consideratecarlee

[consideratecarlee]

Scam alert - fake medical insurance claims

I answered a call today for my mom supposedly from KP's Asian department - the lady that my mom purchase Global Health Insurance back in March and filed a claim in April for an appendectomy. The claim was for $2968 and was being denied. I told her that it had nothing to w/ my mom and that if there was anything that needed to be done, to mail a document to her. The rep wanted to confirm the house number of the address, to which I said "I can't confirm anything by phone, just send it to the address you have on file".

I hung up on her, but she called back. She claimed it sounded like my mom was the victim of identity theft and handed the call to her supervisor. I know I should have stood by my initial feeling that this was a scam, but I let my guard down :\

The supervisor told me more details about the alleged surgery - took place in a hospital in Changsha city in Hunan province, the name of the doctor, the policy number, etc. He recommended we contact our local police station and FTC, but then said that we would need to contact the police station in Changsha city so they could investigate. When I said I wouldn't be able to contact the police station myself, he offered to put me through to the FTC who has some "overseas Chinese" emergency unit that could help with this by contacting the Changsha police dept. He put me on hold, and the supposed police officer in Changsha city came on the line. My mom started to tell him the story so he could take down the police report.

We got disconnected, but he called back! (A Chinese police department making a long distance call?!). Then he said we would have to show up in person. Um, that's not happening... to which he said there was a different option, but it wasn't clear what he was saying and at that point, I realized it was a scam. I told him we'd contact our local PD and get their advice, so bye.

Not 2 minutes had past before the alleged KP supervisor called back - he asked if we talked to the Chinese police department and got a claim number? I went back to my original stance of "send us the documents by mail and we'll deal w/ it when we receive it. So STOP CALLING.". Hung up and he called back and I repeated those instructions.

Aside from the fact that "Kaiser Permanente Asian Department" sounds totally fake, the 3 people I spoke to (initial rep, her supervisor, and the supposed police officer) were pretty rude. I was disconnected in 2 of the calls (one w/ the supervisor and one w/ the police officer) and they both were like "why did you hang up on me?"

I should have googled this while I was on the phone so I could have seen this is apparently a common scam. There were so many red flags that I ignored - the beep at the beginning of the calls. That KP claims dept would be working on a Saturday or that they have a dept called the "Asian Department". That they would put you through to the FTC who would directly contact the Changsha police department. That the Changsha police department would call you right back after you had been inadvertently disconnected. That they would contact you via phone if they are denying your medical bill claim. (Honestly, now that I think about it - if a claim was denied, it just means the submitter is not getting reimbursed - so why would they call you to tell you this? It's not like the insurance already paid and now they're trying to collect from you).

Fortunately, I didn't give any personal information (aside from saying we've never been to China, and that we'd have to get visas if we wanted to go). Hopefully, the only thing we lost was some time and nothing else. (Yes, lost time is still lost time, but it was a lesson learned!)

[consideratecarlee]

Review - Etoile (tv show)

Watched the first episode of the new tv series, Etoile, set in the professional ballet world. I've watched and enjoyed Bunheads and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (and seen a few episodes of Gilmore Girls), but this show was just very underwhelming.

The dance scenes were okay (technically and artistically great, but did little for the plot). One of the main characters, French ballerina Cheyenne, is extremely arrogant and unrealistic.

There were a few scenes that were entertaining, like the scene where the two directors are proposing dancers to swap. Or (ironically) the one on the boat where Cheyenne is trying to attack a shipping vessel by throwing oranges (the captain shouts "we eat those oranges, Cheyenne!") - all the way to the police arresting Cheyenne because the captain and the crew (of her boat) want to press charges!

The last great scene was where Cheyenne confronts her director Genevieve because she doesn't want to go to New York and her fellow dancer (who dubs himself the next Baryshnikov) very much wants to go.

But otherwise, a very meh show. I don't think I'll continue with this. I'll use my time to watch shows like Broadchurch, which I just started watching (I've been aware of the show for a while) and find very compelling.

[consideratecarlee]

Fall 2023 Vacation - Day 1 and Day 2

Stayed up until past midnight last night to get some work done. Then did about 1.4 hours of work this morning.

