Alone … on a deserted island
Oct 19th 2007
Karen RoseWhen Goddesses Fall To Earth
My cable went down last week! Noooooooo! We tried to fix it to no avail and called the cable company.
Me (wailing): My cable’s gone out!
Cable guy (patronizing): Did you unplug and replug it in?
Me (frowning because I am not a dufus): Yes. I called you guys a month ago and you said it was my antiquated modem from the compuserve days
(okay, small exaggeration - the modem’s age, not the one month-ago reporting of this VERY SAME PROBLEM). You came out and said you fixed it.
Cable guy: We’ll be out … next Thursday.
Me (controlled shrieking): NEXT THURSDAY!!!! I can’t wait until NEXT THURSDAY. I have no INTERNET. NO EMAIL.
Cable guy: It’s the first available date, ma’am. Unless you’d like to upgrade to business class, which costs $50/month extra. Then we could come out tomorrow.
Fifty bucks a month extra, for them to come out and fix a problem I’ve reported several times before? That’s almost extortion. So, I rather politely (I thought) declined his offer and determined I’d use wi-fi at the coffee shops in the meantime. Of course that would mean getting dressed and leaving my house while I’m on deadline. (and haven’t had my roots done lately.) Yeah. Right. Not. I did go out a few times (roots cleverly covered with mascara - oh, please don’t rain!) but found my local coffee shop has no wi-fi. Gasp. The McD’s next door did, but it was down. Grumble.
So, I went without. NO email. NO Yahoo weird news. NO GODDESS BLOGS! Wahhhh.
I was alone. Isolated. Closeted away from HUMANITY. Then, I had an idea. A spark of genius pricked at my internet deprived mind. I could actually call people. Like, with a telephone. So I did! Real voices, LOL. I 
actually wrote a paper check for the first time in forever when I normally use on-line Bill Pay. It wasn’t so bad after all 
And I thought - wow. How quickly I became accustomed to new technology and its conveniences. However, now my cable is restored. I’m back to paying by bills on line and I am back to the delightful goddesses!
So are you dependent on technology? Have you had to go cold turkey lately? How did you cope?
40 Comments »
40 Responses to “Alone … on a deserted island”
SuzyQ on 19 Oct 2007 at 8:10 am #
Oh Karen, you poor thing! I don’t know what I would do with the internet. I pay bills online also and I can’t imagine no email and im (it’s the only way I talk to my nieces and nephew). We did have an problem with our internet not too long ago but I was able to connect to some of my neighbors’ wi-fi. It’s really amazing how many people do not secure their home wi-fi.
Lisa H on 19 Oct 2007 at 8:19 am #
Karen, I need the “blog” every morning with my shot of caffeine. I hate talking on the phone, it makes my neck hurt.
I love technology, but in all honesty, I think it is a time sucker not a time saver.
Glad to see you are back on line, and blogging. I love the picture you posted of the woman shrieking, it looks like me when I haven’t had my caffeine or blog!
cail on 19 Oct 2007 at 8:24 am #
actually, i’ve been going internet free for a few weekends lately. every time i go out of town i avoid (mostly) the internet. That will be nearly 4 weekends in a row.
of course, during the week, im connected all day at work, then if i’m at home alone i’m likely reading or sending emails.
Karen Rose on 19 Oct 2007 at 8:27 am #
Suzy Q - my neighbors are savvy. All block their wifi. Da*n. (Can I say “da*n” on the blog? I think if you all could say tw*t, I can say da*m, but I’ll go for caution at this stage…)
I guess my neighbors might have let me sponge if I’d asked, but I don’t know any of them very well. Note to self - get to know the neighbors better!
doglady on 19 Oct 2007 at 8:33 am #
I definitely would be unhappy if my internet went out. I too, have to check the goddessblogs every AM before I go to work. However, that is the extent of my technology addiction. I live so far out in the country there is no cable. My internet is dial up. I have an outside antenna so I get the three major channels, Fox and public tv (must have for Brit comedies) I do not own a cell phone or a PDA. I still do some of my writing with a pen and paper. GASP No laptop either. I feel at times that kids who are brought up in this techno age lose a lot. They don’t read, they don’t go outside to play, the are easily bored and have no imagination because all of their games are video games. I am just an old curmudgeon when it comes to technology. Born in the wrong time, I guess.
