A big Hi to everyone.1
I realise all my avid readers are probably expecting that now I am finally back online that I will have a tonne of things for your keen eyes to read, but sadly, I have nothing.2
All the stress I have been caused by my telephone/internet provider and other life stresses, has caused me to suffer extremely nasty writers block. 3
Do not get me wrong of course I tried many times to write the next part of Lillian’s lust and to produce some more great poems, but to no avail.4
I thought in all honestly I would be back online sooner but my provider had other ideas, let me explain - 5
Firstly, my telephone was disconnected due to money on a bill being due, only problem there is, they did not send me a bill so naturally I did not know.6
Therefore, I rang them and said here are the banks details take the money and put my phone back on.7
This phone call had an Indian person saying to me that because it was not a credit card (and well not all of us have credit cards) it would take between 5 to 7 working days for them to receive authorisation.8
I said, “Well I guess I have no option but to wait”. I waited the 7 days and still my phone was not back on which in turn meant I could not dial up and connect to my precious internet.9
I called them yet again, asking why their reply was different to the first, “We have to wait ten days for bank authorisation we can’t do anything until the ten days has clicked by. I yelled that I had been told a different story but it did not make a difference. I had to wait until the 24th of November, which by the way was a Saturday. Therefore, I assumed nothing would happen until the Monday as not much happened on a weekend with such companies.10
So patiently, I waited until Monday and still by lunchtime; I had an unconnected phone, so I went to my very kind neighbours for not the first time and called the telephone company yet again. I was told that the authorisation had gone through and that my account had been reactivated. I replied to this “No it has not been, as I am still picking up my phone and being told this phone is not connected please ring your provider”. I could not get much out of this particular Indian person, as per usual for the company. Other then for them to say, it may take another twenty-four hours.11
I finished the phone call saying, “Well if it isn’t back on in the next twenty fours hours you are not going to get a nice person out of me, I will be rude and swear etc etc, because I had, had enough.12
So maybe you have guessed that I did not have my phone on in that next twenty-four hours, maybe you haven’t.13
However, either way it still was not on. I was falling to pieces, thinking of contest I had that were going to end. I had been lucky enough to visit a net café and extend them us much as I could but still I knew they would be ending soon. It caused me such anxiety, as I’m a sufferer of anxiety problems and panic attacks.14
I had a commitment to enter a second round poetry contest which I could not enter due to lack of inspiration and muse and well of course the big one, no internet.15
The next day I picked up me phone and it said I could not make said call from the phone, but the good news I suppose is it was connected again; people could call me on it. But I still could not phone anyone. At this point of course, I was seething yet crying at the same time out of so much frustration.16
So I called them up yet again from the neighbours’ house to be told that all bars had been lifted from the phone and it should be working. I yelled, “Well no it isn’t and I have had enough of this”. I threatened that I would call the department of fair-trading and have them help me cancel my contract and they would never see any money from me. I was put through to a supervisor for the first time and she explained the reason why the phone had bars on it was a new monthly charge had been placed on my account, which needed to be paid. I told her “well how am I supposed to know that, you haven’t sent me a bill and I can’t get on the net to find that out”.17
She was the first helpful person I spoke to within the company and said she would create a temporary credit for the due amount and that would mean my phone would be back on within 24 hours.18
I sighed relief but was also mad I had to wait yet again another day, so stress that my competitions had closed and needed to be read and judged, but what could I do other then wait.19
I did just that and I gave them their 24hours, surprise surprise my phone still was not able to make a call to anyone.20
I sat there on hold waiting for them to answer to me yet again in tears. When I was put through I screamed, yelled, cried, and told the woman on the other end just how much stress they have caused me. She went on to tell me the system had not picked up the credit and it would be activated at 8am the next day (which is today), I told her I didn’t believe her and hung up, no thank you no nothing I just hung up. I went back over home and skulled a glass of wine at 1pm in the afternoon, something I very rarely do. However, it was needed at this time.21
When I went to bed last night, I set an alarm for 8.20am. I knew I would get up and pick up the phone but honestly, I had lost all faith.22
The alarm went off this morning; I went to the phone with not an ounce of hope in me. I picked up the phone and dialled a number and I fell the floor when it rang instead of giving me this call cannot be made message. And for the first time in a while, I cried tears of happiness and felt sheer relief. I went to matt still in bed half-asleep and held him and over and over again said, “They put my phone back on, it’s working, oh my god”.23
So ending notes, going on all poetry I was lucky to discover the round two contest is still open until 2 December and I feel confident I can try my best to create something J24
Now I am sitting here also reading all my contest entries on AP and feeling good to be back to things J25
Thank you to everyone’s messages on AP, SW and SP. For all your love and support and simply for missing me, it makes some of he shit I have been through feel worth it.26
Cin27
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