I took an early lunch and drove over to the tire shop. I had talked to them on Friday, since they had a price matching policy in place. I didn't have any local ads, but I did have some online quotes. They couldn't match those directly, due to shipping and support they provide, but they'd try to help me out. I had a few printouts to take with me, just in case they hadn't had anything done yet. I forgot to bring a book to work with me today, and thought this was going to be a rather long lunch break.
I dropped off my truck and walked across the street and grabbed a sandwich to eat. My phone was nearly out of batteries, but I realized that text goes a lot smoother and could save some battery life, so I chatted with Jen a little while I ate. I felt a little sheepish about having my cell phone out on the table while I ate, but I'm enough of a geek to enjoy it.
After eating I walked back over to the tire shop, and the truck was next in the queue, so I had about another 20 minutes or so to kill. With my cell phone on the side for the incoming messages, I pulled out Baffle (my iPod Touch) and figured I could get some fun in on Peggle or Plants vs. Zombies while I waited. The ever obsessive Internet junkie in me (sometimes we call him 7) started a conversation...
Wait!!! WiFi! See if there is access here!
Umm, its a tire shop. They typically don't...
Just do it!
Okay fine. [:: checks a connection ::] Hey cool, there is one.
Go! go! go!!!
Okay, we're connected, but 9 times out of 10 its internally protected or you have a login screen. We'll check e-mail and... oh snap, we're in!
Woo Hoo!!!! Intarwebz is da coolerz!!!
I was surfin' the web from an Adirondack chair in the nice cool weather while my tires were replaced. I found out my friend's brother was on his way to the hospital, having his first child. I checked up on a couple of messages from friends. I continued to text Jen back and forth as I went, since she couldn't get into chat at the moment. I looked down at my clock and realized that I was due back to work in two minutes! My phone wouldn't survive past two rings. I had no clue as to the status of my truck. Then it hit me, e-mail! I jumped back in to my e-mail, and fired off a quick message saying I was going to be late, but not too late. Problem solved!
As I clicked the send button, I looked up at my surroundings and my eyes drifted up to the gorgeous sky filled with clouds, some clear, some ready to burst with rain [the clouds ALWAYS draw my attention up here, I don' t know what it is. It was never like this before] and I thought:
What kind of crazy, techno-mobile do we live in. Previous trips to the tire shop constituted in either a long session with a book, or a simple drop off of the vehicle in the morning and pick up at the end of the day. All the while I was never disconnected from anything I use at home or at work.
None of this is really new, but sometimes it takes the experience of the full power of a mobile environment that makes you stop and ponder. What kind of internet fused world are we in, and what can we do to make it better for people, and not just passing bits through the air.