wherein life continues onward, both in writing and in other activities

[edenfalling]

I was looking through papers on top of my file cabinet today and discovered a scrap of longhand fic I wrote at work on June 2nd, in response to a 15-minute fic prompt. It is not remotely a 15-minute fic anymore, but I've spent the evening typing it, editing it, and extending it. I'm a little stumped on a functional ending -- yeah, yeah, story of my month -- but it's more in the general sense of "How do I end this conversation?" than "Oh god themes what help WHY?!" mess I was in with my anonymeme story. Because in real life, conversations tend to just kind of drift off, or meander onto other topics. They don't have clear-cut endings. So it's always a bit of artifice to construct such a conclusion.

I also got hung up by timeline issues for a bit, because this ficlet is Shezan and her mother discussing whether it's advisable for her to court Ilgamuth, and the time period in which she's expressed interest but not yet accepted a gift and thus essentially declared them engaged is... um... limited. And also overlaps exactly with the time period of her grandfather's death. So. Awkward. But I think I've solved that problem.

---------------

Real life meanders onward. I have pulled together all the necessary documents for filing my unemployment benefits request. I have also pulled together the information for asking STNC to roll my company pension into my IRA account -- or at least, I think I have all the relevant information. I guess we'll find out when I call them tomorrow. I also need to tell them I want to continue my current health insurance via the COBRA extension program, and ask how much I owe them, what name I should put on the check, and when and where to mail it.

I ran into problems with getting my own internet service. It turns out that Verizon runs a "port to port" service in this area, whatever that means, and currently there are no more available ports so I'm shit out of luck getting anything from them. (And this despite knowing that Upstairs Neighbors R & A are going to cancel their Verizon internet account at the end of the month. Gnrgh.) So I'm looking into Time Warner Cable instead, but their plan options webpage is not very helpful if you have no fucking clue what a cable internet connection entails in terms of hardware. Like, they run a cable into the apartment. Great. What does it hook up to? And do I need to buy whatever contraption they attach the cable to, or do they supply it? And how does a wireless router figure into all that? Their website just assumes you already know all these details. It is very annoying.

I walked into town in pouring rain today to deposit a check, and also because I've been trying to get a two-mile minimum walk every day. I mean, I've been in the habit of walking two miles daily -- one to work and one back home -- so my body is used to it. And also exercise is good for mental as well as physical health. Anyway, I stopped at Collegetown Bagels and bought a cupcake and some milk because I felt I deserved something nice after getting drenched... and then of course I got even more drenched on the way home. *sigh* Such is life.

And now, I think, to bed.

Comments

[branchandroot]

Time Warner (or any other provider) runs the coaxial cable in wherever the access is (usually against a wall on the assumption it would hook up to a tv, back in the day) and provides you with a cable modem box. You can connect that box to either a) a wireless router that you provide or buy from them for extra, which produces a kind of 'bubble' of wireless connectivity or b) straight to your computer via an ethernet cable. You can provide your own higher-grade modem, but then they won't service it if it goes down.

[edenfalling]

A-ha. Okay, that makes a lot more sense. I think there is already a cable installed in my apartment -- there's certainly a mysterious bundle of thick black cord in my computer room that runs through a hole in the outer wall -- so presumably they'd simply have to connect that to their network (or turn the connection on?) and then plug it into a modem.

I will definitely buy my own router, since Time Warner only seems to rent them... at $16 per month. *wince* And it doesn't look like down-payments toward purchase, either, just infinite rental.

[branchandroot]

*nods* I've done it that way for a long time--their modem, my router, and it's worked well. Especially since a basic router is really pretty cheap these days, as long as you don't want to connect much to it.

[autumnia]

Echoing what branchandroot said. I have TWC and just want to add that you should probably buy your own cable modem (they have a recommended list on their site of different brands and models that work with their service) since they are now charging a rental fee if you use the modem they provide you. The con of course is they won't service it but given how often their modems break down or have issues, it's worth getting your own.

[edenfalling]

Yes, I saw the rental fees. They are ridiculous. And it's not even rent-until-paid-off and then it's yours -- it's just infinite rental! :-(

I foresee a trip to Best Buy this weekend.

[autumnia]

Yes, it's insane the money they are changing and it's not being applied to buying it off completely from them.

I bought my cable modem from Amazon for about $70, which is infinitely cheaper than renting one from TWC for a year! You should compare prices.

ETA: Even if you don't buy the modem online, you should check them out on Amazon anyway -- there's been pretty good customer feedback about the modems and how they work with different cable companies.

[edenfalling]

I ended up getting a Netgear combined modem/router from Best Buy this afternoon. I had a generally good experience with my previous piece of Netgear equipment -- which was a little USB gadget that let my old computer recognize and connect to wireless networks, since it didn't have a built-in wireless card -- so I figured I'd go with that brand again. It's on Time Warner's list of supported devices, so here's hoping!

[monkey5s]

Just wanted to pipe up here re: the evol of Time Warner. I had regular TV cable, so when I decided to go with Road Runner, they had to put in a bigger cable. One in addition to the TV cable. I have my phone through them, as well, so both are bundled in the Road Runner modem. I wonder if I can buy my own modem under those circumstances? Hm. FWIW, I had both an ethernet connection to my desktop, plus a wifi router connected to it. I know that some wifi routers will require connection by ethernet cable to a computer that's connected to the Internet in order to set them up, just so you keep that in mind.

[edenfalling]

I think you should be able to substitute your own modem for a rented one. You may have to get your connection reset so the system recognizes your new modem, but that will only cost you... five hours of telephone customer service hell? *wry*