My second attempt to try and get my Skype back failed. I gave all of the information that I possibly could that I remembered. They are still saying that it's not enough. At this point, I am giving up. I also know now not to add a phone number as recovery info. I don't want to go through this again.

If anyone wants to add me on skype, send me a private message and I will add you. Just give me your Skype info.

Yesterday night, Skype had to do an update. Normally, this isn't a big deal. It shuts off, then turns back on and logs me back in. This time, though, for some stupid reason, when it logged me out, it decided to simultaneously forget my login credentials. When I tried to log back in, it flagged it as an odd signing attempt and said I needed to verify it was me by having it send a code to my cell phone number on file. The problem? I didn't realize until then that the number on file was one from many years ago that I no longer have access to. So I was forced to do an account recovery form. When I did though, they told me I didn't provide enough info to prove it was me. I'm in the middle of a second attempt right now but I might lose my account because of it.

The only positive here is that I do have a second account. The one I was using was one made long before Skype was bought by Microsoft and back then a phone number was a required recovery option. , With the Microsoft Skype account, i can do it by email, so I won't have this happen a second time. I've never used the account up until now, but if I can't recover my original account, I may have no choice.

If I've ever added you on Skype, send me a note here, and I'll add you to my new Skype account.

Sorry for the rant, but this was just the latest of a few things that had me annoyed.

I had an appointment with my sleep doctor today. After talking with her and discussing both my recent weight loss, and the fact that it didn't really feel like I was benefiting from the CPAP machine anyway (long story short, most of my sleep habits seemed to remain the same throughout the entire last year of my usage with it), she told me she felt safe telling me it was okay for me to stop using it. I mean. if it wasn't helping me or changing anything, why keep using it, right?

I did discover, however, that I went from the 'moderate to severe' sleep apnea level, down to 'mild to moderate', which I was told was in part due to my weight loss, which I told her I intended to continue doing anyway, regardless of stopping the CPAP usage. One of the issues that had my level so high before was that I was apparently not getting enough oxygen before, but my oxygen levels are a lot better now.

So yeah, I don't have to use the CPAP machine anymore! I had a nap when I got home from the appointment, and it felt so weird not having to use it, after doing so for about a year.

So... in the last week, I've gotten several daily e-mails from Facebook with account recovery codes. This is because someone has been trying to hack my account. Every day for the last week, I've gotten a new e-mail with another recovery code, trying to circumvent the two-factor authentication (which I set up specifically to stop hackers from getting in) since apparently the person in question hasn't given up. I changed my password, just to be sure, after the very first attempt, but, since the account recovery needs the code that gets sent to my e-mail, and, obviously this hacker can't access my e-mail to get it, they aren't able to get into my account.

Yes, I can easily just delete the e-mails, since the hacker can't do a thing to my account without them,, but it's frustrating that they haven't given up yet. This is been going on for a week now. Ugh.

Meega nala kweesta!

On the way home from running errands today, we picked up the mail, and there was a letter from social security in it. I opened it immediately and, much to my great relief, things have ruled in my favor. My SSI is not being taken away from me. I will openly admit I cried reading that. It didn't take several weeks to come to a decision after all, and my benefits aren't being cut off.

I called SSI today because there was a question I needed to ask them regarding why I was getting benefits still during my appeal, despite the fact I didn't go through the process I was told I needed to through in order to have that happen. my benefits were supposed to end in February, but I've continued getting them throughout the course of my appeal, and I didn't know why. Well, after enduring over an hour of being on hold over the course of two phone calls (my phone randomly disconnected half an hour into me being on hold during the first one), I asked why I was still getting them. I was told it was because I VERBALLY indicated I wanted them to continue through the appeal. Why this seemed weird to me was because, when I originally called and asked about continuing benefits back in February, I was told in order for me to be allowed to have them continue, I either had to (1) submit a letter in writing within ten days to my local SSI office or (2) go to the local SSI office directly to request it. Neither of which I did, because both were a major hassle, and the thought of having to possibly pay back the benefits if I lost anyway mad me decide at the time it probably wasn't worth it. I spent the rest of February believing I would get no more SSI unless I won the appeal, however long that would take. Apparently, (and it's been so long I can't even swear to it at this point) I did make mention that I'd like to have them continued though, and THAT is why I have been Apparently, I DID verbally say I wanted them to, and I just forgot.

This led me into my next set of questions. If it was determined that I still no longer qualify for my SSI despite having just had this hearing, do I have to pay back the benefits earned over the course of the appeal, and if so, would I have to pay some of it or all of it. I was told yes, but how much depends on the case, so he couldn't tell me for sure.

