Unexpected Detour

Coming home from the Comets game tonight, I found the freeway at a complete stop... just an exit or two before Loop 610, where I normally exit.

So, I bailed off on an uncharted street. The initial neighborhood that I passed through was a little scary, but I knew I would soon be in comfortable (if not safe) territory. And I was.

I eventually found myself a block from an ex's house.

And for reasons that cannot be explained by alcohol (2 beers in 4 hours) or conscious curiosity (I'm not prepared to comment on the unconscious), I diverted my path to drive by the house.

Please note that while I experienced no emotion, whatsoever, from the 'drive by'... I did note that the landscaping that I busted my back over... seems to be thriving.

At least SOMEthing good and long lasting came from the relationship.

Things You Can Count On, Things You Can't

That's the way life is.

I'm usually pretty perceptive, and my intuition is close to 100% accurate.

I find myself dead wrong, though, in one big leap of faith that I've taken.

Thinking back on it... the signals were there. I've either been too busy to indulge in the doubts... or maybe they slapped me in the face, and I found it more convenient and easier to ignore them.

And now I'm left in a mess with a short time line (fuse) that while it feels like a total shock... it's not.

If It Weren't for Bad Luck...

I'd have no luck at all.

Little did I know as a child, listening to that song on Hee Haw... that it was written about me.

I came home today to find the television off. (I leave it on everyday for Miss C's viewing pleasure). It came on when I turned it on, and ran autoprogram. I didn't think much of it, since we've had storms today.

I plugged the iron in to iron clothes for the Comets game tonight, and the light dimmed. I thought it odd, but didn't worry too much about it.

As I waited for the iron to heat, I noticed that the a/c didn't seem to be cooling. I checked the thermostat and it was 80, but set on 78. I went outside and discovered that the condensor wasn't running. I came back in to make sure that the thermostat hadn't accidentally been turned onto "fan" from "automatic". To do that, I turned the hall light on, and as soon as I turned the fan "off"... the hall light, iron and dressing room lights went off. Other lights, fans and the bedroom tv were off, as well... the rest on.

So... I checked the electrical box. Everything was on, but I turned each breaker off and back on. Still nothing.

There was nothing else to do, but call MMSP. He talked me through a bunch of different scenarios, and then called an electrician for me. His guy was at the hospital with his wife who had surgery today. So I called the guy who installed my a/c seven years ago, and who was highly recommended by my next door neighbor.

And what a guy he was... getting here in less than fifteen minutes. He said it was as he suspected, I only had 110 coming into the panel. A transformer had blown, he said.

So... I called CenterPoint Energy, nestled myself into a chair on hold, for thirty five minutes... with the cell phone on my other ear, talking to everyone I had alerted of (disturbed with) my problem. I was told by CP, that 73 customers were affected by the problem and that a truck had been dispatched two minutes earlier.

And here I sit, three hours later. I just called CenterPoint again and they said the problem had been resolved. (Geez... I'm glad I called again).

I told them my story all over again, and they said they would send someone else out here. And here I sit...

• in the dark, so I don't add heat to the house
• clothed in as next to nothing as you can wear and still have your privates covered...
• in a house that wreaks of wet dog and mildew (due to a roof leak I'm trying to get fixed!).
• wringing wet with sweat and smelling like an old tennis shoe.
• it's 82 degrees in here and about 98% humidity, and I only have power to two ceiling fans.
• the only place it's hotter is outside, where I have one ceiling fan working, on the porch.
• missing a Comets game with the only decent give-away (for the first 3000).
• listening to the game on the internet: (1) they're winning their third game this season, and (2) Mistie Williams is getting playing time. (3) and now the Comets have won the game, to become 3 and 11... My friends will likely not allow me to attend another game.
• my poor Miss C is panting and pacing and miserable.
• and I'm feeling hopeless.
• really hopeless.
• seriously. really, really hopeless.
• well... at least I have my internet.

$3 Worth of Superstition

I'm not superstitious about anything... but Comets games.

For example, I never wear red to the games, because since the 5th season (and our first to be displaced as WNBA Champions), every time I do... we lose.

So, having purchased a $3 box of popcorn, on the night of our first win, from our favorite aisle vendor... I decided I should keep the tradition alive last night, in spite of the fact that I wasn't hungry.

Having winced with hunger when I left that first box behind, I made a special effort to remember to bring the second box home. And settled in, this rainy day after... just me, Miss C and that box of popcorn. We watched an old 'Dennis The Menace' move and munched... until...

I broke a tooth on a hidden kernel.

Suddenly my luck has turned.

So here I am, NOW... working overtime. And instead of working to get ahead (to pay for a leaking roof), I'm working to maintain status quo... AGAIN.

Coincidence Or Conspiracy?

Comcast took over the Time Warner territory of Houston this week, meaning that I lost tv channels, gained other tv channels, and...

My internet service is fits and spurts (this being a spurt), and otherwise, dead as a doornail... and has been since yesterday.

I called technical assistance, and here's a synopsis:

• you shouldn't have to press 1 to continue in English
• the helpful message that says you can register your problem more quickly by logging onto "double u double u double u dot comcast dot com" only works if you actually have ACCESS TO THE FREAKIN' INTERNET.
• I was on hold for 22 minutes!
• technician asks me if I've checked the connections... cable, network, power. Oh my, smart sir, you mean it might be as simple as a connection in this room??? Give me a break. Had I rather hold this phone to my ear for half an hour, or crawl behind the desk and make damn sure it's not something I can fix myself????
• technician tells me that I would be surprised at the number of phone calls he receives from people who don't have thier modem plugged in, etc. Dear God, what a sucky job he has!
• technician tells me that he can't get a signal through to my modem. Wow... really??? I told him that when he picked up the call.
• the quickest he can get someone out is 8am Monday morning, which is unacceptable to me since I will have to go to the office today and tomorrow (Saturday and Sunday), in order to complete my work.
• not that he cares, but i tell technician of the sweet deal that at&t has offered me to switch to DSL. he swears that he DOES care and will do whatever it takes to keep me a broadband customer.
• however, he considers "whatever it takes" to mean sending someone out Monday morning. And no matter how long I hold out and threaten, the earliest someone can come out is 8am Monday morning.
• well, I resign myself, since that's quicker than I can get AT&T to install DSL, so I finally agree to 8 am Monday morning.
• then suddenly I realize that I have promised a client that I will do a walk-through on his jobsite on Monday morning, so I have to reschedule for Monday afternoon, 2-5pm.
• i remind the young man to credit my bill for 3 days of internet service, and while he's at it, credit me 2 days of cable tv, since I have to go to work (and won't be able to enjoy my cable tv).
• he says he'll credit me one week of my total bill, and I protest and remind him that that doesn't mean that they can take a week to solve the problem. he assures me that they won't.
• in closing, the uber polite young man asks if there is anything else he can do to assist me. BIG MISTAKE.
• I tell him to send a message to the advertising department: (1) I don't appreciate the astronaut popping off to the cop, (2) the astronaut's yoga moves are disturbing and irrelevant to what they're trying to promote, and (3) to infer that because a group of men are huddled around the remote control during a bbq party... that "their women" would set the backyard on fire is demeaning.
• the young man said that he appreciated my comments and would pass them along. he said that he understood, as men had long been portrayed as incompetent fathers...
• and I said, "if the shoe fits".
• ok, please understand that I was angry... but I was wrong for saying that. my father was the best parent in the world, and equal to my mother in every way.

All that said... seriously, with all I said, I may never get my internet fixed.