Dear Apple: Fix Your Shit!

So, for months now I have been experiencing issues with my wireless internet connection being dropped. I have a new Macbook Pro. And a brand new router. And I have changed the password, the encription, the type of password (WEP vs. WPA), the location of my router...I could go on and on and on. My roommate's old Dell laptop doesn't have these issues. I've spoken to Apple Support, Time Warner, Earthlink and Netgear. All have me running in circles.

Today, after being dropped every other minute (even though my Airport signal is at 100% and my private network is coming up at 100%), I just about lost it. WHY does my Macbook suck so bad? I thought these were supposed to be the superior computers? At least that what justified me spending more $$$ when I purchased one.

I did a little research. Turns out that this is a common problem and Apple has yet to address it publicly. Check out a few quotes from their support page:

"There are a lot of things to love about the MacBook Pro, but there's one specific reason that causes me to dearly regret my decision to bring it into my life: I too, like many other users, lose my wireless connectivity CONSTANTLY. To say it is at least 6 times an hour would be a conservative estimate." 

"Adding my two cents to this subject seems pointless, given the 58 pages of discussion already posted on the topic, but in case someone at Apple is listening, I wanted to add my voice..."

"Annnnnd another name gets added to the list. I'm sure that when I try to post this the internet will have gone out and I'll have to turn off the airport only to turn it right back on to get internet again. This is kinda ridiculous. This is my first Mac...come on, it can't even stayed connected to the internet when my PC was fine. I could have bought like 4 pc laptops with the money I spent on this thing...all staying connected to the wireless internet just fine...
With 55 pages of the same thing I want to know where Apple stands with this... I shouldn't have to buy one of their wireless products for this to work... Sooo Apple where are you? What's your fix on this issue that seems to have taken over for a year or so...? It's like Toyota...they know about a problem with their gas pedals and try to sweep it under the rug..."

"Well I am at a loss. I have replaced routers multiple times, Linksys, Netgeat, etc to no avail. I would think after 7000+ posts, a reasonable response from Apple would have been posted. Please help."

"It seems I'm having the same problems as everyone else. My crappy 8 year old Compaq laptop has no problem keeping a wireless signal while my even crappier MBP can only hold a signal for 5 minutes at a time."

AND, MY FAVORITE:

"If you don't think Apple is reading these posts, trust me they are. One day when I was particularly frustrated with this issue and had just hung up with "Apple Care", I posted a rant and suggested a class action suit. That post was removed the same day and cited as being a "non technical rant" or something like that. So, they are indeed watching. Why they haven't found a solution and posted it here or sent an update, I have no idea. We wanted the best, seems like we got average..."

So...for those of you who have had this problem, or share in my pain, please spread the word and 'Like' my Facebook page, subtly named: Dear Apple: Why Won't You Fix Your Wifi Connection Issues?

Ever Find Yourself?

Ever find yourself realizing that the group you started to socialize with, because you had a "common theory about something important" is actually, bat shit crazy? And then you find yourself calling yourself an asshole? Yeah. I hate that.

Just call me Whistle-Blower

Ever snitch on someone and try really really hard to convince yourself and everyone else that you're not really a nark? Tonight, that's me.

I spend Wednesday nights volunteering at a cat shelter in the city. It's tiring, sweaty, and at times it's fairly trying work. But, I do get pleasure from knowing that I am helping an organization who needs helping - that I am building positive relationships with cats that don't have permanent homes or a human family - and I feel like I am building up my karma points. ;)

Tonight I had to work with someone who rubbed me every wrong possible way. If I had to pick "Cindy's All Star team of volunteers" this person would be the very last person on the bench. In fact, I'd rather forgo her position all together. We'd probably be stronger in the end.

I didn't realize until this evening (as I composed and recomposed, edited and re-edited an email to my supervisor), what a total stickler for rules I have become. I always thought I was a pretty go-with-the-flow type of person. But tonight I have discovered my straight-and-narrow side. Not only that, but I also discovered that I can be slightly suspicious/paranoid when it comes to narking.

