So, I’d planned to catch that Reilly Opelka vs Mackenzie McDonald match the other day. Cleared some time, you know? Grabbed a drink, settled onto the couch. Thought I’d finally just relax and watch some tennis. Opelka’s serves are always something wild to see, and McDonald hustles like nobody’s business. Seemed like a good matchup.
Fired up the TV, went to the app I use. Nothing. Just a spinning wheel. Okay, weird. Checked my phone – no internet connection. Seriously? Right when I wanted to watch something. Typical.
The Whole Internet Saga
So began the usual routine:
- First, I went and restarted the router. Waited the full minute, plugged it back in. Watched the little lights blink… blink… blink… nope. Still nothing.
- Then I checked the main cable box outside. Looked okay, no obvious damage from the weather we had last week.
- Called the internet company. Oh boy. Got the automated voice menu. Pressed ‘1’ for this, ‘4’ for that. Finally got put on hold. Music started playing – you know, that terrible instrumental stuff they always use.
Waited. And waited. Probably a good 20 minutes listening to that loop. By this time, the match had definitely started. I was picturing Opelka firing down aces while I’m stuck listening to elevator music.
Finally, a real person picked up. Had to explain the whole thing. “Yes, I restarted the router.” “Yes, I checked the cables.” “No, the lights aren’t blinking the way they should.” They ran some tests on their end. More waiting.
Turns out, there was some local outage they were working on. “Should be fixed in a couple of hours,” they said. A couple of hours! The match would be long over by then. Just my luck.
Giving Up on the Game
At that point, I just gave up on the tennis. The mood was kinda ruined anyway. Instead of watching big serves and quick rallies, I spent the afternoon dealing with tech trouble and the frustration that comes with it. Ended up doing some chores I’d been putting off. Fixed a leaky faucet in the kitchen. At least that felt productive, I guess.
It’s funny how you plan for something simple, like watching a game, and life just throws a wrench in it. You think you’ll be watching these world-class athletes battle it out, but instead, you’re battling with a blinking modem light and automated phone systems. Just goes to show, sometimes the simplest plans get derailed by the most annoying things.
Later on, I checked the score. Saw who won. But it wasn’t the same as watching it happen, you know? The whole experience just became about the darn internet outage instead of the tennis match I actually wanted to see. Oh well, maybe next time.
