COMPUTER FOIBLES

Aunt Pat called me saying her computer could no longer connect to the Internet. I know how frustrating a messed-up connection can be, so I decided to head out to West Covina to help her out. Zita and Bill weren't there, so it was just me and Aunt Pat trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with the connection.

I did a few things like re-installing the Belkin usb adapter. I un-installed the older Linksys software and thought that would do it. But it didn't work. The signal strength was strong, but the connection was limited or not available. I couldn't figure it out, so I did what all smart men do - I asked for help.

We called Verizon to see what we needed to do. The fix was ridiculously easy. It turns out we had just entered the wrong password. Rather than denying us entry, it still tries to connect but just gives you no service. So after entering the correct password, everything was good.

The nice thing about helping Aunt Pat is that she is so grateful. We also had really good conversation, as we always do when I spend time with her. She really is that aunt that I never had and I am grateful to have her in my life.

When I returned home, I fixed dinner. The beef ribs didn't get cooked enough, so moms and I had to eat the ones that were thinner with less meat (which were cooked). After dinner, moms needed help with downloading some statements. She was so impatient while I was helping her, that I just reacted and was so angry and pissed off. I stormed out of the house and went to Lowes since I wanted to shop for some shower stuff. I'm not sure what got into me, but I felt bad about the whole thing and wanted to apologize.

When I got back home, moms came down and made it easy. She apologized to me and I guess she knew how hurt I was. I'm glad she did because it made me realize how well she actually knows me.

I got a message on Facebook from Janet. She said it's going to take some time before we can be friends again. I certainly miss her and will probably always wonder what could have been. I also wonder if she had another man in mind when we broke-up so I'll have to return to this question someday in the future, when we can actually be friends again.