Drama.

Yahoo mail is down. The world MIGHT be ending. I get ALL of my email through yahoo. I pay for their $19.95 a year account and I forward all of my email addresses to them. They have excellent spam filters and built in virus scanners, and you know I am doing the testing for Yahoo Beta. Well, today I can't get in and I am SAD. I am like "what? No email? This can't be!"

So I know I have been missing a bit lately, but I have been super busy.

I am having a hard time remembering what I actually did blog about and what I just THOUGHT I would blog about.

Wednesday, I tried to call my husband at home, and I got this silly message "The number you have dialed is not in service." Hmmm. Strange. Must be a fluke, right? Dial again. "The number you have dialed is not in service." Hmm. When did I pay the phone bill last? Didn't I just schedule an online payment? So I get online, find out that I did schedule a payment for Friday (today) and called Verizon

Verizon: "Yes Ma'am your service has been temporarily interrupted for non-payment."

Shit. Shit shit shit.

Me "I have a payment of $60 scheduled for this Friday. Once that payment comes through, will it be turned back on?"

Verizon: "I'm sorry ma'am, we will need the full $120 before we can turn the phone back on."

Shit. Shit.

Me: "Okay, please cancel my service."

Verizon: (stuttering, stammering...) "Well, Uh, are you sure ma'am? Do you want some time to think about it?"

Me: "Every time I get a bill from you I think about how ridiculous it is that I pay $60 a month for this home phone, which we hardly use, and pay $80 a month to get two cell phones with massive amounts of minutes that we also don't use."

Verizon convinced me to go to the $16 package and forwarded me to the voicewing (VOIP) area, where they promptly told me that VOIP is not available in my area. Bastards!

So right now we are testing out not having a home phone, because I didn't pay the bill we'd rather use our cell phones anyway.

So after I discovered that the phone got turned off, husband calls me, from Anya's house, and mentions that we have no power at home, and did I perhaps not pay the power bill?

Me: "I TOTALLY paid the power bill. On time. Every month. I swear"

Husband: "Just giving you shit. A semi sheared off three power poles a block from the house and half of Wyanet is without power."

Whew. I knew I paid the power bill.

Me: "The phone is disconnected though."

Husband: "Yeah? That's okay. We don't need it."

Me: "and it's gonna be off for a lil while."

Husband: "We can get Vonage."

So the story about the semi? Yeah, well. Apparently a guy was taking a large gas related contraption to Ottawa to the new Ethanol plant. Interstate 80 has construction and is down to one lane, so they had to re-route him. His company approved his route up 6 & 34. He tore some shit up in Galva. Then he came through Wyanet and just up the street, in the middle of route 6 (Main Street) at the intersection of Wyanet/Walnut, he was trying to get over for cars to pass (he's double-wide) and he sheared off three power poles WITH transformers and slanted one more pole over. Now, wouldn't you think after you hit the FIRST pole that you might stop? He knocked the cable (and therefore the internet) out also. Anyway, so our half of Wyanet was without power from about 3:30 until about 11 that night. So we went to Brad and Anya's and had a cookout for Anya's birthday. Brad saw him taking out signs on his way to Princeton, and we heard he took something out in Princeton too.

So. Thursday, I got my hair done. I pulled $104.00 out of my ass. Or at least a check for $104. Then I went home, slid out of my clothes and into my pajamas, ate tuna melts, and attempted to watch "Beyond Borders" on cable while vegging on the couch for the first time in like 14 days. Anya called my cell phone.

Anya: "What are you doing"

Me: "standing on the front porch in my pajamas on a chair trying to get cell phone reception."

This intriguing conversation ended up with my in my pajamas in the front yard, and then with me putting my clothes back on and going to the bar. It also ended up with me paying for an amaretto and coke that I didn't even want, drinking only half of it, and then going to Princeton to pick up Ava at the sitter. Then it proceeded towards me being angry at my husband, who just that morning said "I will be home all night tonight" and was MIA without a note, not answering his cell phone. I sent him a text message. No response. a guy sitting next to me in the bar, who I went to high school with, texted Evan, and Evan responded right away. I was like "Oh no he didn't." and then I grabbed HIS phone and texted Evan back "this is your WIFE" and he showed up at the bar in about 10 minutes. Yeah. Because your phone just doesn't GET my text messages or phone calls? I don't think so.

You know what is awesome about not having a home phone? No telemarketers and no customer service or sales calls. None. The phone does not ring all morning until I wake up to answer it. The phone does not ring at 11pm when I am trying to go to sleep. the phone. does not ring. And it's grand. I don't walk in the door each night and have 3 messages. Nice.

But, standing in the yard when it's below 0 and there is 3 foot of snow on the ground, to get cell phone reception.... not nice. At all. SO we might have to look into vonage for a lil while. I don't know. Maybe we need a GIANT cell phone repeater antenna on the roof. I should look into that.

So today is finally Friday. And I realized that I have pretty much the whole month of September already filled with things. My 10 year class reunion. My vacation to Utah. A scrapbook night. Babysitting Ava while her parents go see Nickleback. It's really going to be quite the month. This weekend we have a wedding that's like far away. I hate that. With a passion. We also have to trim the bushes at home. I am taking Monday off to get a handle on things at home before I have to go on vacation. Laundry, Dishes, cleaning. you know the drill.

And the best part? I will be off work all day, and the phone won't ring. Ahhh.

So. TGIF! Have a great weekend!

This Post (and others like it) Tagged Under:

• Utilities
• Stress
• Money