The shuttle van came on time and we got to the airport 3 hours before the flight (I only live about 20-30 mins away). The security screening wasn't bad - just 16 minutes - but I'm not sure I like the new-ish Automated Screening Lanes (ASL). In theory, you can move through screening more quickly, but 1) I couldn't move my bin(s) forward because other bins from people behind me kept pushing past and 2) my bins were interspersed between other people's bins. I imagine this last point would make it easier for things to just "disappear" (a la former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-Je's cellphone).

For my trip in the Spring, we were scheduled to depart at 4:20pm and arrive at 9:15pm, but ended up departing late and landed around 9:49pm. This flight was scheduled for 4:30pm, with a landing time of 9:25pm. I was a little worried about this (whether we'd catch the Taoyuan MRT, whose last trip is at 11-ish) - fortunately, we departed on time AND even landed 15 minutes early!

We got through the Immigration line quickly - only 10 minutes, since a staffer directed us to a line for ROC nationals (even though we technically no longer have ROC passports).

Hopped on the Taoyuan MRT - costs $150NT (about $5 USD) to get to Taipei Main Station. We just took the first train that arrived, which was the commuter train (more stops) and it took us about 53 minutes.

Slight drizzle when we emerged at Taipei Main Station. It's so humid!

Dinner on flight to TPE:

Entree: Beef, broccoli, carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes. (The other option was chicken and rice).

Sides: Carrot cake, quinoa salad, dinner roll (saved this), Kit Kat, bottled water (saved this) and ginger ale.

Breakfast on flight to TPE:

Entree: Frittata, chicken sausage, hashbrown, and broccoli. (I think the other option was possibly rice noodles (vermicelli)?).

Sides: Strawberry yogurt (the silver lid), fruit (apple, cantaloupe, grapes), croissant (saved this), and coffee.

The “Taiwan the Lucky Land” booth is just outside the terminal - we didn’t win any prizes. (By the way, do they realize that the banner on the website says “Taiwan the Luck Land”?)

[consideratecarlee]

Starting 2022 off with some decluttering

I am convinced that when the universe wants you to declutter your stuff and clean up your home, it will dispatch some unwelcome visitors (rodents) to give you the push you need.

In the last few months of 2021, we had a few sightings of such visitors. Despite putting out old school traps and some newer enclosed types (where you just toss out the whole thing), we didn't catch a single one for some reason. (The other times we had these issues, we were able to catch at least a couple).

So we've been working slowly but surely to go through stuff and be a bit ruthless. I was reacquainted with the concept of 'Swedish Death Cleaning', which sounds a bit morbid but it's more about starting anew than about something dying.

At the very least:

toss out trash (particularly old food that has gone bad and stuff that are broken)

put away items that aren't used on a regular basis into storage.

Even small steps can make a big impact.

[A before and after photo of a middle shelf].

[consideratecarlee]

All jobs are customer service

If I had to conduct a job interview, this is a scenario question I would ask (even if the position was for an office job):

You are a cashier at a store and the customer wants to use a coupon for $5 off if you spend $25. The total is $24.15.  Do you:

A) Say “Your total is $24.15, which is under the $25 minimum to use the coupon. Would you like to get one more item?”

B) Say “you can’t use this coupon” and hand it back to the customer.

C) Hand the coupon back to the customer without comment and ring them up normally.

The answer that the candidate chooses (or variation thereof) would tell me a lot about this person’s approach to customer service.  I feel customer service is part of every job, not just cashier / retail store positions. Think about Disneyland. It’s not just some amusement park people go to. For many people, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that they aren’t likely to forget, which is why the “guest experience” is so important to their company culture.

A customer (anyone you are providing a service to) may not remember good transactions.  They probably will remember great transactions, but they definitely will remember bad transactions. Bad transactions = a customer that will never return (and probably will tell their friends & family too).

This good “customer service” philosophy is how I approach my office job. Sometimes my bosses will want to do something that is not allowed. Rather than simply -- 1) say “no, we can’t”; or 2) do what the boss wants, knowing that it will get rejected later (as some of my coworkers do) -- I try to find a solution that will work.  I will consider the desired outcome, do some research, and go back to the boss and say “we can’t do X because the policy says..., but we can do Y, which will get an outcome similar to X, and is completely legitimate to do.” [And if I was a supervisor, this is how I would train my staff to think and approach requests].

