Perky people annoy me. Perky folk make me want to carve kitchen utensils into sharp little shanks which I can drive into the eyeball of the next peppy soul who dares asks me how I’m doing while sporting a big smile and attempting to hug me.
Perky people suck.
That said, I also have no use for the dark brooding pessimist who always whines about how their glass is half empty. I see those people and I immediately want to find a box full of fluffy happy kittens and cram those cats down their cynical little gullets. I want to beat the fatalism out of those type of people with a rainbow and the bloodied horn I tore off a unicorn.
My husband says I really don’t like people at all.
He’s wrong. I like people just fine. Mostly people who are mute. People who don’t wander around offering their unsolicited opinions to their wives.
Ahem.
So I’m a tad cranky this morning and not because I am still hung over from going out this weekend to celebrate my little sister’s birthday by drinking too much red wine and shaking my rump to the theme song of all Redneck’s everywhere: Achy Breaky Heart.
Don’t judge me. I did it for love.
I’m cranky because it’s now lunch time and I’ve been trying to break into the internet since eight this morning. Nothing like a strong cup of coffee alongside some soul sucking gossip blogs to really kick start my day and fuel my imagination.
This morning? I had the coffee in one hand and the blank page on my laptop staring back at me telling me I wasn’t connected to the internet. No gossip, no email, no twitter, nada, nothing to get my day started in an appropriate fashion. I had to *gasp* turn on the television to find out today’s news and weather.
It was like the olden days when I wanted to know what the weather was like and being forced to walk outside.
So with each passing second I was locked out of the Internet, my bitch factor rose. Eventually as I stomped around the house slamming cupboards and checking my satellite signal relentlessly my husband tried to calm me down.
He quickly changed his mind and backed away when I snarled at him and he noticed the foam around my mouth and how my eyes had gone dead while sparking little flames out the center with each blink of the eye.
He’s a bit of a pansy like that. He may even have squealed like a school girl and tucked tail to run and hide when I threatened to rip somebody’s head off and send it to a third world country for some kid to use as a kick ball if the Internet signal didn’t come back on in one.freaking.minute. Of course, he was the only somebody in the immediate vicinity so he was safely and correctly presuming it would be his head on a sharp pointy stick if he stood around watching me twitch any longer.
After thwapping the router and shaking the little magical box which steals the Internet signal from the sky and channels it directly to my computer a few times I flopped down on the couch to glower at the injustice of the world.
Can we say drama queen much? And I wonder where my daughter gets it from.
Just when tiny little pinpricks of tears threatened to spill over and run down my cheek, I suddenly remembered I was not powerless and at the mercy of invisible satellite waves which were mysteriously absent. I could phone Tech Support at the Giant Company Responsible for Beaming Internet into my home and supplying me with my Internet crack fix.
Which leads me back to hating all perky people.
“Hello, this is the Giant Communication Company, how can I help you on this fine beautiful Monday morning where the sun is shining and the birds are chirping?”
(Okay, so those aren’t the exact words she said, but it was what she implied with her chirpy little tone.)
“Ya, my Internet connection is out and I pay TWO HUNDRED dollars a month to be able to access high speed satellite service out here in Buttfuck Alberta and you need to get me online RIGHT NOW because my husband is threatening to take all the knives out of the kitchen and my life sorta depends on having access to twitter.”
“All righteee then Sunshine, just let me check your account and let’s see what’s going on over there in that beautiful area you live in.”
I waited a few minutes while she ran my account number and tried not to twitch too hard.
“I don’t see a problem here Sunshine. It says here all systems are up and running,” she announced in a very happy voice.
“I suggest you check again because if all systems were up and running I wouldn’t be calling you, now would I?” I snarled.
“Well, I suppose not. Hmmm. Did you check your router box?”
“Yes. It shows me that I HAVE NO INTERNET SIGNAL.”
“Really? Did you try unplugging it and plugging it back in? Sometimes it just is a glitch in the aura of celestial waves we call the Net.”
