Moving

My brother is getting the hitch installed on my car, finally. Now I have to figure out why Uhaul has me picking up the trailer on Sunday at a location that, according to their website, is closed on Sunday.

But I can't call the location because my phone is not allowing phone calls. It looks like yesterday was the last day of my one-year pre-paid term of service with Freedompop. Because of course that would happen right now!

FreedomPop

I was on the phone with FreedomPop for about 15 or 20 minutes. I got transferred twice as they looked for someone who could extend my account by one month. I got to someone in billing who said it couldn't be done. I asked to cancel it instead. After more hold time, the rep offered to cancel my existing account (which is an annual and can't be changed to a yearly) and start a new monthly account.

She tried to do that and got "an error message." She asked to put me on hold while she checked that out. As she did so, I got a recorded message saying that my call cannot be continued, then the system hung up on me. After playing with it a bit, I figure out what the problem is. Once my account was cancelled, the phone dropped my call. Which means, of course, I cannot actually get on the phone to set up a new monthly account.

Hopefully I can call again once Danae gets home and get things set up in time to have a working phone before I move.

Revolution!

On the lighter side, my next unit of Spanish instruction from Duolingo includes the terms "revolución" and "compañera." Makes me think of being down in the Lacandon Jungle with folks from Schools for Chiapas.

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It's amazing how many things you can't do without a working telephone.

Yet, at the same time, I feel so much relief at the thought of not dealing with this phone and my provider anymore that it almost balances out the added stress.

Uhaul

So Uhaul *actually* scheduled me to pick up equipment from a location that would not be open at the time of pickup. My dad called and they changed the location. Good thing I looked, or I'd be SOL on Sunday.

What the hell is going on at Uhaul?

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I met up with Erik at 8:30 yesterday morning at Posi's place in Grayslake. Together, the three of us spent the day on a trip to House on the Rock in Spring Green.

The place did not feel quite as otherworldly as it did the first two times I visited. Still, there are portions of it that feel as though a dimension of primal chaos is intruding into our plane. My favorite section, the organ room, is one of those places. I can never find the words to describe it to other people. In this picture, Erik is looking up at small portion of it. The overwhelming juxtaposition of industrial remnants, staircases, wooden gears, and spiral staircases is representative of the rest of the cavernous space in feel, if not necessarily in content.





It was a much longer day than I expected, exacerbated by the fifty minutes (of an estimated 30) we spent waiting for seating at Bob's Bitchin' Barbeque in Dodgeville. It was good food, but I'd have been just as happy going somewhere less tasty but faster. I had a headache and was feeling icky by the time we got bored with standing outside and went in to sit down in the entrance area. Erik asked the wait staff for a glass of water for me so I could take an Ibuprofen; it was really nice feeling taken care of that way.

Dodgeville has implemented an odd safety measure at many of its intersections. Lampposts have boxes with bright orange flags sticking out of them. You're supposed to take one with you as you cross the street and deposit it in the box on the other side. I'm not sure if these are intended for children or for everyone, but I had fun marching across the street waving my safety flag at the cars. I even asked Erik to get a picture of me with mine.

I also chimneyed up an alley space between two building for what I think was the first time in my life. We were waiting next to the barbeque place and Posi said something about the walls being narrow enough to climb up between. They looked too far apart to me, so I gave it a try. I easily climbed about five feet up before working my way back down to the ground. I then successfully restrained myself from climbing the twenty or thirty feet to the roof. I'd be sorely tempted if I wasn't worried about managing to get back down once I was on top.

Anyway, it was a pretty good day, and I'm grateful for some more time spent with people I care about before being away for a while.

More Uhaul

That's amazing. The place that Uhaul was going to have me pick up the trailer called them this morning to tell Uhaul that they are getting out of the rental business. Seriously. If my dad hadn't called to confirm, we wouldn't have known and would possibly again have been SOL on Sunday. We're trying to figure out another place now.

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I have a working phone again!

Ok, working is too strong a word. I haven't had a *really* working phone in a year or so. I have a functional phone again. Ok, fine; mostly functional. Alright, fine. At least it lets me make and receive calls once in a while.

And I'm getting a free month of service. That's great, even though I'm underpaying only slightly.

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Looks like I'll be picking up the trailer from the U-Haul location in Kenosha (as opposed to the two non-U-Haul locations in Kenosha I was originally set up with) on Sunday morning. I sure hope it's there!