Lake Atitlan, Panajachel, Guatemala

Monday, April 15, 2024

Move this chair for Wi-Fi: Stories from A to Z

Sunday after church and dinner, I laid down to take a nap while Forrest continued his quest to find the best Wi-Fi connection in the building. 

He returned sometime later pleased to say he had found it. “Come on, I’ll show you.” 

I was still under the covers reading. “Can’t you just tell me? I'm all warm and cozy.” 

“No, I have to show you.” I dragged myself out to follow him. 

The magic spot was on the first floor, in a hallway off the lobby. He pulled over a chair from the lobby and placed it at an angle.

“This is it. If you put the chair like this, you can sit and work on your laptop. It’s the best spot in the entire building. I’ve tried the chair at different positions, and this is the angle that works.”

I couldn’t believe we paid $500 a week and had to jump through hoops for an Internet connection. “I’d feel embarrassed moving a chair and sitting crooked in the hall like this.” I looked around. “Has anyone ever said anything to you?” 

“No, because who would care and anyway this condo is practically deserted. I think it's us and maybe a few others staying here and that’s it.” 

Once in a while there was another person or two in the elevator, but most often the building seemed vacant. I didn’t need to worry about anyone staring at me or thinking I was weird or strange to move a chair from one place to another. 

That became my working location during the week. Except it had no heat, no sun to warm it up, and after an hour it was too cold for me to focus. Forrest passed me once as I was shivering in the chair. 

“There’s a lounge right there at the end of the hall, Mom, and it’s heated. It has comfortable seating and good Internet reception, but the door is always locked. If you can find the guy who works around here and ask him to let you in, it’s a nice place to work.” 

Again, with the hoops we had to jump through to Enjoy Coquimbo.

9 comments:

  1. You gotta do what you gotta do, right? :)

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  2. Forrest is a kindred spirit to my dad. He had the perseverance to note such details. This is Ann. I’m not able to use my name when using my phone.

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  3. Again, I admire your patience and perseverance. I would've been screaming if I had to put up with either spotty reception or being cold. Neither choice sounds good to me.

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  4. Indeed. Every Wi-Fi has its "blind spots" and "strong spots," which can be maddening is it happens to be in a hallway off the lobby. This deserved a photo of Karen doing "the office" right there.

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  5. We have blind spots too with the tablet or phone.

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  6. I've had enough problems with motel wi-fi over the years - even last year. All of these were in the United States, too - but your loving son put the work in to get you the best location he could.

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  7. Did you have to find the same security guy to let you in the lounge?

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    1. Dyanne, No it wasn't the same guy thankfully or I'd have felt even more embarrassed!

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Comments are welcome!