“Yes,” I replied tersely to the chipper little bimbo on the other end of the phone line. “I rebooted it several times. Nothing happened. I then thwacked it. Then I shook it. Then I lit candles and chanted while I waited for it to reboot and when that didn’t work I tapped it with my magic wand and still, NO INTERNET SIGNAL. Which is why I am calling you.”
“Oh goodness, you sound really frustrated!” She giggled. “Did you make sure your router cable was plugged in? Sometimes the beautiful people of the world overlook the most obvious source of the problem.”
“YES I checked if it was plugged in. The power light is on. Yet it is still not working,” I replied while biting my tongue from calling her the moron I was sure she was.
“Oh dear Sunshine. That really is a pickle. Hmmm. Well, I will check again, hang on I’ll run a diagnostic thingy. Those are always so much fun to do!!” She gleefully announced.

Blood started squirting between my teeth from clamping down on my tongue so hard but I remained silent as she smacked her bubble gum in my ear and clacked away at the keyboard in front of her. For all I know she was posting her undying love to some lame ass sparkling Vampire on a All Twilight All The Time message board.
Seconds ticked off in which my life force was slowly oozing out of my body when suddenly she piped back up, “No, I don’t see a problem here. My computer says the force is strong with you.”
“Pardon me?” Oh great. A nutjob is in charge of my internet account. I must have bent over for life to kick me in the ass when I wasn’t looking.
“The beam signal we shoot from the satellite into your router. It says it’s strong. Just a little Star Wars reference to brighten your day!!”
“You know what would brighten my day? Having INTERNET signal so I could get to work on my computer.”
“Oh, haha, you’re funny!” She giggled.
“Look, is there anyone else I can talk to? Someone who can help me? A technician or something?”
“Sure, just let me put you on hold again, Sunshine. It shouldn’t be more than two shakes of a lambs tale. Oh and Sunshine?” she called me.
“Yes?” I replied back through my nerves being grated like cheddar every time she called me Sunshine.
“You have yourself a beautiful day. You are WORTH it.”
Just as I was about to reach through the phone to throttle her elevator music piped through the lines. All the while I sat in front of my useless computer and my router and willed the Internet to come alive and dance in my box once again.
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into, well more minutes, until I was well and truly past annoyed and firmly entrenched in Why is the World Aggravating Me so Direly today?
Eventually, a service technician came on the line.
Which leads me to hating Pessimistic people.
After going through all the same steps I did with the Cheerio minutes before, the tech finally announced there was nothing to do but sit and wait for my router to resurrect itself once more.
“What do you mean sit and wait??? It’s not working!” I whined.
“Well, the weather is good in your area, your router is working, the info beam is strong, it’s likely just a glitch which will resolve itself shortly,” the little man of doom replied back. “If not, you can always try phoning back again where we will dispatch a technician to your house who will likely take a look at everything and tell you it’s just a glitch and to sit back and wait for the situation to resolve itself. ”
“There has to be something I can do, isn’t there?” I pleaded with him.
“Ya. Move to the city. Otherwise you’re screwed.”
Like I hadn’t thought of that before Smart Ass. It’s just my husband won’t let me. Something about not wanting to bail my ass out of jail every time I feel like prancing around naked in the city.
Monday, you can bite my ass.
Right after all the Perky and Pessimistic people are done kicking it.
**I may or may not have slightly exaggerated today’s tech support conversation. My husband says it wasn’t that bad. He only says that because he made me sit on hold all four times and listen to some evil service technician call me Sunshine. I am ignoring him because this is the same man who says a day without Internet wouldn’t kill me. Obviously he doesn’t have a clue to which he is talking about.**







Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 13:52
Oooooooooh I LOVE kickball! Maybe you left your vibrator on? Sometimes the frequencies get crossed… Or so I’ve heard.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 14:10
Testing. Cuz mah blog is broken. MONDAY sucks.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 14:32
I’m one of those perky people…but that woman just made me want to punch someone. That’s not perky, that’s a robot.
Anyway-did you try restarting your router? This happens to me all the time, and it isn’t the internet, it’s my router getting all up in my face. Turn off the computer, turn off the router, turn on the router, turn on the computer.
