Saturday, March 18, 2006
More than my fair share of frustration.....
I believe when I last posted from browser-land, I'd had the bright idea of switching to DSL via my local phone company since it was available at a very low price. But I should have known I was in for trouble when the customer service guy tried to convince me that their premium package was Mac compatible when their website said otherwise. I thought I was signing up for the lower cost package, but they sent me a self-install package for the premium service!
I tried to use the installation CD that came with the package, and it didn't work on my machine. So I had to have tech support walk me through the process on the phone. That's when I found out I ddn't have a clean DSL line, possibly because I was getting interference from our home security system, which also uses our home phone line. One tech said I just needed a DSL filter, but when I lost the connection with him and ended up talking to a different tech, that guy told me I needed something complicated called a home run to fix the problem. The phone company was more than willing to help me out, IF I paid $100 for a service call! I called my alarm company to see if they were any cheaper, but they wanted $150 for a DSL filter! So I called the phone company back and set the appointment, waiting six days without internet service.
In the meantime, Dan goes to work on Wednesday and is greeted by the news that his employer is doing more layoffs and unless someone near retirement age takes a buyout, his last day of work will be May 6th. He won't find out one way or the other until the end of April. Really crummy timing considering I still have not been approved for disability benefits. Yeah, we knew layoffs would be a possibility eventually, which is why Dan's been looking for a new job for the past couple of years, but we didn't think anything would happen until at least fall, and we HOPED that I'd be getting benefits regularly before then. Of course, if my illness has taught me anything, it's that life circumstances do not necessarily happen for one's convenience.
The next day, the tech from the phone company showed up, but she didn't know ANYTHING about DSL! She said she'd been instructed to add a phone jack?? WTF?? I have no idea where that came from! I explained that we were expecting a DSL filter, and she didn't even know what one was! She called the DSL department and was told by them that I didn't need a filter at all. But when I asked why my DSL connection didn't work, she replied that I needed to make an appointment to have a DSL tech come out, which would be ANOTHER $100 for the service call plus $50 for an install. Why in the HELL didn't they send a DSL specialist in the first place??
That did it. I called the phone company and demanded that they take the equipment back and give me full credit to my acount as I'd been paying for a service that never worked. I'd been willing to pay $60 for a modem (Dan had agreed it would be my birthday present), but no way was I paying $250 in service calls for incompetent techs, especially when they couldn't even come to a consensus as to what the problem was. What if I had had the DSL tech come out and the thing still wouldn't work?? Money wasted that I may well need to pay bills with this summer.
So I'm back to my dialup, which unfortunately hasn't worked very well since the computer crashed. With my husband maybe losing his job, we have to have online access so he can job hunt, but we can't afford upgrading to cable because it is much more expensive. And I'm back to not being able to update any of my software, which adds to the frustration.
I have to admit I had really taken the computer for granted. A whole week without the internet!! I felt like I had lost a whole bunch of friends. Couldn't read any blogs or update my own, couldn't e-mail people to tell them that I didn't have access to their e-mails, couldn't look anything up. One good thing, though, is that I had the time to go through my old e-mail files and save all the little gems that had been sent to me in the two years before I had a blog on which to post my Raves of the Day. So I will have lots of goodies to share here, even if the jokes are a bit old.
Dan and I are still very busy between rehab for his whiplash injury when the car was totaled in January and my rehab for my back. I'm doing stretches for physical therapy, which are painful. I am trying to learn to walk properly, which hurts even more. And the actual PT sessions are EXHAUSTING! But I am making progress. And I see the massage therapist on Tuesday, which will help.
And we've started some spring cleaning in case Dan does lose his job, because we will have to sell the house, and right now, it's extremely cluttered. Unless he can find something at the last minute here that pays well, we'll not be able to afford the mortgage payment if Dan's laid off, even if he gets unemployment benefits. So if we have to sell, we'll move to South Dakota and hope to God Dan gets a job there. I don't think we'll be able to buy a house there until Dan is gainfully employed, so we may have to rent. Hope we can find a house for rent that takes dogs. So far, I have gone through my books and have set aside one bookcase's worth to get rid of. I've also sorted through most of the command center and have tossed out some packaging that was taking up too much room and old papers I no longer needed. I still have two drawers to tackle. And probably tomorrow, Dan and I will go through the video tapes and get rid of duplicates and home made tapes that are too poor quality to watch on the current VCR. Eventually, we plan to go through all the cabinets, closets and the garage. And if we do need to sell, we'll get rid of two recliners, a loveseat, a tv and the spare bed. Chances are we may need to move to a smaller house.
My friend and I did go back to the gluten free restaurant to watch a cooking class. It was Polynesian-style sweet and sour chicken. We got to try a sample, and it was delicious! It involves deep frying the chicken, though, and I probably shouldn't start frying things at home. But I do think I will make the sauce and maybe just put it on a grilled chicken breast or something. Oh, and even though I'd said I'd only eat there once a month, I did order a small burger, heh heh. It was amazingly good! My first real burger in over two and a half years. The hamburger buns are awesome! And I'll be going back next Wednesday too. Dan offered to take me out to eat on my birthday, and I chose the gluten free place. I'm considering having the chicken alfredo.....
