Video of the Month:
Diane and I have a great deal of fun making videos about some of the restaurants we go to. Some were filmed Ninja style, but most of the time we asked management/ownership if we could video. Everyone was a good sport about it. I’m a little shy with this kind of thing, but I persevered. This first video has a beer theme, so it got easier as the night stumbled forward. This is the first of six or so videos to come.
When one is in first grade and draws a square with a triangle on the top representing the family home then adds a ‘sun’ in the corner of the page, you just hand it over to your proud mom for approval. It is at this point you have become a ‘content creator’.
Three fears: giant bugs, fire, and earthquakes... in the same 24 hours!
First, came the bug. So, there I am minding my own business walking towards Pizza My Heart to grab a pizza for pizza night and a beetle landed on my right thigh. Size? Imagine cutting a hardboiled egg lengthwise, take one half and add wings and 8 legs. It was ‘girth-some’. I had a small bag in my hand containing pineapple and guava from the fruit lady. I used it to hit my leg trying to get the giant coleoptera off me. Gawd! After 3 or 4 tries the beast finally got the hint, flew away, and then had the audacity to make this terrifying screaming noise as it flew off. It nearly ran into a Japanese guy walking the opposite direction. Yep, he freaked out too. After being here for a year and a half this is pretty much my first run in with a bug. They are kinda rare in the city.
Seasonal crop burning brings smoke. So, if you combine that with the hot-season temperatures approaching 100 you have what may be reminiscent of the place referred to as hell. Honestly, we fair pretty well. We’ve acclimated to the tropical temperature of Thailand, and we’ve adjusted to avoiding the smoke a bit.
I may change my tune after 6 weeks of this when temps bounce above 105 or more. But it does make the upcoming rainy season quite welcome. Also, I would much rather have this hellish season rather than “the big dark” in Seattle. Geez… depressing darkness for 16 hours, cold, rain, and sometimes snow. Heck no!!
Then thirdly… On March 29th a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar (285 miles away from us). Diane was sitting in a dentist chair having a crown done. I was in our 7th floor condo. Someone should come up with the word that describes the time from when you feel shaking to the moment your brain registers “earthquake”. It took me a good 15 seconds. I actually stepped out on the balcony to see how strong the “wind” was. Then it got worse, a lot worse. “Hey dummy! It’s a f-ing earthquake”, yelled my brain. I quickly stepped back inside and then I watched our full-length mirror dance around. I remember thinking “I hope that doesn’t break”. I suspect I should have maybe aimed a little higher on the ‘hoping things don’t break’ spectrum. The shaking lasted under 2 minutes, but it did seem like a year and a half. In my mind, I ran through the things that we may need if the shaking got any worse. I put on my shoes, touched my passport (but I didn’t take it). I put a spare phone battery in my murse. First, I walked down 7 flights of stairs to get out to the now crowded parking lot of our condo. Then walked 10 minutes to the dentist’s office. I saw the receptionist standing in their parking lot with everyone else. Funny, we’ve been there enough lately so she recognized me. She took me up 3 flights of stairs and then I waited in the reception room for Diane. All was well, though Diane says, “when the room started shaking the dental assistant grabbed the light above me and moved it to the side. Then, along with the dentist, she stepped back 3-steps until it was over.”
Compared to Bangkok the quake and subsequent damage was minimal. And nothing compared to Myanmar.
Photo from Bangkok, they had it worse than we did.
Social Security.....Ohhhh Noooo! (actually positive information)
(Oh gawd, he’s not gonna write about Social Security, is he?) Yes, yes I am.
I’ll begin with my personal experience. I applied for Social Security in July of 2024. Since I was going to turn 62 in September, I got a jump on it as was suggested on the SSA website. I expected my 1st check in October. After there was no sign of money hitting my bank, I first called the main number for SSA and was put on hold for almost 2 hours. Once I got someone, they said I’d need to call my ‘local’ office in Seattle to sort this out. I called the Seattle SSA office. They, like everyone I talked with during this ordeal, were professional and willing to help, but many times could not. After a couple three calls on different days, I finally got to talk to Allison in the Seattle office. She was a hoot and smart but told me she didn’t have the info that was needed to solve my issue. (Are you asleep yet? Gawd!)
Anyhoozin’, she told me to call the peeps at the Office of International Claims since we live in Thailand now. Unfortunately, because of the time difference they were only open from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. our time. Not optimal. I called and would listen to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata interrupted every 90 seconds by the message “please hold for the next available operator”. Then after exactly 20 minutes the message changed to “all of our operators are busy. Please call later.” At that point ‘they’ would hang up. Neat. I re-dial and do the 20-minute dance again. I did this for two weeks straight. I would call just before they opened at 8pm and be put on hold until about 10 when I gave up… I gets sleepy. Yes, Monday through Friday for two weeks. Eventually I started learning Moonlight Sonata by playing along on our Yamaha P-125 piano. I got pretty good. Only the intro though, not the hard part.
By now it’s late November and I decided to call the nearest SSA office to me, which is in Manila, Philippines. Well, to my delight, a real live human being answered after 2 rings and said “hello, can I help you?”
I about fell off my chair. I explained my situation. She said she understood, but I needed to have an interview with a manager at her office and they would sort it out. The next available appointment was on January 16th, which was roughly in 6 weeks. Strangely, this I took as positive news. The interview date finally came around and within 4 minutes she said, “yes, this all looks good. You will be paid retroactively from October and your payments will start in April and then continue on the 4th of every month.” She also mentioned the retro check usually takes 6 to 9 months but since my situation was so simple I should expect it in 30 days or so. I asked her for the office address so I could send flowers and beer. Then sure enough, 2 months later $12,000 hit my bank account.
Mission accomplished? Yes. I’d like to stress that if I was not in a good financial situation this could have been catastrophic. For some people, it is the kind of catastrophe that could include living on the street, skipping meds, and having to ask for food. In no way do I blame my odyssey on the current administration. Not even a little. Though I might be so bold as to suggest we just don’t fire a bunch of SSA employees willy-nilly. Just sayin’.
Again, expecting a check in October then fighting a dragon for 5 months is asking a lot. Fortunately, I was able to live on savings for 5 months, then replenish my account when the retro check arrived.
All of this was stressful, believe me. There was more homework, research, and phone calls than indicated here. I just wanted to keep this section ‘fast paced’. Ya know like a Quentin Tarantino movie 🙂
This video is the best video made about any subject ever! It will be the most informative 8 minutes in your lifetime. You will become a better human being. You will be …. in a state of Nirvana the remainder of your days on ‘this mortal coil.’
Also, after watching this 8-minute video, you will have lost a little weight, grown slightly taller, and suddenly can remember the Gettysberg address.
I would like you to watch it. That would make me happy, maybe you too…
Don’t forget to check out Diane’s YouTube channel at: Ate Diane Sings at Sacred Heart Cathedral
Thank you for being a part of this Vlog.