Easy come easy go

As quick as my Internet came, it went. I awoke yesterday to a burning desire to do some web surfing and kill a couple hours (killing time has become rather hard and stressful now that I have been at it a few days). Alas, my internet connection was down for the count. To make matters worse, I actually had some important things to accomplish via the Internet that I could no longer get done. The situation was very annoying to say the least. I had almost slipped fully back into the 21st century but was then stymied by a finicky connection. Fortunately, the connection is back up and walking. I say "walking" because in no way, shape, or form is this a fast Internet connection. I'm talking marginally faster than 1997 dial up. I click and wait, click and wait, etc... But when you have nothing but time on your hands, waiting isn't all that bad. I have put some of my time to more useful pursuits though, like watching movies, reading, hiking, buying Christmas presents, feeding the resident horses, keeping the wood stove burning hot, and learning more on the guitar. Much more of this though and I'm going to have to start busting out some video games.

Convenience!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! For the first time in seven months, I am sitting in the comfort of my own home browsing the Internet and writing a blog. Yes it is true, for the last seven months, the various structures that I have called home have all been devoid of an Internet connection. During those seven months I was required to use the computers at work after hours (Yuck), or pay an arm and a leg for a wireless connection outside the park (Yuck). I have recently moved just outside North Entrance of the park to a real house with a real Internet connection! And I actually signed a 12 month lease, Gasp! I have rediscovered the joy of browsing the Internet and wasting time. Of course I have a to-do list, but since I have to wait until the end of the week to receive news about some job applications I should have plenty of time to check my email every five minutes, look at YouTube, read news, and generally plug back in. And the timing is great. The temperature hasn't risen above 0 degrees Fahrenheit in the last two days so a little quality couch time can be justified.

Happenings

The start of the holidays have been going splendidly so far though I have a bit of a hitch in my get up. Thanksgiving went great. The turkey was an adventure in taste due to the use of a delicious array of fresh spices conveniently sold together in a bag labeled "The Herbed Bird." Of course the eating included much merry making - courtesy of my apprenticeship to an accomplished Bloody Mary mixer. In fact there was too much merry making for my old body to stand. On the day after Thanksgiving - or Five O'clock Somewhere Day as we called it - some spontaneous dancing went down. I attempted to execute an airborne dance move and lightly come to rest on my left foot. Instead, I came to land heavily on a left foot positioned awkwardly inward. The resulting movement was an uncontrolled crumple to the floor. Fast forward ten days... the crutches are gone, the limp remains, and my left foot is back to its normal size but roughly the color of an eggplant. I've thus made great use of the couch and foot stool. Fortunately my travel plans included an extended stay in ID, so I haven't been forced to accomplish big things with a lame foot. On the up side, it's really easy to get people to stop on the crosswalks and let me gimp across.