Apparently our phone lines got hit by lightning (again). We woke up early one day last week to a lot of static on the phone lines and no internet service. We called in and reported it, and the customer service person we spoke to said that it was a problem on our end and that our wireless router must have gone out. I reported that it was a strange coincidence in that our phone lines became filled with static at the same time, and I don’t believe much in coincidences. Well, maybe it was our filter. *sigh* I reported that I’d tried the phone without the filter with the same results. Then I was directed to do all the diagnostic stuff that I had already done, and that she would call me back. Well, THAT didn’t happen (the call back, I mean).
By last Friday evening, we were suffering acute internet withdrawal. SwampMan’s laptop at school had died. He had E-mailed himself things to work on at home on his desktop before the computer died completely, then had no way to access his E-mail. I was having things E-mailed to me from school on my private E-mail because I couldn’t access my E-mail at school because it hadn’t been set up yet. D’OH! We went ahead and, even though I was pretty sure the problem was not our fault or even our wireless router’s fault, we bought another wireless router. SwampMan installed it on his computer. No internet. I called customer service again, and got a very nice person that actually listened to the problem. She could hear the static problem on the line. She put in a service request for us but, unfortunately, it WAS Labor Day weekend.
When I got home, a technician had been in our neighborhood working on the lines for hours. He had to replace lots of copper that had been damaged by the lightning strike and, after lots of overtime on his part, we have phone lines and internet access once again!
I never actually think about how often we access the internet until it is gone. Random leftovers in the fridge? Check online recipes that will use the assorted items. New weed in the pasture? Google it to see if it is dangerous to livestock. Kid in class on a new medication? Google it at home to check for side effects to watch for. I watch the long-range weather forecasts online in order to make sure that my livestock will be adequately sheltered. I get my news online; in fact, I went a week without knowing what the Dow Jones Industrial average for the day was.
I keep up with my friends and relatives online, too.
I missed y’all.
A1A South 