It's Always Something

Frustration.

Extreme Frustration.

So extreme that capital letters are a must.

Why am I frustrated?

My new camera.  That's why.

Supposedly, it is "easy to set up" on-line.  It has Wi fi!  I can upload images to a cloud for storage, my computer, Facebook,  Twitter, the list goes on. Easy set up, they say.

HA! 

They lie!! 

Christmas Day I was busy with other things and decided to do the on-line set up later.  I took time to register the camera before promising myself to finish setting up the rest of the capabilities when things were calmer. 

I started taking pictures.  It was easy and fun.  I had a great time taking pictures.

Fast forward to New Years week when I decided to put the pictures on the computer.  I wanted to send them to people, put some on my blog, Facebook, etc.  This is when easy to use became difficult.

Very.  Difficult.

I read the instruction manual.  It looked like English.  But, my tired mind transposed it into Mandarin Chinese.  I decided to give it a few days.

Wednesday night, I was feeling rather coherent, so I pulled out the book, my computer and the camera.  I spent an hour diligently working, trying to figure it all out.  Thirty minutes later I yelled "HONEY!!  I NEED HELP!!"

Poor man was in the office.  He had no idea what I had been doing or the level of frustration I had reached.  He came running, expecting me to be underneath furniture from the sound of my voice. He stopped by the sofa, looked at me and asked what was wrong.

"I am ready to throw both of these things through the window.  Please help me."   My hands shook as I lifted the computer toward him.

 "It can't be that bad."  He took the computer and sat next to me.  "Let's see what's going on."

An hour later, he gave up. 

"All software engineers should be taken out and beaten.  Go buy a cord and forget the wifi."

He left the room, returning to the office where things made sense. 

I packed the camera back in its bag and put it on a shelf.  Closing the computer, I turned on a DVD and lost myself in Castle episodes for the next two hours. 

Last night, I was feeling rather adventurous again as  I decided a simple camera is not going to defeat me.  Out with the camera and instruction manual.  Things began to make sense. 

"Hmmm, I missed this step last night.  Let's try that." 

A ha!  It worked. 

Then, the next few steps worked. 

I plugged away at it, feeling more confident.

And, then it happened.  Or rather, it didn't happen. 

Things stopped working.  I continued to try this and that.  Going at the problem from every angle suggested in the book and on the website.  Nothing worked.

Frustration set in again.  Before I reached the point of no return, I did what any rational wife would do.  I yelled.

"HONEY!!  I NEED HELP!!"

This time he knew what I was doing due to my earlier glee when things were working.  He walked into the room and sat by me as I explained what I had done and where I was not stuck. 

He is a genius!!  He solved part of the problem.

Things were going great....until we get stuck again. 

But, this time we are farther along than ever before. 

ALMOST there.  We are *this close* to having the camera set up so I can do all the wonderful things they promised. 

My plan was to call tech support today.  But, it may have to wait until next week.  I don't have the emotional stability today to deal with the frustration of Tech Support AND a camera that refuses to set up over Wi fi. 

Please note, I am NOT mentioning what kind of camera I have until AFTER I either get it working again OR return it to the store.  

Until then!

Disclaimer:  This post is in NO WAY a reflection on my husband and sons who lovingly gave me a simple, easy to use camera.  I love them and their giving hearts very much and appreciate all they do for me on a daily basis.  It is not their fault I am having problems setting up the Wi fi component.