Various Events of February 13, 2025

Visiting the U.S. Social Security Administration

With the Trump administration's second term abolishing telework for government employees, the U.S. Social Security Administration announced that it would only accept appointments starting January 6th of this year.

My family had some urgent matters that needed to be dealt with quickly, but even though I wanted to schedule an appointment, I couldn't get through to a consultant on the phone for two days. The automated response said the lines were busy, and then the call would be forcibly terminated. This happened six times. (What made me even angrier was that there was no other way to make an appointment except by phone).

Desperate, I finally found and clicked on "Email Us," sent an email, but I couldn't just wait indefinitely. So, even if I got rejected, I decided to go there in person to at least schedule an appointment, and this morning I went to the SSA office that covers my area as soon as it opened.

When I entered the office, the security guard at the entrance, as expected, robotically said, "We only accept appointments." So I pleaded, "I called here more than six times yesterday, but I couldn't get through to make an appointment." He replied, "Then check in over there," pointing to the number dispenser. So I asked, "So, even without an appointment, I can wait an hour or however long it takes?" I didn't fully understand his response, but it seemed like he was saying yes.

So I went to the machine, skillfully took a number (a few months ago, I had to ask the security guard for help), and sat down to wait. The machine asked if I had an appointment, and I answered, of course, no. But when the number came out, I realized that the "appointments only" rule wasn't really true.

(Of course, there may be differences from state to state and region to region. But I saw a month-old Reddit comment from someone living in the same state as me saying they went in as a walk-in and finished their business in under an hour.)

Fortunately, there weren't many people waiting, and after about fifteen minutes, it was finally our turn. We were able to resolve our issue, and everything went smoothly.

Verizon's Default Messaging App Support Ends

My father suddenly said that his phone's messaging app wasn't working. He said that when he tapped on the messaging icon, this screen appeared. Since I was out at the time, I told him I'd fix it when I got home.

As soon as I got home, I turned on my computer and searched for the first sentence of the error message in Korean. The conclusion was that the carrier was recommending Google Messages and blocking the use of the default messaging app, causing this issue.

I had switched to Google Messages a while ago, but since I use KakaoTalk more often than text messages, I haven't fully gotten used to it yet. So I activated the dormant Google Messages on my father's phone and successfully exchanged text and voice messages to test it.

For a moment, I was worried that he wouldn't be able to use messages at all and that I'd have to take his phone to a Verizon store. Fortunately, I found someone online who kindly explained it in Korean, so I was very grateful that it was resolved.

The Book I Should Be Closest To: The Bible

Actually, I don't have a hobby of reading. However, when I get into something, I diligently record reading notes in Korean on Medium. (I do have a small collection of books on a bookshelf in my room.) Of course, I've also read several English books on Kindle and written several summaries in English.

The program for reading Korean ebooks stopped working, so I've given up on Korean books. I have a Kindle Paperwhite, which is the most convenient method. However, at the beginning of this year, I wanted to read some books, but I couldn't find anything on Amazon Kindle that interested me.

So, my New Year's resolution to read more books this year hasn't been fulfilled. In the meantime, my community is doing Bible reading and QT (Quiet Time) from Monday to Friday, and I'm also keeping a separate meditation journal. I also don't remember exactly when I started, but I'm typing the Bible in English chronologically.

Therefore, I can only resolve to diligently read, meditate on, and apply the Bible to my life. The Bible contains all the answers and wisdom of life. Even non-believers diligently read the Bible to gain some insight, so how can I, a cradle Christian, fail to do so?

Looking at this, you might think I'm a seminary student. Actually, if circumstances allow, I want to study theology and become a missionary in Japan. As I mentioned earlier, my denomination has never sent missionaries to Japan, as far as I know...