One
of the reasons I started blogging in late 2006 was that I couldn't
keep track to what was happening in my life. I was forgetting what I
had done, and what I needed to do, and there were problems I was
facing that I felt sure others would be dealing with too. I wasn't
particularly confident enough to properly describe them online,
though, that being part of the problem. Eventually, though, my
parents encouraged me to write about these issues, seeing as after
years of NHS treatment, I was a fair bit more capable than I used to
be.
Rather
than complain about the problems I'm facing, I'd prefer to explain
them and describe the situation, and possible routes forward, or lack
thereof. A day at a time, I'm jotting down these concerns when they
come to me, using
Omninotes,
an app on the Google play store. I can put all these ideas in one
bullet- point-listed note titled Psychology Saturdays, whenever they
come to me, wherever I am. Every Saturday I look at my calendar and
see what has happened, and what will happen, to come up with ideas
for a post. If there's nothing that relates to events at this
particular time (e.g. depression support group Andy's Man Club
taking over a Parkrun, something I've
covered a couple of times) then I can fall back on stockpiled ideas
saved in the app.
On
the issue of OmniNotes- there is one problem I've found with the
incorporation of multimedia. With Microsoft's OneNote, I could drag
pictures into the middle of a block of text, or to the end. With
OmniNotes, any picture I add to a text note gets slammed in right at
the top. This means I I want to write something about that particular
picture, and then perhaps include another picture with a different
paragraph of accompanying text, they get separated.
This
week there are a few small points to make. I managed to get another
NHS fine refunded on the grounds of memory difficulties. I appreciate
their understanding and their acceptance that I wasn't trying to rip
them off. I was getting confused between PIP, which doesn't cover
prescriptions or dental treatment, and Working Tax Credits, which
were stopped. There has been no explanation for this stoppage.
In
fact, I've filed a complaint against HMRC over the way they have
handled my case. I've waited over a year to find out why my WTC were
stopped- I've received no explanation. Is it to do with my hours of
work, which haven't changed? Is it the fact that I was allocated PIP,
which would have been a change in my circumstances, albeit one that
came from HMRC's own office? Is it some other thing I'm completely
forgetting about? Nobody knows. HMRC won't tell me.
I've
made numerous calls to the HMRC helpline, which has frequently been
engaged- no ability to queue, no recorded message- just an engaged
tone, as if there's one handset receiving all the calls from the UK.
When I have got through, I've been told my case is 'under review'-
but eventually they sent me a letter saying that I'd 'informed them
of a change,' so they were 'stopping' my WTC. What was this change
THIS time? And did they not know they'd stopped it already? Do they
not realise how insulting that is to some one who has already told
them their disability stops them understanding formal documentation
anyway?
What
a joke. I have a Welfare Rights appointment on Thursday- I hope I can
explain my situation properly to him, and I hope I understand what
the officer advises me to do.
