Thursday, January 24, 2019

Dealing with Bell and/or AT & T and Lenovo, Winds Dropped, The Goodens Return

On Wednesday, Jan. 23rd I woke up at 6:30 and got up 10 minutes later. Last night, I went to bed at 9:30 frustrated with my laptop. As I tried posting my blog, I couldn’t connect to our hotspot. Bill had no problem at all but I did. This has happened before and after the first time getting Bell Tech support, Bill managed to fix it the second time. Those same things didn’t work this time.

My walk was later with more traffic this morning but still a very pleasant one
We can’t understand why all of a sudden, nothing changed. When we called the Contact Us #, it was AT & T that answered. Figure that one out! I spoke to a lovely English-speaking lady, Mary, from Indiana and although the Lenovo laptop was unfamiliar to her, she really tried her best (admitting ignorance) to help us. In the end she did give us a Bell International # to call.

14 in line for the dump station 
There had already been a time passage of 30 minutes spent on this so I decided to take a break and make breakfast. After having bacon and eggs and getting dishes cleaned up, Bill wanted to drive to the Quartzsite Model R/C air field before the winds picked up again. They were considerably lower at 6 mph compared to yesterday and last night. I know they are expected to rise a bit more today to maybe 12 mph but that will seem minor.

The sun was already up and spreading its joy when I walked
I went for my walk just before he left and did the mile out and back again. On my way back, Bill stopped. He was alone because Rob was busy dealing with some of their own issues and needed to go into town. Then Rob and Pat stopped on their way into town. It was a busy trek to the Q today as George followed them soon after with a wave. Back home, I sat at Bill’s HP laptop and logged in as a Guest so I could put a notice on my blog. I had no idea how long it would take for me to get back on.

I made myself a coffee and with a couple of Nutter Butters at my side (for courage and determination) I made the call to Lenovo as suggested by the guy at Bell International. So far, the whole thing felt like a run around with no one knowing how to help me. I reached Phoebe who didn't give me a lot of hope when she said ‘Okay Pat, can you log onto your server for me?’ “Um, no, I can’t get into the Internet, that is the problem”. Oh brother, we thought.

There looked to be a Bluebird hiking crew ahead, crossing the road
Probably 12 ambitious campers
Long story short, after 55 minutes on the call with her, she got me on track again. I was able to connect. I wrote down the explicit directions of where she took me and how to correct this if it should happen again. I only hope it works. It did cost us $ but a fee that we’re comfortable with. Well, since it couldn’t be free, I guess we’re comfortable with it. I was able to go on and publish my real post from Tuesday and I was once again (wait for it) – a Happy Camper.

Bill had returned by this time and was happy to have visited the flying field and talk to some of the flyers. He was invited to return at any time that he had a plane and wished to fly. Hopefully, next year we can fit one or two in somewhere. I know he’d love to take them up on their offer. We sat outside for a while with our books. Oh yes, I’ve started a new one by Stephen King called Roadwork. It looked interesting and I used to read his stories a lot.

He isn't letting me down, by the end of the day, I was
almost half through the book
As you can see it is well worn and obviously enjoyed by many others
It didn’t take long before I realized that my eyes were heavy so I came inside and curled up on the bed beside Clemson. He never budged and didn’t realize I was there for the 20 minutes I lay beside him. When he did wake, he must have felt immediate hunger because he jumped off the bed and wanted his supper. Bill was dozing on the chair so I fed him and then noticed that Happy Hour was coming together outside.

Rose and George returned to join our group
I poured myself a Mojito from the bottle I bought in Yuma at the drive thru Discount Liquour store. Bill added ice to my glass and I think that was a good thing. It was a nice drink but boy did it hit! Luckily, I drank it slow. The position Bill and I had, facing the sun, seemed to be prime property, as we were warm for the whole 2 hours we sat there with our friends. Later, talking to Rob and Pat, they indicated that they got quite chilled. I hate that feeling so I felt bad for them as they had their backs to the sun and not feeling the warmth.

Frequent hummers visit my feeder

We spotted a few different species
Today was a better day, with the winds remaining around 3 to 6 mph for the most part but the odd gusts to 12. The sky was clear all day and the sun was true blue Arizona hot. We parted ways at 5 and we felt like part of a loving community here. Our friends, Rose and George, had returned, parked on our southern corner, from some trekking around, Rob and Pat out our window to the northeast, Tom and Deb behind us to the north, George and Suzie to the northwest and new friends, Ken and Kim to our west, in front of us. A nice little 'family' grouping.

Happy Hour, back out in the centre
Borrowed the picture from George's blog
Clemson is outside with Daddy while supper cooks
Bill reads while the chicken grills
Bill lit the barbecue and grilled 2 chubby chicken thighs and warmed up the leftover dressing in tin foil. Inside, I prepped a Caesar salad on our plates and we were eating shortly after 6. It was a nice meal. With dishes cleaned up, I gingerly turned on our hotspot, hoping there would be no problem. 

And I snap pictures of the sun dropping behind the mountains



I downloaded today’s few pictures and prepared to post my blog. I was still feeling the effects of the Mojito so wasn’t sure if it was wise to post it tonight or wait until morning when my head was clear. At least I could get the writing finished for an early morning publish.

It was a yummy easy meal again tonight
This has been a great day again, especially after lunch when I had things back on track with my online connection. I hope you’ve had a good day too.

Goodbye and goodnight!

Thanks for stopping by! Your comments are always appreciated.

4 comments:

  1. Glad you got the computer fixed but frustrating isn't it?! Hope Bill is able to find room next year for his plane(s) too, sounds like something he really enjoys! Quite a group you have there, love the warm and fuzzy feelings :) Dinner looks wonderful and beautiful sunset.

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  2. I've had a Lenovo for 4 years now and absolutely love it. It's the most problem free laptop I have ever had! Are you going to Borrego Springs this year?

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  3. My dad has a Lenovo and every so often has trouble with it and the internet as well. I'm surprised that there was a charge to help you. That doesn't sound like good business practice. I would contact the head office and ask them about it. THAT should be free!
    I wonder if Bell teams with AT&T down here in the USA, which would explain why it was their rep that answered your call. Our carrier teams with AT&T as well.
    Hopefully you have no more issues.
    Wonderful looking happy hour! Keep on having fun.

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  4. Nice that you got your internet back up and running again. Too bad you had to pay for customer service though

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