Insanity and Sharing
This was my addiction ... I wallowed in it, got high on it and loved EVERY dysfunctional moment of it! In the midst of my addiction to this new world of cyberspace and infinity and my denial of my surroundings, I began the long slow process of "stinkin thinkin". It's sly, it's cunning, it'll sneak up on you and catch you at your weakest point!
It happened so quick I didn't even have time to get in another fix. Before I knew it, InSaNiTy had set in!
My teens did something that caught me off guard on day. They started speaking to me ... talking, in ordinary tones. I began listening in astonishment!
They wanted to know what was capturing ALL of my attention; what made me happy all the time. Why I laughed when I got yet another reply from one of my silly emails to someone. And of course why they always had to do all the housework anymore!.
I broke down ... I couldn't help myself. I did the ULTIMATE no-no. I'm so ashamed of myself! But, in order to get better, I have to admit it ...
I registered my three teens on AzTeC, Arizona's Free-Net.
Before AzTeC, we always fought over the phone line. But ... I ALWAYS won though because I'm the one who pays the telephone bill!
Then I felt guilty one day and decided that since the teens are going to be around a few more years, I ought'a do what was right for them and ... compromise! So I ordered another phone line. Great idea of mine, eh? I guess I won again because I get to pay the bill for the new phone line too!
Now, one of the teens is on the main phone line. I now have to share my pc AND time on-line on AzTeC with the teens. Who on earth invented the concept of SHARING anyway?
But, a funny thing happened through all of this. When the kids are on line, I have nothing to do! Can you imagine that?
I couldn't believe myself this morning. I started picking up the house. Then I found myself vacuuming and dusting.
Before I knew it, I was washing those dishes from earlier this week.
Now hear this, I even washed the ... windows!!!!!!
I also got around to feeding the dog today too!
Now I'm gonna go mow the lawn.
When I'm done there, I'm going to go grocery shopping and come back and clean out the drawers to my bedside tables ... you know, get rid of all those sentimental things I've kept in there for the last (eh-hem) years.
Then there's the linen closet. I've still got the "first" bedding set I received as a wedding present back in the early 70's. Remember the "earth tones"?!! I can't get into "southwestern" designs til my earth tones bite the dust! The bedding has even out-survived the marriage(s)! But I suppose that doesn't say much, given today's statistics on marriage ... of course that's a whole 'nuther story ...
See ya all later, I think I get some time on line now. I had better speak up or I'll lose my turn ...
The New Phone Line
It seemed liked a good idea at the time. It seemed worth the few bucks I was out per week for the investment. You all know I meant well. I kept peace in the family and stopped the war. We had such a wonderful truce going. We all rejoiced in the new phone line!
Finally the kids could talk on the phone while I was on-line and I could talk on the phone when they were on-line! And sometimes, people could even get through on the main phone line again. And when the kids were on-line and on-phone, I got to clean house!
There was finally ... Splendor for All!
I got a brilliant idea when the telephone man came to install the second line. I thought ... it'd sure be nice to have access to both lines in my bedroom ... so I got a 2-line phone and had both lines connected to the jack in the master bedroom. Being the cool mom that I am, I told the teens, that IF the main line was in use AND nobody was on-line on the pc, THEN the second phone line could be used for outgoing calls ONLY as long as "nobody" wanted on-line OR until "somebody" wanted on-line. They ALL understood the new rule.
It worked great for the first day ... except they kept knocking me off line when they'd try to use the 2-line phone in my bedroom. Teens aren't USED TO pushing buttons just to use a phone. Invariably, whenever I was on line, they'd use the main line in my bedroom. But like, they'd get really confused, you know, and like, well, you know, press the wrong button, you know, and like, whoop-sie, disconnected! I tried to be understanding, after all, they are my OWN children ...
I came home from the store on Day 2 - when it happened...
I rushed straight for the pc to get back on-line with my AzTeC Free-net. It'd been over a half hour and I was into withdrawal BIGtime. There on my monitor was a note from one of the teens telling me NOT to get on-line because she was on the main phone line and was using the second line to do "3 way calling".
Amused, I chuckled to myself as I pranced merrily into my bedroom. (Withdrawal will do that to ya) "Gee, is this teen ditsy or what?", I thought to myself! She doesn't know I got a no 3-way calling, no call waiting, no voice mail, no call forwarding, NO FRILLS second phone line!
And there she was, as pompous as can be, chatting away with 2 other friends, using both telephone lines! Gleefully, I told her it was IMPOSSIBLE to use 3-way calling by using both lines because we did NOT have that type of service on the phone. She immediately replied in her most all knowing tone of voice, "But Mom, you're w-r-o-n-g (again). First ya dial friend #1 on line one. Then ya dial friend #2 on line two. Then ya just punch this conference button and ..."
