Saturday, January 13, 2007

Time to Post

It’s been a while since I’ve written from my favorite little coffee shop. It’s not like I don’t come here often, I do. And it’s not like I don’t have my iBook with me almost always, again, I do (and my camera, a handy-dandy reporter’s notebook, voice recorder, battery chargers, cables, card reader, etc., etc., etc.). And although it’s certainly not necessary to be connected to the web to write these musings, for customers at this establishment, wireless Internet is provided free of charge.

It’s just that when I’m here, it’s for a limited period of time. That’s not to say it’s about killing time – I will often plan for time to be here – but when I’m here, I am constantly running into friends. It keeps me busy. In fact, I used to bring the iBook in with me all the time, however, it came to the point where I’d open it, check my mail while talking, give up and close it up. Tonight, I have the luxury of killing a substantial amount of time. Although my pecking at the keys has been slowed considerably by numerous happy interruptions, there is time to complete a sentence here and then.

But it’s taking some time. I stop and talk, type and talk… I've got a lot of balls in the air. In addition to this Word widow I have open, I have three Firefox windows and an email window open. I’m tracking the Saints and Eagles, keeping an eye on my blog’s hit counter and… I guess I’m in my element. There is one issue that’s going to stop me for sure: I only have 20 minutes of battery life left and I don't feel like plugging in.

Time to post ~

12 comments:

sage said...

i often write from a coffee shop too and in my last post recalled the conversation from one of the waitresses. Here from Michele's

craziequeen said...

I have only once blogged from a coffee shop and that was in the German mountains - and the shop provided the laptop!

Mind you, I found it a most pleasurable experience - along the lines of sitting in a coffee shop with a good book.......

cq
Hi Mike, Michele sent me to check on your 25yr plan today :-)

Dak-Ind said...

greetings from michele...

i love that so many places are going wifi, but i also love that so many people (like you) are still taking advantage of the good old face to face camraderie of the coffee shop. sometimes, when i plant myself into my favorite chair at starbucks (which is rarer now than ever before due to my over active loud toddler) i notice that less people are chatting with each other than any time in the past because they all have lap tops out and open and are doing their own thing, avoiding the new relationships we all used to make in places like that. gives me hope that perhaps as the newness of the free wifi at starbucks in our town wears off, perhaps i will see more than downcast eyes, laptops, and top of heads at my favorite coffee house.

Anna said...

I am not a coffee drinker but I am definitely not excluded from the wondeful hustle and bustle of a coffee shop. When you go into the city here there is a Starbucks literally every block (sometimes sooner). I have never taken my Mac there but that sounds appealing that I may do it next week on my day out sans children.

Thanks for the idea of my Mac and a signature hot chocolate! I can't wait!

craziequeen said...

Britain definitely needs to work on their coffee-shop mentality..

We're really bad at them! Thank god for Starbucks!

cq
Michele again, Mike :-)

Helene said...

I have never written from the coffee shop. I actually only tend to go there when I have to study or have a big project to work on... both of those have been scarce recently! lol It also may be that the laptops in my family are in the possesion of my children and husband. As I am in the market for a new computer I may check into a laptop. I just hate the keyboard, but I do see myself traveling a bit more and it will be good to have a traveling companion that stores all my files and not just World of Warcraft ones! lmao!!

Fun light and entertaining post!

Anonymous said...

I do the bulk of my writing from home...right here in my studio. But how I wish we did have a coffee shop in town with wireless, because I'd venture down there with my laptop.
But then again...from the sounds of it, I probably wouldn't get much further than turning it on...lol
Just popping by to see what's going on in your neck of the woods.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike
I am glad you posted from a coffee shop - I can picture it in my mind.

I like to post from one now and then.

Catherine said...

I don't have a laptop so all my writing is done at home. My daughter writes on buses and in cars and has no plans to learn to drive or buy a car, as all that commuting is writing time for her. There's not much free wireless internet around my home town though (or perhaps I just haven't looked for it).
Michele sent me back again.

MaR said...

I have never posted from a coffee shop, but I have read my mail from French tourist offices...
Happy sunday, via Michele's
:)

carmilevy said...

I love the appeal of free wireless in a coffee shop. When we were in Florida, I spent many early mornings camped out at the local cafe. I got to know the owner, and now that we're home I find myself jonesing for the atmosphere of the place.

There's something lovely about finding a connected home when you're far away from your real one.

Lady Prism said...

It's terribly fun to blog in a coffee shop!