What Next?

It's been a lousy day today, as far as taking care of business goes.

When I left my job in April, I decided to roll over my 401(k) into a rollover IRA, and I set up a plan with my mom's financial planner when I was in Texas at the end of April. He called me last night to ask if I'd heard anything from Fidelity, who manages my former company's 401(k) program, but I hadn't. So we set up a time for this morning for the two of us to get on the phone with Fidelity and see what the hold-up was.

It took a couple tries to get a good connection where the Fidelity people and I could hear each other (we could both hear the planner), and that's when things started to go south. The Fidelity woman said they can't distribute the funds on just a paper request, that they needed for me to request it over the phone. But they hadn't communicated that with either the planner or me, even when they received a paper request from him that was signed by me.

So there I was on the phone, and I told her to send the money to the planner's company. (Keep in mind that if they send your 401(k) money to you, even if you only have possession of it for one split-second, you're liable for taxes and penalties.) But she couldn't send it to some other company. They've been doing it this way as long as she's worked there, and she could only send the check TO ME!!! I asked her, "Are you insane???" I told her she CAN'T send it to me.

But she insisted that she would send a check made out to the planner's company for my benefit, and she'd mail it to my address, and it would take 1 - 2 weeks to get here, and it would be for the full amount, without removing any penalties.

My planner suggested, in her hearing, that we accept her method, and if it goes wrong, we go after Fidelity. Works for me. I was one big bundle of apoplexy from trying to reason with her. The only concession I got from her was that she will charge me $25 to send the check in a hurry, so I should get it Monday, at which time I need to mail it to my planner's company.

After the phone call, I drove an hour to my school, where I had an appointment with a counselor to fill out a student education plan. The plan is a requirement with the Allied Health department, and you can't have a place on the waiting list for your requested program without it. Just a formality, really.

Except they didn't have my transcripts in my folder, and the transcripts should have been there. They looked at the records online, and my fresh-out-of-high-school university transcripts had been received the end of February, and my 2002 bachelor's degree transcripts had been received the first of March. Plenty of time to have reviewed and analyzed them, but that work hadn't been done.

They made a phone call down to the Records department and were told that the Allied Health department head had told them there was no rush analyzing my transcripts, so they had slipped them to the bottom of the pile. And still hadn't touched them.

But I can't get a student education plan without analyzed transcripts. And I need a student education plan to be properly in line for (at this point) the Radiologic Technology program. So I have no idea what the Allied Health guy is thinking in telling the Records department they can wait to analyze transcripts.

I had to reschedule an appointment for Monday, when the Records department promised my transcripts would be analyzed.

The bright spot in my day was stopping in at my old work and having lunch with some of the people there. It was a balm to my frustrated spirit.

On my way home from school & ex-work, I swung by the real estate office through which the house I'm in was listed when I bought it. All the other houses in the neighborhood that are for sale are listed with the same company, and I've seen no sign of real estate activity on their part. Just flyers out front. No open houses, which is how I saw this house (it has a really nice layout).

So I wanted a real estate agent that will hold an open house, but when I got to their office, it was empty and had a FOR LEASE sign across the windows. Back to the drawing board.

But the good news when I got home was that the UPS man had just dropped off the new camera I ordered--my final splurge/investment for the trip. It's a Nikon D80 with a 28 - 200mm zoom lens. I ordered it specifically for the lens, because all the other places (like Costco) that sell the D80 with a lens sell it with an 18 - 135mm lens, which doesn't work for me. An 18mm wide-angle is too wide for my taste. It distorts buildings way too much. And then the 135mm telephoto doesn't get close enough.

With my old film camera, a Canon A-1, I had two lenses I used all the time: A 25 - 50mm zoom for wide-to-normal, and an 80 - 200mm zoom for telephoto. I really liked the idea of having both of these lenses in one, with my new camera, and not having to change lenses.

But when I opened the box, the lens they sent me was the 18 - 135mm lens I could have bought anywhere. So I called them up and explained the problem, letting her know I need to leave town next week, and she said she'd tell them to hurry. Now I just have to wait for their email telling me when they've sent it and when I can expect it to arrive. They'll have UPS come and pick up the wrong one soon.

I'm afraid to do anything else today, for fear it will turn to ashes in my fingers. Maybe I'll wait until tomorrow to take my Chapter 3 Medical Terminology test...