You know that moment in a horror movie where the killer’s next victim cornered in some way and he or she is on the phone calling for help when the line goes dead? And you know what that person always does next, right?
They frantically push the hell out of the hook switch, trying to restore their lost phone connection. I never understood what makes someone think that rapidly pressing the very button that ends your call would restore bring it back.
Chalk it up to panic I guess. People don’t think clearly when they’re desperate.
And yet, here I am, doing the modern day equivalent of whaling the tar out of that hook switch: repeatedly hitting refresh on my browser in a vain hope that those series of rapid clicks from my mouse will magically restore my internet connection.
I work from home. I use the internet to do my job. Not having internet when I have to work is a bitch.
Scratch that. It’s beyond a bitch. It’s an angry, festering sore located in an inconvenient place. When you manage to alleviate the pain or find a comfortable way to sit, it reminds you that, for one, it’s in charge at the moment, and two, it won’t go away until you do something about it.
I called tech support. They couldn’t fix it on their end, either.
So here I sit, uncomfortably, of course, idling when I should be working, and waiting patiently for the tech to come to my place and replace my modem.
Whoever said patience is a virtue never had to meet a deadline.
I could kill time playing Crazy Quilt Sol—
Oh. Crap. That’s on Facebook.
Or I could stream Wisconsin sports talk rad—
Or not.
At least I don’t need wi-fi to read a book on my Kindle.
Yeah. I think I’ll do that.
This is my first time participating in the Trifecta Writing Challenge. The object of this challenge is to write a piece of fiction or non-fiction using the 3rd listed definition of that week’s word. The piece must be between 33 and 333 words.
The word for Trifecta Challenge: Week 61 is “bitch”.
Oh gosh I hate it when the internet is down. How quickly we’ve come to depend on something that hasn’t even been around that long.
welcome to the challenge! And, yeah, I hate out wonky internet service sometimes. Alaska phases in and out it would appear. Now you see me – now you don’t.
that should say (of course) OUR wonky internet . . . .
I keep a print book nearby for just such an occasion.
In this day I would agree – nothing is more frustrating. How did we ever live without it? I don’t remember. Good story!
good one for the challenge! gotta hate when inet is down. my won’t stay up either.
I know this story too well. My broadband service is like the old fashioned party line, so when too many in the neighborhood get to uploading massive files or indulge in down loading a video, the band width disappears and it’s worse than dial-up. Its a bitch on a the work day.
I’ve soooo been there. You captured that frustration, and the futility of all the internet based alternatives beautifully.
Love you reaching back to hook phones to make a point! Nice diatribe.
pressing on the phone is just as bad as running up the stairs! Great post.
I like what you did with your time offline!
I hate when the internet is down, but it really is when I get the most reading done! If I stay off the computer (usually means no ‘net) then I can easily read 300 pages before the weekend is up, if I check out FB or my google reader list for “just a minute” I end up with only 30 pages, if not only 3, read in a weekend!
You mentioned crazy quilts? I <3 crazy quilting!
Welcome to Trifecta!! Thanks so much for linking up with us. I loved this piece. During the summer, I go back to having a non-smart phone and no internet connection. It’s mind-boggling how much life slows down. For better and for worse. Anyway, hope to see you back on Friday for the weekend challenge!
Thanks everyone for stopping by and reading this. I can deal with little or no technology when I do something like go camping, but when I’m in the middle of actually working…it’s frustrating.
seriously, i just don’t know how we did it before the internet
This is cute (:I love how you spun the horror movie bit into it.
Great capture of the inner turmoil even created when Internet connection is present, but spotty. I think back to how I’d wait for the longest to get a connection years ago & be delighted. Funny how our expectations advance right along with our technology.
I love that image of people pressing frantically on the phone positioned against your frantic refreshing. Terrific contrast.