Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Lucky lucky lucky
I've just been visiting my blog round about the time I was miscarrying back in Autumn 2006, and my goodness does it seem to be another world. I can't really even remember feeling that sad, scared and desperate. This baby is so lovely and so healing and so worth the 6 year wait. I feel...blessed - no that's really not too sappy a word- I feel as though I was chosen, as though she chose me to come and live with. Add to that the fact that she came out by Caesarian under a general anaesthetic and frankly, is she even mine? She looks like me and the Boff, which is my proof, but I sometimes feel that someone chose me to give her to. Which makes me feel all the more lucky. And the fact that she arrived with the sunniest, most even disposition of any baby I've met, has slept pretty decently virtually since birth are just more proof of how lucky I am.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
You know, there's something else I don't understand. Broadband (ADSL for you transatlantic types) lines.
Yesterday afternoon, we perceived that our broadband speed had plummeted to new lows. A quick test (once we'd waited the 7 minutes to load the test page, that is) confirmed that our speed was indeed laughable, and would in fact be an object of derision in most developing countries: 8kbps download speed.
So I rung some very nice young men in Mumbai, the first of which told me under no circumstances was I to pick up the phone in the next 7-10 mintues as he was going run a test. So when the phone rang three minutes later I ignored it. And when it rang again two minutes later I ignored it again. When we listened to the answerphone, there indeed was Rajesh, increasing in his little voice that no-one was answering.
So I rang back and spoke to Sanjeev, who said that there was a limit on our line of 150 kbps (heights that we could only dream of frankly), and that he was going to request that hte limit be raised to 1500 kbps within 12-24 hours. That was it. An order of magnitude of 10, just for one small phone call.
And I just checked our speed, and found that it has gone from 8 to 1440 kbps in one fell swoop. Just like that. (which can only beg the question: "Why the heck did they not do it sooner?"...but I digress)
In fact, Sanjeev just called me back as he promised yesterday to check on the progress of the line. Now that's what I call the personal touch.
Yesterday afternoon, we perceived that our broadband speed had plummeted to new lows. A quick test (once we'd waited the 7 minutes to load the test page, that is) confirmed that our speed was indeed laughable, and would in fact be an object of derision in most developing countries: 8kbps download speed.
So I rung some very nice young men in Mumbai, the first of which told me under no circumstances was I to pick up the phone in the next 7-10 mintues as he was going run a test. So when the phone rang three minutes later I ignored it. And when it rang again two minutes later I ignored it again. When we listened to the answerphone, there indeed was Rajesh, increasing in his little voice that no-one was answering.
So I rang back and spoke to Sanjeev, who said that there was a limit on our line of 150 kbps (heights that we could only dream of frankly), and that he was going to request that hte limit be raised to 1500 kbps within 12-24 hours. That was it. An order of magnitude of 10, just for one small phone call.
And I just checked our speed, and found that it has gone from 8 to 1440 kbps in one fell swoop. Just like that. (which can only beg the question: "Why the heck did they not do it sooner?"...but I digress)
In fact, Sanjeev just called me back as he promised yesterday to check on the progress of the line. Now that's what I call the personal touch.
