Yesterday was one of those mornings. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing and birds were singing somewhere. Problem was those damn birds weren’t near me — glad I didn’t feed them.
Let me take you back to a couple of weeks ago when I filled out my EDD form to show that I had done some contract work. Yay contract work and obeying the law! Strike that yay! One week later and no check, but I did get the form back. What? It seems I had filled it out wrong. Ok, ok. So I refill out the form and send it back. Meanwhile, my bills are piling up — cable, cell phone. It’s okay. I’ll get the check soon. This is about being fiscally responsible and good at life.
It wasn’t soon enough as this morning I woke up tied to the natural world only by my name. My cable, Internet and phone were turned off. It was like having no thumbs. I was useless. No Internet? No Netvibes, Gawker or e-mail? It was a horrible and terrible feeling that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy or frenemy. I use to play the I-was-born-in-the-wrong-era game. It’s the game where you say I’m so much more a 1920s flapper than an laid off professional. I could be a gangsters girlfriend, I could have been a dancer. I could be somebody. It’s great amounts of fun to imagine how you would be the bees knees in a 1940s swing club. However, from this moment on, I will joke no longer about being born in the wrong era. Sad but true, the Internet is my homie.
Any another day and this would not have been as traumatic as it was and by traumatic I mean a death of banging my head against the wall. I had a meeting this morning and I went to the wrong address. This is when I would turn to Google Maps. My phone was working as a call device but I had lost my data plan. How was I going to figure this out? My saving grace was a good ole fashioned phone call and a text message to Google. Yes, I can say Google saved my life — along with my friend who read me my e-mails over the phone.
No worries I made the meeting — about an half an hour late. But my morning without Internet taught me how tied I am to technology and how I take advantage of not paying attention to the details. I was going to rely on being able to read the e-mails from my phone on the bus to double check the address. It was an important lesson to learn. I can’t let my reliance on the Internet keep me from obtaining all the details I need. My cable, Internet and phone were turned back on. Luckily for me I had a check I was waiting to cash in order to save it towards my rent. Oops. Hopefully I’ll pull my something magical off.
As for my missing-in-action EDD check. I will have to call them today and figure out what I’m doing wrong. Three weeks and counting since I received any help. Some days I truly believe the Beatles made music solely for my unemployment soundtrack.
