Good thing I listen to the radio, otherwise I wouldn’t have known that in order to get the upcoming government handout I have to file an income tax return, even though I don’t owe any and am not legally obliged to file. Strange, but I suppose it’s the most efficient way to compile the list of names and addresses for the bonanza. For $300 I can fill out a form, yes I can.

I finally successfully completed another government form, this one online, telling SocSec to switch my monthly payment to direct deposit. I was stymied for a month because it required a number which appears on the actual check so I had to wait until the next one arrived to get that number. I would have thought the sacred SocSec number itself would have sufficed, but what do I know.

Yes, I do have a bank account. Very early on the Landlady dragged me to her bank to open an account after having first taken me to get a Hawaii State ID card. I hadn’t had a bank account since the early 90’s and no valid ID since my passport expired at about the same time, so both moves were wise ones and that bank account was very useful in coping with those accumulated pension checks. They got a wrong first impression of me from that largesse and I’ve been surprised in more recent times that they don’t charge a fee when the account drops below $50. That’s certainly unlike most banking experiences I’ve had in the past.

Now I have to contact Aetna to get the smaller pension payment switched and can end an Era of waiting anxiously each month for the postman to arrive.

The Husband would be very much surprised, I’m sure, if he knew the effect he was having on me this morning. He was wearing a light gray sweatsuit, standing in my doorway complaining about what his doctor says is growing arthritis in the back of the neck and right side. He kept lifting up his sweatshirt to show me the pained area. Such smooth skin. I squelched the notion of suggesting massage. Lead us not into temptation, at least not with the Landlady’s long-time spouse.

I wondered when the plans were announced if I’d live long enough to visit the new Nordstrom store. Well, it finally opened yesterday, so if I survive another hour or so, I shall have a look at it. Somehow I doubt the outcome will be the same as I wonder if I’ll survive to ride the ballyhooed train. I will be surprised, if so.