Did it go? Did it go?
It’s a rant today on everyone’s favorite ranting subject: the internet. Join in if you feel called. Our internet coverage out here in the valley is tin cans strung together. No fiber, no satellite availability, we don’t even have reliable antenna reception when the leaves are on the trees. Yet somehow we have indescribably slow DSL.
That’s the kind where you hit send, go make lunch and hope whatever you want to send eventually leaves for the great beyond by the time lunch is over. Lots of my coaching work is on-line and having unreliable, slow DSL internet is tooth-gnashingly frustrating. Our provider says we’re lucky to even have slow DSL, maybe fiber in 2035. Thanks a lot. That was so unhelpful.
Here’s what I’ve come up with to send out my video for Bad Joke Friday (which you follow, right?).
I film the jokes on my handy iPhone. On an excellent day in the winter when the video is short and the deities are with me, it takes maybe 20 minutes to upload the video at home and another 15 minutes to send. That is if it doesn’t time out and not go at all.
These days, I’m resigned to getting into my car and holding my phone out the window while I drive up to the top of the hill.
If that doesn’t do it, I drive to the abandoned church down the road and stand near the pine tree. Then I wave my phone in the air over my head while walking around to pick up a signal. Swearing might be (cough, cough is definitely) involved. If I’m lucky, that does it and the bad joke video goes off into internet land. Occasionally I see people drive by and they almost always slow down.
I know they’re trying to figure out what I’m doing in an abandoned gravel church parking lot, dancing around with my phone waving in the air. You might think I’d be the only one doing this internet Watutsi, but I’ve driven by several of my neighbors parked in the same lot walking around trying to get service.
If I’m in town at a friend’s house sending my video it’s almost an instantaneous send. First world problem? Yes, yes but now better internet coverage than I have at home is everywhere else in the world. We’re clearly last on the list. Not enough people out here in the sticks to make the cost worthwhile. As I mentioned, our internet provider says we may have fiber by 2035 but not to hold our breath.
Why the rant? I’ve been thinking about gratitude. I’m grateful I get to live in this beautiful place surrounded by nature. I’m grateful that we find other ways to entertain ourselves that don’t involve a screen. I’m grateful for the conversations, laughter, meals, walks, and connections we’ve forged with our neighbors. Some days these pluses pale compared to the trials of working with a poor tool. But really, I wouldn’t trade you my paradise for your great internet access. That is, unless you live by the beach. Then I might consider it.
Please share this rant if you know someone who loses a gasket over their internet service. Maybe they’ll pause and be grateful for other things too. Satisfy your curiosity about coaching and come see what it’s all about. If you’re ready to pursue your passion, or you feel stuck on how to get started, let’s talk! Work With Me Are you a subscriber to the weekly? If not, click here Subscribe and prepare for more stories, ideas, random thoughts and humor delivered straight to your inbox.