[consideratecarlee]

North and South - Chapter 7 (New Scenes and Faces)

Miss Margaret Hale and Mr. John Thornton first meet in Chapter 7 of Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South [in the book. In the BBC mini-series, they meet in the mill under very different circumstances]. Margaret and her father have gone out to view houses to rent. Mr. Thornton has come back to the hotel a second time to wait for them. It being a market day and he with things to do (he’s not one to sit about and do nothing), I sense he’s about ready to leave again (hence, his hat is back on his head) when Margaret returns, wearing a “very plain [dress]: a close straw bonnet of the best material and shape, trimmed with white ribbon; a large Indian shawl, which hung about her in long heavy folds, and which she wore as an empress wears her drapery.”

We don’t get a description of what Mr. Thornton is wearing - when recounting the meeting to her mother, Margaret can’t be bothered to describe him, except as “a tall, broad-shouldered man... with a face that is neither exactly plain, nor yet handsome, nothing remarkable—not quite a gentleman; but that was hardly to be expected.”  In Chapter 9, as Mrs. Hale and Margaret prepare for Mr. Thornton’s visit, Margaret says “He looks like a person who would enjoy battling with every adverse thing he could meet with—enemies, winds, or circumstances.”

Each of them try to figure out the other person in the (my guess half hour) time they spend waiting for Mr. Hale to return. Mr. Thornton is a quiet, reserved man, who answers Margaret’s questions with short, brief answers (not much for small talk apparently, plus he was expecting to meet with Mr. Hale, the country parson, and not his daughter). She comes off as haughty - we already know that she doesn’t think much of “tradesmen”, particularly of manufacturers - but mostly she’s exhausted by visiting houses in the morning plus the move from Helstone. 

From the BBC version, Mr. Thornton always wears dark-colored suits, white shirts w/ high collars, and cravats (sometimes the cravat is solid-colored, other times there’s a pattern). He also has a pocket watch - punctuality (I imagine) is very important to him.

[Some reference photos:

https://iwanttobeapinup.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/john-thorinons-cravat/ https://www.silverpetticoatreview.com/2019/12/30/period-drama-north-and-south-bbc-matters/ http://www.easelincorporated.com/Easel_Incorporated/victorian-hat-gallery/1860s-straw-bonnets-and-hats.html]

[consideratecarlee]

Info on COVID vaccines in LA County

We now have a date (4/15/21) for everyone 16 and older who live or work in California to be eligible for the COVID vaccine. LA County has also confirmed that they will follow this date. If you haven’t been chasing appointments for the past 2 months (where have you been?) or if you just need a refresher, here are some of my musings to help you prepare for Hunger Games, The Sequel.

My recommendation:

If you can travel and don’t care where you get the shot: Check MyTurn for the large sites, or Carbon Health if you want an LA City-run site. When appointments for these large sites are added, they are added in large batches, plus if people cancel, those appts will show up. Check back often and you might be able to snag an appt not too far into the future.

If you don’t want to travel far (and you don’t happen to live near a mass site), check the pharmacies and local hospitals & community clinics.

Check Findmyvaxla.com for appointments nearby.

Planning

Visit the websites now so you’ll be ready and know what to expect. Links and info on most vaccination sites are posted at LA County’s website vaccinatelacounty.com.  It’ll show which vaccine type is being administered and whether it's a drive-thru or not. (Sometimes the short URL doesn’t work, so save this full URL instead: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/vaccine/index.htm).

There's basically no difference where you get the vax - just a matter of where you can find appts, how far you're willing to drive or travel, if you want drive-thru, etc. 

If you want drive-thru, check MyTurn or CarbonHealth. 

More personal interaction w/ nurse/doc? Go w/ Kaiser. 

Need access by public transit? Check stores/pharmacies, MyTurn (Cal State LA), CarbonHealth (USC). 

You’ll usually be able to book the 2nd dose appt (Pfizer & Moderna) at the same time you book the 1st dose appt. Some providers will let you schedule the 2nd dose only (like if you no longer want to travel far and want to switch to a different provider), but options are limited.

Learn when your site of choice adds new appointments. Most places release appts a few days (or a week) at a time.  The pharmacy chains tend to add new appts in the early mornings. LA County-run sites tend to be added over the weekend, about midday.  Don’t worry if there aren’t any appts for the near future - it's not that appts from now to infinity are booked, they just haven’t been added. (If supply increases, expect more appts to be added).

