Today was one of those “best laid plans” kind of days.  You know the type.  It’s like you have your mouth all set for a gourmet meal, lobster, rice pilaf, fresh asparagus with hollandaise, a nice wine, candlelight and good company…but you end up settling for peanut butter toast and tea in front of the TV because you forgot to go shopping or invite anyone over.  It’s still tasty, nourishing and relaxing, but just not what you had your taste buds primed for.

I’d planned to do some writing today and get a few chores done.  Instead, I spent the better part of the day on hold, waiting to talk to someone with a brain at Blue Shield.  It seems they still haven’t managed to get my health insurance set up properly, and the first girl I spoke to brought new meaning to the words “customer disservice”.  After I asked to speak to a supervisor because she turned out to be incapable of answering a simple question with either “yes”, “no”, or “I don’t know, but I’ll find someone who can answer that”, she put me into a line which just rang and rang with no voice mail or other source of human contact.  Calling back, I sat on hold for about 20 minutes before accidentally disconnecting myself.  Redialing, I sat on hold for yet another 30 or 40 minutes before finally reaching what turned out to be a very helpful young man named David who answered my questions, assured me that what “Lena” said couldn’t be done was not so, but that the system was down in the department which could fix the problem.  He promised (and delivered!) to work on the problem and either call by the end of the day to let me know it was fixed, or at least with an update.  (The update he gave me was that their systems were still down!  Not that I’m overly surprised!)  The gist of the matter is that Blue Shield somehow set up three (yes, three!) different accounts for me while Covered California was trying to get me on the right plan with the appropriate inception date.  Now, my money is sitting in one of the terminated accounts while they’re telling me I still owe for April on the open one!  You’d think I needed an order signed by the President himself to just get a measly $42.17 moved to the right account!!!

At any rate, it was time well spent, if the problem is finally fixed after only six months of going back and forth between Blue Shield and Covered California, but at least I have someone at each company who is now following up with me to ensure that it all gets resolved.  David referred to my file as a “bible” because it has become quite voluminous as I continue to administer my own plan.  I really should send them a bill for my time!!!

That problem aside, I tackled another long-running problem of a small 401k from Countrywide/B of A, or at least, the temp agency I worked through, which I have tried several times to move, and was thwarted.  Once again, I managed to reach someone with a brain and the desire to be helpful, and that one should also be resolved shortly.

I jokingly suggested that I should sell my services as an advocate for people trying to untangle the Covered California nightmare as I’d probably do a better job than the insurance agents simply by virtue of lessons learned through my own experiences. 

So I didn’t get the house vacuumed today, though the sandboxes are empty and the trash awaits the garbage collectors’ weekly visit, and the bathroom floors at least got swept 

I didn’t get any writing done nor did I manage to do my 60 squats (though the day is not yet over for me.)

What I did do, though, was to clear a couple of annoyances away to leave myself clear for more productive pursuits for the rest of the week.  Some days you plow the fields, some days, you make hay, and others, you just pick up garbage and clear out clutter.  It’s all part of the process, and none of the steps is any more or less necessary than another.

I also got some very nice snuggly time in with Mr. Dylan who decided to lay against my leg while I was watching The Voice, getting some tummy and chin skritches every so often, much to his delight. 

In addition to all of the administrative nonsense, a large container of chicken and veggie stir fry joined the gazpacho in my refrigerator, and the kitchen is cleaned up and ready for tomorrow’s surprises.

Despite the fact that my day wasn’t the feast I’d hoped for, it turned out to be exactly what I needed.

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for times when plans go awry so that something else gets accomplished instead of swept under the rug.
2. I am grateful for tea and toast days.
3. I am grateful for my ability to be flexible and handle whatever shows itself to be most important on any given day.
4. I am grateful that I have the time to just snuggle my kitties now and then.
5. I am grateful for a quiet day, and that my muscles are surprisingly happy despite this weekend’s abuse.

Love and light.