The Story of Lori

[Lori Dee]

@Lori Dee

        How did your hearing test turn out?

HUGS, Danielle

They can't give me an "official" report because they do not offer treatment. Their job is to evaluate and send a report to the VA Benefits Review Board.

He did show me the screen that shows moderate to severe high-frequency hearing loss. (No surprise)
I expect the board will rule in my favor for hearing loss and tinnitus. That could be a minimum increase in my rating by 20%.

On the 17th, I have my regular annual audiology exam. She will likely do the same hearing tests again to see if the program in my hearing aids needs to be adjusted.

I figure that by the time all these evaluation reports get to the Review Board, it will be Christmas, the New Year's. So the soonest I will know anything will be late January. I don't know how many other veterans are having claims processed, and it could be thousands. So I may not get a decision until February or March. Any increase at all will get backpay to June 26th when I filed the claims. If they decide no increase at all my rating stays the same and I lose nothing. The claims are over 10 years old (actually 30 years old), so those benefits are protected by law.

I doubt that I will get a 100% rating. That would be life-changing for me. 50% is possible, but iffy. I think 40% is realistic and anything less than that and I will appeal.

So now I wait.

I have all of my paperwork now for my passport. Tomorrow I will call and see how busy they are. I can make an appointment, which would be on a Monday. If they are not too busy, I can walk in Tuesday - Friday. I'm waiting for payday so the checks don't bounce. That would not be good. 

[Jessica_Rose]

I have all of my paperwork now for my passport. Tomorrow I will call and see how busy they are. I can make an appointment, which would be on a Monday. If they are not too busy, I can walk in Tuesday - Friday. I'm waiting for payday so the checks don't bounce. That would not be good. 

If the passport checks bounce, you may need to leave the country. 

I paid extra to have mine expedited, and I received it in less than two weeks. Good luck.

Love always -- Jess

[Lori Dee]

Another "exciting" morning.

I need to go grocery shopping, so I checked my bank balance. 

My internet service double-charged me. I upgraded my service in November, so the payment was slightly higher than usual due to proration. I signed up for autopay, which gives me a $10 discount, and payments are made on the 18th. On the 25th, they still had not pulled the payment. So I called Customer Service. They said I have to make a manual payment for the first billing cycle, then the autopay kicks in. So I made a payment (minus the discount).

Yesterday, the autopay kicked in for some unknown reason and they took out a payment for December (not due until the 18th) and for January and still without the discounts. Another call to Customer Service and he agreed that payment processing got jacked up, possibly due to the holiday weekend. So he has ordered a refund of January's payment, but it will take a few days for it to get back to my bank account. Meanwhile, they kept December's payment (without the discount) even though it isn't due yet.

Our property manager has been out of the office dealing with a family emergency for a month, so our rent checks have not been deposited. The corporate VP was here yesterday and will get those deposited. This means when the rent gets taken out, I'll have $10 left in my account until payday on the 11th. At least the rent check won't bounce.

Which brings me back to grocery shopping. That will have to go on the credit card today, then I can pay that (and my new TV) when payday gets here. Well, not exactly... The passport office wants almost $300 for the passport, card, photo, and expedited service... and that must be paid by check or money order, no credit or debit cards. So that comes out of the money that would go toward the credit card payment.

It's all good. I am an experienced financial juggler.

I was planning to start selling my gold anyway, so now would be a good time to start that. Once Trump gets sworn in, the price of gold will drop. It did last time he was elected, so I want to take advantage of the high price now while it lasts.

[Gina P]

I also sufferer from tinnitus. Is there any treatment for that? 

[davina61]

And me ,too many years using power tools when we didnt have ear defenders

[Lori Dee]

I also sufferer from tinnitus. Is there any treatment for that?

Sadly, no. There are herbal remedies with no science to back them up. High-end hearing aids can counteract it so it is less bothersome, but not a cure. It gets worse with age.

An audiologist told me that it is a sound being produced by the brain to compensate for the hearing loss at that frequency. The brain no longer receives that sound, so manufactures it to make all the other sounds seem normal. Thus, no medication or ear drops will fix it.

I don't know how the hearing aids can compensate, but I intend to ask my VA Audiologist about it on the 17th. I had suspected that they might use a sound masking technique, but that won't work if it is manufactured by the brain and is not an actual sound.

When I worked as a Technician, I installed a sound masking system in a call center. The system works using microphones placed throughout the office (full of cubicles) and samples the sound of phones ringing, conversation, etc. That sound is fed through a processor which inverts the wave and feeds the inverted sound back out through the intercom speakers. Since the two sound waves are exactly opposite in phase, it cancels the sound to zero amplitude. The employees only hear a hissing sound like white noise or the sound of the HVAC system and quickly get accustomed to it. The effect is that all sound is confined to the cubicles and is deadened past that. Nothing echoes and sound can't travel very far, so it sounds muffled. That was a fun project.

[ChrissyRyan]

Protect your ears, they are important!

Chrissy

[ChrissyRyan]

Lori,

Are all of your rock machines now working well? 

Still fixing any?


Chrissy

[Lori Dee]

Lori,

Are all of your rock machines now working well? 