Ack, just remembered that I should have eaten over an hour ago! Time flies when you're trying to make up for being offline for a week.
Hope I can post this as I've lost my modem connection AGAIN. Sigh.
I tried to use the installation CD that came with the package, and it didn't work on my machine. So I had to have tech support walk me through the process on the phone. That's when I found out I ddn't have a clean DSL line, possibly because I was getting interference from our home security system, which also uses our home phone line. One tech said I just needed a DSL filter, but when I lost the connection with him and ended up talking to a different tech, that guy told me I needed something complicated called a home run to fix the problem. The phone company was more than willing to help me out, IF I paid $100 for a service call! I called my alarm company to see if they were any cheaper, but they wanted $150 for a DSL filter! So I called the phone company back and set the appointment, waiting six days without internet service.
In the meantime, Dan goes to work on Wednesday and is greeted by the news that his employer is doing more layoffs and unless someone near retirement age takes a buyout, his last day of work will be May 6th. He won't find out one way or the other until the end of April. Really crummy timing considering I still have not been approved for disability benefits. Yeah, we knew layoffs would be a possibility eventually, which is why Dan's been looking for a new job for the past couple of years, but we didn't think anything would happen until at least fall, and we HOPED that I'd be getting benefits regularly before then. Of course, if my illness has taught me anything, it's that life circumstances do not necessarily happen for one's convenience.
The next day, the tech from the phone company showed up, but she didn't know ANYTHING about DSL! She said she'd been instructed to add a phone jack?? WTF?? I have no idea where that came from! I explained that we were expecting a DSL filter, and she didn't even know what one was! She called the DSL department and was told by them that I didn't need a filter at all. But when I asked why my DSL connection didn't work, she replied that I needed to make an appointment to have a DSL tech come out, which would be ANOTHER $100 for the service call plus $50 for an install. Why in the HELL didn't they send a DSL specialist in the first place??
That did it. I called the phone company and demanded that they take the equipment back and give me full credit to my acount as I'd been paying for a service that never worked. I'd been willing to pay $60 for a modem (Dan had agreed it would be my birthday present), but no way was I paying $250 in service calls for incompetent techs, especially when they couldn't even come to a consensus as to what the problem was. What if I had had the DSL tech come out and the thing still wouldn't work?? Money wasted that I may well need to pay bills with this summer.
So I'm back to my dialup, which unfortunately hasn't worked very well since the computer crashed. With my husband maybe losing his job, we have to have online access so he can job hunt, but we can't afford upgrading to cable because it is much more expensive. And I'm back to not being able to update any of my software, which adds to the frustration.
I have to admit I had really taken the computer for granted. A whole week without the internet!! I felt like I had lost a whole bunch of friends. Couldn't read any blogs or update my own, couldn't e-mail people to tell them that I didn't have access to their e-mails, couldn't look anything up. One good thing, though, is that I had the time to go through my old e-mail files and save all the little gems that had been sent to me in the two years before I had a blog on which to post my Raves of the Day. So I will have lots of goodies to share here, even if the jokes are a bit old.
Dan and I are still very busy between rehab for his whiplash injury when the car was totaled in January and my rehab for my back. I'm doing stretches for physical therapy, which are painful. I am trying to learn to walk properly, which hurts even more. And the actual PT sessions are EXHAUSTING! But I am making progress. And I see the massage therapist on Tuesday, which will help.
And we've started some spring cleaning in case Dan does lose his job, because we will have to sell the house, and right now, it's extremely cluttered. Unless he can find something at the last minute here that pays well, we'll not be able to afford the mortgage payment if Dan's laid off, even if he gets unemployment benefits. So if we have to sell, we'll move to South Dakota and hope to God Dan gets a job there. I don't think we'll be able to buy a house there until Dan is gainfully employed, so we may have to rent. Hope we can find a house for rent that takes dogs. So far, I have gone through my books and have set aside one bookcase's worth to get rid of. I've also sorted through most of the command center and have tossed out some packaging that was taking up too much room and old papers I no longer needed. I still have two drawers to tackle. And probably tomorrow, Dan and I will go through the video tapes and get rid of duplicates and home made tapes that are too poor quality to watch on the current VCR. Eventually, we plan to go through all the cabinets, closets and the garage. And if we do need to sell, we'll get rid of two recliners, a loveseat, a tv and the spare bed. Chances are we may need to move to a smaller house.
My friend and I did go back to the gluten free restaurant to watch a cooking class. It was Polynesian-style sweet and sour chicken. We got to try a sample, and it was delicious! It involves deep frying the chicken, though, and I probably shouldn't start frying things at home. But I do think I will make the sauce and maybe just put it on a grilled chicken breast or something. Oh, and even though I'd said I'd only eat there once a month, I did order a small burger, heh heh. It was amazingly good! My first real burger in over two and a half years. The hamburger buns are awesome! And I'll be going back next Wednesday too. Dan offered to take me out to eat on my birthday, and I chose the gluten free place. I'm considering having the chicken alfredo.....
Ack, just remembered that I should have eaten over an hour ago! Time flies when you're trying to make up for being offline for a week.
Hope I can post this as I've lost my modem connection AGAIN. Sigh.
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