Good luck, man. (and then it occurs to me you HAVE internet or you couldn’t have posted. Eh, whatever, perky people can’t be bothered with details)
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 14:40
If it makes you feel any better, once when the internet was out at my house, I went — in pajamas — to sit in my car, outside a Burger King, which offers free wi-fi, to get online, check my e-mail, blog, twitter, facebook and various other online social networking things.
It’s the only time I’ve been to a BK in years.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 14:46
When the magical box o’ Internet accessing fun is on the fritz, Casa de Crazy is a very dangerous place to be. I DO need the Blue Nowhere to live. Really. My doctor said so. Something about a serious Net deficiency causing the release of anti-endorphins (Yuh-huh, there is TOO such a thing!) in my brain, turning me into a psycho neurotic who can’t be held responsible for her actions.
I hope your net fairies adjust their attitudes and don’t ever do that to you again, sugar…but if they do, I suggest threatening them with large magnets or a hammer – fear is a terrific motivator.
Shade and Sweetwater,
K
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 14:51
What made it work in the end? Did you wave the rubber chicken over it and chant? That always works for me.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 14:58
My favorite saying?
“An optimist sees the glass as half full…
A pessimist sees it as half empty…
A mother knows that whenever the juice is gone, she will have to wash the glass.”
RebTurtle Reply:
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:48 pm
@patricia lynn, My common reply to the glass question is that it is completely full, but merely half water and half air. Both are detrimental to life.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 15:25
I thought where you lived that maybe your internet was a few paper cups held together by some string.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 16:05
Being an avowed pessimist and cynic, I used to hate perky people. Then I married one. Now am less cynical and pessimistic. I still am, just less so.
Cuddlecakes cracks me up, and when I am being a tool ( which is frequently) she just giggles at me and gives me a look that makes me realize i am being a tool.
I still generally hate most people, but no longer all people.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 16:41
soooo what,,, did you forget to flip the ON switch??? be honest…
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 17:30
I may have killed her if she was not on the phone after the pickle comment. ROFLMAO!
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 17:33
(this is me, being a mute.)
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 17:47
I had a friend who worked IT. He would often have calls routed to his cellphone during off hours. I hate to break it to you, but the cartoon in your post is totally accurate.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 17:55
That’s too funny. I hate perky people. I hate cable/internet techs even more. I’m totally feeling you on that. Hope that the mystical energies that allow you internet keep on flowing so that you aren’t disconnected again.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 18:13
We were Starband customers in Portland, OR about 9 years ago — when it first came out for Internet. There was only one guy in the state who knew how to install it. It took him three weeks to get to us.
I finally found an ex-Starband employee online who knew all the tricks and paid him about $100/hour to fix stuff when it went wrong. Most of the time they knew EXACTLY what was wrong but they were lying to my. It involved software updates, new firmware, transponders not working, etc. But they’d play stupid.
I now live where I can get BOTH cable and DSL, and will never live in Bumfuck ever again.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 18:55
I hate “perky” too. Unless, we’re talking boobs. And, I should clarify…we would not be discussing mine.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 19:30
poor darling. i just had to reboot mine, and when i saw the ‘no internet connection’ i froze inside for a second. soooo horrible. it’s no wonder i’m vampire (not sparkly) pale…
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 20:44
I had internet signal all day and WASN’T ALLOWED TO SIT DOWN TO USE IT!
Mondays suck big fat donkey balls. Just sayin’.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 20:45
Oh, and if somebody called me “Sunshine” I’d have to bite them. Hard. ANd not in a good way.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 20:49
Every time that happens, I end up with a personal goal of making the cheery people hate me through biting sarcasm…
Probably not the best response either.
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 23:13
Haha, that reminds me of a call I had with Dell a few months ago. My disc drive had broken twice already and I called and talked to one of those guys from India (apparently no one offers tech support from the good ol’ U.S. of A anymore). Anyways, I was so angry about my disc drive, I was not in the mood for jokes. Apparently, it had just “died” and they would have to send me yet another disc drive that I would have to take time out of my day to install myself! Then I asked him, “What are the chances that it’ll break again?” and he goes, “Well, I’d say that they’re very little unless you’re Satan’s spawn…then again, it’s already broken twice, so maybe you are Satan’s spawn!” I hate tech support!!
