Pr3++yG33kyTh1ng

Our journey into the wonderful world of AT&T/Yahoo DSL was surprisingly brief.
The guy came by last week to tell us we had been hooked up and a box arrived containing a DSL modem and some wires.
I thought the installation would include a place to plug in this DSL modem inside, but apparently it does not.
There is no phone jack upstairs. As far as we can remember, there never has been.
Explaining this to the customer service people at AT&T was not an easy process and it took almost an hour of multiple transfers and hold time.
We use Vonage VoIP service (when we bother to plug it in) and have never missed having phone jacks.
As a last ditch effort, AT&T offered to install a jack for $120(US) but I told them that was more than I was willing to spend on an internet installation. When she told me I could also use the phone service they had hooked up, I again went into the story of how we have a phone (Vonage) and electricity as well.
I really don't want someone carving up our walls to install a piece of very old and outdated technology.
Then they offered a $50 discount and a no-interest payment plan on the remaining $70.
At this point it came down to philosophy. I'm just not that committed to the DSL lifestyle, I suppose.
Anyway, the "install kit" is on its way back home. I was nice enough that there should be little if any charge from them for the visits by the house to "install" phone service.
I was actually dreading the fees the government tacks onto phone service anyway, especially for a line that would never be used for voice service.
So. Until AT&T comes through with their fiber optic UVerse service without TV, it looks like we are stuck with the cable modem.
I can admire the idea of being committed enough to a lifestyle to make a drastic change.
There is a goth intern working somewhere in the building. Earlier this week I saw her leaving work in a hearse. That is the kind of committment that hacks up a perfectly good wall to put in an ugly plug that should have been retired in the 70's.
If I were into the whole facial piercing, thick eye-liner, odd hair color thing, I'd like to think I'd care enough to go the extra mile and drive a hearse myself.
When it comes to high-speed internet, and inactivity and no wall damage gets me the same result as waiting a week or more to punch a hole in (probably) an inconvenient wall, I'll always choose inactivity.
That is true for most things, I suppose.