For the last time, I spent most of my Saturday trying to set up this wireless network so that the Roku box would work. I say that it’s the last time because I can’t imagine trying to do anything with it again for a long, long time. It’s just that frustrating. I made more progress this time than the last time, but the setbacks were worse, so it was kind of a wash. I find myself tonight feeling lucky I still have a DSL connection that works, after all the blind manipulation I did on the computer today.

It’s a lesson well learned, though. Not only am I incompetent when it comes to installing new hardware, I can’t even follow directions well enough to compensate. The next time I try this, I won’t. I’ll hire someone who knows what they’re doing. But not today, and not tomorrow, and not until my stress level eases back a few notches. That could take some time.

So I packed everything up and put it all back in its boxes. I considered returning it all, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the equipment itself. So I’ll hang onto it until I can stand looking at it again, and then I’ll decide what to do. For now, I’m going back to the lifestyle I led so blissfully before I ever even heard of wireless routers and switch boxes and Ethernet cables and set-top video streaming and computers and electricity and anything related to any of those things.

Bitter? No, I feel liberated! By the time I gave up this afternoon, I was shaking (although that could have been from hunger, since I hadn’t taken time out to eat anything all day). After I’d cleaned it up (and had a bowl of raisin bran and a cup of yogurt), I was calm. It felt like a fresh start, which we all need every so often. There’s nothing like finally letting go, when what you’ve been holding onto has been holding you down.