A Long Post For a Monday ...

(Note:  This is a long, long post.  You won't hurt my feelings
if you skip today.   Tomorrow will be a short, happy post, I promise ...
full of  pictures of puppies and kittens and unicorns farting rainbows.
Sorry ... sometimes we just gotta get out the bad
to move onto the good ... )
Now that the storm is over ... now that I can talk about it without wanting to cry or set things on fire ... I guess I can finally write about my weekend.

Let's go back a week to where this nightmare started ...

One evening, Stoney and I were sitting around having a relaxing dinner ... just hanging out and talking about our days ... when my phone vibrated with an odd ringtone that I'd never heard before.  It was my ex-husband.  He sent a condescending text message asking why an insurance company was calling him about homeowner's insurance.  Was he still on the policy?

Ugh ... my bad. 

Two years ago ... before my divorce was finalized ... I sat with my Mom and we made list of every company that had to be changed or notified.   Bank accounts ... social security ... cable ... phone ... gas ... electric ... driver's license ... garbage ... you name it.   In fact, I took an entire day off work and literally spent the entire day driving around the city with a copy of my divorce papers changing my name and contact information.  Honestly, it was a fantastic feeling ... if we could bottle it and sell it, we'd be millionaires.

Anyhow ... a month or so after I cleaned house, so to speak ... I had to take a quit claim deed to the county building and have it registered.  Once I got the registered copy back in the mail, I faxed it to the mortgage company ... then I took the second quit claim deed to the secretary of state's office and had the title on my car and my license plates changed.   It took a year or so ... but a few months ago I paid off the loan for my divorce settlement ... and when I wrote that massive check, I breathed a sigh of relief.  I was done. I'd taken care of everything.

Not quite. 

I'd forgotten to fax the quit claim deed to my insurance company and change the homeowner's insurance.   So yes ... when they needed to call someone and talk about changes to the policy ... they contacted my ex.  My bad ... my fault completely.   I called them the next morning, faxed in the quit claim deed and a copy of the divorce papers and had him removed.   They let me know that they were no longer doing business in Illinois ... so I had until September to get new homeowner's insurance ... and July to get the car moved over as well.  Easy peasy ... I could do that.

Back to present day ...

Saturday evening I got back from going to dinner with Mom and found a letter in my mailbox from my mortgage company.   The homeowner's insurance had been switched to a new company.   The old company would've  issued a refund check and it was my job to sign the check over to the new company.   The new company hadn't been paid and it was my job to make sure they were reimbursed so my policy wouldn't lapse.

I thought I was going to throw up.  Who authorized this???  Who had the check???

I was in tears and found myself with a sick headache.  The phone rang ... it was mom calling to share some gossip.   My voice was shaking ... if they couldn't stop the check on Monday ... if it had already been cashed ... I would have to contact the State's Attorney's office.   How did this get so screwed up?  

She told me it would be alright ... to relax ... and call the insurance company on Monday and find out who had the check and what had happened.   She said to take it all one step at at time.

I stayed in bed most of the day on Sunday.  I was upset ... depressed.  My head hurt terribly.  I thought I was done with all this nonsense and now I was neck-deep in it.  I thought about texting my ex to find out if he'd gotten the refund check ... but I didn't have it in me to confront him ... having to communicate with him was more than I could bear.  I was sick about the whole mess.

So this morning, I got to work and immediately called the insurance company ... ready to hear the worst.  What did I learn?

There was no missing check. 

This new insurance company has upset a lot of people by trying to take over policies without getting anyone's approval or waiting until the old policy expires.  I still have insurance ... it's still with the original company ... and my ex is no longer on the policy.  The original company will happily keep my business until September ... and I am only one of many, many angry customers calling.

They told me to call the mortgage company and tell them to switch the homeowner's policy info back the way it was.  I can go with this new company if I'd like ... or I can go with anyone else.  It's up to me.  The representative apologized profusely.  They'd been on the phone with customers all morning ... there was no reason for this to happen.

So ... the second half of my weekend was ruined for nothing.  I still have an active homeowner's policy that is completely paid for ... and no one stole anything.   Yes ... I assumed the worst of my ex.  Although let's be fair ... I have lots of reasons to ... about three thousand reasons to. 

Everything is fine for now.  I'll have to find a new insurance company ... since I sure as hell won't be using these assholes.   But I have until mid-summer.  And who knows ... maybe by then I'll have relaxed a little. 

For now, my head still hurts and I'm wound tighter than a frog's ass ...

Sigh ... seriously ... I need a vacation ...

You don't know how to play the game
And you cheat, you lie
You don't even know how to say goodbye
You make me wanna cry
You don't know

Godley and Creme - Cry