Apparently some mystical force is at work to ensure that we never get cable TV or high-speed Internet access at home. Today was our second scheduled rendezvous with the installation crews of these two services, and it didn't go any better than the first.

The Dish Network guy showed up and couldn't install the satellite because he didn't have a tall enough ladder. It seems that the customer service people neglected to ask whether we lived in a one-story or two-story home when we placed our order. The earliest date for which they were able to reschedule was Sept. 19.

The cable Internet guy showed up around the same time this morning, and he couldn't install a cable modem, either. According to him, the cable wiring in our house is some cheap kind of wire, and it's not wide enough to support high-speed Internet. We'd have to get an electrician to rewire the house first. He said he's run into the same problem with several houses in our neighborhood.

This whole process is driving me crazy. I don't even care about having either of these services. I'm perfectly happy not watching television, and I'm on a high-speed Internet connection all day at work, so I can get by without it at home. But I am not the norm. Most people (in our socio-economic class, at least) do  want these things, so the fact that it is such a hassle to set up common ammenities baffles me. I was under the impression that as a process became routine, it also became easier. I should have known better.

While I wasn't dead-set on getting these services before, we've been led through such a complex web of bureaucracy that now it's become a challenge that I must conquer.