It Doesn't Take Much
My email has not been working since Friday. I'm not sure what happened. One automatic download, it worked. The next, it didn't. It said ERROR all over the place, and tells me how many wonderful, loving messages there are waiting for me to read, but it won't let me touch them. Think I'm pissed? You cannot even fathom the depths of my pissed offedness.
I thought I'd get cute and go over to Hotmail to download my messages there. I thought maybe it was my computer, since I've been spending hours on end trying to jump through all the hoops to make DietWatch start working. I was messing with the registry and all kinds of potentially computer-crashing things. It's also just like me to blame myself for something wrong. If that were the case, surely Hotmail would work, and then I could spend hours on end making my email work and probably making it so DietWatch would not work again. But I went to Hotmail and reactivated my account only to find it got an error too. Time to stop blaming myself for the problem and blame my ISP.
I have yet to call them. I just didn't feel like doing it and waiting on hold while watching the grey hairs come in. That, and I'm still quite pissed, and being pissed and trying to get people to do things for you doesn't always work out for the best, especially if you start off pissed. If you are able to cover up the pissed and be sweet and nice starting off only to unveil the pissed later, that's usually OK. But to tear into the support person from the point they ask, "How may I�" typically doesn't seem to get anywhere.
It might sound like I'm unreasonably riled over this little email problem, which would be true if this were the only email problem I had. But no. I have lots and lots of email problems all the damn time. My email never downloads properly. I get some messages with time stamps that come through right on time. Other messages get held in the email holding cell of doom over at Adelphia to be delivered whenever they damn well feel like sending them. For instance, message from my mom comes through A-OK at 10 AM with a 9:58 AM time stamp on it. Next download at 10:10 AM, no messages. I leave and come back later. Download mail at, say, 12:30 PM and get a message from FlyLady telling me to clean stuff. Ignore message and do something else. Come back at 1:15 PM and download mail again. Get five messages all timed before 12:30 PM. Curse liberally. This has been happening for months, but it's better than when messages used to disappear into the great message dryer like a sock. I get all my mail now, even if it's not in a timely manner.
I like to use that as an excuse for why I don't follow the FlyLady messages anymore. I haven't been doing that for ages, yet I don't unsubscribe from the list. I think I thrive off the guilt it creates. I sit here in slippers, having not even washed my face much less put on makeup as I delete the morning routine message and all the happy-go-lucky testimonials that have a way of rubbing my prickly hide the wrong way whether I'm doing my chores or not. My house is cleaner, and I do think the whole FlyLady thing has something to do with it, but I'm not what I'd call a convert by any means.
That doesn't have much to do with email anymore, does it?
With that, I went and dialed Adelphia's number, and guess what happened? Well, after I pressed all the right buttons to tell the stupid automated phone system what it was I wanted? A person answered right away! I wasn't on hold at all. Mr. Rob was a very friendly, helpful guy, and got my email working right again. It seems someone sent me a corrupted message and screwed up my whole mailbox. Fucker. But Rob got it fixed again, and I got the zillion FlyLady messages and scattered personal messages (send me lovely mail, so I have more!) that were waiting for me, minus the corrupted piece of crap. He also told me that getting messages at wonky times is quite normal right now. It seems a new email server worth more than I am is waiting in the wings for installation in a couple months. I expect complete email hell about that time, but if it fixes things, then I will end up being happy and forget all about the mess, just like I am now. I went from completely pissed to wanting to send Rob cookies.
The person I should really be sending cookies is my mother-in-law. The only thing I bought on our Saturday shopping trip were a couple yummy coffee drinks. Otherwise, she treated my sis-in-law and myself to everything that day. All our kids are now well outfitted for the beach vacation and summer. It was a lot of fun, though I do feel that weight of guilt for not buying the clothes myself. Must learn to accept gifts. Though I'm still sticking to my guns and not mentioning needing anything to my MIL anymore. She will still buy things for the kids and us, no doubt, but at least it won't be because I said anything.
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One Year Ago Today:
