Remember the old days when AOL was revolutionary and you bought a certain number of ‘hours’ each month? I think that was around 1996. I would sit at the enormous desktop in our ‘official computer room’ and wait as the internet would ‘dial’ AOL so I could IM with all of my friends…kind of like texting for the 90’s. Anyhow, this is pretty much on par with the Melbourne internet infrastructure – only its 2009. It is TERRIBLE. By terrible, I mean that it is expensive, slow, inconvenient, inaccessible, and unreliable. I get it…we have turned into Internet Addicted animals...but given that I am living in the 2nd largest city on an entire continent - is it wrong to expect not to have download limits, availability to a wireless service, or a connection faster than dial-up (that doesn’t cost more than my monthly allowance at Banana Republic)???
Most of my friends can attest – I feel at peace when I have my laptop, Sprint Card, and Blackberry ON and CONNECTED. As you can imagine, this has been an issue for me since arriving almost three weeks ago. You know the saying – desperate times call for desperate measures, so priority #1 was finding the internet. If I didn’t have a working cell phone, at least I had Skype. After unsuccessfully attempting to hack into all of the wireless signals I picked up from our neighbors, I hit the streets to find a hotspot. There were a few places that advertised “CHEAP HIGH SPEED INTERNET”, but most of them were also advertising Australia souvenirs, weekend vacations, and/or magazines wrapped in black plastic sleeves. If it comes down to it, I don’t necessary have a huge issue with paying for the internet….but do have an issue with getting accosted by non English speaking tourists and sex offenders. If I’m going to pay for the internet, I am going to maintain my dignity and sit in peace at a FedEx Kinkos while I’m checking everyone’s status updates. Luckily, I found 2 cafés within walking distance that had free wireless. Jackpot! For the first week or so, I holed up in these places for a few hours at a time to keep up with my daily ritual of emails, Facebook, Perezhilton.com, iTunes, and our BLOG. The problem was, the connection was still pretty slow and I always felt obligated to continually buy coffee after coffee while I was there. This was turning into a financial obligation I was not committed to. Additionally, they actually TURNED OFF the internet connection when the café closes. I didn’t even know you could do that. This discovery occurred late one afternoon when I was feeling the urge to check my email one more time (this is what happens when you are seeking employment). I knew the café was closed, but thought I would just sit at one of the tables outside and hop on Hotmail. Wrong. Despite my numerous attempts, it refused to connect me, but did inform me of its ‘operating hours.’ This was the straw that broke the camels back – or as they say here, the shrimp that burned the Barbie.
The very next day, I went to one of the local internet stores and bought a pre-paid ‘internet stick.’ It was no Sprint card, but at least I could have internet – at home. Although this has been a good interim solution, I am counting down until we have our OWN internet connection next Monday, February 2nd between 1:00pm and 5:00pm.
The moral of the story is this: If you plan on visiting Australia, PLAN AHEAD.
Most of my friends can attest – I feel at peace when I have my laptop, Sprint Card, and Blackberry ON and CONNECTED. As you can imagine, this has been an issue for me since arriving almost three weeks ago. You know the saying – desperate times call for desperate measures, so priority #1 was finding the internet. If I didn’t have a working cell phone, at least I had Skype. After unsuccessfully attempting to hack into all of the wireless signals I picked up from our neighbors, I hit the streets to find a hotspot. There were a few places that advertised “CHEAP HIGH SPEED INTERNET”, but most of them were also advertising Australia souvenirs, weekend vacations, and/or magazines wrapped in black plastic sleeves. If it comes down to it, I don’t necessary have a huge issue with paying for the internet….but do have an issue with getting accosted by non English speaking tourists and sex offenders. If I’m going to pay for the internet, I am going to maintain my dignity and sit in peace at a FedEx Kinkos while I’m checking everyone’s status updates. Luckily, I found 2 cafés within walking distance that had free wireless. Jackpot! For the first week or so, I holed up in these places for a few hours at a time to keep up with my daily ritual of emails, Facebook, Perezhilton.com, iTunes, and our BLOG. The problem was, the connection was still pretty slow and I always felt obligated to continually buy coffee after coffee while I was there. This was turning into a financial obligation I was not committed to. Additionally, they actually TURNED OFF the internet connection when the café closes. I didn’t even know you could do that. This discovery occurred late one afternoon when I was feeling the urge to check my email one more time (this is what happens when you are seeking employment). I knew the café was closed, but thought I would just sit at one of the tables outside and hop on Hotmail. Wrong. Despite my numerous attempts, it refused to connect me, but did inform me of its ‘operating hours.’ This was the straw that broke the camels back – or as they say here, the shrimp that burned the Barbie.
The very next day, I went to one of the local internet stores and bought a pre-paid ‘internet stick.’ It was no Sprint card, but at least I could have internet – at home. Although this has been a good interim solution, I am counting down until we have our OWN internet connection next Monday, February 2nd between 1:00pm and 5:00pm.
The moral of the story is this: If you plan on visiting Australia, PLAN AHEAD.
Here are my top 3 tips for staying connected:
If you are like me, I am guilty of thinking I can work ANYWHERE remotely and make myself accessible 24/7. Believe me, you won’t be accessible. Put up an “Out of Office” – you aren’t getting back to anyone any time soon.
If you are staying in a hotel, plan on paying for internet. Even in our serviced apartment; the only option was to pay $20/day for the cable internet to work. (For the record, I think this is highway robbery no matter what continent you are on. Are you really going to charge me over $200 a night and make me pay to check my email??)
Pack a messenger pigeon. This is going to be your fastest mode of communication if something is urgent.
If you are staying in a hotel, plan on paying for internet. Even in our serviced apartment; the only option was to pay $20/day for the cable internet to work. (For the record, I think this is highway robbery no matter what continent you are on. Are you really going to charge me over $200 a night and make me pay to check my email??)
Pack a messenger pigeon. This is going to be your fastest mode of communication if something is urgent.
1 comment:
Well, first I want to congratulate you for being soooo patient! Although you have many strong and wonderful qualities, patience is probably not one of your stongest and HEY, guess what...It's FEBRUARY and you will soon be connected!!!!! YEA!!!! No more hanging out at the cafe consuming huge amounts of coffee. It is amazing to me how reliant we become on the simple things like staying "connected" in our everyday lives. Even I, who really does not need to do important things on the internet other than check random soccer and/or lacrosse game and practice schedules, likes to be connected! I love keeping up with what is happening in the land of OZ...I am looking forward to Dorthy coming home and please bring the scarecrow with you, actually JP would be more like the Lion! We miss you both and we will cheer for the Steelers loudly enough for JP to hear us in AU! Love You, S
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