Today is one of those days (fiction)

can you relate?

i woke up today without an alarm but not in the way that you may think, not an hour early only to stare at the ceiling but with the blue morning sunlight filling the room through our skylight. I was three hours late but not today, I am taking the day off from my normal routine.

The dogs started getting restless with me knowing that this isn't going to be a day spent from sunrise to sunset alone. I could hardly stand it anymore, their excitement to start the day off with a long walk in the daylight rubbed off on me and i dragged myself out of bed.

Saddled up we set out along our normal route me enjoying the crisp late winter air and the dogs peeing on anything that smelled other than earth. The walk was uneventful until I saw the garbage trucks and realized I didn't put the garbage out. Frustrated with myself, I bucked up for the dogs and meandered home at my own pace again; sniffing, peeing and enjoying the crisp air.

When I got back in I decided that I needed to follow some of my own advice I had dished out to my love and got a pen and the back of a bill envelope and started the list:

1. wash dogs
2. start laundry
3. haircut
4. massage
5. return easel
6. return stantionS
7. dishes
8. line up tomorrow morning activities
9. date tonight?
10. return badge from work
11. talk to my lady about canceling Comcast DVR service
12. call some friends
13. etc, etc, etc

until I got to number 26.

I also have a car load of stuff that I need to return to work before I get to sink my teeth into my day. So, first things first; what can I do on my list before I leave? then I get a call that structures my day a little more than I wanted but work is important and that car load of stuff needs to get to work sooner than later. I commit to a reasonable time line and then settle into get my day organized. I needed to find out about our date tonight because it involved tickets to an event and I didn't have them with me. I called the box office and confirmed we had tickets to the show this evening; excited I called my love. We talked and confirmed tonight will work for our date then I asked her about canceling our Comcast DVR service..GULP. This is a big step in today's world; we have sucked Comcast's DVR nipple through good and bad times. Remember when VCRs were our only option? Comcast was there. Tivo? Comcast was there. Then Comcast came out with DVR service. Sun beams from the sky.

I put my Tivo in the 'old technology that I am bored with' hands of my father. He still uses it today, that was five or six years ago, god love him. the interface wasn't that bad but I certainly missed the bubbly sounds and unmeasurable better interface Tivo offered. But, Comcast will mature, won't it?

You'd think, "this powerhouse monopolistic company would have the resources and gumption to offer the best possible service.". That is what I think. There is clearly more to it but it just tickles my logic button that if Comcast has a box already in your living room they could have capitalized much better. We trust Comcast's box:

1. We rent movies from the box, that is a form of online payment that most people disregard because it isn't removing monies directly from your credit or banking accounts but rest assured it is online purchasing; you do get a bill for the services you purchased online.

2. We put our personal information all over the service. We let Comcast know exactly what shows we like and which ones we fast forward the commercials, which ones we watch live, etc.

3. We tolerate the incredibly poor interface.

Then Comcast downgraded their interface and that was it for me, I built another computer that will do all my DVR and TV viewing needs. Long story short I got lazy and didn't use it for over a year but today I am. Got'er hooked up, configured and an interface that I will use. And I got an Apple TV! Life was getting better now that Comcast is delivering 24Mbps internet service to my house for $56 a month. My thanks to Microsoft's Media Center Division and the incredibly elegant Apple TV solution that the (ever-leading media delivery agent) Apple team put out. that Apple TV feels like you are walking through the isles of a movie rental store, it feels like something we are familiar with. Comcast didn't grasp that concept. I called Comcast but spared the nice lady my above sob story, she asked me to go ahead and unplug the DVR cable box and return it to the closest Comcast location. They will remove the service at that time and retro payback any overpayment's. She also asked me to be sure and get a receipt. That's it? Nice.

I called around and scheduled a massage this afternoon and then set off to get the day back on track. I looked at my list and crossed off the few things that I could from the calls I had just made. Highlighted the items that required me to do something at the house before I left and then crouched down to play with the dogs for a bit. All the while I have music playing in the background. After rufflin' with the dogs I crawled over to the entertainment center and looked behind at the skeleton of a long long relationship, my Comcast Cable box. Relax, I told myself, it will only look weird for a while but you will get used it not being there like a missing tooth. My eyes, for as long as I can remember, look first to the amber digital time readout this aged relic provides. I reached behind and started unplugging the ol'coot, "Goodbye old buddy", I thought, "You did good" as I personalized the experience. I like these sorts of milestones our world sees and, like most in my generation, enjoy the current pace of advancement. Plug by plug I felt the perceived shackles fall to the carpet behind the DVD player that will soon to be liberated by Mr. Jobs. Goodbye Comcast Cable Box. Off to the day.