ktgrok Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 Can we just all agree that municipal water supplies should provide water that is actually good for drinking, doesn't give people kidney stones or damage pipes, etc? It's not right that large areas in this country have water that is toxic, unusable, or at the very least substandard compared to other, wealthier areas. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 Are you sure about paying for forwarding? I get their Covid updates and haven't seen anything about that. Sometimes you have to pay postage, but I don't think that's new (and you can just decline to accept the mail unless it's important). They do have some places that will charge fees for handling it for you, but they are not required at all and not all are legit. If you have a credit card or debit card, you can change your address for a dollar online and that would resolve the identification problem. Or, if you have an ID with your old information, you can go into the post office in person with that and with things with your new address, like the paperwork for your apartment. People are also intended to notify each individual person and place on their own - you always have to do this, but it's more important to do it quickly if you didn't fill out change of address forms. You can change Social Security address online, and credit cards online or on the phone. Am I missing any other important types of mail? Oh, bills, lol. Like medical bills and such. I'm sure that can be done on the phone, they definitely want to bill people at the correct address! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 I received an e-mail from the post office after 6 weeks that said I only had two more weeks of full forwarding. Some of the forwarding will continue for the full 12 months, but not all. If I want full forwarding, it will cost me over $60 or 6 months. I cannot afford that. The post office put me through hell using the online forwarding. I forget all that was required, but it was insane. I paid the $1.00 fee multiple times, because they kept rejecting the cards that I used saying the address did not match. Of course it did not match. While they dragged the process on and on, I contacted the bank and charge cards and everyone else updated my info to my new address. I don't think the fee is about the money. It is another way to verify identity, and they were very clear that the issue was that I was not sufficiently proving my identity. There is nothing easy about the process anymore, and unbanked people will not be able to use the online service. And the closest post office that could do a change of address was over 4 miles away and that is too far to walk in weather that was over 110 degrees every day. Social Security will update your MAILING address but not your HOME address online. I have tried to change my home address 6 times, and was on hold for over an hour most of those times. It requires multiple offices to process moves that cross state lines, and the office in one of the states is not processing the moves. Period. For anyone. They are just not doing it. The DMV is closed except for appointment. Appointments are 90 days out. I just went on the site again and the site has changed and I do not understand what I need to do. Unless anyone has moved across state lines since Covid, you really do not know how mucked up it is. Covid on top of the ever-increasing Homeland Security requirements is a cluster-muck. And when one issue is held up, it can bottle-neck others. The world changed. It is not the same. Just because something was easy or possible, doesn't mean it still is. And just because something is easy for some states and races and incomes, etc, doesn't mean someone else is not crippled from a single problem that bottle-necked everything else. I'm not stupid and I'm not lazy, and on the other hand I am not a superhero or martyr or ready to be a community activist. I'm just a low-income 50+ divorcee with migraines and a seizure disorder trying to survive this pandemic alone with incredibly little support. I just needed to choose a pressure cooker, or possibly not one at all. I'm all for threads being whatever they become as long as everyone is growing and bonding, but ... just wow. And while I am ranting: I am not in Arizona and never said that I was. In another thread, I was totally transparent about where I am, and I am not hiding my location at this time. I don't mention it when it is not relevant, because Google mines for location words and this is a very public forum. We have lost awesome people from this forum, because people were posting things about them that they thought they had figured out. Sometimes it was correct and sometimes it wasn't. But they left. because it was not safe for them to be transparent about all aspects of their life, here People have abuse spouses, in-laws, employers, adoption agencies, school boards, etc., that they must hide their social activities from. The board is weakened by an atmosphere of calling people out on their anonymity. Please, let's allow this to be a safe place for everyone and take our cues from the person about what is best for them. It is not just rude, it is sometimes dangerous to call people out. Sorry for the rant. I am tired today and trying to process more paperwork without falling into learned helplessness and just giving up. This wears on me some days more than others. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 3 hours ago, ktgrok said: Can we just all agree that municipal water supplies should provide water that is actually good for drinking, doesn't give people kidney stones or damage pipes, etc? It's not right that large areas in this country have water that is toxic, unusable, or at the very least substandard compared to other, wealthier areas. I think that is exactly what people are disagreeing on. 😢 In a country that increasingly doesn't recognize the right to life, there are no other shoulds or rights. This makes me sad and just silences me on this topic in this thread. I believed that I did not have the right to life, but I don't believe that anymore. My daddy is bigger than the other kids that say not all his kids have the right to life and water. Those other kids might be bigger than me, and temporarily have the power to take my water and the water from the more vulnerable other kids, but ... I am just watching to see what happens next. Conversations like this make me feel very very small and helpless in the short-term. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 6 hours ago, Pen said: I do not know all the details about mail forwarding. I gather that the combination of forwarding and returning mail that can’t be forwarded or delivered back to sender costs the USPS over a billion dollars per year and that the cost for this is mostly covered by First Class Mail prices — so that all of us who buy stamps etc are helping cover the costs of forwarding. In Canada, btw, I have heard that mail forwarding is entirely paid for by the person who needs the service, not by the General mail costs. Idk if that is true. The USPS system is similar to a tax in distribution of the costs of forwarding mail over the whole population that uses the mail. I think the time is supposed to give most people a chance to change their addresses. Is this wrong? “12 months The majority of your mail will be forwarded for 12 months, including First Class Mail, Priority Mail, and First-Class Package services. This gives you a year to update your address with your friends, family, bank, and other businesses.Mar 2, 2016 USPS Mail Forwarding: What You Need to Know - Updater “ In Australia we have to pay if we want mail forwarding services. We’ve never used one just tried to be really good about updating addresses etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 On 10/20/2020 at 2:14 PM, Hunter said: I wish I could find one of the articles I saw years ago about cruisers wrapping pressure cookers in blankets for hours after getting them to pressure. Not pressure cookers but there’s are thermos type devices you can buy for camping where you basically get your food up to temp on a gas cooker then seal it up and it continues to slow cook the food through the day without fuel. The other thing if you’re trying to reduce fuel use is to go to very finely chopped stir fry style food and cook really lightly. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 https://www.withoutahitch.com.au/caravan/4-top-thermal-cookers-for-caravanners/#:~:text= Thermal Cookers for Caravanners 1 DREAMPOT,all about convenience and versatility. The... More here’s a link to a page with options. They’re in Aus but I’m sure US has similar available. They aren’t that cheap but maybe a cost saving investment long term. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said: https://www.withoutahitch.com.au/caravan/4-top-thermal-cookers-for-caravanners/#:~:text= Thermal Cookers for Caravanners 1 DREAMPOT,all about convenience and versatility. The... More here’s a link to a page with options. They’re in Aus but I’m sure US has similar available. They aren’t that cheap but maybe a cost saving investment long term. I have the feeling that these might be better for long-cooking grains than a pressure cooker. I'm tapped for spending money to save money, for now. The pressure cooker flew me right over the hump. I can stay fed, now, and with some diversity; especially with a few small things (as you recommend) in the cast-iron frying pan that I can turn off and finish with the stored heat. I have enough. I don't have as much as I could have, but I have enough. Edited October 22, 2020 by Hunter punctuation 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 I need to read my pressure cooker cookbooks, now. I want Indian Food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 12 minutes ago, Heigh Ho said: I don't know how people expect to eat if the farmer can't have enough water for his personal needs. I don't know either. People used to know that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 39 minutes ago, Hunter said: I don't think the fee is about the money. It is another way to verify identity, and they were very clear that the issue was that I was not sufficiently proving my identity. <snip> Social Security will update your MAILING address but not your HOME address online. I have tried to change my home address 6 times, and was on hold for over an hour most of those times. It requires multiple offices to process moves that cross state lines, and the office in one of the states is not processing the moves. Period. For anyone. They are just not doing it. Snipped for brevity. Yes, the $1 fee and using your debit/credit card is to verify identity, but you should be able to use your old address, your new address, or a billing address if it's different from either. The charge should only go through if the change is successfully accepted. If you have multiple charges, definitely call your card and get them removed! I was talking about online for Social Security, not on the phone. You can create an online account by giving your name, address and social, and then they ask a few questions to verify. Stuff you would know or can find out, like you have a bank card, what bank is it with and what is the credit limit? Or, which of these is an address you have lived at? They'll ask a few different things based on the info they see about you. They have already updated your mailing address, so once you create and verify your online account, you can manage almost everything about your account yourself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 1 minute ago, katilac said: Snipped for brevity. Yes, the $1 fee and using your debit/credit card is to verify identity, but you should be able to use your old address, your new address, or a billing address if it's different from either. The charge should only go through if the change is successfully accepted. If you have multiple charges, definitely call your card and get them removed! I was talking about online for Social Security, not on the phone. You can create an online account by giving your name, address and social, and then they ask a few questions to verify. Stuff you would know or can find out, like you have a bank card, what bank is it with and what is the credit limit? Or, which of these is an address you have lived at? They'll ask a few different things based on the info they see about you. They have already updated your