Don’t depend on tweets to let you know when new appointments are posted - get in the habit of checking every day, ideally a few times a day. I got a text saying there are limited appts available for LA County PODS - I checked within 13 minutes and there's none available. I was luckier a different time - I happened to check and snagged my appointment; LA Public Health tweeted about the appointments about 15 minutes later.

Cost / Insurance

There is no cost to get the COVID vaccine. Vaccine providers are allowed to bill the insurance companies for administration fees - this appears to be happening at the pharmacies (LA County-run sites do not collect any private insurance info and do not bill private insurance for anything). MyTurn does not require any insurance docs to be uploaded. There is a question about what type of insurance you have - private, none, Medicare, Medicaid - but no details are needed.

You should not have to pay anything out of pocket when you show up for your shot.

Booking an Appointment

For LA County #COVIDvaccines, there are 10+ sites to check:

MyTurn.ca.gov: (County PODs, Cal State LA, Cal Poly Pomona, some community clinics & hospitals).

CarbonHealth: (LA City-run sites).

Rite-Aid

CVS

Walgreens

Ralphs

Vons / Albertsons

Costco

UCLA

Kaiser

Calvax (some community clinics & hospitals; Calvax is not a scam - it’s the system LA County used to use for their mega PODS)

All providers are supposed to move over to MyTurn eventually, but in the meantime, check Findmyvaxla.com - it'll show you available appointments nearby based on zip code, including at LA City-run sites (which are managed by Carbon Health, and not on MyTurn). You won't be able to book here but there will be links to the providers' booking sites

Once Blue Shield takes over the vaccine administration for all of CA, the providers are supposed to offer in-home vaccinations for people who can’t leave their home.

Websites to Book Appointments

MyTurn.ca.gov

MyTurn doesn't have any verification so you might see vaccine locations near you but that you are not eligible for - e.g. I searched for Irvine (in the OC) and it showed me an LA County mega PODS site, which is limited to people who live or work in LA County. You can still book, but will be turned away when you are not able to prove you live or work in LA.

If there are no appointments open for a site, the vax site (theoretically) will not appear. If a vax site does appear, but there are no time slots that appear, it means there are no appts available (it may be someone just took the last appt).  There should be a dark blue circle on today's date and a light blue circle on the date w/ appts - click on the light blue circle and you should see time slots.

Only dates with open appts will be click-able. You may want to check the following month and then back to the current month to see if any appts show up.

To find a vaccine site more quickly, search by the zip codes of the vaccination site.

LA County mega PODS (these are drive-thru sites) Forum (Inglewood): 90305 LACOE (Downey): 90402 Magic Mountain: 91355 CSUN: 91325 Pomona Fairplex: 91750

LA County regular PODS (these are walk-up sites, NOT drive-thru) Balboa Sports Complex (Encino): 91316 El Sereno Rec Center (LA): 90032 Antelope Valley Health Center (Lancaster): 93535

Other mass site (not restricted to LA County residents) Cal State LA: 90032 (has both drive-thru & walk-up) Cal Poly Pomona: 91768 (walk-up)

Carbon Health (for LA City sites) https://carbonhealth.com/covid-19-vaccines/los-angeles

Dodger Stadium (drive-thru) Crenshaw Clinic in South LA (drive-thru) Hansen Dam in Pacoima (drive-thru) Pierce College USC San Fernando Lincoln Park

CVS: Sign up for text msg alerts for appts at nearby CVS stores (based on zip code) at https://www.cvscovidalerts.com/. You'll still need to book on www.cvs.com yourself but it's less stress of manually checking 24/7. Walgreens has an option to book only a 2nd dose appointment.

Kaiser: you don’t need to be a member and you can book your 1st dose on the website. The 2nd dose will be scheduled when you are at your 1st dose appointment (in between when you get your shot and when you sit in the rest area). If you need a 2nd dose only, you may be able to schedule an appt by calling 833-KP4-CARE, even though you got the 1st dose elsewhere (my parents and a handful of other people were able to do this).

Walgreens: makes you create an acct before checking availability, but I guess the upside is that you don't have to re-type your info each time - just log in and check availability.  Walgreens has an option to book only a 2nd dose appointment.

