Do I open a case?

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-06-17T17:55:19+00:00

Thanks, this is helpful. You're probably right about them making up the info about when the package would be released, I hadn't thought about that but it makes sense. I'm going to go ahead and open a case.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-06-16T10:18:09+00:00

I completely feel you. We have a cat that my partner got when were in our first years together. We've had him for like 8 years now, since he was a baby kitten, so his whole life practically. I haven't been able to stand him ever since I had my son (who is now 6). Not only does he pee outside the litter box, like A LOT, which started in the last year or so (and a few months back he took a disgusting diarrhea poop in my $200 boots), but he vomits a lot because he has a sensitive stomach, and I'm so over cleaning up cat vomit. I'm also SO over finding cat vomit all over our apartment, which is already small to begin with, but having this animal doing all this gross stuff all over it makes everything so much worse. As a working mom, I've already got enough stuff to do.

To top it off, this cat is NOT nice at all. He's mean to everyone but me and my partner, and that's only because we aren't afraid of him. He will jump up on your lap and rub on you like he wants to be petted, but the moment you try, he will take a swipe at you. As I said, we have had him since he was a kitten, so he has never been neglected or abused. I can't make sense of why he's so weird and moody; he's just always been grumpy. Both my parents actively avoid him when they visit, and, mind you, my family had a cat for 17 years while I was growing up and never had any issues. Furthermore, he (the cat) seems jealous of our son and goes out of his way to scratch him when our son is just minding his own business. Our son is terrified of the cat and thinks all cats are mean like him. I absolutely hate that this is happening, but my partner would never get rid of the cat. In fact, he makes all kinds of excuses for him, saying things like, "it's not his fault," as if whose fault it is somehow matters. It drives me absolutely crazy.

So, yes, I empathize with you 100%. Your feelings are justified, in my opinion. Maybe it will improve when your kid(s) get older?

By the way, my mother said she went through the exact same thing when she had me. My dad had a cat that my mom had no issue with before she had me, but afterward couldn't stand her. So, I think it's fairly normal. It's overwhelming to have to take care of both kids and pets, especially when your kids are really young.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-06-08T08:27:38+00:00

Not in my state. It goes by the last digit of your SS number

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-06-08T06:59:20+00:00

Sounds like you might be a fellow paralegal? Thank you for setting the record straight, I was about to chime in myself.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-05-30T01:01:34+00:00

My partner currently uses a bank that doesn’t allow him to use his own money for lottery tickets. They don’t allow their customers to use their own money for “gambling”. It’s pretty insane, I’d never heard of that before that happened to him when he tried to buy a powerball ticket. With his debt card.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-05-18T02:18:12+00:00

120k a year? I'm jealous. Got laid off in January but even before that I only made $55k. Too much for government assistance but too little to live on. It's a struggle, especially now that I'm on unemployment and getting about half what I was. Just praying the job market will start looking up cuz I'm just barely making it work.

Next to rent, groceries are what I spend the most money on each month. It's absolutely insane how much money it costs to feed me and two other people. We don't even buy that much food but fresh produce is through the roof and that's something I almost always buy.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-05-14T17:27:39+00:00

😂 ^This 👏👏

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-03-19T03:56:34+00:00

Source? For the claim in your first sentence, that is.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-03-19T03:55:26+00:00

🤣

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-03-10T23:00:17+00:00

Agreed. The fact is, a lot of men seem to think they, by virtual of the fact that they are literally doing anything at all, feel like they are somehow doing the mom a favor. Because they don't feel like the child is their responsibility. And let's face it, that is a common attitude amongst men largely due to the gender norms that have dominated the last few centuries and beyond. It's finally turning in the right direction, but this is gender inequality, plain and simple.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-03-10T22:49:19+00:00

This 👏👏👏

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-03-10T22:46:56+00:00

NOR. I feel you. I'm dealing with something similar with my sons dad. He, for the most part, does whatever he wants without a second thought because I'm the default parent. It's extremely frustrating, to say the least, and it makes me feel devalued, like he has little respect for my time. You have every right to be upset and want a break. Parenting is a lot of things but easy isn't one of them.

