Answers, Please

After writing about my annoyance with Gilligan, it got my mind wandering about the whole "if they got off the island, the show wouldn't be on any more" thing.  Now of course I didn't understand about ratings and TV networks and that the actors weren't performing live on an island somewhere.  All I mostly wondered about was why there would be a show about a problem that never gets fixed.

If you've ever had the opportunity to ask my son a question which required more than a "yes" or "no" response, you may have come to the conclusion that he had a future career as a television scriptwriter.

"Spenser, why are you covered with dirt and missing a shoe?"
"I was with Johnny."
"Yes, but what happened?  Where is your other shoe?  I thought you were going swimming?"
"Johnny was having a family party at his house...a lot of people there.."
"Yes...?"
"They had these hotdogs there which were kind of gross.  But the macaroni salad was good...."
"Okay...?"
"He had this older cousin Joey who was chasing us around!  He was such a jerk, Mom!"
"Yes, and is that how you lost your shoe?"
"They have woods behind their house, look at this mosquito bite..."

Mmmhmm.  You see what I'm getting at.

Now, I don't necessarily consider myself as a completely impatient sort.  I do have some patience, though I could probably use more when it comes to Mothering.  In general though, I'm not too bad.  But, I do get annoyed that, so often, when you need an answer or a solution to something, it takes hours or days or never to get the actual reply.

A recent example for me is that I wanted to see if there were live streams somewhere of the Euro 2012 thing going on in Poland/Ukraine.  I had seen the opening ceremonies while at the gym (and, in a severely blonde moment, thought it was the Summer Olympics, so I wasted a lot of time looking for something on line about that...), so I figured it must be on some channel somewhere.  Now, this is more an example of people on the internet being scheister-y and trying to get you to either accidentally click on something that will invade your computer or force you to answer a 20 page questionnaire completed unrelated to your quest topic, but still.  Can't anyone just give a straight answer?

Anyway, after over an hour of searching and clicking, I still haven't found one actual live-streaming video of the games; at least, not any that are available to people in the U.S.  I do, however, now have a new media player, and am registered for some on line car racing simulation game.  I probably have 23 new viruses as well.  And more junkmail.  This is just ridiculous.  When a website indicates "watch live streaming Euro 2012 games here!", it should actually be about live streaming games, THERE, and not be about possible other sites which may have live streaming games, upon which you click, and discover they're about betting odds or horse races in Africa.

In the end, it's like that with a lot of things in life, and sadly, much of it seems to revolve around money.  Like, if you go to get an oil change for your car, and they just happened to discover that your brakes/axle/engine/tires are broken and must be replaced immediately.  Or when you call any customer service line and must answer 46 questions unrelated to your issue before you can get something close to an answer (maybe there's an office pool with a big prize for whoever gets the most answered questions in one phone call).

"Yes, I'd like to know, how do I plug in my computer?"
"I'd be very happy to help you with your issue today, ma'am.  First, what is the telephone number from which you are calling?  And also, could you please verify your address... and the last four digits of your social security number... and how did you hear about us....and the name of your first born male child.... and are you the main grocery shopper in your home....and incidentally, what do you think about clowns?"

15 minutes transpire and we haven't even gotten to the type of computer I have, or if I even have electricity in my home.  I just don't think it's too much to expect that, when you ask a question, you receive a direct answer.  Is it just me?  I don't think so.  It's no wonder people climb watchtowers.


P.s.
And no, I've never actually called a customer service department inquiring how to plug in my computer.  And, several days after writing this, I did sort out my Euro 2012 problem.