Almost Back!

I'm back online!  Almost...

As it happens ABC and ESPN are so far behind the times that I can't watch football games on those networks without having a TV service provider.  All the other networks let you watch with their own subscription.  NBC has Peacock.  CBS has Paramount +.  And FOX just lets you watch.  

Not ABC or ESPN.  I even have the Disney + and ESPN+ subscriptions bundled with my Hulu, and even though Disney owns ABC/ESPN, I can't watch with those subscriptions.  It has to be an actual TV service provider like DirecTV or whatever.    

Bummer.  Thus, I concluded I'd have to turn my Hulu Live back on.  To do that, I'd need home internet.  But why don't I just get DirecTV or whatever?  Mainly because, for one thing they don't carry the local affiliates where I live.  I know some people in town have told me they can get local channels, but I'm out in the county, and every time I check, nope.  Besides, I had Cable when I first moved into this house, and it is actually cheaper to subscribe to Hulu Live.  And they have almost everything I need.  I usually pick up Frendly TV around the holidays so I can watch my cheesy Christmas movies. 

So anyway, last night, I was poking around on Sparklight's website and found an internet plan that is much cheaper than what I'd been paying, so I signed up for it.  I checked the box to lease the modem, and thought I completed the order.  This morning, after I'd done all my in-town running, I went back to the site to see when my modem would ship, and it said my order was invalid, even though my bank account had already been charged.  

I called the customer service number, and the guy I talked to got me a deal that was even better than the one I'd signed up for.  I'll be getting my internet for almost half of what I was paying before. Of course, I won't have the highest speeds, but I don't game so I don't need any more than what I need to stream videos.  I won't have unlimited data, either, but I don't really think I'll need that much.  I told the guy I'd keep an eye on my data usage, and upgrade if I start to go over, but I don't think I will.  I mean, even using my phone's data, I've never even gotten close to what this plan allows.  

Then he asked me if I would be able to pick up the router at my local office.  "Sure, that's not a problem," I responded.  Turns out, it would indeed be a problem. 

I got into my car and drove down all the way to the other side of town, only to find out my local office closes at 1:00, and isn't open on weekends, either.  Since I don't get off work until 2:00, I wouldn't be able to pick up the modem until next Friday.  Bummer.  I came home quite frustrated, then I called back, explained what the problem was, and if they could ship the router to me.  He said, "I can switch that to ship for you," and it literally took him like, half a minute to do it.  It's going to ship on Monday, and I'll get it Wednesday. 

I just wish I'd called first thing this morning.  Then I could have picked it up when I was running errands and would have internet for tomorrow's games.  As it happens, I'm going to miss them all, since the ones I want to watch are on ESPN -- which is still living in the '90s.   But I'll be able to watch next week! 

Ugh, but I'll have to drag that big, heavy entertainment center away from the wall...again....

I'll still be able to watch the Cowboys, because they play on NBC this week.  The first half at least, since my supervisor has decided that we need to start coming in at 4:00 AM again, and I'll actually be going to bed at halftime.  

I'm excited about getting my internet back, but part of me kind of feels like a failure.  I mean, it wasn't actually that hard living without it, and I'd never intended to leave it shut off permanently anyway.  It was a bit inconvenient at times, but still doable.  I wasn't missing anything as far as watching TV goes, because I'd figured out how to watch everything I wanted to...then football season started.  

Yes, I could have chosen not to watch it this year, but I didn't really want to.  I want to watch football, pro and college, and I want to watch my teams, not just whatever happens to be on a channel I happen to get on my phone.  Whatever the reason, I'm back online, and will just have to find other ways to cut corners.  I mean, who needs to eat anyway?  

But seriously, now that I've decided to put off replacing my fences a little longer, I'm not nearly as stressed about my finances as I was before.  In a pinch, I can just use the fence money I've been saving.  I hope it won't come to that, but even so...

In knitting news, I'm making progress on the sock.  A little bit, that is.

I guess I'm just getting old, because knitting on smaller yarn -- which I used to love -- is making my hands and arms so sore.  Maybe if I stuck with it, I'd toughen up, but right now, I'm having to take it in small bits of time.  

In work news, nobody knows what's going on out there.  Seriously.  Nobody knows anything.  They'd said -- rumor said, rather-- they were going to combine the shifts when we got back from Labor Day, but they didn't.  A couple of people who work in the assembly area said it's because they hadn't finished re-doing the assembly line so they could run whatever it is they're going to run down it.  It's taking longer than they'd thought it would.  I asked my supervisor if they were still going to combine the shifts, and he said he didn't even know.  

I'm ready for them to get 'er done, already, because if the shifts are combined, at least I won't have to come in to this mess every morning. 

When I complain, I'm told, "But he doesn't even work on your station."  Exactly!  He doesn't work on my station, so there's no reason in the world for him to be piling up jigs and garbage on my table!  I swan, it's like having a child in the plant.  

By the way, you know you've lost the trust of your employees when HR comes around taking new employee ID photos, and as soon as they've gone, people start asking, "Now what was that really all about?"  

OK, moving right along...

I finished reading A Door In The Wall.  It's a kid's book, probably for ages 8-12, but it was still good.  I'm sure I've read it before, but don't really remember anything but the cover art.  Still, it's worth the read, and will only take a couple of hours.  I'm not sure what I'm going to read next.  Maybe I'll finish Shakespeare's Richard III.  

Speaking of Richard III, I finished watching The Tudors this morning.  It got kind of weird toward the end.  Heh, the actor who played Henry VIII...I think he was trying to make Henry sound old, but he really made him sound like The Godfather.  Now I guess I'll go back to watching The X-Files and Heartland. 

And finally, a little bit of humor to brighten your day. 

Please??????