La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I started working around noon yesterday to finally create an online US Social Security account. I won’t go into all the ridiculous snags I hit along the way. I clearly did everything correctly. When I uploaded the three (not two, as I had been instructed) documents, I was informed I would have to complete the process with a video call because of something to do with my passport. Fine. I was informed (no human involved) there was a 39-minute wait for the video call. I did other things and waited. There was a countdown from 39 that went down and back up for an 1 hour and 45 minutes at which time two of my documents were approved. Then, however, I needed to resubmit both pages of my birth certificate.
My birth certificate was reproduced for me from microfilm some years ago by the City of New York. It is a one-page document. I split the image into two (although there’s no indication it was ever on two pages) and resent it. I was told approval could take some time, depending on call volume. I received automated email updates, every hour until 7 this morning, that I would be contacted when approval was complete. I didn’t leave the house because I needed to be prepared to show all documents while on the video chat.
This morning, I jumped through more hoops with a chat bot until I finally made it understand I needed to speak with “a live agent.” A short time later I received email telling it was my turn to chat. I connected and received the message that I was in the cue, 25 minutes was the wait. After 15 minutes, I was connected and the agent was pleasant and the process was simple. I had to show her my passport. Nothing about the birth certificate. Then I had to logon to the Social Security website to give approval for them to access my documents. I did so, clicked connect, and never connected. After about 15 minutes, the web page closed. Jeez! I reconnected and, lo-and-behold, I have an account.
Right now, not another word about Spanish bureaucracy, please.
I have a story to tell about an international package shipment using a company called Eurosender (never again), but I don’t feel like getting into that now. Everything is resolved. So on to happier things.
Here are images of a bit of what I saw on my way to Calle de Pastora 2 the other day. The first two photos below are the exterior of the house itself. The guy standing at the door was there to control the number of people who could enter at one time. It was a quiet time of day, but he was still needed to keep the interior comfortable and easy to enjoy. The plan today was to get out of the house early. Thanks to all the bureaucratic garbage, that did not happen. It’s nearly 5:30 p.m. So I will not trim my hair or beard, nor shave. I will simply jump in the shower (at least) and get outside. Too late to enjoy more patios with less crowds. Ah well. Tomorrow is another day. Sorry for the Michener-length caption under one of the photos. I found it fascinating and hope you do, too.
Ayer, alrededor del mediodía, comencé a trabajar para finalmente crear una cuenta en línea del Seguro Social de EE. UU. No voy a entrar en detalles sobre todos los problemas absurdos que encontré en el camino. Claramente hice todo correctamente. Cuando subí los tres documentos (no dos, como me habían indicado), me informaron que tendría que completar el proceso con una videollamada debido a algo relacionado con mi pasaporte. De acuerdo. Me informaron (sin intervención humana) que la videollamada tendría una espera de 39 minutos. Hice otras cosas y esperé. Hubo una cuenta regresiva desde 39 que bajó y volvió a subir durante 1 hora y 45 minutos, momento en el que dos de mis documentos fueron aprobados. Sin embargo, luego tuve que volver a enviar ambas páginas de mi certificado de nacimiento.
Hace algunos años, la ciudad de Nueva York me hizo una copia de mi certificado de nacimiento a partir de un microfilm. Es un documento de una sola página. Dividí la imagen en dos (aunque no hay indicios de que alguna vez haya estado en dos páginas) y la reenvié. Me dijeron que la aprobación podría tardar un tiempo, dependiendo del volumen de llamadas. Recibí actualizaciones automáticas por correo electrónico cada hora hasta las 7.00, informándome de que me contactarían cuando se completara la aprobación. No salí de casa porque necesitaba estar preparado para mostrar todos los documentos durante la videollamada.
Esta mañana, tuve que lidiar con un chatbot hasta que finalmente logré entender que necesitaba hablar con un agente. Poco después, recibí un correo electrónico indicando que era mi turno. Me conecté y recibí el mensaje de que estaba en la cola, con una espera de 25 minutos. Tras 15 minutos, me conectaron y la agente fue amable y el proceso sencillo. Tuve que mostrarle mi pasaporte. Nada sobre el certificado de nacimiento. Luego tuve que iniciar sesión en la página web de la Seguridad Social para autorizar el acceso a mis documentos. Lo hice, pulsé conectar, pero nunca se conectó. Finalmente, la página web se cerró. ¡Madre mía! Volví a conectarme y, ¡sorpresa!, ya tengo una cuenta.