My final question to him, and this is the thing that worried me most: If I lost and did have to pay everything back, would they take the entire amount given during the appeal back all at once, or could I give it back in payments. To my great relief, I was told they allow payment plans, and they don't take everything from me all at once.

I'm still on edge over all this, but at least I know I won't have three months of SSI yanked from my account all at once if I lose, which would put my bank account heavily in the red with no way to dig myself out of the hole. I just hope I win this appeal and the worry can be put to rest entirely.

The hearing is done. It will be 2-4 weeks before I have the decision. I am emotionally drained.

Some time ago, I mentioned the passing of my cousin. Well, for the last several days, her husband has been staying with us, and, today, he shared a small book that put together that the two of them did together. She wrote the poem, and he took the pictures. The poem is quite nice, in my opinion, as are the pictures in it. It's not a big book, since it's just the one poem, but I wanted to share a link to the Amazon page where it can be purchased, for anyone who might be interested in reading it.

If there is anyone interested in purchasing it, you can find it here.

I finally have a disability hearing date. My hearing is on May 8th. I've been told I don't need to bring anything because they already have access to all my medical records, so here's hoping that things go positively for me.

Also, because of the fact I had met the minimum weight loss requirement by my sleep test provider, (10% of what my weight was when I was first put on it, which I accomplished last month), I have been asked to do another at-home sleep study. The equipment for that is being mailed to me on May 12th. I have no idea why it's going to take them that long to send me the equipment, but I guess I just have to deal with the machine until then. Hopefully, if my weight loss shows there's an improvement in my sleep apnea, I'll be able to get off the machine.

38 years old today. Yay!

And to celebrate, there's a new chapter of On Our own for you guys to enjoy here!

This one is posted over in  dipperdraper's account, because he's the lead signer for it. Go check it out here.

For the last month, I have been having troubles uploading videos on my Youtube page. Whenever I try, it will either gust get stuck at 0% uploading, get a few percent in and then stop, or else error out on me and not even let me try to upload at all. I've only successfully managed yo upload two videos in the last month. Every other video has failed to work, Is anyone else having this issue? Does anyone know how to fix this?

I've tried on multiple browsers AND on my cell phone. Any assistance would be appreciated. Trying to contact YouTube support is useless as all I ever get is a bot, so I wanted to know if anyone else here can help.

I've already made a journal on the fact I've started taking them now, but I'm making a new one because I decided to make a separate Google Sheet with all the info as well as the current commission queue I have, in an effort to make it easier for me to keep track of things. It has info on how I'll handle the commission, the price, what to expect, etc. If you're looking to get a story done, or know someone who is, you can find info here.

The new song posted for On Our Own tonight, Great Spirits, was not planned to be finished and released today, but it just happened. For anyone that doesn't know, today is the anniversary of the day of  yaegashi's passing, something which still affects me. While it may not have been intended to have been finished today, the fact it was feels appropriate, considering what the song is about. I still think about him and miss him a lot.

Not a big or special update here, but I got a letter in the mail that says I'll still be getting my SSI for March, since I'm still going through the appeal process. Funnily enough, a couple days ago, I called the SSI office because I was wondering why I hadn't heard anything, and I was told they were still working through it, so seeing this in the mail today was a bit of a relief to me.It could easily only be just for the one month, while the appeal is being worked through, but that's still one more check I didn't have. I'm going to try and save most of that though, just in case I'm required to pay it back, so I'm only using what I absolutely have to out of it. The rest will be left in my account untouched, just to be safe.

---

For anyone curious, you can find some of my older story work here.

Story commission queue:
1.  Elliot-BloodCraft - Paid. Commission in progress.
2
3.

More slots will become available as I complete each commission.

In order to start making money for what bills I still need to pay, having taken care of my cell phone situation: those being Hunter's Wellness Plan bill, his dog food and my Patreon stuff, I've decided to open myself up for story commissions. I've thought about this for the last several weeks, and ultimately decided on doing this, rather than just outright asking for money, because, at least, this way, I'm giving something back to anyone that helps me.

Regarding the commissions themselves, I'm asking $5 per page written. As an advance notice, however, experience has taught me that I need roughly ten pages to make a decent short story, so that comes out to a minimum of $50. Beyond the first ten pages, I would be checking with anyone who commissioned me to let them know how close I am to finishing the commission. I may not opt to ask for more than that, but it would just depend on if I'm close to finishing the story or not, which I likely would be and would probably only need a page or so more to do so.

