Internet Woes...

Where Are You Internet?

The Saga of the LCI Network

By, Josh Niehues

5/3/11

I’m wondering why the internet here doesn’t start to work until 9am?  It seems to be a reoccurring pattern.  Last Thursday and Friday I was on this very computer around 8:30am and there was no connectivity.  Then by some miraculous act of God the internet blockage was parted like the Red Sea.  Now I sit here and wait for that holy number like a Mesoamerican Shaman waiting for the summer rains to decree his peoples crops will grow.  Will my crops grow or are my fields to lay fallow? 

Oh internet how I beseech you to do what you were designed to do… Hmmm… maybe PS ( our computer technician and all around go-to guy) has a secret switch that he flips in the morning releasing all that is the internet.  Should I pay homage to the mighty PS, for he is the one with the all knowing all encompassing knowledge? I had a piece of toast this morning for breakfast… was that an image of PS?  8:45am… no internet………………….

How will the children ever receive their report cards?  How will their parents ever be able to find out how they’re doing in class?  These are only a handful of questions that may never be answered.  8:49am… no internet.

8:55am the time approaches!

9:00am where is the miracle?

9:10am I have lost my faith! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! 

5/4/11

Day four of a saga that has only been chronicled for two days, but those two days tells the story just the same.  No internet.  Previous assumptions about a secret button and PS holding the key to our internet woes seems to be unfounded.  More than likely it’s either the North Koreans or the Chinese.  Perhaps a collaboration of both to hinder the children of South Korea from learning English?  Well, they obviously don’t think very highly of the teachers here.  The internet can be a great tool in adding diversity in instruction but it is not the only tool or the best.  So block my internet and make my life a little less convenient you rapscallions!  But I shall teach these children English and tell them not to buy anything made in China! 

*Internet came on at 9am! The Prophecy was fulfilled! 

What I Miss...

  It doesn't get easier the longer I'm away but I wouldn't say it gets any worse either.  The longer I'm away from family and friends the more I think about the details of what makes me happy when I'm around them.

  Going for a ride with my dad... with no particular place to go.
  Talking with my mom... and disagreeing about politics.
  Punching my sister... not very hard.  Brotherly love.
  Stopping by Grandma's unexpectedly... just to visit.  And hoping she has some sweetbread.
  The Amaro's barn... no matter what kind of mood I was in I left with a smile and a helping of happiness.
  Throwing horseshoes with the boys... just wish they could beat me once in awhile.
 
  I miss the comradre of my friends.  I miss the ease of a summer night and the smell of fresh cut grass.  You're all never more than just a skype call away and it's always great to hear your voices.  I miss you.

Drove My Chevy to the Levee

 A month just dissipated before my very eyes.  Like the exhale on a frost covered morning.  The month floated off, twisitng in the winter silence.

 February has brought a lot for me to contemplate.  I guess it's just like any other day or month.  Everyday brings new experiences, fresh views, and complex questions.  But unlike what Don McLean sang in his song 'American Pie', February didn't make me shiver.  It brought me closer to my center, closer to my contentment.  But I still have many mountains to climb.  

 To sum up my February in a few words... We all should be aware of the future and the inevitable change it will bring and the lessons of the past.  But living and life happen now.  I will prepare myself for tomorrow by embracing today. 

Waiting

  At times I feel like i'm waiting for Godot.

The Weather

     I phoned myself today and had a great conversation about tomorrow.

  Most Californians understand that they're spoiled in the winter months.  The mercury seldom drops below freezing.  There are periods of spring like conditions in the middle of January.  It can even trick the trees into an early bloom. 
  In most parts of California there is a reprieve from winter.  Not so much in Korea.  When the sun is out, the air still stings.  Gloves are a necessity, not just a comfort.  If you're caught outside for an extended period with uncovered ears... expect an ache.  Well insulated footwear is a must. (and something I should invest in.)
  These are no secrets to the multitudes of people who actually experience a true winter year after year.  Even myself, a native Californian, could grasp the idea of what a four month winter could feel like.  But now here I am in month number 3 and I'm ready for my reprieve.  And just think, this weather is mild compared to what friends of mine from Alaska, Colorado, and Ohio have to put up with.

The Corner

  I stand at the corner.  The man flashes red.  The low dull rays of the winter sun do little to warm my face against the stinging winds.  I'm bombarded with crystalized water.  Every swirling seige impales my face.  Cars zoom by, their cargo protected from the chill for the time being.  Delivery boys on their scooters cut through the traffic, but the cold cuts through them.
  I stand at the corner.  The man still flashes red.  The mighty sun has lost this battle.  It can not excite the atoms.  The frigid grip of old man winter has slowed time itself.  Pain is emanated from the creeking and screeching of every turning vehicle.  Their brake pads sound brittle and controted.  Buses lumber along like aging old men.
  Red lights never use to be so cold when you were standing next to me.  Your body pressed against mine did what the sun tried in vain.  As much as I may have wanted time to stand still... as tight as winter squeezed... we couldn't stop the red man from flashing green.

Older

  What is it about getting older?  I assume most people begin to reminisce about past achievements and failures and how they wish they could go back and change a thing here or there.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about that once in awhile.  But then it isn't very constructive second guessing your decisions and living in the past. Plus, I have a different bone to pick with getting older.
  Why can I not sleep in anymore?  Seriously!  What chemical in my brain decided to switch on within the last few months that has disabled my slumber mode?  Today for instance.  It's a Saturday morning, right around ten.  This would've been a perfect time to wake up after falling asleep around 1am. (Had to watch 6 episodes of the Inbetweeners!  Good show)
  But instead, I've been tossing and turning in my bed since 5:30am.  And the only reason I haven't gotten out of bed yet is because I have principles!  But now I'm just getting bored and I guess I need to get outside and make something of my weekend.  I can already hear my dad's voice, "Quit sleeping your life away!" 
  No chance in that happening.  I haven't been able to sleep my life away since I got here.  Maybe it's a gene from our prehistoric ancestors?  Something to do with survival?  At 32 I'd have been an elder statesman in my band of hairy, stone-tooled, hunch-backed relatives.  I would've needed the ability to wake up earlier then my younger counterparts in order to secure my food for the day.  That has to be it!
  "Quit sleeping your life away!"  That reminds me of another saying my dad had.  "Wake up and meet the sun half-way."  As a teenager, needing copious amounts of sleep, I would point-out to my dad, at 6am, that meeting the sun half way, could actually mean meeting the sun when it was halfway done with its day. Noon.  He didn't by it, but it made perfect sense to me.  I don't wanna sleep my life away or even meet the sun half way, but I would like the ability, again, to enjoy a few extra hours of sleep on a weekend. 
  I don't mind getting older.  If approached correctly, you'll actually mature and grow as a person and become less of an egocentric twat.  I just hope the change in personal and worldviews doesn't go hand in hand with hearing loss and bed wetting.