Really?

Surprise!  One of the last things I do in the morning after writing the blog, etc., is check my email, and yesterday there was a notification that the TV server upgrade appointment that I had scheduled was due here at 9 a.m.  The thing is, I had not scheduled any such thing and had no idea what was going on.  I know my connections aren't always tight, e.g., the slow cooker, but I would have known if I'd requested an upgrade.

Phone call #1:  "What the heck is going on here?  I certainly didn't order any upgrade and I'm not sure I want one."  "Well, ma'am, we see you're due for one and our technician is scheduled to bring you the new receiver today."  Hmmm.  Did I mention that they'd already shut off the old one and that I had no television reception?

At the indicated time, a very pleasant young man arrived and explained that the company was no longer servicing the old models and was replacing the equipment at no charge.  Okay.  He then set to work, saying that there were many changes in the system, but not to worry, he'd explain everything and I would "love" it.  He changed the satellite dish on the roof and set up the TVs in the living room and bedroom, both of which took time.  Then he pulled up a chair and began showing me all the changes in the new remote and all the great things it could and would do.

I should explain here that Steve had been a remote freak and had an elaborate system with controllers for everything, and not just one...it took at least two just to turn on the television.  I gave up.  It wasn't until we got the then-new satellite system that I had to learn or never watch television again.  The day it was installed, he left for a three-day conference.  Aaargh!  I sat for three days with the manual in one hand and the remote in the other and worked until I learned that sucker backwards and forwards.

The young man was explaining all the new features and I was trying to cope, but the new equipment is nothing like the old and there are few to no labels on the buttons.  I am a visual learner and always have been.  Spoken instructions literally go in one ear and out the other.  He tried and I tried.  He left.

Phone call #2:  "Please send me a manual."  They will.

Phone call #3:  "The picture no longer fills the screen."  They fixed it.
Phone call #4:  "How do I...?"
Phone call #5:  "I am not able to...."

It was not how I planned to spend my day.