"Hold, Please"

Image@squeakin1.deviantart.com

"A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves you a hundred moments of regret." ~author Unknown

I got up Wednesday morning and discovered my internet service was down AGAIN. We chose our current ISP (Internet Service Provider) because they were cheap. Unfortunately, this is definitely a case of "you get what you pay for", as we've had nothing but trouble since the moment they hooked us up. I have lost count of the number of phone calls I've had to make to their technical support staff in the last three years, but it's a lot! When I do phone them, they are always very polite but generally unhelpful and by the time I get to speak with an actual person, I'm usually in a foul mood. It begins with the fact that I've had to call in the first place because my service isn't working, and my crankiness increases exponentially as I have to push buttons in order to answer various computer voice prompts (which I have to repeat, hopefully without snarling, to whomever finally answers the phone). Honestly though, what pushes me over the edge is the God-awful music I end up stuck listening to after the computer has made me jump through irrelevant hoops and tells me, "Hold, please." I don't know WHAT that crap is they play, but music it ain't! Perhaps if they hooked me into some stellar Blues by the time I got to talk to someone I'd be in a marginally improved mood. But oh NO! Instead, I'm stuck with that random elevator noise!

I have learned over the years how to control my temper no matter how evil I feel by the time someone actually helps me. I understand that whoever finally picks up (or whatever) is not directly responsible for whatever trouble I'm experiencing, so taking my frustration out on them would be plain ol' grown-up bullying, which I REFUSE to do. Being kind becomes much more difficult when they can't, in fact, help me, as was the case on Wednesday. The young lady informed me that she couldn't do anything about my problem and someone would be in touch. She ended with, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" and I kid you not, it took every ounce of my control not to scream at the top of my lungs, "Oh? You mean like actually BE helpful, because I can handle NOTHING working just fine on my own, thanks!" I stopped short of that outburst but I really did want to suggest she tell the powers that be to get better music for their "HOLD" session! Instead, once I hung up, I went outside, sat on my back deck and poured my rant out into my journal while the birds happily chirped away my grumpy mood. It didn't feel as good as shouting at the top of my lungs and totally losing my cool, but my soul thanked me later for acting like a nice human. I am relieved to know, too, that Karma won't be hunting my butt down later for a whoppin'.