Phone? Internet? They are but extravagant luxuries which I am yet to enjoy.
Over here in our favorite developing nation, I am starting Day 24 with no DSL, and not a trace of a working phone line. What, you may ask, keeps me going? What gives me the strength to start the day? Simple: the fact that I don’t have a plane ticket to any other country. And believe me, I have thought much about the wisdom of trying to accomplish anything technical in this country.
I am trying to be patient. With luck, I will stay sane for yet another week, at which point I will likely start job-hunting in easier-to-live cities, like Baghdad.
Phone
After many, many sad and lonely days and highly unhelpful tech support calls, I’ve realized that the old phone line is simply too too dead to resurrect. So I decided to apply for a brand new phone line. The guy at the phone company even promised to get it working by tomorrow. I’m feeling good about this one.
Internet
Still waiting for the phone line to become active so that DSL service can be started. They say this should be turned on by tomorrow as well (once the phone line is put in)… but local friends laugh at my naiveté and say it could be a long wait. I am hopeful.
TV
After many phone calls, trips to see the local dealer, and a visit by a repairman who replaced a part on the satellite dish, we finally have working satellite TV.
The redeeming aspect of this whole deal: satellite tv for just $7 per month.