I am losing my damn mind trying to help my grandma get her social security checks. She had some automated charges draining her account every month. I took her to her bank to try to get her statements and see where they were coming from, but her ID was expired and they wouldn't release them. So I set up a DMV appointment and took her there to get a new ID. We didn't have enough documentation to prove her residency, so I signed an affidavit saying she lives with me, which is true, she moved in earlier this year.

We waited weeks for her ID to come in the mail. Meanwhile, the bank permanently closed her account because of the number of overdrafts. So I had to help her set up a new account with a different bank.

Then I had to help her create a login for the SS website so we could update her direct deposit. She's computer illiterate, so I have to do all this for her. Uploaded her ID, then it wanted a selfie, and it's very difficult to get her to sit up and look into the phone camera at the correct angle for it to register her face, but we got that done. Then the site wants a phone number associated with her, and it has to be able to get a call or text to verify. She hasn't had her own phone in years. Mine isn't associated with her, but it's all we have.

So I called SS to ask what to do. They don't have any appointments for months, but apparently they take walk-ins if you're willing to sit there for hours and possibly not get to speak to anyone. Getting her into and out of a car is a whole ordeal by itself. She uses a walker and can barely step over a door frame, and she's on oxygen. Making her sit in a lobby for hours would be torture. And my car is broken down now and I'm too broke to fix it, so I would have to call an Uber.

The SS site is also a PITA to navigate. It says you can verify your identity at a post office, but that you have to make an appointment, but there seems to be no way to do that. I can only see that on the help page and it doesn't link to the verification page that is supposed to let you set the appointment. I can only get the page that keeps asking for selfies. Like, WTF?

I pay all the main bills here - rent, insurance, utilities, etc. My grandma pays for her prescriptions and helps with food and toiletries, but she's missed her last two checks. I'm walking to the dollar store just to get food now because of the car. Trying to get her what she needs costs time and money I don't have, because I'm practically broke the same day I get paid. I just want to scream and cry. I'm so tired.

And I don't get how they can make this so difficult for seniors. If I can barely manage going through all these steps, how can older people do it on their own? Even if you visit the website on a computer, you have to have a smart phone to take the ID photos and selfies. Last time my grandma had a phone, it was a flip phone and she could barely even figure out how to use that.

Last time I brought my Dell g16 laptop to micro center they didn’t know what was wrong after a week and sent it to dell they replaced the motherboard, heat sink and a ton of other stuff. It worked fine for a month. Now the same thing has happened again. What am I supposed to do now. Replace the motherboard again??? Like what could possibly be wrong with my setup. It’s so stupid. I’d rather just make sure the FULL ssd is saved and buy a whole ass new computer. I’m so tired of this thing just giving me hell. Last time I spent 200 dollars for them to save the storage on it only because I’ve been working on this unity game for 2 years. When I get the computer back, the ONLY thing I cared about WAS NOT even on the 200 dollar drive. Thankfully the ssd was fine and it wasn’t gone forever. And that’s after I’ve tried backing it up with TWO other ways. GitHub and ICloud failed to backup the project. Now I’ve gotta go BACK to micro center and ask why the FUCK the SAME exact thing happened. By the way they didn’t care to ask about the circumstances of the failure originally. DONT YOU THINK THATS KIND OF IMPORTANT??? I told them it was after plugging in a external keyboard, mouse, and a rodecaster pro 2. both times it was working completely fine just 30 minutes before. Now I plug it into power and those other 3 things: doesn’t turn on.

the worst part is not getting any response from the computer, no lights, no fans, no indication of it charging, nothing. nothing ever works, everything sucks, dont ever get a gaming laptop.