I was in the same situation for about 10 months after Katrina, Spiraea - and my dialup would connect at 25 kbps. I feel your pain. I also think that folks who say '0mfgZ0r$ d!4l-|_|p !$ so #^$&*&^%@ $!0w - 101z0r$!!!' rightfully earn themselves a Captain Obvious Decoder Ring.
Well just a rough guess, I'd say about....7 to 8 years also. You really do learn to live with it tho when you've had it that long. As least I have. It'll never be the fastest and you'll never get the full experience out of the internet (ex. Online Gaming) but you make best with what you have
