It's probably not worth mentioning (how's that for an opening phrase?), but I managed to fix the broken stuff on the English Rules site within a half hour of sending out the entry with the exaggerated title. So, carry on as usual.
Still, I'm wondering if anyone else gets the same feeling that I do sometimes — that everything in your life that can break is broken. The other day my espresso machine stopped working for about the tenth time in recent months after nine, seemingly successful, repairs. Later the same day I found out that a little tooltip plugin that I wrote for web sites had a serious bug in it. When I tried to brush my teeth that evening, my fancy toothbrush was missing one of its magnets, rendering it useless. And I was brushing my teeth in our tiny closet of a bathroom because our main bathroom was torn down to its bare bones after we had discovered that the little grout problem was just one symptom of the overall shoddy work the previous owners had done on the room.
That was a fun day. It reminds me of the time last summer when I decided to save money by switching our cable internet access to DSL and changing both land-line and cell-phone carriers. The DSL connection was terrible, so I had to switch back and then fight the DSL provider for a couple months before they gave me my money back. The land-line phone carrier ended up costing more, though I did get the call waiting upgrade, which I usually ignore. The cell phone service was so wretched that I had to switch to yet another carrier — which was $10/month more expensive than the original — within my 30-day grace period.
Sometimes the rustic life doesn't sound so bad.
I can totally relate! Sometimes I feel like Schleprock (remember him?)
Nine repairs to an espresso machine is more than anyone should have to endure, whether they are successful (temporarily) or not. I strongly recommend you say "uncle" on that machine and buy a new one - maybe one you can plumb to a water scource, even!
As for the rest of your broken stuff, remember this old Swedish proverb, "God gives every bird his worm, but He does not throw it into the nest".
Yeah, we did end up saying "uncle." And we got one with a direct line and a water softener. Really looking forward to the new rig.
Don't be too eager for the rustic life. It does have its charms but you soon realize that you are very much at the mercy of Ma Nature. She can be a very demanding (and dangerous) mistress. Living as we do in the beautiful Nevada hinterlands, nestled at the foot of the Ruby Mountains... directly across from 11,387-foot Ruby Dome, it is a spectacular place to live. However, nearby Elko has known serious cold, reaching -42-degrees F some years ago. Last winter, it was a mere -20... almost tropical in comparison. What's most impressive: imagining what it must have been like living here 100 or 125 years ago when comfort (and safety) was a 12 x 12-foot log cabin with a dirt floor. Those were hardy folks that knew how to survive the 'rustic' life. Those tiny cabins can be found everywhere in this part of the state, but I'm very glad I don't have to live in one!
Exactly how do you get the first letter of your paragraph in that style? It is lovely
Hi Zoey,
I use JavaScript to replace the first letter with an image when the page loads. You can read all about it on my other web site: Learning jQuery.
Oh yeah, you're speaking my language! That's why I can't add things like jquery into my life! Having your communications bollixed up is a real stressor. OOO- I didn't know about the bathroom! Ouch. Thank goodness for the little one!I agree about the simple life- but when we're away from email a few days, I'm itching to got visit the public library and get realigned. Tv is easier to eschew. My sympathies on your espresso machine. I enjoyed many a happy coffee moment from that old thing.