Day 779 – Tuesday, May 3, 2022 – Daze of no wi-fi!
One day to take off. Many tasks completed over the last 3 months, some remaining. Today’s focus is on getting to a café that offers wi-fi and confirming flights, purchasing seats (always aisle seats for me) downloading Covid and other required health documents, packing…Day 778 - Monday, May 2, 2022 – Bundu bashing
I met local neighbor Willem who agreed to act as guide along his section of stream/river.He approved of my foresight in carrying gumboots (see post below) and, after I donned them, we set off… into a jungle of blackjacks, khaki weed, bug weed, brambles, privet, hip-high thick grasses, 5-foot-tall blossoming grasses, and ankle high tangles and tendrils… all happily benefitting from this year’s ultra-wet summer and unusual amounts of rainfall.
Talk about bundu bashing!
Reaching the stream revealed a body of water flowing softly within well-carved banks surprisingly devoid of plastic bags, bottles, and assorted debris. Alien vegetation sucks enormous amounts of water – which may speak to the low flow volume.
Forests of alien trees block out sunlight and I wondered about otters’ attitudes to living amid aliens. If, like the ANC government, otters require the uprooting and destruction of all aliens in order to flourish, then local otters are doomed.
If otters are neutral toward aliens, the stream as is, flowing through a forest of aliens, provides ideal living conditions. On the plus side, overgrown weeds and aliens require extreme bundu bashing – a tour only the physically strong adventurer with a stout heart would indulge.
Day 777 - Sunday, May 1, 2022 – Kvetching, reprise
Kvetching alert: For several years, I’ve been overcharged by my wi-fi provider. I knew it. I made peace with it. Back then, it was tough to find a provider in my location – a verdant, tall tree-covered shallow valley. Potential providers offering affordable packages depended upon “line of sight” to a cell tower and the many trees precluded that.Last year, Metrofibre installed underground fibre cable in this semi-rural suburb. But 1) no flexible month-to-month service – why pay high monthly rates when I’m not here year-round? 2) service rates somewhat comparable to current rip-off rate, 3) owned a paid for router for which I’d been overcharged, so why purchase more hardware?
On balance? Yes, it would be “nice” to cease “business” with the pint-size, arrogant, over-charging, “no service after 5pm weekdays and no service on weekends” wannabe cowboy provider. (Wannabe cowboy? After he learned I lived in California, he'd come to the house dressed in cowboy hat, cowboy shirt, jeans, and western-style cowboy boots. His horse? A large, black sedan with highly polished chrome grillwork and throaty mufflers.)
Until today, finding another provider, coupled with imminent departure, made it not worth the hassle of seeking a different provider.
Last month, I used less than half of his minimum 50-gig package. This month, I used two-thirds of the same package. He terminated my service at 5pm on Saturday, 30 May (a weekend).
Co-incidentally, I learned neighbors’ choices of wi-fi services include providers that offer month-to-month, unlimited service at far cheaper rates than The Cowboy.
Unfortunately, now - pre-departure, pre-flight - is when I need wi-fi: 3 set of tickets, misc flight details to track, library books to download, rides to and from airports to organize … so many vital last-minute tasks to complete. And no wi-fi.
Alas, International Workers’ holiday means cafés providing wi-fi with a cup of tea and a scone are likely closed. International Workers’ holiday observed tomorrow means cafés providing wi-fi likely still closed.
I soothe myself with all the patience I can muster: Don’t stress, don’t fuss, don’t fret, try not to kvetch (a tall order)… all will be okay. You have done your Covid test and have your results (negative); you purchased a ticket to Oliver Tambo in Johannesburg. What you don’t have is a confirmation from the taxi service for a ride to the airport, requested two days ago.
No wi-fi and spotty cell service increases stress levels.
You can figure it out.
Don’t fret!
What would put the frosting/icing on this cake of kvetch?
Loadshedding.
***
Good news: Unlike the day before when I walked past his house and called his name, Willem, retired neighbor LINK to post, was home yesterday. Chatting over the fence, he detailed his dog’s latest ailment – an infected paw, exorbitant vet fees, challenging follow up: soaking the ailing paw 4 times per day, multiple doses of pills multiple times per day, anti-biotics once per day. (South Africans adore their dogs – and talking about them.)
Taking advantage of a lull in his explanation, I invited him into my plan: involve him and other neighbors in cleaning up their section of stream enough to entice otters - and Free Me, the animal rehab and release organization. (Americans adore their wildlife-saving projects – and talking about them.)
The result?
Meet Willem tomorrow at 8:00am for a tour of the stream in his part of the neighborhood, his house the last before the wetlands proper.
My current dilemma?
Touring wetlands calls for wearing gumboots. Should I walk to Willem’s house, gumboots in hand? Or should I drive, gumboots in boot/trunk?
Hmmm. A decision requiring much mulling.
Good natured Willem agreed that, while I’m in California, he’ll invite neighbors to get involved.
Word leaks out, otter families will line up for a spot in a re-hab’d stream (let’s pray they don’t demand wi-fi service…).
