Write About Now

My family plays The Glad Game when things aren’t going as planned. The Glad Game, which I adopted from my college roommate Sarah and which Sarah’s family got, I believe, from the movie Pollyanna, consists of taking turns finding upsides to the current not-so-up situation.

My usual first entry into any installment of the glad game is, “No one’s puking.” I have a phobia of vomit (I’ve been known to hold my breath around people with the stomach flu so I won’t inhale their germs) and an absence of these symptoms is usually a solid start to the game. Usually—once, during an episode involving my family, a 14-hour car ride, and some bad shrimp, I had to find something else.

Anyway, the glad game was created for days like today. I spent the first 40 minutes diagnosing my computer’s inability to connect to the internet. After uninstalling and reinstalling AirPort Express and restarting the modem several times, I called Comcast in desperation to find their system was down in south Nashville. I know, you Mac evangelists, I should have known it could never be AirPort’s fault. I hate Comcast.

I stomped off to continue being angry while taking a shower, during which Louie the cat threw up on my office floor. Like many native Californians, Louie has an eating disorder and throws up immediately after eating at least three times a week. This morning was not the best time.

After cleaning that up and doing my one to-do-list item not requiring internet access, I am now in the public library, getting close to lunchtime and having accomplished very little. The library must be a Comcast customer as well because their internet access stays up long enough for me to see I have 14 urgent email messages but not long enough to open any of them. I could drive to another of my free Wi-Fi haunts across town, but on top of everything else, Nashville is without gas. The hurricanes disrupted shipments to much of the Southeast, with Tennessee being hit the hardest, and most Nashville residents spent at least part of their weekend in one or two hour lines, ironically burning what gas they had left to creep up for their turn at the few stations with any supply. Since the problem’s expected to continue until Friday, I don’t want to use my remaining ½ tank chasing the internet.

So, today is a great opportunity to practice The Glad Game. Let’s see, I do still have that ½ tank and didn’t end up stranded on the road this weekend like many people. It’s a beautiful late-summer day outside. I can concentrate here without Isaiah jumping on the ceiling. Comcast is working on the internet problem and will, presumably, fix it before late summer becomes fall. And if you’re reading this, the library eventually came through.

And no one’s puking. Well, except for Louie.

P.S. I originally wrote this last Monday, but the blog site has been down. I have NOT been glad.