Caren Crane on 19 Oct 2007 at 8:39 am #
Oh, no! I am completely lost without the internet and my e-mail. It’s fine for a couple of days while I’m on vacation (and distracted!), but I want it bad by the time I get back.
My name is Caren and I am a technology addict…
KariE on 19 Oct 2007 at 8:45 am #
I am very dependent on technology. I work from home but my work computer dials into a remote server. My computer and fax machine are my life lines for my job. BUT at 5:01 pm, I close the office door, walk down the hall and leave the technology behind. I wont say I don’t hop on the net in the evenings. For the most part, I depend on technology for work.
I have been forced to go cold turkey when the internet is down but that only last for a few hours (if I’m lucky). This hasn’t happened lately.
Outside of work I cope by doing things I would have done pre-technology (ish), play with my son, read a book, clean, go for walks, you know, the things I SHOULD be doing.
Cookiedough on 19 Oct 2007 at 9:05 am #
I would go through serious withdrawal without using the internet or my five remotes in both my living room and bedroom. I was 19 by the time VCRs came out, and didn’t even own a computor until 6 short years ago, but I’ve embraced it all whole heartedly.
When Hurricane Juan hit, I went insane for five days without tv entertainment. forget power for eating. My landlord set up his campstove for everyone in the back parking lot.
I needed it for tv and internet.
My neighbour had her 85 yr old mom staying with her for that week, and she was lost without her soaps. cateracts meant that night time reading was out for her, so I found my Wheel of Fortune handheld game, used a dry erase board my friend got from her office and played wheel of fortune in the candle lit kitchen. I was Vanna, and Jeanie was Pat. thank goodness for batteries!
claudia dain on 19 Oct 2007 at 9:42 am #
What fortitude, Karen! You’re like a Viking Woman in your endurance and stamina. I’m barely tech literate and I’d go nuts without my little tech luxuries.
I don’t know about you, but I think wifi should be freely offered at every public place, sort of like electric lights. Didn’t they start “offering” electric lighting at about the same time that Laura Ingalls married Manly?
In my mall writing adventures, I “met” a cute guy yesterday who practically jumped into my lap, not for my charms (dangit) but because he could see I was on the internet, courtesy of the Apple Store. He said, with considerable desperation, “I’ve been all over this mall and in every coffee shop looking for wifi. I’ve lost half a day.” Poor guy. I could so relate.
Karen Rose on 19 Oct 2007 at 10:22 am #
Chuckling - Viking woman with very bad roots. I want to be a Viking woman! They were tall, right?
In some countries, you can get wifi everywhere, even on subways. I think Japan has this. If not, my kids’ anime has been lying to me. Kira from Death Note uses his computer on the subway, as do several actors in Japanese films my hubby watches. I’d go back to Japan, but there are such bad memories of live fish wriggling about…
Cookie - that was so nice of you to be Vanna!
Caren, what you said, just change your C to my K.
Doglady - no cable? Gasp. Actually, I only use my cable to watch TNT and USA for my L&O reruns. Most everything else (Heroes!) is either network or on DVD. DH uses the cable a lot to watch old movies. We watched a cool movie last night with Van Heflin as a crime scene tech. CSI in the 40’s!
I guess I’d find other things to do without my cable, but I wouldn’t be too happy about it.
elsiehogarth on 19 Oct 2007 at 10:25 am #
I don’t care much about losing the phone but I must have Internet access: e-mail, blogs, Webkinz, Authors Websites etc Even on vacation, in Santo Domingo, the first thing I asked about was if they had computers because I needed my world wide web.
Julia London on 19 Oct 2007 at 10:35 am #
I would have Slit. My. Wrists. You’d be sending flowers now. I am so dependent its not even funny. I take my computer overseas just so I can check email. Its an insidious disease….
claudia dain on 19 Oct 2007 at 10:50 am #
Karen, you ARE a Viking Woman; tall, gorgeous roots, able to withstand a week without cable.
