I got wireless!

My airport card arrived today for my iBook. I installed it and immediately went to the coffee shop, where I can enjoy wireless internet access and drink latte and talk about politics and Joni Mitchell.

Wi-Fi cards really signify alot in our culture–the dire need to plug in and connect, the mystical, almost romantic feel of sitting in a coffee shop or a bar or a restaurant or an airport (of the plane variety) and kick back, pull up a web browser or an email window and immediately feel a sense of community, of belonging, of citizenship to something that transcends borders.

Nevermind that we do this while *SITTING* in a coffee shop, a restaurant, or an airport–surrounded by hundreds of other people all doing the exact same thing. Why not unplug? Look around? The best thing that could possibly happen right now would be some weird, wireless-card zapping Virus that knocks routers offline.

In the moments after this virtual apocalypse, I can see the people screaming at their laptops, throwing bluetooth phones through the windows and then sitting there. But it would pass quickly enough, I think. The people would look around, see others in their same predicament, and unite in the common bond of disconnectedness.

Until someone reboots the router, of course. Then it would be business as usual.

Hey…there’s a cute girl over at a neighboring table. It’s time to disconnect for a while.