12 replies to this topic

[Mt_Rider]

Warning: MtRider is NOT happy right now. Tough day with multiple challenges as well as a recent, expensive trip to ER. I may be reading this situation wrong cuz I'm already chewing nails. [ --- NOT that kind! ] Keep that in mind if you read on:


==========

It has been my philosophy of life to NEVER say "I don't have a choice". Because of that, I seriously cringe when I hear others say it.

Because WE ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE! Unless someone can physically overpower you, there are always options. Some are very, very BAD options. But recognize that they ARE still options. Folks ususally say they don't have a choice because their mind automatically flicks out some options without due consideration. Because some options are unthinkable. Because some options are immoral. Because some options would be painfully inconvenient. Because.....

But I believe we DO need to at least look at EVERY option and be very conscious of CHOOSING. .....or else, we take on the 'victim mentality'. Victims aren't responsible cuz.....they don't have any choice. Victims are poor, poor things cuz others are controlling them. Victims are helpless and can be as mindless as they wish cuz there are no options anyway.

I say NO. In fact I say it REALLY QUITE LOUDLY sometimes. If you knew me in person.....you would know this.

I had to consider some options today. I considered shutting down my whole Internet service, if need be. Considered it....and that would have some serious ramifications in my home-bound life. To be cut off from the world rather completely....

Many of you remember that I was one of the last people to FINALLY get off of dial-up. [which was a train wreck, beside being slow] To finally have an option through a rural Internet access program. [hint: it's a federal program folks ] It was affordable and IT WORKED IN MY SECLUDED VALLEY location! {I think.... }

My provider is Wild Blue. Their email is "POWERED BY GOOOGLE" (sic) Today the 'G' folks are making some move. I could not access my email account without first signing an "agreement" directly with GOOOGLE.

Wait..what happened to Wild Blue. My contract with with them! So I called them. Wild Blue is confused too. They are a client of Gooogle for the email service they provide. [the rest of the Internet is not affected] But Gooogle did not give them ANY WARNING OR DATA about what is happening today. They only know about it thru the personal email accounts of the employees.




OK...my RED FLAGS went WAY UP. That is never a way to treat a client in business. It looks to me like Gooogle is doing an end-run around Wild Blue to go to WildBlue clients directly. Because they can...... Bullies!

I say a big NO to bullies too.


I called my neighbor/friend and she ran into this 2 wks ago. "We didn't have any choice. We signed it." {{{shiver}}}}} I HATE that phrase.

I looked for options and located one. Not the most severe option of getting off the Internet entirely. That still IS an option. Someday.....it will be time for that. But not this day.


Instead, I dropped my WildBlue/Gooogle email in the dirt. I have no guarantee that I'll be able to bring my email contacts forward to the new email account I just established. I was assured by the person at Wild Blue that I could use a different email provider without disturbing my Internet service thru them. I told them frankly that I would not play this game with bullies that block access to my email with no warning/explanation. No explanation to my provider either. Not this day.

Even tho this is going to be a HUGE inconvenience.....


I have a headache. This is only one of THREE major challenges I've been battling today. But I think.....I think I have found a way out of the corner. A way that I can say "NO, I still have a choice this day. I AM NOT A VICTIM with no choices."


ByTheWay....this isn't about the 'contract' saying that they can peek into your email. They all do that and can/will reveal things to TPTB. When that bothers me enough.....THAT will be the day I shut down the Internet entirely. What gave me the willies was how they treated my Internet Provider today and how they barged in between my contract with my chosen provider.

=================================

This was a day I interpreted my circumstances as being HERDED INTO A CORNER. I fervently believe these incidents will increase for all of us as time goes on. We will be HERDED a little more and a little more.

Example: either you submit to groping or nekid E-rays or....you do not fly. What will you do?

Other examples and what you chose??????? I'd like to hear them!


MtRider

Edited by Mt_Rider, 12 June 2012 - 04:05 PM.

[Annarchy]

(((((Mt_Rider))))))

Hoping those fires are no where near you. A 'you gotta leave', "I don't have a choice".

Internet; My dearest is an exclusive MSM browser user. You can NOT sync your favorite/bookmarks with any other browser, either pay for the services or loose his bookmarks... Had to make the choice to pay them when the phone company 'bundled' provider contracts expired. Phone company bundle did the same thing with our wireless provider. Now we are un-bundled and pay each provider individually. Ironically, I pay less now, even though the phone company said I was saving so much before.

I guess fighting the "I don't have a choice", is the reason I do not like the "cloud", or putting my business, accounting, etc. on the computer. Lost over 5,000 photographs because I failed to back them up when the computer got a virus and crashed, then the replaced HD died 3 times. I do not trust the computers, they are hacked way to easily. Still trying to figure out how some of those 5,000 photographs ended up on line as 'public domain".

Ever ask for tech support? "Just click on the button" and zip.... they have control of your computer, mouse, into you file systems, etc.... and do they tell you how to remove their program that gives them 100% access to your computer? NO. Do they use that access later? Would you even notice if they did?

