My Portable Office

No, the picture isn't crooked. That's the view from "my office" on Waikiki Beach." Yes, Waikiki as in Honolulu, Hawaii. I packed up my office (phone, laptop, cute folder full of scribbled notes, and my even cuter pencil bag) and tagged along with my sister to our 50th state. She had a conference to attend,if I paid for airfare I could bunk with her and attend some vendor-sponsored parties.

Yes, I actually worked. Each morning as she trotted off to the conference via shuttle bus, I crossed the street to buy an iced coffee at McDonald's and use the "free" wireless Internet. The hotel charged $16/day for Internet. I drew my line in the sand. Sixteen dollars a day for Internet on top of an already overpriced hotel room? Why, that's a matter of principle with me! McDonald's really may salvage its reputation with the iced coffee and free Internet thing. Anyway, I spent the mornings working at McDonald's and the afternoons at my sandy office with the view of the palm tree.

"Wireless Coconut." Have you heard that term? It actually predates the Internet. It is a Hawaiian term for the rumor mill, water cooler talk, Koffee Klatch stuff. Our friend Ann, who was born in Hawaii and lives there, used it in conversation when she was showing the off-Waikiki Honolulu. It's a great term, isn't it?