Tuesday, April 7, 2009

ON THE SUBJECT OF CONFESSION

So XBOX Wife has had a hard time getting back up and running.  It might not be so hard if our Internet would work consistently.  Last year we had LOTS of trouble with our Internet and telephone services...so much that we even switched to a different company thinking that would solve the problem.  


It didn't.

It's like our home was built on some crazy vortex that sucks the life out of all Internet and telephone attempts!  The repairman will come out, take a look around, run a few tests...then he will turn to me and say, "Mrs. Brownstone, I cannot seem to find the source of the problem.  That will be $139.95."  ARRGH!!!

So, my confessions:
  • I am dissatisfied with our current Internet and telephone services even though the vortex is probably not their fault.  Unless!!!  Unless...it's a conspiracy!  That's got to be it, right? They are conspiring to charge the Brownstones $140 a couple of times a year because that would help the company in this dire time of financial crisis.  A good theory, except I don't anyone else that lives on a crazy Internet/telephone service draining vortex.  I guess a mere $300 a year is not good bailout for any company.
  • Speaking of financial crisis, every time this happens, I fear that we haven't paid the bill, even though deep down I know that it has been paid.  We are of the mindset that if we can't pay for something that is not a necessity (necessities being food, water, reasonable clothing, shelter, and electricity), then we don't have it.  As much as we'd like to think of Internet as a necessity, it's not.  I remember way back in the last century when nobody had Internet in their homes...and we had to walk five miles to school...in the snow...with no Ipod to keep us entertained.  
  • And my final confession?  I drove up and down our street until an open connection presented itself. Normally, I would drive to a wi-fi coffee shop or something.  Normally.  But it's hard to go anywhere when the telephone/Internet service company that you're using gives you a time frame of 8 am to 7 pm!!! SERIOUSLY????  So here I sit in my car, parked on the street in front of someone else's home but within view of my own home so as not to miss the repairman during the ELEVEN HOUR window we've been given.  I picked a house to park in front of that belongs to someone we know, at least in a friendly down the street neighbor sort of way. The wife knows what trouble we've been having, so it's cool.  To be honest, I'm not even sure if I should be embarrassed about even having to do this...even though I am completely, thoroughly, utterly mortified.  Cars filled with other people, people not in the know, keep driving by and giving me funny looks.  But...a girl has to check her email, right?

4 comments:

mholgate said...

Oh you crack me up! Good to hear from you though. I'm sorry you have had so many problems. I sure do miss your writing. :)

I hear you on the internet not being a necessity. I know that I sometimes think it is my lifeline, but I still remember when the telephone (land line) or snail mail were my life lines. Ahh, the good ol' days!

Hang in there!
Melissa

David and Olivia said...

Oh, I completely understand internet problems. It is really frustrating when that happens and I really hope you can somehow get it all fixed properly soon! I hate shelling out money that may not actually fix anything, so I really feel for you there.
David and I are guilty of parking and getting internet as well when we were in the states. Most of the time it was when we were lost-- we'd find the nearest church and they usually had unblocked WiFi all the time... even late hours! :)

Vicki Banta said...

I can totally relate! When we lived in Galveston, we too lived in a Cyber vortex. For one year we had a party-line going! When some one else was on the phone we had to wait until they got off! Every time we had a problem we would call the number on our bill and they would give us a different number to call! We got so desperate one time I started talking to a lineman on what I hoped was a telephone pole. Funny they never had a problem finding our address to send us the bill!

I can't wait until we don't have these problems in heaven!!!

Carissa(GoodnCrazy) said...

I drove to my local hotel down the street and sat in the parking lot once. Not proud. but oh well.

HOW ARE YOU!!!