[consideratecarlee]

When I was about 5, my mom enrolled my sister and me in piano and ballet lessons.  In her infinite wisdom, she would not let us watch tv and eat potato chips, which is apparently what I told her I wanted to do instead. 

So from when I was 5 to 12 years old, we dutifully went to our weekly half hour piano lessons (usually on Thursdays, because we had minimum school days on Thursdays).  According to my teachers, I had real talent - no child prodigy, but ability and potential. It appears I was technically proficient, but lacking artistically. (This too was the same problem I had with ballet).  The teacher had another student around my age - I’d see her at the annual recitals and she was so dramatic when she played.  “See that?,” the teacher would say. “I arranged for you to play last because you are the strongest student technically, but she performs.”  

Truth be told, I was simply unmotivated. When you have a natural talent at something, but aren’t particularly interested in it, you can skate by.  Also, I didn’t know how to perform - swaying my body?  Dramatically lifting my arm before hitting a note?  That is just so not me.  

I stopped taking private piano lessons at the end of 7th grade - one of the last performances I did was at this piano competition / assessment thing.  I wore a pink flowered dress that my mom sewed with a matching pink flowered bow.  I didn’t really care to do it, but the teacher wanted me to, and my mom was willing to sign me up.  If I recall correctly, my rating was the 2nd tier.  The other student, of course, was rated in the top tier.

“If only you were as dedicated to piano as you are to ballet,” the teacher would sigh.  It’s a good thing she didn’t know I was only practicing for about 10 minutes per day, while watching tv!

[consideratecarlee]

If Trump could just figuratively keep his mouth shut for the next couple of weeks, I’d rather just wait out the remainder of his term. Since he seems incapable of doing that, the only other options are:

1) 25th Amendment: I feel this is a no-go. It puts VP Pence in a terrible position (him already being a target thanks to Trump’s recent ramblings). Pence has been super loyal to Trump, but (I believe) he has acted lawfully within the confines of his position. Everyone can criticize him all that they want but people should be able to do their job (legally) without facing mortal harm. (This also goes for the election workers all around the country and the Secretaries of States for battleground states who have had to face enormous pressure and threats in recent months).

Also, it’s never been used this way before (initiated by VP and Cabinet) and would require 2/3 vote by Congress to remove POTUS. That’s not going to happen, and certainly not w/in the remaining time. It may also trigger a constitutional crisis.

2) Impeachment: I have little appetite for this, given the short time remaining. Even if POTUS is impeached in the House, any trial in the Senate would take place after January 20th. I feel the purpose of impeachment should be to remove an elected official from office, for wrongdoing (whether criminal or just on this side of the law), and prevent him/her from further wrongdoing in the position. So trying an official in this manner after he/she is out of office doesn’t really meet my standard for impeachment.

That said, I don’t think we should take impeachment off the table just yet. It is, and should always be, an option.

3) Resignation: If Trump can’t just keep his mouth shut, there’s no way he’d resign. And it would just give his more radical supporters more fodder.

I don’t pretend to be a constitutional scholar by any means, and I have probably forgotten all that I learned in 9th grade government.  I’m just an average citizen trying to work through the different scenarios. I know there are people who feel Trump should be punished by being removed (either 25th Amendment or impeachment) from office. I believe people *should* be punished for breaking the law or for wrongdoing, but I also feel that the 25th Amendment and impeachment aren’t designed to be punishment (repercussion, yes; punishment, no).  Again, not a constitutional scholar so I don’t know precisely what they are meant to be.

[consideratecarlee]

Heard through the grapevine that another coworker tested positive for COVID-19. Given the time that’s passed since the first coworker tested positive (back in mid-November), I’ll venture that the two cases are unrelated. 

Most of us have been working from home full-time since mid-March, though there are a couple that go daily and a few that go once a week. So it’s not *that* big of a deal that a coworker has tested positive. However, considering the new CA law (AB 685) requires employers to notify their employees about potential exposure in the workplace, I’m a tad bit concerned that we aren’t getting any official notifications when people are testing positive. Even if it’s not an outbreak at work, aren’t we supposed to be getting notifications? My mom’s workplace, for example, emails all the staff when people have tested positive and notes when the person(s) were last in the office.

