Snowbird, Freebird #3.  1/2/13

Woke up today to a gorgeous day.  Sunny, breezy, temps in the 70s. Just what I came to Florida for. I was feeling smug and glad I made the decision to come here.  Ha-ha-ha to the people at home, with their hats, gloves, scarves and boots - and all that snow.
Thought I'd do a little food shopping and be home for the cable guy, between 1 and 3.
The food shopping went ok.
You're ahead of me now, aren't you?
I had set up this cable hookup before I left.  I made sure I could get what I wanted, since I only have a 3 month rental and sometimes companies are wary of short-timers.  I was assured by the realtor and the cable company, that it would be no problem.  The cute cable guy showed up right on time.  What is it with the genes (or is it the jeans?) of cable guys.  They're always so cute and friendly.  Come to find out that the mega-cable company that services most of this area is actually not the cable company that my complex uses.  My complex uses Harry's Fly-By-Night-Cable, whose motto is "call us and we'll put you on hold until you expire". 
Eventually I talked to a human who said sure, they'd be happy to hook me up with everything I wanted.  On January 14th.  What?  12 days without cable and internet access?  This was clearly retribution for my earlier smugness.  The people at home are freezing, but they're watching TV and e-mailing.
I'm not proud of this, but I resorted to begging.  "Please, sir, you don't understand.  I need my cable.  I need my internet.  I'll die without them."  OK, maybe a little melodramatic, but c'mon.  There was little sympathy from Harry's.  They did offer to put me on the cancellation list.  I asked if they frequently get cancellations.  "all the time".  Gee, I wonder why.  Probably it's people who chose not to stay on hold and hear "we'll be with you momentarily" for 45 minutes
So here I sit, in paradise, with perfect weather and no cable.  Luckily there's a computer room in the Clubhouse so I can vent my frustrations. And there's a pool here, and the beach, and books to read, blogs to write. 
All in all, I suppose I'd rather be in Florida.