New Toilet Seats

Who would ever think that I would be excited about new toilet seats? Today I am, though.

This condo has 3 bathrooms and the second floor bathroom has a blue sink, tub and toilet. The toilet seat, though, was pretty faded with cracks and scratches in it and I thought it would be nice to have a new seat. This is a strange color of blue and I was amazed to find a toilet seat at Ace Hardware in what I was sure was the same shade of blue.

Also, in the basement bathroom, the toilet seat was a soft seat and it, too, was torn and stained. I also found the neatest white toilet seat with a butterfly on the lid (I collect butterflies) so I bought that.

A phone call to my former neighbor and good friend, Mrs. Lowes, resulted in her offering to install the seats. Today she came over and did so. The blue toilet seat was a perfect match and much better than the faded out one that was there.

We had some good natured teasing about the soft toilet seat in the basement as she told me she does not like soft toilet seats. She did admit, though, that she wouldn't be likely to be using the toilet seat over here and once it was installed she did admit that the butterfly on the lid was really nice.

Even though I am renting this condo, there have been a few things that I have replaced/added myself that the management company would not do. I didn't even ask about the toilet seats because these were under $20 each at Lowe's and I bought them.

It does add a little bit to the look of the condo and I am pleased with it.

Cripe - toilet seats please me?? Oh, well, better than being aggravated!

Compassion to Others

Earlier this week, I had a confrontation with a co-worker over the turn around time of the medical transcription that I and my colleague provide to the office. My colleague has been doing the majority of the typing while I do the bleeding of digital voice files onto tapes, printing the finished product, doing the envelopes and assembling the work. We are usually on a two day turn-around schedule. She will pick up the work on, say, Tuesday AM, and have the finished product back on Thursday. This has always been the turn-around schedule, even during the 10 years that I did all the transcription myself.

However, in the last two weeks, the turn-around time has spread a little to about a 4 or 5 day turn-around. However, there is a very good reason for this.

My colleague was diagnosed with cancer 2 1/2 years ago. She has been in remission twice during this time. In the last year that she has been assisting me with this transcription, she has remained in remission.

However, two weeks ago she learned that she is coming out of remission again and she has made several trips to Northwestern University in Chicago as well as a cancer center in Michigan to learn of further treatment options. She has continued with her transcription for me but at an extended turn-around time.

I feel this is certainly understandable and this is a very trying and traumatic time for her.

Last week, though, the supervisor of the medical record area in the office approached me about this bit of extra turn-around time. I explained about this colleague's medical situation and told this co-worker that she now had received a new plan of action and would be catching up the work pronto.

This c0-worker proceeded to unleash her opinion about there being no excuse for this slow down, this is a business and business must go on as usual and this colleague should have arranged for somebody else to cover her work.

While I understand that this is a business and the work needs to be turned around, I take exception with the timing. At this precise moment, my colleague was just learning of her return of her cancer, she immediately had doctor appointments scheduled by her local doctor and she did not abandon the ship (so to speak) here. In fact today she caught up all the back-log and forwarded it to me.

I am amazed at the lack of sensitivity that people have. If my colleague finds that she is unable to keep up with the work now that she has to return to chemo, I will have a handle on it and I have already told her that I will help her with the typing if needed.

I just feel that jumping on somebody's medical emergency immediately is very poor form and I had quite a few words with this co-worker at the office.

I might add that none of the doctors have commented on the less than speedy turn-around of their work and I feel it is just this co-worker flexing her supposed muscle as she was just recently promoted to this supervisory position.

Compassion - we can all give to others when situations warrant.

Political Help?

As I have written about frequently in the past few weeks, I continue to fight with the State of Michigan Treasury department over their inability to process my amended 2008 State return which will result in a hefty (to me) refund.

After weeks of stress and absolutely no help from the staff at the State, I wrote an e-mail to my State Representative yesterday.

Amazingly, today I had 2 different phone calls from a member of his staff asking me more questions about my situation. In the second call, I was told that they had enlisted the help of somebody in the Treasury department to look immediately into my return.

