I'ma Back!! That to quote my favorite little Italian, Mario (he's got a brother named Luigi and his own Wii game!)
Okay, so many of this blog's "followers" have expressed concern over lack of updates. Short answer: they're on their way. Reason: D i a l - U p I n t e r n e t . . . SO SLOW!! Being rural, our options are quite limited. But today, we moved back up into the 21st century with high speed internet. Whew! So while I have lots of stories to tell of pregnancy, moving, social activities etc, I will start with today's Cable experience.
So I did some searching for internet providers in my rural area, on dial-up no less, which took about 3 hours- no exaggeration! I determined we had 4 options 1) retain dial-up 2) satellite internet 3) air card and 4) one local high-speed company that serves this area. So my thinking goes like this:
1) dial-up sucks- good thing I don't have high blood pressure during pregnancy cause I woulda gone into labor. I could manage if I had to, but I felt ripped off paying $15 a month
2) satellite internet- my rural neighbors (aka the family also residing on the same half-section of land) have satellite internet. Pros: it works and is faster than dial-up; Cons: it's way expensive and unreliable. Next option please...
3) air card- could work. I have reservations about signal reliability (we had to get a landline b/c of lotsa dropped calls and poor signal strength; once it took me 5 hours to get a text... ugh!). Plus it's pretty expensive if you go over your allotted time. Just not sure that would work as our primary means of internet connectivity.
4) this local company called Ridgewood Cablevision. I had called them early on and just decided to wait and know what our bills looked like before signing up with them. Besides, they only offer internet our area and no cable. But I know Mom and Dad are with them. So another call to Mom to verify that she was happy with their service.
In a nutshell, she tells me that yes, she is very happy with them and is even on a first name basis with two guys named Tom and David. Okay, I am convinced to try it. Dial-up is NOT working for us and Ridgewood is reasonably priced, especially compared to satellite internet.
So I call and get the simple pre-reqs upload/download speeds and they guy verifies that yes this is a lot faster than dialup. I give him my information and we set up an appt for Tuesday at 10 (that was Friday afternoon). After getting the details worked out, I ask for his name. He replies David. So I decide to name drop and mention my mama. He chuckles and says "Well, I do know Charlee and you've got a good Mom." I take the opportunity to third hand compliment their services, as coming from Mom.
So Tuesday rolls around. I'm stoked from the moment I wake up knowing that the cable guy is coming today. Just maybe we can be wireless again and I can work online from the living room! So about 9:55 I hear a car door. A peek out the window shows that it is the cable guy from Ridgewood. He introduces himself, Larry. Yes, Larry the cable guy. hehehe
He hands me some paperwork to fill out. On top is the work order outlining address, phone, services to provide etc. At the bottom in the notes section reads "Charlee Helms daughter." I laughed outloud (good thing I was alone) and immediately called Mom. We shared a good laugh. By 10:35, Larry the Cable guy was all done. He joked "I'm surfing 19-11's right now." Perplexed, I asked if that was good. He shot a look to Taylor and then Taylor chimes in "that's a gun, honey." Oh. So Larry the Cable guy is a gun enthusiast with a sense of humor and is super good at his job.
He finishes up by showing us the upload and download speeds and runs a ping time. I suppose the numbers were good. I'm just a consumer, not really into what all the "megs" and "kilos" mean. But I think that's good. All I know is that this sucker is fast! Just as fast if not faster than our former Suddenlink.. YAY!!
So I was able to talk Taylor into hooking up the wireless router. And now it works!! I am writing from the "comfort" of my recliner chair and my feet are up. So thanks to Larry the Cable guy and Taylor the awesome husband, I am functional again! Welcome to the 21st century! (Just to be ordered to spend all my time at home... another story.)
So look for house and pregnancy updates to come! And pictures, hopefully!
