Internetus Interruptus

So the internet has been out for the last 24 hours.  Don't know why, just that no one in our estate had any internet service.  Bummer when your contact with the other side of the world depends on that connection.  Oh well,  I will survive.  I guess I do spent the better part of my day logged on, because I find myself with a lot of extra time on my hands when I can't surf.
Just someone contact my mom for me so she doesn't think I've dropped off the planet.
That means I have to wait to post until I'm connected again.  Not that I thought of anything more interesting to write about than the crap internet service here.  But I've heard that it's a pretty common complaint and that you just have to deal with it.  Can't say that the service when its available is all that either.  The connections are slow and the downloads even slower, but I knew about that.  At least we don't have a cap on our service like many do. 
During peak time, skype-ing is a funny way to spend time trying to communicate with your friends and loved ones.  Kinda like watching old episodes of Max Headroom (there's an oldie but a goldie, for those of you who are old enough to remember him) only the soundtrack is stuttering right along with it like a badly dubbed kung fu flick.  It's good we don't have anything really important to discuss because half the convo is missed.  I have yet to find a way to save some of those freeze frame shots of my mother during the stuttering, because some of them are hilarious.  It's like pausing a DVR at just the right moment to catch someone on the telly looking like they just sniffed glue or walked into the door.
On another note, I can say that Halloween is a non-holiday here in South Africa.  At least here in the estate.  No decor, no trick or treat.  My son had a Halloween parade at school and a party where he got to dress up, but it could have passed by without mention.  I didn't even see evidence of costume sales for the kids to dress up.  But the commercial powerhouse that is the Halloween movement in the US may be just that...only in the US.  Not a major holiday in the rest of the world.  On the flip side, Christmas decor goes up in the stores here at the end of September.  Because as you know, there is no Thanksgiving, so straight on to Christmas, or the winter holiday of your choice.