Wifi Woes

The cottage wifi was down for three days.

It was like living in pioneer times…except I had heat, running water, electricity and a Chihuahua.

I rediscovered reading, finishing The Catcher in the Rye and How to Walk in High Heels and getting about a third of the way through A Widow for One Year.

I realized how fortunate I am to have grown up in a pre-web world.  I don’t know if I’d have been such a book worm if I’d had the allure of the net calling to me as a kid.  If I hadn’t gotten into books, I probably wouldn’t have majored in English lit, and I certainly wouldn’t have been nerdy enough to name my first dog Zelda.

I also realized that I never want to go three days without wifi again.

 

 

Needful Things

I’ve been in my little seaside cottage for a couple of months now–long enough to really appreciate the creature comforts I need to live comfortably.  Here they are in no particular order:

An actual kitchen with, you know, an actual oven and maybe even a dishwasher.  The “snack” kitchen isn’t working for me any more.  I dream of homemade chocolate chip cookies and gooey roasted vegetable lasagna, neither of which are doable on a two burner hot plate.

Onsite laundry facilities.  I’m so over travelling off site to use machines I have to pay for.  In addition to the inconvenience, I can’t stop wondering what went into those machines just before my own gently worn duds.  Ugh–I hope it wasn’t anything too gross!

A bath tub.  I used to look forward to my nightly soak, but I’ve come to dread my daily shower ordeal.

Reliable internet.  It’s often okay, but when the other cottages are occupied the internet gets sketchy.  I guess it’s because so many of us are sharing the same beam?  Whatever the reason–I want my own internet beam!

A lively Chihuahua to cuddle and love.  Although she has some interesting quirks and is often a pain in the ass, I truly don’t know what I’d do without my darling.

I guess one out of five ain’t bad.

Addicted to the Nette

Friday evenings are low key in my little world.

First stop after the hustle and bustle of the work week–the grocery store!  I love food and I adore shopping, so grocery shopping isn’t a chore for me.

Next:  get up close and personal with some inexpensive Chardonnay and my trusty old laptop until bedtime.

I’d like to say I’m working on the next great Canadian novel, but in reality, I’m blogging or surfing aimlessly until I feel like it’s not too early to fire up the Netflix.  (I did say my Fridays were low key!)  Right now, I’m into reality shows.  (Bondi Ink has me seriously rethinking my decision to stop at just one tattoo.)

I realize it’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got at this point as I adjust to the catastrophic changes in my life.

Imagine my distress when I discovered the Wifi in the cottage had mysteriously disappeared!  I can’t even say it’s Missing in Action, which sounds deliciously dramatic, as there is zero action happening.

Management says the problem will be sorted soon, but as of this morning I’m heading into 24 hours off line–ugh!!!

Things you can’t do without the nette:

Get a hair cut because you can’t google salons in the area or check out reviews.

Order pizza (gooey melted cheese makes everything better!) because you don’t know the number of the local pizza place and you can’t google pizza restaurants.

Schedule that over due oil change for the car because…well you get the idea.

Things you can do sans the nette:

Read, knit, cuddle your aging Chihuahua and handwrite the introduction to that anti-Sailor rant (AKA memoir) you’re thinking of writing.

And the number one thing you can do when you’re offline–hang out at Starbucks with the other folks who take advantage of the expensive coffee and free Wifi.