Free Legal Services for Seniors

I learned today (from an article in this week's Carmel Pine Cone) about a Legal Services for Seniors, a non-profit group that offers free legal representation to seniors age 60. While their focus is on low-income seniors, anyone age 60 and over who is a resident of Monterey County qualifies.

It's a non-profit organization funded by the state bar association, state and local government grants, and private donations. Their mission is to prevent elder abuse in all its forms, and a large portion of their caseload is representing seniors who have been targeted by frauds and scams. They can also help with things like Social Security disputes, heath care and housing rights, wills, probate, guardianships, and other issues primarily affecting seniors. In some cases, they'll even go to court with you.

According to their website,

Each year, an estimated 5 million, or 1 in 10, older Americans are abused, neglected, and exploited. In addition, seniors throughout the United States lose an estimated $2.6 billion or more annually due to elder financial abuse and exploitation, funds that could have been used to pay for basic needs such as housing, food, and medical care.

Unfortunately, no one is immune to abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It occurs in every demographic, and can happen to anyone—a family member, a neighbor, even you.

As much as we don't want to, unfortunately we're all getting older. It's nice to know that a service like this is available. If you know someone who could use some legal help, set up an appointment with Legal Services or stop by one of their outreach sites.

A little bit of rain

Light rain today.

Not nearly enough to relieve the drought, but every little bit helps. My garden is looking much greener.
When I started putting together The Monterey Life, it was my intention to post something at least 3-4 times a week. But sometimes life gets in the way, and I haven't done very well at keeping up with the posts. It's not like I haven't been doing anything though...I've been learning about the biggest Monterey lifestyle issue -- the looming water shortage. If we have to deal with 70% water supply cutbacks, living here is not going to be that much fun anymore.

While still living in Seattle, as we were considering moving to Monterey I became vaguely aware that there were concerns about water, and that there were plans being discussed to build a desalination plant. We came down to look at houses and our realtor, a lifelong resident, shrugged it off...."yeah, they've been arguing about that since I was a kid, and probably always will." I figured it would get sorted out in the end and didn't give it much thought since then. But with the drought dragging on, I started wondering about it, and decided to do a little research.

I started reading about the various proposals. As I read web sites and news articles, I would run across terminology, or references to past events and other projects I didn't know about, and that would take me in a new direction. Soon my head was spinning with information. I started keeping notes in One Note, and, because I can't help myself, I soon found myself organizing it all into categories. It occurred to me that others might be interested in all of this info, and an even better way to organize it would be to put it in a blog.


So I started a second blog...the Monterey Peninsula Water Spot.

The websites for various community-based advocacy groups also have lots of great information about the water supply issue. However, they are all advocating a particular position. My purpose was merely to obtain as much information for myself as I could. Eventually I will probably form an opinion one way or the other, but I still intend for the MP Water Spot be a roundup of the facts in as neutral a way as possible. The subject matter is a little dry (no pun intended), yes, but I have tried to keep it as light as possible.

Please give my new site a visit.

Ruler of the roost

Hummingbirds are a frequent sighting around here, so we decided to get a feeder to attract them when the plants in the garden aren't flowering. The lady at Wild Bird Haven explained that a male hummingbird will probably find it and decide it's his and no one else can use it. Sure enough, someone turned up within hours and claimed it.

© 2013, J. White

He has taken up residence in a nearby tree and watches it faithfully. We've seen him chasing off other hummingbirds. He's not bothered by the scrub jays that hang around hoping for peanuts (guess he knows they're not interested in sugar water), but he's not too crazy about us being around it. Approach it,there's a steady chip-chip-chip sound coming from the tree.  Settle down, little guy, we're just trying to refill it. 

© 2013, J. White

Healthcare matters

I’ve mentioned before about how Monterey is laid back and the local government is not very high tech – everything being done by phone or snail mail.  The healthcare system, though, is a different matter.  Everyone’s connected, and prescriptions, lab orders, referrals, and the like whiz through cyberspace from your doctor’s office to the appropriate service providers.

Need a prescription…it’s not written on the little prescription pads of old. The doctor enters in into the computer and it winds up at your pharmacy. Same for any lab test, x-rays, or scans ordered. Referrals to other specialists are also entered in the system – and often the specialist’s office will call YOU to schedule an appointment when they get the order.

It’s actually a good system, I just wasn’t used to it when I went to my first doctor’s appointment.  When the doctor said “I’d like you to get a cholesterol test, what lab do you use?”  I didn’t have the slightest idea.  I’m used to that kind of thing being done in the doctor’s office, or being told somewhere specific to go. No problem,  they gave me a printed “open” order with no provider filled in, and a list of labs, and I picked one and it all worked out fine.