I am open to the idea of doing multi-chapter stories, however, in order to give everyone that commissions me a chance to get theirs done in a timely fashion, I may not do all of the chapters at once, if there are multiple people waiting that have one-shot stories they want done. If I have no other commissions at the time of finishing a chapter, I'll start the next one, though.

With regards to subject matter, there are a few things that are an absolute no, as far as my writing is concerned. I will not do anything that involves m/f sexual interaction. The idea of doing it makes me uncomfortable, and I have zero experience in it anyway. I will also not do anything involving blood, gore or dismemberment of any kind. I can't even read that stuff without getting uncomfortable, let alone write it. There are a few other things, but it's better to just contact me directly with your idea to find out if I'm okay with it or not. Something I WILL allow though, is the request to add my own character into the story ,should you wish to do so, however, that is dependent on the subject matter involved in the story.

Whenever I'm writing, I like to try to get a few pages done every day, so I'll have something to show you, by means of a Google Doc link, whenever I do. This will make it easier for you to suggest edits if you don't like something I've done. I will send you a message, telling you to check the link and asking if things look okay before I continue.

Also, this journal is being posted on both of my Fur Affinity accounts, my Inkbunny account and my So Furry account. As such, I will be keeping track of the commissions I take in from all three sites, and doing them in order based upon the time the agreed upon commission has been arranged. These commissions will be listed by username and the site the user is from. Please refrain from sending me story commission requests on multiple accounts, as well as from sending multiple story commission requests, if you're already waiting on one. As I said earlier, I want to make sure to to give everyone a chance to get something done.

Regarding payments themselves. I am only accepting payment through PayPal. Payment is asked once the commission details have been decided on. This, however, only applies to the first ten pages. If the story requires more than that, meaning more than just another page, I will ask for the remaining balance once the commission is completed.

I'm only going to be opening a few slots for now. Depending on how smoothly they go, I'll open up for more when I finish these. If you are interested in getting a story commissioned from me, please comment on this journal and I will send you a private message to discuss details.

Thank you for your time, and for your consideration. I look forward to working with any of you that decide to commission me!

For anyone curious, you can find some of my older story work here.

Story commission queue:
1.  invisiblebear - Commission has been paid for and is in progress.
2.  Elliot-BloodCraft
3.

More slots will become available as I complete each commission.

Update 6

Finally, something positive to report. Granted it's not much, and its primarily a result of stuff I needed to get done myself, but it's still something.

Yesterday, I had to take a bus ride into town, because I wanted to get my phone service disconnected, so that, as far as bills would be concerned, I'd have one less ($90) bill to worry about per month. So, Since Steve and I both had things we needed to get done, we both left the house early to catch the bus, which only comes to our area twice a day: once going up and once going back. As we walked to where we had to meet up with the bus, we stopped by the mailbox. This though meant a 20 minute walk done in the rain to get there, and neither of us had an umbrella at the time, though we both had jackets with hoods so we were at least properly covered, and the rain wasn't too bad.

In the mailbox was something addressed for me. Inside of it was the info stating that I had been approved for my Food Stamps and Medicaid again! Meaning now I had it WITHOUT it being tied to my SSI. Now, even if the worst happens and I lose this appeal (which I would keep fighting regardless) I'll still be able to get food and medical coverage. Despite the rain, this put me in a pretty good mood

When we finally made it into town, after the long bus ride, I went to Verizon and explained I wanted to pay off what was left of my cell phone so that I could also cancel the service on it. It took a little while, since I had to wait for my turn, and, even when it was my turn, it still took a while because their system was being stupid at first, but I eventually got it paid off. I was told that I'd need to call Verizon directly to have the service terminated and get the phone unlocked though. I had other errands to run yesterday, but none of them are relevant to this update, so I'll skip ahead to what happened today.

After taking care of my usual wake-up routine, I called up Verizon, and, surprisingly, ended up getting connected with a person very quickly. I had been expecting to be on hold for a while, but I think I was only on hold for about a minute. I spoke with a woman named Kiya. I told her my situation, and that I had just paid off my cell yesterday. I said I wanted to cancel my cell service and see about getting it unlocked so that, if my financial situation changed, and if I decided I wanted to go to a different carrier (which was not likely considering that where I live Verizon seems to be the only one that gets service due to the heavily wooded area) I'd have the option to do so. I was upfront and polite with her right from the start and told her that I'm not looking for any deals right now. I was looking to cancel it because I have no source of income that would allow me to pay any cell phone bill in the foreseeable future. She was very understanding and was just as polite with me, looking into my account to find out what I needed.

