The Retirement Thread

[ebikeerwidnes]

Sympathy for @Dave7 - my dog died at age 14 and I still feel terrible about it

Hearing about yours sill bring a tear to my eye about mine
she was daft and rather strange for an Alsatian but she and I were made for each other

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

RIght - I have finally sat down

been spending most of the morning with ky laptop in the kitchen and the phone in my hand trying to sort stuff out

Firstly - sorted out the cancelled medical thingy that was cancelled late on yesterday
should have taken up most of the morning - so I though I would have a nice lazy morning

that all went South when I looked at the Virgin Media stuff and relaised I had no clue when the contract started

so I tried to contact them to find out
on-line help was useless as to sign in - or create an account to sign in to - needs an account number
which I didn't know

so I tried to ring them
like a lot of companies they REALLY don;t want people ringing them so everything directs you to the online help
see above!!!

Honestly - ringing their "Customer Service" line is like trying to find a way to Widnes over the old bridge - every route signposts the one they want you to take

anyway - after some searching - another site mentioned a phone number
I tried it and spent many minutes listening to stuff saying how I would be better off getting help online
Did I mention that problem???

eventually got through to the system - only to be told that "demand is much higher than normal so you may have a long wait - you may be better off going online for help"
Did I mention the online help problem??
Anyway - they answered teh phone after only a few minutes - I nearly missed it as I was expecting to wait for a long time due to the very heavy demand
(am I being cynical in thinking "very heavy demand" is always put forward to discourage people???

anyway - the lady who answered was great - very helpful but
a) the password was not the one I expected
b) the password they had stored was SLIGHTLY different to my real password - and they had successfully sent emails to me on the correct one before - which is worrying
which all took a LONG time to sort out but eventually we did and she managed to log me in and send a test email
which I responded to
but it refused to believe I am human (OK OK - other people have expressed doubts but anyway!!!)

Got all that sorted and she had a problem and had to put me on hold for a minute
at which point the line hung up


left it a while (one cuppa and a biscuit!!)
and rang back

eventually got through - a password was still wrong which is also very strange
but got it sorted and I now have an account number
and I have access to my contract details


THEN I had to try to connect it all up and there was no connector for Virgin - turns out teh SKY person had hidden it insode a sky connector
at which point SWMBO came down to watch her Political stuff on teh telly
and asked how long it would all take
I courageously withdrew my impulse to answer "about 6 inches" because only the Gods know what other problems I would find


and after all that (and getting her her breakfast and tea

I managed to ring up about my Library volunteering and sort all that out


Honestly - I should go back to work - Year 9 Set 6 were less trouble than all this has been this morning!!!!!

anyway - I am having a special medal struck for anyone who has bothered/managed to read through that tome
bet no-one gets this far without cheating!!!!


thanks it you did - I needed to tell someone and SWMBO has a cold and isn;t up to it!!!!

 

[screenman]

A bacon sandwich for my lunch today, I love my air fryer, so quick and easy, to use and clean.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

A bacon sandwich for my lunch today, I love my air fryer, so quick and easy, to use and clean.

I don;t really clean the grill much for bacon
foil on the grill tray catches the fat and "gunk" and the rack goes in the dish washer

For the airfryer I use some silicon baskets and a wire rack in them - both of which go in the dish washer in the same way

If I don;t use the silicon thingy then the air fryer baskets needs washing manually - according to the user guide
so overall that is more trouble
although I prefer the way the air fryer cooks it

 

[screenman]

I don;t really clean the grill much for bacon
foil on the grill tray catches the fat and "gunk" and the rack goes in the dish washer

For the airfryer I use some silicon baskets and a wire rack in them - both of which go in the dish washer in the same way

If I don;t use the silicon thingy then the air fryer baskets needs washing manually - according to the user guide
so overall that is more trouble
although I prefer the way the air fryer cooks it

I just pull the drawer out when finished cooking and take the food out, then a squirt of Ineos washing up liquid, leave to soak for a few minutes and rinse. I am not using the dishwasher, as I am on my own now I just do it as I go.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I just pull the drawer out when finished cooking and take the food out, then a squirt of Ineos washing up liquid, leave to soak for a few minutes and rinse. I am not using the dishwasher, as I am on my own now I just do it as I go.

