Grey Thursday

Yet another grey and drizzly day, but there was a little sunshine in the evening.

I was still trying to fall asleep at 2:30 a.m., last night/this morning.  I don't remember hearing the alarm go off, but apparently, I turned it off and fell back asleep!  The next thing I knew was the big clock in the living room chiming the 3/4 hour!  I woke up with a start and it was 8:45 a.m.!  I panicked a bit, but then, I emailed my supervisor and explained that I was running late and will be in around 10:30 a.m. or 11:00 a.m.  It is such a blessing that I am able to do that!  I will take some vacation time off to make up for the time.  He emailed back saying it was fine.  Emailing him to tell him that I was going to be in late was a good thing - it enabled me to have a cup of coffee, get dressed,  pack my lunch, etc., without getting too flustered about being late.  

I was just about to leave the house at 10:00 a.m., when the phone rang.  I checked to see who it was and it was Cousin P.  I answered it because I was concerned if she was calling to say something has happened to one of our family members - our Aunt T has been falling rather frequently, Aunt T's brother is in hospital (critical care unit) with heart and kidney issues, and his wife is in another hospital recovering from a partial hip replacement surgery after falling and fracturing her hip!   But, no, it wasn't any of those things, thank goodness!  Apparently, she wanted to come and pick some lemons!

I guess she forgot that I go to work, these days, because she asked if she woke me up.  I said no, but I was just about to leave to go to the office, but I could leave the gate unlocked for her to come and pick lemons.  She asked if she could come, right away, and I said yes.  I opened the gate and the garage door, too, and by the time I did that and took out the trash, she was here to pick lemons (she lives across the street from me).  I left her to it and finished packing my work bag.  She picked her lemons and left just as I was ready to leave, so that worked out OK.  I asked her if she was going to make lemonade and she said they were for a lady who lives down the road who sometimes goes walking with her in the mornings.   

I had a productive day at the office, once I got there.  

During my lunch break, I called back the medical billing office, since they didn't return my call from yesterday.  This time I spoke to the same person (Y) I had spoken with when I called in March and she claimed she had no notes in her files that I had spoken to her, but there was a note that someone else (C) had spoken with someone (M1) from insurance, but I needed to speak to yet another person (E) who handled that particular doctor's billing!   So, I spoke to that person (E) who said insurance never sent her a copy of the document they were supposed to fax to her.  She said she will call insurance and then, get back to me. 

A little while later, she called and said she spoke with someone (M2) at insurance and they said I needed to contact them and file a claim through them again.  So, I called my insurance and repeated the whole story to the agent (R) who answered the call,  R was a different agent than M1 with whom I had spoken with back in March, but that was OK as R was able to access the information and my file.  He said it shows that the document had been faxed to the billing office and that the billing office was going to process the paperwork.  I told him that they had processed the paperwork and their processing was to bill me again!

I think he could hear the frustration in my voice, because he then suggested he did a three-way call with the billing office and me!  That was an excellent suggestion, because he was able to speak directly with the billing office person (E) and explain the situation to her.  Then, he went ahead and faxed her the document, again, and we waited until she confirmed receipt of the document.  Part of the confusion was, although I have my insurance provider, I belong to a HMO, so all claims go through the HMO which submits them to the insurance provider and the billing office had been in contact with M2 at the HMO and not the insurance provider!  After all that, the billing office person (E) said that the person who actually inputs the data (C) was busy on another call, so she will give the document to that person and will get back to me, if not later this evening, then, tomorrow!  She didn't call me in the evening, so I will see if she calls me tomorrow!  If not, I will be calling her tomorrow evening!    

There was a protest march by teachers in downtown, today, and it was still going on when I left the office.  As a result, some roads were closed off to traffic and rush hour traffic was snarled and practically at a standstill!  Even with traffic officers directing the traffic at intersections!  It took almost 40 minutes to get from the new office to the parking garage by shuttle bus (usually, it takes 20 minutes), and it took me awhile to get out of downtown and onto the freeway.  I got home just before 7:00 p.m.!  

Then, I aired the house, had a cup of tea, called and spoke with my daughter for a bit, called friend R to check on her (she said she's not feeling too well and will not be going for meditations, tomorrow), made some fried rice for dinner, exchanged emails and messages with some friends and family, cleaned the cat's litter box, took out the garbage, and video chatted with daughter.  She'll be coming home for the weekend, tomorrow! 

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to go in to the office late 

- Being able to take vacation time off to make up for being late

- Being able to speak with both the insurance agent and the billing office during a 3-way call about the bill I received (and hopefully getting it resolved)

- A safe commute to work and back

- A relaxed evening at home

Friday's To Do List:

- Go to the office

- Call the nurse practitioner (she had returned my earlier call, from yesterday, but she had called my daughter's cell phone, instead of mine, and daughter hadn't recognized her number, so hadn't answered the phone and had deleted the message!  She was able to retrieve the message after I mentioned to her that the nurse practitioner hadn't called me back)

- Call the billing office, if needed

- Go to the meditation session, if possible

- Make up daughter's bed with fresh sheets

- Tidy the family room a bit

- Clear the kitchen counters

- Pick up daughter from the airport

How was your Thursday?  Did you have a good day?  What are your plans for Friday?