[Twilight]

Google is really getting bold and brassy.
I would like a choice to on internet.Someone said they liked Google and were going to stick with them. "Google knows my passwords,telephone number, my credit card number,debit card and my bank account number" was what he said. I was appalled , either I am too suspicious or have to little trust. Those are my private numbers. Just who is google? Since when do we allow a stranger in on such private info??

I can be writing an email and suddenly Google is wanting my pass word???

I heard Hughes has much more spam which they do not control. I am with Centurylink and the price is more than I can afford. They are also either partnering with Verizon or something. They have also bought out Qwest and jacked the price.

[Mt_Rider]

[ ] ----in their nice little pen! See how the choices are getting very tricky? I have NO idea how long it will be for me to change all my email contacts to the new address.

I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!


I have had a seriously FRUSTRATING, ANNOYING day. Filled with idiots, bullies, and ...no water. I've had worse days. Really BAD, SAD days. But this has NOT been a good day.



MtRider [...ok, being thankful that my hand wound is healing clean so far...]

[Amishway Homesteaders]

......................... But other that Mrs. Lincoln how was the play?

Remember this:

How many times have you come in here to let us know that you were having “a problem” and didn’t know how or when you would be back? Then after a bit – here you were back to report how you “handled it”

WE know you are strong and it takes a lot to “get you down” BUT you always can handle whatever they throw at you (and you have had your share of dozzies) .

So here’s to you for all the troubles of late and may you come out shining (as always) in a short bit of time.

[Annarchy]

......................... But other that Mrs. Lincoln how was the play?

Remember this:

How many times have you come in here to let us know that you were having “a problem” and didn’t know how or when you would be back? Then after a bit – here you were back to report how you “handled it”

WE know you are strong and it takes a lot to “get you down” BUT you always can handle whatever they throw at you (and you have had your share of dozzies) .

So here’s to you for all the troubles of late and may you come out shining (as always) in a short bit of time.

[Jeepers]

[out_of_the_ordinary]

Hang in there, Mt Rider! You're not alone in the non-conforming-question-everything-can't-make-me club. The best part is the look you get from when telling them about something like this. Oh, and that look isn't about the situation they were unaware or aware of, it's about how you're making the situation into a big deal and not conforming. They have no idea it's about control.

[Mt_Rider]

Aww..AH! That was truly encouraging to me this morning. Thank you all. I really was wigging out yesterday. Not frazzled. I was getting just angry at all the hooey that was hitting my fan. 'Nuff already!



Keeping with the theme of this post [getting herded into a corner] I felt like that was happening to me in daily life. Not from some nefarious purpose or political scheme. Just LIFE. And I really react badly to being backed into corners from any cause. Going off about gooogle's alleged ploy was just one of the corners I was fighting.

My MAJOR frustration is that *I* seem the key to ALL of the repairs that are happening at my rented house. This past 6 wks have been a nightmare but I'm very thankful that *I* don't have to pay the bills.

A week of finding the electrical problem -- and me tearing the house APART from top to bottom so they can get access to electrical outlets. Have not yet restored order from that tearing apart mess.

Another bout with power outtage to the whole area due to a late heavy snow. ['warm the baby duckies' saga]

So then my red-tagged furnace...had to move stuff out of the way for clear access to that. [not as dramatic]

Then ...the reason owners haven't moved forward on major repairs to the driveway (which they want to do before the new furnace) is cuz I have an old, dead car that has to be moved. Not a problem cuz people will pay me to scrap it. But it was handy and mouse-free sooo ...I've kept all my major BugOut stuff in there. NOW WHAT THE HECK am I gonna do with that stuff ....so we can get rid of the car ......so we can get the driveway done ......so we can get a new furnace. For that....we're back to the massive reorganization in the basement/garage area....to make room for the BugOut stuff from the dead car.

That is really the to the whole situation. I'm feeling like I'm getting penned into a corner and I don't have the physical ability to do this. Especially if more and more repairs mean I have to keep tearing apart more of the house.

And our water stopped yesterday. So yes, I spent quality time/energy last night tearing down the potting table and stuff around it. It's makeshift thing that SITS ON TOP OF the water pressure tank. The challenge of living without water temporarily is a ....BTDT many, many times. Lived without water for most of a year in Duluth. But tearing apart the basement/garage AGAIN....was nearly more than I could endure. [well, we don't have a smilie of someone throwing a full-blown tantrum. ]


So I asked a friend WHY can't I be allowed to get this house in order? God likes order! Order and clean house is not a frivolous or unworthy goal. I don't get it.

She didn't have an answer but she advised me to talk to God. In the chaos, I was so badly, I couldn't 'hear' Him very well. So....I sat down. Opened an old Bible study He'd been urging me to review. And....wanna see some of the verses listed on the FIRST PAGE?

II Corinthians 1:9b ...But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. [so...I suppose HE's powerful enough to handle a trashed house/garage? ]

Colossians 1:29 To this end I labor, stuggling with all HIS energy, which so powerfully works in me. [....'energy' is my biggest problem. I don't have enough for even basic daily living. HE has HIS abundance...and is willing to share if I'm bright enough to spend it on what HE needs me to be doing each moment. That WILL include the house/garage. ]



Freedom....not being herded into a corner. Well, it depends on whether it's God herding this toward still waters and green pastures

OR if it's folks of this world with greed for power as their motivation.

