So the cable modem got fixed yesterday (and then of course AT&T has been having all kinds of problems with its network, and I keep getting booted offline), but the reason it was busted was very strange.
The repair guy showed up early(!), and I told him that basically we had no TV and no internet whatsoever, so he of course decided to first check the box that comes in from the street, that all the lines to the various apartments split off from.
I wasn’t precisely sure where it was, though I was fairly sure it was in the basement. So we go down the stairs and it turns out to be right at the bottom of the stairs, although it was about 5 feet over my head, so I had never noticed it.
So the guy shines a light up at the box, and determines that someone has unscrewed the line to my apartment.
The line to each apartment is very clearly marked, and the guy told me that that having the line just fall out was practically impossible, because the lines are screwed on to the box. Someone would almost definitely have had to unscrew it for it to come out.
Now if someone had unscrewed our line and plugged in theirs, maybe that would have made sense, since they would have gotten free cable. But no, it was just us that got (un)screwed.
So my roommates and I are attempting to figure out who did this. The Enemies List so far:
1) Either our upstairs or downstairs neighbors, fed up with 3 blasting stereos and a DVD surround sound system. However, this would have been counterproductive since when we’re not on internet or watching cable, we watch more DVDs and listen to more music.
2) My jackass landlord, who I’ve been fighting with about the heat. This, however, is somewhat unlikely, since the cable went out at 11pm on Thursday, and both he and the super have never, ever been seen in the building after 6pm.
3) Gnomes.
We’re still trying to figure out who else could have done it. At any rate, the internet is back, albeit slow and inconsistent because of AT&T’s issues, but hey, it’s beter than dial up.