personal technology: the phone

The phone is my technological weak link. I love, love, love connecting via email (maybe because writing is my therapy of choice) but seem unable to cultivate a dependency on the extra ear appendage . . . Friends, colleagues, family--all know that to leave voicemail on my cell means I may get it a week or two later. Voicemail on the unlisted landline? I do honestly mean to check that daily but slip up at times there too. And don't you call me at work! Blinking message lights are in my blind spot somehow . . . Even my car has its own hands-free number now, but do you think I give that information out? I think I emailed the number to family members but they, above all others, know that I don't drive and talk!

About six months ago, I came home to a line in use message on my answering machine. Now, honestly, who would be using my line when no one was home? Every line in the house was DOA. I faithfully followed the disconnect/reconnect advice to no avail. Then, magically, just before bedtime, a dial tone . . . The next morning, of course, the technician came out, checked the line outside, and said NOT US!!! and that problem I'd had must be interference somewhere inside the house . . . As if I haven't paid for years and years for that to be their problem too . . .

That was the first time, repeated at least half a dozen times, same scenario. My son-in-law said it sounded as though there was a short in the line outside somewhere. I finally figured out how to talk to a real person in this automated scheduling world. If you call in a repair request and then call back immediately to check on the status of that repair request, guess what??? The lady I spoke to a couple of weeks was helpful. She suggested I use the outside jack to check the line while the dial tone was still AWOL. I did. No dial tone. She agreed the problem must be external and said this would be handled the next day--when I received yet another of those calls that said NOT US!!! and that problem I'd had must be interference somewhere inside the house . . .

When it happened again on Monday (what did we ever do before cell phones?), I decided that being nice (I usually am) wasn't working. I threatened, after doing the talk-to-a-real-person number, to cut the landline cord. Ditch the service. (As if I would when my home alarm system--yet another personal technology story--depends on that . . .) Three messages on my cell phone when I checked it this morning (five days later). The first two said NOT US!!! and that problem I'd had must be interference somewhere inside the house . . . The third said . . .

We found the problem.

We fixed it.

which is webdings for

we found the problem,

and we fixed it!