My employer has set up a dashboard of sorts (not user friendly) to comply w/ the new law and this case doesn’t appear to be listed on there. It’s been about a week?  Maybe it’s just a delay in reporting, but there are very recent cases reported on the dashboard so it doesn’t seem acceptable to me.

Not only are we not getting these general notifications, but even people who were on site on the same day as those positive cases are not getting contacted about getting tested.  It’s happened both this time and the last time. Isn’t that what contact tracing is for? Maybe they’re not technically close contacts (a 5 minute conversation while wearing masks may not count) but I feel like Taiwan would be handling these types of situations very differently.

To add to the confusion, one of my other coworkers DID get a notification the other time (the notification of course does not give any identifying information and she was worried that it was a person w/ whom she had been in a F2F training session with for over an hour). 

I have no idea where the breakdown is occurring. Are the managers in my dept not reporting it centrally? Is it the central office’s oversight? What is going on? This makes me wary of trusting the process is working.

[consideratecarlee]

I have been decidedly very unproductive this winter break.  In the past, I would declutter or sort through clothes to toss, but I just have no motivation this time around. I did get a smog check done so I don’t consider it a complete failure. A win (however minor) is a win, especially in 2020!

Instead, I have spent most of my vacation drawing on my new-ish iPad Mini 5. Like former President George W. Bush with his portrait paintings, apparently ballet dancers are what I am best at drawing? (I have little creativity, so having a preset idea - a ballet step and a costume - is extremely helpful). Most of the costumes in the drawings are inspired from costumes I wore throughout my amateur and semi-pro ballet career. I also tried to make sure the dancers were in proper classical ballet positions, with correct technique, as much as possible. No turned in legs or flexed feet here!

It was a really good way for me to learn how to draw, so I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. 

[consideratecarlee]

One of my all-time favorite costumes was the Dewdrop Fairy costume - it was a simple white classical tutu (the kind that stick out like a plate), covered with a light pink overlay with pink curlicues, topped with green trim and some roses added on.  

Dewdrop may or may not be considered a lead role depending on the production (it was a minor lead role in the production I was in), but at least the costume was gorgeous!

Fun fact - pink tights and pointe shoes in ballet are usually more peach, light salmon colored (not actually pink). 

[consideratecarlee]

I was eight years old the first time I performed in the Nutcracker (it was a small professional company’s production and us young kids were in the Act 2 Mother Ginger divertissement). The role of Clara was performed by a pair of teenage twins, which allowed for Clara to *magically* change costumes in just a couple of seconds. Clara’s party scene dress was white with blue stripes.

I was so enchanted by Clara (and rewatched the video tape multiple times) that when I had to build a California mission in the 4th grade, I chose the Mission Santa Clara, rather than the local San Gabriel Mission that I could have visited in person.

I also got a Nutcracker doll - no mysterious Uncle Drosselmeyer, though. I got my Nutcracker at a flea market!

(Drawing inspired by this Samantha American Doll tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4Vc6omM770)

[consideratecarlee]

WFH Day 52 - work is collecting some feedback about teleworking - what do we like, dislike, and recommendations.

Likes:

No commute! I wake up 1 hour later than usual; no rushing for public transportation or sitting on the parking lot we know as the freeway. No worries about traffic jams.

Fewer distractions! Don’t have to wear headphones all day to block out chatty neighbors (and don’t have to hear people cutting their fingernails either).

Less noise! Phones ringings, copiers/printers churnings, cellphones dinging, doors slamming.  All of that pretty much gone.

Not having to wear a mask or worrying about the cleanliness of the workspace.

Work is judged by output/performance, NOT by how long you sit at your desk or how “sociable” you are.

Overall happier when working.  See all of the above.

Dislikes:

Computer set up - 14″ laptop.  I have a dual-monitor setup (two 24″ monitors) at work.  No printer either - although I genuinely don’t need to print out any documents anyway. (Save trees, I guess?).

Lack of exercise / moving around - too much sitting.  I can go a whole morning w/ only 500 steps. No gym. I did go for walks in the neighborhood, but the fear of getting bitten by unleashed dogs roaming around makes me hesitant to walk.

Boss keep calling me about tech issues - granted, they would do that before anyway, but there are more tech issues now since everything is online/virtual and requires a computer. Getting a phone call for tech support at 10am on a Saturday while standing in line at Costco is not my idea of a fun time.

