Jun 22, 2011

Aliens Ate My Modem

Worse than a coffee crisis is an internet crisis. That scream you heard last week, that was me when the internet went out on an innocent Tuesday afternoon. That odd sound afterward, those were my withdrawal symptoms.

There is no interent.

Nooooo!

There is nooo internet.

Nooooooo! Aaaaaa! Aaaaaaaa!

We called the cable company and talked them into letting us swap modems. That seemed to do the trick until Thursday. The internet went out again. :-O Noooooo!!! Then some of the TV stations went out. I was glad the cable guy was scheduled to come on Friday morning. Something was wrong.

I knew I loved internet, but hadn't realized how dependent I've become on it. When I've typed 'light' fifty times and want a few synonym choices, I like access to thesaurus.com. I wanted to double check my solar sytem killing scenario again. What did I need? Internet. Wanted to research proposed propulsion again. INTERNET!

It felt as if my hands were tied behind my back and worse. Without any email to check, I was forced to just get through the final details on my novel revision. Lack of internet is good for productivity, to a point. It's inhibiting when I need to get to research. No streaming Netflix. :-( No Twitter. :-( No blogging. :-( No checking the weather or what NASA is up to. :-( No keeping in touch with people. :-( I felt like an isolated island. No internet sucks.

Turns out the entire street was having problems, so the cable company was out at the trunk replacing something on Friday. No problems since. Phew!

Decided on which WIP idea to go with next ... now that I'm done revisioning my first novel ... again. I thought signs pointed one way as to which novella series idea to go with, but my heart and passion goes the other way, to the space opera. I believe in writing where the heart is and the space opera idea composted first. That's what Ursula K. Le Guin calls it when an idea needs to sit and marinate awhile. She gave a workshop here a few years ago. I live on the wrong side of the state to bump into her more often, but the words she spoke back then inspired me. I keep the pen she used to sign The Left Hand of Darkness in a special place on my shelves. It's not allowed to be touched or used. It keeps watch over me as I work.

And I typed this sipping coffee from my new 'I <3 Jayne' mug. :D So, with all crises over, life returns to normal in these parts.



Do you have any author souvenirs? What have you done with them? Ever had an internet crisis? How did you survive?