The Beginning of the End. Maybe in Trichotomy

Vaxxing up

In New York, the vaccine availability was extended to 40+ at the end of last month. The morning when I became eligible, La Professeure scheduled an appointment for me. Then told her family. All while I was still asleep. I was the last one to know that I was scheduled to be vaccinated.

We drove out to a CVS West Islip last Saturday to get my first dose. It was a smooth operation, the staff were helpful in recording my information and the whole thing took 15 minutes.

My arm was sore the next day and I felt like I had pulled an all nighter, but that was the extent of the side effect. I was lucky it was a Sunday. The second dose is in 2 weeks (mine is Pfizer BioNTech one), and then another 2 weeks, I no longer have an excuse to not see people.

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Pandemic project #2

After the Tinder for Musician project, I wrote another app for the musician group, essentially automating the routine work that our Executive Director (the ENT pianist) does to schedule our concerts. A lot of what he does is just answering emails from people who want to perform. So with the app I built, people can schedule themselves on our website and watch the concert program grow, and all the ENT doctor needs to do is to send out the announcement before the concert. (And actually be there to run the concert).

I hope it will be useful. With concerts not running during the pandemic, it is good to invest in some infrastructure.

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Identify gift

I received multiple notices from the New York State department of Labor to tell me that my unemployment claim has been approved, and for me to confirm my eligibility. Someone must have sent a fraudulent claim in my name.

The interesting part is that the notices sent to me contains my legal name and address, but the wrong Social Security Number. So I thought it was a phishing scheme, where the schemer would steal my personal information off of my eligibility confirmation. But the address is the actual address of the Department of Labour.

So, somebody filed a claim, with an incorrect social security number, and NYS dutifully processed the claim. With the wrong SSN.

I’ve reported the fraud, twice. Both to FTC and to NYS Department of Labour. New Hip Company’s HR contacted me too, to say they were requested to verify the claim and reported the claim as fraudulent as well.

I’ve had my credit frozen for many years now for precisely this kind of situation, so I’m not worried about my credit being affected, but the fact that New York State department of Labour processes a claim with the wrong Social Security Number does not leave me with much confidence.

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Last updated April 10, 2021