Friday, August 17, 2012

When Internet Fails

I think we have got to a point now where many of us take the internet for granted. The all knowing all entertaining fountain of knowledge that flows out through our broadband and wireless connections is so ever present now, like tap water, it is just always there when we want it. So when I was sitting in front of my computer this morning pleasantly sipping my drink waiting to have my morning dose of the interweb, I was filled with a level of horror of which I have never felt since my last dental appointment...

"Connection Not Found"...what?!! After retrying a dozen times to no avail, I desperately phoned my internet provider, hands shaking as the withdrawn symptoms start to set in. "Sorry sir, there seems to be something wrong with your phone line. We will need to send someone in to have a look, but the soonest available slot is in three days is that OK sir?".........What? Noooooooooo?!?!?

"Pull yourself together", I told myself as I was curled up in a ball on my bed. After all it's not the end of the world...right? Not so long ago all I had was a dial-up connection, and only checking the web maybe once or twice a day briefly, and it was only a little bit longer that I didn't have any internet at all. I will be fine, there are plenty of other things to do, just think think think.........

It's now about an hour later and I find myself sitting in some seedy internet cafe. Judging from the concentration on his face the guy to my right is either looking at an educational website or an "educational" website, and the guy to my left seems to have mistaken this place for a motel as he is fast to sleep in his chair, paying by the hour here is cheaper than getting a room I guess. I try to ignore them and do what I came here to do as quickly as possible. Now I know how an addict wondering the city's back alley in search of his daily fix feels like. 


  

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