We went to Ikea Saturday night, and when we got home, I rushed over to the computer to see if the season 4 finale of Doctor Who had made it up onto the Internet. It had, and had been up long enough that there was a nice large pool of people seeding. Score! I fired up Azureus, sure that we would have the episode within the hour.
However, I hadn't counted on Veriz0n. We would get going at a good clip, only to have everything grind to a halt for a couple minutes as our Internet access blinked off and on. We've had this problem ever since we moved. We've had technicians out on multiple occasions, and the best we've managed is to only have the Internet go out during thunderstorms. Except it was barely sprinkling Saturday night, so even the dubious logic of an electrical storm couldn't explain away our problems. Veriz0n is evil, there's an explanation for you. They've also been overcharging us since we moved, and the combination of paying more money for spotty service is driving us insane.
FIVE hours later, we finally had it, and watched eagerly. Spoilers for season 4 finale of Doctor Who (highlight to reveal): I enjoyed it the same way I've enjoyed all of the season finales of Doctor Who: by turning off my mind and enjoying the spectacle. It was fun to see all of the former companions coming together, and it will be entertaining to see how they manage to bring the Daleks back (oh come on, you don't think they'd get rid of them permanently, do you?). Getting rid of Donna in such a permanent, senseless way really made me sad though. It was great to have a companion who could really stand up to the Doctor, and Catherine Tate had an incredible comedic chemistry with David Tennant. While this season has certainly had its suicidally depressing moments, Catherine Tate's comedic chops have provided a wonderful leavening, and bring out the best in David Tennant.
With my new job, which requires me to perform at a minimum speed, Internet blinking in and out is completely unacceptable. So we're finally allowing ourselves into the sinister clutches of C0mcast. After all, 7 more dollars a month is more than worth reliable service, isn't it? But here's the wrinkle: it's more like 20 more dollars a month if you don't subscribe to cable as well, because apparently they don't want to lure Internet customers away from Veriz0n. We would do it, but we signed a contract with our satellite company and we would pay a substantial penalty to cancel early. We're stuck between the competing evils of telecommunications companies. I finally decided that the extra money for the cable modem was (barely) less than the penalty we would pay for cancelling the satellite, so we're going the obscenely expensive cable modem route as the cheapest of our overpriced options. I'm chalking it up to a business expense, since the money I make working will more than make up for the extra expense.
Of course, I have to make it through training first. I'm about to start the test that will determine whether I get to actually have the job, and I'm feeling slightly panicky because I royally frakked up my last assignment. All will not be lost if I don't pass since apparently I can do some extra training and try to qualify again, but I would still appreciate good thoughts as I start out.
Sad on the news of the Dr. Who finale. I don't watch the show religiously... in fact, I really only watch it when I actually remember it's on.. but I liked that character as well, and hope I'll be able to get to see the finale at some point myself.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your test! And, I think a faster modem will definitely be great as a business expense! I'm sure you'll do fine.