Thursday night we had a ferocious windstorm that knocked down trees and power lines. Our lights blinked a few times but thankfully came back on and stayed on, unlike our neighbors' which stayed off for several days.
But the storm did something to our DSL, so we didn't have internet access.
I called for Matt the great fixer and turned him loose in the office. I prefer not to know what he does at these times--for all I know he chants strange incantations over bubbling pots of newts and frogs back behind the computer.
When he was done we could again access our email through dial-up, but we couldn't access the web.
I hadn't realized how dependent I was on being connected. Friday made me nervous, by Saturday I was downright jittery, and by Sunday I felt like I was having a caffeine withdrawal. But we kept waiting, since we figured it would heal itself when the rest of Harrisburg got its power back.
This morning (Monday) Paul was going to call Qwest. Meanwhile, I figured out that the fax didn't work and the old wall phone in the office didn't have a dial tone. Hmmm. I began crawling around the office, following this cord and that one from beginning to end, muttering strange incantations.
Finally I ended up under my desk where the phone cords plug into the wall. Cautiously I unplugged the white cord and plugged in the green one. And. . . .IT WORKED!!!!
I checked my blog and read the comments, feeling like I was sipping a cup of hot tea after a long cold night. I checked Matt's Xanga, Amy's, Emily's, and the Daily Dose of Imagery. I caught up on Marina and Byran and Robin.
And then Matt came downstairs and I told him, smugly, that I had fixed the internet problem, and how I did it.
He thought for a minute, looked a bit sheepish, and said,
Quote of the Day:
"Duh!"
chuckles and a standing ovation!! good for you and great to have you back. You see, I'm adicted to your site so two fixes in one here.... :)
ReplyDeleteYou're the fourth blogger from the Pacific NW I've come across who's been without power. There must be a lot of frustrated people out there, in Microsoft land.
ReplyDeleteWow your sure are getting very computer savy!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteKnow what you mean about getting the "jitters" without internet. Sometimes it seems like it's my only link to a world outside of clamouring children and dirty dishes and do I ever miss it when it breaks down!
ReplyDeleteHa Matt with frogs and chants - 10 years ago probably. Loved the imagary! sil g.
ReplyDeleteI was going to be "brave" and live w/o internet at home, afterall I have it at work & that is all I need. It lasted not even a week. Couldn't hardly live w/o out, I mean I CAN if needed, but life just isn't the same!
ReplyDeleteKudo's in getting your internet fixed all by yourself!
haw haw great job dorcas... the mental pic of matt with frogs and incantations made me almost laugh out loud--in the library no less!
ReplyDeleteHa! You think you had it bad for a couple of days! Try SMBI for a couple of weeks on end!
ReplyDeletebtw, congratulations on fixing it! I would have loved to see Matt's face when he uttered his QOTD. I know the feeling perfectly...
ReplyDeletebtw, speaking of Matt, my dormie at SMBI the last two terms was Matt's roomie at BMABI--so I got the lowdown on Matt (and Bob too).
ReplyDeleteHans--right now i want to insert some desperate MennoMom disclaimers regarding Matt, his behavior, and my efforts to raise him right, but I'll spare you.
ReplyDeleteJust curious, if you happen to come by here again, why SMBI-ers can't/don't have access to the internet.
SMBI has DSL but we are only allowed to use it for email. The rest is blocked. It simply opens a can of worms that the very conservative SMBI board isn't willing to open.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been the same storm that nailed us here in WA. Our power went out for half a day, but with a battery powered laptop and Sprint wireless broadband, it didn't phase me, up here in "Micro$oft land" :)
ReplyDelete