November 3, 2006

Mebbe I do!!

Oddly, this has been the appropriate response to everyone this morning ….

It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Augh, I can’t get that song out of my head!! It’s partly because I’m toasting my English muffin and debating: butter? peanut butter? *peanut butter jelly time!* but more because my coworker found this video to go with our cheesy office music selection:

Just like the good ole days

But only, different. This time last year I was so through with the hostile atmosphere I was working in that I said fohgit this! I signed up for scholarship searches with Fastweb, the search engine I used back in high school when I was trolling for college money. I knew it’d be more difficult this time around because I actually make what appears to be a decent wage [cause they don’t know how many HOURS it takes!!] and because it would be for graduate school.

Whatever the government’s assumption is (you’re a big kid now so we’re not giving you free money, etc.), all I know is that FAFSA will not serve me as well as it did when I was an undergrad. I mean, it wasn’t any free ride like my smart friends had, but it definitely made it possible for me to afford college while I was just starting my new job and new school and all that.

Hence, my renewed friendship with Fastweb. Only, I’ve noticed that you can’t ever just sign in anymore. You always have some big splashy financial offer [most frequently it’s an online university] and then it takes you to a credit card offer with all your stats conveniently filled in. All you have to do is click the BIG RED BUTTON THAT SAYS YES! TAKE ME FOR A FOOL! Or you can click baby brother’s “no thanks” opt out link buried underneath the flashy red button.

I know they have to support themselves some way, but that’s just a little shady.

Oh well, I guess friends change.

November 2, 2006

*streeeetch*

I keep racking my brain for a suitable post that I have the energy to complete, sensibly, but just can’t. There are about six different topics I’d like to touch on, but just can’t. I don’t function very well on about three hours of sleep. I’m not falling over – yet- but I ought to be. I don’t know what’s wrong about the temperate weather conditions but I feel like my winter-prepped sleep system was kept up all night because I was too warm.

I’m just tired.

Plus, my fingers are puffing up from working on the computer too much. Ew.

October 31, 2006

Open Enrollment Prep: Things I Didn’t Know

Luckily for me, Open Enrollment runs from November 1-22nd so I have all the way up to pre-Thanksgiving to do my research and make my decisions regarding changing medical plans, my FSA allocation and all sorts of other goodies. When I unearthed my desk this morning, I came across my Benefits News 2007 newsletter which informs me that:

My co-payment under the HMO will increase by 50% from $10 to $15 per office visit.
*The PPO 90%(covered)/10%(copay) split remains the same.

One aspect of the PPO prescription drug benefit is clarified a little: Mail service is available for lower co-pays on maintenance medication.
*I expect to have some sort of maintenance medication, all the time.

Life Insurance: Can be purchased in multiples of your regular annual pay – 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x.
Your Age: 25-29
Rate per month per $1,000 (payroll deduction; after-tax dollars): $0.039
*They include term life insurance for dependents. I think their whole explanation of how to calculate life insurance, and why you carry it, should utterly negate the point of life insurance for children, shouldn’t it?
“You buy life insurance to replace your income in the event that you die when others are relying on you for support.”
*Yes, I am one of those young folks who will find it necessary to buy substantial supplemental life insurance for the next few years. I want to make sure that my parents will be taken care of, especially if I’m not there to do it.
Designating your beneficiary: I didn’t know that I could stipulate “per stirpes” (“should a primary beneficiary predecease you, the beneficiary’s share of the inheritance will go to his or her heirs”) versus “per capita” (“should a primary beneficiary predecease you, the successor beneficiaries would share the inheritance equally.”)

Supplemental Disability Insurance: Unfortunately, there isn’t any information on this and I know I wanted to make a decision about this.

Thursday is the Benefits Fair so I can try to get answers to most of my last niggling questions before I actually have to make a commitment. I feel very organized about this whole benefits thing, finally. Maybe I’m getting the hang of it!

October 27, 2006

Time Warner: You’re experiencing what kind of weather?

It’s a good thing you’re not having inclement weather on top of your current woes, isn’t it?

*tsk* Does no one proofread their scripts before they play it over and over and over? I’d be nicer [aka, less annoyed] if I weren’t forced to hear that refrain 74 times while trying to cancel their overpriced service. And I will have to hear it again later when I call back to try to get a real person on the line.

So I actually DO have good news, Verizon is UP! And working well! So outsies goes Time Warner once they stop having the weather that changes in small measured amounts which, apparently, makes their phone system go all wonky.

Cease and desist: it’s for my own good?

In the midst of all the work, getting sick, falling behind and general stressful hullaballoo, I’ve realized that there’s no way I can complete pay-to-sign-up offers on Cashduck or Deal Barbie and remember to cancel in time, so it’s best that I not start anything that I will end up paying for later.
It’s a little disheartening because the extra income definitely fills in holes in the household budget that would otherwise be filled by yet another cartload of overtime by yours truly.

And, the blog is feeling rather stale around the edges, there’s a little of that dull *crunch* that you get when something’s gone off and I haven’t got anything fresh loaded up in the queue.