Jolly Ranchers and AT&T

We've been having problems with the DSL since last Sunday. I've made several calls to AT&T this week, all longer than 30-60 minutes in length. A technician has come out and fixed one problem. We seem to have more than one, however.

Today, I called twice. Once at 9 am for 45 minutes and then again in the afternoon. Every time, the automated system AND the DSL technical support ask if I'd tried rebooting the computer and unplugging the modem from the power supply, because "1 out of 5 DSL problems can be solved by ..." Seriously, though, don't they think I've tried that by the 2nd or 3rd call this week?

By the second call today, I was worn down, feeling helpless. Somehow, I managed to get a woman who lives in the US. Not that tech support from people in other countries is worse, but hearing a real American accent was reassuring. (Perhaps AT&T knew I was at my wits end.) She was very nice and tried her best to help me. Still, I had to wait while "tests were run".



In the meantime, I rummaged around my desk for something to keep me occupied and found a bag of jolly ranchers of unknown origin. They were so old, the candies had become one with the plastic wrappers surrounding them. Peeling the sticky strips of plastic and licking the melted candy from my fingers kept me busy for most of the call. I ate one of each flavor, sour apple, sour grape, sour watermelon, sour cherry and sour blue rasberry, each with a hint of melted plastic.

Now, my tongue feels like it has been rubbed by sandpaper and is the color of a melted box of Crayola. I'll just tuck those Jolly Ranchers back into the desk for the next time I have a weak moment - perhaps tomorrow...between 8am and 8pm, waiting for the technician to come to the house. Sigh.