mailing address, so once you create and verify your online account, you can manage almost everything about your account yourself. I think I had to pay with 3 cards before the post office accepted the third card as identity and then I had to do that card multiple times, because I moved twice (stayed with a relative for 3 months) and had a home and PO Box at both those previous places. I didn't forward from my relatives place, fearing it would muck up his mail. He collects whatever comes there. And I will never have another PO Box, after experiencing the new reality of PO boxes. No, you cannot update your HOME address from the online SS office site. If you start the process, they give you a phone number to call. And after updating the mailing address, twice, they had to mail me something with a code, that I needed to read back to them over the phone. I know the button is there and looks so innocent and easy. Clicking it opens a world of mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 1 hour ago, Hunter said: .No, you cannot update your HOME address from the online SS office site. If you start the process, they give you a phone number to call. And after updating the mailing address, twice, they had to mail me something with a code, that I needed to read back to them over the phone. I know the button is there and looks so innocent and easy. Clicking it opens a world of mess. They have your mailing address for you to receive important documents, so honestly I wouldn't be too fussed about it. Direct deposit and mailing address are the crucial items. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted October 23, 2020 Author Share Posted October 23, 2020 6 minutes ago, katilac said: They have your mailing address for you to receive important documents, so honestly I wouldn't be too fussed about it. Direct deposit and mailing address are the crucial items. It is a problem. Social Security is my income, and not all benefits are federal. The states have been given increasing responsibilities for so many things that I am not even going to list. I am no longer receiving any state benefits from my previous state, and was able to stop the benefits, and I have logged repeated attempts to correct my address. Hopefully I will not be punished for this. Pre-covid this was punishable. The states were given special permissions to give food stamps and health benefits with less proof, and once I stopped receiving the old state benefits, I got the food and health here. Other stuff is on hold until I get this updated. I am not trying to be argumentative with people. But things have changed. There is a pandemic, and there is Homeland Security, and there are single people and agencies trying to stay afloat with crazymaking, and there is the Post Office mess, and who knows what else that is not being played on the news. The world changed. People are suffering. I am glad that there are pockets of people less affected. But that doesn't mean we all are coming through this so easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 7 hours ago, ktgrok said: Can we just all agree that municipal water supplies should provide water that is actually good for drinking, doesn't give people kidney stones or damage pipes, etc? It's not right that large areas in this country have water that is toxic, unusable, or at the very least substandard compared to other, wealthier areas. Yes, this. If anyone is paying a water bill, the water should be drinkable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 (edited) 19 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said: In Australia we have to pay if we want mail forwarding services. We’ve never used one just tried to be really good about updating addresses etc. In Canada afaik they have to pay personally too. I find myself rather frustrated with Hunter here for complaining that mostly “free” for people using service for 12 months (supported by mail costs for everyone using mail) is not good enough. Or even if it is two months “free”. Two months should help with time to update addresses. I do know that being sick, single, and moving simultaneously does make things much much more difficult ... when there is no capable well person to deal with things they can call apart fast and get life into a quagmire that is very hard to dig out of. Edited October 23, 2020 by Pen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 (edited) I will concede that the desert isn’t the most conducive place for life. However, if you build the infrastructure that encourages a community to develop AND you’re taxing that community, those people should enjoy the basic needs of life. I’d consider 8 weeks plenty of time for mail forwarding. At some point you need to return home and stop forwarding your mail OR admit you moved and do your change-of-address forms. It’s not a permanent solution. Edited October 23, 2020 by KungFuPanda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 On 10/22/2020 at 7:27 PM, Hunter said: I am no longer receiving any state benefits from my previous state, and was able to stop the benefits, and I have logged repeated attempts to correct my address. Hopefully I will not be punished for this. Pre-covid this was punishable. What do you mean by punished? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTVKath Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I'm glad you found a pressure cooker at the thrift store and it's working well with your stove! And I'm glad it cooked your chicken. I hope you can find some pressure cooker recipes you love that use readily available ingredients. I'm sure you can find recipes for and make delicious Indian food. Good luck on your journey! I've got an Instant Pot but the recipes I see on the internet will sometimes include instructions for stove-top pressure cooking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 14 hours ago, katilac said: What do you mean by punished? I wondered that too. what went through my mind was maybe some legal issue related to getting benefits from two states? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 What is it with all of the zombie threads lately? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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