Ahora mismo, por favor, ni una palabra más sobre la burocracia española.
Tengo una anécdota sobre un envío internacional con una empresa llamada Eurosender (¡nunca más!), pero ahora prefiero no entrar en detalles. Todo está resuelto. Así que, ¡a disfrutar de la vida!
Aquí hay imágenes de un poco de lo que vi de camino a la Calle de Pastora 2 el otro día. Las dos primeras fotos de abajo son del exterior de la casa. El hombre que estaba en la puerta estaba allí para controlar la cantidad de personas que podían entrar a la vez. Era una hora tranquila del día, pero aun así era necesario para que el interior fuera cómodo y agradable. El plan de hoy era salir temprano de casa. Gracias a toda la basura burocrática, eso no sucedió. Son casi las 17.30. Todo está resuelto. Así que no me cortaré el pelo ni la barba, ni me afeitaré. Simplemente me daré una ducha (al menos) y saldré. Demasiado tarde para disfrutar de más patios con menos gente. En fin. Mañana será otro día. Disculpen el pie de foto tan largo que aparece debajo de una de las fotos. Me pareció fascinante y espero que a ti también.
• Hay tantos hogares que necesitan cuidados cariñosos. Y tantos que ya reciben los cuidados que necesitan.
• Jazmín. Imagina su fragancia al atardecer.
• Caminando de regreso a casa.
One lion head spout was once known as the “Good Spout” because its water came from the Fuensantilla spring, while the other, supplied by the municipal water supply, was known as the “Bad Spout.” The lion on the left was restored in 1982. The most likely story of the fountain’s naming is that there was a stone of Roman origin that existed on the arch.
INSCRIPTION:
During the reign of His Majesty King Philip V, and with Juan de Vera Zúñiga y Faxardo, Knight of the Order of Santiago, General Intendant of Civil and Military Affairs and the Royal Treasury of Jaén and its Kingdoms, serving as his corregidor in this city, this work was carried out by the Deputy Antonio Dimas de Cárdenas y Guzmán, Knight of the same Order, and Antonio Toboso de los Ríos y Castillejo, one of the Twenty-Four. Year 1721.
• Fuente de la Piedra Escrita. 1724. Un surtidor con forma de cabeza de león era conocido antiguamente como el «Buen Surtidor» porque su agua provenía del manantial de Fuensantilla, mientras que el otro, abastecido por la red de agua municipal, era conocido como el «Buen Surtidor». El león de la izquierda fue restaurado en 1982. La explicación más probable sobre el origen del nombre de la fuente es que existía una piedra de origen romano sobre el arco.
INSCRIPCÍON:
Reinando la magestad del S. Rey D. Phelipe V y siendo su corregidor en esta ciudad D. Juan de Vera Zúñiga y Faxardo, cavallero de el Orden de Santiago, Intendente General de lo Civil y Militar y Real Hazienda della la de Jaén y sus Reinos se hizo esta obra el que fueron Dip. D. Antonio Dimas de Cárdenas y Guzmán cavallero de la misma Orden y D. Antonio Toboso de los Ríos y Castillejo Veinticuatros. Año de 1721.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
Reading this just after watering the Desert Rose we have, and wondering what it would be like to have a climate like yours
where it appears anything and everything will grow/whether you want that or not.
Our Desert Rose is struggling….. will leaf out and shed and repeat.Waiting for it to get warmer and maybe feel better.
What wonderful little side streets you have.
Jim:
You’ll remember we learned with out desert roses that they needed heat and sunshine all day. They did what yours did until I moved them into a spot on the terrace that was always in the sun. Then there was no stopping them. We had one in the ground in San Diego and had the same experience. Moved it into constant sunshine and it was happy.
thanks. Will wait for a month and place it outside on the balcony where the sun shines all afternoon and it gets very warm. It will feel much better…..I hope.
Jim:
Maybe a sun lamp inside? It wants heat, too.
Seems like I got an email recently about make a SS account but I’m pretty sure I have one, opened when I started getting SS though I never go there. Curious that the lions spouted water from two different sources.
ellen abbott:
It’s not convenient getting the tax statement in the mail from the US to Spain, so this was needed, but oh my god! Yes, I wonder why there were two different water sources, especially since they were called good and bad. More research is needed.
