Right now, I am deep in the process of working with our web developer on a complete redesign of our website. It is not a quick or simple task. In fact, it has become a laborious, often painstaking process that demands my attention many times throughout the day. Every adjustment, every decision, and every correction requires back-and-forth communication, and that alone can be time-consuming under the best of circumstances.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, this project is not something we can afford to delay any longer. We continue to receive notifications from WordPress indicating that our current design is obsolete and no longer supported with security updates. Considering that our site is now over 14 years old, this is not entirely surprising, but it is certainly concerning. The thought of what could happen if we ignore these warnings is unsettling. A total crash of the site is a real possibility, and that would be nothing short of a nightmare.
With over 5,000 posts, thousands of photos, and years of memories and information carefully documented, the idea of losing it all is overwhelming. This site has represented a significant part of our lives for the past decade and more. We have always tried to avoid unnecessary stress in our travels and daily routines, and a website crash would undoubtedly be considered extreme stress.
I had hoped to begin this process months ago, but as is often the case in our lifestyle, circumstances got in the way. Between the 72 nights we spent on cruise ships, where WiFi was unreliable at best, and the busy months that followed, it simply wasn’t feasible. I made a promise to myself that once we were settled in South Africa, we would finally tackle this project head-on.
Well, here we are, settled in what should be a perfect place to get this done, and yet we are facing a whole new set of challenges. The WiFi at this house has been incredibly inconsistent, making it difficult to maintain the steady communication required for this kind of work. There are long stretches when we are completely unable to respond to our web developer, and those interruptions slow everything down.
To add to the frustration, the cooler weather has changed our daily routine. We are not spending as much time out on the veranda at night as we usually would, which means we are indoors more often and relying on an unreliable internet connection. Evenings have become particularly frustrating. The signal, which may work intermittently during the day, often disappears entirely at night.
This has affected more than just our work. We don’t have a television on the main floor of this house. The only TV is located upstairs, accessible by a steep flight of stairs that has become increasingly difficult for me to manage, especially at night. The lighting is poor, and with my unsteady gait, it is simply not a safe option. Even if it were, the smart TV depends on WiFi for streaming, which makes it unusable most evenings anyway.
Late yesterday, two technicians arrived to install a new dish, which gave us a bit of hope. They worked for several hours, but as darkness fell, they packed up and left without completing the job. Last night, we found ourselves sitting in the bedroom with nothing to watch, passing the time with offline games on our phones. It felt oddly isolating in a world where we have grown accustomed to staying connected.
Of course, we are out to dinner three evenings a week, which provides a welcome change of scenery. But on the remaining nights, we genuinely enjoy settling in with a good movie or series. It is a simple pleasure, but one we value, and right now, it is not available to us.
During daylight hours, we manage to get some work done when the signal cooperates, and we take advantage of those moments as best we can. Still, the stop-and-start nature of it all makes progress slower than we would like.
I do not like to complain, and I try to keep things in perspective. We are fortunate in many ways, and we never lose sight of that. But at the same time, this situation is frustrating and, frankly, unacceptable based on what we expect. For now, all we can do is hope that the issues are resolved soon so we can move forward, complete this critical project, and return to a more comfortable and functional routine.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, July 9, 2016:
