Time to see the
Time to see the heath-care advisor at Community Medical Center,
to see if wisdom can be provided vis a vis Medicare, etc. --
and the take-home message seems to be: "Call Social Security",
which we know has been, up to this point, impossible, at least with respect ot results.
So, here we go again, leaving a message at the mailbox extenstion, so semi-regularly called since late January, then waiting on hold at the main number for 20 minutes, enough time to type the following:
***
3pm, April 13, 2022
U.S. Congressman John Garamendi
Hello John,
Thank you for your fine representation of our district these many years!
Just thought you should know that Social Security is, at least in my experience since January of this year, impossible to contact.
If I am having this much trouble, others are as well. And this is also confirmed via reviews on Google Maps...
At 65, as of April 2, I now lack health-care coverage, since receiving no confirmation lettter from Medicare -- and am very concerned.
I hope someone will look into the general and specific situations!
Thank you and best wishes,
Mark
Dr. Mark Alburger
Composer and Music Director, SF Cabaret Opera, SF Composers Orchestra, The Opus Project
189 Rainier Circle
Vacaville, CA 95687
(707) 474-7273
mus21stc@gmail.com
PS Details of my efforts, since January, below:
I filed online for Social Security / Medicare on January 12, 2022, and, evidently, successfully completed same.
On January 31, I was requested via DoNotReply@ssa.gov to call 877-772-3794 ext. 31565 re questions as to the application, with a deadline of February 15.
After calling several times previous to the deadline and receiving no callbacks,
we proceeded on Monday afternoon during business hours (before 4pm), February 14, to Suisun City Social Security Office, which turned out to be open "by appointment only", bearing a sign admonishing us to call (800) 772-1213 for scheduling. Dutifully calling, we merely heard a pre-recorded notice; "No appointments can be made at this time".
On the SS website, we tried emails, only to receive robo replies directing us to call numbers previously called.
With occasional calls from us to SS (both specific and general numbers above) continuing from this point, we again drove to Suisun City Office on the afternoon of Friday, April 1, before 4pm,
this time catching the open door as someone left, but blocked from entering by a security guard who recommended again that we call the posted (general) number. We did so, in his presence, received nothing but a busy signal, and he forbade us from contacting anyone within.
Quixotically, I received a voicemail the next day, my 65th birthday, Saturday, April 2, from ext. 31565
(surprisingly on a weekend, rather than an expected weekday) -- no substantive message was left by this person, except "please call," which we did during business hours the following Monday and Tuesday, resulting only in busy signals once more.
I have called several times since then, including today to both numbers, while writing this missive to you: voicemail again left at ext. 31565. As to (800) 772-1213 -- on hold for 20 minutes, with repetitive pre-recorded voices (absolute nonsense as to how important my call was to them and how everything could be solved online) and obnoxious Muzak, only to be summarilly disconnected!
The waste of time is abominable -- and I regret wasting yours as well in this regard!
***
Hmm, death by lack of Medicare... could happen...
Guess better keep working as fast as possible, including beginning the update of
Esther Xerxes, Op. 78 (1999)
on the Works site,
create the parts for
Stravinsky Orchestrations, Op. 354 (2021)
II. Orpheus: Orpheus Weeps for Eurydice,
collate the complete Flute and Oboe music for
Three George Crumb Tropes, Op. 392 (2022), from The Decameron: Fifth Day, Op. 247 (2015),
and elaborate
Book of Dreams, 2022, Op. 376 (2022)
with
April 12-13
3am Harriet Says Wise and Unusual Words....
4am [Antonio] Machado, Think Positively...
5am Scattered School for Delinquents; Friend and I to Be Resident Teachers; Very Sketchy
Accomodations, Windows w/ Strange Curtains in Kitchen Area That Do Not Particularly Close,
In View of Higher Student Accomodations.
9am Porkpie Hat, Nutmeg
10am Jogging Past T**** and Associate Talking (can Hear his Whiny Voice), I Jog In Street,
Avert Eyes, Turn Head -- Head to School Parking Lot (Pomona?),Where Am I Going?...
11am Wilderness Monument to Occupant, Upon Which Native Americans and Others
Relieve Themselves...
These endeavors on the 56th day of spring, high again down 1, now to 65 -- the anniversary of the
Israeli Temple destruction by the Babylonians (587 BC, here as portrayed by James Tissot, 1836-1902), and the birthday of
Julius Caesar (100-44 BC, certainly upstage above by Cleopatra (69-30 BC, depicted by Jean-Leon Germon, 1824-1944 -- and hopefully honored by
Julius Caesar, Op. 329 [2019]),
Kenneth Clark (1903-1983, while well-known for Civilisation [1969], a Monty Python routine inevitably comes to mind),
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989 -- updated today on Wikipedia April 13 article, and doubly homaged in
Waiting for Godot, Op. 128 [2005]
and
Endgame, Op. 113 [2004]),
Bob Crane (1928-1978, of Hogan's Heroes, 1969, but problematic politically), and
Harrison Ford (b. 1942, the first of the films depicted from 1981).
News of the day features someone covering the Ukraine War cites the need in a certain area for a "robust bus" system
(so true, but which could be confused with a Ro Bus
Bust
system...),
the apprehension of the subway smoke-bomber / shooter (who conveniently turns himself in), and
more culpability from the Con-Man Catastrophic Commander-in-Chaos Former Occupant's
Commandos.
Other media adventures include a fine program on the Arctic,
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) - Symphony No. 1 in C Minor (1866 - again!),
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) - Night Ride and Sunrise, Op. 55 (1908),
Florent Schmitt (1870-1958) - La Tragedie de Salome, Op. 50 (1907),
more from an audio of Betrand Russell (1872-1970) - A History of Western Philosophy (1945, today on Parmenides [c. 515-465 BC] and Anaxagoras [500-428 BC]),
Kurt Weill (1900-1950) - Threepenny Opera Suite (1928),
Raymond Scott (1908-1994) - Penguin (1938),
Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991) - StarTrek (1966) - Season 2, Production 54 The omega Glory (1968 -- while one of Roddenberry's oldest scripts, not terribly well regarded...),
Zooms re upcoming Opus 94 (8pm, April 23, Center for New Music, San Francisco, CA, looking beyond to
possible dates for Opus 95), and with
Family, plus
late-night interviews with Cory Booker (b. 1969) and
Amy Schumer (b. 1981)...