As I sat here writing out my dissertation on everything this other woman did wrong, I began to wonder if she was testing me and my boss was actually in on it. I am assuming here, that the people directly involved with humanitarian efforts and compassion are also conniving & scheming to fuck with me. Great theory, Cindy.

I guess it's never too late to learn something new about yourself. Lesson learned.

Too old for this sh*t

Yes. Yes, I hugged my toilet yesterday. And I hugged the toilet at Fiore. Well, the Fiore situation was not so much of a hug as a it was a standing salute. It takes a lot to get me sick; typically even if I want the toxins out of my system, they stay in. I've never been able to successfully jam a finger down my throat with satisfying results. That being said, when I actually do ralph, I know somethings afoot.

Friday night's journey began at Amber in Gramercy with coworkers, sushi and frozen green tea margaritas. The ease of sloshing down a good handful or two of those margaritas was a dangerous dalliance and made way for bad decision making. As the night progressed, the last standing coworker, my roommate and I ended up at Bar Nine in Hells Kitchen. House tequila shots and beer sounded like the best way to go. I smartly ignored the glaring warning sign when our shots were served in a small plastic nyquil cup and plunged deeper into my tequila abyss.

At some point in the evening, it was decided that a cab back to Brooklyn and more drinks were in order. Luckily, for me, we made a pit stop at home. Out came the Petrone and other accouterments. What a party! And then --- then, I was laying flat on the hallway floor halfway between the kitchen and living room. I gathered the strength to walk into my bedroom, take off my cowboy boots and fall face down onto the bed. The last thing I remember is my roommate yelling at me to go with them to Rose for another drink, and, my coworker, asking if there was hair product he could use. 

That brings me to Saturday. I knew there wasn't a chance in hell I could make it to my acupuncture appointment. Just the thought of getting on the subway was enough to make me shake in my boots. So, I ignored the annoyance in the receptionist's voice and my appointment was quickly canceled. Time to get something in my stomach. I didn't last long. Three sips of gingerale at Fiore and I was swiftly walking to the bathroom. Thank god for private rest rooms. Up it came. Followed by the typical cheek flush, eye watering and nose dripping. Back to the table. Two mini sips and 3 mini french fries later, back to the loo. This time my "I'm fine" walk was a tad more panicked. My roommate had the sense to get our food wrapped up and I was off. Those 3 blocks between the now familial bathroom at Fiore and my apartment were an agonizing distance apart.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of desperately trying to get my stomach to calm down so that I could just sleep. Eventually, sweet sleep came and when I awoke in the early evening, I thought some saltines were a safe bet. They were. And I was starving. Thankful that I had my untouched brunch in the fridge, I ate until my stomach wouldn't let me stuff any more in.

So, what did I learn?

At 33, I should have the sense of mind to know my limits. I may have been able to go hog wild in my younger days, but certainly, there has been a shift in recovery time and my ability to slug down cheap liquor.
No matter how hard I cram my brain, I simply cannot determine at what point I lost my cool and allowed myself to thoroughly wreck my body. There is no way I want to feel like that ever again. It is possibly the worst I have felt (aside from actually being sick with the flu) probably since my freshman year in college when I decided I'd master a liter of Old Crow whiskey with a dorm room full of strangers.  

So, goodbye long nights of champagne/beer/whiskey/red wine and tequila! I'm moving on to greener pastures where the adult me can choose one beverage of choice and stick to it for an evening. A more mature palate which will only accept high shelf liquor and knows when it's time to stop. A higher state of bodily control that instinctively makes my mouth say NO when everything else in me wants to say HELLS YEAH - BRING ON THE JAGER BOMBS! I'll miss your wild antics and roller coaster rides, but, frankly, I am just too old for this shit.

P.S. I also discovered that I left my debit card at Bar Nine. I am/was so appalled by this, that I made the executive decision to just cancel the card and order a new one. The thought of taking that walk of shame - dragging my ass back into that bar to claim my possession and face humiliation is just too much. Never...ever...ever again.