If I couldn’t get my cable TV shows, I’d die. A noisy, gruesome death. I would not go quietly or with dignity. It would get very ugly, very fast. No internet, same deal. No phone…that I could live without. Who calls me anyway? It’s all sales calls these days. My kids have my cell number, so they could find me.
I’m just so glad you made it to the other side and are back among the living again.
Karen Rose on 19 Oct 2007 at 11:07 am #
I leap tall buildings with a single bound, too! Oh wait. That’s Superman. See what a week without internet does? First day out I was seeing flying pink elephants.
Really!
Freshechelle on 19 Oct 2007 at 11:46 am #
Doglady, what a trouper you are. And how sad that we think it’s special that you live without all this technology that is supposed make our lives easier but really just makes it busier. Almost as busy as the run on sentence.
Julia, time to get a Blackberry. Shed the laptop, leaves more room in the suitcase for buying shoes! (did I just contradict my first paragraph? oh well)
Karen, I love your rage against the internet service provider. Demand the service you pay for! If we refuse to accept indifferent answers like “soon” or “there’s nothing I can do”, may be we can raise the level of service we pay for. I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore. Ok, tirade over. Thanks for letting me rant, goddesses.
Karen Rose on 19 Oct 2007 at 11:51 am #
Well, Fresh, what I failed to mention is my followup call to the competition. I’m getting a bundled service and saving almost HALF off my current combined phone/cable/internet bill.
They shouldn’t have said Thursday…
Freshechelle on 19 Oct 2007 at 11:56 am #
You rule, Karen!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cookiedough on 19 Oct 2007 at 12:48 pm #
good for you Karen! Exactly what I would have done- drop the cruddy service for a better one!
I’ve often thought of moving to the country and chucking all the extras away. chopping my own wood, a vegetable garden.
At 19 I raised two really dumb cows for beef. No, really- they were dumb. We had to put dog tag collars on them because they used to run away..to the butcher shop down the road.
I just couldn’t bring myself to eat the beef after. Same with the chickens and turkeys. once you’ve named them, you can’t eat em.
colinfirthfan on 19 Oct 2007 at 12:52 pm #
I am very dependent on technology. Just last week I was working from home and my internet crapped out. I had to rush back into work. Awful!! I was so mad! I called my husband to whine and complain!!
GRRRR!!!!
Sabrina Jeffries on 19 Oct 2007 at 1:05 pm #
I love technology, and can’t live without my internet, but I suspect I’d get WAY more work done if I didn’t have it. Sigh. I’m even thinking of getting a PC that I’d dedicate solely to writing that is internet-free.
claudia dain on 19 Oct 2007 at 1:18 pm #
I used to think that, Sabrina, and I think it used to be true. Now, since I can’t focus on anything for long stretches, cruising over to the goddesses or the forum every time I’m taking a mental break from the writing doesn’t seem to hurt my process.
OTOH, I could be seriously delusional.
Suzanne Enoch on 19 Oct 2007 at 1:47 pm #
I read your blog, KarenR, and it made me twitch. I’m a compulsive email checker. And of course when I have a new book out I have to check my rankings on Amazon and B & N every hour. They change over at 21 minutes after the hour, you know. Twitch. Twitch.
Ann in IL on 19 Oct 2007 at 2:51 pm #
Karen,
Ann in IL on 19 Oct 2007 at 2:55 pm #
Karen………….I hit the wrong button.
Anyway, our cable provider will credit your bill for as many days or hours that you were without service. Try asking for it.
I am a relative newby to the techno world. Bought my first computer in Feb. I love email and reading blogs. Googling - is that a word? Can’t make myself trust online banking or bill paying. That just scares me do death. I don’t even have a debit card.
Karen Rose on 19 Oct 2007 at 2:57 pm #
No, I didn’t know that, Suzanne. Now I’m twitching, too… LOVED your pics btw. Very mysterious!
21 minutes past the hour means I have 25 minutes to kill doing something productive, LOL.
Sabrina, I also used to think that I needed solace from the inet, but I’m finding I use it a) to take Claudia-style breaks and b) to research on the fly when I’m deep in the book and something comes up that if I don’t know THAT VERY MOMENT will stall me. That’s my story, baby, and I’m stickin’ to it.