There is an easier way

a "certain relative" cook the food in it - all sorts for the kids and them - and

nothing

that's it


honestly - it is minging

much easier though!!!!

 

[Paulus]

I had sardines on toast. Haven’t had that in years. Trying to eat more oily fish. Not so keen on the fishy burps after it though.

I do like sardines on toast or just in a sandwich with a splash of vinegar, black pepper and some slices of tomato.
We just got back from Savill Garden. It's very nice.
The tyre pressure warning light came on a mile or so before arriving there. Checked the tyres and the front offside was low
I pumped it up and we went around the garden. Got back and it was soft again.
Put the spare on and found a screw through the tread. These tyres are only a few months old and this is the second screw through one of them. Haven't had punctures for decades, now two in quick succession.🥺
I dropped it off at the local tyre place for repair. Pick it up tomorrow.

 

[rustybolts]

Have to confess, it does cross my mind at times too. No family left that I am close to and I am not good at making or keeping friends so it worries me at times what my future holds. Just hoping and praying that I remain in good mental and physical health to look after myself until a decent age.

You are very active and put most here to shame , recognize that sometimes the body needs a day off to just doss about , I have started doing some yoga for flexibility , there is a great Yoga video on youtube about 40 mins by Shilpa , I used to tease my wife doing it and plonk a dog on her tummy ! now I appreciate how useful it is and do it late at night if Im restless


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R31qNe8yvJU

 

[PaulSB]

Good evening. I am here and will catch up later. I mentioned Mrs P had a hospital follow up for her cancer on Monday. The prognosis is 3 - 6 months without treatment, 12 months with treatment. Her reaction to the previous chemo was dreadful. I don't know what choice she'll make.

2024 has been shite so far. It's extremely shite now. We're going on holiday in two weeks. Basically sticking two fingers firmly in the direction of the disease.

If I disappear at times you'll know why.

 

[Drago]

You are very active and put most here to shame , recognize that sometimes the body needs a day off to just doss about , I have started doing some yoga for flexibility , there is a great Yoga video on youtube about 40 mins by Shilpa , I used to tease my wife doing it and plonk a dog on her tummy ! now I appreciate how useful it is and do it late at night if Im restless


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R31qNe8yvJU

I take a week off from the weights every 7th week, give my joints and connective tissues a rest.

 

[welsh dragon]

Good evening. I am here and will catch up later. I mentioned Mrs P had a hospital follow up for her cancer on Monday. The prognosis is 3 - 6 months without treatment, 12 months with treatment. Her reaction to the previous chemo was dreadful. I don't know what choice she'll make.

2024 has been shite so far. It's extremely shite now. We're going on holiday in two weeks. Basically sticking two fingers firmly in the direction of the disease.

If I disappear at times you'll know why.

So sorry to hear this news Paul.

 

[screenman]

Good evening. I am here and will catch up later. I mentioned Mrs P had a hospital follow up for her cancer on Monday. The prognosis is 3 - 6 months without treatment, 12 months with treatment. Her reaction to the previous chemo was dreadful. I don't know what choice she'll make.

2024 has been shite so far. It's extremely shite now. We're going on holiday in two weeks. Basically sticking two fingers firmly in the direction of the disease.

If I disappear at times you'll know why.

Paul, I am extremely sad to read that, life is not always kind to us, I am glad to read that you are going on holiday soon, take care of each other.

 

[Dave7]

Good evening. I am here and will catch up later. I mentioned Mrs P had a hospital follow up for her cancer on Monday. The prognosis is 3 - 6 months without treatment, 12 months with treatment. Her reaction to the previous chemo was dreadful. I don't know what choice she'll make.

