Cyber Wars

An old friend from high school runs the guest house that I’m staying at this summer, but he is out of town for 3 weeks. It’s funny to see my friend in this role as the “guy in charge,” especially when it’s being in charge of semi-retired Quakers and a few college intern types like myself. The older crew are a funny bunch. They do a lot of bitching about little problems, like minor light fixtures being broken or construction next door or whether or not they are liable for the safety of these two adorable teen boys who are in ballet school for the summer. Of course, it’s only been a week, yet I’m joining the crowd of whiners, because the internet connection in the main office, which feeds the whole house, is working only for Macs and not for PCs. For the weekend, it was working for no one, but then one guy fiddled with the main computer and got it working for Macs. So, the PC people, to whom I belong, are crazy with the stress of being disconnected from the world, while the Mac people are feeling great relief--relief tinged perhaps with a bit of heartlessness. The guy who “fixed” it so that it worked only for Macs looked at me like, “Well, I tried, but there is nothing I could do.” Others have helpful suggestions, such as “Try the coffee house down the street. It only costs $1.50 for a cup of coffee and the internet is free.” Funny, that same suggestion, when the Mac connection wasn’t working, didn’t seem so generous to them. Well, obviously tensions are high. But, in this new environment, I’m beginning to realize how ridiculous it is to care. I’m trying to decide whether I should spend a couple hundred dollars to get my own connection or if I should take up a new hobby that distracts me from the no-internet-blues, like medication or drug use.

This morning I saw these beautiful green buds on the vine growing up the iron railing outside our apartment building. I think it is a sign of forthcoming beauty.