Right, I can get back to normal now. We had a storm pass over us on Saturday/Sunday, with the worst of it on Sunday morning. Usually when we hear thunder coming closer, we ‘unplug’, as in, ‘Let’s unplug,’ which isn’t as rude as it might sound. Out come the telephone cable from the wall, the router plug, and if it’s very loud, the TV and piano. On Sunday, I’d just unplugged and was at the balcony doors looking at the view when the island was hit so hard by a bolt from the grey, I took a step back from the glass for safety. I couldn’t see it land, but it looked as though the lightning hit somewhere around the windmills. Within seconds, the power went off everywhere.
Here’s the usual view.
The power came back on again not long after, by which time the storm was settling down, but I reckon lots of folk were still being wary. Later, when everything had calmed, I plugged in again, and everything was fine apart from the internet connection. There was power to the router but nothing else. To be expected. It’s happened before, so I left it and carried on reading ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood.’
Here’s the view as the storm arrives (looking slightly more towards the clock tower).
Later, when all was very calm, I went down to visit Jenine and Harry for a couple of hours, and their internet was off too. This for the likes of our generation isn’t a problem, but for a 17-year-old who was halfway through an online video game and who’s only recently found ‘Breaking Bad’… I was expecting outrage, but no. Pleasant, fun, conversation, ensured, although I did get a strange look when I suggested, if bored, a man can always read a book.
And here’s the view, or lack of, when the rainstorm was at its peak.
The upshot of this was, I still had no connection on Monday morning, so I tried a reboot, to no avail. Ah ha! I thought, I’d give them a quick ring to see if it’s me or the line/box/whatever, but apparently, I am unable to call the customer support number on my mobile (which is odd in itself and to be investigated later). Ah ha! I thought, I will download the app because you can check your status from there. Only, to enter the app, I needed my old Ote password that I’d not seen for 100 years, so I clicked the ‘forgot password’ thing only to be told it would be sent to my email. I can’t access that email without the internet, so that was no good. Ah ha! I thought. I will send a message via my phone email or some other way and found the form on the website via my phone (on 4G), and sent it off. Thinking I’d have to wait a couple of days, I then thought, Ah ha! And went to the Facebook page and the private message service, and sent the same message to Cosmote that way, just in case.
I had replies to both within ten minutes, both stating there was a problem with the line (or whatever) and it was being fixed. I was also told, had I been with Cosmote mobile, they could give me loads of free data usage while I wait.
Anyway, I rejoined the information superhighway shortly after, but others lost their routers, or cannot now expect their internet to be restored until towards the end of the month, so I was lucky. Oh, and the 17-year-old was able to get back to the worlds of make-believe and make-meth later the same day.
