As expected, I actually stood up from the sofa in front of our one-channel TV, and dressed for going out. My boyfriend was in the adjacent room working and it was getting late. Earlier today we had made the plans for our day, and it was peppered all around with errands. We want to fix some cabinets in the kitchen, so we met with a carpenter who can fix the cabinets for us, and get some of the material needed. I planned to check out some places I've been wanting to go for a while, but haven't been able to. This time I couldn't again since I've got again held up at home with chores that took me longer than expected.
I didn't mind since the most important thing I had planned was getting our tripleplay plan. My boyfriend also had a lot of set backs, starting with his computer, which strangely refuses to work properly when he needs it the most. Time stretched and stretched, and he ask me to stay with him while he worked, since he firmly believes I'm the only one that can fix his computer. I stayed home, we did some laundry, but when the clock hit 19:00 h, I deemed it was time to go, and if my boyfriend couldn't make it, there's no reason why I can't handle the subscribing to the service myself.
Somehow my boyfriend - who by then was working on my computer - finished his job, stood up from our temporary desk and came with me. So we rushed to a particular Commercial Center where I had talked to the representative first, and got called quite fast by the most sweet, kind and beautiful young girl you can ever imagine. The subscription took some time, for which the young lady apologized profusely, but I assured her that there was no need. It was already 20:00 h by the time we've got attended, she was tired and still had an hour to go, so I could relate.
The service we've got was exactly what I had wanted and expected: a landline with 83 hours of toll free calls a month to other landlines within Hungary, 25 Mbps unlimited Internet access and my 75+5 channels of IPTV with a set top box that can record, pause, rewind, fast forward the programming. Of course we needed all that! Good-bye to the times when you whined because you were one hour late for that show you love so much, or that movie you really, really want to see would be shown when you are out working or snoring in your bed because the next day you must wake up early.
My boyfriend was basically ok with my decision - he goes on thinking that when it comes to telecommunications and technology, I know better, which I do - and so, since the contract is on my name, he was happy to go with it. ^_^
In a week's time the service should be installed, so in a week's time we would be back into enjoying the civilized world. ^_^
We then walked to a Burger King because I really wanted some chilli cheese nugats, and then ended up ordering take out, getting home and enjoying a fast meal on our lovely kitchen. There was a nice feeling about the whole thing, how inspite of him having trouble with some of the people he works with, and how long his money has lasted lately and so on, or how I'm still not working (though I doesn't bother me so much, as I understand how long this kind of things can take), but still, we were able to look to what we have accomplished so far, and knowing that there's a bright future ahead of us, with possibilities, opportunities and chances to keep going forward, happily and together.
Many things could have gone wrong. What if I yelled at him because it's getting late and we are not going to get the subscription? What if he decided to antagonize about the choice of operator and the plan selected? What if the fight started earlier because I wanted to go to the operator first or I don't want to stay at home and remain close in case his computer fails again - which it did? Today could have been a perfect disaster would we have gone loose on negative emotions, would have we chosen to be reactive, negative and destructive insteand of calm, positive, proactive and constructive. So here's another bit of the secret of our success:
1. Be open to what your partner needs. Plan around it, but also make also a B Plan to the case you partner can't make it and you must go solo. Being in a relationship doesn't mean you must be joined by the hip: you are still two (or more) individuals perfectly capable of working alone.
2. Instead of reacting quickly with an attack when a setback appears, rather use that reaction speed to think of a solution. Some things just happen, and there's no use crying over the spilled milk, right?
3. When in a relationship, always consider the mobility of your plans: you wanna do this at this time, but if something happens and that time becomes unavailable, when can you do it again? What are your chances to reschedule? This is a skill that works also for the solo flyer, as you don't need to be in a relationship in order to hone the need to reschedule and keep your day flowing produtively.
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