Monday, 23 November, 2009 at 23:55
Tanis,
Did it ever start working?
(snicker, biting tounge)
I got some snot nose “tech support” fired for being an @ss and snotty with me !
Told me I didn’t know what I was doing !
Nothing wrong on their end !
Had a home computer since 1984, took programing and electronic eng. in college (4.0 ave.)
Network I T at work.
Building my own PC’s since ‘98.
His super told me the next day they had problems all night in my area….and said they had enough of this guys attitude.
BTW they were dragging my kid out of class ever since 2nd grade to fix the schools computer system.
And he hacked the local hospital to get his X-rays when he jumped off the roof getting a frisbee and broke his foot ! (senior class party)
Bob in ohio
Tuesday, 24 November, 2009 at 0:24
I once called my bank because by mistake I double donated to Barak Obama’s campaign. At the end of the call she thanked me for supporting change for America.
Tuesday, 24 November, 2009 at 0:39
I feel your pain. I had to wait for three weeks, THREE WEEKS!!!, to get phone and internet hooked up when we moved over here. I about died of frustration and deprivation. I whined to my husband that lack of internet was making me twitchy, and he said that maybe what I was rhymed with twitchy…
Tuesday, 24 November, 2009 at 5:51
That cartoon about tech support people? Yeah, I totally do that at my job. It’s probably one of the few things that keeps me from strangling myself with my headset cord.
And I agree 100%. Perky people are horrible. I am not perky.
Tuesday, 24 November, 2009 at 6:30
Your husband sounds like mine! Accuses me of being addicted to the internet but when his friend actually emails something besides porn to me, he freaks because I haven’t been online for a couple days and haven’t checked my email so I didn’t show it to him! His friend doesn’t quite understand that Mike can’t even turn the computer on, much less actually operate independantly, so he is in fact sending porn to me!
Tuesday, 24 November, 2009 at 10:28
I hate our company!I hate being throttled and that the CRTC has let them do it
Tuesday, 24 November, 2009 at 14:30
Here in my house when I call tech support, I always get the person who does not speak English. I always feel like I am calling India for tech support and probably am. THAT is frustrating when you have to try and decode what they are saying!!! So annoying!!!
Tuesday, 24 November, 2009 at 19:03
I am laughing so hard I am ready to pee! YOU see I am a tech, I take these calls all day. I am the one to get most of my customers back online within minutes…hmmm maybe that is why I win all the customer service awards. I can see how being put on hold 4 times would suck. I never put a customer on hold. I tell them what I am doing. If I need to in a transfer I try and give a time line. Really you should of just called me…lol. by the way you might hate me but I am friendly and perky but I will never call you Sunshine.
Tuesday, 24 November, 2009 at 22:41
I hate calling people. My husband always says “Give em a call” until one night the cable went out so I let him “Give em a call” now he gets it. LOL I can’t do anything without the internet.
Wednesday, 25 November, 2009 at 15:41
A day without internet may not kill you, but it might get you 25 to life and a dead husband. =p
Wednesday, 25 November, 2009 at 23:05
OH MY WORD you just wrote about my life. So much so, in fact, that I had to link to this post because you just described how I’ve spent three out of every seven mornings for the past six months.
I feel so much less alone in the world now. Thank you.
Tuesday, 1 December, 2009 at 16:33
I laughed my head off at this post (by the way, I’m the lurker from the Lake Arrowhead area who spent a whole night reading your archives-the funny posts make me laugh and well, the ones about grief are something I can sadly identify way too much with right now, I don’t know if it sounds cheesy but some of those entries were a lifeline) I just got my internet back after over a WEEK without it and I know my bitch factor was legendary.
Glad to know someone else understands that going even a half day without internet’s deliciousness is just plain wrong.