I'm calmer now......

===============

Update after the water guy has been here:

Good thing I was calm cuz...pretty much the worst case scenario just hit. The well pump has to be replaced. The cost is going to stagger the poor owners badly. But for DH and I, the problem is different. There is no longer access to the well head [that's where the submersible pump is located...down the pipe]. Cuz years ago, they moved the staircase that leads up to our second floor house. I TOLD them someday it would be a **PROBLEM**.

Over a decade later....'someday' is ....this day.

But...since I was calm, God allowed me to see a way to get the truck back to the well head. DUMP my BugOut stuff ANYWHERE....get that dead car outta there....get the driveway guy in here ASAP....and he can order some fill to widen the flat area next to the relocated staircase. Make the flat ground wide enough to back the truck back along side it. [Currently the ground falls away quickly just barely 3' from the stairs.]

THEN.... Dan has to dismantle the whole straw-bale garden we have inside the 10X20' dog kennel (to keep deer out). The WHOLE THING has to move...scrunched up to the side to let the truck pass to install the new well pump. Then we can move the garden back. Oh...my....gosh! Do you have any idea how much labor that involves?


We are SO going to need a supernatural energy from God to even survive this maneuver. I'm kinda in shock but hanging onto those verses I typed earlier. Y'know we aren't going to have water until all this is done....

I keep calling my nearby friend to yell into the phone: WE'RE MOVING IN WITH YOU! ...... .....so far, I'm still kidding......


But the moral of the story is: There is a terrific difference between God Almighty Father calling us and herding us. Or if it is mere humans who pretty much do NOT have our best interest in mind. I am getting a refresher course in how to tell the difference.

MtRider [...appreciate prayers as I'm taking this 'Endurance and Trust' course.... ]

Edited by Mt_Rider, 13 June 2012 - 06:39 PM.

[Amishway Homesteaders]

AND I thought I was having a bad day with all the rain and cooler weather!
Nothing like you are dealing with.

[Vic303]

Dear MTR, I know you are viewing this as God's way of reminding you to rely on Him. But have you considered the alternative? That this is God telling you and telling you, that he wants you to be in some other place? I recall last year, you had mentioned maybe relocating...Are you possibly ignoring God's hints to move?

[Mt_Rider]

Bizzare day....I wrote a response but it's *poof*


No Vic. Trust me...I'd LOVE to move. I look at the move itself with appropriate horror for what it will do to me. But HE's gotten me to the point where I desire it. But we've looked for alternatives. My folks are looking too. There are financial and other circumstances that totally deny the possibility of moving. God, HIMSELF will have to push this forward in HIS time. When that happens, it will be so TOTALLY OBVIOUS that HE has moved things. But...I've seen stranger things happen so it's for HIM. HE specializes in showing Himself because it's so impossible.


UPDATE: There are SIX people who worked very, very hard today but...we have a new well pump. {side note: does anyone else chase this dancing smilie around when they want to click on it? }

Anyway, the bobcat guy came early today, ...assessed, ...and called for 2 loads of road base [dirt]. DH and I labored mightily and moved hay and straw bales [hay is MUCH heavier than straw, btw] out of the way. In fine mountain tradition, moving them over a few feet also meant PULLING THEM STEEPLY UPHILL. Oye! Dismantled and moved six 10' panels of dog kennel [to keep deer out] as well. Really had to mountain climb to get them outta the way. All sorts of other garden oddments too. Aiieee...I wanna go visit the hot tub at my friend's house. I will if the thunder/lightning go away.

So bobcat guy moved 2 loads and made a level path wide enough for the well pump truck to run back to the well head. We cut more tree branches. [good thing mountain folks don't worry about 'House and Grounds Beautiful'. ] And finally the well guys [Fa and son] arrived. Worked fast cuz they don't mind rain but NOT lightning when you have a TALL boom in the air threaded with the steel pipes for the pump... The lightning is just coming in now so they timed it well.

Well pump dated 1973. Water at 30' Well around 190-200'. These are details we didn't know. Fairly shallow for an area that usually has to go down 400' -500'. Water is now running but it's 'orange juice'. EEuuu! We did drop some bleach down before they closed it up. We're getting more drinking water from friend when we visit the hot tub. Let this run a few days before drinking it. DH is watering his garden now. Doesn't smell like bleach so should be ok.


Ahhhhh..... I rest tomorrow. Saturday, we have to put the garden back together. {groan}

Hmph! My property manager told me not to call her anymore. I told her I QUITE agree! Enough of this.


'Course there are dozens of small...and a few large...forest fires starting all over the state. Dry lightning is starting some of them. Lots of lightning but it ....can't....quite....RAIN.



MtRider [....except furnace, I think we're back in the 21st Century...which I'd like to enjoy while I still can! ]

[arby]

ok, I hopeeeeeeeeeeeee you get a good hot soak after all that. I couldnt do it with my arms and shoulder the way it is anymore, but Ive had days like that in the past!
Good job! And its great the water pump is now replaced and should clear up. soon.