Just had to shell out $50 bucks at Best Buy to buy a USB external modem (Zoom) for my computer so that I could get back on the internet because the computer’s got fried apparently.

There was a storm a little while back and the power flickered off and on rapidly for about ten minutes before at last popping off and staying off for a few hours. Well, at the time, I was on the computer and the computer was plugged into the outlet. It would seem that there was an electrical surge that went through and messed with the computer’s modem.

The next day when I tried dialing on to the internet I kept getting “no dial tone” error messages but the landline was working just fine. Troubleshooting showed that the problem was with the computer’s modem, and here’s the kicker, my computer is a laptop. When I called around to computer repair shops I was informed that repairing or replacing a laptop’s modem is pretty much impossible. One guy helpfully recommended get a USB external modem though, which is what I did.

So for week or so I was going through internet withdraw as I waited to see how much money I had, waited on money to transfer and deposit into the my checking account, and automatic payments to clear. Occasionally I went to WiFi hot spots around town to get some stuff done, but for the most part I was stuck twiddling my thumbs until, at last, I got to go buy it today.

And naturally it was raining and I mean raining heavily on the way up to town. But I just could not go another day without internet at home!

Best Buy had the cheapest external modem at $49.99, but it was still a set back for me. Especially since I really should have gone to McCoy’s instead and purchased a new door knob and bolt (probably would have gotten Baldwin hardware since there was a sale) for the kitchen door. But, I figure, the door knob that is there that’s wonky will last for a few months more at least. And it’s on the wooden door, which means the iron screen door is there to act as first line of defense anyway. And since a lot of my income is tied into the internet right now….well the getting back online at home was the priority. Right? Right.