I am amazed that (1) I even received an answer to my e-mail and (2) that they moved so fast to assist me.

I am hopeful that with this extra push from a government source that the State will finally move ahead and solve this tax issue.

Thanks to my cousin, Linda, for suggesting that I write this State Representative.

Yet More Tax Issues

It only gets better (or worse) as your perception may be. Today I was determined to call the State of Michigan Treasury Dept again regarding the letter I received yesterday. Amazingly, I got right through on their 800 line and only had to hold about 20 minutes. I say "only" because usually their hold time goes on indefinitely or they disconnect the line.

I spoke to a woman who did listen to my story, looked up my file and told me "yes, I can see your $189 payment here". I explained that I had originally paid the $189 which was listed on my original 2008 return as being due. I then explained that my tax preparer found an error on the return, filed an amended one and I was to actually receive a refund of $535 rather than pay the inflated tax of $900 plus that the State claims.

She then told me that she could not help me and would have to refer my account to the "review department". The best part was that she told me it would take anywhere from 45 to 60 days for them to act on my concerns AND that during that 45 to 60 days, the State would continue to take aggressive action to collect the money they "claim" is due.

I told her that I don't owe anything; that I really have a refund coming of the original payment of $189 and the refund of $535 to which she replied that she has no way to assess that and it needs to go to the review department.

I also told her that the State has already put a lien on my home and she goes "yes, that is standard practice" and I stated that I have received letters informing me that my wages could be garnished. Her response to that was - very strongly I might add - that she had already told me it would take 45 to 60 days to review.

This is the best the Great State of Michigan could do for me.

I hung up from her and immediately wrote an e-mail to my State Representative as my cousin, Linda, had advised that I do. I actually know this representative personally from my tenure at our local service organization where I regularly arranged for this gentleman to speak to our group. I sent off my e-mail and immediately received back a "canned" thank you e-mail from him.

Time will tell if I get any further aid from his office but I continue to be concerned about any further aggressive action from the State. I don't know what I would do if they started garnishment of my wages.

This is all so utterly frustrating and ridiculous.

More State Tax Issues

My issues with the State of Michigan over my 2008 tax return continue. It is getting totally ridiculous with the way all this is continuing to manifest.

I have written numerous posts about this tax issue. In a nutshell, my tax preparer completed my 2008 taxes which indicated I owed the State $189 which I mailed in at the appropriate time in April. Months went by and then in September I received notice from the State that I actually owed over $800 (with penalties and interest) due to my failure to respond to their previous notices (which never were received).

Numerous phone calls back and forth with the State indicated I owed the $800 plus and a payment plan was set up. I then notified my tax preparer who reviewed all the materials and discovered an error on her part. She then prepared an amended 2008 tax return for both the federal and state.

This has only proven to confuse the State more. They continue to bill me for past due taxes, have placed a lien on my home and have been totally uncooperative in my numerous phone conversations. I have written letters of explanation (at their request) and included copies of the amended tax return only to receive more threatening letters in which I was informed that garnishment of my pay would be the next step. They continue to tell me that I owe them $715.30 which encompasses my original payment of $189 and the continuing penalties and interest. In the last week, I have received 2 letters from the State, each telling me different amounts that are due.

Today I returned from work to find another letter from the State. This was entitled "Notice of Adjustment to Income Tax Refund" and in it they acknowledge that they have NOW processed my amended tax return and note the $535 refund that I should receive. Great...........but, wait, there is more....

The letter goes on to tell me that they have applied this $535 refund to my unpaid obligation to the State of the above $715.30. Further, they advised that I still owe$180.30 which is the difference between the $715.30 total (they claim) and the $535 refund from my amended return. I am advised to pay that balance immediately or additional enforcement action will be taken.

This is beyond belief. How in the wide world is a citizen supposed to get anything solved with the State of Michigan. If my tax return was in error to begin, and the amended return shows a refund owed of $535, then I certainly do not owe the original tax obligation from the original return. That is the point of an amended return.

