Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Resolution

So I may have made my peace with the infamous, notorious, Time Warner Cable. It seems too good to be true, which is why I'm having a hard time believing it.

My friends came up last weekend, and it was great. Great to see them, and sarcastically great because of the weather. It was hideous on Saturday, raining "cats and dogs" as the pictionary game we played would say (assuming, of course, a pictionary game could talk).

Well, regardless of the irony that board game brought us, it was raining cats and dogs, and that day we happened to have BIS-- Bad Internet Syndrome. I just made that up, but it is entirely appropriate. It would stop, then start but be really slow, then stop for a while and start up again. Then it went down for an hour. Then it was up again.

So, even though I was enjoying my time with my friends, I still had the urge to call and complain to TWC, which I did. The lady I talked to tried telling me it had been working perfectly. Same old song and dance, but I wasn't buying it. (I'm already paying enough for their shitty service, I don't need a side of bullcrap too.)

"No, it's not working, because I can't use it. ( YOU IDIOT. QUICK QUESTION: WHO LIVES HERE, ME OR YOU??) I know that you *see* it is working fine, but that is wrong. That is what the last guy said, but he was wrong, and the guy he sent out here confirmed that was wrong. He looked into the modem history and saw there were complications and errors. SO DON'T YOU DARE FREAKING TELL ME EVERYTHING IS ALL HUNKY DORY!"

My tone was pissed, but I refrained from hollering and using derogatory terms. I also didn't say the words capitalized above, but I sure thought them. I couldn't believe the nerve of this woman telling me I was wrong. "I unplugged from the wireless router, and was plugged directly into the modem." I said, "it's still not working.."

She didn't believe me, but she still asked, "Should I send out a technician?"

"Uh, well you've already sent out 3, and none of them could fix it. Everytime they come it's working fine, so what do you want to do?" I asked, seeing the 4th guy as a pointless waste of time.

"Well we'll send a guy out."

"Ok, when?"

"They will call with an appointment time,"

"Ok..."

"How's Tuesday? Would you rather have AM or PM?"

"Uh...?" Didn't she just say she the tech would schedule the appointment? Seriously? Do you have a brain? At all? Didn't think so.

So Tuesday came, and so did the technician. Jon. (and just as I used Level III Technician Ron's real name to shame him, I am using Jon's real name to thank him--and give him credit for proving my sanity)

It was actually quite funny, because on the way home, there were two TWC van's clogging the road. One was on one side of the road, up in the wire's at the Ranger's house; the other was on the other side of the road, talking to the driver. Ironically, I was stuck behind the guy who was going to my house, so at least if I was late I could blame him. Right?

Well he quickly put his car in gear and drove down the main road, pausing a bit when he came to my road. I boldly signaled to turn right by waving my arms in that direction, but I don't know if he saw me. He turned right, and drove right past my house. I pulled in and waited for him to figure that out, but he took so long so I went in the house and put the dog on a leash instead. (It's easier to control the jumping he does that way)

When the guy came in, he was very concerned about the issue, "So can you tell me what's going on here?"

I was like, "Well, you are the fourth guy to come out, I really don't know why they sent you; no one else can figure it out, but the problem is the internet will shut off. And I know that it's the internet because I've plugged directly into the modem and it still doesn't work. and blah blah blah"

So he questioned me to make sure I knew what I was talking about, then went downstairs to check the input. Took him about 5-10 minutes just to figure out where the cable was coming from---and he didn't like the setup one bit. "You have (or are losing) 14 dbs," He said before clarifying--because I had no idea what he was talking about, "You should have 3..."

"Oh? That doesn't sound good." I said, as he proceeded to test the cables and stuff like that. He said that the input was going into a 2 way splitter, that was going into a 3 way splitter, or something crazy like that; I should have paid attention, but I was honestly so sick of anything with the word "cable" in it I didn't care to listen. Instead I just hung out down there and waited to see if he could find anything; I hope he didn't think I didn't trust him, or anything. I just wanted to know if there was a problem.

So after that he went upstairs. I can't remember if he found something there, but my mom says he did. Then he went outside and found out the levels being sent into the house were way too high (which was why the basic cable channels were coming in so fuzzy--I told him, I thought it was just because we had a large TV and it distorted the quality)

He fixed that, and said that there was an additional problem he would send the guys out to fix. So what now, Level III Technician Ron? Who is crazy now?

Jon was so nice he gave us his card, and his supervisor's number too! Then told us not to deal with TWC anymore. He couldn't believe they'd set us up like that, and though he was professional about my complaining, I think he had sympathy for my situation. He was all, "Yeah, I don't see why you wouldn't be upset you just want your internet." After all the aggravation and stress, I would have given him a hug if it wouldn't have been that weird.

