More Technology bullshit

Today started off fine, but is going straight down the crapper. Here's why:

1) I was driving my car back from delivering a cab customer back to Rochdale and the temperature gauge is way up in the red and occasionally the beeping alarm thing goes off. I just had the water pump replaced as well as my timing belt. Now my car is sitting at Gerardi's garage in Tatnuck awaiting some sort of repair that I can't afford.

2) WordPress. See my previous blog.

3) The cable tv isn't working all of a sudden. Worked fine last night. I turn on the tv. I turn on the cable box. I can flip through channels and the guide bar at the bottom tells me what I SHOULD be seeing, but instead I get an empty black screen where there should be the show.

I called Charter Communications. They ask me on the automated service for my 10 digit phone number so they can access my account. I give them my cell phone. Then I get transferred to a "live" human who asks me for the same phone number again. It's my ONLY phone number. And he asks if I might have another phone number and I tell him, NO, but I can give him the phone number attributed to me on the bill which was SHUT OFF over a year ago.

Then Mr. Cheerful asks me how he can assist me. "The cable's not working. It worked yesterday. Why is it not working now." I explained the whole situation. He tries to send a signal remotely from wherever the hell Charter-land is. Nothing.

We try unplugging the cable box and waiting 15 seconds and then re-plugging it in. It re-boots. It sits on a blue screen saying Scientific Atlanta or some other technical bullshit. Then eventually it goes to some other screen saying it's loading COD Service, please wait a moment. For alot more than a moment, I wait and I exasperating tell this Mr. Cheerful Asshole Whoever that these problems just keep on happening with Charter. We pay enough every month as it is without needing all this aggrivation. In fact, I JUST PAID THE BILL yesterday, IN CASH!

Now I don't even get the Guide bar telling me what's on each channel. It just says "No Data Available". Mr. Cheerful tells me that maybe it's just a bad box and that maybe I should try bringing it to Charter and swapping it for a different box.

So let me see if I get this straight... I PAY Charter. Their equipment isn't reliable so I have to inconvenience myself by taking time out from MY bill-paying, life-sustaining work to go TRY getting a functioning cable box so that MAYBE that fixes the problem. Oh, by the way, I'm still paying for today's NON-receiving of cable.

Read #1 again. My f-ing car is at the garage!!!!!!! I guess I could take a freakin' taxi to Charter. Oh wait... after 6pm... Charter is conveniently closed. THANK YOU, CHARTER!

At least my cable modem / internet access is still working (fingers crossed)...

***** UPDATE!!!!! *****

One day later, television viewing has magically returned / has been restored / something. Hooray for Charter. Best ever. Ugh... jerks. If there WERE other options...