Still fixing any?


Chrissy

They are still under repair. Two of the machines are working, but one still needs parts. It hasn't been a priority since I am done rockhounding for the year. I want to start making jewelry with all the stones I have now, but there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day. 

[Paulie]

I also sufferer from tinnitus. Is there any treatment for that?

Same here.  I did a lot of pistol shooting 20 years ago but always wore ear protection.  The tinnitus didn't start until years later.  Go figure?

Mine does change volume.  Sometimes it's hardly noticeable other times it's loud and clear.  Never defining, just there.

[Lori Dee]

Same here.  I did a lot of pistol shooting 20 years ago but always wore ear protection.  The tinnitus didn't start until years later.  Go figure?

Mine does change volume.  Sometimes it's hardly noticeable other times it's loud and clear.  Never defining, just there.

Mine changes volume like that, too. I thought it had something to do with blood pressure. I mentioned this to the examiner, and he just said, "That's normal," without any further explanation.

On the firing ranges, I always wore hearing protection. But that isn't possible inside a tank. Our helmets have communications (headphones and microphone) built in, and wearing earplugs defeats the purpose of the headphones. The microphones are used to communicate commands to my crew, as well as over the radio, but they also pick up ambient noise like cannon fire, machine gun fire, track squeak, and engine noise. That exposes the entire crew to the noise. Since the maker of the helmets was the lowest bidder on the contract, those headphones had no noise-canceling abilities.

[ChrissyRyan]

Sounds very promising Lori.

Chrissy

[Jessica_Rose]

I have tinnitus as well. As long as other noises are around, I don't notice it much. If I'm in a quiet place, the ringing is deafening. I've started using a white noise generator, it helps me sleep at night. Good luck.

Love always -- Jess

[Lori Dee]

I paid extra to have mine expedited, and I received it in less than two weeks. Good luck.

That is my plan as well. The cost is $241.36 for the passport book and card, plus expedited service, $35 paid to the passport office in the post office, and $15 for a passport photo.

I haven't been able to get through on the phone to ask questions. "This mailbox is full, please call back later."

However, they have a way to schedule an appointment online. I guess I'll make an appointment to ask them if I need an appointment. Gotta love government efficiency. 

Got my appointment for 16 DEC at 1:15pm.   Woohoo!

[Lori Dee]

"No one is free whose mind is not like a door with a double-hinge swinging outward to release their own ideas, and inward to receive the worthy thoughts of others." ~ Ralph M. Lewis

When we try to go about living our lives, we often encounter people who are trapped within their own closed minds. Trying to educate them doesn't work. They are not interested in anyone else's opinions. It is only what they think that matters.

I received a phone call from my dad. He and my mom had been recently hospitalized, but are now home and healing up. They are staunch Republicans and have worked as Election Judges since the 1970s.

I explained to him that I may be moving in August when my lease expires. I have an appointment to get a passport and my first stop will likely be across the state line in Minnesota until I can better assess the political climate. He didn't understand why I needed a passport to go to Minnesota.

I told him that the passport was for after Minnesota, in case I needed to leave the country due to persecution from his beloved Trump Administration. He still seemed confused. I asked him if he watched any of Trump's campaign rallies. He did. When I told him that millions of dollars were spent by Republicans in attack ads during the campaign, he didn't believe it. I told him that it was all over the news. He said it was not on OAN (One America News), as if that is the ONLY news outlet in America.

He also proceeded to tell me about all of the "fake news" channels that he refused to watch. I told him to go to Donald J. Trump's website and read his Agenda 47 for himself. If you don't want to read it, watch the video of this man speaking the words himself. Not coming from any media outlet. From the horse's mouth.

He then told me that he had been without internet service for a month. His ISP has decided they can no longer provide coverage to his address (in the middle of a large city). He says he has switched to the city's fiber-optic network and the city is in the process of installing a network node in his house this week.

I told him I would send him a link to the website, but he didn't hear me because he discovered my mom had left some papers on the desk and probably wanted him to make copies, so he had to go. Yeah. Bye, Dad. Love you too.

I am pretty sure that once I move, I will "be without internet for a month" and I am sure that the internet in Mexico is too sketchy to stay in contact with people who support erasing us from existence. I don't need that crap in my life so I will tell them what I told my ex-wife. "See ya!"

[Northern Star Girl]

@Lori Dee
Dear Lori:
I immediately thought of you when I saw this story on my news feed this morning:

        Geologists Might Have Stumbled Upon the Largest Gold Mine in the World
 https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/geologists-might-stumbled-upon-largest-133000185.html

Your thoughts?

HUGS, Danielle

[Lori Dee]

@Lori Dee
Dear Lori:
I immediately thought of you when I saw this story on my news feed this morning:

        Geologists Might Have Stumbled Upon the Largest Gold Mine in the World
 https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/geologists-might-stumbled-upon-largest-133000185.html

Your thoughts?

HUGS, Danielle

That is huge, but discoveries like this are not "valuable" until the gold is mined. 9800 feet is very deep and costly, so the value of the find is offset by the cost of recovering it. If the computer models are accurate, it could be fantastic. China has been hoarding gold for decades, even buying other countries' reserves. They mostly use it in manufacturing and typically use more than they produce, so this could put them in a strong position economically.