Great Ideas Sometimes Backfire!
The Saga Continues
School's out for summer but I still have to work. I try to check in with the kids by phone ... almost hourly!
Now each and every time I call home, the main line is busy ... dang voice mail on the first ring again. Then I call the new second line and it's busy too!
Now, in a previous story I discovered that the teens were making oh-so-good use of the second line to make 3-way calling by using the conference button on the two line phone. I couldn't really complain, as long as nobody wanted to use the computer, this was within the rules aferall!
While at work, I didn't forget about the above possibility. But, knowing how mature the girls are these days, I just knew they were using the two phone lines appropriately.
So ... last week went by basically without a hitch. Aside from the fact that I never got through when I called!
Today I got home and much to my surprise, no one is on either line!
I am so impressed with my family. I must be doing something right these days!
It's dinner time now. Being the dutiful mom that I am, I begin cooking dinner.
I'm in the middle of dinner now.
True - I sneak on-line for just a minute or two, check my mail, post a couple of articles on the SIGs, answer last minute email, etc., while dinner cooks.
But, I signed off the system and returned to the kitchen to ensure that our meal resembled a teen's idea of a normal. You see, teens don't eat anything resembling healthy, so I have to be really resourceful and imaginative these days just so that they'll eat dinner at all.
All of a sudden the phone rings.
I answer the kitchen phone and the phone continues to ring.
I'm speaking into the receiver, "hello, hello, do I have anyone on the line?" (tilting my blond head wildly from side to side), while the girls are telling me to go answer the phone by the computer!
I reply, "Wait, that phone can't possibly ring. I NEVER gave you the second line phone number ... you know the rule, it's only for outgoing calls or the computer!"
"But Mom," they say again in their most pompous tones, "Ever hear of Caller ID?
We just called our friend Carlos, and he told us what our new number was! Now we can receive calls during the day when you're gone!"
The saga continues... Great Ideas Sometimes Backfire
Phone Line ... Number THREE!
So ... the saga continues
I was continually hoarding the main phone line with my constant online activities. In order to keep peace in the family I decided to get a second phone line back in July of 1996.
This helped at first but it did not solve ALL of the household phone problems. In time it created even worse problems because we STILL had to share the pc and the second phone line. Instead of just one phone line to argue over, it became two ... plus there were four of us in the family. T'was a losing battle no matter how you looked at the situation.
You can only imagine the chaos around here, demanding our rights to the pc or the phone.
Fortunately, my son dropped out of the competition early on. He never talked on the phone and besides, his best friend had unlimited access time on his internet service provider so he began to spend more time over there.
Now there were just three of us competing for the pc and the phone.
Hmmmmmmm, maybe we would survive now that we girls beat out the lone boy of the family!
Shortly thereafter, I joined into a business venture with an associate of mine. It was a deal too good to be true folks, and I insisted on a contract.
My deal was that I keep the books for my new client and my client provides the pc. Plus, I get full use of the pc for any other activities. Some deals are too good to pass up!
Besides, I had my family to consider in this deal. We really needed another pc to occupy our time.
The major problem that has arisen since I got the second pc has been ... what does the THIRD person do while one person is online with phone line #1 and the other person is online with phone line #2???
We're so caught up in online activities, we seem to tune the third person out! And ... sometimes that third person is me!!
We are sTrEsSiNg oUt as a family again.
So ... here I go again, thinking long and hard like I do in cRiSiS sItUaTiOns ...
I immediately decided that there was no other way to survive as a family except to get theTHIRD phone line.
A couple of weeks later we were all set to have the third line installed. I thought everything would go according to plan ...
First they'd install the third line in the kids' rooms and I'd only have one jack charge. Then the installer would fix the other jacks throughout the house to accommodate the third line at no additional charge.
But I thought of one simple question ... "Which of three phone lines do I want hooked up on my two line phone in the master bedroom?"
Ohmigosh, I shouldn't have asked myself!! Now I had a new sTrEsSfUl dilemma ...
I sure don't want to buy a three line phone to accomodate all of the phone lines in the house. Should I keep the main phone line with voice mail on my bedroom phone? Do I put the kid's phone line on MY phone too so that I can keep tabs on their phone usage?? Or do I keep the second line on it for my private use when nobody is online and someone's using the pc that is tied into the main phone line???
I was getting cOnFuSeD again. It was easier to buy a new car than it was to decide what to do with the third phone line!
With the car, all I had to do is sign on the dotted line and sign away my paychecks for the next five years!!
In the end I decided to opt for no new phone at all and got a pager instead.
As it turned out, the pager solved only part of the problem for me. Half the time, the two phone lines were tied up and I couldn't return my pager calls until my scheduled hour of online time.
We still argue over the phones, but that's life.
At least we're communicating!!