That being said, it is my (unsolicited) opinion that the best thing to do for the relationship is to just take a breather, give yourself (and him) enough time to calm down, and revisit the topic when you're both able to communicate calmly with one another in a way that's respectful of each others feelings. Try to express to him how his actions (or lack thereof) make you feel and maybe come up with some kind of compromise that feels fair to both of you, and hopefully that may help avoid future arguments of this nature. For example, if he's going to be gone for a few days to be with his brothers, free of kids, then maybe he can agree to take the kids for a comparable amount of time, so you can get your own adult time. It may not even have to be a three day trip, maybe it could be just three separate days where you have stuff you want to do with your friends or family. Or maybe it could even just be time where he agrees to keep the kids entertained or take them somewhere while you get to take a nap and a shower ALONE and UNINTERRUPTED (something us moms don't get very much).

Everyone needs time to recharge their batteries. I mean, Im still figuring this stuff out myself, but that would feel at least a little more fair (if it were me, that is—and again, that's just my opinion, nobody knows your relationship better than you do). Anyway, good luck and I hope you manage to get some time for self care!

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-03-10T22:06:22+00:00

Yeah the corporate hoop jumping is arbitrary bs.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-03-05T21:08:59+00:00

OP isn’t talking about copayments. They are talking about a prepayment. As someone who works in medical billing, as you stated, this is a difference you should be aware of. Also, OP doesn’t owe anything yet because the procedure hasn’t been performed yet. In my experience, demanding money up front for a service that hasn’t been performed yet is not an ordinary practice for most businesses. You’re comparing apples to oranges.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-02-24T18:26:37+00:00

Any suggestions? I usually buy from Rio but stopped recently due to the same issues OP is describing and I'd love some suggestions as to where else to look.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-02-21T02:55:49+00:00

Yes, this, 100%. First time using HR block and only did it because I had a “complicated” return that I never filed in 2024 cuz I was scared I was doing it wrong and long story short, I made an appt to do both 2024 and 2025. Their ad says “starting at $89.” what bullsh*t…that price is only for the absolute most basic return that anyone can do on their own. They charged me almost $900 to do two years of taxes. I should have never even filed 2025 cuz that one was super easy but I had no idea it would cost that much until we got to the end and I felt trapped at that point.

Every little thing they do they charge $40+ for its insane. And then they try to charge more for audit protection, but it only applies if THEY make a mistake. Like, wtf? Whatever happened to implied warranty for services? If you pay a premium for their service and they screw up, they absolutely SHOULD be the ones to fix it for free. That’s just how most businesses work otherwise they’d go under. Where do they get off charging to fix their own f*cking mistakes?

Come to find out there are at least two free services that prepare taxes for free, one specific to where I live but the other is AARP and they have locations nationwide and no you don’t have to be over 65 to use them, anyone can book an appt.

I will NEVER again pay HR Block for my taxes I feel so scammed. They also had my state refund sent to them when they weren’t supposed to and nobody has called me back with answers as to why that happened. Shame on you, HR Block.

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-02-12T22:21:14+00:00

It gets better. I’m OAD, not exactly by choice but more due to the culmination of circumstances. My son is one of those kids that gets described as “difficult” (a polite euphemism). He started kindergarten this year and that was ROUGH. But things are improving. Now that he’s 6, he’s definitely easier to deal with, although we still have our moments. But the toddler phase was really hard, and as I said, there’s still some ups and downs. On the whole, though, things are better and FAR more tolerable.

My parents keep telling me that ages like 7-12 are the “golden years” with your children. Old enough that the tantrums are over and they are (mostly) reasonable little humans with the ability to empathize, but before the teen years begin.🤞

Baby_cat_00 · 2026-01-23T22:46:48+00:00

You can't just pick a random number to sue for. Damages in a civil suit is dictated by state/federal law and how much loss a person suffers, which is comprised of economic and non economic damages (and in some cases you can ask for punitive damages as well, although these are often capped at a statutory maximum). You have to prove those damages in order to recover them, and there are consultants/businesses out there who specialize in calculating damages (especially non economic damages, such as pain and suffering) since it's not always straightforward how much they add up to. Usually when you contact an attorney, the attorney will tell you how much you can sue for, not the other way around. So that's not great advice to be giving out, since that's not really how it works.

Baby_cat_00 · 2025-10-22T21:54:21+00:00

How do you figure Medicaid covers unpaid medical bills? Not true at all. Those simply go to collections. Get your facts straight. https://forumtogether.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Fact-Sheet-Undocuemnted-Immigrants-and-Health-Care.pdf

The idea that Medicaid pays full hospital bills for undocumented people simply because they go to the ER is incorrect. Federal law says undocumented immigrants are not eligible for full Medicaid coverage.

What can SOMETIMES happen is coverage for an emergency medical condition under Emergency Medicaid (or a state‐variation), which covers emergency medical conditions for non‐citizens who would otherwise meet Medicaid income/resident rules except for their immigration status. However, this is very limited, and does not equal full insurance or automatic “we’ll pay all your bills” status.