I would have thought if I was going to have difficulty with all this amended return business that it would have been with the federal return - but, no, the IRS processed my amended 1040 pronto and adjusted my obligation to them.

Now it is back to the telephone again and the attempts to get through to these total idiots who can't get anything straight. Will I ever see this money? Who knows!

Budget Planning

As part of the bankruptcy filing, I had to create a budget for my attorney that would be submitted to the Court. At the time I filled out the huge assortment of papers for the bankruptcy, I was still living in my home and had a handle on utility bills, home repairs, groceries, etc. Since then, of course, we have moved into this rental condo and my expenses have changed.

My attorney's office called me today so that the assistant could go over my budget with me. At least they are finally working on my case. This assistant questioned my budget figures in reference to my rental situation. We found that many changes had to be made.

On one side, my income has significantly decreased since I put together these papers in April and I mean significantly decreased. At the same time, some of the expenses have changed too.

My monthly net income has dropped from approximately $5,000 in April to $2,100 in November. This is a huge drop and one of the factors for the filing of the bankruptcy and loss of the home.

My mortgage payment, home equity payment, property taxes and insurance ran me $1,500 per month. My rent on this condo is $900. Big difference. Utilities were higher in my home even on the budget plan. However, I am still working with credits on my gas and electric and have not had any utility bills here yet in the condo. My credit on the electric bill is at the end so next month I should have my first electric bill. My credit on the gas bill, though, is presently at $150. I hope that covers a month or two of winter time heating.

While the attorney's assistant thought she could eliminate my category of "home repairs" in light of my rental status, this is not the case. The error I made a few weeks ago of locking the garage door remote in the garage necessitated a visit from a garage door company. The bill for that arrived today and was $120. There have been a few other expenses, albeit small, that I have had to pay out since renting this condo. For instance - no doorbell and no mailbox as the previous one had fallen off and was sitting on the porch. Though I think the rental company should have replaced the mailbox, they did not. I went out to Lowe's and bought a wireless doorbell and installed it and installed a mailbox and was mighty proud of that. Thank goodness for my electric drill.

Today was payday and my net pay dropped again by $85. I have to assure that my next check is even lower so that I will be able to then have the attorney file for the bankruptcy.

After all is said and done, I hope to create a good budget that will give me a better idea how I am going to manage with the continually dropping pay.

Don't Worry...Be Happy

A good sentiment, indeed. Now just to be able to figure out how to exactly achieve this "no worry" peace of mind.



I did call my attorney today regarding the foreclosure letter I had received from my mortgage company. They told me this was the next step in the loss of my home and not to worry about it. They told me that I would still be able to place the foreclosure into my bankruptcy filing and there would be no problems with that. I was glad to hear this.

I also called the Gas Company today as they had told me that I would be receiving a $150 plus refund from the service at my home. I had been on the budget plan in the home and was way ahead of the game. I hadn't received the check so I called them today. The person I spoke to informed me that since I have service at another location (my condo) that they would just be crediting my bills here until the $150 was used up. Guess that is okay though I would have liked the $150 in my pocket.

When I came home tonight, I had another letter from the mortgage company informing me, again, that I had ignored their previous letters regarding the fact that I have no homeowner's insurance on the house. I had previously called them and informed them that as soon as they began the foreclosure procedure that my homeowner's insurance had canceled me and that nobody else would cover me on a home that is empty and in foreclosure. I am not going to bother with them any more on this - they obviously don't listen.

Finally, I had another TWO letters from the state regarding my supposed 2008 income tax delinquency. I am also at my wits end trying to connect with somebody there to discuss this matter. I have an amended return that was mailed in early September showing a REFUND due me. The state, however, continues to bill me for the supposed arrears that they claim I have (from the original return) and they keep adding penalties and interest. One letter today indicated one total due, the other letter indicated a totally different figure which were miles apart.

This only goes to prove what a friend told me when she heard this saga which was "good luck in working things out with the state".

photo by...dr_minasch87