3-13-2018 a disappointing trip to the Social Security Office!

No pictures today, but I feel I have to mention today's fiasco!  Now that I'm  about to turn 62, I was excited to sign up for Social Security benefits!  That is until I did!!!  I actually did it online back in Georgia, but they sent me a message saying I had to bring my proof of birth to the Florissant office before it could be completed.  Hadn't needed them in quite some time, so it took a while to find all our papers.  Some were here, some were there ... .  But eventually I had my SR-240 Certificate of Child Born Abroad of American Parents.  Until I got a passport (which was left in Georgia), that was the one and only proof of US citizenship that I had.  So imagine my shock and aggravation when the worker at the office said she couldn't use it since she needed a 6 digit number to put in the form on her computer!  So they revamped their forms about 10 or 15 years ago,  rendering the old original forms useless!  Plus, when my Social Security card was issued, someone didn't do their job right and didn't tie it to US citizenship.  Could they call someone in Washington???---No---"they are the government!"  I can't believe I'm the first child born abroad of US parents that they've come across!!!  So I left unregistered and really ticked off!  --- and, according to them, not a US citizen!  Hopefully it'll all be corrected when we're back in Georgia and I can show them my US Passport---which, by the way, I had to use that SR-240 form in order to get!

And if that wasn't annoying enough, I had a couple RCI wait list exchanges come available and when I called to accept one of them, the first gal tried to tell me if I didn't have the cancellation insurance and cancelled, it would cost us the points and about $800.  I told her I'd call and talk to someone else.  I did and that person told me I had to deposit the points first, which I know I don't since that's a VIP privilege.  So I decided to see if I could book it online by myself.  I could and I did---no fee for cancellations and no need to pre deposit the points.  I'm really beginning to wonder about the world and all the incompetent people we have working in it!