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I hate them and I know I can't be the only one. And yet the internet is full of them. Everywhere you go these days there it is. That damned verification code. Why, oh why do some of them have to be so difficult to decipher? I have been to sites where the verification code was a simple four number combination in clear easy to read type. Then we have other sites like blogger who's code makes you think you've been slamming tequila shots all afternoon. I am always thrilled whenever I get the code to verify on the second attempt.

In all seriousness, by and large I don't really mind the whole verification code thing, I do realize it's to protect us all from the internet deadbeats out there and I do employ the use of them here. It's just today they happened to kick my ass, old school. You see my beloved mother called this morning with a special request. Today, this very morning, tickets went on sale for Rod Stewart. And my Mom is a huge Roddy (yeah she calls him Roddy, cause they're tight like that) fan. The kicker is my Mom just so happens to be working today. Which surprised me because I would have thought she'd of booked it off as a religious holiday (yes she loves him that much). So she called to ask if I would be willing to order her some tickets online. Sure Mom no problem, of course if I knew then what I know now, I'd likely have hung up on her.

So tickets go on sale at 10, so at about ten minutes to ten I kick Mike off of eBay and get set to make my purchase. At the time I predict I will have completed my transaction by 10:01 am. First I need some information from an email Mom sent before she left for work. Now it's important at this time you know that we use dial up out here in the boonies. I could go wireless, but I hear mixed reviews from my neighbours who have it and well to be honest, I'm cheap and wireless is over double what I pay now. Back to the email loading, a quick check shows my I have at least one mega sized message coming in, I'm sure, from a well meaning friend who just found the most hilarious thing ever on the internet and just had to share it with me even thought I'm sure it will be something I've seen a least a dozen times before. So now I'm frozen in internet gridlock. Waiting, watching and cursing (quietly to myself, cause the kids are here). Oh and I may have thrown a pen. Maybe smacked the desk. And quite possibly growled at the computer. You know, because I'm reasonable like that.

The minutes tick by and now it's ten minutes *after* ten, but my email has finally loaded. On to ticketmaster to purchase tickets. I punch in Mom's user name and password and hit enter.

The username and password do not match, you have 5 more attempts before your account is locked.

What the sweet hell is this?

I check my spelling and type the password in again, very slowly. In fact I even backspace and start again several times. Then I hit enter and wait.

The username and password do not match, you have 4 more attempts before your account is locked.

What the effing eff!?!

I phone my mother. She repeats her information to me again. Very slowly. I write it down again even though it's exactly the same as what I had written before. Back to ticketmaster. Type in the user name and password even slower than I did the last time. I cross my fingers and hit enter.

The username and password do not match, you have 3 more attempts before your account is locked.

Why does the internet hate me? Why? I've always loved it.

I try making an alteration to her password, thinking she may have forgotten an underscore.

The username and password do not match, you have 2 more attempts before your account is locked.

On the phone with my Mom again, she directs me back to her email. I hang up and check it out. It's a this time I realize the password information she's given me is for the third party site that sent her the email informing her about the concert. It's at this moment I can hear Maya empty a glass of water all over the floor. I throw another pen. Abby yells that Maya is making a mess. She neglects to tell me that she was the one that gave Maya the water. Maya is dispatched to play with some toys in her soaked slightly damp jammies. I still harbour hope I'll be able to wrap this up in a minute.

Lightbulb moment, instead of attempting to crack Mom's password for her ticketmaster account I edit my profile to reflect her name etc and attempt to purchase the tickets through my account. I make my ticket selections and wait while it brings up the best selection available. These tickets are on hold for two minutes then they will be released for sale again. Looks like I'm in the home stretch.

"Mom, Maya's got those money things in her mouth!" That would be coin rollers.



I pause to clean up the mess and extract a toonie roller from Maya's gate. In doing so I lose my tickets. Okay, purchase attempt number two. Things are going great until we hit the verification code. This code has it all going on. The code is blurry, smooshed together, all cockeyed and let's not forget the grid over top of the whole thing. I type in what I think it says. Access denied. I try again with a new code which, I think, is more difficult than the first. Access denied. Lather, rinse repeat. I lose another set of tickets.

Now Maya's screaming. Some how she's "tied" herself to the recliner. I rescue her. I head back to do battle with computer. My third attempt to purchase tickets is a success. I even manage to correctly enter the verification code on the first attempt. Finally success! And it only took me an hour and 5 minutes. I hope you enjoy the concert Mom.