last 2 weeks, and I’m pretty caught up except for a few DR. PHIL’S. Eric and I watched DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS, which we really enjoy. Tonight was the season finale of ELI STONE, my favorite new show, which is SO great. I’m sorry it’s over until the fall, but there’s always another great show right behind it!
By the way -- before I forget -- I'm back up to 126.2 -- which means I gained a little over 3 pounds on vacation. Actually not as bad as I thought and I'm hoping to lose it this week!
Tomorrow I will go food shopping. I also want to get a picture frame to make another “key frame” for my friend, Susan, who wants to give it as a gift. That’s the only thing on the agenda, so it should be a nice, relaxing day!