Internet

It’s funny how reliant we are on the Internet. There are entire parts of my job that I haven’t bothered to memorize, because I simply don’t need to. Rather than memorizing which C# class lets me parse file names correctly, I can search for that sort of thing. Sure, there are some that I’ve learned through sheer repetition, but for the most part, I don't bother with information that I can find via Google.

I say that because I found myself in an interesting predicament earlier today. I had a couple of hours to myself at a coffee shop, with the full intent of writing some blog posts and a story or two. Normally, I would dig through my email and my text messages for inspiration, since that tends to be a good source of humor.

Alas, it was not meant to be this time around. I was at a coffee shop I’d never been to before, so I didn’t know what the protocol was for the Internet. I paid with a credit card, but the person behind the counter made no effort to give me any kind of receipt. So, I assumed that I could just join the network. In hindsight, this was a bad assumption.

Once I sat down and realized that I would need a password, I weighed my options, and, on a whim, I decided that I would try the high wire act sans (inter)net. I could have gone back to the counter and asked for a password, especially since I’d just put in my order. It’s not like they wouldn’t recognize me.

On this particular day, however, I felt like doing things a little bit differently. I didn’t need the Internet, thank you very much. I was going to live dangerously; rebels without a cause are a thing in our household, after all. Besides, my task involved writing, and I had a perfectly good laptop in front of me. In the absolute worst case, I could use my phone to look up things on Internet.

Ultimately, I managed to get my writing done, and things worked themselves out for the best. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit like a Luddite in the process. So there you have it, kids: ask about the Internet before you sit down. Otherwise, you might end up with an inadvertent throwback day and end up laughing at yourself far more than you expected to.