Technical Difficulties

Is it possible to simply give up communication by phone? Yes!

When we moved into this house we learned that the wiring was really complicated (aka, a complete disaster) and the previous owner - as in the owner who lived here full time, not the "flip" from whom we purchased - had ripped out most of the wires. Cut some, ripped out others. Most of the phone jacks in the house do not work. My solution: buy cordless. The one phone jack that works has the control box and then we have six phones. Well, we have six when the kids can find them all, the reality is, we have three that I can locate.

Brilliant, right?

Well, it turns out our house has really thick walls AND I chose to locate my studio in the space furthest away from the phone signal. It's also the furthest away from the front door. I can't hear the phone ring, or the doorbell, and even if I could, the signal does not reach the studio.

This results in an overflowing voice mail.

So, I clear the voice mail. Guess what? It's stuck. On FULL. So anyone who calls cannot leave a message because my empty mailbox is full. Trying to get this issue fixed has been like pulling teeth. And the phone company does not like the idea of "well, until my phone is fixed I guess I won't pay the bill. After all, I'm paying for a service and not receiving the service." Logical to me. Not so much to the phone company.

AND if you do manage to call and I answer (which I do, if I hear the phone - and can find a handset) you have to speak really loudly as there is a hum on the line. A loud hum so you have to speak REALLY LOUD. Don't call from a public place because people will think you've gone insane yelling into your phone! The phone company claims they cannot fix it as we live too close to the lake and the wires are underground and they're all corroded and it's too expensive to fix. Really? Then we get back into the "I'm paying for a service and not receiving the service" conversation.

AND, if you have my cellular number and think you can get a hold of me through that (logical) method, it too has technical difficulties: my blackberry doesn't receive a signal consistently AND doesn't tell me when there's a voice message.

So, after a year and a half in this house we've finally decided it's time for a change. We're going to re-enter the century and switch everything over to cable. They promise me that I will have a mailbox that will both collect and clear messages AND there will be no hum on the line. By this time next week, you can call, and I will answer.

Exciting. Really. Call.