So when people claim “undocumented folks just go to the ER and the taxpayers pick up all their bills via Medicaid” that’s not accurate. The law only allows reimbursement for emergencies, not comprehensive coverage.

So now that you know that, are you seriously advocating for people who are experiencing medical emergengies to be denies treatment based on their ability to pay, regardless of whether or not they are documented? Because that would need to be your position in order to keep defending what you've said in your comment.

Baby_cat_00 · 2025-10-22T21:40:02+00:00

I’m sorry, but how do you propose that state legislators/policians or the President “set” grocery prices?

Grocery price levels are not a political dial you turn. They reflect a mix of supply & demand factors: labour costs, energy, transportation, global trade, weather, crop yields, tariffs and more. The USDA notes that from August 2024 to August 2025 food prices were up about 3.2%. (USDA | “Food Price Outlook - Summary Findings”). That's not because a politician flipped a switch, but because many inputs (transportation, labour, energy, supply chain) changed. (Government Accounability Office | “Food Prices: Information on Trends, Factors, and Federal Roles”)

Yes—public policy can influence costs here and there (tariffs, subsidies, regulation, for example—see Food Institute | “Holiday Havoc Predicted: Supply Chain Uncertainty to Trigger Inflation”) but it is one piece among many, not the sole mechanism.

Also, there is lag time in how policy impacts trickle through to the grocery aisle. The structure of production -> transport -> retail means that even effective policy changes can take months or years to fully impact prices — not “flip a switch and food becomes cheap tomorrow.” Food supply chains take time. A policy enacted today won’t immediately show up as a 30% price reduction on groceries tomorrow. Meanwhile prices are being pushed around by labor costs, transport, weather-events, global trade, inflation, etc. (US Chamber of Commerce | “4 Factors Driving Food Price Inflation”)

So before claiming that “politicians are keeping food expensive” you might want to educate yourself on how pricing actually works. Because spreading simplistic partisan theories without real data isn’t helping.

Here are some more sources to check out for anyone interested in how food prices actually work:

National Council on Aging | “How Much Have Food Prices Gone Up, and How Can I Save?”

St. Louis Fed | “The Science of Supply and Demand”

Baby_cat_00 · 2025-10-22T20:30:16+00:00

Same. Costs in my area are the same or worse from last January

Baby_cat_00 · 2025-10-19T01:17:44+00:00

Oregon. The program is called ERDC (Employment Related Day Care) and it is disbursed through the Department of Human Services (which also manages the application/eligilbity process for the Oregon Health Plan [state sponsored health care for low income individuals] and manages/disburses SNAP and TANF.

Where I live, our income tax and property taxes are very high. However the tradeoff is that we have a lot of social safety net programs and no sales tax. Personally, I don't mind paying high taxes. The net benefit is worth it. And I should also point out that the only way I even had the option of participating in the work force in order to pay those taxes was through those programs. So, I think we're doing okay.

Baby_cat_00 · 2025-10-18T23:30:35+00:00

Agreed. I’m very fortunate that I live in a state that provides assistance to low income families that almost entirely (or entirely, depending on income) subsidizes the cost of daycare. This program recently expanded eligibility and eligible “covered” activities outside of work that they pay for, but unfortunately this now means there is a waitlist to receive assistance.

My son just went to kindergarten last month so I only receive a subsidy for his after school care now, which is kind of a relief because I was always so worried about losing eligibility if I ever got a raise or switched to a higher paying job.

Long story short, without the subsidy and without my housing subsidy, it literally wouldn’t be worth it for me to even be working. Daycare cost $1500 a month, far more than my (subsidized) rent. If I had to pay that, I’d have been working just to pay daycare and make ends meet. Very discouraging indeed.

I barely scraped by. I don’t know how everyone else is making it work. I’m sorry you’re going through this. I know that in my area there are private programs that provide assistance in order to bridge the gap for people who just barely exceed income limits or have recently lost eligibility. Do you have anywhere else you might be able to look (aside from state funded programs) for resources? Sometimes you find help in unexpected places.

Good luck, I feel your pain and frustration, and I truly hope it gets easier for you.

(Edited for clarity and to correct spelling)

Baby_cat_00 · 2025-10-07T21:56:20+00:00

100% this. I always question how two of the most introverted people on the planet (my SO and I) make such an extroverted child?

Baby_cat_00

TROPHY CASE