Buggy Internet Box?

 For the second time in two days, the internet went down shortly after I signed on.

I know a few tricks to get things moving again, but I'm not as clever as my adults kids (or probably an eight-year-old, but those are in short supply at my house right now, thank you, COVID).

But after a few grumblings and a couple deep breaths, I wrote one of my stories fir The Herald-News this morning.

Just as I finished it, I was able to touch base with Rebekah. She had me up and running in ten minutes. Timothy is wondering if the problem isn't with the internet box since no outages in our area weren't reported - again.

So where I'm behind in email, I'm ahead in writing. And I'm thankful for people in my life that can solve problems that escape my limited technology skill set.

And look - the sun is shining now. 

All signs of a good day, right?

Because a photo of my internet box to accompany this post is, well, rather boring, I'm sharing one of Bertrand, my crocheted mouse, as he's enjoying a nice walk yesterday.

No Coffee? Then Let's Have Tea

I knew a woman once who struggled all of her life in nearly every area of her life.

For all her struggles, her outlook was remarkably positive.

One day we had a conversation about our abilities to whip up a meal when the larders looked rather bare to everyone else.

She agreed, gave a few examples, and then added, "If you don't have coffee, then we'll have tea."

This woman passed away a few years ago. But her amazing spirit stays with me.

Now I'm a coffee drinker. I don't like tea, except for chamomile tea - and I'm allergic to chamomile, so I don't drink it anymore.

But, as I'm sure you've guessed, this post isn't about coffee or tea.

I tend to remember the line of "then we'll have tea" on days when life doesn't fall into neat packages, the way I would like it to fall.

This morning, for example, I'm having inconsistent internet connection, and it's affected my morning routine and early morning workflow.

The odds are all those disruptions won't affect my overall life. Two years down the road (two weeks or two days most likely), I won't even remember this morning's inconveniences.

But I can affect my perspective by grumbling that the internet is not going my way - and not appreciating the fact that Rebekah can (and did) troubleshoot the issue.

Rebekah dislikes disruptions to her routine, too, perhaps even more than I do. But she does like tea.

And I did have coffee this morning.

Photo by Timothy Baran

A 'Throwback' of a Different Kind

A few mornings ago, through a bleary brain as I sipped my coffee and signed online, I mused on how we've had no internet woes at the house for awhile.

Bad thought to have. Because yesterday, after a very short night of sleep (when I could have been sleeping except I had work to get done before working offsite for the day), I had no internet.

After multiple resettings of the system, I learned outages were reported in the area. Estimated restoration time: 8:30 a.m.

By now, I'd been up over thirty minutes. And restored service was four hours away. Too late to get any significant work done, too late and too wide awake to go back to sleep.

Once again, block from what I needed to do by technology.

There's no doubt about it. Technology makes many aspects of our life easier. 

I don't miss the days of typewriters and correction tape (or fluid).

I don't miss the days of staying home because of the need to "wait for an important call."

I don't have to wait to go to the library when I need a question answered or want to research a topic. Social media allows instant communication. Email makes communication happen without playing phone tag.

And yet, how quickly all those things shut down when the internet does.

Without the internet, I can't do many aspects of my job.

Having lived in the "good 'ol days," I can tell you they weren't any better than the ones we have today. They had different opportunities and different challenges.

Technology is here to stay, and I'm glad.

I just wish it was here to stay everyday.

Only Throwback Today is to a Simpler Time

Meaning I woke up this morning to no internet.

I did what I could, then I woke up Rebekah to do what she could. Then Timothy woke up understandably annoyed that we had no internet. The kids have work and school stuff to do online, so it wasn't just me panicking.

After much time and aggravation later, communication with the online world was restored.

Running behind today, vampire fans. Somedays, I really dislike my dependence on technology.

Some days.