Argh! Stupid technology >:[

[Katrina]

So this is just a little rant, because I'm sure others here have had similar frustrating technology issues at some point or other.

I haven't really talked to Patrick in about 2 weeks. We've both been extremely busy and with the 5-hour difference it's difficult because he works in the late afternoon in NY and I have to stay up late to talk to him after my classes are done. Which would be fine, except that his computer charger broke so we haven't been able to talk or videochat in about a week - and the only time we talked before that, the service was horrible and our call was only five minutes long, most of which was, "What, I can't hear you!" repeated.

We've planned to talk Sunday night because he should have a new charger by then, but it's just frustrating because it's bad enough that I only get to talk to him once or twice a week because of our schedules. I'm going through some major pre-life-decisions freakouts (I just found out that I'm graduating early and need to take the GRE/GMAT, start looking at grad schools and entry-level jobs, etc.) and I really need his support. I also want to know how things are going for him, since he's writing a novella for his senior project and working as an RA.

I'm just lonely and annoyed

[elina]

Yeah.. sucks when you have to rely on technology and it fails, doesn't it

My laptop broke a while ago and I had to be without it for two weeks.. and it wasn't nice -.- Though we get to talk more than you guys so.. can't really compare. Can you email/text/call? Or is calling too expensive..?

I really hope things get fixed soon and you get to talk a bit more again *hugs*

[Katrina]

I normally use Skype to call everyone back in the U.S., but when I tried last week his cell phone kept cutting out Otherwise it works fine to call him usually, but using my Irish cell phone to call his phone is waaay too expensive.

[LadyMarchHare]

I'm not sure what the international postage rate on a letter might be, but that could be an option. Write down your concerns and ask you guys discuss them when his charger's fixed.

I'm no stranger to lack of communication so I know how hard it is to go so long without a word or have to deal with 5 minutes of a conversation that's half "What?" and them being busy doing other things. Luckily it's all temporary. In the meantime, you do have LFAD so you're not entirely alone although I know it hardly compares to the comfort you could get from your SO.

[sabby64]

For the first month me and my SO were apart, I didn't even have internet, so we had to rely on texting and short Facebook messages on the school computers to get by. It was really frustrating. Then one day he surprised me by putting me on his phone plan, so that all of his calls to me were free Now even if one of our internet connections sucks, he can still call me.

I hope that the new charger helps things out with you. My charger was broken during most of the summer, but I made sure to grab a new one before I left home so there wouldn't be any problems. Trust me, he's probably just as frustrated as you are.

[MoonWatcher]

My relationship is very similar to yours. There's a 14 hour difference for us, and we don't get to talk but maybe 3 times a week, and that's if we're both not too busy. And then you come to rely on things like technology and things, so much so that when they decide not to work it can be almost heart breaking! Especially if you haven't talked in awhile and are needing support for things. I think one of the most difficult things for me has been getting used to having to "schedule" the times when we can talk. I just want to be able to pick up the phone and call him randomly sometimes ! But, like yourself, that's not really an option right now due to expenses. Keep strong! I know it's hard. Just remember how blessed you are to have the times, even if they're short - many couples don't have any communication with their SO's for weeks!

[Caitlin2009]

ohhhh yeah we experiance that, we love to talk for hours and can only do that with Jaxtr on the weekends when her weekends on her cell are free. and on the weekdays we talk for a half hour which is pretty good but heh were spoiled and we admit it lol, in the past especially last winter when she was living with her parents they had a really bad snow storm that knocked out there power for 3 days and at the time she had the internet so she used her laptop O_o you wanna talk about going crazy i didnt stop crying because i needed her and needed to her voice and it was just bad, not something i want to relive

[Katrina]

Thanks for the support and advice, everyone! It's nice to know there are people who understand ^_^ I just finally got in touch with Patrick - apparently he's been sick for the past three days and is now swamped with work, but we're definitely going to videochat Sunday night. Even just the quick chat we had today made me feel better.

And I plan on writing him a letter...but it's his turn. We have this "rule" - you can receive more than one letter but you have to send at least one back, that way we don't write about stuff the other has answered/talked about in the other's letter. It's his turn, and he has one written but hasn't gotten a chance to send it yet, so I'm really excited because not only do I like to read the letters he sends (they usually make me cry but happy tears!) I also love getting to write them back. Although I have sent a postcard or two

[paulawriteslove]

*hugs* This can be extremely frustrating, but don't let it get to you. Try to keep calm and enjoy the time that you do have together

[Bølle]

I'm happy you got to talk to him! I know how frustrating the use of more-or-less functioning technology can be -_- the bad service for instance.. I'm working at a lion park in South Africa at the moment, and trying to save money on the phone bill, my SO has been calling my cell several times via skype. She has no problem hearing me speak, but I have a hard time.. Either because the audio is too weak, has too much static or because it disappears all together.. That DOES make it hard to have a good flow in a conversation
Fortunately we can talk and see each other on skype, but we volunteers have only ONE shared computer in a staff office, which we can use between 8.30am and 4.30pm. And the internet is dreadfully slow.... *sigh* HOPEFULLY things will be better, when I get to Australia in a few days

I might even be able to send and receive packages! ..the South African postal service has its ...erh .. flaws -_-

[Karringtyn]

The one thing about this website......we all understand....((((Hugs))))