CenturyLink and the Snow Blow Man

It snowed through the night and well into the morning. I needed to get out and get to my snow blowing but first I had to deal with CenturyLink and the hopes of getting my internet running consistently.

The funny thing is that the internet has run pretty steady for the last couple of days.

I got a text message at 8AM that said the Technician was on the way. That prompted me to get out of bed.

The guy showed up at about 8:45. His name was Jason. He was very competent.

I led him to the basement where the phone lines come into the building and the phone blocks (circa 1952) are located. You will note that I did say "Lines".

When this house was a group home for mentally challenged adults, there were three phone lines coming into the house. One was for the fire alarm. We are only using one line so we really have no reason for the other two.

Jason had already confirmed that the internet had been stable for the last couple of days but that it had produced several error codes. He looked over the jumble of wires and immediately began running tests to find out which wires were active. He suspected that the nightmare of wires connected to three different terminal blocks was causing interference. 

It took him about an hour but he got us up and running.

The bonus from his visit was that he thought our connection should be updated. He told me he would call me on Monday or Tuesday and set up an afternoon appointment to run a new line and update the terminals in the house.

This service order with CenturyLink went pretty much the same as other contacts I've had with them. Arranging an appointment over the phone was a nightmare. Dealing with the Technician went smoothly and restored my confidence in the company. 

I told him about the issues I had getting him to the house. He said he has worked for three communications companies and they all suck as far as talking to each other. 

It continued snowing until noon. As it was easing up, I got out there and began my routine. I got through all the main stuff, the driveway, the sidewalks, and some paths through the yard. But I wanted to get to the stuff I missed the other day when it snowed. Specifically, the alley. 

I like to snow blow the alley because I throw the snow from the driveway into the alley. Also, it makes it easier on Garbage Day... easier to get the bins out and easier for the Garbage Guys.

As I was coming down to my last couple of passes in the alley, the snow blower started acting up. The motor started to sputter like it was running out of gas. I checked the tank and it had plenty of gas. I messed with the throttle and choke switch and it kind of cleared the problem. For a while. It did it a couple more times. I managed to get through my rounds without it completely dying on me. 

I think there is more snow in the forecast so I'm worried about it. I don't mind taking it to the repair guy but it is a bitch to load in the car.

I was probably out there for an hour and a half. Doing the alley was slow and hard because the snow was thick and heavy from the previous snowfall.

When I finished, I was spent. I enjoyed a nice long bath with Epson Salts.

It's great to be in shape. At least, that's what I hear!