As have many others, I have been selling off my gold, which has caused the gold price to drop slightly. On Wednesday, the price was just over $87 per gram, now it is down to $84.64. I am waiting to see if the market rebounds a bit before I make my final sale.

[Lori Dee]

This is what placer gold looks like when dug out of the ground. I have been selling off my stash very slowly, taking advantage of the fluctuations in the spot price.



This last batch weighs 10.3 grams. On Wednesday, it was worth $896.10. Today, the spot price is down so it is only worth $871.80.



Another factor when selling placer gold is that buyers never pay the spot price. Because this gold came out of the ground, it is not pure gold. It will have copper, silver, and maybe platinum mixed in. The Spot Price is for gold that is 99.999% pure. Usually, buyers pay around 80% of the spot price.

I could pay a smelter to melt it down, purify it, and give me back .999 pure gold. But it will not be 10.3 grams after they remove the impurities which could be around 20% of the total weight. Plus there is the cost of paying the smelter to do the work.

I could purify it myself using hydrochloric and sulfuric acid, but that is not practical in a small one-bedroom apartment. There are other methods, equally dangerous, and still involve the cost of chemicals.

So what most sellers do is shop around and find a buyer who pays 80% or more. Most pawn shops and jewelry stores do this. Eventually, they buy enough to make it worthwhile to smelt so they can use it in jewelry. Pawn shops usually don't melt it and just use it for trade or to sell to the public.

I don't care what they do with it. Just give me cash with no questions and I'll be on my way. The key is to sell it in small amounts over many transactions. Over $600 worth and there are government forms to fill out wanting to know where you found it and wanting you to pay income tax on it. Nope. Not happening.

I have been asked if it is legal to do it this way.
Danielle will appreciate this. When I worked in my friend's accounting office, I hung a sign on the wall that read:

"Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one's taxes." ~ Judge Learned Hand, Helvering v. Gregory, 69 F.2d 809, 810-11 (2d Cir. 1934).

"Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant."  ~ Judge Learned Hand, Commissioner v. Newman, 159 F2d 848 (1947)

@Northern Star Girl

[Lori Dee]

I checked the VA website and my claims are in the "gathering evidence" phase. They received my hearing test results on Dec 5th. According to the website (assuming they have all the needed evidence) it takes an average of 140 days to reach a decision. That means I should have an answer by April 24, 2025.

Some of the claims are re-evaluations of existing claims, so those could be backdated to either the date of the injury (1977) or the day after I left the service in 1990. The other claims are new, so they should be backdated to the date they received them, which was July 10, 2024.

All of this could be affected by the regime change and whatever policies The Fuhrer, enacts between January and April. If all goes well, I will have already resettled in a temporary "safe haven" while I plot my next move.

I have two appointments tomorrow morning, psych and gynecology. I plan to ask for letters recommending surgery from them and my Primary. They have said they will enter the recommendations into my medical records, but now I will demand a hard copy that I can hand to a surgeon in Thailand or Mexico. I figure I had better get them now before such letters become outlawed.

Once I get resettled, the question of medications will be important. I will be able to continue to get them from the VA Pharmacy, but I don't know what their policy is on shipping them internationally. Each country has its own laws that govern what can be brought in and how much you can legally have on hand. For example, opioid pain medications are illegal in Mexico. I am not sure what the rules are for hormones and hypodermic needles. Carrying a suitcase full might raise some eyebrows.

I am not too concerned with what restrictions other countries have, as I intend to fully comply with their laws. My concern is that Kristi Noem will be in charge of Homeland Security which includes the TSA, Border Security, and Customs and Immigration. I don't want to be needlessly detained while trying to leave the country. If they want to prevent me from returning, well... then maybe returning isn't in my best interests anyway.

Which brings me to my next thought. If Trump gets his way and Congress enacts a law that the government only recognizes two genders and they are assigned at birth as he has promised, does that mean that post-op I will be illegal? My transition is well-documented in various government databases, including what my original birth certificate said. If that does not match the person standing in front of them my citizenship is not verified any longer. That would make me an illegal or undocumented alien. Then Kristi Noem could order me to be rounded up with the other illegals and sent to who knows where.

I need to develop a Plan B, C, D, E ...
I realize these are worst-case scenarios, but still.

"If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail."

[Emma1017]

Oh Lori I am so sorry that you are fighting so much.

For whatever it is worth, my job has brought me into situations where I have to advise people leaving a hostile government what they can do to move wealth across international borders...clearly not the US but in other politically unstable countries like Yemen.

Gold is way too heavy, currency is too bulky, and diamonds are controlled by the De Beers company* which sets their over-inflated price and loses value like a new car leaving the lot.

Over the years, one of the few things that can be physically moved by a person across borders is precious stones like rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and opals.  No monopoly controls the value.

Just an FYI with no guarantees.

*De Beers is a South African-British diamond company that mines, trades, and sells diamonds. They are the world's leading diamond company, with operations in 35 countries.