BookWenches

Posted by Bobby

...or maybe I should say that I'm a fool for trying to multi-task, instead.

Seattle has a wonderful mass transit system, and since I work downtown, I rely on it to get me to and from the office. In the mornings, I take the bus in to the office. In the afternoons, however, I choose to take the train home. It travels north along the coastline, and the view is absolutely spectacular.

I've noticed that quite a few of my fellow commuters travel with their laptops and plug in as soon as they hit the train. Why not, with free wi-fi and lots of electrical outlets available? My commute diversion of choice has always been my Sony Reader, but watching the other folks around me made me think that perhaps I could use some of that commute time in another past time -- writing reviews.

Determined to join the ranks of techno-weenies, I toted along my trusty netbook (just small enough to make typing a pain in the ass) the other day. Once on the train, I fired her up and hopped online. I felt so important! (heh) I was multi-tasking like a pro!

Or perhaps not. The wi-fi was less than spectacular once we had left the train station. I think it was powered by geriatric hamster, it was so slow. I tried to show off to Teagan by sending her an email...she had replied by the time the screen refreshed. Yes, it was that slow.

No matter; I could still write reviews. Or so I thought until the motion of the train caught up with me. It's a double-decker, so it sways a bit in transit. Not a problem when I'm lost in whatever fabulous bit of smut I'm reading on my Sony Reader, but when combined with typing and ... gasp! ... thinking, it is a deadly combination. I got all of a paragraph written before I had to shut the computer down in a hurry in an extreme fit of nausea.

I have no idea how other folks do it, but I'm obviously not qualified to join the ranks of computer commuters. Foiled by the train, doggoneit...it could have been a geeky good time!