I woke up this morning around 9am, which to me is "sleeping in." I came downstairs for my usual breakfast of Diet Coke, spoonful of peanut butter, and 1/2 of a banana. I picked up the laptop and tried to check the weather and look at my emails. No go. I restarted the wireless router. Nada. I then looked at the cable box and where the time display normally appears, was a strange message: ALT 1. I phoned the cable company and a recorded message let me in on the secret: "There is a service interruption in your calling area. We hope to have this issue corrected soon." "Soon" turned into 6 hours later.
I am ashamed to admit, but I freaked out! What does one do without an internet connection for 6 hours? I found myself calling Time Warner Cable every 20 to 30 minutes for a status update. I thought at one point I might be breaking out in hives. I started thinking how ridiculous this is, and remembering that I survived my childhood, teens and early 20s without the internet, so chances are good I would survive a couple of hours.
It turns out, there are many things that can be done during an internet outage. I lounged on the couch on the sun porch and watched the birds check out our bird feeder (disappointed birds had to fly away hungry because we haven't filled the feeder in a couple of weeks, and what is left is, well, moldy), finished a magazine article that has gone unread for a month, oh, and I took some deep breaths. I vowed to do healthy things today, and planned out a healthy autumn body detox menu. I wrote in my journal (actual writing, not typing), and started doing some much needed house cleaning.
Poseidon woke up an hour or so later, and I broke the news to him: No internet. He seemed to handle it far better than I (though I know deep down he was concerned). Together we tackled the house work, and he did several loads of laundry. I finally unpacked the suitcase that has been sitting at the foot of the bed from our quick trip to West Virginia two weeks ago (procrastination is of course my bailiwick). We made a grocery list and as I headed toward the door to make the grocery run, Poseidon announced that we had internet service and cable once again! Jubilation!
I was relieved. It pains me to say it, but alas, it's true. As Poseidon banged away at the laptop, I drove to the grocery store thinking, "Damn, if the internet outage could last just a little longer, I would finish the book I've been reading! I could refill that bird feeder!
It boils down to priorities. Mind numbing surfing is sometimes more appealing than sitting down to finish a novel. As is evident, because I've just hit the "Publish" button...connected!
--Fortuitous Observer
