Traveling with a laptop

OK, so I'm new to this laptop thing. I've never understood why people would want to stay so connected. Now I get it. My lovely Apple MacBook is so much fun and so fast and is so good at finding me networks that I'm addicted to being online. I'm seeking out excuses to be connected. At my uncle's? Poached a neighbor's unprotected wireless network. At the hotel? Best Western has free wireless -- a great, fast connection.

In the Oakland airport yesterday I sprung the $8.00 for 24 hours of internet service. It was a new persona for me to try on, huddling near one of those scarce airport plugs, not wasting my battery, getting online. I even wrote a useful email. I felt a bit smug, with my sleek white MacBook and its cool power supply/cord plugging in next to a guy huddling over his black Windows laptop with his big clunky power supply. Like an Apple commercial.

Even better was on the plane. The wonderful United representative, Eunice, gave me an Economy Plus exit row seat, and it turns out I had the whole row to myself. Plugged into my iTunes and rocked out to Our Lady Peace while messing with my work spreadsheet. I felt like the hippest road warrior ever.