Recommendations:

Set clear “office/work” hours and make sure people know what they are. Then hopefully people will only call/text off-hours in emergency situations. (Let calls go to vm every now and then).

Keep in contact (chats/IM, phone calls) w/ work friends to stay connected.  (The rest of your coworkers you can ignore for non-work purposes).

Let people who can WFH, and want to WFH, continue to WFH.  No need to bring people back to the office if it’s just because you need a warm body in a cubicle.  

[consideratecarlee]

After a cruise around visiting all sorts of to-do / task list apps, I decided to try Wunderlist again - after using it for a week, I have to ask myself “why didn’t I use this earlier?!”  I had a few comments about Wunderlist in my previous post but none were major complaints.  The problem about the Microsoft 10 app was solved by simply switching to the web version on Chrome.  The limited options for recurring tasks was not that big of a deal (for example, instead of recurring weekday tasks, you can just set 5 daily tasks - one for each day - and have them recur weekly).  Wunderlist lets you copy tasks AND copy lists so duplicating tasks or using a template is never a problem.

Here’s my basic framework (starting with the left sidebar menu):

1) Inbox holds new / incoming tasks that are not processed yet, sort of like a physical mailbox or inbox.  From there: each task is triaged - I add a few tags (such as cost center) in the title, plus a deadline if there is one. I use the “Due Date” function as a (to) “Do Date” - it’s the date that I hope to get something done by or the date that I should take a look at the task. My personal turnaround standard is 48 hours so I’ll usually set this date as 1 or 2 days out (if there’s a deadline, this “do date” will have to take that into account). If I know something will be coming up in a specific month but not exactly sure when, I’ll put the date as the first of that month - when that month rolls around, I can then choose a new date to take action. Reminders and recurring are added if necessary.

This “do date” is a crucial feature for me (one that just occurred to me this week) - due dates just weren’t working for me. Sometimes there are no due dates, it just has to get done.  Also, because I know I’ve chosen a future date where I’ll actually take the time to look at each task and complete it, I don’t need to keep tabs on it right this second.

2) The task is then moved to the Docket - this is where most tasks live.  If the task is part of a larger project, I’ll create a new list for the project and the task will live in that list.  Lists are then filed in folders.

3) Each evening, I check the “Week” smart list, which shows all of the tasks that are “due” (”to do”) this week. Wunderlist groups these by dates. If there’s something with a “do date” the next day, I star the item.  If there’s a task that has a later “do date” but is something that I can fit into the schedule, I’ll also star it.

4) The “Starred” smart list then becomes my daily docket / to do list.

5) Once I complete the task, I check it off and it will disappear from the main screen.  I like how Wunderlist has the “Completed To Do” link at the bottom of the list (not on smart lists, though) so I can find old to-dos.  

Wunderlist also allows tags/hashtags, so I use them for cost centers (basically one of each of my bosses), and also for “waiting for info” (WFI) and “out for approval” (OFA).  If I click on the hashtags, it’ll show me all of the tasks with the hashtag.  I can even search for multiple hashtags at once!

I had separate lists for WFI and OFA before but I didn’t like moving tasks around from list to list.  Using the hashtags is perfect to mark tasks without having to click and drag the tasks around.

Optional items:

Create task by email - nice but not my preferred method (by creating new tasks manually, I can make sure to capture the necessary info and aspects of the task at that time; if I forward the email, I’ll have to re-read the email to figure out what needs to be done, etc. I find it better to read once, synthesize, and summarize).

Reminders - if the task is super important (like with a real deadline), I might put a reminder date/time but usually I just leave this blank. I review items each evening so theoretically I shouldn’t need a reminder. (I use Google Calendar for appointments/events and such).

Today smart list - I don’t use the today smart list because I like to pick and choose which items are on my daily docket.  I might star a task that is marked for the next day or even next week, but that I want to do today.  It’s something that could be un-starred (that is, deferred) if something urgent comes up.

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Wunderlist was bought by Microsoft in June 2015 and in April 2017, Microsoft announced that Wunderlist would be discontinued at some later date. Microsoft’s own to-do app, To Do, should be getting the same functionality as Wunderlist but I’ll wait until that actually does happen before moving over.

