I.P. Freely

There was an ATT ad on TV several years ago with a guy sitting with his laptop on the beach. He smiled as a video window popped up on the screen.

“Have you ever had a conference call on the beach?” the voiceover intoned. “YOU WILL!” In my head I always added maniacal laughing after this part. (“YOU WILL! Muu ha ha ha ha!”) ATT added some kind of techno new age Enya music.

I know it was meant to seduce me with utopian visions of a completely connected future -- but really it had the opposite effect. I thought: who wants to have a fucking conference call on the beach? The idea of seeing my coworkers in a swimsuit (or having them see me) on a video chat was enough to make me shudder. I don’t care to stare at some office mate’s gelatinous white flesh and hamburger patty nipples as we talk about status reports.

That said, I just got a broadband wireless modem for my laptop. This means I can get high-speed connectivity anywhere in China (as long as there’s a cellular signal.) I have to say it’s pretty awesome.

Since I’ve been in Beijing and our office here is kind of cramped, I’ve spent the day working remotely from a Starbucks in the China World Mall. I have a table next to an electrical outlet, my mobile phone and my laptop. It’s been an incredibly productive day.

Perhaps this is because most of my regular days in the office are spent walking to and from Starbucks. I’ve saved all kinds of time, because by working at Starbucks I only have to walk to the counter. Maybe I could really streamline things and just have someone standing next to me occasionally pouring coffee down my throat as I type. Or maybe not.

Anyway, I took a camera phone picture so everyone can see my view at this exact moment. It’s 4:43PM on June 9th. The guy in the background on the left is talking REALLY LOUDLY.