Karen Rose on 19 Oct 2007 at 2:59 pm #
Ann, welcome to the cyber world!!! We’re so glad you bought that magic box, LOL. Yes, Googling is indeed a word and I have used it in books as a verb many a time. Helps when you’re writing a contemp. If one of our historical lovlies used it, it would have a different meaning…
Hmmm, maybe I should ask for that credit. It was a whole week!!! And it was their fault, too. Humph. Askin’ me if I unplugged and plugged it back in my aunt Fannie…
Karen Rose on 19 Oct 2007 at 3:02 pm #
Cookiedough, you’re cracking me up. I can see your dumb cows standing outside the butcher shop, bleating. Was there a cow on the sign?
Cookiedough on 19 Oct 2007 at 3:26 pm #
that would have been too good!
I couldn’t bring myself to go and see. the place was also a slaughtering place. I just didn’t want to go.
It was bad enough when my dad got it into his head that it was time to do the chickens- when I was painting the garbage bin ten feet away. they would fly their little headless bodies my way, sending me screaming off in the opposite direction.
Did I mention I was a real girly girl, who previously had lived in a house complete with sauna, swimming pool and maid?
Him deciding we should live the farm life did not go over well with me!
lol
Cookiedough on 19 Oct 2007 at 3:28 pm #
and not to brag, but we also had an elevator. I kid you not!
sigh
well, yes, a wee bit of bragging/wistful memories.
Keri Ford on 19 Oct 2007 at 3:38 pm #
Gotta have my internet. Mostly for the same reason’s Claudia listed. I get nutty if I’m on my computer trying to write and I can’t pop in my email or do a google search.
For some reason, about once every 2 or 3 weeks my internet just decides it needs a little break and shuts itself down for the whole day. I’m talking an 8hour clock-out break. WTF. Can’t it take its breaks at night?
Nicole Jordan on 19 Oct 2007 at 3:40 pm #
Oh, Karen, I do so feel your pain! That would have driven me bonkers.
And I just saw an article in today’s paper about a woman who took a hammer to her local Comcast office because she was so frustrated. Got three months in jail for it. So you were probably wise to control your impulses and just get a new provider.
Cookiedough on 19 Oct 2007 at 3:49 pm #
sorry, took a supply of bitter pills today!
lol
Karen Hawkins on 19 Oct 2007 at 4:02 pm #
So she went to jail, but did she get her cable fixed? I want to know!
Karen, I feel your pain. My cable is spotty, too. And when the net goes out I get SO irritated! I don’t know what I’d do without it. Probably do more laundry!
Judy f on 19 Oct 2007 at 5:21 pm #
Karen I am glad you survived. I don’t have cable either, so right now I am over my sister using her high speed internet. Wow the difference. LOL
Some day when there is a surplus in the budget I am getting a better computer and high speed internet.
Off to the docks seeing if my ship is iin yet.
Vicki on 19 Oct 2007 at 6:35 pm #
So glad you’re back!! I don’t know what I would do without my cable. The shows I TIVO and the internet gone…oh my, I’d feel disconnected from the world.
Cookiedough on 19 Oct 2007 at 6:54 pm #
Ellen, where are you?
Karen Rose on 19 Oct 2007 at 6:57 pm #
Nicole, I decided to use an economic hammer instead! Y’all, if you’re getting periodic loss of cable inet, have your cable guy come out and check. Our cable had gone bad and the box on the house was falling apart.
Karen Hawkins on 19 Oct 2007 at 8:30 pm #
Karen, I am going to call the cable co on Monday! I never thought about the age of the equipment on the outside of the house.
darkshire007 on 21 Oct 2007 at 4:22 pm #
This is truly terrible as I live to read what you Goddesses produce. So a computer failure (be it internet, weather, war, etc.) affects me, too. As for me, as long as I have a source of reading material available (Borders, B&N, Waldens) and two good legs to get me there (should the world come to an absolute stop) I am well and truly happy. Keep the books coming…..
goofy girl on 23 Oct 2007 at 1:39 pm #
Excuse me — did you think of going to the library ?