2024 has been shite so far. It's extremely shite now. We're going on holiday in two weeks. Basically sticking two fingers firmly in the direction of the disease.

If I disappear at times you'll know why.

Paul, I read that several times to make sure I understood it correctly.
No "platitudes" such as 'I understand' as we are all so individual.
My heart is with you and MrsP.

 

[classic33]

RIght - I have finally sat down

been spending most of the morning with ky laptop in the kitchen and the phone in my hand trying to sort stuff out

Firstly - sorted out the cancelled medical thingy that was cancelled late on yesterday
should have taken up most of the morning - so I though I would have a nice lazy morning

that all went South when I looked at the Virgin Media stuff and relaised I had no clue when the contract started

so I tried to contact them to find out
on-line help was useless as to sign in - or create an account to sign in to - needs an account number
which I didn't know

so I tried to ring them
like a lot of companies they REALLY don;t want people ringing them so everything directs you to the online help
see above!!!

Honestly - ringing their "Customer Service" line is like trying to find a way to Widnes over the old bridge - every route signposts the one they want you to take

anyway - after some searching - another site mentioned a phone number
I tried it and spent many minutes listening to stuff saying how I would be better off getting help online
Did I mention that problem???

eventually got through to the system - only to be told that "demand is much higher than normal so you may have a long wait - you may be better off going online for help"
Did I mention the online help problem??
Anyway - they answered teh phone after only a few minutes - I nearly missed it as I was expecting to wait for a long time due to the very heavy demand
(am I being cynical in thinking "very heavy demand" is always put forward to discourage people???

anyway - the lady who answered was great - very helpful but
a) the password was not the one I expected
b) the password they had stored was SLIGHTLY different to my real password - and they had successfully sent emails to me on the correct one before - which is worrying
which all took a LONG time to sort out but eventually we did and she managed to log me in and send a test email
which I responded to
but it refused to believe I am human (OK OK - other people have expressed doubts but anyway!!!)

Got all that sorted and she had a problem and had to put me on hold for a minute
at which point the line hung up


left it a while (one cuppa and a biscuit!!)
and rang back

eventually got through - a password was still wrong which is also very strange
but got it sorted and I now have an account number
and I have access to my contract details


THEN I had to try to connect it all up and there was no connector for Virgin - turns out teh SKY person had hidden it insode a sky connector
at which point SWMBO came down to watch her Political stuff on teh telly
and asked how long it would all take
I courageously withdrew my impulse to answer "about 6 inches" because only the Gods know what other problems I would find


and after all that (and getting her her breakfast and tea

I managed to ring up about my Library volunteering and sort all that out


Honestly - I should go back to work - Year 9 Set 6 were less trouble than all this has been this morning!!!!!

anyway - I am having a special medal struck for anyone who has bothered/managed to read through that tome
bet no-one gets this far without cheating!!!!


thanks it you did - I needed to tell someone and SWMBO has a cold and isn;t up to it!!!!

That sounds about normal for contacting "Customer Services" these days. Right down to having the call ended "accidentally" as you're placed on hold. Meaning that you've to call back at least once.
Means that searching for numbers to call often ends up with numbers that have them asking how I got them. E-mail addresses are another thing entirely. And something they're not keen on giving out. But if you have the company e-mail format and the name of the person you want to get in touch with, then they don't seem to realise just how easy they've made it for you.

And if they muck me about doing for doing any of the above, I escalate things.

Had a rather snotty e-mail from someone who'd had my case handed down to them, telling me I shouldn't have sent it where I did. Their department deals with all such matters. My response, to which I copied in the person I'd sent the original to, at their request, was short, to the point and very simple.

 

[screenman]

Paul, I read that several times to make sure I understood it correctly.
No "platitudes" such as 'I understand' as we are all so individual.
My heart is with you and MrsP.

Like you Dave I read it three or four times, I also burst into tears.