I am Jobina, the one and only Job of the Old Testament reincarnated. I actually took on that persona during my college years, forgot about it over the years, and was recently reminded by my college buddy, Jeff, that I really still was Jobina. Life is full of good and bad things for everyone; but some of seem to have to struggle, pray, lament, beg, connive, and stategize before getting our just deserts. Take the latest example from the Life of Jobina. Here is my saga of applying for my Social Security disability after 20 long hard years of Richmond County DFCS. The following is my documentation of the SSA application process:
Social Security Claim for Denise James:
08/10/2007 – Reapplication in St Petersburg office; Mr. Perry was worker.
11/21/2007 – 7:55am phone call from local office (727-893-3183 US GOVT – GSA- SOC); Told that I was being approved with disability date of March 31, 2007 and first payment month of September 2007; Asked about Georgia’s retirement system and choice of Medicare; Told that application was being processed that day. It was to be finalized and sent to the payment center for processing.
01/10/2008 – Called national number (800-772-1213); Spoke with Delores; Told that nothing was showing in the system accept for the case being pulled for federal review on 10/23/2007; Told to call the office of appeals in Virginia because the federal review should have been completed within sixty days; Called the appeals office in Virginia (703-605-8000) and spoke with Becky who stated that there was no record for my SSN; Told to call local office for status check (800-290-3758).
01/11/2008 – Tried local number from 11/21/2007; Recording stated number was a nonworking number at St Petersburg SS office.
01/11/2008 – A friend drove me to the local office after unsuccessful attempts to call all morning; Received help from another customer to get number from KIOS as no staff was available and the KIOS is not accessible for blind/visually impaired users; Told at reception window that I could register to be seen as a walk-in’ but it would be three hours or more before I could be seen; Told that I could wait to be given an appointment; but that could take more than seventy minutes; Told to call national number to get an appointment; Told that SSA office was short handed and that she did not have time to dig into my claim; Told that the only thing on her system was cessation of my disability from years ago; Receptionist had a very unfriendly attitude.
01/28/2008 – Called national number to check on claim status; Spoke with Karen; Told that federal review could take sixty business days and not calendar days; Told that I probably had twenty more business days to wait.
02/11/2008 – Called national number to check on SS claim; Spoke with Sharon; No change – still in federal review; 60 business days is the correct time frame.
02/26/2008 – Called national number to check on SS claim (15 minutes of automation wait time); Spoke with Howard (after six more minutes of waiting); Sending message to local office to contact me within 30 calendar days as the federal review only had 60 business days to complete their review. March third will be business day number 90. I gave my phone number and stated that early morning would be the best contact time. March 10th will be seven months from my application date. Howard also told me that the local office cannot deny my being seen or given an appointment while visiting the local office as I told him about my January 11th experience in the local office. Howard sent the message to the local office while on the phone with me; and said that I should be contacted no later than March 26, 2008. I am to call the national number back if I do not hear from the local office for another follow-up.
03/11/08 – Husband had appointment with Dr. Keith Brady who suggested that we seek the help of Congressman Bill Young. The stress of relocating to Florida and financial struggles has resulted in both of us needing medication to ease the depression and stress.
03/17/08 – Visit to Congressman Young’s office; spoke with Yvonne; Gave documentation of SSA claim struggles and signed permission for Mr. Young to inquire on my behalf of SSA; Was told that they had thirty days to do the inquiry.
03/18/08 – Received letter from Congressman Young stating an inquiry had been made on my behalf to the disability office of SSA in Baltimore.
04/08/08 – Received letter from Congressman Young stating SSA has initiated action on his inquiry on my behalf.
04/21/08 – Called Congressman Young’s office and spoke to Yvonne; Was told that SSA had thirty more days from letter of response, which means May 7th now; She asked if I was getting my monthly check and I told her that I had received nothing; She told me that she would make some phone calls and try to check on it for me; Yvonne called back from Congressman Young’s office within 10 minutes telling me that she had spoken with Cheryl Anderson from the St Pete SSA office. Yvonne was told that my claim was signed off for approval this morning and was being sent to the payment center for processing.; I was told to get down to SSA to request a critical paycheck to hold me over until the lump sum arrived; Theresa drove me down to SSA where I spoke with a worker named Cindy. She called me as Denise Thompson and not James and had to correct things in my record like my name, address, and bank information which had supposedly been done previously; She was very pleasant to work with. I received an emergency check for a couple of estimated months; I made a nice bank deposit and called Yvonne to thank her for her assistance; Yvonne told me that my case would not be closed out by Congressman Young until he was sure that I was receiving my benefits properly and consistently.
Yes, it is long and drawn out. It has taken almost nine months to get this straight. Sounds like a terribly difficult pregnancy, doesn’t it?
Until next time…
The picture above shows the boys as they tugged on an innocent woobie in the room. They also rested together laying the same way on the floor like little hams for the camera. They look like peaceful little lambs in this picture.
Titan and Max look happy in this picture as they check out the beautiful Gulf water. We went to the Marina at John’s Pass where Wil got his seafood fix at the Friendly Fisherman. I, of course, ate chicken fingers since I am allergic to all seafood. We walked the boardwalk; and it is a REAL boardwalk. The boards are uneven in their flatness and spacing. It was a good challenge for both dogs as I’m sure the boards felt weird to their paws. 
I would love to take a week and stay on the Gulf Coast and do nothing but eat, sleep, walk the beach, and play (not just on the sand).