I’ve no idea whether I have a SS account, but I get emails from them all the time with updates on various things. I’m not sure why I need an account. Never had a problem with payments, annual documents, all that. I don’t know that it’s worth the trouble if your experience is typical!
Lovely pictures. Those narrow streets look inviting, unlike the alleys Steve shows us in London, which look a bit scary. Boud
Boud:
I needed an account because conventional mail for my tax statement has been inconvenient from there to here. All the steps were clear, although it was a bit of a pain, but you have to enroll with a service called ID.me for approval and then move on to SSA, and as I mentioned, it did NOT go as smoothly as it’s supposed to. All told it took me nearly 24 hours. I’m just happy it’s done.
I’m constantly wandering off onto little streets because they look interesting. I’ve never felt unsafe.
Unrelated except wandering down byways, I was just now scrolling in YouTube and noticed a video about a dance exercise class in Fuengirola, and wondered does Mitchell know about this channel! Oh. Never mind.
I would not have been so patient!
Frank D:
Well, you can imagine what I was muttering during the hours I worked on it. I don’t know how patient I was. I just knew I had to get it done.
I’m glad your Michener-length caption was under the fountain photo, because I was wondering what that particular structure was! With all the bureaucratic aggravation you’ve successfully endured and negotiated lately, you definitely deserve to treat yourself to a little something as a reward. A favourite food item or whatever you like!
Debra:
I had a coffee/caramel smoothie with protein!
Hi, I’ve always wondered why the water comes out of a lions head? Not an elephant, nor a lizard, fish not anything… but a lions head. I’ve tried googling it and researching it but to no avail. Does a lion represent water? Is it Roman? Anyone any answers?
Karen:
As I understand it the use of lions goes back to Ancient Egypt. Here’s one interesting tidbit: “…the Nile River’s annual flood occurred when the sun was in the constellation Leo. This linked the lion to the element of water, making it a symbol of the vital, flowing water.”There are many other reasons for the use of lions, but I’ve seen water in fountains coming out of all sorts of things, including fish. The Latona fountain at Versailles has frogs, turtles and, yes, lizards.
I had to set up an online government account recently and went through that whole rigamarole, too, including the video chat. It ended well.
Kelly:
Yes, at least it ended well. But I was exhausted!
Welcome to the s**t s**w. SSA staffing down to practically nothing. Nobody around to process tax returns 😖
Jssw:
The government uses a private company called ID.me to establish your online account for entities like SSA. So all my time was spent with ID.me before I ever finally signed on to SSA with the new accountant I had created.
The only thing worse than SSA, is Medicare, I delayed enrollment in part B because I was still working. My advice to others, is to pay the extra and add years to your life by avoiding the stress.
David Godfrey:
Then it’s a blessing we don’t have Medicare. Since we never enrolled, it would be cost prohibitive for us to move back to the States and enroll now.
Your encounter with SSA and the ID.gov was something that I’ve been through myself. The difference is that I am here in the USA. Contacting them can be a nightmare, and with all of the staff reductions, it is even worse.
Michael:
I was appalled. And I also had to keep telling myself I was never even dealing directly with SSA until that final video chat.
Hours and hours and then a simple click and you’re done. How fun!!
And thanks for the tour and the history lesson; such a pretty walk.
Bob,
The process was bizarre but I got there!
I can just imagine the scent of that jasmine. I don’t remember that fountain at all — I must not have walked down that street!
Sorry about the bureaucracy. What a nightmare. I have a Social Security login and can sign in to view my annual statements and that kind of thing, but I don’t remember having to submit so much documentation. Or is this a higher level of online account? Maybe I’ll have to do it too. Ugh.
Steve,
The government signed on with ID.me in recent years. That’s where i spent all my time. Or maybe it’s just me. Nothing high level about my account.
Reassuring to know that government bureaucracy is as utterly inefficient and aggravating in the US (and Spain) as it is here – I had the misfortune to deal with the Land Registry as executor of our late friend’s will, in order to transfer the deeds of his property to his widower. That whole process took eighteen months of my life I’ll never get back again. Sigh.
Just looking at photos of the awesome beauty of Cordoba – let alone being there – is enough to lift the worries of the world off anyone’s shoulders… Jx
Jon,
Bureaucracy is a nightmare everywhere. But at least we haven’t lived where they don’t function at all. And yes, the beauty of this city helps.