I got a new laptop last week. It wasn’t a Christmas present. Mike got it so I would have my own computer when we went to CES to cover the show. It’s a tiny thing and only weighs about three pounds. I love it and I want to take it everywhere.

Right now, I’m at Barnes and Noble in Sugarhouse. They have lots of tables here and I feel right at home with the other computer people. They have wireless access here, but I would have to pay to use it. I don’t need it. I can write offline just as well as online. Heck, I can write by hand or on my Treo. I don’t NEED a laptop to write, but the right tools help make things easier. When I get back home, I’ll upload this to my weblog, but for now, I’m not connected to the Internet. I don’t really need to be. I don’t need the Internet for words to flow out of my fingers.

There is another wireless access point across the street coming from Sugarhouse Coffee. They only charge two bucks a day and the signal is pretty strong here. It’s the kind of coffee shop that’s filled with pierced youth. I don’t think I would feel comfortable bringing my shiny new laptop out of my backpack there, but I can get the signal from the safety of the book-megalith. Of course, there are pierced youth here, too; just less of them.

The phone above my head rings twice. There is a piece of paper taped to the handset that says, “NOT A PUBLIC PHONE,” in all capital letters. I didn’t even know the phone was there until it rang.

Why? Why am I more excited about writing at Barnes and Noble on my laptop than I am at home on my full-sized keyboard? What is the attraction? I’ve sat in this very store writing before on my Moleskine, but I haven’t done it since that day. Why did I have to wait until I got my laptop? It doesn’t make any sense to me.