Wi-fi nomad...?

Today’s question: so is RantWoman going just to say to hell with… for awhile and switch to the life of WiFi nomad, lounging in coffee shops, hanging out at the library and coincidentally soaking up air conditioning, scouting out Metro / SoundTransit coaches wit wi-fi, popping onto RantMom’s Wi-fi before or after Sunday suppers…?

 

--The coffee shop plan sounds intriguing but RantWoman actually needs less noise and distraction. RantWoman also hates earphones and has yet to meet a single non-blind observer who is charmed to listen to screen reader chatter.

 

--Ditto for the bus where RantWoman also needs better situational awareness.

 

--Using wi-fi at RantMom’s is the tip of a whole adult child and aging parent social services iceberg that RantWoman does not want to go anywhere near. Plus RantMom just keeps her entire computer power strip with all its peripherals turned off when she is not using the computer so what use is that anyway. And RantWoman spends enough time cheerleading RantMom about her devices anyway...

 

--RantWoman fully intended to try life as a wi-fi nomad on Sunday. Two forces intervened: an offer of a ride home and need for the 3x / day purple eye drops which had somehow not made it back into RantWoman’s purse. Plus RantWoman LIKES temperature control with open windows and the Queen of Spades periodic interventions. Well, the cat hair in the modem has pluses and minuses, but…

 

Another friend helpfully read RantWoman the latest info sheet about qualifying for Lifeline service. Same problem as always: RantWoman should probably do the paperwork because it might line up a whole bunch of things RantWoman is barely on the edge of qualifying for. But since RantWoman would rather not qualify… focusing on other paperwork MIGHT make more sense. Sigh.

 

So now we return to the current RantWoman telenovela.

The latest phone experience with Beloved Telecomm provider:

“Permanently disconnect service” SEEMS to be out of the conversation.

Beloved Telecomm Provider has now been paid ALL RantWoman can afford to pay this month. Beloved Telecomm provider refuses yet to reconnect RantWoman’s service. They sweetly promise that RantWoman will receive a prorated bill excluding the period she has been without service on her next bill, as soon as she pays off  … .

 

In other words, the number of reasons RantWoman should just ditch this provider continues to accumulate.  Threats of permanent termination from Beloved TeleComm provider’s side are at bay. RantWoman is still shopping. RantWoman wishes the shopping were going better.

 

Things that make it hard to switch

Phone number on three different business cards. RantWOman knows there are options for keeping the phone number. But it galls RantWoman on one hand to sit in public meetings with Beloved TeleComm Provider who ask for policy help to help them do business and to get nowhere when RantWoman tries to talk about service and her business!

 

Voicemail. Not the actual service because RantWoman thinks she can learn another voicemail service It’s the voicemail archives:

n  An amazingly lucid, probably years-old phone call from RantBrother.

n  The same zigs and zags of sister relationship that RantWoman and Little Sister have been doing our whole lives.

n  Phone calls from a couple former language-biz clients whose voices instantly summon all sorts of stories.

n  A message from one of Irrepressible Nephew’s Guatemalan honorary uncles.  RantWoman remembers Honorary Uncle fondly not only for big heart and industrious outlook but also for a visit with his mother and grandmother to Little Sister’s apartment. One of the grandmothers wanted to use the restroom. RantWoman caused great mirth simply by emerging from the restroom and being the tallest gringa they had ever seen. ¡Hasta me quitaron los popes!

 

Data Caps. RantWoman did not mean to review her wireless plan in the same timeframe as fiascos with Beloved Telecomm provider, but RantWoman guesses she is supposed to be glad to think about her needs. This billing cycle for the first time RantWoman has apparently hit the data cap for her mobile plan.

RantWoman needs to ask someone about this because of a weird graphical detail in the usage chart provided by Beloved Mobile Provider. But okay, if RantWoman has hit the cap and she turns data off and is game to try the wifi nomad thing for a bit, then either stop sending RantWoman data or do not try to bill for an overage.

RantWoman would actually like more options in the realm of mobile, BUT RantWoman is peeved that Mobile Provider in website and text message only wants to sell her data plans in 2 GB quantities and that for approximately 120% more than she is paying for her loyalty voice and text and data baseline service. RantWoman does not WANT to buy 2 more GB of service for the remaining third of her billing period. RantWoman wants to buy at most 1 GB and certainly not at the price Beloved Mobile Provider’s various electronic communications say they are selling it for.

RantWoman is aware that she should try the Talk to a Human options with Beloved Mobile Provider. One of the reasons RantWoman finally took the smartphone plunge was that a sales rep spent a whole hour on the phone one Saturday afternoon with RantWoman. RantWoman was drinking some kind of latte. Sales rep was a new dad working from home with a sleeping baby and the wonderful new dad sensitivity that comes over some guys when they first become fathers. Sales Rep was a little glib about some things to do with accessibility but if RantWoman had been really on the ball, she probably should have called the accessibility hotline anyway. So RantWoman DOES need to try the Talk to a Human option.

 

Figuring out what RantWoman actually gets for her money, not to mention how much she will wind up paying in taxes and fees on different packages. The third provider option in RantWoman’s info streams sends her a different wildly fantastic offer in the mail every other week.

Some of RantWoman’s neighbors grumble about this company. All the offers seem like a lot of money with no mobile and RantWoman is unclear even about Wi-fi. They all include television. RantWoman does not care about television. They do not include telephone which means RantWoman has to figure out internet phone too. RantWoman is not sure for her usage needs how much she even cares about download speeds. RantWoman also prefers NOT to stream, NOT to always have to be logged into the cloud to work, to be able gosh dang it to do things on a device without an internet connection sometimes. Plus, RantWoman really wants some dip her toes in to figure out options. In other words, RantWoman has all sorts of Unreasonable Expectations!

 

Stay Tuned.