Just Sit Right Back and You'll Hear a Tale...

First, I hope y'all remember exactly where that phrase comes from, don't you?

Second, a quick post tangent (can you have a tangent before you've even started anything?) I want to welcome my pal, "co-conspirator," "partner in crime" and friend previously known as "S" to the blogging world! She has finally caved to the pressure and started a really fun blog for her adoption here. Shawna and I are with the same agency, and started our processes about the same time. She was wrapping up each step of her paperwork slightly ahead of me, then we sat and waited - and waited. We met last November at an agency Parent Panel and have kept in close contact ever since. Our dossiers were the two that left together late last month and we are both hoping to hear they are about done being translated right about now. She has been such a blessing to have in my world, as we approach this all in very similar ways (well, she's better at staying positive than I am, but she inspires me). So, go check her out and show her she will have more than three readers!

Now, back to the main feature...

As I've mentioned a few times, I currently work at home. Usually it is a fairly stress-free endeavor. I wouldn't say it's really a career or a stimulating, challenging position, but it works for me for now - and hopefully will be a good fit for when I bring the little guy home. The only catch is, and this should be so very basic, your internet connection has to work. Now, here is the tale - which I am going to torture you all with in excruciating detail, simply to share the true state of my being this evening. Maybe I'll offer a wee prize for anybody who actually makes it through it all (big prize to whoever can solve the problem!).

1. July 18th - my router finally up and dies, never to be revived again.
2. Discover dead router after I get home from picking up work - need connection to do work.
3. Can't get it to work, not sure at this point it's the router, can't really communicate with charter (they just try to upsell me new service), head out with laptop to buy router and download files somewhere as a safety net.
4. Wander around Office Max, finally beg for help, get two fairly clueless folks, buy router.
5. Go to Caribou to use wifi to download files to laptop, just to be safe and have them.
6. Caribou is out of my preferred beverage, their Acai Smoothie (far less guilt than my usual).
7. Order my coffee drink, which isn't really coffee, more a coffee milkshake - and very pink.
8. Caribou gets order wrong. Pretty close, but not quite right, so they remake it but I get both.
9. Struggle with new router. But, get to work on files so I can make some progress.
10. Look at extra pink coffee, think how it would be so like me to tip it over. But don't move it.
11. Spill pink coffee all over myself, my keyboard, the chair, the carpet.
12. Clean up, move to couch with laptop, which means work gets done even more slowly.
13. Finish work, try to fix computer router issue, realize the dork at OM didn't sell me a WIRELESS router which I need, and you'd think when I mentioned laptop & wireless, he'd have picked up on that...
14. Next morning, go to Circuit City to buy wireless router and new keyboard, since after coffee incident, keyboard is trashed now too.
15. Get home with new items, realize keyboard is too big for desk set-up.
16. Install new router, discover it is defective - no lights, and a nice burning smell to boot.
17. Cry.
18. Head to Office Max to return other router and buy new one (CC too far away).
19. Get new router, but discover I brought the wrong router to return - still buy new one.
20. I now have 5 routers and 3 keyboards in my office area. Cripes.
21. Get new items installed, but can't get PC to connect to internet through the router. I'm pretty sure in the original confusion the previous day, I changed a setting I shouldn't have. Work around it for now.
22. Next day (Friday now) realize that I can steal the wireless adapter from one of the Tivos to connect main PC to internet. It's quirky, but I can get by.
23. Fast forward to this past Friday (in-between time was fine because I was working with other software that doesn't need to upload files, system is archaic but more forgiving)... Have problems downloading and working on work files. Panic, call boss, reboot, ok, things are ok now.
24. Sunday afternoon, work finished, now just need to upload. Doesn't work. Reboot. Doesn't work. Try other computer (some files are on laptop, some on PC, and you can't move them between the two with this particular software). No go. Feeling massive panic.
25. Leave message for boss telling her I'm having trouble, is it me or system? Now, I get along quite well with my boss because I lay low and don't cause problems. Her biggest, and I mean biggest pet peeve is people calling on Sunday evening to tell her they can't get something done. I've never put myself in that position before. Well, my work is done, I just can't get it to her!
26. Take a break for a while, hoping it's a problem on the company's end, not mine.
27. Try again, no go. It must be something with my connection.
28. Drive to library parking lot with laptop, log onto their wifi, load files just fine. Whew - at least some progress, but that means the problem is something on my end.
29. Tinker with my connection again, as I still have PC files to transfer. Can't figure it out.
30. Take freaking hard drive to my aunt's house, connect to her internet.
31. Not working. Try several approachs. Dang it all.
32. My aunt is a genius, reboots modem, upload files lickety-split. Whew. I really should have been able to figure that out, but think my panic and frustration were taking over.
33. Get home, recreate the very simple step we did at my aunt's, think I'm set - PC connects perfectly now as it's supposed to, I should be good to go on Monday.
No, we're not done with the drama yet!
34. Get project needing same software, think I'll be good.
35. Problems, problems, problems logging in, getting files, and getting files that will work.
36. Take laptop, drive to library. Dang, can't seem to connect - maybe too far back in lot.
37. Find closer parking spot - still doesn't work. Tears are starting.
38. Fine, I'll go to Caribou. Not getting signal in lot, will go in and buy smoothie and get signal.
39. Caribou is closed today for renovations. Are you kidding me? I hate this particular Caribou.
40. Drive back to library. Go inside. Still can't connect.
41. Drive home, crying, those heaving sobs kind of thing, you know?
42. Work again at downloading files at home, which finally works. On the bright side, have discovered that I can plug regular keyboard into laptop, so I can be fairly efficient.
43. Try uploading files once, but no go - back to the car, to a different Caribou.
44. Order smoothie, upload files. Whew. Ok, this is not a good everyday solution though.
45. Stop at Once Upon a Child, in same strip mall as Caribou, don't look at clothes since I am on baby clothes shopping probation, but see a cute Little Tykes wagon for a pretty good price, snap it up and justify that I've earned it.
46. Also stop and pick-up Chipotle for dinner, because again, I've earned it.
47. Look at router box, see it's got two layers of firewalls built-in, realize that is almost certainly my problem - the software can't communicate properly or quickly enough through the firewall.
48. Tinker with router, manual, etc., doubt I have it fixed but I am tired of this.
49. Discover through tinkering that now laptop can't find wireless signal. Actually get it fixed.
50. Discover that now Tivos can't find signal either. I give up.

There you have it - anybody still with me? Really, this is my life. I really am quite convinced the problem is with the built-in firewalls in this new router, but I'm not sure what to do about it. This isn't software I have to use everyday, and at least I've been able to work around it somewhat, but I can't be heading to Caribou once or twice a day! So, any insight would be appreciated!

Other than this fiasco, life has been pretty good. I could use some adoption news (i.e. orphanage agreements and dossier logged-in) but I'm holding steady on that front. Aside from all that, I've had some opportunities to get together with friends and family a lot lately, and have really been having fun. My brother moved to Florida (sniffle, sniffle) but he seems to really be happy so I'm glad about that. So really, I do have perspective that this computer thing is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. But it is VERY FRUSTRATING small potatoes!

And seriously, any suggestions to fix this thing are welcome! The most frustrating thing is that (until tonight anyway) everything else that needs this internet connection works fine - it's just this one dang type of software that doesn't like the connection, but there's not really anywhere to turn to for help since technically the problem is on my end...