Well, with that all said, I think I may finally have faith in my cable company. I may finally like them----even if they won't give me my Motorola DVR, and even if my setup is from the 1990's, and even if I can only title search for TV shows by using the first letter, and even if every time I search for House I want to throw the remote through the TV because I have to scroll through 80 listings of home Makeover----I can now scream, not in anger but in joy, THANK YOU SO MUCH JON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Damn it, Julia! Where did you go?

I want to smash my head off a desk. Really, I do.

You see, for 3 maybe 4 years now, I've been trying to track down an old friend of mine. Not the most traditional of friends--we met on the internet either before or right after Y2K. Where did we meet? I'm not sure. Perhaps the old X-Files forum. Maybe it was just through another friend. I honestly can't remember much, other than her screen name.

Normally, a screen name can tell you so much about a person. Sounds crazy, but it's true. That's usually how I check up on people--Yes, I'm a spy. I don't just willingly trust myself, or my personal information to just anyone. Before I befriend someone, or add them to Facebook, I do my own little background checks to make sure they aren't insane. See, most people use the same screen name wherever they go, so a quick google check will show you an amazing amount of information. Their hobbies, their photos, their everything. Take one of my screen names, for example-- When I google it, I find my photobucket account, numerous posts looking for support on technical websites, and even some things I forgot I had posted (oops).

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is people leave trails on the internet wherever they go--which is why I've adopted several usernames throughout the years. Julia, my dear lost friend, has none. I cannot find her. I've searched and I've searched forever. For years. She's gone.

Litchfieldduck8 and LibraDMK. All gone. It's driving me insane. I just want to find her. Julia S., from Michigan. Maybe she was from Anelldale, or Ann Arbor. In all my searches, those two towns stick out in my mind for some reason. That doesn't matter, though. She may have moved. She may have married. She could have died, for all I know. But the fact that I don't know is as annoying to me as a cracked fingernail when you don't have clippers or a file. I want to get to the bottom of it and know where she is, but I just don't have the tools. I can't remember enough about her to find her.

I've spammed facebook to the point where they have disabled my ability to send messages. I've googled till I've been blue in the face. I just can't find her--and why? Why do I want to find her? Out of sheer principal. I love my friends, and I never want "not" be able to contact them. I still have contact with everyone from my back-in-the-day "crew." Anya, Catherine, Racheal, Gabby, Kristina (sort of), even people I didn't know that well, I still have on my buddy list. But not Julia.

What inspired this insane obsession of mine? "Who let the Dog(get) In?" A short story she wrote for me years ago. I found it, randomly searching through old internet pages. I smiled for weeks after reading it--but almost cried when I couldn't find her online. The more I looked, the more memories began flooding back in my head. We were supposed to go to college together, back when I didn't have a plan, or any idea of what I wanted to do. I was supposed to go to Michigan, but it fizzled out.

As of today, I know her name; first and potentially last. I know where she once lived, and I may have her amazon account. One day, I swear, I will thank her for that story; She will laugh when she reads it, just like I did a few years ago. Just like I do every time I think of her.

I will find you, Julia Schnell(?) Unless you find me first.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Nice Girls Finish Last (Ode to Jared Padalecki)

Thank you, Jared, for another night of happiness!!

Ah, yes, what else would I have to look forward to on Thursday nights, if not for your leading role on CW's Supernatural. Not my friends, and certainly not my sister. I'm sure she'd forget I'd even exist if I didn't text her every so often with some lame joke or picture. Apparently I can't even look forward to prospective boyfriends.

In fact, no sooner than I almost finish my blog entry about how excited I am that I may have finally met a guy worth dating, do I find out what a complete two-faced liar he is. Granted, a good portion of said blog was dedicated to my own insecurities--mainly the fact that I don't trust anyone with my heart--but that's apparently for good reason. I know this kid's first name, and the school he goes to, so I facebook-up some detective work. Yep, that's him--I recognize the picture from his dating page--he is sort of cute. What's this? He's in a relationship? Oh...

What do you say to someone after that? I can't pretend I didn't see it, and I can't ignore it. Should I call him on it, or just block him. Like my mother says, what if it's over? But why make excuses for a no-good cheat. Once a cheat, always a cheat, or so the saying goes. I just can't believe I finally go to let my guard down, and this is what I get. That's what you get for trying online dating. Like I said, all the good guys are dating, married, or gay. Or dead.

