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If you are reading this blog, you have Internet (search) service... which is more than I can say for most of the time I have been at this hotel in Aruba (search).
First the Internet service was having such problems that I could not send pictures. Now it just simply doesn't work more than a few minutes a day. I have to "get lucky" in order to send the blog. Frustrated? Yes... if I didn't have to work all day — we get rolling about 8 a.m. and get back to our hotel rooms about 11:30 p.m. at night after talking to those who gather to watch our show — I would change hotels.
Writing the blog is not my only need for the Internet. I need to access FOX via the Internet in order to get our rundown — list of show segments, guests, tape sound we will use during the shows, etc.
Wednesday night during my frustration, the front desk sent a nice gentleman up to help me. He spent a considerable amount of time in my room pulling out plugs and plugging things in. He was not successful. While I appreciate his coming to my room, I was most disheartened to learn after spending an hour with him working on the computer that he is not an I.T. person and said he does not know much about computers. I had happened to mention something about how much I appreciated I.T. working at 8:30 p.m. to help me and he said he was not I.T.
I probed further and found out that he is a deputy manager of the hotel. Of course the big problem of spending 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. with him is that this is my busiest time before the show and I can't afford to waste one minute. I suppose you wonder why I even tried at that hour and that is a good question. But thinking he was I.T., I figured that "any second" he would fix my problem. He did not.
And I know you have all "been there"... for the past few days, as I have been struggling with this, the front desk gives me different reasons for the problem — including a network-wide problem, a sectional problem in the hotel and that there is no problem (I guess that I am delusional.) My "favorite" is that it is a "problem back in the United States."
Usually when there is an Internet problem it is something I have done or don't know. This time I KNOW I am not the reason. This is my sixth trip to the island this summer and each time I stayed at least four to five days and each day I wrote the blog, sent pictures, etc.
I regret that I can't read any of your e-mails to me... and no doubt the show e-mail account is way over the top in number of e-mails that are unread. I just hope that sometime today the service comes up and that I can push "send" to get you this explanation why no blog.
ADDENDUM: An I.T. man from the hotel just came to my room and fixed the problem — long story — but at least I can proudly say that, for the first time in history, I had not created the problem. Usually I am the one... and yes, this I.T. man is my new hero.
As for pics, I will try one more time to send them. I'm not sure any will get posted today but I have many.
UPDATE: I was able to send a couple pics to New York from Aruba after all. So click on the link in the photo box above to check out my photo essay.
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