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saturdays, i like them.
Apr. 23rd, 2005 10:37 pmI fixed our internet connection! Well, technically, it wasn't broken, it just sucked beyond words. We've always been cable modem people, so this DSL thing is taking some getting used to. Previously, if it didn't work, we'd unplug the router for a minute, maybe reboot the modem if you got really fancy about it. Now, the connection will slow down to a crawl if it's feeling persnickety. This evening, I was just sitting here whining to myself about how it was getting worse and worse and now stuff wouldn't load at all when I caught the caller ID in the corner of my eye. I called and cancelled our caller ID service* this week, so now it's just sitting there doing nothing.. and as soon as I saw it, I knew that it was causing the problem. Somehow. So I unhooked it, and the connection shot back up instantly. That's just weird, and doesn't really seem all that possible to me but I guess it is? Caller id placement exists way beyond the realm of things that I feel the need to consider during troubleshooting.
*We cancelled the caller ID because we are cheap. Actually, it's the only thing I'm interested at all in having, but I was looking over our phone bill last month and noticed that the caller id is NINE DOLLARS a month. NINE! And M, who could care less about caller ID, pointed out that we are spending $108 a year just to find out who is calling half a second before we pick up the phone. It's not like we use it to screen our calls, because I'll answer the damned phone even if I know that it's a telemarketer... I can't stand to just let it ring. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that it is stupid to spend that much money on it, on principle. Of course, when I called to cancel, the lady pointed out that cancelling the caller ID means that we no longer have a "bundle" package, and therefore, we no longer receive our discount on internet and television. $4 total loss, so basically, the caller ID was only costing $5 a month. So now I'm thinking hey, that's only $60 a year.....
Speaking of spending money on useless items, we went shopping today. We bought three pictures.. one for each bathroom and one for the bedroom. Of course, we were actually looking for paintings for the computer room and living room and found nothing, but at least we tried. ;) Actually, this is the first time we've purchased art. (Can you still call it art if it's mass-produced and framed?) We like very particular things, and we have a bit of a rule that we both totally agree. Let's just say that today was not the first, or even tenth, time that we've looked. We're pretty happy with all three of the ones we bought, though. One of them wasn't even particularly cheap--but it was absolutely perfect, so we didn't quibble. We're trying hard lately to make this place feel less like a hotel, and also gradually get rid of some of our temporary newly-married or newly-moved-in solutions.
It's funny, the place we live. It's really nice--everyone who's been here has had a particular tone of surprise when they come in for the first time. It was built about five years ago, and nothing looks like it needs replaced, as is often the case in a rental unit. We have really nice-looking grey tile and (boring, but not bad) clean carpet, and cream-colored walls. The cabinets in the kitchen are oak and look like they've never been used until we moved in. We've lived here very nearly a year by now.. I believe we moved in on May 13th. It's home--when we're away, I want to come back.
And yet.. in some ways it still doesn't feel like home. It's so nice that it's painfully generic. We can't paint, and we can't put screws into the wall (which means nothing heavy). The rooms are very broken apart.. you can't hang out in the kitchen to keep someone company while they cook or do dishes because there's no room, and you sure can't carry on a conversation with someone in the living room, and the main room we're in is on another floor. It's tasteful in every way, but there's nothing of interest.
I try to remember that we weren't exactly thrilled with our living arrangements before we moved, either. We had dark wood paneling which darkened every bit of the place, and there was a particular underlying smell that never went away. The toilet took five minutes to refill, and the counters were baby-puke yellow laminate, and chipped to boot, and you could barely walk through the place because there was too much furniture in too little space. And yet.. it totally felt like home. It had character! And I really do miss it.. although.. I don't know. It's complicated. Even when we were there, we were dying to buy a house somewhere, and we still want to do that. If this job had been in Morehead, there's no way we would have still been living where we did. So it feels a little silly to feel more emotionally attached to a place that isn't as nice as the place we're in. I guess it's natural since we did live there for over three years and it was the first place we lived as a married couple. But still.
I don't have the faintest idea where I'm going with any of this. And, actually, neither am I all that interested in continuing with it even if I did have some sort of theme. So I'll just quit while I'm ahead.
P.S. Definitely getting sick again. 2005 just isn't doing much for me so far.
*We cancelled the caller ID because we are cheap. Actually, it's the only thing I'm interested at all in having, but I was looking over our phone bill last month and noticed that the caller id is NINE DOLLARS a month. NINE! And M, who could care less about caller ID, pointed out that we are spending $108 a year just to find out who is calling half a second before we pick up the phone. It's not like we use it to screen our calls, because I'll answer the damned phone even if I know that it's a telemarketer... I can't stand to just let it ring. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that it is stupid to spend that much money on it, on principle. Of course, when I called to cancel, the lady pointed out that cancelling the caller ID means that we no longer have a "bundle" package, and therefore, we no longer receive our discount on internet and television. $4 total loss, so basically, the caller ID was only costing $5 a month. So now I'm thinking hey, that's only $60 a year.....
Speaking of spending money on useless items, we went shopping today. We bought three pictures.. one for each bathroom and one for the bedroom. Of course, we were actually looking for paintings for the computer room and living room and found nothing, but at least we tried. ;) Actually, this is the first time we've purchased art. (Can you still call it art if it's mass-produced and framed?) We like very particular things, and we have a bit of a rule that we both totally agree. Let's just say that today was not the first, or even tenth, time that we've looked. We're pretty happy with all three of the ones we bought, though. One of them wasn't even particularly cheap--but it was absolutely perfect, so we didn't quibble. We're trying hard lately to make this place feel less like a hotel, and also gradually get rid of some of our temporary newly-married or newly-moved-in solutions.
It's funny, the place we live. It's really nice--everyone who's been here has had a particular tone of surprise when they come in for the first time. It was built about five years ago, and nothing looks like it needs replaced, as is often the case in a rental unit. We have really nice-looking grey tile and (boring, but not bad) clean carpet, and cream-colored walls. The cabinets in the kitchen are oak and look like they've never been used until we moved in. We've lived here very nearly a year by now.. I believe we moved in on May 13th. It's home--when we're away, I want to come back.
And yet.. in some ways it still doesn't feel like home. It's so nice that it's painfully generic. We can't paint, and we can't put screws into the wall (which means nothing heavy). The rooms are very broken apart.. you can't hang out in the kitchen to keep someone company while they cook or do dishes because there's no room, and you sure can't carry on a conversation with someone in the living room, and the main room we're in is on another floor. It's tasteful in every way, but there's nothing of interest.
I try to remember that we weren't exactly thrilled with our living arrangements before we moved, either. We had dark wood paneling which darkened every bit of the place, and there was a particular underlying smell that never went away. The toilet took five minutes to refill, and the counters were baby-puke yellow laminate, and chipped to boot, and you could barely walk through the place because there was too much furniture in too little space. And yet.. it totally felt like home. It had character! And I really do miss it.. although.. I don't know. It's complicated. Even when we were there, we were dying to buy a house somewhere, and we still want to do that. If this job had been in Morehead, there's no way we would have still been living where we did. So it feels a little silly to feel more emotionally attached to a place that isn't as nice as the place we're in. I guess it's natural since we did live there for over three years and it was the first place we lived as a married couple. But still.
I don't have the faintest idea where I'm going with any of this. And, actually, neither am I all that interested in continuing with it even if I did have some sort of theme. So I'll just quit while I'm ahead.
P.S. Definitely getting sick again. 2005 just isn't doing much for me so far.
