thinking about my thoughts about disappearing, I stumbled acorss this writing from mid-summer 2004, during the hurricanes... I don't know if I ever uploaded it, but I didn't find it when I looked for it on the older page so I offer it up now (cuz I need to cheat to get back on time, dangit!)...

but it is worth thinking about, I think...

it wasn't that long ago (and to think there are some of you reading this who actually do not remember life without the internet... generations are gapping {and gaping at the gap} once again {will there be another resurrection of peace, love, and understanding one of these days?}... yeah, I know, I'm supposed to feel old now, but somehow I still don't have that feeling old thing down)...

the power is back on here at casa de candoor, for the moment, after almost four full days without the devil electricity (yes, our great great great great grandparents used to call it that... though I don't really think they thought of themselves as quite that great)... the challenge was not having light for long periods and therein not being able to see well enough to clean up after the people I live with (who have the habit of putting things down anywhere and leaving them wherever)... finding puddles or sticky messes is not fun (except for the bugs, the bugs probably have gobs of fun)... the heat was a challenge, but at the same time a welcome change of pace from the sterile tasting air-conditioned air that separates indoors from outdoors here in Florida... the worst aspect of the heat was the mold and mildew that grows quickly on anything damp due to the humidity and the humidity was extremely high this week, so everything has that stale stank...

the telephone lines, however, are not back, which is puzzling since they were back the day after the storm and then, sometime between then and now, they went dead... the phone company, Bell South, which has to be right up there with the worst phone companies in the universe and anyone in their right mind who actually chooses them for service is actually not in their right mind... I know... for the past few years I've had them for local, voicemail, long distance, internet, and cellular service... their primary problem is a lack of organizational structure that is even slightly conducing to good customer service or even answering questions without a run around and referral to other departments... I've spent more time on the phone with them trying to get information about their screw ups and trying to get them to resolve their screw ups than I've spent on the phone with anyone else... according to the person I spoke to today, they finally credited the rebates for September 2003 ($200) to my account this month... and the rebates for February, 2004 (another $200), well, we're still waiting for resolution on those... and they wonder why they don't get my checks on time...

the first two people I spoke to referred me to other people and finally when someone appeared to take some credit for knowing something, the first thing I was told is that I do not pay for in house wire maintenance so there will be a charge if a service person comes to my house and the problem is with internal wiring... I asked if they were certain they had no problems with their wiring and was told someone would be out by September 2nd... vague non-answers, that's the company policy... I am thinking that maybe the water got into the walls and shorted the phone wires since we did have the phone working the first day after the storm... but then I thought about the non-answers I got and decided to talk to neighbors and the front office... I had been trying to call the front office for days and they did not answer... turns out, they have no phone service... the whole development has no phone service... the whole area has no phone service... the manager of our apartment development was told by some supervisor at the phone company that they had the switching station up and running the day after the storm on generator power and then they ran out of gas... they did not explain why they could not find gas and get the service back to at least where it was the day after the storm... I think (paranoia, educated guess, or whatever it is) that they are deliberately not supplying service to residences so that emergency services, hospitals, and business can have service... but weeks without a phone when all that's needed is gas? (a commodity I did find, by the way, last night at 1AM... so my tank is full again)...

anyway, all this leads to the title of this entry, life without the internet... it's been four days, it may be a lot longer... the entries already written and the entries written while offline will be uploaded eventually and if you have not lost interest, perhaps the writing and uploading won't be a waste of time... yes, a shade of frustration with technology did just slip out, and it's unpleasant to realize that I allowed my roommies lazy disorganized habits to rule the day so I threw out lots of food and have to spend money on replacing that food, but it's mostly good...

I finally started the third Harry Potter book and cleaned off my make-shift desk and made a big dent in cleaning (really it's unpacking and sorting through boxes of paper and odd ends) my room and I cleaned the vacuum and now that the power is back on, I vacummed half the place... I will not become their maid, no matter how gross the rest of the place gets, they will have their share of cleaning left for whenever they get around to doing it... hopefully it'll get done tomorrow since Rasputin wants a ride to the airport cuz he's leaving for a few weeks the day after tomorrow... as much as I love them like family, we are not really compatible longterm roommates since they just do not seem interested in keeping the place clean and uncluttered...

after a few days in the dark, now that the lights are on, the differences are clear... the first thing I did when power was turned on was start laundry, cleaning, and using what food could be salvaged... they went out to eat, came back and sat on the couch, and went to bed... wait, they did turn on the dishwasher... so there's an empty fridge and cluttered counters and coolers all around the floor and candles all over the table and glasses all over the counters and I let them know I was done, the rest is up to them... wonder how long it'll take before the stink gets to them and they rush through cleaning...
I'm a happy camper though, cuz I am not homeless and have my space cleaner and hey, I get to stick my tongue out at them on the internet (they'll have to get their own diary to tell you all about my flaws, if they aren't too lazy to... and we laugh, but it would be sad if their only motivation to put up an online public diary was to tell you all about my flaws... still, it would be doing something so I'll just keep needling them and maybe they'll find some motivation)...

I've been asked, to be serious for a moment, why I put up with them if I'm so upset by their ways... well, the reason I don't complain about my roommies more often is I only complain about them on days they don't take me to dinner... ok, I did say I was going to be serious for a moment (that wasn't?... you just have to be here to kapish the laughter)... they are kind, gentle, sweet, easy-going, quiet people... Sally Rasputin (or Rasputin Sally, but then, what's in a name) is one of the nicest guys I know and we've been friends for years now and I think we treat each other more like family than friends... trust is way more important and valuable than a clean kitchen, and that's the bottom line... so all the jibs and jabs I throw at their laziness and sloppy living habits aside (I've got my share of laziness, make no doubt about that), we're there for each other... so he's more typical guy than I am and really does need a maid and she's picked up some really lazy habits along the way, it's the trust and acceptance of who we are inside that matters most and that's the way it is, so stop your worrying about me being taken advantage of... I know when to draw a line (and rambling on here is one way I figure out just where that line should be drawn... after all, I could be finishing the kitchen right now, right?)...

so life without the internet leaves lots more room for noticing the living environment and complaining about roommates and laughing at the folly of little things... the room did not cave in, even if it leaked a little and lost most of it's shingles... the cars got a little scratched, but not smashed or worse and mine, at least, is up and running... we wasted good food, but heck, how thankful should we be that we have good food to waste when so many in this world go hungry every day (social conscience bites me hard when I throw away food that could have been saved... there's the real grumble in this mockery of an entry - and it's right at myself... I just used my roommies to distract myself from my own weak tripping over ignored ideals)...

I should get back to the gym soon, it's been weeks... and the backsliding must be reduced to it's essense in words one of these days... I am still planning on a few days off next week to do just that... so no worries, all my loving regular readers (all three of you, huh?... well, I can hope I deserve more, yes I can)... everything is as close to copecetic in casa de candoor as life gets for humans... and when the phone lines come back on, you'll know it too...

. o O ( NOTES ARE THE NEW HAPPY PILL ) O o .
(just let me know you were here)