I don't mind the inconvenience of no internet, but I don't like playing the run around game with service people. During my first call, I was transferred five times, giving my phone number, name and address each time. Finally I talked to someone who might have known something, He placed me on hold for a couple minutes before coming back on. "Sorry for your inconvenience, Jan, please disconnect your modem from its power source for three minutes, then plug it in again. That will take care of the problem. And thank you for calling Technical Support."
I should have told the guy that I had already tried that and it didn't work. Instead, I assumed I hadn't left the modem unplugged long enough, So, with a smile in my voice, I thanked him for his help and disconnected the power again. It didn't work this time either. I wasn't very happy.
I wasn't very happy for a couple reasons. Firstly, I think the advice was the standard, "Take two aspirin and call me in the morning, and hope she goes away." It often works, but not always. Secondly, it meant I had to make a second call. I do not like making phone calls, but I did it anyway. After jumping through more of the same hoops and waiting on hold again, I was told, "Jan, I'm sorry for your inconvenience. Our engineers are trouble shooting your line right now. As soon as it is fixed we will call you. After receiving their call, unplug your modem for fifteen seconds and reboot your computer. Thank you for calling Technical Support."
I waited--for over an hour. Finally the call came in, a recorded message at that, "A problem with your internet service was detected and has been corrected. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. Thank you for calling Technical Support."
I quickly got off the phone, unplugged my modem for fifteen seconds, clicked the save button on my blog website, and rebooted my computer. I was ready to get back on line, post what I had written hours earlier, and check my e-mail. A quick glance at my modem told me that the green internet light was not lit. WHAT? You have got to be kidding me. The phone message I had just received said it had been fixed.
Now, I still couldn't log on because I still didn't have any service!! I called a third time, but the smiling voice had vanished. I was a little more agitated now. "I'm sorry for your inconvenience, Jan. Yes, ma'am, there had been an outage in your area. Yes, ma'am, they did fix it, but it went down again. According to the latest information from our engineers, service will be restored by 10 p.m. You will receive a personal call when the work is done. It will not be a recording. Thank you for calling Technical Support. "
Oh great. I was even more unhappy. I didn't want strangers calling me by my first name, and I didn't like being called ma'am. I wanted to get on line. I wanted to see if my granddaughters had been on Twitter or Facebook. I wanted to see how the Mariners' game was going. If I had known how to throw a hissy-fit or go into a tizzy I probably would have. But I don't know, so didn't. Maybe I could take an on-line class on expressing ones emotions some way other than saying, "This is so stupid. I think I'll have a popcicle"
All afternoon I checked my modem for signs of internet life even though I was told Tech Support would call. At 4:30 p.m. I did a double take. All four modem lights were lit up. The internet was back. Hooray.
With superhuman speed I logged in and discovered that the Mariners had won, my granddaughters had been fairly quiet on Facebook and Twitter, and I had no new e-mail. That is also when I learned I had lost my morning's hard work called, "Autumn Brings..." I guess without an internet connection anything saved isn't saved because there is nothing to save it to. So, with the click of a mouse, all had been lost and a lesson was learned. Next time I need to copy and past into a word document.
It is now 10:50 p.m. and my internet provider has not called to inform me that service has been restored--not even a recording. Maybe they will call before I go to bed at eleven.
So, here is the deal. This morning I wrote these words on Facebook,
While writing an email several years ago I accidentally typed, "Have a god day" instead of, "Have a good day." Wow, I thought, a day with God is always a good day, a special day. So, to all my friends and family out there, "Have a God day."
I should have listened to my own words. It wasn't until a few hours ago that I realized I hadn't been living my God day. Instead I had treated myself to a poor-me day complete with a pomegranate popsicle. How something as frivolous as an internet connection could ruffle this old hens feathers is beyond me. I know electronics will falter and corporations will fail my expectations. However, life will go on and new blog posts will get written. But, in the midst of it all, God will not falter, he will not fail, and yes, he will show me that my poor-me day really was a good day because it was a God day after all.
Wishing you all a God night too,
Jan
No comments:
Post a Comment