Navigating Social Security

Waiting for their number to be called.

Today I started the process of receiving my Social Security.
Well actually I started last Saturday. You start this process by creating an account on My Social Security. Here they begin by asking you such simple questions such as your name, address and SS#. First try BUZZZ WRONG ANSWER! The name does not match the SS#.  Okay I know who gets their name wrong.
Well let me explain. My parents (my dad) gave me four names. Most forms only allow for 3 and for this first try I chose poorly.  So at this point I went back to my dresser and got my ORIGINAL Social Security card. This was the kind that you got way back when a person had to go down to the Social Security office and sit in from of some one with a typewriter who pecked out what ever wild name your grandmother gave them when she took you downtown to get your first official government document. Something that will follow you forever. On my official Social Security card my name is listed as J. R. Chandler Bliss.
Crap!
Now I have to guess again. I have to guess how some bureaucrat many years later  converted this to "First name, Middle initial, Last name.
Try number two. J C Bliss. Buzzz! Wrong again.
Crap!
Try number three. James R Bliss. Buzzzzzzzz! Wrong answer. THIS ACCOUNT HAS BEEN LOCKED. Please contact the Social Security office for further help.
I call. The offices are closed. Please call back Monday after 9:00 AM EST.
Monday gets here and I have all the paperwork I think I'll need for this call. I call at nine and there is already a 20 minute wait time. I patiently listen to this for 20 minuets. Then there is another 10 minuets of listening to menus and punching numbers and saying yes or no. I finally get a person who listens to my problem, asks a bunch of questions and then says I need to call the local SS office. I ask if she can transfer me. No, but here is the number to call. I dutifully write down the number and hang up. Ready to get this all straightened out. I look at the number. It looks wrong. I count out the digits.  11.
Crap!   .
No problem, I'll just look up the number for the Clearwater office. I go online and the number listed is  (800) 772-1213 That is the same number I had previously called and lost 20 minutes of my life to Muzak. No local numbers are listed anywhere that I could find.
Guess I'll go old school and visit the office. I gather up all the paperwork I think I'll need and head over the the Clearwater office of Social Security.
There are about 40 people sitting in the waiting room.
Crap! Crap!
I go to the kiosk to get a number. A45.

That's not too bad. Till I look at the screen on SSTV. Now Serving is just random numbers. There is no way to tell how long I have to wait. And the Social Security office also takes appointments. So I have no idea how long I'll have to wait.
I settle in for long wait.

Then they called my number after a much shorter time than I expected.
I went back to window 16 not knowing what kind of grilling I was going to receive. She asked why I was here and I sheepishly explained I was having trouble setting up an account. No problem she said, asking for my digits and a photo ID. She clicked a few keys, handed back my ID and then got up to retrieve a paper from the printer.
The paper had instruction and a pass key to use to set up my account. She highlighted the important information and to simply follow the instructions. I looked at the paper and it looked simple enough. We'll see.
I got home and fired up the computer. Typed in the code and BING! I had an account. That easy.
So I started filling out the info to receive Social Security each month. That went fine till I got to the employment history part.
Buzzz! you can't apply for SS payments while you are still working. Go figure and I still have one more day to go, January 6, 2020. So this is on hold till january 7, 2020.