After doing so, I learned that, upon my cancelling of my service today, I would still have use of it until the 27th of this month, which is when my current billing cycle would end. At that point, my cell would be disconnected. I also ended up finding out that my cell became unlocked for free use the moment I had paid it off yesterday. The only caveat is, obviously, I'd need to wait until I was disconnected from Verizon. That really wasn't a big deal since I'm not planning on getting a new cell phone for a while anyway. At least not until I figure out my situation with my SSI.

On a similar note, in preparation for me giving up my cell phone, I got a Google Voice number set up for myself. Steve told me that he had to do that for a while, a few years ago, and, since it was free, I figured, at least this way, I'd still have a phone number for people to reach me. The only drawback is I can only use it in places where I can get Wi-Fi. That being said, to any of my friends here that I've given my cell phone number to in the past, if you would like my Google Voice number, so we can still keep in touch, send me a private message, and I'll give you my number.

So, yeah... It may not be much, but at least things are STARTING to get more positive. Here's hoping things stay that way.

Yup, another one... and yet another holdup I have to deal with.

I woke up at 7:30 AM this morning, SPECIFICALLY because I had been told that, to get an appointment to apply for the ABD program (Aged, Blind and Disabled), I needed to call at 8 AM. I woke up, got in a quick shower, took Hunter out and fed him, then made that phone call at 8... only to have the automated message system tell me their call volume is high and there's a high expected wait time. Okay, fine. I don't like it, but I'll deal with it. The problem comes in that not even five minutes later I then get an automated message coming in saying 'all of our agents are currently busy assisting other customers" and to "please call again later' before the call disconnects. Well, excuse my language, but no shit. That's the whole point of putting me on hold.

I call again immediately, go through the same thing a second time, but this time I actually do end up waiting. I'm on hold for about half an hour before I finally get someone. I briefly explain what I need to do and I'm told she's going to transfer me to the correct department. Okay, fine. Again, not happy, but fine. Ten minutes into this, however, I get the automated message stating the same thing as before. Call volume is high and expected wait time is about an hour. This time, though, the automated system allows me to leave my number so I can be called back when it's my turn in line. Great. At least it means I can do other things while I wait, so I do that. I input my number, thinking that, in about an hour, I'll accomplish something.

Well... That hour passes. No call back. Another fifteen minutes pass. Still no call back. ANOTHER fifteen minutes pass. STILL no call back. By that point, I'm now pissed. Steve suggests calling them again, but this time just waiting out the call on the phone. Knowing I have no other option, begrudgingly, I do so.

Sometime around half an hour later, I finally get someone who is apparently in the right department I need. I explain the situation.. I tell her that, as of yesterday, I'm no longer getting SSI, as that was my final payment since they determined I'm no longer disabled, and that I'm currently appealing it. I also tell her that, a few days ago, I received a letter in the mail stating that BECAUSE I've been taken off SSI, I'll be losing my Food Stamps and Medicaid at the end of February. I tell her I'm currently in the process of appealing things, but I haven't heard back about that yet, and I've also already sent out the forms necessary for me to get my Food Stamps and Medicaid normally (as in, outside of the SSI case). With all this information, the woman looks up my case.

Here's where things make absolutely NO sense whatsoever. In looking into my case, she told me that, according to what she sees, I'm still getting my SSI in March. I tell her this is inaccurate, as I have the documents stating that yesterday was to be my last payment. It's then that she suddenly tells me some story about how, although their system can pull up my case, it doesn't always have the most accurate and up to date information on the case. And, because of this, since she doesn't know whether or not the information is accurate or not and apparently has no alternate way to check, she cannot currently help me. I wanted to slam my head into a wall and scream at her at that point. How she can say she has no way to find out if it's accurate, WHEN SHE WORKS THERE is beyond me, but now, it's looking like I have to wait at least week or so, so their systems can get the info current, before I can do anything as far as getting on ABD.

I hate this...

Well... things have taken a step backward. Not a BIG step backward, mind you, but a step backward nonetheless.

I just got off the phone with the lawyer. I had to have the appointment done by phone rather than in person, because our car had to be taken to the shop to get worked on last week. I spoke with the lawyer, Jamie, about the different things that are wrong with me, and told her about my past situation with SSI. How I was previously in Michigan and had been on SSI for nearly fifteen years there and never had a review go sour, but that I'm baffled as to how the first review here, I'm being denied my benefits.

we went over my condition, and the different medical issues I have. My hydrocephalus/seizures, migraines/headaches, anxiety/depression/mood issues, my sleep apnea and my back. I mentioned how I didn't understand how I was being told that I was doing better considering I only recently had brain surgery. Here's where things started going a bit downhill. After talking with her about things, her thought was that I was probably being turned down BECAUSE I had the surgery. The fact I've not had a seizure or had too many migraines may be giving them a reason to believe I'm better now. There are SOME records of the other things wrong with me, but she thinks there might not be enough that proves I'm unable to maintain a job, if the seizure issue is taken out of the equation. For example, she suggested I should contact my PCP and get an MRI done of my back, to see what's there and give a current image. She also suggested that I get myself into some mental health counseling, which, in itself, makes me uneasy, because the last time I had a therapist, it ended up having the opposite effect because he didn't treat me well and eventually I lost the therapist anyway because he transferred to a different place and I was never given anyone new, though this was years ago.

