Enough of that

Happy hump-day, everyone.

Is is raining where you are?  If you're about anywhere between Chicago southeast to the state of Virginia, the answer is likely "yes," as it's been rainy here in central Kentucky off and on for days.  And what we've had is a fraction of what has fallen in parts less than an hour away in several directions.  So hope that you've not experienced weather-related problems.

Our current situation related to the coronavirus pandemic leaves one with time to consider a lot of things.  As in how we currently function, what we can change, etc.  I'm not immune, of course, so today's post will detail some of that type of introspective thinking.

We still have a landline telephone account.  I know, that's so 1998, but we've kept it out of habit, I suppose.  And we've kept it for a long, long time, despite what I would call diminishing returns.  The cost continues to go up, and we've reached the point where all we have is local outgoing phone service, not even possible to dial out long distance (wow, the idea of "long distance" certainly seems antiquated, doesn't it?).

With all of the time I've been home (my job normally requires travel, so I'm not often here during the bulk of the work week), my wife and I have had ample time to discuss such mysteries.  With a little discussion we figured out that the only calls we receive are from our kids and from telemarketers or pollsters.  So we began seriously discussing doing away with it.

It was last week when we finally reached a point of agreement, as in one day we were called multiple times by the same telemarketing entity exhorting us to renew the warranty on our car.  Our FIFTEEN YEAR OLD car!  

I started down this path about a year ago by associating my cell number with most of our business accounts (utilities, bank, mortgage company, doctors, etc.) and I spent a little time Monday double checking that.  In turn, my wife and I discussed who she would need to inform of the change, and with a few phone calls, she let everyone know who would need to know.

So I called our "local" phone company's offices, which are located in Little Rock, Arkansas.  After about five minutes navigating the choices, I finally got into the customer service queue, and my call was answered by a representative.  She thanked me for our length of service (24 years at this address with this number) and asked how she could help, and I let her know that we intended to discontinue service.

Not without a fight, apparently, as she offered me two different "plans" that would save us money.  We did this years ago, but by the time fees and taxes were added to the total, the bill still comes to nearly $40 per month.  I politely declined and she then put me on hold to process my request.

Nothing happens fast with traditional telephone companies, and this one is no exception, as I called on Monday, June 29 to disconnect and was told that the disconnection would take place on Friday, July 10.  Well, OK, then.

With that taken care of, I decided to also do something I'd intended for a while, and went into my Twitter account and pruned out about thirty people or entities that I follow.  Most were sources of news articles and links that, frankly, kept me irritated about the current state of things in our country.  I'm not about to stick my head in the sand, but really didn't need multiple sources of the same information, and that's what was populating a large percentage of my timeline.

Along with all of this I haven't thrown out half of my clothes or anything, but we did give some items to our son and his family when they came to celebrate Father's Day (socially distanced, of course, thank you) that we no longer had need of but that they agreed they could use.  

So if your pandemic situation has caused you to consider a few changes, listen to your instincts, they're probably right.