This morning, my Internet connection went out for about an hour and a half. Which really put a damper on my workday. I had bills to pay an errand to run, so I did those things while I waited for the outage to end, but what would I have done if I hadn’t had something else to do? What if I really needed to get something done immediately? It helps to have a back-up plan for such situations, so that you are prepared. And I do. My back-up plans include the following:

* Take the laptop to the coffee shop, where there is free wi-fi. I’d have to buy a pastry and a hot chocolate while there, to avoid feeling guilty, but it’s worth it!

* Go to the library to use those computers. Of course, there is an hour time limit, so I’d have to see what I could manage in that time and then go elsewhere.

* Go to my brother’s house. I’d probably take the laptop there, too. My brother has a different Internet provider, and isn’t usually out when mine is.

It’s a good idea to have contingencies in place for when things go wrong. I have a cell phone so that when my phone is out, I can still make phone calls as well. Of course, if something major happens and nothing works, no matter where I am, then we’re all hosed anyway, so getting my stuff done is the least of my worries.

What are your plans for when something goes awry with your Internet connection?