Guess where I am as I upload this post?
OK, the photo isn't great, because I took it AT MEGAN'S GYM with the built-in webcam on my NEW COMPUTER!
We had made the decision to replace my four-year-old Sony VAIO notebook running XP a couple of months ago, but we delayed the purchase because Microsoft's launch of Vista was imminent. And then we had to wait for the model I wanted to come in with the new operating system already installed. A couple of days ago, I was finally ready to bring this baby home.
There are lots of things I'm liking about my new toy: It's about two pounds lighter than my old notebook, has four times the hard drive capacity... and came with WWAN built-in, along with a free 30-day subscription to Cingular's wireless broadband service. This means that I can finally do something I've whined about for years: use the Internet while I'm stuck at my daughter's gym during her four-hour per day training sessions.
Yes, I've tried to make productive use of this time in other, non-connected ways. I've gone home (which also seems like a waste of time because of the traffic this time of day). I've used it for shopping (there's only so much money I can afford to spend, and shopping just to shop also seems pointless). I've caught up on reading (there's so much activity here that it's hard to focus on anything too taxing; and there are only so many magazines I can handle in a week). I've tried writing (see last). What I would really love to do when I'm here is read and answer email, dash off a quick blog post, and catch up with my online friends.
Now I can. For another 28 days. Because the cost to keep Cingular's service is a whopping $79.99 per month, and to get the 30-day trial, I had to sign up for a 1-year contract (just like a cell phone). The deal Sony offered allows me to cancel it within 30 days with no penalty -- so that is what I'm going to do. I'm probably going to do it a couple of days before it ends, just to make sure the cancellation takes, because if I don't, my husband will KILL me. Actually, he won't have to, because I will have already committed hara kiri. I'm not about to pay that kind of money for this.
But it's sooooooooo nice. And when it's over, I WILL have to lobby the gym about installing a wi-fi network here for us parents to use. They actually have one -- but the coach who put it in decided to encrypt it and won't share the key with anyone. Maybe I'll push the idea that it could be a fundraising scheme... I would pay for the convenience of working online here instead of running to the nearest Starbucks T-Mobile when I have work to do. Not $79.99 per month. But an additional $10 or $20? Yeah. And I think there are other parents here who would do the same.
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