Now I'm torn. Do I message this girl and tell her? I don't want the target on my back, though. Plus, a girl is a girl; she'll probably love him, regardless, like some stupid fool until he moves on to someone who doesn't think to check facebook. Plus if he knows I checked his facebook, he'll just heighten his privacy settings to get away with cheating in the future. I thought about messaging one of the girls friends, or her sisters, but that would just put the problem between them. I don't want to be responsible for ruining relationships, but can I let him get away with cheating? I don't know what to do. The situation just all-around sucks. And the irony of it all? I sort of think it's romantic when guys fight over a girl, or when Prince Charming swoops in to save the woman he loves from Mr. Wrong. Roles reversed, however, the "other woman" is the homewrecking tramp or "skank."What sort of double-standard is that??

Whatever. I'm not going to be the "other woman" this girl potentially could be dumped for. And I refuse to "fight" for anyone pathetic enough to love someone--while keeping his options open.

So, like I was saying, I'm heading back to my imaginary boyfriend--Yeah. His name is Sam Winchester. Sure he has millions of fan-girls drooling over him, but at least he will never let any of them down. He will never cheat on them, or lie to them--because he is not real. Good to look at, yes. Smart and funny, yes. A heart-break waiting to happen, no so much. He'll be there every Thursday, fighting the all the big bad's the Supernatural world has to offer.

A girl can dream, can't she?

Reading

I wish I could focus on reading.

Right now, I have two books in front of me. One is an autographed novel one of my college professors wrote years ago; The other is a non-fiction time-line of the Middle East. Both I have a sincere interest in reading, but both I cannot read.

Currently, my student is working independently on journal entries. It's a perfect time to read, so I turn to the massive book shelf behind me, and I pick out the a book on African American history. It's huge, and I know that even though I want to read it, I never will. So I look to the left of it and find that Middle East book. I think back to my Social Studies Method class, and how we were taught so much about the REAL Middle East. Not the fabricated propaganda Middle East, but the real, factual, Middle East.

Well, at the very beginning of that semester my house burned to the ground--so needless to say, learning about the Sunnis and Shiias was not my top priority. I made it through the class with decent and earned grades, but most of the lecture time I spent worrying about my family, thinking about the future, and wondering what would happen next.

I focused and as hard as I possibly could to avoid "sympathy grading," but I still missed a lot of good, unbiased information that I may never again have the chance to receive--unless I can focus on this dumb book.

I sit to read it,
1820 Britain concludes a General Treaty of Peace for suppressing piracy and slave... traffic....
Wait, what?
1820 Britain concludes a General Treaty of Peace...

Peace treaty. Ok. They were at war. What war? World War? No that was 1900's wasn't it? The Middle East wasn't part of that war anyway... Was it? Maybe it was World War II.... No that's even later in history... Oh well, it doesn't really matter. No, wait. It matters if I want to understand this stuff; I need to know when it happened in order to keep my history in order--I need to know why they were fighting too. Whatever. Just keep reading.

1820 Britain concludes a General Treaty of Peace for suppressing piracy and slave traffic witht he Arab tribes of the Persian Gulf. The signa...
Huh? Siga--sig...Siga-natory? Signatory? What does that mean? Oh wait. Student has a question for me.. How do you spell hault... H-a-u-l-t. Siginatory. .. .. Hault isn't right? Hault... h.a.u.l.t... uh.. Google it. Wait, my computer is rebooting from an install... Ok... Booting up. Oh, hey, the new IM client I installed works. Ew that icon is gross--didn't I change that? I thought I put my cat on there? Halt? Wait, what? There is no "U"? Seriously? That's disgusting. That's as bad as KERNEL being spelled colonel. Where the hell did that come from? Did the dictionary writer have a brain fart. KERNEL. /K/ER/NL/ not /K/OL/NL/ ...I don't think I spelled that "phonetically correct" Dr. Marshall would definitely give me a talkin' to. I hated that class. Note to self: don't learn spelling from a southerner; stick with accents of your own kind if you want to pass the reading methods class.

Ok, Definitely off track. What was I doing? Reading, right. Why can't I read? I know, let's google reading problems. Oh, this site looks promising. Ew, green. Who puts a green background on a webpage, really?


Oops, teacher meeting; time to move. Gotta get situated. Why do I bother even attempting to read? I don't know. I should write. Maybe I should bring a book with me to the next room. Naw, I won't read it. I know! I'll bring Dr. Lemke's book. But I don't really feel like reading. Maybe I'll listen to my iPod and write. "Say goodbye, these days are gone. And we can't keep holding on... lalala" I forgot the rest of the song, but that was very random. I love that song. I should look up the lyrics when I get to the next classroom.

Yeah, no reading today.