Yesterday was not a good day

I woke up this morning in a much better frame of mind after yesterday's fiasco with the satellite. I see that I have two choices: I can call them and complain or I can just accept the setup as it is. I hate conflict so I'm going to make the best of it and leave things as they are for now.

There was some miscommunication between myself and Dish's customer service as to setup and which rooms would have HD programming. The cable guy told me that it was impossible with the work order he received and that I would have to schedule another appointment. I don't want another mess like we had yesterday so I think I'll pass and keep things as they are. My best TV did not get the HD programming and Jimmy said that surely someone we know can make the switch in TV's without calling in the DISH people. I tend to agree although the Dish tech told us that it couldn't be done because then the remotes wouldn't work. I doubt very much that you have to call Dish each time your TV quits working and you have to replace it with a brand new one, so it just stands to reason that the switch can be done.

Jimmy & I straightened everything up last night after our company left. We still have a few things to put away and then I can go on with my cleaning. Just as soon as the cable guy drove out of our driveway and even before we had a chance to push furniture back in place or anything, company stopped in for a visit and stayed all afternoon. It was quite a mess and with TV's pulled out and wires all over the place three little children under five ran around playing and it was not a good afternoon for company at all. Jimmy tried to enjoy his company but he was eager to tack up the wires and to get everything put back in place and because the company stayed so long we had to work late into the night. We also never got to eat until 9 p.m. because the Dish tech arrived at 10 a.m. and our company right after he left so we were both a little grouchy or maybe I should say "very grouchy!"

But as I said, today is a new better day and yesterday will eventually be just a bad memory. Today we are going to town to buy those HDMI cables that will tell the tale and answer our big question..... is the TV picture improved SO MUCH that it was all worth the effort, the large installation fee, the added monthly payment and all the aggravation? I'll let you know when I find out.

The Cable Guy

It's another beautiful day and the cable guy is here to install our new HD programming and to add another DISH box and to replace the old box with a newer one. When I called they said, "Oh, no problem. We'll send a guy over with a new box ,and by the way, you're old box will also have to be replaced and then he'll set up your HD programming."

It all sounded rather simple to me, but when the cable guy came the first thing he said was that he would have to set up a new outdoor dish; a bigger one. He didn't say he was going to replace one dish for the other, but that he had to set up another entirely new dish pointing in a different direction. This new bigger dish would be set on a pole in the yard and the old dish attached to the house we could do whatever we wanted to do with that dish like leave it alone or remove it.

Okay, so we got that all settled and the new bigger dish set in the yard and now to put the boxes in place and we'd have HDTV.

NOT SO FAST! This new HD programming requires that brand new cable must be installed throughout the whole house. The TV's in each room are pulled out the furniture is pulled out, a closet is emptied and my clean house is now an ABSOLUTE MESS!!! and he's just beginning. Then he tells us that when he's done we still won't have HD programming but only all the equipment installed capable of receiving HD programming. He said that when he leaves we have to go to Walmart or Radio Shack and buy HDMI cables, that aren't cheap by the way, and that's why they don't supply them. And then we have to hook them up ourselves. He did say that he would show us how to hook the HDMI cables when he leaves.

If I would have known that it would have been this much trouble I might have given it more thought but the cable guy was very nice and he and Jimmy worked together to get everything hooked up. He also programmed the remotes so that each tv only requires the use of ONE remote control to operate the tv and that's great not having so many separate remotes.

So now to straighten the house back up so I can continue my de-cluttering. The cable guy is just programming the last remote to the TV and then his work is done. He's had Jimmy sign the final papers and it's adios.

Oops....the cable guy is having a problem with the last TV and now part of the threshold and carpet are being taken up. Something is wrong with the cable and newer new cable is being put in. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse.....

I've suddenly lost my appetite for cleaning house.