Anger Management

Anger: a feeling of extreme displeasure, hostility, indignation or exasperation toward someone or something; rage; wrath; ire.

Management: to manage. Manage (v): To direct or control the use of.

How many of you folks out there use a secondary email client, like Incredimail? Hmm? I see that hand. Thank you, yes, I see the hands. Hands all over the auditorium...

My ISP provider, Mediacom, in its wisdom decided recently to 'upgrade' its email server system. In the process, they trashed most of the most popular account management tools in favor of several new and supposedly desirable tools that do less and are harder to use. They also, of course, lost all of our settings, and they're having the inevitable 'upgrade' issues.

Like tonight. I set this blog up, and of course google wants to verify my email address. So I log into Incredimail to check my email.

Nothing.

So I look. Its working... working... working...

WOOT WOOOT WOOOT ERROR ERROR ERROR....

Seems the thing is rejecting my password. This frustrates me, particularly since I don't mess with this particular password all that often and it isn't in the front of my brain what it is.

But I cannot resist. I re-type it, since I DO know it and it WILL work.

Nothing. NO dice. NO SOUP FOR YOU!

Now I'm not so sure. Did I just screw it up? Maybe. Obviously there's only one thing to do. Reset the password.

So I go to Mediacom's site and click the link. You know the one. It says "Forgot your password?"

Click

Logon screen appears WITH A FREEKING PASSWORD required! Right there, on the new page, are the instructions: "Enter user ID/email address and password to access account information."


D'OH You LOGGERHEAD! I got here by clicking a link that is supposed to take me to a place where I can change my password BECAUSE I FORGOT IT! And you start by asking me for it?!?!

At that point, my anger management failed. Anger, going gangbusters. Management, laying down on the job.

After several attempts I found the right place to be, and eventually everything worked again. Turns out there was never anything wrong with my password, it was the email system having issues, but now I have a bright shiny NEW password on my account anyway. And I am reminded once again that I am utterly incapable of managing my anger on my own.

God has richly blessed me with many gifts, but one of them is not a calm temperment. I am impatient. I am easily frustrated, particularly by machines that do not work as designed. I am especially frustrated by problems that I cannot solve. Tonight I was confronted with all three, and instead of asking my Lord for help in directing and controlling my anger I let it control me.

Forgive me, Lord.

So now I get to go eat some humble pie and ask my wife and kids (who had to witness my angry outbursts) for their forgiveness. At least I know they'll give it. They have to, they're Christians. :-)

Forgive us our Debts, as we forgive our debtors...