[consideratecarlee]

Following up on my post yesterday re: to do lists / task apps - 

Todoist

Tried it - ironically, the first thing I did was to start a complaints list which are:

No way to copy a task. Templates are a premium feature

Labels and filters are premium features.

The navigation menu on the left side has a large margin on the left side - why so much white space?

So that’s going to be a no.

Google Tasks

I started trying Google Tasks again (I’ve been mostly using it as an ongoing list and not a task list) and now I remember why I don’t really like it.  On the Gmail portlet / sidebar, there’s no way to collapse tasks that have subtasks so you just have a super long task list that you have to scroll through.  Ugh.  

What am I looking for?

Easy way to import / export tasks (given my tendency to try and abandon things, this is a must) and back up.

Search easily through current and completed tasks.

Ability to copy / paste tasks and subtasks (or have templates)

Collapsible view, filter by tags

I’m this close to either using Google Docs to keep a task list - even though it doesn’t have a collapsible view or tags function, it’s dead easy to copy / paste.  Manual, yes, but easy.  The only thing it’s missing is the ability to check off completed tasks (you’d have to use some other symbol to note that).

Or maybe I’ll go back to using Todotxt.net and TodoTxtMac - bare bones but totally useable right off the bat.  Don’t have to worry about a laggy interface either. No way to add notes/comments.  No subtasks but I could probably design a work around. 

[consideratecarlee]

I’ve tried and abandoned a bunch of task list / to do / notes apps in the past couple of weeks, and I’m still searching for something that works.  

It all started when I got an email from someone reminding me that a deliverable was past due (by 2 weeks!).  Major Oops.  In the back of my mind, I had a vague notion that I needed to check the due date of that deliverable but I never got around to it.  

So here are some notes about the various apps that I’ve tried.  [I’m starting to wonder if I have ADD or ADHD or something because I seem to have trouble focusing.  My notes below are all over the place.  Good thing I don’t get paid for this.]

GQueues

Can create tasks within Gmail (but only through the paid version - boo!)

Can create subtasks

Can add comments and notes to tasks / subtasks (but only through the paid version - boo again!)

Search functionality requires paid version (grrr, I see a theme here) - even this super basic function requires paying?  

Back up in csv format, can import from csv format.

Not a huge fan of the design - looks/feels very old-school.

Cost $36 per year - not expensive, but the chances I’m going to stick to this app for a whole year is slim to none.  So, sorry, bye.

Wunderlist

Windows 10 app doesn’t have some of the functionality of the web version, like printing the to do list or copying a task. How is this even acceptable?

I like the chimes when you check off a task.

Integrates with Google Calendar (for free!)

Reminders - for free!

Recurring tasks - can’t customize something like weekdays only. The work around is to create 5 identical tasks (one for each weekday) and then have it recur each week.

Can add notes and comments to the tasks (for free!)

Doesn’t appear to have back-up capabilities

Google Tasks

Already right there in Gmail

No web or app - access only through the portlet in Gmail? (There are 3rd party apps, though - including GTasks for Android which I’ve used since way back when).

Integration with Google Calendar, obviously

I use Google Tasks mostly to keep lists of things (websites, stuff to buy, cases to keep track of, etc). Works great as a scratch pad / virtual notebook.  Don’t really use it to keep track of stuff to do.

Remember the Milk

I used to use this - abandoned it after a while - no particular reason.

Notion

Looks really cool. Signed up but got overwhelmed.  Plus, the site was really slow and lagging. Also - to sign in, they send you a temporary code each time instead of using a password.  Not sure how I feel about this.

Coda

Looks like a possibility, but may be overkill.

Todoist

Haven’t tried it.

Toodledo

May be my next try.

Edited: Signed up. Then found the features list which shows what is available for free and what requires a paid account (why is this not available on the home page? Why hide it?!). Subtasks require a paid account?  The layout looks different from the one in the video.  Oh, oops - I watched the video for Todoist and meant to try that one instead.

Google Keep

I use it to keep (haha) info and some checklists. Sometimes the format feels to childish, though, which probably keeps (haha) me from taking it seriously.

Evernote

This is where I keep literary and other quotes I want to remember. Also, logins and clues on passwords. I use Lastpass for logins/passwords now, though.