Phones, fences, and cables!
I was without phone and cable for a while. I had satellite but I don’t really watch it – the cable is for Internet connection, satellite for TV, phone for my future alarm. Anyway, Husband and I have wanted a fence for a while now, but had not made the time to get some quotations. We finally did and the monthly payments are not all that bad: 78 bucks a month, that’s what we spend in a week of eating out so we went for it.
Monday we filled out the application, Tuesday it was submitted for approval, Wednesday we received the go, Thursday the workers came to start putting up the 4x4s to make the frame and hold them with cement, etc. These wood posts have to go at least 2 feet under ground and they did it rather quickly. I had mentioned to be careful with the cables and such, and according to the salesperson the guys had come to inspect the property beforehand to make sure they isolated the phone, light, and other cables. Well, they finished setting the posts and left. Next morning, Friday, I go out to do several errands: pay some bills, etc, and my mom calls me at the cel.
“Are you in the Internet?” she asked.
“Me? Nah. I’m outside. I’m driving. Why?”
“Because I’ve been calling you several times in the morning and your phone is always busy, so I thought you were on the Internet.”
“Oh we don’t use the phone for the Internet mom. We have cable net. Hmm. Maybe I forgot to hang up a phone or something… or… owwww I hope they didn’t break my line.”
“The fence guys?”
“Yah… I’ll check when I get home.”
So I did. I arrived home and picked up the phone at the kitchen and yes there was no dial tone. So then I went to the bedroom and noticed the same thing. I got my tool set and unhook a phone set and went outside, where the main phone box is. I disconnected the RJ that makes the round circle for the whole phone system and hooked up my phone. That’s what they people at the phone company always says to do: Before calling us, check that all phones are hooked up. Then plug a receiver outside and make sure there is (or isn’t) a dial tone. If there is a dial, then the problem is in your phones or home jacks and you may easily troubleshoot yourself. If there is no dial tone then it’s a different problem and give us a call.
No dial tone, so I gave them a call (via the cel phone). I was told that service would be restored by Saturday at 7pm. Alright… it was Friday 4:30pm… hmmm... okay, I could leave with no phone service for a day.
I started doing my housework and then my dad came over to take me shopping. When we got back, I gave him dinner and then went to his house to help him pack because he was taking a short trip to go to my sister’s at Laredo. Mom is with her, so he was going to come back with her. Well, when I got back home I went to check my e-mail and… Page not found. O_o Uh-oh… I looked at the cable modem and one light was blinking and 2 others were off… The only solid green was the Power one… ~_~
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I CAN LIVE WITHOUT PHONE, BUT PLEASE DON’T TAKE MY INTERNET CONNECTION!!!
*sigh*
I shut everything off, tried restarting the modem. I reset it a couple of times, but it was the same results. I turned stuff off again and went to wash the bathroom. I’d give a call the next day.
So, now it’s Saturday. The fence people came over at around 9am and I went outside to talk to them and asked if they had come across some wires while drilling the holes because… well, I was without phone and cable.
“Oh. Did it happen after we left.”
“Yep. I had not noticed until yesterday afternoon, when my mother game me a call and said my phone was just busy, busy.”
“Hm. Well, we saw this cable…” he began to walk over one corner of the lawn and I followed him, “but it was already broken so we thought it was some left over or something.” He scraped the dirt and yes, there was a torn black cable.
I looked at it and recognized it to be like the one connected to the phone box… and then I asked, “and an orange cable?” Good thing that each service has their own colors, eh?
“No. We didn’t see that.”
I kinda shrugged, “Yeah, well. I am expecting the technician from the phone to come over sometime today. He’ll check the stuff.” I smiled. Heh. No need to get all upset and stuff. It was an accident.
“Oh we’ll work quickly. All he’ll have to do is reconnect wherever the wire got broken.”
“Yeah. I hope nobody gets interrupted in the work. But yes, like you said, it shouldn’t be that difficult…” the phone power area is actually on my side of the fence, so it was easy acces, The cable may be a little more difficult since the main power box was at the neighbor’s property. Ooops. Oh wells. But now to the important part: “If there are any charges for fixing the line, if it was from the drilling… I just forward you guys the bill?” Tutututuuu.
“Yeah. Sure.”
Alright! So I left them at their work and I went to feed Chiquita, then gave a call to the cable company. They did not have a slot available until Wednesday morning and I took it. Oh man.. so many days with no internet. *weeps* Anyway, at around 2 the phone technician, Andres, came over and went straight to work. I saw the truck so I went outside and introduced myself. We chatted for some time while he worked.
“Yes, when I saw that there was a fence being built I knew it was a torn cable problem. Yeah, they cut it when they made the holes.” He was clipping tiny little red and green cables and hooking them up to the motherboard,
“I had not noticed until my mom called yesterday noon. If she hadn’t I still wouldn’t know. Hahaha. We just never use the phone. It’s just here because…well, everyone needs a phone.”
He laughed and nodded, “True, true. I am almost done, see? With these” he had two little pliers thingies that he was connecting to the wires to check the reception, “I am checking your line.” I was nodding and going ‘oooooh’ all airhead-like. Techies love that, so be nice, make their day. “Yep, it works. Now I’ll just connect the main line at your box and in 3 or 4 days somebody will come and bury the new line.” He showed me the cable.
We continued to chat and then I asked about the repair cost.
“Oh it’s nothing. When it comes to these type of problems, we never charge the client. It’s not your fault. And if we were to charge anything we’d charge the fence company, but we don’t do that either. ‘Cause you see, if we do, then the fence company may charge the client in some way, and well, that’s not fair because it wasn’t your fault.”
“Nice policy!” He then said that in a few minutes he’d ring the phone and then would go around to give me his card, so I left him at his work. On the way back to the house I saw the fence guys and I gave them thumbs up. “I’ve got my phone back! Yey.”
They kinda smiled and nodded while I walked inside. Minutes later Andres gave me a call and asked if the line was fine, I said yes so we hung up. Then he went to the house and gave me his card. Told me to call him at his pager if anything was odd with the line in the next few days. “You know how a pager works?”
“Hmmm. I dial the number, then I leave my own number.”
“Yes. Pager, beeper same thing. Just leave me your cel phone number… otherwise if I call…” We said the next thing together, “there won’t be an answer ‘cause the main line is down.”
“Got it! No problem. Thank you very much.” I waved his card and then he excused himself and I closed the door.
A couple of hours later and my neato fence was done. Came out pretty good ^_^ AND… when I came to the office, I noticed my modem lights all solid green! YEY!!! I guess the cable company was updating something in the block. Still, I will wait one more day and if everything is still working fine then I will call the cable company to cancel my Wednesday appointment with the technician.
^_^
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