Ode to the internet

I am happy to report that although there yet remains some scuz on my couch, my feet still feel fabulous from my pedicure the other day. Gotta love moms! Here's a shout out to you, mom! I know you read this at least sometimes anyway.

On to another, more important topic... one that we all know and love. The internet. The world wide web. AKA my sanity while on bedrest! Yesterday I had a meltdown. A real, honest meltdown. Most of the time I think I can handle being alone for most of the day. There is only so much reading, studying, crocheting, crossword puzzles, and TV I can handle. For the rest of the time, there is the internet. David's laptop has helped me through many long hours in the past 9 weeks. That is, until yesterday. Evidently the power cord stopped working. I was noticing that although I had the laptop plugged into the wall it was not registering that it was even plugged in, so gradually the battery was draining. Without the power cord/supply, the battery cannot be charged. Without the battery charged, the laptop cannot be used. Without use of the laptop, there is no use of the internet!!!!

So, as I was sitting there, I noticed how low the battery was getting and decided to fiddle with the cord to see if I could get it to work. I got up (ok, yes, I know I was breaking the rules, but it was out of necessity. Honest. I swear.) and tried the cord in a different outlet. Nothing. Then I tried it in the same outlet with a different adapter. Nada. Then I tried it in the different outlet with the different adapter. Zip! I wiggled and jiggled the cord, I rebooted the computer, I tried going to the power settings! Then all of a sudden I looked at the screen and there was nothing but a rainbow of vertical stripes, AND even unplugged I could not get it to turn off. I sniffed the box in the middle of the cord, and it smelled like burnt plastic. There was also an odd sort of clicking sound coming from it. That couldn't be normal. This was clearly beyond my capabilities, so I called David....

D: hello?
B: Hi, honey.... Your laptop is a piece of crap (sniffle)! I don't know what to do with it! The power cord isn't working!!! There are stripes all over the screen and now I can't even get it to turn off!!!
D: Well, I can't do anything about it right now, so I will have to try to fix it when I get home.
B: What? What do you mean?? What am I supposed to DO all day?
D: I don't know. Watch a movie? Read?
B: Ok, talk to you later.

I promptly..... cried. A lot. It's funny the things that send a person over the edge when in a hormonal, high-risk, bedrest state. For me, having the computer helps me through the day. David called me later in the day to check on me in the middle of my blubber-fest, so he could hardly understand what I was saying. Poor guy...

B: Hello?
D: How are you?
B: I don't know!!!
D: Is something wrong?
B: I just don't know what to do! I don't want to be alooone anymore!
D: What? Do you feel bad physically? I can't hear what you're saying.
B: I just can't stay in this house all by myself. I don't want to be here any more!!!
D: You're going to have to slow down and start over, honey. I can't understand a word you're saying...

I calmed down enough to talk to him for a while and then watched TV for the rest of the afternoon. Oh, and I finally did get the computer to turn off, and when I turned it back on it worked. By this time it only had a few minutes of battery life left so I turned it off. At least I didn't riun the computer, so all we need is a new power supply. They are probably not cheap. And of course we cannot find the extended warranty for the laptop which would not only give us a new cord, but also most likely a new laptop as the hinges are faulty and the screen does this wierd blinky thing here and there throughout the day. So until we have a new power source for the laptop, David set me up with our extra computer and a flat panel screen that we borrowed from his dad. Praise God, I have access to the internet again. At times like these I am so glad that David kept all of his extra computer stuff around!

And so I would like to end with a simple ode to the internet.

Oh web of the world,
how many useless facts you hold for those who google and yahoo.
How you make the gray skies blue,
yes you do,
it's so true.
Without you next to me
I don't know what I'd do.
Would I blog? Surely not!
Could I email? Not a chance.
So I smile when I see
that you're right there with me.
How I giggle with glee on my Amazon Spree.
Never leave me again,
to cry in my pillow, on my couch, in my house all alone,
loudly lamenting my lack of entertainment.
In fact, showing my need for detainment.
Without you next to me
I'm not only blue,
but downright crazy!