Be careful what you wish for.

As recently as Thanksgiving people here in San Francisco and Vicinity were wondering if we were ever going to get rain.  HA!   Now people are wondering if it will ever stop.  We are now over 250% of normal and do not need anymore this year.  The Sierra snow pack is not fairing as well however it is turning colder little by little so there should be more snow and down to a lower elevation.

IF the current forecast holds, we should have a dry Christmas.  I hope so as I do not want to traipse over to Oakland for dinner in this rain.

 Had early morning appointment today at the SF Endoscopy Center and after that I had to get some groceries.  Now I am bushed.  Time for nap.

Medicare, etc.

Well, the City & Country of SF Fire Department has finally billed Medicare for that three block ambulance ride in March 2013.  I just hope they bill for the current date otherwise the claim might not be paid due to its being over one year old.  Sheila did know however to bill Medicare as my prime insurance and that they in turn will send along the claim to Anthem Blue Cross.  I am glad that I went down to City Hall last week as that act alone seemed to get the ball rolling.  Prior to that everything seemed to be stuck in neutral.

I've enjoyed the recent rain (finally) and now there is more on the way for this next weekend.  Yippee!  We will need several "normal" years however to recoup what has been lost during the recent years of the drought.

Thanksgiving Dinner this week with the "usual suspects" in Oakland.  They are like family now and this has become a tradition at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  BTW, that term has been borrowed from the movie "Casablanca".

Have a great holiday everyone.

HELP! More noise from above and other matters.

What is it with my neighbor upstairs.? I know he is tall and is not a "lightweight" however in recent weeks it sounds like he is walking on his heals, or at least stomping around on them in some fashion. If this building were constructed properly and the floors (and walls) were not so thin it probably wouldn't matter.  The most frustrating thing though, is that while I have always heard his foot steps, they sounded normal.  Now it sounds like he is deliberately trying to annoy me or he has new shoes which would make a lot of noise anywhere.  If so, maybe he should take them off while in his apartment.

Now I have more important fish to fry with the City and County of San Francisco.  On March 3, 2013, I collapsed on the street near Market and Castro.  An ambulance was called and I was taken to nearby Davies Medical center, a distance of about 3 or 4 blocks.  While the ER billed my insurance for services rendered, the ambiance company did not but it was not until recently that I knew this.  Now I am being billed $1747.00.  OUTRAGEOUS!

Medicare should have been billed and then it would roll over to Anthem Blue Cross.  While this was done by the ER why wasn't it done by the Ambulance Company?  Now, while I am looking at the Medicare Website, I learn that they will not pay claims over a year old.  Well, damn it, it was not my fault.  No wonder things here in the City and Country of San Francisco area so screwed up.

Now what will happen?  I certainly do not have the money to pay such a large bill and why is it so huge just for a three block ride????????  I think I could use a lawyer in this matter but I cannot afford that either.

Oh what to do, wtd, wtd wtd?????

Oh wonder of wonders.  They got the hot water problem fixed in less than a day.
Over and out...

Wunnerful wunnerful, turn off the bubble machine.  Ha!  Someone or something turned off the hot water in this building overnight so I have left a voice mail message with the property management company as well as an e-mail.  This is really inconvenient on the weekend as probably nothing will be done until Monday.  Anybody know of a cheap motel that is not riddled with bugs that I could stay at for two night?  Ha!  Or at least take a shower.  Too bad I am no longer a member of 24 Hour Fitness.

Oh bitch, bitch, bitch

Why is it that most of my posts seem to be complaints?  Good question but I guess that things that irk me get me most fired up and in the mood to air my grievances through this site.  One thing that would help greatly in my case would be a substantial financial windfall so I could afford to move out of this noisy Motel 6 Fraternity House of a building.

Since we have no on-site manager it is difficult to deal with noisy tenants.  Before Don our resident manager, passed a number of years ago it was great as he ran a tight ship and would not tolerate any of this inconsiderate behavior.  Now the property management company located outside of San Francisco seems only to care about collecting the rent.  We also have the problem of one or two inconsiderate tenants who just happen to live next to or above me.  The rest of the building does not seem to have this problem of late night noise.  Also, when I moved in I was given a lease which spelled out certain behaviors.

The building from 1960 has very thin walls and floors so sounds carry all too well between apartments and tonight my upstairs neighbor has turned in an "all nighter" with loud music starting shortly after midnight and continuing now at 6:11 AM as I write this.  I gave up trying to sleep around 3:30 AM so I got up, got dressed and turned on the computer and other devices.  Guess I will have a very early breakfast as a result.  He has never done it in the past for this many hours so this is a new low for him

I have tried to talk to my upstairs neighbor but it seems to do no good.  I probably should have called the police when the music, if that is what it is called, was at its loudest around 2 AM but I didn't.  It stopped around 3 and but then resumed around 4 AM but at a slightly lower decibel reading.  I can still hear the bass and rhythm section which is so prevalent in contemporary pop music.  In fact, that is what I hear the most of.   Also tonight there was what sounded like a wrestling match around 1 AM which was scary as these thin concrete floors crack easily which is one reason water beds and similar heavy furniture is not allowed.  At least according to my lease.

I would like a lawyer but can't afford one.  Can't afford to move and pay market rate rent either so I really feel trapped in this hell hole.  I have lived here 21 years and realize that I am a senior citizen now living amongst yuppies and other professional types but some consideration should be given to late night noise.  Don't these yuppies or techies ever sleep???

Well, it is almost time to take a shower and have breakfast and the so-called music upstairs continues unabated.   [boom-boom-boom, etc.]  I am bushed.  Maybe I will have to sleep during the day today.  Yuk...that is a bummer.

Anyway, I could use a pro bono lawyer especially since San Francisco rental laws are so complex.

BFN

So busy...

Such nice weather this week but I have no time to enjoy it with income tax preparation, medical and other pressing matters.  Boo...hiss..

Links??

I wish there were someway to link this page to my Facebook page. Does anyone have any ideas?

Still here...

Well, I am still here but barely, or so it seems at times, as I muddle through my advanced years which have only now begun to show.    People still think I am younger than I am and I am of two minds in this regard.   Since I don't usually feel my age that is good however I can't really identify with either the younger crowd or the older crowd, that is, people of my age.  Every time I pass a senior housing facility and look at pictures of the inmates, er, I mean, patients, or whatever, I say to myself, NO WAY.  I am not going there.  I am not ready for that even on days when some of the simplest tasks seem to tire me out.

So where do I go next?  Well, financial constraints mean that I will not be traveling as much as I have been in recent years.  My vacations in Thailand are over and as much as I would like to return to Paris, hotel costs there as well as in my first hometown of Boston, make those two destinations seem unlikely now.  I guess this means short jaunts around the West Coast.  A weekend in Vegas or in San Diego visiting my friend Dave or possibly to Portland where I have never been or Seattle where I spent one cold New Years weekend in 1976.  By the way, it snowed that night.  Who knows what I will do.

If this city of San Francisco does not drive me crazy nor this apartment house, I guess I should be able to write a few lines in this blog from time to time.  Retirement has given me a lot of time to write and do other things as long as I don't get lazy and waste that time.

And why am I writing this after an absence of a number of months?   Well, one of the characters in the delightful movie "Julie and Julia"  which I watched again tonight, was writing a blog and that reminded me that I had done nothing with this one in a long time.  So, for better or worse, here I am again.  And now I will just say, bye for now.