Today we were off to the Constituency Session at 6:45 a.m. On the way, the SIM card in my phone (probably) decided to quit. I wasn't sure what was going on, so all the way there and all through breakfast, I was fiddling with the phone, pulling out the battery and the SIM card, trying to see if it was just bad connections or something else. I know it shouldn't have, but it really annoyed, worried, and frustrated me until the time the meeting started. It took about 2 hours for me to resign myself that the phone was not going to miraculously revive.
I could have survived the whole extended weekend without a PC, if the phone hadn't quit working. As it is, I guess it was good that I did purchase a PC so that I can remain connected.
The meeting went without any surprises. All the current officers were reelected, the reports and proposals for the next four years were approved. The only "interesting" thing, and a rather minor one at that, was that a few people wanted campmeeting moved back to August. That didn't pass. Because everything went so smoothly, the entire agenda was completed well before lunch time.
We had lunch and then headed back to the hotel. Both Elise and I were feeling quite tired. Elise, because she never had been able to catch up on sleep she missed after her last night of work right before flying out. I was tired from at least two nights of non-sleep, and then last night from setting up this PC and updating the software with the latest security and other patches.
Upon returning, I spent a good deal of time with T-Mobile support trying to figure out what was going on. I have to commend T-Mobile's support and customer service staff. Each time I've called them, for whatever reason, they've been very responsive. I'm not sure, but it didn't sound like they outsource their support operations. Anyway, the culprit is probably the SIM card. It's one that I've had since 2002, when the service was still through VoiceStream (anyone remember that?). It was so old that support had no procedures for sending a replacement. Customer service ended up sending out a new one by charging and crediting the cost. I should be seeing that in about a week. Until then, I have a glorified WiFi PDA. The WiFi portion still works, so I can get e-mail and Internet as long as I'm connected to a WiFi access point.
I thought it was interesting that when I called up support and mentioned I was in Alaska, as it often happens, I was asked what in the world I was doing here. So I got another chance to explain that I quit my software engineering job to work as a pastor. I wonder what often goes through people's minds when they hear that. I just hope and pray that if nothing else, it causes people to pause and think about life's priorities.
After that little ordeal we went out to Office Depot for a few more last-minute supplies. And then to Sears where we browsed but didn't find anything we had to have. We couldn't find any restaurants we wanted to stop in on the way back to the hotel, so upon return we looked up different options. We ended going to a Japanese restaurant a few miles away.
We need to bed down early because tomorrow morning starts even earlier -- around 5:30 a.m. Our morning flight is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. out of Anchorage. Then we have a 6 hour or so layover in Juneau before reaching Petersburg right around 5 p.m. I'm taking along a couple of books to keep me occupied. Juneau has a pay WiFi service, so I suspect I'll be using that for a little while at least.
The one thing in Anchorage that most attracts me is the miles of bike paths that meander about the city, particularly the outskirts. I think I saw about as many cyclists out on the roads and paths as there are in the Beaverton, Ore. area. There is also a paved path that goes along Alaska highway 1 out of Anchorage, through Eagle River, and ends somewhere beyond -- quite a few miles through very picturesque country.
As mentioned in the previous post, I'd like to come here again when I'm not here for work so that I can enjoy some of the other things that are going on. If only the travel and lodging didn't cost so much.
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