So much of life on the ship was trying (and often failing) to get decent internet. I was looking forward to putting that behind me once getting back to land.

I was wrong.

It’s been one set-back after another with Comcast. The internet keeps going out every 15 minutes or so. When I called about the problem, the first thing they tried to do was upsell me on a monthly wifi service that wouldn’t include any equipment, just the ability to have technicians look at my wifi set-up if anything goes wrong. When I finally got someone out to the apartment, they discovered that there is indeed a signal problem and it’s coming from outside, so the “outside” techs need to be called in. “They should be out in the next 48 hours.” 48 hours later I called and was told, “Unfortunately, 48 hours really means up to two weeks.”

[And that’s just internet. Cable TV service has been its own disaster. First, they tried to hook the HD TV up with a coaxial cable. When I called to get the proper connection, they seemed far more interested in getting me to retract my complaint than helping, even though I was simply saying, “Could someone just send over the right cord, please?” Also, when I signed up for service the person I talked to promised three months of free HBO, but now there’s no record of it. They did offer me three months of Showtime instead (which is nice, but not the same) and one month of HBO because that was “all I can do.” All minor things, I guess (except for the internet, which is turning into a half month long waiting game), but the accumulative effect is sort of staggering.]