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The evening before last, I was uploading some important files before I tackled yet another format & reinstall on the daemon PC.

This is something I do regularly, a force of habit due to the alarming (and probably inhuman) amount of time I spend on the Internet and the fact that as I produce a great deal of graphics material on my PC, bless it, every now and then it just gets its electronic arteries clogged.

Suddenly, my connection dropped right out. I was horrified when I couldn't reconnect. I tried to dial regular number thru' the handset. Nothing. My connection was defunct!

I knew I had been late paying the 'phone bill (hands up and be counted all ye who never pay the telephone company on time - all you others, I'm amazed at your organizational skills, please pass on any tips). A wave of panic began to rise inside of me. Had I been disconnected? Oh no! Anything but that!

Disheartened, I called it a night in cyberland and paced the kitchen floor for an hour, munching rice cakes and wondering what exactly regular people did on a Thursday night, anyhow...

I called the 'phone company the next day. Ranting about how they had rudely disconnected me mid-upload (believe me, a few hours without a connection sends me psycho - I think I need to get help for that <g>). The lady at accounts asked me if I had "call waiting". Now I would rather eat nails than have "call waiting" and disgusted I pointed this out. "Well", she said, rather too smugly for my liking, "you seem to have call waiting...hang up and I'll call your number and we'll see."

I hung up, the 'phone rang, I answered it. (It’s a reflex, I couldn't help it).

"Don't answer your 'phone, how will I tell if you have call waiting if you answer it?!"

Boy was she mad and did I feel stupid! I meekly hung up and waited. After six or seven rings, the 'phone was quiet. Then it rang again. I was pretty sure it was safe to answer that time and I was promptly (and rather triumphantly) informed that I did have call waiting, my service had not been disconnected and that the reason my connection dropped out was because someone had left me a message [my mother, of course]. Which is the reason why I avoid call waiting like the plague, because it messes with your dial up (and your head).

So, feeling very, very sheepish and following the instructions she gave me, I was able to ascertain that I did indeed have call waiting, it came free with my long-distance calling card, I just didn't know....silly me.

You see, if you have call waiting and you forget to disable it in your dial-up connection properties before going on line, your connection can unexpectedly drop out. When someone calls you and you have call waiting active, their call triggers the service and "blip", there goes your connection. Very frustrating when you are downloading or uploading, I can tell you.

Then, if you please, now that you have new messages waiting to be heard all you get is a 'broken' dial tone and your modem cannot connect. You have to dial your message service, listen to and either save or delete your messages before you can connect again.

I've disabled it for the time being. It’s not difficult to do. Just check the box in dial-up connection properties and enter the code. My disable code was *43#, yours might be*70, 70# or 1170. If you are in any doubts or this method doesn't seem to work, check with your telephone company and ask them which disable code to use. They'll know.

Of course, there is the option not to have call waiting at all. I'm cancelling mine at the first available opportunity. I don't want it, I don't like it and my modem is problematic enough without giving it anything else to think about!