The Disconnect

We are here, and more or less fully online--enough so that I can ponder a blog entry without seeking out a coffee shop or restaurant offering free wi-fi.  That was getting tedious.
For an old guy, I'm discovering I'm more modern in my addictions than I expected.  Somewhere along the way we decided not to have cable tv here.  (I knew we had talked about it, but somehow I missed the actual decision part.)  I haven't missed that so much, but I've been going crazy without a consistent or accessible internet connection.  This surprises me, for some reason.
I suppose part of it is the obvious: I'm without connections right now in "real life," not just electronically.  We're barely settling in and really don't know many people here at all.  Once I get into class next week that will start to change, for me.  Provided we can settle into a church and start making connections there that will change yet more, not just for me but for Julia.  But for now, we're largely on our own in this woodsy little corner of suburbia/3G dead spot.  Being able to "connect" with other people, even if only via Facebook, becomes a lifeline for the moment.
Even being able to share the misadventures of the move via FB and this blog (see previous entry) was something of a relief, strange as it may seem.  The notion that other people were sympathizing, even if from a distance, somehow made the whole strange trip less of an ordeal, at least reducing it to monstrous inconvenience.
Meanwhile, the little inconveniences keep popping up.  Our washer seems to have taken a hit, which makes the growing pile of dirty clothes more of a menace.  The long wait for an internet connection became much more arduous than it really should have been.  (Julia, though, apparently got to meet a bunch of seniors at the local McDonald's, while trolling for wi-fi, who were very helpful with where to find various services around here, so that's a plus, I guess.)  The house is slowly coming together.  We can now find our way around much of northern Chesterfield County, or enough at least to find groceries, gas, and other such goodies.  I can get to Union via a couple of different routes.  Julia's office is up and running, and my study is coming together (even if it still looks more like a musicologist's office than a seminarian's study).  The living room ... ehhh, let's not talk about that.
I miss Lawrence terribly and all our friends there.  That won't change.  I know that before long I'll be among new friends and deeply immersed/buried in studies.  Still, I miss Lawrence and will continue to do so.
Yes, I know, the internet isn't all peaches and cream, and online connections are no substitute for a life and all that yada yada.  Still, having it has lessened the sting of a bizarre week just a bit, and something that can do that can't be all bad.  (And by the way, that is probably about a sophisticated a commentary on modern technology as you're going to get from me.)
Thank the Lord for Facebook.  There, I said it.