I'M SO ASHAMED
12 October 2002
My victimization at the hands of technology continues.
It started last night after we settled into our motel in Marina del
Rey. Of course I brought the computer with me, and after a family dinner, I attempted to
get onto the Internet. When I travel, I use CompuServe as my browser, because I can
connect from all over the country. Only for some reason, my account couldn't get verified,
so I could not get Internet access. .
After a very frustrating half hour, I finally gave up and put in a
long distance call to my ISP in Davis, checked e-mail, sent an e-mail to the holder of my
free CompuServe account to find out if somehow I'd lost my free access, and then logged
off quickly. I was not going to pay hotel prices for the luxury of passing the time by
playing on the Internet. I had a book; I could read.
This morning I tried again, but again I could not get access. .
But then I has the bright idea to have Walt put his account
information into my software and I'd just log on that way. I know his account is
good because he uses it all the time. .
However, it rejected his account too, so I can only assume that the
AOHell folks who are now running CompuServe have somehow decided that they will no longer
recognize old software. And since I don't have the newer software with me, that pretty
much lets that option out, at least for this trip. .
Since I couldn't get on the Internet, I decided to just double check
to make sure I could view pictures from the digital camera on here. I could kick myself. I
was so good in remembering to bring the connecting cable, so I could download
pictures to the computer, and I have all the photo manipulating software installed-but I
forgot to bring the software to install the cable, so that pretty much lets out that
option as well. .
Instead, I've exercised off my frustrations. When I would normally
be surfing the net, I took a long walk around the edge of the little bay our room
overlooks. It's quite lovely. The beach is completely deserted and at 8 a.m. there was a
"sand zamboni" smoothing it all down. The sky was grey, but the air was pleasant
and I was not yet regretting have left sweater/jacket/coat at home.
(this is the view from our room--photo added after our return home)
This is "motel row" and each motel has lovely landscaping,
there were some folks doing tai chi at the water's edge, other people keeping the footpath
cleaned, and it was just a nice gentle time to be out communing with nature. .
Then, after a breakfast of oatmeal, where I was really wishing for
Splenda as sweetener, we decided to walk to a nearby supermarket to get Splenda for
tomorrow's breakfast. It turned out to be a little over a mile away, and a nice little
jaunt to keep us busy ('cause I didn't have Internet access, you know…) while the
others in the family slept. I did kind of get a bit twitchy when we passed a library,
wondering if there were public computers inside, but fortunately it was closed. We bought
Splenda and walked home via a "par course" where we realized we could do almost
none of the exercises.
I discovered something interesting. It's been (guilty confession)
about two weeks since I've been to the club and over a week since I've ridden my bike,
what with the combination of drowning in work, and then this blasted cold (which is
finally starting to feel better). I realized today why the exercise is such a vital part
of this whole weight loss thing. It's been very easy to "slip" a bit-a nibble
here, a nosh there, etc. I can see how I've gained all the weight back all the other
times. .
But I have found in the last couple of days that my body misses
moving. So I walked today. A long way around the bay, then 2+ miles to the store and
back. And when I'm moving my body, it feels good and reminds me why I'm working so
hard at this. Plus it's nice to feel firmness in some parts of my body now.
Certainly "firm" has never been part of my general body description ever in my
life! .
By the time we'd returned from our hike and had lunch, Jeri had
arrived. After we'd had our hellos and visited a bit, I had an idea. I decided to use
Jeri's Earthlink account to get onto the internet, as long as she's here. She tried, but
it won't connect to Earthlink's number (a recording says the # is no longer in
service….are we seeing a pattern here?). I even got desperate enough to try to JOIN
Earthlink just for access, but it tells me that number is no longer in service also. .
By now this had become a challenge. I could wait until nighttime and
dial long distance to Davis again, but this had become an "issue" with me. With
all this technology and all these options, surely there must be SOME way I could manage to
do it using a local number. .
Then it hit me. There was only one solution that I figured would
work. It was the very last thing in the world that I wanted to do. I'd been avoiding it
for years. But harsh times call for harsh measures. I did it. .
I'm so ashamed. .
I joined AOL.
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