ypically, the “maidly” duties are performed very well! However, on rare occasions something happens – never serious, dangerous, or expensive $$ wise. During these twice weekly visits, Dolores and I try to stay out from under her feet. Often we’ll go shopping, go to lunch or visit with friends, and then there are those days when we just try to be in a different room as she cleans throughout the condo. This was one of those days when we were “caught” at home with no place to go.I was on my computer located in the back guest bedroom and Dolores was on the veranda when I heard something fall to the floor. Not a big alarming crash just a tiny tinny bump. I listened, temporary, and when nothing seemed to happen went back to working on my computer research activities. The maid completed her work and headed out, Dolores went to her computer in the main bedroom to do Dolores things and the day passed comfortable.
The next morning we arose, I turned on the coffee, then headed to my computer and turned it on. My I-Touch was lying on the computer mouse pad so I turned it on and hit the weather icon. Nada – hmmm. Then my computer finished loading and I noticed the email account was still off. Checking, the internet was not available so I hurried to the master bedroom to see if the wall power switch which controls the router power was on or off, then looked at the router and saw no lights flashing, then finally at Dolores who was just about to say something significant like “what the h… is going on with the internet.” Checking the router I notice the case was “loose” and realized what the tiny bump noise heard the previous day was – a bouncing router accidently knocked to the floor by some vigorous dusting actions. She’d obviously picked it up, saw it was working and put it back in its holder – upside down. It finally went to router heaven quietly in the early morning hours. The result - there was no online service available for two persons who spend several hours daily with the internet. Now the Saga begins.
My router is “rented” through Telemex. Rented means a one-time charge and it’s yours for the duration. The problem with Telemex is they don’t feel the need to hire English speaking reps. (Wow, it is Mexico isn’t it!?), even though 40% + of Hi-Speed internet clients are English speaking. Oh, they do have one/two, but they are never available when I need to communicate with someone. I called our Admin who is multi-lingual and he sent an email to Telemex outlining the problem. Day 1 went by without a response. The next day a telephone call was made and we were informed that we needed to report the problem from my telephone so some tests could be conducted. The fact that the router was “stone dead” meant nothing; the test would generate an official Problem Report so that a replacement router could be made available. Tony (Admin) drove to my condo and the call was made and the test conducted. I was provided with a Report number and told to come to Telemex the following day, Day 2. Dolores was about to go into severe withdrawal.
On Day 2 our plan was to go to Telemex together with the defunct router, but we were being delayed due a problem the Spanish speaking remodeling contractors working on our guest bathroom were having. Get the picture - Robert is dispatched to Telemex with Problem Report in hand and with his somewhat limited Spanish vocabulary (Una cerveza más, por favor) to make the exchange and get (?) instructions on installation. Getting close to Plaza Caracol (Telemex service Hqtr) I realized I didn’t have any dinero – after a wild search of the car I came up with 6 pesos and it takes 8 pesos just to park. I then diverted to nearby Costco to use the cash machine. Entering Costco I reached into the billfold and realized Dolores had used my card for her BD present on Cinco de Mayo and still had it. Thinking fast I realized that I had a $20.00USD bill so I grabbed a bag of pretzels, paid for it, received my change in pesos then headed back to Plaza Caracol and Telemex. Upon arrival guess what? – the parking barriers had malfunctioned and they were letting patrons park gratis – gezzz! There went my squirreled cash. Finally, arriving at Telemex I pantomimed my way through all barriers with my magic Problem Report in my hand, got my replacement router and headed home with my troubles behind me? By the way they didn’t even want to see the Problem Report – just my saying I had one was adequate.
I tried installing the router using the enclosed CDROM. It keep giving an error message that I needed to remove the old installation to proceed. That I did; however, the error message would not let me continue with the CDROM instructions. I quickly placed the CDROM in my Vista machine (the router installation was for XP) and was able to read it. Realizing that to continue the setup I needed an XP machine -my backup net book that did not have a DVD drive; however remembering some old tricks I copied the CD to a flash drive then used that to setup my net book computer. Proceeding onward I was able to configure the router for DSL cable use but not wireless.
After 3 hours of trying I gave up and called a local guru who said he’d come over mañana, Day 3, and help me out. Within the hour after his arrival, he had everything setup, including the new wireless network for all 3 computers and the shared wireless printer. When I explained the difficulty I’d had with the CDROM he laughed and said the first thing needed with that CDROM was to find a wastebasket to break it into.
Oh guess what he charged me for coming to my condo and completing the installation - a total of $150 pesos - $12.00 USD. Did I tip him?...absolutely! A saga with a happy ending plus a bag of pretzels!
Will I tell the maid? No, she’d probably think “only in gringo land!”