I recently had to call my doctor’s office on a Friday afternoon when a minor problem I’d been treated for previously seemed to be coming back.  In case it got worse over the weekend, I thought, “I’d better call now.” 

I described the symptoms to the nurse, and she said someone would call back. Within the hour, I got a return call. Doctor wants me to get some lab work and also ordered some meds. She asked what lab and pharmacy wanted to use (a question that would have thrown me for a loop if I wasn’t already used to the system). I liked the lab I went before, but momentarily drew a blank on the name.  “Mmmmm, you know, it’s on Cass Street . . .  in an office park with a lot of medical offices . . .”  She knew I meant Hunter Labs (it’s a small town, after all) and said she’d send an order as well as enter a prescription. 

So I jumped in the car for the 5-minute drive to Hunter Labs. No one in the waiting room – later Friday seems to be an excellent time to go. Anyway, I told the receptionist my doctor sent an order, she glanced at the fax machine, and sure enough, there it was sitting in the tray.  In-and-out, 5 minutes.  Then over to Rite Aid to pick up my prescription, and I was back home, medicated, and feeling better in well less than an hour. Awesome.

Check out the new page I’ve added a page to this site with more info about what I’ve learned so far about healthcare in this area.

healthcare in Monterey, doctor's office in Monterey, healthcare system in Monterey, getting medical care in Monterey

Cell phone surprise

Time to upgrade your cell phone? Think you've found a great deal on a discounted phone by renewing your plan for another two years? Well, be aware that in California, you will pay sales tax on the FULL RETAIL VALUE of the phone, not the discount price.

Even though the tax code states that sales tax is based on "the gross receipts of any retailer from the sale of all tangible personal property sold at retail -- in other words, the amount the retailer received for the product -- Regulation 1585 says that when you get a discounted price by signing up for a service plan, then sales tax is based on the non-discounted price.

For heavens's sake, nobody walks in to the Verizon store and pays full price for a phone without getting a plan, and everyone knows it. The phones are priced accordingly.  Some people have even reported paying more in taxes than they did for the phone.

The state, however, argues thusly: if you were to go in and purchase a data plan without buying a phone, they would not discount the monthly rate for the plan, which "proves" that the plan does not subsidize the cost of the phone. But you pay tax on the plan as well, so this is totally bullshit. According to SFGate, the state rakes in over $181 million annually on this little gambit.

See also:  http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Beware-California-s-hidden-cell-phone-tax-2349249.php

How the heck can the state be going broke?

Finally! A garage door opener

I've had quite enough of opening and closing the garage door manually.  Heave the door up, back the car onto the driveway, get out, pull the door back down from the inside, slide the lock over, go out the side door and lock it behind, get back into the car, and finally on my way.  I'm too old for this.

We've been wanting to get an opener for some time, but with all the other projects around here, it always got pushed to the back burner. But no more.

It was all pretty easy. I ordered this "internet" garage door opener from Sears.  You can even order installation as part of the order (a bit pricey at $129 but I was willing to pay a little extra for the convenience). Just pick a date and add it to your cart.  Free shipping too.  The opener showed up just a few days later, and the day before the installation was scheduled, the installer called to let me know when he was coming.  He showed up right on time, took about an hour, and it was done.

So far it's been great.  Opens the door rather slowly, but super quiet. It's chain-drive, yet barely noticeable from inside the house.

The controller shows you the date and temperature in the garage, and a motion detector that turns the light on whenever you enter the garage. Though frankly, that's a bit of a tradeoff because it's handy at night if I need something in the garage, but during the day if I'm just going out and open the garage door, I don't really need the light to come on.

The coolest part is that it comes with a gateway so you can control it remotely from a laptop or smartphone. If you're not sure you closed the door, you can always check. You could also let someone in to the garage, for instance, to drop someone off.  Log in is required each time to use the app, so if someone steals your phone they don't necessarily get access to your house. You can even set up alerts to notify you every time the door is opened. (I guess if burglars break in though the window then open the garage door from inside so they can load up your stuff, you'd know. And you know if your spouse has gotten home before you.)

When we first bought the house, we didn't live in it full time, but would come down for long weekends, roughing it with just a few kitchen supplies and a futon while we worked on some of the major remodeling. Even after we moved in, we worked little by little on the various projects, so it still didn't feel quite permanent. Funny, but it's the garage door opener that makes it feel "real" to me now.

Best household tip ever!

I was just holding a can of Minwax wood stain when I knelt down and accidentally banged my knee, which caused me to slip and slosh dark walnut stain onto the carpet. I thought it was done for--no way wood stain will come out of carpet once it has penetrated the fibers.

In desperation I turned to my trusty friend The Internet and found this clip on YouTube.  It works! Hallelujah! It works! WD-40, who'd have thought....