Fault in the Stars...

   I'm not complaining, just recounting:
        It started with the tv in the living room not changing channels remotely. So I replaced those batteries, though they were fairly recent. The result was modest improvement.
        Last week, the fax machine refused to work. Attempts to rectify that situation resulted in malfunctioning of, in succession, internet, printer and copier. All but the fax have been restored, with considerable effort. But because I missed the opportunity to fax, I opened up a can of worms process that I'll have to deal with later on.  I needed to send some reports, and, lacking the fax option, I sought out and filled 2 pages of an online form. As I began to edit the text prior to submission, my too-fickle keyboard deleted the complete pages I'd typed. So off to the post office, enroute to which I not only saw my first robin of the year, but ran over it with my car.
   Suddenly without warning, a few nights ago, the tv in the bedroom conked out. I had removed  the batteries in the back-up remote to place in the living room tv, so it was a few days before I ventured out to  buy new batteries. I bought the batteries, and found my locked car would not respond to my remote key. It eventually responded reluctantly to the physical key.
   Home, I fiddled with the 2 remotes and the manuals in vain. Family members' efforts were unable to fully restore all  features. I found I can go to sleep without watching tv, and the quarantined host programming is fairly deadly anyway. Also without warning, the tv popped back on. The first night, though, I was unable to turn it off. So today, I turned it on early, and left it on, in case I want to watch it tonight. Maybe I'll be so bored I won't mind watching the cute children and gorgeous homes of tv stars.
 Last week also,County Waste rejected my trash offerings for prohibited materials, leaves.
   I don't bother much with store coupons any more, never was much into it. But I had a $5.00 coupon credit thing at Walgreen's and a $3.00 coupon for Ensure. Walgreen's was out of Ensure, but I bought the minimum $20. purchase the coupon stipulated. The clerk apologized but she was unable to ring it up; she didn't know why. Never mind--she tried. I brought my Ensure coupon over to S/N/S, where they did not have enough Coffee Latte Ensure, the only kind I drink. But I filled in with a Vanilla (Blah), brought it to the register, where the clerk couldn't figure out what to do with the coupon, had to call another worker over, while the people behind me in line were probably gnashing their teeth, but with the 6-foot social distancing, they were far enough away for me to ignore them.
   Last night, while I was trying to deal with some paperwork, the bulb in the lamp I was using  met its demise, one of those energy-saving spiral bulbs, which do not die quietly by the way. First one to burn out, as far as I can recall.
This afternoon, the telephone lost its dial tone. I was unable to call about what seemed an important matter at the time. I called Spectrum, where the recorded troubleshooting voice told me to unplug my phone to reboot, press star, and return . The phone abruptly disconnected. I called back right away. The recorded voice said sorry, but we're so overloaded with calls we can't even put you in the wait queue. Call back another time. The dial tone returned a while later, so Spectrum must have had a flare-up. I suspect with all the calls from work-at-home folks and online schooling, that overburdened phone lines might become a thing.
    My left ear still clogs up from time to time so I know I don't hear so well. I received my credit card statement last Tuesday, and saw an unfamiliar charge, with no explanation as to what it was. I called the number on the purchase line and asked what the charge was for. She gave me an answer, but honestly, I could not understand her at all. She spoke with a thick accent but I thought maybe it was my hearing difficulty, so I asked her to repeat--more than once. I told her we had a bad connection which prevented me from understanding. I thought the rep was saying "purple slippers."   That couldn't be.
      Here's  where the only humorous note comes into play. M. was in the bedroom, working to get my tv operating. She heard me repeatedly asking the rep to repeat. I couldn't get what she was saying. It was a struggle. M. came out of the bedroom, and, all efficient, took the phone from my hand and spoke to the rep. I heard her ask for repetition---more than once.Then M. says, "Can you spell it?"  Know that when/if a Hispanic person pronounces English letters, they can all sound alike. After several failed translated spelling attempts, I hear M's voice, from the bedroom where she had taken the phone:  "Is there someone else I can speak to?"  So I guess my hearing wasn't the problem in this case.