Panic!!

Tuesday night was one of the longest nights of my life. This may sound like a dramatic statement that reeks of hyperbole but it is true (though not literally).

I got home from work at 345pm, as I do most days, and settled in to eat my Subway sub that I purchased for dinner (Mmm, foot long Tuna subs!!). I turned on the TV to see nothing but a black screen. This was a little disconcerting but it happens from time to time. So I called Shaw Cable and the message told me it would be at least 10 minutes to speak to a specialist and would I like to enter my number for a call-back. (Side note: I love the "call-back" option. Since I have a cell phone and no home phone, I hate chewing through my minutes while waiting on hold). About half an hour later a Shaw representative called me back. I explained that my cable was out as well as my Internet. The rep reviewed my signal and said there was no signals bouncing back from my cable boxes and modem. Not good. The rep then said that my neighbours did not appear to be having any difficulties. Really not good. At this point I started to get a little worried that I may be without access to the outside world for a while. The rep told me that someone was going to need to come out to my residence to check out the problem. PANIC ATTACK APPROACHING. However, Shaw would be able to send someone out to my house the next day. WHEW!! Less Panic. I agreed to an appointment for the Wednesday between 500-800. Please be closer to 500, I didn't want to miss Modern Family at 700.

Once my callback from Shaw was complete, I sat quietly in a house without any Internet or cable. What the hell was I going to do? I suppose I could read what was happening on my new Blackberry Torch (love my new phone) but that didn't seem practical for all the stuff I like to read and look at each night. The worst part? It was US election night and I wanted to watch Fox News and MSNBC and couldn't. Also, it was Canucks/Oilers on TV and I really can't stand listening to the local Oilers broadcast on the radio. Just biased coverage on 630 CHED.

At least I was able to watch stuff I had PVR'd but it really wasn't the same. And then the moment came, nothing left on the PVR and it was 7pm. Now what? Was it too early to go to bed? Maybe. Should I do some chores? Not likely. I was officially left with nothing motivating to do. I sat on the couch for another 20 minutes or so and then decided I would just go to bed and continue reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (PS: good book but takes a while to get going).

Normally, I watch the news before going to sleep so this was obviously out of the question so I went to bed with little knowledge of the hockey game score or the election results. I kind of wished that I would wake up and have my cable back... No such luck, no cable on Wednesday morning.

Fast forward to Wednesday night and the Shaw Cable visit. Apparently my cable signal booster fried. I didn't even know there was a booster on the network. Any how, the technician got my Internet and cable up and running and I couldn't be more happy, my 24 hour nightmare was over.

In hindsight, I suppose I could have done more and I failed in the face of adversity. I think I need to address my reliance on technology. What would happen to me if the Zombie Apocalypse ever came???

Election Fever

As a Canadian, I watch the US election as a somewhat interested observer but I have no real horse in the race. In the past, I have said in the past that if I was an American I would most certainly be a Republican. However, over the past couple of years I have come to the conclusion that I could not support the Republican party. Believe it or not, I was still a supporter of the Republican party during the Bush years. I may not have liked Bush as President but I felt that the GOP still stood for some values that I supported. During the Obama administration though, I feel that the Republicans have essentially sold out to the far-right special interests and the Fox News Network. The GOP now sells fear as their platform. Pure and simple fear. They sell bigotry and thinly veiled racism. They sell blame. They sell exclusion and panic.

Don't get me wrong, I have not become a bleeding heart liberal either. The Democrats have dropped the ball in a significant way as well. Obama has shown himself to be indecisive and ineffectual. He was elected with a mandate to make change and had the majorities in the House and Senate. What did he do? Hammered through a weak and watered down version of his health care bill. He couldn't pass a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and several other initiatives. He also absorbed all the blame for the bailouts and deficit spending without once really pointing the blame where it needed to go, the 2000-2008 administration. I strongly dislike Obama, the Leader. Obama, the man, seems like a decent enough guy and his intentions seem to be in the right place. He seems to be all FLASH and little SUBSTANCE. I suppose that's perfect for our sound-bite culture.

And then there is the Tea Party!! LOL. Crackpots of the world unite! Actually, I think some of their ideas are not too bad. I like some Libertarian ideologies and theoretically, it could work. In the case of the Tea Party though, they seem to have tapped in to the Nut Job database and nominated some real "winners". Christine O'Donnell? Please. Sharron Angle? Yikes. Ron Paul? Holy Batshit Crazy!! Are these really the most noticeable candidates you folks want to be running. Dear God...

I suppose at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter who gets elected. The only job of a politician, it seems, is to get re-elected. Each party seems to be falling in to its own version of Isolationism. They don't want outsiders to get involved and think that everything will be okay if they just ignore the damning evidence of their own failures. Obama was probably the most palatable political type since Bill Clinton and he has blown it. Can he get anything done in the next two years? We will see. This could be Obama's crowning achievement or unmitigated failure. As I said earlier, I have no horse in the race but as long as 2012 doesn't end in Sarah Palin being President, I think we will be okay.