It was also suggested that I apply for the Aged, Blind and Disabled program here, so that I can at least get some funds as I wait for the whole SSI thing to play out, which I'm going to likely end up doing, simply because February 1 will be the my last SSI payment, unless the SSI stuff goes in my favor.

The upshot to all of this, sadly, is that, right now, she said she cannot take me as a client right now, because there isn't enough that can be used to help my case right now, BUT she said if I can get things going by getting myself the MRI and getting myself into the Mental Health Counseling, (in other words, following the advice she suggested) I could call her again and she'd be able to help me out.

So, yeah, sadly, as I said, it's a step backward, but I'm not giving up yet. I'm going to talk to my PCP and get an MRI scheduled if I can, and see about getting the Mental Health Counseling. The latter scares me, but, from what I was told, I can arrange my meetings to be done via phone call, rather than in person, similar to what I did with the lawyer here, so I'm going to look into that, and see where I can take things from there. Sometime in the next day or so, I'm also going to look into the ABD program, which, although will only be about half what my SSI is normally, will, at least, be an income while I'm waiting for stuff to happen, and, apparently, it would only need to get paid back if I eventually succeed with my SSI, at which point, it gets taken as a portion of whatever my owed back pay is.

Not exactly happy right now, but I'm gonna just keep moving forward. I won't give up.

I'm considering taking commissions for writing stories, since, right now, I have no way of knowing if, after next month, I'll still have SSI. My problem is, I worry about overcharging people. I don't want to offer a price that people aren't willing to pay because someone else could do it way cheaper. Having never actually looked into getting story commissions from anyone else, I don't know what other people would charge either. Does anyone know a good estimate on what price to offer people for story commissions, assuming I were to start doing them. That's not to say I would immediately go with that price. I'm just looking to see what a good amount would be. I admit, I'm not the best writer, but I like to think my stuff is worth at least trying.

Aside from that, I also considered offering commissions on my origami, but I'd have to get a lot of commissions to even make that profitable.

As it stands, when all of my bills are paid after I get what will be my final SSI payment in February (assuming I lose it, I mean) I'll have enough money to pay my personal bills beyond that for several months with what I'll have saved up by then. It's been agreed I wouldn't be charged rent by my roommates if I lost my SSI, in exchange for doing stuff around the house. My personal monthly bills, assuming I don't give up my cell phone, would be about $170 a month. Subtract about $90 of that if I DO opt to give up my cell, which I'm probably going to. Obviously, giving up my phone would maske my savings last even longer, but I still want to try to earn money so I don't end up not being able to pay my bills later.

So yeah, any input on a good price range for story commissions would be greatly appreciated.

I told myself I was going to keep things moving, so, as soon as I finished with my normal wake up routine, the next thing I did was search for a lawyer. I just got off the phone. I now officially have an appointment to be seen by one, to discuss my situation. I will be talking with a lawyer by the name of Jamie on the 27th. Considering the fact I've never had to do this before, and I was a ball of nerves going into it, things actually went pretty smoothly to set things up. Hopefully, that's a good sign.

Here's hoping 2023 turns out better than 2022 did.

Got the paperwork, and I've gotten it filled out. The interesting thing is I actually have something new to add to it, that I only discovered as a result of me starting to add exercising into my weight loss. I've been doing a lot of Ring Fit Adventure on the Nintendo Switch the last month. I've noticed, though, that my left side tends to get sore a lot faster than my right side does. While it doesn't SURPRISE me, seeing as I've always had trouble getting things like blood pressure or blood draws form that arm, it DOES concern me a bit, so, since one of the questions on the forms asks about anything new that's come up since my initial SSI denial, I've put it in, and I'll also be discussing this when I see my doctor again in January. Who knows? Maybe that will "help" my case? I dunno. But yeah, the forms are filled out, so hopefully, I can get the forms mailed out soon. I have 60 days to do so, which is probably a good thing, because all the snow here is causing us problems... "Joy!"