Our internet connection had been slowing up for a while, a week, perhaps more. Then last Thursday it began to seriously fail. It wasn't that we couldn't get online, we could, but pages weren't loading properly. Some sites, a seemingly random selection, we couldn't access at all. It was all a bit of a disaster.
Of course this threw me into a total panic. Not only did I feel isolated, but I couldn't do the things I needed to do, such as internet banking. Half term was on the horizon and we rely on the internet completely to keep Son 2, a YouTube addict, amused. I couldn't read my emails to confirm he had a couple of days respite this coming week and I was unable to get hold of people by phone. Stressed doesn't even begin to describe how I was feeling.
Luckily I do have a Vodafone mobile internet dongle thing so all was not lost. I eventually discovered I could access my emails via that, but we wouldn't all be able to get online and the costs could potentially be huge if Son 2 had to use it all day during half term. Hubby has been trying to persuade me to cancel the contract when it expires this summer, but this has proven to me that it's a worthwhile investment as a fallback.
In the end we managed to get Son 2 online but the rest of us suffered. I spent an hour on the phone to BT who were polite but didn't solve the problem. They seemed to think it was probably our router (not a BT one) but I was sure it wasn't. They also muttered something about BT Yahoo server maintenance. In the end that is what I think the problem was, as yesterday morning our normal service suddenly came back (fingers crossed).
It's been scary to realise how dependent we are on our computers.
The computer downtime did, however, give me a chance to carry on reading Like Bees to Honey, which I finished yesterday. I'm still trying to process all my thoughts, but what I can say is that Caroline has written an amazing book and one from which I suspect each reader will take a different message. I'll come back to it later in the week.
8 comments:
Oh internet problems, what a complete nightmare. I haven't read Like Bees to Honey yet, I'm saving it for when I know I can sit down and read it cover to cover.
We are so dependent on so many things. I sometimes try to imagine what would happen if all the technology stopped working: no computers, phones, electricity, artificial light, cars... scary indeed!
Cathy, you have my sympathies regarding the lack of internet. OMG, how addicted are we all?
I cannot believe that my copy of LBtH is going to my parents' house in the UK and I won't get my hands on it until I'm there. Aaagh.
It's like your right arm being cut off isn't it! So difficult when we rely on something so much. And if you have limited technical knowledge like me it makes the situation a lot worse!
CJ xx
The dependency is truly scary and not having the technical know-how to identify and sort out problems is equally scary. I must be a controil freak!
A control freak, even!
Scary indeed, how dependent we have become in just a few years.
Marianne, I feel sorry for people who are excluded from internet access, either due to cost or inability to cope with the technology (like my parents). They miss out on so much now.
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