And the hits just keep on coming...

Just when I thought things were getting better, they took a turn for the worse.

I got home after work. Lu is gone for the next few days, visiting friends and relatives. So, I was really looking forward to a nice nap, maybe watching some of my taped TV shows and then making an early night of it.

But first I thought I'd call B___ and let him know how the graduation went. So, I changed clothes, started the Wednesday wash and grabbed the phone. It was dead! I checked the computer - can't get online. Checked the TV - nothing!

So, I got the flashlight and a toothpick and lay on the office floor to reset the modem. I went through all the steps and checked the light display. Still blinking. So, I did it again. No luck.

I went out to the car and got the emergency cell phone (one of those "pre-pay by the minute" ones) and called the cable company. It annoyed me to be kept on the phone that long (since I pay for every minute) but I finally got through.

The technician said there weren't any general outages in my area (which is normally the problem). She checked remotely and said, "Yes, there's something wrong! I'll schedule a service call." I said, "Can't you do things remotely or talk me through it? I don't care about the TV or the Internet, but I really need a phone!"

She warned me it would be involved but said she'd try. I was following her lead and we were getting along great until "the battery pack." She told me to take off the cover and remove the battery pack. I didn't bother; I just told her there was no battery pack (I've been through this before). She said, "Are the lights still on?" "One." "And the electrical plug is out?" "Yes." "That's impossible!" I said, "Well, maybe there's enough electrical feedback from the computer or something, but there is no battery in this modem!" So, I took off the cover just to prove it to myself. Nothing.

Then she said, in that voice that young people use with older people who they think are senile or something, "Now, it's not going to look like a "battery," it's a battery pack." I said, "I am not a child and I know what a battery pack looks like. There is nothing under this cover but empty! There aren't even wires to hook a battery pack to in there!"

Well, we worked through that and eventually, it came back on. She did say the reading she was getting were so low, she couldn't guarantee it would stay up.

I tried B___ but he was busy and said he'd call me back. I downloaded the pictures from the graduation, but my computer wouldn't unzip the file. So, I emailed it off to the Webmaster. Just about that time, it all went down again!

Somewhere with all the kneeling and laying on the floor, I managed to wrench my shoulder and it hurt. I spent the rest of the night watching taped TV shows (you can do that even if you don't have a cable feed and fortunately, with Lu being here and me being sick, I had lots of them.) I went to bed at 11:00 PM.