We are moving on up the mountain to Base Camp 2

I am sure it has not even occurred to any of you that yes, the Budman and Hachie Gal have been without TV all these many months in Düsseldorf.

The initial problem, as you may remember, was that our initial request to the landlord to install a satellite on the outside of our building was denied, squashed, kabashed, vetoed, turned down – you got it, canned. The second issue was that because both of our work schedules were so hectic, we never had time to investigate another satellite installation option. Thirdly, we had to locate some English-speaking satellite installation specialists to consult on the issue (other foreigners are the best source of information), so it just took us some time to obtain a few recommendations.

Sure, the initial denial deflated us a bit, so we just had to re-group and come back at it again. We were determined to climb this mountain and find a way to the top. It just took a little longer than we hoped….

Well, we’ve now made it back to Base Camp 1 and we are beginning the ascent to Base Camp 2. We have actually located a couple of English-speaking satellite installation technicians who assure us that there is a way around this problem. We have some thoughts as to how this might be done, but I don’t want to jinx it until we've talked to the professionals. Two consultants, two appointments. Today and tomorrow.

Time will tell. All I know is that we have a plan, we’ve called in our Sherpa guides (a mountain-climbing metaphor for satellite installation experts) for some guidance, and we are going to scale this mountain yet. Who knows, we may be at the top of Mt. Everest by New Year’s!

In the words of that epic Christmas tune standard…All I want for Christmas is my…satellite dish, my satellite dish, my satellite dish….